Verse by verse teaching - Lesson 25

All right. All right. Hello, everybody. Hello, y'all to what a blessing it is to see everybody. Don't run tired of getting ready. And we should probably buy me. We told everybody that we know. That's fine. Like I said, if one person shows up, we're gonna have church. You know, God. God. So we're last week. We left off in the Book of Jude in verse eight, where Jude says, I'll let y'all get there. The Book of Jude. Y'all should have you marked. Jude says in verse eight, he says, likewise. Also, these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion and speak evil of dignities. I it's just such a blessing when I leave that to know that people are reading their Bibles and that's a blessing to me. That is just exciting to me. And I'm excited that y'all are excited. They was asking me questions about this. So we're gonna talk about the word defile because we need we need to know what this means. So the word defile used here. It comes from the Greek word. Me I know me I know. It is spelled M I a I N O. It means to solely for tank. And I know everybody knows what that means. So that's one thing about God's word. When you come across the definition, sometimes it will tell you what it means. And you're going, well, what does that word mean? So we have to continually be looking up the definitions of words sometimes to figure out what a certain word means. So the word defile means to sully or taint. Now the word sully, the word sully means to soil, to spot, to tarnish. The word taint has many definitions. But the one I want to share with you is to exercise a contaminating influence over, to pervert as tainted by vile associations. Now remember, Jude is writing to his beloved brethren about these ungodly men. He's telling them to get them gone. The word, the word vile means morally based or impure. Y'all come on in. Now we were talking about the word defile. He says, like when verse eight of Jude, he says likewise also these filthy dreamers defiled the flesh. So we're looking up, we're talking about the definition of the word defile for you to catch up a little bit there. Now the word defile, we've spoken on the word defile and it means to sully or taint. So we are, the word sully means to soil, to spot, or to tarnish. The word taint has many definitions, but the one I want to share with you is to exercise a contaminating influence over, to pervert as tainted by vile associations. And I said, remember now that Jude is talking, he was writing to the beloved brethren and he's talking to them about these ungodly men that have crept into their fellowship there. The word vile, it means morally based or impure, sinful, depraved by sin, wicked, odious as a vile sinner. The word depraved means to make bad or worse. Now who we hang around and the way they live their lives and the things they say and do will rub off on us. And that is very important folks. Now likewise, if we're living a bad life, if we're living ungodly, the people that we that hang around with us, we can rub all that off on them too. So the people that run around together, you all heard that saying birds of a feather flock together. We tend to rub off on each other. Young people need to learn this fact as soon as possible because it can save you so much grief and I wish I hadn't done that. There's so much in my past I wish I hadn't done if I wouldn't have been hanging with the wrong people. I know this for a fact and I'm sure that some of you do too. When I was a young man, I chose to run with a very sinful crowd. Now I want you to notice that I use the words I chose to. Nobody forced me to hang around with the people I hung around and I don't like to hear people say, well, they just fell into the wrong crowd. There is no falling into the wrong crowd, folks. You are either following or you're not following. I chose to follow the people that I followed and I suffered the consequences for my actions, some of which I still have to carry to this day. But I thank God that He brought me out of all that and has set me on a sure foundation. Psalms 40 verse 2 says, He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. I did not bring my own self out. God brought me out. Why? Because I chose to quit hanging with those people. And I chose to follow God. My goings are not following the people I used to. My goings now are established by the Lord and I want to follow Him. The song that came to my mind, the chorus says, Where He leads me I will follow. Where He leads me I will follow. Where He leads me I will follow. I will go with Him, with Him all the way. And that's what I want to do. I want to follow God, folks. I don't want to follow that crowd I used to follow. That crowd I used to follow didn't do nothing but get me in trouble. Two different directions. You can either follow ungodly people or you can follow godly people. You can't follow both. Jude says these filthy dreamers defile the flesh. Without our flesh, you would be able to see our muscles and tendons and veins. And I'm not sure what else would be seen. I'm not a specialist in that area of expertise. But our flesh is what covers our bodies. What these ungodly men had imagined was defiling the flesh. Remember we talked about the dreams. We left off on the word dreamers last week. And that means to dream. The word dreamers used here comes from the Greek word inuption. My Greek pronunciation is with my backwoods, texas, accent is not as plain as I wish it was. It is spelled E-N-U-P-N-I-O-N and it means something seen in sleep, vision in a dream. Now last week we looked all that up and when we looked up the word dream in our dictionary, we found what dreams have in common is imagination. It's in our imaginations folks. Our imaginations can definitely harm us and others if we were to act upon everything we see in our dreams. Now I'm sure some of y'all have dreams. I'm sure you're used to anyway. I have a dream every now and then. Don't dream as much as I used to. Some of the things I dreamed in my dreams, if I was to act upon them silly things, wow! That's what these filthy dreamers were doing. They were acting upon their dreams. Imaginations can definitely harm us and others if we were to act upon everything we see in our dreams. So two different directions. What these ungodly men had imagined was defiling the flesh and they were sharing their thoughts with the brethren of Jude and Jude is warning us. He is telling us through the inspiration of God that this is wrong and I'm telling you that we need more Jews to stand up in this world today and warn others about all the filthy dreamers pushing their ungodly imaginations upon people today. If you turn on the TV, that's all you see. Dreamers, ungodliness, terrible stuff. Somewhere along the line, Christians have just sat down and let ungodliness run rampant. The Bible says resist the devil and he will flee, but Christians have just sat back and let him do his will. And if you take a look around you, you can see him in just about everything nowadays and it's getting worse. Be a Jew, folks. Warn others about ungodly people who defile the flesh. The people you warn might not change, but if you know Christ is your Savior, when you are before him, what a joy it will be to hear him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." If we look back at verse 7, now we were talking about this a while ago, if we look back at verse 7, we can see the comparison here between the people who defile the flesh and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and their surrounding cities. Let's read verse 7 of Jude. Remember here in verse 8, he says, "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh." Now if we compare that to verse 7, he says, "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication," y'all was wondering what defile the flesh is, "giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, defiling the flesh." It's being compared to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities. "They were giving themselves over to fornication, defiling the flesh." They were going after strange flesh, defiling the flesh, and they are set forth for our example. I believe that God's whole word is set forth for us to read and to learn from, to take heed from. It's set forth to us to show us Jesus Christ and the way that we can be saved through all this, the way we can be forgiven for our sins. It's all right here in God's word. This is the most best book ever written right here. Wow, it's just amazing to me. Now let's look at 2 Peter chapter 7, and that's where I marked in your Bible, John, that yellow piece of paper, or orange, I'm sorry, 2 Peter, 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 7. John's already, I mean Thomas has done, jumped over it to us. All right, you got it there John? 2 Peter chapter 2. I got you marked there with that little orange piece of paper. I can't do that. There we go. 2 Peter chapter 2, and we're going to start at verse 7. You know what, let's go ahead and just start at verse 1. Let's look at 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 1, we'll just start there. "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you." These ungodly men that had settled in amongst a brethren of Jude were false teachers. Peter is warning of false teachers as well. He says, "There shall be false teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." Folks, I want to tell you, each and every one of us here had been bought with a price. That's true. Everyone has been bought with a price. The choice you have to make is to believe it. Jesus Christ paid the sins for each and every person here. Jesus Christ shed His blood for each and every person in this whole world. He has paid the price to cover your sins. He has redeemed you back from the bondage of sin. But you have to believe it. You have to put your faith in Christ. These people even denying the Lord that bought them, and what happens when they deny the Lord? They bring upon themselves swift destruction. He goes on in verse 2, "And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you, whose judgment now a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned," and remember, I can't remember what verse that was in Jude, but he talks about verse 6, "and the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved an everlasting change under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Second Peter here is talking about that. "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah," that's who we just talked about, "and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensemble unto those that after should live ungodly." Folks, if you are living ungodly, God's Word is warning you. He is telling you, look at Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities. That is an example to you if you are living ungodly. If you are living godly, that's an example to you not to live ungodly. That is an example. He says in verse 7, "and delivered just Lot." Lot was a righteous man, the Bible says. "Vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked, Lot was a righteous man, living within a worldly bunch of people." This is a good example. If you know Christ as your Savior, you are still here in this world, living amongst worldly people. "For that righteous man dwelling among them," that's Lot, "in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." Lot had to put up with all this, as we do. Some people I work with, they like to use a lot of profane language. I've tried to escape all that. I don't want to hear all that mess. I don't want to hear about the conversations they had, talking about the parties they went to, what all they did here and there. I don't care about hearing about all that. Back in the day when I was running with the ungodly crew, all that was things to hear. I don't want to hear that no more. I don't want to hear that stuff no more. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations." I'm so glad of that. "And to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government." Now that's going to be the next thing we'll talk about, I believe, in Jesus. "After they defile the flesh, the filthy green with it, they despise dominion and speak evil of dignities. And to reserve the unjust today. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government. Presumptuous are they self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels which are greater in power and might bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these as natural, brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed speak evil of the things that they understand not. And shall utterly perish in their own corruption. And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes." Now remember one of the definitions we had more ago. See, the word defile. Remember it meant to sully or taint and the word sully means to soil, to spot. So these people are spots. They are defiling the flesh. Spots they are and blemishes sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you. And that's what these ungodly men that Jude is warning them about is doing. They are having breaking bread with them. They're hanging out with them. And God doesn't want us to be hanging out with ungodly people. Why? Because the ungodly things that ungodly people do will eventually rub off on godly people. And if you don't believe me, go back and read the Old Testament where the beloved children of Israel did not do as God told them to do. When he told them to get rid of the high bites and the high types and all the other ones. And he told them to get them out of the land flowing with milk and honey that he brings them into. They failed to do what God said. So when they got there, they didn't get rid of all these people that were worshipping false gods. And guess what happened? The children of Israel eventually turned from their savior. And they started worshipping false gods. And they started turning their back on the true God. He says having eyes full of adultery. In verse 14, and that cannot cease from sin beguiling unstable souls and heart. They have exercised with covetous practices, cursed children, which have forsaken the right way and are gone astray. Following the way of Balaam, the son of Mosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. Verse 16, but was rebuked for his iniquity. The dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet. And that's a whole nother study right there. These are wells without water. Folks, when you're thirsty and you go to a well, or let's put it this way. When I'm thirsty and I get my water bucket and I get me a drink, it's got water in it. Oh, that's good. That's good. That's refreshing. It helps my throat. It's what I will seek. But when you have somebody come in here, or you have these people, these ungodly people that Jude is talking about, who are spreading false heresies, they're teaching ungodliness. And what you need is godliness. You need the truth. It's just like going to get me a vial to come up here and get me a drink of water with no water in it. I turned it up. There wasn't nothing there. I'd be disappointed. That's the way people are when they're seeking to learn God's word. And you have somebody teaching them totally opposite, totally wrong. You have preachers at a church who are throwing pizza parties and having bounce houses and slipping slides and movie nights. Folks, they're not teaching you the word of God. That is a well without water. You go to church to get fed God's word. You don't go to church to get fed pizza. You don't go to church to watch a movie. You don't go to church to have a slip and slide or a bouncy house. You go to church to learn God's word. Now think for a second. What happens if you go to a church and all they do is bounce houses and slip and slides and all that stuff and then you leave. How much more did you learn about God's word when you left? What did you learn when you left? Life is short. If you don't learn God's word, folks, you're wasting your time. Bounce houses and pizza parties and all that stuff. That's all fine and dandy when you're doing it at your house or something. But not at church. Church is a place you come to learn God's word. It's a place you come to fellowship with other believers. It just drives me crazy. There's a church over beside our house and I pass it all the time. When we go home, my wife and I, when we're going home, there's a church over there. And I'll see a bounce house out there or a dunking booth or whatever they got going on. And I can't help but think how much are those people learning of God's word if they're out there playing in a bounce house? They're not learning God's word. They're playing in a bounce house. Church is a place you come to learn God's word and have fellowship. When you have bounce houses and pizza parties, what you're doing is going to a dry well. You're not getting the refreshing, cool drink of this life saving beverage that you need. Wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest, just blow right through. To whom the mist of darkness is reserved for error. That's where this is going to all end up. That's where the bounce houses and the pizza parties and all that stuff is going to end up taking people right down to the pit of darkness. Verse 18 says, for when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lust of the flesh. I put my trust in God that he will send the people that he wants to be here to hear God's word. I'm not trying to lure you in here with a pizza. I'm not trying to lure you in here with a bounce house. I want you to come to hear God's word and I pray God will bless me with the ability to teach you to. I want you to know God's word. That's why my wife and I give Bibles out to people who will take it. To people that will promise me they will read them. I want you to read God's word. I want you to know God's word. I want you to learn it. I want you to live by it. I want you to praise God. Praise God. He says, for when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lust of the flesh. Through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. And I praise God that I got to escape. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption. They are teaching false doctrine. For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome. The latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. These ungodly men, they had to have known. They had to. They were having fellowship with godly brethren. And I want to tell you something. Godly brethren are going to tell you about God. They're going to tell you about Jesus. They're going to tell you how to be saved. They're going to point you to Christ. Godly people are going to tell you godly things. So these ungodly people who are hanging around the godly people, I'm 99% sure that they had to have heard how to be saved. They had to have heard about Jesus. But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her walling in the mire, these ungodly people, they heard the truth. They went right back to their ungodliness. We're going to wrap it up right here. Please don't hang around vomiting dogs or sows walling in the mire. I am so grateful and blessed that God brought me out of all that. 2 Corinthians 6, 17 and 18, and we're going to close with this. Wherefore come out from among them, be ye and be ye separate, saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and he will. 6, 18 says, and it gets even better and will be a father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters. saith the Lord Almighty. Folks, that is a promise, a promise from the Lord Almighty. Come out from among the unclean thing and be ye separate. Don't be hanging around the bars no more. Brother Doug, don't be running with that old crowd you used to run with, Brother Doug. Don't be running with all those old people, doing all those old things, going backwards Brother Doug. Guess what? I quit doing all that. God received me when I put my faith in the death of his son on the cross for my sins. I was bought with a price. You were bought with a price. You were bought with a price. We were bought with a price and that price was the death of God's present Son who hung on that cross. He could have come off of it at any time that he wanted but he stayed on that cross. Why? For you. For me. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believed in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That's why Jesus has stayed on that cross. That's why Jesus suffered and died for you. And for me. Praise God for Jesus. And he'll bring you out too. Just through faith all you gotta do is believe. He that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not, these ungodly people, he that believeth not is already condemned. Folks if you don't believe in Christ you're already condemned. He that believeth not is already condemned. Why? Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And that's Jesus Christ who gave his life for you and me. And we receive that by faith. Thank you God for your precious Word Lord. Thank you God for Jesus. Thank you God for all that you do Lord for all you do is good Father. And Lord we're just so grateful Lord for Jesus Father. Thank you for opening our eyes to Christ Lord. We pray Lord for there's one here today Father. Or one that turns in and watches this. If their eyes haven't been opened Lord we pray that they would seek your faith Father. We pray that they would come to the cross and seek Christ Lord as their Savior. For we know by grace all we say through faith Father that's your grace Lord. And that not of ourselves it is your gift the gift of God Father and not by works list any man should boast Lord. We thank you so much Lord for all that you do. We thank you Lord for those who have come to hear your word Father. And I pray Lord that the saints were edified today Father and that the laws were appointed to you Lord. Just glorify and just pray your glorify Lord. Thank you Lord for all that you do Father. We love you Lord and we just thank you for your precious Word and all that you do Father. Thank you for another day Lord. We just pray you're glorified every day Father. In Jesus name we pray Lord. Amen. Amen.