Let's take our Bibles now. Turn
with me to the book of Genesis chapter 5. Genesis chapter 5. I'd like to read verse 24. Genesis 5.24, and Enoch walked
with God, and he was not, for God took him. Now that glorious scripture sets
forth the desire of every believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now there's just honor in that
verse of scripture. There's beauty, there's mercy,
grace. That passage of scripture expressly
sets forth the hunger of the soul. of one that God's given
a heart to know Him. One that wants to be found in
Him, to have communion with Him, be committed to Him. This is
what Scripture says about that man, Enoch. He walked with God. And he was not, for God took
him. Now, I want to ask, what does
that scripture right there say about that man? Well, there's
some things that is said about that man in that scripture that's
not specifically written. Let me tell you what's not specifically
written in that passage of scripture, but we know is so, because he
walked with God. It sets forth that the Lord Jesus
Christ everlastingly loved that man in Christ, Jesus. God eternally
loved this man. It's set forth by implication
that God chose that man in Christ to be the recipient of his mercy
and compassion. It sets forth that Christ eternally
stood for him as surety and redeemer. and that the Holy Spirit had,
in regenerating grace, called that man out of darkness. This is what we know about Enoch.
The Lord chose to have mercy and compassion on him. I will
have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. But Enoch, like every
other man ever born into this world, man, woman, He didn't
always walk with God. Enoch was born into this world
a fallen creature. Born in Adam, dead in trespasses
and sins. He was conceived in sin. Mother
brought him forth, a rebel against God, spiritually dead, one not
seeking, not desiring Almighty God. until God called him out
of darkness. That's where we all are. Romans 3.23, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. But obviously, something
in time happened to this man. When he pleased God, Enoch heard
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And God was pleased to grant
him faith. God taught him of himself. And we know that Enoch possessed
the gift of faith. We know that he believed God
by faith. Scripture says, 2 Corinthians
5, 7, How? We walk with God. We walk
by faith and not by sight. Not by what we see or do or think. The same Lord Jesus, the angel
of the Lord that Moses stood before last week when we looked
at burning bush. The same Lord of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob and every other vessel of God's mercy that's walked
this earth. And God called out of darkness,
heard the Gospel. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. Has God ever saved any man apart
from the hearing of the Gospel? No. No. Abraham believed God. He believed
God. He heard the truth. Somehow we
think that the gospel just somehow came along somewhere in time.
Oh no, no, no. God Almighty preached the gospel
to Adam and Eve when He killed that animal and robed them in
the skins of that animal. God taught Him. He taught Him. Christ and Him crucified. God from the beginning set forth
the glory of His blessed Son. When the Lord came into this
world, what did the Father say from Heaven? This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased. You hear Him. Enoch heard the Gospel, and God
taught him the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. walked with God. How? By faith. That's the only
way. We walk by faith. That's the
only way that any man, any woman walks with God. Listen to Hebrews
11. I'll just read this to you. Hebrews
11 verse 5. By faith, Enoch was translated
that he should not see death and was not found. That's what
he meant when we just read that Enoch walked with God and was
not He was not found because God had translated Him. For before His translation, He
had this testimony that He pleased God. He pleased God because God
Almighty viewed Him, saw Him, where He had put Him, in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And all that God demanded for
his satisfaction and pleasure, Christ supplied. And did it,
did it, finished the work. And being found in Him, God is
pleased with all that are in His Son. Enoch, by faith, pleased
God. So here's what I want to know
concerning this passage of Scripture. Does this have any relevance
to us today? I wish I could have been like
that man. If you're in Christ, born from above, believe in God,
you're doing the same thing that Enoch did. You're doing the same
thing. First of all, walking with God
is to walk by faith Believing God, according to His Scriptures,
agreeing with Him. How can two walk together? Lest
they be in agreement. Lest they agree with one another. What happens? God Almighty gives
His people a new heart. And He teaches them of themselves. Let me ask you, what believer
here, what believer here believes that he is totally incapable
of satisfying God in His own merit. How many would believe
that? You agree with God? How many
believe that God chose a people before the foundation of the
world in Christ that they should be holy and were blamed before
Him in love in Christ Himself? How many believe that? You agree
with God? Here's what we do, we agree that by the works of
the law we can, and we'll admit it, we agree and we believe that
by the grace of God we are what we are. Because God purposed
that. Enoch walked with God, he believed
God. He's only believed by a new heart
imparted by the Spirit of God, a new will, a new mind. was a man that the mighty work
and grace, spirit of God had changed. Something happened to
him. Hold your place right there.
Ephesians 2. Very familiar passage of Scripture.
Ephesians 2. Verse 1, And you hath he quickened. He made you alive who were dead
in trespasses and sin. In time past you walked just
like Enoch did, just like we all did. According to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience
among whom also we all had our conversation, our manner of living
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh. the wills of our flesh and of
the mind, and we're by nature children of wrath, even as others.
But God, who's rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith
he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ by grace, you're saved, hath raised us
up together, made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ,
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, for
by grace Are you saved through faith? It's a gift of God, not
of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus under good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them. We walk in that which
God has taught us, shown us. Every believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ walks with God. walks just like Enoch did, just
like Enoch did. They walk outwardly before men
because they live in a world that they're just pilgrims, sojourners
and strangers. And this walk is a heart walk. I tell you this, it's a struggling
walk. It's a struggling walk. There's a battle that's raging.
within every man and every woman that walked with God. Paul, the
apostle Paul, in Romans 7. He said, you think Paul walked
with God? That was a chosen vessel. God
said, that's a chosen vessel unto me. The Lord brought him up to the
third heaven. Showed him things that he couldn't
even talk about. Didn't know how to talk about
them. Didn't know how to say them. They're unspeakable. Here was
a man taught of God, that walked with God. What does Paul say
about himself? Oh, wretched man that I am. Who
shall deliver me from the body of... We think we read about
Enoch right there and we think he walked with God and he just,
I mean, walks like six inches above the ground. Never had any
kind of thoughts of disrespect. Oh no, no, no. No, there's an
old man in every believer that walks with God. We walk with
God by faith. We walk with Him agreeing with
Him, following after Him, according to His Word. Striving against
sin, having our conversation, our manner of walk in agreement
with this doctrine right here. Struggling all the way and crying
within ourselves. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? That's a man, that's a woman
walking with God. They're frail creatures of the
dead dust and they know they're going to die. I'm going to die. But secondly, there's something
else that scripture says which is common to every believer. It will be for sure. Has been
for some. Enoch walked with God. How? By
faith. Struggling. Struggling. Believing. Calling. Crying. Lord help me. Lord forgive me. Lord keep me.
But scripture says Enoch was not. And you know, we just saw
where he was not found. God took him. There came a day
when he was not found by those that loved him, fellowshiped
with him, worshipped with him. Where's Enoch? Y'all seen him?
Has anybody seen Enoch? Do y'all know where he is? Well,
let's go look for him. Let's go see if we can find him.
They couldn't find him. What happened to him? God took
him. God took him. He was not bound
in this wilderness anymore. God took him. Paul the Apostle, under the inspiration
of God, gives us a marvelous, marvelous interpretation of what
that means when it said God took him. It says in Hebrews 11, 5,
by faith Enoch was translated. That word means he was exchanged. He was exchanged. Changed just
like every one of God's people are going to be. 1 Corinthians
15 gives us insight into this when God takes
one to Himself. When we are translated, what
is going to happen? 1 Corinthians 15 verse 50. Now this I say brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. I know I can tell you for a fact
that I know this Enoch did not go. into the presence of God
like He was as He walked on this earth. I know that. Because that
verse of Scripture says it did. Flesh and blood cannot inherit.
Behold I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. Paul is saying we are not all
going to die like all men by nature do. But we shall all be
changed. Enoch was translated, he was
changed, he was exchanged. Something happened. In the moment,
in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet
shall sound, the dead shall be raised incorruptible. We shall
be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, this mortal
shall have put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory, O
death. Where is thy sting, O grave? Where is thy victory? His translation
was recorded That account was given that we, as the people
of God, should treasure this thought. God's going to change us. Absent from this body, present
with the Lord, something's going to happen though. He wasn't found
anymore among the people of this earth. God took him, He translated
him, He changed him. And I want us to let that truth
keep our hope not confined to the boundaries of this mortal
life. There is a glorious change that's going to take place. And
His translation into glory demonstrated God's love for Him and promised,
I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
You can't come up here, flesh and blood. I'm going to change
you. He was a sinner that was saved
by God's grace. But when God called him out of
darkness, of unbelief, and that man walked, he walked by faith,
just like every believer does. He said, you don't know the struggles
that I have. Enoch had them too. Abraham,
Paul, Moses. Every believer that's ever walked
this earth has walked just like this. frail creatures of a dust,
oh, but they got a treasure. This treasure is in earthen vessels. He walked with God, agreed with
God, walked in newness of life, walked by the light of the Lord
Jesus Christ, struggling all the way, seeing Himself, His
flesh. There was no good thing. He stayed
true to the Gospel. He that endures to the end shall
be saved. He stayed true to the gospel. How do you know? Well,
Jude 1, 14-15 says in Enoch, also the seventh from Adam, he
prophesied of these things, saying, Behold. You think, listen to
what God taught this man. This man right here lived before
the flood. This was before the flood. Listen to what God taught
him. He prophesied of these things,
saying, Behold, the Lord cometh. ten thousand 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 their hard speeches which ungodly sinners
have spoken against Him." God taught this man something about
sin, about mercy, about redemption, about Christ. And are not all God's people
found faithful to the truth? as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is how he walked. He walked believing the gospel
of God's grace. And when Enoch's race was run,
he lived 365 years. That's a long time. Not compared
to what most of them were living. Most of them were 7, 8, 900 years
old almost. Methuselah. And this man's race,
after his fight was fought, he finished his course when he pleased
God. Scripture said he wasn't found. That's the way it's going to
be with all of us on these days. If the Lord doesn't return. If God doesn't return a second
time and receive those out of the ground first and then receive
us. If He doesn't do that, one of these days somebody's going
to say, y'all seen Marvin? Anybody know? Have y'all seen
Gary? Anybody seen him? He's not going to be found, because
the Lord is going to take him. I pray that God comfort us with
these words. Teach us of the mercy of Almighty
God to teach His people, keep His people, walk with His people. He's not going to leave you.
He didn't leave Enoch, and He doesn't leave His people here
either. For Christ's sake and our comfort, amen.