CONTEND FOR THE FAITH
Jude
IDENTIFYING YOURSELF
V:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
Who is Jude? He identifies himself first as a servant of Jesus Christ. A servant is obedient to a higher authority. The higher authority is Jesus. There is none higher
than Jesus. In the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every heart shall confess.
The most important credential you and I have is a servant of Jesus. There are responsibilities and privileges that go along with being a servant. We are responsible for following the commands of Jesus. We are under His guidance and direction.
We are assured of the grace and mercy of Jesus. We have access to the wisdom of the Lord. We are under the protection of the Lord. We have access to all the riches of the Lord.
Second, Jude identified himself with his family, the brother of James. Which James? You have James the apostle who was killed by Herod years earlier. You have James the half-brother of Jesus who had become a leader in the Church. Some say Thaddaeus the Apostle chosen by Jesus was Jude. Jude identified himself
with those esteemed by the Lord Jesus.
Family is important but it takes a second to being a servant. The family name wants get
you into heaven, but a servant of Jesus will.
This short Epistle was written to those who were called. The entire Bible was written to
those who were called which includes YOU. We are blessed to have a book of instructions written to us. This book is for you. It has your name on it.
You are loved by God the Father.
The word Love is the Greek word agapao which is rich in meaning
To love finding one's joy, direction, and will
To love duty and respect
To Love favor and goodwill
To love to delight in
Which love is Jude referring to? All of them
Kept by Jesus
The reason we exist is because we are kept by Jesus. The benefit of an association with Jesus
is to be kept by Him.
The word kept is the Greek Word tero which means to guard, keep an eye on, maintain,
to hold fast.
We are called by Christ. Loved by Christ and kept by Christ. We have access to the love mercy and peace of Christ in abundance.
It is good to have those who know you pray for you. Jude encourages us
to pray for each other. Pray for an abundance of God’s love, God’s peace and
God’s mercy.
With Christ on our side, all is well. It may not be the way we want it but is the way Jesus
wants it.
CONTEND FOR THE FAITH
V:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
We can talk about a lot of things, But there are some things more important than others.
It is good to be around those who care about us and are alerted to dangers in
our midst. When we add members to the Church, we add the good and the bad. People are who they show themselves to be.
We must always be on the alert that everyone that claims Christ may have no relationship with Him. It is not our business who God brings to the church.
It is our business to welcome them and teach the Word.
Satan is as busy in the Church as He is outside the Church. Wolves in sheep's clothing show up among us at all times.
Satan now has the influence of multimedia. We are instantly influenced by Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, YouTube, Instagram, and others. Christian values are challenged daily. The biggest challenge we face is the decline in family values.
The structure of the family is being redefined from God’s design of man and woman
to man and man and woman and woman. The sexuality of our children
is being challenged. It is common for a child to redefine itself from boy to girl and from girl to boy. We have laws in the books that encourage our children to view themselves differently from the way God made them.
Homosexuality is nothing new. It was a problem in Genesis 13 in the city of Sodom and
Gomorrah. That was 2000 years before the birth of Christ.
God started with family, so Satan attacks the family. Satan now has a back door
into the family. We are influenced by multimedia.
Destroy the structure of family and you destroy faith in Jesus.
Trust in God has been replaced with trust in guns. The answer to violence is to be armed for violence. True love has been replaced with true what I like.
MAKE FAITH YOUR FIRST PRIORITY
We bring the evil influences of the world into the Church. We are the worst
enemy to the Gospel. Unless you struggle with these negative influences
you will end up condoning them.
The Word contend is the Greek word epagonizomai which means to struggle for,
a contest for victory, or to strive for. We are in a contest with Satan to control
our families
If we are going to contend for the Gospel we do have fine tune our knowledge and belief
in the Gospel.
To contend for the Gospel we have to make a decision to prioritize the Gospel as number one.
You have to be determined to know the Gospel truth
You have to be determined to speak the Gospel truth
You have to be determined to live the Gospel truth.
You have to take on the risk of speaking the truth in the face of opposition.
You have to be determined to believe every word of God is the only truth.
Like Jude, there must be an urgency to confirm the Faith.
God has given each of us a measure of Faith. He has trusted us with this
most valuable trait that changes the world. He has given us the means to please
Him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
To deny the commands of God is to deny Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
To ignore the sins of the world is to condom them before God and man.
We have to strive with our fears before we can be effective in striving
for God. We cannot face Satan and his demons if we cannot face our
ignorance of the scriptures.
While the World is bent on denying the righteousness of God and destroying
His design for the family. He is still in control.
KNOW THE HISTORY OF GOD AND THE UNGODLY
Starting in verse 5, Jude gives us a history lesson about how God dealt with the
ungodly and refocused man on His righteousness.
In Genesis 6, a second set of ungodly angels stepped out of their placed and
took wives. They were cast into abyss and locked up forever. In Genesis 13
the men of Sodom and Gomorrah became so ungodly that they desired sex
with Angels in male form who came down from heaven. The cities were
destroyed. In Genesis 7 God destroyed the families of the earth with the
great flood because of their ungodliness. He restarted mankind with Noah
and his family.
In Exodus, God took the nation of Israel out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt
then destroyed the unbelieving families among them.
No matter how bad the world gets and how terrible the circumstances are,
God’s plan for you will survive. All that is happening now has been foretold.
There is nothing new under the sun.
2 Peter 3:3-4
First of all, you must understand that in the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
LIVE FOR THE FAITH
Jude 20-24
20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
What must we do to contend for the faith?
Jude gives us the recipe.
1. Build yourself up in the Faith. It is a personal decision.
2. Pray in the Spirit
3. Focus on the Love of God
4. Build your trust in the Lord
5. Show mercy to the doubters
6. Teach others to hope in God.
These are beautiful words. What does it look like in your life?
What does contending for the faith look like in everyday living?
Since we know Satan is attacking the family, our objective is to take
charge of the family. The school can’t be in charge, multimedia
can't be in charge, and the government can’t be in charge,
you must be in charge. Take the family back from the hands of
Satan.
Starting with you, be the role model for family and God’s righteousness
Don’t assume your children are getting your role model
Remember that they have a wallpaper of ungodliness all around them.
At school age, they will spend more time in the world than they will
with you.
Take time and talk to your children about God.
Make a habit of letting your children tell you about their day when they
come into the house. It is your time to know what influences them.
Pray with them and for them
Don’t just recite the Lord’s prayer, show them the Lord’s prayer in action
Before family, friends, and coworkers talk to God, give Him the credit,
praise and worship
Let all your plans, actions, and words be God directed.
In conversation, listen first, then respond with a word from God.
CELEBRATE THE FAITH
GOD DOESN'T NEED YOU TO FIGHT THE BATTLE. IT WAS WON ON THE CROSS
GOD NEEDS YOU TO CELEBRATE THE VICTORY
Jude 24-25
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Praise God because He keeps us
Praise God because He chose us to be in His presence
Praise God because of His glory
Praise God for your salvation
Praise God For the Joy He Gives
Praise God for just being God
Praise God For His Power And Authority
Praise God For His Son
Praise God For Our Eternal Home
GOD NEEDS US TO BE EXCITED ABOUT OUR
FAITH
CLASS EXERCISE
How do you counsel a friend that is doing the
wrong thing? Read John 4:7-21
The Samaritan woman at the well
1. Met the woman at a commonplace
2. Talked with her in private
3. Asked for her help
4. Presented her with a solution
5. Mentioned her husbands (she had 5 and was on the 6th)
Didn’t condemn her
No comments:
Post a Comment