Enoch and his great-grandson, Noah, “walked with God” (Genesis 5:21-24; 6:9)

Enoch was a contemporary of Adam who died 57 years before Enoch was taken up.

“Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 6:21-24).

Both Enoch and Noah lived in an extremely wicked society. Yet, they walked with God. Enoch had sons and daughters, but only his great-grandson, Noah, is said to have walked with God. His other descendants died either before or in the flood.

How do we walk with God?

We must “walk humbly” with God (Micah 6:8). We are to “walk in His ways and to fear Him” (Deuteronomy 8:6). We are “to walk just as Jesus walked” (1 John 2:6). We must “walk in the light” as God is in the light (1 John 1:6, 7). We must “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16).

Satan tries to separate us from God.

He encourages rebellion by spreading lies.

The devil told Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would make her like God!

Satan promotes atheism as an escape from God’s judgment. Several people I know, decided to be atheists when they started being immoral. Without God, it is easier to do things that are wrong.

But God is always present, whether we acknowledge Him or not. We cannot escape from light by fleeing into darkness because one beam of light penetrates the deepest darkness.

When my father was a young man, he was a guide in Marvel Cave near Branson, Missouri. No darkness is more complete than the darkness in the depths of a cave. After warning the people on the tour, Dad would turn off all the lights, so they could experience utter darkness.

Then he would light a candle and place it on a rock at the top of the huge chamber they were in. After leading the group down a winding path to the bottom of the room, he would turn the lights off again. But this time they could see the shinning candle on the rock above.

No place on earth is so dark that you cannot see the light of God if you look up.

Another way Satan prevents people from walking with God is by convincing them that they are already walking with God when they are not.

A meme on my screen said: “Share this if you know in your heart that God is walking with you every step of the way.” The problem with this meme is that many people believe God is walking with them when they are not walking with God! God walks with us “every step of the way” only if we are in step with God!

Jesus warns: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

How can we know whether we are really walking with God?

Being in God’s presence is not enough.

God is everywhere! Thus, in a sense, everyone is in God’s presence! David asks: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

Atheists ignore God, but what about believers? Is God the focus of our lives?

To walk with God, we must be conscious of His presence.

God is everywhere. Paul told the Athenians: “He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:27, 28). Yet, many believers think of God as being far away. God is not part of their daily life. God is present, but they ignore Him.

Azariah told Judah: “The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2).

And James writes: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

God moves closer to those who want to be close to Him. How close are we to God?

To walk with God we must accept Jesus as the Leader of our lives.

God sent His Son to be our Savior and Guide.

Walking with God includes assembling with fellow Christians (Hebrews 10:25). Jesus promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 20:18). At the Lord’s table we commune with the body and blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16).

After giving the great commission, Jesus promised: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Jesus does not force Himself into our lives. He says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

How would you feel if Jesus knocked on your door tomorrow and said, “I have come to live at your house 24/7”? Would you be uneasy? Would you watch the same TV programs and videos? Would you speak the same words? Would you think the same thoughts? Would you go to the same places?

You might be thinking: “That’s a good idea. I’ll pretend that Jesus is with me all the time.” No, pretending wont work! That misses the point! If you are a Christian, Jesus really is with you 24/7. He really is present and knows everything you think and do! The question is: Are we aware of His presence?

I have travelled the 940 million kilometers around the sun more than 80 times, and have been a Christian for 70 years, yet it is only recently that I have learned how valuable it is to be aware of the presence of Christ. This awareness helps me avoid sin and do what is right.

To walk with God we must do His will.

Enoch and Noah obeyed God.

Enoch was a prophet who condemned the wicked people of the world: “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands 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” (Jude 14, 15).

Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). He did all that God commanded him (Genesis 6:22).

To do God’s will we must know God’s will. God spoke directly to Enoch and Noah. In our time, we learn the will of God through the Scriptures. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1, 2a).

The Holy Spirit revealed the truth to the apostles (John 16:13). God commanded them to make His message known in written form: “According to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” (Romans 16:25b, 26).

Are we walking with God?

To walk with God we must accept God’s forgiveness through the sacrifice of His Son by believing in Jesus, turning from our sins, confessing our faith and being baptized into His body, the church of Christ. In Christ, we walk with God by doing His will from day to day. Amen.
Roy Davison