Enoch Pleased God, How About You?

Author:
Cheryl E Preston
Jul 19, 2020 2:12 PM EDT

Enoch's love walk

Hebrews 11:5 By 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.

This Bible character's walk with the Lord was so strong that he walked right into heaven at age 365. This seems old today, but Enoch's son Methuselah lived to 969 which is the longest of any recorded human life.

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

During the days of Enoch, there were no church buildings, no Bibles to read, no sermons, Sunday school, Bible study or any of the things that we today consider as part of our walk with the Lord. Enoch was not tithing or sowing seeds into a spiritual leader so what was he doing that pleased His Heavenly Father so much. We can speculate but the Bible does not give detail on this subject.

In the cool of the day

Genesis 3:8, KJV: "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. That is a powerful statement, that the Voice of the LORD God was walking in the garden. Some theologians have suggested that He often walked with Adam and Eve prior to their sin. Again the Bible is vague but in both of these scriptures, walking is emphasized Dr. D Lance Waldie, on the Harvest Church website says the following."Walking with God is an expression in the Bible used to denote people who had fellowship with God through obedience to Him." The question to this might be, obedience to what? There were no Bibles and the law had not been passed down. Based on what criteria were these men obedient. Adam and Eve were given instructions not to touch the tree of life and they disobeyed. Abraham left his father's home (Genesis 12) and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, (Genesis 22). There is nothing to indicate what Enoch did that pleased the Lord so much. If however, the Lord walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day, and scripture says Enoch walked with Him, I believe it's safe to say their relationship was pretty close. In other words, they were "tight".

Pleasing the Lord

If it were possible, that we living today could obey every command and please the Lord, the Christ would not have come. His sacrifice on the Cross and telling the thief He would be in paradise speak volumes. The thief had not lived a godly life and was being executed for his crimes. Even so, he acknowledged his sin and received paradise.

Luke 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

Many preachers today teach obedience but it is to their man-made rules. In some churches, you are told you are pleasing the Lord when you tithe, sow seeds into the leader, show up at every service and do all that is asked of you by church leadership. A person can do all of this without even knowing Jesus as Lord ad Savior and that is the danger when "obedience" is mentioned. Everyone has their own ideas related to what rules should be obeyed. Some say the 10 Commandments but if we are truthful we all have broken some of them, even while saved. We have some saying that Saturday is the Sabbath, while others believe you must go to church on Sunday. One group pushes tithing and another says to give as you purpose in your heart. One denomination says you must speak in tongues and another says tongues have passed away. There is no agreement within the body of Christ, so how can a believer in Christ in this modern world please the Lord? A lot of what believers have been taught is pleasing to the Lord is just man-made rhetoric. It's important to know Him for yourself and not follow blind guides.

Make it personal

Philippians 2:12-13 in the Message Bible says this: What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

In this letter, Paul admonished the Philippians to continue doing what they knew to be pleasing to the Lord. He did not give details but we can learn much from what is written. Each of us must work out our own personal salvation and hear the Lord for ourselves. I recall one Wednesday night my husband said the Lord to him to stay home and rest after having a tooth pulled. The Lord told me that I needed to be in the church service. Two people, serving the same Jesus but with different assignments, It is important to develop a personal walk with Him, whatever that entails. My great-grandma walked through the house talking to the Lord and singing hymns but rarely did she attend church. My grandmother had lots of Bibles, commentaries, and books in her room. She was very active in Sunday school, church service, and attending conferences. These women lived in the same home, and each believed she was doing what was pleasing to the Lord, although their methods differed. Walk with Him and talk with Him throughout every day.

I once heard a preacher say he went into an empty field to walk and talk with the Lord. Another minister said she went to her car every day on her lunch hour to meet the Holy Spirit. A young man told me he goes on hikes in the woods and the mountains to spend time with His heavenly Father. Others say they speak in tongues all through the day, communicating with Him wherever they may be. Find your secret place, your cool of the day, and meet Him there. Give Him the time ad attention He desires and deserves and take it from there.

The Holy Spirit will be your guide

If you have been filled with the indwelling of His Holy Spirit you have just who you need in your corner. He will lead, guide, and direct you into paths of righteousness for His Names sake. Someone living in China cannot choose to attend church services, tithe, or serve on ministries and committees. They must walk with Him in secret or forfeit their lives. This is why Americans must stop listing rules that Christians must abide by because not everyone is able to do so. An elderly believer who is homebound or in a nursing home is unable to serve as they once did but they have something in common with that person in China. Both can pray in secret, walk and talk with Him, however it plays out in their lives. Now that COVID-19 has stopped a lot of the routines that American Christians have adhered to, perhaps they too will begin to understand what is really important. As I said earlier, you can sit in the building, give money, and serve, without ever knowing Christ for yourself. You can also have a personal relationship with HIm, without doing any of those other things. If you can do both that's great but keep in mind that Enoch found a way to please Him without any of our modern-day trappings, and so can you and I. His Spirit will lead you to your own personal walk with His voice in the cool of the day.