INTRO.- Have you ever watched a father walk? Sure you have. You watch fathers walk all the time.
Have you ever watched father Jeremy Frakes walk? He walks fast. He walks like a man on a mission! And I’m not sure if he does anything slow. It seems like he has only one gear. And that’s not bad. Some things need to be done quickly. If something is simple, easily understood, not complex, not hard to do, then do it and maybe do it quickly.
ILL.- I remember going to Jeremy and Nicole’s house one time when they were having a yard/garage sale. It’s been a number of years ago. I believe Bailey was quite small at the time. We were standing outside, in their driveway talking when all of a sudden Bailey went running down the sidewalk, away from home. I think Nicole said something like, “Jeremy! Get her!” And he went flying after her and got her. Jeremy is a fast father. I suspect he’s fast in other ways, from what I seen. Fast to serve his family in various ways, which is a good thing.
Some fathers think that fatherhood means that they should be waited on all the time whereas scripture indicates a father should be quick to serve.
Matthew 20:28 “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Honestly, can you envision Jesus sitting in a recliner, with a TV remote in one hand and a Coke in the other? No, He was a servant of servants. While the disciples may have wanted fame or celebrity status, Jesus washed their feet. How’s that for being a servant? And while the disciples slept, Jesus prayed.
If Jesus came to not to be served, but to serve, then what should we all do, including fathers? We all should be quick to serve one another.
Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Shouldn’t this also include fathers?
And there is another kind of walk that we do in life that is far more important than how much we walk or how fast we walk. Here are two scriptures that tell us about this walk which all fathers should have or the walk that all fathers should walk.
Genesis 5:21-24
Hebrews 11:5-6
PROP.- What can we learn about fatherhood from this man who walked with God? What kind of walk should a father have?
1- A father’s walk should include God’s fellowship
2- A father’s walk should influence his children
3- A father’s walk should incorporate a witness
I. A FATHER’S WALK SHOULD INCLUDE GOD’S FELLOWSHIP
Genesis 5:21-24 “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” The newer NIV reads “walked faithfully with God.”
It seems to me that the most important that could be said of any father is that he walks faithfully with God.
ILL.- One preacher on sermoncentral wrote about Enoch’s walk with God which should be a father’s walk today.
1. WALKING W/GOD MEANS TO GO IN GOD’S DIRECTION
2. WALKING W/GOD MEANS TO WALK BY FAITH
3. WALKING W/GOD MEANS TO SHARE HIS COMPANIONSHIP
ILL.- Dr. Charles Weigle composed the favorite hymn, “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.” One day he visited Pasadena, CA. Early that morning he had an opportunity to walk through some of the famous rose gardens when the full fragrance of the flowers filled the air.
Later in the day he arrived at the hotel where a Bible conference was being held. As he took his seat, a man turned to him and said, “Dr. Weigle, I know where you’ve been. You toured one of our lovely gardens, for I can smell the pleasing aroma on your clothing.”
Weigle said, “My prayer is that I may walk so closely with the Lord that the fragrance of His grace will pervade my being. I want people to know by my words, actions, and songs that I have been with Jesus.”
Apparently, this was true for Enoch. His walk with so intimate with God that He emitted or oozed with the smell and presence of God. Unimaginable!
Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Could this be said of us?
II Corinthians 5:6-7 “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight." (or we walk by faith)
ILL.- Someone wrote: “Happy is the man who walks so close to God, that he leaves no room for the Devil to come in between.” That’s the kind of man or father that Enoch was!
Enoch’s walk with God teaches the importance of a private devotional life in order to have passion for the Lord.
ILL.- George Muller was a Christian evangelist and Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in the 1800s in Bristol, England, which cared for 10,024 orphans in during his life. He said: “The first three years after my conversion I neglected the Word of God. Since then, I have read the Bible through 100 times, and each time with increasing delight. When I begin it afresh, it always seems like a new book to me. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God.”
A father’s walk (and our walk) should include fellowship with God every day in His Word and every hour of the day through prayer and praise.
II A FATHER’S WALK SHOULD INFLUENCE HIS CHILDREN
A contrast of two fathers and their influence.
ILL.- A young man was to be sentenced to the penitentiary. The judge had known him from childhood, for he was well acquainted with his father--a famous legal scholar and the author of an exhaustive study entitled, "The Law of Trusts."
"Do you remember your father?" asked the judge. "I remember him well, your honor," came the reply. Then trying to probe the offender's conscience, the judge said, "As you are about to be sentenced and as you think of your wonderful dad, what do you remember most clearly about him?" There was a pause. Then the judge received an answer he had not expected.
"I remember when I went to him for advice. He looked up at me from the book he was writing and said, 'Run along, boy; I'm busy!' When I went to him for companionship, he turned me away, saying "Run along, son; this book must be finished!' Your honor, you remember him as a great lawyer but I remember him as a lost friend." The judge muttered to himself, "He finished the book, but lost the boy!" It should be obvious that if a father wants to influence his children for good and for God he must be willing to pay attention to his children and give them time.
ILL.- Charles Francis Adams, the 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: "Went fishing with my son today--a day wasted." His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary and on that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: "Went fishing with my father--the most wonderful day of my life!"
ILL.- Michael W. Smith is a very popular contemporary Christian soloist. Here is what he said about his father. “WHEN MY DAD COMES UP missing at a dinner party, I always know where to find him: in the kitchen. He’ll be in there, apron around his waist, washing dishes. That’s just one example of his servant’s heart. Serving seems to come naturally and effortlessly for my father. I remember one time he was working in the garage and he saw an elderly lady carrying a bag of groceries by our house. He immediately went out to help her. Time and again, I’ve watched him drop whatever he was doing to help someone carry a bag of groceries, fix a car or repair a broken appliance. I hope someday I’ll be as good at serving others as he is. If that happens, I’ll have to say, ‘I learned it from my dad.’”
I would say that Michael W. Smith is blessed man. HE HAS A FATHER WHO KNOWS HOW TO LOVE OTHERS. A father’s walk should influence his children for good and for God.
III A FATHER’S WALK SHOULD INCORPORATE A WITNESS
ILL.- Someone wrote: Fatherhood has changed a lot over the years. One Father was asked who was in charge at his house. He answered, “Well, my wife bosses the children. My children boss the dog and cat, and I can say anything I want to the geraniums.”
Jude 1:14-16 14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
Enoch prophesied on sin, judgment, and the Lord’s coming.
ILL.- One Sunday Mrs. Calvin Coolidge was sick and stayed home from church. President Coolidge went to church by himself. When he returned home, his wife asked, "What the minister preach about?" The President replied, "Sin." "What did he say about it?" The President said, "HE WAS AGAINST IT."
Enoch was against sin. He preached against sin and about the Lord’s judgment. Preaching against anything today, however, won’t make you very popular whether it’s preaching against abortion, homosexuality, corruption in government, etc.
ILL.- John Wesley the fiery evangelistic-minded Methodist preacher used to keep young men he had sent out to preach on probation until they could answer these questions. The first question Wesley would ask them was, "Has any one been converted?" If the answer was "No," he would ask, “Do people like it when you witness to them?? And if Wesley was unconvinced, he would ask the final question: "Did any one get mad?"
Then Wesley would say to the ineffective young evangelists: “I don’t think the Lord had called you to preach the gospel. When the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin, they are either converted or they don’t like it, and get mad.” And so with Enoch.
One writer put it this way: “Enoch preached without fear. He did not become a hermit, shutting himself away from the world; or he had a work to do for God in the world.”
All Christians and all Christian fathers have a work to do in this world and that is to preach or present Christ as best they can. We should not fear the world, but rather the world should fear what we have and that’s the truth of God and a relationship to Him.
ILL.- A well-known professional golfer was playing in a tournament with President Gerald Ford, fellow pro Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. After the round was over, one of the other pros on the tour asked, "Hey, what was it like playing with the President and Billy Graham?" The pro said with disgust, "I don't need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat!" With that he headed for the practice tee. His friend followed, and after the golfer had pounded out his fury on a bucket of golf balls, he asked, "Was Billy a little rough on you out there?" The pro sighed and said with embarrassment, "No, he didn't even mention religion."
Enoch was a man like that. His very presence caused fear in the hearts of those around him. The Christian father witnesses for Christ with his words, his deeds and his behavior.
CONCLUSION-----------------
"God took him", which means he did not taste death. Enoch left us a great example of how to live and walk with God.
ILL.- In a sermon on “Enoch walked with God,” Dr. Campbell Morgan gave the following illustration: A little child gave the best explanation of walking with God. She went home from Sunday School, and the mother said, “Tell me what you learned at school.” And she said: “Don’t you know, Mother, one day they went for an extra long walk, and they walked on and on, until God said to Enoch, ‘You are a long way from home; you had better just come in and stay.’ And he went.”
Even though Enoch is long gone, he is still speaking to us today. Not much in Scripture about Enoch, but what is said about him is very powerful. He was true father of faith. And his walk of faith should inspire all fathers and all Christians to walk with God.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
