Spiritual Warfare X

Text: Jude

Jude 1–25 (NKJV)

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

Apostasy? How can that be?

Mercy, peace, and love.

Jude 1–2 (NKJV)

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

This is a greeting. When you close your eyes and meditate on this sentence, it is actually a blessing. How we love our blessings from our Pastor. They are meant to let us know we are family in the body of Christ. We are one body in unity serving each other under one Holy Spirit’s guidance. Working together in Agape (Gods Love), joyfully doing Gods Kingdom work. All is well until the adversary sends in His trouble makers sowing strife, confusion, teaching false doctrine as well as appealing to the carnal tendency of men. They are looking for easy prey. The Apostates looking for worldly minded disciples to turn apostate towards Jesus and our common salvation. Let us look at this next scripture as Jude warns us.

Apostates

Jude 3–4 (NKJV)

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

These horrible ungodly men and ministries are justly condemned. Their motives are not exhorting God’s people to Holiness and pure hearts, but quite the contrary. These corrupt beast are out to pollute and victimize Gods people and extort them for selfish gain. These wolves in sheep’s clothing only care about themselves. Jude warns us to look out for them, so we won’t be tempted by their seduction to deceive the christian into the trap of apostasy and rebellion towards Jesus and apostolic teaching as they were delivered to the believers of THE WAY. These believers of Jesus and the Apostles teaching, actually follow Jesus’s teachings. These believers are basically born again in the spirit who should be living a life in faith in the Son of God Jesus. Their carnal lifestyles cause these carnal christians to be their intended targets. So Jude sounds the alarm by reminding us to remember some of these biblical examples of past Apostasy and the outcomes the Apostates justly recieved. Listen closely as you read Judes warnings.

Apostasy Warnings

Jude 5–16 (NKJV)

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

We see these sons of perdition are in the “con” business to deceive for selfish gain. So when we have the misfortune to be in contact with these deceivers we should be ready to contend with them with armed with Holy Spirit and the Gospel and give them the boot out of the fellowship before they swoop in and extract their prey from our flock. We must remind our flock just as Jude reminded us. Leave these people alone! Our focus is staying loyal to Jesus and His teachings: Not these Deceivers from the enemy to destroy the church congregation lives and souls. These deceivers and mockers of God and His Holiness will get what they deserve, but we should be looking forward to our great salvation for staying true to the faith we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus as Jude makes effort to remind us In the following passage.

Avoiding Apostasy

Jude 17–25 NKJV

But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

Conclusion

Know what you believe in Jesus.

Meditate on Gods Holy Word and live out these teachings in our daily lives.

Live in the Spirit. Pray in the Spirit. Walk in The Spirit!

Avoid “new” teachings. WARNING!!

Inspect the Spiritual Fruit of the ministries and teachers before we allow them to feed us.

Spiritual Warfare Points

Pray in The Holy Spirit!!

Always check with Holy Spirit, BEFORE rebuking or contending with evil spiritual beings.

“ The Lord rebuke you” should be our goto rebuke of any intruding spiritual being.

Hold your ground as Holy Spirit directs you. Avoid a cocky proud demeanor but yield to the humility, peace and steadfastness of the Holy Ghost!

Pastoral Prayer

Father, help us to be made alive in your Kingdom and to walk, cherish, and be doers of your Word! Let us be Steadfast in love for God and our fellow believers in the faith. Let us have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to our church and the Church as a whole. Let us spot and mark these imposters of your Apostles, teachers, prophets, evangelist and wolves posing as pastors. Deliver us and protect us from their evil devices. We pledge our loyalty to you Jesus. We put our trust in you!

Pastoral Blessing

May your life be energized by the Holy Spirit. May your life be Blessed as you walk in obedience to Jesus’s teachings. May your faith, love and hope soar as you walk in step with Father Gods will. May your continence shine as a lighthouse on a stormy night. May your Godly continence shine so brightly peoples lives would be directed to the safe harbour of Jesus and the message of the Gospel of Christ. May the Bible of Gods Holy Word build up your most holy faith in God. May you be filled up and overflowing in His presence all this week. May you and Holy Spirit have a special encounter this week building your confidence in Jesus as your Lord and King. May you have an heart felt smile many times this week.