The Fight: Ancient and Modern - Part A

Judas cannot bring out several Old Testament examples that they would have been familiar with because only remind you of this. I know you arty know it, but I want to remind you, and here's the principle truth needs a memory lesson must be recalled for those lessons to be active. The battle for truth has been ongoing since the beginning of time. Connect with Skip today as he gets to the good of this conflict to help you contend for the faith successfully.

But first we want to let you know about an exciting opportunity you have to visit the ancient land of the Bible tried to imagine the places in the Bible, you can study the Scriptures where it all took place the new joystick for his upcoming trip to Israel in 2022 lifetime memories deep in your faith as you see the Bible come alive before your eyes. Find out more and inspiration Christmas.com/CA BQ now where the book of Jude as we dive into the teaching with Skip Heitzigs Matthew Henry Bible commentator said hypotheses is to do the devils work in God's uniform. So just think about doing the devils work in God's uniform you dress the part but it's not who you are.

Apostasy which is the subject of the book of Jude is related to high hypocrisy except if high hypocrisy is doing the devils work in God's uniform apostasy is really just take uniform off and let people see who you really are and have been all along.

So if I hypocrisy is putting on a show, then apostasy is leaving the theater altogether and people can wear God's uniform for a long time until, for whatever reason.

Either they have their own crisis of faith or they may come to a point where they just don't believe anymore or they never have believed can happen. One of the outspoken critics of Christianity over decades has been a guy by the name of Ted Turner I Ted Turner is a media mogul is the founder of CNN and a number number of other like portals and outlets, but he is criticize Christianity. He went on record in the Atlanta newspaper saying Jesus probably would be sick to his stomach over the way his ideas have been twisted not I read that I thought about a little arrogant right. It's almost like saying nobody is gotten it right.

In the past, but now I do. I understand what Jesus really meant everybody else they twisted it, but that's what he said. He said that he had a strict Christian upbringing, and at one time considered becoming a missionary how to have a hard time thinking of Ted Turner as a missionary, but I'll go with it. He said, and he said this mockingly set I've been saved seven or eight times, but then he said he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died despite all of his prayers.

But here's his closing remark, the more I strayed from the faith, the better I felt, the more I strayed from the faith, the better I felt he'd just framed apostasy. Don't be surprised when you hear of Christian leaders who say I don't believe that anymore. Don't be too shocked when you read ever hear of a Christian influencer who goes on social media and renounces his or her faith. Don't be too astonished when a theologian starts deconstructing the truth, that's their term deconstructing and that it has the idea of of revisiting truth and rethinking beliefs that were once held as valid or true. That's not new. It's as old as the hills and twice as dusty and it's been going on a long time is not novel is not new.

According to Jude. It's been going on at least 2000 years, and according to Jude's writing in this letter's been going on for about 4000 year goes all the way back so it's not new. It's not novel, but it is noteworthy because Jesus predicted that there would be a period of time before his second coming. That would be marked by spiritual deception that you remember he gave a parable. The parable of the tares and the wheat said we was sound, but somebody came and threw in tears. A tear is a weed and the word he used the Darnell is a weed that even a seasoned farmer cannot tell the difference between the weed in the wheat until it ripens and he has to get really close to mark the difference, but the ideas you can have them growing together. One looks just as real as the other, but it's fake. It's not real. It is apostate and then the most haunting question I think I've ever heard from the lips of Jesus is when Jesus said, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth's a scary question for Jesus to ask when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth move forward to the book of Revelation, Jesus gives seven letters to seven churches in Revelation 3. One of the little postcards he writes as to the church of Laodicea.

The entire church is filled with apostates. Jesus is, and even in that church is on the outside, knocking to get in.

That's where we get the text. Behold, I stand at the door knock is knocking on the door of the church because he's outside of it. In fact, there are no believers in the church except a few precious over comers. Jesus gives them that name Paul predicted that as we saw last week. He said in the end times. There will be a falling away. That's apostasy.

He said many will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons affected you know this every single New Testament book except for one the book of Philemon has warnings against false teachings. So the whole New Testament says this is coming down the pike. The book of Jude has as its theme that word, I brought out last week. The theme of apostasy. The Greek word apostasy in a departure, a falling away the rundown New Testament scholar Gerhard Kendall will define that as a rebellion, a rebel, he said it someone who rebels against the faith they once claimed to believe that I can happen is an individual can happen as a group, you can have a person who is an apostate, you can have a church assembly that by their statement of faith is apostate.

You can have an entire denominational structure that is apostate and here's the thing you can't like tell nobody carries a badge and says hi am an apostate. How can I help you people put bumper stickers on their car honk if you're an apostate nobody does that.

So dissimilarity is not going to be outward. But I remind you of what Paul wrote in second Corinthians 11 Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. It's no big deal if his ministers disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness New Testament scholar RC Lenski have always loved his books said the worst forms of wickedness consist in perversions of the truth. So what I want to do is look at Jude verse five through verse 11 this morning. This paragraph and I want to show you three basic lessons as we step into the ring and put up a good fight for the faith defend earnestly the faith that was once delivered to the saints. So the first truth is this is that truth needs a memory truth needs a memory may take a diversified show you this, but I want to remind you, though you once knew this many reaches back to the Old Testament that he supposes. They knew that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe Jude is appealing to their memory. He's appealing to what they already learn presumably because it was a Jewish audience. I'm guessing Jude lived in Jerusalem was writing to the Jerusalem church. He's writing to Jewish believers who heard and knew all of the stories from their growing up all of the stories of the Old Testament and Judas cannot bring out several Old Testament examples that they would have been familiar with because I want to remind you of this. I know you arty know what I want to remind you, and here's the principle truth needs a memory. Lessons must be recalled for those lessons to be active for truth to have an impact in the present. We must remember the past. Okay this this happens in in a number of levels on every September 11 for almost the last 20 years at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City. At Ground Zero the names of those people who died in the world trade towers are read publicly why every year why every white go through that so no one forgets that at said it. Never forget that. Also, it's the same with December 7 every year in Hawaii because of what happened in 1941 the famous words of FDR yesterday, December 7, 1941 a day which will live in infamy. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. So every year in Pearl Harbor. The names of the dead are recited. There is a commemoration relatives come so that American never forgets if you go to us with us to Israel will take you to yacht the sham, the Holocaust Memorial where you will see evidence of the Nazis decimating killing 6 million Jews in the 1940s and you walk out with such a heavy heart. Having seen the evidence, but the overwhelming thought is I must never forget what is happened in recent history, and so he writes to them. He says I want to remind you, though you once knew this truth needs a memory that, by the way is the goal of preaching is why we preach. Matthew Henry again said preaching is not designed to teach us something new in every sermon, but to put us in remembrance to call to mind things forgotten. So did I do this a lot with the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy chapter 8 he said this, you shall remember all the way the Lord your God led you these past 40 years. That's a commandment I want you to remember what a God given to them so they could remember Passover every year. The Jews were to meet in their homes have a Passover celebration is still commemorated to this day it's to keep the memory alive.

Truth needs a memory. Jesus took the Passover and use that to tell his disciples to do that. He said do this in remembrance of me when when you take these elements it's going to speak of my death, my suffering and my subsequent resurrection truth needs a memory.

Paul wrote to the Romans and said I've written to you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again.

Peter did the same thing. Second Peter chapter 1, so I will always remind you of these things even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth. You now have. Yes, I think it is right. As long as I'm in this tent. This body to stir you up by reminding you is a funny thing I have taught the Bible almost my entire adult life I've had the opportunity to teach every verse of every chapter of every book of the Bible. A few different times all the way through and him and I even wrote a book of the Bible from 30,000 feet so you think this guy probably like those Bible you know every time I read the Bible you know what thought, I'm struck with how much I've forgotten since the last time I read that now. This came to my mind because I just finished this little Bible plan that I was a part of for 90 days reading through the entire Bible, Genesis Revelation in 90 days.

That's about 15 chapters a day.

So I did it and and and every time I go trickle like I forgot that was forgot that was it so good but I forgot about and it was so rewarding.

I thought after I finish it to do it again sometime around two and I don't know if I keep this up, but if I did. I suppose I could go through the entire Bible four times a year but but the point is truth needs to be reinforced re-instilled reintroduce recalled repeated for every generation because we forget stuff right good teachers like Jesus often repeated themselves. I remember when I first read the New Testament cracked it open.

It was just the New Testament in the first book I came to was the book of Matthew. That's the first book in the New Testament start reading through the glass is awesome. I'm really learning about this Jesus then I finish Matthew and I started reading the second book which is Mark and my thought going to marketers did.

Didn't I just read this is in this like just like the book right before and so I finished that it was the same story, but a little bit shorter than I am in the third documents the gospel of Luke and it's like he's doing again. They just like to tell the same story over and over and over again and went to the gospel of John little bit different but same basic story and I just remember as a young believer going why is this thing repeated and there's a number of reasons, but one great reason is that some stories are so important. You need to hear them over and over again and one of the grand reasons is because what I just said we forget stuff on one development Journal and training Journal. I found that people will retain 25% of what they hear that at best and that statistic is so discouraging to a teacher it means that no matter how much I prepare. Pour into pan and spend hours getting ready for this sermon or this teaching in a classroom, my students if they're engaged and not reading their cell phones and tuned in and taking notes are going to retain 25%.

So I want to remind you, though you once knew this is the same truth as they grew up grew up hearing. We don't need new truths we don't need novel truths we need never changing truth. We need we need noble truth and that's what we have here the truth needs a memory.

The second lesson we come to in stepping into the ring for this battle is that judgment has a history now, what would you does he goes back and gives them a few different examples from the past verse five I want to remind you that you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, that is, the people of Israel. The Jewish people, the children of Israel, having saved them out of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe, and the angel selects one is the second example, the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.

And then there's 1/3 example verse seven as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Three examples from the past to warn them of this truth. God is not afraid to judge, even those in the most favored positions first on the list nation of Israel. We know the story they were in Egypt. God delivered them miraculously to the wilderness. He opened up the Red Sea. That's one miracle sent plagues on the Egyptians. That's another miracle fed them with Manna. The came from heaven gave them water out of the rock followed them around with a cloud by day right so that's important in the Sinai desert think of Phoenix in summer time with a cloud cover over permanently.

That's a nice feature right to have God did that for 40 years. Not only that, but at night it was off a pillar of fire so he tucked them in bed with the nightlight for 40 years and he preserved them for 40 years by at the same time.

It says God destroyed those who did not believe God destroyed the entire generation of the children of Israel, age 20 and above except for two people, Joshua and Caleb are the only survivors of the original group that came out of Egypt. Everybody else died. He collided God do that because of apostasy.

They kept turning away the Rebelling, not once, not twice over and over and over again. One of the things they said is take us back to Egypt. Can you imagine being a slave and be set free and you want to go back to slavery and even cried this out.

This is one thing, they cried out in the wilderness to know that we had died in the wilderness and God said okay I'll answer that for if that's what you want. I'll let you do that and so for the next 40 years. It was a funeral march one person try to figure it out. He figured there were at least 1.2 million people who died in the wilderness, given what we know in the historical record. That means there were approximately 85 funerals a day or seven per waking our so they were reminded day by day as another person was buried in another person that God will judge those who turn away and do not believe, by the way, notice these are unbelievers.

He destroyed those who do not believe it was their unbelief that led to their destruction. God wasn't going to let unbelieving apostates into the promised land in Jude's point is that the deliverer of Israel became the destroyer of Israel that the Savior can also be the judge that the God of love is also a God of wrath that both of those go together so that's the first example, the nation of Israel. The second example are the angels of God. The Angels verse six, who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. There is a dispute, a debate about the interpretation of this. Some feel this is a reference to Genesis chapter 6 that fallen Angels somehow cohabitated with human women to produce this odd race of giants known in Genesis 6 is Neff Aleem in the Hebrew, and that's what brought the flood. Others don't think that's what he is referring to.

Others think it refers to the original fall of Satan from heaven with 1/3 of the angelic beings in that rebellion spoken about in Isaiah chapter 14 and the reason for the debate is the Angels mentioned here are chained and reserved for future judgment which seem to be different from fallen Angels that are Satan's agents, demons that are at work in the world and are free to roam around. I'm not here to solve that because that is not the point. The point Jude is making is simply this. Even angels God judged not just the nation of Israel God judge specially created beings made by God, who fell away who withdrew who departed who rebelled from him. They had it once a position of privilege and authority and blessing an opportunity but even angels don't get a whole pass judgment that Skip the message from the series bike for the house want to share about a special resource in your knowledge of God's word even more tears but Norm Geisler said about the tactics, there is no better block to include Christians to think clearly. Dear Skip, I think you need to engage in active spiritual warfare shall never fight God's battles for myself, you'll never contend what really matters. Just cruise and interlacing boiled. You have to decide to get out as part of the house and join the fight become a contender for the house series through the computer skip. I think teaching theories on the ring and guard against teaching to connect more people to the truth of God's word and to $35 and more today will also send you the text by Gregory couple you speak the truth about Christianity, with confidence, anchoring, hundred 92 report connectwithskip.com if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest from his ministry and from Skip you to follow Skip on Facebook, twitter and Instagram. You'll find important announcements and great encouragement from Skip that basket height at Skip HPI to CIG today and tomorrow is Skip types of chairs practical lessons to help you live for God faithfully fight for the truth wisely know the word of God. Let your life be shaped by the truth. Get some Bible plan going.

We were exposed and have the truth repeated over and over and over again so your mindset. Your worldview is a scriptural watchful watch Skip visitation of connection communication through ever-changing time