Sermon #9 of 11
Jude: A Call to Defend
Surviving the Battle
Jude 17-21
Passage
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Introduction
High School football season is here.
Right now teams all across America are working on their skills and working on their plays that they will use throughout the season.
However, once it gets closer to their first game, they will turn their attention to their opponent.
They will start learning what their opponent does. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their tendencies.
You see football is more than just going out and hitting someone, it is knowing your enemy as well as you can, so that you can beat them.
Illus: Playing against Quanah
Growing up in Childress the Quanah Indians were our arch rivals
I had played against Quanah so much from jr. high thru high school I knew their playbook better than they did.
One game I played against them, I could anticipate when they would run their run favorite play. I got into the backfield many times and caused them to lose yardage. I knew what they were going to do before they did it!
God gives us the playbook of the enemy so that we can anticipate their moves.
Jude turns his attention back to the battle at hand. The battle to defend the truth of scripture, to defend the truth of the Gospel.
5 things Jude brings out in surviving this battle.
1. Remember
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.
Folks this is imperative! It is important! You must remember.
This is not an option. This is vital to winning, to surviving! Realize this is more than a game. This is about eternity! It is about whether or not people spend an eternity in heaven, or an eternity in hell.
What is it that we are to remember? The predictions!
Whose predictions? The apostles!
What were these predictions?
18 They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, they have been sounding the alarm that apostasy was coming!
It should not have been a surprise for these Jewish Christians that Jude was writing to, and it should not be a surprise to us!
Then why are we surprised? Why are we got off guard? Why have we not defended what has been entrusted to us?
Because we have not known!!
We don’t know the enemy tactics because we have not learned the message from God’s Word!
You see, God has given us the enemy’s playbook.
He has told us what to watch out for.
He has told us how to fight!
But we can’t remember, because we do not know!
We must know God’s Word! We must study it for ourselves instead of having it spoon fed to us.
Don’t rely on someone else to tell you what God’s Word has to say, because they may be of the enemy.
2. Build yourselves up
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith
You must be growing in your faith!
If you saw what appeared to be an adult dressed in baby’s clothes with a bottle in his hand, would that be just a little strange?
Or how about putting a pee-wee football team out on the field to play against last year’s Super-Bowl champs?
The American church is full of people such as these because believers have not grown up in their faith.
They are still babes in Christ!
They may have been believers for many, many years, but they are still in essence babies in the faith because they have not grown up.
To grow means that you are attached to Jesus and not the world.
John 15:5
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
You must read and study God’s Word.
You must pray.
You must minister.
You must be an active part of God’s Church.
You must be obedient to Jesus and the Bible.
These are just some of the things you must do to build yourselves up.
You must get off of the milk and start eating some steak!
Hebrews 5:11-14
11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
He goes on in chapter 6 to speak to this as well.
3. Pray
and praying in the Holy Spirit,
Paul tells us pray continually in 1 Thessalonians 5:16
Here Jude says to pray in the Holy Spirit? Why?
The Holy Spirit is our counselor according to Jesus?
He is there to give us comfort, instruction, direction, and even a slap to the head when we need it.
The Holy Spirit can speak to our hearts at a moments notice to warn us, or to direct us to someone who needs help.
As we live a lifestyle of prayer, we are more able to fight and defend appropriately for the occasion.
4. Keep yourselves in God’s love.
21 keep yourselves in the love of God,
How do we do that? By remaining close to Jesus.
Remember that this faith is a relationship.
If you wander away from your relationship with Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith, you will falter.
The safest place to be in your faith is close to Jesus.
When storms of life come, when Satan brings his attacks, you need to be with Jesus, not on an island, but with Jesus and His Church.
God’s love is always there, but if you are away from Him, it is difficult to experience it.
5. Wait for Jesus.
waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
This is an eschatological statement …
We are to wait for Jesus to come again.
When Jesus comes back, we get the victory if we are His.
The enemy will be defeated.
Everything will be as God intended.
Until then we must wait expectantly.
We must defend the truth of Scripture
We must defend the truth of the Gospel.
Conclusion
Are you surviving the battle to defend? Or do you feel like you are a casualty of war?
Are you ready to survive?
Do you know so that you can remember?
Are you building yourself up in the faith?
Are you praying in the spirit? Listening to the counselor of your
life?
Are you staying close to the love of God?
Are you eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus?
If not, I encourage you to come and repent this morning.
If you have never trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord, if you are not on His winning team, I encourage you to come forward and let me share with you how to join up.
