The Man Who Never Died is a sermon teaching us that like Enoch, we should walk, talk, and speak with God and believe Him. That’s what God’s looking for.

Key Verses:
Hebrews 11:4-6

I invite you to take your Bible now and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11. For some time now, we’ve been going verse by verse through the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews, we’ve said, is the key to understanding the Old Testament. And speaking of keys, the key word in the Book of Hebrews is “better.” We’re told about things in the Book of Hebrews that are better, but now we come to the 11th chapter. This will be our third Wednesday night in the 11th chapter, where we see what has been called by many, and rightly so, Faith’s Hall of Fame. So, tonight, in Hebrews chapter 11, let’s read verses 4-6 Hebrews 11:

Hebrews 11:4: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

By his gifts, yes, but by his faith.

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.”

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.”

Go back, if you will, to the beginning of verse five, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death.” I want to talk to you this evening about the man who never died.

Who Is Enoch?

Enoch is a man’s name. Now, that shouldn’t surprise you. But in the Bible, there are only two men who are named Enoch. Now, we find variations of that name: Enos and Enosh. But most of those references refer to the same two men. At least one does not, but the precise name, Enoch, appears 12 times in 11 verses in the Bible. We’re not going to try to look up all of those.

But just to tell you very quickly, in Genesis 4:17-18, Enoch is the son of Cain. Now, this is the Cain we just read about in verse four here. This is Cain, who was the first man, the son of Adam and Eve. This is the Cain who has the inglorious distinction of being the first murderer when he killed his brother Abel. This is the Cain who built the first city ever mentioned in the Bible, and likely, the first city ever on the planet Earth, and he called that city Enoch after his son.

But after Cain killed Abel, God gave Adam and Eve another son and his name was Seth. After the birth of Seth, we’re told in Genesis 5:4, that for 800 years after the birth of Seth, think about that, 800 years after the birth of Seth, Adam begat sons and daughters. Can you imagine that? How could he have done that? Well, Adam lived to be 930 years old.

“Oh, preacher, I don’t believe that anybody lives that long.” Well, let’s think about that for a moment. It’s true nobody lives that long. People today live about a tenth as long as they did in those days. But this was before the flood in Noah’s day. If you study your Bible, you’ll find that before the flood, people lived hundreds of years. After the flood, they did not, lifespan was cut tremendously.

Many Bible scholars believe, and I think, the extremely reasonable theory that the flood entirely changed the atmosphere and the environment of planet Earth. That caused people to live about as tenth as long as they did prior to that. That would make good sense. There’s more we could say about that and give supportive evidence, but that’s not our study tonight.

But between Genesis 5:4, where Enoch is first mentioned, and in Genesis 5:18, when we learn of the birth of Enoch, who’s the main person mentioned here in Hebrews 11:5-6, hundreds of years go by. Hundreds of years go by, and this Enoch, in verses five and six, is the man who never died.

Now, at that point, you might be thinking, “So, are you saying that this man is still walking around on the Earth today?” Let me answer that quickly: no. We are absolutely not saying that. We’re not saying it. we’re not implying it. We don’t believe it to be true. So, if he isn’t walking on this Earth, and if he didn’t die, then where is he? “Oh, I know, preacher, he went to another planet.” No. There is no reason to think he went to another planet. “Well, where is he?” Well, look at verse five, if you will:

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.”

So, where did he go? He went to be with God. “Well, preacher, when you say somebody went to be with the Lord, you usually mean they died.” And that’s absolutely right. “But you’re telling me this man didn’t die.” No, it tells us right here that he was translated. Now, the word “translated” is very important. We’re going to say more about it in a little bit here. But in Genesis 5:18 to 24, we find these words:

Genesis 5:18: “And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:”

Genesis 5:19: “And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:”

“You said that about Adam.” Yes, and it’s said again about Jared.

Genesis 5:20: “And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:21: “And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:”

Methuselah is an interesting character, the oldest man who ever lived. He lived 969 years, and one interesting thing about Methuselah is the meaning of his name. The meaning of his name is: when he is dead, it shall be sent. Isn’t that interesting? When he is dead, it shall be sent. “Well, what was sent after Methuselah died?” The flood. “You mean God was telling people hundreds of years ahead of time that there was going to be a judgment upon the Earth?” Yes, and can I help you with something? God is telling people today, and He’s been telling people for thousands of years. There’s going to be another judgment upon the Earth. “We’re going to have another worldwide flood?” No, absolutely not. “Why are you so sure?” God promised He would never flood the world again.

I think it was Sunday evening. We were coming here and saw one of the most beautiful rainbows I’ve seen in a long time. Yeah, Sunday evening. It was just beautiful and that’s a promise God gave to us that He would not flood the Earth again. “Oh, preacher, come on. That’s moisture in the atmosphere, and the sun reflecting off of it gives us the spectrum of light.” I know that. I went to science class too. But the truth of the matter is that God gave us that as a symbol of His promise not to flood the Earth again. “Well, I’m glad to hear that the world’s not going to flood again. So, God won’t destroy the world again.” That’s not what I said. That’s not what the Bible says. I just said He wouldn’t flood it.

Genesis 5:22: “And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:”

Genesis 5:23: “And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:”

Now, I want you to listen very carefully throughout that fifth chapter of Genesis. We have, beginning with verse four, the story of Seth and his descendants. Every  one in the long list of them, and we won’t try to name them all, but every one of them, it tells us how many years they lived, and then it ends with these words: and he died. It says that about every one of them except Enoch.

What does it say about Enoch?

Genesis 5:24: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

It says, “All the days of Enoch were 365 years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” What does he mean he was not? He wasn’t here anymore. Well, why wasn’t he here? God took him.

Son of God

In chapter three of Luke’s Gospel, we have a lineage of the Lord Jesus. It begins in the 23rd verse and works backward through the generations. It begins with Joseph. It actually says, in verse 23:

Luke 3:23: “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,”

A very important phrase here is “being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph.” Now, what that means is that people supposed He was Joseph’s son. Now, we know He was not Joseph’s son. The same writer, Luke, in the previous chapter, tells us that He was not the son of Joseph, born of a virgin, fulfilling a prophecy that was at least 700 years old at that time if you go back to the reference in Isaiah, and several thousand years old if you go back to the promise in Genesis 3:15.

Luke 3:23: “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,”

From there, it goes back to verses 36-38, where we find these words:

Luke 3:36: “Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,”

Luke 3:37: “Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,”

Remember, we just talked about Methuselah.

Luke 3:38: “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.”

An interesting statement is “which was the son of God.” Now, you think about that. Jesus is the Son of God. “Are you saying Adam was the same?” No. “Well then, why is it called Adam, the son of God?” Well, let me ask you a question: who was Adam’s father? Where did Adam come from? Okay, that’s what it means. It is not saying that Adam was the son of God in the same way, in the same sense that Jesus is the Son of God. Here’s the difference, listen carefully to John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his,” – listen, “only begotten Son.”

You and I, as believers in Christ, are children of God. We are children of God by adoption.

John 1:12: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

So, we can say we’re children of God, son or daughter of God, but Jesus is God’s only begotten Son, and that sets Him apart from anybody and everybody else. We are children by adoption. Adam was a son by creation and by faith, but Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. Very important distinction. In Jude verses 14-15, it says:

Jude 14: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,”

The seventh from Adam, meaning, seven generations down from Adam.

Jude 14: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,”

Jude 15: “To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

You thought these folks were ungodly? You get that impression? You do, don’t you. Why? Because they were.

Walking With God

But something else I want you to see from those two verses in Jude, is this, Jude tells us that Enoch was a prophet. So, we’re not told a great deal about his life, but I want to talk just a moment about what we do know about the life of Enoch. We’ve already read some of it.

He walked with God; he lived daily with God. Now, think about that for a moment. Enoch did not have the written Word of God like you and I have. Why? Hadn’t been written yet. So, how did he walk with God? How did he commune with God? We commune with God. He speaks to us through His Word. We speak to Him through prayer. Well, I think Enoch talked to God through prayer also. Well, how do you think God talked to him? I think He just spoke to him. You go back to, well, let’s do this. If you have your Bible, turn back to Hebrews chapter one, and I’ll tell you I didn’t just make that up. Hebrews chapter one and verse one says:

Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,”

“Sundry times and in divers manners,” – now, what does that mean? Different times and different ways.

Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,”

Well, how did the prophets speak for God? God told him what to say. So, again:

Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,”

Hebrews 1:2: “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

Hebrews 1:3: “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

So, how did Enoch hear from God? God spoke to him. Now, there’s a great picture of what’s going on here, and I want to share it with you. So, he walked with God, and he was not. It appears that he spent time daily with the Lord, he was listening, he was learning, he was drawing close in his heart to the Lord. You know what the Lord wants you and I to do? As His adopted children, as His believers, He wants us to listen to Him, to learn from Him, and to draw close in our hearts to Him.

Being Translated

So, Enoch walked with God, and he was not, meaning that he was no longer on Earth, but not meaning that he died. We’re told that clearly in verse five, by faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and so God translated him. Now, that word “translated” I told you earlier is very important. When we think of translating something, we usually think of bringing a word from one language to another language.

I don’t claim to be a great language scholar, but I’ve done a little study on that, and the truth of the matter is that you can sometimes take a word from one language and bring it right over into another language very easily. Sometimes, it’s more difficult because, say, we’re bringing a word from another language into English, we may not have an English word that says exactly what the word says in the other language, and so it becomes more difficult to translate. But the concept is the same. We’re taking something that is spoken, and words are ideas that we can hear, thoughts that we can hear. So, we’re taking that thought, that idea, that word, from one language, and then we bring it over into another language, and so we say it’s translated.

In this sense, the Greek word that is translated into English as translated actually has the meaning. Listen carefully. “Translated” means to be changed, to be removed and brought into another state of being, to be changed, to be removed and brought into another state of being. That’s the word “translated.”

So, what happened to Enoch? He was walking with God, and he was changed. He was removed and brought into another state of being. I heard one preacher many years ago, and to be honest with you, I don’t even remember who this preacher was, but I remember one thing he said. He was talking about Enoch, and he said, “You know, Enoch walked with God every day.” It certainly appears that way. He walked with God every day, and the preacher didn’t say it happened this way, but he said, “You know what I think?” And this was just his opinion, he says, “I think one day, Enoch was walking with God and that day the Lord said to Enoch, I think we’re a little closer to my home today than we are to yours. Why don’t you just come on home with me.” I don’t remember that preacher’s name, but he sure had a great idea there, he did. So, a great picture of this idea of being translated; changed, removed, and brought into another state of being, is given to us in the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 50 to 53:

1 Corinthians 15:50: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

Isn’t that interesting? Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Let me start that verse again, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” – that which can be sick, that which can be injured, that which is vulnerable, “neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” That’s verse 50. In verse 51, he says:

1 Corinthians 15:51: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”

Now, a mystery in the Bible is not something hard to figure out. The word “mystery” in the Bible means I’m going to tell you a new truth you haven’t heard before. That’s what the word means. So, he says, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,” – Paul’s euphemism for death, not all going to die, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” What does “translate” mean? To be changed, removed, and brought into another state of being.

1 Corinthians 15:51: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”

In the Twinkling of an Eye

1 Corinthians 15:52: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

I love that phrase “in the twinkling of an eye.” Do you know what that means? It means at the speed of light. How fast is that? 186,000 miles per second. I heard the other day that next year, 2025, Tesla is supposed to come out with a sports car and that it will go 0 to 60 in less than one second. Now, folks, that is fast. There’s no car on the drag strip today that can do that, but you know what? That’s nothing compared to the speed of light. We’re not talking about 0 to 60 in less than one second, we’re talking about 186,000 miles per second, in the twinkling of an eye. “Preacher, that sounds so fast you couldn’t see it.” You got it, you got it. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be,” – here it is again, “changed.”

1 Corinthians 15:53: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

“For this corruptible,” – that which can get sick, that which can be injured, that which is vulnerable, “must put on incorruption, and this mortal,” – that which can die, “must put on immortality.”

1Thessalonians 4:16-17, the same writer, Paul, says:

1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

1 Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Now, I’m going to say something about a person that I don’t think any of you here know. I wouldn’t mention his name, but I had a discussion with him recently. He had a different viewpoint on that, and everybody’s entitled to their point of view, but he said, “Well, I think what’s happening there is when the Lord comes, we’re going to go up to meet Him in the air, and then we’re going to welcome Him, and He’s going to come back down to Earth and reign with us.”

Now, I just said to this person this, I said, “Well, in the passage, it says that the Lord will come, and we go to meet him.” “Yeah,” he said, “It’s like in the Bible times when a great hero would be coming to town, and the whole town would go out and welcome him outside and bring him home into the town.” I said, “But that’s not what it says here.” And it isn’t, folks. It’s not what it says. What does it say? Listen to it again.

1 Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Now, right before that, it says, “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.” So, I asked this man, I said, “Where’s the Lord coming from?” Then he says, “Heaven.” I said, “And we’re going to meet him?” “Yes.” “And then we’re going to go be with Him, not He’s going to come be with us. We’re going to go be with Him. Where does that mean we’re going?” “Heaven.” I didn’t say that that’s what the Bible says.

Another Bible picture of this is given to us in 2 Kings, and in my Bible, there’s a little commentary note right before 2 Kings chapter two, and the commentary notes are not part of the Word of God. They are put in some Bibles to help us as we study, but they’re not God’s Word. But I think this one’s very interesting because the commentary note before 2 Kings chapter two makes this simple statement, it says, “The translation of Elijah,” – now, Hebrews 11:5, “By faith Enoch was what translated.” Sounds like the same thing to me, doesn’t it to you? Yeah. Now, you say, “Well, that’s not a part of the Bible.” It’s not. It’s a commentator statement. But think about it as you hear the story of 2 Kings 2:9-11, we find this fascinating account:

2 Kings 2:9: “And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.”

“Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee,” – they both knew he was going to go. Wish we had time to develop that, that’s what a wonderful statement, that is.

2 Kings 2:10: “And he [Elijah] said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.”

So, your request will be given if you see me leave. Pretty simple. The next verse says this:

2 Kings 2:11: “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

Now, some people say, “You know, Elijah went up in the chariot of fire.” That’s not what it says. It doesn’t say that. It says the chariot of fire and the horses of fire separated Elijah from Elisha. Now, listen to it again:

2 Kings 2:11: “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

Where’d he go? Heaven. So, well, that’s another man that didn’t die, right? So, Enoch and Elijah are the only two men who have ever left this world and gone into Heaven without going through the door of death. They were translated. They were changed. They were removed and brought into another state of being in another place. They were taken from this world into eternity.

Pleasing God

Now, look at verse five again:

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.”

What was his testimony? He pleased God. I’ve only heard this from two or three people in my lifetime, but I’ve heard two or three people say that no human being because we are so sinful, no human being can ever please God. Could we read verse five again:

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.”

He had this testimony that he did what? Please God. So, apparently, you can please God. “How do I do that?” Excellent question. We’re about to be told. The Bible says Enoch pleased God. How did he do it? Verse six:

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.”

You cannot please God without faith. What is the key to pleasing God? Faith, but that’s not all. It says that’s only the first phrase of the verse, but without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe. What do you have to believe? You have to believe two things. If you want to come to God, you have to believe two things.

Number one: must believe that He is, must believe that He is. I said this Sunday, I’m going to say it again. There was never a day in my life when I was an atheist. As far back as I could remember, I believed there was a God. I did not, for the first 17 years of my life, know God, but there was never a day that I questioned that God existed. In my 17th year, I came to know God, and I thank him for it by His grace through faith. But without faith, it’s impossible to please Him. And what God wants from you and me is for us to believe Him. How do you know? It’s what it says, “Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must,” – what’s the next word? Believe. And what do we need to believe? Number one: that He is, that God is.

I said this Sunday too, and I don’t know if that’s ever occurred to you, I hadn’t really thought about it a great deal until just recently. You know, there are people in the world who are atheists. They genuinely do not believe that there is a God. When I first found that out, as I said, I was never, that shocked me. I couldn’t understand it. How could you not believe in God?

And then here’s a thought that I had recently. I should have thought about it decades ago. Did you know that Satan is not an atheist? Now, you think on that for a while. Satan is not an atheist. Satan doesn’t say there’s no God. Why not? He’s seen Him. Isn’t that an interesting thought? “Well, don’t you think Satan persuades people to not believe in God?” Sure. “Well, you mean like he’s lying?” Yeah, exactly.

What did Jesus say? He said to some very religious men:

John 8:44: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

Wow, that kind of spells it out for us, doesn’t it? So, if we’re going to please God, we must believe that he is two things. We have to believe number one that He is. Well, 1 Timothy 2:5 and 6 says this:

1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

1 Timothy 2:6: “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

So, we must believe that He is, and the second thing, that He’s the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Now, let me tell you what that doesn’t mean, then we’ll talk about what it does mean. It doesn’t mean that you can earn your salvation. He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

“So, if I work really hard and get enough points earned, I get to go to Heaven?” No. That’s not what it’s saying. “Well, how do you know?” It’s not. Well, this is Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6. Go back to chapter 11:4, and you’ll have the answer:

Hebrews 11:4: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

We talked about this a couple of Wednesdays ago: why did God accept Abel’s offering and not Cain’s offering? Because Cain brought that which he produced and said, here’s my best, I’ve given to you my best. And Abel came and brought a blood sacrifice, but it’s not just that. He brought a blood sacrifice, though he did, he brought it by faith. By faith. How do you know that? Hebrews 11:4. So, again, verse six:

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.”

And again, 1 Timothy 2:5 and 6:

1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

1 Timothy 2:6: “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

Seeking God

So, we must believe that He Is. We must believe that He’s a rewarder for those who diligently seek Him. What does it mean to seek Him? Well, listen:

Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

The only way you’re ever going to be righteous is for you to put your faith in Christ, that He paid for your sins at the cross, trust Him to forgive your sins, and then you know what He does? He gives you His righteousness.

Romans 10:9: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Listen:

Romans 10:10: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Again, Romans 10:9 and 10. So:

Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

If you truly want to know God, you can know God. There’s nobody who ever sought God with their heart, and God said, “Nope, not you, not you. Yeah, you want to know me, and you seek to know me, and you realize you need me. I’m closing the door on you.” Never, never:

Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

That’s a promise, but it’s not the only time that’s in the Bible:

Isaiah 55:6: “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:”

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Now, to be fair, all the things in that context mean food and clothing, but what are we supposed to seek? We’re supposed to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Jeremiah 29:13: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Again, pretty clear, no real mystery there. So, verse six one more time:

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.”

We made some reference to this earlier because we said Enoch didn’t have a written copy of the Word of God, but did you know that Enoch didn’t keep the law of Moses? “Well, he didn’t, why not?” Because it wouldn’t be written until centuries after he left this world. He couldn’t have kept the law of Moses. Enoch did live with and for the Lord. “Well, how did he know what to do?” Well, he walked with God, he talked with God, God spoke to Him, and Enoch believed God. And that’s what God’s looking for.

Abraham did not have the law of Moses. It would be written by Moses centuries after Abraham died. But what does it tell us about Abraham? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. I think a good picture of Enoch’s walk with God is found in that old hymn that we sing often, and we love the chorus of In the Garden where it says, “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.” By faith.

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Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the Word of God, so clear and so plain. And thank you that we can come to you through your grace and by faith. Lord, as we trust, you bless us, you forgive us, you save us, you give us everlasting life, and so much more. Lord, help us to walk with you and talk with you. As we read of Enoch doing, as you’ve invited us to do.

Now, Lord, help us to walk out of this place with our faith strengthened and help us to share that faith with others. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen. Thank you for being here tonight, and Lord willing, we will see you Sunday, if not sooner.

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