Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
[Music]
hello everyone
this is dr tony evans with the urban
alternative and i’m excited to welcome
you to join us
on a journey a journey through hebrews
11 it’s known as the hall of faith
where men and women discovered
what god can do when god’s people
learn to live walk and
act by faith the beautiful thing is
it’s not just about them it’s about
us as the author of hebrews writes to
new testament believers
that’s who we are about how the lives of
old testament saints who learn to live
by faith
should challenge and affect
our lives as we live by faith
so we’re excited to welcome you on this
journey it’s going to be an exciting
trip
we’re going to learn a lot most
importantly we’re going to be
transformed
by the truth what it means to be a
kingdom hero
who lives by faith
[Music]
today we want to look at our next hero
of the faith as we tour this
this hall of faith and his name
is enoch and the lesson that enoch wants
to teach
us about faith today is what it means to
walk by faith the walk of faith
it’s in hebrews chapter 11 verse 5 and 6
by faith enoch was taken up so that he
would 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
them
who seek him
so the new testament writer writing the
new testament christians
reaches back to the book of genesis and
introduces us to a man who has four
verses written about him in genesis
those four verses are in genesis chapter
5.
and we can see why enoch was pleasing to
god
because genesis 5 verses 21 to 24 says
enoch lived 65 years and became the
father of methuselah
then enoch walked with god 300 years
after he became the father of methuselah
methuselah and he had other sons and
daughters
so all the days of enoch were 365 years
enoch walked with god and he was not
for god took him so hebrews tells us he
pleased god
genesis tells us why he pleased god he
pleased god
because he walked with god so the way
you please god
is to walk with god and it takes
faith to please god
by walking with god because you’re
dealing with a god that you do not see
and you’re dealing with things about god
that are
often invisible so
in order to please god you must walk
with god
let’s reverse it if you’re not walking
with god
you’re not pleasing god what does it
mean to walk with god
the new testament phrase is walk in the
spirit
so that’s the new testament phrase to
the concept of walking with
god the bible says if you walk in the
spirit
so we’re told about enoch he walked with
god
watch this for 300 years
he started his walk when he was 65 years
old
he says because he was 65 when he had
methuselah and then he walked with god
for 300 years
so this was a walk over an extended
period of time
step by step in other words
to walk with god is to bring god to
bear on the steps you take in your life
it means god is part of your decision
making
he is part of your thought processes he
is part of your
calendar he is part of your schedule
he is part of your relationship every
step you take
every move you make every meandering you
do
everything you’re involved with god is
attached to it
and you are aligning yourself with him
so to walk with god involves agreeing
with him
if you’re disagreeing with god it’s hard
for him and you to hang out together
because you’re not on the same page
you’re not walking with each other
he says in verse 6 him that comes to god
must first believe that he is
it’s hard to walk with somebody and
you’re not sure they’re there
so there is an assumption with walking
with god that the god you’re walking
with
is there to be walked with
now let me explain something about
believing that he is
you must believe watch this that
he is that’s different than believing
that
it is because what you must believe
about god is that he is personal and
therefore
knowable god does not know what it is to
be by himself
he’s never been alone for there is god
the father god the son
god the holy spirit these three are one
one god
composed of three co-equal persons who
are distinct in personality yet one in
essence
he’s never been by himself
because god has never been alone
he doesn’t know what it is to be lonely
because he’s never been alone
so he is into relationship
not that excited about religion
so folk who want religion who don’t want
a relationship is not for him that he’s
talking about
so you must believe that the god who is
asking you to walk with him
really wants to walk with you because he
wants a relationship with you
he just does not want a visit from you
jesus is not physically here and god is
a spirit by nature
you must believe that god is
and it’s a he it’s a person
the second thing you must believe if
you’re going to walk with god verse 6
says
is that he is a rewarder of them who
diligently seek him
you must believe that he is real
and he is a rewarder
he is personal and a responder so you
believe in two things
that there is this personal god who
wants me to walk with him
and that he’s not gonna waste my time on
the journey
that he’s going to respond to my belief
in him and my walk with him
the issue on the floor is
do you want to walk with god
and you need to want to walk with god i
need to want to walk with god if i
expect god to walk with me
that he is the rewarder verse 6 says of
those who
seek him in other words he’s going to
walk with you
if you want to walk with him but he’s
not going to be insulted and walk with
you when you don’t want to walk with him
because who wants to walk with somebody
who doesn’t want to be with them
so there is this issue
of the design to walk with god which is
walking in the spirit
which is bringing god to bear on all of
life that’s walking with god
but walking with god if you’re gonna
walk with god
stay with me here means you will often
be walking against the culture
i know you heard me but i’m not sure you
liked it walking
with god will often mean
you will walk out of step with the
culture
because you’re listening to a different
drumbeat
the new testament talks about enoch in
another place
the next to the last book of the new
testament jude
jude which only has one chapter
in verses 14 and 15
says these words it was also about these
men that
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 their ungodly deeds which they had
done in an
ungodly way and of all the harsh things
which ungodly sinners
had spoken against him
so now jew picks up on this man enoch
from the book of genesis
oh but watch this now jude says
enoch in the seventh generation from
adam
he doesn’t just tell you his name is
enoch same thing hebrew says
he tells you it’s enoch the seventh
generation from adam
why does he want you to know it’s enoch
the seventh generation from adam
because there were two enochs in adam’s
family
in genesis chapter 4 verse 17 it talks
about
enoch the son of cain enoch the son of
cain who had a city named after him
jude says i ain’t talking about him
that’s not the enoch i’m talking about
i ain’t talking about cain’s baby boy
i’m talking about seth’s generation of
enoch
the father of methuselah he says i don’t
want you to get confused because
folk can have the same name but not
share the same nature
[Music]
now faith is the assurance of things
hoped for
the conviction of things not seen for by
it the men have all gained approval
since we are surrounded by this cloud of
witnesses
welcome everybody to our bible study
kingdom heroes
we’re going to be looking at some of the
great heroes of the faith in hebrews 11
and we want to challenge you to become a
kingdom hero
and you know times have been tough the
virus and
racial tensions and social upheaval the
author of hebrew says
you don’t give up and the way you keep
moving is by faith by faith abel
by faith noah that by faith moses by
faith rahab
29 says by faith they pass through the
red sea
the walls of jericho fell down we are to
be
looking unto jesus author and finisher
of our fame
noah had to make a decision like you and
i have to make a decision
are we going to believe enough to obey
god’s word
or are we going to settle for the
culture that has rejected
it far too many christians are unwilling
to be identified
as a christian outside of their
convenient
christian environment god is going to
reward
those believers kingdom heroes who
decide that they don’t mind being
identified with him
saying no to the culture and saying i
choose to follow jesus christ i want to
challenge you to become a kingdom
hero
[Music]
enoch son of king had a city named after
him
he had a city called enoch after him so
he
was recognized by man but
enoch the seventh generation
from adam was not known by
men he was known by god for edict walked
with god and was not
so the question is who you want to know
your name
you can live for people and have
notoriety named after you
power named after you success named
after you privilege or you
can have god knowing your name so the
question is who you want
to know your name
he says enoch the seventh
in the generation of adam he says
was not a private christian
he was not a spiritual cia
representative
he was not an a covert operative
he says he prophesied against the
ungodliness
of his day he wasn’t just this quiet
little christian sitting in church
where nobody knew he belonged to god but
him
enoch who walked with god let the
ungodly know
that ain’t right god calls that sin
god calls that unrighteousness
they took that stand
and you are not to be apologetic that is
if you’re gonna walk with god
cause if you’re gonna walk with god you
gotta agree with god
you can’t disagree with god and walk
with god
you must take that stand
joshua said i can’t control what the
rest of y’all do
but as for me and my house
we will serve the lord
so he did not compromise with
ungodliness
in order to be popular in order to have
a big name
when you walk with god you cannot mix
diesel and unleaded
because if you try to mix diesel and
unleaded you’re gonna go
bumping along and you’re liable to stall
because the engine of your spirit has
not been made
for that kind of mixture
it must be clear he took the false
teaching
he took the false religion and he made
his
position clear in his generation
that’s why it says he prophesied he
spoke
you may work in a hostile environment
you may live in a hostile environment
but it ought to be clear you belong to
another kingdom you belong to another
king
and you represent that kingdom
in a hostile environment if the
unrighteous can represent hell
god has called you to represent heaven
because he’s invited you to
walk with him
[Applause]
enoch walked with god
one of the realities is the closer you
get to god the more sensitive you’re
going to be to the unrighteousness
in your own life and the unrighteousness
and the culture in which you live
you see enoch walked with god and it
wasn’t an event it was a lifestyle
because it did it over 300 years what
was the payoff for walking with god what
was the compensation
it says god took him verse 5 of hebrews
11 for he obtained the witness
that before he was taken up he was
pleasing to god
okay so he talks about before he was
taken up
and then he talks about being taken up
so before he was taken up while he was
still living over these 300 years
that he was walking with god god
the witness witness means testified
god testified
with his special presence in
enoch’s life that i
am with enoch and enoch is with me
there was a testimony
god vindicated him and validated him
there was a supernatural presence there
was a supernatural witness
god answered prayer god showed up and
showed off
god steered him god directed him
see one of the reasons that we don’t
hear god is we’re so far away from him
that his voice is undetectable if you’re
not walking with god you won’t hear him
give you direction
you won’t hear him guide you you won’t
hear him re-steer you
you won’t hear him redirect you because
the proximity
is not that close just like
enoch could walk with god and get a
witness
get a testimony he tells the new
testament christians and therefore
you and me here today why don’t you
piggyback off of what enoch had so you
can get that feeling too
why don’t you let his closeness with god
be so electric that you want to get a
little something of that action too
why don’t you let his action stimulate
your righteous voracism so that now
you want to get a little something
something that
enoch had because it was so rich and so
ripe
and so dynamic you don’t just want to
leave it on the old testament screen you
want to experience a little
something something for yourself he
wants you to piggyback off of
the old testament for your new testament
reality
you may not be used to hearing the voice
of god
you may not be used to walking with god
it may be a little tough when you first
get started
to include him in everything all day all
week to ask the holy spirit when you get
up
to open up your mind to his thoughts to
ask the holy spirit to give you
the right decision-making power today to
ask the holy spirit sent you to walk in
the spirit
to show you who to relate to how to
speak to them
how to stay away from that how to avoid
it you may not be used to that
but since you’re walking with god
and he knows where he’s going he will
begin to lead you into all truth
so that you experience his direction
and then i love how it ends because it
says he was not for god took him
how you live will determine how you
leave
let me say that again how
you live will determine how you leave
okay everybody doesn’t die the same
okay let’s go back to enid it says enoch
was walking with god and he was not for
god took him
enoch walked with god
i uh fly american
you’re welcome
dallas is america’s hub it is uh
i fly with americans i
i find out their schedule i do not tell
them to adjust their flights to mine
so i fly with them they don’t fly with
me but i fly with them because they can
take me where i need to go
so i fly with them because they can take
me where i need to go now i’ve been
flying american
for 40 years a few
years ago i got a letter in the mail
from american
and the letter in the mail said
you are because of your faithfulness
in regularly flying us are permanently
platinum
for the rest of your life you have a
platinum designation
the reason they gave me that designation
is i’ve been walking with them
or flying with them for 40 years
and so they gave me a testimony
the testimony of a permanent status as
platinum
because i didn’t leave them for delta i
didn’t leave them
for spirit airlines i didn’t leave them
for
any other ad i never left them
i stuck with them
and so they gave me a permanent
designation they gave me a testimony
because i was consistently with them
a few years ago i walked up to the gate
and i asked them did they have any
first-class upgrades
she said there was only one seat left
but they had just given it to the person
who was in front of me i said oh shucks
because i’ve got all these books i carry
with me and spread out whenever there’s
a
upgrade so i turned away to walk away i
said but
excuse me but the person who was in
front of me what what
what level were they
they said oh well they were gold oh i
pulled out my platinum card
[Applause]
i pulled out my platinum card because
you see platinum means
i have a longer deeper relationship
than gold she said oh i’m sorry i didn’t
i didn’t catch that you were platinum
oh no the sheet is yours because because
your relationship is deeper
so so you get benefits that go beyond
somebody with a lesser relationship
so i’m smelling myself right about now
and and i walk over and have my seat and
know that i got to confess i didn’t
apologize to the person who was in front
of me i went
but behind me came another guy
and he said are there any first class
seats i’m an executive platinum
executive platinum means that they have
a longer more intimate relationship than
i do
they have walked with american longer
than i have
and they walk with it regularly over a
hundred thousand miles a year
so they have a relationship that i do
not possess
and so i got bumped
but not to be overruled
not to be undone
i picked up the telephone
and i called my sister who’s on the
front row right here
who was over special services so you
shouldn’t have said nothing
and then you wouldn’t have been in the
sermon
but this system right up here was over
special services with american airlines
i think do you remember this i picked up
the telephone
i called back to dallas and said i just
got bumped i’m at this gate
i got it can you help me she said i’ll
take care of it
go back to the game i went back to the
game
sister had called the gate put me in a
vip
category which trump’s executive
platinum
[Applause]
i walked up there got my first class
ticket
and ain’t apologized to nobody
you know why cause i knew somebody
who could rule and overrule what i’m
trying to say
is if you walk with god he’ll know your
status
and he’ll use your status to take you
where he wants you to be
to give you an experience like never
you’ve had before but you gotta walk
with it
[Music]
walking with god is a major theme in the
bible
it has to do with a lifestyle of
intimacy
it has to do with close fellowship
enoch walked with god there are a lot of
agendas you can walk with there are a
lot of
people you can walk with but when we’re
not walking with god we’re not walking
by faith
because to walk with god is to walk with
someone that you do not physically see
but who you’re in deep deep
fellowship with so watch
not only where you walk but who you’re
walking with
a lifestyle of intimacy by faith with
god
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
you
ẨN BỚT