This is the last Sunday of 2025. My last chance, this year, to tell you how much I appreciate you all. And I do Appreciate you. For 12 years now you have taken care of us and our needs. If you’ve never been where I’m at, you probably don’t get it but to have a group of people giving to you, to support you, to take care of you, is still kind of an odd, humbling feeling.
And it will be my last chance, this year, to ENCOURAGE YOU. To bring the Word of God to you, and I PRAY that IT is what brings COMFORT, JOY and PEACE to your life.
And this is my last chance, this year, to EXHORT YOU. The definition of EXHORT is: strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something.
I hope and pray that the message that God has given me today will do that. Let’s turn in our Bibles to the Book of Jude. There’s only one Chapter and so we’ll read it together.
“Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
3 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 ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
For 50 years Don Ritchie lived at the entrance to Sidney Harbor down in Australia. He lived across the road from a beautiful stretch of Jagged Cliffs called “The Gaps.” He was an insurance salesman by trade. He was a GOOD TALKER and SUCCESSFUL. And so he was able to move to this beautiful location in 1964. Every morning before he went to work, he would get up and look at the beautiful view but then he started noticing something. He had only lived there a short time before he realized that a lot of people would come and look at the beautiful view but a few of them would come and then the next time he looked out the window, they were gone!!!
You see, the GAPS were beautiful but they were also known as a place to end your life. SUICIDE. And so for 50 years Don watched out his window for lonely looking people, usually by themselves, standing at the edge. He’d walk over, smile, and say: "Would you like a cup of tea?" He'd bring them back to his house. Moya, his wife, would make tea. They'd sit and talk. Sometimes for hours. Don would listen, ask questions, help them see options they couldn't see when they were standing on that cliff.
This is what Don said. “You can't just sit there and watch them, You gotta try and save them. It's pretty simple.”
Listen folks, I feel a sense of urgency this morning. Time is slipping away. We gotta try. There are people standing on the edge this morning. We can’t turn our backs on them. Death could come at any minute. Jesus could return any day. And the message of salvation is NOT hard to understand.
This morning I want to EXHORT YOU as the CHURCH. This is a MESSAGE to both YOU and I. I was reading about a study that was done and it said exactly what I already believed. Most people come to know Jesus as their PERSONAL SAVIOR through RELATIONSHIPS. Not from people knocking on their door. Not through watching shows on TV. It’s through KNOWING OTHER REAL CHRISTIANS who live it out in their DAILY LIVES. I want to EXHORT US, like I said, this includes me. I want to encourage each one of us TO DO OUR SMALL PART to save those who DON’T KNOW the Lord Jesus Christ in a REAL PERSONAL WAY.
And so let’s go to the Lord in Prayer and ask Him to HELP US make a DIFFERENCE in someone’s life.
Brother ____, would you lead us in prayer?
The Book of Jude is one of the shortest books in the Bible. Verse 1 starts off by telling us that he is the BROTHER of James and a SERVANT of Jesus. Well, we know that James was the half brother of Jesus so most scholars believe that Jude was also the younger, half brother of Jesus.
He probably did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection and then he became a true follower.
And so after his introduction Jude tells these folks what he what he REALLY wanted to write to them about and that was the COMMON SALVATION. Now, this word COMMON used here doesn’t mean PLAIN or ORDINARY. It means a SHARED SALVATION. And it is a SALVATION that ANYONE can have.
It’s NOT just for the rich and it’s NOT just for the poor.
It’s NOT just for the JEW and it’s NOT just for the Gentile. It’s a WHOSOEVER SALVATION and that’s what Jude wanted to WRITE to them about BUT ... there was something more important and it needed to be said RIGHT NOW!!!
And here on the last Sunday of the year of our Lord 2025, there are some things that God has laid on my heart and they need to be said RIGHT NOW. Not tomorrow. Not next Sunday. Today. Right now.
I. And so first of all in Verse 3 Jude says, RIGHT NOW I “exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith”
CONTEND means to FIGHT FOR. And more than just CONTEND they were to EARNESTLY CONTEND. SINCERELY with PASSION and GRIT and STAMINA they needed to FIGHT the GOOD FIGHT!!! Don’t give up. Keep on keeping on.
The Book of Jude was probably written towards the end of the first century. The message of the GOSPEL was spreading all around the world and because of that the DEVIL was fighting against it and so RIGHT NOW was the time to FIGHT.
Look at Verse 4, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Certain men have crept in UNAWARES. UNNOTICED. That’s when the enemy is the MOST DANGEROUS. It’s when they are UNNOTICED.
And they are ORDAINED to this condemnation. They may have slipped into the church UNNOTICED by the PASTOR, the DEACONS and the rest of the MEMBERSHIP, but they didn’t FOOL GOD. He knew about them before they ever CAUSED TROUBE and He had already CONDEMNED THEM. God’s not up in Heaven pacing the floor WORRIED about what the devil has planned. He knows ALL ABOUT IT and He’s gonna take care of it.
And look what they were TEACHING. They were turning the GRACE of GOD into LASCIVIOUSNESS. They were living WICKED LIVES and teaching that they could do ANYTHING they wanted because the GRACE of GOD would cover it all. It’s the same thing the Apostle Paul warned about in
Romans 6:1 and 2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
Can I say something right here. RIGHT NOW, TODAY, I EXHORT YOU to be ready to fight.
Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, Verses 1-3,
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”
I’m EXHORTING YOU RIGHT NOW to be ready to fight for the TRUTH and STAND for the TRUTH because THE TIME IS NOW that people WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE.
The CHURCH has LOST it’s INFLUENCE and the CHURCH has LOST it’s POWER because the CHURCH is NO DIFFERENT from the rest of the WORLD. How is the CHURCH to be a LIGHT if it’s NOT SHINING the LIGHT of the GOSPEL to a lost and dying world. Do you know where it starts? RIGHT HERE IN THE PULPIT. False teachers have slipped in. Too many preachers want to be POPULAR. They want to be HIP. They want to FIT IN. And their LIGHT doesn’t shine. Too many of them don’t take the WORD of GOD seriously. Right here in Osage County we have a MEGA CHURCH pastor setting in our County Jail because he couldn’t keep his hands off of a LITTLE GIRL. It’s SICK!!!
So many preachers today DON’T want to preach the WHOLE GOSPEL because they might OFFEND someone. They don’t want to PREACH SOUND DOCTRINE because they might LOSE THEIR JOB. And so they PREACH a PERVERTED GRACE. DO what you want. LIVE like you want. TALK like you want. ACT like you want BECAUSE ... The Grace of God will COVER IT ALL. Paul said GOD FORBID!!! STOP IT!!!! Don’t keep living in the PIG PEN of SIN.
And so the PROBLEM is NOW. I would have liked to preach on the GRACE and MERCY of GOD. The COMMON SALVATION that we SHARE. But there is a NEED RIGHT NOW to CONTEND for the FAITH.
II. Secondly, Jude needed to REMIND them of WHAT HAPPENS to those who GO BACK. Look at Verse 5.
“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this”
To put someone in REMEMBRANCE is to REMIND THEM. Old Jude needed to remind these people of what happens to those who TURN THEIR BACK on GOD.
And so all the way down through Verse 19, he gives examples.
The Children of Israel who were DELIVERED from Egypt, just to FORGET GOD in the wilderness. Many of them DIED.
The ANGELS who followed Lucifer and were cast out of Heaven. We see this in Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 and Revelation 12.
Sodom and Gomorrha are mentioned in Verse 7 how they became PROFANE before God and He destroyed them for it.
We see Cain is mentioned from Genesis 4 and Balaam from Numbers 22.
In Verse 16 Jude goes on to REMIND the CHURCH to beware of MURMURERS, COMPLAINERS and those who walk after their own LUSTS. They TALK a GOOD TALK but they’re WICKED.
Verses 17-19 are REMINDERS of the APOSTLES TEACHING. There would be MOCKERS in the LAST DAYS, and people WALKING after UNGODLY LUSTS.
And RIGHT NOW, December 28, 2025, is the time to be REMINDED of some things in our own lives.
We need to be REMINDED to never take GRACE for GRANTED. The UNMERITED FAVOR of God cost Jesus His very life on the CROSS of CALVARY.
We need to be REMINDED of all of the BLESSINGS that GOD has given us. We live in the greatest country on Earth. Do you know what the percentage is of the people of the world who live in the United States of America? It amazed me. 4.5% 1 out of every 22 people living in the world live in the U.S. And I’m one of them and you’re one of them. You talk about BLESSED. WE ARE BLESSED!!!
We need, I NEED OK, to be reminded of where I would be RIGHT NOW without Jesus.
ILLUS: Rachel and I were in Tulsa Wednesday afternoon and we crossed under the Broken Arrow Expressway on South Harvard. And there was a fellow laying there on the sidewalk with no shirt on, no shoes, probably stoned out of his head, and here’s the deal. He could have something so much better.
But I’m no better than he EXCEPT that I have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and HE HAS MADE the DIFFERENCE in my LIFE.
“Roll back the curtain of memory now and then, Show me where you brought me from and where I could have been.
Remember I’m human, and humans forget, so remind me, remind me Dear Lord.”
And finally, we need to be REMINDED to be VIGILANT in our walk with the LORD. 1 Timothy 4, Verse 1,
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
And that’s EXACTLY what is happening today. People are being DECEIVED. People are DEPARTING from the FAITH. They are BELIEVING LIES.
III. And so, because of all of these things, Jude tells us ONE MORE THING. He tells us to RECLAIM those that are LOST. Look at Verses 21-23,
“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”
And so #1, KEEP YOURSELF in the LOVE of GOD. Depending upon God’s MERCY. Not depending upon YOURSELF but upon Jesus. You see, according to Verse 24, He “is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy”
Listen, I know some of you all don’t believe that a person can SERVE GOD and then turn their back on God and NO LONGER be a child of His. And I’m not here to poke you in the eye. But I believe it’s possible. I believe the Bible teaches that it’s possible. That’s why JUDE gave this warning of different people and different groups who WENT BACK on God. BUT… you don’t have to FALL. Jesus will help us live a life that is pleasing to Him.
And #2, you can make a difference in someone’s life.
Just have COMPASSION on those who have gone astray.
ILLUS: I was reading some more about Don Ritchie. You know the fellow who lived across from the CLIFFS. When he first moved to his home, he would see people across the street, too close to the edge and sometimes he would LITERALLY JUMP THE FENCE and GRAB THEM. It almost cost him his own life.
But as he grew older he just talked to them. As a life insurance salesman he was a good talker and someone asked him what he said to the people getting ready to jump. And he answered, “I just sell them life.”
Sometimes he would save with COMPASSION. Showing that he cared. “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?” And then talk to them for hours.
Like I said, other times he would call the police and even GRAB THEM and PULL THEM from the EDGE.
He made a difference in people’s lives. Every year, until he died in May of 2012, he would get cards, letters and pictures of the people that he saved with their children and grandchildren. Thanking him for making a difference.
Folks, you and I can make an ETERNAL DIFFERENCE in people’s lives. Listen, ALL OF US come into contact with people, sometimes on a daily basis, who are headed to Hell.
Some of them may have served the Lord at one time but now they don’t. Let’s help them REMEMBER God’s goodness.
Others may have never heard God’s plan of salvation. YOU can share it with them. You can SELL THEM LIFE.
Or maybe you can be just an encouragement to those who are DEPRESSED and DOWN.
It’s NEEDED RIGHT NOW so don’t put it off.
Let’s Pray
