"Walking With God"

Text:
Genesis 5:21-24 And Enoch lived sixty 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.
Introduction:  I believe that people generally want to please God.  Unfortunately, many fail to do so because:
    1.    They don’t know how.
    2.    They decide any way will do.
    3.    Many believe that their way will be acceptable because they like it.
A good example of pleasing God is found in Enoch who “walked with God.” 
I.    Moses mentions twice that Enoch “walked with God” (Gen. 5:22, 24).
    A.    To walk with God is not just any walk, but the right kind of walk (Proverbs 4:18-19).
            18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
            19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
            1.    Instead of darkness (Prov 4:19) and deeds of darkness, which the wicked love,
                    a.    The just both have light and shed light all around, because they have within them the light of God's Word
                           and God's Spirit (Matt 5:14,16).
            2.    God wants His disciples to shine with the light of heavenly knowledge, joy, and purity.
            3.    They must go on from strength to strength and glory to glory (Ps 84:7; 2 Cor 3:18;  Isa 40:31; 58:8), until in
                    absolute perfection they shall "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43).  Then shall
                    the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
            4.    The right walk is one directed by God (Prov. 14:12; Jer. 10:23).
    B.    To walk with God your life style must be pleasing to Him. The Bible says this about Enoch (Hebrews 11:5 By faith
            Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his
            translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.    Hosea 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these
            things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the
            transgressors shall fall therein.
    C.    Two can only walk together if they are agreed (Amos 3:3).    This is not compromise!
            1.    The agreement is based upon God’s decision and terms (Isa. 55:8-9).
                    a.    The plans and purposes of God in regard to forgiveness are as far above those of people as the heavens are
                           higher than the earth.
                    b.    People find it difficult to pardon at all.
                    c.    They harbor malice; they seek revenge; they are slow to forgive an injury.
                    d.    Not so with God. He harbors no malice; he has no desire of revenge; he has no reluctance to forgive.
            2.    To walk with God one must agree with God’s way of salvation (Eph. 28-9; Acts 4:12; Rom 10:9-10).
            3.    To walk with God you must agree with God’s way of baptism Matt. 28:18-19
            4.    In order to walk with god one must also be a part of His body the church Col. 1:18 “And he is the head of the
                    body, the church:”  (Psa 77:13).
            5.    Christians must walk by God’s rule (Phil. 3:16). “Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
            6.    God’s way is the good way (Jeremiah 6:16). Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for
                    the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We
                    will not walk therein.
    D.    To walk with God requires obedience (Hebrews 11:6). But without faith it is impossible to  please him: for he that
            cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
            1.    Enoch could have chosen:
                    a.    To please himself.
                    b.    To please his wife and children.
                    c.    To please other men.
            2.    He chose to please God (1 John 5:1-5). read
            3.    Many live a life of compromise, seeking to please everyone and ending up pleasing no one
            4.    1 Thessalonians 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye
                    have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
    E.    Enoch was 65 years old when he began his walk with God (Gen. 5:21).                  
            1.    He continued that walk for 300 years (Gen. 5:23).  What faithfulness!
II.    He Did Not See Death (Heb. 11:5).
    A.     “…God took him” (Gen. 5:24).
            1.    Enoch’s case is different from others who walked with God in that it ends so differently.
                    a.    Elijah is the only other who left under similar circumstances {not seeing death} (2 Kgs. 2:11).    
            2.    “…was not found…” means that he was missing, was searched for, and  was not found.  This was some kind
                    of a mistake.
    B.    The usual way for the end to come is explained in (Hebrews 9:27).
            1.    There is no promise to be taken like Enoch or Elijah.
            2.    The only exception is if the Lord returns before we die (1 Thess. 4:13-17).
III.     We Learn From Enoch that Men Can Please and Walk With God (Rom. 15:4).
    A.    (2 Cor. 5:7). For we walk by faith, not by sight.
    B.    God is “…a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).  To Enoch, to us:
            1.    “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).  
Conclusion:  If we walk with God, we will have a pleasant, safe and profitable journey.