Walking with God: From Existence to True Life

• Father's Day and Spiritual Fatherhood [00:16:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor acknowledges the cultural significance of Father's Day, honors earthly fathers, and transitions into a prayer for spiritual empowerment and recognition of God as the perfect Father.
• Biblical Genealogy and Theological Contrast [00:42:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor analyzes Genesis 5, contrasting the 'Adam family' (failure and death) with the 'Jesus family' (victory and life), using the phrase 'book of the genealogy' to link the Old and New Testaments.
• True Life vs. Mere Existence [00:46:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor highlights the repetitive phrase 'they lived' in Genesis 5 regarding Seth's line, contrasting it with Cain's line, to argue that true spiritual life requires knowing, loving, and serving God.
• True Life vs. Existence [00:47:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts mere biological existence with true spiritual life found only through knowing, loving, and serving God, citing the repeated phrase 'they lived' in Genesis 5 regarding Seth's line.
• The Certainty of Death [00:48:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor highlights the repeated phrase 'and he died' in Genesis 5 as a vindication of God's word against the devil's lie, noting that God specifically records the deaths of His saints because they are precious to Him.
• Enoch as a Role Model [00:52:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces Enoch as the exception who 'walked with God' and did not die, using him as an example of Micah 6:8 (doing justice, loving mercy, walking humbly with God).
• Modern Cultural Corruption [00:55:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor draws parallels between Enoch's era and modern America, citing social disruption, family breakdown, violence, arrogance, and emotional confusion as evidence of a culture in need of spiritual awakening.
• Spiritual Rebellion and Relativism [01:04:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that modern society has moved from revelation to reason, rejecting the concept of sin and the need for a redeemer in favor of relativism and the removal of absolute truth.
• Spiritual Rebellion and Relativism [01:04:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor critiques the modern generation's rejection of sin, redemption, and absolute truth in favor of relativism and reason.
• Church Light [01:08:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes a cultural shift in the church towards entertainment, reduced tithing, and diluted commandments, termed 'church light'.
• Enoch's Conversion [01:10:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that Enoch's walk with God began with a specific moment of conversion and trust in God, similar to Noah finding grace.
• Walking with God [01:15:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines walking with God as pleasing Him through faith, contrasting it with the desire for a religion that does not affect one's lifestyle.
• Walking with God [01:21:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes the value of daily companionship with God through trials and decisions, citing Enoch's 300-year walk.
• Enoch's Translation [01:23:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analysis of Hebrews 11:5-6, explaining that Enoch was 'translated' (transposed) to heaven without seeing death.
• Eschatology (Rapture vs. Resurrection) [01:25:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > Discussion on whether believers will be raptured or resurrected, emphasizing readiness for either outcome.
• Altar Call / Invitation [01:29:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > A direct appeal for listeners to repent, place faith in Jesus, and come to the altar for communion with God.

• Sermon Illustration [00:43:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a literary comparison between Genesis 5 ('book of the genealogy of Adam') and Matthew 1 ('book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ') to illustrate the theological divide between the Old Testament record of failure/death and the New Testament record of victory/life.
• Sermon Illustration [00:49:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor compares walking through Genesis 5 to walking through a cemetery, looking at headstones that record who lived and when they died, emphasizing the finality of death for all except Enoch.
• Sermon Illustration [00:56:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the story of Lamech from Genesis 4, who boasted about killing a man for wounding him, illustrating the family disharmony, violence, and arrogance that characterized the culture of that day.
• Sermon Illustration [00:58:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his wife teaching eighth grade at a Christian school, observing grandparents and teachers trying to fill the emotional gaps left by the breakdown of the family structure in America.
• Sermon Illustration [01:13:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about being saved at age 10, describing the sensory experience of walking out of the church that morning (cooler air, bluer sky) and his enduring gratitude.
• Sermon Illustration [01:17:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a hypothetical imaginative story where Enoch meets Adam in a grocery store, asking about the Garden of Eden, to illustrate the intimacy of walking with God.
• Sermon Illustration [01:27:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > A Sunday school student explained Enoch's translation by saying God told Enoch, 'We're closer to my home than yours... Why don't you just come on home with me tonight?' Enoch walked into heaven and stayed because there is no night there.
• Sermon Illustration [01:26:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a series of sensory analogies to describe the transition to heaven: stepping on a shore and finding it's heaven, taking a hand and finding it's God's, breathing new air and finding it's celestial, and waking up in glory to find you're home.

• Pastoral Charge [00:53:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > Turn to Micah 6:8 in the Bible
• Pastoral Charge [00:55:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > Jot down the note about the alarming corruption in Enoch's day
• Pastoral Charge [01:22:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > To actively seek and claim the communion with God.
• Pastoral Charge [01:28:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > Physical posture of prayer and reflection
• Pastoral Charge [01:30:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > Respond to the Holy Spirit by coming to the altar
• Pastoral Charge [01:31:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > Come to the altar to bring personal burdens before God

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:09:59] Today is Father's Day, and we want to honor all the men God has placed in our lives.
[00:10:05] We see your strength, your quiet sacrifice, your laughter, your leadership, and your faith.
[00:10:11] Whether today brings celebration or a mix of emotions, we're thinking of you.
[00:10:17] If you became a father this year for the first time, we rejoice with you.
[00:10:21] If you adopted a child or stepped into the role of foster dad, we thank you for living out the gospel by welcoming the fatherless into your home and heart. If you're walking through the ache of infertility, we stand with you in hope and lift you up in prayer. If you're worn thin
[00:10:40] by the daily grind, providing, protecting, praying, we see you. Your faithful presence means more than you know. If you've lost a child this year, we mourn with you. And if your child is lost to addiction or wandering far from home, we join you in hopeful prayer for healing.
[00:11:01] If you carry pain from the father you had or didn't have, we pray that you'll know your heavenly father more deeply and that his love will heal and restore you. If you are a spiritual
[00:11:16] father, mentoring, guiding, encouraging, we honor your influence and thank God for how you shaped lives in quiet yet powerful ways. If you're walking through an empty nest or a shift in your role as a dad, we walk with you into this new chapter. Trusting God's faithfulness will continue
[00:11:37] throughout every season. If you're a single father, we admire your courage and stand ready to support you. If you're expecting a child, we prayerfully anticipate with you the joy and responsibility of fatherhood and to all the men we are blessed to know this father's day
[00:11:56] rest in god's grace stand firm in your calling and know this we see you we thank you and we

[00:12:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:12:06] celebrate you in our worship with a beautiful hymn what he's done let's sing together see on the hill of calvary my savior bled for me my jesus set me free and look at the words that gave me life grace flowing from his side

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:12:51] made a sacrifice what he's done what he's done All the love and the honor to the Son My sins are forgiven My future is heaven I praise God, He's come Trinity Baptist Church, how are you doing today?

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:16:03] Good morning, happy Father's Day to you out there.
[00:16:07] What a blessing it is to come and worship our Heavenly Father on Father's Day.
[00:16:12] It's a special privilege. Every Sunday is special here at Trinity, but this one is especially special for that.
[00:16:18] we have a heavenly father that we can love and worship and adore. See what kind of love the father has given to us that we should be called children of God. We want to take a moment to honor
[00:16:28] those in the rooms that are fathers. So if you wouldn't mind, just stand to your feet at the onset of our service today. If you are a father, spiritual father, an expectant father, looking at
[00:16:38] Joe there. As Pastor Mark shot out in that Friday update, fathers truly are the foundation of the family and the foundation of a nation. So we are so incredibly thankful for the godly men in this
[00:16:59] room, even those who are future fathers. I look to some of the little ones in here and we're raising them up to know the Lord. Well, good morning. Welcome here to Trinity Baptist Church. My name
[00:17:08] is Robert and I serve as the associate pastor here under our beloved Pastor Mark Harris, who will be up here shortly to preach a powerful sermon. If you are visiting with us, we would love to get you a gift. Some of the deacons have a little gift bag for you and those little blue
[00:17:22] bags up front as they're walking down the aisle if you'd be so kind as to just slip your hand up just high enough for them to see it they'll get that to you in that bag you'll find a visitor's
[00:17:32] card if you would be so kind as to fill that out and drop that in the offering plate when it comes by it's just a way for us to connect with you and get to know you a little bit better and who knows
[00:17:42] maybe get you plugged in here at trinity so you can take root and produce fruit for the kingdom of God if you're visiting us online welcome into the sanctuary here at 221 Irvin Road in Mooresville
[00:17:53] North Carolina we'd love to have you in person sometime but we understand that maybe you're out of town maybe you're sick not feeling well but if you are visiting with us online we'd love for you
[00:18:02] just to join in any way you can that means worship and sing when we sing read God's word dive into it when we preach and then who knows if you want to give you can if you feel led by the spirit to do
[00:18:13] so you can do that online as well well family let's uh let's go to the lord in prayer at the onset of our time and ask him to bless our day today in worship holy heavenly father god we
[00:18:29] thank you for that privilege to call out to you as children of god lord you tell us in your word that you comparing us to yourselves you men who are wicked in comparison with god know how to give
[00:18:44] good gifts to your children how much more so will the holy heavenly father give this holy spirit to those who call out for it so father we do that at the onset of our time together today we call out
[00:18:57] for the gift of the holy spirit lord to empower us to worship you this morning to comfort us lord where comfort is needed to convict us lord where conviction is needed father we're thankful that
[00:19:13] we don't necessarily have to ask for your presence, Lord. You're omnipresent. You're in this place.
[00:19:17] Just help us to be aware of your presence. Father, give us eyes to see you. Give us ears to hear you.
[00:19:27] Give us a heart, Lord, to receive you. Give us hands and feet, Lord, to respond to your calling and live it out. Lord, we don't just want to sit and get. We don't just want information in our
[00:19:42] heads this morning father we long for transformation in our hearts and in our lives God it's the spirit who gives life the flesh is no help at all so empower us Lord to do that
[00:19:56] father we confess our sins Lord there are many God we've all sinned and fallen short of your glory but we also affirm our forgiveness Lord your mercy is is more and it's new every morning
[00:20:09] so thank you for your grace father it is sufficient thank you for your strength that you give us lord it is made perfect in our weakness father thank you for the gift of the cross thank you for the shed blood of the lamb that purchases us that washes us clean that adopts
[00:20:29] us that welcomes us in and ushers us in to your family father there are many people in this room who've had wonderful fathers we don't doubt that there's amazing men out there but father we're also aware that father's day might be painful for some that's why god we're thankful
[00:20:46] for the perfect father that we have and you we're thankful for your care for your love for your protection and your provision and we're thankful father that's a permanent relationship that man can never thwart or separate thank you for this church lord thank you for this country where
[00:21:04] we can gather and worship your name and and not have to worry necessarily about persecution father and help us father to receive all these good gifts that you've given us all these things that you've
[00:21:15] entrusted to our care as stewards help us to steward them well help us to take the gospel to the nations father help us not to grow complacent or weary help us to be newly inspired
[00:21:28] today father for your calling to fulfill this great commission father thank you again for this opportunity to know you and to make you known. Empower us this morning, God, to worship you in spirit and in truth. We ask this in your mighty name and all God's people said, amen. If you have
[00:21:48] children with you this morning, we'd love to welcome them into Children's Church over here to my right and your left. Also, let's take a moment to stand and greet one another and welcome into

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:21:56] the house of the Lord today. Happy Father's Day to all those fathers here. God bless you. This is a

[00:28:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:28:22] time in our service we will have an opportunity to give back to the good lord's work and i pray that you will do so and for those who are watching online you can go to trinitybaptist.com and
[00:28:33] participate in this as well please bow as we pray most precious heavenly father we thank you for this day and for what it means and the many many fathers in this world who are good fathers and
[00:28:47] are raising their children and their family to know you i pray that those who are not there's such a large percentage that are not involved with their children.
[00:28:55] I pray that that can happen and that they will see what they need to do.
[00:28:59] I pray for all the fathers throughout this world.
[00:29:03] Lord, I thank you for the blessings of this church, and I pray that this church will be a light in your community and will continue to serve you throughout many, many years, Lord.
[00:29:14] And thank you for giving us an opportunity to serve you through opening a Christian school.
[00:29:20] we appreciate the opportunity for Trinity Christian Academy and I pray that all people will support it and that we will always bring your will and do what you want us to do Lord we praise you and thank you
[00:29:32] for your many blessings in your name we pray Amen

[00:29:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:29:36] and wrong greater than sin

[00:30:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:30:46] give the choir and Brother Grant another hand this morning

[00:34:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:34:22] it also buys me a little time when you do that By the way, if you like this scooter, this is thanks to Ann Stiles.
[00:34:38] She shared this scooter with me to get by for a period of time.
[00:34:44] And as you can see, we have graduated.
[00:34:46] Those of you that have been following the progress of this experience.
[00:34:49] By the way, don't ever do this.
[00:34:53] That's my advice to you.
[00:34:55] Don't ever do what we are witnessing right here.
[00:35:00] But anyway, it is a blessing to be able to get around.
[00:35:06] We did go, as I've shared with some of you, on Tuesday of this week, past week, went to the doctor and as a follow-up from the surgery, things are healing well.
[00:35:16] That's great praise.
[00:35:18] I'm thankful for that.
[00:35:19] And I did find out instead of a plate and a couple screws, I have a plate and eight screws in there that's holding this ankle or fix this ankle, along with all the ligaments and the work that went there and but the doctor said we did have
[00:35:34] a little miscommunication he told me now you think what you would take this he he told me he said I'll tell you what he told us this when we started this process he said we'll do the
[00:35:43] surgery on Monday you'll come back in and in two weeks and we'll take that cast off and if everything is healing we'll move you to a boot and he says by week four after you get the boot
[00:35:56] week four we will uh start physical therapy well you know i always look at the cup as half full rather than half empty so i'm thinking okay i go two weeks get the cast off and go to a boot
[00:36:08] then i would think i go back two more weeks later and i can start physical therapy that was not the case he meant the fourth week after we start with the boot so i get four weeks in this boot there's
[00:36:23] no shortcuts. When you break a bone, it takes six weeks. Any way you cut it, whether you do surgery or something else. So now the good news is July the 10th, I go back and hopefully that day this
[00:36:36] boot that is non-weight bearing will become a walking boot that I'll be able to start physical therapy. And I'll be able to stand up here hopefully on July 12th. And we'll see how that goes. That's my goal. And so you all continue to pray for all these things. Just fascinating. I
[00:36:57] have to be back in Washington this week, and that's always another whole endeavor, getting around the capital that goes with that. But turn in your Bibles, if you will, this morning to the book of Genesis. Let me offer my greetings to all of the fathers this morning. As Brother Robert,
[00:37:13] a few moments ago uh said thank you to all of you and i want to add my thank you to these men who are certainly seeking to be spiritual leaders to follow the leadership of god and his guidance
[00:37:27] and all of the things that they uh they walk through so i am certainly grateful uh for you today uh to just continue to uh be the men of god that god has called you to be i want us to stand
[00:37:40] if you will, if you can, in honor of the reading of the Word of God. And we're going to pick up here in verse 1 through 5 of Genesis chapter 5. We're going to drop down to verse 21 through
[00:37:52] 24, and then I want you to turn over to Hebrews 11, and we're going to look at verse 5 and 6. I don't even know if there's 56 verses in there in Hebrews 11, but it'll be verse
[00:38:03] 5 and 6 of Hebrews chapter 11. But Genesis chapter 5, verse 1 through 5, is where we start. This is the book of the generation or genealogy, I should say, of Adam. In the day
[00:38:18] that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them and called them mankind in the day that they were created. And Adam lived 130 years and begot a
[00:38:34] son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived was 930 years
[00:38:56] and he died. I dropped down to verse 21 in that same chapter. I want you to see what it says.
[00:39:05] Enoch lived 65 years and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
[00:39:23] and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him and now turn over to the book of Hebrews for just a minute and I want you to look at chapter 11 and we'll connect these dots in a few
[00:39:38] moments but look at verse 5 and verse 6 of Hebrews chapter 11 by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because god had taken him for before he was taken
[00:39:59] he had this testimony that he pleased god but without faith it's impossible to please him for he who comes to god must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who
[00:40:19] diligently seek Him. Would you pray with me, please? Father in heaven, I just ask in these next few moments as we look at this fifth chapter and see the truths that you would impart to our
[00:40:35] hearts today, that we would truly just hear your voice. And on this special day all across our nation as we celebrate Father's Day, Lord, a day that needs to be recognized because we face in
[00:40:50] such a time as this, a generation where fathers have checked out, a generation of young people that are looking for a father's leadership and guidance and direction. We paid a price for it as we study through your word, as any generation does. It doesn't adhere to the principles
[00:41:24] that you make so very clear so on this father's day lord i pray that you would bless and speak to each man that is here who carries that title and father that you might encourage
[00:41:37] them that you might challenge them that you might help them to simply be surrendered to your lordship even as we worship you this morning lord i just pray personally that you'd let the words of my
[00:41:50] mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight for it's in Jesus name I pray amen you may be seated so as we come to the the fifth chapter of Genesis this morning
[00:42:04] I want you to realize that a lot of times people come to a chapter like chapter five in Genesis and they read a few verses and they go I don't think this could be very important it's just a
[00:42:16] lot of names, a few statements here and there, number of years marked and lived. But you see, I want you to recognize this morning that the fifth chapter of Genesis is extremely important for several key reasons that I want you to recognize. For one, I want you to notice up
[00:42:37] front, this is a very important passage because it gives us the line from Adam down through Seth all the way to Noah in the very first verse look at it of chapter 5 it mentions Adam the very last
[00:42:53] verse that you get to when you come it mentions Noah or you see Noah and from Adam all the way through Seth to Noah you have the generations of a godly line of Seth that are really spelled out
[00:43:14] in this chapter. So that's one reason it's very important because it gives us the line from Adam down through Seth to Noah. There's another reason that it's important that we look at this because the title is given in the very first verse. Notice it says, this is the book of the genealogy of
[00:43:38] Adam. Now that's an unusual statement. I want you to underline that in your Bible. In fact, if you will. And I say it's unusual because there's only one other place that you find such an unusual type of statement. And if you'll hold your finger in Genesis, look over at the gospel
[00:43:58] of Matthew and in Matthew, the very first book of the new Testament and look in very, the very first verse of the first chapter. And look what it says there. The book of the genealogy
[00:44:16] of Jesus Christ. Underline that phrase. So what these statements actually do is they summarize the Old Testament and they summarize the New Testament. The Old Testament is the book that has to do with the Adam family, not the Adam's family, but the Adam family. The New Testament
[00:44:41] has to do with the Jesus family. The Adam family throughout Genesis is a record of failure and death. The Jesus family is a record of victory and a record of life. In fact, in first Corinthians 15, 22, it says, as an Adam, all die, even so in Christ, all shall be made
[00:45:09] alive. So see, the Bible actually teaches us that, that through the Lord Jesus Christ, it is possible to be born into his family. See, when you receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior you come into the Jesus family you become part of his family so that's another reason that
[00:45:30] it's important but I'll tell you another reason I want you to notice this is important as you go through this chapter is that name after name after name almost without exception I want you to notice
[00:45:45] in chapter five of Genesis, it says they lived. They lived. Look at verse three for just a minute.
[00:45:54] It says in verse three here, and Adam, what? Lived. Also want you to look, if you will, at verse five. It says, and Adam lived. Verse six, look what it says. Seth lived. And verse seven,
[00:46:15] it just goes on and on and on so seth lived my point is that twice almost without exception it says he lived so you preach mark what's your what's your point well my point's this
[00:46:34] what you have here is the line of the god-fearing men godly men through the line of seth We've already studied the line of Cain, you remember?
[00:46:51] And when you study the line of Cain, did you notice it never said Cain's descendants that they lived.
[00:46:59] But it does say that Seth's descendants, they lived.
[00:47:05] They lived.
[00:47:09] And this is my point.
[00:47:11] it's a great spiritual truth that i hope you won't miss without the lord god at the center of your life you're not really living you're merely existing i'm speaking this morning to a generation of americans across our land that have yet to really live they're merely existing
[00:47:48] even to this day and on the earth at this time there was a godly group of people who had discovered that the only way the only way to actually really live was to know god
[00:48:06] was to love God was to serve God that's the only way to really really live but then I want you to also notice that it says here in chapter 5 without the exception but for
[00:48:29] one it mentions about all nine people that are mentioned in chapter 5 it also said and they died underline look look at verse five it says adam he died in verse five look at verse eight
[00:48:51] and seth and he died look down at verse 11 it talks about enosh and it says and he died it's almost like walking when you go through chapter five it's almost like walking through a
[00:49:12] cemetery looking at the headstones of who lived and when they died and as you look at the tombstones here throughout this chapter and he died and he died and he died let me ask you something
[00:49:26] remember when satan in the garden said something to adam and eve god had already said in his warning not to eat the fruit of that particular tree because the day in you eat it, you shall surely
[00:49:45] die. It's what God had said. The devil bred doubt in Eve. And you remember what the devil's line was? You shall not surely die. You're not going to die, Eve. You know what Genesis chapter 5 is?
[00:50:07] it is a vindication of god's word it is a vindication the devil says you're not going to die and god is making it clear in chapter five and he died and he died and he died and he died
[00:50:25] and he died and ladies and gentlemen that's just a hard cold fact of life for every individual born into this world, including you, somewhere out there, everybody is going to die. The Bible says it's appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. So interestingly, when you compare
[00:50:56] this chapter in chapter five with the line of Cain back in chapter four, it is never said of Cain's line that they died. But of course we know they did die because they all got swept up
[00:51:15] and were destroyed in the flood. That begs a question. So why, Pastor Mark, does God note for us the death of these in Genesis 5? Can I tell you the reason? Because they're God's children.
[00:51:39] that's why he takes note these are god's people and i happen to know that in psalms the bible says precious in the sight of the lord is the death of his saints amen god takes note of the homegoing of his children but i tell you all of that to point out that right
[00:52:18] in the midst of this chapter the bible says there was a dude who lived well he calls him a man not a dude dude's my words that's not in the bible there is a guy who lived and didn't die right here
[00:52:39] in chapter five of course i'm talking about enoch and we read that just a few moments ago the bible says he lived and did not die and i believe in enoch in this man i believe you and
[00:52:55] i find a role model i think you and i find an individual who the bible described as a man who walks with god and i gotta be honest the more i look at what littlest said about him
[00:53:10] I really believe that Enoch was the epitome of Micah chapter 6 and verse 8.
[00:53:19] I want you to turn in your Bibles for a minute over there and find that.
[00:53:22] It's in the Old Testament.
[00:53:23] Find it, Micah chapter 6 and verse 8.
[00:53:26] Because for every man here, for every dad here, this probably should be a key verse in your repertoire that is important.
[00:53:34] in micah chapter 6 verse 8 god lays out what he's looking for in a human being here it is he has shown you oh man micah chapter 6 verse 8 he has shown you oh man what is good and what does
[00:53:54] the lord require of you ah but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god that's it i love micah 6 8 what does the lord require of you sir do justly love mercy and to
[00:54:32] walk humbly with your God. And I just imagine that those of you that are gathered here on a Sunday morning in Mooresville, North Carolina at a Baptist church, somewhere inside of you, I'm guessing that
[00:54:48] there's a desire that you have to walk with God. And for just the next few minutes, I want to take a moment and just, I want you to notice the description we gather and the points we understand
[00:55:02] again about Enoch and this man who the Bible says walked with God. Number one, if you're a note taker today, I want you to jot down that there was an alarming corruption in the day that Enoch
[00:55:19] lived. See, Enoch, that's number one, is an alarming corruption. Enoch lived his life in a Canaanite culture. I mean, you can read about it over in Genesis chapter four. You can read about it again. We'll see it in Genesis chapter 6. But Enoch lived in a culture that I can only describe
[00:55:43] it as pagan to the core. In fact, it was a culture that got so bad that God decided he was just going to scrape the board clean through a flood and just start all over. And it was in that kind of
[00:55:56] civilization, in that kind of day, that God drops in this man who is named Enoch and it says about him in verse 21 and through 24 in Genesis chapter 5 that we read that Enoch walked with God.
[00:56:15] You see, the reason I want you to notice that this morning, ladies and gentlemen, is because I believe that Enoch's day is a lot like the day we're living in. You say, what do you mean, preacher? Well, I mean, it was a day, let's think about it. Enoch lived in a day
[00:56:31] where there was plenty of social disruption we talked about him if you look back in the previous chapter where we ended last week in chapter 4 verse 23 you remember when we talked about Lamech
[00:56:44] and he said to his wives Ada and Zillah hear my voice wives of Lamech listen to my speech I've killed a man for wounding me even a young man for hurting me what would it what do you
[00:56:58] remember we saw in Genesis chapter 4, through Cain's line, that the seventh in the line was Lamech. He was the perfect picture. You remember what the culture was marked by? Family disharmony, violence, arrogance. I mean, that's what the culture was full of. And I hear a lot of godly
[00:57:31] people today that sometimes genuinely believe we're living in the last days of American culture as we've ever known it, and that we could be approaching the point that is beyond redemption for America. And a lot of thoughtful people I'm hearing are believing that if America
[00:58:01] does not have a true spiritual awakening that she can't survive certainly not another generation and maybe not even another decade i mean think about the social disruption in the alarming corruption that we have think of the breakdown of the family that that we're all
[00:58:32] seeing i mean when you when you look at the home in america this morning i see young people all the time my wife teaches eighth grade at a Christian school. And I see grandparents that
[00:58:49] are trying to fill the gap. I see teachers that are trying to fill the gap. But I'm just going to tell you, a person born that doesn't have a mom and a dad to love them and care for them,
[00:59:03] that leaves a hole in the heart that can barely be recovered. And we've created a generation with the breakdown of the family, that in so many ways are simply seeing the fruit of that in the violence
[00:59:24] and in the arrogance and in the breakdown of the covenantal marriage. You think of the social disruption, the transgender issues we're dealing with. Somebody would have told us 10 years ago that we would have to be dealing with young people in high schools, boys in girls' bathrooms,
[00:59:53] and girls' and boys' bathrooms and school boards that won't do anything about it?
[01:00:01] We'd have thought that was crazy.
[01:00:07] Parents who go speak at a school board meeting being investigated by the Department of Justice under the previous administration.
[01:00:21] The social disruption.
[01:00:24] And when you look at what's happening as we talked about previously in our cities and you even see it these recent elections where there is a move even further and further toward marxism further and further to the left
[01:00:40] further and further to create all of this environment that we are seeing you have to ask yourself what is happening here the anti-semitic movement that's created hatred of the jewish people that i get asked about all the time why that is it's a spiritual issue and we're dealing
[01:01:16] with this social disruption but it's not only a day of of social disruption but it's also a day of emotional confusion let me show you something when you look over in genesis chapter six look
[01:01:29] over i look forward one chapter and and you see that people what was going on psychologically in the culture here in genesis in verse 5 of chapter 6 look what it says then the lord saw
[01:01:45] that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually people were psychological wrecks in that day and it's not a far leap
[01:02:07] to look at our generation in our day when people are going to pieces people filling up psychiatry offices all over america and so much of the treatment they receive if you think about it always seems to come down to blaming others that it's somehow somebody else's fault and if we give
[01:02:32] you enough medication and we convince you that there's somebody else you can blame that somehow that's supposed to solve the issue there's no real personal accountability i've noticed there's no real personal responsibility that's to be taken and so we're leaving a generation that is
[01:03:03] wrapped up in a serious disaster and and i will tell you this they're not going to make it unless they find a quality and a caliber of life which is above the life that people are living
[01:03:24] on the natural plane they're not going to make it until you discover that there is a life beyond the natural plane and it's a life that is promised through christ alone you're probably not going to make it see in enoch's day it was a day of social disruption it was a day of
[01:03:50] emotional confusion. But I got to tell you, it was also a day of spiritual rebellion. You say, what do you mean spiritual rebellion? Well, look again over in chapter six, but look down at verse
[01:04:01] three. And the Lord said, my spirit shall not strive with man forever. You see that? There was a spiritual rebellion that was taking place to the point that God said, there is a line that I draw.
[01:04:19] there is a limit to how far i will go there is a breaking point that will be crossed i mean think about the spiritual rebellion in the generation we've witnessed i mean look we've lived in a time
[01:04:34] where some of us remember the period where there was a sense that man was a sinner and that he needed to be redeemed but that's been cast aside now that's been put to pasture nobody wants to
[01:04:51] admit that man is a sinner and needs a redeemer nobody wants to admit our shortfalls nobody wants to admit our shortcomings and that we need a savior and so not only has that been pushed aside
[01:05:08] but we've removed absolute truth from any absolutes we've said relative relativism is the word of the day that you can have your truth and i'll have my truth and they'll say all truth is relative there are no absolutes think about that we've moved from being a generation
[01:05:41] who believed in a revelation to being a generation that wants to only operate on reason from revelation to reason and i'm telling you you'll never reason your sin away you'll never reason your sin away for what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of jesus and there's
[01:06:15] too many of us that are trying to reason our sin away and again i come back that the reason we have no absolutes and we really have lost any sense of moral life is we've become a people that have
[01:06:29] lost our faith in the absolutes and in the infallibility and authority of the word of a living god if you don't believe that the word of god is the inerrant infallible word of god you have no foundation upon which to build you have only your reason when you look at the world
[01:06:56] around you you see where reason gets us and so many so many in our world today they want some religion this become cool that's why i'm i'm very i'm very careful i'm cautiously optimistic when i'm always asked do you have hope i do have hope in the future because i do see that there is
[01:07:23] there is an awakening among young people that is is pretty amazing and i have to say this turning point usa movement and charlie kurt and what was started there has created something going on on
[01:07:36] campuses they're not front page in the media right now like they were right after charlie's assassination but that work is still ongoing and we're seeing a number of young people that are coming back to church or they're interested in religion or they're interested in these things
[01:07:52] but what i'm cautiously optimistic about is that while i'm optimistic about this desire for maybe knowing more about god and knowing more about religion i'm greatly concerned many of them are being led by a group a generation ago that became more interested in religion
[01:08:17] that doesn't really change or affect the way you live because that's where we are we want religion but one that doesn't affect the way we live i've seen it in church life in 38 years as a pastor
[01:08:35] i've seen us transition we've moved to what i call church light people want religion but they want church light you know church light it's where it's seven and a half percent tithe instead of 10
[01:08:49] it's where there's 45 minute services and a lot of it is built on entertainment it's where there's eight commandments more than 10 and the good news is you get to choose which of the eight you want
[01:09:04] i call it church light everything you ever wanted in a church and less we're living in a day of social disruption that's exactly the kind of day enoch lived in but i got to tell you a lot of folks
[01:09:31] look at me and say how in the world could a man learn to walk with God when he's living in that kind of culture how can a man like Enoch learn to walk with God in a day like that well the
[01:09:49] scripture tells us it tells us very clearly it took an amazing conversion an amazing conversion you say what do you mean I mean for the first 65 years of Enoch's life he was just like everybody
[01:10:04] else Enoch was a godless man living in a godless culture and he was headed for a godless eternity and then one day God reached in to the life of Enoch you say well what was that day Mark
[01:10:21] well look at verse 21 you begin to get the clue of when everything changed Enoch lived 65 years and begot Methuselah. And then it says after he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God. We don't know the details, but I do know this, that when a child was brought into the
[01:10:57] life of Enoch, that became the moment God changed everything in Enoch's life. Again, we don't know the details but I do believe that God said Enoch I'll tell you what you do you put your trust in me there's a better world than this Enoch and if you'll put your trust in me
[01:11:22] I will lead you to it one day and so if you'll hold your finger here and go back over to Hebrews where we were a moment ago and go to chapter 11 it says about Enoch look at what it said in verse
[01:11:35] five it says by fate Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and he was not found because God had taken him for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God please
[01:11:54] underline that phrase he pleased God with his faith now leave Hebrews for a minute and go back to genesis chapter 6 and go down to verse 8 of genesis chapter 6 and underline that phrase
[01:12:13] that says but noah found grace in the eyes of the lord you know what you get when you put them together you get ephesians 2 8 for by grace are you saved through faith not of yourselves it is
[01:12:33] the gift of God so when you look at Enoch's life and you look at Noah's life and you put them together you do get Ephesians 2a you see somehow God gave Enoch a vision of what Christ Jesus
[01:12:49] would do in the future look I'm sitting before you today and I'm saved because I can look back to what christ did for me on calvary's cross enoch on the other hand was saved because he
[01:13:05] looked forward to what god would do in sending his son the lord jesus christ and enoch experienced an amazing conversion i gotta tell you something it is awesome to be saved amen do you really believe that it's awesome to be saved i've never gotten over it some of you've
[01:13:34] heard me share plenty of times as a 10 year old boy and was witnessed to on a saturday night by some friends 13 14 years old and the next morning meeting with my pastor and that morning he set me
[01:13:48] down in his study and walk me through the roman road from romans 3 to romans 6 to romans 10 and i'll never forget when i knelt down beside pastor foy martin's desk and he knelt beside me
[01:14:07] and i prayed to receive christ as my savior and i'll never forget walking out on that sunday morning and i don't know the air just seemed a little cooler the sky just seemed a little bluer
[01:14:19] And I got to tell you, I walked out that day, even as a 10 year old boy, and I could have been singing out on him. Oh, say, but I'm glad. Oh, say, but I'm glad Jesus has come and my cups overrun.
[01:14:33] Oh, say, but I'm glad. Don't ever get over being saved. Don't ever get over. Look, every year, our family, when we get together for Christmas, we still go back to that church, do that fellowship
[01:14:53] hall and i can still walk that by that pastor study some 50 years later and as a 10 year old boy i've never ever forgotten what a difference christ made in my life enoch had an amazing
[01:15:12] conversion but real quickly let me also tell you that enoch had an appealing communion you say an appealing communion yet let me say it quickly two times in these verses i want you to jot this down two times in these verses it says enoch walked with god he says that over and over
[01:15:33] again two times in genesis chapter 5 enoch walked with god and i mean to think that that you and i on a daily basis can walk with the god of this universe you say well mark how did enoch walk
[01:15:48] with god well think about it a minute we just looked at it in hebrews 11 5 it says enoch had this testimony that he pleased God please hear me you are walking with God when you please God
[01:16:11] and when you please God you are walking with God see I wasn't a preacher too long before I came to the most astounding conclusion of my life you can't please everybody how many of you ever learned that
[01:16:31] about this life. You can't please everybody. Raise your hand. Ah, see, you didn't even have to become a pastor to realize that you can't please everybody. The good news is you don't have to, I don't have to please everybody. You don't have to please everybody. You only have
[01:16:57] to please god at the baptism of jesus that the zenith of his ministry you'll recall that the bible says god spoke from heaven and remember what he said he said this is my beloved son
[01:17:14] in whom i am what class well pleased if i am walking with god i am pleasing to god and friend you you'll never make everybody happy with you but just make sure you're seeking to
[01:17:37] please God and by the way I'm convinced for Enid I've almost imagined in my own heart as I read this scripture that that one day Enid's wife sent him to the grocery store and by the way while he
[01:17:54] was at the grocery store picking up a gallon of milk he happened to notice on aisle five there stood mr adam now truly adam and enoch were contemporaries and i imagine that all that enoch
[01:18:13] had ever heard about adam he held him in such incredible esteem and i imagine that enoch might of walked up to him and said, Mr. Adam, I am so thrilled to meet you. Mr. Adam, I've always thought
[01:18:30] if I ever got a chance to meet you, there's just one thing I wanted to ask. What was it like in the Garden of Eden? And I almost imagine that Adam just stopped in his tracks. And I imagine
[01:18:53] Adam got this far off look and tears began to well up in his eyes and Adam said well son there's never been anything like it two times two times every day we had the privilege
[01:19:14] of walking and talking with the God of this universe sometimes he would come in the cool of the morning and sunrise and we would see the beautiful landscape that he had made sometimes in the evening we would walk and we would see the stars begin to twinkle the night sky begin to form
[01:19:38] and then adam would look at enoch and say but if i had to narrow it down to one thing i would say the garden of eden was all about walking with god walking with god and i'm convinced that enoch
[01:20:03] would have made up his mind that if that's what it was all about that for the rest of his life he had a desire to walk with god i tell you something this morning it's the best life that
[01:20:24] you will ever ever live and i know there's some of you that are thinking if if i were to really give my life to christ if i were to really decide to walk with god i'm just thinking what would i
[01:20:38] have to give up friend and i want to convince you this morning i want to share with you this morning There's nothing that you can give up that can begin to compare with this sweet, sweet, appealing communion that God wants to have with you.
[01:20:58] I mean, just stop where you're sitting and think for a minute.
[01:21:02] Think what it was for Enoch for 300 years to walk with God.
[01:21:07] can you think for every day to take your hand and put it in the hand of god can you think what it would mean for that kind of companionship with god when you're facing big decisions in your life
[01:21:27] can you think years of companionship with god when you're walking through trials when you're going through turmoil when you're experiencing the difficulty and pain that real life brings with it imagine 300 years of learning more and more about God 300 years of learning
[01:21:58] more about God's personality 300 years of learning to love him more and more and more I'm just telling you, the desire of every individual in this building right now and those listening by live stream,
[01:22:15] the desire of every person should be to walk with God today and to walk with God tomorrow and to walk with Him the next day and the next day and the next day.
[01:22:34] An appealing communion.
[01:22:37] It's yours for the asking.
[01:22:38] I haven't given up anything in my life compared to what God's done for me zip nada would I count that I've given up anything that compares with what God has done in my life Enoch was just having
[01:23:02] the time of his life walking with God I'll leave you with this today because if you go over to Hebrews go back there one more time this is where I'm concluding I would be amiss if I didn't close
[01:23:19] by telling you that Enoch had the most astounding conclusion I don't know any other way to describe it but an astounding conclusion look at a again Hebrews 11 verse 5 and 6 by faith Enoch was taken
[01:23:35] away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him do you see that I mean one minute Enoch is right here and the next minute Enoch was gone just poof right before
[01:24:01] their eyes he was bodily taken out of this world you see that little phrase in Hebrews he was not found I'm going to tell you something really deep you know what that means they were
[01:24:25] looking for him. They were looking for him. He was not found. That means somebody was looking for Enoch, which by the way, leads me to a pretty important question. Is anybody going to miss you
[01:24:43] when you're gone? Is anybody going to miss you when you're gone? Think about it. The Bible actually says God translated him. And that word translated literally means to transpose.
[01:25:04] echoes it's like taking a piece of music and carrying it from one key to a higher key in other words God took Enoch he took him out of this world and he took him to a better world and that's the
[01:25:19] reason that you and I can celebrate today we're going to a mansion one day bless God and look I don't know if I'm going to go by rapture and I don't know if I'm going to go by resurrection
[01:25:31] over in first corinthians 15 you read that verse and and it's sort of recorded there that that there will be a song that will be singing and those that are raptured are going to be saying
[01:25:44] oh death where is your sting and those that are going to be resurrected are going to be singing oh grave where is your victory now i don't know which way i'm going to go so i've memorized both
[01:25:58] verses just so i'll be ready you ought to do the same listen if you go by the route of death if you go by the route of death one split second after it's over you're gonna say is that all there
[01:26:17] was to it i mean really that not near was it near as hard as i thought it was going to be because just think about it think of stepping on a shore and finding that it's heaven think about
[01:26:33] taking a hand and finding that it's God's. Think of breathing new air and finding that it's celestial. Think about waking up in glory and finding that you're home, home, home.
[01:27:01] Listen, whether you go by death or whether you go by the rapture, which is going to be the catching away either way i want you to know that until he comes i want to be walking with god
[01:27:20] i want to be walking with god and i hope that's your prayer you say how how'd that really work that god just raptured him or just translated i don't know i do know there was a kid in the
[01:27:39] sunday school class one day that probably explained it as good as i've ever heard He said, you know, Enoch walked with God.
[01:27:47] And they were just walking and walking and walking one day.
[01:27:50] And God said, you know, Enoch, we're closer to my home than yours.
[01:27:57] And it's starting to get dark.
[01:27:59] Why don't you just come on home with me tonight?
[01:28:03] And Enoch walked into heaven.
[01:28:06] And because there's no night there, he never went home.
[01:28:13] And Enoch stayed.
[01:28:14] That was a pretty good description from an elementary Sunday school class.
[01:28:26] How important is it to you to be walking with God?
[01:28:35] Would you bow your heads right where you are, please?
[01:28:38] Heads bowed and eyes closed all over the sanctuary.
[01:28:42] I don't know what the Lord may be saying to you this morning.
[01:28:48] I don't know what God's placed on your heart.
[01:28:55] But I do know this.
[01:29:01] God loves you and He is calling you and desires for you to walk with Him closer than you ever have before.
[01:29:19] If you've never given your heart to Jesus again, there's all kind of things that the adversary will say to you.
[01:29:30] They'll try to convince you of what you might have to give up.
[01:29:35] He might try to convince you of there's no way you could do it.
[01:29:39] Some of you are even believing the world's gone, so to hell.
[01:29:42] How in the world could anybody genuinely walk with God today?
[01:29:48] Well, it takes that amazing conversion that only comes through repentance, placing your faith in jesus and jesus alone and surrendering to him to be lord of your life say lord i can't do this on my own i need you so that's my invitation for you this morning
[01:30:08] brother robert's going to come and he's going to be right here at the front to receive you and as he comes and you continue with your heads bowed and eyes closed and and you just pray
[01:30:23] and you listen to what the Spirit of God may be saying to you right now.
[01:30:29] Just listen to the still small voice as He speaks into your heart.
[01:30:38] And then, I'm just asking you to simply obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit in your life this morning.
[01:30:50] You may be led to come get on this altar.
[01:30:53] I don't know.
[01:30:53] You may have some things going on in your life today that again there's no substitute for that companionship for that communion that God wants to have with you so whatever your burdens are maybe they're with your family maybe there's
[01:31:12] a health burden maybe there's a there's some situation you're facing whatever it is you can come get alone with God on this altar right now and you can bring it before him because there's an appealing communion that you'll never have apart from that relationship with jesus christ
[01:31:32] the door is open father in heaven may you guide this invitation as brother grant comes to lead us and the congregation sings and brother robert leads this invitation lord i just pray that your spirit would reign over this place let there be no mistake about it that the presence of the lord

[01:31:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:31:57] is in this place for it's in Christ's name we pray amen church aren't you thankful for a pastor

[01:33:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:33:52] that even if he's in a chair or a scooter he's still walking with God bless him two quick announcements we'll get you out of here so you can celebrate father's day one is a big praise
[01:34:08] you know we had a fifty thousand dollar challenge to go towards Trinity Christian Academy and I'm pleased to announce we're over sixty thousand dollars raised a little hard to clap but I'm clapping with you um one let's see i thought i had one more quick announcement might come back to me
[01:34:30] oh i almost forgot this is important when my wife would give me the eye uh fathers we have a gift for you actually men of the church in general if you go out these double doors look to the left
[01:34:40] there's a table there we have a plethora of different gifts and you get to pick one of them you have several options so choose wisely our our benediction today is it comes from the book of
[01:34:52] Colossians chapter 1 and we'll pick it up right here in verse 9 and so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will
[01:35:05] and all spiritual wisdom and understanding why so as to walk in a worthy manner of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in knowledge of God being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might
[01:35:23] for all endurance and patience with joy giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
[01:35:35] He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and has transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.
[01:35:42] In him we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
[01:35:47] Amen. Let's pray.
[01:35:48] holy heavenly father god we praise you for you we're thankful for your voice that calls out to us come closer walk closer we're thankful for the holy spirit which empowers us to do just that
[01:36:06] help us father walk in the light as you are in the light help us to extend this gracious and glorious gospel invitations out to others that we come in contact with throughout the week we love you Lord
[01:36:19] we thank you for loving us we thank you for the gift that it is to be your children and the privilege it is to call you Father bless us now as we leave here help us to fulfill our mission
[01:36:33] to know you and make you known and all God's people said Amen