Please stand for the reading of Holy Scripture. We'll have two New Testament lessons this morning, followed by one Old Testament lesson. First, reading from Hebrews 11, verses five and six. By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he did not see death. and was not found because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. This is the word of the Lord. Turn now to the book of Jude. Jude 14 and 15. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men, also saying, The Lord comes with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. This is the word of the Lord. Turn finally to our Old Testament lesson and sermon text, and that's Genesis, Genesis chapter five, verses 18 to 24. Here we read of the figure that the writer to the Hebrews and Jude spoke of. Genesis five, verse 18. Jared lived 162 years and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were 962 years and he died. Enoch lived 65 years and begot Methuselah. After he had begotten Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with God. And he was not, for God took him. May the Lord bless the reading and proclamation of his holy word, amen. You may be seated. Let us do a thought experiment together. Imagine you're working on an assembly line, and six times a motor rolls up to your station, You plug in a part, and it rolls on past. Once, twice, even six times this happens. By that point, you would be pretty confident that the next thing that's going to come is a motor, and you'll plug in the part, and it'll roll on past. But what if, lo and behold, the seventh time, a horse runs to you, rears up on its hind legs, and then gallops away? Well, now you'd be wondering, what comes next? What happens next? A horse caught you by surprise. And you look, and coming down the assembly line is another motor. You plug in a part, rolls past. Next time, you're wondering, it's a motor. Plug in the part, rolls past. Even a third time, it's a motor. You plug in a part, and it rolls past. After 10 goes at this at your assembly line station, you would probably conclude that the horse was a remarkable exception to a relatively predictable pattern. The horse stood out. This might seem like a strange way to begin a sermon, but congregation Genesis 5 is kind of like that. The genealogy that we've been looking at since last week sets up a predictable pattern, and it goes like this. So-and-so lived so many hundred years and begot a son. After he begot that son, he lived so many more years, and he had sons and daughters. So all the days of his life were so many hundred years, and he died. You get that pattern six times in a row, like clockwork, like a motor rolling up the assembly line, you plug in the parts, goes on past. But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, in the seventh generation, there is a glaring exception to the rule, like a horse rearing up on its hind legs and then galloping away. It almost jumps off the page, and it is Enoch. Enoch, there is no one like him before, and there's no one mentioned in this genealogy like him afterward. Of everyone else, it is said, he lived. Of Enoch, it is said, he walked. He walked with God. Of everyone else, it is said, he died. Of Enoch, it is said, he was not, for God took him. congregation, there is something special about this man of God. Like a lone horse on the automotive assembly line, Enoch stands out. He stands out because he walked with God and God took him. This morning, we're going to consider the figure of Enoch under two simple headings. First, Enoch's remarkable testimony. And then second, Enoch's unique destiny. First, his remarkable testimony, and we read of that twice actually. In verse 22, and again in verse 24, twice it is said of him, Enoch walked with God. That's not to say that other men in this list were not godly, but he is singled out for his piety. Enoch walked with God. Now what does that mean? What does it mean to walk with God? Well, in the Bible, walking is a frequent metaphor for life. Your walk is your lifestyle. It's your way of life, the course of your life. And if you walk with somebody, what does that mean? Even today, if you go on a walk with someone, well, typically, it implies that you enjoy fellowship with that person. that you share the same road, you follow the same path. As Amos says, can two walk together except they be agreed? Well, congregation of the Lord Jesus, walking with God has that significance. A way of life, a lifestyle. Also in the scriptures, walking with God can mean a priestly service. In Zechariah 3.7, we read, if you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my command, then you shall also judge my house, and likewise have charge of my courts, and I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. That was God's word to Joshua, the high priest. All this biblical data together, I think we can distill walking with God under two words. Conduct and communion. That's what it means to walk with God. Conduct and communion. First, walking with God means holy conduct before God. Holy conduct, or we could say godly behavior. Holy living. And that's how the Bible speaks of Noah in Genesis 6-9. Noah, who's mentioned in this genealogy, was a just man. Perfect or blameless in his generations, Noah walked with God. You see there the connection. He's just, he's blameless, he's upright, he walks with the Lord. Matthew Henry beautifully explains this idea of holy conduct when he says to walk with God is to set God always before us and to act as those that are always under his eye. It is to make God's word our rule and his glory our end in all our actions. It is to make it our constant care and endeavor in everything to please God. and nothing to offend him. It is to comply with his will, to concur with his designs, and to be workers together with him. It is to be followers of him as dear children. Holy conduct, godly behavior in your deeds, in your words, in your thoughts. And in the Bible, this conduct also includes telling other people about the Lord. I mentioned priestly service, but we could also speak of prophetic speech. Indeed, we learn elsewhere, we just read this about Enoch, that he was a prophet. Again, Jude 14, now Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied about these wicked men, saying, behold, the Lord comes with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment on all and to convict all. This was not merely a man who walked and kept his convictions in private, but he also went public with his convictions and his loyalty to God. As a true prophet, Enoch predicted the second coming of Christ. Think about that. At the very beginning, he's predicting the second coming of Christ in judgment upon the ungodly. He walked with God in holy conduct, godly behavior. There's a second idea, and that is that walking with God means holy communion with God. Holy communion, sacred fellowship, enjoying your time with the Lord. Again, I'll quote Matthew Henry. It is to live a life of communion with God, both in ordinances and providences. He says Enoch lived as if he were in heaven already. Think about that. As he's walking on the earth, as he's living his life, as he's preparing meals, as he's laboring, as he's tilling the ground or whatever else he was doing, hunting for fish and food, whatever else it was, he lived as if he were already in heaven. He communed with God face to face, so to speak, as a man does with his friend. And in our context, we can say that to walk with God in holy communion is to read his word, it's to converse with him in prayer, it's to spend time with God, to enjoy fellowship with him. As Petrus van Maastricht says, theology is the doctrine of living to God through Christ. Well, living to God through Christ shorthand would just be you walk with God in your conducts, in your communion. Congregation, this is a remarkable testimony. It's the only time it's mentioned in this genealogy that somebody walked with the God of heaven and earth. And there's rich application for us here. Three applications in particular I want to draw your attention to first. This is negative. Do not walk with the ungodly lest you become like them. Do not walk with the ungodly lest you become like them. This is what the psalmist said, did he not? Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night. Now notice the progression, we could say regression of Psalm 1. Someone starts by, by walking in the counsel of the ungodly. And then he stands in the way of sinners. And finally, he's seated in the seat of the scornful. Do not walk with the ungodly. Now, I'm not saying you cannot speak with unbelievers, evangelize them, share meals with them, or do business with them. Otherwise, Paul tells us we'd have to go out of the world completely. But you need to be careful. You need to be careful. You must not walk with the ungodly in close friendship and fellowship. And this includes those who might profess Christ with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. We all know Christians who are part of the visible church profess Christ with their mouths, but we know there's no fruit of the spirit in their lives. They're ungodly people. In fact, you must maintain the most distance from former church members who have been excommunicated. That's the teaching of 1 Corinthians 5. Paul says you don't even keep company with them. But the big idea is don't walk with the ungodly. As Paul said, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness and unrighteousness. Can two walk together except they be agreed? Low-hanging fruit, Christians should not marry non-Christians. Christians should not date non-Christians. Christians should not maintain certain kinds of intimate friendships with non-Christians. It's always easier for an ungodly person to pull you down than it is for you to lift them up. And I wanna speak for a moment to our covenant youth, our covenant young people, because I think you have some particular susceptibilities to this. Of course, some of them are not here. Some of our young people are away at college, but as your pastor, I am concerned about some of the friendships among our young people. I've met some friends of this congregation from sports or school or other activities, and honestly, as your pastor, I've not always been impressed. In some cases, it hasn't taken you more than three seconds to realize that your so-called friend is quite simply bad news. That they don't care about the things of God. They don't love his word. that simply they want to be cool in the eyes of the world. And from this pulpit, from this pulpit, I have seen visitors to this congregation, friends of people in this congregation who have made mockery of the word of God during the service. I'm not blind to those things. And it frankly disturbs me. It breaks my heart. to see young people who sit in the pew, but their hearts are so far from the Lord. Some of you have told me of friends, so-called friends, who have led you back into sin, who've put temptation in your path, and like in the Proverbs said, come with us, come with us. Let's go back. to Egypt. Let's indulge the lusts of Canaan. That's not a friend. That's not someone who's good for you. That's not someone who loves you. That's not someone who wants your highest good. No, they're using you for their own ends. And whatever they tell you, whatever gifts they might give you, they don't mean it. Congregation, how many times can a man turn his head and pretend he just doesn't see? Some of you desperately need better friends. Better friends, parents, parents, you need to guide your children to find better friends. So my burden is that for some of you, you could do so much better. It's a jungle out there and sadly sometimes it's a jungle in here. Be careful, be wise, be warned. Friendships can make or break you spiritually. Whether it's outside or inside the church, do not walk with the ungodly. I plead with you, do not walk with the ungodly lest you become just like them. Second application. That's a test your walk with God. Test your walk with God. Are you walking with the Lord? Can two walk together except they be agreed? Well, congregation, do you agree with God? It's a good test of whether you're walking with him. Do you agree with him? Do you love what he loves? Do you hate what he hates? By what standard do you decide your clothes, your entertainment, your friends? Is it the standard of the word or is it the standard of the world? What's the value system? Is it the standard of the word or is it the rule of the world? Do you care more about comparing Ford and Ferrari than reckoning with the eternal difference between heaven and hell? Be honest with yourself before the Lord and test your walk with God. Final application, simple as can be. I urge you to walk with God. To walk with God every day, all the day, all the days of your life. For Enoch, that was at least 300 years. We don't know if he was converted at what age. We know that it says he walked with God 300 years, or rather, 65 years, and then he lived 300 more. And really, that's the obligation of baptism. We witnessed a baptism. Well, baptism, among other things, puts God's claim upon you, and it calls you to walk with God. It calls you to daily die into sin and to live in newness of life. Now you might say this morning, Pastor, I am not walking with the Lord. I'll acknowledge that fact. I'll wave the white flag of surrender. I'm not walking with God. I've never walked with God. I don't know how to walk with God. I don't know God. I don't know where I am. I'm walking alone on the path. Well if that's you this morning, I as Christ's minister invite you and I command you to repent of your sins and to trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation as he's offered to you in the gospel. Because walking with God is really all about faith in God. That's the connection the writer of the Hebrews says. He says, by faith, Enoch. He wasn't walking in his own strength. He was walking in trust, in reliance, in dependence upon the Lord. By faith, Enoch, he had this testimony that he pleased God, but without faith. It is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. If you have not already done so, then I command you, I invite you, I implore you, trust in God, trust in Christ, and then go on trusting him. Walk with him. Others of you might say, Yes, I'm a Christian. I'm on my way to heaven. I've not only received the sign of baptism, I've laid hold of the promise by faith, personally, vitally, individually. But, to be honest with you, I've not been walking very closely with the Lord. For some time now, I've not been walking very closely with him. I've grown dull in my spiritual interests. I've grown cold in my affections, inconsistent in my devotions, and I'm a believer, but I'm not walking in close step with the Spirit. Well, that's you. The devil is going to tempt you to say, yeah, you're not walking with God, are you? You're pathetic. What are you about? And he will lead you to despair and to drift farther from God. That doesn't have to be that way. No, the answer when you've sinned, or even over time, is to repent and return. Like the prodigal son, come to your senses in a far country and return to the household of a father who loves you and cares for you and longs to welcome you back home. Remember your baptism. If you're a young person or an older person who's strayed in your affections and in your devotion to Christ, remember your baptism. Remember that God laid hold of you in the waters of baptism. He wrote his name upon you. and says, you belong to me. Your gut conviction is I belong to God. Well, let the knowledge of that bring you back, bring you home. Repent, and then, as one of you likes to remind me, tarry with the master, tarry with the master. Michael Morales says this, being more holy is like getting a tan. and is directly proportionate to how much time we spend in the presence of the Son of Righteousness. If you don't feel close to God, and you don't feel much affection for God, and you don't have much interest in the things of God, and your Bible has no appeal to you, well is it possible you're simply not spending time with Him? is the reason that you look like you've stayed in an attic your whole life, spiritually speaking, in the dark, is that you need to open the windows and let in the lights. You need to open up the Bible. You need to get on your knees in prayer, and you need to tarry with the master and spend quality time in his presence. There's one pastor whose ministry I deeply appreciate, loves to say, we need massive doses of God. We don't need Dixie cups or thimblefuls of God. We need massive doses, showers of blessing. We need to spend time with God and tarry with him. We should be like the disciples in the Mount of Transfiguration. We don't want to leave the summit. We want to stay there. We don't want to go down again into the valley. We want to linger in the courts of the Lord because we love Him, and we love Him because He loves us. Walk with God. That's a remarkable testimony. It's remarkable. He pleased God because he walked with God. There's a second thing that is unique about this man. Again, like the thundering steed coming across the automotive assembly line, Enoch has something special about him, he stands out, and it's this, second of all, he has a unique destiny. Of everybody else in this genealogy, it is said, and he died. And he died. And he died. And he died, and he died, and he died, six times, seventh time, doesn't say that. After that, and he died, and he died, and he died. Out of those 10 generations, there's only one man of which it is said, and he was not, for God took him. What happened with Enoch? Imagine that. Again, remember last week, because of these long lifespans, tremendous overlap, where, for instance, Adam would have known, possibly, at least walked the earth at the same time as everyone else in this genealogy except for Noah. These men knew each other. Imagine growing up with Enoch, 365 years, and one fine day, he's gone. It's not that he fell over and died. Just, he's gone. Disappeared. Not here anymore. Taken. No trace. What happened? Well, here the writer of the Hebrews provides helpful, inspired commentary on this passage when he says, by faith Enoch was translated or taken away. that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated or taken him. Congregation, this man had a unique destiny. Unlike everyone else in this genealogy, unlike almost everyone else in human history, Enoch never died. He never died. We're told there's two great certainties in life, right? Death and taxes. Well, not so certain. This man never died. Instead, he was taken, translated, caught up, we could say raptured, body and soul, into heaven. Into the third heaven where God dwells with his holy angels and the spirits of just men made perfect. and the seraphim chanting holy, holy, holy, and the cherubim with ox, lion, eagle, and manlike faces, and the crystal sea, and the emerald above the throne. Body and soul, Enoch, in the presence, in the face of God. In the twinkling of a moment, in the blink of an eye, he's there. God took him. As you might translate Latin into English, God translated Enoch from an earthly register into a heavenly register. Supernatural, miraculous, God took him. And this is what's remarkable, congregation, there he is today. We've grown dull with our materialism. and our secularism. But I tell you, the cosmos is charged with the glory of God, and the supernatural is real, and Enoch is in the third heaven this day, body and soul. And he's been there for almost 6,000 years. The only other person in the Bible who did not see death was the prophet Elijah. Remember the story, children? Perhaps you've had your parents read it to you even this week. where the Lord took up Elijah in a chariot of fire with horses of fire by a whirlwind into heaven. Besides these two, Enoch and Elijah, every other man, every other person who's lived has perished. Even Jesus died. Even Jesus died. This is a unique destiny. God took him, 365 years old. One year for every day in a solar year. Matthew Henry calls it a year of years. Cut short, but a completeness to it. God took him. Why? That's the question. Why would God, only other person is Elijah, why would God take Enoch and just whisk him away into heaven, body and soul? Again, why does the horse come galloping up to the assembly line when every other time it's the motor and you plug in the part and it rolls on past? Why this exception? Why this uniqueness? I'm going to read to you. Once again from Matthew Henry, which if you've been paying attention, I particularly enjoy. And if you're not sure who to read on a given passage, Matthew Henry's always a good option, but here's what he says. God often takes those soonest whom he loves best, and the time they lose on earth is gained in heaven to their unspeakable advantage. Just for a moment, in passing, think about the great comfort that is to those of you who've lost loved ones, who've had miscarriages, the member in Port-au-Prince who lost a one-week-old child, of parents who've buried their children. What a comfort that God often takes soonest those he loves best. There was a man, Edward Taylor, who was an American Puritan, who's most famous for his metaphysical sonnets on the Lord's Supper, but he would write when he prepared for the sacrament, he had so many children who perished in infancy, and he wrote a poem about it in which he's wrestling with God and he realizes that God at times decides to pluck the flower. young and tender upon the vine, but he plucks the flower for himself. God often takes those soonest whom he loves best. There's also more here. Think about it for a moment. By not allowing Enoch to see death, to experience death, God revealed something. In the midst of this genealogy, which is not boring but breathtaking, God is screaming something to you. He's shouting, trumpeting, death will not have the last word. If even just one man escaped it, even just one man did not experience it, it is telling you that death is not the last word. That in the seventh generation, God planted a seed of hope in the breast, in the soul of humanity. Life will conquer death. And this is connected to his walk. In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof, there is no death. Though Adam fell and brought us into a state of sin and misery and death, God will yet advance the nature of man from natural to spiritual, from earth to heaven, from dust to glory. He's not gonna give up on his project to bring you to himself. He writes that in clear letters in the seventh generation. And more than that, Enoch's translation really prefigures a number, a series of various transportations into heaven. I've already mentioned Elijah, but in a different way, we also read of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 where he says, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows, such a one was caught up to the third heaven, and I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows, how he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Paul got a glimpse of what Enoch saw. Not only Paul, but John, Revelation 4, he says, After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like the trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven, and one set on the throne. John got a glimpse of what Enoch saw. Now, unlike Enoch and Elijah, Paul and John returned to the earth to live and to die, but beyond the apostles and prophets, Enoch's translation into heaven prefigured an even greater event. This is really what the story of Enoch's all about. He pointed forward to the ascension of the Son of God into heaven. The story of Enoch is not just about a godly man who walked with the Lord and who somehow escaped death. No, this is a gospel story and it's pointing us to Jesus. It's bearing witness to Christ. The seventh from Adam, Enoch stands in the line of King Jesus. His name appears in Luke 3, 37. The line of promise. And congregation, I'm here today to tell you that a greater than Enoch is here. I tell you, Jesus, Christ, the seed of the woman, the Sethites, Shemites, seed of Abraham, lion of the tribe of Judah, true Israel, this man, Jesus, walked with God. And he walked with God as no one had ever walked on the face of the earth. Jesus walked with his father in unbroken, perfect fellowship. Every deed, every word, every thought was perfect. Absolutely holy conduct, exceeding that of Enoch. And he walked with holy fellowship, rising early, tearing with his father late into the night, crying out to the Lord, communing with his father. Jesus walked with God. He walked with God. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, where he suffered and died. But it's on the cross, the emblem of death, we need to go back to the seed of hope that was planted in the breast and the soul of humanity back in Genesis 5. Because if we know the story of Enoch, then we know that there's more to the story, that death, congregation, is not the last word. That life conquers death, and so it was. Jesus, a greater than Enoch, was crucified, dead, and buried. But good news, he rose again from the dead. He rose again. He ascended into heaven. Having conquered the grave, he ascended into heaven, and he sits right now at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. As Enoch had foretold, behold, the Lord comes with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment on all. And this is where, if you follow the Bible storyline, and you get caught up in it, you realize where this is going. Because I said, apart from Enoch and Elijah, everyone else sees death. It's appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment. That's true, as far as it goes. But. On the day when Christ comes back, according to Enoch's prophecy, there will be a vast multitude of men, women, and children who, like Enoch and Elijah, never see death, never experience the departure into death. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus, we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. Like Enoch and Elijah, those who are alive and remain and who trust in Christ will not see death when he comes. Instead, they will be changed, transformed, translated, They will have a unique destiny. Two applications. First, prepare to meet your God. Enoch predicted it about 6,000 years ago that Christ is coming again to execute judgment on the ungodly. Are you ready to meet your God? Are you ready to stand before your lawgiver, your judge, and your king? Are you living in such a way today, are you walking in such a way today that you're going to be ashamed at Christ's coming or overjoyed at his coming? That's a question only you can answer. But if you think of it, if for some reason your house caught fire, and you had to leave, and then people were able to see what you were working on, and what you had in your closet, and what you had on your laptop, would you be ashamed of that? fearful of that prospect. Well, in an infinitely greater way, when Christ comes back, are you living in such a way now that you're going to be ashamed at his coming or overjoyed at his coming? Are you eager to see the Lord? That's a good litmus test of your readiness to meet God. Then a final application, and it's really the one that Paul's already led us to, comfort one another with these words. Comfort one another with the story of Enoch, this hopeful story. In the midst of a world of death, there's a man who didn't see death. Comfort here for you, whether you die or you remain until the coming of Christ. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, but regardless, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Whether you share Enoch's unique destiny, God took him, which we may, as the Lord tarries. Let all of us, may all of us share his remarkable testimony. Enoch walked with God. I don't know if I'm gonna be alive and remain when Jesus comes back in glory and plucks his people in the air, meets them in the air, I don't know. The one thing you can know is whether it could be said of you, you walked with God. Whether you live or die, die or are taken away, may it be said of you, he had this testimony. He pleased God because he walked with God. Think about that for a moment, to be able to say, Casey walked with God, Ben walked with God, John walked with God, Eli walked with God, Greg walked with God, Dan walked with God. Mike walked with God. Caitlin walked with God. Noah walked with God. Everyone in this room, think, would it be said of me? Whatever else, my faults. Whatever else, my failures. Whatever else, my shortcomings and my weaknesses. Those who are closest to me could tell you all about them. Despite all of that, by the grace of God, through faith, I walked with God. What an epitaph. May each of us have it to walk with God. Let us pray.