BUILD
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But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
THOUGHT:
We have a responsibility to edify (build). The opposite of build is to tear down, there are three statuses that we can find ourselves in: Building, Stagnate, Tearing Down.
The question then becomes “What do we build?” We have three answers (not in any particular order) First we build ourselves, secondly we build each other, thirdly we build the church.
I. We must build (edify) ourselves.
Jude writes to the recipients of this epistle in which addresses the prominent rise of false teachers and false doctrine.
Jude writes in verse 3 and exhorts the saints to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” False teachers had arisen and everything that Jude, his brother James, the Apostles, the Preystebers, and others who labored in ministry to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ was in danger of being torn down.
Jude encourages his readers that while all of this is going on, down sit around and do nothing about it. Don’t remain quiet, don’t sit by passively, you need to do something, you need to earnestly contend, you need to defend the faith, the doctrine, the gospel of Jesus Christ that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. CONTEND FOR THE FAITH.
This faith is something all though we can’t see it, it is something that is in our possession, it is something that we have received when we heard and then believed the gospel of Jesus Christ. The faith is the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and glorification of our Lord Jesus Christ! You have to fight for the doctrine and you have to fight for your own faith in God.
Now the question becomes, “How do we fight, what is the strategy for contending for the faith?” Jude answers that question in verse 20 where he says “But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.” Jude is hence saying that if you are going to contend, if you are going to stand in faith, if you are going to be what God has called you to be, YOU MUST BUILD YOURSELVES UP! To build up means to make spiritual advancement.......look at your neighbor and tell them “We’ve got to advance”. We should not be in the same place we were last year, we should not be in the same place we were last month, we should not be in the same place we were last week......we should be advancing spiritually!!! I’ve come to serve notice this morning, God gave me a word to shake you out of a place of stagnation! There has been enough word preached and taught here by Bishop, by me, by the Elders, by the Missionaries that we all ought to be advancing spiritually! Look at your neighbor and tell them “neighbor.....we’ve got to build ourselves up!”
How do we build ourselves up? Jude says “on your most holy faith” it’s going to take the word of God to build you, it’s going to take doctrine, reading, listening, teaching, preaching and that’s the challenge that we have in today’s time, we cannot sit still long enough to read, to listen, to hear preaching, to hear teaching, but if we are ever going to be what God wants us to be, if we are going to ever have a legitimate relationship with God, you’re going to have to build yourself up on your most holy faith! Therefore it is the WORD of God that builds us up. God builds us up through his word and through the power of the Holy Ghost!
But then Jude says there is something else that also builds us up. PRAYER! We’ve got to pray and not just pray......Jude says also “praying in the Holy Ghost.” It is not enough just to get the word, you need to pray, and it is not enough to pray, you have to pray in the Holy Ghost! First off, you need to make sure you have the Holy Ghost and then you need to learn how to pray in the Holy Ghost. How do we pray in the Holy Ghost?
Matter of fact there are six things according to scripture that builds us up: God, The word of God, Prayer, Spiritual Gifts, Ministries and Administrations, The Holy Ghost. Scriptures:
God builds us up:
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
The word of God:
I already gave you scripture Jude 20.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Prayer:
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Spiritual Gifts:
Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
Ministries and Administrations:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
The Holy Ghost
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
There comes times in our prayer life that we may not know what to pray for, we may not know how to pray. In life situations arise and we may not know how we feel about a given situation. Sometimes when we talk to God we may not know how we feel, we may not know what to say or how to say, we may have a hard time expression, the weight may be so heavy, the pain may be so intense, the situation may be so messy, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE THE HOLY GHOST! When we don’t have words, when the only thing we can do is cry, when we don’t know how we feel, when the pain and the hurt is so great, when the confusion has set in, the HOLY GHOST WILL BEGIN TO PRAY FOR YOU! The Holy Ghost will begin to pray with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. You’ll begin to groan and the more you groan, the more the Holy Ghost will stir within you. Then soon your groanings will turn into words and you might not know what words are coming out of your mouth. But Paul says “the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit will begin to make intercession, the Spirit will begin to plead for us in harmony with God’s own will!
No wonder Paul says in 1 Cor 14:2
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
And again:
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
The key word here is edifieth! My God, when you begin to pray in the Spirit and the Spirit moves on you, it refreshes you, it strengthens you, it encourages you, it heals you, it brings you comfort, it brings you joy, it brings you peace! When you pray in the Spirit it builds you up!
So then Paul says:
What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
It is not enough just to go through the motions! Elders, I’m gonna need you to pray in the Spirit! I’m gonna need to pray earnestly.......don’t tease it......PRAY......until you feel the Holy Ghost move......Pray until the anointing begins to stir.........Pray until tongues break forth........pray until healing hits the house.....pray until demons begin to flee......pray until deliverance breaks forth......pray until change occurs.......pray until joy takes over.......encourage the elders and say PRAY! Now turn to your neighbor and say PRAY! Don’t listen, don’t watch, don’t sit or stand by passively.......EVERY BODY PRAY!!!! And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues! When the house is united, when we get on one accord, when we pray in the Spirit......healing will come, breakthroughs will come, deliverance will come, blessings will come! PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT! PRAY WITH THE UNDERSTANDING........SING WITH THE SPIRIT.......SING WITH THE UNDERSTANDING!
Look at your neighbor again and say “BUILD YOURSELF UP ON YOUR MOST HOLY FAITH.......PRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST!”
II. We must build one another.
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
We cannot even get to building each other up if we haven’t built ourselves up. We cannot get to building ourselves up if God hasn’t built us up.
Paul in the previous verses says “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” In order to build one another, we cannot judge each other, we cannot condemn each other. When we judge or condemn each other we tear one another down. We need to build each other up! Paul gives some good solid advice to every believer because he says furthermore:
“But judge rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” In other-words, live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall! There are some here today, in your mind you think that you are doing well and you’re looking at other people judging their shortcomings.....but you better watch out, because the 1 finger that you pointing with also three pointed back at you! Here it is we get on the phone running people down, telling everyones business, telling your side of the story when in fact there is always two-sides of a story. Now you got other people involved and you’ve lead them into participating in YOUR sins! Spreading lies, spreading rumors, spreading gossip, being judgemental. LIVE A LIFE THAT BRINGS GLORY TO GOD! We’ve got to stop tearing one another down......a house divided against itself cannot stand! All of the schisms and the cliques. Saying little slick underhanded comments towards one another, acting funny and being indifferent toward someone, not forgiving each other for faults or for perceived faults. Suppose to be a saint of God but your after someones husband, suppose to be a saint of God but your after someone’s wife. Dressing provocative flaunting your body and drawing attention to yourself! LIVE IN A SUCH A WAY THAT YOU WILL NOT CAUSE ANOTHER BELIEVER TO STUMBLE AND FALL!
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
The word defile is translated “destroy”. Not only is this referring to defiling ourselves, but we can also defile or destroy one another.......and if you have the Holy Ghost you are a part of the body of Christ and you are the temple of God and if we destroy one another God will destroy us:
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
We have to build each other up, we have to love and support one another, not fight one another, not be at odds with one another, not backbite one another, not act funny toward one another! We have to follow after things that make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another! When we pray for each other we edify one another, when encourage one another we edify one another, when we love each other, we edify one another and let me remind you:
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way, love is not irritable, love KEEPS NO RECORD of being wronged, Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out, Love never gives up, Love never loses faith, Love is always hopeful, and Love endures through every circumstance! Love edifies!
It doesn’t matter how much you prophesy, it doesn’t matter if you speak with tongues of men and angels, if you don’t have love....you are no more than a noisy gong or a loud clanging cymbal. Doesn’t matter how much of God’s word you know, if you knew all the mysteries of God, if you had faith to move mountains, if you had all that but not love.....you would be nothing! If you sacrificed your body, if you gave to the poor, but didn’t have love......you would gain nothing at all!
LOVE edifies!
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
You can’t be a disciple of Jesus if you hate your brother, if you hate your sister, if you have hatred in your heart period! Listen, maybe you do have hatred in your heart.....if so you are in the right place this morning because all you need to do is come out with your hands up! If you surrender to the LORD......the Lord can take all the hatred out of your heart, he can mend the wounds of brokenness, he can remove the bitterness and put love in your heart!
In order to build you have to put effort in to the build. Nothing is built without putting the work in, nothing magically appears out of nowhere, you have to invest time and effort in order to get results. Hence some of us, we want blessings, we want God to do this, we want God to do that.......but we ain’t doing nothing ourselves. You sow sparingly you’re gonna reap sparingly.......little effort, little results, great effort, great results!
III. We must build the church:
Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
Scriptures:
Edification results in right living (1 Thess 3:13).
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Let’s consider these 4:
Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
