Ron Dunn Podcast - Discipline Of The Christian Life

Episode Date: March 31, 2021

Ron Dunn continues in "Fighting For Faith"

Now will you open your Bibles again tonight to the little letter of Jude. We're going to look this evening at two verses, verses 20 and 21. And these are verses that mark a contrast in this letter. And as I've already mentioned The first portion of this little letter is warning, denouncing those evils that surround the believer and threaten to submerge him and defeat him and knock him off his balance as he walks through this godless world. But not only has Jude written to inform us of the dangers, he has written to tell us how to be safe in the midst of the dangers. And in verse 20, he comes to make a very strong and emphatic contrast to those who are living in the world. And he says in these two verses, But ye, 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. And in those two simple verses, the writer gives us the way in which we can stay straight even though we're living in a crooked generation. And it's not always easy to live a holy life when you're surrounded by unholiness. It's not easy to stay pure in Christ when you are living in a world that ministers to the lower nature, a world system that is geared to appealing to and satisfying all the baser desires of man. And yet that's exactly where God has put us. And once the Lord Jesus Christ has saved us, he doesn't exit us from this world and take us safely on to heaven. He leaves us right here in the midst of this world. And nor does he grant unto the believers an automatic

immunity from becoming tainted and corrupted because the history of Christianity is littered with the wrecked lives of Christians who did not know how to stay true in the midst of this kind of world. And so there is no automatic immunity. God has made provision, but you and I must avail ourselves of that provision. And this is what these two verses are dealing with. And I want you to notice just for a moment the special construction of these two verses. There are three IGN phrases in that verse, in those verses, three participle phrases. You'll notice in verse 20 he says,

Building up yourselves, praying in the Holy Ghost. Verse 21, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then you'll notice there is one direct command, one direct imperative. That's the first phrase in verse 21 where he says, keep yourselves in the love of God. And so I want you to allow me to reconstruct these verses for a moment and read them through the way Jude intends for us to see them. He has been describing those forces and philosophies and even those folks that surround us, that threaten our spiritual equilibrium, that are trying to knock us off balance spiritually.

And he says, but ye, beloved, keep yourselves in the love of God. But you, in order not to be submerged into the iniquity that surrounds you, in order to maintain your spiritual balance and poise, but ye, beloved, regardless of what everybody else does, and as I mentioned earlier, he's speaking primarily to people who have infiltrated the church, and he says, even though in the systems of organized religion there are those who are actually the enemies of the cross, but ye, beloved, keep yourselves in the love of God.

And then those three phrases, participle phrases, simply modify that direct command. The direct command is keep yourselves in the love of God. And then those three phrases tell us how we are to keep ourselves in that love. Keep yourselves in the love of God by building, by praying, and by looking. And so he is dealing with the discipline of the Christian life. And the first thing that I notice as I see this is that he says, Keep yourself in the love of God. keep yourself in the love of God. Keep yourself

in the love of God. He is throwing the responsibility upon me and upon you. And as I said a moment ago, God has not granted to us an automatic immunity from the evils of this world. And if a person simply sits down and becomes passive and does not give personal attention to his own discipline in the Christian life, then he is going to be enveloped in the evils that surround him. He'll be like Demas, forsaking the Lord because he has fallen in love with this present world. And so here is a personal responsibility, a discipline that God has heaped upon us. Keep yourselves in the love of God.

And the only way that you can walk through this world without being conformed to the world, without letting the world pressure you into becoming like it. The only way is if you keep yourselves in the love of God. And a right understanding of what that means and a fulfilling of that obligation will enable us to walk through any situation, regardless of how godless it may be, and still live a holy and pure life. Keep yourselves in the love of God. That is the discipline

that God thrusts upon each one of us. Now, let me go back just a little bit and tell you what I shared with you a few days ago, what this does not mean. Now, to some, this may seem an unusual expression, keeping yourself in the love of God. Does that mean that I can get to the place where God will no longer love me? Do you mean to tell me there exists a possibility of my doing something, committing some sin, where God no longer loves me? That's not what the phrase means. For in the book of Romans chapter 8, it says that there is nothing, there is absolutely

nothing that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. That's not what this phrase means. Nor does it mean that there is something you and I can do to make God love us more. I really believe that we often have this idea that there are times when God seems to be playing favorites. He seems to be loving some more than He loves us, and that there are certain ways that you and I

can increase God's love to us. That's not what the phrase means. God's love is not conditional. He loves us regardless of how sinful we are. He loved us before we were saved. How much more will he love us after we're saved? And it doesn't mean that there is a way that you and I can cause God to love us more. He loves us to the fullest measure of His own ability. Well, what does the phrase mean?

Keep yourselves in the love of God. It means that you and I are to live such a life as to stay within the shelter and circle of that love. I want you to look to the first verse of this letter, the first verse of Jude. This is the greeting that he gives as he begins this letter. He says, servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ. Now, as the King James reads sanctified, it would be better

translated beloved. To those who are beloved, the word preserved is the same word that is translated keep. So here's what he's saying. He's writing to these Christians and he is saying, Now listen, I'm writing to those of you who are loved by God and are kept by Jesus Christ. Then he turns right around at the end of this verse, this book, and says, Now you keep yourself in the love of God. Well, I thought we were already kept. I thought we were already loved of God. You are.

Since you are loved of God and since you are kept by God, then act like it. You correspond in your behavior to all that God has done for you. If you are a citizen of that love, act like a citizen. If you are a citizen of that keeping power, then you act like you are a citizen of that keeping power. In other words, he's saying, live up to your position. Your position is one that you are loved and you're kept. Now it is your responsibility to see to it that in your daily behavior you live up to and measure up to that position. It simply means that I am to live in the place where that love can bless me to its fullest. I am to stay within the place of blessing.

I am to keep myself in the love of God in the sense I am to live the kind of life where that love can do everything for me it wants to do. I think a good illustration of what he's saying, of course, is in the prodigal son recorded in Luke chapter 15. You know the story. He went to the far country. There he found himself in a pig pen,

rebellious, separated from his father. Now let me ask you, did the father still love him? Of course the father still loved him. There was no difference in the father's love. The father loved him just as much, if not more, humanly speaking, when he was away in rebellion than he did even when he was at home. The difference was that boy, by his rebellion, had removed himself from the circle, the shelter of that love.

And even though the father loved him, that love was not able to bless him. That love was not able to minister to him. That love was not able to meet his needs. And it is possible for you and me to, in rebellion, in sin, not to quench God's love for us, but to make it where God cannot bless us as he wants to bless us. I suppose every child that has a brother or sister at one time or another in his life has said something like this,

You love my brother more than you love me. Now, fess up. You know you've thought that. You may never have vocalized it but you know you've thought that. You've seen your parents treat your brother or your sister one way and you have wallowed in the mire of self-pity

and you've said they love him more than they love me. They just keep me around to have somebody to whip. I'll never forget. I suppose I was six or seven years old. We lived out in Lakeview, outside of Poto, Oklahoma. Everybody knows where that is. And I was always, if anybody ever got into trouble, it seemed like I was always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. And I remember I had just received a very convincing spanking from my mother. And I remember walking outside, and there was my brother. I don't know how long it had been since he had been spanked.

And I just didn't like that. And I remember sitting down. We had an old well. We had a dog named Poochie Bell. And I remember sitting down on that well and saying, they just keep me around to have somebody to whip up on. That's the only reason they have me. And I remember thinking they love me more than they love my brother more than they love me. No, they didn't love my brother any more than they loved me.

I was such a stinker they couldn't bless me. I was being so rebellious at the time and so disobedient at the time, they couldn't pour out that love and express that love to me as they did to him. You see, he's saying, God will always love you. But listen, if you're going to be able to walk through this world and maintain your spiritual balance and live in victory, you're going to have to make certain you stay in the place of blessing,

that you never do anything to contradict that love, that you do not grieve that love, but that you answer that love by living a life where that love can be manifested again and again and again. Sometimes a doctor may say, what you need is more sunshine. Stay in the sunshine. Get out in the sunshine. Well, now listen, the sun's always shining.

The sun is always shining. But you and I have the potential of allowing things to come between us and the sun so that we're not even aware of that sun's heat and the sun's light. And God's love is always there. He's always loving us, but we can allow things to come between us and God where we cannot experience that love and where He cannot bless us and keep us as He wants to. This word keep is the word that means to guard or to garrison, to preserve. It has a background of being a fort.

And it helps me to see God's love as a fort placed in the midst of enemy territory and surrounded by the enemy. But as long as I stay within the walls of that fort, I'm safe and secure, regardless of the enemy on the outside that surrounds me. If I will stay within the confines of those walls of that garrison, I'll be saved. But if I get outside that fort, then I expose myself to every danger that is out there and am liable to be captured or killed. Now, God's love is like a fort. And folks, whether you know it or not, you're living in enemy territory. If you're a child of God, your citizenship is in heaven, and this world is not your home. We're surrounded by the enemy. We're living in enemy

territory. The devil is the god of this world. He is the prince of the power of this air. And the only way that you can live safely and securely and victoriously is if you stay within the fort of God's love. But the very moment you get outside that place of blessing and you begin to contradict that love and sin against that love, you expose yourself to every danger of the enemy. So this is the basic thought. It refers to our relationship to that love. Stay where that love can bless you to its fullest extent. Now, how is that to be

accomplished? There are three ways that Jude reveals to us. Those three participle phrases reveal to us those manners by which we keep ourselves in the love of God, building, praying, and looking. And I think you can sum that up with these three words, edification, supplication, and anticipation. Let's look at them. First of all, he says, we are to keep ourselves in the love of God by building up yourselves on your most holy faith. Now, again, you see the personal responsibility here.

He says we are to build ourselves up on our most holy faith. This is, as I've already indicated, a present tense participle, which means it is a lifelong task. All of my life, I am to be taking the foundation that God has given me at salvation, and I am responsible for upon that foundation of building my Christian life. There must always be progress. There must always be growth. Now listen, if after a person is saved, they become self-satisfied and passive and refuse to develop the Christian life that God has given them, they will remove themselves from the shelter of God's love. And God's blessings upon us depends upon our right use of the salvation that he's given us.

For instance, in Philippians chapter 2, Paul says, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, he doesn't say to work for your salvation, but he says, Work out the salvation that you have, it's a word that means to cultivate, like a man might cultivate a garden. It was used of a sculpture as he might carve out an image out of a piece of stone. He says, now God has given you salvation. Now he says you cultivate it. You work it out. You realize its greatest potential, and you do it with fear and trembling. And there ought to be upon us a holy fear of the responsibility that God has given us

in saving us. He has laid a foundation in salvation, and you and I have a responsibility to take that and to build upon it. Now, notice, he says that we're to build ourselves up on our most holy faith. Now the emphasis really in that phrase is not upon building, but it is upon your most holy faith. So let me say just two things about that. First of all, faith is the only foundation upon which we can build our Christian life.

Faith is the only foundation upon which we can build our life. Our Christian growth can increase. It's the only way. You know that verse, Hebrews 11, 6, that says, Without faith it is impossible to please him. There is no way of my living a life that is pleasing to God apart from faith. Living in faith, living in absolute dependence upon the Lord. And then there's this verse you've heard. The just shall live by faith.

It occurs four times in the Scriptures. Once in the Old Testament, three times in the New Testament. I suppose of all the statements of faith, that is the most important, most concise, most comprehensive. I think you can really sum up the entire revelation of God as it regards salvation with that one phrase, the just shall live by faith. The whole life of a justified man is to be energized by faith. You know where that verse originally occurred? In the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk had a problem. He was surrounded by the enemy. The Chaldeans, a heathen nation that hated God and hated the Jews even worse,

had surrounded the people of God and were in danger of absolutely annihilating them. And so Habakkuk goes to God and he asks the Lord a question. He says, God, what are you going to do about these Chaldeans? He said, I don't understand. You check it out in the first chapter of Habakkuk. He said, I don't understand how you can be such a holy and pure God and you can allow this to happen. What are you going to do about the Chaldeans?

And God comes and literally God says, you're not going to believe what I'm going to tell you. You see, God was saying, Habakkuk, I have an answer, but you won't like it. He says, Habakkuk, I'm going to tell you something that you won't believe. He says, I have raised up the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans may be heathen, they may be unsafe, but they are my minister for the hour. And because of the rebellion of my people,

I have raised up the Chaldeans, and they're going to run across your land and defeat you. And then Habakkuk says, Lord, how in the world will I be able to survive? How are we going to survive being overrun by the enemy. And then comes the answer. The just shall live by faith. The original intention of that verse was this, that when you are surrounded by the enemy and the enemy is overrunning you, the only way you can survive is by your fidelity to God. The just, those that are just, they'll live.

And they'll live by their faithfulness to God. And that's what God's saying to God. The just, those that are just, they'll live, and they'll live by their faithfulness to God. And that's what God's saying to us through this verse. He's saying we're surrounded on every hand. Listen, I don't claim that it's easy to live the Christian life. I know sometimes people get the idea that preachers find it so very easy to stand up here hiding behind this desk, so to speak, and lambasting you and hitting you over the head and accusing you because you don't live a perfect life. And I think sometimes you sit out there and say, well, if you worked where I worked, if you lived where I lived, if you were involved in what I'm involved in, you wouldn't think

it was so easy. Listen, I know it's not easy to live the Christian life. Nobody ever said it was. And I've never tried to give you that impression that you can just sail through. But while it's not easy, it's possible. You can. You can survive.

I don't care what you're surrounded with at school or where you work. You can survive. How? The just shall survive by their fidelity to God, by being faithful to God, by committing the situation to God, by being faithful to God, by committing the situation to God, by trusting God.

Faith is the only foundation upon which you and I can build our Christian life. That means that all of my activities must correspond with, not contradict, my faith. That means that my life, my activities, my impulses, my ambitions must spring from faith. Romans 14 says, Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

And so I am to let my life be founded upon faith. Is this in harmony with my faith in God? This endeavor, this idea, this amusement, this form of entertainment, is this consistent with my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Notice he says this is a holy faith. A holy faith. Now that's very important.

It's holy in its origin in that it comes from God. You know, I'm glad that I don't have to build my Christian life on speculation. I'm really worried about some Christians because I find them living by instinct, by impression, by imagination. And they're really building their lives, their Christian lives, on speculation, on imagination. No. We are to build it on the revelation of God. That's what faith is. Faith is accepting the sacred revelation of God and building upon it. But not only is it holy in origin, it's holy in operation. It will produce

in you a holy life. You see, the test of whether or not you're building upon faith, the test of whether or not you're living inconsistent with your commitment to Jesus Christ is this. Is it producing in you a holy life? So, first of all, faith is the only foundation. Second thing, faith is only the foundation. Not only is faith the only foundation, but faith is only the foundation.

It's just the beginning. It's just the beginning. Jesus said, All things are possible to him that believeth. You know what that means? That means that believing is just the beginning. And when you learn to believe, that opens up to you the door of all things being possible. Now, I want to ask you, where are you?

Are you still at the entrance? Are you still at the door? Or are you heading and making progress in that all things being possible? You see, the tragedy of most of us is we're living on a foundation without any walls, without any ceiling, without anything. And I don't know about you, but I would think that would be a very uncomfortable way to live. Yes, I'm saved, thank God.

I know that. But the foundation is not the whole thing. That's just the beginning. And what Jude is saying is this, that faith opens up to you all kinds of possibilities, and you're to let the line out just as far as it'll go. You're to live up to the capacity of faith. I want to ask you tonight, are you living up to faith's capacity? Are you daily increasingly experiencing the all things that are possible by believing? Or have you become just satisfied and stuck at the inference of the Christian life?

There's been no growth. There's been no development. You haven't ventured out one bit. Interesting thing about the Christian life, if you don't move forward you fall backwards there's no such thing as staying stationary in the christian life you do not stay stationary you do not stay put you either make progress or you regress there's no such thing as stagnation in the christianation in the Christian life in the sense you just come to a certain point

and you freeze there. You say, well, I'm satisfied with this and I think I'll just camp here and stay here. No. Unless you are constantly moving forwards, you'll fall backwards. And so he says the first way to keep yourself in the love of God

is by building yourselves up on a life of faith, exercising faith to its fullest, learning to live a life in dependence and trust upon God. All right, the second thing, not only edification but supplication, praying in the Holy Ghost. Now this is a phrase that occurs, well, here only really in the Holy Ghost. Now, this is a phrase that occurs, well, here only, really, in the New Testament. There's a similar phrase like this in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18. Paul says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Then there's another passage that corresponds to this over in Romans chapter 8, verses 26 and 27. Paul says,

Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities, for we know not what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. So, the second essential in keeping myself where God can fully bless me is supplication, to pray in the Holy Ghost. It simply means a life of communion. So, the second essential in keeping myself where God can fully bless me is supplication, to pray in the Holy

Ghost. It simply means a life of communion. A life of communion. And it is the Holy Spirit that makes it real communion rather than a ritual or mechanical means. Now, I want to tell you something. You are not going to be able to experience the love of God blessing you if you neglect a life of communion with Him. You are going to have to stay in close touch and contact with the Lord, or you'll never survive the onslaught of the enemy.

You just never will. I'm convinced the greatest reason that Baptists and other Christians backslide is not some big spiritual mystery. It's simply laziness. Laziness after God. If you've never read any books by A.W. Tozer, you have really robbed yourself of a great Christian experience. And I remember Dr. Tozer saying in one of his little books,

our greatest sin is our laziness after God. Not our laziness after other things. I know some Christians that are very zealous for religious things, but it is our laziness after God. I'll tell you something. It's easier for me to preach ten sermons than it is for me to pray one hour. It would be easier for you to make a hundred visits in a week than for you to every day spend 30, 40 minutes in communion with God. And, of course, the reason for that is that the old self, the old nature, that fallen Adamic nature, resists that type of thing. Oh, it can take glory and pride and activity,

but when it comes to this matter of seeking God and coming into close communion with God, it's something that you and I are going to have to discipline ourselves. I talked with a person just this past week. They had no idea you ought to discipline yourself in the Christian life. And they said, you know, when I first entered the Christian life, man, I wanted to pray. Nobody had to tell me to pray. Nobody had to tell me to read the Word. Nobody had to encourage me to do it. I just found myself wanting to do it all the time,

just wanting to do it all the time. And they said, now I don't feel that. What should I do? I said, you ought to do it. They said, but I don't feel that impulse to do it. I said, it doesn't make any difference. You discipline yourself to do it. I said, you do it in cold blood.

Just do it because you know it's right. And this one person said, well, I don't feel the Holy Spirit leading me. Listen, the Holy Spirit does not have to lead you to do something He's already told you to do. I really don't know where we get some of these ideas. I hope

you didn't get them from me. But I hear people saying things like this. Well, I haven't felt led to read the Bible. That's like a fellow saying, I've got all these debts, but the Holy Spirit hasn't led me to pay them. Listen, the Holy Spirit doesn't waste time. If he's written in the Word,

there's no use in him impressing you in your heart. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him but his sin. Would you like to know what the Spirit's leading is? We always feel like, we want to feel like the Holy Spirit's leading is always some mystic, mysterious urge on the inside. No.

Do you know what? That happens occasionally, of course. But you know what the primary leading of the Holy Spirit is? Your good sins to do what's right. To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. If you know it's right to pay your bills, you don't have to pray and ask God if he wants you to

and wait until you feel moved of the Holy Spirit. And if you know that you ought to seek after the Lord and spend time in the Word and commune with Him, it's ridiculous for you to sit around waiting until you feel moved upon to do it. It is essential that you live a life of disciplined communion. Now let me just say two or three brief things about this matter of praying in the Holy Ghost. This praying in the Holy Spirit or by the Holy Spirit, energized by the Holy Spirit,

I think involves three things. First of all, he gives us the prompting to pray. He prompts us to pray. The Holy Spirit is our indwelling burning bush that catches our attention and calls us to turn aside from everything else and to come into the presence of God. And you've all experienced this if you're saved. There have been those times when you've just had an unexplainable desire to want to pray. You may not even have anything on your heart to pray for or to pray about, but there is a drawing, there is an urging,

there is a prompting in your heart to get along with God. That's the Holy Spirit. It has to be. It's certainly not your fallen nature, and it's certainly not the devil. That's the Holy Spirit. Now listen, every time you respond to that prompting that increases your sensitivity to the Spirit and every time you ignore and deny that prompting

and go about your business that dulls your sensitivity to the Spirit He gives us the prompting to pray He also gives us the petition I think this is brought out in Romans chapter 8, verses 26 and 27, that He actually originates the petition. Now listen, that's real prayer. When you are in tune with the Holy Spirit, walking in the Spirit,

and there's nothing in your life that has been unconfessed and undealt with. There is no known barrier, no known unconfessed sin in your life, and you're praying in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will originate the very petition that you're to offer up to God, and He always makes that kind of petition according to the will of God. He will lead you exactly how to pray. And then, of course, it means by praying, He gives us the power to pray. We pray in dependence upon Him,

not in dependence upon our feelings. There have been many a time when I have prayed and I haven't felt anything. I wish I had. I'd much rather pray. It's much easier to pray when I feel those prayers rising to the throne. But if I only pray in confidence during those times, I'm not praying in the Spirit. I'm praying in the flesh.

To pray in the Spirit means to pray depending upon the Holy Spirit to take these petitions and to bear them to the throne of God. And whether you feel it or not, the Holy Spirit is doing His job. And then there's one final word. That's the word anticipation. We are to keep ourselves in the love of God by building, by praying, and then finally, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. One of the greatest encouragements to stay in the love of somebody

is when you are anticipating that person you love. And you know they're coming. You know they'll soon be here. You don't know when, but you're looking for them. And you love them. And at such an hour as you think not, they'll be here. And because you love them and are eagerly expecting their arrival, you will discipline yourself

to keep yourself in their love. Looking. He's referring to that coming again of our Lord. And this word looking has the idea of anticipation. Not so much, now listen carefully, not so much saying, I believe Jesus is coming today, but saying, I sure wish he would come today.

And there's a lot of difference. I can't really say tonight that I believe Jesus is coming tonight. I really don't. If you ask me, do you believe Jesus is coming today? No. And then I hear the word say, at such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh. That may be the greatest evidence he's coming soon. It's because some of us don't think he is. I believe he's coming soon, but I really don't think he's coming tonight. I really don't. I sure wish he would. It is that eager expectation, that confident, unwavering hope that he's coming, and you're longing to see him. And when you long

to see him, and you expect him at any moment, you keep yourself in his love. For you do not want to meet him having sinned against that love and having lived a life inconsistent with his love. Now, let me just ask you. Are you in the love of God tonight? I know God loves you, but are you living in harmony with that fact are you answering his love by the life you live are you in

the love of God tonight are you in a position where God could bless you to the fullest extent of his desire that's where I want to live. Because, you know, as I've said before, most of the time Christians aim too low in their expectations,

and we settle for too much, for too less, too little. There's no telling what God would like to do for you. There is just no telling what God wants to do in your life, the doors of opportunity He wants to open, the doors of blessing He wants to open. There's just no telling what God longs to do for you, but He can't because you're not keeping yourself in the love of God. We hinder God from blessing us all that he wants to by an inconsistent life. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification,

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