Ep. 68 | Walking with God | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 5:21-24. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Every story has a beginning. And if you don't understand the beginning, you'll likely misunderstand everything that follows. Welcome to Formed by the Word. Currently, we're going back to the very beginning as we look together at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. These chapters explain our world, our struggles, and much about ourselves. We'll see beauty and brokenness, purpose and pride, judgment and grace. We'll watch humanity fall and see that God already had a plan to restore his relationship with us. The Bible doesn't start with a problem, it starts with a perfect God, and that changes everything. So, wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, because the God who spoke in the beginning is still speaking today.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Have you ever considered writing your own obituary? Some time ago now, I was challenged with that task. I was attending a conference, maybe it was a leadership conference or maybe a pastor's conference, but at that conference, the speaker challenged us to try it. The point was not to keep my family from writing one when I die, although that might be helpful. The point was to help us to see what we would really consider true priorities in life and ministry, what really matters to us, what is most important. That made it a good exercise. As we turn the page to chapter 5 of Genesis, we find ourselves in a section that reads something like a collection of obituaries. One after another, the pattern repeats itself. A man was born, he lived, he had children, and then the sobering phrase appears, and he died. This phrase repeats itself over and over again throughout the chapter. Yet, right in the middle of this chapter, one life stands out from all the others. Enoch's obituary is remarkably short, but it says something about him that is never said about anyone else in Genesis chapter 5. So Enoch's obituary simply says, Enoch walked with God. Now apparently when Heaven summarized his life, that was what mattered the most, not his achievements, not his possessions, not his accomplishments, but his relationship with God. In Genesis 5, 21 through 24, we see this obit, and that's where I want us to focus here in chapter 5, because these verses challenge us with a powerful question. If your life could be summarized in one sentence, what would it say? This passage has intrigued me from a very young age. It suggests what seems to us to be impossible. If we take it literally, and I do, it tells us that Enoch never died. He just transitioned. And why did he obtain that blessing? Well, four words answer the question. Enoch walked with God. His blessing was not because he was wealthy, it was not because he was powerful or successful, it was not because he was famous, it was because he walked with God. So we see here that we can walk with God even in a world marked by sin and death. That's good news for us. So let's dive into our text. Genesis 5, beginning with verse 21, we read these words. When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship. Some translations say walked with God. The idea of living in close fellowship, walking with God is the same. So it's a good translation. Maybe I prefer walked with God. Enoch walked with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared because God took him. There's several observations I want to draw here and let us think about this passage just a moment. It's fascinating. Number one, I think we should notice that Enoch lived in a broken world. Verses 21 and 22 said, Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years. So he's been in this broken world, and we need to note that. Sometimes we imagine biblical figures living in some spiritually easy environment, but Enoch lived in the same fallen world everyone else did. The tendency for every generation I've found is to think that their generation has it tougher than the last one. I've lived long enough to see through that lie. In each of the past generations, including Enoch's, sin existed, temptation was strong, and temptation was strategic in all of those generations. Death reigned, it was constantly on everybody's mind to some extent, and corruption was constantly spreading on the earth, no matter what generation we live in. Jude 14 and 15 even testifies to the fact that Enoch lived during deeply ungodly times, but he walked with God and spoke boldly against wickedness. The second thing I want us to see is that your environment does not have to determine your direction. No matter what environment or culture you find yourself in, you can walk closely with God. If you so choose, you can walk with God in a difficult workplace. You can walk with God in a corrupt culture, you can walk with God in a spiritually cold environment. You can even walk with God in a distracted and devious generation. Enoch reminds us that faithful people can still exist even in faithless times. The third thing we should notice is this walking with God implies an intimate relationship with him. Enoch walked in close fellowship. Enoch walked with God. This phrase is deeply personal, isn't it? It doesn't say that Enoch occasionally thought about God, or that Enoch attended religious gatherings. It doesn't say that Enoch knew facts about God or enjoyed singing worship songs or even gave in an offering plate. It says Enoch walked with God. This idea of walking with God implies many things to me. It implies, for example, a closeness with God, a consistency in my relationship with God and my fellowship with God. Walking with God signifies a daily companionship with God that offers clear direction, protection, and peace. This suggests so much more than just simple religion or even church membership. This is a relationship, an intimate relationship. Many people want occasional encounters with God, but Enoch demonstrates continual fellowship with God. And by the way, we might also note that a walk is not a sprint. It's not a quick burst of spirituality because we're moved by a message at church yesterday. It's a daily, steady forward movement. It's walking together with the Lord in the same direction. You see, walking with God means talking with him, listening to him, obeying him, depending on him, and staying near to him. And by the way, it is possible to be religious and not be walking with God. Enoch shows us that God desires more than outward activity. He desires for us to have a heart to be near him and to be with him and to love him. The strongest believers are often not the loudest believers, but the most faithful over time. You see, a strong walk with God is built one faithful step at a time. And finally, notice the key to Enoch's walk with God was faith. Well, Hebrews 11, verses 5 and 6 says it this way. Speaking of Enoch, it was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying. He disappeared because God took him. For before he has taken up, he was shown as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. You see, Enoch's obituary is only a few sentences long, yet thousands of years later we're still talking about him. Why? Because intimacy with God leaves a lasting legacy. The world often measures greatness by wealth and popularity, by achievements and influence, but heaven measured Enoch differently. The defining statement of his life was he walked with God. At the end of your life, what will matter most will not be your positions, your titles, not even your accomplishments. The greatest legacy will be formed by whether or not you walked with God. Now there's a very clear gospel connection that I want to close with because we don't need to miss it. First, remember, Enoch points us toward Jesus because he made it possible for us to walk with God. To this point, to the point of the cross, we don't have that option. We're reconciled to God by his death on the cross so we can walk with God intimately. Because of his work on the cross, sin no longer has ultimate authority or power over us, and death no longer has the final victory, the final say. And finally, the relationship that was lost in Eden is restored through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5.18 says, God reconciled us to himself through Christ. Hear me well. Jesus didn't merely come to improve our lives, he came to bring us back into fellowship with God. He came to make a walk with God possible today. So here's the takeaway for today, and I finish with this thought. O step at a time. Heavenly Father, help us not settle for shallow religion, but rather to long for an intimate relationship with you. Teach us to walk closely with you day by day. In a distracted and sinful world, help us remain faithful. May our lives reflect intimacy with you, and may we live with the hope of eternity through Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.