Don't be fooled! These small 'books' of the Bible all carry a punch. Join me as we pick apart this letter written by Jesus' half brother, Jude.

All right, you guys.

2

Welcome back to another

episode of I Can't, He Can.

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I'm Sarai, your host, as you already

know, and we are going to be doing

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another episode in the Sound Mind series.

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Today is the Book of Jude.

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Now, it's not so much of a series,

'cause again, it's just one episode.

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A very, very short book

with just 25 verses.

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But again, a lot of great reminders, a

lot of great, bits of information, and

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Even a bunch of scriptures that we may

not have ever looked into, like myself.

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So I actually learned a few things,

and I can't wait to share it with you.

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But for today, I'm not gonna do

the usual read the whole thing and

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then go back and give my notes.

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I'm just going to read and as I'm reading,

I'm going to explain what I am gathering.

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I feel like as I was reading, I was

learning so much, and I don't want

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to, um, put you guys to sleep in an

episode that is very important because

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this book, to me, is a call to action.

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this was Jude who was the

half brother of Jesus.

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and he is actually speaking

to the Jews at this time.

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and Jude, if you do not know, is the

last book before the Book of Revelation.

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it's very, very important.

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It's like the last hurrah, like I said,

of the call to action to the Jews.

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So while it was written directly to

them, not the Gentiles, which if you

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remember from the last episode, we are

Gentiles because we are not Jewish.

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there are some things that may not make

sense, but for the most part, everything

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that Jude says, for people to continue

believing and working on are things

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that we can use in our daily lives and

of course, in our walks with Christ.

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So brief reminder, I want you guys

to always have your Bibles, okay?

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Don't rely on the apps.

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If you don't have your Bible with you

and you wanna go through the YouVersion

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app, go ahead, obviously just fine.

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I'm reading from my New King James

version, but it's always good and

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important to keep your own Bible.

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And like I said a few episodes

ago, I have, brand new New King

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James version Bibles that I have.

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I haven't had anyone reach out to

me about getting their own copy.

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But if you know someone that needs one,

that wants one, that isn't sure what

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version to get, I know I struggled with

that a lot in the beginning of my walk.

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I was seeking help and had questions,

in my old church, and I feel like no

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one gave me a right answer as to what

version to get Not saying that any version

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is better than the other, but for me

personally, this version has been amazing.

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the New King James Version, while

it's, I feel, a little bit more

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difficult than, for example, what I

was reading before, the WEB version,

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which is the World English Bible, I

just, I got so bored of that version.

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But anyway, to not harp too much

on that, again, if anyone needs

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a Bible, please let me know.

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I have so many brand-new Bibles here

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These are the ones that my girls

have used in the Bible study.

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But as you can see, I have literally

brand new, and I have, like, five

49

more that are there unwrapped.

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So if anyone needs one, please, by all

means, reach out to me on social media,

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reach out to me on YouTube, reach out to

me via email, [email protected].

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And again, you guys have the handles

from before the videos and after

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the videos on YouTube and Instagram.

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You can reach me on there.

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Now, without further ado, again, as

we're reading from our New King James

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Version for the Sound Mind series,

we are reading the Book of Jude.

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25 verses, and this is, again,

Jesus's half brother, Jude, who is

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speaking to the Jews at this time.

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It's a final warning.

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Here in my little summary I wrote down,

you know I always have my little notes.

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I put that this is a final call to action.

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and then this is Jude using this kind

of as like a s- well, the summary

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says that Jude uses this letter as,

like, a strategy for the Jews And

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it's, it's really meant to, like,

jolt you, to keep you sitting straight

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up and be more upright in the faith.

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like he says, to contend for the faith.

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And if you don't know what contend

means, contend means to, be firm.

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It means, to compete for.

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So when you contend for the

faith, not that we want to be

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aggressive, because of our faith.

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Obviously, Jesus does everything in

love, even when he is teaching people.

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But we do need to contend for our faith.

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So that is definitely something that

Jude talks about in the verses, and

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you'll see it right in the beginning.

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but just be firm, be bold, be courageous.

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don't be shy to speak about your love

for Christ and what he did because at

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the end of the day, the person you are

speaking to, the person that you are shy

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to speak to about your love for Christ,

that is also a person that Jesus died for.

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And a lot of people don't

realize that, didn't even know.

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I didn't know Jesus until two years

ago, before I started going to church.

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I knew the name Jesus Christ, but I

didn't know what he did for us, and

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I certainly didn't know his heart,

and I didn't have a relationship.

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So With firmness, with loving kindness,

don't be shy to speak about your love

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and your relationship with Jesus Christ.

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And that is essentially what Jude is

saying in this book, and he's using very

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firm examples for the Jews in this time.

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And it's just amazing because it's

a warning of, all the people that

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are going to come close to us and

say, "Hey, I know that you're going

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to church, and this is the word, but

have you listened to this word, or

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have you listened to this pastor?"

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speaking in our day and age, obviously.

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And we need to be careful.

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It's a warning that there's going

to be lots of people trying to deter

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you away from the proper word of God.

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So again, like I said a few minutes

ago, always have your Bibles, always

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be in your word so that you can stay

awake and be vigilant because these are

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prophecies that are really coming true.

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And there are a lot of wolves in sheep's

clothing, and sometimes even I'm a

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bit mindful, if people would look at

me like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

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Like, a lot of people don't know me.

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Like, if you, if you really

think about it, no one knows

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anyone fully except the Lord.

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And that's not to say

that I'm bad in any way.

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I mean, obviously, I'm a sinner, but

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I'm not here to steer anyone away, and

we need to be cognizant of the people

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that are speaking to us, that are

teaching us, quote, unquote teaching

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us, that are trying to guide us, because

if it's not a path that is in here,

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if it's not a path that God, Jesus

Christ, and the Holy Spirit is nudging

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you on and you feel it, you feel that

conviction, you feel, your discernment

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kicking in, you need to be careful.

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Okay?

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So I pray, and I hope that I am

certainly not one of those people, and

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I will never be one of those people.

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I always want you guys

to read for yourselves.

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but just be awake.

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Be awake, be aware, keep the oil

in your lamps, and this is the

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final call to action from Jude, so.

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I digress.

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Let's start.

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The Book of Jude.

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Verse one: Jude, a bondservant of Jesus

Christ, and brother of James, to those

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who are called, sanctified by God the

Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.

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That was verse one.

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Remember, Jude is the half brother

of Jesus, and here in verse one,

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he calls himself a bondservant.

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So this is like he's willfully being

a servant for this person, AKA Jesus.

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So he himself is calling him,

not just your brother, your half

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brother, I'm a bondservant of Christ.

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So he was open and honest, and he is

professing that Jesus is the Christ,

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Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ,

and brother of James, to those who

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are called, sanctified by God the

Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.

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Here he is saying who the letter

is for, to those who are called,

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sanctified by God and the Father,

and preserved in Jesus Christ.

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Verse two: Mercy, peace, and

love be multiplied to you.

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Verse three "Beloved, while I was very

diligent to write to you concerning our

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common salvation, I found it necessary

to write to you exhorting you to contend

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earnestly for the faith which was

once for all delivered to the saints."

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Okay.

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Like I said, contend, and I have here,

"To assert a point or to compete for."

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Now, he is writing to his

beloved people, the Jews, that

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concerning their common salvation.

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So he's pointing out that this is

something that they all have in common.

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And he says that it's necessary in this

moment to write and to express that they

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have to contend earnestly, honestly assert

that point, honestly compete, honestly

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be courageous about their faith, which

was once for all delivered to the saints.

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Verse four: "For certain men have

crept in unnoticed, who long ago were

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marked out for this condemnation,

ungodly men who turn the grace of our

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God into lewdness and deny the only

Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

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So verse four is very heavy, okay?

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First of all, I underlined certain.

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It says, "For certain men."

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I underlined certain and I put a fact.

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So he's saying here, for a fact, there are

certain men that have crept in unnoticed.

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So even though in, in this time, like,

they still weren't aware of the mystery

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that Paul was going to reveal to them

about the Holy Spirit, they are still

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seeing and they're acknowledging that

there are people who crept in, into

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their little community, into their group

of people that are contending for the

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faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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so he's pointing that out for

certain, like 100%, there are

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men that have crept in unnoticed.

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And then I highlighted, or circled

this part that says, "Who long ago

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were marked out for this condemnation."

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So I believe that this says that he's

saying that it was already, like,

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preplanned or it was, like, destined

for this to happen, that there were

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people who, from the very beginning,

already knew that they were going to

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do this and they've kind of, like,

been working their way up to that.

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So starting again, verse four: "For

certain men have crept in unnoticed,

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who long ago were marked out for

this condemnation, ungodly men

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who turn the grace of our God into

lewdness and deny the only Lord

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God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

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So not only did these people creep into

their community of people that believe in

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Jesus as the Christ, but they are people

who are on purpose Turning the gospel into

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lewdness, into things that are disgusting,

things that are definitely not of God,

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They are godless.

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They don't carry God, and obviously

they don't carry Jesus in their heart.

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So verse five, "But I want to remind

you, though, you once knew this, that

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the Lord, having saved the people

out of the land of Egypt, afterward

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destroyed those who did not believe."

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Now, this is where, um, Jude

starts giving some examples, and

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he says, "I wanna remind you."

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That's how he starts verse five.

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I wanna remind you,

though you once knew this.

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Even though you already have this

knowledge, the Lord, meaning God, having

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saved the people out of the land of Egypt.

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So you already knew that this happened.

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Our people were saved by

God from the land of Egypt.

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They were freed.

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You already knew this.

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… This isn't news.

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And he's saying, "Afterward

destroyed those who did not believe."

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So you saw what happened.

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The Israelites were freed from Egypt, and

after, the people who defied God and still

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didn't believe were destroyed by God And

you still, you still don't wanna believe?

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That's kinda like what he's saying here.

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If I'm understanding it

correctly, I feel like that's

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how he is trying to speak to me.

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So that was the first

example that he gave.

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Now, the second example is in verse six.

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"And the angels who did not keep

their proper domain, but left

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their own abode, He has reserved in

everlasting chains under darkness

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for the judgment of the great day."

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This one was a little difficult

for me to decipher for some reason,

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but when it finally clicked, I

understood that it says the following

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in verse six: "And the angels who

did not keep their proper domain."

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So, hmm, what angel did not

keep their proper domain?

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Domain meaning, like, their home,

where they're supposed to be.

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Who was that?

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The fallen angels, like Satan

for example, and however other

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many fell along with him.

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So he's saying, "And the angels who did

not keep their proper domain, but left

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their own abode," they left their, their

home, "He," capital H, meaning God, "He

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has reserved," He kept something for them.

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"He has reserved in everlasting

chains under darkness for the

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judgment of the great day."

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He's reserving an everlasting

place of darkness in chains.

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Like, that…

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doesn't that sound just crazy to you?

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Well, it exists, and it's going to

happen, because what God says, God does.

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And He let, He let these angels

who wanted to, to go, to go.

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God gave everyone free will, and that's

what a lot of people seem to forget.

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Even the angels that lived amongst

Him in glory left their home.

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And because they continue to do what

they do here on Earth, He has, in

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the judgment of the great day, He

has prepared an everlasting darkness.

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That is just wild to me.

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And I don't wanna be part of that.

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Anyway, moving on.

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Verse seven.

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this is the third example.

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"As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities

around them in similar manner to these,

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having given themselves over to sexual

immorality and gone after strange

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flesh, are set forth as an example,

suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

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What happened in Sodom and Gomorrah?

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That city was demolished, was under

fire, was sieged completely by God.

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Why?

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Because none of them wanted

to follow his commandments.

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They all gave up, here like it says

in verse seven, to sexual immorality

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and gone after strange flesh.

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Obviously, things that are not,

that are not godly, things that

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just, that no one should do.

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so he gave those three examples.

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He said the Israelites that were freed

from Egypt, He talks about the angels

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who chose to leave heaven or wherever

they lived with God, that they fell.

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And then he gave the third example,

which, mind you, these are all

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things that the, that the Jews in

this time are very familiar with.

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So this is not news to them That's why

Jude is like, "Guys, you know the deal.

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You know what's happened in the past.

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It's true.

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It's real.

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This is your last call.

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This is your last chance

to do things right."

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And he used Sodom and Gomorrah,

which is a very well-known city,

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obviously, to us who are reading

the word, and to them at the time.

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So if those warnings are not

enough to get them to do the

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right thing, I don't know what is.

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But let's keep reading and

see what else Jude has to say.

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Verse eight, "Likewise also…"

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And I put here an also knowingly, so

likewise, knowingly, these dreamers,

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"Likewise also these dreamers

defile the flesh, reject authority,

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and speak evil of dignitaries."

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I'm sorry that I'm stopping so much.

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It's just that I feel like it's such,

such a strong letter that if you just

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read through it, how I read through it the

first time with my old church, I honestly,

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I don't remember reading it at all.

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I read it, but I didn't read it.

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it went in through one ear, out the other.

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But now that I'm actually studying

it and breaking down and understand

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context, which I have told you guys, and

I sound like a broken record, context

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is so important, now I am actually

able to ingest this information and

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really take it to heart and apply.

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That's the only way we can

apply something, when we

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actually know and understand it.

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So in verse eight, it's saying that

knowingly, these dreamers, or the

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people that he's talking about that

are, um, slowly creeping in to, like,

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try and get them to, walk away from

Christ, these dreamers defile the flesh.

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They reject authority, and

they speak evil of dignitaries.

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So people that are, high up there,

people that are preaching the gospel,

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they speak bad of these people.

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He means defile the flesh as

not like how we say, like, "Oh,

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I'm fighting against the flesh."

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No, actually physically they're doing

things that they shouldn't be doing.

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and then also they reject authority,

which as we also heard in the Book of

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Philemon, authority is very important.

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we just have to follow the laws,

God's laws, God's commandments.

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We have to follow authority here on

Earth, officers and all that stuff.

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so these people are people that do

the opposite of all these things.

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They defile flesh, reject authority,

speak evil of dignitaries.

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Moving on

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Before I read verse nine, I

had a little revelation when

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I was looking into verse nine.

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So I'm just gonna preface with that.

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Verse nine says, "Yet Michael,

the archangel, in contending with

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the devil, when he disputed about

the body of Moses, dared not-

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He dared not, okay?

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Dared not bring against him

a reviling accusation, but

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said, "The Lord rebuke you."

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Even Michael, the archangel, an

angel, a person who lives amongst

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God, even this person chose to

not waste their time on the devil.

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Instead of saying whatever he could

say that could hurt the devil,

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that could hurt the enemy, that

could bring him down, he didn't.

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He didn't.

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He literally just said four words,

"The Lord rebuke you," and that's it.

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Now, I was very curious as to see

that dialogue between Michael and the

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devil about Moses' body, and when I

was looking into it, I couldn't find

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anything in the Bible other than this,

Jude chapter 1, which is the only

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chapter 'cause it's just 25 verses,

Jude 1:9, "Yet Michael the archangel,

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in contending with the devil, when he

disputed the body of Moses, dared not

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bring against him a reviling accusation,

but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'"

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And that's the only thing I

found, and I'm like, "Why is there

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nothing else on Moses' body?"

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So to my understanding, that dialogue

is in, like, some other ancient

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document that talks about the dialogue

that Michael had with the devil at

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the time, but it's not in the Bible.

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Why?

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I have no idea.

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I didn't go that far.

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I would like to d- look into that a

little more one day, but for purposes

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of just reading the Book of Jude,

I didn't wanna veer off too much.

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However, I did go back into, Deuteronomy,

and I looked into the moment that

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Moses died, and what I found was

actually something that I skipped over.

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And in talking to David and sharing

with David what I found to be the most

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amazing revelation, he already knew.

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But again, David has many years

of reading the Word over me.

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but nonetheless, like, I just felt in

that moment when I read Deuteronomy,

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specifically chapter 34, verse five

through six, I felt so overwhelmed,

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so overwhelmed by finding something

that I feel God pointed out to me.

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And again, many people know this fact.

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I did not.

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and it felt great to go back and,

and realize this, but I also felt

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silly that when I was reading, I

skipped over something so important.

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And I'm going to read that for

you guys, Deuteronomy chapter

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34, verse five through six.

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And again, I'm sorry that we're going

back and forth so much, but I really

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find it important to share this with you.

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Because it actually has to

do with Jude, verse nine.

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So remember, Michael the archangel

was disputing over the body of Moses.

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And if you remember, Moses is God's

prophet who led the Israelites out of

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Egypt, and they were through the desert

for th- those 40 years, but Moses did

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not get to go into the promised land.

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Okay?

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So in reading Jude 1:9, I went looking

for more information on Moses, and

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I go into Deuteronomy 34:5-6, which

talks about Moses's death and his body.

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This is what I found.

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Deuteronomy 34, verse five.

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"So Moses, the servant of the Lord,

died there in the land of Moab,

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according to the word of the Lord."

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Verse six, "And He," capital H, meaning

God, "And He buried him in a valley in

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the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor,

but no one knows his grave to this day."

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Now, I obviously pointed

it out, who buried Moses?

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God buried Moses.

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And I went back even further,

and then I checked into, Abraham.

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Abraham is the father of the Israelites.

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And Abraham, according to Genesis

25:9, was buried by his sons.

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And again, after conversing with

David about this, what I learned,

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we did a little bit more research.

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We asked our pastor, and our pastor

agreed that God most likely buried

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Moses because he didn't want the

Israelites, excuse me, the Jews, the

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Israelites, at the time to, idolize Moses.

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They, they were struggling with, idolizing

things like the golden calf, for example.

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I didn't, I didn't even think of that.

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I came to understand that and realize that

when we spoke to our pastor, and David

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and I were, like, googling, different

information and, looking for stuff.

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But when I first read this, when I was

studying Jude and I was looking at the

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dialogue for Michael the archangel and

the devil about Moses's body, and I

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realized that God himself buried Moses,

I was like, "God does not owe anyone

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anything, and God went out of his way

to bury a man, to bury Moses, a man

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who stuttered, who was not perfect, who

defied God, who did the opposite sometimes

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of what he wanted, and he still had

it in his heart-" However God's heart

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is, I don't know if it's physical or

we'll, we'll one day know, not never.

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We will one day know.

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But it moved me so much because

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I mean, to me, again, the purpose

apparently, seemingly is that God

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did it because He doesn't want

people to idolize Moses once he died.

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But I don't know.

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Part of me, says that God is just such

a loving father that He was moved to

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bury Moses himself because he wasn't

gonna make it to the Promised Land

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And I don't know why that's

like making me emotional.

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God, so silly, right?

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But God is so good.

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Like

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Lately I've been getting chills

on my right arm whenever I pray.

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just a little side note here.

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and I truly feel like I'm filled

with the Spirit a lot lately,

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so thank you, Lord, for that.

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Never did I imagine I was gonna get

emotional with this talking about

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God and Moses and burying the body.

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Lord.

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But what it made me feel when I found

that little tidbit that God buried

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Moses is, to wrap all this up and

move on, is that God is so good.

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God doesn't owe us anything.

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And in that moment, He showed

me that it doesn't matter what

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you do, it really doesn't matter

what you do, how you defy God.

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If you're still obedient and you still

love God and you still do your best to

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listen, He will go the extra mile for you.

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He will still love you and get you

to the place where you have to be.

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Now, in this case, God

wanted Moses to be with Him.

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He was not going to allow him

to go to the Promised Land

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because, there were consequences.

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But at the end of the day,

God always has the best heart

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and the best interest for us.

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So it doesn't matter how we feel about a

situation, there's always a silver lining.

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And in this case, yeah, Moses didn't

make it to the Promised Land, right?

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But he was buried by the one

and only God that we serve.

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Like, what more could you ask for?

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Um, anyway, so that's

what I got from that.

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now, yes, it's true, the Israelites

were struggling with idolizing

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people and most likely, if there is

a surface level reason, I believe

407

that's, that's proper that God didn't

want the Israelites to idolize Moses,

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just to avoid any further problems.

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so then, again, the devil here in Jude 1:9

was arguing with Michael because he wants

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to know, like, what did God do with Moses?

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What a mystery.

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Like, everyone is boggled by that.

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Like me, I'm still like, "Mm, I don't

know if that's really the reason."

414

But even the devil is,

like, perplexed by it.

415

So just imagine the magnitude of

that action, and I, I feel like

416

that's why I question it so much.

417

Even the devil is confused by God

burying a man, a man like you and me.

418

So anyway, I just, I really

wanted to harp on that because it

419

just moved me so much, clearly.

420

and I found that it was so significant,

and I can't believe I skipped over it.

421

Like, shame on me for not even noticing

that when I was reading Deuteronomy

422

But again, we're all learning.

423

We are all deciphering and pulling

apart the Bible in different

424

ways, and I guess this was my

time to come to that realization.

425

But even the devil was perplexed by

it But Michael was even more wise

426

and contended even more for the

faith in this moment, and he just

427

said, "Brother, the Lord rebuke you."

428

Like, "I don't care what you have to say.

429

I don't care what questions you have.

430

The Lord rebuke you."

431

And we all could learn from that.

432

We could all do a little more of that

when we are faced with people who

433

are just going against the grain and

questioning us and all these things.

434

But anyway, to finally

move on from verse nine.

435

Verse 10, "But these speak evil

of whatever they do not know.

436

And whatever they know naturally,

like brute beasts, in these

437

things they corrupt themselves."

438

Verse 11, "Woe to them, for they have gone

in the way of Cain, and have run greedily

439

in the error of Balaam for profit, and

perished in the rebellion of Korah."

440

So if you guys remember, Cain killed

his brother Abel, at, in Genesis, very,

441

very in the beginning of the Bible.

442

I'm not gonna go into those details.

443

I've already rambled enough, but

please go read that for yourselves.

444

Jude also references Balaam, who

again, was just another person who

445

just defied God, just defying God and

just going, like, total wrong ways.

446

Okay?

447

So he's giving so many examples here.

448

He's talking about the Israelites

being saved from Egypt, from

449

those chains, from the Egyptians.

450

He's talking about the angels that

fell, that have hell assured for them.

451

He's talking about Sodom and Gomorrah,

who were disgusting human beings, and

452

their entire city was burned down.

453

Then he was talking about the devil and

Michael the Archangel, and their dispute.

454

finally he's talking about

Cain, how he killed his brother,

455

and he's talking about Balaam.

456

And he's saying these people are

ungodly, and these people are

457

going to try and steer you away.

458

So in verse 10 he says, "But these speak

evil of whatever they do not know."

459

So they s- they talk bad about

things they don't know, okay?

460

"And whatever they know naturally,

like brute beasts," so not only do

461

they talk about things that they

don't know, they also talk bad about

462

things that they do know, things

that are just common knowledge.

463

So they talk bad about everything.

464

That is what verse 10 is telling me there.

465

That's that.

466

I'm gonna move on And then

he says, "Woe to them."

467

Woe is, like, the worst thing that

you can say to a person in this time.

468

Like, rebuke you, it's kind

of like saying, keep them far.

469

For they have gone in the way

of Cain and have run greedily in

470

the error of Balaam the prophet.

471

So again, woe to those people that do all

of these things, that speak negatively,

472

that talk bad about things that they

know and things that they do not know.

473

They are corrupt and they have

gone in the way of Cain and Balaam.

474

So do not associate yourself with people

that have these kinds of attributes,

475

You can sniff those people out.

476

Like, you know who those people are.

477

Stay away from them.

478

Steer clear.

479

Verse 12: These are spots in your

love feasts, while they feast with you

480

without fear, serving only themselves.

481

So I underlined, "They feast

with you," and I put, "Beware,

482

they sit at your table."

483

Yeah, they're spots.

484

They're little spots, little specks.

485

They're making themselves very

small, but they're still among

486

you and they still sit with you.

487

So be careful, beware, be vigilant.

488

I love this next few verses because

these are such good analogies, good,

489

metaphors, whatever you wanna call them.

490

It's…

491

I'm gonna start again.

492

It says, verse 12: These are spots in your

love feasts, while they feast with you

493

without fear, serving only themselves.

494

They are clouds without water,

carried about by the winds,

495

late autumn trees without fruit.

496

So late autumn trees without

fruit, like, they're, they're dry.

497

They, they have nothing good to offer.

498

It says, twice dead,

pulled up by the roots.

499

Twice dead.

500

Okay, so if you also just to pause here

for a second, if you think of people

501

who are not saved, who don't believe

in God, don't believe in Jesus, those

502

people are gonna have two deaths.

503

this may not be common knowledge

to a person that doesn't know the

504

Lord, but not only are we going to

physically die one day, we are also

505

going to have a spiritual death.

506

So if you are walking with the

Lord, you are saved truly in your

507

heart, and you, try your hardest

to follow Him, you're saved.

508

Like, you're good.

509

You're not gonna have that spiritual

twe- s- excuse me, spiritual death.

510

We are all going to have to die physically

because we're flesh, but we're not gonna

511

have that twice dead scenario, per se.

512

Why?

513

Because we're gonna be glorified.

514

We're gonna be sent and,

reconciled with the Father.

515

Anyway, I digress.

516

so it says here, "Carried about by the

winds, late autumn trees without fruit,

517

twice dead, pulled up by the roots."

518

Verse 13, "Raging waves of the sea."

519

So Jude is continuing to give us those

analogies of what these, people that are,

520

like, coming in, creeping in quietly to,

like, deter you away from the gospel.

521

He's comparing these

people to these things.

522

Verse 13, "Raging waves of the

sea, foaming up their own shame."

523

It's very poetic and I love it, but

it's also like, dang, like that's harsh.

524

Foaming up their own shame, wandering

stars for whom is reserved the

525

blackness and darkness forever.

526

Excuse me, the blackness

of darkness forever.

527

So not only are you gonna be

in the lake of fire, like it's

528

agonizing, I could only imagine.

529

It's gonna be blackness, it's gonna

be dark, and it's gonna be forever

530

Seems very grim.

531

I don't want that.

532

I don't know who does, but anyway.

533

Verse 14, "Now Enoch, the seventh from

Adam, prophesied about these men also,

534

saying, quote, 'Behold, the Lord comes

with 10,000 of his saints,'" verse 15,

535

"'to execute judgment on all, to convict

all who are ungodly among them of all

536

their ungodly deeds which they have

committed in an ungodly way, and of all

537

the harsh things which ungodly sinners

have spoken against him,'" end quote.

538

This is Enoch, again, as Jude

is saying here, he's the seventh

539

from Adam, so this is, like,

way, way, way back in the book…

540

The book, oh my gosh.

541

Can't even speak right now.

542

In the Book of Genesis.

543

Enoch, you guys have all

heard of the Book of Enoch.

544

I haven't read it yet.

545

One day I want to.

546

As you know, it's not in the Bible.

547

There's a lot of controversy, per

se, quote, unquote, "controversy,"

548

regarding the Book of Enoch.

549

I am interested in it.

550

the little conspiracy theorist flesh

side of me always says that there's

551

a reason why it was taken out.

552

Now, if it's not in the Bible,

out of sight, out of mind.

553

I don't focus on it, so

I still have not read it.

554

However, it is mentioned in the

Bible, so at some point, at some

555

point, I do want to give it that time.

556

but right now it's not the time for me.

557

but here in verse 14, specifically,

this is what, was being read by

558

Jude from the Book of Enoch, which

is specifically in Enoch 1:9.

559

And Enoch is a ancient

Jewish apocalyptic text.

560

So that's, like, what the

internet and the media…

561

not the media, but the internet

considers it, and it's not a part of

562

the Bible, obviously, like I said.

563

So even Jude is talking about what Enoch

was prophesying about these people.

564

And, it's just…

565

It's a lot of things that you have to

consider, because again, We don't know.

566

We don't know when the time is coming

that we are going to pass away.

567

We don't know when the

Lord is going to come back.

568

But what we do know is that there are

people who are constantly, constantly

569

trying to keep us away from God.

570

And, again, me saying that, my

little, conspiracy theorist side,

571

does believe that there's an evil.

572

Obviously, we know the world is

evil, but there is an active evil,

573

for example, in government, for

example, in our schools even,

574

unfortunately, people around us always.

575

Like, pe- I, I do believe that there

are people that are jealous of one

576

another, and they stay close to you

just to know, like what you're doing.

577

I don't wanna, like veer off too much,

but I feel it is important to say,

578

because, again, our last call to action

is to stand firm, to be aware, to

579

not be caught without the oil in our

lamps, and the only way that we are

580

going to stay with that fresh oil in

our lamps is to stay ready and know.

581

Doesn't mean that we have to give

it our full undivided attention all

582

the time and constantly be on guard

looking for these situations, to be

583

digging and, bringing ourselves down.

584

We don't have to live like in a

doomsday every day per se, but we do

585

have to be aware, and we do have to

know, and we have to know the Word.

586

If we know the Word, then it doesn't

matter who is in front of us speaking

587

to us about the Lord and about the

Bible and about God, because we know

588

the Word, and we can just be like, "Yes,

you're so right," and turn around and

589

internally be like, "Wow, I'm gonna

pray for them, because they are not

590

going to God the Father, unfortunately."

591

and that's not to say that

I'm better than anyone.

592

It's not to say that you that

are listening or you that are

593

watching are better than anyone.

594

But there are people who unfortunately

are being led the wrong way.

595

So with me reading this book of Jude

to you and every episode and anything

596

that I say, I pray that you take the

time to read the Bible for yourself and

597

know what it is that God wants for you.

598

That's it.

599

All right, let's close up shop.

600

Oh, man, 25 verses, and there's

just so much, so much, you guys.

601

Anyway, verse 16: "These are

grumblers, complainers, walking

602

according to their own lusts, and

they mouth great swelling words,

603

flattering people to gain advantage."

604

You see?

605

What did I just say?

606

These are people that try and stay

with you, that try and stay in your

607

life, people that are constantly

complimenting you and saying good things.

608

But they're also people that you

have to beware of because they're

609

grumblers, they're complainers, and

they walk according to their own

610

lust, according to the things that

they want that they shouldn't have or

611

shouldn't be doing, per se And they fill

their mouths up with swelling words.

612

Again, so poetic, I love how Jude writes.

613

But beware of these people, my friends.

614

Beware.

615

Verse 17, "But," here's the contrast.

616

So keeping in mind these people that

we need to beware of, the grumblers

617

and complainers, here's a contrast.

618

Verse 17, "But you, beloved, remember

the words which were spoken before the

619

apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ."

620

So he's saying, "But you guys,

my beloved, remember the words

621

of the Lord Jesus Christ."

622

Verse 18, "How they told you that

there would be mockers in the

623

last time who would walk according

to their own ungodly lust."

624

Mockers.

625

Sometimes the people closest to you, the

people who keep them- keep themselves

626

in your lives, are the people that mock

you the most, and hardly support you.

627

It's sad.

628

But even here, in these times,

it was written, so of course

629

that's what's happening.

630

Verse 19, "These are sensual persons who

cause division, not having the Spirit."

631

And I put in my little side note, empty.

632

They are empty people.

633

Empty.

634

Their own lusts.

635

People who are constantly

sinning, and of…

636

Remember, I was, like, the biggest sinner.

637

Still sin, obviously, I'm not

perfect, just not in the same

638

ways, like, the old ways.

639

But these people who cause division and

they don't have the Spirit are empty.

640

People that live according to the

world and not the Lord, not the

641

Spirit, not the Word, are empty.

642

Empty vessels.

643

They believe in nothing.

644

Verse 20, again, another,

comparison, another contrast.

645

Verse 20, "But you, beloved," again,

but you, "building yourselves up on your

646

most holy faith, praying in the Holy

Spirit," verse 21, "keep yourselves in

647

the love of God, looking for mercy of

our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

648

Okay, if you're watching the video, you

can see that I'm doing one, two, and three

649

with my hands, and I put here, these are

Jude's instructions, one, two, and three.

650

Building, praying, looking and seeking.

651

I'm gonna read it again

so you can catch it.

652

Verse 20, "But you, beloved, building

yourselves up on your most holy

653

faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

keeping yourselves in the love of

654

God, looking for the mercy of our

Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

655

So how can we maintain our life

with God despite all of these

656

people and all of these attacks,

and all of these things going on?

657

Well, Jude gave his conclusion

here for you guys in three steps.

658

Now, this is me, what I'm taking

from this is he, he's not literally

659

saying one, two, and three.

660

Again, read for yourselves.

661

But when I read it, I was like, "Wow,

we have to continue building yourselves,

662

building ourselves in our faith."

663

He says that.

664

"But you, beloved, building yourselves

up on your most holy faith."

665

So we need to continue

building ourselves up.

666

How are we gonna build ourselves up?

667

By knowing this, knowing the Bible.

668

What is number two?

669

Praying in the Holy Spirit.

670

Guys, we say so many empty

prayers just to, like, do the

671

right thing when we wake up.

672

Thank you, God, for

waking me up another day.

673

Thank you, Lord.

674

Thank you, thank you.

675

Okay Amazing that you're praying.

676

However, praying doesn't

have to be a routine.

677

Praying should not be a routine, rather.

678

Praying should be from the heart.

679

God already knows what you're gonna say.

680

God already knows how you feel.

681

But prayer is a relationship.

682

Prayer should be you just

giving it all to Christ.

683

If you're mad about something, if

you're mad that something is not going

684

your way, man, lay it at His feet.

685

Talk to Him.

686

That is the second way that you can

actually pray and talk to God and be in

687

the Spirit, not just, "Thank you, Lord.

688

Thank you for waking me up another day."

689

I'm so guilty of that.

690

I'm so guilty of that.

691

However, when I, when I pray, when

I'm showering, when I'm in the car by

692

myself, I am always brought to tears.

693

Why?

694

Because I'm just talking.

695

I'm just talking, and it makes

you emotional, and you actually

696

connect with the Spirit.

697

It's inevitable.

698

If you do it from the heart, and

you're praying in the Spirit, you're

699

literally going to connect with God,

and that's such a beautiful thing.

700

So according to Jude, and what I am

understanding, remember, my humble

701

opinion, One, building yourselves

up on your most holy faith.

702

Two, praying in the Holy Spirit.

703

And the last thing that I

understood is th- three.

704

I can't even, I can't

even keep my numbers.

705

Three, looking for mercy of our

Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

706

Looking for His mercy, identifying how it

is that God is being good in your life.

707

Guys, you can't just ask.

708

You can't just ask and pray

and ask and ask and ask.

709

No.

710

You also have to see what is around you.

711

Like, look at my room.

712

I'm so grateful that I have a room.

713

I'm so grateful that I

have all of these things.

714

You have to continue to seek Him,

identify how He has been good to you.

715

It can't just be, "Lord, please.

716

Lord, please give me that provision.

717

Lord, please, I just want this.

718

I just want that."

719

No.

720

Seek.

721

Look for the Lord.

722

Identify what you have in your

life and what He's done for you.

723

Anyway, let's wrap up.

724

Verse 22 through verse 25.

725

22, "And on some have compassion,

making a distinction," verse 23,

726

"but others save with fear, pulling

them out of the fire, hating even

727

the garment defiled by the flesh."

728

These two, I was like, "Oh my God."

729

Verse 23, "And some have compassion."

730

So even though you wanna keep these

people far, you still need to have some

731

sort of compassion, 'cause remember,

God says, "Love your neighbor."

732

That's the hardest thing to do.

733

Even when people are, like, bringing

you down, when people are literally

734

trying to steer you away from God,

you need to have compassion with them.

735

Maybe they're going through something.

736

Maybe that's why you're in, in

their life, because they need you.

737

They need you to steer them, kind

of how Paul steered Onesimus back

738

to Philemon to do the right thing.

739

Maybe that's this kind of scenario.

740

You need to have compassion, but

making a distinction by actually

741

separating, okay, did they go too far?

742

Maybe I really am gonna, go ahead

and, like, stay away from this person.

743

And then verse 23 says, "But

others save with fear, pulling

744

them out of the fire, hating even

the garment defiled by the flesh."

745

So when I read this, I

thought of my own family.

746

I thought of the people that I love the

most, and these are the people that I

747

personally want to save with fear They're

the people that have mocked me the most,

748

they're the people that have given me

the hardest time, but they're the people

749

that I have been honest with the most,

and I wanna pull them out of the fire.

750

And while I don't say anything about

God to them anymore, unless they ask,

751

unless it comes up in a conversation,

I pray for them in the harshest way.

752

Because at the end of the day, all we

can do for someone is pray that God

753

has their hands in their life right?

754

But I pray for them.

755

I say, "Lord, break them.

756

They don't wanna listen to me.

757

They don't wanna listen to me and my

warnings and how I have changed how

758

I was sinning and was literally going

down a really dark and shady path.

759

Well, then Lord, then you gotta do it.

760

They don't wanna listen to me,

they're laughing at me, you do it.

761

Show them the hard way.

762

They don't wanna listen the good

way, show them the hard way."

763

And I really do think that

this is what 23 is explaining.

764

"But others save with fear, pull

them out of the fire, hating even

765

the garment defiled by the flesh."

766

And I hate the way that my

sisters live their life sometimes.

767

Not that they're doing,

like, anything horrible.

768

I think I'm much worse than them

or was much worse than them.

769

but just the things that they

listen to, the way that they spend

770

their time, sometimes I just…

771

I wish that they had real peace.

772

I wish that they had real peace and not

looked for peace in people and in things.

773

so that was me trying to save them

with fear, and with the word of

774

God, and with going to church.

775

And me, I'm honestly, if I can't

pull them out of the fire that way,

776

I'm gonna pray them into the fire so

that they have no other choice but

777

to ask God to pull them out himself.

778

So

779

verse 24.

780

Now to him who is able to keep you

from stumbling, him as in Jesus, Jesus

781

is able to keep you from stumbling.

782

If we seek him, he is able to.

783

If you call on him, he will

start working on your heart.

784

And to present you faultless before the

presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

785

So only Jesus, remember, no one comes

through the Father but through me.

786

And if I mess that up, I'm so sorry, Lord,

but it just came to my mind right now.

787

But no one goes to the Father

but through me, through Jesus.

788

And here it says, "And to

present you faultless."

789

Who is the person who's going

to present you faultless?

790

Jesus.

791

Why are we faultless?

792

Because of Jesus.

793

Who is going to judge us?

794

Jesus and God.

795

And the only way that we get

to the Father is through Jesus.

796

So

797

just keep that in mind.

798

Verse 25, let's wrap it up.

799

To God our Savior, who alone is

wise, be glory and majesty, dominion

800

and power, both now and forever.

801

Amen.

802

And amen to that for real.

803

Man, I know that we went way over

time, but there's just a lot.

804

There's a lot in this book.

805

It's all important.

806

It's all relevant.

807

It's all very real, and I really hope

that you guys read this for yourself.

808

I pray that this in some

way resonated with you.

809

I pray that you can share it

with whoever you feel needs it.

810

even if it's 10 seconds of what made the

most sense to you, it's, it's important.

811

It's our last call to action,

and we just don't know.

812

We don't know when it is that we're

going to be before God, before Jesus.

813

And if we have the Holy Spirit here

on Earth, and we can use it to discern

814

what is good, what is wrong, where

we have to go, where we should steer

815

clear from, then we need to, we need

to listen and we need to use it.

816

And what more important than starting

with the Bible to access that

817

spirit, So anyway, I love you guys.

818

Thank you so much for listening

to this episode of This On

819

Mind series, The Book of Jude.

820

Until next week, take care.