Sermon Central
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Enoch- The Man Who Walked With God Series
Contributed by Bob Marcaurelle on Sep 20, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: A biographical study of the life of Enoch, who shows us Christianity at its best goes beyond being our religion. It is a lifelong friendship with God that leads us to his home at death.
From Adam to Malachi- Sermon 2
Gen. 5:21-24
ENOCH - THE MAN WHO WALKED WITH GOD
Period 1: The Beginnings (Genesis 1-11)10,000 (?) - 2000 BC
1) Creation - Genesis 1-2
2) Condemnation (Paradise Lost)- Genesis 3
3) Civilizations –Genesis 4-5
4) Condemnation (The Flood)
5) Civilizations
6) Condemnation (The Confused Languages and Separation)
In these first 8000+ years of human history, we see the spread of CIVILIZATION from the line of Cain. The Bible and archeology point to the domestication of livestock, the development of music, and the invention of tools (4:19-23 f). But side by side with it, we see the spread of SIN to spoil it. Cain’s descendents culminate in Lamech who murdered a young man for hurting him and then boasted to his wives (plural) that he was seven times as evil as Cain (4:23-24).
This leads to the inevitability of judgment. This evil festered and intensified until it finally brought about the judgment of the Flood (Gen. 6). This was followed by the judgment at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11) and the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18). And the story of civilization will end at the judgment of the Return of Christ (1 Th. 4:12-5:10) Dr. Criswell said, “Man has learned to fly through the air like an Eagle; bore through the earth like a mole; and swim through the oceans like a fish; but has never learned to walk on the earth like the human being God intended him to be.” The image of God in us enables us to build great civilizations, but the sin in us causes us to tear it down.
But thank God we see, from the line of Seth; the spread of salvation. In Seth we see
the worship of God; as men called on the name of the Lord (4:26). In Enoch we see those who walk with God and are welcomed by him into heaven. And in Noah we see those who work and witness for God, and are saved from judgment. Today we look at Enoch. Three passages tell his story.
Gen. 5:21-24 (NIV)
"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
Heb. 11:5
"By faith Enoch was taken out of this life and did not experience death. He could not be found because God had taken him away. Before he was taken, he was complimented as one who pleased God".
“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these (evil) men: ‘Look, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have committed in such ungodly ways, and of all the harsh things ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These men follow their own evil desires.”
A. ENOCH’S WALK
1. A Saved Life
The Christian life is often compared to walking. (Eph. 4:1 / I Jn. 1:6-7). This points to a lifelong process and relationship. And it has a starting point. We are not born walking with God; but yelling and screaming to have things our way. Jude calls it “following our own evil desires”.
It begins with a touch from God. At age 65, when his son Methusaleh was born, God got Enoch’s attention. God uses pleasure and pain to get our attention.
Henry Brant told of a Christian lawyer who once had no interest in things of God. He was not an evil person but an indifferent one. Then something happened that changed his life. His eight year old daughter drowned in their pool and he said, "I turned to God because, for the first time in my life, I faced something I could not handle."
It begins with trust. Hebrews says Enoch pleased God with his faith. We confess our sins and trust God to forgive us. Don’t let anyone tell you there is an Old Testament plan of salvation and a New Testament plan. The way of the Old and the New is to reach up in faith to the love of God reaching down to us. Look at ABEL! He is accepted by God because he brings a lamb for sacrifice. We are accepted only because of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Look at ENOCH! He pleased God because he believed God.
It begins with a transformation, what Jesus called a new birth. This is repentance, a sorrow for sin that leads us to commit, with God’s enablement, to live a life that pleases Him. Hebrews says Enoch pleased God and Jude tells how he preached against all ungodliness.
