Something Tragic I Don't think that's an over-exaggeration of the word something tragic Happened on September 20th of this year Something that is an embarrassment Something that has caused the enemies of God to blaspheme to ridicule his church And though I am going to mention that in a minute, I want to focus this morning on a gospel truth for which each one of us is responsible for. I say we are responsible for it, but though we have this treasure in earthen vessels, we are accountable to God. And God has given to us certain gospel mandates on how we should live and how we should carry out our Christian life. And so I want to, although I'm going to mention this tragic event, I want to focus on what that means for us and what God would have us to do. So I'd like to read Jude. I'm going to read the first three verses, and then I'm going to summarize the body of that chapter, and then I'll close with reading the last few verses. So, first of all, reading verse one through verse three in the book of Jude. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. And then in verse four through verse 16, by way of summary, we understand that there are these examples of individuals and there's also these descriptions of what their actions and what they were like. He goes on to say, certain men have crept in unawares, ungodly men who have taken the grace of God and turned it into lasciviousness, they've set grace aside. He reminds the reader that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, he destroyed those that believed not. He draws a similarity with the angels that did not keep their first estate, but they left their habitation. He gives that example of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of those that would suffer judgment. He describes ungodly men who have crept in unawares. Not all of them, but some of the examples he gives. They've gone the way of Cain. They ran greedily after the error of Balaam for a reward. Recall Balaam was all focused on what he could get out of some kind of gospel work. They perished in the gainsayings of Korah. We call that uprising and rebellion and mutiny attempt. Description is very telling. They are clouds without water, carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withers without fruit, twice dead and plucked up by the roots. Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. He goes on to give some very mundane descriptions of these people. They are murmurers, complainers. And then of course, pride enters in, they walk after their own lusts and their mouth speaks Great swelling words. And then picking up at verse 17, after those examples, after the description, the damage that has been done, he reminds us that God foreknew this would happen. He says in verse 17, but beloved, remember ye the word which was spoken before the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you. that 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. And so he kind of puts a cap on the description and the examples. And then I believe he closes beginning at verse 20, finishing that exhortation from verse three, that you should earnestly contend for the faith. And he goes on to say in verse 20, but you beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. My text this morning is that phrase from verse three, that you should earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. On September 20th of this year, 2024, someone who was a minister for over 40 years, someone who was a board member and a teaching fellow at Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College, and a professor of preaching, and a dean of the doctorate program of ministry studies at Master Seminary, The first one, Ligonier Ministries, is of course R.C. Sproul, Master Seminary, John MacArthur. This individual who was a teacher at the Institute for Expository Preaching, a pastor at Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, Texas. This one who had an international and a domestic preaching and teaching ministry, authored many books. Someone who I have heard preach via sermon audio or online. I know some of you have heard him as well. This man, Steve Lawson, it was discovered that he had been having an inappropriate relationship with a woman who was not his wife, obviously. And so his church, put out a statement that said he was no longer qualified to preach and teach. And we can talk later about, was he ever qualified? Does he just now become disqualified after this has come to light through somebody else exposing this great sin? I'm suggesting that in light of contending for the faith, that unbelief begins with little seeds that are sown. I'm supposing that this man did not just wake up one day and decided to enter into an inappropriate relationship. and keep his conscience quiet for five years and continue to minister in a wide sphere of influence without something by degrees happening in his life. A little bit of leaven. little seeds of unbelief, influences of the world, some vain philosophy, some unbelief mixing with what he thought he knew, something that he was teaching and preaching about, and yet unaware perhaps that his heart was being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. And I don't think, as I mentioned, it's hyperbole to say this is tragic, This is very bad for the church. It has made some, I know, angry. It has disillusioned some, and it brings a reproach on the church. And you have to ask yourself the question, with him being involved with both Master's Seminary and Ligonier's ministry, how those two very highly esteemed, I'm going to suggest, theological bodies could miss the telltale signs for five years. But my concern today is with us. When Jude talks about earnestly contending for the faith, and realizing, as he says, it is needful for me to tell you this. I want this morning to focus on us and this other individual. We do not know if God will grant repentance. There's been no signs of it up to this point. We can point the fingers all day at others who have had these tragic falls, but we know that apart from the grace of God, there we go. But more importantly, what about, so earnestly contending for the faith. I have four segments I'd like to speak with you today about. Number one, I'd like to focus on verse three, not necessarily by way of exposition, but I want to just give you a few thoughts of what he is saying there. Secondly, I want to give you one reason why we must earnestly contend. Thirdly, we'll look at the example of Paul. And then fourthly, a couple of applications regarding this. Before we get into verse three with just a few thoughts, I would like to say, by way of overview, two things about this text. First of all, when he talks about contending for the faith. He is not principally talking about the area of apologetics. He's not talking about fighting over doctrinal faith. There is a time for that. There is a place for that. And certainly by way of application, we could look at this verse and understand that every one of us in this room should be able to give a reason for the hope that is in us. We should be able to defend the gospel and speak of the truth of the gospel. But Jude here is making all haste to write to us. He's compelled to do so. He is going to exhort us to agonize for the faith. He's going to tell us that this faith is our life. He doesn't want us to languish in lukewarmness. He doesn't want us to be sinfully slothful. He doesn't want us to be without battle scars and blood, sweat, and tears. He does not want us to be indifferent or presumptuous, but he wants us to contend, to fight for the faith so that positionally, at the end of the day, you are in Christ and practically at the end of the day, you are victorious in your own personal walk with the Savior, that having done all you can stand, that you can be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, that you can know the reality of assurance, that your conscience will not be hammering you that you are a hypocrite for either standing in a pulpit and preaching for five years while some secret thing is going on, Or when you share a verse one-on-one with somebody, or you pray, or you minister, or you serve, Jude wants the reality of faith to be a reality in our hearts so that we're not unashamed at his coming, so that we can actually work while it is day. I think sadly we can say at least to some level that as we look at the spiritual landscape of our day, there are shipwrecks, there are tarnished testimonies, there are presumptuous Christians, there are those who attend church perhaps, I'm talking about just in a large scale, who perhaps are there in the same way some people follow the Lord in his earthly ministry. Everyone's doing it. It assuages my conscience a little bit, but they don't really know why they are there. And we would be naive to go into any church on any given Sunday and just make an assumption that everyone who is sitting in the pews is contending 24 seven for the faith. that boots on the ground faith is a reality. So just by way of overview, it's not necessarily or only talking about this area of apologetics. It's talking about the individual contending for the faith to keep it alive, to keep it living, to keep it victorious in our hearts. And secondly, by way of overview, Let me say this very carefully. Let me ask you to listen to this very carefully. There seems to be a shade, there seems to be an emphasis on the once delivered. Now, as you know, I believe in the perseverance of the saints and all the nuances of that doctrine. If you claim to have faith, you will have faith. If you claim to have faith, but you don't have faith, then you never had it. If you claim to have faith, you need to contend for that faith to keep it alive. But the shading of this idea of once delivered includes the idea that it was once given, an opportunity given. And if that one opportunity was not latched onto, and taken home to the heart, there might not be a second opportunity. And he uses two examples here. In verse five, he says, I'm gonna put you into remembrance, although you already know this, but having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards, he destroyed those that believe not. There was this corporate deliverance of the people of God, Israel, But down the road, many manifested the fact that they did not believe. The second example he uses is the angels. The angels did not keep their note first, the state. They did not preserve it. They did not keep it. And so what happens to them? They are then left bound in chains until that last day. There seems to be that this shade, this, the Israelites coming out of Egypt, it was lost. It was idolatry. It was unbelief. It was murmuring all these little seeds of unbelief stacking up until the Lord had to destroy them. Yeah. So. I just wanna make you aware that that is one of the shades and what it's showing to us is the seriousness of believing and the seriousness of keeping alive this faith and not supposedly getting it once when we're born again and then we're on autopilot. Or then we are presuming and assuming on the Lord of glory to do something while we're in the corner playing tiddlywinks, not nurturing it. Those two thoughts. OK, first of all, number one, I want to just say a few things about verse three by way of just just a few thoughts. He starts out with this word, you you should earnestly contend for the faith. The you is all inclusive. It's the baby Christian. It's the aged saint who's been in the faith for 40 years. It's the one who's on the mountaintop. It's the one who's in the valley. It's the one who's at a crossroads of trying to make some decision and he needs wisdom from above. It's for the one who knows what to do and is maybe halting between two opinions. because making a decision that's gonna glorify the God and vouchsafe his faith is gonna be difficult personally. It's for the one who might be well-versed in Christian doctrine and might have a gift of teaching or a gift of apologetics or a gift of giving or a gift of hospitality, someone who appears outwardly to be a choice vessel of God. And it's for the ones like us laymen, I'll say blue collar Christians, the ones who have boots on the ground and are every day trying to strive to maintain that faith and to grow it. It's for all. You must earnestly contend for wherever you are in your growth. Second thing, I want you to notice in verse one, And then verse 24 of this chapter, in verse one, the same God who says in verse one, to them who are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called, I think we could see a Trinitarian aspect of it under the calling of the Holy Spirit. The same God who then goes on in verse 24, who says, now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, this same God, this Trinitarian God, who's able to keep you from falling, it's the same God who tells you, but you must earnestly contend for the faith. So there's a high value placed on spiritual things. There's a high value placed on your personal relationship with the Lord. And regardless of what's happening perhaps in Christendom today on a wide scale where there seems to be just this easy road in following the Lord, almost an ecumenical cancer that is flowing through the church at large. we must earnestly contend with the faith. There should be some who are very well seasoned in this duty. Battle scarves, as Paul said, Paul said, I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. War medals, spiritually speaking, men of renown, men who have learned by experience and the word what it means to really preserve and promote the faith that he has given to us. Earnestly contend, this is the word for agonizing, strive, agonize to enter in at the straight gate. Unless you've entered in through the gate already, We enter in by way of salvation, but then we progress along this path to enter into eternal life. Fight the good fight, lay hold on eternal life, Paul said. You know, the spiritual warfare, we are wrestling not against flesh and blood. It'd be hard enough if we had to fight a person on a daily basis that get old really fast. There'd be a lot of bruises, a lot of bloodshed, a lot of sore muscles. That would be hard enough, but we're fighting against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places. We're fighting where other people can't see us. the faith was once delivered. We mentioned that there seems to be the shade of that there's this one opportunity, and then that individual, if they did not preserve it and grow it, then that chance was lost. But we also have the idea that it was once given, and from God's vantage point, it's not gonna be lost. It's not gonna be forsaken. The gospel, that eternal word, is there in the world. It's in his word, and it will go out. It's once, never to be added to. Once, never to be woke up. Once, never to be canceled and replaced with something else. Once, God has spoken, and that word is eternal. And that word is steadfast. And that word, that very word that is the word of the gospel, that very word that will judge the world, that very word that's gonna usher us into eternity will last forever. This world, the grass withers, the flower faded away, but the word of our God will stand forever. This word was once delivered. And you know as well as I do, that even in our society, there are those who want to discredit it, fracture it, remove it, harm it. And the enemy of your soul would like to take this word as he did to Eve in the garden, and just mix in a few little seeds of doubt today, And he'll leave it there. And then tomorrow or next week, he'll throw in just another couple of seeds of doubt or unbelief. Or have you thought about this way to look at that verse? And then next week, a few more little seeds of doubt, unbelief, main philosophy. And there will be a problem. As I said, earnestly contend. So this word is one word in the Greek, two words in English. This word for contending, earnestly contending, it means to struggle, to agonize, to be a combatant, to fight for a prize. And then the other word is a preposition that is translated in all the different ways that a preposition would be translated. So on, over, under, above, by, next to, And so we could expand this thought and say that you must contend next to, contend by, contend under, contend above, contend over by, this constant contending. And sometimes we need to be content to be reminded and startled out of our complexity to in fact fight for the faith that God gave you one time. to light a fire under it, to take it to God and ask God to inflame it and to expand it. We can't expect to coast into heaven on beds of ease when the scripture seems to paint an entirely different picture for what the Christian life is all about. So this is verse three, you, that is all of us, must earnestly contend, not be a bystander, not become a de facto participant, but be a combatant who is fighting for the prize, running the race, must contend for this faith, this precious living grace of belief in God. Not everybody has this grace of faith. That simple exhortation should be enough to get our compliance, get a heart response. But again, as we briefly outlined, the Holy Spirit goes on to give so many pointed examples and warnings, telling us that this is not just a text, but this is a lifestyle, this is a life principle for the believer. You should earnestly contend for the faith. That's just a couple of thoughts on that verse. Secondly, one reason why we must earnestly contend for the faith. I think there are several reasons, and in this book he gives several reasons. I want to focus on just one today, and that is you must earnestly contend for the faith lest you slip into unbelief. Now, let me explain that. That sounds like circular reasoning. You must work at your faith so that you keep having the faith. And that, in fact, is what he's talking about. Because again, unbelief happens imperceptibly. It happens slowly. And the whole idea is that if you get too far down the line, five years down the line, let's say, and you have this stark realization that you have not been in the faith for five years, recovery or restoration at that point becomes a lot more difficult, not that God can't do it. You have to struggle to believe in order that you can continue to believe. Wait a minute, I'm a Calvinist. I believe in the doctrines of grace. God called me, irresistibly. Christ died for me. I will be preserved until the end. My friend, the reality of that being real in your life is that you are believing every day and you are fighting every day to believe. Is this not something that God repeats elsewhere in the scripture? Take heed, brethren, Lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Wow, he's talking to brethren. Take heed, brethren. Lest there be in any of you an evil heart, notice what he says, in departing. Departing is progressive, it's by degrees. Departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, today, while it is called Today, lest you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if what? If we hold our confidence in the faith steadfast to the end. Hebrews chapter three, he says, brethren, we have to take heed. Israel, the example of Jude, they had a knowledge of God. They witnessed miracles. They had an outward association with him. He appeared to their leaders. There was some belief. There was some little kernel of truth, some root of the matter. They followed almost by force, but they did not seem to have true spiritual knowledge and true spiritual faith. At least some of them, most of them, This is a very sobering text because it depicts the true nature of faith and how it differs from knowledge. Knowledge is easy to get, isn't it? Some of us have to study harder than others. Some of us have to write down lots of pages of notes because our memory isn't that good. We can't remember, we can't think on our feet. But knowledge, let's face it, it's not that hard to get knowledge. And some might even have knowledge and a gift of communicating that knowledge, teaching it, sharing it. They might even creep in unawares and share that knowledge in such of a forceful way that unless you as a Berean, you as a believer, you as a believer who's different than the vast majority of believers, you have done your homework every day. You've sought by way of experience. You sought God to impress upon your heart the desire and the ability and the strength to walk with him today, every day. This is a very sobering text. It's telling us we have to keep this faith alive. We have to hone it. We have to nurture it. We have to fight the good fight of faith. There's that verse, I think we all know it. Scripture says in Philippians, being confident of this very thing that he which began a good work in us shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. And we sometimes fast forward and we focus on until the day of Jesus Christ. And we overlook the part where it says he will perform it. This ongoing action, this everyday action, the fact that a race starts somewhere and it progresses, and you only get to the end if you ran the race. That other verse we always quote, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is working in you to will and to do of his good pleasure. God's working in me, that's just great. Oh, but the first part, work out your own salvation. What does that mean as a believer? How can I work in concert with God working so God is getting the glory, God is doing the work, but from a human responsibility standpoint, I'm faithful to the one who has called me. Faith is not like a clock that we wind up and we just let it run. Faith does not coast into heaven without us giving all diligence to make our calling and election sure. We only never fall if we do these things, they also said. Again, unbelief creeps in very slowly. And it may not manifest itself until you're down the road. And it becomes harder to extricate yourself from that. Sin is stronger than you are in your flesh. I know that for a fact, and so do you. And that's what the scripture talks about. We're always fleeing to Christ to flee from temptation. We flee to Christ to get our faith built up. But the proof that you are a child of God is that you are fighting the good fight of faith. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. I've used this illustration before, but I don't have to do a single thing for weeds to grow up in my front lawn. If I do nothing at all, weeds will come up, dandelions will come up, it'll die. If I want a lawn that's gonna be in the cover of Sunset Magazine, which will never happen, I have to fertilize, I have to water, I have to mow, I have to take care of. If I see a weed come up, I have to get that weed right away. Nurturing, caring, preserving, growing. He has given us something to do in this Christian life. And here Jude is telling us. earnestly contend for the faith. And so, one reason we must earnestly contend is if our faith is not being built up, it's gonna slip into unbelief. We have to have faith to continue to have faith. I hope that makes sense. Thirdly, very briefly, the example of the Apostle Paul. Paul, as far as a human being, Paul is an example of contending with the faith. In 2 Timothy chapter four, he said this, I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing. The Apostle Paul, when you set him in the biblical context, you understand he is not some superstar televangelist He's not at Barnes and Noble signing his book for his crowd of followers. He is in prison. He is in prison at Rome awaiting what is probably gonna be getting his head chopped off, decapitation. He's being kept in confinement because he's seen as an evildoer, someone who's seditious, he's a malfactor. The first time this happened, he was able to escape. but now there appears to be no hope for him to be released. And now God's apostle, not on beds of ease, not with pomp and circumstance, and yet he has a clear conscience that he has contended for the faith. And he uses three vantage points to show this. He talks about his past, the present, and the future. First of all, the present. He says, now I'm ready to be offered. Right now, in the present, he doesn't have to go back and try to fix a damaged life, an empty life for the Lord. Right now, I am ready to be offered. Paul saw his entire life as an offering to God. Paul did not look at his execution as a tragedy that shouldn't have happened, or it's unfair, or it's not right. He saw his entire life as an offering for God, so it might as well culminate in being given up as a sacrifice, a drink offering. He says, the time of my departure, my release has come. This is a very touching word because linguists tell us what this word means, this word departure. It's used to describe the unyoking of an animal who's done plowing. The day is done and now the animal is being unyoked from the cart or the plow. All the labors, all the toils are finished. It's also used to talk about releasing the bonds of a prisoner. Death, the release from the bonds of this corruptible body. It's also used to speak about loosening the ropes of a tent that a soldier may have out at the battlefield. The battle is over, in other words, the victory is won. the soldier can go home. And so he loosens the ropes of his tent. Paul had a view of death as it was just a departure. His whole life, it's as though he's been getting ready for this trip. And this whole life, he's looking forward to the departure when he can go home. And he has progressed through this Christian life to the point where he realizes, through the Spirit of God, I'm thinking, now is the time where I am going to go home. He knew that to be able to depart and be with Christ was far better. He knew what it meant to live with Christ and to die was gain. And he had this assurance that was inculcated by the Holy Spirit Inculcate means to, by repetition, by repetition, know something. And I think what was inculcated into his life was every day he lived for the Lord. Every day he believed. Every day he sought the Lord. And the Holy Spirit had so impressed upon Paul while he rose up, while he laid down, while he walked by the way, so impressed upon him this reality that he could very calmly say, my departure is here. In the path of duty, the path of faithfulness, the path of always being there, or as Pastor Joe says, just showing up, that over and over again, working in his life. In the present, he could say, I am now ready. What about the past? In verse seven, he says, I did fight the good fight. I have finished my course. I've kept the faith. Paul was able to look back on his life and realize it was not empty. It was not a tree with skimpy fruit. He was able to look back and said, God was working in me while I worked out my salvation. And if you know anything about the life of Paul, who went through tremendous amount of trials and difficulties and opposition, all the while he knowing he was an apostle of the Lord, and yet he could look back and say, it was done rightly. He's not pumping himself with with pride or self-aggrandizement. It's a simple fact. He had been contending for the faith all along. He says, I fought the good fight. Again, this athletic metaphor of struggling, battling, pain, training, self-discipline, on and on and on. He said in 1 Corinthians 9, run so that you might win. If you're running a race, be temperate in all things. Don't run uncertainly, don't box uncertainly. Bring your body into subjection so that you don't be a castaway. A lot of action words there. He did not want to be disapproved. He did not want to be disqualified. He did not want to say at the end of his life, You know what? For the past five years, I've been a hypocrite. And now I have no legacy. All of my tapes on the websites are being removed. I have disillusioned you. You must think that what I was telling you was not true. He doesn't want to say that. Again, today, I'm amazed when a sports figure or a movie star or somebody becomes a Christian and they're rushed up to the platform. I always cringe because someone is laying hands on this individual too quickly and they're being put forth as a trophy of God's grace, which I understand. We all want to see the gospel gain ascendancy in these spheres. But almost without exception, a year later, two years later, five years later, it was not a real profession. And we're back to where the church has made a laughing stock, or the assumption can be made, well, I'm just like that person, but I can be a Christian and live that way. Paul understood what it meant to run lawfully, to run so as to win. the times of self-indulgence, laziness, lukewarmness, getting distracted to run in some other race, that he could be disproved. Paul understood this biblical principle of sowing and reaping. Do not be deceived. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. He fought the good fight. He finished the course. He never dropped out. The race is a long race. He stayed on the track. If he was running slowly, at least he was running slowly. If there were obstacles or barriers, that was just something to overcome, not something to dissuade him from not running. He finished the course. God has put each one of us on, I'm gonna say a different course from the standpoint of he has plucked us out of different areas, we've had different life experiences, a different course, but do they not also merge onto one main course where we're all contending for the faith? We're all into this ship. We're all want to see the good of our brothers and sisters. Paul is saying that he did finish the course. It was not a foregone conclusion that just because he got on the course, he was gonna finish. He kept the faith. He kept the faith. He guarded the truth about Christ. He saw it as a deposit that was given to him. He's gonna tell Timothy several times, it's a deposit of truth, but you just don't walk it away in a safe deposit box and go on your merry way. It's deposited so that you could be a steward of it, a steward in your life and a steward for others. He has guarded this truth. He has guarded the faith. Deep roots of doctrinal truth. manifested a life that was in parallel or in reality what God wanted, how God wanted him to live and manifest that life. You know, it's one thing to say, God is working in me too well to do of his good pleasure. God will perform the work in all these verses. It's something else when somebody else on the outside can look at you and say, you know what? God's working in you. I see the eternal omnipotent God doing a work in your life when others can see it in reality and truth. Let me close with just a couple of applications again for Paul in his state and of course for us. He's not saying it's easy by virtue of the fact that he's saying earnestly contending. I think he's saying it's not going to be easy. It's not a walk in the park, but we must do it until we come to that measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Of course, it's an impossible, humanly speaking, impossible goal line to reach. But that standard is set forth for us. So fourthly, by way of application, How do we contend for the faith? Does Jude have any direction for us where we can be in this slot of contending? Well, he does in verse 20 and verse 21, he says four things. He's given us this preamble to contend for the faith, and then he's given us negative examples, negative descriptions, but listen to how he closes it. But you brethren, contrary to these ones I've talked about, but you brethren, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourself in the love of God, look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. He says, praying, keeping, and looking. This is what Jude tells those people that he's saying, okay, you have to earnestly contend. This is what you beloved brethren need to do. Building, finish the structure of which the foundation has already been laid. Do not keep making blueprints or renderings of what this building will look like someday when you get around to the building, Building up. Building is hard work. Building is day by day by day. Build up yourself in your most holy faith. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Faith is built up as we see by way of experience, God both validating and completing the promises that he's made to us that we act on, that we believe him for. Building that up. So on that final day, when they take all the scaffolding away, it's not an empty shelf. When they take all the scaffolding away, they see a temple of the living God. When they take all the scaffolding away, it's something of whereby God is able to say, I was the architect, I was the builder, but he was the workman, hammering, sawing, sweeping up broken pieces of concrete, putting in windows, doing the work, build up yourself. in your most holy faith. Secondly, praying. He doesn't say, say your prayers. Praying in the Holy Ghost. That's praying. Praying in the Holy Ghost. I think the idea here is not talking about petitions and supplications. And I think he's talking about simply wrestling with God. praying in the Holy Ghost, meeting with God, fellowshipping with God, communing with God, pouring out our complaints to God because we know God hears us, God sympathizes with us, God will give us the energy and the power and His Holy Spirit strength to keep on believing, keep on building ourselves up. Thirdly, keeping. Keeping yourself in the love of God. This word keeping is a word that means to be guarded and the idea of being centered. Guarding something so that it remains safe. Guarding something with the idea that, well, I've been entrusted with this thing to guard it because it's precious, it's valuable. Keep yourself in the love of God and finally, Looking, looking for the mercy of God, of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, to the end. A reliance upon God to get to the end, to bring God close. These four, building, praying, keeping, and looking. If we could master these four things in our Christian life, under the sphere of contending for the faith, then as Jude says, we will not fall. We'll be kept where we should be kept. We won't be cast away. We won't be disqualified. We won't be found out to be a hypocrite. We'll be the real deal. But brethren, may the word that Jude has for us today, may it be a reality for us, and may God the Holy Spirit remind us of the importance of it. And tomorrow when we wake up, and Tuesday and Wednesday, and next week and next month, have at least a little alarm reminder that says, okay, I have to contend for the faith today. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. And we thank you for the admonitions and the warnings, how we need them. Please, our Father, we pray that every one of us in this room, each one of us would consider this whole idea of earnestly contending for the faith. And especially as we see the times and seasons of where we find ourselves today, at this point in history, in this culture, oh, how diligent we must be to contend with the faith. Help us by thy spirit to do this for our good and for thy glory, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.