Navigating the Journey #2
Contending for the faith
Jude
Introduction-
As we continue our series Navigation the journey, I going to make a harsh statement-
God doesn’t always wait till everything is good to work miracles in our lives.
God isn’t limited to doing things only when things are out of control.
We feel we must clean up, stop doing things, be kind before He can do something.
God doesn’t need your help! He can do it all on His own! But He chooses to do things through us! That is amazing and that is a miracle in itself!
Last week, we looked at the transformation of our lives when we give our lives to Christ. When we choose to take the road that leads to Jesus.
Last week’s message was one of the most talked about sermons in a while.
We need a transforming moment with God if we are to move past the challenges.
You cannot stay the same and expect change.
You cannot keep doing things that God has already told you about and expect a blessing.
There has to be change and that change has to be God lead.
I can give a great sermon but if no one changes and moves toward and closer to God, it was not life changing, it was a motivational speech and most speeches are forgotten by the end of the same day that they were heard.
What did you do with last week’s word- did you hide it in your heart and apply it?
If you were not here, did you go back and listen to the message because you don’t want to miss anything God is doing or wanting to say to you?
If you weren’t here was it because you couldn’t be here or didn’t want to be here.
Most think of Jude as unimportant because there is only one chapter.
I think there is a lot for us in this one chapter. I think he says a lot with a few words which is sometimes all it takes to get our attention if we have a heart that is open and ready to hear from God.
The book of Jude opens with “To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus” I hope that is you this morning. He is writing to believers. He is pouring out his live and giving a warning to God’s people. “Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.”
Prayer-
Father, we come this morning in the name of Jesus. We see Jude’s heart in his letter that the perversion of the world is not a license for the immorality of God’s people. The perversion of his grace will one day come to a close and we as sinful people will stand before a holy God.
To those of us who are not where we need to be, He gives a warning.
To believers, the greatest glory we can attain is to be of use to Jesus.
Remember the series is about the journey. We know that there is a fork in the road where each of us must decide which path we will take.
One, the road of destruction and one will take us toward and following Jesus.
If you are on the road of destruction, you are struggling because God is trying to get your attention and you keep picking up things that don’t belong to a believer, or you continue to hang onto things that you should be laying down.
He addresses it in verse 3- let’s start reading- “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 who condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. (Stop There) This is where we will spend a minute!
WHAT HAS SLIPPED INTO YOUR LIFE THAT HAS CAUSED YOU TO STUMBLE?
What person or thing has caused you to slip from where you know you need to be?
Listen he says that he would love to talk about the salvation that we share but he felt lead by the Spirit of God to talk about what has slipped in and is causing your work with God to make you stumble.
Sin has a way of slipping in- sometimes we even hold the door open for it to come in because we are welcoming it into our lives.
Jude is lead by God to address the hard issues in our lives- we don’t want to talk about those things but we need to talk about those things! Those things that keep us up at night and things that pull us away from the Lord. In the weeks to come we will keep looking at some hard questions to find Godly answers.
Good things that take priority over God are no longer good things. We serve a jealous and demanding God. He must be first in our lives if we are going to see Him accomplish what He desires for each of us.
The slippery rocks are what cause us to fall. We wonder why or how we got to the place we are at and how we can move out of it.
I want you to see something -
Jude who was not a fan of Jesus. He wouldn’t identify with Jesus because he was not a believer.
Jude was not a fan of Jesus and is well documented that he was not a believer while Jesus earthly ministry was happening.
I believe Jude had a problem believing Jesus was who he said he was because here is mom and here is dad and here I am and here is Jesus!
It was at the resurrection that Jude got that correct and saw Jesus for who He was. Once he knew who Jesus was, He knew what he needed to do and then he was all in.
He could have taken a lot of praise for being the brother of Jesus but humbly answers to be a servant of Jesus Christ. He claims no authority or special privilege of his own. He submits to the authority of Christ.
How many Christians do you know that start out loving Jesus, start serving the Lord and somewhere in their travels and their ministries they lost Jesus.
The attention was on them… not on Jesus.
Jude learned the lesson what servant ministry is about.
Some of us need a comeback! The church needs a comeback from Covid-19. God’s people need to refocus on Jesus and get back to the things that are important.
Some of us need to realize that we have slipped and in need of picking ourselves up with God’s help so that we can get ourselves back on track.
We love to hear comeback stories- where the underdog wins against the odds.
The devil if you let him will steal your life story and convinced you that there is no such thing as a comeback for your life. That is a lie from the pit of hell and it smells like smoke!
The book of Jude is a small book mostly remembered by a great doxology at the end and a warning to believers to not fall from faith by immoral life and forgetting that grace has been given to us.
He says in verse 5 “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.”
Why would he have to remind them of their own history and where God has taken them from?
Because time has a way of causing us to forget.
We forget blessing when swamped with trials.
We forget warnings when things are good.
Coming to Jesus is a moment- exciting moment! A moment to respond to Him. A humble moment of receiving the gift of salvation. It is life changing! Or at least it should be! After that initial moment, it has to become a lifestyle. You keep journeying, but the goal is different, your priorities are different. You journey is to get home and take as many people as you can with you.
Every genuine believer is a steward of the Christian faith. When people of bad character rise to teach false doctrines, you must speak the truth and defend the faith.
He said this because some ungodly people had wormed their way into the churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
YOU ARE A STEWARD
If something is important to you, you will defend it to the last. Are you a Christian? Is the Christian faith important to you? If yes, then you must defend it as stewards entrusted with the word of life. "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor 4:1).
If you realize that you have a responsibility to be good stewards of your faith and be on guard that nothing slips in to pollute your faith and beliefs… you will see amazing things happening in your life.
To let something slip into our lives is to sneak or smuggle someone or something without being noticed or scrutinized.
Illustration-
The Greek Mythical Trojan Horse- the horse appeared to be a gift and once inside the fortress became enemies pouring into the city and taking them over.
WHY DEFEND THE FAITH
Why must we arise and defend or contend for the faith handed to us, Jude 1:4 tells us: “… Some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s Marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives…” Jude says this is tantamount to denying Christ.
It is a spiritual attack
Ephesians 6:12
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Psalm 91
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of thee Lord, He is my refuse and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.
John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Luke 10:19
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
2 Timothy 4:3
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.”
James 5:16
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
1 Peter 5:8-9
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
John 16:33
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”
The doctrine of a sloppy grace has been flooding the churches for centuries.
Apostle Paul warned against such a doctrine in Rom 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
GOD HATES SIN The children of Israel were delivered from slavery, but those who rebelled against God were destroyed before they reached the promised land.
The angels that rebelled against God were expelled from heaven.
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were utterly destroyed because of the wickedness of the inhabitants.
The people who have this doctrine according to Jude, "live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings"
(Jude 1:8b). They do whatever they like, deceive people for money and like Korah, they perish in their rebellion. God hates sin and will not fellowship with anyone who delights in sin.
LIFESTYLE COUNTS
We see practitioners of this doctrine in our churches today, they will tell you they are saved and born again, but their lifestyle tells a different story.
They are deep in fornication and adultery, lying and cursing, fraud and wild partying.
Jude says such people deny Christ by their lifestyle.
True Christians need to stand up and defend the faith against these false teachers, prophets and teachings by speaking the truth no matter what.
Your lifestyle on earth determines whether you will make heaven or not. After receiving Christ as Lord and Savior, you must live a lifestyle in conformity to the word of God.
Jude describes them in very sobering language in Jude 1:12,13,16:
"Shameless shepherds who care only for themselves...clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain... trees that bear no fruit... wild waves of the sea churning out the foam of their shameful deeds... wandering stars doomed forever... grumbles and complainers living only to satisfy their desires... They brag about themselves and flatter others to get what they need.”
THERE HAS TO BE REPENTENCE- We cannot claim to be in Christ and live a contrary lifestyle. The judgment of God is imminent, but there is still time to repent and live righteously for Christ. If we claim to be followers of Christ, we must defend the faith that was handed over to us by living according to the word of God. Remember, in the last days the Bible says, men would be lovers of themselves and the love of many shall wax cold.
Jude 1:18 says: "They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires."
As a disciple of Christ, you must defend the faith against such teachings and rescue as many from this doctrine of Satan.
Those who mock God's truth and who follow their own desires all while claiming to be Christians, are the most dangerous kind of unbelievers
The World's Most Unwanted Ship
The Pellicano is the world's most unwanted ship. Since 1986 she has been the hobo of the high seas. No one wants her. Sri Lanka doesn't. Bermuda doesn't. The Dominican Republic turned her away. So did the Netherlands, and Honduras.
The problem is not the boat. Though Rusty and Barnacled, the 466-foot freighter is seaworthy.
The problem is not the ownership. The owners have kept the license current and paid the taxes.
The problem is not the crew. They may feel unwanted, but they are efficient.
Then what is the problem? What is the reason for years of rejections? Waved away Sri Lanka. Turned away in Indonesia. Rejected in Haiti. Why is the Pellicano the most unwanted ship in the world?
Simple. She is full of trash. 15,000 tons of trash. Orange peelings. Beer bottles. Newspapers. Half-eaten hotdogs. Trash. The trash of Philadelphia's long summer of 1986 that's when the municipal workers went on strike. That's when the trash piled higher and higher. That's when Georgia refused it, and New York declined it. No one wanted Philadelphia's trash.
That's when the Pellicano entered the picture. The owners thought that they would turn a quick penny by transporting the rubbish. The trash was burned, and the ashes were dumped into the belly of the boat. But no one would take it. Initially it was too much. Eventually, it was too old. Who wants potentially toxic trash?
The plight of the Pellicano is proof. Trash-filled ships find few friends. The plight of the Pellicano is also a parable. Trash filled hearts don't fare any better. I wonder if you can relate to the Pellicano? Are you unwanted at the dock? Drifting farther from friends and family? If so you might check your heart for garbage. Who wants to offer dock space to a smelly heart?
Life has a way of unloading her rubbish on our decks. Your husband works too much. Your wife gripes too much. Your boss expects too much. Your kid's wine too much. The result? Trash. Load after load of anger. Guilt. Pessimism. Bitterness. Bigotry. Anxiety. Deceit. Impatience. It all piles up.
Trash affects us.
Only one thing worse-
Hi this is Julie from the warranty department, your car warranty is out of date-
Close-
The world piles the trash on us, we must maintain the truth of god and follow His ways. We must not let the world change us, we need to change the world.
Prayer-
