Well, would you stand with me for the reading of God's word? We're going to read a lot of scripture today. Um, and so if you have trouble standing for an extended period of time, um, stand as long as you can, but let's stand as a sign of reverence for God's word. We're going to begin in Genesis chapter four. Then we are going to turn to the book of Jude, and then we are going to turn to our text today, the book of Hebrews. We'll begin in Genesis chapter 4 and verse 17. This is the inspired and inerrant word of God. Let's give it our attention. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Arad, and Arad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, the name of the other was Zillah. Adah bore Jebal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the lyre and the pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal Cain. He was the forger of instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal Cain was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, Adon, Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is 70-fold, 77-fold. And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and called his name Seth. For she said, God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel. For Cain killed him. To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female, he created them and blessed them and named them man, and they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Thus, all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. Seth lived, after he fathered Enosh, 807 years, had other sons and daughters, thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died. When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kinan. Enosh lived, after he fathered Kinan, 815 years, and he had other sons and daughters, thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died. When Canaan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalaleel. Canaan lived after he fathered Mahalaleel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus, all the days of Canaan were 910 years and he died. When Mahalaleel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. Mahalaleel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and he had other sons and daughters. Thus, all the days of Mahalaleel were 895 years and he died. when Jared lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch. Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters, thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 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. And then to Jude. We'll read verses 3 and 4. And then again, we'll pick it up in verse 10. Beloved, although I was eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ. And then verse 10. But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand. They are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them. For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feast as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea casting up the foam of their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are grumblers, malcontents following their own sinful desires. They are loudmouthed boasters showing favoritism to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. and have mercy on those who doubt, save others by snatching them out of the fire, to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. And then finally, to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 11. We'll read verses five and six. 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, it was testified concerning him that he had 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. Thus ends the reading of God's word. All flesh is like grass, and all of its glory is like the flower of grass. But the grass withers, and its flower fades. But the word of our Lord endures forever. Amen. You may be seated. There is a phrase in the Gospel of John. It's in John chapter 12. And it's one of those phrases that just slays me. It's one of those phrases that the Lord has used repeatedly in my life to cut me down to size. It's just one of those little parenthetical comments of John. But it's a phrase that gets right to the motives of our hearts. It's this little phrase that says that they love the praise that comes from men more than the praise that comes from God. They love the praise that comes from men more than the praise that comes from God. In the context, John is making a comment about the Jewish authorities who have come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And yet because of their fear of the Pharisees, because of their fear of being put out of the synagogue, they could not bring themselves, would not bring themselves to confess it. And that phrase is so cutting because it looks right through the action to the motive. They feared the wrong thing. They loved the wrong thing. Instead of fearing God who can destroy both body and soul in hell, they feared what men might do. And instead of seeking the praise and pleasure that comes from God, they loved and sought the praise that comes from men. Their desires were bent in on themselves, bent the wrong way, Interestingly enough, though, it's not the desire for approval, not the desire for approval itself that is condemned. It is not that desire to be praiseworthy that is condemned. The sin that is condemned is that they desire approval and praise from the wrong source. They are seeking it from men rather than from God. Before us today is the testimony of a man who sought and found his approval from God and from God alone. In the midst of a wicked and a corrupt generation, he would not join in making a name for himself. but he sought the pleasure and the praise that comes from God. This man is Enoch, of whom it is said in the passage before us today that before he was taken, he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Remember, as we have considered each one of these individuals in this great cloud of witnesses, They are just that, a cloud of witnesses testifying to us. And there are two things that we are looking at in each one of their lives. A first is that by faith they themselves receive a testimony from God. They are recipients of divine testimony. And secondly, that God has shaped their lives in such a way that they might then become testimonies to us. They are a great cloud of witnesses. And so today we want to consider these two aspects of the life of Enoch. We want to first consider the testimony that he received and then secondly consider the way that he continues to testify to each one of us. What is the testimony to Enoch? And before that, maybe we even need to ask the question, who is Enoch? He's relatively obscure. Not much is known about him. Not much is said about him. There are just these few mentions of him in scripture. And so I think it would be good first to remind ourselves of the context. The author of Hebrews, as he goes from Abel, he picks up just right where he left off in Genesis, and his next testimony, testifier, in this great cloud of witnesses is Enoch. And so let's begin by reminding ourselves of how that Genesis story unfolds. We saw last week that these two lines began to emerge, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent in Cain and Abel. And we saw those lines contrasted particularly in the worship that they brought. And this is not a physical contrast, dividing, but a spiritual one. It is between those who belong to God and those who have given themselves over to the serpent. As Genesis goes on, that contrast is painted more clearly and boldly for us by means of two separate genealogies, a list of names and descendants. That's why we read that large portion today from Genesis 4 and 5. As these lines unfold and the character of these lines is revealed, We learn a lot about what they are living for, what they are seeking after. And the character of each one of these lines is particularly exemplified and epitomized in the seventh descendant of each line. For the line of Cain, that descendant is Lamech, and for the line of Seth, it is Enoch. You noticed that in our reading of Jude, Jude draws particular attention to the fact that Enoch is the seventh from Adam. On the one hand, there are these descendants of Cain. There are the offspring of the serpent. And as you follow their story in the book of Genesis, their story is one of a quest to make a name for themselves. They are on a quest for earthly glory. and earthly praise. They are seeking the praise that comes from men and not the praise that comes from God. And their quest is really nothing short of a quest for what we might call illegitimate immortality. That they are seeking to make a name for themselves that will endure generation after generation. It's not accidental in God's providence. that the first son is Enoch and the first thing he does is to build a city and name it after himself. That is to be contrasted with another Enoch who would be the seventh from Adam. But all of this self-righteousness, and self-confidence, and self-delusion, it's all epitomized, really, in the person of Lamech. Lamech is this really obstinate fellow. He's blasphemous, he's self-centered, he's rebellious, he's the first one of whom it's recorded that he enters into polygamous marriages, he repudiates God's justice, He fancies himself as the center of the universe. And then on the other hand, after all of these achievements and accomplishments of the line of Cain, on the other hand, you have these descendants of Seth. Seth, of course, we are told is that child that God gives to Adam and Eve in place of Abel. Abel, who was cut down by his brother. And it is said of these that they began to call upon the name of the Lord. There's nothing said about their accomplishments, simply that they were those who worshiped. They were God's covenant people. They called upon his covenant name. It is the covenant keeping God that they revered. And so note the contrast that instead of seeking to make a name for themselves, they call upon the name of the Lord. They are calling upon the only one who has life and immortality in himself and the only one who can reward others with it. And this line is characterized like Abel, a line of those who worship. And that character is again epitomized in the seventh descendant, namely Enoch. Of Enoch, it is testified simply that he walked with God, or as the Septuagint says, that he was pleasing to God. What does that mean, to walk with God? The Bible uses this language in different ways. One of the ways it uses it is to speak of the prophets who stand in the presence of God, who walk in the presence of God. It's not surprising that Jude points out that Enoch prophesied against his generation. But most often, the language of walking with God is the intimate language of fellowship and communion. Fellowship and communion that results in a sort of manner of life. It has this dual sense of closeness and nearness on the one hand and fellowship on the other. Think of Psalm 1, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. And I think that the particular emphasis in Hebrews is on this sense of nearness to God, Not just any nearness, but particularly the nearness of worship. Consider that the language that the pastor of Hebrews uses to describe Enoch is the language of drawing near to God. In verse 6, he parallels Enoch's walking with God with his drawing near to God. I don't think that this is speaking about conversion. I think there's a temptation often to read this as a reference to coming to God in salvation, because it says that a person must believe that God exists, which, by the way, I think is not a good translation, and that He rewards those who seek Him. Of course, those things are true, right? If you are going to come to God in salvation, you must believe that He exists. and that he rewards those who seek him. But the fact that the author of Hebrews uses the language of drawing near to God, which throughout the book he has reserved only and always for worship, makes me think that this is talking about coming into the presence of God. Let me give you a couple of examples. Remember, this was the particular weakness of the law itself. We read in chapter 10 verses 1 and 2 that the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities. And so it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered since the worshipers having once been cleansed would no longer have any consciousness for sins. He parallels those who draw near with those who are the worshipers. As we go on in Hebrews 10, we also remember the call that comes to us. Now, what the law could not do, God has done through Christ. And so we read in Hebrews 10, 19, therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by that new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, our bodies washed with pure water, and let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Again, the language of drawing near is the language of worship. We draw near with confidence, with sincerity, full assurance of faith, with a clean conscience, sprinkled clean by the blood of Christ. Those who draw near are those whose lives are characterized by true worship. Those who walk with God, are those who worship God in true faith. And I believe that is exactly what God testifies to Enoch. Enoch is one who was calling upon the name of the Lord, one who was holding fast to his confession in the midst of a crooked generation. Enoch was walking with God, drawing near to Him in faith, and therefore he was taken up and had this testimony about him that he pleased God. Instead of making a name for himself, instead of seeking the praise that comes from men, he sought the praise that comes from God and he pleased God. I was profoundly struck this week by that phrase. Enoch pleased God. Just think how hard it is to actually please someone. Especially someone who's hard to please. Employees are often displeased with their employers. And employers are often displeased with their employees. Teachers are displeased with their students, students with their teachers, parents with their children, children with their parents. We have standards that we hold people to, that we often don't hold ourselves to. But we're disappointed when people fail to meet those expectations. We have standards for ourselves that we don't even meet. I am not pleasing to myself. I'm not half the man I want to be. I'm not half the father I want to be. I'm not half the pastor I desire to be. I cannot even please myself. But whatever our standards, which are faulty, tainted by sin, God's standards are not. God's law is perfect. And in fact, our expectations are often quite low. How much greater is God's expectation of personal and perpetual perfection? How much greater is that standard that says, you shall be holy for I am holy. you are to perfectly reflect my holy character. Just think about the perfect righteousness of God. We hardly have the capacity to do it because all of our experience is so tainted with sin. But when you begin to glimmer, get a glimpse and a glimmer of God's righteous perfection, And then against that, you hear the words, Enoch pleased God. You have to ask yourself, how is that possible? How is it possible that a sinful person could be pleasing to a perfectly holy God? Was Enoch without sin, without fault? Of course not. He bore the same curse as those he prophesied against. All of the sins that you heard rattled off in Jude were sins that plagued Enoch's own heart. And yet he was God's witness against them. So how is it that you can read in your Bibles that Enoch pleased God? Fortunately, the answer key is also there. It was by faith. Verse six tells us, without faith, it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who seek Him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. You cannot please God without faith. There is nothing you can do, there is nothing you can bring, there is nothing you can say, no prayer you can offer that will make you acceptable to God. Without faith, It is impossible to please God. That's the easy thing to understand. But beloved, the wondrous mind-blowing thing is the reverse of that. That with faith, it is possible for you to please God. That it is actually possible for you you to be pleasing to God. Why? What is faith? It is because of the nature of faith itself, because faith looks away from itself. Because faith is, as we say in theological terms, extraspective. It looks outside of itself to another. Because it looks to the one whom God provides as the only way by which we may draw near. Because faith says with the hymn writer, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Faith is at the same time as we saw last week with Abel. It is both the acknowledgement of your dire need and it is the apprehension of God's provision for that need. It is the empty hand that receives the gift. For whoever would draw near to God must believe, must believe that he is and that he rewards those who seek him. I told you that I'm not happy with the translation that he exists. I think it's a liberty that is uncalled for here. I just don't think that's what's in view. This isn't like the verse that you go to to prove that atheists must believe or something. What the Greek literally says is that he is. And I can't help but think that that is an allusion to the divine name. To the one who says, I am, right? To the self-existent one. Yes, his existence is in view, certainly, but it is so much more than that. It is the fact that he is, that I am. That covenantal name that communicates all that God is to his people, just as Enoch was calling upon the name of the Lord. Literally, the one whose name is I am, who is. So all must draw near to him as the one who is. And as they believe that he is, they also believe that he is the rewarder of those who seek him. Now, if your mind is being blown by the fact that you can actually be pleasing to God by faith, it should be blown even more by the fact that God says that He rewards those who draw near to Him. What is that reward? Well, what is that reward in the life of Enoch? God took him so that he would not see death. In other words, the reward is life. And where did God take him? God took him to himself. The reward was not simply unending earthly life, but eternal life in God's own presence. So you see, beloved, the glory of this is that God is not simply the rewarder of those who seek him. But He is at the same time the reward of those who seek Him. And that's exactly what God said to Abraham. Abraham, do not be afraid. I am your shield. I am your very great reward. That is the testimony to Enoch. That Enoch received life in the presence of the Lord, that he was taken away, that he should not see death. But beloved Enoch's life of drawing near to God and walking with God continues to testify to you. In many ways, I think that Abel and Enoch sort of step into the courtroom drama of redemption together. I think they sort of witness to us the two ways in which people enter into God's presence. Isn't it said that when the Lord returns, those who are dead will be caught up first? Those who have been martyred, those who have been slain for their faith will be caught up first, and the dead in Christ shall rise. And then those of us who are alive and who remain will be caught up. It's like Abel and Enoch together show forth the glories of what will happen when Christ comes. Enoch testifies to us. He continues to testify to us. What does he testify to you? Well, I think to distill this out. and to bring this to a conclusion. First, beloved, Enoch testifies to you that you may be pleasing to God. That in spite of the myriad ways in which you prove yourselves unpleasant, in spite of the ways in which you have sought to make a name for yourself and manifested your self-righteousness and self-conscience and self-delusion, In spite of all of those things, when you like Abel and like Enoch draw near to God in true faith and true repentance, you hear the testimony of God's word that you are pleasing to me. And it is not because you are pleasing in and of yourself, but it is because by faith you have been united to the son of whom it is said, this is my beloved son and whom I'm well pleased. We are pleasing to God because, well, not because of anything that we would bring, but because all that we have brought, our self-righteousness and confidence and delusion and malcontentment and all those sins rattled off. All of those things have been counted to Christ upon the cross. As Peter says, he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. There the sinless, righteous, glorious Son of God offered up his perfectly pleasing life, a perfectly pleasing sacrifice to God, and satisfied all the wrath of God that was due to you for sin, so that instead of the eternal torment of death, you are counted as impeccably pleasing in Christ's sight. That instead of death, you get life. Not just unending earthly life, but resurrection life. Life in the presence of God. Life in the presence of the one who rewards you with himself. And already, we come and participate in that. We participate in it even now, as with confidence we are drawing near to God's presence. Our lives are hidden with Christ and God, and therefore we can confidently come into his presence, assured that we are pleasing to him. But I think, beloved, if that is true, if you are perfectly pleasing to God, if the thrice holy God testifies to you and says, Enoch pleases me, If He says, Dave pleases me, John pleases me. If He says, Mary Ann pleases me. If He says, Joel pleases me. And He says, I'm going to take you to where I am. If that is true, then what need is there to grovel after the pleasure and approval that comes from man? Are we not freed? Are we not set at liberty from that vain approval? Don't misunderstand me, I'm not giving you a license to be unpleasant, to be ornery, to be curmudgeon. But what I am saying is that you are free to live for the glory and the praise of God. Isn't that the thing the Bible says to us all over the place? Isn't that the way Paul teaches us we're to conduct ourselves not by way of eye service, as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You're serving the Lord Christ, the Lord who is both the rewarder and the reward. And so, beloved, we are set free from the need to be approval junkies, to be seeking after, groveling after the approval of men because we have the approval of God and Christ. And I think at the same time, because we know that we have received this as a gift of grace, because it is not because of anything in us, we can begin to extend grace to others who don't meet our expectations. We can learn to better suffer our fellow members, our children, our spouses, that having been shown grace and having reflected upon the cost paid by our Savior, we can point one another to His throne of grace. We can, as Hebrew says, consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself so that we might not grow weary or faint-hearted. He is the one we are to look to after all. He is the chief witness that all of Hebrews 11 is building to. It culminates with those words, therefore look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith. Today, Enoch testifies to us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. But with faith, beloved, with faith you may be assured that you are pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, as we read your word and even as we read, read of the prophecy of Enoch against his generation and of all of the ungodliness and the usurping and the rebellion and the desire to grovel after the praise of men. When we read of these things, we confess that we, we hear ourselves and our own sins But Lord, we thank you for the testimony of Enoch, that we might even condemn ourselves and by faith cling to Christ. That we might even look in faith, walking with you, drawing near to you, coming with nothing in our hands, but simply clinging to our Savior. Because without faith, it is impossible to please you. But Lord, we believe that you are the covenant-keeping God, the one who is, I am, and you are the rewarder of those who seek you. And so, Lord, we pray that you would, like Enoch, reward us with life in your presence for Christ's sake. In whose name we pray, amen. Amen. Well, beloved, let us respond by singing together. A hymn number 304, Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty.