Jude 1:4 (KJV) Hidden Dangers in the Church

Jude 1:4 (KJV) 

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Certain men.
I expect that nearly every solid church has them. These people get into the church, and everyone is unaware of their true nature. The passage speaks of them as deniers of the triune nature of God, but they also turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. Not knowing the true God, they pervert truths about God, the church, and Christian living.

I once preached a series through Jude. We had some special events going on at church the day I came to this text. I found it interesting that we had visitors from another church that morning. I did not know it until the afternoon, when their pastor arrived at the event, but these visitors were “certain men” in his church. God superintended that they were there to receive this warning from His Word.

But unbeknownst to me at the time, we had at least one “certain man” in our own church present to receive it as well. It was yet a couple of years before we would discover his true nature.

I have a friend in the ministry who planted a church more than thirty years ago here in the Pacific Northwest. At about the twenty-year mark, one of the men of the church informed him he would no longer be attending. This man—a founding member of the church and someone the pastor would have called a best friend—told him, “I don’t believe what you’re preaching. I’ve never believed what you’re preaching. And I won’t pretend I do believe it any longer.”

Certain men.
They are the reason we must never let down our standards, never quit preaching sound doctrine, and never stop earnestly contending for the faith.

#CertainMen #ContendForTheFaith #StandForTruth #GuardTheChurch #SoundDoctrine

Hidden Dangers in the Church: Certain Men Among the Sheep

False teachers don’t announce themselves—they creep in quietly, just as Jude 1:4 warns. They twist God’s truth, weaken the church, and lead others astray. That’s why we must remain alert, guard the flock, and contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.

Have you ever seen a “certain man” or false teacher exposed in a church? How was it handled? Share your experience in the comments so others can learn to stand strong.

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To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6800 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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Jude 1:4 (KJV) Hidden Dangers in the Church

Jude 1:22 (KJV) Making a Difference

Jude 1:22 (KJV)

And of some have compassion, making a difference:

 

Things are certainly different than they were 40 years ago when I began in the ministry.

 

For one, it was very common back then for young men, called of God, to plant new churches. A significant number of my preacher friends, me included, did just that. For another, many of those churches not only survived but thrived.[1] Almost all those friends have now passed away or, at the very least, retired from full-time pastoring. There are far fewer church planters as there were then, and of those who are planting churches, they do not seem to be as successful at it.[2]

 

One of those churches planted back then adopted this passage as their motto: “Making a difference.”

 

Of some – It is a sad reality that we can never reach all. Our numbers are limited. Our resources are limited. Our time is limited. And some simply refuse to be reached.

 

Having compassion – It’s why we do what we do. The call of God to ministry is a call of compassion. Love for God leads to love for others. The mercy extended to us in saving us, so undeserved, creates a deep sense of debt to God and to others. We feel compelled to share this faith with them.

 

Making a difference – And what a difference it makes! I fear that, as time goes by, we focus so much on how much of the old man still exists in us that we forget how different the new man is.

 

None of us is perfect until we get to heaven—that’s eternal. But the gospel of Jesus makes a difference right now as well. It’s not perfect; it must grow and mature. There are setbacks along the way, but the compassion of Christ truly makes a difference.

 

#CompassionInMinistry #MakingADifference #GospelTruth #LoveOfGod #FaithfulService

Making a Difference: A Legacy of Compassion in Ministry

 

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[1] I once observed that of those who attempted to plant churches in the 1980’s and 1990’s in the Pacific Northwest, all of them who stuck with it ten years or more had established self-sustaining churches with their own buildings.

[2] I don’t mean this to be a slight on them but a commentary on the culture shift in those 40 years.

• How can you make a difference in someone’s life today?
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To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6400 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Jude 1:22 (KJV) Making a Difference

Jude 1:18 (KJV) Trusting Through Chaos

Jude 1:18 (KJV)

How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

“They told you before…”

As many years as I have been a believer, and as many times as I have read the Bible, I still get shocked at the downward direction our world is taking.

I cannot say that I like seeing what is taking place in the social world.
The Bible tells us that evil men will wax worse and worse. We’ve been warned. They told us before that men would become implacable, and without natural affection. The violence, riotousness and rebellious spirit witnessed in our world today were all foretold.

I cannot say that I like what I see taking place in the civil world
Human governments, though an institution of God, have always represented an imperfect response to the pervasive problem of human sin. Perfection in governance will only be realized when the King of kings, Jesus Christ, governs the nations. The Scriptures, ever prescient, warned us that governments, designed to curb human transgressions, would at times overstep their boundaries. Wars and rumors of wars would become the backdrop of a fallen world.

I am most disturbed by what I see taking place in the spiritual world
They told us even this would happen. The corruption that has taken place in the world of churches is heart sickening.

The Scriptures told us beforehand that these trials would come. Let not your faith waver in the face of adversity. Trust the Lord, lean on His strength, and stand unwavering for Him through the storm.

#PropheticInsights #EnduringFaith #DivineFulfillment #NavigatingTheStorm #TrustInTheUnwavering #eschatology #hamartiology
Trusting Through Chaos: Standing Firm in a World in Turmoil

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6200 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Jude 1:18 (KJV) Trusting Through Chaos

Jude 1:13 (KJV) Wandering Stars

 

Jude 1:13 (KJV)

Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

The passage is, of course, contending with those “certain men crept in unawares.” The remarks the Word of God pronounces against them are scathing. No doubt, this speaks of individuals who work their way into churches and cause great harm.

I would like to explore a secondary application. Perhaps even worse than those individuals who creep into churches are those attitudes and characteristics that, like them, can creep into us unawares.

• A characteristic of rebellion
• A characteristic of greed
• A characteristic of pride

And the one I wish to focus on

• A characteristic of wandering

Everyone knows that stars have a fixed path. Creationists and evolutionists may disagree on the cause of this path, but, to my knowledge, even the evolutionist agrees that the stars move at a fixed rate and on a fixed path. It’s why the old sailors could guide their ships by them. It’s how astronomers chart and watch them.

Occasionally, a star will get out of its path. Technically I know it’s not a true star, but it is a heavenly object. Some of them are large enough and come close enough to cause concern to those who gaze into the sky. These wandering stars threaten to collide and cause great harm and death.

God has a place for you and me. He also has a course for our lives. When we wander out of place and set for ourselves a course not intended by the Lord, we threaten great harm and loss in the work of the Lord.

Few of those wandering stars hit our planet. Most of them are only empty threats. Things like gravitational forces prevent them from hitting our home. A few make it into the atmosphere, where they burn up. Only small bits of them have ever made it to the earth. They’ve not been anywhere near as damaging as they appear. I think the same is true of those wandering stars of our nature.

Still, it is wise to identify them and ask the Lord to contain and correct them in us.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

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If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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Jude 1:13 (KJV) Wandering Stars

Jude 1:14-15 (KJV) Soldiers, Not Salesmen

Jude 1:14-15 (KJV)
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

I heard from a preacher friend[1] last evening, a message on the visions of Daniel. His message concluded with an application for Christians today. He said we are called to be “soldiers, not salesmen.” Our responsibility is to be instruments of the Spirit of God in two realms:

In the realm of the church
We would serve as, the Spirit does, to bring comfort, to come alongside the grieving. To bring illumination, to teach and preach the Word of God. To preach salvation, and to see the lost come to know our Saviour.

In the realm of the world
Our work, as instruments filled with the Spirit of God, is very specific, 

John 16:8 (KJV)
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

As soldiers then, according to my friend, we are responsible to declare the ungodliness of the world. 

That’s certainly what Jude did. 

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[1]Dr. Jerry Scheidbach in a prophecy conference in Vancouver, WA.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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Jude 1:14-15 (KJV) Soldiers, Not Salesmen

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Jude 1:17-19 (KJV) The Last Days

Jude 1:17-19 (KJV)
But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

Notice the characteristics the Apostles prediction of the lasts days:

Mockers
Deriders, scoffers. It is interesting that one definition is false teachers. Those who mock use peer pressure to teach others to be like them. 

Walking after own lusts
Doing what is right in their own eyes. Having no submission to authority, rule or tradition. 

Separate themselves 
They are individualistic. They reject community. 

Sensual 
Given over to gross passions. The definition include sensitive. They are dominated by their feelings and rebel against rebuke and instruction. 

Having not the Spirit 
The result of such characteristics or rather the cause. 

Our problem is not the corrupt nature. Our problem is that we reject the Work of God in us so the nature, already corrupt, is left to itself. The answer is not to call people to stop all the former. The answer is to call them to faith in Christ and surrender to the Spirit. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

Jude 1:17-19 (KJV) The Last Days

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Jude 1:12 (KJV)
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

This is just about as scathing a passage of Scripture as we will find anywhere in the Bible. Never let it be said that the Bible is a soft book with a tender message and without judgment.

In the midst of this terrible description of those who have crept into churches unaware is this phrase, “twice dead.”

They are dead in trespasses and sinsHaving the burden of the sin nature and the record of willful acts of transgression, they are dead in their spirit and have no fellowship with God or his people.

The are as good as dead eternallyI am glad that so long as there is breath there is opportunity to be saved. Short of that, these await an eternity of suffering.

The Bible is not a mushy, wishy-washy book. But it is a book of hope. If any will but hear the warning they can accept the solution in Christ.

Better far to be born again than twice dead.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.

For this and more than 4100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Jude 1:12 (KJV) Born Again or Twice Dead?

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at http://www.dubli.com/M04VB. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.