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Fight For Truth Series
Contributed by William Akehurst on Jan 18, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: In the Army of the Lord, we are to defend the truth of the Gospel. Jude tells us to Stand Firm, Defend, Build Up, Pray, Seek Jesus, Stay Close, Stay Focused, Remain Strong, Help Others and Rescue them from judgment.
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‘Fight for Truth’
The message from Jude is still prevalent today. We must defend the truth of the Gospel. We are to stand firm in our faith and build each other up in it.
Basic Outline:
In Jude, in vs 3, we must be defenders of the faith. Standing firm in what the bible says, with the simplicity of the gospel message.
Vs. 20 says we must Build each other up in our most holy faith. This is what the fellowship of believers is all about.
Vs. 20 goes on to say, that we must “pray in the power of the Holy Spirit”. We must not only pray, but pray in the power of the Spirit. Lifting up one another
Vs. 21 says, we are to do this, ‘awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life…keep ourselves safe in God’s love’. We must stay focused on Jesus, and keep close to Him. To be safe in God’s love is to be tucked under the wings of his protection. We must be that close.
Vs 22 says we are to ‘show mercy to those whose faith is wavering’ and vs 23 says to ‘Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment’ We are to be a light unto the world, we are to live a life pleasing unto God. We must point others to Christ, but showing them the difference in our lives. And too, we must Rescue them. This word rescue makes me think of when bad things happen and lives are lost. Search and Rescue becomes recovery. Once they are in the grave, we can’t help them. We must be diligent in Search and Rescue!
Our witness is not to be totally silent. We must also at times speak, sharing our faith with others. Which means we may too need to interact with those we witness to, but not at the expense of doing something that would cause us to be lured into something wrong.
So. Stand Firm. Defend. Build Up. Pray. Seek Him. Stay Close. Stay Focused. Remain Strong. Help Others and Rescue them from judgment.
We are men. But more importantly, we are Men of God, in the army of the LORD. And These… are our marching orders.
Keep the faith.
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Hey Jude
Jude 1-25
Specifically 3, 17-25
Last Wednesday night, for supper, I stopped by the local Chinese restaurant for some Steamed Chicken Chow Mein. Sounds good doesn’t it? It was.
In the restaurant, on one wall spanning some 20 feet, is a picture of the Great Wall of China. And on this wall is the story of the Great wall, complete with details of its construction.
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. The most famous is the wall built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.
The Great Wall is the world’s longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles)from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. And can be seen from the moon!
At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.
This Wall was built, for the protection of a nation.
(Portions from Life Application bible – Tyndale)
To protect from harm – to guard from attack—to repulse enemies, for centuries, rugged defenders have built walls and waged wars, expending material and human resources in battle to save nations and cities. And with total commitment for their families. It is a rule of life that we fight for survival, defending with all our strength what is most precious to us, from every real or imagined attack.
God’s Word and the gift of eternal life have infinite value. They have been entrusted to Christ’s faithful followers. There are many people who live in opposition to God and his followers. They twist God’s truth., seeking to deceive and destroy the unwary. But God’s truth stands, carried and defended by those who have committed their lives to God’s Son Jesus. It is an important task, an awesome responsibility, and a profound privilege to have this commission.