COMPANY by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC
Introduction: Can you think of some two people team in history who journeyed together in the face of some incredible odds to reach their destination? I can think of several couples: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (explored the Pacific Northwest after the Louisiana Purchase), Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (first to climb Mount Everest), Agnes and Margaret Smith (twin sisters who trekked up Mount Sinai to St. Catherine’s monastery in 1892 and discovered some important manuscripts). Life is a journey with many pitfalls and promises. It becomes easier to handle when we have some company along. In this message in our series titled CONTEND, we will see what it’s like to have God as our COMPANY. Here’s the main point: Life is a journey. It’s not the quantity of your life or even the quality of your life that matters; ultimately, its the company you keep along life’s journey that counts. When God is your companion in life’s journey, you may have to face some tough challenges, but he promises to lead you home.
Genesis 5 23 “So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
Context: The Hebrew word for walked is “halakh,” which is a popular word. Here, the idea is more than just movement. It has the idea of a relationship and fellowship. The last time that word was used in that sense, it was in Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” This was not a one-time deal because the verb “mithallek” means a pattern or habit of walking. In other words, this was their custom everyday – God came down and Adam and Eve walked with him every evening. When they disobeyed God and sinned, not only was this daily walk gone, but the idea itself of “walking with God” became forgotten. Humanity had receded farther and farther from God. In fact, they couldn’t even walk peaceably with each other. Brother had killed brother, and his curse was to be a wanderer and fugitive. Along with being condemned to be unstable, rootless, disconnected, and restless, Cain also became a lonely fugitive. Principle: When you fail to walk with God, you lose the ability to walk with others. Walking with God helps you walk with others.
Application: Are you daily walking with God? How is your walk with others?
Before we talk about what it takes to walk with God, let’s back up to the beginning of this chapter, the longest chapter in the Bible. We think it is Psalm 119, but think about it, this chapter presents the genealogy from Adam to Noah, that is 1500 years! Genesis 5 1This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. If some of you were wondering why I said earlier that Cain may have killed Abel at 100 years of age, this is the reason. As you noticed earlier, Seth was born not longer after Abel was killed. 4After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. If you were wondering why I said earlier that there could have been several thousand people by the time Cain killed Abel, this is the reason. If you remember, Cain was afraid that someone might come after him to kill him. Now, let’s look quickly at the incredible genealogy from Seth to Noah:
| 1 | Adam | 930 |
| 2 | Seth | 912, How could people live so long before the flood? Genetics not Environment, increased mutations in genes and premature aging. |
| 3 | Enosh | 905 |
| 4 | Cainan | 910 |
| 5 | Mahalalel | 895 |
| 6 | Jared | 962 |
| 7 | Enoch | 365 (taken up like Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11) |
| 8 | Methuselah | 969 (man of the spear; when he dies, it shall be sent) |
| 9 | Lamech | 777, 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.” |
| 10 | Noah | 950 (at the flood, he was 600 years old) |
Let’s back up and focus on Enoch: 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years…”
1. Walking with God begins with a saving knowledge of Christ.
Jude 14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints…”
Enoch understood the gospel. In fact, he understood it so well that he saw the second coming of Christ! Maybe, he had a conversation with Adam and Eve. Maybe, it was through the death of righteous Abel. Maybe, he had a conversation with Seth. We don’t know. Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
Application: Do you know Christ as your Savior and King?
2. Walking with God can be at the best of times and the worst of times.
This was the best of times and the worst of times. Best because of who was still around! Genesis 4:25 “And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, ‘For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.’ 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh…” The name Eve gave to Seth is significant because it means “appointed.” In turn, Seth also had a son names “Enosh” = “weak” or “frail.” Why would Seth name his son like that? 26 “…Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.” Could it be that as intelligent, strong, and emotionally aware as they were, some of them began to recognize their weakness and their need for God? Do you daily acknowledge your weakness, and call upon God for help in your life? Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Also, keep in mind that this was also a wicked generation. Jude 14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 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.” These were the people who led to Noah’s generation when God decided to flood the earth and destroy all humanity. Psalm 1 1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Also, Ephesians 2 1 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”
Application: Are you blaming the times for not having a walk with God?
3. Walking with God is not about becoming a hermit or a monk.
Genesis 5:22 “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.”
Enoch had a family. Maybe, the name he gave his son was an indication that he met God around the birth of his son. The word for walking is used several times through Genesis:
- Genesis 6:9 “…Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”
- Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.”
- Genesis 24:40 But he said to me, “The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.”
- Genesis 48 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16 the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads…”
Application: Are you walking with God in your stage in life?
4. Walking with God requires faith and search.
Hebrews 11 5 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 he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.Colossians 2 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Invitation: Are you saved? Are you walking with Christ? Are you walking with the world? Are you trying to walk with both Christ and the world? Why is God delaying, like in the days of Methuselah? 2 Peter 3. 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
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