A Good Exit Strategy! Gen 5:21-24 Enoch lived sixty-five

years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with

God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days

of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God

took him.

Have you ever wondered why performers focus on the “entrance” & not the “exit?”

♦Now I know people often talk about “first impressions” and how they stick with us, but what about “last impressions?”

♦The fact is that none of us probably had a grand entrance into this life, but we can have a grand exit!

♦We have no control over our entrance!♦And yet, complete control over our exit!

The only two people ever to live and left without seeing death!

♦First there was Enoch! (Gen. 5:21-24)♦One of only two people that the Bible says

“walked with God!” (Gen. 5:22, 24 cf. 6:9)♦Second there was Elijah! (2 King. 2:1-12)

♦With Enoch we never see him again, but with Elijah we do!

♦The Mount of Transfiguration! Him & Moses with Jesus! (Mt. 17, Mk. 9 & Lk. 9)

♦Today we want to use Enoch as an example of “a good exit strategy!”

I. Plan to Exit Saved!♦Have you ever thought about what Enoch

did with the first 65 years of his life?♦Gen 5:21-22 Enoch lived sixty-five years,

and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

♦Now it maybe that he walked with God then as well, or that having a son changed his focus, we just don't know!

♦I have often wondered is Enoch knew about the coming flood?

The coming flood!♦Enoch’s first child was named

Methuselah and he was the oldest person to ever walk the earth that we know of!

♦Methuselah = when he is gone/dead, it will come! And we know that he did die in the year of the flood!

♦Noah was 600 when the flood came (Gen. 7:11) Methuselah 369 years older than him. (Gen. 5:25, 28) totaling 969, which is the age at which he died! (Gen. 5:27)

No matter what was the cause of Enoch’s desire, it is a desire we need to have!

A desire to walk with God!♦1 Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light as

He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

♦When we walk through life with God, we will always be safe/saved!

♦If any of you haven’t come to believe and obey to be saved, then now it the time!

II. Plan to Exit Suddenly!♦I have often wondered if I was given the

opportunity to leave this life and be with the Lord, would I take it?

♦2 Cor. 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

♦When Enoch leaves this life he does it “suddenly!” I have often wondered if he even knew it was coming?

♦One minute on the earth, then next with God!

The Hall of Faith! (Heb. 11)♦The first person by name we find is Abel!♦Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more

excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

♦The second person is Enoch!♦Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken away so

that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

One thing for sure is that this life is temporary!

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.♦Unless Jesus returns in our lifetime, none of

us are getting out of here alive!♦These fleshly bodies will one day die!♦Because we do not know when this will

happen, we need to always be ready!♦Mk 13:33 “Take heed, watch and pray; for

you do not know when the time is.”♦Mk 13:36 “lest, coming suddenly, he find you

sleeping.”

III. Plan to Exit Serving!♦Have you ever given much thought to

what it means “to walk with God?”♦Walking with God = to live in obedience

to His commands, and have communion with Him!

♦You see, walking with God is more than a one time event, it is a way of life! It is living our lives “for” Him, it is living our lives “with” Him! It is living with Him always in motion!

Called to be a servant!♦Mk 9:35 “And He sat down, called the

twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

♦Mk 10:43 “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.”

♦Mk 10:45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Conclusion:♦What can we learn from the great-

grandfather of Noah? We can learn what Noah did! “Learn to walk with God!”

♦Gen 6:9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.

♦We have no control over our entrance, but complete control over how we will exit life!

♦Are you ready for your journey into eternity? If not, now is the time!

Are We Ready for Our Journey into Eternity?