• Genesis 5-8 (selected verses)
5:1 This is the written account of Adam’s line.
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man." 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. . .
The generations of fathers and sons passed one by one. Amidst the growing family of humanity we come to Enoch. Let’s read together about him:
. . . 5:21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. . .
As man increased in number upon the earth so too did the sinfulness of man. But like Enoch there was another man who walked with God. Let’s continue to read together:
. . . 6:5 The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
INTRODUCTION:
I found myself wondering, “What would it take for me to visit with the president of the United States?” I’ve seen President Bush surrounded by all sorts of different people. How could I get to spend some time with him—even for just ten minutes?
I may never have the chance to meet the president, but I have the privilege to walk daily with God. The Almighty Creator of the universe is ready and willing to take me by the hand and spend, not just 10 minutes, but everyday walking with me. I have favor with God.
We continue today with our series from the book of Genesis—“The Beginnings of Hope.” It is my prayer that 2008 will be a year filled with hope; like Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you” (Eph 1:18 NIV). If you have heard the first two messages in this series then hopefully you’ve caught onto the reality that our hope in God is not like the world’s hope. When we talk about knowing the hope that God has given us we are not talking about wishful thinking or a dream. Hope is not a 50/50 proposition—maybe, maybe not. God given hope is an absolute.
I. What is favor with God?
1. We have all kinds of ideas about what favor is.
a) We think of favor as a kind act, something someone does out of goodwill—favor is an errand, an offer of help or good deed. Does God show us favor by doing a random act of kindness?
b) Favor can also be an approving or friendly attitude toward someone, to give preferential treatment. Does favor with God mean that God thinks good thoughts about us or that God simply likes us?
c) A favor can be a small token of loyalty or a small gift given to guests at a party. Has God given us a trinket to remind us of His friendship?
d) Favor with God is so much more than any of these small and sometimes seemingly insignificant ways we may grant a favor to other people.
2. Favor with God is the overflow of God’s grace.
a) God’s favor is His amazing grace—an expression of kindness for each of us.
• Ephesians 2:6-8 NIV
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Talk about kindness! God has raised us up with Christ—we who were dead in our sins are now alive in Christ. But that’s not all! We are seated with Christ! We are not excluded from being with God but in His kindness He has welcomed us into His presence!
b) God’s favor accepts us as friends!
• John 15:13-14 NIV
13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends. . .
God doesn’t just overlook our sin. God’s judgment and wrath for our sin has been poured out upon Jesus as He died on the cross. Jesus’ love embraced us as friends and laid down His life for us even while we were still living in our sins as enemies of God. It’s no wonder that God will punish all who reject His friendship through Jesus’ sacrificial death. God’s grace and favor has given me what I don’t deserve.
c) God has not given us a small gift as a reminder of His loyalty and love.
• 2 Corinthians 1:22 RSV
[God] has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
God has given us His Spirit! The Holy Spirit is not a trinket or party favor! God has given us of Himself! His Spirit has been given to us as a guarantee of His love and faithfulness to us assuring us of all the good things that God has in store for us in the age to come.
ILLUSTRATION: The many uses of the word in English convince me that grace is indeed amazing—truly our last best word. It contains the essence of the gospel as a drop of water can contain the image of the sun. The world thirst for grace in ways it does not even recognize. . . “The world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church,” says Gordon MacDonald. “You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick. There is only one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer grace.” Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace? (pp. 13, 15)
d) What does it mean for us to be recipients of God’s grace? What does it mean for us to walk in the favor of God? As Yancey said, God’s favor displays the fullness and wonder of His amazing grace and is reflected in our lives as a drop of water reflects the sun. But do we see it? Let’s take a closer look at our sure hope of walking in the favor of God by looking for a moment at the lives Enoch and Noah. Two men who like us can walk with God and enjoy His favor even in the midst of a generation of people given over to the evil of sin.
II. Enoch, a man like us who walked with God.
1. Enoch’s life was cut short.
• Genesis 5:24 NIV
23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
a) You might think living to be over 365 years would mean Enoch lived a full and vibrant life and then died at an “old” age. Yet Genesis 5 lists others lived to be 700, 800 and even 900 years and more during this time. So by comparison to others living at that time Enoch’s life was cut short.
b) Today we have a life expectancy of 70 to 80 years. How do we feel when someone’s life ends and they are only in their 30’s or 40’s? They were in the prime of life—they still had half of their life still before them. That’s what happened with Enoch. His life on this earth came to an end prematurely.
2. Enoch walked with God.
a) We are not told much about Enoch. His biography is short. All we are told is that Enoch walked with God.
b) Such a statement is made of a man that stands out as a truly righteous man living in the midst of an increasingly evil society. More and more the human race was giving itself over to its own sinful lusts and passions.
c) What does it mean to have lived your life walking with God?
i) It is a life lived by FAITH.
• Hebrews 11:6 NIV
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
ii) To walk with God means you make PROGRESS.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV
. . . Your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
iii) Walking with God requires PERSEVERANCE and DETERMINATION.
• 1 Timothy 4:16 NIV
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
d) Because Enoch walked with God, his life is a testimony that we can likewise hope to escape sin’s sentence by walking daily with God.
3. Enoch did NOT die, but was translated from this life to the next.
• Genesis 5:24 MsgB
Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.
a) Enoch’s life shows us the certain reality that there is more to this life than just the present here and now. Those who walk with God will never really die. When their life here on earth is over then they will walk into God’s presence to live forever with the Lord.
• Hebrews 11:5 NIV
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
b) Enoch “could not be found” in this life. But Enoch was not lost. GOD TOOK HIM! This too is our hope that when this life is over we will be found with God!
III. Noah, a man like us who found favor with God.
1. Like Enoch—NOAH WALKED WITH GOD.
• Genesis 6:8-9 NIV
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
a) What has been said about Enoch can likewise be said of Noah. Because Noah walked with God he was a man of FAITH, a man who made PROGRESS, a man who remained steadfast through PERSEVERANCE.
b) The faithfulness of Noah’s walk with God stands out in contrast to those who lived at the same time. God saw that every inclination of man’s heart was evil. Those who lived in the days of Noah did not walk with God but had rebelled completely and walked away from God.
2. God judged the sinfulness of man and the sin’s sentence was pronounced upon them—DEATH.
• Genesis 6:11-13 NIV
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
a) From the beginning God had decreed that the wages of sin is death. Now because of the sinfulness of the human race God was going to enact His judgment upon the earth and all men would die in their sins.
b) Everyone that is but NOAH!
• Genesis 6:14-18 NIV
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. . . 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark. . .
3. Noah escaped God’s judgment of death because He walked with God.
• Hebrews 11:7 NIV
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
a) Noah had no idea what to expect; he only knew what God had told him. So Noah obeyed God, and by His obedience, because Noah walked with God, his life was saved—both Noah and his family.
b) God gave Noah the hope of a NEW BEGINNING free from the effects of sin. Likewise when we choose to walk with God, the Lord gives us a fresh start—a new beginning.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
CONCLUSION:
1) Those who walk with God enjoy His favor.
o We enjoy the kindness of God through Christ Jesus
o God accepts us as His friends; we are the apple of His eye, the center of His universe.
o God’s favor upon us is guaranteed by His Holy Spirit living within us.
2) When we walk with God we have the sure hope to escape sin’s sentence of death. Our life will not end in death, but we will live with God forever! Like Enoch and Noah we can walk with God.
