Our opening psalm tonight, psalm of praise, is psalm 30.
Psalm number 30, that's in the Scottish Psalter.
You'll find that on page 239.
Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me on high,
and over me thou to rejoice made'st not mine enemy.
For thou who art the Lord my God, I in distress to thee,
with loud cries lifted up my voice, and thou hast healed me.
Down to verse 5, for but a moment lasts his wrath, life in his favor lies.
Weeping may for a night endure, at morn doth joy arise.
Words that are so full, vibrantly full of life,
and full of thanksgiving to God for his salvation,
and call upon us as God's people to sing praise to him in accordance with that.
Psalm 30 then, verses 1 to 5.
Lord, I will thee extol.
Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me on high,
and over me thou to rejoice, may it's not mine enemy.
O thou who art the Lord my God, I in distress to thee,
with thou hast lifted me, with thou Christ, may it's not mine.
I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou Christ, may it's not mine.
O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou Christ, may it's not mine.
And love, and still let me be.
O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me.
O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me.
O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast ing it, with thou hast magnetic收 syste.
O Lord, I will thee extol, ye socher!
O O Lord, ye that high this holy one, sing praise unto the Lord.
Son to the Lord, and give unto him thanks when ye his holiness reward.
For God's hope and last is right, like in his favor lies.
We've been before a night endured, a thorn of joy arise.
Now we're going to engage in prayer, let's call upon the Lord in prayer.
Amen.
We pray that that may be the experience of each one of us here in this building tonight.
That we can meaningfully and joyfully sing praises to you, knowing you as the rescuer who has brought us from death.
Who has brought us life in its abundance, in the Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.
Lord, we give thanks that we are here once again, gathered in this building to worship you.
We are conscious of drawing near to you, even though we cannot see you.
And we nevertheless know that you are here.
And we know that we consciously come into your presence as we come to worship you, whether collectively, with others or privately for ourselves.
And we give thanks for the privilege we have of being able to draw near to God.
And help us, we pray, to do so with faith and with longing.
Enable us to draw near to you, believing that you are indeed a rewarder of those who seek you diligently.
And we ask tonight, Lord, that as we gather together, so your word once again will be impressed upon our minds and hearts.
Feed our minds, we pray, so that we will grow in our understanding of your truth.
And of the great things that are revealed in your truth.
When you reveal to us yourself, your ways and ourselves and the world in which we live.
When you bring before us things of eternity and of time.
We give thanks that you set out for us, especially the way of life against the way of death.
Help us, we pray, as we become familiar with these things week by week.
That our concern will be, Lord, to grow in our understanding and our appreciation of them.
We come before you, Lord, as those who also need to come with our confession of our sin.
We pray, Lord, that you would enable us to do so meaningfully.
To come before you, even though we have maybe expressed our sin to you penitently before many times.
Yet, O Lord, it is appropriate for us, indeed, as you taught your disciples,
to forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
To forgive our sins, to cleanse us from our iniquity.
We come with that confession, O Lord.
We have sinned against you even since we met here this morning.
And our sins, we know, are sins of our mind as well as of our outward actions.
And we ask your forgiveness.
We ask your restoration whenever we have gone aside from your ways.
We ask that you would give us tonight that sense of assurance
that our sins are truly forgiven in Christ when we come to place our trust in him.
And we pray, gracious one, that our thankfulness may truly extend to include the fact that our sins,
when forgiven, will never return to us again accusingly.
We pray that you would grant to us, each of us here, O Lord,
that such may be our relationship with you.
And that our concern will be not only to know that for ourselves,
but to commend it as an experience we have come to know to those around us, too.
Bless us, Lord, we pray tonight in our homes and our families,
in the circumstances of life we find ourselves in.
We pray that your blessing will be with us in all that we do and wherever we appear.
And we ask as we were dwelling our minds this morning, O Lord,
upon the importance of revealing by our way of life
that you are our covenant God, that we are your people.
And we pray that that will be a burden on our hearts,
that we will be concerned, O Lord, to show that
wherever we have the opportunity to do so in the world and conditions of our day.
Remember us, Lord.
Lord, we pray in all our activities as well as once again we bring before you
all that we seek to partake of in this coming week.
Lord, we are conscious every time we come each Lord's Day to open our bulletin sheet
how much, O Lord, you enable us to engage in
how many different types of activities we find ourselves involved with.
And we pray that these will again be blessed,
that we will be thankful that we are able to carry out these activities in your name
and seeking the advance of your kingdom in them.
And we pray, Lord, that you would grant always your blessing to accompany
all that we seek to do in your name.
For without you, where can we be?
Without you, we cannot know that effective blessing of the gospel
that our hearts desire.
We pray again for your Holy Spirit
to continue to guide us and to bless us as a people.
Remember those of our number again tonight who are ill.
We think tonight, Lord, of those in hospital,
those who are recovering from illness,
those recovering from surgery, from treatment,
those who are still engaged in such treatment,
we ask that you would bless them,
bless those who watch over them and care for them
in their own homes and families and may be anxious over them.
Lord, we pray that you would still all our anxieties,
whatever they may be and whatever they may be related to.
We pray that you would help us to follow the direction of your word,
to be not over-anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
to make our requests known to God,
that we may know the peace of God
that passes all understanding,
that is able to garrison our hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
We ask, O Lord, too, that you would bless our young folks.
We bring our young people before you.
Bless them, Lord, in their youngest days
through to their adolescence and up into adulthood.
We pray that your blessing will follow all that's done
in your name toward them,
to teach them the things of God,
to hold out for them the word of life.
We pray your blessing, too, tonight
for those who continue to mourn over the passing of loved ones,
either recently or in times gone by.
We know, Lord, how fresh these things can be in our memory,
even though the event may be long in the past.
We seek your peace.
We seek your stilling of our hearts, O Lord.
We ask that your comfort will be extended
to those who know the pain of bereavement
and of the sorrow of part and from loved ones.
Grant your blessing to them all, we pray.
Throughout the world, Lord, tonight,
we pray that your kingdom will extend
and that your people will be blessed.
We bring before you the conditions we know
of the world's activities.
As we find them, Lord, brought before us in news reports,
we pray especially for those places
where tonight there is war, terror, strife,
anger and conflict and hatred.
And we ask, gracious one,
that through the gospel you would bring about
a lasting peace in all of these situations.
We remember, particularly at this time,
the situation, Lord, affecting Israel and the Middle East.
We pray that in those situations, Lord,
peace may prevail.
And we ask that you would help people
to lay down their arms in the aggression
that we know of, Lord,
as that has taken place now over many months.
We pray that you bless the situation too in Ukraine.
Oh, help them, Lord, we pray,
as they seek to advance
and come to gain victory over an aggressor
that has sought to displace them
and sought and brought much devastation
into their nation.
Oh, Lord, our God, bring peace about, we pray,
and grant, we pray,
wherever such aggression happens
from time to time in the world,
Lord, we pray that you would grant
by your own blessing that it may be stilled
and that you would bring about conditions of peace
throughout the world.
We pray that your blessing now will be with us here.
Bless us in this, our own community as well.
Bless, Lord, all that is available to us
to our advantage
in the way that we find so much to help us,
whether it be through ill health,
through mental health provisions,
physical ill health,
all, Lord, else who help us from time to time
with counseling,
with various ways in which we find our lives benefited.
Bless them.
We pray who have the skills to impart to us
such treatment and such help at these times.
We pray your blessing to be with Muriel tonight
as she speaks about her work.
Lord, we ask that as she spends time with us
during these days,
that you will bless her,
that you continue to bless the loved ones
she's left behind for a time in Cambodia.
We ask that they too will be kept
during the time that she's absent.
And we pray that you would continue
to bless her work there
and enable us to continue prayerfully
and practically to support her
through her time of service there.
Continue to bless all efforts throughout the world,
whether it be through charitable agencies
or through the work of missionary activity.
Oh, Lord, extend your kingdom, we pray,
through all of these means.
Hear us now, we pray.
Accept us freely and all for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
We're going to again sing to God's praise.
This time we're singing in Psalm 34.
Psalm 34, and it's in the St. Sam's version.
And the verses we find from verse 15.
From verse 15 to the end of the Psalm,
verse 22, that's page 41.
The Lord's eyes are upon the just.
He listens to their plea.
The wicked he rejects
and blots from earth their memory.
The righteous cry.
The Lord responds and frees them when distressed.
The Lord draws near the broken heart
and rescues the depressed.
These verses 15 to 22.
The Lord's eyes are upon the just.
He listens to their plea.
The wicked he rejects and blots from earth their memory.
The righteous cry.
The Lord responds and frees them when distressed.
The Lord draws near the broken heart.
The broken heart and rescues the depressed.
From all the troubles of the just.
The Lord will set him free.
The Lord protects his death.
The broken heart and broken heart will be.
The wicked are condemned to death.
All those who hate the just.
God saves his death.
The broken heart and broken heart will be.
For in the Lord they trust.
Amen.
Let's turn now to read and to hear God's word.
We're reading tonight from the epistle to the Hebrews.
The letter to the Hebrews.
Chapter 11.
And we're reading from the beginning down as far as verse 16.
As you know this is a great chapter dealing with faith.
But faith as it becomes visible in the life of God's people.
So that each of those instances and examples of faith.
Faith involves something that they did or achieved through faith.
And we'll take your reading down to verse 16.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for.
The conviction of things not seen.
For by it the people of old received their commendation.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God.
So that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.
Through which he was commended as righteous.
God commending him by accepting his gifts.
And through his faith although he died he still speaks.
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.
And he was not found because God had taken him.
Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
For without faith it is impossible to please him.
For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists.
And that he rewards those who seek him.
By faith Noah being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen.
In reverent faith constructed an ark for the saving of his household.
By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.
And he went out not knowing where he was going.
By faith he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land.
Living in tents with Isaac and Jacob.
Heirs with him of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations.
Whose designer and builder is God.
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive.
Even when she was past the age.
Since she considered him faithful who had promised.
Therefore from one man and him as good as dead.
Were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven.
And as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
These all died in faith.
Not having received the things promised.
But having seen them and greeted them from afar.
And having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out.
They would have had opportunity to return.
But as it is.
They desire a better country.
That is a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.
For he has prepared for them a city.
And may God again follow with this blessing.
A reading of that portion of his own word.
Now before we turn to a couple of verses in this chapter.
We'll sing again.
This time we're singing Psalm 73.
And that's on page 316.
Psalm 73 and verses 23 to 28.
And these verses comprise one of the most wonderful testimonies and convictions.
Anywhere we find in the Bible.
The psalmist here having begun to.
At the beginning to confess how very near he was to slipping away.
How he had become envious.
At what he thought was the life of the wicked.
That didn't as far as he was concerned.
Then have much by way of difficulty.
In contrast to himself as a believer.
But then when he went into the temple of God.
To the house of God.
He actually then he says understood their end.
And surely he said in verse 18.
They are actually in very slippery places.
And suddenly brought to ruin.
And so he continues now in verse 23.
Nevertheless continually.
O Lord I am with thee.
Thou dost me hold by my right hand.
And still upholdest me.
Thou with thy counsel while I live.
Wilt me conduct and guide.
And to thy glory afterwards.
Receive me to abide.
So from verse 23 to the end of the psalm.
Nevertheless continually.
O Lord I am with thee.
that thou dost iç for me.
And what I love is to be.
Thank you.
That thou dost be whole.
I am still a bolder's feet.
With my power, still while I live, will be called that and guide.
Until thy glory afterward receive me to abide.
In heaven, I am the heaven's high, but thee, O Lord, alone.
And in the air whom I desire, besides thee there is none.
My flesh and heart, the pit and fail, but God, the fail me never.
For all my heart, God is the strength and ocean forever.
For all my heart, I fall from thee forever perish shall.
Then that powering from me go, thou hast destroyed all.
But surely it is good for me that I draw near to God.
In God I trust that all thy works I may declare abroad.
Well, for our time this evening, we're going to look at a couple of verses in Hebrews chapter 11, especially verses 5 and 6.
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.
And he was not found because God had taken him.
Now before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.
And without faith it is impossible to please him.
For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
And the corresponding words we find in the Old Testament in Genesis chapter 5 are as follows in verse 21.
When Enoch had lived for 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.
Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah for 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.
So the words of Hebrews are based very much on that reference in Genesis chapter 5.
Now we know that there can be many differences, indeed contrasts, between one believing life and another.
And within the experiences of the people of God, there are some very contrasting experiences and situations.
So that, in matter of fact, there are times when we may be not able to follow to any great extent that which others are going through.
Or the experience they've had as people who have followed the Lord and believe in him.
And when you look at these two people here, Abel in verse 4, followed by Enoch, they're obviously held in contrast.
They both lived by faith.
But in the one case, Abel, through faith, offered this more acceptable sacrifice.
But he ended his life in this world by being put to death.
He became a martyr.
And yet, in contrast, you find, and I think it's for that reason that these verses are held one after another,
Enoch, who lived by faith just as Abel did, but his days ended in this world by being taken away without seeing death.
There's the one person living by faith and he's put to death for his faith, if you like.
And there's the other one living by faith and he doesn't see death because God takes him away without ever having to pass through death.
And so it is in our lives as believers.
There are so many contrasts that we may not be able to follow as we think of the experiences of other people.
And that should not disturb us because when we come to know of the ways of God,
he deals differently with every individual as he sees fit and he knows exactly what we need at any given time,
even if that may be very different to the way that he deals with others.
So the fact that we differ, sometimes maybe markedly in our experience,
from what other believers experience,
we should never conclude from that, that we therefore must not have faith
or that our faith cannot be genuine.
When you go through this chapter, there's such a great variety of experiences,
but all the way through there is one common feature,
one thing that they all have in common, and that's faith in God.
And in the case of Abel and of Enoch,
they both had the same testimony that they pleased God,
that they lived by faith in God through living,
living through faith in God,
they actually had this testimony that they pleased God.
So we're looking first of all tonight at the facts concerning Enoch that are actually revealed here,
the facts about Enoch that we find in verse 5.
And then secondly, we look at the faith that Enoch lived by,
because there are a number of aspects of his faith actually revealed to us in these verses.
So the facts that are given, there are two facts especially in regard to Enoch as a person,
and the first fact is that he was taken up so that he would not see death,
and the second fact is that he pleased God.
Before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.
These two great facts,
the fact that he was taken up by God without seeing death,
and the fact that he pleased God prior to that,
living through faith or by faith.
And when you see here that he was taken up so that he should not see death,
that's literally what we understand.
This is not something that's given us by way of just an imaginary type of person or situation.
From the Old Testament passage, Genesis 5,
and from this he was taken away by God.
He was not found.
He was taken up, and he was not found,
because God had taken him.
Now when it says he was not found,
that I think implies that there was a search made for him.
There was a day when his relatives,
people who knew him, his friends,
expected to see him,
and there was no sign of him.
And there was no sign of him,
because God had chosen to take him away.
And just as the language is very abrupt,
so that whole incident,
in the case of Enoch,
would have been a very abrupt taking.
God took him,
and he was not found.
It's not that he died overnight,
and was found by his relatives to have died,
and passed away quickly,
as happens to some.
Here is somebody who wasn't found.
Somebody who could not be located.
Somebody who was well known,
but he was not found,
because God took him.
And we believe these words literally,
for what they say.
This is God telling us through his word,
this is exactly how it was.
This is what happened.
He did not die.
He was taken away bodily.
And that's not just a matter of fact sort of thing
that's mentioned.
It really indicates that there's such a thing
as victory over death.
Death did not claim Enoch.
Death did not take him away.
He was taken away so that he was above death.
He was taken away,
but he didn't see death.
Not by death,
but without seeing death,
victory over it.
A sudden change.
And you notice,
if you go through this passage in Genesis chapter 5,
this great list that you find there
of the generations of Adam,
a series recording the people who came from Adam
all the way down
until you reach the end of the chapter,
which speaks about Noah.
And then you're into chapter 6,
giving more details about Noah.
But all the way through,
you find all of these people marked by these words,
and he died,
and he died.
You follow it right through,
and he died,
all the way through
until you come to verse 21.
And then you come to verse 24.
Enoch walked with God,
and he died.
No, he was taken.
He was not found,
for he was taken.
And there you see a wonderful demonstration,
really,
in words,
of how different it was
in the case of Enoch,
that he walked with God
all the days of his life,
and then he was not,
for God took him.
He demonstrated,
God demonstrated through him,
that death did not have the last word
in human experience.
That there was such a thing
in the hand of God
as victory over death.
And in fact,
you could say that that,
for the Old Testament church,
for the people of faith
in the Old Testament,
the likes of what happened to Enoch,
and their knowledge as that
was passed on to them,
and came eventually to be written
in the book of Genesis,
that held out for him
the prospect of victory over death.
The assurance that death
was not the great victor after all,
but that God was.
That God had something
by which death would be overcome,
and was overcome.
Interesting,
in the psalm,
we sang Psalm 73,
where the psalmist,
in such a wonderful way
of expressing it,
said,
You shall guide me
with your counsel.
I am continually with you.
You will guide me
with your counsel,
and afterwards,
you will receive me
into glory.
Now, literally,
the word receive
is actually the word take.
Afterwards,
you will take me
into glory.
That's exactly the same word
that's used in Genesis 5
to do with Enoch.
Enoch was taken.
The psalmist in Psalm 73
is saying,
Afterwards,
you will take me
into glory.
You will take me
above death.
You will take me
so that death
will not actually
have victory over me.
What a wonderful testimony,
all the way through
the Old Testament days,
that he could go
to such words as these,
and such events as,
in the case of Enoch,
and to the testimony
of the psalmist,
and be able to say,
by faith in God,
Lord, thank you
that death is not final,
that death is not
the final victor,
but that life is,
the life that you give.
You will receive me
into glory.
And in fact,
you could say,
that it's an indicator
of resurrection
from the dead.
In the case of Enoch,
and in the words
of the psalmist,
now I'm not saying
by that,
that they understood
resurrection the way
in the New Testament
it came to be revealed,
and especially following
the resurrection of Christ.
It was really
a dim reflection
of life
by resurrection
compared to
what came to be revealed
in the New Testament.
But essentially,
it is exactly the same.
essentially,
it is holding out
before us
victory over death.
And where is victory
over death
rooted?
Where is your own
victory over death?
Why is it that you
as a believer
tonight
are conscious of
and confident
that death
will not be
the final victor
in your life?
Because you're united
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And who is he?
He's the one who died
and rose again
from the dead.
And united to him
and united to him
in his resurrection.
You can say
like the psalmist,
you can say
as was true of Enoch,
nevertheless,
I am continually
with you.
You hold me
by the right hand.
You guide me
with your counsel
and afterwards
you will take me.
You will take me
up from the grave.
You will take me
to be with yourself.
He was taken,
Hebrews 11 says,
taken up
that should not
see death.
In other words,
the word taken up
there,
the words taken up
you could say
are maybe better
translated,
well,
maybe better,
the rendering
might be better
using the word
translated.
When you translate
someone from
one situation
to another,
you're moving them
on from one state
to another,
from one situation
to another.
And what's really
said here about
Enoch is
God translated him.
He took him
out of one
set of circumstances.
He took him
out of one
situation
to a better one.
He took him
out from a situation
where normally
you would see death
and he took him
above death
and he took him
beyond death
and he took him
in a way that
could reflect on
how God
had overcome
death in his
experience.
Now tonight
that's important
to yourself
because the
same faith
that Enoch
had
is the faith
that every
true believer
has had
all the way
down through
history.
And you
tonight as a
believer in
Christ,
even if your
faith you might
complain,
well,
it's very weak,
it's a faith
that you don't
see in any
way as robust
compared to
others.
It's something
that you're
conscious of,
maybe fluctuates
from one day
to the next
in a way that
you maybe don't
have such great
assurance and
yet you would
never say you're
not actually a
believer in
Christ.
Well,
it doesn't
matter whether
it's small
faith or
large faith or
strong faith or
robust faith.
Here is what
it's attached
to.
It's connected
to this person
of Jesus.
And because
it is connected
to him,
you're assured
that death
will not claim
you, even if
your body and
soul are
separated in
physical death.
That's not
death's victory
when you're
united to
Christ.
Because in
Christ you
have victory
over death.
And the day
will come when
your body will
be raised from
the grave and
reunited with
your soul.
And bodily
and spiritually
as a complete
person, you
will share in
the victory of
God's people as
they're united to
the victory of
Christ.
What a wonderful
concept.
God's people as
a great
man.
And how
marvelous that even
in the Old Testament
days, even though not as fully revealed by any means, and it couldn't be really in a sense,
till Jesus himself rose from the dead.
But it's there.
It's there so that you can see it in root form or embryonic form, if you like, in the revelation of God then.
And then comes to a more full light in the New Testament age.
So that's first of all, he was taken up by God. He was translated from one state to a better state.
The second fact is that he pleased God. Before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.
Again, it's maybe better to just have a different form of words there.
He was commended as having pleased God, is what we read here. But you could translate it, he had it testified of him that he pleased God.
And why does that make a little difference? Just a nuance, really, of meaning? Well, it makes a difference when you think of it this way.
He had it testified of him that he pleased God. It wasn't something just private to himself.
It wasn't something that was true of him as an individual that nobody actually saw but himself, that nobody was aware of but himself.
When you say he had it testified of him, it means this was how he was known publicly.
This was how people knew him.
This was the kind of lifestyle that he showed as he went about his business in the world.
He was known as a God pleaser.
He was known as somebody who lived specifically to please God.
He gave off this testimony.
He had it testified about him by others that he was a pleaser of God.
In other words, that his life was one that sought to gain the approval of God.
And that's how it is with faith, isn't it?
Your concern as a believer tonight is that you will have God's approval.
Because unless we have God's approval, what does it matter?
It doesn't matter what that world out there thinks about you if you don't have the approval of God.
It doesn't really matter what approval the world might give you or anybody might give you.
It all comes to nothing at the end of the day unless our life is right with God and God approves of us through faith in Christ.
What does it matter?
And the opposite is also true.
If our faith is in Christ, if we have our trust in God, if our trust is located there,
if our life is handed over to him and we live by faith in him, what does it matter what the world thinks of that?
What does it matter if our testimony to the world is that we live to please God?
The world may not accept that.
The world may laugh at that.
The world may find that just ridiculous.
The world may think, well, surely you're not living by such outmoded ideas of what a life and a lifestyle should be.
But you know, faith does not change down through the generations.
Faith is essentially trusting in God.
And trusting in God carries with it God's approval of that life.
Not for anything we've done, but by virtue of what Jesus has done.
And our union with him brings us into the approval of God.
He had this testimony.
He had this said of him, testified of him, that he approved, that he pleased God.
And there's something else about it as well.
When you go to the Genesis passage, as we read it there,
Enoch walked with God, and he was not or was not found because God took him.
He walked with God.
It was an aspect of his life of faith.
He lived a life of communion with God.
Every day for Enoch was a life where he walked with God,
where his path through life had God with him, and he was with God.
He was his companion.
He was his friend.
He was the one he shared things with.
He was the one he trusted in.
You know, in the court of session in Edinburgh,
there's a large hallway there.
And in that hallway, QCs or KCs, as they are now,
actually sometimes meet with their clients,
maybe in between sessions of a case being heard in the court of session.
And that large hall, it's a large hall,
and what happens is when a KC wants to have some words with the client,
he takes them into the hall,
he stands at one end of it, and off he goes.
Or she goes.
And they walk together from one end of the hall,
discussing things, or maybe the KC asking for certain things,
certain details.
And back they come again,
and they do that until the KC has more information,
or whatever it is he's seeking.
The point is this.
They're walking together in conversation.
They're walking together in the business that they have together.
And not until that business is finished
Do they then depart?
The KC, the court case resumes.
The KC goes back to his place,
and so does the client.
That's really what happens ordinarily,
but in terms of a spiritual situation,
that is what a Christian life is about.
Enoch walked with God.
God was his chief advisor.
God was the one who looked after his life.
God was the one he conversed with.
God was the one he gave his life over to.
He walked with God.
And he was not found because God took him.
And in that very close friendship,
so many things were shared together.
Now, we don't have any record of,
but inevitably that would be the case.
When you go, for example, to Psalm 25,
I like the way it's translated here in the ESV,
Psalm 25,
where you find at verse 14,
these words,
The friendship of the Lord
is with those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
The friendship of the Lord
is with those who fear him.
Those who fear the Lord,
those who trust in the Lord,
those whose lives are in the hands of the Lord,
those who have given over their life to him,
however you think about it as faith,
those who live by faith,
the Lord reveals to them his covenant.
They converse with each other.
God reveals things to them
from his word,
through his spirit,
things that belong to them as his people,
things that are true of their relationship with him.
He reveals to them his covenant.
Is that so of your own life tonight?
Is it as true of you
that you're walking with God?
I'm not asking you
to what extent you're assured of this,
not asking how much can you explain of this.
Is it true that you're walking with God?
That your life in this world
as a life of faith
is as it was for Enoch,
a life in which you walk with God?
Is that what characterizes your life?
Is that your testimony?
Is that how it is with yourselves,
with us as individuals?
Am I tonight
walking with God?
Am I in conversation with God regularly?
Am I praying to him as I should?
Am I worshipping him?
Am I putting him out foremost in my life
as my great advisor,
my KC, if you like,
in representing me
in his own presence?
Enoch walked with God.
He had this testimony
before he was taken
as having pleased God.
The facts about Enoch then,
very briefly,
the faith that Enoch lived by.
He was taken,
in verse 6 here,
without faith it is impossible
to please God,
and so on.
It wasn't because of his faith
that Enoch was taken by God
so as not to see death.
It was by faith that he lived.
It wasn't his faith itself
that provided the grounds
of his acceptance with God.
But it was through faith
that he came to be accepted
by God
and into friendship with God.
And what a marvelous thought
and concept that is,
isn't it?
That through faith in God,
through the exercise of faith,
through trusting in God,
we actually come into
real, spiritual,
lasting friendship with God.
The Bible tells us that
as sinners we are enemies,
that we are at enmity with God.
But through Christ,
through what God has done
in Christ,
when we come to trust in him,
then we come into the possession
of something quite remarkable,
something amazing,
the friendship of God.
We come to actually walk with him.
We come to know him
as our great friend.
And that's why he says here
that without faith,
it is impossible to please God.
It's not possible to please God
without this faith.
We can try it,
but it just will not work.
And I think in the passage itself here,
we find some evidence of that.
Cain, for example,
tried,
it's not mentioned in the passage,
but Abel's brother,
you remember Cain,
who murdered him,
and he brought an offering to God.
Cain brought of the flock,
the animals of the flock,
a sacrifice.
Cain brought the fruit of the ground.
And some people think
that he was refused acceptance
because he didn't bring an animal.
But I don't think that's
what the passage actually is meaning at all.
Cain took off something
that belonged to his own way of life
in the world.
His employment was in tilling the ground
and looking after the crops and so on.
And he brought something of that
to offer it to God.
Whereas Abel brought of the flocks
that he looked after.
The problem's not what they gave,
but the spirit in which it was offered.
Cain couldn't care less
what God thought of him.
He just went through the motions,
almost as it were,
just throwing a few vegetables together
to bring to God.
Whereas Abel, by faith,
came to offer to God
a more acceptable sacrifice
than Cain, it says in verse 4.
It wasn't what he brought
as a sacrifice that condemned Cain,
but the manner in which he brought it.
It wasn't by faith.
It wasn't in a love for God
as his life afterwards showed.
Whereas Abel did.
And so you find as well
with the Egyptians.
If you go through the chapter,
you'll find that eventually
you come to the people of Israel,
verse 29.
The people crossed the Red Sea
as if on dry land,
but the Egyptians,
when they attempted to do the same,
were drowned.
That, I think, is telling us
that there's something
in the Egyptians
that sought to follow the ways
of the people of Israel
who lived,
who by faith,
entered into the Red Sea
and went through to the other side,
whereas the Egyptians,
attempting to do the same,
came to disaster.
You know, we can try
and copy faith.
We can try and imitate faith.
We can try and pass ourselves off
as believers,
but it's not really from the heart.
We can try outwardly
to live a life of faith
that tries to copy the lifestyle
of somebody we know
as a genuine believer.
Friends, tonight,
trying to imitate faith,
trying to copy faith,
without genuine faith,
is a disaster.
It will not work.
It leads to death.
It's not approved of by God.
But by faith,
we are guaranteed
God's acceptance of us in Christ.
By faith,
this was how Enoch lived.
And so,
whoever comes to God,
it's saying,
whoever would draw near to God,
must believe that he exists,
or that he is,
as the old AV has it.
By whoever draws near to God,
must believe that he is.
And that means more than just
believing in a bare existence of God.
You come to draw near to God,
and that's really the language
of worship,
primarily.
You draw near to God.
That's what we're doing tonight
in worship together.
We're drawing near to God.
When you go on your knees,
or however you pray to God,
you're drawing near to God.
And what it's telling us here
is that drawing near
has that purpose of
worshiping and pleasing God.
And it's believing
that God is
as he has revealed himself to be.
It's all too easy.
Nowadays, I'm afraid,
to find people just taking,
saying,
well, I'm actually an evangelical.
I believe in the Bible.
I believe that I'm a Christian.
But I don't believe
such things as
that the death of Christ
on the cross
was a propitiation for sin.
That there was anything there
to do with seeking
to pacify the anger of God.
I don't believe
any of these things at all.
I'm not saying you can't be a Christian
without believing that.
But what I'm saying is
that if we cut out
and excise or delete things
in the Bible that we've got
and say,
that's not appropriate
for today's generation.
That's kind of
really Old Testament stuff
we've long since
moved away from that.
Well, that's not a sign
of a believer.
And if we believe things
about God
different to what's revealed
in his word,
that's not a sign
of a believer either.
we believe
that he is.
And that he is
as he has revealed himself
to be
as recorded
in his word.
You know,
this is so important
for us, friends,
to have confidence
in this Bible
as the word of God.
If we don't have confidence
that it is
the word of God,
that it has
God's own authority
and imprint
on it,
then everything else
we believe
is liable
or can at some time
just be dismissed
by us.
It's on the basis
of this
being the word
of God
that we actually
believe
things about Jesus,
about his death,
about his resurrection.
And that's why
we believe too
that God is
as he has revealed
himself to be.
Those who draw near
to God
must believe
that he is
in other words,
we come to him
tonight,
for example,
as we've gathered here,
we've drawn near
to God
believing that he is,
believing that he
receives us
in the name of Christ,
believing that he's
pleased with us
when our faith
and confidence
is placed in Christ,
believing that he
will never leave us
or forsake us
as we place
our trust in him.
All of these things
and many, many more
are revealed by God
to be true of himself.
That's who he is.
That's how he is.
And we draw near
to him believing
that he is that.
And that he is too
a rewarder
of those
who seek him.
That he rewards
those who seek him.
Really literally,
again,
that he is
a rewarder.
Even more literally,
what it says
is that
he becomes
a rewarder.
And what difference
does that make?
It makes a difference
from the perspective
of the believer
or the person
that's drawing near
to God.
When it's saying
God becomes
a rewarder
of those
who seek him,
what it's really saying
is this is what
we find out
when we draw near
to him in faith.
He becomes then,
as far as our experience
is concerned,
he becomes
a rewarder.
He becomes one
who dispenses
blessings to us.
You don't find that out
unless you've come
to believe.
Unless you've placed
your trust in him.
Then he becomes
a rewarder
in your case,
in my case,
and of all those
who actually
seek him
or seek him
diligently.
So the seeking,
what does it mean?
Well, we use the word
seeking
sometimes
for those
who have not yet come
perhaps to assurance
that they're saved.
You have not come
to make a confession
of their faith
in a public way.
And we might say,
well, they're seeking.
They're seeking the Lord.
Or people who maybe
have some thoughts
that they didn't have before
and begin to attend church
or whatever.
And we say about
these people,
sometimes we say,
well, they're seeking God.
They're seekers.
They're seeking after him.
And it's not wrong
at all to say that.
But if you look
at the Bible,
most of the cases
that you find
of people
who are seeking
the Lord
are already believers.
Because seeking
means
drawing near to him
and seeking
are very closely
connected together,
virtually the same thing.
And tonight,
as a believer,
you're seeking God.
You want to meet
with God.
You want God
to speak to you
through his word.
In so many ways,
you're seeking
the Lord.
Lord.
And that's why
he rewards
those who seek him.
Seeking,
not trying somehow
or other
to find God,
but also,
but rather,
having found God
or being found
by God
more accurately.
We seek after him.
We seek to follow him.
We seek him
in the Bible.
We seek him
in these means
of grace
and church services
and so on.
We seek him
as we come
ourselves
privately
and individually
to worship him.
So Enoch's life
was all about
seeking God,
really.
It was all about
a life that
was devoted to God
in such a way
that he received
testimony that
he was,
in fact,
a God-pleaser.
He was taken up
by God
not because of
his faith,
but through his faith
he had this testimony,
he had it said of him
that he pleased God
and he drew near
to God
believing
that God is.
And so again,
I have to ask myself,
where am I
in all of this?
Is it enough for me
that I attend church?
Is it enough for me
that I preach
from a pulpit
or try to preach?
Is it enough
that I've spent
these 37 years
creating sermons,
delivering sermons,
having a place
in the church
as a minister?
Is that enough for me?
Will that give me
a place of God's approval?
Will that provide
a ground of acceptance?
No.
I need Christ.
I need the Jesus
I preach.
I need to live
by faith in him.
I need to accept
that God is
and deliver my life
over to him.
So I just looked
after by him
that I become
a pleasing
individual to God
and that I come
at last
when this life
is over
to be taken
by him
and to be taken
into his glory.
May God bless
these words
to us this evening.
Let's conclude
our service now
singing in Psalm 119.
Psalm 119,
that's on page 157,
verses 1 to 8,
the first section
of the psalm.
Blessed are those
of blameless ways
who live according
to God's word.
Blessed are those
who keep his laws,
who with their whole heart
seek the Lord.
They keep themselves
from doing wrong
by walking
in his perfect ways.
You have established
laws for us
that are to be
obeyed
always.
These verses
at the beginning
of the psalm
to God's praise.
blessed are those
of blameless ways
who live according
to God's word.
Blessed are those
who keep his laws,
who with their whole hearts
seek the Lord.
They keep themselves
from doing wrong
by walking in his perfect ways.
You have established
laws for us
that are to be
obey your ways.
O that my ways
were steadfast, Lord,
and making you
decrees my name.
So when I think
of your commands,
I would not feel
this place for shame.
I'll preach you
with an upright heart
as your just laws
are learned by me.
All your decrees
I will obey.
Do not forsake me
after thee.
I'll go to the main door
after the benediction
this evening.
Lord our God,
we ask that you would
receive all that we
had offered to you
in worship.
We pray that you would
bless what is prepared
for us for our bodily
needs in the hall.
We ask again that you
would bless Muriel
as she comes to speak to us.
And now we pray
that the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father,
and the communion
of the Holy Spirit
will be with us now
and evermore.
Amen.
The Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
always beCould have a
народ and forever
as I worship what is
you know,
make sure you
go to war.
But that's what
His record is