THIS PRESENT TIME #32
What Are the Challenges to Walking With God? 11.19.23


Genesis 5:21-24 NASB Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. 22Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5 NASB By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

Jude 14, 15 NASB It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”


Observing the Landscape

So, let’s add selections from Matthew 24 and 25 to our Scripture lesson to understand what walking with God in tough times can look like.

Matthew 24:36-41 NIV “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Who is the person God promises to direct?

Matthew 25:1-13 NIV “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ 12“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.




I. Enoch faced extreme cultural difficulties that would eventually be referred to as “The Days of Noah.”

A. Incivility


B. Impurity


C. Ignorance


D. Indifference


E. Inattention



II. Enoch was steady, consistent, and very successful in those difficult times.

A. In a family setting - “with sons and daughters”


B. Without interruption - 300 years; 109,500 days; over 2,000,000 hours


C. At a time when the wickedness of the world was reaching a climax ─ racing toward judgment, God manifested His grace through a common family man.


D. Enoch’s life screams to us - “You can do it!”



Christian Life Lessons

1. When sin abounds, Graces abounds in greater measure.


2. Be wary of sins against knowledge.


3. Be wary of becoming a “stumbling-block.”


4. Decide which stream of prophecy you want to be a part of.


5. Be patient as wheat and tares must grow up together.


6. Walk with God yourself. Don’t be like those in the wilderness who only wanted to hear from God through Moses.