Faith is the Victory!

A 24/7 Faith (Examples of a Living Faith)

This is now the third in a series on Faith from Hebrews 11.
Today we are going to see the example of two men who lived their faith every day!

Genesis 3:1-4; 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 23-24

Introduction:

1. We are all familiar with the account of the sin of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden.
a. A consequence for their sin was the consciousness of their own nakedness which they sought to
hide.
1) ( Gen. 3:7 ), “Then the eyes of both of them were opened [not physically – spiritually] , and
they knew that they were naked [again, spiritually guilty] ; and they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves loin coverings [to hide their guilt] .”
2) They did their best to hide their sin. But man's best efforts at hiding sin are useless before
God!
3) What they didn't understand (that God made quite clear) is that sin requires a blood sacrifice!
b. ( Gen. 3:21 ), “And the Lord made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed
them.”
c. Therefore, God demonstrated from the beginning that the shedding of blood is needed to hide
our sins.


I. Abel : Who Understands the Nature of “Faith” in Our Worship

( Heb. 11:4 ), “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain,
through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous,
God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”

A. Three Things about which Abel would “Still Speak” to Us Today…
1. Abel's sacrifice was better because he followed God ‘s example and not that of others .
a. ( Gen. 4:3-5 ), “…Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. And Abel, on
his part also brought the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions. And the Lord had regard
for Abel and his offering; but for Cain and his offering He had no regard.”
b. Sadly, Cain followed his parents' example - in using the fruit of the ground as an offering for
himself.
1) Abel, however, followed God's example – and offered a blood sacrifice for himself!
2) As the Apostle Paul says, ( I Cor. 11:1 ), “Be imitators of me, even as I am of Christ!”
3) Doing God's will God's way in our worship - will always be right!

2. Second, Abel's “sacrifice” was better because of its cost . Apples/oranges grow back but a life taken
cannot be replaced!
a. A life offered to God is the greatest gift of all, ( Rom. 12:1 ), “I urge you, therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service of worship.”
b. Regarding his own worship, David said, “I will not offer to the Lord that which cost me
nothing,” ( II Samuel 24:24 ).
c. This is why the Lord's people don't do bake sales, car washes, etc. (fund-raisers). The support
for the Lord's work must come from the Lord's people.
1) Regarding the travelling evangelists of the 1 st Century, ( III Jn. 7-8 ), “…they went out for the
sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. – Therefore we ought to support such
men, that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

3. Third, Abel's sacrifice was better because he offered it on the basis of faith !
a. Faith means, “Obeying God's word in spite of circumstances or consequences.” Abel applies
this to our worship!
1) Not everyone likes/accepts obedient worship, ( Gen. 4:8 ), “And it came about when they
were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” “Worship Wars!”
are not new! The first murder ever was over worship!
2) Today people ask, “Which is better; contemporary worship, traditional, or a mixture?”
3) Their motive: “bring in more people,” “use our God-given abilities,” etc. But they're asking
wrong question!!
4) Jesus warned His people about “doing their own thing” in worship, ( Matt. 15:8-9 ), “This
people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. In vain do they
worship Me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men.”
b. Unless our motive is to worship God faithfully as He has instructed it's the wrong motive!
1) When a king got worship wrong, a prophet said to him, ( I Sam. 15:22 ), “Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice.”
2) Jesus said, ( Jn. 4:23 ), “An hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for such people the Father seeks to be His
worshipers.”

II. Enoch : Who Understands the Nature of “Faith” in Our Walk

( Heb. 11:5 ), “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 he was taken up he was pleasing to God.”

•  “Enoch walked with God” Gen. 5:24 . What does it mean to “walk with God” ?

1. #1. It means to turn away from sin !
a. ( Gen. 6:9, 11 ), “Noah found favor with God… Noah walked with God … Now the earth was
corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
1) Today we also live in a world of sin & violence. Yet we must not live like this world if we
are to walk w/God.
2) ( I Jn. 1:5-7 ), “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship
with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in
the light, as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another….”

2. #2. It means to love others as Christ also did !
a. ( Eph. 5:1-2 ), “Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love just as Christ also
loved you, and gave Himself up for us, as an offering and a sacrifice.”
b. ( I Jn. 3:16 ), “W e know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; we ought to lay down
our lives for the brethren.”

3. #3. It means to grow in faithful maturity !
a. ( Col. 1:10 ), “…walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects [Faith –
Heb. 11:6 ], bearing fruit in every good work [the numerical growth of the church – Col. 1:6 ],
and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
b. If our “walk” does not bring us closer to God – we are going in the wrong direction!!!

In our Reading we saw Satan promise Adam & Eve they wouldn't die – it was a lie!
But in Enoch we need not die!

•  Enoch's faith allowed him to never taste death, “…for God took him up.”

1. Those who have a 24/7 faith will never die spiritually .
a. Spiritual death = Eternal separation; ( Isa. 59:2 ), “Your iniquities have a made a separation
between you and your God.”
1) Paul says we “earn” death when we sin, ( Rom. 6:23a ), “The wages of sin is death”
2) Yet to those with a 24/7 faith, Jesus said, ( Jn. 11:25-26 ), “Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection
and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and he who lives and believes in
Me shall never die.'”
b. Those with a 24/7 faith never need to fear being eternally separated from God, ( quote Rom.
6:23a-b )!

•  Those who have a 24/7 faith will never die physically (if alive at our Lord's coming)!
a. Just like Enoch did not taste death, - neither shall those who are alive at our Lord's coming!
b. ( I Cor. 15:51-53 ), “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound
and the dead shall be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must
put on the imperishable, and the mortal must put on immortality!”
c. ( I Thess. 4:16-17 ), “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we
who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

CONCLUSIONS:

•  Abel speaks to us today and tells us that our worship MUST be by “Faith” if it is to be pleasing unto the Lord!

•  Enoch speaks to us from long ago and tells us that our daily walk MUST be with the Lord by “Faith” if we are…!

•  Unless our “Worship” and our “Walk” are both by “FAITH” (i.e., a 24/7 faith) - we cannot please God!

•  One day(?) the trumpet of the Lord shall sound – and this life will be over. - Are you ready to meet your Lord???!

•  You are if…, (Gal. 3:26-27).