January 11 - Enoch: A Surrendered Will
Join us this evening @ 7 for a time of worship and prayer at the church.
Scripture
- Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should 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. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Observation
Walked with God
Believing that God exists is the first step toward faith. Believing that he rewards those who trust in Him is the first step of faith. Trusting fully in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is only the beginning of the faithful life in God. To continue pleasing God, we must fellowship with Him, commune with, "walk" with Him—just as Enoch did. In the four verses in Genesis 5:21-24 describing Enoch, he is twice spoken of as "walking with God." In the Greek Old Testament this phrase is translated "pleased God." Walking with God is pleasing God.
Like Enoch, every believer should walk with God every day he is on earth.
A Surrendered Will
Walking with God implies a surrendered will. God does not force His company on anyone. He only offers Himself. God must first will that a person come to Him, but that person must also will to come to God. Faith is impossible without willingness to believe. Just as walking with God presupposes faith it also presupposes willingness—a surrendered will.
A surrendered will is a surrender in love. Willing surrender is not abject submissiveness, a determined resignation to the Lord's way and will. It is what might be called a willful willingness, a glad and free surrender.
The New Testament refers to this sort of living as walking in the Spirit. We are to live continually in the atmosphere of the Spirit's presence, power, direction, and teaching. The fruit of this walk in the Spirit are:
- "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control"
(Gal. 5:22-23).
Walking in the Spirit is allowing Him to pervade your thoughts. It is saying, when you get up in the morning, "Holy Spirit, it is Your day, not mine. Use it as You see fit." It is saying throughout the day, "Holy Spirit, continue to keep me from sin, direct my choices and my decisions, use me to glorify Jesus Christ." It is putting each decision, each opportunity, each temptation, each desire before Him, and asking for His direction and His power. Walking in the Spirit is dynamic and practical. It is not passive resignation but active obedience.
Continuing Faith
Finally, a person cannot walk with God unless he has first come to God by faith. Just so, he cannot continue to walk without continuing to have faith.
Enoch believed God, and he continued to believe God. He could not have walked with God for three hundred years without trusting in God for three hundred years. Enoch never saw God. He walked with Him, but he did not see Him. He just believed He was there. That is how He pleased God.
Understanding
What is God saying to me?
To walk with God is to live a life that is pleasing to Him. It means that regardless of what the circumstances say I choose to believe God and respond in obedience to Him. This walk comes back to the understanding that faith has a propositional aspect and a relational aspect. I must believe God and that He is good and desires the best for me and I must trust in Him and surrender my will to His. As MacArthur says, “it is a glad and free surrender.” Hmmm – is my surrender glad and free or is simply a chore that must be done because that is what Christians do?
Life Application
What will I do about it?
God I will choose to live a surrendered life by “walking in the Spirit.”
Each day I will choose to surrender to your Spirit’s guidance to keep me from sin, to guid my decisions and actions.