Sermon on Sunday 11 August 2019 by Pastor Samuel Koshy
Genesis 5:21-24 - When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Methuselah is the man who lived the longest in the Bible - 969 years. His name meant "when he is gone, it will come". When Methuselah died, the flood came and destroyed the earth. God had given Enoch a glimpse of what was going to happen. That's why he named his son Methuselah.
I will share 3 things about Enoch.
1. Enoch was a man who was familiar with God
Sometimes when you know someone closely, you take them for granted. Enoch knew God very closely. There is a difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone. Many people know about God but few press in with a desire of wanting to know God. God's goal for our lives is not to know about Him. God's desire is for us to know Him. When God created human beings, he walked with them everyday. That shows relationship. The picture of walking together is a picture of intimacy. Enoch had that intimacy with God. When you walk with someone you love, the conversation is not structured; it is spontaneous. You share what is in your heart. Out of the busyness of our everyday lives, God wants us to spend time with Him.
Moses was a well-trained, knowledgeable man. God used him to write the first five books.
Exodus 33:13 - If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you. Remember that this nation is your people. Exodus 33:18 - Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
Let's remember a simple prayer: "Show me your face, teach me your ways. We can be touched and transformed as we catch a glimpse of the glory of God." Psalms 103:7 - He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel. When we have that deep desire, God will show it to us.
The apostle Paul was someone who studied and wrote half the New Testament. Philippians 3:10 - I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. Paul had many close experiences with Christ. But He is not saying He knows Christ, rather, He wants to know Christ. To know the power of His resurrection, you have to experience the death of something. Only then can the resurrection power make it come alive.
Enoch was a family man. He had sons and daughters and he had to provide for them. Family responsibilities makes you more dependent on God. To walk with someone, you have to go in the same direction. When God's heart gets revealed to us, that is when a ministry is born.
2. Enoch was a man favoured by God
He received a commendation from God. What you talk about yourself is your pride. What other people say about you is your. But what God tells about you is your character. God was pleased with the life of Enoch. Hebrews 11:5 - By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
God was pleased with the life of Enoch. What you do from Monday to Saturday is more important to what you do on Sunday. It is about your walk and not only your talk. The God walk part of your life is about how you treat others and how your interact with neighbours. Man sees actions and outward appearances but God sees intention. The greatest award is the one you get from God. When God gives a certificate, that is powerful. 2 Corinthians 10:18 - For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Another simple prayer you can use: "God, through my life, I pray that you will be pleased. That you will be pleased with the way I live my life, that I will glorify you."
3. Enoch spoke the truth
Jude 1:14-15 - Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict them of the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
See how many times Enoch said "ungodly"! He was not afraid to speak the truth. He was a prophetic voice.
Pray without ceasing. When you are doing ordinary tasks, such as driving to work, buying things at the supermarket, commune with God, listen to His voice. The Bible says draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Can you have that desire in your heart? "I want to walk closely with God. I want to get that certificate from God. I want to speak the truth."
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