Walking With God

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WALKING WITH GOD

By George W. Sinquefield

Genesis 5:21 through Genesis 5:24
21And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5
5By 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.

Someone has said that a talented painter can paint a great picture on a small canvas. The Holy Spirit has given us a remarkable picture of a great man in just a few choice Bible words. Only a few verses are devoted to the story of Enoch but, oh, how full of meaning We find these verses in Genesis 4:17, Genesis 5:18-24, Luke 3:37, Hebrews 11:5, and Jude 14.

There are less than a dozen verses about Enoch. Yes, a very small canvas, but what a mighty and even meticulous picture.

In the New Testament the word used most often to characterize the Christian's activity is the word "walk." Dr. B. H. Carroll in his, "Studies in Genesis" says:

"Walking" in the sense used in this text never applied to doctrine; it applies to conduct, to life; as when it is said of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, that he and his wife, Elisabeth, walked in the commandments of God. In both the Old and New Testaments, the word has that signification. For instance, when God said to Solomon, "If you will walk in my ways as thy father David didst walk in my ways," evidently referring to the life, to the conduct.

How are we to walk? What is our manner of life to be?

1. We are to walk in good works.

Ephesians 2:10
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

2. We're to walk in humility, etc.

Ephesians 4:1 through Ephesians 4:3
1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

3. We're to walk differently from the lost.

Ephesians 4:17
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

4. We're to walk in honesty.

1 Thessalonians 4:12
12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

5. We're to walk in Christ.

Colossians 2:6
6As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

6. We're to walk in love.

2 John 1:6
6And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

7. We're to walk as children of light.

Ephesians 5:8
8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

8. We're to walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16
16This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

9. We're to walk after His commandments.

2 John 1:6
6And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

10. We're to walk in the truth.

3 John 1:4
4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

To so walk, as His Word directs us is to please god.

I. God wants us to walk with Him.

1 Corinthians 1:9
9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthew 11:28 through Matthew 11:30
28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

It is to be a daily walk.

Luke 9:23
23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

It is to be a continuous walk.

Luke 13:33
33Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

We are not talking about a short hike or a casual stroll, but a lifetime journey in which the principles of godliness are exemplified.

It must be a walk by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7
7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Notice again Hebrews 11:6.

Hebrews 11:6
6But 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.

Notice other great heroes of faith in this great faith chapter, Hebrews 11.

Noah

Hebrews 11:7
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Abraham

Hebrews 11:8
8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Hebrews 11:17 through Hebrews 11:19
17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Isaac

Hebrews 11:20
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

Jacob

Hebrews 11:21
21By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Joseph

Hebrews 11:22
22By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

Moses

Hebrews 11:23 through Hebrews 11:28
23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. 24By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. 27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

Give special attention to the following verses:

Hebrews 11:32 through Hebrews 11:40
32And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

God has used and continues to use men and women who walk by faith. We may not, and often do not understand God's will and way, but we believe He is right and without question we follow Him.

The year was 1952. The scene was the California coast. It was the Fourth of July. Florence Chadwick, aged thirty-four, waded into the water off Catalina Island and began her twenty-one mile swim toward California. If she completed the challenge, she would be the first woman ever to swim from Catalina to California.

The water was ice cold, and the fog was so heavy Florence could hardly see the boats in her own party. Sharks often came close and had to be driven off with rifles. The numbing cold of the water was her severest problem.

Fifteen hours later, numbed with the cold, she asked to be taken out. She could not go on. Her mother and trainer, alongside in the boat, told her they were near land. They encouraged her not to quit. But as she looked ahead, all she could see was the dense fog. She wanted to get out. When they pulled her out of the water, se was only a half mile from the California coast!

Later, when Florence's body began to thaw, the shock of failure finally hit her. To a reporter she blurted out, "Look, I'm not excusing myself. But if I could have seen the land, I might have made it."

We can't see the goal with our physical eyes but we see it with eyes of faith and we press on knowing that, "He is the rewarder of them that seek Him."

II. There must be agreement

If we walk with God, we must agree with Him in all that He says and does.

Amos 3:3
3Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

We know the answer and we know two cannot walk together unless they agree.

Disagreements breaks up marriages, homes, businesses, and churches.

At the funeral of George Walker, one of the preachers said Wallace asked Billy Graham if it was wrong to smoke cigars and Billy told him it wasn't. The preacher said, "I guess Jesus would agree with Billy."

The important thing is not that Jesus agrees with us but that we agree with Him.

There is a most unusual statement in II Kings 10:15. Jehu said to Jehonadab, "Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, it is." And in the next verse Jehu says, "Come with me." And they traveled together. Because their hearts were in agreement as to direction, Jehu and Jehonadab could walk together.

God wants us to walk with Him but He doesn't force us to do so. We walk with Him "if" we want to.

Matthew 16:24
24Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Jesus said time and again that "Whosoever will" -- let him come after me.

King Charles V was determined to compel all his subjects to adopt his way of thinking about religion. Thousands died rather than conform.

He became weary of reigning and abdicated the throne in 1556. He then retired to a monastery, where he busied himself by trying to make a dozen clocks run in perfect synchronization. When he failed he said, "How foolish I have been to think I could make all my people to dwell together in agreement when I cannot make two clocks run in unison."

We cannot walk with God and the devil at the same time. The following is from a devotional booklet. It deals with the ways of Lot.

        Although Lot is referred to by Peter as "righteous Lot," he chose to live among the wicked in Sodom because he loved money and prominence. He was a double-minded man who wanted to serve God but who also wanted to enjoy the pleasures of this world.
        I believe this is evident from the fact that Lot chose to live in the plain bordering the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 13:1-13). Once there, he moved into the city itself and became a part of its culture (19:1). It's true that he didn't give up his belief in the high moral standards he had learned from his uncle Abraham, and he didn't approve of the wicked things he saw and heard. But as an official at the city gate, he apparently had little impact on the wicked society of which he was a part.
        Lot's double-mindedness brought him much inner torment and rendered him spiritually powerless. He couldn't even convince his sons-in-law (and their wives) to leave Sodom before God's judgment fell. Only he, his wife, and the two daughters still living at home escaped. And his wife died instantly when she looked back, disobeying God's command. In the end, Lot lost the very things he wanted -- possessions and position.

Several years ago I attended church one morning in a Florida city. Some seats were reserved for the American Legion. A large group of these men attended church that morning and their leader said, "Our attendance at church is a part of our back-to-God movement. We attend church in a body once each month." After the service that morning the preacher showed me a sign on a bar two blocks from the church. The sign read, "American Legion Bar." On one hand they were talking about "Back to God." On the other hand they were selling the thing that God is against. They were not walking with God. When you walk with God you walk in a clean pathway.

What ar the results of walking with God." We grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him. Many, who are very religious, go to church, give of their money, try to keep the commandments, etc. , but never know Jesus and this is not pleasing to God.

Dr. William Spurgeon of Wales was once lecturing in a city in Scotland. After the lecture an old gentleman of polished manner approached him and said, "Doctor Spurgeon, I am glad to meet you. I am the father of Henry Drummond." "Oh, the," said Dr. Spurgeon, "I already know you, for I know your son so well."

One evening a student asked Phillips Brooks this question, in a perplexed and serious tone, "Is conscious personal fellowship with Jesus Christ a part of Christianity?" Phillips Brooks was immediately as much in earnest as his questioner. He hesitated, reflected, and replied, decisively: "Conscious personal fellowship with Jesus Christ is Christianity. That is what differentiates the religion of the Bible from all others. A man is a Christian in so far as he knows Jesus Christ."

The answer was an echo from Christ's own prayer at the communion table: "This is the life eternal, that they know thee, the only true God, and him whom thou has sent -- Jesus Christ."

A little girl was puzzled. "What is God like?" she asked her mother. "Ask your father," the mother replied.

"Daddy, you know more than anyone in the whole world," the little girl began hopefully. "Can you tell me what God is like?" "I don't know," the father mumbled from behind his evening paper.

Several days later her parents found a piece of paper inscribed in childish scrawl with these words: "I think that if I had lived as long as mother or my father, I would know something about God."

We know so little about a casual acquaintance. We must spend a lot of time with him if we're to ever really know him. I say again, it is not just going to church, being baptized, serving in some capacity that we come to know the Lord. It is daily walking with Him listing to His teaching, observing His manner of life and His attitude toward others, that we begin to know and understand Him.

In Clinton, Ohio, two men, Jim Clark and Roger Rurgess, set the world's record for walking together. The single walker record was held by C. A. Harriman of California, who walked 121 miles in 24 hours.

But the doubles record is held by Clark and Rurgess, To qualify for the doubles record, Clark and Rurgess had to walk side by side for 24 hours. They set the record when they clocked 116.5 miles in 24 hours.

As we yoke our lives with Jesus and walk with Him, we come to know Him better day by day. Paul's great desire was to know Him.

Philippians 3:8 through Philippians 3:10
8Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Another result of walking with God is that we become more like Him. This is God's desire -- God's will for all saved people.

Romans 8:28 through Romans 8:29
28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

An unknown author wrote, "I asked a student what things he desired most. He said, 'Books.' I asked a miser; he cried, 'Money.' I asked a beggar; he faintly said, 'Bread." I asked a drunkard; and he called only for alcohol. I asked the multitude around me; they lifted up a confused cry in which I heard the words, "Wealth, fame, and pleasure!"

"Finally I asked a poor man who had long displayed the character of an experienced Christian. He replied, 'I greatly desire three things: first, that I be found in Christ; second, that I may be like Christ; third, that I may be with Christ.'" His deepest aspiration centered on Christ alone.

When the wife of missionary Adoniram Judson told him that a newspaper article likened him to some of the apostles, Judson replied, "I do not want to be like a Paul . . . or any mere man. I want to be like Christ . . . I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, [and] place my feet in His footprints . . . Oh, to be more like Christ!" In view of all He has done for us, this should be the testimony of everyone who knows Him as Savior.

May He be the object of our love, the joy of our lives, and the One we aspire to be like. May He be our whole purpose for living.

A pastor tells of a couple who had been married for 50 years. For 50 years this man and this woman had gone life's way together. They had spent Christmas holidays together. They had been on picnics together. They had been up at the hour of midnight about the bedside of a sick child together. They had gone to the cemetery together to bury some of their children and had come back home to mingle their tears together.

For 50 years their lives had been so mixed and mingled and blended until she had in her life a part of the life of her husband, and he had in his life a part of the life of his wife. If two human beings may commune until they become like each other may not you and I commune with Jesus Christ until we, to some extent at least, become like Him?

The third result of walking with God is that we'll act like God.

Matthew 5:43 through Matthew 5:48
43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

The word "perfect" does not mean that we're to be morally perfect -- free from sin. In the Greek it means to have the same goal in life that God has and that is to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to move forward in the work of the Kingdom of God.

We remember Sir Isaac Newton as a renowned 17th century scientist who discovered the law of gravity. What some people don't know is that he was also a dedicated Christian. In fact, while at the height of his career in physics and mathematics, he decided to turn his attention toward studying God's Word. When one of his fellow scientists tried to lure him back to the field of science, Newton replied, "I do not want to be trifling away my time, when I should be about the King's business." Although he retained his interest in science, he wanted his top priority to be his theological pursuits.

We are never trifling away our time when we're engaged in the Lord's work. An elevator operator happened to see an old acquaintance when she stopped the elevator at one of the floors. Excusing herself, she stepped out to visit with her friend for a few moments. Upon returning, she apologized for the delay, and then with a puzzled look she asked, "Can someone tell me, was I going up or down?"

When we walk with God, we know in which direction we are going -- we are always going up.

"Seneca, the great sage, said, "Our plans miscarry because we have no aim. when a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind."

"To walk with Him is to have the wind of t Holy Spirit at our backs helping us make progress, because we are headed in the right direction we have a sense of noble and eternal purpose."

The fourth result of walking with God is that we have His blessing upon us.

Leviticus 26:3 through Leviticus 26:6
3If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; 4Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

Many other Scriptures teach us the same -- that God is pleased with those who walk with Him and His blessings are upon them.

1 Kings 9:1 through 1 Kings 9:5
1And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 2That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. 3And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 4And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 5Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

When did Enoch begin to walk with God? The Word of God gives us the answer.

Dr. B. H. Carroll in his "Studies in Genesis" gives us this information: Methuselah means "at his death the sending forth of waters." This child is to live until the time comes for the world to be swept away by a flood.

"Suppose that it should be made known to you, and in a way that you could not question the veracity of God, that this world would last only as long as the life of some little child in your house. Maybe there is a little girl at your house. What if it should be credibly conveyed to you that this world would last just as long as that little girl would live, and no longer. Perhaps you have a little boy at your house, and the message comes to you, "That child's life is the life of the world. When that child dies the world will come to an end." Nw, as you could have no knowledge of how long or how short that life might be there would instantly come before you the possibility of the cessation of the existence of the earth at any time. It might be next week; it might be next year; but always staring you in the face, every time you look upon the baby, or upon the boy, upon the girl running around; every time you look; every time that child is a little sick; every time fever comes or a slight chill, or any eruption on the skin, or any apparent decline in health it would seem to you as the shadow of doom of the world.

That being so, if you believe it; if it had been made credible to you, you would begin to say within yourself, "If this is the last of it; if the world can last only as long as this child lives; how ought I to live?"

The Revised Standard Version puts it this way; "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken up he was attested as having pleased God."

Walking with God pleases Him. Do you and I walk in such a way that pleases Him? Can it be truthfully said of us after we leave this world that we walked with Him during our days on earth?

It pleases God when we accept His Son, the Lord Jesus, as our personal Savior. Have you done that?

John 3:16
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.