What We Have In Christ

What We Have In Christ Dec. 1, 2019

Jude 1-Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

2-Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

3-Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

4-For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

Jude 1-This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.

2-May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.

3-Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

4-I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your 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. (NLT)

Jude 1-Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

Jude was the half brother of Jesus, but he thought of himself only as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. This tells us how humble Jude was.

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: (NKJV)

I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. (NLT)

Called- Think about this... The God of the universe, the God of all creation has chosen you!

Has chosen you to have a relationship with!

Has chosen you to send His only begotten son to die on cross for!

From the time that you were in the womb, all the way to the present day!

God has called you out from among others, He has put people around you to cultivate a wonderful relationship with Him in your life!

He has giving you opportunities to see His mighty works in your life!

While others may have not seen God's hand in the things that has happened to you in this life, He has given you the insight to see him working!

You have seen God's Mighty hand working in your life whether in has been the blessings that have coming to your life or whether it is tragedies that have afflicted you and yet you realize God is going to take something so tragic and turn it into something that will not only benefit you but also people around you!

All of this knowledge is because of the accumulation of years of Bible study, it is because of Sunday School lessons, hearing sermons preached or hours of personal Bible study!

What I am trying to say is we have been blessed to have all the opportunities and privileges that God has bestowed upon us and yet we so often take for granted and then we come to scripture like this and reminds us how truly blessed we are!!

Sanctified- One definition of this word is sinless.

It's one thing to realize that we are Called, that we are Set Apart, but it's hard to imagine that we are sanctified...sinless before God.

We can believe that happens when we get to heaven but it's hard to believe it is talking about us being sinless before God in the here and now!

Preserved- great definition of this word is kept.

Remember last week we talked about being thankful for what we have instead of being unthankful for what we don't have.

Today I want us to remember what God has kept from us.

I look around this world and I see a lot of things that have touched other people's lives, things that are negative, things that are tragic, things that people can't get over and I have come to realize, God has spared me from those things touching my life.

God has taken care of me and ways that I can't even imagine!

These verses in Jude reminds us of all the things each and every Christian should be thankful for!

Verse 2-Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (NKJV)

Verse 2-May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. (NLT)