When the Lord calls you home, will it be said of you that you walked with God—as Enoch walked with Him? Dr. Stanley discusses how to fellowship with God like Enoch did—daily, faithfully, and obediently.
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male announcer: “In Touch”
with Dr. Charles Stanley,
celebrating 45 years
of God’s faithfulness
and sharing the
gospel worldwide.
Next on “In Touch,”
“Are You Walking with God?”
Dr. Charles Stanley: When you
come to the end of life,
what do you want to be
remembered for?
Your kindness, your love,
your generosity, your knowledge,
your wisdom, your abilities
and skills, that you knew how
to relate to other people,
or would they remember you
for your stinginess, your pride,
your antagonistic attitude,
your dishonesty, you didn’t
love anybody, you were just
an angry person?
What are people going to say
about you when you’re gone?
Well, you may be the kind of
person who says, “Well, I hope
they don’t remember anything
about me.”
Well, they will–not much maybe,
but they will.
So, will anybody say, “I don’t
know a lot of things about him
or about her, but this I do
know: he walked with God.
She walked with God, that much I
know about him and about her.”
How could you have anything more
uplifting and Christ-like than
that to say, that somebody
walked with God?
So, let me ask you this: how
does a person walk with God?
How do you know when you’re
walking with God or not?
So, what I’d like to do is to
give you a brief statement
to–just to define what it means
to walk with God.
So, I want you to write it down.
What does it mean to walk
with God?
To walk with God means to keep
Him at the center of our
thinking: in everything we do,
everything we say, everything we
think in our relationships, in
our finances, our plans, and in
every area of our life.
That’s what it means
to walk with God.
It’s the wisest way to walk.
So, I want you to turn for just
a moment and look, if you will,
in Genesis chapter five.
And here is Enoch, about which
the Bible says that he walked
with God and then he was no
longer there, God took him.
So, look in the fifth chapter,
if you will, verse twenty-one.
“Enoch lived sixty-five years,
and became the father
of Methuselah.
Then Enoch walked with God three
hundred years after he became
the father of Methuselah, and he
had other sons and daughters.”
Remember that his son lived the
longest of anybody in the Bible,
“So all the days of Enoch were
three hundred and
sixty-five years.
Enoch walked with God, and he
was not, for God took him.”
So, if somebody says,
“Are you walking with God?”
I wonder
what you would say.
Would you say, “Yes, I am”?
And then if they said, “Well,
what are you doing in order
to walk with God?”
Could you even answer that?
So, I want to give
you an answer.
And I want to give you a list of
things absolutely essential
to walking with God, to walking
after God, and to walking in
a way that pleases and honors
God and brings you the best life
that you could possibly have.
So, the first thing is this, and
that is to accept the Lord
Jesus Christ as your
personal Savior.
That’s the beginning.
In other words, if I want to
walk with God, I can’t even get
to God except through His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
“No man comes to the Father,”
He said, “except by Me.”
You want to walk with God?
Come to Jesus.
Face the cross,
the resurrection, that’s where
walking with God begins.
Anybody who tells you
they’re living a good life and
everything is fine, and they’ve
rejected Jesus Christ as their
Savior, are either ignorant
or living in sin and totally
blinded by it.
So first of all, you have to
accept the Lord Jesus Christ
as your Savior.
That’s the way we get to God.
So, if I’m going to walk with
Him, I’ve got to be with Him.
How do I get to be with Him?
By receiving His Son, forgives
my sin, makes it possible for me
to have a personal, intimate
relationship with Him,
first step.
Secondly, that is, I must learn
to listen to Him.
If I don’t listen to God, I’m
not going to follow Him.
If you don’t learn to pray and
to listen to God, you are not
going to follow Him and you’re
not going to walk with Him.
And prayer is absolutely
essential, and this is why I say
so often, that is, our prayer
and meditation, the time
we spend alone with Him,
is absolutely essential.
Because when you’re reading the
Word and talking to Him and
listening to Him, He’s going to
be showing you things you,
listen, you’re not going to
find out any other way.
Thirdly, you’ve got
to trust Him.
If you don’t trust Him, you’re
not going to follow Him.
And oftentimes I’ll be talking
to somebody and I’ll say,
“Well, just trust the Lord.”
Well, I am trusting Him.
Well, show me how
you’re trusting Him.
And when they get through
telling me, they’re not
trusting God at all.
They’re just hoping and wishing
and betting and this, that,
and the other, that things are
going to turn out right,
and most of the time
they have, they say.
But they’re not
walking with God.
To walk with God, I’ve got to
listen to Him and I have
to trust Him.
If I don’t trust Him, I’m not
going to walk with Him.
“Trust in the Lord
with all your heart.
Lean not to your
own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge
Him, and He will direct
your path.
So, He’s not going to lead me
to walk without following Him,
’cause that’s what that
passage is all about.
Trust in the Lord
with all your heart.
Don’t lean to your own
understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledge
Him and He will make your
paths straight.
And so, if you’re going to
follow Him, if you’re going
to walk with Him, if you’re
going to be the person God wants
you to be, then you’ve got
to decide at some point,
“I’m going to trust Him.”
Now, watch this.
Why do I put that
emphasis on trust?
Because sometimes, in fact,
many times, God will require
something of us that makes
no sense, doesn’t fit, doesn’t–
the timing’s not right, couldn’t
be him, couldn’t be her,
couldn’t be that, no, no,
no, no, no.
But God says,
“That’s what I want you to do.”
Nowhere does He promise us
that we will understand.
But listen, if I’m going to walk
with Him, I’m going to do what
He says whether I
understand it or not.
And so, you have to decide
whether you’re going to trust
Him or not.
And then of course, if you’re
going to walk with Him,
you’ve got to agree with Him.
If you don’t agree with Him,
you’re not going to walk
with Him.
So, let me ask you this.
Have you ever disagreed
with God?
Yes, we all have at some point
foolishly, ignorantly–maybe
before we really were in touch
with God as best we could be.
And so, what happens?
We think somehow that we
can make everything work.
Watch this, we’re not taught by
the Scriptures that God is
to agree with us.
We’re taught by the Scripture
that we are to agree with him.
He’s the one who is omniscient,
omnipotent, omnipresent.
Then, of course, it’s not enough
just to agree with Him, you have
to obey Him.
If you’re going to walk with
Him, you have to obey Him
because He’s going to require
some things that you’re not
going to like.
Or He’s going to require some
things that you don’t
fully understand.
Obedience to Him is
absolutely essential.
Disobedience implies that
I know better than He does.
Now, watch that.
If I don’t obey God and
I’m a follower of the Lord
Jesus Christ, God is my Savior,
my Father, if I don’t obey Him,
I am saying, “I know better
than God who is omniscient.
And so, I’m going this way.
Oh, I know what He says,
but this is not too far off.”
Listen, one step off
is disastrous.
If we are to follow Him, we’re
to walk with Almighty God.
Obedience is necessary.
Well, you say, “Well,
how much obedience?”
Well, partial obedience is what?
Disobedience.
So, if I’m going to obey Him,
I’m going to do what He says do,
when He says do it, and the way
He says do it, period.
So, are you walking with God?
In other words, is obedience,
watch this, is obedience
a lifestyle for you?
When you wake up in the morning,
your intention is to obey
God today.
Almighty God is our leader, our
guide, our God to guide us
every single day.
We’re to walk with Him.
And walking with Him means
I surrendered my will
and I’m willing to obey Him
because I trust Him.
And because I trust Him,
I will obey Him.
Because I don’t trust Him is
the reason I disobey Him.
So, ask yourself the question,
and I hope you’ll ask it all
the way through this message.
Am I walking with God
or am I not?
It’s easy to say I am, but there
are some criteria, and all we’re
doing is saying let’s give it
a test and see if you are
or if you’re not.
Dangerous to walk in
disobedience to God.
But likewise, if I’m walking
with Him, I’m going to walk
in the same direction He walks.
If I’m really and truly walking
in His will and His way,
I’m obeying Him and I am walking
in the same direction.
Now, it doesn’t mean that you
are like somebody else.
God hasn’t got the same will
for two different people.
He has a way for you to walk.
And what you and I have to do is
to know in our heart,
as best I know my heart, Lord,
I’m walking in obedience to You.
I’ll go wherever You want me
to go, do whatever You want me
to do.
And watch this, somebody says,
“Well, I was saved
forty years ago.”
What’s that got to do
with today?
In other words, listen, every
day we have to make a decision.
Am I going to follow Him
or am I not?
Am I going to walk
with God or am I not?
You say, “Well, now you mean to
tell me I’m to get up every day
and say, ‘Am I going
to follow God?'”
No, you should get up every day
and say, “Thank You, Lord, I’m
going to follow You by the power
of the Holy Spirit, walk in Your
way, whatever You want today.”
We should wake up
committed to Him.
We walk with God because
that’s who we are.
We’re indwelt
by the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit always leads
us to make wise, godly decisions
because we’re His children.
And we’re walking in His Spirit
and we’re walking in His path.
And so, obedience is
absolutely necessary.
Now, some ways may seem to be
shorter and faster and cheaper.
Notice I said, “Seem to be,”
because the ways that seem to be
that way are not God’s ways.
If I’m going to walk in His way
and in the direction with Him,
I’ll have to part ways with
a lot of people, probably.
You can’t have the world’s
friendship, close friendship and
walk in the ways of God.
The world–I didn’t say just
anybody in the world, because
there are people who want
you to follow them.
If you have to follow the ways
of the world, you’ll have
lay down everything
we’re talking about.
You will not walk with God,
you’ll not listen to Him,
you won’t obey Him,
you find yourself going
in an opposite direction.
So ask yourself the question: am
I really and truly walking with
God or am I just fooling myself?
Well, you’re certainly going
to have to stay in step with Him
if you walk with Him.
Think about it.
It’s one thing to go in the same
direction, but what about
keeping in step?
And this is where many people
get in trouble.
They may be walking
in the right direction,
but not in step with Him.
Oftentimes, we get ahead of Him.
You say, “Well, how am I to know
that I’m walking in step?”
Compass, never fails.
Never fails.
You, listen, you read the Word
of God and you’re going to know
whether you’re walking in
the right path or not, and
if you’re in step with God.
What does in step mean?
In step means that He and I
are together.
Living a godly life,
which is the requirement of God,
the blessing of God, the promise
of the help of God, is to do
exactly what we’re
talking about.
Walking in step with Him,
walking in the same direction,
walking in the power
of the Holy Spirit.
And so, many people wonder why?
They say, “I’m a Christian, been
a Christian for years, why is
God letting all this
happen to me?”
And I talk to people all the
time who are going through
difficult problems.
Sometime they’re on the
telephone usually, or maybe
I meet them and they’ll bring up
something and they can’t figure
out why this has
happened to them.
“Well, have you been
listening to God?”
“Oh yes.”
People are quick to say,
“I listen to God,” because,
watch this, you listening?
Say amen.
Listening to Him and thinking
about Him are not the same.
I can think about Him, doesn’t
mean I’m listening to Him.
If I’m listening to Him, I’m
going to think about Him and
I am going to be receptive and
sensitive to what is God saying.
Is He saying slow down?
Is He saying speed it up?
Is He saying this direction,
that direction?
God is so willing.
But when I think about the whole
idea of walking and following
our Lord, think about this, you
can’t improve on His timing.
Now, here’s the reason why.
Because He’s omniscient.
Think about this, He knows
all about your future.
He knows all about
your opportunities.
He–watch this, He knows
every weakness you have.
He knows the things that are
most susceptible to you
to disobey Him.
And so, God has your
whole life before Him.
He knows what’s best.
He doesn’t want you to get ahead
of Him or to lag behind.
And so, you can trust Him
about everything.
And if you’re going to walk
with God, you have to trust Him,
follow Him as we’ve said about
all these other things, and you
can’t improve on His timing.
And so, if you’re going to live
a godly life, following Him,
trusting Him, listening to Him,
obeying Him, every single step
is important.
And then I think, one other
thing that’s very important
here, and that is I have
to love Him.
If I don’t love God, I’m
not going to follow Him.
If you love Him,
what will you do?
You’ll want to obey Him.
If you love Him, you’ll
wait for His timing.
If you love Him, you’ll keep
your ear open to His heart.
All the things we’ve said before
are involved in expressing your
love for God.
Walking in His ways, in His
step, trusting Him, listening
to Him, all of those things are
a part of loving Him.
And if I love Him,
I will obey Him.
So ask yourself the question:
am I really and truly walking
with God, or am I not?
And nobody knows the answer
to that but you.
Then I think about if I’m going
to walk with God, I’m going
to forsake sin.
Now, what does that mean?
That means I’m going to keep
my heart clean all the time.
And if something comes up
that causes me to stumble in
my thinking or action, I’m going
to deal with it right then.
Doesn’t mean you’re
going to be perfect.
Forsaking sin, turning away from
it, doesn’t fit who we are,
doesn’t fit what God
has in plan for us.
And so, if you’ll think about
this: sin always causes us
to stumble in some fashion
or the other.
Are you walking with God?
Ask Him.
Is there something in your
life that you know
shouldn’t be there?
Is there some sin that just,
it’s just attached to you?
You just think,
“Well, one little, listen,
I can’t be perfect.”
Doesn’t mean that we are
perfect, everybody stumbles
along the way.
You can walk most anywhere and
there’ll be a rock here or
a little hole there, and you may
stumble, but you keep going.
You don’t just lie down
and say anything.
You make changes in your life
when you need to make changes.
But if you’re not willing to lay
that down, then you’re not going
to walk in obedience to God.
You’re not going to
enjoy life’s best.
You’re going to miss out
on God’s best blessing
for your life.
You can’t have sin and holiness
at the same time.
It just doesn’t work.
So, if I’m going to walk with
God, I’m going to pursue
a life of holiness.
Now, what does that mean?
A holy life is not a perfect
life, but it is a life committed
to, surrendered to, the perfect
will of Almighty God.
Does it mean we will always,
without exception–no, there are
times–that’s why He says if we
confess our sins, “He’s faithful
and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.”
John was writing that
for believers.
So that’s what we do with sin.
We confess it.
We walk away from it.
So you have to ask yourself the
question: in light of all of
this, how many of these
are true in your life?
If you’re going to walk with
God, all of them, all of them
are necessary.
So, let’s go back to
the first question.
When God calls you, what
will people know you for?
You may be very gifted
in some areas.
And you may be very famous.
You may be very wealthy.
You may be one of many things,
but will they be able to say
you walked with God?
Only if you do walk with Him.
And if you do follow these
simple steps of accepting Christ
as your savior, listening to
Him, trusting Him, obeying Him,
abiding by His will for your
life, all of these issues are
part of living in obedience
to Him and being a part of
the kingdom of God and make
a difference where you are.
So, ask yourself the question:
am I walking with God?
And you might conclude at night
time before you–if I should ask
you, do you pray right
before you go to sleep?
Do you?
Well, some of you do.
The rest of you are in trouble.
You–listen, the truth is why
not go to bed every night
talking to God?
Listen, if it only takes you a
few moments to look back during
the day and say, “Lord,
did I walk with You today?”
And when you wake up in the
morning, begin to–begin the day
saying, “Lord, enable me to
follow You today, and to walk
with You today, and to become
what You want me to be.”
If you’ve never trusted
Jesus Christ as your Savior,
which is the first step,
you’re not walking with Him.
And I want to encourage
you to look at your life.
Ask God to show you
what He sees.
And then you’re going to be
confessing and repenting of your
sin, asking God to forgive you,
which He promised to do.
If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just, He has
the right to forgive us
because of the cross.
And get your life straightened
up, not by what you do,
but by what He’s going to do
in you and through you.
And then start your
walk with God.
Look how long you’ve walked
without Him.
You may be one of those persons
that says, “Well, I’ve done
pretty good without Him.
No, it’s His grace, love,
and mercy that’s allowed you
to come this far.
He could take you off the
scene in a split second.
The issue is: are you willing
to walk with God?
And that’s my prayer for you.
Father, how grateful we are
for that simple verse that says,
“Enoch walked with God, and he
was not because You took him.”
May it be said of each of us,
and every one of us:
we walked with God.
Do whatever is necessary, change
whatever is necessary to get us
back in step with You, not
ahead of You, not behind You,
just in step with You.
In Jesus’s name, amen.
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