Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: Did you know that judgment is coming and you better walk with God? You say, don't use fear on me. Your doctor will. Your doctor says to get that cholesterol down or you're going to die. Your dentist will use fear. You don't have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep. The highway patrolman uses fear. No, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, not the end of wisdom, but the beginning of wisdom. Enoch was a prophet. He knew that the Lord is coming. He says there is judgment coming on this earth. I believe I'll walk with God. Friend, if you had any sense you'd say, I believe I'll walk with God.

Announcer: Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the profound truth of the gospel simply stated in the messages of Adrian Rogers. Hebrews chapter 11 tells of the prophet Enoch, who so pleased God and walked so intimately with him, he never died. Enoch is an example for us as we learn to walk with God. In part one of today's message, we learned that walking with God is a life of faith and fellowship. We can know all about God without actually knowing him intimately. But God created us in his image so he could have fellowship with us. If you have your Bible, find the book of Hebrews chapter 11. We'll begin in verse 5 with part two of Learning to Walk with God. Here's Adrian Rogers.

Adrian Rogers: Enoch prophesied the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the message today will help you to get ready for the rapture. The title of the message is Learning to Walk with God. Let's look right here in the word of God in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5. By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death. That means he never died. He was taken directly to heaven without dying. And he was not found, that is, they looked all around for him but they couldn't find him, because God had translated him. For before his translation, he had this testimony: that he pleased God. And how did he please God? Verse 6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him."

So how did Enoch please God? By walking with God. How did he walk with God? He believed God. So the life of walking with God is simply a life of faith. Well, where did he get this faith? Well, he got faith from the word of God. The same way I get it, the same way you get it. Romans chapter 10, verse 17: "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Now, that word may be through the Holy Spirit, it may be through the pages of scripture, but you don't name it and claim it. God speaks and you believe it. That, my friend, is faith. And without faith, it is impossible to please God. You want to walk with God, do you? I hope you do. Then you're going to walk the walk of faith. This entire chapter is about faith. And the emphasis is that he walked with God because he believed God.

Now, number two, not only is walking with God a life of faith, but it becomes a life of fellowship. You see, you step in by faith, but you walk on in fellowship. Now, the Bible says here in Genesis chapter 5, verse 22, "And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years and begat sons and daughters." Enoch and the Father are walking hand in hand in intimate fellowship. Do you have fellowship with God? Does God walk with you and talk with you? I mean, is Jesus Christ real to you when you're driving around in the automobile, when you have your pots and pans there in the kitchen, when you're sitting there at your desk, when you're at school, on the gridiron or the basketball court? Did you know that Jesus Christ is to be very real with you? You are to walk with him.

Now, sometimes we come to church and we act differently at church. Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Obviously, when somebody is preaching, you're to be quiet. Obviously, when we sing, you're to join together. But don't change your personality. Don't suddenly get spooky when you come to church. "Oh, we're in church now, we're holy, holy, holy." Listen, a Christian is perfectly natural and naturally supernatural, supernaturally natural and naturally supernatural. We don't change. Sometimes I'll be over here sitting as a guest preacher, and there will be the pastor, the host pastor at the church, and we'll be talking back and forth, and he's perfectly normal. And then he gets up and comes over to the pulpit to talk, and this guy's very natural until he says, "Dearly beloved." And he talks like he's got a steeple stuck in his throat.

Sometimes people don't like to come into church and hear people kind of greeting one another and chattering like birds in a tree. They say, "Oh, be quiet, we've come to worship." Friend, when you meet your brothers and sisters in Jesus, be cheerful, be happy. There's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. Now you say, "But I think we ought to be still and know that God is in his holy temple." There's a time to be still. The Bible also says shout unto the Lord. There's a time to cry, there's a time to laugh. That's what Ecclesiastes tells us. There are times when we are exuberant in our worship. Bible says clap your hands all ye people. Bible says lifting holy hands to God in prayer. There are times when we're to be on our face, on our knees with the Lord. All of these things are true. But the point is that we're to be natural. We're to be natural.

Don't get the idea that our faith is something that we kind of put on when we come to church. What I'm trying to say is that we are to walk with God 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It is a constant walk with him. Now, we come to church to worship, but listen, we also bring our worship to church. How wonderful when people who already have been walking with God come to church to continue to do corporately what they've been doing individually all week long. That's what makes a glorious service. So when you come in here and God comes in with you and you come to praise him together, it is a life of fellowship. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

Now, thirdly, it is not only a life of faith and a life of fellowship. A walk with God is a life of faithfulness. One of the verses that motivates me a lot is this: that Jesus went about doing good. And sometimes I just say, "Lord, I don't have an agenda today, just let me go about doing good." Now, why was this man so faithful? He was faithful for 300 years. Look, if you will, in Genesis chapter 5, verse 22: "And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years and begat sons and daughters." 300 years. That's 109,500 days. Good days, bad days, hot days, cold days, snow, rain, blizzard, drought, flood, war, peace, opposition. Walking with God. He didn't turn it on, turn it off. There is the constancy, the faithfulness of his walk. Enoch walked with God. It is the God who walks with you who empowers you, and every demand upon your Christian life is a demand of the God who walks within you and walks with you day by day. I hope you believe that.

It's a life of faith, it's a life of fellowship, it is a life of faithfulness. It is also a life of fruitfulness. You want your life to count for God? Just walk with God. It's a life of fruitfulness. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 verses 5 and 6, "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." That's fruitfulness. He pleased God. "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." Why was he so fruitful? What was there about his life that made him a prophet? Did you know he had a crisis in his life? And after his crisis, that's when he began to walk with God. And you know what his crisis was? He became a father. He became a father. Look, if you will, in Genesis chapter 5, verse 22: "And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years and begat sons and daughters."

He had his first baby, a little boy named Methuselah. And when that baby was born, God spoke to Enoch in a special way. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years. I'll tell you what, if you have children and you have any brain and any heart, it's going to drive you to God. Did you know that? It's going to drive you to God. He walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years. Have you ever thought about the name Methuselah? How many of you know a baby, other than the one in the Bible, named Methuselah? I've never met one. Doubtless, the names that people give kids, there's some child around named Methuselah. Sometimes we wonder where did these people get these names? Bible names had special meaning. The name Methuselah means this: "When he is dead or when he is gone, it will be sent." Can you imagine naming a child that? "When he is dead, it will be sent." Well, what does that mean?

God said to Enoch, "I'm going to destroy the world with a flood." Well God, when are you going to do this? He says, "You see this baby? When he's dead, it will be sent." You know the Bible says in Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but that he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets." Remember now that Enoch was a prophet. And God says, "You see this little baby? When he's dead, it's going to be sent." Every time little Methuselah had a fever, Enoch said, "Oh boy, I wonder if this is it." When he's dead, it's going to be sent. Now, how long did Methuselah live? This explains the mystery. Methuselah lived longer than any other man in all of history. 969 years, as we're going to see later, Methuselah lived. He lived longer than anybody else. You ready for a riddle? The oldest man who ever lived, who died before his father did. Who was that? Methuselah. He died before his father did because his father never died.

The oldest man who ever lived, who died before his father did, that is Methuselah. Well, why did Methuselah live for 969 years? The New Testament tells us the long-suffering of God. God was not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. And so God kept giving another day, another day, another day. 969 years, God is waiting before he sends the flood, because God's mercy, God is waiting for more people to be saved. Why is not Jesus come in our day and our age? God's waiting for more people to be saved. Peter tells us many will say, "Where's the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." For this they're willingly ignorant of, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It could be that the reason Jesus didn't come yesterday is because God wants you saved today. It could be. It could be that God is just keeping the door open one more time.

But I tell you, the flood did come. And even now, the raging waters of God's wrath are furiously pounding against the dam of his mercy, and one of these days, Jesus Christ will come and it will be too late for you as it was too late in this day. I want to show you that the flood came the day Methuselah died. You ready to do some arithmetic? Look in Genesis chapter 5, verse 25. "And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech." Now little Methuselah is born. His name means, "When he is gone or when he's dead, it will be sent." Now he became a father, Methuselah became a father when he was 187 years of age. He had a son whose name was Lamech. Now Lamech gave Methuselah a grandson. Now notice in Genesis 5 verses 28 and 29. "And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: and he called his name Noah."

So Methuselah's grandson was Noah. His son was Lamech, the grandson was Noah. Lamech was born after 187 years. 182 more years, little Noah is born. So that's 369 years when Noah was born. Methuselah is 369 years old when he becomes a grandpapa. Now when that grandson whose name was Noah was 600 years old, the flood came. Pastor, how do you know that? Genesis 7:11. "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." The flood came. Now see, 187, 182, 369. Add 600 to that, 969 years. That day the flood came. Now you understand "when he is gone, it will be sent." You understand why Methuselah lived to be 969 years, because God was postponing, God was putting off that day of judgment because of his mercy. But the flood did come.

And the day of the Lord will come. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in this day. And I believe that Enoch had a certain amount of fear. Fear is a legitimate motive. I'm telling you, my precious friend, that God Almighty is a God of judgment. I know we're not supposed to believe that God is a God of wrath, but only a God of love. God is a God of love. Infinite, matchless, unfathomable, indescribable, glorious love. But he's also a God of wrath. Now, if you say God is a God of love and don't say God is a God of wrath, that's only half of the truth. And when you take half of the truth and make half of the truth all of the truth, that half of the truth becomes an untruth. I can't say that again, but it's true. God says to Enoch, "Enoch, when he's gone, it'll be sent." Enoch said, "I believe I better walk with God."

Did you know that judgment is coming and you better walk with God? You say, don't use fear on me. Your doctor will. Your doctor says to get that cholesterol down or you're going to die. Your dentist will use fear. You don't have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep. The highway patrolman uses fear. No, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, not the end of wisdom, but the beginning of wisdom. We live in a generation that is being tranquilized into hell. Psalm 25, verse 14, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." You see, Enoch was a prophet. He knew that the Lord is coming. And he says the flood is coming. There's judgment coming on this earth. I believe I'll walk with God. Friend, if you had any sense you'd say, I believe I'll walk with God. I believe I'll walk with God. Because it's a life of fruitfulness. A life that counts.

All of your toys are soon going to be junk. That house of yours, that car of yours, those clothes, that coat. That's all premature junk. How are you living in this day and in this age? Now, the Bible says that Enoch walked with God and was not because God took him. That's Genesis 5, verse 24. Hebrews chapter 11 verses 5 and 6 says that he was translated that he should not see death. There was a sudden, instant rapture and he's gone. You know what, they looked for him. They didn't find him. Hebrew says he was not found. That means they looked for him. One of these days they're going to be looking for me. One of these days they're going to be looking for you. Listen to the words of Jesus. By the way, you say, "Pastor Rogers, that sounds so supernatural." Yep, you got it. That's what I hope you'll say. Luke chapter 17, verses 34 and 35. Jesus said, "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left."

A man reaches over at nighttime to touch his wife. The pillow is warm, but she's gone. A mother goes in to change the diaper on her little precious baby. The crib is empty, the baby is gone. People in an airliner. The pilot is gone. Two grinding at the mill, the one taken, the other left. Enoch walked with God and was not because God took him. It's in the book of Genesis, a wonderful book that prophesied ahead of time the second coming of Jesus Christ. Is Jesus real to you? Are you walking with him? There was a preacher who had a precious baby son. He was the age that we call a toddler. That preacher in a hurry to go to a meeting got in his automobile and was backing out of the garage when he heard the most sickening thing that any parent can ever hear: a thud and a bump. Oh no. Oh no, no! He opened the door of the car, went back, and there was the lifeless body of his precious son.

Can you imagine what that funeral was like? Another preacher came to stand by this man to give him strength and help. And that heartbroken man of God with tears coming down his cheeks said to his friend, "Bob, oh Bob, I wouldn't have done it for the world." Let me tell you something. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That's the love of God. Calvary was not an accident. It was not an incident. It was the gift of a loving God. And if you die and go to hell, you will trample beneath your feet the precious blood of the son of God. You say, "Pastor, do you believe in hell?" Hell is almost too good for a man who would trample beneath his feet such love. You're here to walk with God. That's why Jesus came, that we might walk with him and talk with him. Now I want to lead you today in a prayer, if you've never done so, so you put your faith in the one who gave his son for the world. Would you pray this way? Dear God, I'm a sinner and I'm lost and I need to be saved. Pray that.

My sin deserves judgment but I need and want mercy. Jesus, you died to save me. You shed your blood to save me. You rose and live to save me. You promised to save me if I would trust you. I do trust you, Jesus. Would you pray that? I do trust you, Jesus, with all of my heart. Come into my heart, forgive my sin, save me, Lord Jesus. Pray it, say it, and mean it. Save me, Lord Jesus. Did you ask him? Then claim it by faith. Pray this way. Thank you for saving me. I don't look for a sign or ask for a feeling. I stand on your word. You promised and you cannot lie. You're now my Lord and Savior. I will live for you. I will make it public. Begin now to make me the person you want me to be. In your name I pray, Amen.

Announcer: Amen. And if you prayed to receive Jesus Christ just now, we would love to celebrate with you and invite you to our Find God's Love page on the website. You'll find answers there that you may need about your newfound faith. Simply go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says Find God's Love. Welcome to God's forever family. We can't wait to hear from you today.

Carrie Vaughn: Hi, this is Carrie Vaughn and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a nonprofit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. So to give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD. That's 1-877-568-3463. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of Pastor Rogers. Or even write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Thank you for listening today and be sure to join us next time for more profound truth simply stated, right here on Love Worth Finding.

Announcer: We were so encouraged by this feedback from an online student who took one of our new courses and wrote this: "I highly recommend Preaching for Impact. This material deepened my knowledge and reminds me of the need to prepare well before any delivery." At Love Worth Finding, we are committed to equipping you with the timeless truth of the gospel in each stage of your walk with Christ. And this month, we want to help equip your heart and your message with the Word Proclaimed collection. This package includes a three-pack Gospel of John lifted from the Adrian Rogers Legacy Bible, along with the book Preaching for Impact. These resources are designed to help you know the word and share it boldly. You can request this collection when you call 1-877-LOVEGOD, 1-877-568-3463, or give online at lwf.org/radio.