Staying In Love With Jesus

Staying in love with Jesus

Jude

Introduction-

Would you would turn to the book of Jude. It is the book before Revelation. It is a one chapter book of the Bible packed with Christian principals.

It begins with an invocation (Call to order) “To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” He is speaking and writing to believers!

The chapter ends with benediction- (Ending)“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to the only God our savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

If we would grasp the anointed message in the invocation and the doxology it would be enough! But between the beginning and the end- he puts a series of sermons to all those that call themselves Christians and followers of Jesus.

He paints a picture to believers of the sin in the world, what the ungodly people will be facing in the time ahead.

Jude 3-16 Read from Bible

Prayer-

Father, we come this morning in the name of Jesus Christ. We see Jude’s heart in his letter that the perversion of this world is not a license for the immorality of God’s people. The perversion of his grace will one day come to a close and we as a sinful people will stand before a holy God.

May we be in a right relationship with you and allow you to be seen in each of our lives as we live out these last days.

Amen. Jesus. Amen. So be it Lord!

He paints doom for the unbelievers in the beginning but also paints a beautiful picture of a call to persevere (Read in a minute) in the lives of His people and the eternal blessings that are ahead for those that call upon and live their lives for Jesus.

To those of us who are not where we need to be, He gives a warning.

To believers, the greatest glory we can attain is to be of use to Jesus Christ. (Amen)

Illustration-

Must Go Faster” that is what Dr. Ian Malcolm, says in the iconic scene from the 1993 movie Jurassic Park as he and two other characters flee in a jeep from a rampaging tyrannosaurus. When the driver looks in the rearview mirror, he sees the raging reptiles jaw- right above the words “OBJECTS IN MIRROR MAY BE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR” he says “Must go faster”

If we are not careful, the monsters of life are right on our tail- it is why God’s Word gives us so many warnings that apart from Him (Jesus) we are in deep trouble.

Jude says-

“I felt compelled to write and urge you to “contend for the faith”- There are those that have slipped into your life and have caused you to secretly slip from where you need to be.

(5) “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.”

(11) “Woe to them- “They have taken the way of Cain.”

Stern words to contend for the faith-

Warnings to remind you that God has always done what He said he would- brought his people out of Egypt, but expected them to follow Him, when they did not, he brought them under judgment.

They have taken the way of Cain

What is the way of Cain?

The way of Cain is evil, it is not good.

Cain killed his brother Abel

He is the first child of the fall of man-

Cain is an open and defiant sinner against God

The way of Cain is

The way of unbelief

The way of Apostasy

The way of worldliness

The way of Hatred

The way of God-defiance

It marked his doom and despair-

He was banished from God.

Jude tells us that they do not have to go by way of Cain- on this side of the cross we can go by way of Christ! Amen.

“To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ- Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.”

Remember the words from last week of Paul being told by the Lord “My grace is sufficient” –

God’s sufficient is more than enough.

His words here of God’s mercy, peace, in abundance-

Can you imagine what His abundance is?

His Mercy, His peace, His abundance-

When all the resources of heaven are opened up to those that have made Christ Lord of their lives

Somebody should be getting excited!