Contending Earnestly

February just seems to have just flown by. I mean, today's February 20th. And in two months, two months, we're going to be celebrating the Passover in the days of Unleavened Bread. It's hard to believe the time goes by that quickly. But as we draw near Passover in days of Unleavened Bread, it's the time of year that we would begin to look at ourselves and measure ourselves against the standard that God has set for us. And that is the life of Jesus Christ. It says in Ephesians 4, verse somewhere in around verse 11, 12, 13, that we are to measure ourselves against the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. That's what He wants to bring us to. And His Holy Spirit in us will lead us and guide us and mold us and develop us and correct us so that we come to that point. And as we are here now, beginning, if you will, that preparation time that we should be thinking about as we move toward the Passover, it's a time we examine ourselves. Where are we? When we look at ourselves in the mirror of the Bible and the verses that are there, how are we doing? How are we doing? And the general epistles that we are reading through are a good mirror for us because Peter, James, John, Jude, they all have very sound messages for the elect and for the chosen people of God, the saints. And they talk about the law of God, but they encourage us to become more like Jesus Christ, to look at ourselves honestly in the face of the Bible. And not to kind of see where maybe we have gone not astray, but maybe have let down the vigor that we should have, perhaps. Let's go back to the little book of Jude. The little book of Jude, right before the book of Revelation. Jude was the half-brother of Jesus Christ. You know, when Jesus Christ was alive, as many times brothers will do, Jude and James, the book that we've just read, were brothers of Jesus Christ, but they didn't see Him as who He was. It wasn't until after He was crucified and resurrected that they saw He is the Messiah. Sometimes it's hard to see your brother that you've grown up with, but to understand who He was. And James and Jude became figures in the church. And Jude has a powerful little message here. It's a short little book, just 25 verses, but there's a lot he says in it. And really in the first three verses, he says very, very much about us, a message to us. And as we begin looking at ourselves for the Passover, excuse me, in Days of Unleavened Bread, that we can learn from it. Let's read through the first three verses here. Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ. Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you, to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. We can stop there for a moment and just reflect on what he wrote in those three verses. The purpose for the book, what he was saying, why he wrote it, how he was led to write it, and the admonition for us today. Because here in the first verse, notice who Jude writes that book to. He didn't write it to a specific person. He didn't write it to a specific church. He wrote it to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ. Who is that? That's you and me. That's everyone that follows Jesus Christ, who, when they receive his call and repent and follow him, this is who he's writing it to. This book was preserved for us today. And there's a message in this that we need to understand.

And so Jude writes this book, and when we read, who it's addressed to. Now, whether this letter ever got mailed, we think of our post office today. When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he could write to the Galatians church and put an address on it. Jude couldn't go to the post office and say to all those, but you know what? God preserved that letter so that it gets to the people who he wants to see it and who will pay attention and heed what's written here. In verse 3, he says, I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation. That's what he sat down to write about, our common salvation. And sometimes, you know, when you do Bible study, I know sometimes when I sit down to prepare a sermon, I might have one idea in my mind, but as I begin to go through the scriptures and let God direct where I'm going, it comes up with a totally different topic than what I had originally began with. So Jude said, I sat down to write to you about our common salvation, because everyone who is called in God, everyone who is part of the elect, part of the saints that we have described in times past, has a common salvation. God wants us to have eternal life. He wants us to be in His kingdom. He wants us to be there with Jesus Christ for that thousand year millennium and then for eternity beyond. So Jesus, I sat down to write this, but you know what?

I found it necessary to change my topic. Seeing what's going on, and of course, God leading Him, I need to exhort you in some other area, and that is to earnestly contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. I need to urge you all to earnestly contend.

Now, this is a verse we've heard, but if we just stop the first and look at those words, earnestly contend. When we earnestly do something, it means we do it with our might, right? We put our full attention to it. We work at it. And to tell you this is saying, just contend for the faith. He's saying, you know what? What God has compelled me to say is, you need to earnestly contend for the faith that was delivered to you. Earnestly, like a warrior, fighting for it, not allowing time, circumstance, cares of the world, cares of family, to interfere with what God has called you for, and to, but to earnestly contend.

Now, the Greek word that's translated earnestly contend there is a pag- a paganismi, a paganizomia, we might say. Don't know if I pronounced that exactly right as strong as 1864.

We get our English word agonize, agonize from that Greek word. In fact, one translation, one early translation of the Bible, translates this verse, I found it necessary to write to you, to write to you, exhorting you to agonize for the faith. Oh, we agonize for something.

That means we really are serious about it, right? We really are working at it. We really are examining and looking to see where we are. We are agonizing for the faith once delivered. I guess the question for us would be, do we contend earnestly? Do we agonize for the faith once delivered? When I read those words, it reminds me of some other places in the Bible that I see where God is saying and exhorting us, be on fire. Yesterday in my letter, I talked about the ever burning flame that God put there in the temple or in the tabernacle of the temple.

In the tabernacle back at the time of Exodus. There is a reason it is a great symbol of that ever burning fire that he wanted Aaron and his sons to tend day and night. That it never went out.

The people of Israel had their part in that they had to bring the oil that would keep that fire burning. God wants a fire burning in us all the time. He wants us earnestly contending for the faith all the time. You know, back in Isaiah 59, when we think of fighting for the faith, earnestly contending for the faith, we might think of Ephesians 6 where it talks about the armor of God. Certainly, he exhorts us there to put on the helmet of salvation, have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. In Isaiah 59, Isaiah speaks of that as well. Isaiah 59 and verse 17 says, he put on righteousness as a breastplate. Well, we know right away he's talking about a soldier getting ready for battle, something that we're always in. We're always in battle for our faith. There's always something. Satan is always at work seeing how he can take us away from the faith. We need to earnestly contend for the faith, agonize for the faith. He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and he was clad with zeal as a cloak. So you have this warrior. He's got all of his armor described in Ephesians 6, but over that armor he puts a cloak of zeal. A cloak of zeal keeps him warm, keeps him hot. Zeal for God's way, zeal for God's word, earnestly contending for the faith once delivered. Zeal for God's word, as a cloak. Something he wore all the time.

Do we have zeal as a cloak? Or maybe as we examine ourselves and look honestly, have we become a little lax? Have we become a little okay thinking that God is okay with what we're doing? And as long as we do this and that and whatever, we're okay. Do we put on the cloak of zeal? Are we on fire for God's way of life? Do we earnestly contend for the faith once delivered? I won't turn to Revelation 3. You know what's in Revelation 3 in verse 17. It talks about the church in Laodicea, the church of Laodicea, an end-time church, and it says that that church is lukewarm. It's not on fire. It's not cold. It hasn't left. It hasn't turned its back on God and said, I don't want you anymore. It's kind of lukewarm. It's not on fire. It isn't wearing the cloak of zeal. It's not earnestly contending for the faith once delivered. It's just kind of there.

And God says it kind of irritates Him. He wants them to be hot. He wants them to be on fire. He wants them to be in His kingdom. He wants everyone to have eternal life. And what does He tell them to do? He says, I counsel you go and buy of me gold tried in the fire. Get hot again. Let God's spirit get you hot again. Let God's spirit earnestly lead you to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered. And as we look toward Passover, as we look toward the time that we commit to Jesus Christ, as we examine ourselves, we can look at some of those things and see, are we? Are we that way? Let's go back to Jude.

We see he wrote this under inspiration from God, changed His original purpose because he found it necessary to exhort people, contend for the faith. And he says, for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. That's the faith to contend for.

The faith once for all delivered to the saints. Now we know the saints. We've talked about this before, Revelation 14, 12. Here is the patience of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. They live by the whole Bible. They understand who God the Father is. They understand who Jesus Christ is. They accept His sacrifice. They follow His example.

The faith once delivered to the saints. And He says, once for all.

Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament, God laid down what the law was once for all. We spoke, was it last week? Yeah, last week, about how God, even in the Garden of Eden, taught Adam and Eve of His way. How Noah knew of His way. How Abraham kept His laws, statutes, and commandments. Once for all, God spoke His law. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. God, who does not change. Once for all. Sometimes when we work with our kids, when they're growing up, they want a challenge. We don't want to do that. We don't want to do that. And you say, once and for all, this is the rule of this house. Once and for all. And Jude says, once and for all, God delivered the faith to the saints.

So it wasn't necessary for him to repeat it over and over and over again. Once and for all, He laid it down. He laid down the law, if you will. And the Old Testament we see in Exodus 20, where God reminded or has re-educated Israel on what those Ten Commandments were, the basis of the law of love, the basis of how to love God, how to love mankind. And then, in this ensuing chapters, He talked about the very specific things that they would do in their lives, and all those statutes that are in Exodus 21, 22, 23, 24. Here's how you would apply that law in your life. Here's how you would take care of that when you do this. This is how you apply that law. But the law is the same. When we read in the General Epistles, we find that Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude, they're all teaching us how to apply that very same law, that very same way of life that was once and for all delivered to the saints into our lives. It was different times in the time after Jesus Christ. People were now yielding or understanding Jesus Christ.

Time had changed. The law hadn't changed. Paul said the law is holy, just, and good.

And today, one of our challenges is not to question the law, but to learn how to apply it in our life, all the law, how to truly love God, how to truly love mankind, how to truly let God and yield and submit to Him and develop us into who He wants us to be, sacrificing our will, sacrificing our desires, sacrificing our attitudes and our wants, and yielding to God, because we are totally dedicated to Him to grow us into who He wants us to become.

So Jude says, this is what I'm talking about. This is where I am. You need to earnestly contend for that law. You can't let yourself any longer be lax or take it for granted. It's time to earnestly contend. And he isn't the only one, Jude, that was talking about this. This book was written, well, commentators will vary, but most commentators will say this is written between 75 and 90 AD, some 40, 50 years after Jesus Christ was crucified and then resurrected.

But the other general epistles say the same thing that Jude said. Let's go back to 2 John.

2 John, also written somewhere around the late 80s, 90 AD.

2 John, an apostle of Jesus Christ, walked with him for three and a half years, and he addresses his letter in verse 1 to the elect lady and her children. Now, again, think of what God is writing here. Is he writing this letter to a specific lady? Could well be. He doesn't name her. He doesn't say to the elect lady with so-and-so a name and her children. God sees us. He talks about his church being a woman in Revelation, and he addresses it to the elect.

We know who the elect are. Those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ to the elect lady and her children whom I love in truth and not only I but all those who have known the truth because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoice, verse 4, greatly that I have found some of your children. Notice that word, some. I have found some of your children, not all of them, walking in truth as we received commandment from the Father. What we learned from Him, from the Scriptures, what we've been taught. And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. You stick to what you've been taught from the beginning, the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Stick to that. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.

This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

You should earnestly contend. You should stick with it. You should get back to the basics. You should make sure that you are following God and not allowing time, circumstance, or other things to interfere with what God has called you to. Verse 8, look to yourselves that we do not lose the things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

Look to yourselves, words that are written to us, that we do not lose the things that we worked for, but that we may receive what God wants to give us if, if we earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. In 2 Peter, 2 Peter 3, he says, virtually the same thing. A book written about the same time as people were 30, 40 years past the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As trials and tribulations were coming, as they may have gone weary in waiting and thinking that Jesus Christ would return any minute, but he didn't. Beloved, he says, chapter 3, verse 1, I now write to you this second epistle, in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets. Remember those words. They were once and for all given to you. They were true then, they're true now, and they will be true right until the time that Jesus Christ returns and through the millennium. That you be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandments of us.

What the apostles were teaching the early church. The same thing that God taught Israel. The same thing that we are taught today. Follow his example. Jesus Christ who lived and who followed the law perfectly and fulfilled part of that law, part of that law and the sacrifice so that we no longer do the physical sacrifices, but now our lives are living sacrifice. But the same law. Follow those words in the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. Paul says the same thing to Timothy. We don't need to turn to 2 Timothy 3, 2 Timothy 1. He tells Timothy, continue in the things that you've been taught. Nothing changed. It's the same law. It's the same God. It's the same thing he has called us to that we've heard from the very beginning. Some of us 40, 50, maybe even 60 years ago. Some of us just within the last year or less. The same law, the same truth that God has opened our minds to see and he expects us to follow. And Jude says, earnestly, earnestly contend for that faith. Peter here goes on and he says something about what it'll be like in the end time, the time before Jesus Christ returns to this earth. He says, knowing this first, being aware of this, scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts.

Scoffers will come. People who will, you know, say, really? You're going to keep that that law that was given 4,000 years ago to Israel, who might say, oh, come on, God doesn't expect all of us to do this. This is the 21st century. Come on, God gave that to just Israel. But, you know, he didn't. That law was delivered from the time of creation. Noah kept it. Abraham kept it long before Israel became a nation. And God reminded them after he brought them out of Egypt what they were to be doing. Scoffers will come. They'll try to turn you away from the truth. They'll make fun of it. They'll call you old-fashioned. They'll call you names. They'll say, where's the promise? Verse 4 of his coming. Haven't people been talking about Jesus Christ returning to earth for 2,000 years? Really? Is he coming? Does things look so bad today? Yes, we go through times where it looks like he's about to return. And then God slows things down. And people get used to things again.

We become a little calloused to the sin and the way of the world around us.

We become calloused to even some of the attitudes and the things that we do in ourselves.

And we look at the world around us, and it's a different world than it was 20 years ago, 30 years ago, maybe even 10 years ago, certainly 50, 60 years ago, where today people have a form of godliness, Timothy says, but they deny the power thereof.

We have a lot of people out there who will call themselves Christians, but they don't do anything that God says. They don't follow any premise of the law.

We hear those things, and sometimes I wonder if we become a little bit like the world in the way that we handle the faith that God has given us. Do we earnestly contend? Let me read to you from a study that was done back, this is 10 years ago now, back in 2005, and there was a professor from the University of Notre Dame and a professor from the University of North Carolina who wanted to find out about young teenagers, if you will, they called themselves Christians. These were the people who, kids who participated in their church, who were part of the youth groups, who were active, who would be out talking about talking about it and and calling themselves Christians. And they wanted to find out how earnest were they in their faith? What were they like? And what they found was something that was that was interesting to them, and they coined a new term. Let me just read here an excerpt, an excerpt from the report on that study. It says, in 2005 there was a study done called the National Study of Youth and Religion done by Drs. Christian Smith and Lisa Pierce. It uncovered a trend so that that to them was alarming. They called it the prevalence of moralistic, therapeutic deism. I love when people coined these things. What on earth does that mean, right? What does it mean? Moralistic, therapeutic deism. It means this. It goes on to say, the youth who identified themselves as Christian and attended church and youth functions couldn't articulate their beliefs and mostly believed that all God wanted them from them is to feel good about themselves. So when they were asked, why? Why do you do this? They couldn't explain.

They didn't know why they believed what they did. And to them is, God just wants me to feel good about themselves. And I feel good about myself if I go to church on Sunday, if I participate in this youth function. A form of godliness denying the power thereof, right? Turns out, the study says, their parents had the same views. They learned it from their parents. Just feel good about yourself. God is okay. Just as long as you're doing okay and you can say, I'm a good person, that's enough.

That's the attitude of society around us.

Could that be sinking into some of us? Could we be feeling, hey, as long as I do this and do that, I feel good about myself.

Jude says, earnestly contend, earnestly contend. Moralistic, therapeutic deism doesn't define earnestly contend for the faith.

Moralistic, therapeutic deism says, I'm okay, you're okay. I'm not out causing anyone hurt. I'm doing, you know, things and you know what, in my mind, I'm okay.

Could that infect some of us?

Because oftentimes, when we're in the world around us, we can see those attitudes sink in.

Oh, I'm okay. I don't need to earnestly contend. Maybe Jude, maybe Peter, maybe John, saw that same tendency beginning to occur in the church back then when they wrote those letters.

And so Jude and John and Peter said, go back.

Look at what you've been called to. Follow the principles that you've been called to. The faith, once for all, delivered to the saints. We're here in 2 Peter 3.

We've read verse 3, you know, scoffers will come. Really? Well, you know what? Yes, it's good to love our neighbor. Yes, it's good to be nice to people. Yes, then that is good.

But that's not all that God's looking for. Certainly that's part of it. And as we follow His principles in law, we will be those type people. And they say, where's the promise of His coming? Doubt can be infused. Really? Is Jesus Christ really returning to this earth?

Is He really going to come? Is He really going to set up a kingdom on earth?

Can the United States really fail? Can our economy that's been there forever really fail? Can it tank? Not to recover again? Could our military fail? Well, we've talked about the various types of warfare today and how even a great country like the United States can be undermined, not necessarily by military force, but by all the other factors that are in the world today. It can be undone. But people would say, really? Where is the promise of His coming? People have said this, for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. It looks okay. We falter a little. We come back strong as a nation.

Really? Can that really happen? What the Bible says. Peter challenges them. Remember, for this they willfully forget that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and into water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.

In the days of Noah, people were saying, come on, Noah, a flood? A flood that's going to flood the whole earth? Everything is good. Our economy is strong. We're happy. So what if the world is full of violence? So what if the world has departed from God or has never followed God? But in one day, in one day, the end came. And that's what he says in verse 7. The same thing. God has a plan in mind. God sees, God knows the standard by which he expected people to live, the standard by which he expects you and I to live. Not just a little better than the world, but he expects us to be attaining and working toward perfection, blamelessness. And the difference between perfection and blamelessness in the standards of what the world is called goods gets greater and greater with each passing year. It's not enough to just be a little better than them. God expects us to be like Jesus Christ. That's how he will grow us over the course of our lives to become like him.

You know, when it talks about the church of Laodicea, it talks about people that are lukewarm, not hot, not hot with zeal, not earnestly contending for the faith. It also talks about them being spiritually rich. I'm rich in the creation of goods I have need of nothing, that church says. And often we'll say, oh, that's, you know, physical wealth, but it's spiritual wealth that God is talking about there. I have all I need. How much better can I be? What more could God do in me? I've got the right attitudes. I miss habit services every week. I go to holy days. I do the things that God wants me to do. How much more do I need to be? And yet God says you're lukewarm. You're not earnestly contending for the faith. You're just kind of going by.

You're just kind of checking off boxes of what you do, but you're not really letting God's spirit penetrate, permeate your mind. You're not letting him really sink into it and show and highlight the weaknesses, the faults that we have, and then making the effort with his power to overcome those things. James talks about the rich as well. Turn back to the book of James. Verse 1. Come now, you rich. Weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Read this in the spiritual sense of what God is saying. Come now, you rich.

Weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted. Your garments are moth eaten. What garments does God want to clothe us in? White garments, the righteous acts of the saints. Your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and you will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure, in the last days. The wrong treasure. Verse 5. You've lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury.

You've fattened your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. You're not lean and mean. You're not earnestly contending for the faith. You've become fattened. You've become lazy.

You've become apathetic. You've fattened your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

And unless you get yourself back in fighting mode again, God warns us what will happen.

He says you have condemned. One of the, maybe, symptoms of not earnestly contending. You have murdered the just, and the just doesn't resist you. He says, therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Verse 8. Be patient. Establish your hearts. Earnestly contend. Get your mind back where God wants it to be. Understand His law. Follow His law. Don't let anything lead you away. Follow Him implicitly. One book back, Hebrews 2.

The author here has the same theme as he's writing to us. It says, therefore, verse 1, Hebrews 2, Therefore we must give the more earnest heed. There's that word, earnest. We must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard. Ah! As the coming of Jesus Christ comes closer, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard. The things we've been taught from the beginning. Why? Lest we drift away.

Lest we drift away. For if the words spoken through angels prove steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received the just reward, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Could we be in danger of neglecting the great salvation and calling that God has given us? Jude was concerned about that for the people he was writing his letter to.

John was concerned about that to the lady he was writing his letter to. Peter was concerned about that when he addressed his letter to the church of the 12 tribes scattered abroad. The author of Hebrews was concerned about that. Warning us. Don't neglect. Don't forget what you're calling to. Don't let your arms become weak. Sit down on the job. Don't let your religion and don't let your calling become empty.

Don't let it become just a shell of what God wanted you to become. One of the things that we can look at as we begin to examine ourselves and as we look at the law of God, the standard by which God will judge us, and the standard to which we should be exceeding and wanting to adhere to, that we can only do as God leads us and his Holy Spirit in us leads us and guides us, we can start at the very beginning.

What's the very beginning of God's law? What's the very first commandment? Put God first. I am the Lord your God. You will have no other gods except, it doesn't do to rhyme besides, it really should be, you shall have no other gods except me. I know none of us kneel down and worship Baal. I know none of us have a little idol in our house that we look at, count on, but we can all be worshiping other gods.

God looks at how we live, the choices that we make, because he just doesn't listen to our words because we would all say, every single one of us in this room, we have no other gods before you. We have no other gods except you. But our actions can show something different, if we really look at them closely and look at them the way that God looks at them.

The online Bible study the other night, I'll use that as an example. Mr. Myers was talking about the Sabbath day. The Sabbath day, keeping it holy, what God expects us to do, and how he expected the Sabbath day to be kept. It's a sign between God and his people. It's a time for us to refrain from our everyday lives, our everyday work, our everyday entertainment, and yield to him.

Let him be in that day something that he created at creation for mankind. Something, as we talked about last week, that he taught Adam and Eve about from the very beginning. He set that day and set it apart. Jude says from the very beginning, what you've been taught, follow. Now Sabbath is just one of the things, okay? But it's a very good example of what we can do.

How do we keep the Sabbath day? What does God say about the Sabbath day? I can go through and I can say the same thing about, you know, idols. I can talk about the same thing about not taking his name in vain. I can talk about all the commandments in the same way. Do we always put God first? Because that's the standard by which he wants us to live. One of the ways we keep the Sabbath day, God says, again, I'm using this as an example, because it's an easy example and we can all relate to it.

The Sabbath is a commanded assembly. God says, you keep the day holy, you set it apart from the rest of the week, you don't work on it, you don't find your own entertainment, you yield, says me, it's okay to do good on that Sabbath day. Doesn't mean we just lay in bed all day for 24 hours and do nothing. It's a day to be following God. One of the things he says is his commanded assembly. I'll ask the question. Apart from sickness, illness, or in the hospital, or away from home, whatever, what would keep us from keeping the Sabbath day?

What would keep us from being at the Feast of Tabernacles or any holy day that God commands us to be at? If there's anything other than sickness or illness, whatever it is that's keeping us from that, we've made that person put that person in place of God or that event or that thing that we think we need to do.

That's the way God would look at it. Ah, I command you keep the Sabbath day holy and do the things on it, I say. What will keep you from doing it?

Now I'm going to go back in childhood. You know that my parents came into the church when I was 10.

There's a very different standard, it seems to me, just in keeping the Sabbath day today than when I grew up.

My dad had many brothers and sisters. We had a lot of cousins on both sides. A lot of cousins on both sides. They were all around my age. Well, some of them were older than me.

All of them on my dad's side, my dad's side of the family, were Catholic.

And as they got married, every single one of them had their wedding on Saturday. Every single one.

Do you know how many weddings we went to as I was growing up?

Zero. Zero. We never went to a wedding. My dad would always say, we keep the Sabbath day, that's our Sabbath day, we can't be there. Now, many of them had their receptions after sunset, and we would go to the receptions in the evening, but we didn't go to one single wedding.

Even though the family wanted us there, and it would seem to be the thing to do, and I was trained, and I saw the example, you don't put cousins first. You don't put nieces and nephews first. You don't put what the family wants first. You do what God wants first.

And that's continued with me today. I know in talking to Debbie, my wife, she grew up in the church too.

She had an older brother who wasn't in the church. Her dad wouldn't even go to his son's wedding, because he chose to have it on Saturday, because he chose to follow God first.

Now, I'm not saying that because we're anyone special or whatever. That was just the way it was taught back then. That was just the way we were brought up. And we weren't the only families doing that. Every single week we went to church, every single person was there. And if they weren't there, we knew they were sick or they were away from town. They weren't just tired. They weren't just had a tough week. They just didn't feel like making the drive in, because almost everyone drove in. When I was in sixth grade, I won the school Spelling Bee. Then it was a big deal.

And the principal and everything, you know, whatever. And you go on to the next regional event and whatever. And the next regional event was on Saturday.

I didn't even have to ask my parents if I was going to that school Spelling Bee.

I marched into the principal's office and they said, it's great, can't do it, that's our Sabbath day, the runner-up can go. And they, you know, they questioned and, oh no, it's just one time, this, this, and da da da da da da.

Nothing. We never went to a funeral on Saturday. Other people didn't either. Is that the same standard that we would use and apply to ourselves today?

Or have the arms become a little weak? The knees are just wanting to droop a little bit. And hey, as long as we're not working and on our job on the Sabbath day, God's okay with that.

We can look at our lives through the eyes of that first commandment. What would we do? You know, Paul says, what separates us from the love of Christ? Will it be wind? Will it be story? Will it be wind? Will it be storm? Will it be anything? It should be nothing. Nothing we would put before God. When he says, put me first, he means in every single aspect of our lives. None of us do it perfectly. We all make mistakes. But the standard to which he wants us to adhere is we will come to the point where we would always put him first. Sacrificing our own ideas, sacrificing our own will, sacrificing our own desires, sacrificing our own attitudes when we see that they don't mesh with the words in the Bible. Put him first. Be like him. And if we analyze ourselves and we analyze our own little pet doctrines and ideas, God is looking for people who earnestly contend for the faith, who really believe the Word of God, who really are looking to him and wanting to put that standard into their lives. Jude said, what about this? What about it, as he looked around the church? Apostle John said, what about it, elect lady? What about it, Peter said? Are we earnestly contending? Are we agonizing for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints as God teaches us to follow him and what he's looking for us to do, and he's looking to see how we do it by the choices we make in our lives?

Sabbath is just one very easy thing for me to talk about. We could go, like I said, through all the Ten Commandments. We could talk about every situation in life, everything you bring up you can look at and say, am I doing God's will first? Am I responding to in the way that he would first?

What am I holding on? That's me that I'm not willing to put God first or yield to him.

It's a very good place, a very good place to start and to keep looking at as we examine ourselves, as we look to God, as we let him know by our actions, we follow him with everything that that word means. Now, one of the things let's turn to Revelation 2.

It might mean in our lives that we need to put on the cloak of zeal. We need to have that ever-burning lamp.

We need to ask God to ignite it and then do the things that would keep it ignited.

In Revelation 2, the very first church of the seven churches mentioned here in Revelation 2 and 3 is the Church of Ephesus. In verse 2, God commends them and says, I know your works, I know your labor, I know your patience that you cannot bear those who are evil, and you've tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and you have found them liars.

You've persevered and have patience, and you've labored for my name's sake, and you haven't become weary. They were working. God says some good things about them. He says, but nevertheless, I have this against you. You've left your first love. There's not the fire anymore. There's not that zeal anymore. You're not putting on the cloak of zeal. You're not keeping that lamp. You're in the danger of becoming one of those five virgins of Matthew 25 that let their lamp be extinguished by the choices they made in their everyday lives.

You're in danger of that. And those five virgins says they will be weeping in the gnashing of teeth. I don't want to see anyone in that boat. I don't want to see anyone weeping and gnashing teeth. God doesn't want to see anyone weeping and gnashing their teeth. He's given us a great gift. He warns us. He exhorts us. And we should be exhorting each other to stick with the faith, earnestly content for the faith once delivered. We should be setting an example of a higher standard to people. You know, one of the things that's happened. We just again take the Sabbath. We teach each other. Paul said, remember he said, follow me or imitate me. He said, as I follow Christ. That means if you see me doing something different than what Christ would have done, don't follow me. Follow Jesus Christ. But Paul set the standard for himself. I need to be living just like Jesus Christ. I need to be putting my effort into that and making sure that I'm teaching by my example as well as my words. We all teach by example as well. So if new people come among us and all of a sudden you're there not there one week and it's like, well, I was just tired. It was a rough week. I just couldn't get out of bed. Now, I'm not talking about sickness. I'm not talking about illness. I'm not talking about the things that are legitimate. Or I had this thing that I had to go to my family was wanting to do and so I couldn't be a church. Well, what does that teach the standard of the church to be?

It teaches it's okay to put someone before God. Right?

Is that the message that we intend to teach? I don't think any of us intend to teach that message.

But that's the message we're giving.

This church in Ephesus, they had lost their first love.

Don't know what some of the symptoms are, but God says here about them, He says, Remember, remember therefore from where you have fallen, the standard by which you were are being measured. The life that you're supposed to be living. The spirit that is in there to mold you and develop you into who God wants you to be. Not who you want to be, but who He wants you to be as His servant and as a servant to the people that you're part of the body that He placed you in with.

Remember therefore from where you've fallen, and He says, Repent and do the first works. Get back to the basics. Go back and pray. Go back and develop the relationship with God. Go back and ask Him, Where am I falling short? Have I become lats? Have I become apathetic? Do I think I'm okay? You're okay. And I'm good enough. I'm good enough. God can't really nail me on anything. I'm not out committing adultery. I'm not out killing people. I'm not out lying. I'm not out stealing. I don't think I covet.

Well, God is the judge. Go back, or else He says, I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from His place. Unless you repent. Unless you repent.

Let's go back to Jude. One book.

Let's pick it up in the ensuing verses after verse 3. He talks about false religion and people beginning to believe false doctrines and heresies. We've talked about that before.

But let's go back and look at verse 16. Jude kind of tells us some of the things that would be symptoms of apathy. Hebrews 12 will tell us a few more. It says, these are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts. They mouth great swelling words, flattering people to take advantage.

They'll complain about this. They'll grumble about that. And there were people in ancient Israel that did that. They grumbled. They complained. They were walking with God. He was their guide. He was providing for them and they grumbled and complained about this and that and they had their own ideas. Started off as probably an innocent little conversation. I don't believe Korah one day just woke up and decided he was going to rebel against Moses, but over time he allowed that to just develop in his mind that he didn't need to adhere to a standard. Now we know what the result of Korah was.

We know what the result of people who will take latitude with God's law is. Give them self-permission not to do this, not to do that. It's okay I have this issue so I don't need to obey this law today because you know what? I've got this and this and whatever to do. Now it's never good to run from God. It's never the answer to run away from God. It's always the answer to run to God, to be where he wants you to be. If you want healing in your life, if you want things to work out, you'd never run from God and decide I will do my own things. You always run toward him. You always go back to the Bible and you look at yourself and say, what am I doing? If things aren't the way they should be, what am I doing differently than what God says? And when you look that and you earnestly contend, when you earnestly seek, when you diligently seek, God will show you. God will show you.

But he has to see that we're really interested in it.

Verse 17. Jude concludes his letter with some of the things that we need to do.

If we're not earnestly content, there were some of the things that we would do to earnestly contend. Verse 17, he says, you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. The way of life once and for all delivered to the saints. Remember those words. Go back and look at them. Measure yourself against the firm and steadfast and everlasting words of God. Remember what they said, how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. He told you that this would happen, that there will be people who will try to take you away from the truth, that our own ideas and our own lusts will take us away from the truth. These are sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

James says, by their fruits you will know them. Jesus Christ says, by their fruits you will know them.

Someone causes division? Probably not an example we want to follow. But you, verse 20, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

Go back. Remember the faith to which you were called. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God. What is the love of God? Doing the things in spirit that He tells us to do. Put Him first. No idols. Don't take His name in vain. Keep His Sabbath day holy.

Building up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God. Do what He says to do and do it with your heart. Not just to check off a box and say, I did it. I was there. Let it permeate your mind. Let it permeate your heart. Let it permeate your body. Let it become part of you. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Keep your eyes on the goal. Know and know that you know that Jesus Christ is returning. Know and know that you know that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Is our Lord and Savior. Know and know that you know that Jesus Christ will return. And don't doubt and don't let anything come between you and that faith that God has called you to.

Not conditions in the world that may improve in the world's mind. Always know He is returning.

Always keep that cloak of zeal. Always keep that fire burning. Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, which He has called you to. And on some, He says, have compassion, making a distinction. We all are our brother's keeper. We all look out for one another.

Some we have compassion. We wouldn't necessarily... Someone comes the first time to church and then we're exhorting them and chastising them. If they don't keep things the way that we think they should, God will grow us all. He will develop us all at all. Be patient with one another. Exhort one another.

Don't make excuses for one another, but exhort one another and make sure that we're all focused on the same things. But others say with fear. People who should know better that you would go and say, what do you mean? You can't do that. You can't behave that way. You can't make that decision. You know better. You've been here for five, 10, 15, 20 years. You can't make decisions or you shouldn't be making decisions that put all these other things before God.

Others say with fear. Make them realize what they're facing if they don't.

Earnestly content for the faith. Pulling them out of the fire. Hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Not justifying what they do. Not saying, oh, it's okay, Pat, on the back. You know what? God will forgive. You've got to go back and ask God for forgiveness. Just like we have to ask each other for forgiveness. I didn't turn to Hebrews 12, but I mean there's forgiveness there. What happens to people who don't forgive?

People who let a little grudge stay in their mind. A little spot that's up there, and then it grows and grows and grows. It turns into bitterness, and before you know it, they've lost everything. Is that what God would call us to? No. Let it go. Forgive them just as He forgives us. Others say with fear. Pulling them out of the fire. Hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, led by God's Holy Spirit.

Looking to Him earnestly contending, diligently seeking, hollering on the cloak of zeal. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless, because that's the goal to which He has called us, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with His seeding joy. To God our Savior, who alone is wise. Be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.