God is a rewarder! by David Wilkerson May 29, 1989
                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                            God is a Rewarder!

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By David Wilkerson
May 29, 1989
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          "By Faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
          death, and 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 those that
          diligently seek him" (Hebrews 2:5-6).

          One of the great tragedies of this generation -- and
          one of Gods greatest grief's -- is that so many
          Christians are not truly happy! They put on a big
          front: singing, clapping, smiling, praising. But
          lurking just beneath the surface is deep misery. The
          joy never lasts. They're lonely and sad.

          The lack of victory in Christ is appalling! So many are
          hot, then suddenly cold. They can't cope with fear.
          Depression runs over them like a steamroller. One week
          they are high, the next week low.

          There are marriages also that run hot-and-cold. One day
          all is well with husband and wife; the next day they
          are miserable. Some days they can't even talk to one
          another. They think, "Well, that's the way marriage is
          supposed to be. You can't expect to stay happy and
          loving all the time!"

          Paul warns of Christians who need to "recover
          themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
          captive by him at his will" (2 Timothy 2:26). This
          describes many Christians perfectly. Satan moves in and
          out of their lives at his own will! They have no power
          or authority to stop him at their heart's door. He
          flaunts his hold over them: "You have no power of
          Christ in you to stop me! You are my captive. You will
          do as I tell you."

          Some of you reading this may be caught in a devilish
          snare. Paul said it is because you are opposing
          yourself (see 2 Timothy 2:25). You won't do what must
          be done to be delivered from the devils trap.

          To "oppose yourself" means that you have set yourself
          up to be trapped. You refuse God's way of deliverance
          and victory. You have opposed His way -- and set up
          your own way. That's why you're ensnared!

          So many have not known victory in Christ. Satan places
          fear, loneliness, depression or lust upon them at any
          time he chooses. Yet is this what Christ died for? To
          raise up children who are under the power of the devils
          will? Is this the Christian testimony to the world:
          "Give your heart to Jesus, but your will to the devil"?
          Never!

          You can blame your unhappiness on suffering poor
          health, being misunderstood, or having an uncaring
          mate, boss or friend. In fact, you can blame it on
          anything you choose. But the truth is there is no
          excuse for a Christian to live as a slave to the devil.
          If the devil plays on your emotions and you are getting
          worse, not better; if your problems are getting bigger;
          if fear is rising, joy is dissipating, sadness is
          setting in -- it means you are a captive to the enemy
          of your soul and are being manipulated by him!

          Something very serious is wrong. You must recognise the
          trap you're in and seek to be, released. You see, if
          you have been serving the Lord for more than a few
          months you should be growing daily in the grace and
          knowledge of Jesus. Your spiritual victories should be
          sweet. You should be assured of His constant presence,
          changing from glory to glory in to his likeness. By now
          Satan should be running from you!

          So what's the problem? Why have so many become
          captives?

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                   ...So Few Are Really Walking With God

              -----------------------------------------------

          Those who walk with God are translated out of Satan's
          reach, out of his kingdom of darkness and into Christ's
          kingdom of light. "Who hath delivered us from the power
          of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of
          his dear Son" (Colossian 1:13). We are translated right
          now out of the devil's snare and into the very heart of
          Jesus.

          The Greek word for "translate" here suggests that
          Christ personally came and carried us away from the
          devils power and set us in a heavenly place. But God
          only translates those who walk close to Him, like
          Enoch. Those who are held captive at Satan's will can
          not be taken up and delivered from darkness. You truly
          are not saved until you firmly set your heart on
          walking with God. Translation out of the devils
          dominion belongs to those who walk intimately with the
          Lord. You can claim to be saved and to love Him. You
          can tell the world you belong to Him. You may even
          pray, weep over Him and read His Word. But unless you
          walk every day with Him, you will never change. You
          will fall deeper and deeper into bondage.

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                  "Enoch Walked With God" (Genesis 5:24).

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          The original Hebrew meaning for "walked" implies that
          Enoch, went up and down, in and out, to and fro,
          arm-in-arm, continually conversing with God and
          growing. Enoch's father, Jared, lived to be 962 years
          old. His son Methuselah lived to be 969. But Enoch
          lived 365 years -- or a "year" of years! He introduces
          to us a new land of believer, for he himself is a type
          of the dedicated believer in Christ. For 365 days every
          year for all his years, he walked arm-in-arm with the
          Lord. The Lord was his very life! Enoch learned to walk
          with God in the midst of a wicked society. Yet he was
          an ordinary family man with all the same problems and
          burdens we carry. He "begat sons and daughters"
          (Genesis,5:22). He was no hermit hidden away in a
          wilderness cave. He was involved in everyday life with
          a wife, children obligations, responsibilities. He
          walked with God while raising a family and providing
          for them. There was no hiding to be holy for Enoch!

          Yet in this day, many Christians are running for the
          hills to hide from the mounting calamities. So-called
          prophets are telling people to come to their safe,
          rural havens. Christian Jews are being warned to get
          back to Israel to escape the financial collapse
          anticipated in America. But Enoch proved that the
          greater testimony is to walk with God in a place like
          Broadway, in the midst of the storm -- no matter what!

          I know where I want to be when things fall apart. When
          the financial market crashes, I want to go back to Wall
          Street where I was during the last crash on October 19,
          1987! I want to be there like a modern Enoch, walking
          and talking with God, without fear -- a peaceful,
          fearless witness, preaching Jesus to a people whose
          world has collapsed.

          Jesus said, "Go ye!" not "Hide ye!" I want to be where
          the Holy Ghost is -- and you can be sure He will be on
          the frontlines of the battle, calling the troubled and
          fearful to Himself.

          Enoch saw this world as ungodly. His own society was
          wicked, and as he looked down through all of history to
          the very last days, all he could say was, "Ungodly!
          Ungodly! Ungodly." Enoch also, the seventh from Adam,
          prophesied of these, saying Behold, the Lord cometh
          with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgement
          upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among
          them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly
          committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly
          sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 14-15).

          Are you walking with the Lord? Then you must see the
          world as Enoch saw it: ungodly and full of the spirit
          of Antichrist and hard speeches against your God. How
          can you be a part of what is ungodly? How can you
          associate with those He is coming to judge? He is
          coming with ten thousands of His saints to judge a
          sinful, lost world. Which side are you on?

          I am not condemning the beauty of nature and the good
          things God has created. We should "consider the lilies
          of the field" (Matthew 6.28). But if you are arm-in-arm
          with Jesus, talking with Him, listening to Him, then
          you will hate this ungodly world system You will take
          His side against those who talk against Him. You will
          hear Him say, "He that is a friend to the world is an
          enemy to me," (see James 4:4).

          Elijah and Enoch, the only two prophets to be
          translated, had something in common. They were both
          haters of sin and cried out against it. They both
          walked so closely with God that they couldn't help
          sharing His hatred for ungodliness.

          The undeniable effect on all who walk with God is a
          growing hatred for sin -- and not only hatred, but
          separation from it as well. If you still love this
          world and are at home with the ungodly -- if you are a
          friend to those who curse Him -- then you are not
          walking with God, and your salvation is a sham. You are
          not walking with the Lord but sitting on the fence,
          putting Him to open shame.

          "Enoch walked with God. and he was not; for God took
          him; (Genesis 5:24). We know from Hebrews that this
          speaks of Enoch's translation, the fact that he did not
          taste death. But it also means something deeper than
          that: "He was not" as defined in Genesis 5 also means
          "he was not of this world."

          In his spirit, in his senses, Enoch was not a part of
          this wicked world. He was taken up in his spirit to a
          heavenly realm. Each day as he walked with the Lord he
          became less attached to the things below! Day by day,
          year by year, he was going up, heading home, getting
          closer to the glory. Like Paul, he died daily to this
          world. Yet still Enoch undertook all his
          responsibilities. He cared for his family, worked,
          ministered, occupied. But "he was not" -- he was not
          earthbound! None of the demands of this life could keep
          him from his walk with God. The Lord consumed Him.
          Every waking moment his mind came back to Him. His
          heart was attached to God with what seemed like a huge
          rubber band. And the more you stretch a rubber band,
          the quicker it springs back when you let it go. Enoch's
          heart always "sprang back" to the Lord!

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             Enoch Was Always Changing Into the Lord's Image.

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          As mankind grew more ungodly all around him, as men
          changed into wild beasts full of lust, hardness and
          sensuality, Enoch became more and more like the One
          with whom he walked. You and I are all changing. And by
          now, many Christians should have become very much like
          Jesus. But instead they've become hard and selfish.
          They should be growing in grace, completely satisfied
          in Him. But no -- many are reverting, backsliding,
          going backward.

          Why? They don't walk with God. They seldom pray. They
          seldom dig into God's Word. Instead they brood and get
          hard. They pout and open themselves up to the devil's
          will. The point is that, unlike Enoch, they simply do
          not love Jesus enough to want to be with Him.

          That is why there is such confusion, fear and
          unhappiness in so many Christian homes and lives. They
          have no walk with God and no desire to be shut in with
          Him. They don't pray anything through -- they try to
          think it through. They don't stand on Gods Word -- they
          stand on their "rights"!

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                           Enoch"s Walk With God
                    Produced a Faith That Pleased God!

              -----------------------------------------------

          "Before his translation he had this testimony, that he
          pleased God!" What was it about Enoch that pleased God
          so much? It was that his walk with God produced in Him
          the kind of faith God loves. These two verses cannot be
          separated: "Before his translation he had this
          testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is
          impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:5-6 )

          Throughout the Bible and all of history, those who
          walked with God became men and women of faith. If the
          Church is walking with God arm-in-arm daily,
          continually communing with our Lord, the result will be
          a people full of faith -- true faith that pleases God.

          Some conduct faith seminars, distribute faith tapes,
          quote faith Scriptures -- all trying to produce faith.
          And it is true, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
          by the word of God"' (Roman l0: 17). But Jesus is the
          Word. "The letter killeth," Scripture says, and without
          intimacy with Jesus, the letter produces a dead,
          selfish, demanding emotion that is not faith at all --
          and God hates it. Faith comes by hearing His Word and
          walking close to Him. Not by talking without walking!
          We should always be "looking unto Jesus the author and
          finisher of our faith" (Hebrews12.2). This intimate
          walk with God is missing from the Church today. Faith
          is really knowing who God is. It is becoming familiar
          with His glory and majesty. Those who know Him best,
          trust Him most.

          Show me a people walking closely with Him, hating sin,
          becoming detached from this world and getting to know
          His voice, and you'll see a people who won't need much
          preaching and teaching about faith, You won't need "10
          steps" on what faith is and how to get it. True faith
          comes out of the very heart of Jesus. And it will be
          His very own faith -- not ours, that grows within and
          emerges from our hearts!

          Enoch's walk with God would not have been worthwhile
          unless it produced a corresponding faith that was
          constantly growing. "By faith Enoch was translated..."
          What an incredible truth! All his faith was focused on
          one great desire of his heart: to be with the Lord!

          God came and translated Enoch in answer to his faith.
          Enoch could no longer bear to stand behind the veil --
          he just had to see the Lord! He prayed, believing that
          God would answer his cry to be in His actual presence.
          He was so "out of it" here on earth that he said to
          God, "Come... there's nothing left for me here."

          Think of how Christians are squandering what they call
          "faith." Theirs is all centered on self -- their needs,
          their wants. And they often get what they want, but it
          only makes them more miserable. Where are the Enochs
          who spend their faith believing to be translated out of
          the devil's darkness and into the hands of God's dear
          Son?

          Enoch had no Bible, no songbook, no fellow members, no
          teachers, no indwelling Holy Spirit, no rent veil with
          access to the Holy of Holies. But He knew God! Without
          the reproof or prodding of a prophet, without the
          example of others, Enoch set his heart to follow the
          Lord. Why is it so hard today with all the helps, the
          convictions, the prophetic warnings, the pleadings of
          the Holy Ghost? Is it not a rebuke to us that Enoch
          rose above his wicked day, a man who walked with God
          despite so little help? Today there are multitudes who
          can't walk with Him in victory despite all the help God
          has given them!

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                     Enoch Believed God Was a Rewarder
                     of Those Who Diligently Seek Him!

              -----------------------------------------------

          "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and
          that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him"
          (Hebrews 11:6). How do we know Enoch believed God was a
          rewarder? Because that is the only faith that pleases
          God -- and we know that Enoch pleased Him!

          God is a recompenser, a remunerator, that is, a God who
          pays well for faithfulness. How does the Lord reward
          His diligent ones? It has been my experience that when
          I walk arm-in-arm with Jesus, so in love with Him,
          rewards break out on all sides. Everything I do or have
          is blessed: my wife, children, friends, ministry. There
          comes a life of Christ within that flows like a mighty
          river. Yes, we'll have trials and tribulations. But
          through it all He rewards us with manifestations of His
          presence.

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                     There Are Three Important Rewards
                         That Come Forth By Faith:

              -----------------------------------------------

          1. The Reward of Control: God will put you back in
          control. Those who neglect the Lord soon spin out of
          control as the devil moves in and takes over. Such a
          person has a devastated self-image. His or her feelings
          and thoughts cannot be curbed, and their tongue wags
          and moves under the power of bitterness and anger.

          If only we would fall in love with Jesus -- walk and
          talk with Him -- He would soon reveal to us that Satan
          has no dominion over us. We would quickly allow Him to
          control us. Then we'd be chasing demons, making the
          devil flee, putting thousands to flight, standing up by
          faith against every fear, every lie, everything that
          comes at us from hell.

          Paul gives a warning to "silly women" who won't lay
          down lust: "They which creep into houses, and lead
          captive silly women laden with sins, led away with
          divers lusts" (2 Timothy 3:6). Women who won't pay the
          price and walk with Jesus, who won't take godly reproof
          admit their sins and repent will go after a teacher who
          will pray over them -- then prey upon them! And believe
          me, these "house-creepers" are ever with us. They have
          eyes that hunger for women and make promises to them,
          saying, "Come to our meetings -- you'll get freedom !"
          No, you will not! You will end up a captive,
          twice-bound, and those men will go right to your
          wallet!

          But you can get control. You can get back to a
          diligent, loving, arm-in-arm walk with Jesus. Instead
          of seeking only your own comfort, try comforting Jesus:
          "Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of
          heaviness: and looked for some to take pity, but there
          was none; and for comforters, but I found none" (Psalm
          69.20).

          2. The Reward of Pure Light. When you walk with the
          Lord.. you will be rewarded with light, direction,
          discernment, revelation -- a certain knowing! As you
          die to this world day by day, the light will grow
          brighter. You are headed toward the sun. Zacharias
          prophesied that Christ came to give light to them that
          sit in darkness... to guide our feet" (Luke 1.79).

          Are you under the spell of some kind of darkness or
          indecision? "I am the light of the world: he that
          followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
          the light of life"' (John 8.12), "Whosoever believeth
          on me should not abide in darkness" (John 12:46). "Who
          hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
          translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son"
          (Colossians 1:13).

          You may claim to love Jesus but your life proves you
          are still walking in darkness: confused befuddled and
          foggy! When you are truly in love with Jesus,
          conversing arm-in-arm with Him, He turns up the light.
          There is no darkness at all in His presence.

          The worst possible darkness to mankind is not in the
          hearts of God-hating Communist leaders or in the
          hate-filled Ayatollah Khomeini or the Christ-hating
          atheists. It is, rather, the horrible darkness that
          blinds so-called Christians who refuse to walk in the
          light.

          Jesus warned: "Take heed therefore that the light which
          is in thee be not darkness" (Luke 11:35). Jesus told
          the Pharisees that a judgement falls upon those who
          pervert or refuse the light: "For judgement I am come
          into this world, that they which see might be made
          blind. And some of the Pharisees... said unto him.. Are
          we blind also? Jesus said unto them... but now ye say,
          We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:39-41).

          Like the Pharisees, some Christians think they ''know
          it." that they are in the light. They say, "I see." Or,
          "I see it as well or better than the pastors or anyone
          else!" They should look at their life and home, at all
          the trouble and confusion in their hearts and admit,
          "Lord, I don't see! Show me! Am I blind?"

          If we will not open up to true.. pure light, then our
          judgement can only be a false light. Only the worst
          form of darkness and cursed pride goes about saying, "I
          see!" Get back to walking with Him, and He will expose
          all darkness and restore to you His pure light.

          3. The Reward of Protection From All Your Enemies: "No
          weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper"
          (Isaiah 54:17). Everything Satan tries in order to get
          you down just won't work! Those big guns aimed at you
          will melt away in His presence. Do you think Satan will
          aim at Jesus -- with Whom you are walking?

          In the original Hebrew this verse is translated as: "No
          plan, no instrument of destruction, no satanic
          artillery shall push you or run over you, but it will
          be done away with." God has promised to wreck Satan's
          attack upon you. The reward of those who diligently
          seek Him is the privilege of becoming more than
          conquerors (Roman 8:37).

          For 365 years Enoch shook Off every fiery dart. He was
          living in total victory until his last breath. He did
          not crawl out, nor did he limp out. He went out in a
          blaze of life and glory!

          "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt
          be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear and
          from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold,
          they shall surely gather together but not by me:
          whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall
          for thy sake" (Isaiah 54:14-15).

          Where there is righteousness, there is peace. You will
          be delivered from oppression when you walk in holiness.
          You will not fear, for there will be no harm, to those
          who walk in righteousness. "I have created the waster
          to destroy" (Isaiah 54.16). Even "the waster" is under
          the Lord's control. God has control over all
          destructive weapons. Our security is in righteousness,
          in walking with Jesus. And we are to fear absolutely
          nothing!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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