Walking with God by George Whitefield. Enoch walked with God and he was no more because God took him away. Genesis chapter 5 verse 24.

Men of corrupt mind frequently complain and argue about any requirement to yield obedience to the just and holy commands of God. But perhaps one of the most common objections that they make is this, that our Lord's commands are not practical because they appear contrary to human nature. And consequently they say, he is a hard man, harvesting where he is not sown and gathering where he is not scattered seed. These were the same sentiments expressed by that wicked and lazy servant mentioned in the 25th chapter of Matthew. and are undoubtedly the same which many maintain in the present wicked and adulterous generation.

The Holy Spirit, foreseeing this, has carefully inspired holy men of old to record the examples of many holy men and women who, even under the Old Testament dispensation, were cheerfully enabled to take Christ's yoke on them and counted His service to be perfect freedom. The long list of saints and martyrs, drawn up in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, gives abundant evidence of the truth of this observation. What a great cloud of witnesses we have presented to us. All of them famous for their faith, and some shining with a greater degree of luster than others.

The very first one killed for his faith was Abel, so he leads the way. And next to him we find Enoch mentioned. not only because he was the next in the order of time, but also on account of his sincere devotion. He is spoken of in the words of the text in a very extraordinary manner. We have here a short but glorious account, both of his behavior in this world and the triumphant manner of his entry into the next. The former is contained in these words, Enoch walked with God. The latter in these, than he was no more because God took him away. He was not taken away in the common manner, for he did not experience death. For God had simply taken him away.

Exactly who Enoch was does not clearly appear in the text. To me, he seems most likely to have been a preacher of righteousness, much like Noah. And according to what we read in the book of Jude, he was a bold and fiery preacher. For Jude quotes one of his prophecies where Enoch says, see, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way. And of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Now my friends, whether he was a public or a private person, we know this. He has a noble testimony given about him in the living word of God. The author of the book of Hebrews says that before Enoch was taken away by God, he was acclaimed as one who pleased God. And the proof of it, beyond a doubt, was the fact that God took him from the earth. Took him from the earth while he was still living. and apparently transformed him directly into his heavenly body. It was the wonderful wisdom of God in the Old Testament to take Enoch and Elijah to heaven without death so that in the future when it would be declared that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven It might not seem to be something altogether incredible to the Jews, since they themselves confessed that two of their own prophets had ascended several hundred years before.

But it is not my plan to detain you any longer by elaborating or making observations on Enoch's character. Rather, what I have in view is to give a discourse, as the Lord would enable, on a very important subject, the subject of walking with God. Enoch walked with God. If this can be truly said of you and me after our death, then we will not have any reason to complain that we have lived in vain.

In handling my intended subject today, I will endeavor, first, to show what is implied in these words, walked with God. Secondly, I will define some ways which believers may keep up and maintain their walk with God. Thirdly, I will offer some motives to stir us up, if we have never walked with God before, to come and to walk with God now. And then lastly, I will close the message with a word or two of application.

For our first major point, let me show you what is implied in these words, walked with God. Or in other words, what it means to be walking with God.

First, walking with God implies that the prevailing power of hatred towards God within a person's heart is taken away by the Blessed Spirit of God. Perhaps it may seem hard for some to accept, but our own daily experience proves what scriptures so often assert that the carnal mind, the mind of unconverted man, is hatred, not only as an enemy, but hostility itself against God. So that it will not submit to the law of God, neither is it able to do so.

Indeed, one may wonder that any creature, especially that lovely creature man, made after his creator's own image, should ever have any hatred, much less the prevailing hostility against that very God in whom he lives and moves and has his being. But I am sorry to say that it is true. Our first parents acquired this hostility when they fell from God by eating the forbidden fruit. And the deadly and cancerous disease has descended to and completely contaminated all succeeding generations.

This hatred for God first revealed itself in Adam's endeavoring to hide himself in the trees of the garden. When he heard the voice of the Lord God, instead of running to him with an open heart, saying, here I am, Lord, have mercy on me. Rather, he now wanted no communion with God. And this newly contracted hostility towards God is further revealed by the excuse he made to the Most High, saying this, the woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it. By saying this, he in effect lays all the blame on God, as though he had said, if you had not given me this woman, I would not have sinned against you. So you may thank yourself for my transgression.

In the same manner, this hostility towards God works in the hearts of Adam's children. Now and again, they find something within them rising up against God, and even say to God, what did you do? They have more hatred and contempt for God than for anyone else. This hostility is like the command of the King of Aram. When he had ordered his 32 chariot commanders, do not fight with anyone. small or great, except the king of Israel. And this hatred also strikes against everything that has the appearance of real holiness, as in the case of the Assyrians who shot their arrows at Jehoshaphat because he was wearing the royal robes of the king.

This animosity revealed itself in the evil person of Cain. When he had hated and killed his brother Abel, Why? Because Abel loved God and was favored by God. And this same hatred rules and prevails in every man and woman who is an offspring of Adam. Therefore, there is a natural opposition to prayer and holiness, which we find in children and very often in adults, who have nevertheless been raised with a religious education. And all the blatant sin and wickedness of mankind, which like a flood has covered the world, are only a blending of many streams running from this dreadful, contagious fountain, a fountain of hatred towards God from man's desperately wicked and deceitful heart.

He that cannot understand and agree with this knows nothing yet in a saving manner of the Holy Scriptures or of the power of God. And everyone that is aware of this will readily acknowledge that before a person can be said to walk with God, the prevailing power of this hostility of the heart towards God must be destroyed. For persons cannot walk and keep company together who entertain an irreconcilable hostility and hatred towards one another.

Listen to me. The prevailing power of this hostility must be taken away. For we know that the root of it will never be totally removed until we bow down our heads and breathe our last breath. The Apostle Paul, no doubt, speaks of himself, not when he was a Pharisee, but rather as a Christian, when he complains that, when I wanted to do good, evil was right there with me, not having dominion over me, but opposing and resisting my good intentions and actions. so that I could not do the things which I wanted in that perfection which the new nature desired. This is what he calls sin living in him. But as for its prevailing power, it is destroyed in every soul that is truly born of God. And it is gradually weakened as the believer grows in grace and the spirit of God gains a greater and greater control of the heart.

Now secondly, walking with God not only implies that the prevailing power of hostility in a man's heart is taken away, but in addition, it implies that a person is actually reconciled to God the Father in and through the all-sufficient righteousness and atonement of his dear son, Jesus Christ. Do two people walk together unless they've agreed to do so? Jesus is our peace as well as our peacemaker. When we are justified by faith in Christ, then and only then will we have peace with God. Therefore, no one can claim to walk with God until they are justified.

Walking with a person is a sign that we are friends with that person. And despite the fact that we may have been enemies before, yet now we are reconciled and have become friends again. This is the great task that gospel ministers are sent out to accomplish. To us is committed the ministry of reconciliation. As ambassadors for God, we are to plead with sinners. We are to plead with sinners in Christ's place to be reconciled to God. And when they comply with the gracious invitation and are actually, by faith, brought into a state of reconciliation with God, then, and not until then, may they be said to have begun their walk with God.

Thirdly, walking with God implies a settled, abiding communion and fellowship with God, or what in Scripture is called the Holy Spirit living in us. This is what our Lord promised when he told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would be in and with them, not to be like a wandering man who only stays for a night, but to reside and make his home in their hearts. This, I believe, is what the Apostle John would have us to understand when he talks about a person living in Christ and walking as Christ himself also walked. And this is what is primarily meant in the words of our text, Enoch walked with God. That is, he kept up and maintained, to the best of his ability, a holy, settled, habitual, uninterrupted communion and fellowship with God in and through Christ Jesus.

To sum up what has been said in this part of our sermon, Walking with God consists chiefly in the unchanging, habitual determination of our will to seek after God in a routine dependence on His power and promises, in a constant dedication of all that we are to His glory, with the continuous desire to obey His commands in all that we do, and in addition, to find contentment and satisfaction in His pleasure and all that we may have to suffer.

Now, fourthly, walking with God implies that we make progress or advances in our spiritual lives. Walking in its basic definition implies progressive motion. A person that walks, though he moves slowly, yet he goes forward and does not stand in one place. And so it is with those that walk with God, They go on, as the psalmist says, from strength to strength. Or in the language of the Apostle Paul, they are being transformed into Christ's likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Now in one sense, our divine life in Christ can neither increase nor decrease. When a soul was born of God, for all intents and purposes, he is a child of God. And though he should live to the age of Methuselah, yet he would still be only a child of God. But in another sense, our spiritual life, or walk of holiness, reveals times of decline and advancement. On account of this, we find the people of God charged with backslidings and losing of their first love. Therefore, we read of such terms in Scripture as children, young men, and fathers in Christ. And because of this, the Apostle exhorts Timothy to let everyone see your progress. And what is required here of Timothy was also commanded by the Apostle Peter to all Christians when he said, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

All Christians will, to some degree, experience spiritual growth. And though a person grows as a Christian, yet there are some Christians that are more conformed to the divine image than others and will, after death, receive a greater reward.

Now, it is needful to observe that some people that have better hearts than they do heads, as well as men of corrupt minds, retrobates concerning the faith, have unknowingly taught the false doctrine which denies all spiritual growth in a believer, and therefore refuses to acknowledge the required spiritual progress of a believer that is declared in the Scriptures. May the Lord of all Lords deliver us from such false doctrines, and more especially from the corrupt practices that naturally result from such doctrines.

From what has been said thus far, we now know what is implied in the words, walked with God. That is, that the prevailing hostility of our hearts towards God was taken away by the power of the Spirit of God. And that we were actually reconciled and united to him by faith in Jesus Christ. And that we have kept up a settled communion and fellowship with him. And that we have made a daily progress in his fellowship. so as to be conformed more and more to the divine image.

Our second major point in this sermon is this. How do believers keep up and maintain their walk with God?

First, believers keep up and maintain their walk with God by reading His holy word. Diligently study the scriptures, says our blessed Lord. These are the scriptures that testify about me. And the psalmist tells us that God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. And he makes it one of the characteristics of a good man, saying that his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. Devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, says Paul to Timothy. And this book of the law says God to Joshua will not depart from your mouth. For whatever was written in the past was written for our learning. All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

If we ever lower the importance of our Bibles, and cease making the written word of God our sole guide in our faith and everyday life, then we will soon be vulnerable to every kind of delusion and be in great danger of destroying our faith and our conscience. Our blessed Lord, though he had the Spirit of God without measure, yet always was governed by and fought the devil with, it is written. This is what the apostle calls the sword of the Spirit. We may say of it, as David said of Goliath's sword, there is none like it.

The scriptures are called the living word of God, not only because they are generally used to create in us a new life, but also to maintain and increase that life in the soul. The apostle Peter, in his second epistle, prefers the word even to seeing Christ transfigured on the mountain. For after witnessing the transfiguration, he says in chapter one, verse 18, we ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. Then he adds, we have the words of the prophet made more certain and you will do well to pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. That is, till we shake off these bodies and see Jesus face to face.

Till then, my friends, we must see and converse with Christ through the window of his word. We must make his testimonies our counselors and daily, with Mary, sit at the feet of Jesus by faith, listening to his word. We will then happily discover that they are spirit and life, even food and drink to our souls.

Secondly, believers keep up and maintain their walk with God by private prayer. Believers keep up and maintain their walk with God by private prayer. The spirit of grace is always accompanied with the spirit of supplication. It is the very breath of the new creature. the fan of the divine life, whereby the spark of holy fire, kindled in the soul by God, is not only kept lit, but raised into a flame. A neglect of secret prayer has frequently been the cause of many spiritual diseases and has been attended with fatal consequences. Origin, the ancient church father observed this, that the day when he offered incense to an idol, earlier that morning, he had neglected his use of private prayer. It is one of the most valuable parts of the believer's spiritual armor. Praying always, says the apostle, on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Watch and pray, says our Lord. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Not that our Lord would always have us on our knees or in our closets to the neglect of our other duties, but what he means is that our souls should be kept in a praying mode so that we might be able to say, as a good man in Scotland once said to his friends on his deathbed, if these curtains or these walls could speak, They would tell you what sweet communion I have had here with my God. Oh, my friends, pray, pray. It brings and keeps God and man together. It raises man up to God and brings God down to man. Oh, dear believers, keep up your walk with God. Pray, pray, pray without ceasing. Spend a lot of time in secret, habitual prayer. And when you go about the common business of life, be busy with sudden, brief prayers, sending from time to time short messages to heaven on the wings of faith. They will reach the very heart of God and return to you again loaded with spiritual blessings.

Thirdly, holy and frequent meditation is another blessed means of keeping up a believer's walk with God. Prayer, reading, temptation, and meditation, says Luther, makes a minister. And they also make and perfect a Christian. Meditation to the soul is the same as digestion to the body. King David found it to be true. and therefore he was frequently engaged in meditation even in the middle of the night. We also read of Isaac going out into the fields to meditate in the evening. Meditation is kind of a silent prayer whereby the soul was frequently as it were carried out of itself to God and in a way becomes like those blessed angels in heaven who by intuition always look at the face of our Heavenly Father. No one but those happy souls that have been accustomed to this divine occupation can tell what a blessed promoter of the divine life meditation is. My heart grew hot within me, says David, as I meditated. And while the believers meditating on the works and word of God, especially that work of works, that wonder of wonders, that mystery of all godliness, God appearing in human form, the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world, The believer then frequently feels the fire of divine love kindle so that he is obliged to speak with his tongue and tell of the loving kindness of the Lord to his soul. Therefore, meditate frequently, all of you who desire to keep up and maintain a close and unwavering walk with the Most High God.

Fourthly, believers keep up their walk with God by watching and noting His providential dealings with them. If we believe the scriptures, we must believe what our Lord has declared in them, that the very hairs of His disciples' heads are all numbered, and that a sparrow does not fall to the ground without the knowledge of our Heavenly Father. Every cross has a purpose in it. And every particular set of circumstances sent by divine providence has some specific end to accomplish in those to whom it was sent.

If God sends physical and mental suffering, therefore he is saying, my son, keep yourself from idols. If he sends a blessing, then he says, as it were, by a still small voice, my son, give me your heart. Therefore, if believers would keep up their walk with God, they must from time to time hear what the Lord has to say concerning them in the voice of His providence.

Likewise, we find that Abraham's servant, when he went to obtain a wife for his master Isaac, eyed and watched the providence of God, and by that means found out the person that was intended for his master's wife. It has been said that a little hint from providence is enough for faith to feed upon. And I believe it will be part of our happiness in heaven to look back upon the various links in the golden chain which drew us there.

Therefore, in this life on earth, those that enjoy walking with God the most will be those who pay the closest attention to God's various dealings with them in respect to the providential circumstances that he sent to them here on earth.

Fifthly, in order to walk closely with God, his children must not only watch the movements of God's providence around them, but also the movements of his blessed spirit in their hearts. Those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God and yield themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, just like a little child gives its hand to be led by a parent. It is no doubt that this is the way we are to be converted, becoming like little children. It is nothing but the spirit of emotionalism to pretend to be guided by the Spirit and yet ignore the written word. It is every Christian's obligated duty to be guided by the Spirit in conjunction with the written word of God.

Therefore, my dear believers, watch the movements of God's blessed Spirit in your hearts and always test the suggestions or impressions that you may feel by the unerring rule of God's Most Holy Word. And if those impressions or suggestions are not found to be in agreement with the Word of God, then reject them as diabolical and false. By observing this caution, you will steer a middle course between the two dangerous extremes that many of this generation are in danger of running into.

I mean the extreme of emotionalism on the one hand, and on the other hand, the extreme of deism. Deism is the belief based solely on human reason in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.

In the sixth place, those that would maintain a holy walk with God must walk with Him in obedience to His command. They must walk with Him in obedience to His commands. It is recorded of Zechariah and Elizabeth that both of them observed all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. And all properly informed Christians will look on such requirements as the believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper, not as insignificant commands, but rather like conduit pipes, whereby the infinitely condescending Jehovah conveys his grace to their souls. They will look on them as children's bread and as their highest privileges.

Consequently, they will be glad when they hear others say, come, let us go up to the house of the Lord. They will delight to visit the place where God's honor dwells and will be eager to embrace every opportunity to be at the Lord's table, to show forth the death of the Lord Christ until he comes again.

Lastly, if you want to walk with God, you need to associate and keep company with those that are walking with him. You need to associate and keep company with those that are walking with him. My delight, says David, is in the excellent ones. The early Christians, no doubt, kept up their strength and their first love by continuing in fellowship with one another. The Apostle Paul knew this fool well. and therefore exhorts all Christians to see to it that they do not give up meeting together. For how can one be warm alone? And has not the wisest of men told us that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another?

If we look, therefore, into church history or make an honest observation of our own times, I believe we will find that as the power of God prevails, Christian associations and fellowship meetings prevail proportionately. And as one declines, the other also gradually declined and dwindled away at the same time. So it is necessary for those that would walk with God and keep up their life of true Christianity to meet together as they have opportunity in order to spur one another on towards love and good deeds.

Now to our third major point. Let me offer some motives to excite everyone to come and walk with God.

Motive number one. Walking with God is a very honorable thing. Generally, this is a prevailing motive to persons of all ranks, to stir them up to any important undertaking. Oh, that it might have its due weight and influence with you in respect to the matter now before us. I suppose you would all think that it was a very high honor to be admitted into an earthly prince's council, to be trusted with his secrets, to have his ear at all times. It seems that Haman thought this way when he boasted, in the book of Esther, chapter 5, verse 11, that besides his being elevated above the other nobles and officials, he stated that he was the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And later, when a question was put to this same Haman, chapter 6, verse 6, what should be done for the man the king delights to honor, he answered in verse 8,

Have them bring a royal robe of the king that he has worn and a horse that the king has ridden, one with the royal crest placed on his head. Then let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king's noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, this is what is done for the man the king delights to honor.

But oh, what is this honor in comparison to that which the lowliest on earth can enjoy when they walk with God? Do you think it is a small thing to have the Lord of lords living within you and to be called the friends of God? And every saint of God has such honor. The intimate and precious Lord is with them that fear him. And therefore, says the blessed Jesus,

I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends.

David was so aware of the honor that accompanies a walk with God that he declares,

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Oh, that we were like-minded with him.

Motive number two, walking with God is a pleasing thing. Walking with God is a pleasing thing. The wisest of men has told us that wisdom's ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. And I remember that godly Mr. Henry, when he was about to die, said to a friend,

you have heard many men's dying words and these are mine. A life spent in communion with God is the most pleasant life in the world.

I can also declare this to be true. Indeed, I have only been a Christian for just a few years, but I have enjoyed more solid pleasure in one moment's communion with my God than I would or could have enjoyed in the ways of sin, even if I had continued on in them for thousands of years. And wouldn't all of you that fear and walk with God validate this truth? Hasn't one day in the Lord's courts been better to you than a thousand elsewhere? In keeping God's commandments, haven't you found a present and very great reward? Hasn't his word been sweeter to you than the honey or the honeycomb? Hasn't Jesus often met you when meditating in the fields and been made known to you over and over again in the breaking of bread at communion? Hasn't the Holy Spirit frequently shed His divine love abundantly into your hearts and filled you with unspeakable joy, even a joy that is full of glory?

I know you will answer all these questions in the affirmative and frequently acknowledge that the yoke of Christ is easy and His burden light, or to use the words of one of our members, His service is perfect freedom. Do we need any other motive to excite us to walk with God?

But I think I hear some of you say, how can these things be? For if walking with God, as you say, is such an honorable and pleasant thing, then how is it that the name of the people of this way, the way of true evangelical Christianity, is cast out as evil and everywhere is spoken against? How is it that they are frequently afflicted, tempted, destitute, and tormented? Is this the honor and the pleasure that you speak of?

I answer, yes. Stop for a while and do not be too hasty. Do not judge according to appearance, but judge rightly and all will be well. It is true, we acknowledge that the people of this way, as you and the persecuting Saul before you call them, we acknowledge that their names have been cast out as evil and that they are a religious group that is spoken against everywhere.

But by whom? By the enemies of the Most High God. And do you think it is a disgrace to be spoken evil of by them? Blessed be God, our royal master has pronounced that his followers are blessed when people insult them and when people persecute them and falsely say all kind of evil against them. He has commanded them to rejoice and be glad, for it is the privilege of their discipleship, and that their reward will be great in heaven.

He himself was thus treated. And can there be a greater honor put on a creature than to be conformed to the image of the ever-blessed Son of God?

And further, it is equally true that the people of this way are frequently afflicted, tempted, destitute, and tormented. But what of it? Does this destroy the pleasure of walking with God? No, in no way, for those that walk with God are enabled, through Christ strengthening them, to have joy even in tribulation, and to rejoice when they fall into various temptations.

And I appeal to the experience of all true and close walkers with God. whether or not their times of suffering have not frequently been their sweetest times, and that they enjoy God the most when they have been cast out and despised by men. This, we find, was the case of Christ's early servants in the church. When they were threatened by the Jewish Sanhedrin and commanded not to preach any longer in the name of Jesus, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the sake of Jesus.

Paul and Silas sang praises even in a dungeon. And the face of Stephen, that glorious first martyr of the Christian church, shone like the face of an angel. And Jesus is the same now as he was then, and takes care to sweeten sufferings and afflictions with his love. So much so that his disciples find, by happy experience, that as afflictions increase, compassions increase all the more.

And therefore, these objections, instead of destroying the motives mentioned above, only excite us even more to walk with God. But suppose the objections were just. Suppose the objections were true, and those walking with God were as despicable and unhappy as you represent them to be. Yet I would offer a third motive, which if weighed in the balance, will outweigh all objections. And that motive is that there is a heaven at the end of this walk. There is a heaven at the end of this walk. To use the words of a godly Christian brother, though the way is narrow, yet it is not long. And though the gate is difficult to go through, yet it opens into everlasting life. Enoch found it to be true. He walked with God on earth. and God took him up to sit down with him forever in the kingdom of heaven. We are not to expect to be taken away as he was. No, I suppose we will all die the common death of all men. But after death, the spirits of those who have walked with God will return to their God that gave them the new life. And at the morning of the resurrection, body and soul will forever be with the Lord. Their new bodies will be made like Christ's glorious body, and their souls filled with all the fullness of God. They will sit on thrones. They will judge angels. They will be enabled to experience the incomparable eternal glory, the glory which Jesus Christ enjoyed with the Father before the world began. The very thought of the glory of Christ is enough to make us speak out in the same passionate language of the psalmist. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God? I can easily understand that when a person gets a clear picture of the extraordinary divine life and love, that it may cause them to faint, and even for a time, for them to lose the power of their senses. Daniel, when given a distant view of this excellent glory, fell down as though dead at the feet of the angel. And if a distant view of this glory is so overwhelming, what must the actual experience of it be like? If the first fruits are so glorious, how infinitely more glorious will the harvest be? And now, my friends, what more can I say or do to motivate you, even you that are still unsaved and strangers to Christ, to come and walk with God? If you love honor, pleasure, and a crown of glory, come, seek it where it can only be found. Come, put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Come, right away, and walk with God. And stop thinking about how to gratify the desires of your sinful nature. Stop. Stop, old sinner. Turn to Christ. Turn to Christ. Oh, you unconverted men, for the end of that path which you are now walking on, however right it may seem to your blinded eyes, will be death, even the eternal destruction of both soul and body in hell. Do not delay any longer. I plead with you for the sake of your soul. Do not take one more step in your present walk. For you do not realize that the very next step that you take may be a step right into the fires of hell. Death may seize you. Judgment may find you. And then the great gulf will be fixed between you and endless glory forever and ever. Oh, think of these things. All of you that are unwilling to walk with God, think of these things. Ponder them in your heart. In the strength of Jesus say, farewell, lust of the flesh. I will not walk with you any longer. Farewell, lust of the eye and pride of life. Farewell, carnal friends and enemies of the cross. I will no longer walk and be intimate with you. Welcome, Jesus. I welcome your word. I welcome your commands. I welcome your spirit. I welcome your people. I will from this day forward walk with you. Oh, that your mind would think like this. God will set his almighty sanction to it and seal it with the broad seal of heaven, even the signet of his Holy Spirit. Yes, he will. Though you have been walking with and following after the inclinations and desires of your desperately wicked hearts ever since you have been born. I, the High and Lofty One, says the Great Jehovah, that inhabits eternity, will dwell with the person who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word. My friends, the blood, yes, the very precious blood of Jesus Christ, will cleanse you from all sin if you come to the Father in and through Jesus Christ. But the text also leads me to speak to you that are saints. Believers in Christ, I need not tell you that walking with God is not only honorable, but pleasant and profitable too, for you know it by joyful experience, and you will find it more and more so every day. Only allow me to stir up your pure minds by causing you to remember the joy of walking with God. and to urge you by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus to walk closer with your God than you have in the past. For the nearer you walk with God, the more you will enjoy him whose presence is life, and you will be better prepared for being placed at his right hand where his pleasures are forevermore. Oh, do not follow Jesus from a distance. Oh, do not be so formal, so dead and dull in your attendance at the Lord's Supper. Do not shamefully forsake the assembling of yourselves together or be so indifferent about the things of God. Remember what Jesus says to the church of Laodicea, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. Think of the love of Jesus and let that love compel you to stay close to him. And though you die for him, do not deny him. Do not keep it a distance from him in any possible way. And now, one word to my brethren in the ministry that are here present, and then I will be finished. You see, my fellow ministers, my heart is full. I could almost say that it is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without saying a word or two to you. For the text speaks in a particular manner to those who have the honor of being called the ambassadors of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. I stated at the beginning of this sermon that Enoch, in all probability, was a bold and fiery preacher. Though he is now dead, he still speaks to us to revitalize our zeal and make us more active in the service of our glorious and ever-blessed master. Oh, how Enoch preached. Oh, how Enoch walked with God, though he lived in a wicked and adulterous generation. Let us then follow him as he followed Jesus Christ, and in time to come, where he is, there we will be also. He has entered into his rest, and in a little while, and we will enter into ours, and that much sooner than he did. For Enoch lived on this earth for 300 years, But blessed be God, the days of man are now shortened, and in a few days our walk will be over. The judge is standing at the door. He who is coming will come and will not delay, and his reward is with him. And we will all, if we are zealous for the Lord of hosts, shine forever like the stars in the heavens, in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father forever and ever. To Him, the Blessed Jesus, the Eternal Spirit, be all honor and glory, now and for all of eternity. Amen and Amen.