WHERE ARE FAITHFUL MEN, THE MEN AFTER GOD’S HEART? (Part II)
ENOCH
The first faithful man , we shall be looking at is Enoch, the great grand father of Noah.
Genesis 5: 24 reads “And Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him”
Not much explanation was given as to how and what exactly he did but the answer was seen in the life of the second man, Noah .
NOAH
Genesis 6: 6-9, “And The Lord was sorry that He made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart. So The Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth , both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
“But Noah found Grace in the eyes of The Lord”
“This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations, Noah walked with God.
Please note the common factor in the lives of these two faithful men, THEY WALKED WITH GOD.
Definition
To walk means to progress by setting down one foot and then lifting the other (s) in turn.
Thus, walking with God means making progress in all areas of our lives by surrendering one after the other, our goals, plans, aims and ambitions to His Divine will and principles .
Please note: the progress can be quick, slow or gradual. God decides.
Enoch faithfully walked with God that God took Him away from the perversion of that world.
Noah was blameless, he had integrity. The bible said he was a just man, perfect in (an imperfect world) His generations.
The Perfect God added His Beauty and Grace to their lives as they wholly leaned on Him.
Walking with God is occasionally not void of stumbling but at such moments, He catches our fall because His eyes are always on the Righteous.Psalm 34:15
Being righteous and blameless mean walking towards God and not away from Him. This does not mean we are already perfect. We may still make mistakes but rather run away to hide our sins, we boldly come to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews4:16)
ABRAHAM
Abraham was a friend of God. There was nothing God did in His generations without informing Him.
Genesis18:17 “And The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing”.
He commanded his children and household after God, that they keep the way of The Lord, to do righteousness and justice that The Lord might bring to him what He has spoken to him.
God also commanded Abraham to walk before Him and be blameless
Abraham believed God and it is counted for him as righteousness.
He was the father of faith.
Joseph
God was with Joseph from childhood. He took him through process to reach his glorious destination. Joseph prioritized God above freshly lust and God honoured him, he became successful and was a father to Pharaoh.
David
God saw in David, a man after His heart(1Samuel16:1) He anointed him king as a teenager.
David also went through rigour before the fulfilment of God’s promise to him.
One special thing about David was that he never took his gaze away from His Lord and Master, neither did he forsake God even when he sinned. He knew God was his Only Help.(Psalm 121:1)
The highest praises of God were in his mouth. He wrote 150 psalms and still praised God. He loved God with all his heart, mind and soul.
Zacharias
In the new testament, Zechariah, a priest, was righteousness before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless(Luke1:6)
Although, he stumbled at the word through unbelief or doubt. God was still gracious and merciful to him.
Cornelius
Although he was a Gentile, the Bible called him a devout man who feared God. ( Acts10:1)
He and his entire household received salvation and the infilling of Holy Spirit because of his diligence and faithfulness.
There were many more great and faithful men in both The Old and New Testament but time and space will not permit us talk about them.
Very quickly, we would like to outline the characteristics of faithful men.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITHFUL MEN
1. Men after God’s heart, love God with all their heart, mind and soul.
2. They walk with God and are blameless.
3. They prioritize God above freshly lust (physical or material gains).
4. Even when they stumble, they do not give up on God or themselves.
5. They find Grace in the sight of God and favour in the sight of men.
6. God clothes them with His righteousness.
7. They are successful because God prospers every work of their hands.
8. They command their household and primary domain of influence to keep the way of The Lord and do righteousness and Justice.
9. They praise God and delight in His worship.
10. God is their first and last resolve. They serve only God, they do not serve idols or any graven image.
Proverbs 20:6 “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?”
Our prayer for the world today is that God will continue to find faithful men, men after His heart who He will use for His glory.
God bless you as you obey His call upon your life today.
