Such A Great Cloud of Witnesses Part 2

Such A Great Cloud of Witnesses Part 2
Hebrews 11 & 12

All who are willing to live a life of a living sacrifice have qualities that I know I want. So I found my heart pounding and aching to be like them and to possess qualities that will help me to stand, live, and even die with the confidence and dedication that those who are watching exhibited. One of the qualities they had was that they pleased God. Hebrews 11:5 tells us that Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death and was not found because he obtained the witness that he was pleasing to God. The thought that I would be pleasing to God seems impossible. What does it take to be found pleasing to God? Matthew Henry breaks down the statement “he walked with God” to mean “That he walked with God, that is, that he was really, eminently, actively, progressively, and perseveringly religious in his conformity to God, communion with God, and complacency in God.” (Definition of complacency: self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.) His relationship with God wasn’t passive. It was an active engaged relationship. He walked with God. Matthew Henry goes on to describe the later part of the verse saying, “That before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. He had the evidence of it in his own conscience, and the Spirit of God witnessed with his spirit. Those who by faith walk with God in a sinful world are pleasing to him, and he will give them marks of his favour, and put honour upon them.” Enoch’s spirit testified within him that he was pleasing God. He had a peace within him that he was pleasing to God. There is a contentment, confidence, and boldness that comes only when a person is walking in a manner that is pleasing to God. (Gen. 5:21-24, Heb. 11: 5)

 Of course our greatest example of One who pleased God was Jesus. Everything He did was pleasing to His Father. From the way He cared for His mother, the way He lived among the least of them and loved them, the way He invited in the little children, to the way He stood up for the woman caught in adultery, proclaimed truth in the synagogues, and embraced the cross. He did nothing without His Father’s leading. John 12:49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.” In John 14:31 He says, “… that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.” It is because of this total, single focus on His Father that we read, “ and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Mark 1:11. In the Greek another meaning for well pleased is to find pleasure in.

 How do I please God? How do we please God? I want Him to find pleasure in me. So what things please Him? I think the obvious first answer is that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. Everything about us should point to Him, glorify Him, love on Him, and praise Him. When I was looking at the stars one night a thought came to me. I am a sort of a writer and so I think about things from different perspectives. Sometimes this is good and sometimes it is just weird. This particular night a thought came to me. You see every time I look up into the sky at night and can see the stars the first thing I say is, “Wow God You are so awesome!” or “Wow God You are incredible!” or “Wow God You are so magnificent”. I never say, “Wow star you are so cool, awesome, incredible, or magnificent”. Never. That star always turns my entire attention to its Creator. So then I began thinking, imagine how awesome it must be to that star knowing your soul purpose in living was for your Creators highest creation to look at you and automatically praise Him. Then it hit me. It is my purpose. Whenever someone looks at my life they should be able to say, “Wow God You are so incredible!” If I love Him with all of who I am I will do everything that pleases Him. I will not be influenced by mans opinion, I will take care of the innocent, poor, and strangers, I will be generous, show mercy and grace and so much more. (1 Thess. 2:4,Heb 13:16, James 1:27, Isaiah 1:17). Is it possible to be perfect? Not to my knowledge. However, I do believe that we can live a life that is purposed to please Him and is quick to return to Him when we fall. How I long for my Heavenly Father to look at me and say well done my good and faithful servant.

 These great witnesses not only pleased God they also had a tested faith that was founded in their confidence in God. Verse 6 of chapter 11 says’ “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.” I believe that Abraham is a great example of this trait. He had his weak moments but there were many more times he acted with confidence in God. In chapter 11 starting in verse 8 we see a man who was willing to leave everything he knew to go where God told him to go. He didn’t know where he was going, living as an alien in strange lands for years. This takes a great confidence in your relationship with God. Leaving familiar, safe, and comfortable for the strange, unsure, and challenging is not easy. He also had a tested faith when it came to trusting Him with Lot, trusting Him with a covenant, trusting Him with His only son, and so much more. (Gen. 12-25, Heb. 11: 8-12, 17-19) Job rested in what He knew about His God during trials. (Job 13:15) Daniel and the three Hebrew children trusted their God. (Dan. 6:10, Daniel 3) David over and over again clung to His God that he knew was faithful. The disciples, Paul, Stephen, and so many more who experienced difficult times but never lost faith. To the many today that truly have only their God and yet can still sing songs of praises. They have a faith that has been tested and found to be true.

On a very small scale I understand this kind of faith. When God began moving on my heart to move to West Virginia I thought I needed some serious help. I was not an adventurous person. I liked to be surrounded by people, places, and things I knew. They brought security to me even if it also contained some dysfunction. I was good at my job, just finished my masters, about to be tenured as a teacher, things were going great, mostly. God wanted me to move to where? Where I knew all of 2 people very superficially. No job. No church. No friends. By myself. The more I tried to run the more He confirmed until I had to give in and say yes. Then when I began telling friends and family I began hearing things such as: You are moving to where? Where is that? Why?! There are mountain people there who will kidnap you and kill you and we will never be able to find you! That is too far away! Are you in a cult?! Etc. Needless to say most weren’t very supportive. I had a few who believed and encouraged. So I came. And the first day my sister and her family left I called home and said I made a horrible mistake and wanted to come home. The second day I got lost in some mountains and thought, “Great I am never going to see my family again!” But I knew God was faithful. I knew He had been faithful before and He never changed. He had seen me through many things so He would see me through this. Within a few weeks things began to sort out. I found a job. I found a good church. Made some friends. And things began to settle.

The final characteristic I want to talk about, though there are many more, is that they had an endurance, courage, attitude of self-sacrifice and denial that is so opposite of what even Christians have these days. Their whole perspective, paradigm, and strength shakes the very foundation of the boxed in version of God that many carry with them everyday in their pocket. Noah is one example of this kind of relationship “He did not dispute with God why he should make an ark, nor how it could be capable of containing what was to be lodged in it, nor how such a vessel could possibly weather out so great a storm. His faith silenced all objections, and set him to work in earnest.” I can’t imagine what it was like to have God tell you that you were suppose to build this huge thing to prepare for a storm no one had ever seen in the existence of mankind. He persevered through the scorn, laughing, mocking, and cursing. He endured through the pain his family must have endured. (Gen. 6-9, Heb. 11:7) Moses chose to leave a mansion and the perfect life for a life in the desert with His God. He then came back to a people whose faith was weak and fear was great to lead them to freedom. They stood often aside watching to see what would happen. He faced Pharaoh again and again knowing that he could die at anytime. But he chose to endure and obey. (Exodus 2-14, Heb. 11: 24-29) Chapter 11 goes on to mention the many who are nameless that endured so much for their God. Never considering their lives sacred or their own, they stood to gain the approval of the only one that mattered, their God. (Heb. 11:32-40)

Of course, our greatest example of this is Jesus. Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross for our sakes. (Heb. 12:2) He endured cursings, beatings, mockings, and the burden of the world’s sins in obedience to the Father and out of love for His bride. His life was the ultimate model of endurance, courage, self-sacrifice, and self-denial. 1 Peter 2:21 tells us “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” In times coming we will have the opportunity to endure, have courage, exhibit self-sacrifice and self-denial in the face of danger and persecution. How will we do? It will highly depend on how we build our faith now. If in the easy times we do not turn our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths to Him alone then in the hard times I fear our foundations will crumble and we will fall in the shakings.