Okay, I would like everyone please to turn to the book of Hebrews. Our studies are in the book of Hebrews and we just concluded chapter 10 in our last meeting together. Today I want to speak a little bit about the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews and the theme of chapter 11 is really the theme of faith. What the Hebrew writer sought to communicate with the believers from among the Jewish people, he sought to communicate with them the necessity of faith in Yeshua the Messiah, but not only faith unto salvation, they were already believers. They've already trusted in him. They've already accepted the fact that Yeshua is the Messiah, but the necessity of faith as we go on in our lives as believers.

And this faith is necessary to come along with faithfulness, not only simply believing, but believing that brings about action in our lives. That's the theme of Hebrews chapter 11. Now, I'm not going to read the whole chapter, it's a long chapter, but I would like at least to read today the first seven verses of Hebrews chapter 11. And let me read them first of all, and then we're going to make some remarks. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it, by faith, the elders obtained a good report. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

By faith, Abel, he offered up to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead, yet speaketh. By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death. And he was not found because God had translated him, for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not seen, as yet moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world, and became the heir of righteousness, which is by faith.

Now I'm going to stop here, because it's a long chapter, and has so much to teach us, this 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews. But beloved brothers and sisters, as I do it every time, I'm going to do it one more time this meeting. Remember that the writer is a Jewish believer in Yeshua the Messiah. And he is writing to Hebrews, Israelis, Jewish people who have already accepted the Messiah. But they had a danger. The danger was simply this: the temple was in existence, the sacrifice is going on, the altar is there, the fact that the priesthood are there, and they could continue to bring sacrifice, so these Hebrew believers had the inclination to say, I believe in Yeshua.

But you know what? I see with my eyes that the temple sacrifices are going on. The priest is there, and the sacrifices are on the altar. What I should do, lest I will lose my relationship with my family, and I would pay a price that is dear. I believe in Yeshua, but I'm also going to offer those sacrifices. I believe in Yeshua, but I'm also going to go to all the types and the shadows that God had given in the past to our people Israel. And here come the writer and he said, how can you do so? If you believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and the answer for your sin and sins, how can you even think of going and offering another sacrifice?

Because what you are doing really, you are actually saying that the value of the precious blood of Yeshua the Messiah is not sufficient. And you got to go and offer all these other sacrifices that had been done away when the Messiah has come. So they were in this danger, such a danger that the whole letter of Hebrews was written to them, giving them warning after warning after warning after warning. In fact, five warnings we have in this letter to the book of Hebrews, to the Hebrews. We have covered actually four of these warnings that we have had already in chapter 10, where he was warning them and he said to them, "If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful and looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, we shall devour the adversaries." "He that despised Moses' law without mercy died, under two or three witnesses, of how much more sore punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden on the foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace." That's what he was telling them.

What do you think? That if you are going to neglect what you have learned from the Scriptures concerning the Messiah, and go back to that which had been done away in Yeshua, the Messiah, what you think is going to happen to you, but a sure judgment. Now he doesn't talk about eternal judgment, because they were sanctified. They were saved. But he was speaking about physical judgment. And you know, God is going to judge his people like he is judging the world around. God is a righteous God, and he will judge us. He will deal with us. He is not dealing with us now only as a God dealing with his creation, but he is dealing with us as a Father that deals with his children in discipline.

And that's what he is giving them the warning here in chapter 10. But now, we are moving of course. We have finished chapter 10, and we are in chapter 11. He is encouraging them to come forward. He is encouraging them to come boldly, with a true heart, full assurance of faith, to come into the immediate presence of God, and to follow after Yeshua, the Messiah. And so now, in chapter 11, if you will read the whole chapter 11, there is a total chapter that about 20 to 24 times the word faith is mentioned. And all the men and women that are mentioned in chapter 11, All of them, without exception, are Old Testament saints.

All of them, without exception, are saints that have gone before. Majority of them are Hebrews, are Jewish, are Israelis. A few of them prior to Father Abraham. But all of them are Old Testament believers. Not one New Testament believer. Why? Because he is writing to the Hebrews. The Hebrew believers are looking back at their history. And he is telling them, in chapter 11, that faith is a powerful weapon. You know what you cannot do to a man or woman of faith? You cannot kill them, because when they believe, they are going forward. Nothing stops them. Do you know that there are many countries today where people believe in Yeshua the Messiah being persecuted, and you cannot take away their faith from their hearts.

People trying to tell them, you better change your faith. People trying to tell them, you better don't believe in Yeshua the Messiah. Don't believe in God. Don't believe in the Bible. And yet, men and women of God are willing to suffer for their faith in the God of the Bible. In the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Faith is a powerful weapon. You know, when people believe in something, they can do so many things, and actually a lot of even evil things, if you believe in the wrong God. If you don't believe in the truth of the Word of God. And so, faith is a powerful weapon.

And so, I'm going to make the connection between chapter 10 and chapter 11. What he is telling them now in chapter 11, that if they will depart from following the Lord, they actually are going to depart from what their brethren in the past have done. Who are those brethren? He is giving them a list of names in chapter 11. A list of names of their brethren in the past. Believers in the past. Most of them are Hebrews in the past. And he is saying to these Hebrew believers that he wrote to. He says, if you are not going to continue to follow after Yeshua the Messiah. Actually, you know what you are doing?

You are departing from your forefathers. You are departing from what they have taught in the Word of God. That's what he is telling them here in chapter 11. Old Testament believers had the patience of waiting on the Lord until the time has come, the fullness of time. But they had to learn patience, and that's what he is telling to those Hebrews as well. You must have patience until things will come to pass. You must have patience. You must follow the Old Testament saints who have gone before you. So the Hebrews needed to wait and to continue to follow after the Lord in spite of the fact that they haven't yet seen the fulfillment of what God had promised in the Scriptures.

So now, in verses 1 to 3, he gives them a description of faith. What is faith? You know, we are all talking about faith all the time. I believe. We have faith. I have my faith. You have your faith. Here we have a description of faith in verses 1 to 3. He gives them the proof and a description of what faith here. First of all, he is telling us in verse 1, "Faith is the substance," notice that, "of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." What is the characterized faith? It is the substance or the confidence of things that you hope for. It is the evidence or the conviction of things that you haven't seen.

That's what faith is. Faith is simply assurance that what God said in His Word, even if you don't see it, truly is the Word of God. And faith is the conviction of things that you haven't seen. Now remember, those were Hebrew believers. And they have believed in the Messiah, in Yeshua, but all the promises that God had promised Israel, and all the promises that God is teaching now concerning the church, they haven't yet experienced it and have seen it. What they did see is the temple. What they did see is what was before their eyes, but He wanted to lead them on from that which is materialistic to that which is the reality.

Things that you don't see, and yet you still believe. You know, all of us here in this room today, none of us can say, "I have seen Jesus. I have seen Yeshua, the Messiah." We haven't seen Him. But you know how we have seen Him? We have seen Him through the Word. We have seen Him by faith. Sometimes we sing that song, "Oh Lord, by faith." We look above and we see You crowned with glory and honor. We have never seen Him. But we believe on the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, because we read it in His Word. And the Spirit of God convicted us and showed us the fact that He is the Messiah.

So faith is the evidence or the assurance of things that you are hoping for, the hope that God had given to us. And it is the conviction of the things that we do not see. We haven't seen many things, and yet we have conviction they are going to come to pass. We have conviction that one day the Lord will come again. We have a conviction that one day the church is going to be with Him in heaven. We have a conviction that one day He is going to establish the Messianic Kingdom. We have a conviction that our sins have been forgiven. We haven't seen that with our eyes, but we have the conviction that it is truly the Word of God.

And then He continues. And He tells us in verse 2 that the Old Testament saints have proved that in their lives. For by it, He said, by faith, the elders have obtained a good report. You know, He takes them to the Old Testament time, to the history of their brethren, the people of Israel. And He's taking them all the way back. And He says, you know what the elders, those older brethren of all that you read in the Scriptures? He says, they have witnessed and gave a good report when they told you about the God of our fathers. When they told you the stories that we read in the Bible.

He says, listen, the elders have gave a great witness. They have gave a good report. They have obtained this good report by the fact that they have trusted God. And they witnessed to the truth that what God had said will come to pass. So the elders have given a good report. You know, I'm thinking, often times as a Messianic believer in Yeshua, the Messiah. And I look just back of some of the older brethren, Jewish believers, that have believed in the Messiah and are not with us anymore. The Lord have taken them home. I remember years ago when I first accepted the Messiah and I was sitting with some of the older brethren, Jewish believers I'm speaking about specifically.

And I remember how they told us stories. Some of the stories that happened in Europe. Some of the stories that happened in Israel. And how they suffered for the name of Yeshua, the Messiah. And I was drinking into it. I was listening to what they were saying. And I was thinking to myself, here are Jewish believers that paid a price. They have suffered for the name of Yeshua. They are rejected by their brethren. They have been despised by people around them. Misunderstood. And yet they did not deny that Yeshua was the Messiah. Stories I was told 25-30 years ago by all the Jewish believers that are no longer with us today.

And those stories moved my heart. They obtained a good report. And these are the ones that are existing here in our generation. But 2,000 years ago when the apostle was writing to those Hebrew believers. He was talking about Old Testament saints. And he was talking about all the stories. And we're going to read about them in a moment. He was telling them about the stories of those fathers and elders. And how they trusted God. In spite of the fact that they haven't seen things with their eyes. There were men and women of faith. Who had principles. And trusted what God said in his word. God said it.

I believe it. And that settled it, they said. What God said in his word. Is yeah and amen in Yeshua the Messiah. They have accepted it. And just settled the question. Let God be true. And every man a liar. That is what we have learned from those men of all. He is continuing now. In verse 3 beloved. And notice what he says now in verse 3. Because he is giving us a description of faith. What faith does. And how faith works. And look what he tells us. In verse 3. Not only that the characteristic of faith. What it is. Not only that the Old Testament saints have proved it.

When they have continued to follow the Lord. And gave a good witness. But in verse 3. He gives us example from creation. Look at this. He says in verse 3. Through faith. We understand. That the worlds are framed by the word of God. So that the things which are seen. Were not made by the things which do appear. You know there is a lot of things that are going on today. By and told and taught in schools. That actually. It is not God who made everything. You see. We have been evolved. You see. This teaching of evolution. You see. It is not the word of God that created everything.

Oh no. It has happened by chance. And the things have been evolved over the years. And came up. And here we are. You see. You see. Actually. We are descendants of monkeys maybe. Or something like that. Well. The writer to the Hebrews says no. He said. By believing God's word. We understand that the worlds in which we live in. Were framed by the word of God. We have never been there. The Hebrews of old have never been there. But one thing they have read. Is God's word. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. That settled it for them. They believed that God created the heavens and earth.

God said it. And they have accepted it. Because it is indeed the truth of the word of God. Look what we just read today. In our reading. In Psalm 33 verse 6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. Beloved. We don't understand everything. We don't understand how is it possible. That God speaks. And he creates the world. We don't understand it. In fact nobody asks us to understand it. God only asks us to believe what he said in his word. And that's what the writer is telling. He's giving them a description of faith.

And he tells them. Look at the example from the creation around you. Dear Hebrew brothers and sisters. He's telling them. By faith. We understand that the worlds were made or framed by the word of God. And that the things which you see right now. They were not made of the things which appear. Even the things that appear are the things that have been created by God. God made everything. He's the one that have created men and women in the garden. He made Adam out of the dust. He made Eve out of his portion of the body of Adam from the rib of Adam. You have created everything in the beginning.

God created the heavens and the earth. And he said that by faith. Hebrew brethren. Through faith we understand it. We don't understand it because some kind of magic or somebody told us about it. We understand it because we believe the word of God. And that's what he's trying to encourage those Hebrew believers. He's telling them. Listen. Believe the word of God. What God said is always the right thing. And don't go back to this ritualistic system that had been finished and fulfilled in the Messiah. Believe God's word because what God said is correct. And he knows what he's saying. Let God be the truth. And everyone else a liar.

A liar. And so he's continuing. And now beloved he does something. He gives us actually the whole chapter. 11 of Hebrews. Is filled with individuals. Mostly Hebrew individuals. That have trusted God. And followed him. In spite of not seeing things clearly all the time. And just like those Hebrew believers needed this encouragement. You and I need this encouragement. Especially in the days in which we live in. Because we live in a time. That we live in a season right now. Where there is so much movement have grown up and developed over the years in this world. There's all sorts of teaching. And there's all sorts of religious communities that have developed.

And some are professing Christians. And some are Muslims. And some are Hindus. And some are atheists. And some are atheists. There's all kinds of things that have risen in the present day in which we live in. And it's very difficult to discern which is right and which is wrong. Unless we adhere to the word of God. And here look what he does now. In these verses. In which we are going to read today. And we are only going to read verses 4, 5, 6, and 7 now. And in these 4, 5, 6, and 7. And 7. Those 4 verses. We learn about 3 things. That connected with 3 individuals from the Old Testament. The name of the one is Abel.

The name of the other is Enoch. And the third man is Noach. In Hebrew we call them Hevel, Chanoch, and Noach. Those 3 men that we have before us at this meeting right now. The first man, his name is Abel. And notice how he brings Abel into the picture. In Abel we see the necessity of the sacrifice of faith. That's what we learn from the man by the name of Abel. It says, by faith, verse 4, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By which he obtained a witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts. And by it he being dead, yet speaks.

Now put your finger here and turn with me to Genesis chapter 4. The first man that we are speaking about today in the chapter of faith is a man by the name of Hevel. Abel in English. And Hevel, or Abel, we see in Abel, we see the sacrifice of faith. Look in chapter 4 how we learn about Abel in his life. Verse 1, chapter 4, verse 1. And Adam knew his wife. And she conceived and bare Cain. And she said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare another. Abel, his brother by the name of Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep. And Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel he also brought of the first line of his flocks, of the fat thereof. And the Lord accepted or had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and his offering he had no respect. And Cain was angry. And his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest well, sin offering lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

And Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against his brother and he slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood is crying out unto me from the ground. Now look at this story, very interesting. It's interesting because you see here two young men that grew up in the same family. They grew up in the same family. They had been instructed by the same parents, instructed by the same God.

One of them had faith in God. And the other one had no faith in God. Two brothers that grew up with the same influence. Two brothers that have been under the direct line or direct teaching of God and their parents. Two of them had an opportunity to approach God and to come near God. By the way, the word sacrifice in Hebrew, korban, means to draw near. And that's why we see here, by faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice. What he meant by that, he drew near, he came closer to God, but he came believing what God said in his word. That's what Abel did.

You see, Abel and Cain, both of them approached God. Abel came with a bloody sacrifice with an animal. Cain came with the fruit of the ground. Cain was not accepted by God. But Abel was accepted by God. And you ask the question, and many people ask the question, Well, why is it that God did not accept Cain and God have accepted heaven? Why is it? He also brought the sacrifice. But I tell you, beloved brothers and sisters, we find it a little bit more in the New Testament. That Cain did not believe what God said. When God said to Cain and to Abel and to their parents, If you are going to approach me, if you are going to come near me, the word sacrifice is to draw near.

If you are going to come near me, you got to come to me on my terms, in my way. Blood had to be shed in order to deal with the question of sin. But Cain says, no, God, I'm going to come to you my way. I'm going to come to you on the basis of my merit to what I have accomplished with my own hands. I'm not going to come to you your way. And Abel says, God, I confess my condition. God, I realize that I'm a sinner doomed to be separated from you. And I'm coming to you on the basis of the blood sacrifice.

And when Abel came, he was accepted by God. And you know, beloved, that's so precious to me. When I think about the fact that here is God, who is holy and just, who can judge men and be 100% right about this. He says, you draw to me, you come to me. But I'm going to give you the means, the ways in which you can come to me. It's on the basis of the sacrifice. And here those Hebrews needed to look back into Cain and Abel's story. And he telling them, you know, brethren, he says, by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.

What's the more excellent sacrifice? You know what it is? The more excellent it was a type of the Messiah. The sacrifice that Abel offered when he killed this animal and judged this animal or took the life of this animal. It spoke about the Messiah, Yeshua, that his life would be given a ransom for many. And there is never a way in which someone can draw near to God without the blood of the Messiah, without the sacrifice. And so it is a more excellent sacrifice. By which, notice what, he obtained a witness that he was righteous. God testified of his gifts and by those gifts he's been dead, he yet speaks.

You remember what God says to Cain after Cain committed the first murder in the history of the human race. The first murderer, you know who murdered, the first one murdered his brother. The first murder occurred in this world by a man who is unrighteous, who ended up to kill a man who was just because he had believed God. That's what happened. And then God said to him, Cain, where is your brother? And you know what he said? Am I my brother's keeper? I don't know where is my brother. And God had to say to him, Cain, in verse 10, where we read, The blood of thy brother crying unto me from the ground.

The blood that's still speaking is the blood that cried to God from the ground. And you know what Abel's blood spoke of vengeance against Cain. But the blood of the Messiah does not speak of vengeance. We who were guilty in the death of the Messiah, his blood cries for mercy and for grace on behalf of those that have put their trust in him. And so, beloved, in Abel, we see the necessity of offering the sacrifice by faith. That's what we see in the life of Abel. He offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. There is a verse that teaches us about Cain in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 12, which he says like this.

It says, For this is the message that he heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, who slew his brother. And why did he slay his brother? Because his own works were evil and his brother's works were righteous. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 11 and 12. Both Old Testament and the New Testament, the Tanakh and the Brit Hadashah speak about Cain and what Cain have done by killing his very own brother. And we are to love one another, not like Cain, who murdered his brother, but to love one another with the love of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

Now, this is the sacrifice of faith. We see it in the life of Abel. By faith, we offer unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. And that's what those Hebrews needed to hear. And that's what you and I need to hear. We come to God on the basis of the sacrifice of Yeshua, the Messiah. We do not need any longer the types with the shadows. With the shadows, we have the reality in the person of Yeshua, our Messiah. So that's the sacrifice of faith. And now he moved to another man of the biblical history, telling those Hebrew believers. And he's now in verses 5 and 6, go to the next man, which illustrate another important thing.

In the life of this next man, his name is Hanoch, Enoch, we learn not only the sacrifice of faith, but the walk of faith. And so he says in verse 5, By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death. And he was not found because God had translated him. For before the translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Here is the second man that we have here in Hebrews chapter 11. And in the second man, we see the walk of faith.

You know, many times you and I might say like this. If I have a good friend, if I had a good family, if I had a good job, and if I live in a good country, with a nice home, and a nice environment, I will not sin anymore. I will walk with God and I will live a godly life. You discover very quickly that it has nothing to do with environment. Walking with the Lord has nothing to do with what's going on around us. Everything has to do with our heart's condition and our heart relationship with the Lord. You see, when Enoch lived, do you know what condition prevailed in the time when Enoch lived?

It was a terrible period of time in the human history. It was a terrible period of time in the world. The condition that had existed in the time that Hanok and Enoch have lived was indescribable. Let me just tell you, if you turn back to the Old Testament once again with me, turn to chapter 5 this time of the book of Genesis. Look at the condition that existed in the time where Enoch and Hanok have lived. Chapter 5, it says this, and I'll just maybe read just a couple of verses there. Look at this. Look what it says here. There was the two lines, the line of Cain line and the line of Abel replacement, a man by the name of Sheth.

Now look, if you just look in the earlier chapter 4, and look what we read. It says in verse 17, "And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch." Now this is not the same Enoch we are talking about. There was an Enoch from the evil line or the godless line, and there is an Enoch from the godly line. This was the ungodly line. Cain knew his wife. She conceived bare Enoch, and he built a city. And he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Hanok, Enoch. And unto Enoch were born Irad. Irad beget Mechuyael, Mechuyael beget Metushael, Metushael beget Lemech.

And look what Lemech did. Lemech took unto him two wives. The name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other was Tzila. And Ada bare Yaval, and he was the father of such that dwell in tents, and of such that have cattle. And his brother's name was Yuval, and he was the father of all such that handled the harp and the organ. And Sila, she also bare Tubal-Kain, an instructor of every artificial in the brass and iron, and the sister of Tubal-Kain was Naamah. Now look verse 23 and 24. And Lemech said to his wives. By the way, you think polygamy started 1929 or 2001. It was already started at the time of Lemech.

Lemech had two wives. And Lemech said to Ada and Tzila, Ada and Tzila, verse 23. Hear my voice, he said. Ye wives of Lemech, look unto my speech, or hearken unto my speech. For I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lemech should be avenged seventy and sevenfold. Already at this time, Lemech is calling his wives and he says, listen, let me tell you what I've done. I've hurt somebody and I've killed somebody. I deserve to get a lot of punishment. If Cain deserves so much punishment, I deserve to receive so much more than him.

He was proud in what he have done. He has done that evil, that city and so on. We know what's happening in a period of time. There was all kind of condition that prevailed that we read in the chapter, at the end of the chapter 4, and actually even at the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6, that God saw that the wickedness of man, chapter 6, verse 5, was so great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was evil continually. Look what condition prevailed in the time when Enoch lived. Terrible condition. Terrible environment that prevailed at the time that God said he saw that the wickedness of man was so great on this earth, and that the imagination of the thoughts of the hearts of man was evil all the day long.

Enoch lived in this time. He was a man that we learn about the walk of faith from the life of Enoch, and we read in our chapter, Hebrews 11, verse 5, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, because he said, and he was not found because God had translated him. For before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God." And you see what happened, beloved brothers and sisters, in such a time such as this, when evil prevailed here in this world, God saw a man that he found pleasure in him. A man by the name of Hanoch. It tells us about him in the fifth chapter of the book of Genesis.

And the father of Hanoch was Yared. And he died, and then Enoch continued to live his life. And it says in verse 21 of chapter 5, that Enoch lived 65 years, and he beget a boy by the name of Metuselach. You say in English, Metuselach. Metuselach was the oldest man that ever lived upon the face of this earth. He lived for 969 years. You can read it in this text. And what happened, Enoch lived for 65 years before he gave birth to this son by the name of Metuselach. And so in verse 22, it says that Enoch walked with God after he beget Metuselach 300 years, and he begat sons and daughters.

You see what we read in the Bible, that he walked with God in spite of the environment that was around him, in spite of the terrible condition that existed around him. He walked with the Lord. He lived for the Lord. He moved forward for the Lord. He walked with God. And he gave such a pleasure to God's heart. It's interesting, by the way, that it says that he was 65 years old before he begat Metuselach, and that he walked 300 years after he begat Metuselach. You know what that teaches me? That he may not walk with God before he begat Metuselach. And he only walked with God after he begat Metuselach, and other sons and daughters.

And you know, those of us that are parents, it teaches amazing truth here, that it seems to be that when children are coming to this world, they drive us to God. They drive us to trust God on behalf of our children. And that's why, you know, sometimes, you know, those of us that have children remember that back. If you will look back, I remember that very vividly when our children, when Shalom, our oldest son was young, and he was two months, and three months, and four months, and one year, and two years, and two and a half years, and never slept one night. And I remember walking him at night, and singing all the Hebrew songs I knew.

And then I finished with the Hebrew, I began to sing the English songs I knew. And I was singing, and I couldn't walk anymore, and he's in my hand, and until I'm putting him in the crib, and he's waking up again. And I thought I finally finished putting him to bed, and he still didn't go to bed. And what they're teaching us, beloved brothers and sisters, is that our own children sometimes drive us to their knees, to trust God, and to say, "God, I pray for my children and for my family." And that's what we learn here from Enoch. Enoch, it says, "Walked with God after he begat Methuselah for 300 years, and he begat sons and daughters." And then what happened?

It says here, that all the days of Enoch's life were 365 years, and Enoch walked with God, verse 24 of Genesis 5, and he was not, because God took him. Now, you know what? We never, we do not know exactly all the details here, but one thing we know, that God found so much pleasure with Enoch, that he says, "Enoch, I want you to be with me." And Enoch, gone to the presence of the Lord, he was translated, without going through the normal channel of death, that every one of us, usually, everyone goes through. It is appointed unto men once to die. And so we see, the walk of faith, in spite of environment, bad condition that existed at that time, Enoch walked with God.

And then we see the fact that he was an example in his life. And finally, he exited. He left this scene, because God took him. And God wanted him to be with him in heaven. And you know, Enoch, by the way, become in the scripture, a type of the rapture of the church of Yeshua the Messiah. Just like Enoch of old, had been taken and raptured before the flood. You and I, who believe in Yeshua the Messiah, the part of the assembly of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, we're going to be raptured. We've been caught up to be taken out of here. And we see it in the type, in the person of Enoch, this man.

And again, don't forget, bear in mind his writing to Hebrew believers. They had an inclination to have lapse in their faith in the Lord. And they were discouraged perhaps. And they were dismayed perhaps. And they may want to go back and to go and to continue with the sacrificial system. And he says to them, look at Abel and look at Hanoch, at Enoch. They had faith in God. The sacrifice of faith and the walk of faith. And you Hebrews continue to trust in the Lord and follow him by faith. And so we learn about the sacrifice of faith, Abel. We learn about the walk of faith, Hanoch.

Now quickly, let's talk for a few moments about the third man by the name of Noah. Noah gave us another aspect of faith. We saw the sacrifice of faith, of course, in Abel. We saw the walk of faith with Enoch. But in Noah, we see the third aspect of faith here. And that is not only the walk of faith, but the works. What are you going to do? Faith must produce action. Faith, you remember what we read in the book of James? Faith without works is dead. If somebody comes to your house and knocks on the door at 2 o'clock in the morning, and he has no food to eat, no shelter to be, and you say to him, go in faith, trust God.

You don't open the door for him and you wish him God's blessing, but you don't help him and not give him his need. That's faith without works. In Noah, we see the works of faith. Not only the walk of faith, but also the works of faith. And let me read this verse, verse 7. And here we see the works of faith. By faith. Here it is. By faith Noah, being word of God, of things not seen as yet. He moved with fear. He prepared the ark to the saving of his house. By the which he condemned the world and he became the heir of the righteousness, which is by faith.

Now, here it is interesting. Also, I love the story of Noah from the time that we were children, boys and girls in our own homes in Jerusalem. We read the Tanakh, the Old Testament, the Bible stories. Every Jewish boy learned about it in schools, at the home, in the synagogue. We learned about the stories of the history of the God of Israel, the God of the Hebrews, the God of the people of Israel. We learned about it in one of the wonderful stories in the Bible is the story of Noah. And you notice, it takes us now back, beloved brothers and sisters, to Genesis chapter 6.

In Genesis 4, we saw one. In Genesis 5, we see another. And in Genesis 6, we see the third individual. In chapter 4, we saw Abel. In chapter 5, we saw Hanok, Enoch. And in chapter 6 and on, we see the third man by the name of Noah. And I'm going to read just quickly a couple of verses here. It says in verse 8 of Genesis chapter 6, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect in the generation. And Noah walked with God. And Noah beget three sons, Shem, Ham, and Yephet. The earth also was corrupt before God. And the earth was filled with violence.

And God looked upon the earth. And behold, it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted his ways upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me. For the earth is filled with the violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Rooms shall thou make in the ark. And shall pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion that you will make this ark. And he gave an instruction. And in verse 17, he said to him, "Behold, I, even I, do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein its breath of life from under the heaven.

And everything that is in the earth shall die." And then he said to him a little bit further down, verse 21, "Take thou unto thee of all the food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather unto thee. And it shall be for you for food for thee and for all them that are with thee." Thus did Noah according to all that God had commended him, so he did." Just quickly, just to give you a few thoughts about this passage here. The third man, his name is Noah. And in Noah we find out the works of faith. Not only the sacrifice, not only the walk, but also the works.

Three things we want to learn about Noah. First of all, faith in God moved his whole person. He was not a partial person. He did not only say, you see, I believe in God, but he didn't move all of his person. I want to suggest here that faith in God was filling his mind, his heart, and his will. It was not only some kind of faith without reality. There was a movement in his life. And so we read, look. "By faith, Noah being warned of God." That's dealt with his mind. You know, when God spoke to him and told him, "Noah, you know, you have to do something.

I'm going to judge this world. Noah, I'm going to judge this world. Noah, I'm going to help you prepare an ark for me." You see, what he does, he was warned by God and he listened to the word of God. It was, his mind was occupied. God said it. And I have to accept what God has said. He listened to the warning of God. How many times we are warning people against the judgment of God, against dying without Christ, without the Messiah. And people say, "I don't want to hear about it. I reject it." People do not want to accept it in their mind. He was warned by God.

And it says here, "By faith, he was warned, being warned by God, of the things that he did not see." He was warned by God about the flood that was going to come. He didn't see it. The warning of God had moved this man to take an action. See, that has to do with his mind. Look what happened in the next part of this verse. Not only that he was warned by God, it produced an action in his life. Look what happened here. He says he was moved with fear. What happened here when God spoke to Noah? Noah was moved with fear. That's not fear of judgment because he believed God.

But he was moved with reverence towards the Lord. When God said something, Noah acted upon that. Now his heart was moved with fear and honor for the God that told him what to do. That changed him. Action was coming out of his heart. And so he was moved with fear. And thirdly, we find out that his will was changed. It says here that he prepared an ark for the saving of his house. You see, when God said that the flood is coming. When God said that the judgment is coming. Noah did something about this. Noah began to prepare the ark that God have told him to build.

Never seen the rain before. Never seen anything like this before. What does he know about the flood? But God told him, Noah, prepare an ark. Noah, what he did, we read here, he began to prepare an ark. People look around him and say, are you crazy? Are you crazy? What are you doing? What are you building? Noah said, God told me to build an ark. Because the judgment of God is coming with a flood. And he simply obeyed the word of God. That's how simple it is. He might have been looked by the population around him as a fool, as a man who is crazy.

What are you doing, Noah? Noah said, I believe what God said. You will see the judgment is going to come. The flood is coming. And I am going to prepare an ark to the saving of my family. He wanted to have his family saved and protected. And he prepared this ark. And so we read about him. He not only was warned by God. He was moved with fear. And he did something about the works of faith. Here he believed God and he prepared an ark for the saving of his house. You know how it's said? Is that many of us have family members who are lost.

Who are unbelievers. And in a sense, there is an ark that have been prepared for the saving of our own family. And the ark is the person of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. Will they come in? Will they come in? And we need to challenge them. We need to tell our own family. Listen. There is a day coming that God is going to come in judgment. Will you come into the ark? Will you come to the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, and accept him as your Lord and Savior? Because the flood of God's righteous indignation is coming very soon. And so that's what Noah did. He prepared an ark to the saving of his house.

And here it is where I'm closing with this. By this action, he condemned the world and he became the heir of righteousness, which is by faith. How did he condemn the world? Every time he took a nail and he hammered it into this ark that he had built. He was actually condemning the world and telling the world, "I am preparing because judgment is coming." He, by doing that, he condemned the world around him. And you and I, and like the Hebrews of old, by believing in what God said in his word. And continuing in faith following Yeshua as the Messiah, as the Redeemer, as the Savior, as the true Mashiach of Israel.

We are actually condemning the world who reject him. And also giving them an opportunity to come in by sharing that message and telling them the ark is ready. There is plenty of room. Will you come into the ark and be saved? That's what we learn from this man by the name of Noah. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, in the last remarks here, three men. The one man speaks of the sacrifice of faith, Abel. The second man speaks of the walk of faith, Enoch. And the third man speaks of the works of faith, Noah. Each one of them speaks volumes to those Hebrew believers of first century.

And if they will not continue to follow after Yeshua, the Messiah, and go back to the sacrificial system, they will depart from the faith of their forefathers. And they will not be pleasing the Lord. And so here, he's giving them this list, and next time, in the will of the Lord, we'll continue from verse 8, verse 8. There are plenty of names that are mentioned here. All of them are either Hebrews or prior to Abraham the Hebrew. Abel, Enoch, and Noah, who were actually existing prior to Father Abraham, the first Hebrews. So I'm going to stop with this, and I trust that we glean something here with this chapter.

Lord willing, next time, we'll continue in chapter 8.