GENESIS 3-6 WALK WITH GOD2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Genesis 3-6 Walk With God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. Well, this morning as we look at the book of Genesis, starting here in chapter 3 of Genesis, I've titled the message, Walk with God. And I want to encourage you as we head into this new year to be walking with God.

God. It comes from verse 8 where Adam and Eve are there. It's just after they have partaken of the fruit, the tree of knowledge and good and evil. And in verse 8 it tells us that they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden. They heard God walking and that's what brings about what they're about to do and that is to hide in the bushes. But God is there. He has shown up there in the garden and

Now, this kind of struck a chord in my mind as I was reading through it this time, just that idea of God showing up there to walk with Adam and Eve and

And then it was stirred up again later on in Genesis chapter 5. We're going to look at a man named Enoch who walked with God. And then we'll look at in Genesis chapter 6, a man named Noah. And it says that Noah walked with God. And so several times throughout the reading this week, we see this concept of walking with God.

And I want to consider that and explore that a little bit with you this morning. Now, the whole idea of walking is pretty basic, right? It's very common. You and I are familiar with the concept. We know how to walk, and we've been doing it since we were very young. I was last month, you know, up with my nephews, the twins, who just celebrated their first year on the earth, and

taking their first steps and beginning to walk. And even at a year old, my nephews know how to walk. It's something that you probably did around the same time you learned. You began to take some steps. And sure, you fell down a little bit and, you know, had to learn how to navigate and balance yourself. But early on, you learn how to walk. And it's something that you carry with you through the rest of your life and do day to day without much thought or concentration, probably.

Now today as we talk about walking with God or walking as a whole general discussion, I'm not so much focused on the specific details of how to walk with God, but more I want to encourage us

to be walking with God. Now, if you need help with the how to walk with God, we can certainly help you with that. And of course, we've gone through this course, Equipped to Walk, several times. We have that available. And so, you know, we go through things like walking in the Word and how to spend time with God in His Word and walking in prayer and what that means to have a prayer life and walking in fellowship and how we interact with one another as believers and

Walking in worship and the concept of worshiping God and what that's all about. And walking in the Spirit as Paul encourages us in the book of Galatians. And then walking in holiness and dealing with sin. And it's really focused on the practical how-to of walking with God. And I pray that you know that and that you have a good grasp of that how-to.

But this morning, as we talk about walking with God here in the book of Genesis, I want to focus not so much on the how-to and the specific details of different elements of walking with God, but to think about the concept of walking with God as a whole. I like to walk, and you guys know that I just live down the street, just under a mile away, and so one of my things that I love to do is I like to walk to church.

And even this morning, today is Communion Sunday. We're going to partake of communion at the end of the day. And, you know, getting to church in a car, for me, is a way different experience than getting to church on foot. Because, well, I always have a thousand things to do. And in the car...

hey, I don't drive like I used to, but I still am more aggressive perhaps than I should be, you know. I don't really like to break the speed limit anymore, but boy, I sure get to the speed limit as fast as I possibly can. And you know what, you know, so I round the corner, it's like boom, I'm stomping on it. I'm like in a hurry. I had to go pick up communion elements this morning. So I'm going to the store, you know, and trying to get here as fast as possible. But

walking to church is a different experience because, you know, it's, I like to refer to it as real time. It's happening in real time. You really can't go much faster. There's not much you can do. You can't stomp on the gas. I mean, sure, you can quicken your pace a little bit, but it's very minor adjustments that you can make, and I'm forced in that time to

To just walk in real time, to not be aggressive, to not be, you know, agonizing over the time. There's nothing I can do about it. You know, I can either continue walking forward or walk back and get the car, but I'm stuck. You know, I have to keep walking, and I'm in this cycle of walking, hopefully with God, to wherever I am going. Now, walking is not the quickest form of transportation.

And if you think about it, God could have designed us to go faster, right? What if God had created us with wheels? What if God created us to be able to run like the cheetah, 70 miles an hour? You know, could you imagine our freeways then? It's just, you know, us running. We'd still crash into each other and have, you know, bumps and bruises. We would still have that kind of pace, but it would be on foot. We could have been created in a different way, but

But it's interesting, our primary mode of transportation that God has given to us is this one that has this particular pace. It's not the most efficient as far as speed is concerned. It's effective, but it takes time. And that's what I think is really interesting as we talk about walking with God. It really comes down to that time with God.

It is real time. It is real relationship with God. And that's what walking with God is all about. It's that time. It's that real connection to God. I want to walk you through a little bit of an example. Right up the street here on Lincoln, we have a little park called Lincoln Park. And it's a park for jogging, for walking, for exercising and all of that. There's a track that goes around and

If Kim and I were to go to this park and say, hey, let's go for a walk. And so we're going to go walk around this park together. And so we park in the parking lot there and we get out. We begin down the path. And here's Kim and I. We're walking together. And you could look at this and you could look at us on this path and say, oh, that's nice. You know, Jerry and Kim walking together, going for a walk. But as we hit that first step,

Why? As we hit that path and there's a decision, there's an option to go to the right or to the left. If Kim goes one way and I go the other way, it changes the picture, right? Now, Kim and I are not walking together. We're walking at the same time, but we're not walking together, right?

We're walking in the same general vicinity, but we're not walking together. And if we're going opposite directions, then, well, we might see each other from time to time. We'll pass each other by, but we're not walking together. There's a whole different thing whenever it's her and I, step by step, together, each moment, all the way around the path.

And as you think about this with walking with God, this is what I want to encourage us in, and that is to have that kind of in-sync and lockstep walk with God that is more than just, well, we occasionally run into each other. So if Kim and I then decide to, we're going to stay together. We're going to stay on the same course and the same path, and so we turn and go the same direction together. Well, then, again, now you see it, that's nice. You know, there's joy.

Jerry and Kim walking together. They're taking a walk. They are together and it's step by step. Now, if we continue on down the path for a little bit and then we come to another decision and Kim decides to go straight and I decide to turn, it changes the picture. Now, for a while, we were walking together, but then we've gone separate ways and she's walking one way and I'm walking another way. And again, we're still in the same general vicinity and

but we're not walking together. And we may see each other and, you know, come in contact from time to time as we take different routes, but we're not walking together. In a similar way, as we walk with God, it is something that I want to encourage us to consider that it's an ongoing thing and we need to continue to make the decision. And every time there's a decision to be made, it's a decision that we make together, right?

And so if we reach this point in the path and there's a decision to be made, then we together make the decision which way will we go. Now if we decide to continue on down the path and then we go on down the curve, then we're continuing to walk together. But what if at that curve then I decide I'm going to make a U-turn and go back the way that we came? Well, Kim continues on around the loop.

Well, again, it changes the picture. We're not walking together any longer. It's changed the scene. We're in the same area. We're in the general vicinity. We're walking at the same time. We may bump into each other from time to time, but it's different than us walking together.

And it's different than if we continue on and then the next time we reach a path, a decision to be made, then we make the decision and we turn together. That's what it would require for us to walk together around the park. It would mean that we stay together, that each time there's a decision, we decide and we make that decision and we continue in the same course with each other. And we could go around this way and that way and there's all kinds of decisions that could be made, but

But it's a different picture if we're not making those decisions together. It's a different picture if we're not continuing on the same course in the same pace. I could run through similar examples where, well, what if we follow the same path, but, you know, I'm running and she's walking. Again, then we're not walking together. It's that same pace, that same direction, making the same decisions.

And with all of that in mind, I would ask you to consider, what if you were to plot out your walk with God this past week? What would that look like? Would it be you and God side by side, in sync? So presumably on Monday, well, Monday was the first, so you maybe didn't go to work, but Monday you had a day off and

You did what? And God did what? And where were you in relationship to him and the decisions that you made throughout the day? Where was God in the midst of those decisions and conversations? And then, well, the next day, maybe you went to work. And where was God? Now, of course, in that sense that God is everywhere, but also everywhere.

recognizing that there is that opportunity for us to have a real connection and fellowship and conversation with God all day long. In sync, step-by-step walking with God. Now walking, again, it's a common thing. It's a basic thing. My one-year-old nephews can do it. And I bring that up and I say that to say this, that it is that common, that day-to-day routine that really reveals that

who our God is. And this is why the whole idea of walking with God is so important, because it's not the big things that we might think about. It's not like, you know, the big sacrifices we've done for God, or it's not the once or twice a week, you know, we do church or we do something for God kind of thing, but it is that day-to-day routine that reveals who our God is. I

Where it tells us that all people walk, each in the name of his God, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. Everybody walks in the name of his God. The course of your life and the daily routine that we have is

is in the name of our God. And it reveals who our God is and our focus and our priorities. You see, our God is not identified by, you know, big moments necessarily, but in the day-to-day. Remember, Jesus talked about the importance of being faithful in the little things. It's the little things. It's the day-to-day. It's the walk. That moment-by-moment, the steps that we take and the decisions that we make.

It's all of those collectively that really bring to light who our God is. But the prophet Micah says, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever. And there's a deliberate decision. Everybody follows after their God and their life demonstrates who their God is. And our deliberate decision is to walk with God, to walk in the name of God.

And that's a way longer introduction than I usually have, but I think it's important to set the stage for us to think about this as we look at three examples. The example of Adam and Eve, the example of Enoch, and then the example of Noah, and understanding what it means and how we are to walk with God. Starting out with the example of Adam and Eve, here in Genesis chapter 3, verses 6 through 10, we have point number one, and that is God wants to walk with you.

This morning, I want to encourage you, as we think about walking with God, I want to encourage you that God wants, He desires fervently to walk with you. Check out again verse 6 of Genesis chapter 3. It says,

Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Here, as we look at these verses, we're jumping right into the midst of the fall.

where Adam and Eve had been living in perfection. Adam and Eve had been living in the Garden of Eden without sin and complete righteousness, with perfect fellowship with God. And then comes the serpent, then comes the deception, then comes the choice and the decision to partake of the fruit that God had forbidden.

And now there is a separation that takes place. There's a spiritual death that happens. Their eyes are opened now to the condition of sin, to the reality of life separated from God. And it's at that time, it says in verse 8, "...and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."

They heard the sound. So here's Adam and Eve. They've just fallen, partaken of the fruit. Their eyes have been opened. They're scrambling. Quick, sew some fig leaves together. Because all of a sudden they realize their nakedness, that things have changed for them. And they're trying to adjust. And they're not quite settled yet. They haven't quite figured out everything yet. And before they're ready, they hear the sound of the Lord God walking.

Now, here's something I think is interesting to consider. I mean, as you picture Adam and Eve there, and they're in the garden, and it's this perfect environment, but now they've been awakened to the issue of sin. They hear God walking. Now, in one sense, God is everywhere, so God was there. But they hear God coming. God was coming to them in some type of way. Notice that took some time. He's not there yet.

but they can hear him coming. Now, God spoke the universe into existence. Why doesn't God just bing show up? Why is God walking to them? Why is he going at a pace where they can hear him and scramble to try to hide? Why is he going at that pace? Again, it brings us back to this concept of walking. It's real time. It's that actual pace that

And that is important to God so much so that he even goes by that pace. He even goes at that rate, even though he could just instantly appear, even though technically he's already there because God is everywhere, but he gives them time. They hear him coming from a distance. What did that sound like? We don't know, but they hear him coming.

And notice it says that God is walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Probably speaking of the evening time or late afternoon, that coolness of the day, God comes walking in the garden. And the way that it is expressed here gives us the impression this was a regular routine. A commentator by the name of Leupold says this.

The almost casual way in which this is remarked indicates that this did not occur for the first time just then. This wasn't the first time God shows up and says, I want to introduce you to a thing called a walk. And we're going to go on a walk together through the garden. No, really the impression that we're given here in this passage is that every day about evening time, God would show up here in the garden and God with Adam, probably Eve, and

They would go for a walk together. And I don't know how you picture that, but I kind of picture maybe Adam is showing God what he'd been doing, because he was doing stuff in the garden. Look, God, I made this retaining wall here, and we're going to build a pond right here. It's going to be really cool, you know, with a fountain. And, you know, it got perhaps showing him, you know, hey, this is what I've been up to. This is what I'm thinking. And what do you think? And having conversation, having time with God in this walk with God, however exactly that was, we don't know for sure. But

But it gives us this impression because he's walking in the cool of the day. He's coming at this regular time, at this normal time for the normal walk with God that they would have. This is the real reason for which Adam and Eve were created. That's why God began us in the first place, right? To have fellowship, to have that relationship with Adam and Eve. They were created to walk with God.

And so there in the garden before the fall, they would have this ongoing relationship. They would have these ongoing walks. There would be this regular time of walking with God, but this time was different. Instead of hanging out with God, they chose to hide. It tells us in verse 8, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, where are you? Where are you?

Now again, there's a lot of details that we're not getting into and things surrounding the fall. And I'll just summarize it by saying, you know, if you think about God's tone of voice here, I wouldn't suggest that you think about like an angry, where are you? But the very fact that God is asking the question, where are you? Gives us some insights, right?

Now, God wasn't confused in thinking they were playing hide and go seek, right? He didn't finish counting and say, all right, ready or not, here I come. It wasn't that. He wasn't calling them out because he didn't know, because he was limited and he couldn't. I've searched everywhere. Maybe like a parent searching for their child, like, hey, where are you? That's not what God was doing. Why does he say, where are you? It's not for his sake. It's for their sake. And why does God ask the question? Not because he...

is wondering, not because he needs to know. God knows exactly what's happened. He knows about the fall already. He knows what they've done. He knows that they have sinned. He knows that they've tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. He knows. And the thing that I would ask you to consider this morning is that he still shows up in the garden that day.

As God is there and he says, where are you? Think about the fact that God knew exactly what happened, but he still showed up for their daily walk. He knew their daily walk could not happen in the way that it's always happened because, well, their fellowship had been broken because of sin. But God still shows up. He knows that they are hiding, but he still says, hey, where are you?

Notice what we see here is that God is seeking them out. And that's really the point I want to make as we look at this passage here in Genesis chapter 3, is that God still wants to walk with you after you have failed. He knows exactly, and he knew ahead of time, what Adam and Eve would do. He knew about the fall ahead of time. He's not surprised by it. And even after it's taken place, he shows up for his daily walk.

And he shows up and he says, hey guys, where are you? Not because he's wondering, but because he's still wanting to have the walk. This is really important for you and I to consider. We have, of course...

the blessing and the benefit of the finished work in view. We have the rest of the scriptures. We see the work of Jesus Christ. We recognize there's no reason for us to hide anymore because of what Christ has done for us and washed us in our sins and forgiven us completely. There is no reason to hide anymore.

There is no reason for us to keep ourselves at a distance from God. There's no reason for us to keep ourselves from the place of fellowship, from walking with God. As we're headed down the path, we don't have to turn a different direction because of some failure on our part. We can continue in sync with God moment by moment and day by day. And God still wants that.

Even when we failed, even when we've messed up. William MacDonald, the commentator, says, In love and mercy, God searched after his fallen creatures with the question, Where are you? This question proved two things. That man was lost and that God had come to seek. It proved man's sin and God's grace. This morning, I want to encourage you. No matter what you've done,

Throughout the day, each day, moment by moment, no matter how you failed, no matter which way you've turned, God is always there saying, where are you? And inviting you back to that walk with him, to that moment by moment, to that real-time living out relationship with him. And that's really important because many times the enemy loves to use the guilt, condemnation,

to keep us in this place of staying away from God. Now, sometimes, you know, we are not walking with God because we've just made a decision and we don't want to. But sometimes there is that condemnation, there is that guilt where, like Adam and Eve, we're hiding. In verse 10, it says, it's Adam speaking, he says, I heard your voice in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

And here's God showing up in his grace, knowing exactly what happened, knowing all about the fall, but saying, I'm here. I want to walk with you. I'm here seeking you out. It's God who is providing restoration for the relationship. And that is the ongoing condition of God and the heart of God, the desire of God. God wants to walk with you. He wants to walk with you.

Even if you've failed, even when you've messed up, even when you haven't been going the same direction with him, he created us for that relationship. God is so interested in that relationship. And we can get so distracted so many times by the destination, right? Again, in the car, I'm a different kind of pace than when I'm walking. When I'm walking, I have no choice. It's just step by step, right?

And I'm too scared of tickets to break the law, but I still get to the speed limit as fast as I can. And then, you know, run that speed as long as I can until the light is red. And then I was like, okay, I'll stop at the last minute, you know, like, because, you know, I'm working on getting there. My mentality is different. But in that walk, well, it's moment by moment. There's pauses. There's quiet time. There's delays. There's a pace that provides a fellowship.

It provides a fellowship with God. You were created to walk with God, and he still wants to enjoy that walk with you, even after you've failed. That you would keep that same pace in sync with him. I think of the children of Israel in the wilderness, right? Under the cloud, and the cloud would go with them by day. It was a pillar of fire by night, and it gives us that clear picture. Like you could run ahead of the cloud, you could fall behind the cloud, but the right place to be was the same pace.

As fast as the cloud was moving, that's how fast you're moving. And in a similar way, we have this opportunity to walk with God. And many times there are things that we want God to do, but he's not doing it as fast as we want him to do it. He's not opening doors as fast as we want doors to be opened. We're on the same track. We want that same destination, but we want a different pace.

We need to stay in sync with the Lord, going the same direction, making the same decisions, making decisions with the Lord about the turns and which way to go. Sometimes we walk with God the same way we walk with our doctor.

You wake up every day and walk with your doctor? No, probably not. You go whenever there is something urgent. You go when there is something, you know, different and unique. And you go to feel better. Occasionally, you're visiting the doctor. You spend a few moments with the doctor. And that's not the way that our relationship with God is to be. But it is to be that moment by moment, step by step, day by day, throughout the day, conversation, communication with God.

Again, your common day-to-day routine reveals who your God really is. And so I want to encourage you this morning as we start out this year to walk with God and understand that God wants to walk with you and he has that continued invitation. Where are you? Come out. Let's walk together in the cool of the day. Let's walk together and have this fellowship.

Well, let's jump over to Genesis chapter 5 now. And we're going to look at the man named Enoch. And here we get point number two for this morning. And that is, walk with God until he takes you. Walk with God until he takes you. It's Genesis chapter 5 verses 21 through 24 that we'll read. Here's what it says. Enoch lived 65 years and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters.

So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Here in Genesis chapter 5, we're introduced to this man named Enoch. He's a couple generations after Adam and Eve. And in the lineage here, as it's working its way to Abraham, we find this man named Enoch. Enoch.

Many of us have known about, we've heard the name Enoch before, even though he's not a prominent person in scripture. He's listed here or mentioned here, but he doesn't have books written about him. We don't, you know, we don't have a lot of information, but we know about him because of this verse, verse 24, that Enoch walked with God and then he was not, for God took him.

And so Enoch has been looked at and seen throughout the years as a really good illustration and reminder of the rapture. And this concept of just walking with God and then suddenly you're not. You're caught up to be with the Lord. As Paul talks about in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17, "...then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord."

And so we have Enoch. He's a great picture of the rapture. He reminds us that there is this catching up to meet with the Lord and to notice what Paul says there at the end of verse 17, to always be with the Lord. Again, this is what God desires. Eternity is going to be filled with walking with God, to always be with the Lord. And so we have this picture given for us in the person of Enoch,

of being caught up to be with the Lord. Now, either way for you and I, whether we go to the Lord in the sense that we die and we enter into the presence of the Lord because our physical body dies, or whether the rapture takes place and we are caught up to be with the Lord, either way, whether it's through the rapture or through some other natural or physical death, we're in the presence of the Lord.

and we will always be with the Lord. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. But the interesting thing about Enoch, aside from this picture in this illustration of the rapture, is that he was with God. He was walking with God before that, and he was walking with God for a long time. Would you look again at verse 22?

It says that after he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters. Now later on in verse 24, it tells us that Enoch walked with God again. This was a prominent part of his life. He was known for this. He walked with God. But it's interesting that it specifically tells us the time frame. He walked with God for 300 years. That's a long time ago.

To walk with God. But that's what God wants. I like the way that Matthew Poole describes Enoch walking with God. He says,

whose care and constant course and business it was to please God and to imitate him and to maintain acquaintance and communion with him as one devoted to God's service and wholly governed by his will. That's what he says Enoch did as he walked with God. He was devoted to God's service and wholly governed by his will. Does that describe Enoch?

us. Does that describe you? And if you're with us on Wednesdays, this may sound pretty familiar because it sounds a lot like David, a man after God's own heart, as we've been talking about pursuing the heart of God. It is this same thought, this same concept of being wholeheartedly devoted to

to pleasing God, to knowing God, to walking with God, and to doing the things that God desires. And something that's really encouraging about this example of Enoch is he sets in stone for us this established truth. You can walk with God for a very long time. He walked with God 300 years, almost catching up to Pastor George.

right? 300 years. How long have you been walking with God? You know, it's interesting how there is a complacency that can take place in our hearts. It can creep in, and we probably wouldn't do it, you know, deliberately, but we can develop this mindset and this attitude that

We've been walking with God for some time. I've read through the scriptures. I know about God. I know the Bible teachings. I know the Bible stories. You know, that we have so much experience. And because of our experience, we can skip out. It's like, again, going to the park and like, hey, I've walked this park for 300 years. I don't need to walk it again. Kim, you go ahead. You walk around the park. I'll stay here. And that's not walking together.

Walking together is, yes, we've done it for 300 years and today we're going to do it again. And it's that ongoing, and listen, there is enough in God that you can walk with God for 300 years and not reach the end of it.

of the relationship, not reach the depths and finish like, well, I guess that's it. We have nothing else to talk about. We've talked about everything possible, right? Sometimes you feel that way in your earthly relationships, right? It's like that kind of dead silence at dinner. It's like, well, what is there to talk about, right? You will never get to the end of that relationship with God. Sometimes people have the mentality, I've read through the Bible, done that. I don't need to continue that.

I've had those times of prayer. I've done those things and done this. But it's not about getting through something once or knowing all the doctrine or doing a sufficient amount of events or activities. It really is about the day-to-day, moment-by-moment walk until He takes you to the very end of your life. God will be there saying, where are you? I want to walk with you today.

and tomorrow, and the next day. He's not tired of spending time with you. He's not tired of interacting with you. He's not tired of your failures. He's not tired of your questions. He's not tired of anything about the interaction that you and him have. He desires that. That's why he created you. That's what he wants to do for the rest of eternity. And so until he takes you, make sure that you walk with God.

Whether it be through rapture or through some other type of death, walk with God until He takes you. That same pace, that same direction, making the same decisions with Him, letting Him lead and guide the course and direction of your life. Again, your common and day-to-day routine reveals who your God is. And if you were to plot out your course this week or maybe last year, what would your interactions with God be like? Is it in sync? Working your way through the year, working your way through the days,

Or is it, well, I check in here, I check in there. You know, we connect here, we connect there, but it's this zigzag. It's something different than walking hand in hand, that walking arm in arm, that step by step, that moment by moment, each day and throughout the day. Well, now jumping over to Genesis chapter six, we find the third example, and that is the example of Noah. And here we'll look at Genesis chapter six, verses five through nine. And the point is, walk with God in a wicked world.

In Genesis chapter 6, verse 5, it says, Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. And notice, Noah walked with God.

Here as we jump now to Genesis chapter 6, this is famous, of course, because of Noah and the flood that God is about to bring. And here in this context, in Genesis chapter 6, we find mankind has populated the earth and there's a world of people there, but it is a sad condition because it tells us in verse 5, the wickedness of man was great in the earth.

And there was such a wickedness that God comes to the point that says, there's no redeeming this as a whole. We're going to wipe it out with the flood and just save Noah. Because Noah walked with God. He was righteous. And it's a stark contrast in the middle of this wicked world where wicked continually was on the heart and in the minds of all the people.

And that's the way that God describes it. The intent and the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually. And yet in that context, we find this man, Noah. And Noah walked with God. I think this is interesting and important for us to consider, particularly because, well, there was a call in on Pastor's Perspective last week. And the caller was asking the question like,

How can I be pleasing to God? Because I don't have a job like you pastors where, you know, I'm just involved in ministry all day and at church all day and things like that. And so I don't keep my mind on the Lord. I can't always be pleasing to the Lord because I live in the real world. And that's kind of a dilemma, a mentality, a struggle that everybody experiences, right?

Construction workers say, well, it's really hard for me to walk with God, you know, at work because, you know, there's just all this filth around me. Right, Carlos? There's all this filth around me. And yet, here we see the example of Noah.

The world was wicked and mankind was so wicked that their thoughts and their heart were evil continually. And yet here we find Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was a just man. He was perfect in his generations. Noah walked with, in the midst of all of that wickedness, Noah walked with God.

And sometimes we can kind of excuse ourselves from walking with God because it's so hard, you know, amongst all the context that we're in and the situation that we're in. But Noah stands here as a bold and clear reminder, you can still walk with God in a wicked world. Even when nobody else around you is, even when all the, you know, the tide and the forces are trying to push you into sync with the things of this world and wickedness.

You have the capacity, you have the choice to walk with God. I like the way that John Gill describes Noah's walk with God. He says, Noah walked with God. He walked according to his will, in the ways of truth and righteousness. Walked in a manner well-pleasing to him and enjoyed much communion with him as Enoch had done before him.

Very similar descriptions of walking with God and seeking to please God and being in fellowship with God and in walking in the ways of God. And that is something that you have the opportunity to do and the capacity to do. Sometimes we don't walk with God because we failed, but then Adam and Eve in the garden show us that God still shows up and says, I still want to walk with you.

I still want to have that closeness and that kind of fellowship with you. Sometimes we don't walk with God because, well, it's hard in the face of all the wickedness around us. And here we have this reminder. You can. You can follow the example of Noah and stand with God and walk with God in spite of

of what's happening in the world around you. Paul says it this way in Philippians chapter two, as he prays for the Philippians, he says that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world. When you walk with God in the midst of that darkness, it brings a brightness and an intensity to that testimony because you walk with God.

Because you're in sync with God. You don't, all right, God, I'm going to work. So you stay here or you go do whatever you want to do. You know, go shopping or whatever. And then I'm going to work and then we'll meet up afterwards. But what God desires is for you and him to be at work together. For you and him to be in the midst of this wicked world together. But for you to be walking with him in his ways and fellowship with him in righteousness. Walk with God in a wicked world.

Going along at the same pace, following the same direction, making decisions together. God, what do you want to do? Which way do you want me to go? Again, it's your common day-to-day routine that reveals who your God is. So what does your day look like? What does your routine look like? What does your life look like? Does it show that the creator of the heavens and the earth is your God because you walk with him? Your paths are aligned. Your

Your days are aligned. You're in sync together. That's what God wants. He wants to walk with you. No matter how much you've messed up or how bad you failed or how many times, God wants to walk with you. And there's enough in the relationship with God for you to walk with him until the very end, until he takes you to be with him.

You haven't finished. You haven't, you know, exhausted the awesomeness of what it means to walk with God. You haven't experienced it all yet. You're not done. Continue. And that's why we finish the book of Revelation and then we go back to the book of Genesis because that's part. It's not the all of our walk with God, but it's part of our walk with God.

And so we're coming back through again to revisit, to explore further, to renew this walk with God and to enjoy different aspects of it. And as we walk with God and God's pointing out, hey, check out this one here and look at this over here. Let me show you something else over here. And you haven't seen that before.

And next time through, he'll be like, hey, check out this. Last time I showed you that, remember? But this time, let me show you this. And God has so much for us that we can walk with him for over 300 years. In fact, we can walk with him for all of eternity. And that's what he desires. Walk with God. It's what he wants. Even in the midst of a wicked world, you can do it. You can be in communion with God, walking in real time. Think about Jesus. He came as a baby, right?

He didn't show up on the scene as a full-grown man. Now, if I was God, I would just kind of fast forward that part. Just kind of like, now the Bible skips over pretty much the whole growing up years of Jesus, but Jesus didn't skip over that time. He lived it out in real time because that's what he desires. If you think about eternity, there's nothing but time.

If we went into eternity with our mentality, it would be the fast forward button. Like, you know, we're trying to get to the end. But God wants the moment by moment. That's what he desires. That's what he's looking forward to. That's what he's calling us to right now. That real relationship, that in sync, moment by moment, day by day, throughout the day, walk and talk and fellowship and requests and calling out and falling and getting back up. And that

That full-on journey with God is what he desires. Would you turn with me as we close to Luke chapter 22? Luke chapter 22, we have Jesus in the upper room with his disciples, and he institutes here the Last Supper, and we'll partake of communion here in just a few moments as we close. But in Luke chapter 22, as Jesus...

institutes what we call communion today, this last supper. I found it interesting as I was reviewing this and considering it in light of walking with God. Luke chapter 22, verse 14, it says this, "'When the hour had come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him. And he said to them, "'With fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you.'"

Now just stop and consider Jesus here with his disciples. Notice that the time, the hour had come. He's in this particular piece.

And it's at this particular hour, at this particular time, he sits down and notice what he says in verse 15, with fervent desire, I've desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. Jesus has this big event right around the corner. He's got this suffering, the crucifixion he's about to endure, but he's fervently desired for this hour to have this meal with his disciples.

Again, God really does want fellowship with us. He wants to walk with us. And the Lord has this fervent desire, even though, hey guys, I got a lot on my mind. I'm about to suffer. So I'm going to skip dinner. You guys go enjoy it. But you know, I just need some time alone because I got this big event happening. That's not when Jesus steps away. In fact, even when he does step away after dinner in the garden of Gethsemane, he takes his disciples with him.

He wants, and he's in agony, and he's suffering, but he brings them along. And that is the point, that it's that journey, it's that day by day, and he desires that with them. And he says, look, I'm not gonna eat of this again until it's fulfilled in the kingdom of God. He doesn't just skip to eternity. All right, look, we have plenty of time to eat later, guys, so we'll just jump, you know, we'll just skip it this time, and then, you know, in eternity, we're gonna eat all the time, and we'll just have a good time all forever and ever.

No, no, this one, I've really desired this one because it's my last chance to have this meal with you until eternity. He really desires those moments, those occasions where we gather together. There's God in the garden again saying, where are you? And this morning as we prepare our hearts for communion, here's the Lord saying, I'm here. Are you here? Where are you? I want to fellowship with you. I want to have this meal with you.

This moment, it's not just one of many that doesn't matter in its eternity, that's all that matters, but this moment matters, and you giving me this moment, and you calling out to me, and letting me speak to you, and those moments matter, those steps matter, that walk matters. And so we want to take some time this morning to just walk with the Lord, to have some communion time, to have some fellowship time, to let him speak to us, and for us to speak to him. I'm going to invite Adam up to

Lead us in worship for the time of communion. Here in Luke chapter 22, Jesus in verse 19 and 20 gives the bread and says, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Take this step, come back to it frequently. Follow this course, walk through the crucifixion, walk through my body being broken for you.

And remember me, you've done it a hundred times perhaps. Do it 101 and then 102. Do it again and spend this time. That moment, yeah, there's great things in eternity. Yes, there's failures in the past. But right now, God is saying,

I want to walk with you. Would you spend this time with me and think about and consider what I've done for you, my body being broken? He gave him the cup in verse 20 and said, this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. It's the blood that brings the forgiveness, the washing of sin. And he says, do this in remembrance of me. And so we have this opportunity to remember and reflect on what Christ has done for us.

in obedience, walking in this path, taking these steps, going around this course that he has set before us and partaking of communion together. God is here saying, where are you? Are you here? Are you with him? Let's take this time to meet with the Lord and enjoy the fellowship and reflect on

on who he is and what he's done and what we have in him. And if you're hiding in sin like Adam and Eve, it's time, you don't need to continue hiding. It's time to stop hiding, to confess. There's no reason to hide anymore. Christ has covered it no matter what it is. He still wants to walk with you. He still invites you to the communion table to receive what he's done for you and to be given through that forgiveness and full access to your heavenly father.

The communion elements are on the back table there at the end of the rows, and we want to encourage you, anytime during the song, you can go ahead and make your way back, and you're going to have to walk, right? Let it be the start of a new walk with God. Let it be the start of a year of walking with God. Let it be the start of a day walking with God. And you can go get those elements at any time, and you partake between you and the Lord, because

Well, it's about you fellowshipping with God, locking arms and being in sync and moment by moment enjoying that fellowship and relationship with him. And so Adam's gonna lead us in song. He's gonna give you plenty of time and we'll look to end in about 10 minutes or so, okay? So let's worship the Lord and partake of communion. As you feel that, as the Lord ministers to you, go ahead and go partake of the elements from the back.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.