AT WAR
Jude 17-23
INTRO.- ILL.- A man and his preacher were out on the golf course. He said to his preacher, "How do you let off steam with when you miss a shot and your ball goes into a sand trap?"
His preacher replied, "I just the repeat the names of some of my church members with great feeling!"
ILL.- After receiving a nasty letter a preacher sent it back to the church member with this note attached: "The enclosed letter came to me a few days ago. I am sending it to you because I think you should know that some idiot is sending out letters with your signature on them."
Sometimes we fight with the wrong people
ILL.- An eighteen-year-old apparently took a Seattle police car for a joyride. The theft was reported on law-enforcement broadcasts, and a bicycle patrol officer in downtown Seattle spotted it. A police car immediately gave chase but lost sight of the stolen vehicle after pausing to check for oncoming traffic at an intersection. It was then that a second police car pulled up and - thinking the stopped car was the stolen vehicle - rammed it from behind.
Two policemen in the car that had been hit thought they were under attack. So they pulled out their guns and started shooting. A police spokesperson said the officers involved - two in the rammed car and one in the other - exchanged more than twenty rounds before they discovered their mistake1 THEY WERE SHOOTING AT ONE ANOTHER!
Brothers and sisters, this is not much different than some churches. Some church members do more shooting at one another than they do the real enemy.
We Christians are at war, but we are not to be at war with one another! Please, please, let us not fight with one another or fight against one another. Let’s engage the real enemy.
Eph. 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
Most of us realize that our war is against the evil one known as Satan, the devil. But our war doesn’t stop there. Actually, our war is three-fold. It is against the world, the flesh and the devil!
It’s a spiritual war that is taking place within the lives of all Christian people. Are we making any headway? That depends on the effort we put into the fight and direction of our fighting.
ILL.- The Swedish military has cut back from around-the-clock-operations to a 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. schedule, Monday through Friday only. Sound crazy? It’s true.
Doesn’t this sound somewhat familiar? Some people want to be Christians on Sunday (or Sunday morning only) and then just like all other people the rest of the week.
We do our "religious" thing on Sunday morning and then do whatever we want, no matter what we want, the rest of the week.
Brethren, we are at war! And we need to give it our best shot! This is not a some kind of Monopoly game we are playing! IT’S WAR! IT’S HEAVEN AGAINST HELL! IT’S GOD AGAINST SATAN! IT’S THE CHRISTIAN AGAINST THE FORCES OF EVIL!
There is no way we are going to win or be victorious if we don’t go at this thing with our best effort!
ILL.- A man said, "A young friend of mine just got back from boot camp. It was a rude awakening to life in the military. It was 24/7 for him - not 9:00 to 5:00."
Brethren, perhaps we need to rethink our commitment to Jesus Christ! Are you a part-timer or a full-timer? Your commitment and devotion to Christ and His church will determine the outcome of your personal war against Satan. DO YOU WANT TO WIN?
PROP.- Since we are at war we need to think about what it will take to win. The book of Jude gives us several ways to fight the good fight of the faith and win. Much of it depends on our focus. If we don’t have the right focus we won’t win. We must have:
1- A Biblical focus
2- An inward focus
3- An outward focus
I. A BIBLICAL FOCUS
V. 17 "Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold."
II Pet. 1:21 "For prophecy (Scripture) never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
Scripture is from God even though it came through men. Remember the words of the apostles. In other words, Remember the Word of God.
ILL.- Two politicians decided to have a friendly wager on the subject of religion. One of them bet the other that he couldn’t repeat the Lord’s prayer. He said, "I’ll take that bet." The first politician said, "Ok, let me hear you quote it."
He said, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep...."
The other politician interrupted and said, "Well, if that don’t beat all. I DIDN’T THINK YOU COULD DO IT."
What can we say? Ignorance abounds in our world. Biblical ignorance really abounds. Not only in our world, but also in our churches.
Many years ago Christian people were known as "a people of the book." Christians knew the Bible and could quote passage after passage, but not so, today.
ILL.- In the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban we are dropping all kinds of bombs on them. 500 lb. bombs, 1,000 lb. bombs, 2,000 lb. bombs. They are talking of dropping or already have dropped 5,000 bombs called "bunker busters."
If we are going to win this spiritual war we must have a Biblical focus! We must read and know Scripture! Scripture is our big bomb, our "bunker buster" against the enemy!
ILL.- In Matthew chapter four we have the record of Satan tempting our Lord after he just spent 40 days and nights in the desert. He fasted and prayed and then the tempter came to him. The Scripture says that Jesus was hungry.
Who wouldn’t be after going without food for 40 days?! It wouldn’t take that long for most of us. Most of us wake up hungry and go to bed hungry. We are "light" eaters. We start eating as soon as it gets light outside!
Satan said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God..." That is, "If you are who you claim to be... Then command these stones to become loaves of bread. You can eat and enjoy some hot bread."
How did Jesus respond? What did he say to Satan? Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written...."
The devil threw three strikes or curve balls at Jesus. But Jesus was not intimidated or fearful. Each time He defeated Satan with a statement. "IT IS WRITTEN."
It is written in God’s Book. Jesus knew the Word of God. Jesus quoted the Word of God. Jesus dropped a "bunker buster" on Satan.
If we are going to win the war against Satan we must study Scripture and we must know Scripture. At least, some Scripture.
ILL.- When my son Shane was about 2 or 3 years old I tried to teach him some Scriptures. He would run around the house, saying, "repent and be baptized." Where is that found in the Word of God? Acts 2:38. That’s more Scripture that some adults know.
We need to know some key Scriptures in order to bomb Satan. Here are a few:
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world..."
John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth...."
Acts 2:38 "Repent and be baptized..."
Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else..."
Acts 22:16 "And now what you are waiting for?..."
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned..."
Romans 5:8 "But God commends His love toward us..."
Romans 8:1 "There is therefore no condemnation..."
II Cor. 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you..."
Gal. 6:7 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked..."
Phil. 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ..."
These are just a few Scriptures that you should know and be able to quote. YOU CANNOT DEFEAT THAT TERRORIST, THE DEVIL, WITHOUT SOME BIG BOMBS! Scripture is your big bomb!
Heb. 4:12 "For the Word of God is living and active (or powerful and alive). Sharper than any double-edged sword..."
There is great power in the Word of God, but if we donÂ’t get acquainted with the Word, memorize the Word, and use the Word in life then we will have little or no power against our enemy.
Besides memorizing Scripture, we need to be involved in studying it with other Christians. This is one big reason for Sunday School!
ILL.- LaVeta Sparks of Tucson, Arizona, said, "Our six-year-old grandson Braden, who rarely missed Sunday school, was visiting us."
"Complaining that he had a slight stomach ache, his biblical training certainly showed when he admitted, "But I don’t know if it’s in my large or small testament."
Sunday School is great! You learn about all kinds of things: both testaments and testines. At least you do in my class!
Sunday School is the place to be! It’s for kids, but it’s not just for kids! It’s for everyone. It’s the place for Christian fellowship. It’s the place to make new friends.
ILL.- When Elaine and I first came to MCC we went to Rick and Cindy Boyer’s class. I’ll never forget my first Sunday. Elaine and I came in early. I sat in a chair next to Elaine. Opal Reid came in and said to me, "You’re in my chair!" And Elaine and Opal have been good friends ever since!
Sunday School is the place to enjoy one another’s company. It’s the place to share life’s happenings, to swap stories, to ask questions about life and the Bible, to read Scripture, reflect on Scripture and to pray together. SUNDAY SCHOOL IS THE PLACE TO BE!
If you are not involved in a Sunday School class, please consider attending a class next Sunday! Sunday School will do things for you that church will not do! You can get certain things from Sunday School that you will not get from church!
In fact, one of my class members, whose name I will not mention, said, "I love Sunday School and Bible study. I like it better than church!" His initials are Gary Edwards.
If we are to win the war against the world, the flesh and the devil we must arm ourselves with the powerful Word of God. You need to be in Sunday School, church, a Bible study group, and you must do your homework. You get into it at home.
To win the war, we must have a Biblical focus. If we don’t arm ourselves with the powerful Word of God then we don’t have any armor at all!
II. AN INWARD FOCUS
V. 20 "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit."
ILL.- Did you hear about the man who bought one of those expensive BMW’s? He kept careful records for a month because everybody said the mileage was great. But he found that he didn’t get the gas mileage that everybody said he would, so he took the car back to the dealership to have it checked out.
They found that the car was in perfect running condition. The owner protested, saying, "Look, I love this car but there is something not right about the gas mileage I’m getting." The mechanic said, "Why don’t you do what all other BMW owners do?" "What’s that?" he asked. "LIE ABOUT IT."
Brethren, what is it that you really want in life? A BMW car? A sports car? A new car? A new tractor? A new home? A new wardrobe? A new this? A new that?
ILL.- In 1968 I ordered a Pontiac Firebird through a local dealership. It’s the only new car I ever ordered in my life. I ordered it with a 400 Cubic Inch engine with 330 horsepower. A 4-speed manual transmission, no power steering, no power brakes, no AC.
In a sense, I fell in love with that car. I washed it every day and waxed once every week. It was my pride and joy. It was a big part of my life. I often focused my attention on it.
When my father died that Pontiac Firebird did absolutely nothing for me. It meant nothing to me. It brought me no solace, no comfort, no consolation, no love, no joy, no thrill, and no help.
All I wanted was my father back! But he was gone and there was nothing I could do to bring him back. And no earthly possession meant a thing to me.
Brothers and sisters, when death strikes your family material things mean very little. Play things don’t satisfy. Pleasures don’t give pleasure. Ball games do nothing for you. Even a delicious meal means little.
ILL.- We have heard it said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I DISAGREE. When the going gets tough, the Christian gets down on his knees. When life gets really tough and you lose a loved one or terrorism strikes, or war breaks out, or something threatens your life, peace and security, etc., that’s when the Christian begins to focus even more on his faith.
Considering everything that is going on in our world and country and in our own lives, we should have an inward focus.
What are you doing to build up yourself in the faith of Christ?
ILL.- I believe it was President Herbert Hoover who once said, "There are only two moments of personal seclusion in life: one is prayer and the other is fishing and you can’t pray all the time." I beg to differ with Mr. Hoover.
I have had more than my share of enjoyment from fishing. I have caught as many as 70 largemouth bass in four hours. And it was exciting. Utterly enjoyable. And I suppose that some day I will go fishing again (perhaps next spring), but right now, it just doesn’t interest me much at all. I AM MORE CONCERNED ABOUT PRAYING FOR PEOPLE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. I spend much time in prayer. I need it. I draw strength from it. I draw strength knowing that the Lord is all-ears and He loves me and all people more than life itself.
ILL.- Abraham Lincoln once said, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day." I feel very similar.
ILL.- Martin Luther said, "If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith."
Prayer gives me fire too. The more I prayer, the better off I am.
ILL.- Some of my best prayer times are when I drive those seven hours to Joplin, MO, to go see my mom. Many times I have spent the whole seven hours in prayer. Praying about life and praying for people and I am filled more than ever with fire and faith.
I can’t encourage you enough to be a people of prayer!
Col. 3:2-3 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."
In other words, STAY FOCUSED ON CHRIST! Keep an inward focus on your personal devotion to Christ through prayer and study, because that’s the only way you will be able to overcome the enemy!
1- A Biblical focus
2- An inward focus
III. AN OUTWARD FOCUS
V. 22-23 "Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them..."
Our focus in life must also be outward. We must be thinking of others. God put us here to minister to others.
ILL.- An atheist was teasing Bill about his Christian faith. "Come on now, Bill. Do you really believe that when you die you’ll go up to heaven and fly around with wings? I understand it’s not warm up there like where I’m going to go. How in the world are you going to get your coat on over those wings?"
Bill replied, "The same way you are going to get your trousers over your tail!"
ILL.- Someone said, "They now have a dial-a-prayer service for atheists. They call the number and nobody answers."
ILL.- A sign was seen on the tomb of an atheist: ALL DRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO.
Brethren, atheists are indeed doubters of the faith, but they are not the only ones. There will always be doubters in the world, even some who are supposed to be believers in Christ.
ILL.- One lady wrote, "DESPITE regular attendance in church and Sunday school, God was more like a distant relative than someone I knew intimately. And as I grew, a gnawing sense of incompleteness also grew within me. My goal in life became to fill it with achievement, education, and travel.
"Sitting in church one Sunday, I felt my temples pounding, but not from the Baltimore heat. Hymns and Scripture verses I’d long ago ignored called to me from my childhood. I was miserably uncomfortable. I knew I didn’t belong here.
"Could people around me tell that I drank a cocktail every day, had a hair-trigger temper, and used language they’d never even heard? Sitting there with their Bibles in their laps, their smugness irritated me. Why were they so sure they knew the truth? How could they? What did they have that I didn’t?"
"The people I’d met in church were happy because they belonged inside. I wanted more than anything in the world to belong there, too, but I was still outside, on the porch in the dark.
"I searched the Bible anxiously, trying to find the way in. But another voice taunted me, Why would God want you? You don’t fit in this crowd! You’re not good enough! It was true. I didn’t belong, and for one long, horrible moment I considered giving up.
"Instead, I went straight upstairs to my bedroom, knelt down, and began to pray honestly for the first time in years: ’Lord, help me find the way! If you’re really who you say you are, please don’t let me go!’"
Brothers and sisters, that poor woman was a doubter. Raised in the church, but living a different lifestyle from what she knew to be the Christian life. She began to question and doubt.
Many people go through periods of doubt in life. They doubt the existence of God and Christ. They may doubt the inspiration of the Bible. They may doubt the deity of Jesus. They may doubt the reality of heaven and hell.
Such people need to be dealt with in a merciful way. We should be merciful to those who doubt in any form and try to convince them of the truth of God, Christ, the Bible and eternal life!
How do we do this? We show love. We exhibit patience. We pray for them. We witness to them. We show that we truly care. And doing these things will help to win them and strengthen what little faith they have.
Some doubters are non-Christians. And some are Christians who are just not living the faith. WE NEED TO BE MERCIFUL TO THEM. We need to convince them anyway we can.
Still, there may be others who need to be snatched from the fire. I call this, "snatching hellbenders." Some people are bent on going to hell and we need to snatch them from the fire!
It seems like some people are bound and determined to go to hell anyway they can. They do whatever they want or can get away with. They say whatever they want. They may say something like, "Let’s go do something, even if it’s wrong."
Some of these people are found in bars, some are found in college on secular campuses, and some are found working right next to you!
ILL.- A young man told me one time that he was out drinking in a bar and his father found him and literally dragged him out of that bar! That may well be "snatching a hellbender!" I’m sure at that particular time he wasn’t happy about it. But later on, he was. He looked back and was very glad that his father loved him enough to do that to him.
Thank God for such parents! Thank God for anyone who is willing to snatch someone out of the fire anyway they can!
ILL.- Two Ladies were sharing lunch together when one said to the other: "I don’t know many Christians, but somehow I can’t help regarding them as hypocrites."
Said the other, "But your sister-in-law, she lives in the same house with you; surely you must acknowledge that she is a devoted Christian."
"That’s just it," was the laughing reply. "She has a very lovely disposition, and she devotes her life to missions and Sunday schools, but she has never said a word to me about becoming a Christian. It’s only make-believe with her about souls being in danger.
"You need not tell me! I know that she is fond of me, but if she believed all that, don’t you think she would not have said something?"
Brothers and sisters, God put us here to love people. And one big way is by sharing Christ and the gospel with them. This doesn’t mean that we have to shove it down their throats, but it does mean that we will lovingly, patiently, carefully, try to lead them to faith in Christ.
To overcome the evil one in life we must have an outward focus. The more we focus on others, the more we help ourselves!
CONCLUSION-------------------------------------
ILL.- A group of historians have compiled this startling information: Since 3600 B.C., the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed.
Regardless of the Stalins, the Hitlers, the Saddam Husseins, and the Osama Bin Ladens, there will always be war!
SATAN IS THE GREATEST HITLER THERE IS! He is the meanest, vilest bin Laden there is! He is the greatest terrorist there is! He is out to deceive, devour and destroy!
We need to get our spiritual cataracts removed and get our focus on the Word of God, on building our faith in Christ, and on leading others to a meaningful relationship to Christ. If we don’t, we’re goners!
