A boat docked in a tiny New England village. An American businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the fisherman.
"Well, then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the businessman.
The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The businessman asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a nap with my wife when I get home. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life."
The businessman interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.
With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one-and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.
You can then leave this little village and move to Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the fisherman.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the businessman.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the usinessman, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?"
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take naps with your wife, and spend your evenings seeing your friends, playing the guitar, and singing a few songs. You can have a full life."
Today as we continue to study the genealogy of Jesus, we are going to discover a man who without doubt had the fullest life of all of the descendants of Jesus.
Last week we looked at Adam. We discovered that he lived to be 930 years old. He had a son that he named Seth. Seth is mentioned solely because it was through his lineage that Jesus would come.
At 105, Seth had a son and named him Enosh. The name meant “mortal man.” Seth realized that man was mortal. That man’s days were numbered. Seth would experience his own mortality at the age of 912. This understanding of man’s mortality leads to what was possibly the first revival.
Genesis 4:26 “When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the Lord by name.”
We can be sure that Adam had shared the story of the beauty of the garden and how God would walk with him in the evenings since Adam was present and alive. It would have been a certainty that God shared his name with Adam as He would one day with Moses. In the face of being mortal and being in the barren world struggling for food, people began to worship God, seeking his favor.
The list continues. Enosh had a son and named him Kenan. Kenan had a son and named him Mahalalel. Mahalalel had a son and named him Jared.
Jared had a son and named him Enoch. Enoch is the character that we will discuss today.
Genesis 5:21-24 “When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.”
Let’s take a moment to get a perspective on where we are at on the time line. 700 years has not yet passed since Adam was expelled from the garden. In fact, Adam is still alive at this time. He is 687 years old. He will die 57 years before Enoch disappears. Perhaps he spent time with Enoch telling him the stories of his relationship with a loving God. Perhaps it was these conversations that enabled Enoch to develop a relationship with that none have had since the garden.
We noticed in the scripture that Enoch had a son. He named him Methuselah. We have learned in the past that names had meanings. Methuselah meant “when he is dead it shall be sent.” We can assume from this name that God had given Enoch a vision of some event occurring at the death of Methuselah.
This assumption is reinforced by Jude 1:14-15. “Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, ‘Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’”
Methuselah would have the proud distinction of being the oldest person to ever live. He lived to be 936 years old. The year of his death would be the year of the great flood. God did not give him a long life because of favor on him. We don’t know what type of individual he was or anything about his relationship with God. He was the warning mechanism for destruction. God gave him extra years for the sake of man that they might repent as He does today.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
So 700 years removed from the garden what type of society has developed.
Genesis 6:5-6 “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.”
All of these ancestors of Jesus were living on the earth at this time. Adam had witnessed the corruption of sin on man. Man’s worship of God had become meaningless and hollow. In the midst of this fallen society stands one man. His name is Enoch. We are told that he lived in close fellowship with God. We are told that he walked in close fellowship with God, until one day he walked with God into heaven. He did so without experiencing physical death like all the others. In fact if you read Genesis 5, you will find 6 generations of how long they lived and then they died, until you get to Enoch where it says he disappeared.
How is it possible for someone to walk that close to God? First lesson from Enoch
Amos 3:3 “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”
You must walk in the direction decided by God.
Do you find it difficult to walk with God or an entire day? Do you find it difficult to follow all of God’s directions for 24 hours? Enoch did it for three centuries. We live in a society where we balance our walk in the spirit with our walk in the flesh. I have not achieved what Enoch achieved. That’s why I am still here.
Plus I think Enoch had two great motivations. He heard the stories from Adam of having that intimate relationship with God. It created within him a desire to experience that joy.
Secondly, he wished to escape the impending doom that was to come upon the earth. God gave him a prophecy and told him to name his son Methuselah as a warning of it coming. We are told that it was after Methuselah’s birth that Enoch began his close fellowship with God.
We have those same two motivations to desire a closer fellowship with God. We read in the Word of God’s miraculous interventions in the lives of people that have close fellowship with him. We should desire that same assurance of divine intervention that comes from a close fellowship with God.
Also, we should desire to escape the impending doom. I have heard it declared that we are ready for the return of Jesus but I wonder if it’s true. How many people will want to hide from fear of facing the one who will judge their actions? When you think about standing before him one day are there things in your actions or words you have spoken that fill you with dread? I know there are things in my life that I will answer for that will not be pleasant. Walking with God will limit that fear and dread that we all experience. Walking with God will make our reunion with Jesus a lot more pleasant.
Let’s read Hebrews 11:5 to discover even more about Enoch.
Hebrews 11:5 “It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—‘he disappeared, because God took him. ‘ For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.”
Let’s look at the last part of the verse for our next lesson.
Second lesson You must make a Godly reputation
Here are five famous tombstones. See if you can guess whom they belong to.
“Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty. I’m Free at last.”
A)Benjamin Franklin b) Martin Luther King Jr.
“I will not be right back after this message.”
A) Merv Griffin b) William Shakespeare
“That’s All Folks”
A) Robert Frost b) Mel Blanc
“There Goes the Neighborhood”
A) Bette Davis b) Rodney Dangerfield
“Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime”
A) Robert Frost b) Dean Martin
If you got these right, you are old like me or love trivia. But each of these is based on the reputation of the individual. Martin Luther King Jr. and his reputation as a freedom fighter. Merv Griffin and his reputation as the ultimate TV host. Mel Blanc and his reputation for his vocal talents. Rodney Dangerfield and his reputation of getting “No respect”. Dean Martin and his reputation of a boozing night club singer.
Enoch had a reputation as a person who pleased God. I wonder how people see us. Are we known as a person who pleases God or a person who pleases man? When people ask us about God, Jesus, or the church, does our answers reflect our desire to be God pleasers. Or do we come off as insincere believers? How long does someone have to be around us to recognize us as God-pleasers? Do they even see it at all? Our actions, or lack of, speak volumes above our words.
Third lesson Enoch’s faith is what took him to heaven.
Hebrews 11:6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
Along with fellowship with God, and walking with God, and having the reputation of pleasing God, Enoch had faith in God. Enoch could not have this close relationship with God without faith in who God was. Faith is trust. Faith is trusting God to keep his word although the evidence says different. Faith believes that God is orchestrating circumstances in life beyond our control for our good. Faith in God’s word prompted him to believe that destruction to the world was coming. And it was this faith that pleased God so much that he removed him before the coming doom. Faith was the power to his rapture. Faith is the power to our rapture also should the Lord return today. Hebrews 9:28 says, “He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Fourth lesson We must believe God exists
We can’t just believe in God. We can’t just believe there is a God. We must believe that He is the God as revealed to Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. The I AM. We must believe that He is the one true God. Not just a notion but rather a presence.
God can’t be a religion. He can’t be a movement. God must be a lifestyle.
What did you believe in this morning? You believed I would be here today because you came. I came because I believed you would be here. You believed you would arrive safely because you traveled to get here. You believed that coffee would be drinkable because you poured yourself a cup. You believe that chair can hold you because you set in it.
Certain things are based on hope. We may say we believe that the Panthers will win today but would you be willing to invest several hundred dollars on seeing the next week’s game today? We may say we believe we will live to ripe old age but are you willing to put into savings a large amount of money that cannot be retrieved until you are 85?
What we believe dictates our actions. If we believe that God exists than we must live a life that reflects a reverent fear of who He is. Jesus says not to fear a man but rather God who can destroy both your body and soul.
Believing that God exists means having the same confidence in his word as you did sitting in that chair. And admitting that God exists acknowledges his reign over your life and your surrender to his commands.
Fifth lesson We must believe He rewards seekers.
Enoch understood that God desired to give the best He had to offer to his creation. When you look at the religions that prevail today, you see gods who are a punisher, indifferent, and distant. They are gods who demands to be appeased and whose primary attitude is one of anger.
Our God is a rewarder. He rewards us with his blessings and provisions. But our greatest reward for seeking him is our salvation. God gave his Son for us as a reward for seeking him.
Enoch sought after God. He was rewarded by being transformed from this world into heaven. He was spared the coming judgment. We are granted that same reward for seeking God.
It would be nice to walk out of this door and into the kingdom of heaven. I don’t think any of us will accomplish that feat. But we do have the assurance of escaping the coming wrath of God upon this earth. For that, we are grateful.
But until that day or until we leave this world through the door of death, let’s try to live an Enoch life as much as possible. Let’s do our best to live a life that exemplifies God. Let’s have a reputation that glorifies God. Let’s demonstrate a faith that pleases God. Let our actions show that we believe God exists and that He rewards those who seek him.
