{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"When Spiritual Confidence Becomes Arrogance | Jude 8-10","description":"Welcome to The Daily. ESTHER: We will begin Esther next Monday. I have titled this one, FOR SUCH A TIME: Courage When God Seems Silent. Grab the Esther Journal now. If you are a Project23 donor giving $35\/month or more, do not purchase one; we have already sent this to you in the mail. Our text today is Jude 8-10 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 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, \u2018The Lord rebuke you.\u2019 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. \u2014 Jude 8-10 Some people sound the most certain when they understand the least. We\u2019ve all seen it. A strong opinion. A spiritual tone. Maybe a Bible phrase or two. And suddenly someone speaks as though they are God. That\u2019s the kind of arrogance Jude is confronting. These false teachers were \u201crelying on their dreams.\u201d In other words, they were using personal experiences and spiritual claims to justify what they wanted to believe. We see the same pattern today when people elevate personal impressions, \u201cGod told me\u201d moments, or emotional experiences above Scripture's clear teaching. A verse may say one thing, but a feeling or a supposed revelation is used to override it. In those moments, experience doesn\u2019t just influence interpretation\u2014it replaces it. They didn\u2019t submit their experiences to God\u2019s truth. That\u2019s always dangerous. A dream, impression, feeling, or strong desire might feel deeply personal. But feeling certain does not make something fact. Every experience must be tested under the authority of Scripture. When personal experience becomes the highest authority, Jude says three things begin to happen. Desire takes over the body. Pride rejects authority. Arrogance corrupts speech. Notice they didn\u2019t want anyone telling them what to do. Not Scripture. Not spiritual leaders. Not even God himself. They wanted spiritual freedom without spiritual submission. But that isn\u2019t freedom. It\u2019s rebellion dressed up in religious language. Then Jude gives us a bizarre example involving Michael the archangel, the devil, and the body of Moses. Jude does not explain why they were disputing over Moses\u2019 body, and Scripture doesn\u2019t give us enough information to fill in all the blanks. So we shouldn\u2019t pretend we know more than we do. And that\u2019s actually part of Jude\u2019s point. Michael was an archangel. He had real spiritual authority. Yet when confronting the devil, he did not speak recklessly or act as though ultimate authority belonged to him. He simply said, \u201cThe Lord rebuke you.\u201d In other words, even Michael knew his place. He did not rely on himself. He relied on the Lord. That is a powerful picture of spiritual humility. And Michael had more spiritual knowledge than any of these false teachers, yet he spoke with greater restraint than they did. The false teachers were loud about things they did not understand. But Michael was careful even in an area he understood better than they ever could. Spiritual maturity does not make you louder about everything. Sometimes it makes you calmer and quieter, and it teaches you when to speak and how to speak. Jude says these people \u201cblaspheme all that they do not understand.\u201d They attacked what they had never taken the time to understand. Then they followed whatever they understood \u201cinstinctively.\u201d And that still happens. It's happening like wildfire in our postmodern culture. We turn a strong feeling into a deeply held spiritual conviction. Or turn a personal preference into an authoritative command. We speak confidently about subjects we have barely studied. Just listen to most opinion podcasters today, and this is what you get. Feeling and opinions elevated to supreme authority, with complete disregard for the facts. And believers do the same when we wrongly use the phrase \u201cGod told me\u201d to protect a choice from wise questions or biblical correction. Then, when anyone challenges us, we call it persecution when it is really just correction. I can see this tendency in myself. When I care deeply about truth, confidence can slowly turn into certainty about things Scripture has not made completely clear. I can speak too quickly, assume too much, and call it discernment. Biblical humility does not mean having weak convictions. It means placing our strongest convictions under Christ's authority. It means speaking clearly where Scripture is clear. Speaking carefully where Scripture leaves questions. And refusing to act like our opinions carry the same weight as God\u2019s Word. So before you speak today, pause. Ask whether you are defending God\u2019s truth or protecting your pride. Ask whether you understand the issue or are simply reacting to it. And remember Michael\u2019s words: \u201cThe Lord rebuke you.\u201d The authority, the truth, and the judgment are his. Stay humble, my friends. DO THIS: Before making a strong statement today, stop and ask: Is this clearly taught in Scripture? Do I understand the issue well enough to speak? Am I responding with humility or reacting from pride? Choose one conversation where you will listen longer and speak more carefully. ASK THIS: Have you ever treated a strong feeling or personal experience as though it carried the same authority as Scripture? Where are you most tempted to speak confidently about something you do not fully understand? How can you hold strong biblical convictions without becoming proud, harsh, or unteachable? PRAY THIS: Lord, keep my convictions rooted in your Word, my words under your authority, and my heart humble enough to receive correction. Amen. PLAY THIS: Confidence ","author_name":"The Daily + Weekly by Vince Miller","author_url":"https:\/\/beresolute.org\/vincemillerspeaker","html":"