Jude
Notes
Transcript
Sometimes we need a reminder, amen?!
Sometimes, we need God to reach down… shake us up a little bit… and remind us of what is important, amen?!
That is what Jude does here…
His desire was to write them an elegant letter about salvation… howe great it was… how awesome it is… how undeserving they are… and how great God’s mercy is…
But God had another plan!
You see… God knew that we — just like the people in Jude’s time — needed a reminder…
Look at
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
3 Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
4 For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude confesses that his desire was to write them about “the salvation” that they shared.... He was eager to write about it… He was excited about it… But.... God had other plans…
(I can relate)
Right here in the opening of his letter, Jude gives us — ALL Christians — a reminder that we need to pay attention to.
He tells us three things that we need to understand…
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ:
I. You are Loved by God. You are valuable to God… He loves You! He adores YOU! You are WORTH something to Him! You have great value!
Do you understand that?!
— Being Loved by God is the very heart of the Gospel…
— But… What does it mean to be “Loved”?
Many people think that it means to “receive” from someone else… to be “doted” on… “adored”… “served”… but can I tell you… That is not love!
Love is not about you! It’s not about you being served… being first… being the “center of attention”....
Yet, that is exactly what we have been taught in the church, amen?
We’ve heard sermon after sermon telling us “It’s all about me!”
John Piper said this:
“We stand before the Holy Cross of God Almighty and take it as an echo of my worth, instead of as an echo of the horror of demeaning the worth of God — which is what Sin is....”
Isn’t that true?!
How many times have we looked to the Cross and thought… “He did it all for me! It was all about me!”?
How many times have we been pointed to the Cross and been told, “It’s all about you! Christ did it all for you!”?
There is some truth there… But do you hear the issue in those words?
God’s Love is about the world and God’s relationship with His Creation… not about us!
To think it is … is pure selfishness!
Piper goes on to say:
“God’s love for sinners is not His making much of us, but His graciously freeing and empowering us to enjoy making much of Him.”
Love… God’s Love… is not about us! It’s not selfish… it is about freeing and empowering others to “make much of God”… and thus to “make much of us”…
Think about it… Love is graciously giving of ourselves — for the sake of the one we love!
When we do that, it empowers and frees them to lift us up and love us!
That is what God did! And that is what God does!
1 John 4:16 (NRSV)
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
Look at 1 Jn 4:16… John proclaims, “God is Love!”
God revealed His love to us on the Cross!
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
look at:
10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God’s love is the key that opens our ability to love...
19 We love because he first loved us.
It is not about us!
God is Love!
And we are Loved by Him… That is the message of Freedom!
You and I are LOVED by God!
— and so is the rest of the world!
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
— You are special to God… You are Loved by God… You are adored and valued by your Creator… and so are ALL other people!!!
We need to understand that… to truly understand that!
ALL people are special… dear… adored… and LOVED by God!
— His love for us TRANSFORMS our lives… by freeing us to LOVE Him and to LOVE others…
II We are KEPT by God.
— What does that mean? What does it mean to be “kept” by God?
— Does that mean that we are slaves… that we no longer have the right to choose for ourselves?
— Does that mean that we are “protected”… that we cannot LOSE our salvation? That we are protected from the results of sin?
— Many people believe that it does… and they live their lives as though sin doesn’t matter… because God is going to save everyone! After all, God is Love! And since He LOVES the entire world, He won’t let anyone perish!
Look at:
15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;
16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
— God has commanded us to “Be Holy”
— So… What does it mean to be “Kept in Him”?
The word “Kept” has 2 meanings in Jude:
“Steadfast nurture and care for something in one’s possession”
“to guard something or someone from attack and destruction”
Look back at Jude 1
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ:
“Kept for Christ” is translated 3 different ways in scripture:
— “Kept for Christ”
— “Kept in Christ”
— “Kept by Christ”
ALL of these are true!
We are Kept for/in/by Christ!
— Christ cares for us… He nurtures us… and He guards us…
9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
— Gos provides what we need through Christ.
However… We must choose to keep ourselves in Him.
III. We are CALLED by God.
— You are CALLED by Christ, amen?
What does that mean?
— Many people think that the term only applies to ministers… teachers… evangelists… pastors....
But look at:
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
We are called to follow Christ.
28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
We are called to bring our burdens — our needs — to Him.
7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness.
To be Holy.
1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
To “Live Up” to our calling… to live a life worthy of the Love God has for us.
10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.
To answer our call to Faith.
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
To imitate God.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
To offer ourselves to God, just as He offered Christ!
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
To follow Christ’s steps… into sacrificial living…
We have been called to live as Children of God!
That means that it is not about us....
— We are not to be of this world…
— we are called to be different…
— to live confident… strong… loving lives… not for ourselves, but for others!!!
Just as Christ did…
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you [act] like men, be strong.” — Isaac Watts (sermon on 1 Cor 16:13)
He went on to say:
“Am I a soldier of the Cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease?
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?”
God called us to a place and purpose in life.
— He calls us to Himself… to Faith… to reconciliation… to Holiness… to service…
Will we stand fast in our faith?
3 Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Will we stand fast in the face of ALL that comes our way, KNOWING that God LOVES us, KEEPS us, and CALLS us?
There will be a reward if we do.
2 May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
When we STAND FAST in our Faith, we receive God’s Mercy… God’s Peace… and God’s Love into our lives.
Will we STAND FAST?