GEN-18   LWP-06

000206AM

Are you taking advantage of the greatest offer ever made? You and I were created to walk with God. He offers to each of us this morning the privilege and joy of walking side by side with us through life. What could be greater than that?

The question for each of us this morning is, are we walking with God? We have been offered a life long walk with God toward our Heavenly Home. We are citizens of a far away country but can take steps every day Heavenward. Are we? Do we long for our city that has foundations, which God has built us? Do we long for a home that can never be shaken, quaked, burned, flooded, or taken away?

The good news of God’s Word this morning is that wherever you are in life, however close or far from God, you can begin walking with God today! Now that is the best news I know of, and that is exactly what we are going to see in God’s Word this morning.

How do We Walk With God?

Many years ago the saintly J. C. Ryle wrote:

I believe that we are all apt to err on this point. We think too much, and talk too much, about graces and gifts and attainments and do not sufficiently remember that faith is the root and mother of them all.

In walking with God, a man will go just as far as he believes, and no further. His life will always be proportioned to his faith. His peace, his patience, his courage, his zeal, his works—all will be according to his faith.

You read the lives of great Christians, of such men as Wesley or Whitefield or Moody or Spurgeon or Hudson Taylor. And you are disposed to say, “What wonderful gifts and graces these men had!” I answer, you should rather give honor to the mother grace which God puts forward in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews; you should give honor to their faith.

Depend on it, faith was the mainspring in the character of each and all. I can fancy someone saying, “They were so prayerful; that made them what they were.” I answer, why did they pray much? Simply because they had much faith. What is prayer, but faith speaking to God?

Another perhaps will say, “They were so diligent and laborious; that accounts for their success.” I answer, why were they so diligent? Simply because they had faith. What is Christian diligence, but faith at work?

Another will tell me, “They were so bold; that rendered them so useful.” I answer, why were they so bold? Simply because they had much faith. What is Christian boldness, but faith honestly doing its duty?

And another will cry, “It was their holiness and spirituality; that gave them their weight.” For the last time I answer, what made them holy? Nothing but a living realizing spirit of faith. What is holiness, but faith visible and faith incarnate? If you would be like Moses, making it clear as noonday that you have chosen God before the world, what does Christ ask of you?

Would you bring forth an abundance of fruit? Do you want to be eminently holy and useful? I dare to be sure that every believer would reply with a resounding, “Yes! This is my desire!” Then take the advice I give you this day: go and cry to the Lord Jesus Christ, as the disciples did, “Lord, increase our faith.”

Faith is the root of a real Christian’s character. Let your root be right, and your fruit will soon abound. Your spiritual prosperity will always be according to your faith. He that believes shall not only be saved, but shall never thirst, shall overcome, shall be established, shall walk firmly on the waters of this world and shall do great works. Reader, if you believe the things contained in this message and desire to be a thoroughly holy man, begin to act on your belief. Take Enoch for your example. Walk in his steps. Go and do likewise. [1]

Please join me in the faith chapter this morning, Hebrews 11. And starting in v. 1 we need to see the secret of walking with God in the Lost World; that is what Enoch did. His secret was faith. Listen as  I read v. 1-6.

Before we go too far into this topic, let me define what walking with God is all about. If we were to interview the characters of the Bible who testified that they walked with God, here is a collective answer they would give us from the pages of the Word.

The definition of Walking with God is habitual communion[2] with Him.

  1. Walking with God for us was a sense of God’s presence, a belief that God is, that God notices us, and that God is aware of where we are and what we do at all times.
  2. Walking with God for us was a sense of His favor, a conviction that He is reconciled to us, and that He loves us.
  3. Walking with God for us was a life long looking to Him in our inward and outward conduct; an outgoing of the heart and thoughts towards Him in prayer, thanksgiving, love, reverence, and confidence; and the consequent desire and effort to accommodate ourselves to His will, and to please Him.
  4. Walking with God for us was a habit of listening to God by the believing reception of His communications to us. God dwells with his people. He manifests Himself to them, as He does not unto the world. He reveals to them His glory. He sheds abroad His love in their hearts. He by His Spirit brings His word and promises to mind, and thus maintains a constant intercourse between Himself and the souls in whom He dwells.

What can we discern about Enoch’s walk? If we piece his life together we find the secrets of his walking with God. Let’s start in Hebrews 11.

Enoch Believed God 

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. (11:6a)

In his book, Your God is Too Small, J. B. Phillips describes some of the common gods that people manufacture. One is the grand old man god, the grandfatherly, white-haired, indulgent god who smiles down on men and winks at their adultery, stealing, cheating, and lying. Then there are the resident policeman god, whose primary job is to make life difficult and unenjoyable, and the god in a box, the private and exclusive sectarian god. The managing director god is the god of the deists, the god who designed and created the universe, started it spinning, and now stands by far away watching it run down. God is not pleased with belief in any of these idolatrous substitutes. He wants to be known as the God who made everything from nothing. His fingerprints as the All Powerful Creator abound.

Enoch Followed God

Remember those 48 words in Genesis (5:21-24) describing Enoch, he is twice spoken of as “walking with God.” In the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) this phrase is translated “pleased God,” using the same Greek word (euaresteoµ, “to be well-pleasing”) that is used twice in Hebrews 11:5-6. Walking with God is pleasing God.

Here is the great and grand point: Enoch lived in dark, hostile days that were uncongenial to his faith. Life was so inhospitable that finally, in the time of Noah:

Now the earth was corrupt in God”s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-13)

However, Enoch resisted the sinful gravity of his culture and walked with God for over 300 years! He set his goal on the city of God—God’s place; so he walked the same path—striding in step with God”s pace. Three hundred years of faithfulness! The question is, do we truly believe God like Enoch?[3]

The conditions for walking with God[4] are,

  1. Reconciliation through the blood of Christ must be first. Men are under God’s wrath and curse. There can be no friendly intercourse until they are reconciled. And there is no reconciliation but through the blood of Christ.
  2. Regeneration and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit must commence. Without holiness no man can see or have fellowship with God. Unless, therefore, we be renewed in the temper of our minds, so as to desire and delight in God, we can have no fellowship with him.
  3. Renewal or Keeping the conscience free from guilt, and the mind from pollution must continue. God will not come into a heart in which unholy affections are deliberately cherished. Pride, malice, envy, jealousy and all uncleanness must be banished, and the graces of the Spirit kept in lively exercise, in the use of all the appointed means of grace, if we would walk with God.

The term walk is used many times in the New Testament to represent faithful living.

  • “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, … so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom.  6:4).
  • “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
  • “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
  • “Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us” (Eph. 5:2).
  • Christ even speaks of our fellowship with Him in heaven as a walk: “They will walk with Me in white; for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4).

Like Enoch, every believer should walk with God every day he is on earth. When we get to heaven, we will walk with Him forever.

  Enoch had a New Birth: Regenerated

First of all, Enoch’s walk with God demonstrates a new heart. God has always promised this new hearted life. Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

When we God saved us, we become citizens of a new land. Though still on earth, our true life, our real citizenship, is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). When Peter declares we “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4), he is saying in Christ we are given a godly nature, so we can fellowship with God. Because Enoch walked with God, he must have been regenerated.

Enoch had a New Relationship: Reconciled

The second truth implied in Enoch’s walk with God is reconciliation. “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (Amos 3:3, NIV ) The point is obvious. Two people cannot really walk together in intimate fellowship unless they are agreed. Walking together, then, presupposes harmony. If Enoch walked with God, he obviously was in agreement with God. Rebellion was over for this man of faith. Since Adam fell, every person born into the world has been in rebellion against God. We do not grow into rebellion or fall into rebellion; we are born into rebellion. Our very nature, from before birth, is at enmity with God. We are all “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). The purpose of salvation is to reconcile men to God, to restore the relationship broken by sin. Because of his faith, Enoch was reconciled with God; and because he was reconciled with God, he could walk with God. Remember in RECONCILIATION: A Sinner stands before God as an enemy and is made a friend by His peace.

Enoch had a New Standing: Justified

Only when sin has been dealt with can we move into God’s presence and begin walking with Him. God will not walk in any way but the way of holiness. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). The only persons God walks with are those who are cleansed of sin. Since Enoch walked with God, he had to have been forgiven of his sin and declared righteous by God. Remember JUSTIFICATION is: A Sinner stands before God as accused and is declared righteous by His imputed righteousness.

Enoch had a New Walk: Surrendered

Walking with God implies surrender, or a glad and free surrender to the Word and ways of God. “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (2 John 6). And Enoch walked with God for three hundred years! The New Testament refers to this sort of living as walking in the Spirit. We are to live continually in the atmosphere of the Spirit’s presence, power, direction, and teaching. The fruit of this walk in the Spirit are: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).

Walking in the Spirit is allowing God to fill your thoughts. It is starting each morning with a heart that says, “Holy Spirit, it is Your day, not mine. Use it as You see fit, continue to keep me from sin, direct my choices and my decisions, use me to glorify Jesus Christ.”

We walk with God when we are putting each decision, each opportunity, each temptation, each desire before Him, and asking for His direction and His power. Walking with God is active obedience. In the New Testament many passages describe this walking with God.

But our greatest example is our Lord Jesus Himself, the One who supremely walked with God. He did nothing, absolutely nothing, that was not the Father’s will. The beloved apostle reminds us that “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). If we want to know how to walk, we need simply to look at Jesus. From childhood He was continually about His Father’s business, and only His Father’s business. He constantly walked with God.

Enoch Declared God on Earth

And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 14-15)

Enoch lived in a world where he was surrounded by false teachers and false teaching. We do not know if he had the fellowship of any fellow believers, but we know that he lived in the midst of a host of unbelievers. He could not possibly have preached as strongly as he did without considerable opposition. He battled against his own generation in the same way that Noah would later battle against his. He let them know they were ungodly, and he let them know God was going to judge them. I believe God was pleased with Enoch because his faith was not just something he felt in his heart. It was heard on his lips and seen in his life. His faith was active and dynamic, vocal and fearless.

Enoch Joined God in Heaven

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained a witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. (11:5)

Matching God stride for stride along the path of life while headed for the city of God also produced in Enoch a righteous walk. Malachi 2:6 describes such a walk: “True instruction was in his [Levi’s] mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity” (NASB). Enoch walked in profound fellowship with God and had a profound righteousness. Thus, Enoch pleased God. Warren Wiersbe writes,

Enoch had been walking with God for so many years that his transfer to heaven was not even an interruption. Enoch had been practicing Colossians [chapter] three centuries before Paul wrote the words: “… keep seeking the things above.… Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (vv. 1, 2).

It was little wonder that God took him!

Enoch is a beautiful picture of believers who will be taken up directly to heaven when our Lord returns for His bride, the church. Just as Enoch was translated to heaven without seeing death, so also will be those of God’s people who are alive at the rapture. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).[5]

Appendix of great illustrations

Enoch Believed God 

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. (11:6a)

According to the law of entropy, the universe is running down. If it is running down, then it is not self-sustaining. If it is not self-sustaining, then it had to have a beginning. If it had a beginning, someone had to begin it, and we are back to the uncaused cause. There must be a first cause, for which only God qualifies.

The law of design also indicates that God is. When we look at plants and animals in all their marvelous intricacy, we see hundreds, thousands of amazingly complex designs that not only function beautifully but reproduce themselves perfectly. When we look at the stars, the planets, the asteroids, the comets, the meteors, the constellations, we see them kept precisely on their courses by centrifugal, centripetal, and gravitational forces. Such massive, marvelous, complex, and wonderfully operating design demands the existence of a designer.

We learn from the law of hydrology that water has a high specific heat, which is absolutely essential to stabilize chemical reactions within the human body. If water had a low specific heat, we would boil over with the least activity. Without this property of water, human and most animal life would hardly be possible.

We learn from the law of oceanography that the ocean is the world’s thermostat. It takes a large loss of heat for water to go from liquid to ice, and a large intake of heat for water to become steam. The oceans are a cushion against the heat of the sun and the freezing blasts of winter. Unless the temperatures of the earth’s surface were modulated by the ocean and kept within certain limits, we would either be cooked to death or frozen to death. How could such intricate, exacting, and absolutely necessary design come about by accident? It demands a designer.

We learn from the law of geodesy that even the size of the earth gives evidence of design. If it were much smaller, there would be no atmosphere to sustain life. Earth would then be like our moon or Mars. On the other hand, if it were much larger, the atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, as do Jupiter and Saturn, which also prevents life. The earth’s distance from the sun is absolutely right. Even a small change would make it too hot or too cold. The tilt of the earth’s axis ensures the seasons. And so it goes.

Science cannot prove God, but it gives overwhelming evidence of a master designer and sustainer, which roles could only be filled by God.

Enoch Sought God

The Scriptures are filled with statements that God not only can be found but that it is His great desire to be found.

  • David said to his son Solomon, “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever” (1 Chron. 28:9).
  • 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
  • “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth!” (Ps. 58:11).
  • “I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me” (Prov. 8:17).
  • “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).
  • Jesus was very explicit: “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened” (Luke 11:10).

How does God Explain This Walk to Us?

  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin to have a heart with holy determination to separate and withdraw from the world. “While we look not at the things which are seen” (2 Cor. 4:18); “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Cor. 6:17);
  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin quietly turning toward God, while preparing oneself to be illuminated by His wondrous light. “In the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up” (Ps. 5:3); “Truly my soul waiteth upon God” (Ps. 62:1);
  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin to focus upon His attributes to gain an increasingly deeper understanding of them and perceive their influence in the heart. “Therefore I will look unto the LORD” (Mic. 7:7); “They looked unto Him, and were lightened” (Ps. 34:5). Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible (Heb. 11:27);
  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin to engage in humble intimate communion with God, silently presenting ourselves before God, reverently bowing before Him in worship, offering holy prayer, humble submission, trusting, rejoicing and delighting in the Lord, in a willing surrender to the service of the Lord, living in a manner pleasing to Him. Because:
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the righteousness of our God who says in 1 Peter 1:13-16Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the goodness of our god as we confess with Asaph, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. . . . but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” ( 73:25-26).
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the love of God and as 1 John 3:1-3Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the holiness of God, as inDaniel 7:9-10“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated;

His garment was white as snow,

And the hair of His head was like pure wool.

His throne was a fiery flame,

Its wheels a burning fire;

A fiery stream issued

And came forth from before Him.

A thousand thousands ministered to Him;

Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

The court was seated,

And the books were opened.

Those whose conversation in the world is truly holy shall find their removal out of it truly happy.

Walking with God is the source[6] of:

  1. Purity:That it purifies and elevates the soul. It tends to depress and weaken, and to strengthen all the principles of grace. It makes us like God. Remember those words the Apostle Jesus loved once wrote? 1 John 3:1-3  Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
  2. Peace:walking with God is the source of peace, it is the life of the soul, the highest form of its activity, and the perennial source of blessedness. It is independent of all external circumstances. It may be enjoyed in solitude, in sickness, is poverty. It satisfies and fills the soul, and renders it blessed, so that no other good is desired. As Psalm 73:25 says “Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none on earth that I desire beside thee.”  And just as Jesus promised in John 14:1-6   “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 “And where I go you know, and the way you know.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
  3. Power:walking with God gives strength to do, to resist temptation, to bear trials and sufferings. It gives us power for good over our fellow–men to a greater extent than anything else. It cannot be imitated or feigned or an assumed, any more than a cold body can appear hot. The power emulates from the reality, not from the semblance. A painted flame gives no heat. But Jesus promised us His power when He said in Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

TAGS: 000206AM

Are you taking advantage of the greatest offer ever made? You and I were created to walk with God. He offers to each of us this morning the privilege and joy of walking side by side with us through life. What could be greater than that?

The question for each of us this morning is, are we walking with God? We have been offered a life long walk with God toward our Heavenly Home. We are citizens of a far away country but can take steps every day Heavenward. Are we? Do we long for our city that has foundations, which God has built us? Do we long for a home that can never be shaken, quaked, burned, flooded, or taken away?

The good news of God’s Word this morning is that wherever you are in life, however close or far from God, you can begin walking with God today! Now that is the best news I know of, and that is exactly what we are going to see in God’s Word this morning.

How do We Walk With God?

Many years ago the saintly J. C. Ryle wrote:

I believe that we are all apt to err on this point. We think too much, and talk too much, about graces and gifts and attainments and do not sufficiently remember that faith is the root and mother of them all.

In walking with God, a man will go just as far as he believes, and no further. His life will always be proportioned to his faith. His peace, his patience, his courage, his zeal, his works—all will be according to his faith.

You read the lives of great Christians, of such men as Wesley or Whitefield or Moody or Spurgeon or Hudson Taylor. And you are disposed to say, “What wonderful gifts and graces these men had!” I answer, you should rather give honor to the mother grace which God puts forward in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews; you should give honor to their faith.

Depend on it, faith was the mainspring in the character of each and all. I can fancy someone saying, “They were so prayerful; that made them what they were.” I answer, why did they pray much? Simply because they had much faith. What is prayer, but faith speaking to God?

Another perhaps will say, “They were so diligent and laborious; that accounts for their success.” I answer, why were they so diligent? Simply because they had faith. What is Christian diligence, but faith at work?

Another will tell me, “They were so bold; that rendered them so useful.” I answer, why were they so bold? Simply because they had much faith. What is Christian boldness, but faith honestly doing its duty?

And another will cry, “It was their holiness and spirituality; that gave them their weight.” For the last time I answer, what made them holy? Nothing but a living realizing spirit of faith. What is holiness, but faith visible and faith incarnate? If you would be like Moses, making it clear as noonday that you have chosen God before the world, what does Christ ask of you?

Would you bring forth an abundance of fruit? Do you want to be eminently holy and useful? I dare to be sure that every believer would reply with a resounding, “Yes! This is my desire!” Then take the advice I give you this day: go and cry to the Lord Jesus Christ, as the disciples did, “Lord, increase our faith.”

Faith is the root of a real Christian’s character. Let your root be right, and your fruit will soon abound. Your spiritual prosperity will always be according to your faith. He that believes shall not only be saved, but shall never thirst, shall overcome, shall be established, shall walk firmly on the waters of this world and shall do great works. Reader, if you believe the things contained in this message and desire to be a thoroughly holy man, begin to act on your belief. Take Enoch for your example. Walk in his steps. Go and do likewise. [1]

Please join me in the faith chapter this morning, Hebrews 11. And starting in v. 1 we need to see the secret of walking with God in the Lost World; that is what Enoch did. His secret was faith. Listen as  I read v. 1-6.

Before we go too far into this topic, let me define what walking with God is all about. If we were to interview the characters of the Bible who testified that they walked with God, here is a collective answer they would give us from the pages of the Word.

The definition of Walking with God is habitual communion[2] with Him.

  1. Walking with God for us was a sense of God’s presence, a belief that God is, that God notices us, and that God is aware of where we are and what we do at all times.
  2. Walking with God for us was a sense of His favor, a conviction that He is reconciled to us, and that He loves us.
  3. Walking with God for us was a life long looking to Him in our inward and outward conduct; an outgoing of the heart and thoughts towards Him in prayer, thanksgiving, love, reverence, and confidence; and the consequent desire and effort to accommodate ourselves to His will, and to please Him.
  4. Walking with God for us was a habit of listening to God by the believing reception of His communications to us. God dwells with his people. He manifests Himself to them, as He does not unto the world. He reveals to them His glory. He sheds abroad His love in their hearts. He by His Spirit brings His word and promises to mind, and thus maintains a constant intercourse between Himself and the souls in whom He dwells.

What can we discern about Enoch’s walk? If we piece his life together we find the secrets of his walking with God. Let’s start in Hebrews 11.

Enoch Believed God 

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. (11:6a)

In his book, Your God is Too Small, J. B. Phillips describes some of the common gods that people manufacture. One is the grand old man god, the grandfatherly, white-haired, indulgent god who smiles down on men and winks at their adultery, stealing, cheating, and lying. Then there are the resident policeman god, whose primary job is to make life difficult and unenjoyable, and the god in a box, the private and exclusive sectarian god. The managing director god is the god of the deists, the god who designed and created the universe, started it spinning, and now stands by far away watching it run down. God is not pleased with belief in any of these idolatrous substitutes. He wants to be known as the God who made everything from nothing. His fingerprints as the All Powerful Creator abound.

Enoch Followed God

Remember those 48 words in Genesis (5:21-24) describing Enoch, he is twice spoken of as “walking with God.” In the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) this phrase is translated “pleased God,” using the same Greek word (euaresteoµ, “to be well-pleasing”) that is used twice in Hebrews 11:5-6. Walking with God is pleasing God.

Here is the great and grand point: Enoch lived in dark, hostile days that were uncongenial to his faith. Life was so inhospitable that finally, in the time of Noah:

Now the earth was corrupt in God”s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-13)

However, Enoch resisted the sinful gravity of his culture and walked with God for over 300 years! He set his goal on the city of God—God’s place; so he walked the same path—striding in step with God”s pace. Three hundred years of faithfulness! The question is, do we truly believe God like Enoch?[3]

The conditions for walking with God[4] are,

  1. Reconciliation through the blood of Christ must be first. Men are under God’s wrath and curse. There can be no friendly intercourse until they are reconciled. And there is no reconciliation but through the blood of Christ.
  2. Regeneration and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit must commence. Without holiness no man can see or have fellowship with God. Unless, therefore, we be renewed in the temper of our minds, so as to desire and delight in God, we can have no fellowship with him.
  3. Renewal or Keeping the conscience free from guilt, and the mind from pollution must continue. God will not come into a heart in which unholy affections are deliberately cherished. Pride, malice, envy, jealousy and all uncleanness must be banished, and the graces of the Spirit kept in lively exercise, in the use of all the appointed means of grace, if we would walk with God.

The term walk is used many times in the New Testament to represent faithful living.

  • “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, … so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom.  6:4).
  • “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
  • “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
  • “Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us” (Eph. 5:2).
  • Christ even speaks of our fellowship with Him in heaven as a walk: “They will walk with Me in white; for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4).

Like Enoch, every believer should walk with God every day he is on earth. When we get to heaven, we will walk with Him forever.

  Enoch had a New Birth: Regenerated

First of all, Enoch’s walk with God demonstrates a new heart. God has always promised this new hearted life. Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

When we God saved us, we become citizens of a new land. Though still on earth, our true life, our real citizenship, is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). When Peter declares we “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4), he is saying in Christ we are given a godly nature, so we can fellowship with God. Because Enoch walked with God, he must have been regenerated.

Enoch had a New Relationship: Reconciled

The second truth implied in Enoch’s walk with God is reconciliation. “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (Amos 3:3, NIV ) The point is obvious. Two people cannot really walk together in intimate fellowship unless they are agreed. Walking together, then, presupposes harmony. If Enoch walked with God, he obviously was in agreement with God. Rebellion was over for this man of faith. Since Adam fell, every person born into the world has been in rebellion against God. We do not grow into rebellion or fall into rebellion; we are born into rebellion. Our very nature, from before birth, is at enmity with God. We are all “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). The purpose of salvation is to reconcile men to God, to restore the relationship broken by sin. Because of his faith, Enoch was reconciled with God; and because he was reconciled with God, he could walk with God. Remember in RECONCILIATION: A Sinner stands before God as an enemy and is made a friend by His peace.

Enoch had a New Standing: Justified

Only when sin has been dealt with can we move into God’s presence and begin walking with Him. God will not walk in any way but the way of holiness. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). The only persons God walks with are those who are cleansed of sin. Since Enoch walked with God, he had to have been forgiven of his sin and declared righteous by God. Remember JUSTIFICATION is: A Sinner stands before God as accused and is declared righteous by His imputed righteousness.

Enoch had a New Walk: Surrendered

Walking with God implies surrender, or a glad and free surrender to the Word and ways of God. “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (2 John 6). And Enoch walked with God for three hundred years! The New Testament refers to this sort of living as walking in the Spirit. We are to live continually in the atmosphere of the Spirit’s presence, power, direction, and teaching. The fruit of this walk in the Spirit are: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).

Walking in the Spirit is allowing God to fill your thoughts. It is starting each morning with a heart that says, “Holy Spirit, it is Your day, not mine. Use it as You see fit, continue to keep me from sin, direct my choices and my decisions, use me to glorify Jesus Christ.”

We walk with God when we are putting each decision, each opportunity, each temptation, each desire before Him, and asking for His direction and His power. Walking with God is active obedience. In the New Testament many passages describe this walking with God.

But our greatest example is our Lord Jesus Himself, the One who supremely walked with God. He did nothing, absolutely nothing, that was not the Father’s will. The beloved apostle reminds us that “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). If we want to know how to walk, we need simply to look at Jesus. From childhood He was continually about His Father’s business, and only His Father’s business. He constantly walked with God.

Enoch Declared God on Earth

And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 14-15)

Enoch lived in a world where he was surrounded by false teachers and false teaching. We do not know if he had the fellowship of any fellow believers, but we know that he lived in the midst of a host of unbelievers. He could not possibly have preached as strongly as he did without considerable opposition. He battled against his own generation in the same way that Noah would later battle against his. He let them know they were ungodly, and he let them know God was going to judge them. I believe God was pleased with Enoch because his faith was not just something he felt in his heart. It was heard on his lips and seen in his life. His faith was active and dynamic, vocal and fearless.

Enoch Joined God in Heaven

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained a witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. (11:5)

Matching God stride for stride along the path of life while headed for the city of God also produced in Enoch a righteous walk. Malachi 2:6 describes such a walk: “True instruction was in his [Levi’s] mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity” (NASB). Enoch walked in profound fellowship with God and had a profound righteousness. Thus, Enoch pleased God. Warren Wiersbe writes,

Enoch had been walking with God for so many years that his transfer to heaven was not even an interruption. Enoch had been practicing Colossians [chapter] three centuries before Paul wrote the words: “… keep seeking the things above.… Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (vv. 1, 2).

It was little wonder that God took him!

Enoch is a beautiful picture of believers who will be taken up directly to heaven when our Lord returns for His bride, the church. Just as Enoch was translated to heaven without seeing death, so also will be those of God’s people who are alive at the rapture. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).[5]

Appendix of great illustrations

Enoch Believed God 

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. (11:6a)

According to the law of entropy, the universe is running down. If it is running down, then it is not self-sustaining. If it is not self-sustaining, then it had to have a beginning. If it had a beginning, someone had to begin it, and we are back to the uncaused cause. There must be a first cause, for which only God qualifies.

The law of design also indicates that God is. When we look at plants and animals in all their marvelous intricacy, we see hundreds, thousands of amazingly complex designs that not only function beautifully but reproduce themselves perfectly. When we look at the stars, the planets, the asteroids, the comets, the meteors, the constellations, we see them kept precisely on their courses by centrifugal, centripetal, and gravitational forces. Such massive, marvelous, complex, and wonderfully operating design demands the existence of a designer.

We learn from the law of hydrology that water has a high specific heat, which is absolutely essential to stabilize chemical reactions within the human body. If water had a low specific heat, we would boil over with the least activity. Without this property of water, human and most animal life would hardly be possible.

We learn from the law of oceanography that the ocean is the world’s thermostat. It takes a large loss of heat for water to go from liquid to ice, and a large intake of heat for water to become steam. The oceans are a cushion against the heat of the sun and the freezing blasts of winter. Unless the temperatures of the earth’s surface were modulated by the ocean and kept within certain limits, we would either be cooked to death or frozen to death. How could such intricate, exacting, and absolutely necessary design come about by accident? It demands a designer.

We learn from the law of geodesy that even the size of the earth gives evidence of design. If it were much smaller, there would be no atmosphere to sustain life. Earth would then be like our moon or Mars. On the other hand, if it were much larger, the atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, as do Jupiter and Saturn, which also prevents life. The earth’s distance from the sun is absolutely right. Even a small change would make it too hot or too cold. The tilt of the earth’s axis ensures the seasons. And so it goes.

Science cannot prove God, but it gives overwhelming evidence of a master designer and sustainer, which roles could only be filled by God.

Enoch Sought God

The Scriptures are filled with statements that God not only can be found but that it is His great desire to be found.

  • David said to his son Solomon, “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever” (1 Chron. 28:9).
  • 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
  • “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth!” (Ps. 58:11).
  • “I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me” (Prov. 8:17).
  • “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).
  • Jesus was very explicit: “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened” (Luke 11:10).

How does God Explain This Walk to Us?

  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin to have a heart with holy determination to separate and withdraw from the world. “While we look not at the things which are seen” (2 Cor. 4:18); “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Cor. 6:17);
  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin quietly turning toward God, while preparing oneself to be illuminated by His wondrous light. “In the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up” (Ps. 5:3); “Truly my soul waiteth upon God” (Ps. 62:1);
  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin to focus upon His attributes to gain an increasingly deeper understanding of them and perceive their influence in the heart. “Therefore I will look unto the LORD” (Mic. 7:7); “They looked unto Him, and were lightened” (Ps. 34:5). Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible (Heb. 11:27);
  • God says we can walk with Him when we begin to engage in humble intimate communion with God, silently presenting ourselves before God, reverently bowing before Him in worship, offering holy prayer, humble submission, trusting, rejoicing and delighting in the Lord, in a willing surrender to the service of the Lord, living in a manner pleasing to Him. Because:
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the righteousness of our God who says in 1 Peter 1:13-16Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the goodness of our god as we confess with Asaph, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. . . . but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” ( 73:25-26).
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the love of God and as 1 John 3:1-3Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
  • Walking with god causes us to look at the holiness of God, as inDaniel 7:9-10“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated;

His garment was white as snow,

And the hair of His head was like pure wool.

His throne was a fiery flame,

Its wheels a burning fire;

A fiery stream issued

And came forth from before Him.

A thousand thousands ministered to Him;

Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

The court was seated,

And the books were opened.

Those whose conversation in the world is truly holy shall find their removal out of it truly happy.

Walking with God is the source[6] of:

  1. Purity:That it purifies and elevates the soul. It tends to depress and weaken, and to strengthen all the principles of grace. It makes us like God. Remember those words the Apostle Jesus loved once wrote? 1 John 3:1-3  Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
  2. Peace:walking with God is the source of peace, it is the life of the soul, the highest form of its activity, and the perennial source of blessedness. It is independent of all external circumstances. It may be enjoyed in solitude, in sickness, is poverty. It satisfies and fills the soul, and renders it blessed, so that no other good is desired. As Psalm 73:25 says “Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none on earth that I desire beside thee.”  And just as Jesus promised in John 14:1-6   “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 “And where I go you know, and the way you know.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
  3. Power:walking with God gives strength to do, to resist temptation, to bear trials and sufferings. It gives us power for good over our fellow–men to a greater extent than anything else. It cannot be imitated or feigned or an assumed, any more than a cold body can appear hot. The power emulates from the reality, not from the semblance. A painted flame gives no heat. But Jesus promised us His power when He said in Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

000206 AM Lost World-6

[1] Holiness, (Simpsonville, SC: Christian Classics Foundation) 1997

[2] Adapted from Charles Hodge, Sermon Outlines, “Walking with God” 1/7/1855, (Simpsonville, SC: Christian Classics Foundation) 1997.

[3] Adapted and paraphrased from Hughes, R. Kent, Preaching the Word: Hebrews Vol 1&2—An Anchor for the Soul, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books) 1998, c1993.

[4] Adapted from Charles Hodge, Sermon Outlines, “Walking with God” 1/7/1855, (Simpsonville, SC: Christian Classics Foundation) 1997.

[5] These five points are adapted and paraphrased from MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Hebrews 11:1-6  (Chicago: Moody Press) 1983.

[6] Adapted from Charles Hodge, Sermon Outlines, “Walking with God” 1/7/1855, (Simpsonville, SC: Christian Classics Foundation) 1997.