Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Yes, should be saying #72 in the appendix.
Reading from verse 572 in the appendix. I am an empty vessel. Scarce one thought or love of love today I've ever brought. Yet I may come, and come again to thee with this the empty sinners only play thou lovest. May 72 in the Appendix.
Call credit service centers.
Great improve all kills in their House of kicking in the house.
I can hear a lot of outline behind the beginning of the time. Standing in the right now, just powerful mind. What's the name of a lot of coverage? So cold, so crazy.
With Prada and the crowd was $10 million. What's that was being hard on the hard on tune into?
Umm.
Rain, what's up with your heart?
Was everything's great like that? The whole town?
Oh, no, I don't know if you have a chance to hear anything, but that's still there's $1400. You're gonna see how much you're temporary about. You have a lot of money. You make 1090 lbs, but you're going to produce Wilson's only quick.
Of all of the life beginning.
Thank you. Oh my God.
Implied on you to believe me.
And did you take anything with us right now? I can take any place. We have the same time situation or I don't know.
If you promised a collective.
And all of my love and all of the inspiration and what I mean. It's probably a lot of everything I can tell you.
I've been strange myself.
Let me read a few verses from the second book of Kings chapter 4, getting the first one.
00:05:03
Now they're private with the sons of the prophets and Elijah saying, thy servant husband is dead, and thou nice that thy servant did fear the Lord, and that the creditors come and take him, and my two sons in London.
You know, I just said on her, what should I do for them? Tell me what? That's in my house.
And she says I have a that's not anything in the house like the front body.
Then he said, Go borrow vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels. Borrow not a few of them. When they are coming, shut the door upon thy sons, they shall pour out into all those vessels.
And they were shall set aside that with his thought. So she went from him, and shut the door upon him, and upon her son, who brought the vessels to her. And she poured out, and it came to pass from all vessels before that she said unto her son, Bring me the vessel. And he said to her, No, he's not a vessel anymore.
And the oil static showing how aggressive.
How gracious farming far away. Come before me today to give you thanks and praise and worship for the person and work of the Lord Jesus, in whose name we approach the in whose name we make our request.
And we got some fish. What we are by nature, we are empty vessels.
There's nothing here that's fine nature.
And we have a need to be satisfied.
We are hungry, we need our work, and we need the ministry of our Holy Spirit to make it good to our hearts and our conscience.
So we pray as we might open my word.
They'll fill our empty vessels.
We thank you for the Ministry of Life. Holy Spirit, we do private.
Hi Holy Spirit, I have never did this. We hope my work together.
You occupy us with ourselves, Lord Jesus, while we wait for me to come.
And we thank you for those words. They all stayed.
So we do private the result of these meetings we may take home things that are gonna be a blessing to us as we go in and out much like the household of faith as a whole and so we just pray for that they'll guide us as to the scripture that we may take up. We pray for a blessing on my words may be minister. We pray that those that speak may speak to the oracles of God. We ask these things tremendous to run up in here and give me thank you thanks in the worthy and precious name of the Lord Jesus Amen.
Going out for something that I'm hard, I was thinking of the book of Jude. We're living in a gate that is very similar to that. Perhaps we influence on encouragement.
Afterwards together Book of Jude.
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called mercy unto you, and peace and love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exalt you, that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the sinks. For there are certain men crept in unaware.
Who were before of old ordained to this condemnation ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how, that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroy them that believe not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he had reserved.
00:10:27
An everlasting change under darkness.
And to the judgment of the great day, even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner giving themselves over the fornication and going after strange plush are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these healthy files of flesh despite dominion and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the Archangel.
When contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, who does not bring against him a railing accusation, But then the Lord rebuked it. But these people of those things which they know not, but what they know naturally, as root beasts in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the era of Balaam.
For reward and perish in the gay, gay saying of quarry. These are spots in your feast of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. Clouds they are without water hurry about of winds trees whose fruit wherewither with without fruit try is dead, plucked up by the roots, ranging waves of the sea, forming out of their own shame Wandering stars, to whom it's reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
And Enoch also the 7th from Adam prophesized of these, saying, Behold, the Lord come us with 10,000 of his things, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that our ungodly among them.
Of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against them, these are murmurs, complainers walking after their own lusts. And their mouths speaketh great swelling words, having man's person in admiration because of advantage. But beloved, remember in either words which were spoken before the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you.
There should be markers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit, but beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, and of some having compassion, making a difference, and others.
Save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh are now unto him that is able to keep you from falling.
And to present you 12 lessons before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever are in.
Let me let me go to comment much on this, but I thought there are a few things that I have on my heart in this chapter concerning today. We find there are phrases such as contending for the faith which once delivered, uh, which was once delivered to the Saints. How precious it is for us to be reminded what many truths that was delivered and yet perhaps in a sense forgotten, given up. Perhaps. So this perhaps could be a reminder.
For us as we go through this book, you talk a lot about apostasy in this chapter as well as as we go on, but what's interesting is we go back to the very beginning of the chapter. We noticed the writer reminded us who they were. First they said Jude, for who is Jude, Jude, Judas, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. And I stand corrected in saying this. Could this be the brother of James, who's the brother of the Lord Jesus himself? We find in John's gospel, believe this in the 7th chapter is that his brethren didn't believe in him.
00:15:21
But yet we find after the resurrection that, that they have learned that he is the Lord. And so we find James was a prominent, uh, testimony for those who contended for the faith in those states. And now we learn Jude also has written a vocal a, a simple epistle to encourage our heart. And there he will tell us things that perhaps he wasn't kept or written elsewhere. We find that he even tell us about Enoch at the testimony, how to require testimony that we may not hurt off. But now he reminds us Enoch the 7th to Adam, the preacher of righteousness.
Other than the book of Jude, we really didn't know a whole lot about Enoch's theory. But here it's house as God has always reserved for himself. Here's to encourage our hearts that we can go on for his name and voice forward. And toward the end of the chapter he tells us He's the one that's able to keep us from falling. So it will be no strength of our own. It is all through Him and by Him alone.
And before you're recognized as well as first three, when we read that, it says you should earnestly contend for the faith, the faith which was once delivered onto the Saints, that once there doesn't mean that Once Upon a time it was delivered as a past event.
I believe it means that it was once for all. So it was a it was the the gospel delivered to the Saints at that time is the gospel. Nobody can improve on it over time except at that point. And you wanted the chapter to read about, you know, cloud driven without water and so on. We'll try to improve the gospel over time and sanitize it and change it. But that wants to live around the Saints wasn't just that point in time delivered. It meant once for all the final word.
Interesting too, that in this book of cute, you'll find if you look back to second Peter, that many similarities between the two books, but they're not the same. And, uh, his brother was mentioning and Jude was the brother of the Lord Jesus. Uh, we find that from Galatians where Paul is speaking about James there and he says James the brother of the Lord. He goes on further to say that James and uh, Peter Hersyphus, he calls him there and John seemed to be pillars.
They are among the Lord's people. So it's very interesting to put that together that these ones that their brother also mentioned in John Chapter 7, the Lord's brethren assist did not believe in him, but there came a time when I told when that they did believe in him. They're seen there in Acts chapter, uh, at the end of Acts chapter one, continuing with the group waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit after the Lord ascended into heaven, the Lord's brethren are mentioned there and these two, Jude.
And James were with them and they had gone from this place of not believing in the Lord Jesus to having believed in Him and having their lives transformed. They saw the power of God at Pentecost and time went on and they saw things change. They saw after a while evil teachers came in among the Lord's people. And that in particular is what Peter takes off. I believe that's the difference between second Peter and and Jude. Peter takes off the false teachers, primarily emphasizing them.
They come in among the Lord's people and that the effect of what they had done is taken off by Jude. The false teaching and the false teachers resulted in a moral giving up apostasy. And that's what Jude is talking about here, that moral departure from the ways of God. And as he says here in the end of verse four, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord and God the only Lord God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is what happens as a result of false teaching, and there's much false teaching that is coming to christen them today, and even many of us have been exposed to it. And so this is important, very important, to get an epistle like this, not to think that everything is OK and we can just go on as if there's no corruption that has come in among the Lord's people in these last days, because the corruption has come in and we need to be aware of that, and we need the expectation that we have and this epistle.
We need to go on and to earnestly contend for that faith which is once delivered unto the Saints.
I think it's interesting to note that two had to come the same way as anyone else in spite of him being the brother of Jesus. But it took a little while. But he introduces himself as his servant. It's wonderful to see that. And I believe that is essential for each one of us to recognize as being servants of the Lord and to each other. So he's a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to them. And then he says sanctified, preserved, called mercy.
00:20:17
Under you and peace and love be modified. It's a it's a nice introduction. It's not the kind of introduction that we see very often, but he's not exalting himself. But he had something to say and he wanted to put it in writing, but he did not do exalt himself in any way because in the end of the book that was read to us, he says to the only wise God, our Savior.
Hold on two steps in verse. One is first is sanctified and then preserved. And the sanctified has the only way that we can be sanctified that is set apart unto God is by coming to Jesus first. So it's by way of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can be set apart for God. And sanctified also implies holiness. And that is one of the great things that has been weakened and abandoned through the attack of Satan over the years to the point where there is an awful lot among Christians of blending.
With what the world, you know, delights in and, uh, and making it, trying to make it compatible, the one with the other. Well, you can't. It's set apart and umm, and we all kind of to greater or lesser degree fall into that, I'm sure. But then there's the preserving, preserving side preserved of Jesus in Jesus Christ and called. So God is over all of that, but it's the Lord Jesus is our shepherd. He's been declared to be our shepherd and he acts that way and we experience it as we go along.
And, umm.
And called, we often use the word called as those who are called to be children of God, but it can also re reference those who, uh, are hearing the gospel and haven't believed yet. And, uh, and I think probably we can, uh, let both stand in this, in this verse. Others may have a thought on that, I don't know.
Sanctification.
Is a there is separate sancti. Sanctification is a work of God that takes place.
And that's God's side, and He is the one who has done it. It speaks in Peter of sanctification through the Spirit. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Then there is practical sanctification in connection with our walk, isn't there?
And it's nice to see in this, this, uh, epistle, the epistle of Jude, where there is so much, uh, warning against the condition of things. It's, it's nice to see that sanctification and preservation are the first things that are brought before us. When a person accepts Christ as their savior, they are San, they have been sanctified in a past eternity, blessed to enter into that.
Oh yeah, if I may borrow what our brother Gordon Heho, a comment that he made in connection with sanctification, there have been a help to me.
You said you, you go into a grocery store and you see a whole lot of Peaches, baskets of Peaches, 4 quart baskets that are sitting there and you look at them and you look at them and you say, I'm going to take this one and I'm going to take this one. And you take those out and you put them near the cash register and you go about picking up the other things that you want to get. And you come and when you come to the cash register, you pay for all your things together.
When you picked out those Peaches, you set them apart as ones that you wanted for yourself.
And brethren, you and I have been set apart in a past eternity, marvelous in this, uh, in this book of Jude, you have sanctification brought before from the outset. And then we have also preservation. You know what? Especially you sisters that do a lot of preserving and canning and in the UTQ the fruit and you and you preserve it.
And you keep it for another time later on. Saints of God that have been brought to Christ. We've been preserved for a day that is yet to come, and nothing can touch the believer in Christ. Isn't it lovely to see how the book of Jude starts in this way?
There are three books that I, uh, I have, uh, I think particularly bring before us the character of the day that we're living in, which is the last day we have. We have other books, other epistles I'm referring to that are ministry for, for umm, to build up in connection with the truth of God. But the character of the last days, it seems to me is second. Peter three has been referred to.
00:25:29
Second Timothy chapter 3, actually first chapter 2, is it or three? Three. I think in the last days difficult times will come. And second Peter chapter 3, particularly, I think, I think Tim, you referred to second Timothy, uh, second Peter chapter 3. Now you notice in our chapter here, uh, in the book of Jude, you have in verse 18.
How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time. God has put in His word the character of the day that we are living in, and we have been equipped for walking for His glory through a world that is in opposition. And we feel that worse and worse. And as we read this epistle and you come to the end of it, what do you find?
Ye beloved, building up yourselves in your most holy faith. And I think that what that says to me is this, there's a pathway for the Christian whatever age, right through to the end.
Surprise God is that any of you have been to be open valley in British Columbia. You'll find a lot of Rd. stands with Peaches and it's a sign there that says, please don't pinch me. I bruise. And it makes me think of, uh, we shouldn't try the spirits. Uh, are thinking, well, I'll try this or I'll try that. You'll get ruined just like each.
It's nice to see here James and his brother.
Taking this low place.
As a servant of Jesus Christ, they.
Knowing that they were born of the same mother, he would never dare to call himself a brother of Christ. He took the low place and called him a servant, just like we could never dare to call ourselves in subsequently greater than what we are. We are very low servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. It makes me think when he came with his other three brothers.
At the time when the Lord Jesus was ministering in the house.
And he sent people there through the Lord Jesus.
They said people.
To call the Lord Jesus.
And want to speak to him while he was ministering.
He was in a quite different position at that time. They wanted to call him out to tell him that he should not take a great place like he was taking there among the people that he was ministering to. They had quite a different outlook of him at that time, but they must have gone all four of them, I believe.
Quite a different experience with the Lord Jesus after his resurrection.
They call has now served themselves now servants they are, we would say they got saved. They believe in the Lord Jesus found in their brother being the Lord and Savior.
They they take their place.
And even at this time where they were so much in at the same place with the others who were persecuted.
And, uh, looked down upon.
He took advantage of the calling of the Holy Spirit to write this epistle.
When we think of the profits in the Old Testament like Moses.
00:30:06
At at others they would say, well, I can't do this job. I I'm too young or I'm, I'm, I'm not gifted than any other excuse they would find.
And this servant now?
Naturally born with the Lord Jesus by the same other.
He takes a really low place.
And he ventures to write that episode. He he makes no excuse.
So he must have no doubt been caught by the Holy Spirit to do that.
So the same with us, we should never be ashamed to talk about the Lord Jesus, especially since we are.
Saved, and we are redeemed by His purse, by his sacrifice.
When we are called to talk about the Lord Jesus or say something in favor of Him, it's a privilege to do that, and let's not shut from that.
I was just thinking too about the preservation here. Umm, back to Jude and James. They are the brothers perhaps of the Lord Jesus. And as they were growing up, I'm sure they called him Jesus. But eventually they learned to know him as Christ Jesus Christ. And later in the chapter he calls him Lord Jesus Christ. So they recognize that this one they grew up with is Jesus, was God Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, and they had been sanctified by the Lord Jesus.
By God the Father, they were preserved in Jesus Christ and they were called. And I just think of that preservation just looking in John chapter 10 and uh, in verse 2728, it says here in verse 27, my sheep, Oh there the Lord, he claims them for his own. They hear my voice. He called them. He's calling you and I as well. He called us and he calls us our sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life.
Oh, the preservation there, we've been given eternal life and they shall never perish. When you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are preserved. You are preserved, preserved for the Lord's honor and glory. You're preserved for his own. You belong to Him. He can call you my sheep. There's other versions that says that we're peculiar unto Him. That means we belong to Him. We're his special possession, and we belong to the Lord Jesus. And so Pete, Jude, and James, they could recognize that. Recognize that.
That the position that they've been put in through the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you belong right in this verse too, as sanctified, preserved and called and as we've heard these instructions in this chapter. They are for each one of us.
This is a rather short chapter, there are only 25 persons in there, but sometimes it's nice to look at the outline. I know I often sit here and that's why I listen to other copies sort of go what are they talking about and reduce the thought. But if we have a little outline to follow, I think it might help a little bit. So I'll try to attempt. I'm not very good at outlining, but here we have to look at the 1St 2 verses as an introduction to the chapter. So we spoke on that. Jude introduced himself of who he is and who he is addressing to.
And then we find versus three and four, these two verses, I believe he's saying what he really wanted to tell us, uh, in other, what the purpose of this chapter of this chapter or this letter. Then you'll find from verse five on to perhaps, uh, verse 13, he used examples of ovals which used the word apostasy in perhaps other to explain what that word really is to be, uh, for the apostasy that he speaks of. And then we find from verse 14.
To verse 16, he speaks often man Enoch the 7th from Adam speaks of his his faithfulness and presenting the gospel. That's the preacher of righteousness. And then we find from verse 17 to perhaps verse 23, there's some exultation. There are difficulties coming in. We know that it speaks about the evil man gripping in clipping in, but we know God is about us. So we do something exaltation so that we once again reminded he that is enough. It's greater than he that is in the world.
And then verse 24 and 25, that's the as if it were at the conclusion that dog is the one and the only wise dog for us. So I hope that will be a little help as we go through the chapter.
I can go back to attendance about this thing.
00:35:05
That's important because there's a lot of younger ones here today, and if you are thinking the way I thought when I was your age, the whole subject of contending for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints is for older people. It's not for you. That's the way I thought anyway. But that's not what this book says. It says it belongs to all of us. It's written. The first verse has been brought out by a brethren very clearly. It's everyone who is a believer.
It's who this is addressed to. And then he says in verse 3, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the Saints. And so.
This subject is about that which is being given up. We get that in the next verse as we saw, but the first message is that it's important that we all understand that intending for the faith belongs to each one of us as believers. It doesn't belong to someone else. Now Jude doesn't take up so much with that faith is he develops more the characteristics of the last day. As our brother Al already mentioned, in order to get what the faith that was delivered to the Saints is, we have to go back to the rest of the teaching of the apostles.
The epistles that came before Jude lay that all out, and we need to take that up and study it diligently. And we're not going to be able to contend for the faith that was delivered to the Saints if we don't know what it is. And, you know, every believer does know at least one thing, and they know that the Lord Jesus Christ is their Savior. And they know enough about what that means to have believed on him that at least everyone knows. And you can contend for that. And if you just got saved today.
Then don't wait to contend for that, but also don't wait and leave the rest of the faith because it's speaking about the whole body of the faith, the truth that God committed to His people. That's what He's talking about here. Don't wait and leave that up to other people. Dig into the Word for yourself. And that's why this is important for us here today. This isn't just something that the older ones in this room should be talking about. Maybe the younger ones zone out for another time. This is speaking to you. If you're a believer, these verses are speaking to you.
And you need to take heed to it. As we go through this chapter, we'll find Jude tracing out all the characteristics of what are in the last time. We're going to see that their characteristics that are about us today and not in the world. That's not what you was talking about. He's talking about what's in Christendom and some of the things that we'll come to in this chapter. Perhaps many of us in this room have been guilty of or are guilty of right now. We need to recognize that and we need to take hold of the truth.
OK, things like what we're coming to.
Seeking evil of dignitaries. Have you ever done that? It hasn't been so long ago since I've done that. There will be plenty here to exercise this on the word of expectation. But as to the faith, we need to take it off individually, every single one of it, not leave it, not leave this to others. And it says contend for it. Does that mean to go out and be contentious? No, it doesn't mean that at all. Just turn to one verse real quick. Second Timothy.
Chapter 3. I'm sorry, Chapter 2.
In verse 23, it says a foolish and unlearned questions, avoid knowing that they gender stripes. And so as you talk to others who are bringing in error and in particular some of the moral corruptions that we have laid out in Jude, they're going to be all kinds of things brought up and raised. He says don't even go into that.
It says in verse 24, the servant of the Lord, who is that every believer is a servant of the Lord, a bondsman. That's what Peter, that's what James and Jude at the beginning of our epistle were servants of the Lord. Bondsman, the servant of the Lord must not strive. So we contend for the faith, but we don't strive in it. It says, but he must be gentle to all men apartment to teach patient and meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves, if God for adventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. And so there's a tone that's very important in how we contend for the faith and it's in meekness and humbleness that we do it, but we're never going to do it unless we learn what the word of God has to say.
I like the uh.
Beginning of the third verse and Mr. Darby's translation, he brings the same idea. And I think in connection with sanctification, that's the word beloved. And, uh, that's what, uh, when you think of, uh, Christianity and, and what we have as being saved by the Lord Jesus, we're brought into the family of God.
God the Father loves us, the Lord Jesus loves us. That's why God set us apart for himself and his special gift to his Son, the Lord Jesus. And, uh, he brings us into love for each other as well. And that's what, uh, when you're talking about, uh, contending for the faith and not striving, I think it's important to remember that we ought to do these things in love and for the, uh, benefit and the blessing of our brother.
00:40:17
Can you get that in the second verse which precedes the third verse?
Mercy unto you, and peace and love be added. Is that what it says?
No mercy, peace and love be multiplied. We know the difference between 5 * 5 is 25 and 5 + 5 is only 10.
And God would have us to enter into the magnitude of His love. You remember the story in the fourth of John or the woman that the Lord met at the well?
And a well of water being put in her that would spring up into everlasting life. And what was the result? She went and said to the men, Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is not this a Christ? What was that? It was the overflow. It was the overflow. And brethren, if we enter into the second verse, it'll make it easier for us to enjoy and to defend or contend or whatever for in the third verse.
The enjoyment of Christ in the soul is so important for us and God. I love the verse in the 5th chapter of Romans where it says the love of God is spread abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost that is given unto us. And that's why I believe is why we need brethren, the breaking of bread. We need to remember the Lord because we remember the love that took him to Calvary and it has an effect on us in our lives.
Should have an effect and give us a desire to, to, uh, walk in the goodness of it and to hold what he has given to us. And you notice in this chapter that Jude, he wanted to talk to them about the love of God. That was that was the overflow that was in him. And the Lord seemed to be leading him in a different direction here to talk about earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints, but it sprung from his desire.
To, to, umm, enjoy the love of God. And I, I, uh, I find in my own life, I feel I'm, uh, not like, if I may so say, a John Kemp who is so forward and so direct in giving out the gospel. I need to enjoy it myself. And it makes it easier to give out to others. And, uh, I, I think that the, if you look at, if you look at, we won't take time to it, But if you looked at second Peter chapter 3, where we have again the character of the last days, you find it says there grace and peace be multiplied. It seems it says here.
Grace and peace be multiplied. So I think that it, I mean it springs from a life that is enjoying the Lord. It makes it so that it's it's it, it shows in our faces as we meet up.
Was never too young in the faith, too content of the faith. I was looking at it and John's gospel Chapter 9. Might just look there for a minute. Might encourage the younger ones. Doesn't really matter how long you've been saved. Contend to the faith speaks there about the blind man.
In Chapter 9 that the more is healed and the 13th person they brought to the Pharisees end up with a four time decline and was a Sabbath day when she made the play and opened his eyes. And again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received the site he sent on to them. He put clay upon my eyes and I washed and I do see.
That was the first, it might say, contending for the faith of this young man that was saved by the Lord, his bicycle sealed.
It ended the 20 uh, 24th, 1St and again call day demand that was blind said on to him, give God the praise. We know that this man is a Sinner. He answered and said, whether he be a Sinner or no, I know not one thing. I know that we're uh, whereas I was blind. Now I see the second time he contended for the faith and then, uh, says further on downs.
He says now we know in the 31St version, we know that God here is not sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and doeth as well him, he hear it since the world began, and not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was blind. This man were not of God. He could do nothing. And he answered and said unto him, that was all together for his sins, and teach us and the cast of oath. So the punishment that he received for being faithful and contending for the faith was excommunication. I'm sure that.
00:45:09
Some today and other lands I've heard about that confess the Lord as our Savior were baptized.
That their families have disowned them and cast them out and there is a price to pay for being faithful to the Lord. But here we see a man that was just saved and how he contended for the faith among these religious leaders.
The way he writes in the second verse here.
It must make us to understand that he has by that time developed a special and deep love of his fellow believers, not just of his nations like and some of the other epistles that the writers have done.
All believers are included here when he says Mercia to you, and peace and love be multiplied.
He can't. He cannot say his say it.
Urgent enough?
How he feels about his fellow believers.
He doesn't just address his, uh, believers of his nation where he grew up.
Which of course he appreciates very much too, but here he includes all those who love the Lord Jesus.
If we could write when we are writing a letter, we could address our fellow believers or our loved ones in that kind of a.
Appreciation and feeling.
Edward Waters for all of those with whom we are in connection or whom we know.
I would wonder if I could right away, right like that. Mercy after you, and peace and love be multiplied.
That really would be re receiver of that message.
Touch, be touched in his heart. It would draw us together.
I was thinking of this verse and, uh, brother Dave, you mentioned about the love of Christ in our hearts and, uh, I was thinking of that verse in, in Second Corinthians that says the love of Christ constraineth us. And I really believe here that Jude had a real burden on his heart, didn't he, uh, for the Saints. And he intended to talk to them, as you say, about the common salvation. But when he saw what was coming in among the Saints, he had a real burden. And we all know that in that particular day, it was the Gnostics that were coming in with false doctrine and trying to spiritualize, uh, the truth.
And, uh, so he says here.
I, I exhort you and you know, I was just thinking that we have in Corinthians also that we are to present words of edification, exhortation and comfort. We know that edification builds up the Saints. Exhortation stirs up the Saints and, uh, words of comfort binds them up. And I think that's very important. But here he's trying to stir up the, the Saints because of the evil doctrine that was coming in and, umm, he said he should earnestly contend for the FA for the faith. The faith here is not just.
Faith in the Lord Jesus. It's really the truth of God that has been presented by the apostles. Is that not correct?
And so he says that was once delivered to the faith, uh, to the Saints. And, uh, I was just thinking that the truth of God has been presented once. Isn't that correct? I go back to what our brother Matthew was saying earlier. The truth of God, there's nothing to be added to it. It has already been given to us. I was thinking of a verse in Colossians chapter one. I just mentioned it happening, Colossians chapter one. This is, uh, the apostle Paul speaking.
And he says in the 25th verse whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. I understand in the new translation that should read to fill full is the Word of God. In other words, it was given to the Apostle Paul to complete the word of God as we have it. I heard just recently umm Christian telling me about this person he was listening to on the Internet.
And, uh, the person said, you know, I just got this revelation from God that has never been given before. And there are people saying things like this, but the word of God is clear. The, the Bible is complete. It doesn't have to be added to. And I think we have to be very careful about listening to people on the Internet or on the radio because many of them, uh, take away or add to the word of God. We have to be very careful.
00:50:12
There was that said that that which is true not new, that which is new is not true.
In reference to the gospel we have here nice here to make a connection with the book of Jews to the book of Nehemiah. I believe that there are some parallels. We've been just thinking about the consenting for the faith and if we turn to the 4th chapter of Nehemiah.
In verse 13, therefore sat high in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places. I even set the people after their families with their swords, their Spears, and their clothes.
Analogous like some assurance, and verse 14 in the middle of the verse, since I see we we not be afraid of them. Verse 21 So we labor in the work, and half of them held the spheres from the rising of the morning till the stars appear likewise at the same time, said I unto the people, Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may appear to us and labor.
On the day.
And so we see.
Later there's of the building that is mentioned later in this book of two, there's a contending and the building. So in the second chapter there's an admonition in the middle of birth 18, let us rise up and build. So they should make them their hands for this good work. So we see especially in verse three children on the wall. So there is this connection with this little book of Nehemiah and.
It's nice to connect that with the Short Book of Jews.
We have lost.
A lot of good behavior when we only communicate with in in the Internet, Facebook and and the and the like instead of writing.
We have lost touch with our fellow men and especially our brothers and sisters and our relatives and we just put a note through the electronics and and have them receive it instead of writing a personal letter.
If we write very little in our personal personal letter, that would touch people and those whom we address to much much more than just looking.
At at the.
Labs on our Internet, on our computer.
And writing at it, well, sure a very clear and very readable, but it has not the same impact on people. And if you write a personal letter and handwriting.
You are. You hardly said that. It's gonna be more in it. And then if you name at the end the name of the Lord Jesus, when you look at the different epistles here written in this book, you always find at the end.
Like to the only wise God our Savior be glory and magnitude, dominion and powerful style, and ever if that would be the end of a personal letter that would touch the hearts.
Whether we write a personal letter or we have a blog on the Internet, whatever it might be, it's important that we earnestly contend for the faith. And it was mentioned in, uh, Colossians one verse 25, that about Paul. He had completed the word of God. We were not going to expect any new revelations. But if you know, when Paul wrote his writings and then John wrote the Book of Revelation after that, isn't that a new revelation? I don't believe so.
Because what John wrote about had already been told, but in the book of Daniel. And so he was just ex expressing or expounding on or talking more about the same thing that's already been revealed. And so it's the apostle Paul had completed the word of God and that was the the truth, the faith that was once delivered to the Saints.
00:55:07
So they were these ones who would come in and verse 4 certain men crept in unawares and Jude saw this. They no doubt looked like nice people at first. They didn't notice it at the beginning, but later on it became manifest that these were those who were corrupt men and teaching and acting in a terrible way. And so he says here, who were before of older danger, this condemnation.
They were going to come into condemnation from God. That would be their end. But the warning is to the Saints. They don't look this way at first, but we need to judge what are they saying? What are they doing? And then he brings out two things in particular that were characteristic of them. He says they turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness. They despise the grace of God. They use that to say, oh, it's OK. As Christians we can do whatever we want. And they turn right against the holiness of God, using his grace against His Holiness. That's wicked.
But that's what's still done today. What is the effect of a teaching? Does it turn men towards greater holiness to become more like the Lord himself, or does it turn them more to their own loss? These ones, however fair their appearances, however fear their words are, the effect is to turn towards the loss of man. And he's going to go through and talk about examples of this lust workout worked out in life. The other thing that they did at the end of the fourth verse is denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. I think it should be the only master.
And Lord Jesus Christ speaking about Him as the one who is the Master. And you see.
Again, in verse one hell, Jude introduces himself as servant of Jesus Christ or bondsman. He recognized that that one who was his half brother was his master and his Lord. He recognized his authority, his lordship. He owned a massage. He lived under him as the one who was going to do what the Lord Jesus Christ said.
Whereas these other ones, what do they do? They despise authorities. They rail on them. We get that as we go through this.
Epistle, the examples are given next. But first of all, these are the characteristics, and they told us here in the fourth verse so that we can recognize it. And in the examples we'll go on to enlarge on that so we can recognize it more accurately and that which is perhaps taught or acted out around us in Christianity.
It does say in uh, Mr. Darby's rendering of the end of the verse and denying our only Master and and Lord Jesus Christ.
When we write birthday cards and the like it it's very easy to do just to put your signature there.
And and send it away. But here he says, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, That's one thing that we should never forget. Bring in something and communicate something about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Or at least about our common salvation that we have received through him that would.
Have put some importance to the message which we want to.
Communicate to whomever we write the message. And it's not just for first days Christmas we can't forget.
Because we got nothing to do with it.
And the and some of the other worldly things that take so much time and effort to be occupied with, which really don't mean anything. There has to be meaning. We got to write diligence.
About our common salvation. That would really re put forth a message.
Here he has an exercise of heart, and he says for me to write unto you and exert you, that you should earnestly contend for the face. That's something we need to do.
Earnestly cut.
Exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith.
That's the only real thing that we have is the face of the Lord Jesus.
Faith in our Savior, the only God who makes sense.
The only person in our life who ought to be.
Kept in mind.
01:00:03
And that is that faith that was once delivered unto the Saints.
If you would ask one of those churchgoers and ask them are you a St. what would they say?
Usually the Saints of religion say they are dead.
But when we write, we write through real change, through living Saints, not to dead Saints. The G the biggest and most popular so-called religion in in this country and in many western country.
They will. They really don't have much to say at who they are and who.
They honor as their real God and and the one who needs to be honored.
It's a great thing to honor each other in in most people's minds, but it's greater to write something to honor the Lord Jesus.
It's like at least a 10 or something. Seems to have to really.
Believe in what? What that something is. I know I didn't always contend for faith in my life while I've been here.
But we really have to believe in what it is in order to fight for it. And I was thinking of Saul and when that great light shone down upon.
An alert converted them and and changed his life from terrible life. He had. He had been and.
Then we had Paul and of course, as our brother has been talking about writings, we have all of his his writings here and we see how wonderful Paul's doctrine is to us. But you know, in Acts 20, he said that I might finish the course with joy. And in Second Timothy four, he says I have fought a good fight and have kept the faith.
He believed in what he was doing. He believed in what God had for him. The Holy Ghost came upon him and he fought hard for those things. And so do we believe in what the Lord has given us. Look in, uh, Hebrews chapter 12 and he tells us again, He reminds us.
In verse one, wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which must so easily beset us. The very things that we're about to look in, look at in Jude. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, We need not look at anything else while we're here.
But Him, we don't realize that sanctification that they've spoken of already today, that He has separated us to himself, and that we need not defile ourselves with the things of this world.
Then it's gonna be hard to contend for the faith, but if we can remain separate from those things.
And we're walking closely with him. Then we have great enjoyment of it. And so he finishes here, he says, looking on to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, comma endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. That was what Paul had before him. That was why Paul could contend so hard for the faith. That was why he could preach the gospel so well everywhere he went. That was why he had such a love that many would be saved. He had that before him. Do we have that before us today?
Marketing on the diligence that was exhibited on the part of one that was writing. And there is another scripture in second Timothy chapter, uh, one I believe, where the word diligence is used again. And it brings before us a very touching and practical example in the life of the apostle Paul in verse 15 of that chapter, it says.
This thou knowest that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. Then he mentions 2 individuals defense verse 16 it says, Lord give mercy unto the House of Vanessa for us. For he off refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was enrolled, he sought me out very diligently and found me. Well, that's the same thought that the same uh, expression that is used and it goes beyond.
Just carrying out a formal act or a formal request wasn't just a letter that was written, It was written with much diligence. It wasn't that a person was looking for another, but it was a person that was looking diligently. And so we have these words to, uh, you know, a sense of greater meaning and, uh, we can appreciate the fact that they're with written that way.
01:05:07
And brother David Saul was speaking earlier, uh, he mentioned that, uh, the word hypothesis, which of course we get into a little later some.
Evidences of it, but he said that somebody else can give a definition. Well, I go back to a long time ago when I was a teenager. Uh, Harry Hajo was one of the principal speakers at conferences like this and he, his definition of apostasy, which he, we're, we're in, He emphasized each word individually went like this apostasy is willfully turning away from revealed truth.
Time zone.
Shipment number three 18318.
Uh, all those different diarrhea exercise.
Blood and rear and put everything in.
Oh, my grace, that's all I've found. I'm the one who came here because.
Oh God.
Still look like him and I'm going to come to the Windsor and Seven. I don't know how to sleep, sweetheart.
There's a confusion in the eye.
We don't know why we can, actually.
Umm, together today I'm going to and take care of it. I'm trying to get it with uh, uh.
That's all right.
Congrats to you.
And tell the things that I'm following up on my information.
My computer is holding our hands low.
On your blah blah, blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Shout between them tomorrow. So I'm going to be, uh, qualified to tell you.
All the land of God flare up in the clouds, 10-4, 1, 10-4, 5 together, but it's all on my own.
Our blessed God and our loving Father, we are thankful this afternoon to be together this way, to consider the truth of Thy precious Word. We we thank You for that which Thou has seemed fit to have before us, and we will now just make this him Our prayer. Oh Lamb of God, still keep us close to Thy fierce side is only there in safety and peace. We can abide with foes and snares around us and lusts and fears within. The grace that sought and found us alone can keep us clean.
01:10:08
So we thank people for this time together through thou continue to bless us and guide us as we fellowship together and as we read Thy word together and in the going forth of the Gospel of life. Lord Jesus, we pray in thy blessed and precious name, Amen.