January 12 - Enoch Preached for God
Scripture
- Jude 14-15 And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
Observation
That Enoch preached for God we learn only from the book of Jude. We have no hint as to how effective it was, but Enoch's purpose was to be faithful, not effective. He did what God required of him and left the results to Him. One thing is certain: because of his faithful preaching and faithful living, no one who heard Enoch or lived around him had any excuse for not believing in God.
Jude's report of Enoch's preaching contradicts any notion that Enoch lived in an easy time for believing. He was surrounded by false teachers and false teaching. He could not possibly have preached as strongly as he did without considerable opposition. He battled against his own generation in the same way that Noah would later battle against his. He let them know they were ungodly, and he let them know God was going to judge them. I believe God was pleased with Enoch because his faith was not just something he felt in his heart. It was heard on his lips and seen in his life. His faith was active and dynamic, vocal and fearless.
Understanding
What is God saying to me?
It is easy to get discouraged when you are preaching and sharing the Good News with people and there seems to be no response. And not just from unbelievers either, it is discouraging when people who profess to be believers will not listen or respond to what God has asked you to say to them. The excuses and rationalizations and the lack of response gets to be so discouraging. But I am not the first to experience this and I will not be the last and God requirement for me is obedience – I must simply do what He tells me and leave the results up to Him.
Life Application
What will I do about it?
The more I dig in to faith the more I realize that faith requires a dogged determination that I will not give up in my obedience to God even when everything seems like it is going sideways.Faith is not just something felt in our hearts – it is heard on our lips and seen in our lives.
God has called us to be a Great Commission Movement.The nature of the word movement is something that affects not just Santa Clarita but to the ends of the earth.God has called us to reach lost people by building bridges of relationships with them and by meeting their needs in caring relationships so that we can recruit them into the family of God by sharing the gospel with them and inviting them to come into relationship with God and His family.A great commission movement is fueled when we disciple people (teaching them to obey everything that God has commanded) and then we release them to fulfill God’s mission.You and I are to multiply Christ-followers everywhere.Think your neighborhood, your workplace, your families.Think planting more churches in Santa Clarita, in Los Angeles county, in California, across America and in other lands.This is the great call God has placed on Desert Streams and it starts with you and me and our willingness to embrace it by faith (though we many not see it right now) and to act as though it is the reality.From the giving of your time to the giving of your finances, let us be people who please God because we live in faith regarding being a Great Commission Movement.