WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.219 Thank you, Father, that you are sovereign right now, that you hear our prayers, 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:10.120 that you long for us to call out to you for rest and relief. Father, pour out your Holy Spirit 00:00:10.120 --> 00:00:16.420 upon us as we read your word. Feed us with your word. And this we ask in Jesus's name. Amen. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:23.859 Please be seated. So just so you know, you should get your Bibles out. We're going to look at Genesis 00:00:23.859 --> 00:00:33.480 5, which is one of the most boring parts of the Bible. And for Canadians, I don't know, at least 00:00:33.480 --> 00:00:40.140 I think for Canadians in 2017, it's one of the most boring parts of the Bible. And I include myself in 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:48.280 that. I can tell you that when I read genealogies like Genesis 5, my eye moves down the page. Nothing 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:55.140 goes from the page to my head most of the time. And in fact, I often, when I read a genealogy, 00:00:55.719 --> 00:01:01.160 and I wanted to read a chapter of the Bible, I often actually read the next chapter as well, 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:06.000 because I feel I haven't read a chapter of the Bible if I just read a genealogy, because nothing's 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:09.120 stuck. So I'm just going to move out of the light for a second, just out of curiosity. 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:16.079 There we go. I'm out of the light. How many people here, out of curiosity, can remember 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:21.719 two of their great-grandparents' first and last names? Raise your hand. If you can remember 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:27.959 two of your great-great-grandparents' first... Okay, that's more than I thought, but a very 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:34.859 tiny minority. How many people can remember the first and last name of two great-great-grandparents? 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:41.659 I don't think anybody's put their hand up. If you do know, you should whoop and holler or 00:01:41.659 --> 00:01:47.019 something like that. Okay, so we don't tend to know very much about our ancestors, which 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:52.399 is what I've just sort of established. And by the way, I couldn't name two of my great-grandparents. 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:57.780 All I know is that some of them had Sinclair as the last name. That's why I asked for first 00:01:57.780 --> 00:02:01.840 and last name, because some of you could have all said Sinclair or whatever. You wouldn't 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:05.879 say Sinclair unless you're a guest and your last name's Sinclair. You should introduce yourself 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:11.740 after the service. So here we're reading a genealogy, and we have a hard time because we 00:02:11.740 --> 00:02:15.840 don't really find it that interesting or if we find it interesting... In fact, I would bet if I 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:20.539 asked how many people could name two players on the Senators, probably everybody would put their 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:25.780 hands up, right? Many people, if not all of you in the room, would put your hands up. So we're far 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:31.019 more interested in sports than genealogies, and why on earth does God put genealogies in the Bible? 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:35.500 Well, part of the reason he puts them in the Bible is because he didn't write the Bible just for us. 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:40.900 Some people like genealogies. But the other thing is, everything in the Bible, 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:46.859 2 Timothy says, everything in the Bible is profitable for teaching. And this genealogy, 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:51.079 as I'm going to show you, it's actually very, very interesting. It has some very powerful things 00:02:51.079 --> 00:02:56.539 to teach us. So you hope you got your Bibles open. Genesis chapter 5. And what we're going to do is 00:02:56.539 --> 00:03:03.680 I'm going to start reading, not at verse 1, but I'm going to start reading at verse 8 with this light, 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:11.480 actually. It's hard for me to read the verse numbers. Verse 8. Is it 8? 6. Verse 6. And here's how it goes 00:03:11.480 --> 00:03:14.159 in verse 6, okay? Stay with me. 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:24.180 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. Seth lived, after he fathered Enosh, 807 years, 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:30.240 and had other sons and daughters. I can already hear some people snoring. Thus, all the days of Seth 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:37.960 were 912 years, and he died. When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. Enosh lived, after he 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:43.860 fathered Kenan, 815 years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus, all the days of Enosh were 905 years, 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.379 and he died. Okay, so what you get here is in this particular genealogy, one of the things which is 00:03:49.379 --> 00:03:54.659 really interesting about it, is that there's a very clear rhythm. There's going to be 10 names 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:59.299 which are given, and just as a bit of a timeout, last week I said that I was going to deal with some 00:03:59.299 --> 00:04:02.740 of the problems with the Bible this week. I'm not going to do it this week. I'm going to do it when 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:09.300 I preach in Genesis next. Like, are these all literal years? Who did Cain marry? Who was Cain 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:12.759 afraid that was going to kill him? Some of those questions that some of you have, I'm not going to deal 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:17.620 with it today. I will deal with it, though, I promise you. So let's just sit with this. You can know 00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:23.899 that I am going to deal with it in a week ahead or so, a couple of weeks ahead. But here's the thing. 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:29.420 You have this rhythm. It always gives you the name. It always says how long they lived. It always says 00:04:29.420 --> 00:04:34.180 they fathered somebody. It tells you their name, how many years they lived after, the fact that they 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:39.660 had other sons and daughters, and then it gads up the total, and then it says he died. But here's the 00:04:39.660 --> 00:04:45.480 thing which is very important about this. If you go back and you read it, here's what happens for the 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:54.680 first six names. And he died, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died. 00:04:55.700 --> 00:05:03.500 And then it comes to the seventh name, and you expect, and he died, and he doesn't die. And then 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:07.540 you go to the eighth name and the ninth name, and it goes back to, and he died, and he died. 00:05:09.080 --> 00:05:14.540 Nine times, eight times out of the ten, the last one is Noah. It's going to now, it's introducing the 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:22.260 story of Noah. That's why it doesn't end with Noah dying. Noah will die in chapter nine. But it's 00:05:22.260 --> 00:05:29.660 his rhythm all the time. And he died, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:38.740 Doesn't die. And he died, and he died. It's a very, very powerful rhythm. If you had somebody really 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:43.840 good at reading, and you get caught up in it, there's this regular pattern. At the very heart of the pattern 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:49.439 are these three words, and he died. So if you could put up the first point, this is something 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:57.759 which is, which the text is setting up in a very, very subtle way, okay? Subtle, but for some cultures 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:04.739 who love things like this, and love rhythmic things, you could actually see some, anyway, 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:12.319 it's communicating by this refrain, this very important truth. Adam, because this is now chapter 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:18.540 five, right? And so in Genesis chapter one, in Genesis chapter two, it's established that God 00:06:18.540 --> 00:06:23.199 makes all things. He makes everything perfect. He makes everything good. There's no evil. There's no 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:27.620 sin. Well, we live in a world where there's evil and sin. Where does that come from? Well, it doesn't 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:34.579 come from God. That's part of the good news, is that evil is not something that God creates, 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:42.779 and he's always opposed to it. And we see that Adam and Eve directly rebel against God. They want to 00:06:42.779 --> 00:06:49.379 be God, like God. They want to be God themselves. And so to show that they want to be God, they 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:55.819 completely and utterly disobey God, and then they lie about it afterwards, et cetera, et cetera. So what we 00:06:55.819 --> 00:07:07.639 see happening in the story is that Adam sought to begin the reign of humans. The age of God has come to an end. 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:16.459 The age of humans has begun. Sort of indirectly playing with the words from Lord of the Rings. But what he 00:07:16.459 --> 00:07:22.959 actually did is launch the reign of death. Aren't you really glad you came to church this morning to be told that? 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:29.120 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we all just go home, completely and utterly depressed. No. 00:07:30.299 --> 00:07:35.879 You know, this is very, very, very realistic, isn't it? It seems as if in our world, death reigns. 00:07:37.579 --> 00:07:43.240 Like just, you know, some of you here, this is actually a whole, this whole chapter is a chapter about hope, 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:49.459 by the way, which is why I think I named the sermon, if I remember correctly, I named it the presence of 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:54.279 hope during the reign of death. That's what the name of the sermon is, the presence of hope during 00:07:54.279 --> 00:08:01.740 the reign of death. But the text establishes very clearly here that Adam sins, death comes as a result 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:12.659 of sin, and now death reigns. So where is hope? Like, is that all the final word that there is? You know, 00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:17.460 we live for a while, and then we die. And when we die, that's it. We're just dead. 00:08:19.400 --> 00:08:28.360 And people who really understand that actually have a hard time not knowing why despair isn't the most 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:32.639 honest way to live. But I'm not going to talk about that, because here's the thing. 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:40.820 Fundamentally, we human beings believe in hope. I mean, we might struggle with it. We might have times 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:46.060 when we experience no hope whatsoever, but we all have this deep sense that on one hand, it seems as 00:08:46.060 --> 00:08:54.760 if death reigns, but we should have hope somehow, that even though we might listen to certain philosophers 00:08:54.760 --> 00:08:59.720 and all that, and they might convince us that there is, ultimately we just die and all of that, 00:08:59.760 --> 00:09:06.960 but we have this fundamental sense that hope isn't vain, that there should be, even if hope 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.100 isn't true, it should be true. 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:16.780 Like, we don't have people saying hope is just so automatically true. It should be despair. 00:09:17.379 --> 00:09:22.900 There should be no hope. No. There's something about human beings that cry out for the fact that 00:09:22.900 --> 00:09:29.259 surely, even if we can't understand how it could be grounded, but there should be hope. 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:33.639 There's something in human beings about that. And this text, in a very, very 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:40.860 subtle but powerful ways, tries to establish it. And what it does, how you see it, is when the rhythm 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:46.480 is broken. So, you know, if you go back and you read verse 6, and you read all the other things, 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:49.620 actually, if you go back to verse 1, you'll see it as well, but I'm going to get to that in a moment. 00:09:49.939 --> 00:09:51.500 You'll see that there's this rhythm. 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:56.460 Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da. 00:09:56.819 --> 00:10:02.620 But three times in the 10, the rhythm's broken. 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:11.240 And the rhythm's broken to catch our attention. Most of you are like me, and you get bored easily 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:17.360 about things that don't immediately please you, and so we don't notice it. But if you're a careful 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:23.679 reader, three times the rhythm's broken. So that means that God wants to catch our attention. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.799 The first time the rhythm's broken, it's a bit harder to know. It would only be if you read all 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:32.399 the way through it and you realize, one moment, the very first one doesn't have the rhythm. So look at 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:38.699 the first few verses of chapter 5. It says, this is the book of the generations of Adam. 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:47.480 When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female, he created them, 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:55.399 and he blessed them and named them man when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, 00:10:55.819 --> 00:11:00.639 there's a bit of an introduction, but then also the rhythm is broken. When Adam had lived 130 years, 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:09.240 he fathered a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. There's a break in the 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:15.639 rhythm there. So here's the, if you could put up the next point. Even though death reigns, 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:30.620 yeah, there we go. Even though death reigns, there is hope. Human beings are still made in the image of God. 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:36.460 Human beings are still made in the image of God. Now, how is this hopeful? It's actually profoundly hopeful. 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:42.019 One of the things that the Bible does here is, if you go back and read Genesis chapter 1, 00:11:42.540 --> 00:11:46.620 you'll see that being made in the image and likeness of God, and in the original language, 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:51.560 it's just, they're a good writer. He wants to give you the, basically the same idea, but he can't say 00:11:51.560 --> 00:11:56.200 in the image, an image of God. That would just be, he puts image and likeness, but they're just two ways 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:01.879 of saying the same idea. And you see it here in these first few verses as well. And some of us might 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:05.840 easily say, in fact, you know, there's different philosophies or at least government ideologies 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:12.620 that can sometimes talk about this. And you could wonder if Adam and Eve have rebelled against God 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:17.360 and sin has now come into the world and death has come into the world, well, they obviously are still 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:21.639 made in God's image, but maybe their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:28.259 aren't. Maybe the image of God runs out, runs dry. And what the text is saying right here 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:34.600 is that it's reminding us, just remember, Adam and Eve are made in God's image and likeness. 00:12:35.299 --> 00:12:42.259 And by the way, when they had a baby, Seth, well, he's in the image and likeness of Adam, 00:12:42.319 --> 00:12:46.240 who's in the image and likeness of God. In other words, the image and likeness of God continues in 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:52.100 human beings. It's bent, it's marred, but it continues. God doesn't take it out and make us into 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:58.179 something non-human. And in fact, the only other place in the book of Genesis where it talks about 00:12:58.179 --> 00:13:04.000 this is after the flood in Genesis 9. Because God wants us to understand, because we might even 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:09.379 say, well, after the flood and after all flesh is destroyed, well, maybe the image of God is no, 00:13:09.479 --> 00:13:14.259 no. The Bible wants it not only in the original creation, which is good, but before the flood and 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:19.319 after the flood, human beings are still made in the image and likeness of God. And just one other time 00:13:19.319 --> 00:13:26.319 out, this is a profoundly important Christian idea, which we should hold tightly to and meditate upon. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:36.120 that human beings are made in the image of God is the profound refutation of all racism and prejudice. 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:48.460 It is the profound refutation of castes. It is the profound refutation of slavery. It is the profound 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:56.300 refutation of any powerful person who wants to treat other human beings as subhuman. It is the profound 00:13:56.299 --> 00:14:05.519 refutation of any culture that treats women like chattel. It is the profound refutation of all 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:10.639 government power that they can do anything they want to human beings because governments matter 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:18.719 and people don't. It is a profound refutation of any economic system which says that the system matters 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:26.000 or the corporation matters or the church matters or the powerful matter and people don't. It is the profound 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:28.200 refutation of abortion. 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:44.480 It is the profound grounding of human dignity and human rights. It is a powerful idea and it gives us hope during the reign of death. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:49.200 It gives us hope during the reign of death. 00:14:53.100 --> 00:15:02.820 Now, the text also does something very interesting at the end as well in terms of the rhythm is also broken at the very end. 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:11.360 And it's done it in a very, very subtle and interesting way. Look at the very end, which begins at verse 28. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:20.240 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:29.899 Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands. 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:36.220 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:40.560 Thus, all the days of Lamech were 777 years and he died. 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:48.840 Now, you can just see that the pause and the rhythm, the break in the rhythm there is about the name of Noah and what Noah is going to do. 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.100 And there's all sorts of very interesting things about that. 00:15:52.160 --> 00:15:53.399 But the first thing is this. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:16:01.220 Those of you who were here last week might remember that there was another line, a genealogy that goes on in chapter 4 of Genesis. 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:07.899 And in chapter 4 of Genesis, just before this, there's, you know, God makes Cain and Abel. 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:11.420 Cain murders his brother, Abel. 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:17.779 And then there's a genealogy of those who come in the line of the one who's murdered Cain. 00:16:18.420 --> 00:16:23.920 And if you look, the last name on that genealogy, his name is Lamech. 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:28.779 And so there's a profound contrast shown here. 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:35.279 The Lamech in chapter 4 is the one who says he's the one who brings about polygamy. 00:16:36.339 --> 00:16:41.899 And he's the one who, because a young lad has hurt him, Lamech murders him. 00:16:43.079 --> 00:16:50.500 And in response to Lamech's response to murdering a young lad isn't to say, I'm really sorry. 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:51.379 I feel terrible. 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:53.379 I feel guilt trodden. 00:16:54.079 --> 00:16:55.220 What is his response? 00:16:55.220 --> 00:17:04.019 Lamech pounds his chest and say, God just promised judgment seven times if somebody hurt Cain. 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.940 I'm way more powerful, way more scary than God. 00:17:08.100 --> 00:17:09.759 Seventy-seven times. 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:12.960 I will wreak vengeance on you. 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:13.799 You hurt me. 00:17:13.860 --> 00:17:15.559 I'll kill you 77 times. 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:17.460 I'll kill 77 of your family. 00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:18.860 Fear me not, God. 00:17:18.859 --> 00:17:25.740 Now we see Lamech, the same name, in a different genealogy. 00:17:25.859 --> 00:17:31.419 It's the genealogy, by the way, that is God showing that in Genesis chapter 3.15, 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:42.559 he's promised that he's going to send a person who will slay the serpent and slay sin and slay death. 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:50.700 And it's the line to show that God is keeping his promise, that he remembers this, that he's going to still send the deliverer. 00:17:50.779 --> 00:17:55.200 And in that line, we have another man named Lamech. 00:17:55.539 --> 00:18:03.759 But rather than boasting in how he's far more scary than God, he's the one who says, we need rest and relief. 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:18.299 That it's valid to call out to God and to hope and trust that during the reign of death, that God will grant us rest, that God will grant us relief. 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:24.480 Call out to God for rest and relief during the reign of death. 00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:25.819 Can you put up the point, please? 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:28.200 Here's the point. 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:32.059 Even though death reigns, there is hope. 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:36.539 God wants us to call out to him for rest and relief. 00:18:37.420 --> 00:18:39.539 Even though death reigns, there is hope. 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:42.480 God wants us to call out to him for rest and relief. 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:46.860 You see, this is saying it a very, very subtle way for all human beings. 00:18:46.980 --> 00:18:49.059 All human beings are made in the image of God. 00:18:49.840 --> 00:18:50.799 There's some hope. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:54.740 Death might do all sorts of things, but it doesn't make us less human. 00:18:54.740 --> 00:19:03.680 And that, in fact, when human beings call out in hope, and we might call out, I don't know, we might call out to the government. 00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:05.120 We might call out to our mom. 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:06.960 We might call out to our imaginations. 00:19:07.120 --> 00:19:08.740 We might call out to literature, to music. 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:14.539 But when we call out for rest and relief during the reign of death, in a sense, we don't have the right address. 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:16.779 And it might be connected with idolatry. 00:19:16.859 --> 00:19:18.620 And it might be connected with pride and with sin. 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:25.439 But we have this fundamental sense that it's right to call out for rest and for relief during the reign of death. 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:29.299 And the Bible here is saying this is true. 00:19:30.639 --> 00:19:34.259 You know, if God doesn't exist, we are idiots. 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:43.579 And if God doesn't exist, it is completely and utterly unrealistic and a flight from realism to pray. 00:19:43.579 --> 00:19:55.519 But if God exists, and if he is not shut out of his creation, the realistic person is the one who prays. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.699 The one living in the real world is the one who prays. 00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:05.939 And the Bible here is encouraging us to call out for rest and relief. 00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:11.380 Now, some of you might have noticed what Ross read earlier. 00:20:11.600 --> 00:20:14.620 And it's this very, very odd story about Enoch not dying. 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:16.180 Remember I said, how does the rhythm go? 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:18.259 Here's the third thing in the whole thing. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:19.160 Excuse me. 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:20.660 Where the rhythm is broken, right? 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:22.640 He died. 00:20:23.080 --> 00:20:23.700 He died. 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:24.759 He died. 00:20:25.180 --> 00:20:25.779 He died. 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:26.759 He died. 00:20:27.120 --> 00:20:27.680 He died. 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:30.240 He doesn't die. 00:20:31.080 --> 00:20:31.920 Let's look at that. 00:20:32.600 --> 00:20:34.600 It's beginning at verse 21. 00:20:35.940 --> 00:20:43.259 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:45.180 Now, it's one of the interesting things. 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:50.279 Some of you, if you're familiar with your Bibles, know that Methuselah is listed as the oldest man who ever lived. 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:52.440 And it's very, very interesting. 00:20:52.620 --> 00:20:55.700 He's fathered by the man who doesn't die. 00:20:57.340 --> 00:20:59.759 In fact, you know, one of the interesting things before we go anything further about it, 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:05.380 if you go back, I could go on and on about the subtle things that this text teaches if you actually meditate upon it. 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:09.500 The person who lives the shortest is the person who doesn't die. 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:16.640 See, what the text is trying to say is that, just like Amy Lettus in her singing, 00:21:18.320 --> 00:21:22.180 being in the presence of God is more precious than human life. 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:31.279 See, we'd want to have it that after Methuselah, we live a long life, and then like a reward, we don't die. 00:21:32.060 --> 00:21:42.080 But the text is trying to get at our human pride by showing that the shortest-lived person on the list is the one who walks with God. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:46.059 So go back to reading it, verse 21. 00:21:46.179 --> 00:21:50.319 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 00:21:51.299 --> 00:21:58.679 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 00:21:58.899 --> 00:22:01.939 That's all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:06.980 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:13.519 You only know this if you do some commentary work, and they know ancient Hebrew. 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:18.900 But walked with God, in verse 22, in the original language, is very unique. 00:22:19.059 --> 00:22:23.120 It's only used a couple of times in the entire Bible. 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.160 Here, of Enoch, and in Malachi. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:32.940 And it's a phrase in the original language which talks about particular intimacy. 00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:38.300 You see, where there's intimacy with the true and living God, there's hope. 00:22:39.580 --> 00:22:41.860 That's what the text is trying to communicate with us. 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:44.140 But here's the question for us. 00:22:45.120 --> 00:22:47.519 Like, why aren't we called Enochians? 00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:50.440 I'm not being corny, maybe a bit corny. 00:22:50.840 --> 00:22:52.759 Why aren't we called Enochians? 00:22:53.800 --> 00:22:55.340 Like, why are we called Christians? 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:58.160 Like, isn't Enoch greater than Jesus? 00:22:59.040 --> 00:23:02.660 Jesus only lived, I think he was about 35, 36, 37. 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:04.200 Scholars can differ. 00:23:04.340 --> 00:23:08.860 There's the different hints in the New Testament about how old Jesus actually was when he died. 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:10.540 But let's say he was in his mid-30s. 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:12.840 He only lived till his mid-30s. 00:23:13.180 --> 00:23:17.980 Enoch lived 365 years, and 300 of them, he said, as walking with God. 00:23:18.600 --> 00:23:20.460 And what's more, for those of you who are parents, 00:23:21.100 --> 00:23:24.140 and we know how our kids can drive us crazy, 00:23:24.140 --> 00:23:27.780 he walked with God for 300 years with kids. 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:29.860 That's quite an accomplishment. 00:23:32.520 --> 00:23:35.820 Later on, we can have kids talking about how their parents drive them crazy, 00:23:35.820 --> 00:23:37.300 but that's a separate thing, right? 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.280 So, why aren't we Enochians rather than Christians? 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:44.300 I'm going to give you very briefly four reasons. 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:46.759 The first one, if you could put it up. 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:50.579 God stymied death for Enoch. 00:23:51.259 --> 00:23:53.339 Jesus Christ defeated death. 00:23:55.379 --> 00:23:58.819 Enoch, God stymied death for Enoch. 00:23:59.099 --> 00:24:00.940 Jesus Christ defeated death. 00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:04.720 You know, it's the difference between, in an old fantasy story, 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:07.600 that there's a dragon guarding the treasure, 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:12.140 and has some people, prisoners, in the castle, 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:16.700 and somebody is helped by somebody else to escape from the castle, 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:18.860 but the dragon still lives. 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:23.100 That's very different than someone who goes and kills the dragon. 00:24:23.099 --> 00:24:26.919 My wife and I were watching something, 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:29.480 an English movie for a bit last night, 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:31.699 and one of the things I've noticed, 00:24:31.779 --> 00:24:33.819 a lot of English movies about kids, 00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:34.980 there's always bullying, 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:36.259 and I don't know if it's just, 00:24:36.419 --> 00:24:37.539 I don't know what that means. 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:39.459 A lot of American movies, 00:24:39.719 --> 00:24:41.980 it doesn't seem as if many American movies 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:44.139 have bullying amongst kids as English ones. 00:24:44.219 --> 00:24:45.279 I have no idea what that means. 00:24:45.339 --> 00:24:46.339 It's just a bit of an observation. 00:24:46.899 --> 00:24:49.519 Maybe I'm completely sociologically not right. 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:51.559 It's a very different thing for a kid 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.940 who's troubled by a group of bullies, 00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:57.839 that he sneaks out so the bullies don't find him, 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:01.859 than being able to face the bully and beat the bully. 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.440 God stymied death for Enoch. 00:25:06.639 --> 00:25:08.019 Jesus Christ defeated death. 00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:08.700 Next reason. 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:12.799 God stymied death for Enoch. 00:25:13.399 --> 00:25:15.519 Jesus Christ's death and resurrection 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:17.819 dealt with your sin and mine. 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:23.720 These are all very, very important things to grasp, right? 00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:25.799 So you see, and we're going to get to in a moment 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:27.799 why it is that this is still an important text, 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:29.899 even for those at the time who read it 00:25:29.899 --> 00:25:31.759 that didn't understand that, 00:25:32.399 --> 00:25:34.799 and since this text is setting up for us, 00:25:35.019 --> 00:25:38.179 that the seed will be a true and greater Enoch. 00:25:39.859 --> 00:25:41.919 A true and greater Enoch. 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:46.960 Not just one who God stymies death on their behalf, 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:50.840 but someone who's going to do something far more true, 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:51.900 and I mean, this is true, 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:54.920 but true in a far more deeper psychological 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:56.660 and emotional and hope sense, 00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:58.460 and far more powerful, 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:00.700 and far more effective. 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:03.620 But God stymied death for Enoch, 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.860 but Jesus Christ's death and resurrection 00:26:05.860 --> 00:26:07.440 dealt with your sin and mine. 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.059 And as we see in the story from here on in, 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:14.640 is that death is not primarily a biological reality, 00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:16.440 although it is a real biological reality. 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:18.580 Death is a result of sin. 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:21.900 And so when sin is dealt with, 00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:24.039 the penalty is paid. 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:26.640 The perfect life of obedience, 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:28.559 which we could not manage, 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:29.519 is accomplished. 00:26:33.120 --> 00:26:35.700 That's a far more important and powerful thing. 00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:37.900 Next point as to why we're called Christians, 00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:38.940 not Enochians. 00:26:39.640 --> 00:26:42.380 Only Enoch benefited from his deliverance. 00:26:43.340 --> 00:26:44.380 Only Enoch did. 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:46.860 His son died. 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:51.180 In fact, the judgment's going to come upon the whole earth 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:52.279 during the time of Noah. 00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:55.799 Only Enoch benefited from his deliverance. 00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:59.120 The benefits of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection 00:26:59.120 --> 00:27:02.759 were always meant to be given to all who asked 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:03.940 with humble faith. 00:27:03.940 --> 00:27:06.299 In other words, it's a design feature. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:10.160 God designed and organized the coming of Jesus. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:14.440 The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit work together 00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:17.320 so that Jesus' sinless life, 00:27:17.580 --> 00:27:18.960 tempted like we are, 00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:21.279 but sinless life in his death upon the cross, 00:27:21.580 --> 00:27:23.559 that he's not dying for his own sin, 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:25.000 his own rebellion. 00:27:25.360 --> 00:27:27.640 He dies for you and he dies for me. 00:27:28.620 --> 00:27:30.220 It was always intended 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:32.740 that it's not that Jesus benefits. 00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:36.120 Jesus doesn't, in a sense, at all benefit from what he does. 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:37.779 He empties himself. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:41.259 He experiences separation from the Father. 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:43.900 He tastes all there is to taste of death and hell. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:47.360 He bears your rebellion, your sin, your shame, 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:48.839 and mine. 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:50.839 He bears it on himself. 00:27:50.839 --> 00:27:58.659 His death and resurrection was designed to benefit you and me. 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:00.439 Fourth point. 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:03.980 And the fourth point is that, 00:28:03.980 --> 00:28:09.699 Enoch's deliverance gave a glimmer of hope. 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:12.819 The resurrection of Jesus Christ 00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:16.019 is God's vindication of the person and work of Jesus 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:18.100 as humanity's true hope. 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.140 See, it's very, very clear in here, 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:21.940 in the story, 00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:24.160 that God wants to give people hope. 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:26.440 He died. 00:28:26.620 --> 00:28:27.240 He died. 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:27.940 He died. 00:28:28.080 --> 00:28:28.580 He died. 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:29.220 He died. 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:29.759 He died. 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:30.779 He doesn't die. 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:31.819 He died. 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:32.340 He died. 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:35.200 It's God's saying to the human race 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:37.700 that death might appear to reign, 00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:39.319 but God is still sovereign. 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:42.980 Call out to Him for rest and relief. 00:28:44.420 --> 00:28:46.440 Rest and relief will come. 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:48.539 At the right time, 00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:51.220 God sends His Son. 00:28:52.600 --> 00:28:53.319 And Jesus, 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:55.019 when He dies upon the cross, 00:28:55.180 --> 00:28:57.279 nobody believes He's going to rise from the dead. 00:28:57.700 --> 00:28:59.779 Everybody believes He's going to stay dead. 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:01.559 Everybody believes it is the end. 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:05.819 He's predicted He will rise again from the dead. 00:29:06.059 --> 00:29:07.319 Nobody believes Him. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:09.420 And when He is resurrected, 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:13.799 and that is established by multiple witnesses in many times, 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:16.920 it is the vindication of Jesus' words. 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:19.700 It is the vindication of Genesis 5. 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:23.920 When God says, 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:25.560 you are right to hope. 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:27.940 You are right to hope. 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:30.880 You are made to hope. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:42.760 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is God's vindication of the person and work of Jesus as humanity's true hope. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:45.160 Which is why, if you could put up the next point, 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:47.400 why is it that Paul says, 00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:49.780 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, 00:29:49.780 --> 00:29:55.000 for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. 00:29:55.480 --> 00:29:56.519 See, what is the gospel? 00:29:56.620 --> 00:29:57.900 The gospel is a message. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:58.900 It is a proclamation. 00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:00.040 What is it? 00:30:00.360 --> 00:30:07.860 It is a proclamation that God showed that death's reign is not final and all-encompassing in the life of Enoch, 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:09.459 but that he said, 00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:12.319 pray and call out to him for hope and relief. 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:17.419 And God has done that because hope has come. 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:24.159 True, real hope in history and beyond history has come. 00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:26.000 He has sent his son. 00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:29.960 And his son dies not for himself, but for you and me. 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:34.259 And he dies to deal with that which keeps us not right with God, 00:30:34.379 --> 00:30:36.079 to make us right with God. 00:30:36.359 --> 00:30:41.319 And he's vindicated in his resurrection and all who call out to him. 00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:42.819 That is the message. 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:44.159 Call out to him. 00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:46.079 Will not be turned away. 00:30:48.939 --> 00:30:49.799 Jesus says, 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:51.960 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. 00:30:52.159 --> 00:30:53.399 I will give you rest. 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:56.279 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:58.359 for I am gentle and humble of heart, 00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:00.399 and you will find rest for your souls, 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:03.419 for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:07.500 Can you put up the final slide, please, Andrew? 00:31:09.539 --> 00:31:10.500 Here's a prayer. 00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:14.299 Which I'm inviting you to pray. 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:18.559 I mean, some of us, listen, I have times when I am not, 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:21.500 I have times when I really struggle with anxiety. 00:31:22.599 --> 00:31:25.079 I have times when I really do struggle with anxiety. 00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:26.919 And I'm sure I'm not the only one here. 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:28.779 In fact, maybe some of you are very anxious. 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:30.779 Maybe some of you right now, 00:31:31.179 --> 00:31:34.579 you're trying to figure out how you're going to pay CRA the money you owe them. 00:31:34.579 --> 00:31:37.699 Or you've got a cancer diagnosis, 00:31:37.699 --> 00:31:40.919 or some other bad diagnosis or a loved one has. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:44.139 And there's lots of things in life that rob us of hope. 00:31:46.399 --> 00:31:47.500 And that's, you know, 00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:51.299 this text is saying that we are to call out to our Father in heaven. 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:55.859 And we're to ask him to pour out the Holy Spirit upon us. 00:31:55.859 --> 00:32:01.240 And we ask him to make us a disciple of Jesus, 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:02.959 one who follows Jesus, 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.639 who knows that it's not just that you go through your day by yourself, 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:09.699 but you go through your day with Jesus. 00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:14.299 You go through your day not alone, 00:32:14.580 --> 00:32:15.700 but with Jesus. 00:32:16.900 --> 00:32:19.279 And as you go through your day not alone, 00:32:19.819 --> 00:32:20.819 but with Jesus, 00:32:21.380 --> 00:32:24.080 remembering what he did for you on the cross 00:32:24.080 --> 00:32:26.180 and his mighty resurrection, 00:32:27.400 --> 00:32:29.200 that we pray that that will grip us. 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:33.319 That will be the lens by which we understand who we are. 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:36.960 It will be the lens by which we see and understand 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:39.880 the power of governments and the power of culture. 00:32:40.360 --> 00:32:43.019 It will be the lens by which we understand 00:32:43.019 --> 00:32:46.279 how to deal with our neighbors and how to pray. 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:48.940 It's the ground that we stand on. 00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:53.640 It's the story and the truth that starts to shape our lives 00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:56.279 and to nudge us for acts of sacrifice 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:58.840 and acts of hope and acts of courage 00:32:58.840 --> 00:33:00.680 and acts of heroism 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:03.340 that draws us into acts of courage 00:33:03.340 --> 00:33:04.640 and acts of heroism 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:06.019 and acts of generosity 00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:07.700 and acts of trust. 00:33:08.379 --> 00:33:11.660 That we ask the Father to pour out his Holy Spirit upon us 00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:14.400 to help us to know that we walk with Jesus 00:33:14.400 --> 00:33:16.460 who is our Lord and is our Savior 00:33:16.460 --> 00:33:19.680 and that we're gripped and shaped by that story 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:21.500 and that we ask him to help us 00:33:21.500 --> 00:33:23.980 to live each day with hope 00:33:23.980 --> 00:33:27.799 as we learn to live for his glory. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:30.319 I invite you to stand 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:33.299 and I invite you to pray this prayer with me. 00:33:33.299 --> 00:33:35.779 If you're curious, 00:33:35.899 --> 00:33:37.180 this will all be on the webpage, 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:38.940 I don't know, tomorrow or Tuesday 00:33:38.940 --> 00:33:43.180 if it's a prayer that's specifically helpful to you. 00:33:44.779 --> 00:33:45.659 Let us pray. 00:33:45.660 --> 00:33:48.060 Please join with me. 00:33:48.060 --> 00:33:49.360 Father in heaven, 00:33:49.779 --> 00:33:52.720 please pour out the Holy Spirit upon me 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:55.300 and make me a disciple of Jesus 00:33:55.300 --> 00:33:56.800 gripped by the gospel, 00:33:57.460 --> 00:34:00.000 living with hope as I live for your glory. 00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:02.100 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:34:02.740 --> 00:34:04.680 Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. 00:34:04.779 --> 00:34:06.140 Make us a prayerful church. 00:34:07.080 --> 00:34:09.099 Make us a church that reads your word 00:34:09.099 --> 00:34:11.019 and trust your word. 00:34:11.739 --> 00:34:13.259 Make us a church, Father, 00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:15.559 that receives the gospel 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:17.380 and is shaped by the gospel 00:34:17.380 --> 00:34:20.699 and shares the gospel. 00:34:22.059 --> 00:34:23.480 Make us a church, Father, 00:34:23.579 --> 00:34:25.059 that loves this city. 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:27.739 And we're not afraid of the city. 00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:31.179 We're not shaped and molded by the city, 00:34:31.279 --> 00:34:32.360 but we love the city. 00:34:32.360 --> 00:34:35.400 And we have not only, Father, 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:36.460 a love for this city, 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:37.800 but we have a love for the world, 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:39.660 for all of the people groups of this world. 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:41.360 Father, make us such a church. 00:34:41.820 --> 00:34:42.820 Make us such a people. 00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:45.760 And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, 00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:46.940 your Son and our Savior. 00:34:47.660 --> 00:34:47.980 Amen.