February 13th 2022
If You Know Jesus When you time comes to leave this world, Jesus will come and show you the Way to where He is!
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
You will note the selected verse starts with the word “and” thus it is obvious this verse is continuing a thought that was recently expressed. That earlier statement in this case is verse 5. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5). We are told that this man “was commended as one who pleased God.” So, God decided to take him out of this cursed mortal world and take him to be with Him forever. In the selected verse we see that no one can please God unless you believe God exists. Of course, this is referred to as having faith, at least faith in the existence of God.
Could a true atheist ever find God on their own, and the answer seems to be no! A true atheist is someone who has come to believe there is no God or gods, and thus such a person could never form any type of a faith in something they believe does not exist. However, an agnostic is someone who questions any and all areas of faith, and such a person could out of desperation actually pray to a God or some gods and come to believe there could be a God. Most such people will never allow themselves to be meek enough to ever seek God or Jesus. They do not feel the need of a God because their reality is based only on what they see around them in this world.
Now let us talk about true faith which must be based solely on the unknown. What you see in NOT what you get in this mortal cursed world. The writer of Hebrews gives a starting view of this unknown, which is not unknowable, if you have true faith! Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3). No faith is required to believe in stuff we see and can touch!
One of the first lessons about faith goes back to the “in the beginning” time. When God required the first sacrifice Abel offered a good sacrifice, but his brother Cain’s sacrifice was not taken by God to be sufficient, but why? By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. (Hebrews 11:4). It seems the problem with Cain’s sacrifice was that he offered it to God, because he knew it was required, BUT he did not offer it through his faith in God! Therefore, a lesson for us is that our faith must propel us to do things that please God, not do it just because it is required!
As a professing Christian we Must believe that a perfect sacrifice was made for you (us) so that because of it your immortal soul will go to heaven when you leave this world. More importantly you must know that Jesus Christ preceded all of us, as He was the first born to ascend into heaven when He left this mortal world. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:13-17).
In this world today we have not had the opportunity to observe Jesus in action preforming miracles as His disciples did. Even though they saw some miracles they still had some trouble taking in all the power of God/Jesus. Jesus had just quieted a fierce storm in their presence, but He sensed their disbelief. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." (Luke 8:25). People today still ask that question about Jesus, "Who is this?
Jesus is the Savior of the world, and He is also a Holy, Holy, Holy God. Many believers have some trouble with this theology. This reminds me of a hymn I like that ends with the lines, To know, know, know him, Is to love, love, love him, And I do. We must try to come to know Jesus so we can work on becoming more like Him every day. While faith is essential for us to believe the miraculous account God gave us in our Bible, it requires more for us to love others as Jesus did when He walked this earth as a man. Paul wrote, And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8). Jesus is asking us this type of a question, as there are many people who may be suffering with just getting to know about Jesus, and He is still asking all the believers, who will go for us? Are you, are we, willing to go tell someone that Jesus is real, and this world is Not permanent as it will pass away? However, heaven is real and is the permanent place God has created for all believers to come and join Him there.
If you know Jesus, when you time comes to leave this world, Jesus will come and show you the Way to where He is!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
You will note the selected verse starts with the word “and” thus it is obvious this verse is continuing a thought that was recently expressed. That earlier statement in this case is verse 5. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5). We are told that this man “was commended as one who pleased God.” So, God decided to take him out of this cursed mortal world and take him to be with Him forever. In the selected verse we see that no one can please God unless you believe God exists. Of course, this is referred to as having faith, at least faith in the existence of God.
Could a true atheist ever find God on their own, and the answer seems to be no! A true atheist is someone who has come to believe there is no God or gods, and thus such a person could never form any type of a faith in something they believe does not exist. However, an agnostic is someone who questions any and all areas of faith, and such a person could out of desperation actually pray to a God or some gods and come to believe there could be a God. Most such people will never allow themselves to be meek enough to ever seek God or Jesus. They do not feel the need of a God because their reality is based only on what they see around them in this world.
Now let us talk about true faith which must be based solely on the unknown. What you see in NOT what you get in this mortal cursed world. The writer of Hebrews gives a starting view of this unknown, which is not unknowable, if you have true faith! Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3). No faith is required to believe in stuff we see and can touch!
One of the first lessons about faith goes back to the “in the beginning” time. When God required the first sacrifice Abel offered a good sacrifice, but his brother Cain’s sacrifice was not taken by God to be sufficient, but why? By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. (Hebrews 11:4). It seems the problem with Cain’s sacrifice was that he offered it to God, because he knew it was required, BUT he did not offer it through his faith in God! Therefore, a lesson for us is that our faith must propel us to do things that please God, not do it just because it is required!
As a professing Christian we Must believe that a perfect sacrifice was made for you (us) so that because of it your immortal soul will go to heaven when you leave this world. More importantly you must know that Jesus Christ preceded all of us, as He was the first born to ascend into heaven when He left this mortal world. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:13-17).
In this world today we have not had the opportunity to observe Jesus in action preforming miracles as His disciples did. Even though they saw some miracles they still had some trouble taking in all the power of God/Jesus. Jesus had just quieted a fierce storm in their presence, but He sensed their disbelief. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." (Luke 8:25). People today still ask that question about Jesus, "Who is this?
Jesus is the Savior of the world, and He is also a Holy, Holy, Holy God. Many believers have some trouble with this theology. This reminds me of a hymn I like that ends with the lines, To know, know, know him, Is to love, love, love him, And I do. We must try to come to know Jesus so we can work on becoming more like Him every day. While faith is essential for us to believe the miraculous account God gave us in our Bible, it requires more for us to love others as Jesus did when He walked this earth as a man. Paul wrote, And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8). Jesus is asking us this type of a question, as there are many people who may be suffering with just getting to know about Jesus, and He is still asking all the believers, who will go for us? Are you, are we, willing to go tell someone that Jesus is real, and this world is Not permanent as it will pass away? However, heaven is real and is the permanent place God has created for all believers to come and join Him there.
If you know Jesus, when you time comes to leave this world, Jesus will come and show you the Way to where He is!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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