Messenger Marcus looks at One man in the Old Testament who never saw death. The faith of Enoch is an example and encouragement for us all. We will examine in this sermon four things we as Christians should experience if we ” walk with God” just as Enoch did! And praise God Enoch typifies our Translation. The way things are going, many living now will never see death!
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Messenger Marcus expounds the most well known bible verse. This is John 3:16. Many pass over it without deep thought. However, in this verse there is a fountain of doctrinal Truth!
The first word in John 3:16 is the word “GOD”, A difficult question asked by every child is who created God?
For the answer to that question we must turn to the bible. God’s Holy Word? The answer according to the Bible is that nobody made God.
Sometimes the questions that we ask make us just like little mosquitoes in the water looking up and trying to understand what a human being is! God is so great and so far above our understanding but we can never fully comprehend the things concerning him.
Dr Haley in his famous Haley’s Handbook To The Bible, said, “there are some things beyond us. We cannot conceive the beginning of time nor the end of time, We cannot know the boundaries of space and there are so many things that we cannot understand.”
Questions like, ” has the world been in existence always?” Or, “was the world made out of nothing?” One day we will know!
As we look into the word of God two things are very clear. God is self -existing. God is also eternal without beginning and without end. All created things depend upon receiving life and existence from God and also have a beginning and an end.
It is clear from the scriptures that even the highest angels had beginning and received their life from the creator God. Every human being on the planet, male or female had to receive life from a father and mother and had a beginning. What the Bible teaches clearly concerning God however, is that God has never had a beginning. He also will never have an ending and he is self existent and dependent upon nothing and no-one!
Both the epistles of John and the Gospel of John tell us that God was there in and from the beginning.
(John 1:1, 1 John 1:1).
John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
1 john 1:1 – That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have beheld and our hands handled concerning The Word of Life.
Our mind boggles as we think and are trying to comprehend far back into the reaches of time and to a beginning. And no matter how far we go back we can see the God never had beginning.
God never had a beginning. This self – existent God who never had a beginning actually has life in himself.
This self – existing God never had to be created! He is the one who not only has life in himself but he gives life and breath to all things.
Consider the god of the Mormons. The Mormons consider themselves to be Christians but it may amaze you and surprise you that these people believe in a god who had a beginning. Not only has the ” mormon god” a beginning but was also believed to have been brought forth by a previous god. Such a god cannot be God because God has life in himself and never had a beginning. The Mormons also have many strange teachings that are not found in the bible.
The Mormons do not teach this ( and other strange doctrines) openly to new converts but keep it secret. Even many mormons who have been in this cult for many decades do not even know that this is the official Mormon doctrine. However, I have spoken to Mormon Missionaries and they assured me that this is what they do believe. But this “Mormon god” is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible, the God and Father of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ has life in himself, gives breath and life to all things, is self existent and never had a beginning because our God is eternal.
The wonderful and Majestic Son of God Jesus, also has his life within himself. The scripture says that the father has given Jesus to have life within himself.
John 5:26 – For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son to also have life in Himself.
The Gospel of John in the first chapter tells us that life has been streaming for it from him since the beginning.
John 1:4, 5 – In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The book of Colossians tells us that Christ Jesus is our very life, (Col 3:4).
The Lord Jesus described himself as the way the truth and the wife, (John 14:6). Divine LIFE is continually streaming from the son of God!
The Son of God Jesus is also eternal with the father. Hundreds of years before his birth to Bethlehem it was prophesied concerning him that his “going forth” had been from ancient of days ( eternity). The literal Hebrew language says – from the vanishing point:
Micah 5:2 – But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Also, the prophet Isaiah, some 700 years before his coming also prophesied that he will be called the everlasting all the Eternal father!
Isaiah 9:6 – For to us a child is born,to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Our God is omnipotent. That means that he is almighty and there’s nothing beyond his capability and power to accomplish.
Gen 19:13, 14 – And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ Is anything too difficult for the LORD?
Now that our saviour Jesus has risen from the dead, he also has all power and authority of heaven and earth (Matt 28:19).
Besides being almighty, God is omnipresent. That means that he is everywhere at the same time. God’s presence fills the universe; his presence fills all the universes and the heavens and the earth. David asked the rhetorical question, “where can I flee from your presence?”
Psalms 139:7 – Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
We must surely stand in awae as we consider the Wonderful thing our Lord Jesus Christ did when he stepped out of heaven to come to earth. Jesus in coming to earth as a child laid aside both his omnipotence and his omnipresence.
When Our Lord came to earth he voluntarily laid aside his almighty power and humbled himself to be obedient to and totally dependent on the power of God the Father. He said these words:
John 5:19 – Then Jesus answered and said to them: “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing from himself except what he sees The Father doing, for whatever that One does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
John 5:30 – I can do nothing from Myself; as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
Our Lord also has he ministered on this earth, travelled as he carried god the Fathers’s power and authority and ministered in the Father’s name.
God is not limited by lack of knowledge for he knows all things. The Lord Jesus told us that the father knows the buried number of hairs on
the head of every person, (Luke 12:7 ). There is also not one single sparrow that falls to the ground without the father in heaven knowing, (Matt 10:29).
He knows what we are going to pray and he can answer our prayers before we pray it.
Let’s remember how wonderful Jesus was to be willing to be laid aside his omniscience. When Our Lord came to Earth to take a true humanity he had to learn as a child. The bible tells us that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and also in favour with God and with man. (Luke 2:52)
Next we read that God so loved the world. This is talking about the quality of God and his love. The scripture tells us in first John Chapter 4 that God is love.
1 John 4:7, 6 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
It does not tell us that God loves, ( Though of course he does and passionately) but this scripture tells us that God is Love. Love is the very nature of God, I want you to know my friend whoever you are and whatever you have done God loves you, God hates the sin that grips you like a vice but he wants you to be free and God’s heart passionately burns that you find Salvation in Christ and know the wonderful Jesus as your lord and saviour.
Paul writing to the Christians in the Book of Ephesians chapter 3 makes a marvelous statement! That statement is that the love of God passes all the understanding and imagination that we could ever have. The love of God is actually so great it is beyond our comprehension.
The apostle Paul asks that “ Crist may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, (Eph 3:17 to 19).
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In this post we will be continuing to look at “The Divine ladder to God.” As we as Christians follow Christ faithfully, there is a development of different virtues that are built into us as we are made into Christs image. We will see how the growth of the virtue of excellence in the believers life is coupled with two twin forms of knowledge.
2 Peter 1:5 – For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,e and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
A new Christian having heard the Call of the Spirit of God seeks to become virtuous. Gaining Virtue in the divine ladder is actually a springboard for every other advance in fruitful growth. For the believer who follows Jesus Christ, the development of Christian virtue, ( excellence) always leads to knowledge. A wise and sagacious knowledge! Virtue’s child is knowledge; a wise and sagacious knowledge.
On Sunday when he feels like sleeping-in early in the morning, instead, he gets up, splashes his face and goes to church to worship. He starts to pray for now he is developing a powerful prayer life. At the same time he is developing these excellent practices he is developing self-control. God wants his improvement in many different arenas of life.
As he, ( or she) develops excellence, he will be led by the Spirit of God into different situations to be tested. This testing, for instance, could be a work environment. A hostile environment where everybody mocks his Christian faith and tries to bring him down. A man I know was working in a scientific environment and his immediate supervisor tried to remove him from the Company he was working for. One day the supervisor spoke abruptly to him in the hearing of other staff. He said “ I’m going to get you dismissed from this company”. This man however knew that God had given him the position. He had also had a history with God where he had learned from experience that God was his deliverer and defender, He replied to the supervisor, “You can’t dismiss me because God gave me this job and you are not able to get rid of me”. This Christian man stayed for several years working in that environment and proved himself an excellent worker. God will take the Christian through various scenarios where he learns that God is his defender. This knowledge of God’s deliverance in all circumstances is part of the knowledge that is developed and spoken of in first Peter, chapter one, verse 5
There are two knowledge twins in the divine ladder of Christian excellence. Two kinds of knowledge that are now being developed in the Christian’s life. One form of knowledge is knowledge of the scriptures. God speaks to us through scripture truth. This kind of knowledge is not directly related to the kind of knowledge gained in the trials of life. In this kind of knowledge, the truth of God as he reads the scriptures demolishes many lies he has believed in his pre-conversion life. As he reads the scriptures God gives him many truth filled promises. According to verse four, as he believes these promises and claims them for his own something wonderful happens. He partakes more and more of the Divine nature.
2 Peter 1:4 – He , (God). has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
As precious scripture truths seep sweetly into his life and heart; this helps him to live in an atmosphere of heaven. The Christians knowledge of God’s truth puts him or her in a ‘climate; that promotes spiritual love and holiness.
But another form of knowledge is that received practically by seeing God’s deliverance. There is wisdom from life’s battle. God delivers the Christian from the many trials as He takes him through the various scenarios of life. Let’s consider for instance. the life of King David who had been a shepherd boy who cared for sheep. God anointed him with His Spirit and called him to be king over Israel. There came a time when the children of Israel were being mocked by a man named Goliath.
One day after another, the giant Goliath mocked the children of his Israel. His presence made all Isreallites knees tremble and nobody was willing to fight him. He was indeed a Formidable enemy. But David could not forget the times when as he was watching the sheep a lion or a bear came out to kill them. David could not forget that at those hours the power of the Almighty would come upon him and with his bare hands he could tear the bear or lion apart.
King Saul said to David, “ “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” ( 1 Samuel 17:33)
David took no notice of Saul’s derisive comments. TheGod’s power in delivering his flock had added to his faith a certainty in God’s power to deliver. David proclaimed………..
Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:34 ).
As David stood before the Very fearful and formidable Goliath David uttered these glorious words in faith.
You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” (1 Samuel 17:45 thru 47)
And then with a single sling shot David defeated and killed Goliath, He had learned the secret of faith and victory from knowledge gained by a life immersed in the Word of God. He had also learned the secret of faith and victory from a certain knowledge of a history he had lived, he walked up the divine ladder to excellence, as showing him that in every adverse circumstance God was his supply.
In the next Lesson we will learn how this step to knowledge in the divine ladder leads to self control.
So we can see in verse 4 that knowledge develops self-control. in other words Knowledge develops the ability not too panic. in the early days of a Christian’s life he may find that it is very easy to panic; find it very easy not to trust God as he should. but as the Lord takes him through the scriptures and through the trials of life the Christian will learn that god gives you the victory in every single situation that comes against him or her.
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