“Methuselah Faith”
"And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died." Genesis 5:27 (KJV)
Intro: A grandfather who didn’t exactly resemble a movie star, if you know what I mean. Was looking at himself in the mirror when his granddaughter happened to walk by. She stood looking at her grandfather, and then gazed intently at her own reflection for several minutes, she said, ‘grandpa, did God make you?’ “Smiling the grandfather told her, “He sure did.” The little girl asked “And did God make me too?’ He said, Yes, why do you ask? She said, “it seems to me that god is doing a lot better work lately.”
How old is old? What it means to be old is relative to the people you are surrounded by. If you are 70 but in a crowd of people who are over 80 then you are young. But if you are 40 and you are in a crowd of teenagers… then you are old. So just how old is old?
In America the official age of a senior citizen is 65. So if you were born in 1950 or prior…, then you are at least 65 or older… then you are officially a senior citizen… Some people want to grow old gracefully… Others want to go kicking and screaming fighting it all the way…
Methuselah was the oldest persons to ever live. Some traditions say that he was born just 8 generations after Adam and Eve and he lived and died probably just before the Great Flood. All the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died. (just as a side note: some will say that they measured time differently back then. But that theory is flawed. It would mean that Enoch fathered Methuselah when he was just 5 years old. We know that is impossible.) I am convinced that when the bible says Methuselah was 969 years old that is how old he was.
Let’s look at what it means to have “Methuselah Faith.”
I. Methuselah was the Son Enoch
"And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." Genesis 5:24
I would like to talk to you about the oldest man that ever lived. Who was the oldest man who ever lived? Well, it was NOT Methuselah! He was the oldest man that ever died. Methuselah's father, Enoch was the oldest man that ever lived! He would be at least 8000 years old by now because he did not die he is still alive he was taken to Heaven. Enoch was the first man that did not die. Enoch was taken up alive into heaven to be with God. Enoch was the first person to be translated from this world. Our future! It is no coincidence that Enoch was the first person to foretell the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the age in - Jude chapter 7. "Enoch the seventh from Adam, PROPHESIED...behold the Lord cometh with 10,000's of his saints." Enoch was the first prophet to preach about our hope! The resurrection of the saints. The transformation of the living who are alive at Christ Second Coming at the end of the age.
It is the same thing described in 1 Corinthians 15:51 teaches that Christians who are alive when Jesus returns will be changed the same way Enoch was transformed. “Behold, I show you a mystery: Not all of us will die, but we will be transformed. It will happen in a moment in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet shall sound. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die.
Where, O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?” Christians alive at the day when Christ returns will not have to die. But will be taken up into heaven just like Enoch.
There was a man who died and went to heaven. He was standing at the Pearly Gates carry a suit case. The angel watching the gate told the man he would have to leave the suit case outside because he could take anything into heaven with him. But the man insisted and asked to speak with St. Peter. When St. Peter arrived he asked the man what he had in the suit case that was so important. The man hesitated and then finally said the suitcase was full of gold bricks. St. Peter smiled and said, ok. Let him bring it in we can use more pavement for the streets. The bible says the streets are paved with gold. The walls made of the twelve stones one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel: jasper, sapphire, emeralds, onyx, carnelian, odeam, agate, chyrsolite, beryle, topaz, jasinite, amethyst. The most rare and valuable jewels. The walls are made of pearl. It is a perfect place of purity and beauty.
What does it mean to walk with God? First it means that Enoch made a choice. Instead of me choosing my own path, I choose to walk in the direction God is leading. Do you wake up in the morning and say, “Oh God its morning” or do you say “Good morning God?” The Bible says in Hebrews 11:5 that that "Enoch pleased God." Think about what it means to please God.
Besides Jesus himself there are only two people in the bible who are specifically referred to as having “pleased God.” The first one is Enoch. Hebrews goes on the say in the next verse Hebrews 11:6 "without faith it is impossible to please [God]." Does your faith please God? Do your choices please God? Stop and think about that for a moment.
I believe Enoch had a faith that pleased God. Enoch walked with God. There is an old saying, “If you are going to “talk the talk” you better “walk the walk.” Turn to the person beside you and say it.
Surely the faith of Enoch walking with God rubbed off on Methuselah, Enoch’s son.
II. Methuselah was the Grandfather of Noah
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Genesis 6:8 (KJV)
The second person specifically referred to as having please God is Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
A Grandfather was talking with his teenage grandson. After you think you know it all, you discover that friends are more important that accolades and public recognition. After you think you know it all, You discover that family is more important than being right all the time. After you think you know it all, faith become the important thing. Then you discover that life is short. He said, wisdom is defined this way, “you learn most things after you think you know it all.”
As you look around at the world in which we live, it is easy to see lots of problems. The Lord had saw great wickedness on the earth in the days of Noah. We can define sin many different ways. Sin we commit by deed, words, and even thoughts. There are even sins of omission where we know to do something that is right and we fail to do it. Even that is sin. I wander how many times a day a person sins? 5 times? 4 times? Let’s say you are doing pretty good and only sin 3 times a days. Let’s say you sin only sin 3 times a day or less. You a practically a saint. But that is still 365 days a year. That is over a 1000 sins a year. If you live to be 70 years old that means you have over 70,000 transgressions. Think what would happen if an habitual criminal came to court before the judge and you had a raps sheet with over 70,000 crimes on your record. That is the way it going to be when you stand before God on the day of judgment.
You say, preacher I am not really even that bad. Hold on to your seat. Are you ready? Here it comes. Jesus said, in Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” The truth is Heaven is a perfect place for perfect people. That is standard for getting into heaven. Alone we don’t stand a chance at making it into heaven. No matter how good you try or how good you are you and I have a problem. It is a sin problem.
As good as Noah was he did wasn’t spared to build the ark and save the world because he was perfect because he wasn’t. The bible says, “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Grace is the free, undeserved, unearned, unmerited, righteousness and perfection that comes from accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
Noah found favor with God. Have you found favor and grace in the eyes of the Lord? Are you living in God’s favor? Have you been forgiven and made perfect by the red blood of the cross? Are you ready for the resurrection and return of Christ? Have you been cleansed and made perfect by repentance of your sins? Have you made a publice profession of that faith by water baptism?
When God said, Noah build a boat. Noah built a boat. Noah walked with God. Noah didn’t just visit God on Sunday morning. Noah had a daily relationship with God.
A little boy was spending the night before his birthday at his grandma and grandpa’s house. Kneeling beside his bed with his grandparents he softly said his prayers; "Dear God, please give us all a good night’s sleep." Suddenly the little boy shouted aloud, "And dear God please don’t forget to give me a bicycle for my birthday!" The grandmother said, "There is no need to shout like that, God isn’t deaf. "The little boy looked up and said, "No, but Grandpa is. I want to be sure he heard me too." We don’t have to yell or scream to get God’s attention. God is not deaf. God listens to every whisper, every prayer.
A lot of Methuselah’s faith came from watching his father Enoch who walked with God. And lot of Noah’s faith came from watching his Grandfather Methuselah. Do you teach faith to your grandchildren?
III. Methuselah was the Father of Lamech and of course Lamech was the father of Noah
We know the number 7 and multiples of the number 7 and 7 times 70 all have significant meaning throughout both the old and new testaments of the bible. Drilling down by studying numbers in the bible reveal parallels in our own life today. The number 7 can indicate either complete wrath God or the complete mercy of God. Let me say that again because it is so important. The number 7 either indicates the wrath of God or the number 7 represents the complete mercy of God.
In Genesis 4:23 Lamech had taken the life of a man, he said in self defense. "I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." Genesis 4:23 Hang on to your hats and don’t panic for just a moment. I just want to quickly give you something to think about. Lamech the father of Noah is a type of foreshadowing of what is revealed in the work of Christ on the cross. The judgment of God upon the world by the flood and the mercy of Jesus Christ upon the cross.
Luke’s Gospel chooses 77 names back to "Adam, the son of God," (and 70 to Enoch, see Jude 14), in his genealogy unto Jesus Christ (Luke 3:23-38). Lamech lived to be 777 years old when he died. We could spend weeks of bible study exploring the numerical symbolism surrounding Lamech. But the lesson I want us to learn is the new testament message to us today. "Then Peter came and said, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?"" Matthew 18:21 (NRSV) What did Jesus answer? Seventy times seven. How do you think Methuselah’s faith affected his son Lamech who in turn influence Noah?
In his book, Laugh Again, Charles Swindoll tells of one aging woman who wrote a friend a humorous description of her own aging and said: Remember, old folks are worth a fortune-SILVER in their hair, GOLD in their teeth, STONES in their kidneys, I have become a little older since I saw you last, and a few changes have come into my life since then. Frankly, I have become quite a frivolous old gal. I am seeing five gentlemen every day. As soon as I wake up, Mr. Will Power helps me get out of bed. Then I go to see John. Next Mr. Charlie Horse comes along, and when he is here he takes a lot of my time and attention. When he leaves Arthur Ritus shows up And Authur stays the rest of the day. He doesn't like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint. After such a busy day I'm really tired and glad to go to bed with Mr. Ben Gay. What a life! “This is what the LORD says: "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, 'No, that's not the road we want!'” Jeremiah 6:16
Invitation: In this life we choose either our own path or we can choose the path that walks with God. The only way to find true peace is to choose the Methuselah path. Growing old physically is an unavoidable fact…. Growing old spiritual is a decision. I want that old time revival. I want the old time religion that has stood the test of time. Choose the “Faith of our Fathers” Do you want Methuselah faith! There are the “young at heart” And there are those who are maturing in their faith. Their faith is growing older. I want Methuselah faith. It is my desire and constant prayer that all of us will grow and mature in faith.
