Lift home with me and your Bibles back to the book of Jude. And I want to read something out of 2 Peter in a minute because I encourage you as you Go with us through the book of Jude again. I'd like you to be reminded that there are so many parallels in the book of Peter, and especially 2 Peter, that it's a wonderful thing to compare the two and to have scripture interpret scripture.

But Jude gives three examples of those who have fallen away. And the context, of course, is the fact that in the church of God there are wheat and tares, and amongst the true children of God are going to be those who, as these scriptures declare, they deny the only Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and they turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. And these are people, in verse four, that have crept in. They're certain men, they've crept in unawares. The only possible way they can creep in unawares is that when they first come, they look like the genuine article.

And I've asked people, and I've asked you to ponder it, but what was it like to be in the churches that Paul and his servants like Timothy and others had planted, and for there to be a false teacher risen up from among them? What was that false teacher like? Was he an immoral person? Was his doctrine so obviously false that the church, which was taught by the apostles, that's one of the big differences in the churches of today. The Lord has to take his people in this world out of false religion to bring them to the gospel, as he did with the people in the days of the apostles. But at least in the days of the apostles, you could go to a church that the apostles taught in. You could hear the truth. Undiluted, perfect, pure gospel.

And the Lord still today has to take his people out of the religion and the religious notions that people have, even if the religious notions they have have come through great learning and other things, he has to take them out of that and bring them to himself. So he says, beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the, verse three, of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. And last week we looked at what it was. to contend how the children of God, the beloved, contend. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men. turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

I will therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this. These are the three examples. You once knew in this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not, and the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Likewise, also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, despise rulership over them in all sorts of ways, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. So turn back with me in a few pages to 2 Peter. I'd just like to read some of 2 Peter 2 for you. So let's begin in 2 Peter 2, verse 1, and hear the word of God. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be, shall, promised by God, promised by God. There shall be false teachers among you. Among you is what God says. don't worry about the ones out there in the world, the ones among us are the ones that are the problem, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies.

These other people creep in, these ones come in privately means in a sly way. They shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many, shall follow their pernicious way, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

This is one of the many instances in the scriptures where we have the God's declaration that when we hear the Lord being treated with contempt in the streets of our nation and the nations of this world and on the televisions and on the screens of this world, the beginning place is in the pulpits of the churches. The beginning place. No wonder judgment begins with the household of God.

And listen to what he goes on to say, and through covetousness, There are many ways of being covetous. People can be covetous of their own will and their own pride and their own place. They can be covetous of the praise of men. They can be covetous of all things. Covetousness is not necessarily a covetousness that covers the things that we see. material things we see, but through covetousness they shall with feigned words make merchandise of you."

What an extraordinary thing, to be made the merchandise of a false teacher. Feigned words, it's a lovely word, it's the word from which we get our English word plastic, It's really interesting, isn't it? The greatest heresies are those that use the words of God and talk so much about the things of God and quote so much of the Word of God, and then they just change something of the character of God and change something. of the character of man.

They change something of the work of God in the hearts of his people. They change the eternal covenant of grace and mix it with the covenant of works. They put people under the bondage of the law and the bondage of doing, just like Abraham did. How did you get Ishmael? Been with us now for 4,000 years, Ishmael and all of his company. Abraham and Sarah decided that we need to do something for God's promises to come true.

Plastic words, plastic words. I don't know about you, I try not to listen to too many other preachers around the place, but I'm sort of bound at times to do so, and I'm just horrified by it. That word plastic is just so gloriously descriptive. This is God's description of it, isn't it? Just like a piece of plasticine, you can sort of mould it into this shape, and then you can mould it into that shape. You can make an idol.

They make merchandise of you. You are just there for them to brag about their work in your lives. Read Galatians 6. Why do they want people circumcised? Why do they want people put under the law? So they can boast and say, look what I've done to this person. You've heard religious people say it, haven't they? Look what I have done in the life of that person. Look how much better they are because they're now under the law and not under grace. Look how much their lives are transformed. Listen to what the Lord goes on to say. and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example. unto those that after should live ungodly, and delivered just lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. The Lord knoweth.

I love this description of our God. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. I need to be delivered. I need the Lord to deliver me and to keep delivering me. I need the Lord to protect me from false teachers. the ungodly around us.

Okay, we're going to sing again. Thanks, Norm. And then we'll come back and these three examples. We're going to sing number 51. Thank you.

Okay, turn with me back in your Bibles to Jude chapter, well, there's only one chapter in Jude, and I just want to look at the verses five, six, and seven briefly with you this morning. In response to the creeping in of these certain men, Jude says, I will therefore put you in remembrance. Though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness. under the judgment of the great day, even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Jude wants these people to remember. These were famous and prominent events in the history of nation Israel. I'll put you in remembrance. Peter, we read it in 1 Peter and 2 Peter, and 3 Peter, he wants to put people in remembrance. What a great description of all preaching. It's not about discovering something new and something special and something that no one else would see. True preaching is declaring something that we knew.

Listen to what he says. Even though you once knew this, why do we need to be put in remembrance? Because we're always forgetting. We're always forgetting. in our flesh that rebels against the spirit that God puts in his people, the Christ in you, the hope of glory, we're always in need of remembering. We're always in need of remembering. I need to be put in remembrance.

Is God sovereign? How often do I live and act as if he really is sovereign? Is God the Father right now looking to and on the Lord Jesus Christ with satisfaction and delight that all of his glorious attributes are glorified in his Son and the wounds he now bears? Does God Almighty look on his Son and see all the members of his body now perfect and complete in him? to finish? Do we have to somehow, by our efforts, finish a work? Or do we just need to remember that He's done it? He's done it all. He did it all long, long ago.

Is Christ the surety of the eternal covenant? Absolutely. But do I remember some or even a little of that? Every time I look away from Him and look to myself and look to this world for anything to please God or anything about the circumstances of my life, I'm discouraged. Christ is all. He did it all. I need to remember that. We participate in the Lord's Supper, those of us who do so worthily and do so by faith. And he says, you take and eat this. This is my body which is broken for. Do this, this do in remembrance of me. Drink in remembrance of him.

We have these examples laid out before us. They're famous examples. Jude deals with them briefly and in all of the instances in the New Testament where Old Testament events are quoted and words are, verses are quoted, it's always good to go back and look at them closely. But there are examples. These things are examples to us. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 speaks of these things happen to them, they happen unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. This is the last time. These are the last days.

But I love what he goes on to say, when you look back and you see these things, he says, wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. That's part of the reason for these examples, aren't they? These examples are there so that we wouldn't be proud of ourselves, that we would take heed lest we fall. And in every one of these instances, we are dealing with people who have gone to hell from the very gates of heaven. You who have read Pilgrim's Progress might recall that right at the very end, there are some that cross the river and get to the very gates. And from there, they go to hell, having thought themselves worthy to go in all the time.

So one of the great lessons at the very beginning of all three of these is that these are all examples of people who had the most extraordinary privileges. Extraordinary privileges. Privileges not given to very many at all. So let's just go through these three as briefly as the Lord will allow, but I want us to take note of them.

So let's go back to verse five. Therefore, I'll put your remembrance. Though you once knew this, this is something that you know. And Jude is saying that there's a possibility that there are some amongst the ones whom he's writing to that might have forgotten this. How on earth could you forget it and be in the scriptures? But that's how dull of hearing we are. How that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believe not.

The word destroyed is a shocking word. You might have heard of one of the names of Satan is Apollyon. Well, this word has the same connotations. It means it's to be put out of the way entirely, to be given over to eternal misery in hell.

We've spoken often and you can recall the extraordinary privileges that these people had. They had the very promises of God, that they would be a people in Egypt that had those very promises lived out in their history for 450 years. They had the very bones of Joseph there, which were to be taken back into the land of promise. They had Moses and Aaron come with a stick and the word of God and destroy a vast and long reigning superpower. And it's just brought down with 10 judgments.

They witnessed light when there was darkness all around. They walked out of Egypt after that Passover knowing that they were saved by the blood of the lamb on the doorpost. There was no funeral in the house of any of the Israelites as they walked out of that land that day. They carried the wealth of Egypt and they walked past every Egyptian house wailing at a funeral. Extraordinary.

And they come to the Red Sea and Moses says, you just stand still and you'll see the glory of the Lord. You'll see the salvation of the Lord when you stand still. And they stood there and they walked through the Red Sea on dry ground with a wall of water on either side of them. They were fed with manna from heaven. They went to Mount Sinai and they were standing before that mountain as if it was a volcano erupting with the earthquakes and things. And they heard the voice of God.

And every single one of them who was 20 years and older, all the males 20 years and older, died. Their carcasses fell in the wilderness.

One of the things that I want to remind myself of and remind you of is that Jude wants us to be in remembrance and to look back. And he wants us to, and the scriptures declare to us that this God who does not change, this God has borne testimony to his gospel for this last 2,000 years with as much power and faithfulness as he ever did. He will get glory. The father declares in Ephesians 3 that he's going to get glory for his son in the church. He'll get glory for his son. Now unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end.

He rises up. places as a witness to himself, and he does it by his power, by his hand, by his grace, declaring his gospel for his glory. The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth. The Church is here to declare the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified, to declare the glory of God in the face of his dear and precious Son, to declare the character and attributes of God to be the place where he gathers his people together and he witnesses and he speaks to the hearts of his people and his people come away from fellowship with him in church because that's what church is about. We meet with him in church.

We have, my point simply is, that we have I believe from all that I have studied and all that I have witnessed in the past 25, 30 years, we have been and are an extraordinarily blessed and an extraordinarily privileged people. We have fellowship around this world with the servants and witnesses of God Almighty in this world. We have witnessed the hand of God upon us. And like Jude, we have witnessed the hand of God upon those who stand opposed to us. And when Paul says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, it is not just these examples from history that he's reminded of, he's reminded of what he has witnessed in those who have been privileged in the most remarkable way.

It is the greatest blessing that God can give to any people, to any town, to any nation, for him to come personally and bear witness to himself. With great privileges come great responsibilities and from places, as we read here, from places of great privileges. great privileges of witnessing and seeing God at work. To fall from there is to fall from a very great height. I don't want us to be like these people here. I want to be put in remembrance. I want to be put in remembrance of the glory and the power of God Almighty.

And he says in Hebrews chapter 3, speaking of these people, he says, today if you hear his voice, Today, his voice is speaking. And he said, take heed, verse 12 of chapter three of Hebrews. He said, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. Unbelief is the work of an evil heart. In departing from the living God, these people in Judah denying the Lord God, the only Lord God and Jesus Christ, his son, they're denying. But exhort another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.

While it is said today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. This is what Jude is speaking about here. For some, when they heard, did provoke God. Hebrews 3.16. That means they exasperated God. How be it not all that came out of Egypt by Moses? But with whom was he grieved these 40 years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief.

What was their great sin, their great crime? Their great crime was unbelief. Therefore, Hebrews 4.1, let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached. as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

For we, and I love this verse in Hebrews 4.3, for we which have believed do enter into rest. The glorious rest we read of in Hebrews, in Isaiah 11. As he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, they shall enter into my rest. Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. We want to remember that. We want to remember that. We want to remember these people. We want to remember the promises of God that are associated with it is. They entered in.

Listen, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4 verse 10. I just love this. For he that is entered into his rest has also ceased from his own works as God did from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest. lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

What's the labouring to enter into his rest? Labouring to get rid of anything about me and anything I do. All the time, all the time, everything in this flesh wants to be exalted and exalt itself above the glory of God. It's an example. It's an example. You can read much more about it if you turn, not now, but when you're at your leisure, turn to the book of Numbers and you'll see in Numbers 14 and many other passages following, you'll see the description of what those men did in rebellion.

The great rebellion he's talking about is that when they went to the promised land and the spies went in, they found the promised land exactly as God said it was. a land with milk and honey, flowing with milk and honey. And only two came back and gave a positive report. The point that Jude is making is that these people in Numbers 14 came back and they brought an evil report. What was the evil report? It wasn't about the land. The land was exactly as God said it was. The evil report was that God cannot do what God has promised to do. Did God really say that he was going to give them land? They said, no, we can't take it. How many out of that 600,000 entered in? Two, just two, 20 years and older.

Okay, turn with me to verse six in June. And the angels, this is a second example. The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved. in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. He has, the first one, he has destroyed them. Here he has reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness. He's talking about the fall of the angels. Satan fell and we read it often in Isaiah 14, you can read of Satan's fall and how that fall infected not just Adam and all of his race in the garden, but it infected a third or at least a third of the angels were swept. Immediately into hell, without warning and without a mediator.

God says that angels are watching over his people and angels are present in church. How serious do you think the angels view the proclamation of the gospel of the glory of God Almighty in the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified? What an extraordinary place to be, to be an angel in heaven and see God, to see God. They left that place, that holy place. They left that place where there was perfect holiness and perfect righteousness. They saw creation.

Job 38, one of those extraordinary verses in the scriptures. that puts an end to any notions of evolution whatsoever. But in Job 38, verse seven, speaking of the angels, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. It would have been a very long, long shout if evolution was true. The Lord Jesus Christ speak this world into creation. They left their own habitation, and if you go to Isaiah 14, which we don't have time to look at now, but you'll see, that what was it? It was just pride, pride, pride, pride, pride. I will, I will, I will, I will, is the very words of Satan. In his thoughts, before he fell. That was the cause, and that was at the root of his falling, and these angels joined with him. Once again, from a place of great privilege to be instantly reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. To be in that place and to know that there is coming a day of judgment to be in that place and no mediator How envious the angels and how glorious must it be for them to witness the work of God, the Spirit, taking the things of the Lord Jesus Christ and revealing them to people and making him precious and his blood precious and his salvation precious and his redemption precious.

How precious, how precious it is to be saved. People think in this religious world makes salvation an easy and simple thing. The salvation of our God is an eternal salvation and it's wrought by the almighty power of God. No wonder Jude begins this letter by speaking of those who are preserved in Christ Jesus. Who were the angels that were kept? They're called the elect angels. The elect angels were kept.

And finally, Sodom and Gomorrah. Everyone knows the story of something about Sodom and Gomorrah. It's famous. In fact, the word Sodom has moved into the, been brought into the lexicon of modern English. even though it's fallen from its place that it was. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. You can read about the other cities in several places in the scriptures. But there are, a couple of them are declared Admira and Zebu in Deuteronomy chapter 29. There were other cities that were fled. Soddingham and Gamora. What was the extraordinary privilege of the people of Soddingham and Gamora? Well, they had a lot living there. And because they had a lot living there, When they rebelled all of those cities against the king from Damascus and he came down, you can read about it in Genesis, he came down and he captured everything. Lot, his wife, his daughters, and the inhabitants of all of those cities. And Abraham took just 318 men up to Damascus and brought and anyone who knew anything about Abraham and Lot in those towns knew that the only reason they had a town and the only reason they were able to conduct themselves in such open wickedness and rebellion against God is because God had had mercy on them beforehand. They and Abraham, nearby,

What was the sin of Sodom? It's interesting, isn't it, how God names these places and names the kings of these places. In Genesis 14, Sodom means burning. And Sodom had a king, Genesis 14, 2, called Berar. And he was, his name means the son of evil. They lived in a town, a city called Burning, and they had a king over them called the son of evil. And Gomorrah means submersion or a ruined heap. And the king, Bershah of Gomorrah, his name means with iniquity.

And what was the sin? What was the sin? Simon took us to Ezekiel chapter 16. Let me just read some verses out of there for want of time. In Ezekiel chapter 16, at the end of this extraordinary story, he talks about the sins of Israel And then he likens the sins of Israel in the days of Ezekiel and Jeremiah to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, he says they're worse than the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. And then he says in Ezekiel 16 verse 49, Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom. What's the iniquity of thy sister Sodom? Pride. What was the scene of those people? A denial of the glory of God. Pride. Listen to it. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom. Pride.

Obviously, the sins of fornication, the sins of homosexuality, and the sins that were conducted in that city that we read about in the scriptures were just horrible and evil. But at the heart of them lies something even worse, isn't it? No wonder we have parades all around the world today. What are they called? Pride. Pride. And rather than trembling. Rather than trembling. Pride gives fruit to more pride and more arrogance and more rebellion against God. This is what he goes on to say, fullness of bread, this is in Ezekiel 16, 49, and abundance of idleness. They had peace undisturbed. They had an abundance. What an extraordinary abundance. We live in a time of abundance which the world has never seen. There are multitudes in the Western world and in other parts of this world now who are living in a luxury which would have caused the kings in ancient times to be envious of them. What extraordinary luxury we have! What extraordinary privileges we have! Do we thank God? Do they thank God? Do they thank God?

What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? They were overthrown in an instant. Completely and utterly destroyed and sent to hell in a heartbeat. Who did that? Our God, the Lord Jesus Christ. This notion that people have, which is at the source of that pride, isn't it, is because the religion of this world, and especially the so-called Christian religion of this world, leaves man on a throne. to be the master of his own destiny. How dare you tell me what to do? It comes out of children and it comes out of people in religion. In an instant. And the Lord says, you remember, you remember Lot's wife. You remember Lot's wife. What happened to Lot's wife? Two angels went down there into Sodom. And you know the story of how they blinded the people who wanted to rape them that night, those two angels. Even Lot wanted to send his daughters out as a sacrifice to them, almost. Two angels went down and they took out four people, one in each hand, and they led them out of there. And Lot's wife, somehow, lingered behind and her heart had never left Sodom and she looked back, gone. In a heartbeat. From a place of extraordinary privilege to a place of extraordinary torment forever and ever.

Jude wants us to be put in remembrance. The Lord wants us to remember. We are brought to these places and these times in the scriptures so that we might remember. These are people who had great privileges. They were in the company of extraordinary people.

If this is a church that's been raised up by the Lord Jesus Christ, then the Lord Jesus Christ is present here. And to treat the worship of God in this place with contempt is to speak of him in exactly the same way. We have a place of privilege, we have the glorious honour of being in a place where God speaks to his people, speaks to the heart of his people and reveals himself to his people.

These are examples of people who had great closeness to the very works of God Almighty and they fell from that state. We have, as I said often, we have witnessed the hand of God in prominence, in providence, in mercy and grace. He's brought us to hear the gospel. He sent us around this world and sent people from around this world here to bring us the gospel and to remind us and to put us in remembrance of the gospel.

And we have witnessed what God has done around us to people who have rejected the gospel and treated it with contempt. And that's the fear and trembling that Paul speaks of, I believe, in Philippians chapter 2, when he said, you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. It's an awesome thing, an awful thing, to fall into the hand of the living God.

God says that these are perilous times and in these perilous times the prophecies and the promises of Jude are going to be lived out in all the churches of God as all of the promises of God are going to be revealed to them. He's made his people for this last 2,000 years by an act of his sovereign will and his hand in particular upon his people to stand and contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, to contend for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified.

He has preached to us, Ephesians 2, I love what he says in Ephesians 2, he's come and preached to you. He's preached the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified. He's declared unto us the gospel. Does this make us proud or does this cause us to bow in reverence? We bow, I trust, we bow in reverence to him and plead with him to have mercy. He who delights in mercy, have mercy on us. Have mercy on those who, as God says, oppose themselves.

I'm going to put you in remembrance. I want to put myself in remembrance. I want to put myself in remembrance of the glory of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter wants to stir these people up in remembrance. I want to be stirred up. He wants you to remember. He wants you to remember the gospel. That's what he's stirring them up. You read the first chapter of 2 Peter, and you'll see how he stirs them up. He wants them to be in remembrance.

I want you to remember, and you have your pure minds. This second epistle, beloved, now I write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure mind. by way of remembrance that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour. Amen. May the Lord cause us to walk before him in reverence and fear.