Let Us Decide That It’s Time to Personally Contend For The Faith!
When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted
and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:4
Dear Family,
When Nehemiah heard the news that the Jewish remnant who survived their captivity
was back in Jerusalem and living in disgrace, he took it personally. They were his
people, God’s people, and they were in trouble. It was a pitiful situation that touched
Nehemiah’s heart deeply, so deeply that he spent days weeping, mourning and praying
about it. He took the news personally. While I served in Southern Illinois I heard a
statement that has stuck in my mind ever since. The statement goes this way: “No one
really cares what you do until you kick their dog.” In other words, complacency will be the
norm until it becomes personal. But when it becomes personal it becomes important!
Complacency is replaced with passion and action because after all, “It’s MY dog that you
kicked!”
Jude writes, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation
we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all
entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago
have secretly slipped in among you.” Jude’s command to contend for the faith was based
upon the fact that ungodly people who were teaching destructive and false doctrines
were among THEM. They were there in THEIR midst practicing and promoting sexual
immorality and perversion.
The increasing godlessness we see today in our families, churches, government,
communities, schools and workplaces should be motivation enough for all of us to want
to do something about it, to contend for the faith as Jude commands his readers. In our
hearts we know we should be more involved, but we’re not really sure how to get
involved in a practical way. This is why for the next six weeks we are focusing on
practical ways we all can contend for the faith. The sermons, video clips and small group
materials are designed to help us in simple, practical ways to get more involved.
We absolutely should take this challenge personally not only because we are
commanded to be salt and light in our culture, but because the enemy has blinded so
many people to the truth of God’s word. This includes our children and grandchildren, our
co-workers and friends, our brothers and sisters in our church, the governing officials that
we elect, and our neighbors who live right by us.
So, let us decide that it’s time to personally contend for the faith, to get involved and
engage in the fight. Let us determine that with God’s help, His Word and His power that
we will no longer be complacent about the struggle we are in. Friends, this struggle IS
personal and it’s real, but it’s also a winnable fight because of our God!
Let me close with how Nehemiah encouraged the Israelites who were engaged in
rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem not to give up. They were constantly being
threatened by the ungodly people around them with the hope they would give up building
the wall. But Nehemiah told them this in Nehemiah 4:14: “After I looked things over, I
stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of
them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your
sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’” Remember the Lord and His
strength and contend for the faith!
In His Strength,
Pastor Glenn
“How to Contend for the Faith” 6-Week Bible Study”
You won’t want to miss this study showing us how we can “contend for the faith” in our life, family, workplace/school, church, community and government. We’ll learn through the Sunday messages and then through small groups that meet during the week, including our Wednesday night Bible study at
6:45pm and two groups on Sunday morning at 9am. For the week ONE video, click on this link: https://youtu.be/_mpqM70alM4