WALKING WITH GOD
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 5:21-24
INTRODUCTION
According to medical authorities, walking is one of the most profitable forms of physical exercise. It stimulates the heart and lungs, strengthens the bones and muscles, increases the blood flow throughout the body, and reportedly contributes to the loss of excess weight. Because of its multiple values, Americans have been encouraged to leave their cars in the garage and participate more frequently in the exercise of walking.
A Television commercial sometime ago reminded us that "walking makes the good life better."
Did you know that the average pair of feet take 7000 to 8000 steps a day; about two and one-half million steps a year. It makes you tired, doesn’t it? That means that in a lifetime, you will walk approximately 115,000 miles.
The first man to walk around the world was a man by the name of David Kunst of Waseca, Minnesota. He completed his historic walk on October 5, 1974, after walking 15,000 miles. The trip required four and one-half years, during which time David went through 22 pairs of shoes and wore out two mules. At the completion of his historic journey, an auction was held with eager bidders paying $150 for his right shoe, $170 for his left shoe, and $140 for his remaining mule.
Most people find It neither appealing nor practical to be a David Kunst and accept the challenge to hike around the world. However, God wants us to understand that the Christian life Is a walk-a journey which requires dedication, courage, and persistence. It calls for self-surrender, a fully yielded life, and an intense desire to please God rather than ourselves.
The spiritual walk of which the Bible speaks Is a dynamic exercise of faith, and the successful completion of this walk Is dependent not upon one’s natural or physical resources but upon the strength, leadership, and controlling influence of the Holy Spirit.
Enoch is one of the most striking personalities of the Old Testament. He Is one of but two men of whom it is said "he walked with God." He Is one of but two men who lived on this earth and went to heaven without passing through the portals of death. He is the only one, except our blessed Lord, of whom it is written that "he pleased God." The reason for the remarkable qualities and successes of this man Is recorded In Genesis 5:24: "He walked with God."
Let me suggest several things regarding this spiritual walk that I think are important:
FIRST; THIS IS A WALK WITH GOD.
Our text says, "Enoch walked with God." This Is not an ordinary walk and you do not keep company with the ordinary. You are walking with God. However strange it may seem to our finite minds, It is possible, according to the Word of God, to live in the realm of the Spirit and walk In fellowship with the heavenly Father. Enoch’s walk emphasizes an Important relationship between humanity and divinity, between God and man, between that which Is weak and limited, and that which Is powerful and unlimited. Think of the high and holy privilege of walking with God. What an exciting thought that I can walk with God.
God-who clothes Himself with honor and majesty
God-who covers Himself with light as with a garment
God-who stretched out the heavens like a curtain
God-who laid the beams of His chambers in the waters
God-who makes the clouds His chariot
God-who walks upon the wings of the wind.
God-who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flaming fire
God-who laid the foundation of the earth that it should not be removed forever
God-who sent the springs into the valleys
God-who gives the fowls of the heaven their habitation and causes them to sing among the branches
God-who waters the hills from His chambers
God-who causes the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man that He may bring forth food out of the earth
God-who planted the cedars of Lebanon and provided the high hills as a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies
God-who appointed the moon its seasons and the sun its appointed time to go down (see Psalm 104).
You mean I can walk with a God like that? The answer is, Yes, you can. God said in Leviticus 26:3, "If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them; I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people."
How can I, a mere mortal, a mere human being, walk with God?
We read 1 John 1:7, "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." True fellowship with God and true fellowship with one another are made possible through and by Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
The walk of which the Bible speaks means you have discovered the road of truth. The quest for truth is as old as the human race. Pilate was not the first man to ask, "What is truth?" Men of every generation have asked that question. The followers of Buddha have answered it by saying truth is following the teachings of Buddha. The disciples of Confucius have answered it by saying, truth is observing the teachings of Confucius. The devotees of the Prophet Mohammed have answered it by saying Allah is God and Mohammed is his prophet. But the voice of Jesus Christ speaks loud and clear above all others as he declares, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to God except by me."
Some people say, "Let’s be broad-minded. All roads lead to heaven. You go your way and I’ll go mine and we’ll arrive at the same destination." But the truth reveals there is only one way to heaven. The Bible says it is a narrow way; it has a strait gate, and only a few will find it.
Others have said it doesn’t really matter what you believe so long as you are sincere in believing it. But I beg to differ with such an opinion. Sincerity is commendable only so long as it is based on truth. I have no doubt that Adolph Hitler was a sincere man. He believed in what he was doing and sold a nation on it. Jim Jones with his cult in South America was sincere-but his sincerity could not be commended when he coaxed or forced nearly 1000 people to commit suicide in the name of religion. It does matter what you believe. Our faith must be based upon truth.
The psalmist says, "Teach me thy way, O Lord, I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name" (86:11).
SECOND, THIS WALK IS A WALK OF FAITH
The Bible says that Enoch had this testimony that "he pleased God" (Hebrews 11:5). How was Enoch able to please God? The writer of Hebrews tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please [God]" (11:6). Enoch could walk with God because he was a man of faith and placed his trust in God. God is a big God. He is the God of the maximum and not the minimum; the God of might and miracle. He is the God of unlimited power and He will reveal Himself to us if we will believe and trust Him. He will shake heaven and earth in order to reveal His glory and power to His people.
In 2 Corinthians 3:5 Paul says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." Paul never glories in the flesh, but ascribes the winning of life’s battles to "Him that loved us."
1. Walking in faith means walking in power for God is power. His power is at work in us and through us and for us. This being true, our lives do not have to be sick and anemic, but we can be men and women of faith keenly aware of the adequacy of divine grace for every need. In Ephesians 1:19 Paul states, ". . . according to the working of his mighty power." Other phrases in his letters such as "the effectual working of his power" (Ephesians 3:7) and again "to Him that is of power to stablish you" (Romans 16:25)-these and fifty other passages give us authority to echo Paul’s words, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might."
2. Walking by faith also means growing in Christ. In Colossians 2:6, 7 we read, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, Rooted and built up in him and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."
In this one passage Paul talks about four elements of the Christian experience. Walking-Growing- Building- and Abounding.
Walking expresses Life.
Growing expresses an inner power.
Building up shows progress of character until God perfects His work in us.
And abounding reflects abundance of joy and proper attitude for the marvelous benefits that God gives to us along the way.
If you walk with God, you will grow in Christ. You will walk-grow-build, and abound.
The reason some people have so little joy in their Christian experience is that they are not following these four steps. As one preacher put it, some people sit, soak, and sour. But true life, the Christ-life, is a growing life. Our life must first be built downward, "rooted in Christ." Next we must build upward, "built up in him and established in the faith." Then abounding joy and thanksgiving are the results of this dynamic growth experience in our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. When we walk with God by faith, we will also experience intimate fellowship with Him. "What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms . . . I have blessed peace, with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting arms." We have discovered, as did Enoch, that walking and living in the presence of God is an experience of blessed fellowship and sweet communion.
It is always a pleasant experience to walk with someone you love. Two young people who feel they have discovered the wonderful world of love stroll hand in hand together. A beautiful sight is an elderly couple who have been married for 40 or 50 years walking along hand in hand. God’s love for us and our love for God is a relationship of beauty and blessedness.
There are some wonderful things that God, our walking companion, does for us as we put our trust in Him. I want to mention three. He guides us, He comforts us, and He protects us as we walk together.
First, He is our Guide. The psalmist wrote, "For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death" (48:14). That’s a wonderful promise. Life can be a frustrating journey. It has many uncertain turns. I, for one, need a trusty guide and friend to show me the way. When you take a journey with a capable and trusted guide, you can leave your worries behind. He arranges the details of the Journey. He knows the destination because he has been there before; all you have to do is go with him, listen to him, and follow his instructions.
Martin Luther once said, "I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide." He can always be trusted. Thank God our traveling companion is trustworthy-He knows the way, He knows the pitfalls, and He erases worry from our minds when we put the details of the journey in His hands.
Second, our walking companion also gives us comfort and strength for each traveling day. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:25, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." These words were part of a blessing Moses pronounced upon the tribe of Asher, but they stand as a testimony of God’s faithfulness to all His people. We sometimes wonder if the demands of life will be too heavy for the circuits? Will we make it? But the answer of the Word of God is, "As your days may demand, so shall your strength be." God has promised that when you walk, you will never walk alone. He is with you. He reminds us, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
Third, our walking companion also protects us on our Journey. The psalmist declares, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies" (Psalm 18:2-3).
When we hear these words, we recognize God as the defender and protector of His people-an ever-present help in the time of trouble. David says God is like a great fortress whose walls cannot be penetrated by the enemy. He also says God is my coat of armor and shield against the arrows that come my way. He is the strength of my life. When I would be faint and weary, He refreshes and restores me.
How many times have we thought we would perish on our Journey? How many times have we thought we would die in the heat of the battle? But God raised up a standard against our enemy. When the enemy came in like a flood, God raised up His army against him. God protects His people from the enemy and surrounds them with His loving care. Thank God for His watchful, caring, loving protection, along the journey of life.
THIRD, THIS WALK LEADS HOME
We read in Hebrews 11:5, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death."
The word translated is an old Latin word, which simply means "carried over" or "carried across."
God carried Enoch across to the other side. Someone described it by saying, "One day Enoch and God were walking along and God said to Enoch, ’Enoch, why don’t you Just come on home with Me today. You’ve been down here now 365 years. Just go home with Me.’ So Enoch said, ’Yes, God, I have been walking with You all these years; anyway, I think I would like to come on up to Your house.’ So God, whether by a fiery chariot or a Jet-propelled cloud, whisked Enoch away and took him on home." God carried him across-carried him across death. Death is that force that divides this world
from the world to come. God somehow picked up Enoch and carried him across to the other shore. One moment, walking with God in time,; the next, in eternity. One moment, communing with God by faith; the next, by sight. Enoch’s life of faith was at last crowned by an abundant entrance into the life of perfect fellowship.
CONCLUSION
From the last book in the Bible-the Book of Revelation -comes a pointed promise, "Thou hast a few names . . . which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed In white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels" (Revelation 3:4-5).
What a wonderful promise! We shall walk with Him In white. White garments in heaven signify purity, perfection, and holiness. It doesn’t matter whether It is a white robe or a three-piece white suit or a totally new design from heaven’s wardrobe, the important thing is that we shall walk with God in everlasting perfection.
Now we walk by faith, but then our eyes shall be open to the fullness of all His eternal wonders. Now we walk with limited understanding, but then life’s most baffling mysteries will be resolved in the light of His eternal wisdom.
Yes, this walk with God leads home. Let’s be sure that we daily "walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
