All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to Genesis chapter 5. Genesis chapter 5. This evening I'd like to look
at verses 21 to 24. This passage of scripture holds
a verse that absolutely stirs my heart. It stirs my heart to rejoice. It's verse 24. And Enoch walked with God, and
he was not, for God took him. Now, that verse of scripture,
I'm absolutely convinced, is the desire of every believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ. To walk with God truly is the
hunger of the new man. He wants to know Him. He wants to be found in Him. He wants to be committed to Him. He wants to please Him. He wants
to walk with Him. A believer wants to walk with
God. Last time we considered the names,
the ages, and the certainty of death. Read it. We looked last
time. First 20 verses. Talk about these
patriarchs. They lived this many years. This
is their name. They lived this many years. And
they died. This one. This one. And they
died. And they died. But there was something recorded
that was different about Enoch. The scripture says he was not. That means he ceased to exist
on the earth as he did previously. He didn't leave this world like
those before him. The scripture says, for God took
him. Concerning this passage, verse
21-24, it says in verse 21, Enoch, he lived 65 years and begat Methuselah. Now Methuselah, we'll see, or
did see, was a man listed in the scriptures that lived longer
than any other man ever recorded. 969 years. years old. But being the father
of the man that lived the longest upon the earth was not the mark
that revealed God's mercy and grace toward Enoch. That wasn't Enoch's claim to
fame, let me say it like that. The mark of God's mercy was found
in the fact that God had blessed that man to not physically die. God took him. Just one day, he
wasn't there. Y'all seen Enoch? No. The scripture says that he wasn't
found. He was not. God took him. Concerning this
blessed saint, there are some things that are not specifically
mentioned about him, but there are some things that I know are
so. Number one, this man was a man born like every other man
in this world. He was a child of wrath, even
as others. Now listen to this, Ephesians
2. Now this didn't come into being when the Apostle Paul penned
the book of Ephesians. This is the way after Adam. You see, remember when we looked
at chapter 5, verse 1 said, this is the book of the generations
of Adam in the day that God created man in the likeness of God, made
he him. That's how God created Adam,
in the likeness of God. And then the scripture says,
Verse 3, and Adam lived 130 years and begat a son in his own likeness.
Well, what was that? He begat a sinner. Every man,
every woman born in Adam after Adam was born dead in trespasses
and sin. All of them. You mean Enoch too? Yeah. Yeah. Ephesians 2, 3, we
all had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh,
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. And
I've told you many times it never has a believer ever been under
the wrath of God, never. Because God doesn't change. If
a man or a woman has ever been under the wrath of God, God doesn't
change. So He doesn't change from looking
at one in wrath and then change and look at him in mercy. God
Almighty has never changed. There's no shadow of turning
with Him. So Enoch, like all men, walked
from birth after the flesh. He was a sinner. Romans 3.23,
for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. He
wasn't born righteous. Romans 3.10, as it is written,
there's none righteous. No, not one. Not one. He didn't
say there was none righteous but in it. Not one. Secondly, Enoch walked with God. And therefore, it was evident
that the Lord was pleased to show Enoch compassion, grace,
and mercy. Romans 9, 15, I will have mercy
on whom I have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So this man was one. for whom the Lord eternally stood
as the surety, the one for whom the Lord laid down His life,
one that the Spirit of God in regenerating grace called out
of the darkness of sin and unbelief and gave the precious gift of
faith, because the Scripture says in Hebrews 11, 5 and 6 concerning
Enoch, pleased God. Listen to this,
by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death
and was not found because God had translated him for before
his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God. And how did he please God? Well, the scripture continues
by saying, but without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must
believe that He is as He says He is. Not as men say He is,
but as God says He is. And that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him. So this man, Enoch, He walked
with God and pleased God. What? By his works? By his character? By his will? He believed God. The scripture
says the Lord had given him faith and we know that's a fact. It's given unto you to believe.
Man by nature doesn't have faith. All men have not faith. It's
given. And so Enoch had been given faith
to believe God, and Almighty God, who had given Enoch faith
to believe, was well pleased with Enoch because God had given
him faith. God was pleased with that. Faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith to believe that salvation
is by the Lord, of the Lord. So this was the very thing that
the scripture says concerning Abraham. It was the evidence
of righteousness. Now listen to this scripture.
We've read this before. Abraham believed God and it was counted
unto him for righteousness. What does that mean? It means,
the word counted means it was reckoned as, or it means availing
to be what God says it is. That's what it means, it was
counted unto Him. What are you saying? I'm saying
that when God gave Abraham and all of God's children, like this,
when God gave Abraham faith to believe. And that's how he believed
God. God gave him faith to believe.
When God gave Abraham faith to believe, God counted, God reckoned
that belief, that faith. God availed it to be what God
said it is. What did God call it? Righteousness. So Enoch, by faith, walked with
God, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and was therefore, by
a total act and work of God's grace, he was pleasing to God,
reconciled in the body of Christ's death, that he might be presented
to God holy and unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight. Enoch walked in agreement with
God. Amos chapter 3 verse 3 says,
can two walk together except they be agreed Enoch by faith
walked with God in agreement concerning God's word to Enoch. There were no scriptures. God
taught him. He agreed with God. God Almighty
had made him willing in the day of God's power. He agreed with
God. What did he agree with God about?
He agreed with God about what God said. Let me ask you this,
does a believer believe God concerning himself? All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. You that believe, do you believe
that? I believe it. Salvation is of the Lord. You
believe that? I believe it. When Christ died upon the cross,
laid down his life for the sheep, you believe that? Absolutely. We believe God. Enoch walked
in agreement with God. Men, by nature, are lost in trespasses
and sins. They're helpless sinners in need
of God's mercy and compassion. Enoch believed that. He walked in communion and peace
with God, knowing that the enmity between himself and God was taken
away by the blood of Christ. Here's what scripture says, for
he is our peace, who hath made both one and hath broken down
the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished
in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained
in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man,
so making peace, so enoch. in agreement with God, believed
that salvation was of the Lord. He believed that man is spiritually
dead and that God must save him and God alone. And that God who
reconciled us to Himself must keep us by faith and that without
Him we can do nothing. He believed it. He believed it. Here's the wonderful thing. All
God's people, regenerated by the grace of God, believed the
same thing that Enoch believed. They all believed that. Enoch
was a type first of every believer. He was the type of every believer. He walked with God, struggling
every day of this new life in Christ, being born from above,
being born by the Holy Spirit, regenerating grace, living in
a world that hated God and hated Him being found in Christ. They hated Him for it. Listen
to this, Jude 1, 14, 15, and Enoch. Also, the seventh from Adam prophesied
of these. Now listen, now listen what,
there were no scriptures written at this time. There were no scriptures. And what did Enoch prophesy? He was a preacher. Saying, behold,
the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints. What did he know? He knew the Lord was coming back.
He hadn't come the first time. But he knew there was a second
coming. What's he coming back for? First time he came into
this world seeking to save that which is lost. What's he coming
for the second time? Judgment. It's going to be a
great white judgment. Listen to what Enoch prophesied. Behold, the Lord cometh with
ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all, and
to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly
deeds which they have ungodly committed, and all of their hard
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Enoch was a man taught. He was taught of God, the Spirit
of God. They'll all be taught of God. But though Enoch surely walked
with God by faith, believing that Christ would surely come
to save his people from their sins, secondly, he was going
to come to receive them unto himself. He knew that. Enoch, like every regenerated
saint. Now this is what I know from
the scriptures. I'm not, you say, well how did you know what
he was thinking? This is what the scripture says about every
believer. Enoch never saw himself as righteous
in himself. He liked Paul. There is in me,
that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. What believer,
I was talking to Gabe this morning. And we were talking about this
very thing. I said, Gabe, here's the thing.
No believer sees himself as righteous. Every believer sees himself as,
oh, wretched man that I am. And every unbeliever sees himself
as righteous. You know, I'm not as bad as others. The believer says, I am. I am. But the unbeliever sees himself
as, I'm not like him. It may not be as bad, I'm not
as bad as others, I can tell you that. I may not be perfect,
but no, you're right, you're not perfect. Enoch was like all
men that are recorded in the scriptures. He struggled. Paul says, Philippians 3.3, for
we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and
rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. We don't. We believe God. We desire to walk with God. We seek the Lord. We come to
Him daily. No believer says to the Lord
in his heart and prayer, meditation, no believer says, Lord, I know
I came to you years ago. You know what a believer says?
Lord, I come right now. He that cometh to me. A believer
comes as coming for the first time. This is how they come.
They come first time. So Enoch was truly, if you want
to know, it's Enoch walked with God. All believers, all believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ walked with God. They all walked with
God. Struggling. Believing. agreeing with him, having communion
with him. They want that. And though Enoch
left this world, unlike all others except Elijah, we who believe,
we're going to leave this world too, like Enoch. Being found
victorious in Christ and leave, being found in the faith, that's
how he left. We're going to leave this world when God comes and
receives us unto Himself. He's going to change this vile
body into a body like His. If we die in the faith before
He comes back, we'll be raised incorruptible. Flesh and blood
is not going to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. I can tell you this,
when Enoch left this earth, God changed him. Before he went into
glory, God changed him. The Lord took him, but he took
him like he's going to take all of us. This vile body, this corruptible
is going to put on incorruption. This mortality is going to put
on immortality. Flesh and blood cannot enter
the kingdom of heaven. It cannot. So Enoch, again, Enoch
was a picture and type of all vessels of God's mercy. who have
been everlastingly loved and chosen in Christ, regenerated
by the grace of Almighty God, and they please God. Every believer
in Christ, you listen to me, pleases God. Because they're found in the
one in whom God is well pleased. You say, I don't see it. This
was the part Gaben I was talking about. I asked him, I said, that
new man in you, that new faithful man that sinneth not. Now, how
in the world would we know that there's a new man in every believer,
Mark, that sinneth not? How would you know that? This
book, not by looking at yourself. That new man That which is born
of God doth not sin. His seed remaineth in him. And God, with that new creation,
that new man, that man created in righteousness, in true holiness,
God is well pleased. Why? Because that new man believes
God. He believes Him. He believes God. like all God's spirit, not according
to his merit or his worthiness, but by God's grace, God's creation,
Enoch walked with God. And all God's people do too.
They do. They do. Struggling? Absolutely. Seeing the frailty
of their flesh? Absolutely. Struggling with that
old man? Absolutely. Warring? Absolutely. But there's a new man there that's
kept by the power of God through faith, ready to be revealed in
the last time. There's a new man in every believer
right now. When this old man is put off,
that new man, that's the new man gonna be in heaven. God's
created him. He's new in Christ. And listen
to this, he don't die. He don't die. The Lord Jesus said in John 11,
26, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? So that
new man that's created in righteousness and true holiness, do you think
that man's ever going to die? but greater still. Enoch is a
picture of every believer, but greater still. Enoch is a beautiful
picture and type of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Only of Christ could it be said
that according to his own merit. Enoch walked with God having
been given faith. God gave him something that he
did not have before. Christ was the holy, harmless
Son of God. And as man, He did only those
things that pleased Him. He believed His Father. We've read this so many times,
I'll read it to you again. Galatians 2.16. Listen to this. Galatians 2.16. Knowing that a man is not justified. What does that mean? What does
that word mean? Justified. Declared. Righteous. Declared innocent. Declared holy. Just. Knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ. We believe in Him. We believe
Him. We believe Him. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, by His
faith, His faithfulness imputed to us, His righteousness. Not by the works of the law,
but by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. When the Lord believed his father, that was his faith, his faith. We're justified by his faith. He believed his father by the
faith of Jesus Christ. When Amos 3.3 says, Can two walk
together except they be agreed? And concerning the agreement
between God and God, 1 John 5, 7 and 8, For there are three
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Ghost. And these three are one. One in glory, One in character. One in holiness. One in will.
One in purpose. They're one. One God. There's one God. And there are
three that bear witness in the earth. The spirit, the water,
and the blood. And these three agree in one. Is there any disagreement in
the Godhead? The Lord Jesus Christ, in His
high priestly prayer, declared this, and now I'm no more in
the world, but these are in the world, and now I come to Thee,
Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast
given me, that they may be one as we are. There's no disagreement
with God. What the Father purposed the
Son procured and the Spirit of God applies. They agree in one. How can two walk together except
Enoch walked with God, Christ walked with God, the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is my beloved Son whom I'm
well pleased. Hear ye Him. The Lord Himself walked with
his father in agreement. The name Enoch, here's what Enoch
means, dedicated. That's what Enoch means, dedicated. And concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ, this is what he said, my meat, what I feast upon, my
meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his
work. Can you just try to enter in? You think that which he purposed
and did is charged to us. And that faithfulness, that righteousness,
that faithfulness charged to us. God is well pleased when
we believe God. dedicated, he said, I desire
and hunger for and feast upon doing the will of him that sent
me. And according to his will, he
accomplished exactly his father's purpose. And his father was well
pleased. That's what he said at his baptism,
Mount of Transfiguration, this is my beloved son. Christ Jesus, the antitype, the
one being pictured of Enoch, he was the dedicated and chosen
servant of Jehovah who came into this world to do the will of
his father, that's it. Save his people from their sins.
Walk before his father in holy and harmonious obedience, in
righteous faith, Earning that righteousness imputed to everyone
that believeth, he honored the law of God, laying down his life
for all that the Father had given him, and pleased his Father. And when his time was come, he
was not. Why? God took him. God took him. Speaking to his disciples, On
that last day of his earthly ministry, giving them his commandments,
Acts 1-9, and when he had spoken these things while they beheld,
he was taken up. He was taken up. He was taken. And a cloud received
him out of their sight. In Christ, redeemed by Him, chosen
by the Father, redeemed by Him, regenerated by His Spirit. Sinners,
saved by grace, they walk with God. They walk
with God. How? As sinners, saved by the
grace of God, they walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. They walk being led of the spirits
and not by the dictates of their flesh. They walk by faith and
not by sight. And again, let me reiterate.
Are they struggling all the while? Absolutely. They struggle all
the while. They see that battle going on,
but they believe God, and walk with God, and agree with God. Though you see the motions of
the flesh in your body right now, don't you still agree with
God? You still agree with Him. You
still walk by faith. You still believe the Lord. You
still believe that salvation's of the Lord. You still know that
you were saved by grace through faith and not of yourself. You
still believe that. Struggling all the while. And one day, very
soon, according to his word, you're not gonna be found anymore.
You won't be. Why? God's gonna take you. The
Lord's gonna take you. I go to prepare a place for you
that where I am, there you may be also. And if I go to prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself
that where I am, there you may be also. You believe that? I
pray God bless this to our hearts for Christ's sake and our good.