Contending_for_the_Faith

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH Fighting my Spiritual Warfare Contending: to strive or vie in contest or rivalry or against difficulties : STRUGGLE Faith: firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2): complete trust The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Scripture: Jude 1 – 4 and Matthew 17:20 Jude’s letter begins and ends with very comforting words to God’s people. In verse 1 it describes to us as “those who are called, loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. All three of these verbs are passive. They stress action of God. God calls, God loves, and God keeps. We are called, are loved, are kept. Jude is very eager to begin by stressing the security of the believer in God’s electing and preserving love. Then at the end of his letter in verse 24 he says, “Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Notice, in verse 1 we are kept by God for Jesus Christ. And verse 24 God is able to keep us from falling. Jude begins and ends the letter by assuring us that God exerts his omnipotence to keep them from falling away from the faith. So what should we answer when someone asks you how can you be so sure you will keep the faith to the end and be saved at the time of judgment' We should say something like this: “God has called me out of unbelief. Therefore I know that he loves me with a particular electing love. Therefore I know that he will keep me from falling. He will work in me that which is pleasing in his sight, and present me with rejoicing before the throne of his glory. Fighting for the Faith In the middle his concern is different. It is not to help the believers feel content, but to help them feel vigilant (alertly watchful especially to avoid danger). Having shown them the electing love of God and the unsurpassed power of God to keep them safe, Jude now shows then the danger that surrounds them. And tells them to fight for the faith. Verse 3 “Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the Saints.” In other words the assured victory of the believing does not mean that we don’t have to fight to win. Just because the brilliant Commander in Chief promises victory on the beaches doesn’t mean that troops can throw their weapons overboard. The promise of victory assumes valor (strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness : personal bravery) in battle. When God promises that his church will be kept from defeat, his purpose is not the way we lay down our sword and go to lunch but that we pick up the sword of the Spirit and look confidently to God for the strength to fight and win. Wherever the promised security of God is used to justify going AWOL, we may suspect there is a traitor in the ranks. So, Gods way as we see it in Jude, is to give us confidence that our faith will be victorious in the end and then to send us out to fight for it. There are 3 primary things that the devil doesn’t want you to believe 1. That God’s Word is true AND works 2. That you have the authority over the devil 3. That God is good, and the author of ONLY good. It is vital that we make sure that our thinking lines up with God concerning faith and believing. For example, if you believe that EVERYTHING that happens in life was pre-destined by God, then you are lowering your defense to the devil. And Satan would love for you to accept whatever comes in your life as God’s will. This requires no faith, no battle, and leads to no victory. The devil does everything that he can to convince us that the word isn’t true or it is impossible to come to pass. That’s why in 1 Timothy 6:12 says, “Fight the good faith.” The battle we are in is the battle to believe. But nothing is possible for those who believe. And believe that God is watching over his word to perform it. He is a God who cannot lie! We are constantly saying I can’t change, I can’t believe, I can’t go on, I can’t make it, I can’t forgive, I can’t recover, I can’t get it done, I can’t find a job, I can’t find a spouse, I can’t go back to college, I can’t pay my bills, I can’t figure this out and the list goes on and on. Believe me this MENTALITY and ATTITUDE sets us up to fail, to quit, live a negative existence, it’s a poisonous thought that we must no longer eat or drink of. Did you know that one of the most dangerous prisons is housed about 2,000 miles away from us' It’s called Pelican Bay State Prison which opened in 1989. There are about 3,301 prisoner and 99% of are level 4 maximum security risk. In the spiritual realm of life the worst prison in the world is the one we put ourselves in. We allow our mindsets and our victim mentalities to be stripped of the power that God has given us to rule our lives in victory. Faith in his name and his word makes us strong. Perfect soundness in mind, soul and body comes through faith in him. God commands us not to let out minds be troubled but to believe in him. When doubt comes we need to cast it away because it exalts itself against God. We need to ask God to help us to root it out when unbelief tries to creep into our hearts. God keep me from becoming double minded. We need to stick to what God has told us to do. John 6:29 says, “This is our work: To believe”. In other words, before you pray for rain bring your umbrella, Expect it to happen. Remember it’s the good fight of faith. Our jobs are to believe. Our battle is to believe what God has done, and what is already ours. Let’s walk by faith and not by sight. Learn to rejoice in the midst of our battles, no matter what things may look like. We are going to follow the path. He takes us to the Old Covenant to the New Covenant: from the blood of the animals to the blood of Jesus: from the law to grace: from sin to righteousness: from sickness to health: from adversity to prosperity: from defeat to victory: from unclean to clean: from empty to filled. Everything in God’s Kingdom gets better and better. There is no doubt that we must ask in faith and not wavering. We must, as the writer in Hebrews stated, believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of all those who come to him in faith. Remember the scripture”Without faith it is impossible to please him.” Jesus put it this way: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24) God has given us many promises. He is faithful and trustworthy. Our responsibility is to respond to His ability to do what he says, Faith tells us, God cannot fail, Nothing is impossible with God. Unless we activate that faith in our hearts, however, God is not able to move. Ask yourself how big is your faith' Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. The kingdom of God is in us, therefore expect things to get better and better in every area of your life and continue to Fight and Contend for the Faith.