From the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us today as we spend time around the Word of God, preaching Christ in all his fullness to men and women in all their need. He abides with us always. Oh For the favor he shows, and the joy he bestows, our full soon will prosper. shepherds quake at the sight. Well, it is good to be here with Let the Bible Speak. We're going to unite our hearts together now in a word of prayer. Let us pray. Our gracious God and our loving Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for the privilege of being able to seek Thy face together in the attitude of prayer. And as we come to Thee, we come in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, And we thank Thee, our Father, that we can enter into Thine immediate presence, that we can commune with Thee as a friend speaketh with a friend, and Thou hast promised to hear and to answer prayer. And therefore, our Father, for this service we look to Thee for that needed help and even for the power of God the Holy Spirit to be granted. And as we would turn to Thy precious Word, we do ask that the entrance of Thy Word would give light to each and to every heart. We thank Thee for those that are gathered here before us. We thank Thee, our Father, for those that will view the service, and we pray that it would be owned and blessed of Thyself to the encouragement of Thy children and even to the salvation of precious souls. Bless the one that will bring thy word. Endue him with power from on high, and use him to thine honor and to thy glory. We ask these things in the Savior's great name. Amen. We're going to read together from God's precious word, and we're reading from the first book in the Bible, the book of Genesis and the chapter five. We're going to move down that chapter to take up our reading at the verse 18, and let us hear the word of the Lord together. And Jared lived an hundred, sixty, and two years, and he begat Enoch, And Jared lived after he begat Enoch 800 years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Jared were 960 and two years, and he died. And Enoch lived 60 and five years, and begat Methuselah, And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech. And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years, and he died. And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. And Lamech lived, after he begat Noah, five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years, and he died. Aunt Noah was 500 years old. Aunt Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Amen. We'll end our reading there at verse 32 at the end of the chapter. And may the Lord be pleased to add his own blessing to this reading from his own precious and infallible word. We're going to sing another well-known gospel hymn together, "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus." have a have a a a a is We'd like to thank Reverend Kenny for leading the meeting so far. We're going to turn to Genesis chapter 5 and I draw your attention to verse 24, and Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. I want to speak today about Enoch, the man who walked with God. Walking with God in an ungodly and a godless world is by no means an easy thing to do. But for our encouragement in the Bible, we're directed to this man, Enoch, who was the first recorded individual in the Scriptures who reminds us of what it is to walk with God and how to walk with God in a very difficult and in a very trying age. It is midway through the list of generations, descending from Adam, we encounter this exceptional and really this extraordinary individual. He is then mentioned for us in the Bible, in the book of Hebrews, and we also read of Enoch in Jude as well. But the question I want to ask you today is this, what is it that the Bible points out about Enoch which is the most prominent and the most striking feature about his life? Was he a mighty warrior? Was he an individual who discovered some great thing? Well, as we know from our text here in Scripture, the Bible directs our thoughts to a very simple and yet a very humble and vital quality. Enoch was a man who walked with God. And I think for our encouragement, and certainly to help us if we are Christians and we are saved, and even if we're not Christians, to understand what it means to be a child of God, to become a Christian, and how to live for God in this day and age. God has given us this great example of how to walk with God before us. A few things to leave with you. First of all, Enoch's walk and its timing. We asked a question, in what sort of day And in what sort of age and what sort of timing did Enoch live as we turn to the Word of God? Well, first of all, he walked in what was called, we might say, a critical time and an age. There are really a few things that we know about Enoch in Scripture. For example, as we read through chapter 5, we find out for ourselves that his father was called Jared. We read in this passage of Scripture that Enoch was also the father of Methuselah. This son of Enoch was not just the oldest man recorded to have lived, but his end of life ushered in the very global flood itself. But as for the time in which Enoch lived, there are some very helpful and very important lessons for us. I believe that as we trace these early portions of Scripture, we come to the very accurate conclusion that it was a very godless and a very trying time. For example, as we think of Cain's sin, the only conclusion we can draw is that after Cain's sin, things became worse and worse. In fact, we come to the times of Noah and God looks down upon the face of the earth. and he sees that it's only evil continually. God looks into the hearts of men and women and he sees the rebellion, he sees the ungodliness. And so we draw the conclusion that as Enoch was in that sort of time frame, that as he lived and as he walked and as he sought to maintain a testimony, it was, spiritually speaking in that sense, a very difficult time for him. The effects of sin were bitterly experienced and felt unknown, and say if they say that his life before God, it was greatly needed. Remember something as we turn to this portion of scripture, Adam had died a number of years before Enoch was born, which meant that there was desperately a great need for true light and for a godly light. Little to nothing he said of the generations two to six, but it seems as if God puts a spotlight upon the seventh generation, which is Enoch's generation. And I think of how even the day of rest itself, when God had made all things and made them very good, he rested on that seventh day, and I believe we've got an association here. He draws our thoughts to a seventh generation. Here has been a time of darkness, here has been a time of great need, but God raises up a man at a critical time and age. And for those of us who are Christians, and we know and love the Lord, we might think to ourselves that, you know, it might be easier to walk with God and to serve God if circumstances were better, they were more suitable, they were easier. I think many Christians make that mistake. We like to think as we look back upon past times and we think of maybe Reformation history or we think of revival history. We think of times when maybe the churches were filled and the gospel was preached and there was a great response and it seemed that people wanted to hear the word of God for themselves. That's the sort of day and age where it would be easy and it would be more simple to walk with God, but we must not think like this. The Lord has raised you up, if you are a Christian, for the day and age in which you live. Just as God raised up Enoch for this time, it was a critical time, and that Enoch was given grace to walk with God. But also it was a certain time. And what I mean by a certain time is that God gives us in verse 21 a very small, but I believe a very significant detail that we should spend time thinking about just for a few moments. For example, in verse 21, we are told that Enoch lived 65 years, and this is when he and his wife then had Methuselah. Notice the transition to verse 22, and notice how the narrative begins to unfold and develop. It says this, in verse 22 of Genesis 5, Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years. Have you noticed something? Not just are we given something of a time frame by which we know the rest of Enoch's life, but the Spirit of God actually draws our attention to a time, and to a period, and to a moment. And while I cannot be dogmatic as such upon this particular point, I would suggest to you that the Lord is showing us here possibly the very moment in which this man began to put his trust in the promise of God of a coming Saviour. And if you know your Bible is relatively well, you only have to think back to Genesis 3 and verse 15, and what do you have? We often refer to Genesis 3 verse 15 as the first time the Gospel of Christ is preached, God will send a Saviour. And you think of how those precious words would have lingered and stayed, not just with an Adam and an Eve, but in all successive generations. So was it the case that maybe for those 65 years Enoch didn't walk with God? And then there comes Methuselah, and with Methuselah there comes a message, even a warning of a coming judgment. And then God reminds us that he walks with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years. The Lord takes an interest in individual words. He directs our thoughts to moments and occasions. And I would ask you the question this day, as a challenge to your own heart and to your life, the point of your life now, are you walking with God? Has there been a time in your life where you've come to an individual, a personal saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? We might even ask the question to our hearts, as those of us who have been Christians for many years, how many years have we given to this world? And how many years have we given to our God? Enoch's walk with God and its timing. But think about Enoch's walk with God and its testimony. And for this, we have to really turn our thoughts to other portions in Scripture. I mentioned earlier on that Enoch is also mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5. And there in Hebrews 11 verse 5, he's second on the list after Abel. And in Hebrews, what the Bible does is places our focus upon the very testimony of Enoch himself. You know, many people today have great concerns about what others think of them. And don't get me wrong, I'm not decrying the importance of having a testimony before men and women and society in general. That's a very important thing to do. We must live godly, and we must live consistently, and we must live in a reliable, holy fashion before a very watchful and a very sinful world. But we must also try to steer away from being people pleasers. The Lord directs us to the testimony which matters most, and surely it's right there before our eyes in the life of Enoch, and there in Hebrews chapter 11, he pleased God. Walking with God is pleasing God. And what an important virtue and necessity that really is. And so as part of his testimony, we see that he pleased God. That's what Hebrews 11 verse 5 is all about. Before his translation, Hebrew says, he had this testimony that he pleased God. The question I ask you is this, what is it to please God? How can you and I, if we are Christians today, how can we please Him in our life? I mean, we know how we try to please ourselves and the things that make us happy and the things that we enjoy. But what are the things that please God? Well, if you read on in Hebrews 11 verse 6, we have something of the answer. And there the apostle says this, but without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God, the Bible says, must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. And so what is it to walk with God, and what is it to please God? Surely it is this. It means that we come to Him, and we come to Him in faith, and we go to Him. It means that we believe all that He is. And it means that we become individuals who diligently seek Him. And you might say, Lord, how do I walk before you in this world? Well, Hebrews 11 and 6 gives you the answer. There's a going to Him, there's a praying to Him, there's a diligent seeking of God. Many people don't seek Him in our day and age, but I encourage you, I encourage you in your walk with God to seek Him, and to go to Him, and to know Him. And whether Enoch knew of many others who did this in his day, I cannot tell, and I do not know. But what I know is this, if there is no one else that walks with God, the Lord wants you to walk with God. If there's no one else who will stand for God, the Lord wants you to stand for Him, and to please Him, and to serve Him. But there's something else about His testimony. Not does He only please God, but He proclaims God. Now not everyone is going to be a preacher, and not everyone is going to proclaim God in that public and full-time sense. Enoch was a prophet. He was a proclaimer of God's Word. If you were to read Jude 1 and verse 14, we read these words that Enoch prophesied of these. So we know he had another string to his bow. He was a godly man, he was a changed man, there was a time when he came with his whole heart to believe that there was a promised Saviour, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Lord called him into this great work, a ministry of prophecy, to set forth the Word of God before a needy people. Jude tells us in verse 14 that he prophesied of these. Have you ever asked a question who these are? But again, if you read Jude in verse 14 and the surrounding verses, you'll see exactly who these are. They were destitute of grace. They were individuals that were far from God, and Jude's ministry, as he walked with God, it was exceedingly difficult. He prophesied of these, he exposed them, he pointed them out, he identified them. And then he had this extraordinary other preaching element in which he spoke of the coming day of Christ as he preaches the ten thousands that would come at the return of our blessed Saviour. It's a remarkable ministry. But it's a man who had a great testimony, his walk with God. had a critical timing, it had a crucial testimony. But Enoch's walk with God as we finish, and his translation. Now in Genesis 5, in verse 24, we read these words, don't we? Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Now anyone who has never read the Bible for the first time may look at these words and wonder what they mean. In Hebrews 11 5 it speaks about the word translation. Now very simply that just means carried over, it means removed, it means changed. What we know is that Enoch did not bodily die even if the seed of death was in him. God did something quite extraordinary. He did something quite wonderful. He kept Enoch from closing his eyes in death, and instead, as with the prophet Elijah, he was uniquely taken up into the very presence of God in glory. You know, we might read our Bibles, we read these things, and we say, well, why and how do these things happen? You know, we're not given in Scripture the reasons why. And we should not understand the lengths of Hebrews 11 to think to ourselves that because he had such a great degree of faith that he was for some reason taken to heaven on account of that. There have been many good and godly men and women since Enoch and since Elijah. I believe the meaning is this, God used Enoch as a badge as a reminder to us, as a lesson to all future generations that it is best for us to walk with God. He seals a godly man's life with his most extraordinary ending in taking him to be with Him to encourage all successive generations that they live for Him all the days of their life. As we think of this reality of Enoch being taken and translated, and the likes of Elijah as well, the reality is that only two men out of billions since have ever been taken and not died. And that was by the direct command of God. But the Scripture reminds you, and reminds us all, we must, needs, die. It is a point unto men once to die, and after this to judgment. And as I think of Enoch, how can we not think of Christ? A man who walked the perfect life. A man, the God-man, who pleased God perfectly. Our Lord Jesus Christ, whose death was a most unique death, just like in a sense Enoch had a unique ending in which he was taken into the presence of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having lived the perfect life, and pleasing God, and obeying the law of God, and keeping the commands of God, and the Bible says, securing for all who believe a perfect righteousness. He also, he laid down his life for the sinner. He laid down His life for you and for me, that we might know what it is to be with God in eternity and to be saved. We can look to our Christ, our Saviour, as the one who is our author, the one who is our finisher, the one who is the captain of our faith. And as we look to Him, we can walk with Him. and we can please Him. And thank God if we're saved one day, we shall be with Him. Let's close in a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we pray in these days that we will have grace to walk with Thee. that we might have that strength and that spiritual resolve despite the difficulty of our day and age, that we might be faithful unto thee, we might walk with our God, and we might look forward to that great prospect ahead of every child of God, that we shall be with Christ, which is far better. Do bless your precious word to our hearts, we pray in Jesus' name. Thank you for spending some time with us today around the Word of God. For further information visit our website at ltbs.tv. We look forward to joining with you next time as we seek to let the Bible speak once again.