is that saying on a tombstone that is right below the name.
And if you look around at graves, you'll see some interesting ones.
Jesse James, his says,
murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.
Betty Davis, the actress, hers says she did it the hard way.
There's a Maryland grave that says,
here lies an atheist all dressed up and nowhere to go.
And George Johnson in Tombstone, Arizona,
bought a horse that had been stolen.
He didn't know it had been stolen,
but he couldn't persuade him that he didn't know it at the time.
And so his stone says,
here lies George Johnson hanged by mistake 1882.
He was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now he's gone.
Lester Moore got shot when he delivered a damaged package.
Wasn't his fault, but they shot him
and realized later that it wasn't his fault.
It says, here lies Lester Moore,
four slugs from a 44, no less, no more.
Frank Sinatra says, the best is yet to come.
And Frank, I hope that was the case.
Rodney Dangerfield says, there goes the neighborhood.
Merv Griffin that had a late night talk show said,
I will not be back after this message.
And the great boxer, Jack Dempsey's grave says,
a gentle man and a gentleman, even though he was a boxer.
We kidded Dawn years ago and said,
we's going to put on her tombstone.
And I told you I was sick.
And she replied and said, on yours, we're just going to put,
phew.
Because that's what I make,
that noise I make every night when I get home and rest.
I heard about one that didn't want an epitaph on his grave.
Matter of fact, he didn't want his name on his grave.
He didn't like his name, never did.
His name was odd.
And he said, when I die, don't put my name on the stone.
Because I hate my name.
I just want you to put the day that I was born
and the day that I died.
And that's all.
And that's exactly what they did.
And when people walk by that grave,
they look at it and go, hmm, that's odd.
That's odd.
Some of y'all will get that about lunch.
I want us to look this morning at the life
and the passing of a few people
and the statement that their lives left.
Genesis chapter 5, beginning in verse 21,
it says, when Enoch had lived 65 years,
he fathered Methuselah.
Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah
300 years and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Enoch were 365.
Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.
When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.
Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years
and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died.
There's a genealogy as well in 1 Chronicles chapter 4
that has dozens of names in it,
but it gives more detail about one name.
It's in 1 Chronicles 4, 9, and 10, and it says this,
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers,
and his mother called him Jabez, saying,
because I bore him in pain.
Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying,
oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border
and that your hand might be with me
and that you would keep me from harm
so that it may not bring me pain.
And God granted what he asked.
Jabez and his prayer have been a part of Scripture
for thousands of years,
but most didn't recognize it until the year 2000
when Bruce Wilkinson wrote a little book
called The Prayer of Jabez.
He sold 9 million copies.
It encouraged people to pray the prayer of Jabez,
and he got thousands of letters from people
that told them that that prayer worked
and that God had blessed them.
But I want to be clear this morning.
God didn't answer Jabez's prayer
because it was worded correctly.
That's not why God answered his prayer.
He answered it because Jabez lived an honorable life.
He answered it because Jabez relied upon the Lord in prayer
and that he prayed deliberately and plainly enough
to recognize when God's hand was at work.
Jabez stood out among the rest
in a lot of baguettes in the genealogy,
and he got more than just a baguette.
In our passage today,
we see at least one stand out,
and I want to point out a couple of others as well.
This man Enoch lived like few others did
and left like few others have
because only four have left like Enoch left,
to my knowledge.
It said he walked with God and was no more.
So there's Enoch who left mysteriously like that.
Scripture also tells us about Elijah
who left in a fiery chariot from this life.
Jesus himself who ascended into heaven
after he had resurrected.
And my dog Boo,
back in Christmas of 2010,
I had an old dog, 16 years old,
and he could hardly walk across the yard.
Did not see very well.
He didn't go out for very long.
I had a younger dog that was on one of those collars
that kept her in the yard,
and so we had the back gate open in the backyard
and let that dog go back and forth.
And old Boo was so old,
he wasn't going anywhere.
And I was in the process of bringing in Christmas decorations
and those type things.
And a little while later,
we realized he wasn't around.
Poor dog wasn't even able to walk across the yard,
but yet he had walked somehow, somewhere.
And so we just said he walked with me
and then was no more.
I mean, we sent out search parties.
It was in December.
It was sub-freezing weather that night,
and we were tore up.
And if you don't have a dog,
you don't relate to any of this.
And if you do have a dog,
you realize the horror of all of that.
And we still never saw a sign of him.
I had a guy in the church
that owned a monument business.
And I said, I'd like to get, you know,
like a footstone or just something
to have my dog's name on it, you know.
And man, we got a stone that, a huge stone,
and it simply had his name and his dates,
and it said Genesis 5, 22.
He was no more.
Because we don't know what happened to that dog.
Never did find out.
Now, I'll tell you what we do know about Enoch.
Enoch walked with God.
Now, to walk with God means
that you spend time with God daily.
To walk with God means
that you live cleanly before the Lord.
To walk with God, it means
that you obey him faithfully,
that you let nothing hinder
your relationship with the Lord.
Nothing hinder that fellowship
that you have with God.
What a life he lived.
Name after name is listed on this page.
And there's no description of their life.
All we know is the children that they had.
And the reality is,
we don't know a lot of that either.
Because I'll tell you this,
some genealogies in Scripture,
and if you see similar ones
that are not consistent, this is why.
Some genealogies in Scripture
skip generations.
And you know why they skip generations?
Because that generation didn't have an impact.
So they just skipped right over it.
Completely.
The people are not even listed.
Then there's people in these genealogies
that have other children
that are listed
and some that are not listed.
Either it was the first son that's listed,
or it's the one that made the impact,
or the one that's in the lineage
of one who made an impact.
So I want you to get this.
Enoch never died.
Hebrews chapter 11 verse 5 says
that by faith Enoch was taken up
so that he should not see death,
and he was not found
because God had taken him.
So before he was taken,
he was commended as having pleased God.
God took him physically, bodily,
to heaven without dying.
One man complained to Mark Twain one time
and said,
I'm just afraid this world is just coming to an end.
And Twain replied,
well don't worry about it.
You'll never get out of it alive anyway.
And yet, you probably won't,
but you might.
Enoch had a departure, not a death.
He had a transition, not a tomb.
Elijah did the same,
and those who are alive when the Lord returns,
praise God, will do the same as well.
Enoch would have been remembered
for whatever his life consisted of.
And if he had a tombstone,
and he didn't because he wasn't buried,
his epitaph would have been,
he walked with God.
I want you to notice this morning
a confusing matter to take note of.
In Genesis chapter 4,
we have the genealogy of Cain's descendants,
and in Genesis chapter 5,
we have the genealogy of Seth's descendants.
Remember, Cain was Abel's son
that killed his brother Abel
in a spiritual jealousy.
Seth was the third son,
and his descendants are the ones
that God used more mightily.
It can be confusing
because some of the people
have the same names,
they've used them again,
and Lamech is one of those names
that's used twice.
But I want to focus on the Lamech
that's in the line of Cain
because Lamech stands out
for a couple of reasons.
In Genesis chapter 4, verse 19,
it says,
And Lamech took two wives,
the name of the first was Adah,
and the name of the other was Zelah.
And then it goes on to say,
in verses 23 and 24,
Lamech said to his wives,
Adah and Zelah,
Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech.
Listen to what I say.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
If Cain's revenge is sevenfold,
then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.
Now, that passage,
in that little brief explanation,
tells me that Lamech had some problems.
The first problem he has,
he had two wives.
Not only was that ungodly,
but it was also unwise.
If you listen to the great theologians,
the Oak Ridge Boys,
they sang years ago,
trying to love two women
is like a ball and chain.
Sometimes the pleasure ain't worth the strain,
it's a long old ride,
and it'll tire your mind.
But apparently Lamech didn't listen
to the Oak Ridge Boys,
and so he tried to love two women.
Lamech was actually a man
that couldn't control himself.
Not only was he not a one-woman man,
but his life was marked
by violence and pain.
And that speaks a lot of Lamech.
And it not only speaks a lot to Lamech,
but it also speaks a lot to Cain.
Do you remember what Cain did
after he killed his brother?
We talked about Cain and Abel weeks ago,
but I didn't deal with this matter.
But what happened to Cain
after he killed his brother?
Genesis 4 verse 16 says,
then Cain went away
from the presence of the Lord.
Now let that sit for a minute.
Then Cain went away
from the presence of the Lord
and settled in the land of Node,
east of Eden.
The word Node there in the Hebrew
means wandering.
So in other words,
he was wandering outside
of the presence of God.
And based upon what he told his wives,
his violence led him to,
excuse me,
Cain's violence led him
to wonder on the wrong path.
And based upon what Lamech said
to his wives,
his descendants,
Cain's descendants did that as well.
The truth of the matter is
what Lamech said was
that he was violent.
But it says he is violent
because somebody else started it.
In verse 23,
he said somebody wounded me.
But Lamech was determined
to finish it.
And verse 24,
when he speaks like he does
and says if Cain's
revenge is sevenfold,
then Lamech's is 77-fold.
When he says that,
I want you to understand
what he's saying.
He's bragging.
That's a boast.
He'd have made for a good
mid-Atlantic wrestler
that got up afterwards
and made their comments.
He's bragging about the fact
that if you mess with me,
it's going to be handed to you.
Lamech probably didn't have
a message on his gravestone.
But if he had,
it would have said this.
He didn't walk with God.
I would rather have
on my stone
and on my life
what I suggested
would have been Enoch's stone.
And that is he walked with God.
What a way to be remembered.
The only thing that's really said about him
is that he walked with God.
But I want you to notice something
about Enoch's life.
It was not always that way.
He didn't always walk with God.
I want you to look at Genesis 5,
21 and 22 again.
And it says this.
When Enoch had lived 65 years,
he fathered Methuselah.
Enoch walked with God
after he fathered Methuselah,
300 years.
And had other sons
and daughters.
I want you to notice
from that passage
that the first 65 years
of his life,
it simply said that he lived.
There was really nothing
to make any different
from anyone else.
And then he had a son.
And his son was named Methuselah.
And something changed
in Enoch's life.
Enoch walked with God
after he fathered Methuselah.
Now, sometimes having children
is a wake-up call.
I've seen it many times
in my years of ministry.
When a young couple has a child,
there's a decision that's made
in one way or the other.
It's definitely a time
of decision for the churchgoer.
Either that young family
will become committed
to the church
and to make sure
that that child is raised
in the admonition of the Lord
and that they will be
committed to the church
and make sure
that kid has every opportunity
that he or she can
to know of the love
of Jesus Christ.
Or something else happens.
Or they'll be,
they won't be committed
to the church
because they're too busy
trying to take that kid
everywhere else.
Let me be clear.
I don't care what this world
may promise you.
Jesus said,
if you gain the whole world
yet lose your own soul,
what have you gained?
So listen,
do all you can
to give your children
as much of Jesus
as you possibly can
while they're still
under your roof.
Don't let anything
distract you
because the devil
will try anything.
The devil will try
everything.
You want to tear down
a country?
Tear down a family.
You want to tear down
a child?
Make sure their parents
are not committed
to follow the Lord Jesus.
Don't let anything
distract you
because I promise you
when their knees
are blown out
and their career is over,
they're still going
to need Jesus.
When hearts
are young,
when hearts are tender,
it's not hard to nurture
that child
in the Lord.
But over time,
hearts grow
hard.
And the shot
don't come as easy
the longer it goes.
Don't,
don't miss
the shot
that God
gave you.
And another message,
empty nesters
with that smile
on your face.
Don't abandon
church
when the kids
leave the house.
Invest in the
next generation.
Volunteer,
undergird,
support.
Have I mentioned
VBS?
Help with VBS.
Don't miss
the shot
that God
gives us
to influence
young lives
for the Lord Jesus.
Enoch didn't.
Something changed
when Methuselah
came along.
And what was it?
Well, I think
I know the answer.
I'm not positive
about this.
You can argue
with me afterwards,
but you got a right
to be wrong.
But I think
I know.
I think the clue
is in the name
Methuselah.
His name
meant
it shall
be sent
when he dies.
It shall
be sent
when he dies.
Now listen to this.
It shall
be sent
when he dies.
What shall
be sent?
Well, let's play
a little math
game for just
a few minutes,
okay?
You might want
to write this
down if you
want to check
me on it.
Genesis chapter
5 verse 26
through 28
tell us
that Methuselah
lived 782
years after
the birth
of Lamech.
When Lamech
was 182
he had
Noah.
So
Methuselah
was to live
after Noah
was born
600 more
years.
And Genesis
chapter 7
verse 6
tells us
that when
Noah was
600 years
old the flood
came.
So in other
words Methuselah
had 600
more years
to live
when Noah
was born
and Noah
was 600
when the flood
came.
Then Methuselah
died in the
same year
as the flood.
And when I
first read that
and didn't know
his name
I thought
they left
Grandpa
out of the boat.
How in the
world could
they do that?
Yeah.
But then I
went back
to the meaning
of his name
and his name
means it
shall be
sent
when he
dies.
What shall
be sent?
The flood.
The judgment
of God.
The cleansing
of the earth.
Who named
Methuselah?
God gave
the name
to Enoch
and when
he gave
that name
to Enoch
Enoch
began to
walk with
God.
He heard
the warning
shot
of God
and the
warning shot
of God
changed his
life and from
that day
forward he
followed the
lead of the
Lord.
Now I told
you his epitaph
would be he
walked with
God but it
might be he
followed the
lead of God.
I thank
God
that Enoch
made a change
in his life
and I'm also
thankful that
God gives us
examples of
those who
do not
live for
him and
make a mess
of their
lives because
I believe he
puts it all
there for us
to learn from
it for us
to gain
understanding
from their
example so
we don't have
to go through
the same
things they
did or
because we
want an
example before
us to live
by and that's
why these
lives are
placed before
us in
scripture.
But what
matters is
what kind
of impact
that has
on us.
That's what
I mean let's
just be honest
what really
matters to us
is not how
they lived
what really
matters to us
is how we
live.
What are we
going to do
with our
lives?
I mean let's
be honest with
God.
Can it be
said of you
he walked
with God?
God?
She walked
with God
or is it
said does
he really
walk with
God?
Does she
really walk
with God?
Now I want
to be honest
with you we
can't control
what people
say.
We can't
control that.
God.
So I'm a
little less
worried about
what people
say.
The question
is this.
Do we
walk with
God?
or do we
fail to walk
with God?
Bigger than
that when
God speaks
a word of
direction to
our lives
when he
gives us a
word of
warning about
our lives
like he did
Enoch
through the
name of his
son how do
we respond to
that?
Is our
lives marked
by us
changing the
direction
that we're
going in when
God guides us
with new
knowledge?
Or when
God guides us
with personalized
truth?
When God
speaks down
deep into our
hearts and to
our lives?
Are our
lives marked
by such as
that?
So my
question is
this.
What is the
spiritual
epitaph
of your
life?
I
purposely
left room
on the front
of the
bulletin
so that you
could write
down what
would my
epitaph
be?
Write it
down.
And
consider
today
your
warning
shot.
Enoch
was 65
years old
when God
awakened him
to his
real
circumstances.
And he
changed.
something so
powerful
happened in
that man
that he
is described
like nobody
else is in
scripture.
That he
walked with
God and
was no
more.
I am so
glad he
listened to
the Lord
when he
spoke.
God
and it's
been my
prayer
all week
that God
would speak
through the
power of the
Holy Spirit
and through
his word
to your
life
and that
you would
respond in
obedience
to follow
him.
There may be
somebody here
this morning
who's never
come into a
relationship with
the father.
Never has.
God
to forgive
you of your
sins.
You've never
asked him to
come into
your life.
You've never
asked him to
change you.
You've never
committed your
life to follow
him.
Now maybe
many people
think you
have and
maybe nobody
thinks you
have.
But the
reality is if
you've never
committed your
life to
Christ you've
never asked
him to
forgive you
of your
sins and
to come
into your
life and
to change
you to
empower you
with his
Holy Spirit.
That has
never happened.
I don't care
if your name
is on the
roll.
I don't
care if
you've been
baptized.
If you've
never committed
your life to
Christ it's
your warning
shot.
It's time to
just surrender
your life.
Dear Lord
forgive me of
the sins that
I've committed.
I'm sorry for
what I've done
and from this
day forward I
want to live
for you.
And I'm
thankful for
what Christ
has done for
me on the
cross.
I commit my
life to you
today.
Today could be
the change
that affects
the rest of
your life
if you'll
surrender
your life
to Christ
Jesus.
Maybe you're
here and
you've done
that personally
privately but
you've never
let other
people know
about that
publicly.
You've never
done that.
And Jesus
by his
commission and
by his
example showed
us that we
follow that
up by letting
people know
and announce
that of sorts
through baptism.
And if you've
never done that
I encourage you
to come.
I'd love to
guide you in
that process.
maybe you're
here and God's
drawing you to
this church.
God's blessed
us mightily in
recent days and
maybe you feel
like God's
leading you to
be here as
well.
You're a
believer in the
word of God.
You've given
your heart and
life to the
Lord Jesus and
you want to
join the
church and
join hands
with us and
let us do
our job for
the Lord Jesus
until he comes.
And if he's
leading you in
that way you
come.
I'd love to
guide you in
that process.
But even
more today are
people who know
that they have a
relationship with
the Lord and
are members of
this church.
But you know in
your heart this
morning God's
given you a
warning shot.
He's awakened
you to
something.
And whether you
do it in your
seat where you
are or whether
you do it at
this altar or
whether you do
it with a
pastor praying
for you.
Let's don't
let God give
us the
knowledge of
the state of
our soul and
us ignore it.
Let's just
trust him and
do exactly what
he's told us to
do.
Let's pray
together.
Lord Jesus I
ask your God
that you'll help
us to learn from
other people's
examples and
that Father you'll
bless us right
now with the
power and the
strength to
obediently follow
in Jesus precious
name.
Amen.