When I was in seminary in New Orleans an interesting story developed in the northeastern part of our country in the life of a man named Peter Jenkins. Peter was a young man who was disillusioned with people and with life and was looking for answers. He decided to go in search of answers. Peter decided he would walk across America. He did walk across America. There were two books written about Peter’s walk. The first book, Walk Across America, covered his walk across the eastern part of our country. The second book, The Walk West, covered his walk across the western part of our country. Peter walked through Mobile and while here he accepted Christ at an evangelistic crusade. After leaving Mobile he stopped for a period of time in New Orleans. While there he met a girl named Barbara, they fell in love and decided to marry. Peter asked Barbara to marry him but he also asked her to walk with him from New Orleans to the Pacific Ocean. Peter planned to walk to the northwestern part of our country, either Oregon or Washington. Making such a walk was a huge challenge. However, Barbara accepted Peter’s challenge.
Today I want to discuss a challenge you and I have been given, the challenge to walk with God. I hope each of us will accept the invitation. For a Biblical text I want to use the life of Enoch. We find Enoch’s story in three locations. Look at them.
“And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Gen. 5:24
“By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and was not found because God had translated him’’; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Heb. 11:5
“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’’ Jude 14-15
As you can see, the Bible tells us Enoch was a man who walked with God. When we first meet Enoch he rises as a mountain peak from the center of Genesis 5. Consider the context. In Genesis 3 we find the first sin which started man on a down hill spiral. In Genesis 4 we find an example of the downward spiral, the ugly story of the first murder and first death. In Genesis 5 we find the names of many early men. However, as you study their story all that can be said about them is that “he was born, had children, and died…” The average obituary still consists of the same sort of information. (Look at Seth, 6-8; Enos, 9-11; Cainan, 12-14; Mahalaleel, 15-17; Jared, 18-20) Against the back drop of Cain (Genesis 4) and the other men in Genesis 5, Enoch is like a new sunrise. He walked with God.
I want to help you understand what it means to walk with God. In so doing, I want to encourage you to take a look at your life. Are you walking with God? Notice what it means to walk with God.
1. To walk with God is to trust God. Trusting God is not always simple.
Illustration: I read about a fellow named Jack who was out jogging one day and as he passed a cliff, he got too close and fell. Grabbing hold of a branch he was stranded. No way up and certainly no way down. He began to scream, “Hello up there can anyone hear me.” He yelled for hours and was about to give up when he heard a voice.
“Jack, Can you hear me?”
“Yes, Yes, I can hear you I’m down here.”
“I can see you, Jack, are you alright?”
“Yes, but...who are you and where are you?”
“I am the Lord Jack, I am everywhere.”
“The Lord? You mean God?”
“That’s me.”
“God, help me, I promise that if you get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning. I’ll be a really good person and serve you for the rest of my life.”
“Easy on the promises, Jack. First let’s get you down, then we can discuss those.”
“I’ll do anything, Lord, just tell me what to do, okay?”
“Okay, let go of the branch.”
“What?”
“I said, let go of the branch. Just trust me, let go.”
PAUSE
“Hello, Hello, is there anybody else up there?”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Keith Davis)
To trust God is a challenge. However, in trusting God you come to trust the still small voice of God. That voice becomes so unmistakably clear that there is no denying it. Every time God has spoken to me the human side of me tests that voice. I ask myself questions such as: Is this really God or am I tired? Is this really God or is it my imagination? Is this really God or is it something I want? Is this really God or is my guilty conscience tugging at me?
In trusting God you come to trust His voice!
In trusting God you come to trust His way!
In trusting God you come to trust His wisdom!
2. To walk with God is to adjust to God.
In Genesis 5:22 you will notice a point (after the birth of Methuselah) when Enoch began to walk with God. The birth of a baby will cause you to get right with God. There is an important point to be learned in observing Enoch. He could point to a specific place in time when he began to walk with God. Can you pin point a place in time when you began to walk with God? When that point comes you will always be willing to change your plans to accommodate the Lord God.
When Jesus called His first disciples those men were willing to change their plans. The Bible says they dropped their nets and followed Him.
A. There is something in human nature that keeps us from adjusting our lives to cooperate with God.
Illustration: The word sin illustrates this truth. The word sin consists of three letters. The middle letter is “I”. Sin is basically an “I” problem. We want to live our lives our way, doing our own thing.
B. To walk with God means you align your will to His will. You confess to Him, “not my will but your will be done.” In the Lord ’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”
Illustration: Those of you who own cars know the importance of keeping your wheels in alignment. When a wheel is out of alignment it wears quickly and your car will not drive properly. It will make your car have a shaky ride. The same is true in your relationship with God. If your life is out of alignment you will not have a smooth ride.
3. To walk with God is to be secure with God. In studying Enoch’s life it was evident that Enoch was secure in God.
Illustrate: I once heard a story about a little girl who illustrated this truth. This girl returned from Sunday School and told her mother the story of Enoch. “Mother, we heard about a wonderful man…His name was Enoch, and you know, Mother, he used to go for walks with God.” The mother said: “That is wonderful, dear. How did it end?” “Oh, mother, one day they walked on and on, and got so far, God said to Enoch, ‘You are a long way from home. You had better come in and stay with me.’” That may not be exactly how the story ended but she got the point.
Enoch was one of two people, mentioned in the Old Testament, who never died. The other was Elijah. In the book of Genesis it says God took him. In Hebrews it says he was translated. Enoch was taken to Heaven before he died. That is security. There is much about this story we do not understand. I wish I understood exactly what happened to Enoch. All I know is that God took him to Heaven without him dying. Please do not miss the point. The important point is that when you walk with God you will be secure in God.
At some point God wants to carry you to Heaven. If you know Jesus Christ you will live forever. The Bible teaches that we can have that security. The Bible also teaches that all men will someday face judgment. The Bible tells us that those who know Jesus will die only one death. Those who do not know Jesus will die a second death. They will die a spiritual death apart from God. Do you have the security of knowing Jesus?
Illustration: I read about a little boy who had a beagle puppy. As he petted the puppy he wagged his tail with an expression of happiness. The boy’s mother commented, “That dog sure has a sad face.” “Yep,” replied the little boy, “he sure does.” As he made his remark he noticed the beagle’s wagging tail and said, “But mommy, he has a happy ending.”
(Proclaim Magazine. 1992. July-September issue. P-28)
I hope you will have a happy ending!
