-Last week we began a two-part look at the book of Jude
-We saw in the early part of the book that we are to contend against apostasy
-Tonight, we are going to look at the latter part of the book
-Here, we will see some instruction for those who desire to be presented faultless before God on the day of judgement
-What would it be like to be presented faultless before God?
-Jude 1:20-25
-This passage gives us six keys to being presented faultless before God
I. Build Yourself Up In The Faith (vs. 20)
-We looked at this a little last week
-There’s a little bit of overlap here
-But, let’s look at it a little more in depth tonight
-It’s like Spiritual Bodybuilding
A. Knowing what you believe
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B. Knowing why you believe
C. Acting on your beliefs
II. Pray In The Holy Spirit (vs. 20)
-Again more overlap here
-But, let’s look at other passages that can help us understand this a little better
-Romans 8:26
-I Corinthians 14:14-15
-Ephesians 6:17-18a
-When we are fully given over to God, His Spirit reigns supremely in us
-When God’s Spirit reigns supremely in us, He will make the intercession for us
-Why do we want the Spirit to intercede for us?
A. Because of His supreme wisdom
-He knows more than we do, believe it or not
B. Because of His supreme power
-He can do all things
-His power is limitless
III. Keep Yourself In God’s Love (vs. 21)
-This means it requires effort on our part
-The Greek here for “keep” has the idea of “attending to carefully”
-Note: This does not mean that God’s love towards us ever changes
-Nothing we could ever do could change His love for us in any way (good or bad)
A. Living in the light of His love
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B. Adjusting course from time to time
-We tend to drift, ever so slightly sometimes
IV. Look For God’s Mercy (vs. 21)
-Mercy Definition
-Not getting what we deserve
-Just like God’s love, God’s mercy never changes or moves
-Here’s the good part about God’s mercy, it is extended to us for eternal life
A. We may have let something get in the way of our viewpoint
-They may not even be evil things
B. We may have turned our back on it
1. In forgetfulness
-That is why moments of remembrance are important to us
2. In apathy
-Thinking it not that important
V. Hate Garments Defiled By The Flesh (vs. 22-23)
-We become pros sometimes at allowing the effects of evil still exist
-Q: Who would like to own the following?
-JFK’s car from Dallas shooting
-Monica Lewinski’s dress
-Neverland Ranch
-In the OT we often read of prophets and others tearing down pagan shrines and Ashtoreth poles
-Yet, in our society, we simply try to “sanctify” such places
-Churches meeting in former strip clubs
A. Your own sin stains on your life
-Sin is much worse than leprosy
-We should treat it as such
B. The sin stains of others
VI. Allow God To Keep You From Stumbling (vs. 24)
A. Let Him guide your feet
-Likewise, I’ll not go where you do not want me to go
1. For service
-Ministry, etc. . .
-Everyone is a minister
2. For obedience
B. Let His focus your eyes
-What does He want you to observe?
-Plight of the helpless
-Sinfulness of unbelievers
-Needs in the church
-Truth in His Word
C. Let His guard your mind
1. From evil
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2. Towards holiness
CONCLUSION
-Let’s all strive to be people who on the judgement day can be presented as blameless before God
