SS Build Your Faith Jude 17-25
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Jude 17–18
“But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.””
To build our faith there are things we must
REMEMBER -
Remember what the apostles - Predicted/said would happen.
There will be mockers, instead of following God, they are following their own ungodly lust.
What is ungodly lust? ( previous verses) The OT stories mentioned are ungodly lust. also v.19 share ungodly lusts. or what ungodly lusts can cause. the effect of ungodly lusts.
How can we prevent this from happening to ourselves?
What are the last days? Let's understand this term.
Jude 19 “These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.”
(The message translation) These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!
Division - “by drawing boundaries to disjoin, part, separate from one another.” The Revised has “make separations.” Vincent says: “Cause divisions in the Church. Of those who draw a line through the Church and set off one part from another
Worldly-Minded - Egocentric - lean to their own understanding
Devoid of the Spirit -
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Build your faith - By Praying in the Spirit
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
keep- guard, watch, obey. Guard your faith. To keep your relationship with Christ on good terms. while waiting on Jesus.
Keep -
Wait - anxiously on the Lord.
Jude 22–23 “And have mercy(compassion) on some, who are doubting;(uncertain, to waver) save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”
Mercy - Compassion
doubt - to waver - become unsteady - undecided between two opinions. Showing compassion to those who are struggling with their faith. who are fully convinced. who are still deciding.
save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
Save - rescue - To save means to deliver when there is a particularly perilous situation, a mortal danger.
snatching - forcefully. - hastily -
(When a superhero see a victim falling from a building, superman dont fly beside the falling victim and ask do they want to be helped. lol)
INtroduction -
Nominal - (of a role or status) existing in name only.
A nominal Christian is someone who identifies as Christian but doesn't have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.
They may attend church services but don't practice their faith in other ways.
Nominal Christians are among the most difficult people to reach with the gospel.
Because people call themselves Christians because their parents were Christians, or because they go to church, or because they like to fool themselves so they won’t have to face the reality of hell. Or even fake. This is not just in the Christian setting, but the fakeness and existing in NAME only is a group that is hard to reach.
Reading this letter showed me 2 groups.
A Destroyer or a Builder
Destroyer - Bane , Peguin , two face, joker, mr freeze, poison ivy, thanos, magneto, dr doom, the shredder etc.
Destroyers like we discussed last week
Reject authority
Preach and believe false truth, their own truth.
speak evil of dignitaries
they corrupt themselves
serving only themselves
wandering stars
grumblers and complainers
Boastful, Braggers to impress and flatter people to gain advantage.
Destroyers who set out to destroy what is good only end up destroying themselves and the potential of destroying others on their way to an expected end.
Or
You can be a BUILDER!
It is simply this: one can destroy in just a few hours that which has taken years to construct. However, to be a builder is much more fulfilling than being a destroyer! ( video of destroying a building in seconds)
Builders - Wolverine, batman, superman, etc. (Picture shown)
THE LORD HAS CALLED US TO BE BUILDERS!!!
Sin brings destruction, but spiritual life brings growth and building! After condemning the false teachers who would destroy and tear down, Jude instructs us to build ourselves up spiritually (v. 20). We are to be builders! And Jude shares six specific ways we may accomplish this:
(Picture of a Brick Wall)
(Picture of building muscle)
v. 20
Faith - without it, it is impossible to please God, and the just shall live by faith.
This is a faith that comes from God and is towards God. This faith is lived out through active obedience. Faith without action is just name claiming.
v. 20
Praying - Builders are Prayers. The battle we fight is not won with just arguments and debates.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
For a spiritual war, one must use a spiritual weapon.
Prayer is essential to spiritual vitality.(energy,life, fight, engagement) Prayer is not a flesh thing… text says.. we are to pray in the Spirit.
Spiritual weapons aren't just for refuting error, but also in sustaining and growing your faith.
Keeping ourselves in the Love of God - v.21
Builders are LOVERS! And the love must flow from GOD!
Speak to those who are in error with Love not just your intellect.
Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.
Love builds.
Jude is saying
Stay within the bounds of Gods love. Dont stray like the angles mentioned in the previous verses. But Enjoy the love of God and freely share the love of GOd.
Looking for the mercy v.21
The mercy of God should be enjoyed daily. They are new every morning.
Jude reminds us of the ultimate of gods mercy - thats eternal life.
We should build with our eyes set on that eternal Goal. When we do its hard to stray away and be led away by false teachers.
By having compassion v.22
What we have should not only be enjoyed by us, but this is for everyone.
this compassion is also translated as Mercy.… The mercy that was given to us shouldn't stop with us.
for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
As builders our deepest concern is to Restore and not Condemn. As believers we to can be destroyers if not careful.
Keeping this faith to yourself?? destroying
Throwing stones and not restoring such a one? destroying
being hearers only? destorying
a Christian who is not bothered by a hell bound soul? destroyer
save others with fear - v.23
In other words, Im scared for others.
Builders dont just build for themselves but for others to have protection.
Watch this:
The act of mercy shows compassion. have mercy one the doubters. Struggling with their faith.
But to the unbelievers - Mercy should be more aggressive. intense.
Speaking of super heroes.…
illustration: You falling from a building Superman dont fly next to you and ask you do you want me to catch you or not. He will fly by and snatch you out the air.
Just like a kid who was on their way towards that electric socket with a knife.… You will snatch them with fear of losing them, in fear of them getting shocked, in fear of losing a child.
Thats the image Jude gives us.
“You build your faith by rescuing others.”
Rescuing others made Superman batman etc. happy.
Listen i know we dont have the powers like those characters.
When putting this lesson together i started thinking about the other heroes. They werent batman, wolverine, flash, captian america, hulk, iron man.
But in batman something would happen in gotham that the police couldnt handle. the detective couldnt solve, the doctors couldnt heal, the prisons couldnt hold,
They would go on top of the building and turn on (bat signal on screen)
And its because of this Jude says...
Now unto him who is able to keep your from stumbling and present you blameless
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
