Standing Firm in Faith: The Call to Persevere
Speaker: Guest Speaker Michael Miller
Scriptures: Jude 1:17-25 | Colossians 2:18-19
STANDING FIRM IN FAITH
The book of Jude tells us how to be free from the influence of the “super-spiritual Christian” and “false teachers.”
Spoiler: We actually DON’T want to be the super-spiritual Christian.
Antidote to being swayed by false teachers — Knowing what the apostles said can protect us from false predictions. Know the basic building blocks of your faith! (e.g., the Nicene Creed)
Eschatology - For the end times, all you REALLY need to know is the basic predictions of the apostles.
In short: Jesus is coming back. And when He does, He will judge the earth. That’s really all you need to know.
Anything beyond that can become a distraction if we’re not careful.
A few examples of false views to be wary of:
7 Mountains view - demanding Christians be at the top of every sphere of influence.
When you think of the end times, think of it like Noah — we get to be a prophetic and righteous voice in the midst of the unrighteous who are driven by their passions. We, as Christians, do not need to try to rise to the top in every sphere of influence.
God doesn’t tell us to get into the highest fields of culture to invade and rule.
NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) believes vision can only come from a specially gifted apostle with top-down leadership. But we don’t need a “new vision” for a region when Jesus has already given us the gospel and the Great Commission.
Healing - believing we need to be healed of every ailment on this side of the resurrection.
The Bible warns us against needing a prophetic word or angelic vision for every single decision that we make. Don’t value prophetic experiences over the text of God’s Word! (Colossians 2:18-19)
There are no specially elite or gifted Christians. There’s just ordinary Christians like us who have been given the Spirit! No elite super Christians.
God uses ordinary people!
So, in contrast to the super Christians who feel “spiritually elite” and are always caught up in spiritual experiences, here’s what we’re told to do: PRAY.
Jude 1:20 tells us to pray in the Holy Spirit — which many interpret to be the gift of tongues. But that doesn’t mean pray in a super spiritual way… It’s the HUMBLE who get their prayers heard. The gift of tongues is partially to help people who don’t know how to pray.
You don’t need to go to a place to experience the presence of God. We’re the ones who house His presence. Where 2 or 3 are gathered, He is with us.
Remaining in God’s love is what transforms us.
We don’t have to perform to get God’s love. Rather, we are to allow God’s love in to feel His affection.
His love for you in your current state is what allows you to do what you could never do on your own. It all starts with allowing yourself to feel God’s love!
Recommended book: “Just Like Jesus” by Max Lucado — the Father loves his child while the kid is covered in mess, but he also loves the child too much to leave him that way.
Give praise for God’s preserving power (Jude 1:25)
Jude concludes the letter with a short doxology — a short hymn/praise directed toward God.
The final hope of the Christian is not our grip on God, but His grip on us. He is the one who keeps us from stumbling and will keep us preserved at Christ’s return.
Jude has written a call to persevere.
Some of us are tired of fighting; some of us are confused by all the competing information out there; all of us feel like we’ve never done enough.
Solution: Wait patiently. God will sustain you.
God keeps His People - He will give you strength.
We don’t need to be a celebrity Christian to be truly Christ-like. (We need God’s mercy!)