Your Epitaph

is that saying on a tombstone that is right below the name.

And if you look around at graves, you'll see some interesting ones.

Jesse James, his says,

murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.

Betty Davis, the actress, hers says she did it the hard way.

There's a Maryland grave that says,

here lies an atheist all dressed up and nowhere to go.

And George Johnson in Tombstone, Arizona,

bought a horse that had been stolen.

He didn't know it had been stolen,

but he couldn't persuade him that he didn't know it at the time.

And so his stone says,

here lies George Johnson hanged by mistake 1882.

He was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now he's gone.

Lester Moore got shot when he delivered a damaged package.

Wasn't his fault, but they shot him

and realized later that it wasn't his fault.

It says, here lies Lester Moore,

four slugs from a 44, no less, no more.

Frank Sinatra says, the best is yet to come.

And Frank, I hope that was the case.

Rodney Dangerfield says, there goes the neighborhood.

Merv Griffin that had a late night talk show said,

I will not be back after this message.

And the great boxer, Jack Dempsey's grave says,

a gentle man and a gentleman, even though he was a boxer.

We kidded Dawn years ago and said,

we's going to put on her tombstone.

And I told you I was sick.

And she replied and said, on yours, we're just going to put,

phew.

Because that's what I make,

that noise I make every night when I get home and rest.

I heard about one that didn't want an epitaph on his grave.

Matter of fact, he didn't want his name on his grave.

He didn't like his name, never did.

His name was odd.

And he said, when I die, don't put my name on the stone.

Because I hate my name.

I just want you to put the day that I was born

and the day that I died.

And that's all.

And that's exactly what they did.

And when people walk by that grave,

they look at it and go, hmm, that's odd.

That's odd.

That's odd.

Some of y'all will get that about lunch.

I want us to look this morning at the life

and the passing of a few people

and the statement that their lives left.

Genesis chapter 5, beginning in verse 21,

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

it says, when Enoch had lived 65 years,

he fathered Methuselah.

Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah

300 years and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Enoch were 365.

Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.

Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years

and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died.

There's a genealogy as well in 1 Chronicles chapter 4

1 Chronicles 4 · chapter mention

that has dozens of names in it,

but it gives more detail about one name.

It's in 1 Chronicles 4, 9, and 10, and it says this,

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers,

and his mother called him Jabez, saying,

because I bore him in pain.

Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying,

oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border

and that your hand might be with me

and that you would keep me from harm

so that it may not bring me pain.

And God granted what he asked.

Jabez and his prayer have been a part of Scripture

for thousands of years,

but most didn't recognize it until the year 2000

when Bruce Wilkinson wrote a little book

called The Prayer of Jabez.

He sold 9 million copies.

It encouraged people to pray the prayer of Jabez,

and he got thousands of letters from people

that told them that that prayer worked

and that God had blessed them.

But I want to be clear this morning.

God didn't answer Jabez's prayer

because it was worded correctly.

That's not why God answered his prayer.

He answered it because Jabez lived an honorable life.

He answered it because Jabez relied upon the Lord in prayer

and that he prayed deliberately and plainly enough

to recognize when God's hand was at work.

Jabez stood out among the rest

in a lot of baguettes in the genealogy,

and he got more than just a baguette.

In our passage today,

we see at least one stand out,

and I want to point out a couple of others as well.

This man Enoch lived like few others did

and left like few others have

because only four have left like Enoch left,

to my knowledge.

It said he walked with God and was no more.

So there's Enoch who left mysteriously like that.

Scripture also tells us about Elijah

who left in a fiery chariot from this life.

Jesus himself who ascended into heaven

after he had resurrected.

And my dog Boo,

back in Christmas of 2010,

I had an old dog, 16 years old,

and he could hardly walk across the yard.

Did not see very well.

He didn't go out for very long.

I had a younger dog that was on one of those collars

that kept her in the yard,

and so we had the back gate open in the backyard

and let that dog go back and forth.

And old Boo was so old,

he wasn't going anywhere.

And I was in the process of bringing in Christmas decorations

and those type things.

And a little while later,

we realized he wasn't around.

Poor dog wasn't even able to walk across the yard,

but yet he had walked somehow, somewhere.

And so we just said he walked with me

and then was no more.

I mean, we sent out search parties.

It was in December.

It was sub-freezing weather that night,

and we were tore up.

And if you don't have a dog,

you don't relate to any of this.

And if you do have a dog,

you realize the horror of all of that.

And we still never saw a sign of him.

I had a guy in the church

that owned a monument business.

And I said, I'd like to get, you know,

like a footstone or just something

to have my dog's name on it, you know.

And man, we got a stone that, a huge stone,

and it simply had his name and his dates,

and it said Genesis 5, 22.

He was no more.

Because we don't know what happened to that dog.

Never did find out.

Now, I'll tell you what we do know about Enoch.

Enoch walked with God.

Now, to walk with God means

that you spend time with God daily.

To walk with God means

that you live cleanly before the Lord.

To walk with God, it means

that you obey him faithfully,

that you let nothing hinder

your relationship with the Lord.

Nothing hinder that fellowship

that you have with God.

What a life he lived.

Name after name is listed on this page.

And there's no description of their life.

All we know is the children that they had.

And the reality is,

we don't know a lot of that either.

Because I'll tell you this,

some genealogies in Scripture,

and if you see similar ones

that are not consistent, this is why.

Some genealogies in Scripture

skip generations.

And you know why they skip generations?

Because that generation didn't have an impact.

So they just skipped right over it.

Completely.

The people are not even listed.

Then there's people in these genealogies

that have other children

that are listed

and some that are not listed.

Either it was the first son that's listed,

or it's the one that made the impact,

or the one that's in the lineage

of one who made an impact.

So I want you to get this.

Enoch never died.

Hebrews chapter 11 verse 5 says

Hebrews 11:5

that by faith Enoch was taken up

so that he should not see death,

and he was not found

because God had taken him.

So before he was taken,

he was commended as having pleased God.

God took him physically, bodily,

to heaven without dying.

One man complained to Mark Twain one time

and said,

I'm just afraid this world is just coming to an end.

And Twain replied,

well don't worry about it.

You'll never get out of it alive anyway.

And yet, you probably won't,

but you might.

Enoch had a departure, not a death.

He had a transition, not a tomb.

Elijah did the same,

and those who are alive when the Lord returns,

praise God, will do the same as well.

Enoch would have been remembered

for whatever his life consisted of.

And if he had a tombstone,

and he didn't because he wasn't buried,

his epitaph would have been,

he walked with God.

I want you to notice this morning

a confusing matter to take note of.

In Genesis chapter 4,

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

we have the genealogy of Cain's descendants,

and in Genesis chapter 5,

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

we have the genealogy of Seth's descendants.

Remember, Cain was Abel's son

that killed his brother Abel

in a spiritual jealousy.

Seth was the third son,

and his descendants are the ones

that God used more mightily.

It can be confusing

because some of the people

have the same names,

they've used them again,

and Lamech is one of those names

that's used twice.

But I want to focus on the Lamech

that's in the line of Cain

because Lamech stands out

for a couple of reasons.

In Genesis chapter 4, verse 19,

Genesis 4:19

it says,

And Lamech took two wives,

the name of the first was Adah,

and the name of the other was Zelah.

And then it goes on to say,

in verses 23 and 24,

Lamech said to his wives,

Adah and Zelah,

Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech.

Listen to what I say.

I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

If Cain's revenge is sevenfold,

then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.

Now, that passage,

in that little brief explanation,

tells me that Lamech had some problems.

The first problem he has,

he had two wives.

Not only was that ungodly,

but it was also unwise.

If you listen to the great theologians,

the Oak Ridge Boys,

they sang years ago,

trying to love two women

is like a ball and chain.

Sometimes the pleasure ain't worth the strain,

it's a long old ride,

and it'll tire your mind.

But apparently Lamech didn't listen

to the Oak Ridge Boys,

and so he tried to love two women.

Lamech was actually a man

that couldn't control himself.

Not only was he not a one-woman man,

but his life was marked

by violence and pain.

And that speaks a lot of Lamech.

And it not only speaks a lot to Lamech,

but it also speaks a lot to Cain.

Do you remember what Cain did

after he killed his brother?

We talked about Cain and Abel weeks ago,

but I didn't deal with this matter.

But what happened to Cain

after he killed his brother?

Genesis 4 verse 16 says,

Genesis 4:16

then Cain went away

from the presence of the Lord.

Now let that sit for a minute.

Then Cain went away

from the presence of the Lord

and settled in the land of Node,

east of Eden.

The word Node there in the Hebrew

means wandering.

So in other words,

he was wandering outside

of the presence of God.

And based upon what he told his wives,

his violence led him to,

excuse me,

Cain's violence led him

to wonder on the wrong path.

And based upon what Lamech said

to his wives,

his descendants,

Cain's descendants did that as well.

The truth of the matter is

what Lamech said was

that he was violent.

But it says he is violent

because somebody else started it.

In verse 23,

he said somebody wounded me.

But Lamech was determined

to finish it.

And verse 24,

when he speaks like he does

and says if Cain's

revenge is sevenfold,

then Lamech's is 77-fold.

When he says that,

I want you to understand

what he's saying.

He's bragging.

That's a boast.

He'd have made for a good

mid-Atlantic wrestler

that got up afterwards

and made their comments.

He's bragging about the fact

that if you mess with me,

it's going to be handed to you.

Lamech probably didn't have

a message on his gravestone.

But if he had,

it would have said this.

He didn't walk with God.

I would rather have

on my stone

and on my life

what I suggested

would have been Enoch's stone.

And that is he walked with God.

What a way to be remembered.

The only thing that's really said about him

is that he walked with God.

But I want you to notice something

about Enoch's life.

It was not always that way.

He didn't always walk with God.

I want you to look at Genesis 5,

21 and 22 again.

And it says this.

When Enoch had lived 65 years,

he fathered Methuselah.

Enoch walked with God

after he fathered Methuselah,

300 years.

And had other sons

and daughters.

I want you to notice

from that passage

that the first 65 years

of his life,

it simply said that he lived.

There was really nothing

to make any different

from anyone else.

And then he had a son.

And his son was named Methuselah.

And something changed

in Enoch's life.

Enoch walked with God

after he fathered Methuselah.

Now, sometimes having children

is a wake-up call.

I've seen it many times

in my years of ministry.

When a young couple has a child,

there's a decision that's made

in one way or the other.

It's definitely a time

of decision for the churchgoer.

Either that young family

will become committed

to the church

and to make sure

that that child is raised

in the admonition of the Lord

and that they will be

committed to the church

and make sure

that kid has every opportunity

that he or she can

to know of the love

of Jesus Christ.

Or something else happens.

Or they'll be,

they won't be committed

to the church

because they're too busy

trying to take that kid

everywhere else.

Let me be clear.

I don't care what this world

may promise you.

Jesus said,

if you gain the whole world

yet lose your own soul,

what have you gained?

So listen,

do all you can

to give your children

as much of Jesus

as you possibly can

while they're still

under your roof.

Don't let anything

distract you

because the devil

will try anything.

The devil will try

everything.

You want to tear down

a country?

Tear down a family.

You want to tear down

a child?

Make sure their parents

are not committed

to follow the Lord Jesus.

Don't let anything

distract you

because I promise you

when their knees

are blown out

and their career is over,

they're still going

to need Jesus.

When hearts

are young,

when hearts are tender,

it's not hard to nurture

that child

in the Lord.

But over time,

hearts grow

hard.

And the shot

don't come as easy

the longer it goes.

Don't,

don't miss

the shot

that God

gave you.

And another message,

empty nesters

with that smile

on your face.

Don't abandon

church

when the kids

leave the house.

Invest in the

next generation.

Volunteer,

undergird,

support.

Have I mentioned

VBS?

Help with VBS.

Don't miss

the shot

that God

gives us

to influence

young lives

for the Lord Jesus.

Enoch didn't.

Enoch didn't.

Something changed

when Methuselah

came along.

And what was it?

Well, I think

I know the answer.

I'm not positive

about this.

You can argue

with me afterwards,

but you got a right

to be wrong.

But I think

I know.

I think the clue

is in the name

Methuselah.

His name

meant

it shall

be sent

when he dies.

It shall

be sent

when he dies.

Now listen to this.

It shall

be sent

when he dies.

What shall

be sent?

Well, let's play

a little math

game for just

a few minutes,

okay?

You might want

to write this

down if you

want to check

me on it.

Genesis chapter

Genesis 5:26–28

5 verse 26

through 28

tell us

that Methuselah

lived 782

years after

the birth

of Lamech.

When Lamech

was 182

he had

Noah.

So

Methuselah

was to live

after Noah

was born

600 more

years.

And Genesis

Genesis 7:6

chapter 7

verse 6

tells us

that when

Noah was

600 years

old the flood

came.

So in other

words Methuselah

had 600

more years

to live

when Noah

was born

and Noah

was 600

when the flood

came.

Then Methuselah

died in the

same year

as the flood.

And when I

first read that

and didn't know

his name

I thought

they left

Grandpa

out of the boat.

How in the

world could

they do that?

Yeah.

But then I

went back

to the meaning

of his name

and his name

means it

shall be

sent

when he

dies.

What shall

be sent?

The flood.

The judgment

of God.

The cleansing

of the earth.

Who named

Methuselah?

God gave

the name

to Enoch

and when

he gave

that name

to Enoch

Enoch

began to

walk with

God.

He heard

the warning

shot

of God

and the

warning shot

of God

changed his

life and from

that day

forward he

followed the

lead of the

Lord.

Now I told

you his epitaph

would be he

walked with

God but it

might be he

followed the

lead of God.

I thank

God

that Enoch

made a change

in his life

and I'm also

thankful that

God gives us

examples of

those who

do not

live for

him and

make a mess

of their

lives because

I believe he

puts it all

there for us

to learn from

it for us

to gain

understanding

from their

example so

we don't have

to go through

the same

things they

did or

because we

want an

example before

us to live

by and that's

why these

lives are

placed before

us in

scripture.

But what

matters is

what kind

of impact

that has

on us.

That's what

I mean let's

just be honest

what really

matters to us

is not how

they lived

what really

matters to us

is how we

live.

What are we

going to do

with our

lives?

I mean let's

be honest with

God.

Can it be

said of you

he walked

with God?

God?

She walked

with God

or is it

said does

he really

walk with

God?

Does she

really walk

with God?

Now I want

to be honest

with you we

can't control

what people

say.

We can't

control that.

God.

So I'm a

little less

worried about

what people

say.

The question

is this.

Do we

walk with

God?

or do we

fail to walk

with God?

Bigger than

that when

God speaks

a word of

direction to

our lives

when he

gives us a

word of

warning about

our lives

like he did

Enoch

through the

name of his

son how do

we respond to

that?

Is our

lives marked

by us

changing the

direction

that we're

going in when

God guides us

with new

knowledge?

Or when

God guides us

with personalized

truth?

When God

speaks down

deep into our

hearts and to

our lives?

Are our

lives marked

by such as

that?

So my

question is

this.

What is the

spiritual

epitaph

of your

life?

I

purposely

left room

on the front

of the

bulletin

so that you

could write

down what

would my

epitaph

be?

Write it

down.

And

consider

today

your

warning

shot.

Enoch

was 65

years old

when God

awakened him

to his

real

circumstances.

And he

changed.

something so

powerful

happened in

that man

that he

is described

like nobody

else is in

scripture.

That he

walked with

God and

was no

more.

I am so

glad he

listened to

the Lord

when he

spoke.

God

and it's

been my

prayer

all week

that God

would speak

through the

power of the

Holy Spirit

and through

his word

to your

life

and that

you would

respond in

obedience

to follow

him.

There may be

somebody here

this morning

who's never

come into a

relationship with

the father.

Never has.

God

to forgive

you of your

sins.

You've never

asked him to

come into

your life.

You've never

asked him to

change you.

You've never

committed your

life to follow

him.

Now maybe

many people

think you

have and

maybe nobody

thinks you

have.

But the

reality is if

you've never

committed your

life to

Christ you've

never asked

him to

forgive you

of your

sins and

to come

into your

life and

to change

you to

empower you

with his

Holy Spirit.

That has

never happened.

I don't care

if your name

is on the

roll.

I don't

care if

you've been

baptized.

If you've

never committed

your life to

Christ it's

your warning

shot.

It's time to

just surrender

your life.

Dear Lord

forgive me of

the sins that

I've committed.

I'm sorry for

what I've done

and from this

day forward I

want to live

for you.

And I'm

thankful for

what Christ

has done for

me on the

cross.

I commit my

life to you

today.

Today could be

the change

that affects

the rest of

your life

if you'll

surrender

your life

to Christ

Jesus.

Maybe you're

here and

you've done

that personally

privately but

you've never

let other

people know

about that

publicly.

You've never

done that.

And Jesus

by his

commission and

by his

example showed

us that we

follow that

up by letting

people know

and announce

that of sorts

through baptism.

And if you've

never done that

I encourage you

to come.

I'd love to

guide you in

that process.

maybe you're

here and God's

drawing you to

this church.

God's blessed

us mightily in

recent days and

maybe you feel

like God's

leading you to

be here as

well.

You're a

believer in the

word of God.

You've given

your heart and

life to the

Lord Jesus and

you want to

join the

church and

join hands

with us and

let us do

our job for

the Lord Jesus

until he comes.

And if he's

leading you in

that way you

come.

I'd love to

guide you in

that process.

But even

more today are

people who know

that they have a

relationship with

the Lord and

are members of

this church.

But you know in

your heart this

morning God's

given you a

warning shot.

He's awakened

you to

something.

And whether you

do it in your

seat where you

are or whether

you do it at

this altar or

whether you do

it with a

pastor praying

for you.

Let's don't

let God give

us the

knowledge of

the state of

our soul and

us ignore it.

Let's just

trust him and

do exactly what

he's told us to

do.

Let's pray

together.

Lord Jesus I

ask your God

that you'll help

us to learn from

other people's

examples and

that Father you'll

bless us right

now with the

power and the

strength to

obediently follow

in Jesus precious

name.

Amen.