"By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found because God had taken him'; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But 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 diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:5-6).
"Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:21-24).
IDEA: Faith believes that God rewards those who diligently seek Him.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand what it means to "seek God."
Have you ever played "Hide and Seek"?
How is the game played?
Do you think that we sometimes talk and act as though God plays "Hide and Seek" with us?
I. Does "diligently seek Him" mean that the burden rests on us to "find" God?
God is not "lost." We are. We are like sheep that are lost that the shepherd seeks, or the coin that is lost for which a woman searches.
II. God has revealed Himself. Therefore "seek" doesn't mean that we look for God as the police look for a fugitive who doesn't want to be found.
That is a fundamental truth in Hebrews 1:1-3. In the past God has spoken through His prophets, but apparently that wasn't clear enough. Now He has spoken to us through His Son.
God wants us to know Him. We don't have to go far to "find" Him. He has drawn near to us.
III. "Seek" has the idea of "strenuous endeavor," Hebrews 12:17.
He has diligently sought us by coming into our world. Now we seek to get to know Him.
If once we get hold of that or that gets hold of us, then it tells us that God wants to reward us by revealing Himself to us.
There are those who make it the passion of their lives to know God, and God is pleased with that. They know that God can give to us infinitely more than we can give to Him.
Is the quest for God always successful? The writer assumes that it is if the person seeking does so in faith.