INVINCIBLE CHURCH 9-1-24

Invincible Church Sermon Notes
9/1/2024
Walk by Faith – Hebrews 11:1-6
Hebrews 11:1-6 NIV – Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4 By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith, Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. 5 By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. [In other words: SEEK GOD FIRST!]
The book of Hebrews tells us all about Jesus being the mediator of the new covenant between God and His people. It gives us details about how the sacrifice of Jesus is better than the Old Testament sacrificial system for the forgiveness of sin.
Before Jesus, the sacrifices for forgiveness of sin were temporary. But, the sacrifice Jesus offers for the forgiveness of sin is once and for all. The blood of previous sacrifices was only a placeholder for what the blood of Jesus did at the cross. So, the blood of Jesus is a permanent atonement for sin.
Jesus was completely obedient to God the Father in fulfilling the greatest rescue mission there will ever be, which means He became the only perfect priest there will ever be. God rewards Him with a forgiven and redeemed priesthood of followers to do His work. For a person to become a True Follower of Jesus, they have to decide to submit to Him as Lord and Savior and choose to receive the gift of salvation from sin that He offers through the perfect sacrifice He made with His blood at the cross. This makes everyone who truly loves Him right with God forever, as opposed to the temporary and repetitive animal sacrifice system of the Old Covenant.
Then, to show Him we love Him, we walk by faith in obedience to His commands. His offer is available to everybody, but each person has to decide to receive it. Once a person submits to Jesus and receives salvation, they become a true believer and a true follower of Him.
The instant we are a true follower of Jesus, the journey of faithfully following Him starts through the power of the Holy Spirit. While we are here on Earth, we walk by faith with God in a sanctification/discipleship process.
The primary point and focus of the passage is in verse 6: "And without faith, it is impossible to please God." The Jews were locked into a system of works and still are to a large degree. So, at the perfect time, God's plan atoned for the original animal sacrifice system for the forgiveness of sin by sending Jesus to be the perfect sacrificial Savior for the forgiveness of sin, once and for all.
Now, walking by faith with God isn't easy because it requires sacrifice and service. Plus, there's always the possibility that we will be spiritually attacked by the evil forces of darkness. But once someone chooses salvation through faith in Jesus, they become a true believer and start to understand that they’re "indwelled" by the Holy Spirit, with access to His "perfect power" as an advocate, counselor, and helper. Then, walking by faith gets easier!
In verse 4, we see that Abel offered God the very first example of faith. The blood that Abel offered God through animal sacrifice was a symbol of the sacrifice of Jesus. In verses 5-6, the second example of faith is shown by Enoch, who walked by faith with God through service.
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is all about faith in action. It starts with the faith offered by Abel and goes through the history of Israel, showing how they all pleased God by faith and only came into a relationship with God by faith. God never intended works to be the way we are reconciled from sin back to Him. He intended works to be the results of faith in Jesus for salvation!
It shows us the two big-picture categories for living out our faith in God through Jesus. Abel showed his faith in God by respectfully offering a sacrifice of his best tangible possessions. Enoch showed his faith in God by walking in obedient service to Him through the course of his life. So, the two primary categories of faith are sacrifice and service—Jesus showed us both!
Abel didn’t understand the concept of walking with God because it hadn’t fully been demonstrated to him. But he understood trusting God in faith through obedient generosity. The principle of walking by faith with God through obedience to His commands and plan is made very clear in Genesis 5 through the example of the life and ascension of Enoch.
Genesis 5:24 NIV – Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Abel worshipped God by faith by the first fruits of his labor. Enoch worshipped God in faith by walking with God as he lived out his life. In other words, Abel offered God faith through sacrificial generosity, and Enoch walked with God in faith through obedient service.
To help us understand this, God uses Scripture to reveal Himself to us in a systematic process. He doesn’t reveal Himself to us all at once—we couldn’t handle it! That’s why we see that Abel got a little bit of God’s revelation, and Enoch got a little bit more of it later.
Remember, Adam and Eve had walked and talked with God in the cool of the day. But when they decided to sin, they failed to follow God’s original plan for the garden. So, they lost the blessing of experiencing the full presence of God—they were separated from Him. Our sin has to be paid for before we can walk by faith with God.
Later on in Genesis, God reminds us of the true destiny He’s planned for anybody who chooses to walk with Him in obedience. He reintroduces His plan through the life of Enoch, and we see Enoch fulfill God’s plan for the true destiny of man as he gets to experience the fellowship with God that Adam and Eve had given up.
Abel worshipped God by faith in bringing the right kind of sacrifice, which is the starting point for a life of faith. Enoch shows how a life of faith progresses from there as he walks by faith with God in obedience to His plan. But we will never start a life of faith until we come to Him based on the sacrifice Jesus made at the cross.
*(Verse 5) says, "By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death." He was there, and then he was just gone! There weren't any physical remains. Enoch lived by faith and walked with God, which pleased God. Coming to God by faith pleases Him! When we walk by faith, we please God. That's why (verse 6) says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God!"
So, we can only please God through our faith in Jesus! We see in this passage that there are five principles of faith that work together to please God under the big-picture umbrella of sacrifice and service. We are going to identify them so we can work hard to live them out!
5 Principles of Faith that Please God:
1-Faith is Believing that God Exists - The first principle of faith that pleases God is believing He exists! Enoch believed that God exists! God is pleased when people believe He exists! This is where faith starts: believing God exists and that He is who He says He is!
It's why mankind can’t really count on anything else to please God. Religion doesn’t even please God! God despises the religions of mankind because religion is a system developed by Satan to counterfeit God’s truth. Think about the nuances and variables:
Nationality doesn’t please God! The Jews thought that because they were the seed of Abraham, always circumcised on the eighth day, and had the law of Moses, they were pleasing to God. But they did a lot of things that were highly displeasing to Him—and they still do! So, doing good deeds as a way to get to God doesn’t please Him!
Romans 3:20 (NIV) - "Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law, we become conscious of our sin."
Trying to be made right with God by checking the boxes of religious law doesn’t please Him—it dishonors Him! God doesn’t recognize anyone who tries to earn their way into heaven. That doesn’t mean we don’t do good things—we just do them for God’s glory and not for personal credit!
That kind of self-righteousness is dishonoring to God! So, religion, nationality, or good deeds alone don’t please God! The one and only thing we can do that pleases God is to walk by faith in Jesus, which starts with believing God exists!
2-Faith is Seeking God’s Reward - We have to believe that God rewards people who diligently seek Him first! (Verse 6) says, "He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." So, it’s not enough to just believe that God exists!
We also have to believe that God is faithful to reward everyone who comes to Jesus for salvation. We have to believe that people who come to God to be made righteous through Jesus are rewarded! We must recognize that God is personal, loving, and gracious to all those who seek Him first!
It’s not enough to vaguely believe in God! That doesn’t get anyone into heaven! People have to come to God on His terms—it’s the only way anyone can get to Him! People have to come to God through Jesus for a personal relationship with Him. When we do, He will reward us!
God set a standard, and we have to come to Him based on this standard! God revealed more of Himself to us through Jesus. So, the standard for coming to Him is through His Son, Jesus! If we seek Jesus with our whole heart through faith, God will allow us to find Him, and He’ll be pleased!
3-Faith is Walking with God - This is kind of the "main thing" here! After we believe that God exists and come to Him for salvation on His terms through faith in Jesus, because we need the reward He offers, then He wants us to walk by faith with Him! When we walk by faith, it pleases Him!
The term "walk" is used a lot in the New Testament. It would take a long time just to study it! But basically, it means our "manner and attitude" of daily conduct. A true follower of Jesus doesn’t walk according to the ways of the world—we walk in the Spirit and move in the presence of God!
Lost people cannot have fellowship with God based on their own nature because mankind’s nature from physical birth is inherently based on sin and self! So, there is not any kind of compatible spiritual sphere for us to naturally be in agreement with God!
To walk by faith with God means we have to be spiritually removed from our common worldly life into a supernatural heavenly domain where we could not exist before! It’s why, when we become a true follower of Jesus, the Bible says, "Our citizenship is no longer on earth, but in heaven."
Remember, God is only going to walk in the way of holiness! In the Old Testament, God would not reveal His presence in the camp of Israel until it was made holy! He would command the Israelites to "get everything that’s defiled out of the camp before I come in!"
So, walking by faith with God implies that our sin has been judicially dealt with through Jesus because He paid the price that God demands! Then, there is our responsibility for a moral standard or fitness, which starts as we work through the sanctification/discipleship process!
The only people God will ever fully reveal Himself to are those who’ve been cleansed of their sins and are walking by faith! God walks with them, which means walking by faith with God starts creating a moral fitness and holiness in the life of a true follower of Jesus!
4-Faith is Submitting to God’s Will - When a person truly comes to God, they surrender to God’s will! To walk by faith with God means we do things as He designs and guides! Surrendering our will to His is a surrender of love—it’s not a depressing submissiveness!
"Walk" also implies continuous! Enoch had 300 years of steady, obedient communion with God! No wonder he just "took a walk" one day and kept right on walking into heaven! God loved and liked Enoch so much that He allowed Enoch to bypass the physical death part and walk right on in!
In the New Testament, the term "walking in the Spirit" is the same thing! The Spirit of God is God Himself! A True believer understands that they walk in the Spirit, which means they move in the sphere of the Holy Spirit’s presence!
It’s just continually having a legitimate consciousness of God’s presence! Continually communicating with Him in prayer and just sensing His presence! Enoch just believed God exists! He never saw God—he just believed that He was there! So, he pleased God! It wasn’t easy—Enoch was battling against his own generation! He lived in a depraved generation. People say, "Well, it was easy for Enoch to walk by faith with God because of when he lived!" But it was tough to walk with God when Enoch lived!
The pagan Cainite civilization had already corrupted the civil systems and many of the people. Enoch was in the midst of a dark, depraved, and perverted situation, but he kept on speaking and preaching the truth—and he let them have it! He let them know they were ungodly and that God was going to judge them.
God was pleased with Enoch because his faith wasn’t just something he felt in his heart; it was something he put on his lips. We please God when our faith is active—when we’re fearless, when we confront people who intentionally dishonor Him—and we do it all by faith! Enoch hadn’t seen the judgment of God on sinners, but he preached the judgment of God on sinners because God told him to, and he believed it would happen. He did it by faith.
5. Faith is Entering into God’s Presence - This is the result of walking with God! Enoch walked with God by faith, and as a result, he entered into God’s presence! Here’s what happened: he pleased God so much that God just took him. God just wanted him because He loved him. Enoch pleased God.
Some Bible scholars say God took Enoch because He didn’t want him to get pulled into the corruptions of this world—which could be true! But there’s no doubt that Enoch had been so faithful for so many years that God just said, "There’s no sense in leaving a man like this in this world." And He just took him on out.
God loves His saints. Enoch didn’t die because he was precious to God. He never died; God just took him. And, you know, he’s a wonderful picture of the believers who will be alive on the earth when our Lord descends in the air to catch His bride with a shout. Just as Enoch ascended straight into heaven without seeing death, so also will those of God’s people alive at the rapture be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Enoch is an ancient picture of the rapture, showing that God has the prerogative over death.
People say, "I’d like to go into God’s presence." It’s very easy! Do you believe that He is? Good. That pleases Him. Do you believe that He rewards those who come to Him on His terms? Good, that pleases Him. Have you committed your life to walk with Him? That pleases Him. Have you opened your mouth to speak for Him? That pleases Him. And someday, you’ll enter His presence—and that pleases Him most of all.
So, a true follower of Jesus will offer God faith through sacrificial generosity and walk by faith with God through obedient service.