Sermon Nuggets Mon April
2 Gen 5 Walking with God
Verses Gen 5
Does the name Josh
Gibson ring a bell? There has been lots of comparisons in the sport of baseball
with muscle man Mark McGwire against the gentleman Sammy Sosa. There are still
discussions that both surpassed Babe Ruth’s 60 home runs and then flew by Roger
Maris claim of 61 before McGwire took the prize with 70 homers.
Yet there was hardly a
mention of Josh Gibson. He was considered by many as the greatest power hitter
ever to hold a bat in any baseball league in the US. He played form 1930 to
1946. At the age of 19 he hit 75 home runs in one season a feat that no one has
ever accomplished. Perhaps the reason that Gibson is an unsung hero is that he
played mostly in what was known as the Negro League. This period of racial
discrimination ignored such achievements among the whites even though the white
and Negro leagues did play. The white
league lost 3 to one games on the average According to some accounts, Gibson
hit 962 home runs in his 17 years career and complied a lifetime batting
average of .391 in 1972 he was inducted posthumously into the National Baseball
Hall of Fame.
There are many unsung
heroes in the Bible. Some of them would be put in the Hall of Faith but maybe
there isn’t a great deal of publicity about them. After Seth was born, Adam
lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Man is created in the image
of God. Yet when you read the book of Adam and his family tree one after
another the record says and he died. That is the result of the fall. Death
comes to all. We might be impressed with the longevity of life, but sooner or
later all die. Everyone except Lamech lived to be about 900 years old including
Noah.
Now there are some
explanations as to how this can be literal. Some believe the climatic
conditions before the flood were ideal and were conducive to long life. Or
simply, God in his sovereignty determined that certain special people should
live unusually long lives and made it possible for them to do so in order to
populate the earth.
Spurgeon used the
illustration of waves at the shores of a tide ocean when describing death. One
wave takes your grandmother. Then a while later another wave comes and takes
away your mother; and a little later your wife; and is now at your feet. We
live, we die- then what?
But in the middle of
these lists of names we read vs. 21-24. There is something about a man born that
was different from the others. Enoch walked with God. He is in God’s Fall of
Faith in Hebrews 11, but not an awful lot is said about him. More is said about
Enoch in the NT than in the Old. There are only 5 passages that refer to Enoch
two are genealogies; Heb. 11:5 and Jude 14, 15.
We may never get our
names in books or biographies of faith written about us, but God keeps the
books and knows his own. Enoch serves this morning as our model to follow. To
follow Enoch’s example will take away the fear of death.
What is implied in
walking with God? That is the topic of this week’s devotions.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues
April 3 Faith
Verses Gen 5: 21 When
Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he
became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and
had other sons and daughters.23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24
Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him
away.
Heb 11: 5 & 6 By
faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He
could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken,
he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible
to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Walking with God implies
Faith.
The Bible says in Hebrews "without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Enoch
pleased God. Now Enoch had no portion of the Bible. His revelation of God was
small and dim as compared with ours. He believed in the existence of the
Supreme Being and was convinced that God is and knew something of his holy
will.
To walk with God implies
he had faith. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what
we do not see." When it comes to God there is confidence in his promises,
even though we don't see them. We cannot
see that part of our being which thinks and feels hopes and fears, loves and
hates. Spiritual truth is invisible. But
because you cannot measure it for scientific experimentation doesn't deny it's
reality.
We live today in the
clear and full light of Divine revelation. For God hath spoken unto us in his
Son. We know how to please God. It is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and
following Him. If you want to begin a walk with God you have to confess your sins, ask God to forgive
you your sins and put you faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
One speaker at our
State’s Annual meeting said for him it was as if he was driving the car of his
life and making a mess of it, until he finally gave up the drivers seat and
allowed Jesus to do the driving in his life. That is a good explanation of
faith.
It
was harder in the Old Testament when the revelations of God weren't as clear as
today. He did not have the revelation of the coming of the Son of God on the
earth. He did not have the historical evidences of the effect of Jesus life in
the world. He did not have the testimony of the million of lives since Christ
time that have been changed not the witness of the centuries of the Christian
church.
But as we live our lives we learn that we need to do it
God’s way even though we don’t always understand. In order to go God’s way,
Enoch had to have experienced testing of faith because all the examples of the
people in the Bible make choices. Those choices fall down to the question of
trusting God or not. Faith is an obedience response without regard to
circumstances or feelings. There will be times when God puts you and me to
those tests of trusting his word instead of our wisdom and to do so is faith.
Which is a better
prayer, “Lord, walk with me in my travels, or “Lord let me walk with you in
your paths”? Faith is not asking God to help us on our agenda. It is putting
ourselves at His disposal and going his way. Walking with God is a faith
agreement to go in his direction. Enoch did not fight or resist God but
delighted to walk as God directed.
What does it mean for
you to walk with God in faith today? What does it mean for your choices, your
relationships, your words and your actions?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds
April 4 Intimacy
Verses- Gen 5:22b ,
Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
Walking with God implies Intimacy.
A pastor’s wife was
speaking to pastors one day about some of the needs of a pastor’s wife. She was
trying to impress on us thick headed men that women need to have time with
their clergy husbands. She reminded us that being in the house together at the same
time is not the same as being with your spouse. When she suggests to her
husband to go for a walk what do you think his first response is? “Where do you
want to go?” Makes sense doesn’t it?
She doesn’t really care
where they go as long as they go together to talk and maybe hold hands and
develop a closeness without other distractions of phone, or books or jobs that
each can see.
We sing, “And he walks
with me and his talks with me and He tells me I am his own. The joy we share as
we tarry there, none other has ever known.” One of the greatest privileges we
have is we can have a closer walk with God in our personal lives.
There is a vast
difference between merely living on the one hand and walking with God on the
other. To walk with God is to desire to be in his presence, to enjoy his
fellowship, to experience his love. It
is to want to talk with Him and listen for what He wants to say to us. I often thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful to
have that dialogue like these OT saints? Well we can and do even more because
God lives within us wherever we go. It is a privilege available by the presence
of the Holy Spirit.
Do you desire a closer relationship with God?
Most do not and therefore do not seek Him. What are you willing to change to
see that happen? Others call upon Him
and determine in their hearts to face what needs to be faced, confess what
needs to be confessed, obey what needs to be obeyed for they want nothing to
get in the way of the joy of the presence of God.
I
can think of nothing more important to strengthen your faith walk than in
personal private prayer. When one grows
in prayer there is an intimacy and love with God that brings out joy. Have you
come to times in your life you just want to read the Bible as part of talking
and listening to God? The more time you
spend with a person the better you know him. The same principle applies to you
and the Lord.
Too many Christians
spend an hour or two a week in church. But you don't get intimately acquainted
with a person you meet only in a group. One group of ministers were polled revealed they averaged only 10 minutes
of prayer and personal quiet time a day. If that is the statistic for ministers
what about the church people? Most do not have any consistent daily time spent
in personal prayer, devotional reading, or meditation at all. You just don't
develop a walk with God unless you spend some time in His presence. I'm not
talking about the Pharisee who makes a mockery of prayer and fasting by
watching the clock or calendar. I am saying that if there little desire there
is not much room for faith to grow. May Enoch be an example to us all in faith
where his time being with God was the most important in life.
Part of the walk that is
ours with the Lord and the sweet communion of being in his love is also the
realization that he is involved in our lives. Prayer and the reading of the
Word not only strengthens the relationship that is ours in Jesus Christ, but
gives us the wisdom that is from above. "Call on me and I will answer thee
and show thee great and might things that you know not" Jer 33:3.
There are enemies of
intimacy. Time is one enemy. Our daily commitments can become an enemy if we don’t rearrange
priorities. Interruptions are enemies. Is there anything we can do to minimize
interruptions? Perhaps we don’t have to answer the phone in the middle of
prayer, or respond to email notifications. Maybe it is going away for a short
period of time without one being able to be contacted.
The greatest enemy to
intimacy with the Lord is sin. To ask God to reveal things in your life that
may hinder your relationship and be committed to confess and repent will take
away the spiritual barriers that get in the way of your walk with God. It is
worth it.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs April
5 Consistency
Verses – Gen 5: 22 Enoch
walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
Walking with God implies
Consistency .
I
often wondered what life was like when Adam and Eve and their great great great
grandchildren were all still living and could sit down and have them tell their
families what it was like to be with God in Paradise. But what the Bible tells
us from Cain on, that sin had grown to unbelievable portions in just a short
time. Sin abounded and resentment against God and leaving his ways was the
norm.
To walk with someone may be but for a brief time. To walk
together may have been only as long as the road to Emmaus with the resurrected
Jesus. It is significant to be sure. But to walk consistently, daily, and for
years will develop a character including faith, intimacy, and love.
Spiritual
growth doesn’t happen by trying harder to be perfect. Growth happens when we
spend time with God. His character begins to rub off on us. When we think of
the fruit of the Spirit we know that when Jesus comes into our lives and hearts
he begins to change us, only with our permission. God does not look so much at
our performance, as he does the motives of our heart.
Peter had tremendous
potential for growth for two reasons. First God called him to himself and began
to let him see more of Jesus, and secondlyaAlthough Peter kept getting it
wrong, he had the right motive. He wanted to please God. He wanted to serve
God. He wanted God to work in his life so whatever he did was for Jesus.
God sees our motives; He
has perfect love and understanding. Faith of Enoch serves as an example to want
to please God by facing sin repenting of it and living for God in righteousness
even in a area were unrighteousness abounds. Faith is seen in the sincere
effort to do His will consistently in life, not just the spurt of emotional
commitment.
Jesus
Christ came as the example of desiring to please his Father in Heaven. His joy was to do the will of him who sent
him. Twice the Father testified of him from heaven. "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased.” He was sinless.
As Enoch made his faith commitment to God there was a
growing commitment to live for God in a consistent manner and not for self or
for others. To the man of faith he
trusts the Spirit will illuminate his mind to do God’s will. The world will say
all that is important is what you store up on earth. But the Spirit shows the
foolishness of that thinking and says what is important is what you store up in
heaven and peace is not in what we have here, but what we have inside. Be
content with what you have, Contentment doesn't come from the outside but the inside
wisdom.
If
you know that God is trustworthy and loves you and wants what is best in His
mind for you. If you are convinced that God know the beginning from the end and
will reward you richly in the glories above then you will have confidence that
all He does in your life will be for your good. Even if you do not understand
respond on what you do understand.
What Enoch did understand was simply the ways of the
world around him were different than the ways God wanted him to walk. When he
made his commitment to God he saw evil in a new and horrible way. There is an interesting couple of verses in
Jude 1:14-15 "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men:
"See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy
ones to judge everyone, and to convict
all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and
of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
When
we are committed to God we see the world as He sees it. There is judgment
coming. That is troubling. So Enoch becomes a preacher. He does not hate the
people he loves them to warn them of the judgement. The moral separation which
sin causes between soul and God was seen right from the earliest of
generations.
Enoch lived in a sinful
age. Man’s wickedness on earth had become great. In his day there were acts of
evil, sexual promiscuity, materialism, demonism, What would Enoch say if he were here today?
Ungodly? The outcome in Enochs day was terrible judgment of God by flood
Enoch walked with God.
Jude says that he preached judgement to the world by his walk with God. He
preached judgement not only in the words he spoke but also in the life that he
lived. Just as Enoch was active in proclaiming the news of salvation to the people
of his day, Christians today play a
significant role in God's plan. Our lives warn others of the judgement that is
to come. Consistent living and walking with God is something honored by God and
has stability in our maturity.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri April
6 Blessing
Verses Heb 11: 5 & 6
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death:
“He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was
taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible
to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
To Walk with God implies
Blessing
When I was young there was a short piece in
the newspaper called “Ripley’s Believe it or Not”. It had tidbits of
unbelievable, odd, or different information. One time this question was posed:
“How did the oldest man on earth have a father who outlived him?” That was a
riddle. The answer of course is Enoch outlived
Methuselah. Yet Methuselah was the oldest recorded life in history- 969
years. This happened because Enoch was taken up into heaven without dying.
Contrast
the fate of Abel and Enoch. One was crushed to earth by the hand of a brutal
murder, the other conveyed to heaven by God. Enoch’s son was Methuselah who
lived up to the time of the flood and whose grandson was Noah who was saved by
the ark. How sad that the testimony was
there but apparentely he didn’t listen.
There is much speculation of Enoch's
miraculous removal from earth. There are
many questions as to what happened. How does God translate a body from here to
heaven without death? He did not pass from earth by the same way as other men
but his body must have undergone great change.
1 Corinthians 15 shows that our bodies change..
There is a natural body and a spiritual body.
So the body of Enoch was spiritualized by God. It underwent essential
change. It was mortal and now immortal; it was corruptible now incorruptible; it
was of the earth, now it became of heaven. His body was refined and purified by
God
His
translation was a distinguished honor and reward to Enoch. The only two men who
passed from this world without tasting of death were distinguished as prophets
fearless in rebuking evil- doers and asserting the divine message, and each in
an age of dominate wickedness. Enoch and
Elijah's translation was testimony from Heaven that these men, though no
sinless, were especially honored by God.
Those who remain until the Lord’s
coming will also experience this translation without death .1 Thess 4: 17
“After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the
Lord forever.” Perhaps Enoch experience was a shadow of what is yet to come for
many.
Enoch pleased God. Wouldn’t that be
great if that were said of us? Unpopular with people, but popular with God. 365
years old God took him home to be with Himself. It was as if God said, “Let’s
not go back to your place tonight. You’ve walked so long with me it’s closer to
my home than yours. Come home with Me.”
Through the revelation of God they learned that Enoch had not been
murdered but taken away by God and given a place in Paradise. Death is not the
end but there has been another place prepared for us and set aside better than
this present existence.
I
believe this was for a sign to the men of that age. Enoch was a prophet to the
sinners. His prophecies and rebukes had created enemies instead of repentant
followers of God. Now perhaps his sudden and strange removal from them would
give new and addition light to his words. It was God's way of stressing the
spiritual and eternal. The people were
reviling in pagan worship and sinful actions but the extraordinary removal of
the holy prophet of God from the world might force them to reflect on the
existence of the real God and reward that awaits us of faith.
We have the confidence of blessings from
God. I already spoke of the blessings that are ours on this earth in Jesus
Christ. But there is more to come. I think Enoch's blessing was means of
testimony not only to his faith but to draw people to God who witnessed it as a
sign of God's reality in the world and his reward to the one who diligently
seeks him.
But
as all die where are you going to spend eternity, and how are you going to
spend your life? Enoch’s walk was exhibited by faith, intimacy, growth,
consistency and blessings. What about yours?
Pastor Dale
