Jude 17-23
Characteristics You Do Want
Introduction
A. I have gotten to talk to a bunch of you this week
B. It seems like the passage last week really hit home to you
C. Seems like it applied to just about everybody
D. One of the most common comments I heard was it worked on Monday but as the week went on…
E. Hmm, I thought about it and came up with the idea that I would just preach it again and maybe it would last the whole week (Plus and easy week for me J)
F. However, that would have not been a good idea
G. So I started this week and realized once again, that God is amazing.
H. If we know how we are not suppose to be we need to know the Characteristics we do want
I. Sure enough in this passage today they are mentioned
J. We are going to look at 4 Characteristics You do Want
a. People of Prayer
b. People of Mercy
c. People of Love
d. People of Outreach
I. People of Prayer 20
A. Explanation
1. First thing that we notice is we should build ourselves up in the most holy faith
2. When you are building you need a strong foundation
3. The foundation that we have is our faith
4. Our faith came from Jesus, then the apostles, then the Church, then to us… with the Holy Spirit Guiding the way
5. This is not my opinion, thank goodness, this not a tradition, this is God
6. The root of the word holy is “different”
7. Therefore, our holy faith has to be different then the worlds
8. Our faith is not in the government
9. Our faith is certainly not in the stock market
10. Our faith, being different, is from God
11. …And pray in the Holy Spirit
12. It has been said that “Real religion means dependence”
13. Prayer is admission of dependence on God
14. Prayer is realizing you can not do it yourself you need a higher power
B. Application
1. Ok so lets take these ideas and apply them to our lives
2. We need to build on the foundation of Holy faith.
3. We need to build up our payer in the Holy Spirit
4. The key word here is build
5. Build, that is what we need to be doing
6. We need to make sure that we are building
7. Guess what? I did not forget about last weeks sermon
8. If you remember the first point we talked about was, grumblers
9. Well guess what, if you are spending all your time grumbling how can you build?
10. It is impossible
11. Grumbling tears down. We need to be building
12. People of Prayer Build
C. Illustration
1. ED Whiteside. Does any one of you know who that was? Well ED Whiteside was a man of prayer everything that He did was centered on prayer. There would be conventions and different events and they would call him in to pray, not to speak but to pray. He had a ministry of training up young men. Before they were allowed to do anything he made sure they had prayed. Because of his leadership we are in this Church today he sent one of his “Boys” here. I am sure that we he sent them he prayed for them. That is building with prayer
II. People of Mercy 22
A. Explanation
1. First we have to remember what exactly was happening in this time that this was written
2. WE have talk about it before, false teacher were every were
3. Obviously some people fell into believing those false teacher
4. They are the people who doubt
5. Now lets work on the merciful aspect
6. To show mercy is to show kindness
7. If you are being merciful you still will talk to them
8. You still will be willing to extend your hand of friendship
9. Meaning you don’t just write them off
B. Application
1. So how does this apply to our lives today?
2. There will be people who are not on the correct path
3. For one reason or another they will have gone astray
4. We need to be merciful to them
5. Show compassion and love
6. Sure we could find fault in them but… as we learn last week we are not to be fault finders
7. Showing mercy will allow a person to see his or her errors
8. Being a faultfinders will cause the person to become alienated from us
9. Being people of Mercy
C. Illustration
1. I have my spies strategically located throughout the area to spy on our congregation. I received a report about someone from our congregation who has been showing mercy. Well volunteering for the riding with the handicap, there is a horse there that is a bit stubborn to say that least. The owner has threatened to take it to the glue factory. The horse name is custard. Therefore just about every week the joke is made that is it custard last stand. However, Brittany has been working with this horse and showing in mercy and the horse has responded.
2. WE humans aint much different
3. You treat someone with mercy love compassion, they will turn around
4. Be a person of Mercy, not a faultfinder.
III. People of Love 21
A. Explanation
1. We must understand first where Jude is coming from with this passage
2. He is thinking about the Old Covenant between God and his people that is described in Exodus 24:1-8
3. God promised that they would be his people and He would be there God
4. But that relationship is dependent obedience
5. While it is true that you can never drift beyond God’s love and care;
6. (To that you should be thankful)
7. But if we do desire to remain in close fellowship with God
8. We must give Him the perfect love
9. And the perfect obedience
10. Then the result in all this, get this one, ETERNAL LIFE!
11. Now that is something that should get you exited
B. Application
1. Ok so lets put this in our times
2. We have to understand that We love God because he first loved us
3. How did he love, by giving his one and only Son
4. However, to experience the full love of Christ, we need to be practicing perfect love and obedience
5. WE need to make sure that we are following God commands, not out of obligation, but out of love
6. Remember the third point last week? Those who follow their own desires
7. To truly be in God’s love we need to follow God’s desires
8. We need not do what we want but
9. Fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith
C. Illustration
1. Mathew. Do you remember his lift before Christ? He was a tax collector. Tax collectors had worse reputations back then, then lawyers and politicians have now. However Tax collectors made a lot of money. Probably it was one of the wealthiest jobs. So Jesus Goes up to him and said follow me. Mathew said yes and let just say he took a major pay cut. He gave up his desires and began practicing love for God.
2. Our desires can get in our way.
3. We need to keep ourselves in God’s love
IV. People of Outreach 23-24
A. Explanation
1. Ohh boy these two verses are a real challenge lets dive into them (23-24)
2. There will be time when we need to snatch others from the fire
3. To remove the forcibly
4. To just take them out of their dangerous environment
5. We do that a lot of times with Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation. We do not ask if they want to check themselves in we make them go
6. Sometimes we need to act in Mercy, we talked about mercy just a little couple of minutes ago
7. However with that mercy comes fear
8. Some situations we should not be comfortable in
9. We should not naturally be comfortable
10. Now what is meant by this last phrase hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh?
11. That is going back to Lev 13:47-52 were they were to burn clothing that were touched by leopards
B. Application
1. Ok so were does that leave us, other then right now a little confused?
2. There will be time when we have to rescue someone from sin
C. Illustration
1. Look at this snatch from the fire. When you read that you instantly get a picture of a building burning and rescuing someone who is trapped in there
2. There will be a lot of times when you see someone in sin (burning) and they will need to be rescued.
3. Go in there and rescue them
4. Give them a good wack in the head, drag them out of a situation,
5. Don’t let them suffer any more then they should
6. That burning building is going to collapse
7. I know that we have all been taught this idea of respect other people private lives
8. We hear this word tolerance all the time.
9. We have to be tolerant of this tolerant of that
10. Respect someone’s values; all roads lead to heaven garbage.
11. Let me ask you a question?
12. When is the last time a fireman used a doorbell?
13. If someone is burning, you might just have to go in there and get him or her out.
14. Sure this is not going to be popular, sure this is not going to be easy
15. Some might hate you for this, But it needs to be done.
16. Why do we do all of this?
17. First we do not do this to make ourselves look good, we do not do this to please someone else because
18. WE do this to reach the lost so that they can spend eternity with the Jesus rather then burn hell
Conclusion
A. These my friends our characteristics we want
B. We want to be people of prayer
C. We want to be people of Mercy
D. We want to be people of Love
E. WE want to be people of Outreach
F. This is what God has called us to do
G. This is how God has called us to live
H. Do you need to make a change in your life?
I. If you do, make it NOW!
J. Become all God wants you to be make the change.
K. Change Cause Pain
L. Change Causes Resistance
M. Change Can be exhausting
N. Change requires patience.
O. Change can make you more like Jesus.
