WWUTT 471 Relying On Their Dreams?

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The Lord does not speak to us through inner voices, or dreams, or subjective experiences.

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He has spoken to us loud and clear, through the Word of God, the Bible, when we understand the text.

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Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text, as an online ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty, visit our website at www .utt

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.com. Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. Hey, a shout out to the

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Taggart family who listened to When We Understand the Text and watched the videos. They were traveling through the area on vacation and decided to stop in and join us for church yesterday.

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Wonderful to meet your family, and thank you for listening to the program and being such an encouragement to the ministry.

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We're going to continue our study of the book of Jude, and as we embark on a new week here, we're going to read the whole letter again and pick up where we left off about verse 8.

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So, Jude, starting in verse 1. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the

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Father and kept for Jesus Christ, may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

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Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

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For certain people have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our

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God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

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And the angels, who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of that great day.

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Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

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Yet in like manner, these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

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But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, the

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Lord rebuke you. But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

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Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.

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These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn twice dead uprooted, wild waves of the sea casting up the foam of their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

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It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying,

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Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly for all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

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These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires, they are loudmouthed boasters showing favoritism to gain advantage.

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But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you,

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In the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions.

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It is these who cause divisions, worldly people devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the

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Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life, and have mercy on those who doubt.

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Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others show mercy with fear, hating even the garments stained by the flesh.

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Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.

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To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever.

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Amen. We come back to verse 8. So this is right after Jude has used three examples to show how

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God will fulfill his promises against the ungodly, that there is wrath that is coming.

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And just as he showed that wrath on those who after being delivered from Egypt did not believe in the commands of God, as he shows that wrath against angels who are being kept in chains and will show that wrath on them even more on the day of judgment when they will be cast into the lake of fire.

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And just as Sodom and Gomorrah have been destroyed by the wrath of God, serving as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

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So the Lord will visit his wrath on those who teach falsely and malign the faith.

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So Jude goes on in verse 8, yet in like manner, these people also relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones.

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So you have three statements that are made here about those who teach falsely, who likewise do as those who have done before.

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In like manner, just like those who were destroyed in the desert, just like the angels who were kicked out of heaven, just like Sodom and Gomorrah who were destroyed by fire.

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In like manner, these people relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones, relying on their dreams, meaning that their understanding of God is completely subjective, that they are saying the same things that the serpent said in the

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Garden of Eden when he said to Eve, did God really say, planting doubt in her mind and then tempting her to eat the fruit and give it to Adam who was with her and he also ate.

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So they are repeating that same lie of the serpent all these years later, still saying the same thing that the devil said there in the

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Garden of Eden, did God really say? And so instead they rely on their dreams because God did not really say, according to the prophets and according to the apostles, he said to me in my dream this.

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And so that's how I know the voice of God. That's how I know what God has commanded because he has revealed this to me in a dream.

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Last week, some friends of mine and I, some folks from our church, we went out into a festival in Junction City and handed out tracks.

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We have a big festival every year. Becky and I talked about this on the on the broadcast this past Friday, Sundown Salute, which is

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I mean, there's all kinds of rock bands that come in, mostly cover bands. They'll have one or two recognizable stars.

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I can't even remember who I can't even remember who the recognizable names were this year. That's how recognizable they are.

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But anyway, and the budget's been tight in previous years. So the festival's only been limited to three or four days.

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But this year it was five days long. So everything got started on a Friday and it was through Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

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And so we were out there Sunday and Monday handing out tracks. And for the most part, people were pretty polite.

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You know, they took a track, put it in their pocket, and I hope that they'll pull it out and read it, read the gospel message that's there and see some information about when we understand the text.

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I put that in there as well. If you have any other questions about things that are said in the Bible, check out this website.

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So there was one individual that I encountered. I handed a track to him, an older man, was well over 70.

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But he looked at the track and he handed it right back to me. And he said, no, no, no, you preach the wrong

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God. And I said, oh, what God do you think I preach? You didn't even look at the track.

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And I asked him what church he was with. And I didn't recognize the name of it, nor do I even remember what it was.

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And he said, well, of course you don't recognize it because you worship the wrong God. Somehow we got around to him explaining to me that I'm calling

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Jesus by the wrong name. And I asked him, what name should I be calling him by? And he said, Yeshua.

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And I said, sir, it's the exact same name. And he points his finger right in my face and says, no, it is not.

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And you blaspheme God every time you use that name. I tried to give him a language lesson.

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I said, Yeshua in Hebrew is the name Joshua in English.

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That's the English equivalent. Of course, he's he's barking at me. No, it's not. And I said,

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Jesus is the English equivalent of the Greek word Isis, which was the

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Greek name for Christ. Well, they blasphemed him, too. It's all right. And so I said to him, if I were to say if I were to say to you the name

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Haramius, what name would you think that I am saying? And he seemed a little clueless, acted like I was playing games with him.

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And I said, that's Jeremiah in Spanish. It's the same name. It's just a pronunciation in a different language.

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And and so he proceeded to argue with me, said at one point, never talk to me about the cross.

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You offend me when you talk to me. The cross is offensive to me. And I said to him,

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First Corinthians 118 says that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

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But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God. And he said to me, no, that is a corruption of the scripture that was added later.

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That was not in the Bible. And I said, sir, who taught you this?

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And I can't remember what he replied after that. And it forced me to have to ask, how do you know that what you believe is right and what

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I believe is wrong? If the Bible that we're both reading has been, according to you, corrupted.

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And that was when he said to me, because God revealed this to me, he said it to me in a dream.

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And that's how I know that what I believe is truly from God and what you believe is blasphemy.

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And his wife was was like standing right next to him, just shaking her head at me the whole time. And at that point, they start walking away.

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And she said to me, as they were walking away, we used to believe just like you do. We used to believe just like you when we were young, like you.

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And I just hope that God's going to show you the truth. And then they're walking away from me.

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And there wasn't any reason for me to have to pursue them further at that point. But this is this is an example of how they rely on their dreams.

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They do not listen to the word of God. They listen to what has popped into their mind by an evil and deceitful spirit.

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I had I had an experience with this just this last week and sharing with the park.

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That wasn't my my only brash encounter like that. But it was the only one, I think, as I can recall, that someone relied upon their dream for the truth.

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And that's a very common encounter. That's a very common thing. I will often encounter those who are unbelievers who will not accept the truth of the scriptures of the

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Bible and their excuses because, well, God told it to me in a dream happens all the time.

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It's one of the most common excuses that I get for a person who will not accept the truth of the scriptures or who will try to say that the scriptures are corrupt.

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I mean, this is the basis for the entire Mormon religion. Joseph Smith himself, the founder of Mormonism, claimed that God appeared to him and revealed to him these things and said to him that the church is corrupt and the

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Bible has become corrupt. It's only correct insofar that it's translated correctly. According to one of their statements of faith.

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And so the angel Moroni gives Joseph Smith this New Testament, and it becomes the basis for the

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Mormon religion and for anybody in the Mormon religion to come to accept this belief. They must pray to God and have him reveal it to them.

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This is every conversation that I've had with every Mormon missionary who has shared with me these things.

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They will try to claim James one five, which says, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously without reproach.

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And they'll say to me, if you ask God, then he will show this to you. And I'll say to him, I have asked of God, and he showed it to me in the

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Bible. But you come up with something completely contrary to the scriptures that is based on subjective experiences, not the objective word of God.

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Relying on their dreams, they defile the flesh, they reject authority, and they blaspheme the glorious ones.

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Verse nine. But when the archangel Michael contending with the devil was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said the

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Lord rebuke you. So even the authority that Michael had, he knew his limitations that he could not issue a rebuke against Satan that God had not commissioned

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Michael to issue. The Lord allows Satan to do the things that he does to accomplish the purposes of God, and he will not allow

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Satan to step beyond his boundaries. So when contending with Satan, Michael does not presume to say something to Satan that would be overstepping the bounds that the

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Lord has allowed Michael to exercise. But he says the Lord rebuke you.

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Now, this this illustration that's being used here in verse nine comes from a text that is no longer in existence.

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The event is not recorded in the Old Testament. And whatever text it was that talks about this, the devil and Michael disputing about the body of Moses, we no longer have.

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We can only speculate as to where this came from. And there's there's references in the scriptures to other writings that we don't have record of.

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We've been reading about this in First Kings. As a matter of fact, every time it will say now, it isn't all of the acts of Asa recorded in the

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Chronicles of the Kings of Judah when we read about that in First Kings. And so that that would be the case here as well.

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A writing regarding Moses that we no longer have access to whatever it is that Jude is referencing here.

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But remember, when Moses died, he went up to the mountain. The Lord showed him the promised land.

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And there he died. And the Lord buried him. So nobody knows where the body of Moses is.

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So somehow related to that, there was a dispute over Moses body between Satan and the archangel

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Michael. And Michael issues this statement to the devil, not overstepping his bounds, but knowing it is the

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Lord who decides what the devil can and cannot do. And so, likewise with us, when you have those charismatic believers and teachers who will say something to the effect of, you know, you just need to rebuke the devil and he'll leave you alone.

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Jesse Duplantis has this song. There's a video of him on YouTube. You can look this up. He's playing the piano and singing this song.

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The devil and I had a tussle and I won. No, you didn't. You didn't have a tussle with the devil and you certainly wouldn't win that one.

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This is what Peter refers to as blaspheming the glorious ones. When you think in your mind that you're better than all these evil spirits and you're not so weak minded to fall prey to their crafty schemes.

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Well, if that's your attitude, then the devil has already tricked you into believing that you're more powerful than he is.

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The apostle Paul said, even the devil disguises himself as an angel of light.

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We are not more powerful than Satan, nor can we thwart what

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God has allowed him to do. James has given us the instruction clearly in James chapter four, verse seven, and how we how we steer clear of the devil's schemes.

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Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

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In other words, don't give in to the temptation. Don't rebuke Satan. Don't give into his temptation.

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Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.

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Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the

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Lord and he will exalt you. See, it's just flat out arrogant even to say that that you are so important that the devil would even bother messing with you today.

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And then you have so much power that you can overcome the prince of darkness. Only Christ can do that.

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Humble yourself before the Lord and he will exalt you. So even

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Michael, the archangel, who definitely has more power and authority than we have, did not presume to issue a blasphemy against the devil, but said the

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Lord rebuke you. Verse 10, but these people blaspheme all that they do not understand and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

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They are following the passions of their sinful flesh. They are resisting the will and the word of God as is in our sinful flesh to do.

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Nobody wants to listen to and obey God. It is in our sinful nature to resist the things of God.

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But by his Holy Spirit, he has transformed our hearts, given us a new heart and has caused us to walk in his statutes, as the prophet

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Ezekiel says. So we are now obedient to God and can praise

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God in a manner that is worthy of the Lord because he has made us worthy by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and the blood that was shed for our sins as an atonement.

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We have put on the white robes of Christ and stand before God as righteous and can now enter into the

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Holy of Holies because of the access that we have through our great high priest, and that is

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Jesus Christ. In Revelation 22, verse 11, it says the following.

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Let the evil doer still do evil and the filthy still be filthy and the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy.

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In other words, God has a purpose for those who do evil and his purpose will be actualized and realized before the whole world on the day of judgment that his glory would be proclaimed even in the destruction of the wicked.

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And the Lord has a purpose for those who are righteous, who have been made righteous in Christ, that we would see his mercy poured out on those who have been purified in Christ Jesus.

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Also, we will see this on the day of judgment. So this is for us to know that there are always going to be evil people in the world until the day of judgment.

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And let us not issue blasphemous declarations against what the Lord has allowed to happen, but simply be obedient to what he has called us to do.

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And that is to obey his word and preach his gospel. He is the one who will transform the heart.

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We need to be obedient from the heart to the command of Christ. Let us pray.

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Our Lord God, we thank you for the word that is given to us that we may read it and study and know the mind of God and help us to do what is pleasing in your sight.

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Give us a clean heart. Forgive us our sins. That we might walk before you as holy and blameless people of God who have been purified in Christ to worship you in a manner that is worthy before the

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Lord. Give us the courage and the boldness to preach this gospel to others that they may hear the good news of Jesus Christ and so turn from their sin and live.

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And we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes.

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If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .wutt .com and click on the

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Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our Bible study, When We Understand the