to the book of Jude. It's the second to last
book of the Bible right before Revelation. It's
a short book, but a powerful book. One chapter,
25 verses. We're going to look at Jude today.
Jude, let's look at verse three. Beloved, when
I gave all diligence to write unto you of the
common salvation, it was needful for me to write
unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints. This afternoon, I wanna preach
about kingdom decision. by asking you a simple
but searching question. Are you a contender or
are you a pretender? God's got a word for somebody
in this place today. I don't know about you,
but I just want to receive all of that. I want
to surrender to God. I don't want to rush past
this moment. Why don't you just lift your hands
in the air and just surrender to the Holy Ghost
right now. God is going to speak to you today.
God's going to challenge us today. The power
of the Holy Ghost will move in this room. Let's
prepare our hearts. Help us today, mighty God.
Help us today, mighty God. We believe you today.
We trust you today. Our ears are open. Our hearts
are open. Our minds are open. We want to receive
from you, God. Draw us closer to you, God. In
the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus
Christ. The Lord bless you. You may be seated
today. God's asking us a question today. Are
you a contender or a pretender? Do you contend
for the faith or do you just pretend to fit in?
I want to begin today by saying I'm very thankful
for the word of God. God speaks very directly
to our church family. And I make it a habit in
my life, and I do my very best to never miss.
I hear every message preached from behind this
pulpit. If I'm in teaching the youth on Wednesday
nights, that night, or maybe the next day at
the latest, I'm hearing what God spoke to the
adult Bible study class. If I'm out of town,
I would encourage you, you gotta catch that service
you miss. If you're here today in the noon service
but you didn't hear the 930 message, it will
bless you. It's available online. It's free to
watch. It's something that will encourage you.
Before you go and hear maybe another sermon that
God shared to another church, why don't you make
sure you receive everything that God spoke directly
to your church through your pastor for your city.
And so I've made that a habit. And I know I'm
not the only one that can say they've heard every
sermon this year. But as someone who can say
that, I want to tell you, and I've noticed through
the years, that there are different seasons in
our church. And you can always know exactly where
we are based off the preached word of God that
comes across this pulpit. And I would say that
this year, really it started at the very end
of last year, the last Sunday of the year up
until this point. I would say that you could
weave a very common thread through all of the
messages. God is speaking very directly to his
church. And I believe this is what he is saying.
God is drawing a line in the sand for us. God
is making it obvious to us. He's making our choices
very clear. he's opening our eyes to an opportunity
we have to choose one side or the other. But
God is drawing a line in the sand and it's time
for us to respond to what God is doing. It's
time for us to decide if we're in this thing
for real. It's time for us to decide if we will
earnestly contend for the faith. You've heard
many sermons this year talking about the kingdom
of God. But it's always in the context of the
kingdom of God versus the kingdom of the devil.
The kingdom of heaven versus the kingdoms of
this world. The kingdom of darkness versus the
kingdom of light. There are only two options.
It's either the kingdom of God or it's the kingdoms
of this world. In fact, it was just last week,
Pastor Linder told us in the 930 service, he
told us that the kingdom of self is actually
just disguising itself. The kingdom of self is
not its own category. The kingdom of self is
just a disguise for the kingdom of darkness.
So please don't believe today that if I follow
my own way and do what my flesh wants, that I'm
choosing choice letter C. That's not at all what's
happening. Each of our decisions, we are choosing
the kingdom of God or we are choosing the kingdoms
of this world. Each of our decisions, we are
surrendering to the spirit of God or we are giving
in to what our flesh. There are only two choices
and you cannot be neutral. You have to pick a
kingdom. You are either on king or team heaven
or you are on team hell. If I could just throw
it out there today. I heard another preacher
say once, he was more blunt than I said, so I'm
saying this, you don't think I'm that kind of
guy. He said there's team heaven and there's
team hell and you have to be one. You can't be
neutral. If you say you're neutral, you default
to team hell. That's the kind of age that we're
living in, if I could just preach it today. That's
the kind of world, that's the kingdoms of this
world and the kingdom of heaven. The spirit of
God and our flesh are always fighting and God
is telling his church, you have to choose what
side you're on. You have to decide, am I in this
thing for real? You have to decide, am I really
sold out to the cause of Christ? This is a recurring
theme in the Bible. Firstly, my mind goes to
Joshua 24. We're all familiar with the verse
where Joshua tells the people of Israel, as for
me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And
I love that verse. And I say, amen, brother Joshua.
That's where I find myself too. But the beginning
of that verse starts out this way. He says, choose
you this day who you will serve. And if you read
the verse in its entirety, he says, if you want
to serve the God of your fathers, the God that
your great grandfather served, if you want to
follow the traditions of your family, okay. And
then he says, if you want to follow the God of
the Amalekites, if you want to follow the God
of the people in the land that we dwell in right
now, he says, okay. And it's after all of that,
laying out all the options, that Joshua says,
just so you know, as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord. But at the premise of that,
it's not so much about serve God as it is Joshua
is saying, just decide. Stop straddling the fence.
Stop pretending. Stop trying to have it both
ways. He says, choose you this day, and God is
speaking to heaven for you today. Choose you
today. What you're going to do. It's time to
make a kingdom decision. It's time to make up
your mind once and for all. My mind also goes
to 1 Kings 18. This is Elijah on Mount Carmel.
But before the fire comes down, the first part
of that conversation is Elijah talking to the
people of Israel. And he says, why do you halt
between two opinions? In other words, why do
you waver between two opinions? And again, he
basically says, if God is God, serve him. If
Bell is God, go ahead. Serve him. So the point
is not so much serve God, which of course is
his intention, but that's not what he was saying.
What he was saying was, whatever you do, decide.
I would rather you pick one side or the other
than to pretend like you can have it both ways.
Why are you wavering between two opinions? God
is telling heaven view today as well. Today's
the day to decide. Today's the day to decide
which way you're gonna go, who you're gonna follow,
who you're gonna serve. God is asking us today
to make a kingdom decision. In the book of Revelation,
chapters two and three, Jesus, through John,
writes a letter to each of the seven churches
that were in, or seven of the churches, I should
say, that were in modern day Turkey. And each
of these churches, he had some good things to
say about them. He had some bad things to say
about them. But at the very end, the seventh
letter, this is the letter to the church of Laodicea.
In this particular case, Jesus actually has nothing
good to say about them. They're the ones that
quote unquote got on his nerves the most. And
you know what his complaint was? He said, I would
rather you be hot or be cold, but because you're
lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth. Can
you believe that Jesus literally said, I would
rather you choose be on fire for the things of
God or just stop pretending like you care. I
would rather that than you just be right in between.
I would rather that than you just be completely
inauthentic and pretend like you care. And we
see that in our lives as well. It's almost easier
in a sense if somebody were to leave the church
and were to do all these things they know they're
not supposed to do. At that case, I would say
that their heart knows that they're far from
God. And conviction can almost work on them and
God and his mercy can bring people back. But
it's very dangerous where we find just a happy
medium, where we're doing just enough to get
by, where we do just enough to ease our conscience.
Then almost we could lie to ourself and pretend
like everything's okay. I'm sad for all the people
that won't make heaven because they've never
entered our church, but I'm even more sad for
the people that hear the preached word of God
every week, but never made a kingdom decision
to choose the kingdom of heaven over the kingdom
of darkness. God is telling his church today,
there are two options. This is not a multiple
choice test. You're picking A or you're picking
B. That's it. There's no plan C. There's no other
option. Choose you today who you will serve.
It's time to make a kingdom decision. And that's
what takes us to the question that God is asking
us today. And I want you where you are to ask
yourself honestly, am I a contender or a pretender?
In the world of sports. analysts will talk about
contenders versus pretenders. Because every season,
there are teams that start strong. They win a
few games, they look impressive. They really
seem to have it going on. Their statistics look
good. Their highlight reel looks great. And for
a while, people begin to believe that they might
win it all. But as the season goes on, the truth
begins to show. Sports commentators eventually
divide the teams into two categories, contenders
and pretenders. A contender is a team that is
truly capable of winning the championship. They
have the depth and the discipline and the endurance
and the consistency to go the distance. But please
notice, a pretender is not a terrible team. A
pretender, in many cases, is a good team. To
be in the conversation of, is this team a contender
or a pretender, you have to be a good team to
even be mentioned. Pretenders have talent. Pretenders
win some games. Pretenders look impressive at
times. But the problem is that they appear to
be better than they really are. And so when the
pressure increases, when the competition gets
stronger, when the season gets harder, the pretenders
start to fade. I thought of this concept a few
months ago, and I had thought, well, if I was
preaching at the time, I said, well, I might
take an opportunity to pick on the Charlotte
Hornets. I was going to say, you know, they're
not contenders or pretenders. They're always
the very last in the NBA. But wouldn't you know
it, three months later, over the past two or
three weeks, they've been one of the best teams
in the league. So I can't come up here today
and say they're not even in the conversation.
But I can tell you that the Charlotte Hornets
are pretenders. Because just because you won...
15 of your last 20 games does not mean that you're
gonna go very far in the playoffs. Just because
you beat one of the best teams in one game on
your own home court does not mean that you're
gonna win in a best out of seven series. That's
just not the case. So the Charlotte Hornets,
while if you're a basketball fan in North Carolina,
you have to be thrilled that they're doing so
well, they're pretenders. They put a few games
together well, but they don't have the talent
and the experience to do this. And so on the
talk shows, they're going to ask, are they contenders
or are they pretenders? And while they're a good
team and they have talent and they have potential,
nobody thinks they're going to win the championship.
So they're not a contender. They're a pretender.
Today is Selection Sunday for March Madness.
March Madness starts this week. And my Tar Heels,
God bless. Poor guys. They're a really good team,
and they're going to be ranked, and I heard the
experts say they'll be like a six or seven seed.
But they're going to be lucky if they're still
playing basketball next week, if we're being
honest. They're not going to play basketball
in April. Their star player hurt his thumb. What
are you going to do? They just lost in the quarterfinals
of their conference tournament. What are you
going to do? So I love the Tar Heels, and they're
a great team, but they're pretenders. Nobody's
picking them to win it all. So my point in all
of that is to say this. Contenders and pretenders
are both really good teams. Please don't fall
for the lie that the contenders look like they
have it going on and the pretenders, it's just
so very obvious they don't stand a chance. That's
a deception. Contenders and pretenders on the
outside look the exact same. Contenders and pretenders
both seemingly have the potential to go all the
way. They seemingly have the potential to earn,
obtain that crown of life, but it's what's on
the inside that matters. Pretenders are good
teams. They fit in. They have potential, but
they do not have what it takes. And so the difference
between contenders and pretenders is not talent.
The difference is authenticity. The difference
is endurance. The difference is... The difference
is having a made -up mind. And so let's use that
example and go back to the imagery presented
in the letter to the Laodicean church. People
that are cold are not even in the conversation.
That's not who this message is about today. It
comes down to who is a contender, those that
are hot, and who is a pretender, those that are
lukewarm. And remember, please remember, Jesus
says he would rather you be cold than lukewarm.
Jesus would rather you not even be in the conversation
than to be a pretender. No matter what it looks
like on the outside, Jesus would rather you just
be real to yourself and to those around you than
do just enough to get by, just enough to keep
up appearances, just enough to get people off
your back, but not enough to be truly pleasing
and acceptable in the sight of God. That's why
God is asking us, are you a contender or a pretender?
But God is not asking us today because he's curious.
He already knows. He sees your heart. He knows
you better than you know. God is asking us this
question today, so we will ask ourselves honestly,
humbly, sincerely, ask yourself today, am I a
contender or a pretender? Do I earnestly contend
for the faith? Or do I just pretend to fit in?
Because today is a perfect time to make a kingdom
decision. Today is the perfect time to commend,
to contend for the faith. Today's the time to
commit. Today's the time to make up your mind.
How long are you gonna waver between two opinions?
God is drawing a line in the sand today and it's
up to you to choose the right path. It's up to
you to choose. choose to contend for the faith.
And this is the exact issue that the book of
Jude is about. Jude is writing to a church that
had pretenders hiding among the contenders. And
I want to read his letter today in the New Living
Translation. While scholars believe that he sent
his letters to Jewish Christians who are familiar
with Hebrew teachings, he does not address an
exact audience. In fact, it's likely scholars
say that this letter was circulated to numerous
churches. But even beyond that, he identifies
his audience in verse 1. He says that this letter
is to all. who have been called by God, all who
are loved by God, and all who are kept by God.
A show of hands. Can anybody in here today say,
I have been called of God? Can anybody say, I
know that God loves me? Can anybody say, when
I look back over my life, God has kept me? Is
that your testimony today? If that's your testimony,
then I want you to know that Jude has called
you out directly. He's speaking to you today.
In verse two, he prays that we will experience
God's three things, mercy, peace, and love. He
prays that we have more and more mercy, peace,
and love. And for Jude, this was a nice introduction,
but it is a short letter and he's not wasting
any kind of time. Verse three, our main scripture
for today is the main scripture of this book.
And it completely turns the whole thing on its
head. In the New Living Translation, he says,
I wanted to write to you about the salvation
that we all share. In other words, he's saying,
I... really planned to write something that was
encouraging or uplifting or causing you to focus
on the blessings of God and the favor of God.
Can I say today that I relate? Probably every
preacher in this room would say that Jude speaks
for all of us. In my flesh, I would love nothing
more than to preach a message that was very comfortable
and convenient and a message that validates you.
I think that would be very easy to preach. And
in my flesh, that's what I would choose every
given time. But just like Jude. We have to hear
the word of God and we have to do what God says.
And sometimes we do need encouragement and uplifting.
Sometimes we do need to be reminded of the love
of God. But other times God is letting us know,
I'm drawing a line in the sand. Sometimes God
sends the man of God behind the pulpit to tell
you, choose you this day who you will serve.
And that's where Jude found himself. He planned
to write an encouraging letter. You could frame
it and put it on your wall. It'd make you smile
every morning. But God wouldn't let him. Verse
three, the entire thing changes. As he started
writing, he realized something that was happening
in the church that he could not ignore. And so
the NLT says that he urges us to defend the faith.
In other words, the KJV, he urges us to contend
for the faith. To contend in the biblical context
means to strive. It means to struggle. It even
means to argue. It means to argue earnestly in
defense of the truth. Often this implies intense
spiritual or moral opposition. It means that
you refuse to let the truth be weakened or watered
down or compromised. To contend means to contest
or to dispute or to fight. And so Jude is quite
literally telling us some things are worth fighting
for. It's not always a walk in the park following
God. This verse tells us to earnestly contend
for the faith. That word means to fight. Can
I tell you today that living for God, especially
in the year 2026, is gonna take a fight each
and every day. You are gonna have to decide.
I don't care who else is doing it. I don't care
what's popular. I don't care what's convenient.
But every day, I'm gonna do what God is calling
me to do. If I have to fight, I'm gonna fight.
I'm gonna earnestly contend for the faith. Now
I would urge you, and the Bible does too, if
it's physical, if it's natural, if it's fleshly,
yes, a mature Christian is gonna let it go. If
somebody cuts you off in traffic, it's not worth
your time. If somebody says something to offend
you, the Bible says turn the other cheek. The
Bible says we're not fighting against flesh and
blood. But please, do not use that approach for
spiritual things. Please do not use that approach
when truth is under attack. Can I preach to you
today that if somebody is questioning scripture,
if it's compromising on holiness, if it's rebelling
against spiritual authority, you've got to fight
with everything you've got. You've got to make
up your mind to stand up for truth. You've got
to make up your mind to contend for the faith
that was once delivered to the saints. I'm trying
to preach some fight into somebody's spirit today.
God is calling us today to contend for the faith.
God is calling us today to make up our mind.
Whose side are we on? Are we contenders or pretenders?
Ephesians 6 and 12, like I said, maybe we don't
fight against flesh and blood, but... We are
still fighting. We're fighting against principalities.
We're fighting against powers. We're fighting
against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
We're fighting against spiritual wickedness in
high places. It is a fight. It is a struggle.
And God is calling you today to contend for the
faith. The truth is worth fighting for. Your
family is worth fighting for. Your church is
worth fighting for. Your soul is worth fighting
for. Don't roll over. and let the devil be in
charge. You have the Holy Ghost. Don't let the
devil decide his next move. No, no, no, you go
on the offense. You don't sit around and see
what he's gonna do and I'll play defense and
I'll react to what he does. No, no, no, God's
calling somebody today to go on the offense and
to take back territory and to fight and to earnestly
contend for the faith. It's gonna make a difference.
It's gonna make a difference. You gotta fight
for the faith. You can't be complacent. You can't
be comfortable. You can't be convenient. Not
in these last days. You gotta fight. You gotta
earnestly contend for the faith. This verse says
that it's the faith that was delivered to the
saints. It is not something to be casually held
or loosely guarded. It is something that Jude
says we must earnestly contend for. Jude tells
us that it's time to make a kingdom decision.
Jude tells us that it's time to contend. Why?
Let's look at verse four. It's because Jude said
that certain men had crept in unnoticed. They
did not show up, by the way, announcing false
doctrine. These evil men blended in and they
looked like everyone else. But what they were
doing was dangerous. They were people that appeared
spiritual, but were not truly committed to the
faith. They were people who played the part perfectly,
but they would compromise when truth was challenged.
This verse says that they were turning the grace
of God into an excuse for sinful living. They
were basically saying that grace means you can
live however you want. And Jude said that when
people live like that, they are actually denying
the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And so here's the
difference. A pretender wants Jesus as Savior,
but not as Lord. They want forgiveness, but they
don't want authority. They want grace, but they
don't want to change. But a contender understands
something. The faith that saved me is the faith
that leads me. The God that died on the cross
for me is the God that demands righteousness
from me. So Jude's message is simple. Do not
just claim the faith. He says earnestly, contend,
fight for the faith. Jude goes on to remind us
that God has dealt with this pattern before.
People may start in the right place, but starting
right is not the same thing as staying faithful.
He gives us three examples. First is verse five.
He talks about Israel in the wilderness. God
delivered them from Egypt, but many of them later
refused to believe in him. Deliverance did not
automatically produce faithfulness. The second
example is verse six. He's talking. about the
rebellious angels who abandoned the place that
God gave them the third example is verse 7 Jude
talks about Sodom and Gomorrah these cities that
rejected God's design and pursued sinful desires
and immoral pleasures in each case in each of
these three examples the pattern is the exact
same Each of these three cases, they were exposed
to God's truth, but they refused to submit to
it. They had the opportunity to stand, but they
chose, they willingly chose compromise. Pretenders,
it's not a new thing. Pretenders have always
existed. These are people that claim faith, but
refuse obedience. People who want the blessings
of God without surrendering their lives. God
is patient, but God does judge persistent rebellion.
God does not take compromise lightly. And that's
the danger of pretending. Because a pretender
may look connected to God on the outside, but
on the inside, they resist his authority. A contender,
on the other hand, stays surrender. They don't
just experience God, but they remain faithful
to him. And so Jude, still here in verse 7, clearly
warns us, you can be around truth and still rebel
against it. You can sit on a pew beside a contender,
but it's still up to you if you're going to be
a contender or a pretender. You can hear every
word preached from this pulpit, but if you don't
decide, I'm going to apply that to my life and
earnestly contend for the faith you can miss
out on the promises of God. Let's go down to
verse 8. Jude describes the people causing trouble
in the church. Jude's a blunt guy, and I'm glad
he said it so I don't have to. If you don't like
this, blame Jude. They follow their own sinful
desires, he says in verse 8. Verse 10, they reject
authority and speak arrogantly about things that
they don't understand. In verse 11, he compares
pretenders in this case to several bad examples.
The first is Cain. Cain was driven by jealousy
and hatred. The second is Balaam. Balaam was
motivated by greed. He didn't have any integrity.
He just went to the highest bidder, which is
so pathetic. But God, in this case, is comparing
people that are messing up his church, people
that are not contending, people that are trying
to take advantage of people. He's comparing them
to Balaam. The last example he used, perhaps
the most sobering example, is Korah, who was
rebellious against God -appointed leadership.
Each of these people, Cain, Balaam, Korah, all
of them looked significant in their moment, but
they were not contenders for the faith. They
were pretenders who ultimately opposed the purposes
of God. And so Jude also gives us vivid metaphors
for them. This is verse 12. He says that they
are hidden dangers. He says that they are selfish
shepherds. He says they don't produce fruit.
They're clouds with no rain. They're trees with
no fruit. Verse 13, he calls them wild waves.
He calls them wandering stars. So here's his
point. These people look impressive, but produce
nothing good. They look useful, but these people
are actually dangerous. These people you actually
have to watch out for. They are not fighting
the good fight of faith. Instead, they are leading
others astray. And so now we go to verse 14,
and Jude quotes a prophecy that's attributed
back to Enoch in Genesis. And he says, the Lord
will come for his holy ones, but, verse 15, he
will judge the ungodly for the rebellion. In
other words, God sees their behavior and they
will not escape accountability. I'm trying to
draw a line in the sand today. I hope this is
okay. I want to read verse 16 verbatim, exactly
the way Jude wrote it in the New Living Translation.
These people are grumblers and complainers, living
only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly
about themselves and they flatter others to get
what they want. But Jude does not leave us in
discouragement. He tells us that we should expect
this kind of opposition. Let's look at verse
17. Jude reminds us that the apostles already
warned us that this would happen. Verse 18, the
Bible says that in the last days, mockers will
appear. They will follow their ungodly desires.
Verse 19, they will cause division in the church.
They are not guided by the Spirit. But thankfully,
Jude tells us how to respond. you to know today,
the answer to pretenders is not panic. The answer
to pretenders is strong contenders. The answer
to things going the wrong way are people that
will decide I'm going to do the right thing even
more. I'm not gonna sit around and worry about
what they're doing. I'm not gonna worry about
all that mess I can't control anyway. I'm not
fighting flesh or blood. I'm gonna be who God's
calling me to be. If you're pretending, okay,
I'm going to earnestly contend for the faith.
And so instead of getting pulled into the chaos,
Jude tells us to do this instead. Verse 20, build
up your faith and stay rooted in God's truth.
He tells us to pray in the Holy Ghost. Verse
21, he tells us to remain in God's love while
waiting for eternal life. Verse 22, show mercy
to those that are struggling with doubt. But
then verse 23, and this is important, rescue
others who are close to falling into sin, but...
Help them carefully, staying spiritually alert
so that you yourself are not pulled into the
same sins. So Jude rather leaves us with the
question, will we be pretenders who blend in
or will we be contenders who stand up? Because
this is my message today. Every believer. Maybe
nothing in the book of Jude applies to you directly,
but every believer will face a moment when the
pressure is on. Every person in this room today,
every person joining online, you will face a
moment when compromise would be easier. You will
face a moment when everyone else bows. Every
believer will have to make a kingdom decision.
And in that moment, it's going to matter if you're
a contender or a pretender. And so up to this
point in Jude, Jude has shown us that throughout
history, there have been two kinds of people
around the people of God, and that's contenders
and that's pretenders. That's people who truly
stand up for truth versus people who only appear
to. And so I would say that if you want to see
a perfect picture of this principle in the Bible,
you would have to look in the book of Daniel.
When Babylon conquered Judah, this is in the
very beginning of Daniel 1. This is what the
book starts with. When Babylon conquered Judah,
the Babylonians did not take everyone captive.
They did not. The Bible says that they specifically
selected the strongest, the brightest, and the
most promising young men. The weak people stayed
behind. The unremarkable stayed behind. The ones
who were not even in the conversation to begin
with, they stayed home in Judah. But the young
men who were taken to Babylon really were the
best of the best. They were intelligent. They
were talented. They were disciplined. They were
impressive. And if you had looked on the outside
of that group of young men, When they first arrived
in Babylon, you would have thought to yourself,
these guys are all contenders. On the outside,
they all had it together. Again, the people that
were not in the conversation, the cold people,
they were still home in Babylon. It was only
the seemingly contenders that were taken to Babylon.
But it did not take very long for separation
to happen. It did not take very long for them
to figure out who was willing to pretend, who
was willing to just go along to get along versus
who had already decided that they would contend.
Because unknowingly, the king, he gave them a
test as soon as they got there. As soon as they
got to Babylon, the Bible says that they were
offered the king's meat and the king's wine.
Now, on the surface, I will admit with you, this
may not seem like a big deal. This is not exactly
a fiery furnace. This is not a lion's den. This
is not a life or death situation. On the surface,
this just appears to be lunch. This just appears
to be a meal. But that small test exposed something
important. Almost all of the young men that were...
were there that were captured, that were taken
to Babylon. Almost all of them just went along
with the program. They ate the king's food. They
drank the king's wine. They adjusted to Babylon.
They did their best to fit in. They looked like
contenders on the outside, but on the inside,
who they really were, they were actually just
pretenders. But the Bible tells us in Daniel
chapter 1 that Daniel purposed in his heart that
he would not defile himself. And following his
example were three Hebrew young men named Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. This was long before the
fiery furnace. This was before their confrontation
with the king. This was before their famous moment
of trust in God. They were already contending
for the faith. As soon as the book starts, even
when it's... a seemingly small deal, these four
young men were already contending for the faith.
Because real contenders don't suddenly become
strong when the big moment arrives. It's not
a I'll fake it till I make it kind of situation.
It's not a well I know the truth and I'll figure
it out when I get there. Contenders don't just
figure it out in that big moment when everybody's
eyes are on them. These four young men had already
been faithful in the small moments. Can I put
it to you like this way? Daniel would have never
defied the king and prayed three times a day
if he could not even stand up to the king's menu.
The three young Hebrew men would never have faced
the death of the fiery furnace and still did
what God was called them to do if they could
not even decide, I'm not going to eat that, I'm
not going to drink that. There was a moment where
they could have very easily gotten away with
it, and nobody would have cared, and it would
have been so comfortable and convenient that
they actually in that moment proved themselves,
and later when it was a big thing, they already
knew who they were. But they had to take a stand
before that. They had to decide that they were
earnestly going to contend for the faith. And
so you could say that Daniel chapter one was
the training ground. It was in this moment where
the contenders separated themselves from the
pretenders. And that separation becomes crystal
clear in Daniel chapter three. King Nebuchadnezzar
built a massive golden image and he commanded
everyone in the kingdom to bow down to it. And
so when the music played, everyone bowed. Government
leaders bowed. Military leaders bowed. Educational
leaders, they bowed. Thousands upon thousands
of people bowed, but standing in the middle of
that crowd were three young men who had already,
before that point, they had already made their
decision. They had already made up their mind.
They had already decided that they were gonna
contend for the faith. They had already proven
themselves in the smaller test. And so when the
music played, these three young men by themselves
stayed standing, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And when you read the story, the king gave him
another chance. He says, well, maybe you didn't
understand or maybe you didn't hear. Maybe you
got bad knees. I don't know. But I want to give
you one more chance. We're going to play the
music again. And I want to be crystal clear.
If you do not bow, you are going to be thrown
into that fiery furnace to your death. In fact,
for fun, let's make it seven times harder. Let's
make your decision easier. If you do not bow
when the music plays, you will be thrown to your
death in that fiery furnace. That's exactly what
he told them. But like I said, before this point,
not here in this big moment with everybody's
eyes on him, before this point, they had already
dedicated themselves to the cause of Christ.
Before this point, they had already decided that
they were gonna contend for the faith. And these
three young men responded with one of the most
powerful statements of faith in the entire Bible.
This is Daniel chapter 3, 17. Our God is able
to deliver us from the fiery furnace. Verse 18,
but if not, we still will not bow. God's able
to do it, but if he doesn't do it, I didn't come
this far to give up now. I didn't make all these
sacrifices and disciplines to be who God's calling
me to be, to throw it all away now. I'm going
to earnestly contend for the faith. I'm not gonna
pretend. I'm not just gonna go to get along.
I have a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
It doesn't matter how hard it is. I wanna do
the right thing. I wanna earnestly contend for
the faith. That is the difference between a contender
and a pretender. A pretender bows when the pressure
rises, but a contender stands no matter the cost.
A pretender blends in with the crowd, but a contender
promotes the truth even if they are the only
one. And the Bible tells us that these three
men were thrown into the furnace. But when the
king looked into the fire, he did not see three
young men burning. He saw four men standing,
rejoicing, victorious. Can I tell you today,
if you will contend for the faith, God is not
going to abandon you. If you get thrown into
the fire, God will be there right with you. If
you will stand for the things of God, God will
stand for you. Let's stand all across this room
and worship the Lord. God's got your back. Don't
think you're doing this by yourself. Don't think
you're the only one. No, no, no. God's got your
back. If you will stand for what matters to God,
he'll have your back. If you will earnestly contend
for the faith, if you will earnestly stand for
the truth, God is faithful. God will provide
for you God will protect you God will go into
the fire with you I believe today that that is
exactly what God is asking from us in this room
right now. Not just to say that we believe. Not
just to look the part. Not just to blend into
the culture. God is calling us to earnestly contend
for the faith. Because sooner or later, everyone,
every believer, every person in this room will
face their moment. It will be a moment where
compromise would be a lot easier. It would be
in a moment where everyone else is bowing to
an idol. It will be in a moment where the pressure
is real. So I want to encourage you, go ahead
and make up your mind today. Go ahead in this
service right now and make a kingdom decision.
Let me ask you again, are you contending for
the faith or are you just pretending to fit in?
Because one day, every one of us will come to
the end of our life. None of us were not promised
tomorrow or it could be at the very years and
years from here. But whenever it happens, however
it happens, each of us will come to the end of
our life. And in that moment, the question will
not be, what did you claim to be? The question
would not be, what did you pretend to be? The
question will be, did you do the right thing?
Did you stand up for truth? Did you earnestly
contend for the faith? My prayer is that everyone
here today can say what the Apostle Paul said
in 2 Timothy 4 and 7. He tells Timothy, I have
fought a good fight. I have finished my course.
I have kept the faith. I have earnestly contended
for the faith. I believe that today God is looking
for people who will say, I will not bow to the
culture. I will not bow to compromise. I will
not bow to sin. I will not bow to the spirit
of this world. I'm not a pretender. I'm a contender.
And I'm going to contend for the faith. If that's
you, will you come to this altar right now? And
would you lift your hands in the air? And would
you surrender everything to God? Would you come
right now and would you pray with your outside
voice? And would you let God know I'm in this
thing for real? I'm not in this because it's
convenient or comfortable. I'm not in this for
the blessings. I'm in this because right is right
and wrong is wrong. I'm in this because it's
the kingdom of heaven versus the kingdoms of
this world. I'm in this because it's the spirit
of God versus my flesh.