BEING MERCIFUL
Jude 1:20-25
Key Verse–verse 23
New Life’s Core Group–July 9, 2000
Jude 1:20-25
(NIV)
20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to
eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt;
23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-- hating even the
clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without
fault and with great joy--
25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
(NLT)
23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. There are still others whom you need
to show mercy, but be careful that you aren’t contaminated by their sins.
This is why New Life exists. Sure, not only are we here to encourage one another, to see brothers and
sisters in Jesus lifted up, to enjoy His presence through worship, study of His Word and our friendships. But
New Life’s mission statement is clear:
To support the home with family-centered activities and assistance, producing healthy relationships
Providing cutting edge music, leading to hope and peace through Christ.
Remember what Jesus said in Acts 1:8: “ . . . when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive
power and will tell people about me everywhere . . . “ What has happened in the American Church today?
There are 195 million unbelievers in the United States of America. America closes 72 churches every week.
We are the third largest unreached nation in the world. I believe simply put: We have lost our focus, our
desire, His vision.
As we begin to reach people in this community, don’t think for one minute, that the more compassion
and mercy we show for lost people, the less interested the enemy of our soul will become. It doesn’t happen
that way. In order to reach people, to have mercy on them, to rescue them from the flames, to tell everybody
about Jesus, you and I must be prepared as well. Look at 1 Peter 1:13: “Therefore, prepare your minds for
action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Peter’s instructions are simple. But how many born-again Christians follow them? Let’s look at them together
before we dig into Jude.
❶ Prepare your mind for action–Think clearly! If we dig a little deeper this morning and take our
English translation “prepare” and see another definition it may surprise us. The word “prepare” is a metaphor
derived from the practice of the Orientals who, in order to be unimpeded in their movements were accustomed,
when starting a journey or engaging in any work, to bind their long flowing garments closely around their
bodies and fastened them with a leather belt. Why? So nothing would slow them down; nothing would get in
their way; nothing would hinder them from arriving at their destination. We are to literally “bind up” our minds
with the thoughts of Christ, sew them up, and stick close to them as we walk along this journey of life.
Most of you today could give me a name, if not several, of someone who came to Christ, and began
their journey to heaven without properly “preparing” themselves. This is why we have cell group home
meetings. This is why we have “We Build People.” This is why we share friendships with Jesus loving people.
Does this mean we shun the world? Absolutely not. Where did Jesus go? He went out into the world, He
touched people out there, He met their needs out there. He told us to go out there and make disciples, to teach
them, to baptize them, to show them how to obey the commands of the Lord.
This is what makes good discipleship classes so important. Notice I said the word good. Too many
times churches have a program in place, but it really doesn’t teach, encourage and challenge the individual.
We Build People is a comprehensive class that does just that. I think many of you this morning who have
completed Class 201 or have just begun can agree. It is so important when someone receives Christ as Lord
to immediately place them into a good discipleship ministry class and to put them with good people.
❷ Be self-controlled–1 Thessalonians 5:6: “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let
us be alert and self-controlled.” The Living Bible states: “So be on your guard, not asleep like the others.
Watch for his return and stay sober.” We must be in Him, live for Him, and have Him in our hearts. It is tragic
to think that 82% of Americans say they are Christians, yet only 37% go to church on a regular basis. As I’ve
told you before America is the third largest unreached nation in the world. 195 million Americans don’t believe
in God. Remember our little invite card that mentions the top 10 reasons why people don’t go to church? One
of them is: “one word, hypocrites.” We can laugh all we want, but sadly it is true.
❸ Set your hope fully–We have no one else to turn to. We have absolutely no one else to trust in or
to wait for. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the only One who will fulfill His promise to come
again, and when those clouds part, our hope will be fulfilled.
Jude wrote his letter to young believers who had left their old life behind to folow Christ. They had
made spiritual and moral commitments to do what God wanted them to do. But some false teachers claimed
that believers could live however they wanted because God had already paid for their sins. Does this sound
like America today?
Jude urged his readers to stand up for the truth and not fall back into their old way of life. He explained
that the false teachers were wrong; it did matter how they lives, and their actions did have consequences. They
could not go back to their old, sinful ways without paying a terrible price. The same is true for us today.
Pressures to return to our old addictions surround us, but perhaps at no time are they more difficut to resist
than when they come from other people. I do feel this church will be a healing place for many who have been
hurt and abused by churches in the past. Too many churches are more concerned with their tradition and
religious appetite than with the miracle working power of God.
Jude’s concern as written in verse 23 was not only one of having a burden for lost souls. He was also
very concerned that those who were snatching souls from the pit of hell would remain strong and steadfast in
God, and literally hate sin. When we encourage others to turn away from the world, we must be already
setting the example with our own lifestyle. I’m serious gang; I’ve visited some Christians homes where you
couldn’t tell the difference between them and the world. Let’s face it–we’re not to become monks, but we are
to be different. Because the package we’re presenting to people brings freedom, thus bondage has been
broken. Usually I can tell right away what kind of home it is by what’s on the walls, the screen, and in the CD
player.
What is the best way to show others Christ? By demonstrating it ourselves. After all, what is a
Christian? That’s right–Christ like. God’s Word is reliable and true. Ours is not. Let’s stick to that. As we
approach our sneak peak service, God has given us an incredible challenge–rescue those who are perishing,
take them out of the fire without taking a dip yourself. This is not easy. For with growth comes pain. Ask
any small child who begins to experience growing pains. Their leg may hurt, their feet may hurt, etc . . . . What
do we say as parents? “It’s okay honey, drink some milk, you are just going through growing pains–in a
couple of days you’ll feel much better.” Okay, reverse they physical to the spiritual; people are hurting, their spiritual legs are hurting, their feet
are hurting, and of course, more than anything, their heart is hurting. What are we to do? We are to come
along side of them, as parents would their child, and tell them, “It’s okay honey, drink some of this (the Word,
our friendship, the Holy Spirit). You are just going through growing pains–you’re beginning to mature in Him,
you’re developing in Him, you’re growing in Him. It’s okay–I’ll walk with you, we’ll do this together, and
in a couple of weeks or months, or even right now through God’s supernatural touch, you’ll feel much better.
As we pray this morning, I want to encourage you in four areas. They will be on the screen throughout
our prayer time.
