ARE YOU PLEASING TO GOD? A Sermon Study of Hebrews 11:5 and Being Pleasing as Enoch
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In Hebrews 11:5 it says:
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not
see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the
witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.”
The
Scripture speaks of being pleasing to God.
It is a high duty of the Christian.
If we are pleasing to God, we will enjoy Him and glorify Him
forever. It is by grace alone. The Christian’s pursuit is to be pleasing to
God. To which God? There are many Gods of the world
religions. But when I speak of God, I
mean the God of the Christian Bible. The
Christian must pursue be pleasing to God.
It is essential because God commands it.
He commands obedience; He commands loyalty; He commands things that
please Him. How many of us are pleasing
to God? How many of us are pleasing to
God as David was? What about Moses, or
Noah? What about Enoch or Elijah? Again, our chief duty is to be pleasing to
God. He should be our focus. People think, “I must please my boss” or that
“I must be my wife” or “I must please my husband.” Yes, these things are important, and we, as
Christians are to seek to please others in our life, but Who should be our
chief focus of pleasing God? Why, it is
God alone. He is the One who should seek
to please.
Let’s
turn to Gen. 5:22: “Then Enoch walked…”
What else do we know about Enoch?
The Blessed New Testament Scriptures speak of Enoch. Yes, the man who walked with God. In Hebrews 11:5:
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would
not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he
obtained
the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.”
What does the Scripture say about Enoch? Before he was taken up, he was
pleasing to
God. Is your walk with Christ, pleasing
to God? That which comes out of your mouth;
what you think and what you do, is it worthy of the approval of Christ?
What would Christ think by what you say, by
what you think and by what you do? Do
you seek to be pleasing to God? Do you
live your life in conformity to His blessed and holy will? Would you
say that your life is a model that
people should follow? Would you say that
you live after the teachings of God?
Have you broken His commands?
Which ones? Why, that’s reason to
repent. Don’t stop there, you must
continue in faithful repentance. To walk
with God is to be in a right relationship with Him. It is a
relationship of holiness and godliness. It is a relationship of
repentance,
cross-bearing and constant reliance upon Christ alone for salvation who
paid
the ultimate sacrifice for sin for His people.
Enoch was a man who walked with God.
May I ask you, do you walk with God?
Do you have a right relationship with God? Is He your all-in-all? Do
you trust Him for salvation and for your
life? Enoch did not die; he was taken up
into heaven. Enoch is the only person
that was taken up into heaven in the Old Testament besides Elijah.
Enoch did not ascend like Christ. Enoch did not go up into heaven from
his own
power. Rather, he was taken up by the
power of God. He was glorified as all
saints will be. God glorified Himself by
taking Enoch up into heaven. Enoch
before he was taken up into heaven was pleasing to God. He was not
sinless as Christ was, for Christ
was well-pleasing to God the Father. No
man except Christ was sinless. But Enoch
is an example to us. It was not Enoch
but Elijah who spoke with Christ in the New Testament. So Enoch did not
see death. He was taken up into heaven as a man who was
pleasing to God. Are you a person who is
pleasing to God? Does God take pleasure
in you? Is He pleased? Do you do God’s will in obeying His
commands? Have you lived a life of
obedience?
In Gen. 5:24: “Enoch walked
with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
Enoch
walked with God. Here is a man who was
well-pleasing to God. What does it mean
to walk with God? Do you walk with God? Do you have a right relationship with
God? Enoch was not, because God took
Him. Enoch is the only man in history,
besides Moses and Elijah but Moses’ body was taken by God. Jude 1:9: “But Michael the archangel, when he
disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare
pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke
you!" 2 Kings 2:11:
“As
they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot
of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah
went up
by a whirlwind to heaven.” Jesus refers
to Elijah who was to come in John the Baptist.
But this does not mean reincarnation as some say it does. It simply
cannot mean reincarnation because
Elijah did not die. He was taken up to
heaven. Like Enoch Elijah was a man of
God. Like Elijah Moses was a man of God. Why did God take these men?
Why, it was the good pleasure of God. He has some wonderful purpose in
heaven for
them. Imagine what it could be! What a wonder this is!
For the ways of Enoch were pleasing to God Himself. Do you think if Enoch was pleasing to God he
lacked repentance? Do you think he
neglected the doctrine of repentance, or rather, do you think he was faithful
to His Master and obeyed His Word?
Christ fulfilled the law of God perfectly. If Christ did not perfectly obey the law, we
would still be in our sins, but you see, Christ lived perfectly, and without
this, man would not be become right before God.
He would still be in his sins. He
was indeed well-pleasing to God. He was
perfect in everyway. He was sinless in
everyway. He was a man who was God. He is God.
He is the God-man. It is the
sinless life of Christ and the atonement of Christ that avail before God the
Father in behalf of sinners. But even
Enoch was not a man of sinlessness. In
fact, only Christ was sinless. People
today believe that Christ was merely a prophet.
Other people he was an exalted man.
Many believe he is merely a highly exalted angel. And yet again others believe he is the
spirit-brother of the devil. When we see
Enoch we see a mere man. May we be
pleasing to God as he was. But it is
Christ who is our supreme example. The
Bible speaks about what Eve saw: it was
pleasing in her eyes to eat the forbidden fruit. Gen. 3:6: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to
make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her
husband with her, and he ate.” It was a delight to her eyes, and it was
desirable to make one wise. Yet what she
found delightful God abhorred. The Bible
says there is a way that seems right to a man but it ends in destruction for it
says in Prov. 14:12:
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to
death.” What happened with Adam and
Eve? It ended in death. The consequence of their sin ended in
physical death and spiritual death. The
results of Adam’s sin is original sin.
Think about this: have you ever
had a way seem right to you but later on, by God’s grace, discovered it would
end in death? How many people live their
lives with a false hope, thinking sincerity will save them? How many times have people been sincerely
wrong? Ecc. 7:26 says,“who is pleasing
to God will escape from her.” Did Joseph
escape his rapist? How she wanted to get
him and have him submit to her ways of sexual lust and immorality. But
what happen? Joseph ran!
Do this as Joseph did. Run away
from sin, and stay the course, not turning to the right, or to the left,
but
reaching forward to Christ. Joseph was a
man who was pleasing to God. He was a
man of integrity and conviction, a man of faith who trusted God. He is a
picture of Christ. When we say this we do not mean he was
sinless. But he did indeed as even David
did, picture Christ. Are you pleasing to
God to escape from sin? By His kindness,
does He bid you repentance? We praise
God for repentance and faith. We praise
God for His glorious gospel. Why was the
sacrifice of Cain not pleasing to God but rather that of Abel? Why, it
was because of his heart. Is you’re heart pleasing to God? Do you have
a good conscience before God and
man? If your heart pleasing before God,
rejoice, and continue in fear and trembling making sure you are one of
the
elect.
May I add, always pleasing for the God-breathed text says in John 8:29: "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." Who can say among us that they always do what is pleasing to God our Father? Who among us is not a sinner in need of a Savior and Redeemer? Yes, this verse teaches that Jesus is sinless; His whole life is a life of sinlessness. Now I turn to you, dear sinner. Enoch was a poor sinner but by God’s grace, like His people, walk with God. It says in 2 Corinthians 5:9: “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” I believe it is safe to say that Enoch had ambition that was pleasing to God. Look to Enoch if you want a mere human example but look to our Master as Enoch did, Christ, the eternal King. Our ambition is to pleasing to God, the Holy Trinity. Whether we are home or abroad, we must be pleasing to God. Is your ambition pleasing to God? What motives you? Do you do things for God’s glory alone? Or do you seek things for selfish reasons? If you do things for selfish reasons, may I ask you a question: Will you repent through Christ crucified, or you will linger in your sin, and remain in your sin? Those who remain in their sins lead to destruction. If you are in Christ, you must repent, for you know there is no condemnation in Christ. If you find yourself lacks, wake up! And turn to Christ for forgiveness. This is a day of mercy for the outcast but there foot will slip if they persistent in rejecting repentance. So it is essential in the Christian life to be pleasing to God. Yes, even your ambition. Now I direct your attention to an important matter: learning. Do you love God with Your whole mind, with your whole understanding? How many among us love God with our minds? Yes, even our minds. In Ephesians 5:10: “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” Do you learn the things of God? Do you love God’s truth? Do you love what is pleasing to Him? Enoch was a man who learned what pleased God. Learning what pleases God is a characteristic of pleasing Him. Oh, how much time Enoch spent learning what pleased God! In our day there are cults who claim to represent our God. Yet they deny Him in sound doctrine. They reject sound doctrine and adopt that which tickles their ears. Flee from this for it is the way of death. Rather, flee to Christ and His Word. His Word is where You find Him speaking about Himself. Man’s visions will not cut it. Man’s opinions end in dust. But God’s truth is matchless. That is what you should seek. His truth not man’s traditions. Yes, it is God’s divine Reformed truth that is sound doctrine. We are to use sound words for sound teaching. We live in a day of increasing confusion and muddled theology. Flee from this, and always embrace what is sound. We get sound teaching from the sound Word. The Word is spiritually reasonable but man is spiritually irrational. May we flee to the Truth itself; Jesus Christ, Who is Incarnate Truth. Paul speaks in Phil. 4:18, “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” Is your life an aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God? Enoch’s life was a life that was as this verse speaks, for he lived a life of obedience for Christ. Now I shall turn to a message to children for the Scripture says in Col. 3:20: “Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.” Children, are you obedient to your parents in all things? Do you seek to be well-pleasing to the Lord? But I take it that the adults listening, will say, how does this apply to me? Are you not a child of the King? Turn to Him in faithful repentance! Was there a time when you disobeyed your parents? Have you repented? I say to all, be obedient then as your Lord was, for He desires you to be obedient so you may walk in accord with Him, and be obedient as His faithful follower.
May I add, always pleasing for the God-breathed text says in John 8:29: "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." Who can say among us that they always do what is pleasing to God our Father? Who among us is not a sinner in need of a Savior and Redeemer? Yes, this verse teaches that Jesus is sinless; His whole life is a life of sinlessness. Now I turn to you, dear sinner. Enoch was a poor sinner but by God’s grace, like His people, walk with God. It says in 2 Corinthians 5:9: “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” I believe it is safe to say that Enoch had ambition that was pleasing to God. Look to Enoch if you want a mere human example but look to our Master as Enoch did, Christ, the eternal King. Our ambition is to pleasing to God, the Holy Trinity. Whether we are home or abroad, we must be pleasing to God. Is your ambition pleasing to God? What motives you? Do you do things for God’s glory alone? Or do you seek things for selfish reasons? If you do things for selfish reasons, may I ask you a question: Will you repent through Christ crucified, or you will linger in your sin, and remain in your sin? Those who remain in their sins lead to destruction. If you are in Christ, you must repent, for you know there is no condemnation in Christ. If you find yourself lacks, wake up! And turn to Christ for forgiveness. This is a day of mercy for the outcast but there foot will slip if they persistent in rejecting repentance. So it is essential in the Christian life to be pleasing to God. Yes, even your ambition. Now I direct your attention to an important matter: learning. Do you love God with Your whole mind, with your whole understanding? How many among us love God with our minds? Yes, even our minds. In Ephesians 5:10: “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” Do you learn the things of God? Do you love God’s truth? Do you love what is pleasing to Him? Enoch was a man who learned what pleased God. Learning what pleases God is a characteristic of pleasing Him. Oh, how much time Enoch spent learning what pleased God! In our day there are cults who claim to represent our God. Yet they deny Him in sound doctrine. They reject sound doctrine and adopt that which tickles their ears. Flee from this for it is the way of death. Rather, flee to Christ and His Word. His Word is where You find Him speaking about Himself. Man’s visions will not cut it. Man’s opinions end in dust. But God’s truth is matchless. That is what you should seek. His truth not man’s traditions. Yes, it is God’s divine Reformed truth that is sound doctrine. We are to use sound words for sound teaching. We live in a day of increasing confusion and muddled theology. Flee from this, and always embrace what is sound. We get sound teaching from the sound Word. The Word is spiritually reasonable but man is spiritually irrational. May we flee to the Truth itself; Jesus Christ, Who is Incarnate Truth. Paul speaks in Phil. 4:18, “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” Is your life an aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God? Enoch’s life was a life that was as this verse speaks, for he lived a life of obedience for Christ. Now I shall turn to a message to children for the Scripture says in Col. 3:20: “Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.” Children, are you obedient to your parents in all things? Do you seek to be well-pleasing to the Lord? But I take it that the adults listening, will say, how does this apply to me? Are you not a child of the King? Turn to Him in faithful repentance! Was there a time when you disobeyed your parents? Have you repented? I say to all, be obedient then as your Lord was, for He desires you to be obedient so you may walk in accord with Him, and be obedient as His faithful follower.
Let’s look at the Old Testament verses that speak
of pleasing God:
1 Kings 3:6-14 declares,
6Then Solomon said, "You have shown great
lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before
You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You
have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son
to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7"Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your
servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not
know how to go out or come in.
8"Your servant is in the midst of Your people
which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or
counted.
9"So give Your servant an understanding heart
to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge
this great people of Yours?"
10It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that
Solomon had asked this thing.
11God said to him, "Because you have asked this
thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for
yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for
yourself discernment to understand justice,
12behold, I have done according to your words Behold,
I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one
like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.
13"I have also given you what you have not
asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings
like you all your days.
14"If you walk in My ways, keeping
My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong
your days."
Solomon
asked a thing which was pleasing to
God. God reacted to Solomon’s pleasing
statement. Solomon’s heart was pleasing
to God. He reacted in a positive way
because Solomon spoke in an obedient way.
God was pleased with what Solomon had said. How many of us say pleasing
things to
God? How many of us sin in prayer, and
offer God a stench in His nostrils? Enoch
said things pleasing to God for He walked with God. We must repent if
we have said or spoken
displeasing things before God. What is
displeasing? Do you think it is only
when you speak to Him? Do you think it
is only in prayer where you can say things that are displeasing to Him?
I tell you, no! You are in His presence all days. There is never a
time when you are not in His
presence. You must always say pleasing
things to Him. You must always say
things that are pleasing to Him wherever you are. And whatever you say
to whoever, must still
be pleasing to Him. What a great sin it
is when we pray to God and sin! But it
is still a sin to speak to your neighbor in an unloving way! God is
watching; He is listening. Yes, God is there, He hears everything. He
will not tolerate sin in your life. He commands that all men everywhere
repent
and believe in His Son, the Incarnate Lamb of God, the God-man, God the
Son,
the Second Person of the Trinity. We
ought to rejoice when we say things that are pleasing to God, because we
have
pleased our Lord and Master. But when we
displease Him, we ought to react in hatred of our sin, and grieve over
all our
sin. This is true repentance. For when we ask God for forgiveness
through His
crucified Son, we have it. To please the
Father of lights, the King of kings and the Spirit of life, is no small
matter. When we please God, we honor
Him, and we ought to praise Him. This is
not merely a duty but a joy and a time of praise unto Him. May we live
our lives pleasing to Him, and to
do it, for His matchless glory!
Let’s turn to Psalm 104:34:
“Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in
the LORD.” I am sure the meditation of the heart of
Enoch was pleasing to God. He was a man
glad in the Lord. The way of the East is
to clear of our minds of everything. But
the way of meditation for the Christian is to fill our minds with
Scripture. To fill our minds with
Scripture is to please the Lord. I long
to improve on this in my life. What
about you? To meditate on the Lord, is
to be glad in the Lord. Meditation is to
be pleasing to God because it is His matchless Word. His Word is no
mere human invention but it is
divine rather then human in origin (HH).
God’s Word is to be used in our minds.
We are to do this to become nourished in the Word. The Word changes the
heart. The Word is the changeless message but the
heart needs to be changed. After someone
is changed in monergistic regeneration (that is, being sovereignly born
again)—it
is through the divine Word and the divine Spirit. When the heart is
changed, His people have a
new disposition, and now a changed will.
The business of the Christian is seeking after God. No human being has
ever sought after God
until they become a Christian. Romans 3
says no one can seek after God.
Why? Because man is totally
unable to embrace that which is spiritually good, that is, the gospel.
John 6 makes this clear. God grants what He commands which is pleasing
to Him in the manifestation in the life of His people. So when God
first changes the heart, the
heart is really changed. It is
spiritually betting. It is now
alive. Only the heart of a regenerated
man is pleasing to God. After
regeneration, people desire the things of God.
It is then our motive is to meditate on His Word. It is then our
objective is to please
Him. Do you seek to please God?
Let’s turn to Proverbs 16:7, it says:
“When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even
his enemies to be at peace with him.” In
Proverbs the author gets right to it. He
says when a man’s ways are pleasing to God; He makes his enemies to be
at peace
with him. If your ways are pleasing to
God, He will make your enemies at peace with you. What happened in
Acts? When Peter preached they were cut to the
heart. God granted the people who murdered
His Son repentance. Jesus brings peace
as the true Incarnate Mediator. He
brings peace between the rebel sinner and God the Father Almighty. Who
is able in all creation to bring peace
between God and man? We shall look and
look and find none, for there is One who brings peace; He name is Jesus
Christ,
Son of God, and when He brings peace, peace is assured. It is not
merely theory but it is
actual. So Jesus brings actual peace. Peace is constant, and it is
without war. Yes, peace is granted through Jesus Christ,
the divine Lamb. He is the only One who
can bring peace. There is none who can
bring peace between God and man save Christ only. It is Christ alone
who brings peace. Who does man flee to? Some flee to their priest,
others to foreign
gods, and still others to the government.
But I tell you, flee to Christ, the Peace-Provider! Yes, Christ alone
provides peace that no one
else can provide. Christ is absolutely
unique. To have Christ is to have
peace. To have peace is the time of the
absence of war. The absence of war means
a time of long-lasting peace. This peace
can never be diminished or increased. No
one can take away from it. No one can
add to it. Christ is fully provided for
it. God the Father accepts Christ, the Peace-Offer, in behalf of His
people. Man cannot bring peace with
God. Man tries to do all sorts of things
to gain peace with God. But his ways
have no avail.
To
follow
God’s ways, brings healing and reconciliation in relationship. This
pleases God when this happens. How many of us can testify of healing
and
reconciliation in relationship with one with another? When God brings
healing, people ought to
praise Him. When He brings
reconciliation, likewise it ought to bring praises to our hearts and
lips. Enoch was a man who did all things possible
to be at peace with His enemies, to amend relationships, and by God’s
grace,
bring healing. If in your life, you need
healing and reconciliation in a relationship, or relationships, look no
further
then yourself. What I mean is, examine
your heart, and ask to God, Lord have I done what is displeasing to
You? Have I prohibited reconciliation in this
relationship? What have I done to have
this relationship be no more? It may be
that God has blessed you in trying to amend your relationship or to
bring full
reconciliation. Whatever the case, may
God bless you in doing what is right to be pleasing to Him.
Ecclesiastes 7:26 says:
“And I discovered more bitter than death the
woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains One who is
pleasing to God will escape from her,
but the sinner will be captured by her.”
Those who are pleasing to God will escape from sin displeasing to
God. God will provide freedom from the sin. Today may we consider
Enoch. Was not he a man who escaped from sin? This, indeed, is
characteristic of God’s
people who walk with Him.
Jeremiah 6:20
says: "For what purpose does frankincense come to
Me….and the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not
acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing
to Me." The Bible says in Ps.
51:16, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would
bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” And in verse 17, the Psalmist says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Enoch like David would bring burnt offerings but God does not delight in
it. He does not take pleasure in burnt
offerings. Rather, God desires a broken
spirit. He desires a broken and contrite
heart for His elect only. God does not
despise a broken and contrite heart.
People want to be healed.
Sometimes they do not understand that to be healed is to have a broken
and contrite heart before God. I needed
to be healed and I, by God’s grace, understood, I needed a broken and contrite
heart. He granted it to me, and I was
healed. Before this, like so many, I
sought healing from the ways of men.
Self-help did not work; hypnosis did not work; medication did not
work. No, these ways did not work. When these things become your way of solely
being healed, they fail utterly. No,
only a broken and contrite heart will do, and that, my friends, brings true spiritual
healing.
Jeremiah 27:5:
"I have made the earth, the men and the
beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My
outstretched
arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.” God
made men and beasts. It was by His great
power and by His outstretched arm. God
will give what He wishes to the one who is pleasing in His sight. This
man who was pleasing in His presence,
who lived and walked and breathed in His sight, was no other then
Enoch. Oh, how we should mediate on this! That is, being pleasing to
God. God grants good things to those who are
pleasing to Him. This does not mean that
trails and tribulation will not occur.
In fact, when someone becomes a Christian, trails and tribulation will
come, more then ever! Some falsely think
that trails will end; trouble will cease and tribulation will fade
away. But this is untrue. I tell you, that when someone becomes a
Christian by God’s grace, they should expect trails, tribulation, and
persecution. I believe that when I
become a Christian life got more complicated then when I was not a
Christian. Will
Christ have your allegiance in the midst of persecution, trails and
tribulations? Will you flee to Him, and
be loyal to Him, or will you flee from Him, and be disloyal to Him?
Let’s turn to Malachi 3:4: "Then the offering of Judah
and Jerusalem
will be pleasing to the LORD as
in the days of old and as in former years.”
The offerings of bulls and goats that were defective were not pleasing
to God. But the offerings of animals
without blemish were prescribed by God.
These offerings foreshadowed Christ as the ultimate offering. The sacrifice of Christ is wholly pleasing to
God the Father. It is the only sacrifice
accepted by God in the place of His people.
No other sacrifice would do. Hebrews
10:5-8 says,
5Therefore, when He
comes into the world, He says,
"SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;
6IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.
7"THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I HAVE COME
(IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'"
"SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;
6IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.
7"THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I HAVE COME
(IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'"
8After saying
above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices
FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which
are offered according to the Law),
The sacrifice and offering God did not desire. But God prepared a body for Christ, to bear
the sins of His people. There is no
other man who could do this. All were
wholly unfit and unable because they were not sinless, and they were not the
God-man. God takes no pleasure in whole
burnt offerings. But God delights in the
well-pleasing sacrifice of Christ; the atonement His offered of Himself. This was a well-pleasing aroma to God the
Father. God the Father said in
Matthew 3:17: and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,
" This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."
Matthew 17:5: While he was still speaking, a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, " This is My beloved Son, with
whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"
Mark 9:7: Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and
a voice came out of the cloud, " This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"
2 Peter 1:17: For when He received honor and glory from God
the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory,
"This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"—
Matthew 12:14-19 speaks of God being well-pleased:
“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against
Him, as to how they might destroy Him. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from
there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell
who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
"BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is
WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO
THE GENTILES. HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE
IN THE STREETS.”
All of these verses indicate that God is wholly
pleased in His Son. God the Father has a
Beloved Son. His name is Jesus
Christ. God is well-pleased with His
Beloved Son. God says in a voice out of
cloud of the transfiguration, “Listen to Him.”
God is not pleased with man. Why
should God be pleased with man? What
favor does man have with God? Man is
unable to cooperate because he is totally depraved. Enoch was not a man capable
of offering himself as atonement for sin.
He was a man who knew he was a sinner.
Being holy is not ignoring sin and saying “I am not a sinner, for if I
admit I am a sinner, I will be considered unworthy, and a slave to Satan.” Lying to yourself and to God is not the way
to handle this. You must admit you’re a
sinner, unworthy and slave to Satan.
Enoch admitted this but he fled to the cross in repentance, and
obedience to Christ. He could not believe
the gospel in and of himself and man does actively sin against God. His heart is always bent toward sinning
against God. Genesis 6:5
says, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and
that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Christ is well-pleasing but man is wholly
unpleasing to God. Every intent of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Man always sins. His heart is as Jeremiah 17:9
says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Christ is sinless and has never had thoughts of evil continually. Rather, the thoughts of Christ are sinlessly righteous continually. Before the fall Adam’s thoughts were logical and without sin but when sin came, his thoughts became spiritually insane, deceitful, desperately sick and wicked, and the question is asked, who can possibly understand it? Who can understand my wicked heart? Who can understand your wicked heart? Man is thoroughly depraved. False religions, like Scientology, teach that man is basically good. Humanism teaches this as well. But when we look at the divine Word, we clearly see a wholly different picture. We see man as a sinner. Fallen. Depraved. Man therefore is not good but corrupt. Romans 3:10-18 says
says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Christ is sinless and has never had thoughts of evil continually. Rather, the thoughts of Christ are sinlessly righteous continually. Before the fall Adam’s thoughts were logical and without sin but when sin came, his thoughts became spiritually insane, deceitful, desperately sick and wicked, and the question is asked, who can possibly understand it? Who can understand my wicked heart? Who can understand your wicked heart? Man is thoroughly depraved. False religions, like Scientology, teach that man is basically good. Humanism teaches this as well. But when we look at the divine Word, we clearly see a wholly different picture. We see man as a sinner. Fallen. Depraved. Man therefore is not good but corrupt. Romans 3:10-18 says
10as it is written,
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
13"THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,"
"THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";
14"WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
15"THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
16DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
17AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
18"THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
13"THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,"
"THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";
14"WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
15"THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
16DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
17AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
18"THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
The world wants to know, how does this make me
feel good about myself? First, as Christ
said in Matthew 5:4
"Blessed are those who
mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The
sinner must profoundly realize his sin and misery. He will mourn and then he shall be
comforted. First, sinners will feel the
guilt that is there and experience the sensitivity of sin in his life. That is, to understand that he has sinned,
and that he sins repeatedly throughout the day.
He then must repent. A sinner
must be convicted of his sin and misery to repent. But this can only happen by the Spirit of God
and the Word of God. This is what
happened to Enoch before he became obedient.
There are people that sin and do not know it. Their conscience has become callused,
hardened and rough. This is why they do
not have the sensitivity of sin. It is
because of sin that they do not have the sensitivity of sin. If you had the sensitivity of sin, you would
realize your sins are as the sand of the sea shore. You would daily submit to Christ in faith and
repentance. May you then submit to His
will in repenting and turning from sin and embracing Christ as Savior daily as
you confess your sins! It is repentance
unto remission. Once we confess our sin,
ask fro forgiveness, forsake our sin, and turn to the Risen Christ, we are
forgiven, for His promise is not slack for He says in 1 John 1:9, “If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We
have His promise. Dear sinner, will you not turn to Him and
trust His promise? To trust His promise
is the essence of the gospel. The text
supports confession of our sins, which we must do, and it is necessary
for
sanctification. And the text supports
the promise of cleansing us from all unrighteousness. It took Christ
the all-pleasing One, the very
Incarnate Son of God, to died a sufficient death, to save sinners. His
death is sufficient. What a wonder this should be! God did not have to
provide a way of
salvation but He was pleased to save His chosen only, His elect only,
for His
glory only. It was His choice according
to His good pleasure. He chooses what He
wills. He choose in Enoch. He does not choose to have one continue in
sin but He chooses and elects in holiness.
It’s election unto holiness!
Enoch was elect unto holiness.
God grants holiness because it greatly pleases Him.
In Matthew 11:26 says, "Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” God choose the babes, not the wise and prudent, but He choose the helpless, the hopeless, and those that are mere babes, and He choose, according to His good pleasure, to reveal His precious gospel to the helpless. Christ says it was well-pleasing in His sight because Christ speaks of God’s good pleasure in predestination. Yes, predestination. It is a sound doctrine and it must be handled with care. Again, I refer to Jesus who speaks of God revealing His Word unto babes not the wise and prudent, and He says it was pleasing in His sight. Jesus praised God for predestination. It was pleasing in His sight so He did reveal His gospel unto babes. Why was this done? First, it was pleasing to God. What is pleasing to God is what must be done. Babes are those who are not like the wise and prudent. They are ones who are nothing and helpless for themselves. God chose them to make the wise foolish. He chose them to get the most glory for Himself. It was indeed pleasing in His sight. Luke 10:21 says, “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” Indeed it was well-pleasing to God; in His sight! This was the decretive will of God. He saves not “all He can” but He saves according to His good pleasure as He desires. No one dare should question Him. Shall the clay say to the potter what are You doing? Now lets turn to Jesus. What did Christ say about Himself? Why, He was pleasing to the Father.
God ordained His gospel of grace to be not of works. Do you think pleasing God means, salvation by works? Or what about salvation by faith and works? Or what about man’s ways of atonement; to atone for their own sins? There are people who believe that justification is by faith and works, and other by works alone. Christians are saved unto good works not by them in any way. When theologians say “unto” it means “for” good works. Catholic teaching says that man is saved by good works. But they include faith. They do not believe in faith alone, but faith and works. But Enoch was a man of faith because his faith was not dead, he was a man abundant in good works, may we be like him who walked with God. The Bible teaches that Christ is wholly sufficient for the basis for how a person is declared righteous (but not made righteous) before God….Rom. 3:28 says: “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” Gal. 2:16 says: “16nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” It is a judicial edict of God. Justification (that is, declared righteous before God) is not a process but an event. After justification other changes will occur. In justification the standing of the sinner is changed, freed from the charge of guilt and the complete righteousness of Christ is transferred to the sinner’s account. It is Christ plus nothing else that forms the grounds of justification. It is not Christ plus works; it is not Christ plus purgatory; it is not Christ plus the saints; it is not Christ plus a human organization; it is not Christ plus self-flagellation. Rather He alone is the all-sufficient Savior Who took the place of His people. He took the place of Enoch; He took the place of Moses; He took the place of Elijah; He took the place of Noah; He took the place of Peter; He took the place of His people. Christ said "It is finished" on the cross (John 19:30). It literally means "paid in full." Therefore Christ is enough. It is not by our works but by faith alone (from a changed heart): "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph. 2:8-9 NASB). It is not by works of righteousness at all: "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit..." (Titus 3:5 NASB). These days there are some many who deny monergistic regeneration. It means to be sovereignly born again. Roman Catholics, Arminians, and many others deny this essential truth. Thus it is of Him alone Who calls: "...for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls..." (Rom. 9:11 NASB). It is Christ Who finds His own, because He first loved His people: "We love, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19 NASB). Ask for forgiveness for sin and guilt to God the Father through Christ crucified (that is, repentance unto remission). Go to Christ. Come to Him and beg for His mercy. Additionally, repent of your total depravity of all the days of your life.
So we are not to be pleasing to men, for in 1 Thessalonians 2:4: “but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.” It is God not man who has the all-knowing ability to examine the hearts of men, and His people. Enoch was not a man who pleased man above God. We are to be approved by God; those who have been entrusted with His gospel are approved. We ought never to desire to please men over against pleasing God. Rather we must please God even if it means suffering and pain. May we stand up for Jesus and stand up for truth. May we always be a people not seeking to please men but to please God. Do you seek to please God and not man? Have you compromised? May we always be uncompromising like Luther and like Calvin. Men who stood up for the faith no matter what. In 1 Thessalonians 2:15 it says, “who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men..” The people who killed Jesus and the prophets, the leaders were not pleasing to God. How many leaders today are pleasing to God? How many leaders have compromised God’s truth and preach another gospel, another Jesus, and foreign doctrine? Titus 2:9 speaks of being well-pleasing, and may we always be well-pleasing just like Jesus, who is the Well-Pleasing Incarnate Christ.
In 1 John 3:22 it says: “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” This is a picture of Enoch. But what about you: Is this your desire to be pleasing in His sight? Have you asked and received of Him? Do you keep His commandments? Do you love as He loved? Do you do those things pleasing in His sight? What is your chief desire? Should it be worldly things? Rather, should it be pleasing God? Shouldn’t that be your chief desire? Think about the positive eternal ramifications it can have but we ought to serve God for who He is. Being pleasing to God is forth more then gold, and fine silver. It is worth more then the ways of pleasure in sin; it is worth more all the temporal ways of man in this life. It is worth more then feeding riches. Why do people, who are uncoverted say that, Christians, those who are changed by God’s grace, are wrong to believe what they do? If we are to compare a truly converted life with a uncoverted life, which would be more pleasing to God? Those in sin, or those practicing righteousness? Jesus said a wise man is a person who puts His words into practice, and he is reckoned as a man who has built his house on the rock. Do you practice unrighteousness, or righteousness? How you live, shows what you really believe. So, what you do, dear sinner, believe, and how do you live your life?
Now we briefly turn to God being pleased:
Luke 2:14: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Malachi 1:10: "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, " nor will I accept an offering from you.”
Jonah 1:14: “Then they called on the LORD and said, "We earnestly pray, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man's life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O LORD, have done as You have pleased."
Isaiah 42:21: “The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake to make the law great and glorious.”
The Psalmist speaks of God being pleased: Psalm 40:13: Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
The Psalmist speaks of God who does whatever He pleases: Psalm 115:3: But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
And again, Psalm 135:6: Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
The Lord is well-pleased: Isaiah 42:21: The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
If we turn again to the Old Testament, we read in Numbers 14:8: "If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us-- a land which flows with milk and honey.” The Lord, if pleased, would give to His people a land which flows with milk and honey, that is, the promised land.
Numbers 24: 1: “When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness.” In chapter 23 of Numbers we see Balaam blesses his enemies. God caused this. He used His enemies against themselves. For it says in Numbers 23: 11-12: “Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!" He replied, "Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?" So, therefore, it pleased the Lord to see His enemy, by God’s hand, bless His people Israel. God caused what pleased Him. But we know that Balaam’s life did not please God. For he was a false prophet. We see this in the New Testament. Enoch unlike Balaam was a false prophet displeasing to God….
2 Peter 2:15: forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Peter says those who followed Balaam forsook the right way because they followed after the way of Balaam for they loved the wages of unrighteousness. How many Balaam’s exist today in the visible church? How many venomous wolves in the flock today? I have come across a Balaam in my day, but like Balaam he was defeated.
Jude 1:11: Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
God’s enemies followed in the way of Cain, and rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. You see, Cain and Balaam are brothers, as Judas, Saul and Esau are brothers of faithlessness, and serve their father the devil, who the Pharisees (that is, the leaders) served as was in the time of Christ.
Revelation 2:14: 'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
Christ held against the people, namely that they held to the teaching of Balaam. They served idols and acts of immorality.
In 1 Samuel 12:22, it says, "For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.”
The Lord will not abandon His people. His people stand on His great name. The Lord was pleased to make a people unto Himself.
In 1 Chronicles 17:26-27, it says, "Now, O LORD, You are God, and have promised this good thing to Your servant. "And now it has pleased You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O LORD, have blessed, and it is blessed forever." God was pleased to bless the house of His servant. The result of it is continuing forever. God has blessed it and done so forever. Like what we have seen in the garden of Eden, it pleased Eve to take of the fruit and eat. So too it pleased Herod to see a godless dancer. For we read in Matthew 14:6: “But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod…” In Mark 6:22: “and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you."
In Matthew 11:26 says, "Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” God choose the babes, not the wise and prudent, but He choose the helpless, the hopeless, and those that are mere babes, and He choose, according to His good pleasure, to reveal His precious gospel to the helpless. Christ says it was well-pleasing in His sight because Christ speaks of God’s good pleasure in predestination. Yes, predestination. It is a sound doctrine and it must be handled with care. Again, I refer to Jesus who speaks of God revealing His Word unto babes not the wise and prudent, and He says it was pleasing in His sight. Jesus praised God for predestination. It was pleasing in His sight so He did reveal His gospel unto babes. Why was this done? First, it was pleasing to God. What is pleasing to God is what must be done. Babes are those who are not like the wise and prudent. They are ones who are nothing and helpless for themselves. God chose them to make the wise foolish. He chose them to get the most glory for Himself. It was indeed pleasing in His sight. Luke 10:21 says, “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” Indeed it was well-pleasing to God; in His sight! This was the decretive will of God. He saves not “all He can” but He saves according to His good pleasure as He desires. No one dare should question Him. Shall the clay say to the potter what are You doing? Now lets turn to Jesus. What did Christ say about Himself? Why, He was pleasing to the Father.
God ordained His gospel of grace to be not of works. Do you think pleasing God means, salvation by works? Or what about salvation by faith and works? Or what about man’s ways of atonement; to atone for their own sins? There are people who believe that justification is by faith and works, and other by works alone. Christians are saved unto good works not by them in any way. When theologians say “unto” it means “for” good works. Catholic teaching says that man is saved by good works. But they include faith. They do not believe in faith alone, but faith and works. But Enoch was a man of faith because his faith was not dead, he was a man abundant in good works, may we be like him who walked with God. The Bible teaches that Christ is wholly sufficient for the basis for how a person is declared righteous (but not made righteous) before God….Rom. 3:28 says: “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” Gal. 2:16 says: “16nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” It is a judicial edict of God. Justification (that is, declared righteous before God) is not a process but an event. After justification other changes will occur. In justification the standing of the sinner is changed, freed from the charge of guilt and the complete righteousness of Christ is transferred to the sinner’s account. It is Christ plus nothing else that forms the grounds of justification. It is not Christ plus works; it is not Christ plus purgatory; it is not Christ plus the saints; it is not Christ plus a human organization; it is not Christ plus self-flagellation. Rather He alone is the all-sufficient Savior Who took the place of His people. He took the place of Enoch; He took the place of Moses; He took the place of Elijah; He took the place of Noah; He took the place of Peter; He took the place of His people. Christ said "It is finished" on the cross (John 19:30). It literally means "paid in full." Therefore Christ is enough. It is not by our works but by faith alone (from a changed heart): "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph. 2:8-9 NASB). It is not by works of righteousness at all: "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit..." (Titus 3:5 NASB). These days there are some many who deny monergistic regeneration. It means to be sovereignly born again. Roman Catholics, Arminians, and many others deny this essential truth. Thus it is of Him alone Who calls: "...for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls..." (Rom. 9:11 NASB). It is Christ Who finds His own, because He first loved His people: "We love, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19 NASB). Ask for forgiveness for sin and guilt to God the Father through Christ crucified (that is, repentance unto remission). Go to Christ. Come to Him and beg for His mercy. Additionally, repent of your total depravity of all the days of your life.
So we are not to be pleasing to men, for in 1 Thessalonians 2:4: “but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.” It is God not man who has the all-knowing ability to examine the hearts of men, and His people. Enoch was not a man who pleased man above God. We are to be approved by God; those who have been entrusted with His gospel are approved. We ought never to desire to please men over against pleasing God. Rather we must please God even if it means suffering and pain. May we stand up for Jesus and stand up for truth. May we always be a people not seeking to please men but to please God. Do you seek to please God and not man? Have you compromised? May we always be uncompromising like Luther and like Calvin. Men who stood up for the faith no matter what. In 1 Thessalonians 2:15 it says, “who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men..” The people who killed Jesus and the prophets, the leaders were not pleasing to God. How many leaders today are pleasing to God? How many leaders have compromised God’s truth and preach another gospel, another Jesus, and foreign doctrine? Titus 2:9 speaks of being well-pleasing, and may we always be well-pleasing just like Jesus, who is the Well-Pleasing Incarnate Christ.
In 1 John 3:22 it says: “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” This is a picture of Enoch. But what about you: Is this your desire to be pleasing in His sight? Have you asked and received of Him? Do you keep His commandments? Do you love as He loved? Do you do those things pleasing in His sight? What is your chief desire? Should it be worldly things? Rather, should it be pleasing God? Shouldn’t that be your chief desire? Think about the positive eternal ramifications it can have but we ought to serve God for who He is. Being pleasing to God is forth more then gold, and fine silver. It is worth more then the ways of pleasure in sin; it is worth more all the temporal ways of man in this life. It is worth more then feeding riches. Why do people, who are uncoverted say that, Christians, those who are changed by God’s grace, are wrong to believe what they do? If we are to compare a truly converted life with a uncoverted life, which would be more pleasing to God? Those in sin, or those practicing righteousness? Jesus said a wise man is a person who puts His words into practice, and he is reckoned as a man who has built his house on the rock. Do you practice unrighteousness, or righteousness? How you live, shows what you really believe. So, what you do, dear sinner, believe, and how do you live your life?
Now we briefly turn to God being pleased:
Luke 2:14: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Malachi 1:10: "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, " nor will I accept an offering from you.”
Jonah 1:14: “Then they called on the LORD and said, "We earnestly pray, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man's life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O LORD, have done as You have pleased."
Isaiah 42:21: “The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake to make the law great and glorious.”
The Psalmist speaks of God being pleased: Psalm 40:13: Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
The Psalmist speaks of God who does whatever He pleases: Psalm 115:3: But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
And again, Psalm 135:6: Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
The Lord is well-pleased: Isaiah 42:21: The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
If we turn again to the Old Testament, we read in Numbers 14:8: "If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us-- a land which flows with milk and honey.” The Lord, if pleased, would give to His people a land which flows with milk and honey, that is, the promised land.
Numbers 24: 1: “When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness.” In chapter 23 of Numbers we see Balaam blesses his enemies. God caused this. He used His enemies against themselves. For it says in Numbers 23: 11-12: “Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!" He replied, "Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?" So, therefore, it pleased the Lord to see His enemy, by God’s hand, bless His people Israel. God caused what pleased Him. But we know that Balaam’s life did not please God. For he was a false prophet. We see this in the New Testament. Enoch unlike Balaam was a false prophet displeasing to God….
2 Peter 2:15: forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Peter says those who followed Balaam forsook the right way because they followed after the way of Balaam for they loved the wages of unrighteousness. How many Balaam’s exist today in the visible church? How many venomous wolves in the flock today? I have come across a Balaam in my day, but like Balaam he was defeated.
Jude 1:11: Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
God’s enemies followed in the way of Cain, and rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. You see, Cain and Balaam are brothers, as Judas, Saul and Esau are brothers of faithlessness, and serve their father the devil, who the Pharisees (that is, the leaders) served as was in the time of Christ.
Revelation 2:14: 'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
Christ held against the people, namely that they held to the teaching of Balaam. They served idols and acts of immorality.
In 1 Samuel 12:22, it says, "For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.”
The Lord will not abandon His people. His people stand on His great name. The Lord was pleased to make a people unto Himself.
In 1 Chronicles 17:26-27, it says, "Now, O LORD, You are God, and have promised this good thing to Your servant. "And now it has pleased You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O LORD, have blessed, and it is blessed forever." God was pleased to bless the house of His servant. The result of it is continuing forever. God has blessed it and done so forever. Like what we have seen in the garden of Eden, it pleased Eve to take of the fruit and eat. So too it pleased Herod to see a godless dancer. For we read in Matthew 14:6: “But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod…” In Mark 6:22: “and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you."
Herod had his daughter to dance before them, and
she pleased Herod. And ungodly decision,
breads more godlessness. It was his
pleasure to do sinfulness and wickedness.
We see more ungodly pleasure in Acts 12:2-3: “And he had James the brother of John put to
death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of
Unleavened Bread.”
Our enemy takes away life, where Christians are to
honor and preserve life under the commandment of God. This is pleasing to God but also the death of
His chosen are pleasing to Him and are precious in His sight. The Bible forbids taking of physical life but
it also forbids murderous thoughts. We
read in Matthew 15:19: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
theft, false testimony, slander.” (NIV).
Do you have murderous thoughts?
Have you ever been anger with your brother?
We see the contrast; godliness verse
ungodliness.
Now we turn to the godly giving to the saints:
Romans 15:25-27:
“but now, I am going to Jerusalem
serving the saints. For Macedonia
and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the
saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to
them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are
indebted to minister to them also in material things.”
The giving came because it pleased the
saints to give. What they delighted in,
was godly and good. Do you delight in
what is godly and good?
As I conclude, I direct your attention to Christ who is the well-pleasing One. Look to Him to be your ultimate example in being pleasing to God alone. Pray that you will walk with God like Enoch, and to live for Christ Jesus for gave Himself for us; to Him be the glory and honor and power and dominion and praise and worship, forevermore. Amen and amen.
