This is the Truth Network. Who was it that lived longest in the Bible? and who was his great-grandfather.
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to Until He Comes, a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hennant, author of The Second Coming of Christ, His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation. And now, author and teacher Greg Hennant. Welcome to the program, my friend.
Today we're going to continue talking about Enoch. And our topic today is Enoch's fruitfulness. Enoch was a fruitful man.
Now, remember, We're looking at Enoch as a type of the Christian who was prepared for translation by walking with God. Oh, that's so simple. But yet. That phrase is filled with meaning. We've been looking at it for ten weeks or more now.
And so we're continuing our study of what it means to walk with God. When Enoch walked with God, he became fruitful. Fruitful. He fathered a man named Methuselah, And other sons and daughters, Genesis five, twenty one and twenty two, tells us, And Methuselah lived longer than any other Bible character. In Genesis 5, 20, 22, the Bible says, And all the days of Methuselah were 960 and 9 years.
And he died. Ha ha Nine hundred and sixty nine years. You know, my friends, I'm seventy years. I can't imagine. What it is like to live that long.
But he's the longest-living biblical character. And His father was Enoch, this man whose name means dedicated and experienced that is dedicated to God and experienced in walking closely with Him.
So Enoch was fruitful, and what we see here is that His fruit endured It endured. 969 years. Think about that. Friend, don't you want your fruit?
Now, whether it is we're talking about having children and them enduring in walking with God, or whether you're talking about a work or a ministry, don't you work, don't your work. to endure. You want it to last. You don't want to do it for a day and that it Falls apart. You want it to last.
Everything I do I want to do for the eternal kingdom of God. That should be our Aim. Jesus said, speaking of the harvest field of God, Matthew 9 that The harvest is great. and the laborers Are few And then he instructed us to pray that God would send forth laborers. Friends, it's our obligation.
to prepare ourselves To receive that call in whatever way. and using whatever gifting he sovereignly chooses for us.
So we want to be fruitful and we want our fruit to last. You know, I'm reading from the commentary of Matthew Henry, who who wrote this over three hundred years ago, an amazing scholar for his time. Very astute. Very well read. Very learned.
But mostly very spiritual. You get wonderful spiritual applications of the text to your life through Matthew Henry.
So his fruit is enduring. Think about Paul's letters. written two thousand years ago. often in great distress.
sometimes in prison. And we read them today, and we're still benefiting from them. Paul's fruit is enduring. Oh, how wonderful that is So if you want your fruit To endure, live like Enoch. Walk.
Closely With God through Through life, no matter what the circumstances are. You know, I woke up this morning with a funny song on my mind: Oh, what a beautiful morning. Oh, what a beautiful morning. Oh, what a beautiful day. Oh, what a beautiful morning.
Everything's going my way.
Well, when everything's going your way, you can sing, It's a beautiful day. But what if everything's going against you? That's when you have to lay hold of God. That's why you have to walk close to God so you can get His mind about every situation, and every situation you meet will make you stronger. if you humbly trust and obey his word, his guidance, his correction, At his call on your life to be and to do whatever he wants you to be and to do.
So Enoch's fruit endured. Let me tell you about another man whose fruit endured. and was special. Special.
Well, that would be a man called Zachariah. We find him in Luke chapter 1. Listen to what Luke says about Zachariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1, verses 5 through 7. There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abiah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, And her name was Elizabeth.
So these were two people of the priestly tribe. This is stated clearly, and and so they were already special in the sense that they were set apart as a priestly Family. Verse six, and they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and the ordinances of the Lord. Blameless Oh, now this verse is a real correction, because we think that the Jews could not keep the law, which would make God a terrible ogre. But what they couldn't keep was the oral law.
All those Hyperspecific commands which the Jewish rabbis invented. without divine inspiration or direction. And heaped upon the people. But the law itself could be kept That didn't mean you could not you would not fail occasionally, but It could be kept as a life model. And so these two were using the law of God as a life model.
And God said they were righteous. And God said they were walking In the commandments, or walking in the Word. Isn't that what Enoch did? He walked with the living word. The Lord.
And so he's like Zachariah.
So let's see something that is Unique and special that links these two men, Enoch and Zechariah. And he goes on to say, And they had no child. Because that Elizabeth, was barren. And they both were well, stricken in years.
So here they were, an older couple, probably in their fifties. They would have been very old for that town. And they were childless. Oh, this was a terrible thing. The Jews taught that men ought to marry and begin to have babies immediately, as soon as they could.
Girls Um, married uh usually at uh thirteen, very early. And so they could reproduce the image of God because we bear the image of God, so by reproduction we We increase or grow the image of God in the earth. This was the rabbinic teaching.
So they would have been out of. out of order. In other words, they were exceptions to the rule. They had been married many years and had no child. This was terrible.
Oh, it was a blight Listen to what the Bible says in Luke one, thirty six. Here the angel is speaking to Mary. And he says, Behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, She hath also conceived a son in her old age. Mm. I'm sure this really shocked Mary.
And he goes on to say, and this is the sixth month with her who was called baron. Listen to that phrase. Her who was called Baron. Barren. One translation says the barren one.
Isn't that something? You know, people would be walking down the streets, and then they would see. Zacharias and Elizabeth walked by standing at the market, and they said, Look over there That woman, she's the barren one. Oh, this was quite a reproach if you were a married woman and able to have children and you are barren. Oh, I'm sure they said, you know, Yahweh Yahweh.
or Adonai, as they probably would have referred to him. has certainly turned his face from her. But just the opposite was true. They were predestined to have special fruit, just as Enoch bore not only enduring fruit, but special fruit. We're going to get to that in a moment.
Well, who and was the special fruit that came of Zacharias and Elizabeth?
Well, John the Baptist, and Jesus said he was the greatest of the prophets. Oh, my goodness, what a compliment coming from The Son of God. And he, John the Baptist, was the child. of this couple. And this mother, who was called Reproachfully, The Barren One.
Well, I want to turn aside and talk to you a moment. Maybe your life is barren in certain ways. Maybe you're married and you hadn't had kids. Maybe You've been a Christian, you seem to have not done anything exceptional. No noticeable ministry has come from your life.
You walk with God. You pray every day. You intercede. Of course, that is the highest ministry. Jesus, we're told in.
Hebrews 7:25, ever lives to make intercession for us. That is his ceaseless Occupation incessantly, that is, without ceasing. He is. Praying for you. And me.
and all of his people and praying for the lost to come to him.
So Jo Elizabeth and Zacharias had a long wait, but they had special fruit. A great prophet and the forerunner of Christ. Oh, my goodness, the one spoken of In Malachi 4, who would come before the great and notable day of the Lord, and there will come another. who will also have the mantle of Elijah upon him before Christ's physical return. Edward McGidden.
So You may be waiting for your fruit. Maybe you've been a pastor of a church, and the people won't come because. They don't like your message.
Well, are you preaching the whole counsel of God? Keep preaching it. Keep preaching it if you have to, to empty chairs. for a season. And when God wakes up the church, and He's about to do that, He will bless you with special fruit because you honored Him by staying true to the whole Council when so much of the Church today has has well, let's just be real blunt, edited the Bible.
Taking out portions we don't like. Why? To make Jesus and Christianity marketable to a wicked Godless Pagan Proud To the hilt. Generation Who am I talking about? Our generation right now, as I speak and you listen.
Yes.
So, of course, that parallels us to the generation of Enoch. But in that generation, he walked with God. He defied. The social model. Are you doing that?
Are you tempted to go along And to get along? My friend, do not compromise. the word of God in your life. Don't compromise biblical morality. and that includes not just sexual conduct, but doing what is morally right in given situations.
Stay true to God. in this day of apostasy, because the day of awakening is at hand. We know from Matthew twenty five, verses six and seven, Jesus himself prophesied. that just prior to the bridegroom's appearing, In the midnight hour, and that's where we are right now, His people. Likened to brats, mates.
would be dead asleep. What does that mean? Apathetic. I thought about it the other day. Apathy.
has taken hold of God's people. You know, we're very excited. about things that are worldly and are going to perish one day. But we have no interest it seems. Whatsoever.
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Now again, Dr. Hinnant. For the deep things of God, the eternal truths. The tea Truths of the Bible, or let's put it this way, sometimes the hard truths. We just want what's sweet.
Friends, all of the word of God should be sweet to you and me. Regardless of the subject of the passage, Hebrews twelve was talks about the chastening of God in our lives, how He chastens us, and it's a sign of His love. That should be sweet. to you in a not a chapter to be avoided.
So Anyway, special fruit came after especially long. Wait, and I remind you again, they continued to walk in righteousness. They did not compromise. They did not compromise. I'm speaking now of of Zacharias and Uh Elizabeth.
Now let's back let's go back to Noah and see about his special fruit. Or rather, Enoch. Enoch. Had a great grandson named Noah. Noah was that special fruit.
Oh, my goodness, was he not? Think about this link between Enoch, the first man raptured, and Noah, the man who was carried through the flood. What a family heritage Well, what was the common link? I'll tell you what it was. It's in Genesis 6.
Verse nine If you have your Bible, Go there, and let's read it together. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man, justified before the court of heaven. And perfect in his generation that is, in his day he was spiritually major. A man of God?
And then he goes on to say, And Noah walked With God. Oh, my goodness. Oh, what a powerful link from Adam. who initially walked with God. And then, I'm sure, repented?
After the fall? and was restored. From Adam to Enoch It was the seventh from Adam. Thus implying he was the man who. Perfectly understood and applied and lived in what God's will was for us.
He walked with God, and was taken. And then we go from Enoch now To Noah, Who was just? and perfect in his generation, spiritually perfect. And he walked with God. And then we can take one more step forward to a man named Abram who became Abraham.
And we're told that God spoke to him in Genesis 17. A long period later and listened to what he said. In verse one. And when Abram was ninety years old at nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, Now at this time He had already begun his walk with God, but God's got something to say more specifically to him. And he said to him, I am the Almighty God.
Walk. before me. And be thou perfect. Oh, my goodness, listen to that. Phraseology.
Before me, what is he saying? Exactly what we've been talking about in this series: walking with God. Walk closely with him. Perhaps Abraham at this juncture was a little discouraged because he hadn't become the father of many nations yet.
So he perhaps had doubted. Cause plan. And maybe there was a slight separation between himself and God. We don't know. That's just speculation.
But we do know this, God charged him, walk before me. That's exactly what is the subject of this series. And then he added, Be thou perfect. Oh, my goodness. You know, everywhere you go, we can't be perfect.
We can't be perfect.
Well, of course we can't be sinlessly perfect. Who in the world would think that? There were some sects. The Oneida group back in the 1800s thought that, and they came up with some absolutely abhorrent behavior as a result. They believed that because they had been perfected and their sin nature, as they said, expunged, That they could do anything in the world and it would not be sin.
So they practice free love. Yeah, you heard me right. They practiced free love. This is the Oneida group. in New York.
It was a weird Chan. To put it mildly, So no one can be sinlessly perfect and have his sin nature expunged and removed while we are in the body. We understand that. That's not an issue. But God said, Walk before me and be perfect.
So what was He talking about? Be spiritually mature. Learn the spiritual disciplines of my life and walk with me. By the way, friends. I hate to throw this in as a type of a commercial, but it's true.
If you will get my book Walking in His Ways, you will see twenty four chapters that lay out before you the spiritual disciplines. Of the Christian life. I encourage you to get that book, Walking in His Ways, because that's what we're talking about here.
So The question arises, did Enoch's life and translation inspire Noah? To follow in Enoch's footsteps?
Well, a wonder I suppose it did, but I can't tell you definitively because the Bible doesn't say that. No other man walked with God before him except His great granddaddy, said Enoch, and before him Adam.
So Noah was the third that we know of who walked closely with God. And this was before the flood.
So from there We come to Abraham, and then he's charged in addition to walking before God to be perfect. Let's look at some scriptures that talk about spiritual perfection. Hebrews twelve. Verse 23 says this, We are called, speaking to us as Gentiles, we are called to the general assembly and church, the ecclesia, the church of the firstborn, that's Christ, the firstborn of the kingdom of God, which are written in heaven. Heaven, our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and to the God.
and to God the Judge of all. Speaking of really Christ who judges Christians and non-Christians, redeemed and unredeemed, in the behalf. Of the father? And you've come to the spirit of just men made Perfect. Oh, what a phrase.
What a powerful phrase. Friend, listen to this phrase. Just men Made Perfect. What is the writer of the Hebrews? Talking about?
Well, he's talking about being spiritually mature. You spiritually mature, growing up in Christ. Just men refers to born-again Christians. When you repent of sin and call on Jesus to come into your life, you are justified by faith. There is no other way to be justified before God.
So you are a just man or woman. But the Bible goes on to say, just men made, that is, created, shaped, formed. as in the hands of a potter. Perfect. And by that we mean Christ-like full of the fruit of the Spirit, which we'll read about in a moment.
Markedly different. from the mindset and way of life that we see all around us by those who do not know the Lord and do not walk with Him.
So this was the call of God. And it shouldn't be a surprise because you see in Hebrews six, verse one, the same writer to the Hebrews said, Therefore, leaving The principles of the doctrine of Christ Let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works. and of faith toward God. And then he goes on to mention some basic doctrines: the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment, and this we will do if God permits.
So he's saying, look. We've been saved, we're just men and women, but now we need to seek perfection. That is, Spiritual growth and Christlikeness, so the fruit of the Spirit is evident in our lives because we walk with God. We don't walk apart. I walk with men who don't know God, or even walk with carnal Christians, Christians who can only talk about things of the world all the time and don't talk about the things of Christ.
They don't talk the word of God. They don't talk about what the Holy Spirit's doing in their life.
So this says, let us go on to perfection. It is a sober charge, you know, as a teacher of God's word, as an expostitor. This is the passion of my heart, that we go on to perfection. After salvation, This Is the goal of the Holy Spirit that he is working on to create the bride of Christ in these last days who will be caught up to heaven and in heaven? It will be said His wife has made herself Ready.
Didn't say he, the Holy Spirit, made her get ready or Christ made her. No, no coercive spiritual growth. It's all voluntary. Friend, do you want to grow? Do you want to be made perfect?
Christ wants you to be. He's calling you to go on to. perfection.
Now back to Enoch. Enoch, as we said, was very fruitful he had many sons and daughters, and his fruit lasted long, and was special. in that regard, because Methuselah was the longest living person. Friend, it is impossible to walk closely with God and not be Fruit for. To walk with him is to bear fruit.
Listen to John 15, 4 and 5, the words of Christ. Abide in me, that is, remain close to me. Or shall we say, walk closely with me. Through the day. every day.
And I in you, If you do that I will be evident inside of you, and speaking through you, working through you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can you except you abide in me. He's saying, Look, you can't be fruitful on your own. You need me to bear fruit. I am Devont.
You are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing.
So here's the call to abide. We will abide. When we abide in him, we will be fruitful. Yeah. Branch easily bears fruit when a tree is being watered or a vine is being watered.
Let me ask you today: are you fruitful as Enoch was? Fruitful in the In the gifts of the spirit, excuse me, the Fruit of the Spirit. Listen to this in Galatians 5:22. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
Meekness Temperance, self-control, against such there's law. That is, there is no law. There is no need. to have a boundary of Do's and don'ts for people who have this kind of fruit in them.
So, are you fruitful? Are you fruitful in evangelism? Are you sharing the gospel? To convert sinners, are you helping train disciples? Are you doing other good works?
Are you in the ministry of helps? Is your work charity to give to the poor and the needy and to the Christian ministries? What about administration? We have a great I have a great um uh administrative assistant. Phyllis McNeil, who helps me with my work.
Are you merciful? Are you giving of your time and efforts to your church. to missions and to other ministries. Are you preaching? Are you called to preach or are you busy preaching?
Are you teaching the word of God so people's lives are edified? In all these ways, you will bear fruit, you will reproduce your own kind. You will reproduce your own maturity in the people you minister to if you were in the ministry of. The pastor.
So bear these truths in mind. God has called us to be fruitful, as was Enoch, as was Zacharias and Elizabeth, as was Abraham, as was Noah. Bear them in mind. Walk closely with God and I like Enoch. be a fruitful man or woman.
If this message has blessed you, tell your friends and please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries. Also, remember, you may download the Until He Comes podcast from your preferred podcast app. May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience until He Comes. This is the Truth Network. Mm-hmm.
