Welcome to Coming Home with Julian Awad, where we discuss salvation through Jesus Christ; the production of Coming Home Ministries. The other day, I was out for a walk and I started talking with the Lord and it recalled a story about Enoch, who was walking with the Lord. And I began to think, “What does walking with the Lord really mean?” and “Why is it important to walk with God?” Today, we’re going to talk a little bit more about this, but let’s start with a quick prayer.
“Lord, I want to thank you for today. I want to thank you for all the good things that you do, and even for the challenges you bring in our life to strengthen us and to refocus us back on you, Lord. I asked for this message today to be filled with your revelation and to be meaningful for someone out there for them to hear this and for it to touch their heart and maybe for someone who doesn’t know you to come to know you in a new way. Lord, I ask that they would hear you and not me today. Please keep me behind your cross in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
As we begin to look at the story of Enoch, it’s an interesting one. First of all, it goes through the lineage of Genesis, in Genesis Chapter Five, the lineage that starts with Adam, and it continues all the way down through several different generations until we get to Enoch. It says that, you know, Adam had another son after Cain and Abel, which was Seth and then Adam died and then Seth lived for a certain amount of years and he had a son named Enos (or Enosh) and then Seth died and Enos also had a son named Kenan.
And then Enos died and then Kenan had a son named Mahalalel. And then Kenan died and then Mahalalel had Jared and Jared died. So, there was so many of these folks that were living for so many years and then dying and having a son and finally, Jared had a son named Enoch and it says here that he had a son named Methuselah, but it says here that after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years.
He had other sons and daughters, and then it says it again, that altogether Enoch lived a total of 365 years and Enoch walked faithfully with God. Then he was no more, because God took him away. There was something about that, about the man who walked faithfully with God and never died because God took him away.
God literally took him from this earth and he never experienced death. I began to think, “What does that mean?” and “Why is it important to walk faithfully with God?” As they went through this process of thinking through it, I began to dig through the Old Testament and the New for all the times where someone was walking with God and I can’t go over all of them today, but I found some that will give us some insights and we start with Noah.
We can see that even in Genesis Chapter Six, it says that the account of Noah and his family were Noah was a righteous man. The only blameless person living on earth at the time. And he walked in close fellowship with God. I think it’s a really important word that they chose here was fellowship.
Because fellowship is something that you do when you’re really close with someone. You know, you talk about the things that are not important. You talk about the things that are important. You are happy together. You might even be sad together. You might be angry together. You definitely eat with one another and take care of one another when the other person needs it – that’s fellowship. And it says here that he walked in close fellowship with God, he wasn’t sinless. But it says that he was a righteous man and he was blameless according to God.
As we continue down, we see that Abraham, he was 99 years old in Genesis Chapter 17, where it says that the Lord appeared to him and he says, “I am God almighty.” And I love the amplified version where it says in Genesis Chapter 17:1, it says, “Walk habitually before me with integrity, knowing that you are always in my presence and be blameless and complete in obedience to me.” The amplified really brings it out because it’s not just walk before me and be blameless and complete, but it’s walk and the word there means continuously or habitually you’re walking before the Lord with integrity.
Now, the interesting thing about integrity is that if you think about it from an engineering standpoint. Integrity is really talking about being without fault because engineers have to build buildings or even racetracks and roads in a manner with integrity. So, they can have full efficiency because if you build a road like the Autobahn or a racetrack, the road has to be perfectly smooth and all the materials have to be exactly the same.
You can’t have any bumps or holes. There has to be full integrity in the road so that the cars can get up to maximum speed. You see, being with integrity is being without fault. It means making sure that there’s consistency, there’s integrity, and knowing that you’re always in God’s presence. That’s the important part that he’s always there.
And God doesn’t just suggest, he commands Abraham, and says, “Walk continuous with me with integrity, knowing that you’re always in my presence and be blameless and come in complete obedience to me.” If we start to look further down, we start to see even when Moses was leading out the Israelites and their exodus from Egypt, he says that in Leviticus 26, he says, “I will walk among you and be your God and you shall be my people.”
If you think about that, it’s kind of like, you know, walking among you, it’s almost like a shepard. It brings up that image of being a shepherd walking amongst his sheep, because the shepherd is constantly counting and checking on the sheep to make sure that they’re okay.
You know, back in the day it said that a shepherd would talk with his sheep and the sheep would know his voice. And Jesus used that reference as well. And you can see here that when God was speaking to them, He was saying, “I will walk among you and be your God. And you shall be my people.” If we think further down the road, we think of King David. And King David walked with God constantly through ups and through downs, through victories and through defeats, through sin and through even being chased by his King throughout the land while he was hiding in caves and living in the wilderness, he walked with God. There’s no better example when he talks about it in Psalm 23, where he says, “the Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.”
Here, how he’s talking about walking with God. He says, he makes me lie down in green pastures and he leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. That’s the Lord there that he walks with, refreshing his soul, making sure to take care of his thirst and guiding him along the right paths for his name’s sake.
He says in verse four [Psalm 23:4], he says, even though I walk again, walking with the Lord, he says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil.” while he’s walking with God. He says, for you are with me; I’m walking with you. You’re with me, Lord. I will fear no evil.
He says your rod and your staff. They comfort me. The rod and the staff for a shepherd is used to direct the sheep and to prod them, to get them to go forward. He’s there directing us through those tough times, verse five [Psalm 23:5], he says “You prepare a table before me.” Does that sound like fellowship eating together “in the presence of my enemies.”
And it’s just like, not only being with someone that you’re close with, your best friend or your best man, he says, “You will anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Surely, your goodness and your love will follow me all of my days, all the days of my life, every single day. And he says, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
You can see him walking and declaring that as he walks with the Lord, the Lord is with him and they’re walking together through ups and downs and even into the Valley of the shadow of death. You know, when we look at Jesus, Jesus constantly was walking, every example pretty much in the Bible as Jesus walking somewhere.
In fact, all of his ministry was walking, walking from here to there from village to different places up onto the mountain top. And it even starts out his ministry starts out with him, calling others to follow him and to start walking with him. His first disciple, Luke Chapter five. And it says, “And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”
Matthew Chapter four says, Jesus says to them, follow me. And I will make you fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Even the sons of Zebedee, James and John. It says that they dropped their nets and immediately left their boat and their father, and they followed him and they began to walk with Jesus. You know, this walking with God is so important. Walking with him can be in so many different manners, but the glorious part is, as we walk with God, he even calls us to walk with him through the miraculous like Peter did when Peter was actually walking on water with the Lord.
Part of walking with God is to see his miraculous power in Matthew chapter 14. It says shortly before Dawn, that Jesus went out to them walking on the Lake. And when the disciples saw him walking on the Lake, they were terrified. They thought it was a ghost and they cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them to take courage. “It is I, don’t be afraid.” And Peter says, “Hey, if it’s you Lord, tell me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus says, “Come, come walk to me, let us walk together, Peter.” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came towards Jesus.
But you know, the rest of the story. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me.” And immediately Jesus did what he reached out his hand and caught him, you of little faith. He said, “Why did you doubt?” Even when we’re walking with the Lord in the midst of challenging times, we can have confidence in him. But when we do have doubt the literal reach down and back, sometimes even when we’re an error, God will choose to walk with us.
As he did with Paul, Paul was on his way to Damascus to arrest more Christians. When he was Saul, he was a murderous man chasing after Christians, putting them in jail and even killing some. And Jesus decided to walk with him. Came and knocked him off his horse, revealed himself to him and made him blind to correct him and to call him.
Some of us when we choose to walk with God, we need to realize that there’s correction, that he will bring into our lives during that time when we walk with him. But there’s also mercy and healing as he did with blind Bartimaeus. Mark chapter 10. It says that Jesus was walking along on their way to Jericho and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed them.
And what were they doing? Walking, walking together. And they came across a blind beggar named Bartimaeus – he was a son of Timaeus and he was sitting beside the road and Bartimaeus was called out to God, told him he wanted to see, and Jesus had mercy on him. Even while you’re walking with the Lord, there’s healing, there’s the opportunity for you to tell him, what it is that you want, and to see his mercy, as you walk with him. I love this example of even at the end of his ministry, you’ll see that he was walking, walking, even after the resurrection, walking.
On the road to Emmauss, they were seven miles out from Jerusalem. Even if they’re walking at a good pace of a 20 minute mile, a few hours out, that’s a couple of hours. And it says that he came up to two of his disciples and said, Hey, what are you guys talking about? They were shocked. And they say, Hey, haven’t you heard about what’s going on?
And they went through and Jesus even came back and started talking to them and explained to them what all the prophets and everything in the Old Testament that it pointed to him. And it says that as they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going further, but they urged him strongly to stay with us for it’s near evening.
The day is almost over. They wanted him to have dinner with him. They didn’t want him to go. It was so important when I saw this because I wanted the Lord to not leave in those moments when I was walking with him and I could feel his presence when he was speaking to me and revealing things to me. But you can see by this example, and by the example of Jacob, that the Lord responds to those who wrestle and fight and beg and say, “Lord, don’t leave me, don’t. I want this moment to continue, Lord. I want you to stay here. We want your presence. We want your revelation. We want this walk and this time to continue.” And he rewarded them. They asked him to stay for the evening and stay with us. And it says that when he was at the table with them, they were having close fellowship, having dinner with him, he took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
And their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he disappeared from their sight. And they asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us.” I want you today to grasp hold of this. That’s what the Lord wants. He wants us to walk with him and have our hearts burn, as it reveals and opens the scriptures to us as he talks to you as he is, he’s going to reveal the inner depths of who he is and his love and show you what the scriptures mean that your heart will be on fire.
So how should we walk with him? Micah chapter six, says for us to walk humbly. And what does it mean to be humble? It’s simple, take no thought for yourself. Keep your thoughts focused on the Lord and others around you. Don’t be thinking about yourself and you’ll be as a humble man is. Micah chapter six says, “He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”
Well, we should also walk in his ways and fear him as he commanded Abraham to do. In Deuteronomy 8:6, it says, “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord, your God to walk in his ways and to fear him.”
Follow his commandments or as in the book of Malachi, he’s saying to us to walk as a priest of God, to stay in his peace and to be upright, not just for yourself and for your walk with him, but for others though, it might be an example. Malachi chapter two, says, “My covenant with him was one of life and peace and I gave them to him as an object of reverence. So, he revered me and stood in all of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity.”
Those are inequities, like doing the wrong thing, like sin in their life. He’s calling us to walk with him in peace and uprightness, that we might also help to turn others away, to be a priest of God. We’re all called to do this. And we’re all called to walk in decency. As in Romans 13:13, it says, “Let us walk properly or decent in some translations as in the day and not in right as behavioral Reveley and drunkenness, not in lewdness or in lust or in sexual deviance and not in strife or an envy of others. But instead we should walk in his good works.”
And Ephesians two, it says, “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared before so that we would walk in them.” Think about that. He’s calling us to walk with him consistently and walk with him in an upright, in an upright manner. Do remember that we’re in his presence consistently have close fellowship with him. That we might see his mercy. We might see his power. We might see and have them open up and reveal the scriptures and what our calling is.
He wants us to walk in decency. That is the key. We are his workmanship. He’s working us out to become more and more to the likeness to reflect the image of him, to others around us. And we’re created to do good works in Jesus. And he prepared them beforehand or in some translations before the foundation of the world so that we could walk in them with Him. And remember to walk with him that closely in that close fellowship, it’s going to be costly.
In fact, you’re going to have to pick up that cross and lay down your life. As Jesus specifically said in his command to us in Luke chapter nine, he says to everyone there, he said, if anyone would come after me, that means to walk with him, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Hear the Lord, what he’s saying consistently, daily, deny yourself, pick up that cross. There’s a cost to it all. Because all things have been handed over to Jesus by his Father. And no one knows the son except the Father. And no one knows the Father except the son and anyone to whom the son chooses to reveal Him.
We have to call out to the Lord. You know, if you want God to reveal Himself to you so that you can walk with Jesus, you can have that today. You should ask yourself, “Are you sure you will go to heaven when you die?” You know, “Are you a hundred percent confident that you’re saved?” You know, you can have that confidence today.
Right now, you can start walking with God today. Like the men in the Bible did. He’s calling every man and every woman who’s listening to walk with him in a close fellowship, in an upright manner. Whether you believe that you’re saved or not, He’s calling you there. Maybe you don’t know, maybe you don’t know the Lord.
Maybe you’ve had it on your heart. You had questions about God. Well, I can tell you, as it’s written in Romans, it says clearly that there is no one righteous, not even one person that is righteous or good, and that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God in Romans 3:23.
So, if you want to be able to walk with God and walk with him today, you have to start by admitting that you’re a sinner and that you’re in need of a savior. And Jesus will respond to that. God is calling every man and every woman to a place of repentance and that means not only asking for forgiveness. You know, admitting that you’re a sinner and saying, sorry to God and asking for forgiveness, but it also means to turn and go the other way. That’s what the word repentance is. It’s a military term, which means to about face and walk the other way.
And it’s important because sin produces death. As in Romans 6:23, it says, “For the wages of sin is death.” That’s what you earned through your sin is death. But the good news is, is that, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You know, you don’t have to start cleaning yourself up to come to God. You don’t have to start to make yourself a better person to begin to walk with Jesus. That’s done after you find Christ, that’s after you accept the Lord as your Lord and savior, when you call out to Jesus. He will do the cleaning. He will do the healing and the Holy spirit will empower you to live that Christian life.
You don’t have to straighten out your life first. It’s like somebody feeling like they have to make themselves well before they go to the doctor. Jesus is the great physician. He’s the one who’s going to heal you up. If you’re sick, if you’re full of sin. He said that he was called not to the righteous, but to the sinners.
So, come just as you are. The blind man came just as he was. He called out to the Lord for his sight. Mary Magdalene, with the seven demons inside of her came just as she was, the drug dealer comes just as he is. The gang member comes just as he or she is. The drug dealer, the drug or alcohol addict comes just as he or she is and throws themselves on the mercy of God.
Romans chapter five it says that God demonstrates his own love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He wants you just as you are. So, call on Jesus to save you and trust in Him for salvation. If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart, that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. That’s Romans chapter 10. This is for everyone. Anyone that’s listening tonight for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Now remember, therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand, Romans Chapter five verses one and two [Romans 5:1-2].
So once you call out to the Lord, I want you to know that you’ll be able to walk forever with Him without condemnation as in Romans chapter eight says that therefore there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. Maybe you’ve heard all this tonight and you say that’s for me. Well, if you want to follow the Lord, but you don’t know what to pray, just repeat after me.
“God, I know that I am a sinner and that the wages of sin is death. I believe that you sent your son, Jesus Christ as a payment for my punishment. I declare that Jesus is my Lord and I profess my faith for salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thank you for your grace, forgiveness and peace and gift of eternal life. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, your next step is to dig into the word of God. Get a physical Bible and download the Bible app on your phone. Read it every day without excuse. Look for a Bible focus church to get connected with other believers that will help you grow in the Lord in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
[Music Lyrics]
Just fill my heart with your love. Help me share it with my brothers. Help me show them you’re the one and beside you there’s no other. I just can’t be strong even for a day, even for an hour, even for a moment, without your love.
This has been a production of Coming Home Ministries. To reach us go to Cominghomeministries.net