A Daily Walk

Announcer: Pastor John Randall says, when you come to realize you'll be standing before God one day to give an account for your life, it motivates you to live to please him.

John Randall: If we make it our aim, this is our goal. We want to live our life in such a way that we're well pleasing to God because we know we're going to stand before God and we're going to give an account. There is an awareness: I am going to stand before the God who created me, who created everything, and I'm going to give an account for my life. This motivates me to want to live a life that pleases him. I want to please the Lord.

Announcer: Glad you've joined us today for A Daily Walk, where you never have to walk alone. Today, Pastor John Randall focuses our attention on Genesis chapters 4 and 5, where we run across a couple of guys walking in the opposite direction. One was walking with God, and the other walking in the flesh. Question is: which of the two paths are you on today?

John Randall: God is long-suffering. He's gracious. He's merciful. He doesn't want you to feel the pain of that. He's extending grace to you, as he did to Cain. But sadly, Cain rejected that, and he now suffers the consequences. You'll notice Cain's words: "My punishment is greater than I can bear."

I want to just say to you that Cain was more concerned about his punishment than the death of his own brethren, which tells me something. This wasn't genuine repentance. It's like, I'm sorry you found out. I'm sorry you didn't accept my sacrifice. But my brother's dead? Whatever. It didn't matter to him.

You find that there wasn't genuine repentance. You know what there was? It was just worldly sorrow over the fact that he was affected by it. The Bible does talk about the difference between genuine repentance and worldly sorrow, and there's a vast difference. In fact, in 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes about it in chapter 7, and he said this: "I rejoice that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing, because godly sorrow works repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world produces death."

The sorrow of the world says: I'm sorry you found out. I'm sorry you're upset that I did that. I'm sorry you didn't like that. Too bad. That's the kind of repentance that we're talking about here. No, genuine, godly repentance is something where I have offended God, and I am broken over my sin, and I have hurt other people in the process. There is this brokenness that leads to repentance that is genuine and that finds forgiveness.

As opposed to saying, "Toughen up. This is how I am. Just accept it. I'm sorry you found out." Listen, if that's the way you're approaching the situation, you are not repentant before God. But if you're broken and you're humble and you know I've offended God, my sin is ugly, it's wrong, I repent of it, oh, there are times of refreshing. The Bible says it comes from the presence of the Lord on the heels of repentance. When we repent, oh, how gracious God is when we humble ourselves and we agree with what God has said, and he provides forgiveness and mercy and grace and restoration, and he starts to do something that we think, Lord, you're so gracious.

Have you ever just been aware of how gracious God is? Just overwhelmed by the grace of God in your life? You have these times where you think, I've got a blessing coming. God, you're going to bless me because I deserve it. I can feel it. I've been reading a ton of stuff this year. I've read every day. I'm on that one-year plan. I am on it this week. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get blessed. And you probably will.

But then you have those days when you are the worst that you are. You're a stinker and you know it, and your wife tells you you are. And God blesses you for some reason. You think, well, I didn't deserve that. You never did. It was always grace. Oh man, that's so humbling when God does that. He is so merciful.

Sadly for Cain, he ended up being separated. It says, notice this, you go on, Cain now goes on to have a family. He's separated from God and from fellowship. God is gracious and protects him and places a mark on him of some sort. But then Cain starts a family. It says in verse 16, "Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord." You know, that's a really sad verse to me. He went out from the presence of the Lord.

It reminds me of that passage in the New Testament when the disciples were in the upper room and it says that Judas went out into the darkness of the night from the presence of Jesus and the disciples in the upper room before communion was served. Sad. He goes out from the presence of the Lord and he dwells in the Land of Nod, it says. By the way, it means wandering. He's wandering. This is where it leads. Out of the presence of the Lord, you're wandering around on the east of Eden. That's usually what happens to people who try to come their own way. They end up just wandering, lost.

Verse 17, "Cain knew his wife and she conceived and bore Enoch." Remember that name. He built a city and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. Enoch was born and then you just go on and there is a genealogy. Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot Mehujael, and he also begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech. Then it goes on and there's more names that are mentioned here that you should read over on your own time. But they are important.

Cain's descendants, I'm going to fast-forward it for you: Lamech, Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain. Some really good baby names if you're expecting triplets: Jabal, Jubal, Tubal. I mean, it just works. You call one of them, they might all come. But as these men grew, they became the founders of different things. Such as Jabal was the founder of agricultural business. If you look at verse 20, it says, "And Adah bore Jabal and he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock."

Then his brother's name was Jubal, and he was the father of all those who play the harp and the flute. The guy was a musician. So you've got agriculture, entertainment, and then you come to verse 22: "And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, and he was instructor of craftsmen in bronze and iron, and the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah." So he's the craftsman. You've got the father of industry, of agriculture, of music, of entertainment, and suddenly they're all together.

Then it says that there was another one who was born. In verse 23: "Then Lamech said to his wives, 'Adah and Zillah, hear my voice, wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. I've killed a man for wounding me, even a young man after hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.'" Lamech, the descendant of Cain, sings the first song of the Bible, someone said. A song of defiance and rebellion. The song of the sword, someone called it, as it glorifies man in his self-independence apart from God.

Listen, these are the descendants of Cain. This is the direction that he went, and notice this: his descendants followed his example. This is the legacy of a man wandering apart from God, chose not to repent and get right with God. It affected his children. They did the exact same thing as him, and it's unfortunate when you see a cycle repeated.

By the way, let me just give you a side note. You don't have to repeat the cycle. It can be broken with you. It can stop with you. Sometimes people say, "Well, my grandfather was a [blank] and my dad also was a [blank], so that means I'm going to..." No, it doesn't have to mean that. You're new in Christ. You break that cycle, it stops with you, and future generations that come from you don't follow that pattern. They follow a pattern of godliness.

It can stop with you. Don't believe that lie that just because this happened to them and they were that way, not to say that that doesn't impact you or have an effect on you, but in Christ, you can be something completely new. Things can change. I've heard it said over the years, "Well, my grandparents didn't stay together, and my parents didn't stay together, so I'm fearful about..." Listen, break that through the power of God. It doesn't have to be that way.

But here, we find that in Cain's place, Lamech followed suit. He did exactly what his father had done, and he also took the life of someone else. Cain's descendants, interesting as you go on through the genealogies, what you discover as you proceed into the book of Genesis is that Cain's descendants would die in the flood. They were evil. They were wicked. They did not call upon the name of the Lord. They built their cities, they became men of industry, they followed in the way of their father Cain, but they were destroyed.

But then the genealogy picks up once again with Adam and Eve, and it says that Adam knew his wife again. I just think, just pause there for a second because they lost their son. Their son, Cain, killed their other son. Now you imagine what that would feel like and the pain that they would go through, and yet it says the Lord blessed them again, and she bore a son and named him Seth. "For God," she said, "has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel whom Cain killed." And as for Seth, to him also a son was born and he named him Enosh.

Then it says, "Men began to call on the name of the Lord." Now we're back on track. Cain went his own way, but now they're back, and God blesses once again. Through Seth would eventually come the Messiah. Now the line is preserved. By the way, when you wonder why there are so many genealogies in the Bible, I mean we can't pronounce half of these names correctly, what's the deal? You skip, skip, skip. He begot, he begot, he begot. Why? Because it all comes down to one genealogy that eventually would lead to the Messiah. Narrows it all down to one, and they were very into what the connection was.

There's a lot to be said about the genealogies and there's many studies that you can do and make connections and what this name means. It's fun to go through it, but the main thing is the line that would lead ultimately to the Messiah. But when you come to chapter 5, it says, "This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them," and please notice what it says here, "male and female." That's it. That's what he made from the beginning. It hasn't changed regardless. That's what the Bible says, so we stick to that.

And he blessed them, and he called them mankind the day that they were created. Then it says that Adam lived 130 years and he begat a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. Now they pick up on this genealogy that would ultimately lead to the Messiah. And again, I want to highlight just some of the things here for you because what you're going to find is that in verse 3, Adam begat Seth. In verse 5, Adam then lives to be 930. That's a lot of candles. And he died.

Then it says, Seth in verse 6 begat Enosh, and then in verse 9 he lived to be 912, and he died. And then Enosh begat Cainan in verse 9, and then in verse 11, Enosh lived 905 years. Guess what happened? He died. And then it says in verse 12, Cainan begat Mahalalel, and then verse 14, Cainan lived 910 years and he died. In verse 17, Mahalalel lived 895 years and then he died. And then verse 20, Jared lived 962 years and he died. What I'm telling you here is this is a graveyard. That's what this is.

What happened is God said to Adam, in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. And guess what? That's exactly what's happening. They're dying off. And what will happen is eventually the longevity, especially after the flood, longevity begins to be shortened. Life gets shorter and shorter and shorter, but it started out they were living till they were in their 900s. And then they eventually died.

But in the midst of this genealogy, here's where we pick up. Look at this, all these people being born. Verse 21, here we are: "Enoch lived 65 years and he begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters, and all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him."

The first 65 years of Enoch's life, he just lived his life. For 65 years, he just lived his life. That's what it says. It doesn't say much other than that. It does say that men began to call on the name of the Lord, perhaps he did. But he just lived his life. But then something happened. Something significant in his life. He and his wife had a son and they named him Methuselah, who by the way is the oldest man in the Bible. Just Bible trivia, he's the oldest guy, Methuselah.

But it was at that point, when Methuselah was born, that Enoch began to walk with God. When his son was born. There was something about the birth of Methuselah that changed Enoch's life and direction. Perhaps he was gripped with the reality of raising a son in a wicked and evil culture, like any parent here tonight. You know the difficulty, the struggle that it is and the responsibility that you have to raise a child in the ways of the Lord in the midst of this world that is constantly fighting against that. There's like this battle between you and the devil: who's going to fill their mind first? It's a constant struggle.

But Enoch's son, Methuselah, lived to be 969 years old and he died before the flood came. Perhaps the Lord told Enoch the news after the baby was born that the flood was eventually going to come. We don't know for sure, but we know from this moment on, he walked intimately, faithfully, obediently with the Lord. There was something that happened in his life that changed his direction.

Do you have a story like that? There's something that God did in your life when you started to walk with the Lord? You lived whatever, 18 years of your life, for me it was 18 years of my life. I mean, I knew the Lord. I knew about the Lord. I could quote scripture like anybody. I was raised in the Word from as far back as I could go. I knew God's Word, and I'm thankful for it. But I wasn't then. I am now.

Something happened at 18. Boom, the Lord got a hold of my heart. The Spirit of God came upon my life. I turned from sin and was born again. And I mean born again, filled with the Spirit, never the same. I mean, that's what happened, and it's never been the same since. Praise God. Did you have something in your life where God just was that? It was that thing. That's what God used. This is what God used in my life to bring me. Everybody has a testimony. For Enoch, it was when Methuselah was born. It changed his life.

But not only did he walk faithfully and intimately and obediently with God, but it indicates here that he walked consistently with God. 300 years, you walk with God? 300 years. That's a long time to walk with the Lord. That speaks of consistency. It wasn't like, hey, I walk with God when I feel like it. No, 300 years of walking with the Lord. It wasn't hit and miss. It was consistent. What's our walk with the Lord like tonight? When I feel good, I walk with the Lord. When I don't feel good, I don't. When my friends are around, I don't walk with the Lord. But when they're not around and I don't have anything else to do, I'm going to walk with the Lord.

What kind of walk with the Lord do you have? Enoch had an intimate relationship with God. He was obedient to God's Word. It was consistent. It was also characterized, did you know that Enoch's life and walk with God was characterized by boldness and that God used his life? You say, how do you know that? Again, the New Testament gives us a commentary on Enoch. It tells us in Jude chapter 1, verse 14: "Now Enoch was the seventh from Adam and he prophesied about these men saying, 'Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against them.'" That's pretty bold. Enoch calling out the ungodly while walking with God. A bold proclamation.

The world around him was growing worse and worse, and yet he continued to walk with God. He was preaching and proclaiming the Word of God. God used his life to affect others. The Bible tells us again, in the commentary of Hebrews chapter 11, verse 5: "By faith Enoch was taken 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." Here's a great testimony: he pleased God. What a testimony to have. The guy walked with God and he pleased God. His life was pleasing to the Lord.

I want my life to be pleasing to the Lord. I want to walk with the Lord and I want to be pleasing to the Lord. That should be the desire of every believer: to walk with God, to be pleasing to the Lord. Paul said in writing to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 9, he said this: "Therefore we make it our aim." This is our goal. This is our resolution. This is what we do. We make it our aim, whether we are present or we are absent, to what? To be well pleasing to him.

And why? Why is it that you want to be well pleasing to him? Because we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. We make it our aim, this is our goal, we want to live our life in such a way that we're well pleasing to God because we know we're going to stand before God and we're going to give an account. There is an awareness: I am going to stand before the God who created me, who created everything, and I'm going to give an account for my life. This motivates me to want to live a life that pleases him. I want to please the Lord.

Enoch did eventually come to the end of his walk with God, and it says in verse 24 of Genesis 5 that he walked with God and he was not. God took him. That's it. Just took him. The first Old Testament picture of a rapture. He took him before the flood came. Got him out before destruction came. Just he was not. Just took him. Someone has said, it's kind of funny, it's kind of humorous, but you know Enoch walked with God. They were on a walk, a normal day. "Hey God, you ready to walk?" "Yeah, let's walk." And they were walking, and they were walking, and they were walking. It was getting late, and the Lord said, "Enoch, you know what, Enoch? Why don't you just come to my house? It's closer than yours." And that was it. Just took him. That's not biblical, someone just said that.

But the fact is he did walk with God and God took him. It means he did not see death. There's only two people in the Bible that did not see death: Enoch and Elijah. Did not see death. God took them uniquely. By the way, that's why some people think that the two witnesses at the end are going to be Enoch and Elijah. I have other thoughts on that, but I know there's going to be two. I know that for sure. But he walked with God and God took him. He was pleasing to the Lord.

You know, the Bible encourages us guys to walk with the Lord, to be pleasing to the Lord. I suppose the question is tonight as you look at these two men as we conclude: Cain and Enoch. One walked after the way of the flesh, and when God gave him a second chance, he refused it. He didn't care. He hardened his heart. He suffered the consequences. It affected future generations. You could say his life was not pleasing to the Lord. It could have been a different story.

On the other hand, you have Enoch. He walked with the Lord, he knew the Lord, and there came a moment when God took him. He had this testimony that he pleased the Lord. You look at these two lives, you can kind of draw a comparison: what do you want your life to look like? Do you want to be like Cain, the flesh and all that came from him? Or do you want to be like Enoch, who walked with God and was pleasing to the Lord?

I want to be pleasing to the Lord. The Bible tells us lastly in Philippians chapter 2, it says, "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life so that you may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain."

We're in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, and we have the opportunity to shine as lights. Guys, I love the fact that it says he walked with the Lord. It doesn't say he walked alone. He walked with the Lord. The Lord bids us to follow him. It means to walk the same road with him. "Walk with me," Jesus would say. How do I be a Christian? Walk with Jesus. Stay close to Jesus. Abide in Christ. Walk with him, and you won't get lost. He knows where he's going. He's the way. And so I encourage you: walk with the Lord.

If you've gotten off track, if you kind of wandered, it's not too late to get back. It's not too late to get right with the Lord. He is gracious. He is merciful. He bids us, hey, here's your opportunity. And I would encourage you to do that. Just get things right. You know you, I know me, and the Holy Spirit knows us all. Walk with the Lord because, guys, there's coming a time when he's going to call us. He's going to call us home. And I'm looking forward to that day, the rapture of the church. Translated from this place in the moment, a twinkling of an eye. Wow, I think we're closer than we've ever been.

Announcer: Well, we hope you were encouraged by the life of Enoch today. A man who walked with God, and then God took him just before the flood. Speaking of the flood, we'll hear all about that next time on A Daily Walk. But don't leave us just yet. Pastor John Randall will be right back.

We're delighted you heard this study from Genesis again, or maybe share it with someone who might benefit by hearing this? Just drop by adailywalk.org or oneplace.com, and you'll find our app when you search for Calvary South OC.

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If you find these studies helpful to your daily walk, Pastor John would like to know. He reads your emails and is so encouraged by what you have to say. You can write to him by email at adailywalk@gmail.com. Again, that's adailywalk@gmail.com. And let us know the station you're listening to. We also want to tell you about the A Daily Walk devotional. Watch the video and be encouraged each day. You'll find it at adailywalk.org. Let's return to Pastor John now as he closes things out in a word of prayer.

John Randall: Father, we thank you tonight for your Word. Lord, these things your Word says have been written down for our admonition, for our instruction that we might learn. Lord, we see things in your Word that speak to us, that convict us, that stir us up. Lord, I pray that we would be not only hearers of this tonight, but also doers. Lord, that through the power of your Spirit, you would enable us and equip us to apply the things we have heard for your glory. Lord, if there are any tonight who have distanced themselves or drifted, wandered, Lord, draw them back. Let them know. Draw them back with loving kindness, Lord. Your kindness leads us to repentance. Thank you for that, Lord. Your mercy, your grace, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Announcer: Next time on A Daily Walk, we open Genesis chapter 6 with Pastor John Randall and hear all about Noah's ark. This program is brought to you by Calvary South OC and made possible through your generous support.