Satan Joins the Church

        In August my wife and I enjoyed a week vacation at a Christian Camp along with other preacher friends of ours and their families.  One night as it was getting late, the owner of the camp was making sure everyone was keeping the noise down.  Next to our cabin was a “so-called” Christian family.  I say that because the kids had long hair, dressed immodest and listened to “so-called” Christian rock music.  She said to them, I thought you folks were Christians.   Having experienced this attitude today, I thought about how all of us who are truly Fundamental, Independent Baptist seek to honor our dear Lord in every area of our lives.

 The Book of Jude predicts what will happen in the latter days of the Church age.  In fact, Jude seems to be writing about the very days in which we are living!  Jude’s purpose in prophesying is to encourage the Church to discern apostasy when it raises its divisive and destructive head so that it might earnestly contend for the faith. 

 It is clear that because Satan has not succeeded in destroying the Church from without through persecution, he is now at work to destroy it from within by means of apostasy in the pulpit and apathy in the pew.  Satan is Not Fighting The Church today – He is Joining It. 

 Jude is sounding the alarm for us, that in the latter day’s apostates will go the way of Cain, who perverted the mode of Worship, the way of Balaam, who perverted the motive of Worship, the way of Korah, who perverted the manner of Worship.  So we as believers of the Church of Jesus Christ cannot afford to ignore Jude’s Message.

 Jude prophesied that in the last day’s apostates would do two things.  First, they would pollute the witness of the Church.  They will do this in body by defiling the flesh, that is, by immorality.  They will do this in soul, by being insubordinate, that is, they will “reject authority.” They will do this in spirit by being irreverent, that is, they will speak evil of dignitaries.  Second, he says they will pervert the Worship of Christ in mode, motive, and manner…

APOSTATES WILL POLLUTE THE WITNESS OF THE CHURCH

 Apostates pollute the witness of the Church with every fiber of their being.  Man is made up of 3 parts – body, soul and spirit.  Those elements make up his identity.  Although he lives in a body, the real man is that which lives as long as God lives – his spirit.  Apostates pollute the Church with body, soul and spirit.
 
       In (V 8) Jude tells us that Apostates are dreamers.  They live in an unreal dream world.  They bought into the lie Satan first used in the Garden, when he said to Eve, “Ye shall be like God” (Gen 2:5).  Jude speaks of Apostates, “But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts in these things they corrupt themselves. (V 10)

 Immoral actions that would have been openly rebuked in pulpits just a generation ago are today accepted in many of those same pulpits.  Dreamers are rocking to sleep their congregations while helping them to feel comfortable in their sin.  When preachers pollute their pulpits by discounting such crucial doctrines as the Infallibility and Inerrancy of the Word of God, it is not long before their moral code goes along with it – body, soul and spirit.

APOSTATES WILL BE IMMORAL

 After rejecting truth, apostates many times have a tendency to become involved in sensual sin.  And sooner or later, most false teachers are exposed on a moral level.  We all can recall some of them that come to our mind over the past 20 years.  Apostasy and defilement of the flesh are Siamese twins; they are linked together in Scripture. Read (2Peter 2:20-21).

 The new morality we hear about is nothing more than the old immorality.  People making light of marriage vows, living in open adultery, joining homosexual clubs and bath houses are not new concepts.  Jude prophesied more than 2000 years ago that these kinds of things would signal the age of Apostasy.

Here’s a word of caution…As we seek to heed Jude’s warnings against imposters, we must be careful not to judge others too quickly, because if one falls into sin that does not mean that person is an Apostate.  Before we look down our noses at anybody else, we need to remind ourselves of (1Cor. 10:12) “Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall.”
 
APOSTATES WILL BE INSUBORDINATE

 In the well-known Great Commission passage Jesus tells us how All Authority had been given to Him both in Heaven and on Earth. (Matt 28:18)  The only authority He has is what we allow Him to have over our lives.  All Authority originates with God; whether it is the Authority of the Home, the Church, or the Government, it has its source in Him… He has chosen those Institutions to be guardians of His Authority, and to carry out His will.

 Rejecting the Authority that God has established is dangerous business indeed.  In spite of that, many folks today flat out reject God’s Authority.  Jude tells us that the apostate is Subordinate in his soul, but emotionally, by an act of the Will, he rejects God’s authority.

1.  Authority of the Home:

God instituted the authority of the Home.  Should we not be surprised that many leaders of the feminist movement do not pay heed to the teachings of the Bible on the home?  Even worse, liberal theologians who support the modern feminist movement
neglect and reject the teaching of Authority in the Home, found in (Eph 5).

2.  Authority of the Church:

The Bible is the sole Authority for rule and faith.  Should we be surprised that leaders of dying denominations and Churches do not hold to the inerrancy of Scripture? Today we see imposters in our Churches and Schools undermining the Bible – Our Infallible, Inerrant, and Authoritative rule of Faith.  They attack the Bible because it represents God’s Authority.

   3.  Authority of Government:

Apostasy in the Church has been on the rise since the turn of the century.  Since then we have seen a serious and orchestrated attempt to undo the authority of Government that our forefathers established.  It is interesting that many times the rejection of the authority of the Bible go hand in hand with a demand for a new social order.  Of course, we know that the underlying reason that Apostates reject authority is that they reject the Authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and His rule over them.  Those who have fallen away from the Faith take the precious Bible Doctrine of the priesthood of the Believer and pervert it to make it a license to believing anything they wish.

APOSTATES WILL BE IRREVERENT

 If it is true that these folks who have fallen away from the Faith are immoral in body and insubordinate in soul, it is not surprising that Apostates are also Irreverent in Spirit (V 8).  The word that Jude uses here [dignitaries] it literally means “Glorious Ones.”  The Apostate is Irreverent toward the things of God.  When Apostates seek evil of dignitaries, they do so of God’s Appointed and Anointed Leadership.

 This Spirit of cynicism and accusation comes from Satan himself.  One of the titles that the Bible gives him is “the accuser of the brethren” (Rev 12:10).  Christians fall into Satan’s trap and do his work when they “speak evil” of each other and especially of those God has placed in a position of Authority.

 Immorality, insubordination, and irreverence have their result.  As Jude puts it, Apostates “like brute beasts”, In these things they corrupt themselves. (V 10).  The spirit of apostasy pollutes the witness of the Church.  Looking around us today we wonder if the complete fulfillment of Judge’s prophecy is near.  Never before have we heard so many folks speaking evil of Dignitaries…Men who are True and Faithful to the Word of God.

APOSTATES WILL PERVERT THE WORSHIP OF CHRIST

 In this I mean by The Mode of Worship, The Motive of Worship and The Manner of Worship has been perverted.  Because of space I will only elaborate on all three in general. 

 Jude tells us Apostates go the way of Cain (Gen 4:1-7).  In today’s language, the way of Cain is always of good works.  Cain was the first Apostate.  One of the sure signs of an Apostate is his neglect of the emphasis on the vicarious death of our Lord Jesus Christ and His shed blood and atonement for our sin.  The Apostates do not preach or teach about the Blood of Christ.

 And then the Motive of Worship…What should be our Motive for Worship?  It is to meet God and Glorify Him.  Yet, Jude tells us Apostates go the way of Balaam for profit. (V 11) and then read (numbers 22-24).

 The error of Balaam was using Spiritual Motives for material gain.  And his error wasn’t in just doing what he did but things he could get away with it.  Balaam was in religion for what he could get out of it.  He started out to please God but along the way he also decided to please man and himself at the same time.  Our Lord warns us about this, read (Matt 6:24)

Now is the Manner of Worship…Paul gives us the Manner of Worship in (Phil 2:3) and then read (Eph 5:21).  Paul tells us that we are to submit to one another.  Whereas Cain ignored the Word of God and Balaam opposed the Word of God, Korah rebelled against the Word of God.  The Apostate first ignores what the Bible says.  Then he moves on to opposing it by saying that the Bible is not the Word of God, once he reaches that point it is not long before he openly rebels against God’s Holy Word.

 In our Churches are men and women who refuse to be under the authority, who like Korah, gather groups about them to oppose God’s Anointed and Appointed.  Only God knows how many Churches have split because of the Spirit of Apostasy that caused folks to perish in the rebellion of Korah.

 Jude’s look reminds us of two questions we must ask ourselves…First, what about my witness:  Is it polluted or clean?  Second, what about my Worship?  Is it perverted or is it clear?  True believers who keep silent and compromise to avoid conflict will be held accountability for not contending for the Faith.

WHEN SATAN JOINED THE CHURCH THE SPIRIT OF GOD DIED

 According to God’s Word, the danger of Apostasy is to know the Will of God and not act upon it.  We all need to learn from the accounts of these three men in Jude 11.  Fearful Judgments await those who know the Truth and reject it.
 
Pray for us as we pray for you and may God Bless your ministries is our prayer.

Love and Prayers in Christ,

Bro. Randy Davis

The Promise of His Presence

It is now September, the kids are back in school, and vacations are behind us.  Gas prices continue to climb as we all adjust to its affect on our lives.  We have all experienced unpredictable weather this summer, from fires in California, devastating storms in the Midwest and the rain and thunderstorms here in New England.

 I was praying the other day, thinking of folks that I know who were affected by these terrible storms in someway.  I was reminded of the many storms that so many Pastors and Churches are facing.  I receive so many calls from pastors who are facing storms in their ministry.  It seems you no sooner get through one storm and you’re faced with another one.  THE STORMS JUST KEEP COMING…

 So when pastors call me about storms they are going through, I remind them that the storm will surely pass.  I share with them the words of Solomon upon the completion of the House Of The Lord, seeking simply to assure them of the promise of His presence…

(1 Kings 9:1-3)  THE PROMISE OF HIS PRESENCE:

“And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord and the
King’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, That the Lord appeared to
Solomon the second time, as He had appeared unto him at Gibeon.  And the Lord said unto him,
I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hollowed this
house, which thou hast built, to put My Name there forever: and mine eyes and mine heart
shall be there perpetually.”
 
 History will affirm and all the ages attest that it is unwise, ill-advised, and inexpedient to build a House for God and not be certain that God Himself has decided to be its resident.  God’s House is His House.  If it is His House, and not our house, He alone must determine if this house is a suitable house in which He will dwell.

 Maybe you have not considered the options of God or the Preferences of God.  We say it is His House; we built it for Him to serve Him.  It is our offering and our sacrifice to Him, and then He must give us a sign and a signal that He will accept it as His sanctuary and designate it as a habitation for the Holy.  Just because we built the house does not give us the right to force it upon Him, press it upon Him, or require His residency within it.  We must give Him the Key; assign Him both deed and title.  We must divest ourselves of any options of ownership, abandon any claims we may think that we have, and let Him decide for Himself if indeed this House will be His House.  I am simply convinced today that it is unwise, ill-advised and inexpedient to build a House for God and not be certain that God has decided to be its resident.

A Church Is Not A Church If God Is Not There…

Men will pray, but there is no power if He is not here.
Gold-gilded organs may play, but there will be no sweetness in the notes if He is not here.
Robed choirs may sing, but the music will not saturate the soul, if He is not here.
Tithes and offerings may abound, but “the windows of Heaven” will not open up if He is not here.
Preachers may proclaim the Word, but souls will not be saved, sinners will not be converted, the lost will not be found, the blind will not see, the deaf will not hear, and the sick will not be healed if He is not here.
The Church is only the Church where the insecure and the uncertain are able to find,
in this place, a blessed assurance and a foretaste of Heaven. 
But I assure you that the Church is not the Church if He is not here.
The Presence Of God is so critical, important and crucial to the existence of the Church. 
And the Presence Of God is so vital and necessary to the power and permanence of the Church.

  If you have a moment, I want to turn back the pages of History…Now the record says that when Solomon had finished building the House of the Lord, the Lord appeared unto Solomon a second time.  When God has a work for you to do, He not only appears one time, but a second time.  If I might offer some advice, I wouldn’t move out to build a House for the Lord in the first place if the Lord has not revealed it to you.  I may as will be honest with you,  if the Lord doesn’t reveal Himself the first time, He will not be back for a second time.  When the Lord lays His hands on you, the Lord reveals His work for you: 

The first time He assigns you, but the second time He confirms you
The first time He gives you sight, but the second time He gives you insight
The first time He reveals His plan, but the second time He reveals His purpose

 And so, when He appeared to Solomon the second time, God said several things to him which had to do with The Promise Of His Presence.  At the outset God said, “Solomon I have heard your prayer and your supplication.”  I don’t care what you say, whenever God’s house is built, somebody has been praying.  You can’t build His House unless somebody knows the worth of prayer. 

 But that’s not all that God said, not only has He heard our prayer, but the revealed Word says, “I have hallowed this House which thou hast built.”  Now my dear brothers the Word tells us that there is only so much that we can do.  If He’s going to live in it, if it’s going to be His House, we can build it, but God has to bless it.

We can build it, but God has to put His benediction on it.
We can design it, but God has to dedicate it.
We can structure it, but God has to sanctify it.
We can plan it, but God has to purify it.
THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH WE CAN DO…
The brick mason put it together with mortar, but God put it together with Mercy.
The quarry provided the stones, but God is the Chief-Cornerstone.
The Contractor worked by blueprints, but God has a divine design. 
The structure is welded steel, but the superstructure is the Plan of Salvation.
The draftsmen said build it on the rock foundation, but the great Architect of the
Universe said, Build it On The Word.

I can tell you that we have the Promise of His Presence.  It’s not a conditional Promise and it’s not a provisional Promise.  I’ve put My Name there. 

He will be here…If we stay on the Word and under the Cross, He will be here.
Through the storm and through the rain, He will be here.
In the good times and in the bad, He will be here.
When the hosts of hell assail, He will be here.
When the winds blow and beat upon the House, He will be here.
When the death angel comes and bear some home, He will be here.
When we walk though the valley and the shadow of death, He will be here.
When high mountains get in our way, He will be here.
When deep valleys make us stumble and fall, He will be here.
When men won’t do right, He will be here.
When the Heavens weep, the seas and rivers fill, He will be here.
“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain, that build:
except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

 Well now my brothers as I come to a close I need to tell you that anything that belongs to you, if it’s really and truly yours, you put your name on it.  He also told Solomon not to worry because I will come because I put My Name on it.  You can hang up a sign and call it what you want…but I have put My Name there…THE PROMISE OF HIS PRESENCE…Let all of us make sure that we seek God in prayer, build His House on His Word and that He has put His Name there…

 We love you and appreciate your ministries so much.  Remember when you are in a storm that Jesus said, “Peace Be Still” just as He calmed the sea He will also calm not only the storm you’re in, but He will also calm you as you face the storm.