
A Walk Pleasing To God
This sermon reframes Genesis 5—a chapter many skim—as a theological bridge from Adam to Noah that showcases a repeated life-cycle pattern (“lived… begat… died”) and then punctuates it with a striking exception: Enoch walked with God… and he was not, for God took him (Gen 5:24). That interruption is God’s highlighter—an invitation to study what “walking with God” means, why it matters, and how it reshapes an ordinary life into a God-pleasing one.
The Pattern and the Break
- Genealogy’s purpose: In Scripture, genealogies aren’t filler; they trace the covenant line and God’s promise. Genesis 5 contrasts with Genesis 4’s Cainite line that builds culture without God. Genesis 5 preserves the messianic line (through Seth) and shows how God threads His redemptive promise through history.
- The drumbeat of mortality: Each entry ends, “and he died,” underscoring that life detached from God terminates in death. Against that rhythm, Enoch’s entry reads differently: lived… begat… walked with God… was not. Death is omitted; translation replaces termination.
What “Walked With God” Means
- Halak (walk): The Hebrew term is not a one-off step but a continual, habitual journey—a rhythm of life. It pictures synchronized movement: regular, relational, purposeful.
- “With God”: More than proximity; it is reciprocal fellowship, a shared direction, and agreed companionship (cf. Amos 3:3). It’s not one-sided talking or transactional piety; it’s relational alignment with God’s will, timing, and heart.
Why Walking With God Matters
- Life without Him ends in death.
- The genealogy’s refrain—“and he died”—preaches that apart from God we can “do nothing” (echoing Jesus’ later words). Culture, achievement, and even religious motions without fellowship culminate in emptiness.
- Fellowship is our design.
- From creation: God breathed life into man (Gen 2:7) and declared, “It is not good that man should be alone” (Gen 2:18). We were made for relational dependence—vertically with God and horizontally with others (marriage, family, church). Isolation violates our design; so does a “consumer Christianity” that uses God rather than seeks Him.
- Walking with God pleases God.
- Hebrews 11 interprets Enoch’s life: he had this testimony, that he pleased God. The pleasure of God is tied not to titles, ministry roles, or information density, but to a lived fellowship—consistent steps in His direction.
- Walking with God prepares us for eternity.
- Enoch’s translation anticipates the believer’s hope (1 Thess 4:13–18): being “caught up… to meet the Lord in the air.” A daily walk is an apprenticeship for that eternal with-ness. The question for a walker becomes, “Is it today, Lord?”
Clarifying What a Walk Is (and Isn’t)
- Not mere activity: Bible reading and prayer can become idols if they’re boxes to tick or achievements to boast in rather than means of communion. The aim is God Himself—not a streak, a system, or a sense of superiority.
- Not transactional: Treating God like a vendor (worship, service, giving → expected blessings) poisons fellowship with pride and entitlement. True walking is covenant companionship, not contract compliance.
Illustrations That Illuminate
- The cup and the bump: Whatever fills your “cup” spills when life bumps you. A true walk fills the inner life with God so that trials spill out patience, gratitude, and steadfastness—not complaint or cynicism.
- Marching in step: Soldiers keep cadence by following the leader’s call, not by watching one another. Walking with God is locking step with His voice; when we’re out of sync, it’s obvious—devotions go dull, worship loses heart, service turns mechanical.
Practical Implications and Posture
- Pursue reciprocity, not monologue.
- Listen as much as you speak. Don’t plan your next reply while God is speaking through His Word. Let Scripture set the agenda; respond in yielded prayer.
- Aim for consistency (the Enoch pattern).
- The sermon notes Enoch’s “365”—a suggestive echo of 365 days. The point isn’t numerology but daily rhythm. Regularity matters: same time, same God, renewed heart.
- Seek agreement with God.
- Can two walk together except they be agreed? Walking entails surrender of our preferences where they clash with His ways, trusting that His ways—though higher—are better.
- Let fellowship spill into relationships.
- Because we are designed for community, a real God-walk improves marriage, parenting, friendship, and church life. It shifts us from performing for people to pleasing God among people.
- Prepare for the “caught up” by living “with.”
- The hope of being with the Lord forever trains us to be with Him now—choosing quiet over noise, substance over spectacle, and presence over production.
Four Reasons Revisited—With Heart-Level Checks
- Death vs. Life: Am I merely running on religious habits, or is there living fellowship? Do my patterns end in “and he died” realism—busy yet barren?
- Design vs. Isolation: Do I resist vulnerability and community? Is my “walk” privatized to avoid accountability?
- Pleasure vs. Performance: Am I chasing applause, roles, or recognition? Or is my secret testimony that I please Him?
- Eternity vs. Temporality: Do my spiritual practices anticipate His coming, or are they just maintenance until the next earthly payoff?
A Pastoral Call
The message closes with a promise to teach how to establish this walk, but the immediate appeal is clear: start walking. Not perfectly, but honestly. Not as an event, but as a way. Fill the cup with God; let bumps reveal Him. Tune your ear to the cadence of His Word; step when He calls. Aim for a relationship that, like Enoch’s, becomes so sweet that the transition from here to there is simply the next step with the same Companion.