In the light of God's Word, is our decision today going to be one in the tradition of men or is it in an expectation of learning about what was gained for us at the Cross? Will we sincerely go by the Word of God and remind ourselves of the day at the Cross, the day at Calvary when everything in the afternoon hour became dark?
1. God’s wrath in history recorded: the
Flood Genesis 7
2. Destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrha: Genesis 19
3. Punishment of Korah, Dathan and Abiram seen in Numbers 16:32
4. Korah:led rebellion against Moses
and Aaron/supernaturally destroyed: Numbers 16:1-35; Dathan: joined Korah;
swallowed by earth seen in Psalm 106:17/Abiram conspired against Moses Numbers
16:1-50
5. God has not left men without a
revelation of HIMSELF! Creation demanded the Creator and Design demanded the
Designer.
6. Those who reject Him become what is
noted in Romans 1:22, they become insufferably conceited and abysmally ignorant
at the same time. Romans 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and
changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible
man----and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
7. We have folks dressing up as birds,
ducks and geese in Portland. The rest you hear about ride bikes with no
clothes. Yikes!
John 3 :19-21 NKJV 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the
world and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to
the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 but he Who does the truth comes
to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in
God.
1. Expose the unfruitful works of
darkness: Ephesians 5:8-14 NKJV 8 for you were once darkness, but now you are
light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and
truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12
For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in
secret. 13 but all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for
whatever makes manifest is light. 14 therefore He says: ‘Awake you who sleep,
arise from the dead, & Christ
will give you light.”
2. Works of darkness: this is the
unfruitful works, they belong to the world of dim lights, thick smoke, drawn
drapes and locked doors to secret rooms! Expose the darkness by a life of
holiness and second by words of correction spoken under the direction of the
Holy Spirit.
3. People today want to keep their
doing their "things" that is unholy in that of darkness. They want to swindle millions out of money, health
care, food, and life!
As a
believer: does our life preach a sermon, does our life expose any surrounding
darkness, for it should extend an invitation to all unbelievers to come……come and hear HIM!
John
1:1-5 NKJV In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was
made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
1. Darkness does not comprehend: Matthew 6 22-23 NKJV The lamp of the body is the
eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness, how great is
that darkness! Is our eye healthy, a
generous person or is our eye stingy, that of an Ebenezer Scrooge?
2. Darkness in wicked males or wicked females: Proverbs 2:11-13 NKJV Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, 12 to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; ( ever tried to watch a funeral on a god channel and found you could not hear them speak?)
3. God
gives wisdom through His words, and as we are storing them up, it stores us up
for success
4. Success is a competence: Proverbs
8:14 NKJV Counsel
is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding. I have strength.
5. The Holy Spirit and the Son of God
mediate wisdom’s qualities to you and to me who choose to walk with God daily!
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of
wisdom & understanding, the Spirit of counsel & might, the Spirit of
knowledge & of the fear of the LORD. 1 Cor. 1:30 But of Him you are in
Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God----& righteousness & sanctification &
redemption ---
Without
Him: Nothing was Made…Colossians 1:15-18 NKJV 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in
heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions
or principalities (rulers) or powers
(authorities). All things were
created through Him and for Him 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all
things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the
preeminence.
1. The visible Jesus represented the
invisible God
2. Jesus is Supreme…His supremacy is
over all creation/ He sustains it!
Heb.
1:1-4 NKJV God, who at various times & in various ways spoke in time past
to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of
all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of
His glory & the express image of His person, & upholding all things by
the word of His power, when He had by Himself purge our sins, sat down at
the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the
angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Sin is
darkness. It separates man from the light of God. But men love darkness. We saw
this in the angels who left their proper domain, and have now a place in chains
under darkness for the judgment day.
Jude 6-9 ……….6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
Jude is attacking false prophets, and thus men and demons are interwoven in the context. He indicts these false prophets for three sins:
1. Lust: They defile the flesh, allowing a feeling to take them over the edge into sin.
2. Rebellion: They flout authority in general, but primarily that of Christ. It is hidden in the Greek, but the word authority is really "lordship." It normally refers to Christ and His lordship over us.
This third sin is interesting because he is saying that it is not that these false prophets will not talk about Satan, but their speech is gratuitous, despising, or denigrating of angelic powers. Their preaching suggests that these demons are not something Christians need to be concerned about. They side-step the issue.
Why would they do that? Because a false spirit is leading them, so they downgrade the existence and powers of demons through their preaching. This is clearly seen in Protestant Christianity, especially the mainline denominations have gone to the point that they almost universally agree that Satan, the Devil and his demons do not really exist. It shows how successful the demons have been in their deceptions.
On the other hand, there are evangelical or Pentecostal groups who talk about demons and Satan in a flippant, dismissive way: "Oh, we're going to put down the Devil tonight!" They say such things in their tent shows as part of their evangelistic campaigns. But what they are doing in reality is that they are putting Satan into a position where they seem to have power over him. BUT, they are so deceived.
The truth in regard to Satan is somewhere in between. The true church of God will have that truth, and they will understand that, yes, Satan is, he is powerful, but because of God, they do have power over him in that they can reject him and his deceptions. ( Jesus saw him fall from heaven.) Jude is giving us signs to look for in the preaching of false ministers. They will denigrate Satan and his demons, there will be indications of lusts, and they will flout the authority of Jesus Christ.
Sin of
darkness is rampant today as it was in the day of Jude.
Weakened without Christ Jesus: Ephesians
2:11-13 NKJV 11 Therefore remember that
you, once Gentiles in the flesh---who are called the Un-circumcision by what is
called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands---12 that at that time you
were without Christ, being aliens from the common-wealth of Israel and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the
world.
1. We
were estranged from our Creator our Father
2. Were
without a Savior, living in futility and hopelessness
Believing Power Demonstrates Strength: Ephesians 1:18-19 Amplified Bible 18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light; so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), 19 And [ so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength.
1. Strength
of God is in us who believe.
2. That
strength is demonstrated through us when our eyes for seeing is flooded with
His light.
3. That
is our hearts must be filled with His thoughts, His ways and plan.
Ability and Freedom: Galatians 5:5-9 Amplified Bible 5 For we, [not relying on the Law but] through the [Holy] Spirit’s [help], by faith anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for which our righteousness and right standing with God [our conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action, causes us to hope. 6 For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor un-circumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love. 7 You are running your race nobly. Who has interfered in (hindered and stopped you from ) heeding and following the Truth? 8 This [evil] persuasion is not from Him Who called you [Who invited you to freedom in Christ]. 9 A little leaven ( a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers) leavens the whole lump [it perverts the whole conception of faith or misleads the whole church].
1. Faith
perverted is evil persuasion
2. It
is not of God for God is of truth, energized and expressed through love
3. By
the Holy Spirit, we are to anticipate and wait for the blessing when conforming
to God’s will in our thoughts, our actions that results with hope in our heart
2 Thessalonians 3:5-6 Amplified Bible 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into [realizing and showing] the love of God and into the steadfastness and patience of Christ and in waiting for His return. 6 Now we charge you, brethren, in the name of and on the authority of the our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) that you withdraw and keep away from every brother (fellow believer) who is slack in the performance of duty and is disorderly, living as a shirker and not walking in accord with the traditions and instructions that you have received from us.
2 Corinthians 4: 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:17-19 For He received from God the Father honor & glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns & the morning star rises in your hearts.
Darkness is confusion, error, and everything false. It has
nothing to do with light. It is like those people under government leadership
finding money being looted under namely anything to feed hungry folks, to help
in disease and sickness and getting soda pop and cake! But what we need is
found in Jesus. Procrastinate and it is too late then to receive Him!
Jesus brought light to reveal error when darkness had
appeared through sin! The word confirmed
for salvation, healing & deliverance…to live for God by faith in obedience
to Him: John 14:6 NKJV 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth & the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. It is the walk of faith in Him!
Having Jesus, is sinning no more! And no more darkness appears!
The angels who sinned are not pardoned of their sins. They are awaiting judgment. A person should find Jesus acceptable as His death that shed His blood washed away our sin! Terrible is coming, but for who? One gentleman, ( and I use this loosely) but his hope is to break those of the Republican party and break their spirit as well.) Sounds like ones hope is in violence! Jesus did not come for a party of people, He came to set men free from sin! Are we admitting that sin, repenting and turning to show true light to our neighbors? Terrible is coming, ready or not!
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