So Christians – saved, born again, saints
Who need an abundance of mercy, peace and love
Also need to be wise and equipped with
Spiritual Discernment
“But the Lord said to Samuel,
‘Do not look at his appearance
or at his physical stature,
because I have refused him.
For the Lord does not see as man sees;
for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.’ ”
(1 Samuel 16:7)
Too often we are very trusting people
Overflowing with love
Yet lacking in spiritual discernment.
We welcome people in – YES
We accept them as they are
But we NEED to develop spiritual EYES
We need to look from and with
Our heart – not simply with
Our physical eyes.
We need to listen to that
Still small voice – of God
That speaks within our hearts
Within our Spirit
Just because a person appears godly
Gets involved in church life
Is quick to volunteer
Does NOT mean that they are a Christian
So many stories come to mind
Mark 4 – The Sower and the Seed
1 Timothy 3:6 – not a novice
To name a couple
So listen and look / observe
With your heart
If you don’t clearly hear Him
But have a check in your Spirit
Then listen to that
Be sure that you follow Peace
In your heart
Better to ask someone to wait
Than to try and remove someone
Promoted too quickly
Jude concludes with some sound advice:
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up
on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit,
keep yourselves in the love of God,
looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
(Jude verses 20 and 21)
After warning the Christians he is talking to
About the ones who do NOT have the Spirit
He says: “But YOU, beloved..”
In other words
Do Not listen or look at:
Those people
The things they are doing
But “build yourselves up”
HOW?
By praying in the Holy Spirit
Praying in Tongues
Which is a gift of the Holy Spirit
Available to ALL who have been
Baptised in the Holy Spirit
Born again, Spirit filled Christians!
Jude tells us that when we pray in Tongues
We KEEP ourselves in the love of God
The Bible tells us how much God loves us
Praying in tongues helps as we
Fellowship with Him – Who IS love
In this way you will be able to
Have compassion on some
(Verse 22)
Save others as if it were from fire
(Verse 23)
And finally and in conclusion:
“Now to Him who is able to keep you
from stumbling, and to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Saviour,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.”
(Verses 24 and 25)