A PEOPLE FULL OF FAITH

“Before his translation [Enoch] had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:5-6). What was it about Enoch that pleased God so much? It was that his walk with God produced in him the kind of faith God loves.

Throughout the Bible and all of history, those who walked with God became men and women of faith. If the Church is daily walking arm-in-arm with God, continually communing with Him, the result will be a people full of faith.

Some conduct faith seminars, distribute faith tapes, quote faith scriptures — all trying to produce faith. And it is true, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Roman l0:17). But Jesus is the Word. “The letter killeth,” Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 3:6. Without intimacy with Jesus, the letter produces a dead, selfish, demanding emotion that is not faith at all — and God hates it. Faith comes by hearing His Word and walking close to Him. Not by talking without walking! This intimate walk with God is missing from the Church today. Faith is really knowing who God is, becoming familiar with His glory and majesty. Those who know Him best, trust Him most.

Show me a people walking closely with Him, hating sin, becoming detached from this world and getting to know His voice, and you will see a people who will not need much preaching and teaching about faith.

Enoch’s walk with God would not have been worthwhile unless it produced a corresponding faith that was constantly growing. “By faith Enoch was translated” (see Hebrews 11:5). What an incredible truth! All his faith was focused on one great desire of his heart: to be with the Lord!