1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,576 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,688 --> 00:00:06,584 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,672 --> 00:00:09,672 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,696 --> 00:00:10,760 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,616 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,648 --> 00:00:16,300 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:17,576 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,648 --> 00:00:21,700 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,664 All right, let's go ahead and get out our Bibles, and we're going 10 00:00:26,672 --> 00:00:31,478 to look at Jude, and we're going to actually conclude our study 11 00:00:31,534 --> 00:00:32,822 tonight, Lord willing. 12 00:00:32,966 --> 00:00:37,174 And it has been a brief study, even though it's only 25 verses. 13 00:00:37,222 --> 00:00:40,950 And we've spent, I know, a handful of weeks looking at this 14 00:00:40,990 --> 00:00:41,574 book. 15 00:00:41,742 --> 00:00:46,230 I think there's a lot that we can learn and take away with us as 16 00:00:46,270 --> 00:00:48,006 we move on in our Christian lives. 17 00:00:48,158 --> 00:00:53,638 Obviously, we know the thesis, the summary, the main topic was listed 18 00:00:53,654 --> 00:00:55,990 to us in verse three, if you remember. 19 00:00:56,150 --> 00:01:02,310 Jude's message is for these folks to contend for the faith, to 20 00:01:02,350 --> 00:01:05,622 fight for the truth, to protect the word of God. 21 00:01:05,686 --> 00:01:08,982 And we know that there were individuals that were coming in to 22 00:01:09,006 --> 00:01:12,150 try to mislead the church with false teachings. 23 00:01:12,310 --> 00:01:15,350 And we characterize those false teachings by what we've seen 24 00:01:15,390 --> 00:01:15,590 here. 25 00:01:15,630 --> 00:01:16,790 They were selfish. 26 00:01:16,950 --> 00:01:18,422 They were defiling the flesh. 27 00:01:18,566 --> 00:01:19,830 They rejected authority. 28 00:01:19,910 --> 00:01:21,610 They spoke evil of authority. 29 00:01:21,980 --> 00:01:25,284 They were working in their own sensual desires. 30 00:01:25,412 --> 00:01:27,876 And so obviously, they were leading people astray. 31 00:01:27,908 --> 00:01:31,636 And they were actually talking about this idea of grace being used 32 00:01:31,708 --> 00:01:34,804 for an occasion of the flesh, which the Bible teaches against, 33 00:01:34,892 --> 00:01:35,236 right? 34 00:01:35,308 --> 00:01:37,572 We do have grace that's given to us from God. 35 00:01:37,636 --> 00:01:38,628 We do have forgiveness. 36 00:01:38,724 --> 00:01:41,092 We do have liberty, but we don't use that for the occasion of 37 00:01:41,116 --> 00:01:41,636 the flesh. 38 00:01:41,748 --> 00:01:44,820 We use that to serve the Lord and to share his love with other 39 00:01:44,860 --> 00:01:45,440 people. 40 00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:47,844 So they were leading people astray in that regard. 41 00:01:47,892 --> 00:01:51,464 And it says in verse four that they were denying the only Lord God, 42 00:01:51,512 --> 00:01:52,440 our Lord Jesus Christ. 43 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,632 And so there was an out now denial of Jesus and who he was. 44 00:01:56,736 --> 00:02:00,440 And truthfully, the Savior of the world, they were denying him 45 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:01,256 as Lord. 46 00:02:01,368 --> 00:02:05,016 So we looked at last week how we contend for the faith. 47 00:02:05,048 --> 00:02:07,672 And I think this is so important because we know now the 48 00:02:07,696 --> 00:02:09,400 reason to contend for the faith. 49 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,120 We know the urgency to contend for the faith. 50 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,584 But a lot of times we as Christians, when we do contend for 51 00:02:16,592 --> 00:02:18,360 the faith, we do it in an improper way. 52 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,066 We do it in a way that isn't according to Scripture. 53 00:02:21,248 --> 00:02:24,806 So we looked at last week, the first step of how we are to contend 54 00:02:24,838 --> 00:02:28,086 for the faith, and that was to look inward, to look at our own lives, 55 00:02:28,158 --> 00:02:30,758 to See where we are. 56 00:02:30,894 --> 00:02:36,054 If you go back to look at verse number 20, it says, but ye 57 00:02:36,102 --> 00:02:39,238 beloved, building up yourselves on what? 58 00:02:39,294 --> 00:02:41,686 On your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. 59 00:02:41,718 --> 00:02:44,694 And so the Bible says here that we should be built up in our 60 00:02:44,702 --> 00:02:46,982 faith, that we should be strengthened in our faith, that we 61 00:02:47,006 --> 00:02:48,718 should be strengthened in the power of God. 62 00:02:48,734 --> 00:02:52,638 And even if you go back to the very beginning, verse three, we know 63 00:02:52,694 --> 00:02:57,470 that it was the common salvation that we were talking about 64 00:02:57,510 --> 00:02:57,662 here. 65 00:02:57,686 --> 00:02:59,998 He's writing to them about the common salvation that they have. 66 00:03:00,054 --> 00:03:01,710 And we know that that's through Jesus Christ. 67 00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:03,454 And so it's always through the power of God. 68 00:03:03,582 --> 00:03:07,118 Verse 4 talks about the idea that they were denying Jesus Christ. 69 00:03:07,174 --> 00:03:09,870 And so what Jude is doing is he's saying, hey, point your life 70 00:03:09,910 --> 00:03:10,798 back to Christ. 71 00:03:10,934 --> 00:03:12,894 Re center yourself with the truth. 72 00:03:12,942 --> 00:03:15,166 Recenter yourself with your faith. 73 00:03:15,278 --> 00:03:17,214 And then it says, they're praying in the Holy Ghost. 74 00:03:17,262 --> 00:03:18,766 And we talked about the importance of that. 75 00:03:18,838 --> 00:03:23,534 We understand that we pray to the Father in the power of the Spirit 76 00:03:23,582 --> 00:03:24,766 in the name of Jesus. 77 00:03:24,878 --> 00:03:27,246 And so it takes prayer to contend for the faith, right? 78 00:03:27,318 --> 00:03:29,726 It takes reliance on God, because that's really what prayer 79 00:03:29,758 --> 00:03:33,726 is, by the way, prayer is certainly asking God for things. 80 00:03:33,798 --> 00:03:35,166 That's one element of prayer. 81 00:03:35,278 --> 00:03:38,334 But prayer in and of itself, we are to pray properly, we're to 82 00:03:38,342 --> 00:03:39,022 pray in faith. 83 00:03:39,086 --> 00:03:40,268 James talks about that. 84 00:03:40,414 --> 00:03:44,256 Let him ask of God in faith, nothing wavering. 85 00:03:44,368 --> 00:03:48,080 And so really what it means is that when we are praying properly 86 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,432 in our faith, we are praying properly and trusting God that he 87 00:03:52,456 --> 00:03:54,016 will do what he says he will do. 88 00:03:54,088 --> 00:03:57,040 So when we go back to look at verse number 20, he says, look in 89 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:58,992 your own heart, look in your own life. 90 00:03:59,096 --> 00:04:00,700 Where are you standing on? 91 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:02,816 Who are you trusting in? 92 00:04:02,968 --> 00:04:07,252 Verse 21, keep yourselves in the love of God, meaning watch yourself 93 00:04:07,316 --> 00:04:08,084 in the love of God. 94 00:04:08,132 --> 00:04:10,644 Allow yourself to rest in the love of God. 95 00:04:10,692 --> 00:04:13,284 Allow yourselves to live in the love of God. 96 00:04:13,332 --> 00:04:14,916 Allow yourselves to show. 97 00:04:14,988 --> 00:04:18,212 Demonstrate the love of God to others around you, looking for the 98 00:04:18,236 --> 00:04:21,252 mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 99 00:04:21,436 --> 00:04:25,972 And so there's this idea that we should be seeking mercy, hungering 100 00:04:26,036 --> 00:04:27,268 after God's mercy. 101 00:04:27,364 --> 00:04:29,960 We are in desperate need of God's mercy and grace. 102 00:04:30,540 --> 00:04:34,486 And as we experience the mercy and grace of the Lord in our life, 103 00:04:34,638 --> 00:04:37,862 we then are able to show mercy and grace to others around us. 104 00:04:37,886 --> 00:04:39,574 And that's really what the next step is. 105 00:04:39,742 --> 00:04:42,390 Because to contend for the faith, we have to step out. 106 00:04:42,430 --> 00:04:45,830 To contend for the faith, we do have to take the step of confronting 107 00:04:45,990 --> 00:04:47,734 individuals that need the truth. 108 00:04:47,862 --> 00:04:48,902 But before we do that. 109 00:04:48,926 --> 00:04:51,254 We need to take care of our own matters at hand. 110 00:04:51,422 --> 00:04:54,182 And so, you know, I think a lot of times, at least even in my 111 00:04:54,206 --> 00:04:57,350 own life, I've had an issue maybe with something that someone 112 00:04:57,390 --> 00:04:59,414 else is doing or someone else is teaching. 113 00:04:59,542 --> 00:05:02,102 But maybe I've got some things in my life that I need to shore up 114 00:05:02,126 --> 00:05:04,614 before I go and start trying to contend for the faith. 115 00:05:04,662 --> 00:05:08,534 Because if I go out into the battlefield not prepared, if I go 116 00:05:08,542 --> 00:05:11,734 out into the battlefield without my armor of God that he has 117 00:05:11,742 --> 00:05:14,102 given me, I'm vulnerable, right? 118 00:05:14,206 --> 00:05:17,606 You stick your neck out for the truth, but yet you're not preparing 119 00:05:17,638 --> 00:05:19,730 yourselves with the things that God has given you. 120 00:05:20,030 --> 00:05:24,102 Hey, Satan is trying to fire those fiery darts, as Ephesians says. 121 00:05:24,206 --> 00:05:26,262 And so we have to be careful when we do this. 122 00:05:26,286 --> 00:05:28,230 And so he says, well, watch out for yourself. 123 00:05:28,310 --> 00:05:29,366 So look inward. 124 00:05:29,478 --> 00:05:32,006 But then the next step would be to look outward. 125 00:05:32,198 --> 00:05:33,222 Look at this with me. 126 00:05:33,246 --> 00:05:39,398 In verse 22, it says of some talking about individuals that you're 127 00:05:39,414 --> 00:05:42,966 gonna have contention with, individuals that you're gonna contend 128 00:05:42,998 --> 00:05:44,134 for the faith with. 129 00:05:44,302 --> 00:05:47,302 So in this case, the individuals within the church that 130 00:05:47,326 --> 00:05:51,718 are being misled in the false teaching, okay? 131 00:05:51,894 --> 00:05:55,560 And of some have compassion. 132 00:05:55,980 --> 00:06:00,052 And so what we see here in this case is that as believers, as 133 00:06:00,076 --> 00:06:03,396 we contend for the faith, Jude is going to tell us here that we 134 00:06:03,468 --> 00:06:07,972 have to understand, as he's going to say here, making a difference. 135 00:06:08,036 --> 00:06:11,012 Now, I used to read this in the King James, and it says, and 136 00:06:11,036 --> 00:06:13,780 some have compassion making a difference. 137 00:06:13,860 --> 00:06:17,076 And if you take that out of context, you just quote that verse, 138 00:06:17,108 --> 00:06:20,292 it means, in my mind, have compassion on people and you'll make 139 00:06:20,316 --> 00:06:21,592 a big difference in their life. 140 00:06:21,756 --> 00:06:23,248 That's not what this is saying. 141 00:06:23,384 --> 00:06:27,056 This is saying, make a distinction on how you deal with 142 00:06:27,128 --> 00:06:30,580 people that are leading themselves down a wrong path. 143 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,000 That word making a difference means making a distinction. 144 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,336 So with that, let me give you an example for that. 145 00:06:36,488 --> 00:06:39,552 There are going to be maybe more than one person that we need 146 00:06:39,576 --> 00:06:40,624 to address in our life. 147 00:06:40,712 --> 00:06:43,232 We don't need to treat everyone the same way when it comes 148 00:06:43,256 --> 00:06:44,816 to addressing their needs. 149 00:06:44,968 --> 00:06:47,440 And so we need to have compassion and look into their life 150 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:48,790 and ask more questions. 151 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,674 Because there might be a person that truly has been misled, 152 00:06:51,722 --> 00:06:54,394 and we need to treat them with grace and mercy and come alongside 153 00:06:54,442 --> 00:06:55,402 of them and give them the truth. 154 00:06:55,466 --> 00:06:58,602 There might be others who know the truth and are willingly trying 155 00:06:58,626 --> 00:06:59,226 to go astray. 156 00:06:59,258 --> 00:07:00,858 And then there's other ways that we deal with them. 157 00:07:00,914 --> 00:07:03,658 So what he's talking about here is having spiritual discernment. 158 00:07:03,754 --> 00:07:07,434 We need to make a distinction based on where they are coming from. 159 00:07:07,602 --> 00:07:10,790 And so for some, certainly, we need to have compassion on. 160 00:07:11,250 --> 00:07:14,378 We need to demonstrate compassion in every regard when we're 161 00:07:14,394 --> 00:07:17,288 dealing with people that are going through difficulties. 162 00:07:17,464 --> 00:07:21,160 And so what we have to do is we have to use God's wisdom as we 163 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,580 approach different people in different manners. 164 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,472 And so by being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 165 00:07:26,536 --> 00:07:28,472 That's why we go back and look at verse 20. 166 00:07:28,576 --> 00:07:31,752 If we're not grounded in the Spirit, we're not able to do this 167 00:07:31,936 --> 00:07:33,384 because we're acting in our own flesh. 168 00:07:33,432 --> 00:07:35,960 We're acting in our own experience, we're acting in our own 169 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:36,488 feelings. 170 00:07:36,584 --> 00:07:39,672 But when we go back in verse 20, pray in the Holy Ghost. 171 00:07:39,736 --> 00:07:41,374 So we're walking in the Holy Ghost, We're. 172 00:07:41,392 --> 00:07:44,706 We're walking in the Spirit, then we're able to use the Spirit's 173 00:07:44,738 --> 00:07:46,670 direction on how to deal with people. 174 00:07:47,290 --> 00:07:50,610 And so by being sensitive to the Holy Spirit in our life, we can 175 00:07:50,650 --> 00:07:53,490 know when we should comfort someone, because there is a time 176 00:07:53,530 --> 00:07:54,546 for comforting. 177 00:07:54,738 --> 00:07:58,162 We're gonna talk a little bit about that down the road here in 178 00:07:58,186 --> 00:07:58,546 a moment. 179 00:07:58,578 --> 00:08:02,482 But there's a time and a place for us as we are contending for the 180 00:08:02,506 --> 00:08:07,442 faith to comfort somebody, maybe they've had an issue in their 181 00:08:07,466 --> 00:08:10,002 life that we need to come alongside of them and teach them 182 00:08:10,026 --> 00:08:11,394 what the comfort of God really means. 183 00:08:11,482 --> 00:08:14,530 Second Corinthians, chapter one says that we comfort those as 184 00:08:14,570 --> 00:08:15,714 we've been comforted by God. 185 00:08:15,762 --> 00:08:18,870 So there is a role of comforting in that contending. 186 00:08:19,610 --> 00:08:21,510 But not everyone needs that comfort. 187 00:08:22,090 --> 00:08:24,706 There is a time and a place for rebuke. 188 00:08:24,898 --> 00:08:26,658 We're going to see that here in a moment. 189 00:08:26,834 --> 00:08:30,466 And so the Lord Jesus gives us a perfect example of this. 190 00:08:30,538 --> 00:08:32,754 We see Jesus in certain scenarios dealing with people that 191 00:08:32,762 --> 00:08:34,646 are in their sin, and he deals with them in comfort. 192 00:08:34,738 --> 00:08:37,982 He deals with them in coming alongside of them and exhorting them 193 00:08:38,006 --> 00:08:40,782 and encouraging them and edifying them and allowing them to 194 00:08:40,806 --> 00:08:41,806 come alongside of him. 195 00:08:41,878 --> 00:08:44,574 There's other individuals where Jesus comes and rebukes them. 196 00:08:44,742 --> 00:08:45,998 You say, well, how do we know? 197 00:08:46,054 --> 00:08:47,966 Well, I don't know every scenario. 198 00:08:47,998 --> 00:08:50,238 You might say, well, should I rebuke this person or not rebuke 199 00:08:50,254 --> 00:08:50,638 this person? 200 00:08:50,694 --> 00:08:52,142 Well, I don't know the whole situation. 201 00:08:52,286 --> 00:08:54,334 And how is the Holy Spirit guiding you? 202 00:08:54,502 --> 00:08:56,942 And so what we can see here is that there's a time and a place for 203 00:08:56,966 --> 00:08:59,758 comfort, but there's a time and a place for rebuke. 204 00:08:59,854 --> 00:09:02,222 Look at it here with me, says, and others. 205 00:09:02,406 --> 00:09:07,886 So have compassion with some comfort, with some making the distinction 206 00:09:07,998 --> 00:09:08,798 verse 23. 207 00:09:08,854 --> 00:09:13,022 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating 208 00:09:13,086 --> 00:09:15,170 even the garment spotted by the flesh. 209 00:09:16,550 --> 00:09:20,654 And so Christians should, at the point in time where we're contending 210 00:09:20,702 --> 00:09:24,638 for the faith, we should allow ourselves to let the Spirit guide 211 00:09:24,654 --> 00:09:29,154 us to a place of comfort or a place of rebuke, a place of patience 212 00:09:29,202 --> 00:09:31,522 and compassion, or a place of urgency. 213 00:09:31,586 --> 00:09:34,670 And as it says, they're pulling them out of the fire. 214 00:09:36,330 --> 00:09:38,962 What it does mean, though, is that we should continue in love no 215 00:09:38,986 --> 00:09:39,710 matter what. 216 00:09:40,010 --> 00:09:43,970 If you see that there, we see that words to walk in the love of 217 00:09:44,010 --> 00:09:44,466 God. 218 00:09:44,578 --> 00:09:47,070 And so therefore, we treat everybody in love. 219 00:09:47,370 --> 00:09:51,170 No matter how bad a person is or how misleading or terrible their 220 00:09:51,210 --> 00:09:54,970 teachings are, we are to not hate them. 221 00:09:56,310 --> 00:09:58,254 Obviously, we should hate the teaching. 222 00:09:58,382 --> 00:10:01,998 I think that we should be cautious of accepting things, but 223 00:10:02,054 --> 00:10:06,398 we should not get to a place where we reject them completely or 224 00:10:06,454 --> 00:10:08,350 be unconcerned for their salvation. 225 00:10:08,510 --> 00:10:11,598 The Bible speaks in many cases of restoration. 226 00:10:11,774 --> 00:10:14,542 And so what Jude is telling these folks is this. 227 00:10:14,646 --> 00:10:17,422 You need to make a distinction on how to deal with these people. 228 00:10:17,526 --> 00:10:20,836 Some of them might need compassion, others might need rebuke. 229 00:10:21,028 --> 00:10:25,012 But compassion often means watching over someone, helping them 230 00:10:25,036 --> 00:10:26,200 with accountability. 231 00:10:26,780 --> 00:10:29,796 Compassion isn't just yelling at them and telling them that they're 232 00:10:29,828 --> 00:10:31,940 wrong and walking away and never talking to them again. 233 00:10:31,980 --> 00:10:33,240 That's not compassionate. 234 00:10:33,740 --> 00:10:37,572 Jesus showed compassion by living with the people, staying with 235 00:10:37,596 --> 00:10:40,644 the people, being on the same level as the people, showing meekness 236 00:10:40,692 --> 00:10:41,492 and humility. 237 00:10:41,636 --> 00:10:44,660 And so for us, when we come to this scenario, verse 22, it says, 238 00:10:44,700 --> 00:10:48,780 and some have compassion, making a difference, making a distinction, 239 00:10:48,860 --> 00:10:50,284 and others save with fear. 240 00:10:50,412 --> 00:10:53,612 I think what I got from this was we need to ask the Lord to give 241 00:10:53,636 --> 00:10:55,788 us wisdom on how to contend for the faith. 242 00:10:55,884 --> 00:10:59,308 There's gonna be times where we need to dig our heels in and stand 243 00:10:59,364 --> 00:10:59,628 strong. 244 00:10:59,684 --> 00:11:03,276 There's other times where we need to extend grace, patience. 245 00:11:03,468 --> 00:11:06,720 And I'm gonna tell you, I've been talking a lot about patience. 246 00:11:08,900 --> 00:11:10,572 I get to speak a lot throughout the week. 247 00:11:10,596 --> 00:11:14,572 I preach on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, podcast opportunities 248 00:11:14,636 --> 00:11:14,956 to speak. 249 00:11:14,988 --> 00:11:17,308 And the Lord has just been putting patience on my heart. 250 00:11:17,444 --> 00:11:20,572 And a lot of people have told me, pastor, don't pray for patience, 251 00:11:20,636 --> 00:11:22,000 don't preach about patience. 252 00:11:22,420 --> 00:11:25,196 But you can't avoid it in Scripture, right? 253 00:11:25,348 --> 00:11:28,908 So the truth is, is that the Lord's been really bringing the topic 254 00:11:28,924 --> 00:11:30,348 of patience in my mind. 255 00:11:30,484 --> 00:11:34,636 And when he does that, he definitely tests you anytime. 256 00:11:34,668 --> 00:11:37,356 If you've ever had an opportunity to do a Bible study, 257 00:11:37,508 --> 00:11:40,882 even on a small group level, maybe you've had an opportunity to 258 00:11:40,906 --> 00:11:43,550 speak in front of people or teach a class. 259 00:11:44,010 --> 00:11:45,266 At least in my experience. 260 00:11:45,338 --> 00:11:47,858 I can't point you to Scripture on this, but at least in my experience, 261 00:11:47,914 --> 00:11:50,226 when I've talked about something, God has always brought 262 00:11:50,258 --> 00:11:52,510 that opportunity in my life to test me on that. 263 00:11:52,810 --> 00:11:56,738 And so I'm being tested in my patience in certain areas of my life. 264 00:11:56,874 --> 00:11:59,970 And I think that the Bible teaches very clearly that as we walk 265 00:12:00,010 --> 00:12:02,706 in the Spirit, one of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit 266 00:12:02,738 --> 00:12:03,602 is patience. 267 00:12:03,746 --> 00:12:06,116 And so I think what the Bible's telling us here is that either 268 00:12:06,148 --> 00:12:09,172 way you look at it, we need to have patience with individuals when 269 00:12:09,196 --> 00:12:13,540 it comes to their false teaching, because it might be that 270 00:12:13,580 --> 00:12:14,420 that individual. 271 00:12:14,500 --> 00:12:17,588 Now, in this case in the Book of Jude, we know that they were willingly, 272 00:12:17,764 --> 00:12:22,180 and I believe, with an agenda, trying to mislead people. 273 00:12:22,300 --> 00:12:26,788 But let's say, for example, and if you teach one of my kids Sunday 274 00:12:26,844 --> 00:12:28,388 school classes, don't panic. 275 00:12:28,484 --> 00:12:29,920 I'm not gonna judge you. 276 00:12:30,220 --> 00:12:33,404 But let's say one of my kids comes up to me and says, hey, Dad, 277 00:12:33,532 --> 00:12:35,420 I learned this in Sunday school class. 278 00:12:35,460 --> 00:12:37,596 And it's like a total heresy, okay? 279 00:12:37,628 --> 00:12:41,200 It's a total misinterpretation of the Scriptures. 280 00:12:41,860 --> 00:12:43,788 Now, I could do a few different things. 281 00:12:43,844 --> 00:12:47,836 I could run up to that teacher and tell them every reason why they're 282 00:12:47,868 --> 00:12:50,172 wrong and tell them why they're misleading my children and 283 00:12:50,196 --> 00:12:52,652 tell them that they're, you know, you're going to be judged on 284 00:12:52,676 --> 00:12:54,220 a different level because you're a teacher. 285 00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:57,452 Or we could come in grace and say, hey, I don't know where you 286 00:12:57,476 --> 00:12:57,820 were going. 287 00:12:57,860 --> 00:12:59,708 Maybe my child misunderstood you. 288 00:12:59,764 --> 00:13:00,300 I don't know. 289 00:13:00,340 --> 00:13:02,508 But this is some things that maybe we could talk about. 290 00:13:02,644 --> 00:13:05,836 And you may or may not have even understood where you had gone 291 00:13:05,868 --> 00:13:07,404 astray, but let's just talk about it here. 292 00:13:07,492 --> 00:13:09,692 And then if the person came back to me and goes, oh, no, no, 293 00:13:09,716 --> 00:13:12,444 I believe that, and I think that's the way we should be, then 294 00:13:12,532 --> 00:13:14,284 we deal with that person differently, right? 295 00:13:14,372 --> 00:13:16,972 But if the person goes, oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. 296 00:13:17,156 --> 00:13:18,172 So you see how. 297 00:13:18,276 --> 00:13:21,356 See how we're still contending for the faith, we're still contending 298 00:13:21,388 --> 00:13:24,220 for the truth, but there's a way that we go about it to allow 299 00:13:24,260 --> 00:13:25,868 the Spirit to guide us in that. 300 00:13:26,004 --> 00:13:28,652 And so I think that's what Jude is trying to get across here. 301 00:13:28,836 --> 00:13:31,756 But let's say, for example, someone gets up in front of our church, 302 00:13:31,948 --> 00:13:35,852 and right before he goes up to speak, he looks over at me and he 303 00:13:35,876 --> 00:13:37,372 goes, watch this one Watch what happens here. 304 00:13:37,396 --> 00:13:37,996 And I'm like, what? 305 00:13:38,068 --> 00:13:41,036 And he gets up there, and he willingly and knowingly misleads 306 00:13:41,068 --> 00:13:41,452 people. 307 00:13:41,556 --> 00:13:46,156 That's the point where, you know, as it says here, it says, pulling 308 00:13:46,188 --> 00:13:47,724 them out of the fire, okay? 309 00:13:47,852 --> 00:13:49,884 Hating even the garments spotted by the flesh. 310 00:13:49,932 --> 00:13:54,172 Meaning, I hate that you're defiling the truth here in front 311 00:13:54,196 --> 00:13:55,436 of our fellowship. 312 00:13:55,468 --> 00:13:57,100 And so there's a time and a place to fight for that. 313 00:13:57,140 --> 00:14:01,280 So this second group of individuals, the one that we have 314 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,464 more rebuking with, must be confronted strongly. 315 00:14:04,592 --> 00:14:11,456 But it says here, in fear, not with pride or superiority. 316 00:14:11,648 --> 00:14:15,376 Like I said on Sunday morning, I'm not coming from the pedestal 317 00:14:15,408 --> 00:14:16,752 of perfection. 318 00:14:16,896 --> 00:14:19,104 And so we come up to people, we still do it with fear. 319 00:14:19,152 --> 00:14:19,760 We still do it. 320 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,060 That word fear means respect. 321 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,024 We still do it with respecting that individual. 322 00:14:25,072 --> 00:14:26,540 We don't tear them down. 323 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,000 We don't do the thing where if we have something wrong with someone, 324 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:34,984 we just tear them down for something else. 325 00:14:35,032 --> 00:14:35,576 Right? 326 00:14:35,728 --> 00:14:37,240 You ever seen an individual do that? 327 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:38,392 You're having a conversation with them. 328 00:14:38,416 --> 00:14:40,040 It's like, well, you know, you did this. 329 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:40,776 And it's like that. 330 00:14:40,848 --> 00:14:41,624 Totally unrelated. 331 00:14:41,672 --> 00:14:45,752 Like, we still treat people with respect when we go through this. 332 00:14:45,856 --> 00:14:48,728 And so you may need to pull them out of the fire. 333 00:14:48,784 --> 00:14:50,344 But we never do it in pride. 334 00:14:50,472 --> 00:14:52,700 We do it with a sense of restoring the truth. 335 00:14:53,010 --> 00:14:57,002 And so this outward look is vital because it demonstrates that 336 00:14:57,026 --> 00:15:00,282 we're not only concerned with ourselves, but we're concerned with 337 00:15:00,306 --> 00:15:01,590 those around us. 338 00:15:02,130 --> 00:15:04,070 And I think that this is one area. 339 00:15:04,610 --> 00:15:07,434 I think this is one of the most difficult areas within churches 340 00:15:07,482 --> 00:15:11,630 today because we live in a very independent society. 341 00:15:12,530 --> 00:15:14,506 And we live in a society that. 342 00:15:14,658 --> 00:15:17,322 And I'm going to just try to be as honest as I can with this. 343 00:15:17,346 --> 00:15:19,630 We live in a society that gets offended very easily. 344 00:15:20,420 --> 00:15:23,660 And so what we do is, you know, who are you to say. 345 00:15:23,700 --> 00:15:24,860 You ever heard that phrase? 346 00:15:24,940 --> 00:15:26,860 Who are you to say that I can't do this? 347 00:15:26,900 --> 00:15:27,292 Right. 348 00:15:27,396 --> 00:15:29,320 So how do we go about this? 349 00:15:30,900 --> 00:15:33,132 You know, I think one of the things that we do, obviously, is 350 00:15:33,156 --> 00:15:36,364 we go back and we ask the Lord to give us wisdom through prayer, 351 00:15:36,412 --> 00:15:36,572 right? 352 00:15:36,596 --> 00:15:38,284 We ask the Lord to give us wisdom. 353 00:15:38,412 --> 00:15:41,160 We ask the Lord, is this the time that I need to take a step? 354 00:15:41,780 --> 00:15:47,184 Am I contending in this moment in my flesh, or am I contending in 355 00:15:47,192 --> 00:15:48,580 this moment in the spirit? 356 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,260 I was talking about this in my Sunday school class on Sunday morning, 357 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:58,736 if you remember back in the story of Jesus turning over the tables 358 00:15:58,768 --> 00:16:00,820 in the temple, okay. 359 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:06,540 Jesus definitely was on the second side of that. 360 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:08,320 He had compassion in doing this. 361 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,072 But he was on the side of rebuking at that point, and he had 362 00:16:11,096 --> 00:16:12,180 the right to do so. 363 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,716 But if you remember the story, Jesus goes, and he takes time, it's 364 00:16:16,748 --> 00:16:17,760 premeditated. 365 00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:20,012 He makes the lashings himself. 366 00:16:20,076 --> 00:16:22,892 And he didn't just do that in the flesh, right? 367 00:16:22,996 --> 00:16:24,684 We know that Jesus didn't act in the flesh. 368 00:16:24,732 --> 00:16:25,084 Why? 369 00:16:25,172 --> 00:16:26,460 Because he never sinned. 370 00:16:26,620 --> 00:16:28,652 And so one of the things that I've been trying to do is when people 371 00:16:28,676 --> 00:16:30,412 come and say, is this right or is this wrong? 372 00:16:30,476 --> 00:16:33,596 I try to find an instance in Jesus life where we could correlate 373 00:16:33,628 --> 00:16:36,364 the two and say, well, we know that Jesus didn't sin, so we know 374 00:16:36,372 --> 00:16:38,332 that this is how we should act. 375 00:16:38,516 --> 00:16:40,508 And so I think that one of the things that we should do when we're 376 00:16:40,524 --> 00:16:43,132 contending for the faith is really check ourselves to say, are 377 00:16:43,156 --> 00:16:45,004 we doing this in our pride? 378 00:16:45,132 --> 00:16:46,748 Are we doing this in our ego? 379 00:16:46,844 --> 00:16:48,844 Are we doing this to make ourselves look better? 380 00:16:48,932 --> 00:16:51,916 Are we doing this to fight for the truth, Truly for the kingdom 381 00:16:51,948 --> 00:16:52,748 of God? 382 00:16:52,924 --> 00:16:56,028 So this might mean that there is a time and a place where, if it's 383 00:16:56,044 --> 00:16:58,892 not an urgent matter, that we need to go and we need to pray over 384 00:16:58,916 --> 00:16:59,388 this. 385 00:16:59,524 --> 00:17:02,268 We need to take some time to see that in 24 hours. 386 00:17:02,404 --> 00:17:04,664 Is that something that really needs to be said? 387 00:17:04,852 --> 00:17:07,056 Is this something that really needs to be contended for? 388 00:17:07,128 --> 00:17:08,688 Is this an opinion of mine? 389 00:17:08,784 --> 00:17:10,400 Is this a preference of mine? 390 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,192 Or is this truly something that I need to do? 391 00:17:12,216 --> 00:17:15,152 And now other people might say, well, is that even my role? 392 00:17:15,336 --> 00:17:16,768 Isn't that the pastor's job? 393 00:17:16,824 --> 00:17:18,624 I mean, I get that quite frequently. 394 00:17:18,672 --> 00:17:19,712 Pastor, that's your job. 395 00:17:19,736 --> 00:17:20,784 We're gonna pass that off to you. 396 00:17:20,792 --> 00:17:23,360 And there are certain elements of leadership and there's certain 397 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:25,936 elements of teaching that are certainly the pastor's job. 398 00:17:26,008 --> 00:17:28,672 But what we can see in this case in the book of Judas, is this 399 00:17:28,696 --> 00:17:30,514 isn't exclusively for pastors. 400 00:17:30,712 --> 00:17:32,958 We do know that all Christians are to contend for the faith. 401 00:17:32,974 --> 00:17:36,094 And so what I would say is that if you are aware of something, 402 00:17:36,182 --> 00:17:37,070 it's your time to fight. 403 00:17:37,110 --> 00:17:38,530 It's your time to contend. 404 00:17:39,110 --> 00:17:40,942 But there's a way that we do it. 405 00:17:41,126 --> 00:17:44,894 There's a way that we do it in grace, in compassion and meekness 406 00:17:45,022 --> 00:17:45,934 and respect. 407 00:17:46,102 --> 00:17:48,558 And so I think that that's one of the things that Christians have 408 00:17:48,614 --> 00:17:51,982 messed up over the years within the church, is that sometimes 409 00:17:52,046 --> 00:17:55,790 when we are in the guise of fighting for the truth, we are kind 410 00:17:55,830 --> 00:17:58,430 of building our own kingdom and trying to make someone else look 411 00:17:58,470 --> 00:17:59,156 smaller. 412 00:17:59,318 --> 00:18:02,712 And then what it becomes is just like this theological debate 413 00:18:02,856 --> 00:18:06,952 that, hey, I'm superior, I'm smarter, I have more intelligence, 414 00:18:07,016 --> 00:18:08,408 I have more pool at the church. 415 00:18:08,504 --> 00:18:12,152 And so what happens in this case is that I think many times in 416 00:18:12,176 --> 00:18:16,328 the guise of trying to contend for the faith, we now have caused 417 00:18:16,424 --> 00:18:20,168 division within the church and an unneeded offense happens. 418 00:18:20,264 --> 00:18:26,510 Now, I will say that even if you go about this perfectly, which 419 00:18:26,550 --> 00:18:30,110 none of us will, but even if we tried to do it perfectly, there 420 00:18:30,150 --> 00:18:34,254 will still be people that, when you confront them with the truth, 421 00:18:34,302 --> 00:18:37,022 will be offended and will get upset and will not listen. 422 00:18:37,086 --> 00:18:39,198 And the Bible speaks of how to deal with that. 423 00:18:39,334 --> 00:18:41,502 But all you can do is what you can do. 424 00:18:41,606 --> 00:18:44,798 And so the Bible says here very clearly that there are different 425 00:18:44,854 --> 00:18:47,662 ways that we deal with folks when we're contending for the faith, 426 00:18:47,806 --> 00:18:50,750 but the outward look shows that we genuinely care about other 427 00:18:50,790 --> 00:18:53,490 Christians who are edging towards a significant error. 428 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:59,752 And so this is tough because I know I'm trying to put myself in 429 00:18:59,776 --> 00:19:01,128 the shoes of a church member. 430 00:19:01,264 --> 00:19:03,960 Well, Pastor, if I take a step and say something to them, that might 431 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,792 offend them and that might drive them away, and they might say, 432 00:19:06,816 --> 00:19:07,912 well, who are you to say this? 433 00:19:07,936 --> 00:19:08,872 Are you perfect? 434 00:19:09,016 --> 00:19:09,992 So therefore, you know what? 435 00:19:10,016 --> 00:19:11,780 I'm just gonna keep my nose out of it. 436 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,672 Well, if that's where the Holy Spirit's leading, you do that. 437 00:19:15,856 --> 00:19:16,216 Okay? 438 00:19:16,248 --> 00:19:18,232 If the Holy Spirit is telling you, hey, that's not something that 439 00:19:18,256 --> 00:19:19,198 I need to fight for. 440 00:19:19,304 --> 00:19:22,386 If there's truly the Holy Spirit doing that, then that means 441 00:19:22,458 --> 00:19:24,270 be patient, allow this to pass. 442 00:19:24,890 --> 00:19:27,442 But if we are not doing something because of the fear of 443 00:19:27,466 --> 00:19:30,178 man over not doing something because we're afraid that someone's 444 00:19:30,194 --> 00:19:32,818 going to attack us, that goes back to what we just talked about. 445 00:19:32,874 --> 00:19:34,098 Look inward, right? 446 00:19:34,154 --> 00:19:36,402 If I have something in my life that I need to take care of, let 447 00:19:36,426 --> 00:19:38,418 me take care of that before I go confront anybody. 448 00:19:38,514 --> 00:19:38,866 Okay? 449 00:19:38,898 --> 00:19:41,714 So if I'm living in an unrepentant sin or I'm sitting out 450 00:19:41,722 --> 00:19:44,354 there in the pew and my life is a spiritual mess, I don't need 451 00:19:44,362 --> 00:19:46,626 to be the one that's on the front lines contending for the faith. 452 00:19:46,658 --> 00:19:48,750 I need to take care of my own matters at hand. 453 00:19:49,310 --> 00:19:50,966 And so that's what I would say scripturally. 454 00:19:50,998 --> 00:19:53,446 And I think that's what Jesus was talking about with the idea of, 455 00:19:53,518 --> 00:19:56,374 you know, don't pick a speck out of your brother's eye when you 456 00:19:56,382 --> 00:19:57,734 have a plank in your own. 457 00:19:57,902 --> 00:20:00,902 But at the end of the day, I think that all of us, at some point 458 00:20:00,926 --> 00:20:03,814 in Time in our Christian life, some point in time in our spiritual 459 00:20:03,862 --> 00:20:05,862 maturity should look out for others, right? 460 00:20:05,886 --> 00:20:11,174 If when I was growing up, I was an only child, okay? 461 00:20:11,222 --> 00:20:12,534 So I didn't have siblings. 462 00:20:12,662 --> 00:20:16,480 But I do know that, that if I did have a sibling, it wouldn't have 463 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,400 been in a perfect world. 464 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,464 It's not the sibling's job to raise the other sibling, okay? 465 00:20:22,512 --> 00:20:23,536 Now, sometimes that happens. 466 00:20:23,568 --> 00:20:26,912 It needs to happen because of a situation or what have you. 467 00:20:27,016 --> 00:20:30,688 But it wasn't my role to raise a sibling. 468 00:20:30,784 --> 00:20:33,632 It would have been my role to grow up and become independent and 469 00:20:33,656 --> 00:20:35,056 become an adult, right? 470 00:20:35,128 --> 00:20:38,192 So that role of my life was to make sure that I'm doing what I need 471 00:20:38,216 --> 00:20:38,432 to do. 472 00:20:38,456 --> 00:20:41,578 My parents used to tell me, you don't have a lot of jobs, okay? 473 00:20:41,594 --> 00:20:45,706 Your job is to go to school, make good grades, respect your parents, 474 00:20:45,818 --> 00:20:48,042 obey your parents, do your chores. 475 00:20:48,106 --> 00:20:48,970 Hey, that's your job. 476 00:20:49,010 --> 00:20:51,290 We're not asking you to go out and make millions of dollars and 477 00:20:51,330 --> 00:20:52,074 support the family. 478 00:20:52,162 --> 00:20:54,970 But there was a time in my life when I took that maturity step 479 00:20:55,010 --> 00:20:58,442 and said, okay, I am now responsible for more than just me. 480 00:20:58,466 --> 00:21:00,682 I'm responsible for my wife. 481 00:21:00,826 --> 00:21:01,658 Then I had children. 482 00:21:01,714 --> 00:21:03,082 I'm responsible for my children. 483 00:21:03,186 --> 00:21:05,066 I'm in a spiritual leadership position. 484 00:21:05,138 --> 00:21:07,802 So I'm responsible for the people that are around me and how 485 00:21:07,826 --> 00:21:08,708 I lead them. 486 00:21:08,874 --> 00:21:13,312 And so do you see that as we mature in our lives, our sphere of 487 00:21:13,336 --> 00:21:14,704 influence grows? 488 00:21:14,832 --> 00:21:17,616 It's the same thing when we're believers, right? 489 00:21:17,768 --> 00:21:19,184 We're initially saved. 490 00:21:19,312 --> 00:21:22,320 We don't ask a person that's been saved for five minutes to now 491 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:23,760 affect everyone around them, right? 492 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,104 It's your job to get strengthened in the Word and to grow 493 00:21:27,192 --> 00:21:28,576 and to be deeply rooted. 494 00:21:28,608 --> 00:21:31,744 But there is a point in the spiritual maturity process that we 495 00:21:31,752 --> 00:21:33,872 need to be concerned for the souls of others. 496 00:21:33,976 --> 00:21:36,944 We need to be concerned for others around us and their families 497 00:21:36,992 --> 00:21:39,236 and their teaching and their walk that they're going on. 498 00:21:39,368 --> 00:21:43,916 And so, like I said, to look outward is not to be judgmental. 499 00:21:43,948 --> 00:21:47,644 If the spirit is judgment, if the spirit is tearing someone else 500 00:21:47,692 --> 00:21:49,324 down, it's not the right spirit. 501 00:21:49,372 --> 00:21:50,620 It's pharisitical. 502 00:21:50,780 --> 00:21:53,852 But if the spirit is, I want to build this brother or sister up 503 00:21:53,876 --> 00:21:56,348 because I love them, it's done in the right way. 504 00:21:56,484 --> 00:22:00,540 And regardless of how it goes, we know that we're doing the right 505 00:22:00,580 --> 00:22:01,160 thing. 506 00:22:01,540 --> 00:22:04,780 So now I look at my children and I say, okay, I have the responsibility 507 00:22:04,860 --> 00:22:05,800 to lead them. 508 00:22:06,350 --> 00:22:09,798 And I will tell you, I don't know about you, but, like, if someone 509 00:22:09,854 --> 00:22:13,830 tries to mislead my child, I'm gonna step up for that. 510 00:22:13,870 --> 00:22:16,038 Like, I'm not gonna get to a place where I'm. 511 00:22:16,214 --> 00:22:19,650 And sometimes we can be on the other side of things. 512 00:22:20,030 --> 00:22:23,126 Our children can never do anything wrong, and it's everybody 513 00:22:23,158 --> 00:22:23,958 else's fault. 514 00:22:24,054 --> 00:22:26,038 Like, no one in my church is wrong. 515 00:22:26,214 --> 00:22:27,654 So it's a balance, right? 516 00:22:27,742 --> 00:22:31,416 We understand that as Christians, we can get misled. 517 00:22:31,518 --> 00:22:33,380 I can get misled, you can get misled. 518 00:22:33,460 --> 00:22:35,764 But the truth is, is that when we keep ourselves with checks and 519 00:22:35,772 --> 00:22:38,372 balances and we're able to talk to each other and edify each 520 00:22:38,396 --> 00:22:41,108 other, that's what the Bible says in Hebrews, chapter 10, about 521 00:22:41,164 --> 00:22:41,940 coming together. 522 00:22:42,060 --> 00:22:44,244 He says, don't forsake the assembly of yourselves together. 523 00:22:44,332 --> 00:22:47,140 And he gives a reason why, because you can exhort each other, 524 00:22:47,260 --> 00:22:49,640 provoking each other to love and good works. 525 00:22:49,980 --> 00:22:55,028 And so that's the idea that Jude is contending for in this case. 526 00:22:55,164 --> 00:23:00,996 So we look inward, we look outward, and then we look ultimately 527 00:23:01,028 --> 00:23:01,860 upward, right? 528 00:23:01,900 --> 00:23:03,940 Because that's the end of all of this. 529 00:23:03,980 --> 00:23:05,440 That's the whole goal here. 530 00:23:06,220 --> 00:23:10,084 And so he gives them the tools to how to contend for the faith. 531 00:23:10,132 --> 00:23:12,600 Make sure you check your own life with your walk with the Lord. 532 00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:18,436 Make sure you watch out for those around you with gentleness, 533 00:23:18,628 --> 00:23:23,634 with respect, with compassion, sometimes with urgency, sometimes 534 00:23:23,682 --> 00:23:27,234 with speaking the truth in love, which is sometimes a very difficult 535 00:23:27,282 --> 00:23:32,190 thing, especially if you're not normally a contentious person, 536 00:23:32,730 --> 00:23:36,498 or contentious is probably a bad word, confrontational person. 537 00:23:36,554 --> 00:23:40,482 Some people thrive on, like, you know, some people enjoy that. 538 00:23:40,506 --> 00:23:42,290 Like, hey, you know, I want to make sure we get this, all right? 539 00:23:42,330 --> 00:23:44,146 Like, some people love meetings. 540 00:23:44,338 --> 00:23:46,466 I'm going to tell you, I despise meetings. 541 00:23:46,498 --> 00:23:48,114 I don't like meetings, okay? 542 00:23:48,162 --> 00:23:50,210 Because I got to sit in front of everyone and come up with something 543 00:23:50,250 --> 00:23:50,754 for a. 544 00:23:50,842 --> 00:23:52,916 I'm like, oh, man, I don't know what to say. 545 00:23:52,988 --> 00:23:54,372 Like, I'm just trying to figure out. 546 00:23:54,476 --> 00:23:55,348 Just get through my day. 547 00:23:55,404 --> 00:23:57,220 And so I don't enjoy meetings. 548 00:23:57,300 --> 00:23:58,308 Some people do. 549 00:23:58,444 --> 00:24:00,996 Some people enjoy the minutia of administration. 550 00:24:01,108 --> 00:24:02,708 That's not something that I love. 551 00:24:02,764 --> 00:24:03,332 I have to. 552 00:24:03,356 --> 00:24:04,516 But I don't love it. 553 00:24:04,588 --> 00:24:07,972 And so for people that specifically don't like that, the 554 00:24:07,996 --> 00:24:10,660 Bible stretches us even more when it says that you have to be 555 00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:12,324 concerned for others around you. 556 00:24:12,492 --> 00:24:16,436 But then he puts it here, I think, in the great way of tying 557 00:24:16,468 --> 00:24:19,090 it all together, he gives this wonderful. 558 00:24:20,390 --> 00:24:22,062 You might have heard this before. 559 00:24:22,246 --> 00:24:23,970 It's a famous doxology. 560 00:24:24,470 --> 00:24:26,894 Now, unto him that is able to keep you from falling. 561 00:24:26,942 --> 00:24:28,410 Now, who is he talking about here? 562 00:24:28,870 --> 00:24:31,166 Well, he tells you at the end who he's talking about the only wise 563 00:24:31,198 --> 00:24:32,222 God, our Savior. 564 00:24:32,366 --> 00:24:36,110 So I want to break down this because I think we have to remember 565 00:24:36,190 --> 00:24:39,342 these next two verses when we're contending for the faith. 566 00:24:39,486 --> 00:24:43,198 We have to keep these two verses in our minds because it tells 567 00:24:43,214 --> 00:24:46,050 us who God is and what he is doing for us. 568 00:24:46,170 --> 00:24:50,418 So Jude closes this letter with this declaration of praise. 569 00:24:50,594 --> 00:24:56,710 And this reminds us of God's care for us, his wisdom. 570 00:24:57,210 --> 00:25:02,530 So now unto him that is our Savior, Jesus, that is able to keep 571 00:25:02,570 --> 00:25:07,906 you from falling, stumbling, being destroyed. 572 00:25:08,098 --> 00:25:12,288 This is talking about the preservation of the believer, I believe, 573 00:25:12,344 --> 00:25:13,456 the eternal security. 574 00:25:13,608 --> 00:25:17,840 I believe that this is speaking of God's hand on our life, 575 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,536 holding us, preserving us, sustaining us. 576 00:25:21,688 --> 00:25:25,620 He's able to keep us from falling and to present you faultless 577 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,860 before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. 578 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:37,380 So it's his role to present us before God faultless. 579 00:25:37,810 --> 00:25:39,290 Now, he's the only one who can do that. 580 00:25:39,330 --> 00:25:42,986 Now, how can Jesus present us faultless because of the Gospel, 581 00:25:43,098 --> 00:25:45,802 because He died on the cross for our sins, because he's the one 582 00:25:45,826 --> 00:25:46,922 who paid the price. 583 00:25:47,106 --> 00:25:49,754 And so he's essentially telling them, as you contend for 584 00:25:49,762 --> 00:25:52,442 the faith, you're doing this because of what Christ has done for 585 00:25:52,466 --> 00:25:52,890 you. 586 00:25:53,010 --> 00:25:55,706 The only way that you can even fight on this side of the battle 587 00:25:55,738 --> 00:25:57,370 is because of what Christ has done for you. 588 00:25:57,410 --> 00:25:59,434 And he's the one that's holding you up. 589 00:25:59,522 --> 00:26:03,066 Because I think sometimes the fear is if I contend for the faith, 590 00:26:03,098 --> 00:26:08,110 I'm going to fail, I'm going to stumble, I'm going to be judged, 591 00:26:08,930 --> 00:26:10,602 I'm going to lose whatever it is. 592 00:26:10,626 --> 00:26:14,890 And he goes, no, it's the praise to him that's able to keep 593 00:26:14,930 --> 00:26:17,870 you from falling and to present you faultless. 594 00:26:18,530 --> 00:26:23,210 And then he says to the only wise God, our Savior speaks to his 595 00:26:23,250 --> 00:26:24,350 perfect wisdom. 596 00:26:25,170 --> 00:26:28,634 You know, there are times in my life where I sit down and I don't 597 00:26:28,682 --> 00:26:29,910 know what to do. 598 00:26:30,230 --> 00:26:31,406 James chapter one. 599 00:26:31,478 --> 00:26:35,742 I preach a sermon in James chapter one called what to do when 600 00:26:35,766 --> 00:26:36,862 you don't know what to do. 601 00:26:36,966 --> 00:26:40,494 And the answer, if you know James chapter one, is go to the Lord. 602 00:26:40,622 --> 00:26:45,374 Ask him, says, when you lack wisdom, ask him and he'll give it 603 00:26:45,382 --> 00:26:46,770 to you liberally. 604 00:26:47,270 --> 00:26:49,130 He doesn't hold it against us. 605 00:26:49,750 --> 00:26:51,294 And so to the only wise God. 606 00:26:51,342 --> 00:26:55,182 You know, I think sometimes we get to a situation where maybe this 607 00:26:55,206 --> 00:26:56,078 is just me. 608 00:26:56,214 --> 00:26:58,702 I'm sure that there are other people that have been here where 609 00:26:58,726 --> 00:27:00,942 you're sitting down, you're going, I don't know what to do. 610 00:27:00,966 --> 00:27:02,330 I'm at My wit's end. 611 00:27:02,710 --> 00:27:05,022 I don't see a good outcome for this. 612 00:27:05,126 --> 00:27:06,574 I don't see how this ends. 613 00:27:06,622 --> 00:27:07,210 Well. 614 00:27:09,110 --> 00:27:11,730 Go to him for his wisdom, his perfect wisdom. 615 00:27:12,470 --> 00:27:15,358 And the Bible says that he will bless us in that. 616 00:27:15,414 --> 00:27:18,670 So it says to him, be glory and majesty, dominion, power, both 617 00:27:18,710 --> 00:27:19,870 now and forever. 618 00:27:19,950 --> 00:27:20,478 Amen. 619 00:27:20,574 --> 00:27:28,698 So Jude's message of warning, his message of the inevitability 620 00:27:28,794 --> 00:27:34,042 of the fight, most likely he knew that that was going to possibly 621 00:27:34,106 --> 00:27:36,634 depress or discourage some people. 622 00:27:36,802 --> 00:27:40,666 Like, if I get up and say to the church, guys, we're in a fight, 623 00:27:40,738 --> 00:27:43,322 we're in a battle, it's going to be difficult. 624 00:27:43,386 --> 00:27:45,270 Some people are like, man, I'm not ready for that. 625 00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:47,370 I'm just trying to get through this day. 626 00:27:47,410 --> 00:27:48,794 I don't want to be in a spiritual battle. 627 00:27:48,842 --> 00:27:51,270 And so sometimes that can deflate people. 628 00:27:51,570 --> 00:27:55,710 And I think that this is Jude trying to rally the troops. 629 00:27:57,570 --> 00:28:01,390 Maybe he's trying to remind them of what they have forgotten. 630 00:28:01,890 --> 00:28:03,834 And maybe I think it's this. 631 00:28:03,922 --> 00:28:06,074 He's trying to remind them that they're not holding themselves 632 00:28:06,122 --> 00:28:06,570 up. 633 00:28:06,690 --> 00:28:08,442 It's God who's holding them up. 634 00:28:08,626 --> 00:28:12,618 I was talking to a pastor friend of mine, and he said, what's 635 00:28:12,634 --> 00:28:12,922 going on? 636 00:28:12,946 --> 00:28:14,230 I said, you know, I just. 637 00:28:14,530 --> 00:28:15,786 I just don't feel like I'm gonna. 638 00:28:15,818 --> 00:28:16,922 I'm doing a good enough job. 639 00:28:16,946 --> 00:28:17,562 And he says, why not? 640 00:28:17,586 --> 00:28:19,652 I said, I just feel like I'm gonna let God down. 641 00:28:19,836 --> 00:28:22,420 And he said something to me, and it really, like, put things into 642 00:28:22,460 --> 00:28:23,092 perspective for me. 643 00:28:23,116 --> 00:28:23,780 He goes, oh, really? 644 00:28:23,820 --> 00:28:25,092 You think you're gonna let God down? 645 00:28:25,196 --> 00:28:25,844 I was like, yeah. 646 00:28:25,892 --> 00:28:27,444 He's like, I didn't know you were holding him up. 647 00:28:27,532 --> 00:28:28,644 And I was like, yeah, you're right. 648 00:28:28,652 --> 00:28:29,684 I'm not holding him up. 649 00:28:29,772 --> 00:28:30,772 And he's like, he's. 650 00:28:30,836 --> 00:28:31,652 I'm like, you know what I mean? 651 00:28:31,676 --> 00:28:33,716 He goes, yeah, but it's selfish, right? 652 00:28:33,788 --> 00:28:35,364 You're selfishly thinking, I'm gonna mess up. 653 00:28:35,372 --> 00:28:35,972 I'm gonna mess up. 654 00:28:35,996 --> 00:28:37,636 It's just rely on God. 655 00:28:37,748 --> 00:28:38,900 He's gonna sustain us. 656 00:28:39,020 --> 00:28:40,116 Let me newsflash. 657 00:28:40,148 --> 00:28:42,000 We're all gonna mess up, right? 658 00:28:42,300 --> 00:28:46,578 God's not sitting in heaven going, well, you know, Josh messed 659 00:28:46,594 --> 00:28:48,274 up, so I still know what I'm going to do now. 660 00:28:48,362 --> 00:28:49,282 He's going to lift us up. 661 00:28:49,306 --> 00:28:50,818 He's going to keep us from falling. 662 00:28:50,994 --> 00:28:55,074 There's a psalm that says, though he fall, he shall not be utterly 663 00:28:55,122 --> 00:28:58,350 cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. 664 00:28:58,650 --> 00:29:00,594 And I think that's what we have to understand as Christians 665 00:29:00,642 --> 00:29:04,050 is like, there's going to be times where we Stumble, but we don't 666 00:29:04,130 --> 00:29:05,710 get utterly cast down. 667 00:29:06,010 --> 00:29:08,050 And that's the beauty of God's hand in our life. 668 00:29:08,090 --> 00:29:13,180 And so this is an encouragement, I think, that there 669 00:29:13,220 --> 00:29:16,892 are times in my life where I'm thankful for folks that walked me 670 00:29:16,916 --> 00:29:17,920 through a situation. 671 00:29:19,460 --> 00:29:21,580 And I think that's something that we all should think about. 672 00:29:21,620 --> 00:29:25,756 But there is a point in time where we can't have our hand held 673 00:29:25,828 --> 00:29:27,240 by someone. 674 00:29:27,700 --> 00:29:29,500 Maybe it's something that we have to face on our own. 675 00:29:29,540 --> 00:29:32,076 But really, if you think about it from the perspective of a Christian, 676 00:29:32,108 --> 00:29:34,780 we're not going through it alone and God is holding our hand 677 00:29:34,820 --> 00:29:35,426 through it. 678 00:29:35,548 --> 00:29:39,302 And so by comparing all of these passages of Scripture, we can 679 00:29:39,326 --> 00:29:44,690 see at the very beginning in verse one, he says, Jesus Christ, 680 00:29:45,310 --> 00:29:46,454 we are preserved. 681 00:29:46,502 --> 00:29:51,238 He starts with verse one at the end and preserved in Jesus Christ 682 00:29:51,294 --> 00:29:55,046 and called so he starts with how he ends. 683 00:29:55,158 --> 00:29:57,718 He says, guys, you're preserved in Jesus Christ. 684 00:29:57,774 --> 00:29:59,190 Now let me tell you what's going to happen. 685 00:29:59,310 --> 00:30:02,290 And then he ends with, you're preserved in Jesus Christ. 686 00:30:03,070 --> 00:30:06,390 And I think here at the end, he concludes the whole thought of, 687 00:30:06,430 --> 00:30:09,334 hey, he's going to be the one that's going to sustain you. 688 00:30:09,502 --> 00:30:12,530 Paul gives us the same idea in Philippians chapter two. 689 00:30:12,910 --> 00:30:16,050 He explains to us that it is God who works in us. 690 00:30:16,990 --> 00:30:18,342 Philippians chapter 1. 691 00:30:18,446 --> 00:30:20,694 Be confident of this very thing, that he which started a good 692 00:30:20,702 --> 00:30:23,702 work in you will continue it to the day of Jesus Christ. 693 00:30:23,806 --> 00:30:26,502 There's this idea that as Christians we think sometimes that 694 00:30:26,526 --> 00:30:31,148 it's all on us and sometimes we put undue pressure on our backs. 695 00:30:31,244 --> 00:30:33,452 And though there is a responsibility for Christians to 696 00:30:33,476 --> 00:30:36,796 live the godly life, it's ultimately the pressure and the burden 697 00:30:36,828 --> 00:30:37,372 upon God. 698 00:30:37,436 --> 00:30:40,412 The Bible says, cast your cares or your burdens upon him, for 699 00:30:40,436 --> 00:30:41,640 he cares for you. 700 00:30:42,020 --> 00:30:47,080 And so keeping us spiritually safe is what God does. 701 00:30:47,620 --> 00:30:50,920 Keeping us spiritually sound is what God does. 702 00:30:51,860 --> 00:30:55,840 And so it's when we stray away from him, is when we get to a place 703 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,624 of weakness, when we get to a place of false teaching, when we 704 00:30:58,632 --> 00:31:01,248 get to a place of division. 705 00:31:01,424 --> 00:31:05,260 And so as God is faithful, we get to a place in our life where 706 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,696 we can have exceeding joy, as it says there at the end of verse 707 00:31:09,728 --> 00:31:10,540 24. 708 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:16,608 And so all of this doxology here reminds us of God's power, His 709 00:31:16,664 --> 00:31:21,860 glory, his wisdom, his all powerful knowledge and nature. 710 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,712 And so I just, I think I love that and I think, I think we should 711 00:31:25,736 --> 00:31:29,552 quote the Doxology more often to the only wise God, our Savior, 712 00:31:29,616 --> 00:31:32,140 be power and glory and dominion both now. 713 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:35,008 So Today he has that power. 714 00:31:35,064 --> 00:31:37,820 But then I love those next words, end ever. 715 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:40,256 So he's eternally God. 716 00:31:40,288 --> 00:31:42,020 He's eternally our Savior. 717 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,472 And so I think that that's so important for us to understand is 718 00:31:45,496 --> 00:31:52,754 that though Jude is a book of warnings, challenges, it closes with 719 00:31:52,842 --> 00:31:53,590 confidence. 720 00:31:54,250 --> 00:31:57,970 And I think that that's what we have in Christ, obviously, is 721 00:31:58,010 --> 00:31:58,674 confidence. 722 00:31:58,802 --> 00:32:02,226 So there's challenges and conflict and contention in this Christian 723 00:32:02,258 --> 00:32:02,642 life. 724 00:32:02,746 --> 00:32:06,082 That's inevitable if you're living the Christian life properly. 725 00:32:06,146 --> 00:32:09,986 The Bible says there will be challenges, there will be conflict, 726 00:32:10,098 --> 00:32:14,950 there will be contention, but ultimately there will be comfort 727 00:32:15,410 --> 00:32:17,670 and there will be confidence in him. 728 00:32:17,970 --> 00:32:21,130 And so that word confidence just means confide. 729 00:32:21,210 --> 00:32:22,330 It's a Latin term. 730 00:32:22,450 --> 00:32:24,106 It just means with faith. 731 00:32:24,298 --> 00:32:28,154 We live with faith, and therefore we can have confidence 732 00:32:28,282 --> 00:32:28,794 in God. 733 00:32:28,842 --> 00:32:36,810 And so dangerous times, difficult times, really, truly difficult 734 00:32:36,890 --> 00:32:41,108 times, reveal the truth about who we're trusting in or what we're 735 00:32:41,124 --> 00:32:42,080 trusting in. 736 00:32:42,860 --> 00:32:44,708 So what Jude is trying to teach us is this. 737 00:32:44,764 --> 00:32:47,332 When difficult times come, trust in the Lord. 738 00:32:47,396 --> 00:32:49,988 It shows us his mighty hand. 739 00:32:50,124 --> 00:32:55,040 Because for me, patience is easy when everything's going my way, 740 00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:56,240 right? 741 00:32:57,100 --> 00:33:00,756 Loving God is easy when everything's going my way, trusting 742 00:33:00,788 --> 00:33:02,040 in him is easy. 743 00:33:02,460 --> 00:33:07,812 But it's really in those times of difficulty that we're able to 744 00:33:07,836 --> 00:33:08,960 see him more. 745 00:33:09,660 --> 00:33:11,684 And I love what Roman says. 746 00:33:11,692 --> 00:33:12,548 I'm going to end with this. 747 00:33:12,604 --> 00:33:14,160 I'm going to end with Romans 5. 748 00:33:14,700 --> 00:33:19,204 I quoted this on a podcast episode this week about patience, 749 00:33:19,332 --> 00:33:24,836 but I think it's important for us to see in every context Romans 750 00:33:24,868 --> 00:33:25,060 5. 751 00:33:25,100 --> 00:33:26,960 And we'll look at just the first. 752 00:33:28,220 --> 00:33:31,332 We'll just look at the first five verses for the sake of time, 753 00:33:31,516 --> 00:33:34,640 if you can just bear with me with this will be done. 754 00:33:35,500 --> 00:33:39,556 It says, therefore, being justified by faith, we're declared 755 00:33:39,588 --> 00:33:40,868 righteous by faith. 756 00:33:41,044 --> 00:33:43,732 We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 757 00:33:43,836 --> 00:33:48,020 So we only have peace with God because of Jesus, by whom, through 758 00:33:48,060 --> 00:33:50,676 Jesus also we have access by faith and to his grace. 759 00:33:50,708 --> 00:33:53,044 So we have access to the grace of God because of Jesus. 760 00:33:53,092 --> 00:33:56,212 And that's where we stand, wherein we stand and rejoice in the 761 00:33:56,236 --> 00:33:58,180 hope of the glory of God. 762 00:33:58,260 --> 00:34:02,344 So we have joy because we have hope in God's glory. 763 00:34:02,472 --> 00:34:05,240 But then he goes on to this and say this, verse three. 764 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:10,340 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also. 765 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:16,392 And I'm always like, glory, I'll tolerate the tribulations, but 766 00:34:16,416 --> 00:34:17,928 don't make me glory in them. 767 00:34:18,064 --> 00:34:21,656 Glory means you're like, you're thankful, you're happy, like, 768 00:34:21,728 --> 00:34:22,392 more Lord. 769 00:34:22,456 --> 00:34:24,088 And I'm like, I don't why? 770 00:34:24,144 --> 00:34:24,920 How does he say that? 771 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:26,633 Well, he explains how he can say that. 772 00:34:26,791 --> 00:34:30,869 He says we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation 773 00:34:30,949 --> 00:34:35,049 or trials or test worketh patience. 774 00:34:35,469 --> 00:34:39,125 So we learn, if we do it right, we trust in God through it 775 00:34:39,277 --> 00:34:41,929 we learn patience, we experience patience. 776 00:34:43,469 --> 00:34:48,933 The word patience in the Greek is not the word patience necessarily 777 00:34:48,981 --> 00:34:49,733 completely in English. 778 00:34:49,781 --> 00:34:51,445 When we think of patience, what do we think of? 779 00:34:51,517 --> 00:34:54,559 Sitting down, twiddling our thumbs and just waiting for something 780 00:34:54,599 --> 00:34:55,311 to happen. 781 00:34:55,495 --> 00:34:57,695 The Greek word has a little bit more of a meaning. 782 00:34:57,727 --> 00:35:00,179 It is waiting, but it's waiting with endurance. 783 00:35:00,839 --> 00:35:05,279 And so there's this idea here in this case that we learn how to 784 00:35:05,319 --> 00:35:07,839 preserve through this in the power of God. 785 00:35:07,919 --> 00:35:10,671 So he says, so we glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation 786 00:35:10,735 --> 00:35:11,551 worketh patience. 787 00:35:11,615 --> 00:35:12,991 And then what does patience bring? 788 00:35:13,095 --> 00:35:14,219 Patience, experience. 789 00:35:14,919 --> 00:35:19,322 And this idea of experience is not just I've gone through this, 790 00:35:19,426 --> 00:35:21,978 but it's I've gone through this with the understanding of having 791 00:35:22,034 --> 00:35:23,510 more character like Christ. 792 00:35:23,890 --> 00:35:27,110 So I have the experience of Christ in my life. 793 00:35:28,450 --> 00:35:31,018 And then it says experience what? 794 00:35:31,154 --> 00:35:31,830 Hope. 795 00:35:32,210 --> 00:35:37,498 So the ending of trusting in God through the tribulation is patience, 796 00:35:37,674 --> 00:35:39,910 experience and then hope. 797 00:35:40,210 --> 00:35:42,554 That's the confident expectation that God is going to 798 00:35:42,562 --> 00:35:43,354 keep his word. 799 00:35:43,482 --> 00:35:44,826 And hope maketh not ashamed. 800 00:35:44,858 --> 00:35:46,898 So there's no shame in the hope of God. 801 00:35:47,034 --> 00:35:52,306 So there's no shame in a trial because the love of God is shed abroad 802 00:35:52,338 --> 00:35:54,482 in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 803 00:35:54,506 --> 00:36:00,150 And so that's a very in depth way to say that the more we preserve, 804 00:36:00,490 --> 00:36:03,346 the more we persevere through the trials and the power of God, 805 00:36:03,378 --> 00:36:05,230 the more we understand his love. 806 00:36:06,170 --> 00:36:07,650 It's counterintuitive. 807 00:36:07,730 --> 00:36:10,482 We think if I'm going through a hard time, God doesn't love me. 808 00:36:10,506 --> 00:36:13,802 But it's actually as he gets me through this, it shows me how 809 00:36:13,826 --> 00:36:15,030 much more he loves me. 810 00:36:15,730 --> 00:36:17,258 And that's the beauty of it. 811 00:36:17,394 --> 00:36:21,290 It's the beauty of the difficulty is the confidence and 812 00:36:21,330 --> 00:36:22,710 the comfort at the end. 813 00:36:23,170 --> 00:36:24,714 And so that's. 814 00:36:24,842 --> 00:36:32,298 I always tell my kids, nothing that's good is going to be easy. 815 00:36:32,394 --> 00:36:34,426 Nothing worth it is going to be easy. 816 00:36:34,618 --> 00:36:36,670 They always want to take the easiest route. 817 00:36:37,090 --> 00:36:39,498 And then I look at my own life and I go, I do the same thing. 818 00:36:39,554 --> 00:36:41,514 Everyone's looking for that get rich quick scheme. 819 00:36:41,562 --> 00:36:43,924 Everyone's looking for that quick pass through. 820 00:36:44,012 --> 00:36:44,660 But you know what? 821 00:36:44,700 --> 00:36:48,708 The best things come through patience and endurance. 822 00:36:48,884 --> 00:36:50,404 And that's the beautiful thing. 823 00:36:50,492 --> 00:36:54,276 And so I think that as Christians we have to grow in that. 824 00:36:54,348 --> 00:36:59,412 And I think even in our Culture today, with the accessibility 825 00:36:59,476 --> 00:37:04,916 of everything, it's trained us to not look at the long picture, 826 00:37:04,948 --> 00:37:06,116 the big picture. 827 00:37:06,308 --> 00:37:09,570 It's trained us to have immediate responses. 828 00:37:09,910 --> 00:37:13,490 If you look back at Jesus time and you look back at the Eastern 829 00:37:14,230 --> 00:37:19,006 mindset, it was all about long term things, eternity, distance. 830 00:37:19,118 --> 00:37:22,926 And I think for us, instead of seeing today as the final, you know, 831 00:37:22,998 --> 00:37:23,790 how's my day going? 832 00:37:23,830 --> 00:37:27,854 Well, it's, you know, it might not be going great today, but I can 833 00:37:27,862 --> 00:37:30,286 say I'm having a good day because I know where I'm ultimately 834 00:37:30,318 --> 00:37:31,070 going to be, right? 835 00:37:31,110 --> 00:37:35,468 And so I think that's, you know, sometimes when you go on vacation, 836 00:37:35,654 --> 00:37:36,544 you might have the worst. 837 00:37:36,592 --> 00:37:39,552 I don't know about you guys, but right before I go on vacation, 838 00:37:39,696 --> 00:37:42,512 things just start happening and I'm like. 839 00:37:42,696 --> 00:37:45,088 But you know what I do like, it's almost there. 840 00:37:45,224 --> 00:37:46,352 I'm almost ready to go. 841 00:37:46,376 --> 00:37:48,176 I'm almost ready to be where we want to be. 842 00:37:48,248 --> 00:37:50,192 And I know all those problems are gonna be back when I get back, 843 00:37:50,216 --> 00:37:51,136 but I'm gonna get there. 844 00:37:51,208 --> 00:37:54,432 And I think that's in a beautiful way, that's kind of how 845 00:37:54,456 --> 00:37:55,232 our Christian life is. 846 00:37:55,256 --> 00:37:57,728 Like, yes, there's something today, but we got something better 847 00:37:57,784 --> 00:37:58,192 coming. 848 00:37:58,296 --> 00:38:00,112 We've got something coming and that's not gonna run out. 849 00:38:00,136 --> 00:38:02,032 Cause we're never gonna have to come back to those problems one 850 00:38:02,056 --> 00:38:02,444 day. 851 00:38:02,552 --> 00:38:03,764 And that's the beautiful thing. 852 00:38:03,852 --> 00:38:07,108 So thank you so much for following along in the study in Jude. 853 00:38:07,204 --> 00:38:08,580 Contend for the faith. 854 00:38:08,740 --> 00:38:11,796 Not contend for your opinions, not contend for your pride, not contend 855 00:38:11,828 --> 00:38:15,668 for your status, but contend for the truth of God. 856 00:38:15,844 --> 00:38:19,332 And there's many ways to do that, but we do that in confidence 857 00:38:19,396 --> 00:38:22,852 and we do that in compassion and we do that with comfort. 858 00:38:22,916 --> 00:38:26,804 So encourage you to think through that as you're contending 859 00:38:26,852 --> 00:38:28,438 for the faith here in your life. 860 00:38:28,564 --> 00:38:30,110 So next week. 861 00:38:32,330 --> 00:38:33,026 Next week. 862 00:38:33,098 --> 00:38:34,098 Yeah, next week. 863 00:38:34,234 --> 00:38:39,270 Next week we will be studying a new book of the Bible. 864 00:38:39,610 --> 00:38:42,306 And it's going to be a short study, but we're going to be studying 865 00:38:42,338 --> 00:38:43,442 the book of Philemon. 866 00:38:43,506 --> 00:38:45,762 And I don't know if any of you have ever gone through a study in 867 00:38:45,786 --> 00:38:46,130 that book. 868 00:38:46,170 --> 00:38:50,162 It's a very, very important book, even though you might not think 869 00:38:50,186 --> 00:38:52,962 it's that important because it's short, it's even shorter than 870 00:38:53,066 --> 00:38:56,828 Jude, I believe, and it's Paul's shortest letter. 871 00:38:57,004 --> 00:39:00,876 But there's some really, really amazing things in the picture 872 00:39:00,908 --> 00:39:04,876 of what Christ has done for us and in his forgiveness and his grace. 873 00:39:04,988 --> 00:39:10,172 And that story of Philemon, it's basically a story of Onesimus, 874 00:39:10,316 --> 00:39:13,068 who is a I'll kind of give you a little teaser. 875 00:39:13,244 --> 00:39:16,060 He's the slave of Philemon and he runs away. 876 00:39:16,100 --> 00:39:18,348 He wrongs Philemon and he runs away. 877 00:39:18,484 --> 00:39:20,334 And then after that he gets saved. 878 00:39:20,452 --> 00:39:23,274 And there's this beautiful picture of restoration and then receiving 879 00:39:23,322 --> 00:39:27,210 him back in, not as a slave, not as a servant, but as a brother. 880 00:39:27,370 --> 00:39:29,178 And it's a picture of Christianity. 881 00:39:29,194 --> 00:39:31,642 It's a picture of what we have in Christ and the unity there. 882 00:39:31,666 --> 00:39:33,498 And so it's a beautiful, beautiful study. 883 00:39:33,634 --> 00:39:36,250 So we will be back studying that next week. 884 00:39:36,370 --> 00:39:40,794 And tell your friends, tell your neighbors we'll be here, Lord 885 00:39:40,842 --> 00:39:41,550 willing. 886 00:39:41,970 --> 00:39:44,634 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 887 00:39:44,682 --> 00:39:45,434 podcast. 888 00:39:45,562 --> 00:39:47,566 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 889 00:39:47,618 --> 00:39:50,758 You you would like to find out more information about our church 890 00:39:50,774 --> 00:39:54,422 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 891 00:39:54,566 --> 00:39:57,370 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 892 00:39:57,790 --> 00:40:03,046 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, Middletown BaptistChurch.com 893 00:40:03,198 --> 00:40:06,758 if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 894 00:40:06,814 --> 00:40:09,850 along for future podcast and updates. 895 00:40:10,190 --> 00:40:11,350 Thank you so much. 896 00:40:11,470 --> 00:40:12,294 God bless. 897 00:40:12,422 --> 00:40:13,470 Have a wonderful day.