Episode Transcript
All right, good afternoon everybody.
Good afternoon, Pastor.
Good to see everybody.
All right, everybody online.
Here's our verses.
Right there.
The camera lady says that's good.
So that's going to be the verses we will be visiting today, God willing.
And there might be a bonus one in there somewhere, so we'll see.
There we go.
That we keep an eye out for this morning, in case she comes from out of the line.
All right.
Hello, John.
Good to see your smiling face.
All right, so I've got the title of another message.
I'm tickled about this.
It's going to be titled "Falling Stars."
Last week we covered a question that someone had about the Bible being written by men and not being God's Word.
We discussed 2 Timothy 3.16, which says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
We expounded this verse and explained that.
All means all.
Okay, folks?
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
All means both the Old and the New Testament.
God has given us the Old Testament and He has given us the New Testament.
They come together and they form one book.
Okay?
So all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
All means both the Old and New Testament.
All.
God brings the words out to the men to whom He had chosen to write them down.
I stand with God's Word and I believe His Word to be true.
And I pray that God will continue to help each and every one of us to grow in His Word each and every day.
I'm going to turn that noise maker off for a second.
That's a little distracting to me.
Ah, oh, that's so much better.
Now, I stand with God's Word and I believe His Word to be true.
And I pray that God will continue to help each and every one of us to grow in His Word each and every day, folks.
So with that said, let's get back to the book of Jude as we go verse by verse, taking our time and not hurrying as we expound God's holy Word.
Let's pick back up where we left off in the book of Jude, verse 13, where Jude says, "Through the inspiration of God," now remember, Jude's talking about ungodly men.
He says, "They are raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars.
To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever."
Jude says that the ungodly are wandering stars.
The word "wandering" comes from the Greek word "planetes", and spelled P-L-A-N-E-T-E-S in the Greek language.
This word gives us the idea of a rover, a rover, not a puppy dog named Rover, but a wanderer.
A wandering planet that does not stay in one place.
The earth, for instance, is continually moving.
Did you know that the earth is continually moving?
The earth rotates at a speed of approximately 1,000 miles per hour at the equator.
This is what gives us our days and our nights, designed by our creator from the beginning of his foundation.
Another meaning from the Greek word "wandering" that is translated into English is an erratic teacher.
The word erratic means moving, not fixed or stationary.
We get this translation from another Greek word, which means imposter or misleader, deceiver.
2 John 1-7, I can't remember which ones we marked.
I believe we marked this one before you had one.
2 John, okay.
2 John 1-7.
Looky there, you've gotten almost 2 John, right?
Weird, so you think that means 2?
I don't know.
That's fine.
2 John 1-7.
Whoa, there we go.
2 John 1-7.
You got it, Bill?
Yeah.
Okay.
Got it, Thomas?
I got it.
Let me get a shot of this water, it gives you allergies, it's tough.
I don't know why.
2 John 1-7 says, now remember we're talking about the word "wanderer" and it comes from a word which means deceivers.
2 John 1-7 says, "For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh."
This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2 John 1-8 says, "Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God.
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed.
For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds."
Now do y'all remember what we was talking about here a while back?
To be without God is what?
Ungodly.
If you have God, you are godly.
If you don't have God, you are ungodly.
He says, "Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God.
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
So, if there are any coming to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed.
If an ungodly false teacher comes to you and starts telling you false doctrine, do not bid, don't let him in your house, and don't bid him Godspeed.
If you bid him Godspeed, you're telling him to go on and keep telling the lies he's been telling.
You're encouraging him to keep on and do that.
So, don't bid him Godspeed.
We hear terrible, terrible stories about how people get swimmed out of their savings accounts by thieves on the internet or by thieves calling on the phone lying about who they are.
Once these thieves get what they want from you, or they get exposed as to what they are, what do they usually do?
They hang.
That's right.
They move on.
You're right, Michael.
That's right.
They move on.
They'll hang up on you and they move on as soon as you expose them for who they are.
When a false teacher stands up in front of you and does not tell you the truth, it is worse than stealing your money, folks.
All that money that you may have lost to a thief can be recovered, God willing.
But once you believe the lies of a false teacher who tells you things that are either not true or half true, and you believe on those things to save you, once your body turns over your spirit to be judged, there is no recovery from that.
No going back.
Sometimes a false teacher will come in, invited by the pastor himself, to speak without checking what this teacher believes.
What doctrine do they possess?
I know this for a fact.
I've seen it happen.
I have been involved in it.
I have been asked to come and speak at places.
They had no clue what I was teaching, what I was preaching.
The Bible says we preach Christ crucified and that's not of ourselves.
False teachers will not preach that.
They preach themselves.
They will stand up in front of the congregation and say what they are going to say, get paid, and move on to the next speaking engagement.
Now I have nothing against a preacher who goes to different churches spreading the gospel of Christ.
But when false teachers are going from church to church and other speaking engagements, spreading lies and endangering souls, I have a problem with that.
The more speaking engagements that these false teachers are given, the more they start to shine in the world's eyes.
People start thinking that these false teachers must know what they are talking about because of all the speaking engagements that they have been asked to do.
Look back at our verse in Jude 13.
Turn back to Jude 13.
Let's look back at Jude 13.
One more.
You're already there.
Good job.
Jude 13.
I should have brought that before we went.
That's exactly how you do that.
We'll look at Jude 13.
You got it Bill?
Alright.
Now the more speaking engagements that these false teachers are given, the more they start to shine in the world's eyes.
People start thinking that these false teachers must know what they are talking about because of all the speaking engagements that they have been asked to do.
Back in Jude 13, Jude says that these ungodly men are wandering stars.
Stars.
The Greek word for star is asteric.
Asteric.
Spelled A-S-T-E-R.
And in the Greek it means a star.
When I was a young man I enjoyed camping.
I used to love to go camping.
I would enjoy having a nice campfire going and smelling the wood burning and listening to the crackling noise of the fire.
I would sometimes lay back and just look up at the sky.
Now if it wasn't cloudy, guess what I would see in the night sky?
Bright, shiny stars.
Now those stars stood out from the darkness.
Why?
Because they were shiny.
But you know what else I would see in that night sky?
Every now and then I would see one of those stars go streaking through the night sky, burning itself out and losing that brightness.
Let's look back at our verse.
Jude says these ungodly men are wandering stars.
To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
Our lives, like those bright shiny stars, do not shine forever.
And what we say now matters.
Our words matter.
What we say matters.
Especially when you are telling others about God's word.
Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 12, 34-37.
Jesus told the Pharisees, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.
And an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Why?
That's because that's all they have to draw from.
They go to their treasure to scoop out words to share with others.
An evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.
Matthew 12, 36 says, "But I say unto you that every idle or useless."
Useless is another name here for idle.
Another definition for the word idle.
"But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak."
One of the definitions here for speak was preach.
"They shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."
Words matter.
All the false teachings matter.
And in the day of judgment they will have to account for the false teachings that they gave the people.
Matthew 12, 37 says, "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
These ungodly men, false teachers, have been condemned by their own words.
They spread false doctrine which are lies.
God's word says in Revelation 21, 8, "But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolatries and all."
Remember all means all.
"All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death."
Now as we read that, did you hear me say anything where it said none of these are unforgivable?
They're all forgivable.
Christ died for each and every one of these sins that I just mentioned right here.
That God mentioned in His word.
Each and every one of these things, the lies, they have been forgiven.
They have been paid for and fooled through Christ's death on the cross.
But you have to believe.
On the flip side of that coin, God's word says in Romans 10, 9-11, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Now remember the ungodly men, they had no, the treasure in their heart was evil.
That's all they had to draw from.
But the just had Christ.
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."
These ungodly men that Jude is telling us about did not know Christ as their Savior.
Their bright star burned out leaving them an eternity in the blackness of darkness forever.
The God of this world had blinded them.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 2-6, "But have renounced, or to say, offer oneself to disown the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully."
These ungodly men are handling the word of God deceitfully.
This is the same thing that the devil did in Genesis chapter 3.
And I apologize to those online because I didn't write this down on our paper to begin with.
But God shows me things out there sometimes when I'm reading my lessons.
But in Genesis, this is the same thing.
Renounce, let's see, he did not renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, but he worked in dishonesty.
And working in dishonesty means to ensnare or to adulterate.
That is what the serpent did to Eve in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3.
Now the serpent was more subtle, that means he was slick folks, he was a smooth talker.
He was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden."
And the woman said unto the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'
And the serpent said unto the woman, 'Ye shall not surely die.'
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods with a little gene, knowing good and evil.'
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat."
What started that whole thing off?
She was listening to dishonesty.
She was ensnared by the serpent.
And y'all know the rest of the story.
After Adam ate, after she gave to Adam and he ate, they were banned from the Garden of Eden.
They brought sin into the world.
Why?
Because they were beguiled.
They were listening to things of dishonesty.
They were ensnared.
The devil adulterated God's Word.
He goes on to say, "But by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost."
Folks, it is so easy to be on the inside looking out.
I know because I was on the outside looking in before.
It is so easy.
I can sit here and tell you that Jesus Christ died for your sins.
I can tell you that on the third day, he died for your sins, was buried in the tomb, and on the third day, he rose again.
I can tell you that.
I believe it.
I can see it from the inside looking out now.
But when I was on the outside and I was looking in, it took a little bit for me to, for God to open my eyes.
I wanted to see.
I wanted to know.
God said, "That man wants to know."
And God opened my eyes to Christ.
Now I'm on the inside looking outside telling people about Jesus Christ dying for their sins.
But I can't make you believe.
You have to seek.
God says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."
If our gospel be hid, the gospel of Jesus Christ, is he died for your sins, he was buried in a tomb, and on the third day, he rose again.
That is the gospel of Christ.
If it is hid, it is hid to them that are lost.
In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.
Once I put my faith in Christ and I believed, the gospel was no longer hid to me.
And I can stand here and tell you about Jesus Christ now.
Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants, for Jesus is saved.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Without belief in Christ, there is no light shining in your heart.
None.
When your star burns out, it's out.
Just like those stars going across the sky at night that I would see.
When that star was all bright and shiny, when it took off it got dimmer and dimmer and it just faded.
It faded out.
The light disappeared.
When your star burns out, it's out.
But, if you have the light of the knowledge of Christ, your star will continue to burn after this old fleshly body lies down for the last time.
For these ungodly men that Jude has been telling us about, it is too late.
They died without knowing Christ as their Savior.
And they are in the blackness of darkness forever.
In the book of Acts, and I've got you, y'all should be marking the book of Acts, when Paul was telling King Agrippa about when Christ had first confronted him on the road to Damascus, Paul said, and we're going to close with this, Acts 26, 15 through 18, Paul says, "And I said," this is when Jesus confronted him, "Who art thou, Lord?"
And he said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecust."
"But rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
Folks, that's all I'm trying to do.
All I want to do.
I want you to stand upon your feet and know Christ as your Savior.
I want your eyes to be opened and I want you to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that you may receive forgiveness of sins.
That is why I come to tell you about Jesus.
That is why I stand here to tell you about my Savior, the one who died for my sins, that I might be forgiven.
For by grace are you saved through faith.
I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior.
I've got my arms around the cross of Christ and I'm not going to turn loose.
He died for my sins.
I believe it, whatever else it might be.
God said it and I believe it.
Christ died for your sins, folks.
If you don't know Christ died for your sins, ask God to show you.
He will, just like He showed me.
And with that, we'll close, folks.
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, Lord, for those who have come to hear your Word taught, Father.
And Lord, we thank you for your Word so much, Lord.
We thank you for each and every blessing that you bestow upon us, Father.
And we thank you for each and every thing that you do, Lord.
Everything you do is a blessing, Lord.
And we thank you so much for it, Lord.
We thank you for Jesus so much, Lord.
And we just thank you, Lord.
Thank you for your mercy and your grace and your patience, Lord.
I thank you for your patience so much, Father.
And Lord, we pray for those here at this place, Lord.
Your will be done in their lives, Lord, as well as ours as well, Lord.
And Lord, for somebody here that doesn't know Christ as their Savior, Father, we pray, Lord, that you would draw them to the cross, Father, and that they would heed that draw, Lord, and that they would look to you, Lord, that they would seek your face, Lord, and find forgiveness while there's still light, Lord, before the light shines out, Father, before their star falls, Father.
We pray, Lord, that you would draw them to the cross.
And we thank you so much, Lord, and we pray that the saints were edified here today, Lord, and that the lost were pointed to you.
And we just pray for the caregivers here, Lord, that they would take care of these people, Lord, like they would want themselves taken care of, Father, the same way you would want them taken care of, Lord.
We know that you love each and every person here today, Lord.
And we just thank you so much, Lord, for your love and kindness.
And in Jesus' name, Lord, we pray.
Amen.
