Good morning, well almost afternoon friends, I apologize for running late with my message this morning and pray that you are not running late in your doings today! It is a beautiful day here in Utah, the "son" is shining brightly and the sky is clean and clear.
In prayer this morning I lifted each of you, asking God to bless you with his abundant love, to lead you to a place where you can make a difference in someone's life with Christ's light and to allow you promptings that you are where he needs you to be. I prayed for the sick and for the hopeless and I asked for peace, calm, comfort and knowledge for all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
This is the lesson for the morning and I felt it a very good share, I hope you enjoy it and that you always maintain a relationship with our Father in heaven and seek out ways to help bring others to Christ. Love to each of you...do something nice for YOU today!!!
Study Scriptures for this week’s Lesson: Jude 1:1-25
Key Verse: Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (KJV).
Central Truth: Christians remain firm in the faith by means of God's grace and truth.
Our Focus: To acknowledge and heed the biblical mandate to hold firmly to New Testament faith in Christ.
Stay with the Faith
We live in interesting times. We face wars in distant lands. Terrorists invade places we thought were safe. We confront new challenges in the workplace. We wonder if our children will be the first generation in many years to be poorer and less healthy than their parents. Jude also lived in interesting times. This letter was probably written around A.D. 66. This was the time of the persecution of Christians under Nero, a few years before the destruction of Jerusalem. The young Church was pulled in many directions, particularly by teachings that threatened to prevent the true gospel of Christ. Jude's letter was a response to this crisis concerning the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Contend for the Faith
What does "contend for the faith" mean? To contend for something is to struggle for it, fight for it, be determined to succeed with it. Thirty years after Christ rose from the dead, church leaders like Jude were fighting to stop false teachers from luring Christians away from the truth. We live in a different time, but in every time period, Christians can be pulled from the truth by an attractive but wrong, or false, teaching. The faith we keep is the faith "once delivered unto the saints." It is the faith taught in the New Testament. Here are some of the false teachings Jude warned about. They taught that what the body did had no effect on the soul, and denied that salvation is only through belief in Jesus. So they taught immoral behavior and caused some to turn from following Christ. We must contend for the faith by showing in our lives that we believe the Bible when it says, "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." We do not honor God's grace by continually sinning and then claiming that His grace is sufficient to let us do so. If we sin in this way, it only proves that we are not abiding in Christ.
Expect God's Judgments
Jude used three examples to show that God does judge those who are unfaithful to Him (Jude 1:5-7). The first was the people of Israel whose disobedience denied them access into the Promised Land, and they died in the desert. This example shows that even those who seem to be part of God's people face God's judgment when they are disobedient to Him. The second example was a reference to angels who rebelled against God. This shows that those who are rebellious--whether angels or people--will face God's judgment. The third example was about God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. This showed that God judges people who give themselves over to sinful practices, in this case, sexual immorality. Jude said the fasle teachers followed the same course as the bad examples he had cited (verses 8-10). Jude decried the pitiful state of theses teachers (verses 11-16). They were like Cain, who sought blessing without going God's way and without concern for his brother. Many people are uneasy about the idea that there is only one true way to God. They are more comfortable in thinking that all paths lead to God. The New Testament teaches that the only true way for us to approach God is through Jesus Christ. As Christians, we must stand firm in the faith proclaimed in the Bible.
Remember, Build, Keep, and Rescue
After an explanation of the false teachers, Jude closed his letter with practical advice for Christians. First, he reminded them that there have always been false teachers (Jude 1:17-19). One sign of such teachers is that they see no problem with sinful, immoral behavior. They even boasted of it. If someone tells us that holiness is not important, that is a sign that we should not listen to such a person. Second, Jude encouraged believers to build up their faith (verse 2). How do we build faith? We keep on studying God's Word. We fellowship with other belivers who have the same goal of living to please God. We pray, which includes "praying in the Holy Ghost." Third, believers keep themselves "in the love of God." We remind ourselves that we are saved by God's mercy through Jesus. Fourth, believers work to show God's mercy to others. We share the gospel of Jesus Christ through our words and actions. In so doing, we may help rescue others from judgment. Jude closed his letter with a great doxology worth memorizing and adding to our own prayers. God loves us, and He is able to keep us in His care.
Discipleship In Action
We do not want to be ignorant of the fact there are people who claim to be Christians who are teaching things that are wrong. We need to avoid teachers whose words do not conform to the truth found in God's Word, the Bible. We also need to avoid teachers whose lives do not line up with God's Word. Neither do we need to fear such teachers. God called us and he is able to keep us. Even now, God is preserving us in Christ Jesus. We live in the mercy, peace and love of God. So let us focus on maintaining our relationship with God and seek opportunities to bring others to Christ.
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