Faith Walks with God

Hebrews 11
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Pastor Colin used the account of Enoch to demonstrate that faith means walking with God, as stated in Hebrews 11:5, where Enoch was taken up rather than seeing death.

Pastor Colin delved into Enoch’s context, pointing out that he lived amidst growing wickedness and viewed the approach of God’s judgment. Enoch’s walking with God was shown to have intensified after he became a father, suggesting new responsibilities can deepen one’s reliance on God.

The longevity of pre-flood generations, including Enoch’s, was addressed, with the observation that their lifespans were significantly longer than those today. However, death was inevitable, a truth underscored by the death of Adam, the first natural death in the Bible. Enoch’s subsequent ascension highlighted the hope that death’s power can be conquered, as Jesus later demonstrated through His resurrection and ascension.

1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:08,180 Please open your Bible at Hebrews and chapter 11 as we continue our series entitled, Living 2 00:00:08,180 –> 00:00:10,580 by Faith. 3 00:00:10,580 –> 00:00:15,540 Hebrews 11 as we’ve seen and as we’ve just heard, begins by telling us what faith is. 4 00:00:15,540 –> 00:00:19,100 It is the assurance of things hoped for. 5 00:00:19,100 –> 00:00:23,340 The conviction of things not seen. 6 00:00:23,340 –> 00:00:27,780 And the hoped-for things that we are sure of are the things that God has promised. 7 00:00:27,780 –> 00:00:34,099 The unseen things that we are convinced of are the things that God has revealed. 8 00:00:34,099 –> 00:00:41,099 So we have seen that faith believes what God has revealed and trusts what God has promised. 9 00:00:41,099 –> 00:00:45,340 Now, what does it mean for us then, to live by faith? 10 00:00:45,340 –> 00:00:54,060 Well, in this chapter God teaches us by pointing us to real life examples of faith in action. 11 00:00:54,119 –> 00:01:01,400 And each of them in this chapter really highlights a different aspect of faith. 12 00:01:01,400 –> 00:01:07,519 Last week we looked at the story of Abel that highlights the great truth that faith listens 13 00:01:07,519 –> 00:01:08,519 to God. 14 00:01:08,519 –> 00:01:15,199 He was commended as righteous because of the sacrifice that God accepted. 15 00:01:15,199 –> 00:01:17,839 He offered a first born lamb from the flock. 16 00:01:17,839 –> 00:01:21,099 A life was laid down in his place. 17 00:01:21,239 –> 00:01:26,080 And Abel’s sacrifice, of course, points us forward to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes 18 00:01:26,080 –> 00:01:29,279 away the sin of the world. 19 00:01:29,279 –> 00:01:35,480 Offering a lamb was a sign that Abel trusted the promise of God, and that promise, of course, 20 00:01:35,480 –> 00:01:40,279 was fulfilled when Jesus laid down his life for us on the cross. 21 00:01:40,279 –> 00:01:47,160 God gave his one and only son as the sacrifice for our sins. 22 00:01:47,180 –> 00:01:52,900 And we saw that Abel knew that a life needed to be laid down because God had revealed that 23 00:01:52,900 –> 00:01:59,500 way back in the garden when he made garments of skins to clothe Adam and Eve. 24 00:01:59,500 –> 00:02:07,739 God revealed the acceptable sacrifice, and faith listens to what God has revealed. 25 00:02:07,739 –> 00:02:16,039 Now, Hebrews 11 really paints a picture of what this life of faith looks like, and each 26 00:02:16,119 –> 00:02:23,160 of the characters, as it were, adds more colour, fills out the picture of a life of faith. 27 00:02:23,160 –> 00:02:28,699 And today we come to the story of Enoch, where we learn that faith walks with God. 28 00:02:28,699 –> 00:02:36,759 Hebrews 11.5, By faith Enoch was taken up, so that he should not see death and he was 29 00:02:36,759 –> 00:02:41,279 not found, because God had taken him. 30 00:02:42,039 –> 00:02:48,059 Now the story of Enoch is found all the way back in Genesis and chapter five, and you 31 00:02:48,059 –> 00:02:54,300 might like to turn back to that first book of the Bible with me now. 32 00:02:54,300 –> 00:03:02,119 God records there you will see the generations, ten generations from Adam to Noah, ten are 33 00:03:02,119 –> 00:03:08,100 recorded and we will look God willing at the story of Noah next week. 34 00:03:08,100 –> 00:03:16,559 Here we read about Adam and Seth and Enos and Kenan and Mahalallel and Jared and Enoch 35 00:03:16,559 –> 00:03:20,360 and Mithuselah and Lamech and Noah. 36 00:03:20,360 –> 00:03:27,300 Two questions, first, why are these names recorded? 37 00:03:27,300 –> 00:03:36,779 Well, if you were to look at the end of Luke chapter three, you will see that precisely 38 00:03:36,820 –> 00:03:44,020 the same list of names is recorded and that these are the line of descent into which the 39 00:03:44,020 –> 00:03:47,940 Lord Jesus Christ was born. 40 00:03:47,940 –> 00:03:55,059 In other words, and this is very important, what matters about each of these men is their 41 00:03:55,059 –> 00:03:58,419 relationship with Jesus. 42 00:03:58,419 –> 00:04:02,960 I mean what do we know about Jared, what do we know about Enoch? 43 00:04:03,559 –> 00:04:08,479 I mean these were unremarkable lives. 44 00:04:08,479 –> 00:04:18,260 No great triumphs, no great disasters, just ordinary folks of whom the thing that is of 45 00:04:18,260 –> 00:04:24,660 eternal significance is their relationship to Jesus Christ. 46 00:04:24,660 –> 00:04:28,679 That’s the only thing that ultimately mattered about them, it’s the thing that will ultimately 47 00:04:28,980 –> 00:04:33,339 about each and every one of us. 48 00:04:33,339 –> 00:04:38,200 What will matter about you forever is not how many people know your name, not how many 49 00:04:38,200 –> 00:04:45,700 people will follow you on social media, not a list of great things that you may have accomplished. 50 00:04:45,700 –> 00:04:51,399 It is the relationship that you have with Jesus Christ. 51 00:04:51,399 –> 00:04:55,779 Second question, why did they live so long, is a very obvious question when you read from 52 00:04:56,660 –> 00:05:01,899 Genesis and chapter 5, look there the life spans of these generations are roughly 10 53 00:05:01,899 –> 00:05:06,859 times as long as a typical life span today. 54 00:05:06,859 –> 00:05:11,540 Look Adam lived, verse 5, 930 years. 55 00:05:11,540 –> 00:05:13,640 Seth lived 912 years. 56 00:05:13,640 –> 00:05:14,660 Verse 8. 57 00:05:14,660 –> 00:05:18,000 Enosh, verse 11, lived 905 years. 58 00:05:18,000 –> 00:05:25,179 10 times as long as we might expect a life span to be today. 59 00:05:25,179 –> 00:05:33,380 It does seem that this was God’s provision for multiplying the human population in these 60 00:05:33,380 –> 00:05:35,880 earliest generations. 61 00:05:35,880 –> 00:05:40,820 After the time of Noah and the flood what you find is that human life spans come down 62 00:05:40,820 –> 00:05:41,820 very fast. 63 00:05:41,820 –> 00:05:50,140 It’s very different and they come down rapidly to what we are used to today. 64 00:05:50,140 –> 00:05:58,220 Now these first generations then lived for very long, ten times the life span that we 65 00:05:58,220 –> 00:06:01,140 have today before the flood. 66 00:06:01,140 –> 00:06:04,739 But they have one thing in common, and it is very obvious – it runs right throughout 67 00:06:04,739 –> 00:06:06,700 Genesis in Chapter 5. 68 00:06:06,700 –> 00:06:08,059 Look at verse 5. 69 00:06:08,059 –> 00:06:16,239 All the days that Adam lived were 930 years and he died. 70 00:06:16,640 –> 00:06:17,440 Verse 8. 71 00:06:17,440 –> 00:06:23,940 All the days of Seth were 912 years and he died. 72 00:06:23,940 –> 00:06:24,940 Verse 11. 73 00:06:24,940 –> 00:06:31,100 All the days of Enosh were 905 years and he died. 74 00:06:31,100 –> 00:06:39,959 You read this chapter, and the phrase, and he died is like a grim drumbeat that relentlessly 75 00:06:39,959 –> 00:06:42,000 continues throughout the entire chapter. 76 00:06:42,299 –> 00:06:47,619 It’s rather like when you’re on a train and it gets up to speed and you have 77 00:06:47,619 –> 00:06:51,220 that repeating sound of the wheels clicking on the rails. 78 00:06:51,220 –> 00:06:52,899 You know, and then he died. 79 00:06:52,899 –> 00:06:53,899 And then he died. 80 00:06:53,899 –> 00:06:54,980 And then he died. 81 00:06:54,980 –> 00:06:56,040 And then he died. 82 00:06:56,040 –> 00:06:57,220 And then he died. 83 00:06:57,220 –> 00:07:05,299 It’s right across the human race, with one exception in this chapter you come to verse 84 00:07:05,299 –> 00:07:11,260 24 and in the middle of this relentless rain of death. 85 00:07:11,260 –> 00:07:20,440 We read these words, Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. 86 00:07:20,440 –> 00:07:27,100 Now, by any standards, this is a wonderful and a remarkable story. 87 00:07:27,100 –> 00:07:36,739 Suddenly, there is a break in the dark cloud, light shines into the darkness and we have 88 00:07:36,739 –> 00:07:43,019 reason to hope that the reign of death may not be forever. 89 00:07:43,019 –> 00:07:48,220 The story, of course, points us to the marvellous hope that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ 90 00:07:48,220 –> 00:07:55,820 who broke through the power of death and ascended into Heaven. 91 00:07:55,820 –> 00:07:57,859 Now this is the story that’s before us today. 92 00:07:57,859 –> 00:08:00,559 I want to make a number of observations from it. 93 00:08:00,559 –> 00:08:05,019 The first and most important is that Enoch walked with God. 94 00:08:05,140 –> 00:08:07,619 Do you see that that is stated twice? 95 00:08:07,619 –> 00:08:15,140 In the short verses, first verse twenty-two, Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah. 96 00:08:15,140 –> 00:08:22,299 And then verse twenty-four, Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 97 00:08:22,299 –> 00:08:28,799 Here’s the great thing for which this man was remembered, he walked with God. 98 00:08:28,799 –> 00:08:31,000 Now what does it mean to walk with God? 99 00:08:31,859 –> 00:08:41,400 Well to walk with God is very simply to live in a constant, conscious, enjoyment of the presence of God 100 00:08:41,719 –> 00:08:45,179 Let me suggest just five things that it involves. 101 00:08:45,179 –> 00:08:48,419 First, it involves peace. 102 00:08:48,419 –> 00:08:54,520 God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, you remember, but when they sinned, they hid 103 00:08:54,520 –> 00:08:55,520 from Him. 104 00:08:55,520 –> 00:08:59,619 Now, you can’t walk with someone when you’re hiding from them. 105 00:08:59,619 –> 00:09:03,820 To walk with God means that you are at peace with Him. 106 00:09:03,820 –> 00:09:11,919 It means that any known sin in your life has been confessed and it has been forgiven. 107 00:09:11,919 –> 00:09:20,059 And you are at peace in the presence of God because you have nothing to hide from Him. 108 00:09:20,059 –> 00:09:24,159 Second, to walk with God involves purpose. 109 00:09:24,159 –> 00:09:28,280 Walking always involves movement in a particular direction. 110 00:09:28,380 –> 00:09:32,979 If two people come to a crossroads one wants to go one way, the other goes the other way, 111 00:09:32,979 –> 00:09:35,900 well then by definition they cannot walk together. 112 00:09:35,900 –> 00:09:38,580 Amos says, can two walk together? 113 00:09:38,580 –> 00:09:42,119 How can two walk together unless they are agreed? 114 00:09:42,119 –> 00:09:48,380 So to walk with God then is to go in the direction that he is going. 115 00:09:48,380 –> 00:09:53,820 So for example, God is the great peacemaker, and when we seek to make peace we are walking 116 00:09:53,820 –> 00:09:55,280 with Him. 117 00:09:55,280 –> 00:09:57,619 God is merciful, and God is just. 118 00:09:57,619 –> 00:10:03,940 So when we do justly and when we love mercy that’s when we are walking humbly with our 119 00:10:03,940 –> 00:10:06,359 God. 120 00:10:06,359 –> 00:10:09,940 Then walking very obviously involves progress. 121 00:10:09,940 –> 00:10:14,539 Walking isn’t sitting, and walking isn’t sprinting. 122 00:10:14,539 –> 00:10:15,539 What is walking? 123 00:10:15,539 –> 00:10:23,219 It is a slow, steady movement forward, and to walk with God therefore, does not mean 124 00:10:23,219 –> 00:10:24,299 that you are perfect. 125 00:10:24,619 –> 00:10:28,739 It doesn’t mean that Enoch was, but if you are walking, you are making progress. 126 00:10:28,739 –> 00:10:31,780 That’s why Paul says, I press on. 127 00:10:31,780 –> 00:10:34,419 I am straining towards the mark. 128 00:10:34,419 –> 00:10:40,900 I am not there yet, but I am seeking to move in the direction that God is calling me. 129 00:10:40,900 –> 00:10:44,580 Walking isn’t always easy, if the wind is against you, you may need to lean into the 130 00:10:44,580 –> 00:10:45,619 wind. 131 00:10:45,619 –> 00:10:49,700 You may feel that you are making progress, very slowly indeed, but at least when you 132 00:10:49,700 –> 00:10:53,580 are walking you are moving foreward. 133 00:10:53,580 –> 00:10:57,380 Fourth, it involves the greatest privilege. 134 00:10:57,380 –> 00:11:06,580 Think about this, walking with God. 135 00:11:06,580 –> 00:11:10,320 What could be a greater privilege than that? 136 00:11:10,320 –> 00:11:16,460 What could compare with the creator of heaven and earth, the sovereign Lord of the universe, 137 00:11:16,460 –> 00:11:22,859 who is your heavenly Father, so intensely interested in your life? 138 00:11:23,640 –> 00:11:32,780 So intimately involved in all that concerns you that he would choose to walk with you. 139 00:11:32,780 –> 00:11:36,239 And then think of the pleasure involved. 140 00:11:36,239 –> 00:11:40,619 If you want to get to some place fast, go in a car. 141 00:11:40,619 –> 00:11:47,500 But if you want to enjoy a place, get out of the car and go for a walk. 142 00:11:47,799 –> 00:11:53,580 When you get out of the car and go for a walk, you will see things that you would not see 143 00:11:53,580 –> 00:11:55,219 as you’re just driving by. 144 00:11:55,219 –> 00:11:59,859 You will smell things, you will hear things, you will touch things. 145 00:11:59,859 –> 00:12:02,900 Walking with God is the greatest pleasure. 146 00:12:02,900 –> 00:12:06,719 David says this to the Lord, 147 00:12:06,780 –> 00:12:14,979 at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 148 00:12:14,979 –> 00:12:20,380 Now that means more than that heaven is a place of great happiness. 149 00:12:20,380 –> 00:12:26,419 What He says is, pleasures are found at your right hand. 150 00:12:26,419 –> 00:12:36,539 And those who walk with God, taste these pleasures on earth before they ever arrive in heaven. 151 00:12:36,539 –> 00:12:45,219 So there is this conscious, constant enjoyment of the presence of God. 152 00:12:45,219 –> 00:12:48,260 That’s what walking with God is. 153 00:12:48,260 –> 00:12:53,900 It is a taste on earth of the joys of heaven. 154 00:12:53,900 –> 00:13:01,020 It involves peace and progress and purpose and privilege and pleasure. 155 00:13:01,020 –> 00:13:05,460 Enoch walked with God. 156 00:13:05,460 –> 00:13:10,500 Second observation, Enoch walked with God in the light of the coming judgment. 157 00:13:10,500 –> 00:13:16,200 Enoch walked with God in the light of the coming judgment. 158 00:13:16,200 –> 00:13:23,020 Now the early chapters of Genesis really chart the growth of sin in the world and its devastating 159 00:13:23,020 –> 00:13:24,940 effects. 160 00:13:24,940 –> 00:13:30,539 Remember Adam and Eve had disobeyed a single command of God. 161 00:13:30,539 –> 00:13:33,099 You might think, well, is that really such a big deal? 162 00:13:33,239 –> 00:13:38,760 You read the chapters of Genesis and you see what a big deal it really was. 163 00:13:38,760 –> 00:13:43,380 One generation gives birth to this little lad Cain, and the world’s first baby becomes 164 00:13:43,380 –> 00:13:46,340 the world’s first murderer. 165 00:13:46,340 –> 00:13:52,940 Now, ten generations are recorded here from Adam to Noah. 166 00:13:52,940 –> 00:13:58,919 By the time of Noah, we read in Genesis chapter 6 verse 5, that the Lord saw that the wickedness 167 00:13:59,559 –> 00:14:06,559 was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart were only evil 168 00:14:07,739 –> 00:14:08,799 continually. 169 00:14:08,799 –> 00:14:15,799 Now, Enoch was the seventh of the ten generations from Adam to Noah. 170 00:14:16,219 –> 00:14:21,979 You can be pretty sure, that if wickedness had absolutely filled the earth by the tenth 171 00:14:21,979 –> 00:14:27,380 generation, it was pretty rampant already by the seventh. 172 00:14:27,380 –> 00:14:34,380 And that is confirmed by a prophecy, a word spoken directly from God through Enoch that 173 00:14:34,780 –> 00:14:41,020 is recorded in the letter of Jude at the end of the new testament. 174 00:14:41,020 –> 00:14:48,020 Enoch was given a prophetic glimpse of the day of the glorious return of our Lord Jesus 175 00:14:48,400 –> 00:14:54,979 Christ, when he will bring judgment, establish truth, right every wrong, and bring the whole 176 00:14:55,080 –> 00:15:02,080 world to justice. And we read in Jude that Enoch the seventh from adam prophesied, and 177 00:15:03,539 –> 00:15:09,059 here is what he prophesied in his day, saying, Behold the Lord comes with tens of thousands 178 00:15:09,059 –> 00:15:16,059 of His holy ones to execute judgment, on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their 179 00:15:16,280 –> 00:15:21,919 deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh 180 00:15:22,219 –> 00:15:29,099 things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Now notice that the word ungodly or ungodliness 181 00:15:29,099 –> 00:15:36,099 occurs four times because that was the environment in which Enoch lived. Enoch was surrounded 182 00:15:43,380 –> 00:15:50,380 by people who had no place for God. People who spoke against God. People who were dying 183 00:15:51,919 –> 00:15:58,919 or defiant towards God. And that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? And here’s the encouragement 184 00:16:01,500 –> 00:16:08,500 for us that in such a world Enoch walked with God. That’s what he did and that is what 185 00:16:10,260 –> 00:16:17,340 we are called to do today. Now, Enoch did live with a profound awareness 186 00:16:17,340 –> 00:16:23,080 that judgement was coming and we know that not only because of the prophecy that is recorded 187 00:16:23,080 –> 00:16:30,080 in Jude. But there may also be a hint of it in the name that Enoch gave to his son. 188 00:16:33,619 –> 00:16:40,619 E. W. Pink says that the name Methuselah, which Enoch gave to his son can mean 189 00:16:41,460 –> 00:16:48,460 when he is dead it shall be sent. Now that’s a strange name to give your son. 190 00:16:52,859 –> 00:16:57,900 When he is dead it shall be sent. 191 00:16:57,900 –> 00:17:04,900 E. W. Pink suggests that perhaps Enoch gave this unusual name to his son because 192 00:17:05,900 –> 00:17:12,900 God had revealed to him that when Methuselah died the flood would come. 193 00:17:13,699 –> 00:17:18,359 And that of course is exactly what happened. 194 00:17:18,359 –> 00:17:25,359 The Flood came in the 600 year of Noah’s life and if you compare that 195 00:17:25,459 –> 00:17:29,780 with the long years of Methuselah’s life you will see, 196 00:17:29,780 –> 00:17:33,599 when you put the numbers in Genesis chapter 5 together and add them all up, 197 00:17:33,680 –> 00:17:40,680 you will see that God sent the flood in exactly the year that Methuselah died. 198 00:17:40,780 –> 00:17:45,400 When he is dead it shall be sent. 199 00:17:45,400 –> 00:17:52,400 Enoch the world as you know it is going to be washed away 200 00:17:55,400 –> 00:18:02,400 and I’m going to let you in on a secret as to when it will happen. 201 00:18:02,400 –> 00:18:09,400 When your son dies the judgment will come. 202 00:18:10,520 –> 00:18:14,000 Now P!nk asked this question. 203 00:18:14,000 –> 00:18:21,000 If that revelation has been given to you what effect would it have on you? 204 00:18:21,420 –> 00:18:28,500 Every time the boy takes sick, you’re going to say. 205 00:18:28,500 –> 00:18:32,300 This could be the end of the world. 206 00:18:32,400 –> 00:18:35,800 When he is dead it shall be said. 207 00:18:35,800 –> 00:18:42,800 You would live in the constant awareness that it could come at any time. 208 00:18:42,959 –> 00:18:45,939 Enoch knew that the Judgement of God was coming soon. 209 00:18:45,939 –> 00:18:52,540 He knew that he had to be ready to meet with God at any moment! 210 00:18:52,540 –> 00:18:59,540 And in the light of that Enoch walked with God. 211 00:19:00,280 –> 00:19:02,099 Now do you see how that speaks to us today? 212 00:19:02,099 –> 00:19:04,260 Are we not in the precisely the same position? 213 00:19:04,260 –> 00:19:09,800 It is appointed to man once to die, and after that is the judgement. 214 00:19:09,800 –> 00:19:15,219 And not one of us knows what that is, today, tomorrow, ten years – whatever. 215 00:19:15,219 –> 00:19:20,459 Therefore at all times we must cling to Jesus Christ as our Saviour. 216 00:19:20,459 –> 00:19:27,459 We must walk with God by faith, so that we are always ready to meet him by sight. 217 00:19:28,219 –> 00:19:33,180 Enoch walked with God in the light of the coming judgement. 218 00:19:33,180 –> 00:19:38,859 3rd – Enoch walked with God after he became a father. 219 00:19:38,859 –> 00:19:41,680 Notice Genesis chapter 5 and verse 21. 220 00:19:41,800 –> 00:19:47,640 When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he fathered Methuselah. 221 00:19:47,800 –> 00:19:56,739 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah. 222 00:19:57,359 –> 00:20:04,979 seems the responsibility of becoming a father caused Enoch to feel that he needed God in 223 00:20:05,099 –> 00:20:17,599 a way he had not felt before. 224 00:20:17,599 –> 00:20:24,180 At this point, in the scale of things – these folks are living typically ten times as long 225 00:20:24,180 –> 00:20:31,619 as their regular lifespan today, and at 65 Enoch was about one-fifth of the way through 226 00:20:31,619 –> 00:20:37,920 his lifespan. So a person a fifth of the way through their life span on a normal span today 227 00:20:37,920 –> 00:20:42,300 might be around eighteen years old, I guess. 228 00:20:42,300 –> 00:20:48,920 So here then is a young man who suddenly finds himself in a place where he knows he needs 229 00:20:48,920 –> 00:20:55,739 the help of God as he had never quite seen or felt it before. Somehow, Enoch had got 230 00:20:55,739 –> 00:21:03,420 through his early years without too much trouble. Always believed in God. Always come to worship. 231 00:21:03,420 –> 00:21:11,760 Always offered the right sacrifice. But when Methuselah was born, Enoch knew that he needed 232 00:21:11,760 –> 00:21:16,099 help. And he began to walk with God. 233 00:21:16,719 –> 00:21:28,060 Now maybe some of us today know what this is like. Something big changes in your life. 234 00:21:28,060 –> 00:21:36,020 You have a new responsibility. You are not in the position that you were in before and 235 00:21:36,020 –> 00:21:44,459 suddenly you have an awareness, I am out of my depth. Has it occurred to you that God 236 00:21:44,459 –> 00:21:50,819 may have pushed you out of your depth so that you will seek him in a way that you’ve never 237 00:21:50,819 –> 00:21:58,500 really done before? You become a father and a mother. You find 238 00:21:58,500 –> 00:22:05,119 yourself saying, God has given me this wonderful gift of a child, if I am to raise a child 239 00:22:05,119 –> 00:22:13,599 in this ungodly world I’m gonna need strength. I’m gonna need wisdom. I’m gonna need patience. 240 00:22:13,599 –> 00:22:21,280 I’m gonna need to have a really pure heart. How am I gonna get these things? I can only 241 00:22:21,280 –> 00:22:26,800 get them from God himself. I need to walk with him. 242 00:22:26,800 –> 00:22:35,119 So Enoch walked with God. He walked with God in the light of the coming judgment. He walked 243 00:22:35,119 –> 00:22:41,619 with God after he became a father. And then fourthly, Enoch walked with God until God 244 00:22:41,619 –> 00:22:48,520 took him home. This was the pattern of his life after Methuselah was born. Not just for 245 00:22:48,520 –> 00:22:53,699 a short time, we’re told verse 22, Enoch walked with God after fathered Methuselah 246 00:22:53,699 –> 00:23:00,780 300 years, that’s the rest of his life. Enoch walked with God, verse 24, and he was 247 00:23:00,780 –> 00:23:09,640 not for God took him. Now here’s something that I found fascinating 248 00:23:09,780 –> 00:23:14,099 and I think that there is some significant things here for us today. Genesis chapter 249 00:23:14,099 –> 00:23:21,959 five is a chapter of numbers, and you can just see that, looking at it. And as every 250 00:23:21,959 –> 00:23:31,060 accountant knows, the numbers always tell a story, and I want to make two observations 251 00:23:32,020 –> 00:23:42,579 today. First, Adam was still living when Enoch was born. And you can have some fun if you’re 252 00:23:42,579 –> 00:23:49,780 inclined to just adding up the numbers perhaps later today, but if you add the ages at which 253 00:23:49,780 –> 00:23:55,780 each of these patriarchs became a father, just put them end to end, you will find that 254 00:23:55,780 –> 00:24:06,260 from Adam to the birth of Enoch was 622 years. That’s 130 plus 105 plus 90 plus 70 plus 65 plus 255 00:24:06,260 –> 00:24:18,420 162, 622 years. Then, we’re told in verse 5 that Adam lived for 930 years, so clearly, 256 00:24:18,420 –> 00:24:27,699 Adam was still living when Enoch was born. More than that, Adam was still living, if you add the 257 00:24:27,699 –> 00:24:33,739 numbers further, when Enoch’s son, Methuselah was born, and he was still living when Enoch’s 258 00:24:33,739 –> 00:24:43,040 grandson, Lamech, was born. In other words, 9 generations, imagine this, 9 generations were all 259 00:24:43,040 –> 00:24:52,140 living at the same time. Adam lived to see his great-great-great-great-great-Great grandchildren, 260 00:24:52,140 –> 00:25:01,959 that is an awful lot of birthdays to remember. Nine generations living at the same time. Second, 261 00:25:01,959 –> 00:25:11,099 Enoch was taken soon after Adam died. Now, again, this is just very clear from 262 00:25:11,099 –> 00:25:19,420 the numbers in Genesis chapter 5. Adam died after 930 years. And if you add up all the numbers, 263 00:25:19,420 –> 00:25:29,979 you will find that Enoch was taken up to heaven after 987 years. So this was soon after the death 264 00:25:29,979 –> 00:25:40,099 of Adam and before any of the others listed in Genesis chapter 5 had died. Now, as you 265 00:25:40,099 –> 00:25:51,780 think about that, imagine the impact of the first recorded natural death in the Bible. 266 00:25:51,780 –> 00:25:59,780 Remember Abel had died but he had been murdered and that had happened before Seth or any of 267 00:25:59,780 –> 00:26:08,839 the other characters listed here in Genesis chapter 5 had even been born. But at some 268 00:26:09,500 –> 00:26:24,459 Adam began to get weaker. And can you now picture Seth and Enoch and Kenan and Mahalalal 269 00:26:24,459 –> 00:26:32,680 and Jared and Enoch and Methuselah and probably little Lamech as well, they’re all gathering 270 00:26:33,239 –> 00:26:41,979 old man. And they knew what death was because they’d seen it in the world of the animals. 271 00:26:41,979 –> 00:26:54,219 But they’d never seen it in a man before. And then the first man died. And all the others 272 00:26:54,219 –> 00:27:06,079 are looking and saying, Oh, this is what’s going to happen to me. It’s the first awareness 273 00:27:06,079 –> 00:27:19,140 of death in the Bible. Death by natural causes. Death by the passage of years. But God is 274 00:27:19,500 –> 00:27:26,500 full of grace and of mercy. And soon after the death of Adam, the first death by natural 275 00:27:27,380 –> 00:27:34,380 causes, before anyone else in this list has passed that way. God gives this wonderful 276 00:27:34,660 –> 00:27:41,660 sign that one day the power of death will be broken. Death, you see, is like a river 277 00:27:42,260 –> 00:27:49,260 that separates us from the presence of God in heaven. All of us have to cross the river, 278 00:27:54,739 –> 00:28:01,020 but Enoch did not go through it. God, as it were, picked him up and just took him across 279 00:28:01,020 –> 00:28:08,020 it. Enoch walked with God, verse 24, and he was not, for God took him. Hebrew 11, verse 280 00:28:08,859 –> 00:28:15,859 6 says, Enoch was taken up, so that he should not see death, and he was not found because 281 00:28:18,060 –> 00:28:25,060 God had taken him. God is giving, do you see, to all these other men, this marvelous assurance 282 00:28:27,859 –> 00:28:34,859 that one day, even death itself will be conquered. Enoch was taken. Of course, as we stare back 283 00:28:35,099 –> 00:28:42,099 into the midst of the earliest history, we find ourselves saying, well, how in the world 284 00:28:42,180 –> 00:28:48,459 can that be, and the answer of course lizes in the resurrection and the ascension of the 285 00:28:48,459 –> 00:28:54,819 Lord Jesus Christ, to which this story so clearly and so wonderfully points. Our savior 286 00:28:54,819 –> 00:28:59,699 broke the power of death when he rose from the grave, and the scripture tells us that 287 00:28:59,699 –> 00:29:08,339 he was taken up into heaven, Acts chapter 1 and verse 11, and he says, I go to prepare 288 00:29:08,339 –> 00:29:19,260 a place for you and I will come again and take you to be with myself, that where I am 289 00:29:19,260 –> 00:29:29,300 you may be also. You know, death for a believer, whenever it comes, is Christ taking you 290 00:29:29,619 –> 00:29:39,660 home. Most of us will be taken through the river. Those who are alive when Christ returns 291 00:29:39,660 –> 00:29:49,660 in glory will be taken across the river without ever going through it. Either way, it is Christ 292 00:29:49,660 –> 00:30:01,380 who takes us up and we will be at home with Him. Enoch walked with God. He walked with 293 00:30:01,380 –> 00:30:06,839 God in the light of the coming judgment. He walked with God after he became a father and 294 00:30:06,839 –> 00:30:14,900 he walked with God until God took him home. And here’s the very last thing today, Enoch 295 00:30:14,900 –> 00:30:21,599 walked with God by faith. Of course, that’s the central emphasis of Hebrews and Chapter 296 00:30:21,599 –> 00:30:23,359 11 that we’re looking at. 297 00:30:23,359 –> 00:30:30,540 And immediately after, telling us the story of Enoch, it’s applied in this way. Hebrews 298 00:30:30,540 –> 00:30:31,540 says, 299 00:30:31,540 –> 00:30:36,819 Without faith it is impossible to please him that is God, for whoever would draw near to 300 00:30:36,819 –> 00:30:46,380 God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 301 00:30:46,380 –> 00:30:50,660 Now here’s where it comes right home for us. You see, we were looking at this marvelous 302 00:30:50,660 –> 00:30:51,619 story. 303 00:30:51,619 –> 00:30:56,939 Enoch walked with God. Well, that’s wonderful for Enoch. What has that got to do with us? 304 00:30:56,939 –> 00:31:03,280 But do you see how Hebrews Chapter 11 and Verse 6 applies it to us directly, after telling 305 00:31:03,479 –> 00:31:04,359 us about Enoch? 306 00:31:04,359 –> 00:31:11,359 Hebrews says, whoever would draw near to God? 307 00:31:12,160 –> 00:31:15,739 This is not just something for Enoch years and years and years ago. 308 00:31:15,739 –> 00:31:21,880 This is for us today. Here’s an open invitation as inclusive as it could possibly be. 309 00:31:21,880 –> 00:31:25,520 The word whoever, whoever would come near to God? 310 00:31:25,520 –> 00:31:30,599 Do you want to walk with God? Do you want to know the conscious enjoyment 311 00:31:30,640 –> 00:31:31,640 of His presence? 312 00:31:31,640 –> 00:31:33,819 Yes, this is open to you. How? 313 00:31:33,819 –> 00:31:38,800 It’s open to you by faith. 314 00:31:38,800 –> 00:31:42,319 Notice what Hebrews says in particular. 315 00:31:42,319 –> 00:31:49,319 If you would come near to God, if you would walk with Him, if you would live in the conscious 316 00:31:51,099 –> 00:31:54,699 enjoyment of His presence. 317 00:31:55,660 –> 00:31:57,500 Two things. 318 00:31:57,500 –> 00:32:01,540 You must believe that He exists. 319 00:32:01,540 –> 00:32:08,540 Now, there’s clearly more to that than believing that there’s a God. 320 00:32:09,599 –> 00:32:15,780 Whoever would draw near to God, literally translated, must believe that He is. 321 00:32:15,780 –> 00:32:17,859 He is. 322 00:32:17,859 –> 00:32:24,640 And there’s a clear allusion there to the wonderful revelation that God gave to Moses 323 00:32:24,640 –> 00:32:28,640 when Moses said, What is your name? 324 00:32:28,640 –> 00:32:34,599 And God said, I am who I am. 325 00:32:34,599 –> 00:32:39,099 And Hebrews says, If you’re going to walk with God, if you’re going to draw near to 326 00:32:39,099 –> 00:32:44,380 Him, you must believe that He is who he says He is. 327 00:32:44,719 –> 00:32:51,280 In other words, don’t go looking for a god of your own imagination. 328 00:32:51,280 –> 00:32:57,400 God has made Himself known in the Scriptures and supremely in the Lord Jesus Christ. 329 00:32:57,400 –> 00:33:04,780 And if you want to walk with Him, you must begin here by believing what He says about 330 00:33:04,780 –> 00:33:06,219 Himself. 331 00:33:08,680 –> 00:33:12,640 And second, if you would draw near to God. 332 00:33:12,760 –> 00:33:15,400 This is open to any person. 333 00:33:16,180 –> 00:33:21,479 If you would draw near to God, walk with Him as Enoch walked with God, then you must believe 334 00:33:21,479 –> 00:33:28,800 that He rewards those who seek Him. 335 00:33:29,459 –> 00:33:33,099 In other words, there really is something for you to do here. 336 00:33:33,119 –> 00:33:36,660 You must seek Him. 337 00:33:36,660 –> 00:33:40,140 Walking with God doesn’t just happen. 338 00:33:40,160 –> 00:33:44,959 There’s an intentional activity on your side as well as on the side of God who draws 339 00:33:44,959 –> 00:33:45,979 near to you. 340 00:33:45,979 –> 00:33:47,420 You must draw near to Him. 341 00:33:47,420 –> 00:33:49,579 You must seek Him. 342 00:33:50,520 –> 00:33:55,939 So it’s no use saying, if God wants me He can make Himself known to me. 343 00:33:55,939 –> 00:34:01,979 No, God has made Himself known to you in Jesus Christ, and our calling — your calling 344 00:34:01,979 –> 00:34:04,540 — is to seek Him. 345 00:34:04,540 –> 00:34:07,300 This is a constant theme of the scripture. 346 00:34:07,300 –> 00:34:09,719 Ask, and it will be given to you. 347 00:34:09,800 –> 00:34:12,879 Seek, then you’ll find. 348 00:34:12,879 –> 00:34:15,520 Knock, and it will be open to you. 349 00:34:15,520 –> 00:34:17,439 For everyone who asks, receives. 350 00:34:17,439 –> 00:34:19,800 And to the one who seeks, he finds. 351 00:34:19,800 –> 00:34:22,860 And to the one who knocks it will be opened. 352 00:34:23,959 –> 00:34:26,620 Or back in Isaiah, in chapter 55. 353 00:34:26,620 –> 00:34:30,620 Seek the Lord while he may be found. 354 00:34:30,800 –> 00:34:35,199 That’s now, because he’s made Himself known in Jesus Christ. 355 00:34:35,199 –> 00:34:37,459 Call upon Him while He is near. 356 00:34:37,459 –> 00:34:41,100 Now, as he speaks to us in and through his Word. 357 00:34:41,100 –> 00:34:42,879 Let the wicked forsake his way, 358 00:34:42,879 –> 00:34:44,860 and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 359 00:34:44,860 –> 00:34:46,560 Let him return to the Lord, 360 00:34:46,560 –> 00:34:49,120 that he may have compassion on him, 361 00:34:49,120 –> 00:34:53,060 and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 362 00:34:54,399 –> 00:34:57,379 And as you seek the Lord, 363 00:34:58,100 –> 00:35:02,139 He gives you this marvelous promise. 364 00:35:02,300 –> 00:35:06,979 He rewards those who seek, 365 00:35:07,560 –> 00:35:09,639 Him. 366 00:35:09,639 –> 00:35:12,260 You say, what is the reward? 367 00:35:13,639 –> 00:35:16,899 The reward of seeking God 368 00:35:17,459 –> 00:35:20,199 is finding Him. 369 00:35:20,540 –> 00:35:23,679 God is the reward of all who seek Him. 370 00:35:24,060 –> 00:35:25,360 God says to Abraham, 371 00:35:25,360 –> 00:35:27,659 Do not be afraid, I am your shield, 372 00:35:27,659 –> 00:35:34,239 and I am your very great reward. 373 00:35:35,239 –> 00:35:39,560 God has revealed Himself in 374 00:35:39,560 –> 00:35:42,199 the scripture and 375 00:35:42,199 –> 00:35:45,280 supremely in the Lord Jesus Christ. 376 00:35:45,280 –> 00:35:51,000 So that all who seek him will find him. 377 00:35:51,000 –> 00:35:56,080 You will seek me and you will 378 00:35:56,080 –> 00:36:03,479 find me when you seek me with all your heart. 379 00:36:04,120 –> 00:36:07,639 Let’s pray together. 380 00:36:07,639 –> 00:36:09,959 Father we marvel at 381 00:36:09,959 –> 00:36:13,000 that amazing promise that 382 00:36:13,000 –> 00:36:14,639 you, the invisible and 383 00:36:14,639 –> 00:36:16,760 inscrutable God, who would 384 00:36:16,760 –> 00:36:19,199 be beyond our knowing if 385 00:36:19,199 –> 00:36:20,620 you had not made Yourself 386 00:36:20,620 –> 00:36:22,939 known, should have so 387 00:36:22,939 –> 00:36:24,520 revealed yourself to us in 388 00:36:24,520 –> 00:36:26,300 Christ and so drawn near 389 00:36:26,300 –> 00:36:29,100 to us in Christ that we 390 00:36:29,100 –> 00:36:30,840 by your gracious invitation 391 00:36:31,060 –> 00:36:34,139 may in faith draw near to 392 00:36:34,139 –> 00:36:38,520 you and know the conscious 393 00:36:38,520 –> 00:36:41,100 enjoyment of Your 394 00:36:41,100 –> 00:36:44,340 marvelous presence. May 395 00:36:44,340 –> 00:36:47,020 it be so, we pray in 396 00:36:47,020 –> 00:36:49,840 Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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Hebrews 11 is an exposition of faith. It begins with a definition, and then gives us models of men and women who exercised faith. The series ‘Living By Faith’ looks at 10 of them to learn what it means for us to live by faith today.

Colin Smith

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