Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 25. The tune is Continually
118. Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove,
with thy all-quickening powers, kindle a flame of sacred love
in these cold hearts of ours. Hymn 25, tune Continually 118.
? Holy Spirit, heavenly God, with
thy awakening power, Kindle a flame of sacred love
in these cold halls of hell. Look now, me brother, give thee
love, All of these trifling joys, And so can neither fly nor go
To reach his man of joys. In vain we hear the foggles of,
In vain we strive to rise, Thou shalt not halt, thou shalt
not halt, Thou shalt not halt, thou shalt not halt, Dear Lord, when shall we ever
hear that this poor dying breaks? and observator come to thee,
and thine to us show great. Come, Holy Spirit, help me die
with thy own wicked power. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Epistle of Jude. The General Epistle of Jude. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ
and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the
Father and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called. Mercy unto you and peace and
love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence
to write unto you 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 unto the saints.
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, 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,
and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when
contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses,
durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord
rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those
things which they know not. But what they know naturally,
as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe
unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily
after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the going
sane of Coray. These are spots in your feasts
of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without
fear. Clouds they are without water,
carried about of winds, Trees whose fruit withereth, without
fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Raging waves of
the sea, foaming out their own shame. Wandering stars, to whom
is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. And Enoch,
also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, Behold, the
Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment
upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of
all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and
of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against
him. These are murmurers, complainers,
walking after their own lusts, and their mouth speaketh great
swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because
of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the
words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ, how that they told you there should be mockers in the
last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These
be they who separate themselves sensual, having not the spirit. But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And if some have compassion,
making a difference, and others saved with fear, pulling them
out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh.
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. May the Lord bless the
reading of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, all we do bow before thy glorious
majesty. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
and desire a spirit of true worship, for they that worship thee must
worship thee in spirit and in truth. Oh, we pray that the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and
the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide
upon us at this evening hour, as we gather together in thy
name, make one in our midst, grant the spirit of love, union
and communion, grant thy blessed spirit, his heavenly power, his
divine unction. Oh, do grant that the word may
be in power in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance. Lord, let us not rest on doctrine
sound, but may we rest on that sacred experience of the glorious
person of our Lord Jesus crucified in our room place instead, suffering
and bleeding and dying for the sins of thy people. All that
we may rest there in the finished work of Jesus Christ. and the
sweet experience of it in the soul, the forgiveness of sins,
reconciliation and peace through the peace-speaking blood of Jesus.
May that be our sacred experience as we gather around thy word.
We read in thy word that as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. Oh, we do pray that we may indeed
be led and guided and directed in the right way. We read of
thee and he led them forth by the right way unto a city of
habitation whose builder and maker is God. Oh, we do pray,
Lord, that we may have those sweet confirmations and that
we may have that realization that we're building upon a foundation
that can never be moved. Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. And may we know
the preciousness of that truth, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Oh, that we might know that,
Lord, and sweetly experience it as we gather around thy holy
word but we pray most gracious lord that thy word may be a lamp
unto our feet and a light unto our path and we pray that our
hearts may be knit together in love that we may know the love
of christ and that we may know it as we gather together in the
same We may be enabled to sweetly say with David of old, I love
the Lord, because he has heard my voice, the voice of my supplications. And we pray that the love of
God may be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, and
that we may be rooted and grounded in love, and that know the love
of Christ, passeth knowledge, O gracious
God. Incline thine ear, we do humbly
beseech thee, for thy great namesake. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that we may love each other, serve each other, bear each other's
burdens, and that we may pray for one another. that we may
be enabled, O Lord, to walk with one another in the spirit of
love and union and communion. Lord, we pray for our dear brother
and sister that have left us, and we lovingly commend them
to thee, to the word of thy grace, and pray that they may indeed
find a spiritual home where they have gone. Lord, we pray that
thou wouldst bless them and their children. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst unite us as a church and as a congregation
and work mightily and powerfully and effectively among us to the
great glory of thy holy name, that we may see signs following
the preaching of the word among us. that we may see the light
and truth of the gospel shine into this village. Precious souls
gathered in, united to Christ. Oh, do hear us, Lord. We humbly
pray thee and let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory
unto their children. Oh, Lord, we do beseech thee
for thy great namesake. Lord, we pray that thou, in thy
great mercy, would bless our brethren, the deacons, and give
them grace, wisdom, and help. Undertake for them and answer
all their needs or their concerns. We pray that thou would support
and sustain them. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship, and graciously prepare us for
this coming Lord's Day. when we meet around the table
of the Lord, may we know that time of gracious preparation
for the Lord's Supper, to be prepared as we approach the table. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst bless the young and rising generation among us,
bless them with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus, bless
them with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom,
our dear young friends, bless them, guide them and direct them,
O Lord, we do beseech Thee for Thy great name's sake. And graciously
guide them safely unto Thy heavenly kingdom. Deliver them from the
snares of the wicked one, the illumines of this world. Guide
them in all the matters of providence. Lord, graciously bless our dear
young friends. All in the midst of the journey
of life, we pray that thou would support and sustain each one,
and that thou would be gracious and bring each one to live in
vital saving faith in Jesus Christ. Is there any that come in and
out among us that have no concern about the matters of their souls?
We pray that that time will come when they shall have a concern,
a burden. We do humbly beseech them. Lord,
we pray that the glory and light and power of the gospel may shine
into this village, the surrounding villages and hamlets. Bring our
sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth. We
do humbly beseech of them for thy great name's sake. Let thy
work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. We do humbly pray thee. Lord,
we pray for parents that they may be given wisdom and grace
to bring up their children in the nurture and administration
of the Lord. And we pray most gracious Lord for a right spirit Thy dear servant of old, he said,
creating me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within
me, O that it may be so, for thy great name's sake. We pray that thou wouldst be
with those of us in the evening time of life's journey, and graciously
help us, and bless us, and guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom. We pray that at evening time
it may be light, and the sacred sense of thy presence may be
known and felt, and that we may be prepared for that call which
must come, and that sometimes, Lord, there is no warning, or
that we may be graciously prepared Even as thou hast said, be ye
also ready. For at such a time as ye think
not, the Son of Man cometh. Remember, dear Enoch, in her
great age, and grant her thy divine support and blessing. We pray, O Lord, that thou would
remember all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion. that thou would set them free
and at liberty, and work mightily and powerfully and effectually
among the churches. And we pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest. And we hear of one and another,
O Lord, and the settlement of pastors. We thank thee for that,
and pray that other churches may be settled with pastors also. To hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
thee. Remember the churches in the
USA and Canada, and support and sustain and strengthen them.
We think of thy two servants at labour there, in that vast
country, and we pray that thou wouldst help them. Remember the
friends in Australia. Grant them, O Lord, a living
and a settled ministry. at one of thy servants to go
in and out among them, to feed them with knowledge and with
understanding. And O Lord God, we do pray that
thou would remember those that labour in word and doctrine among
the nations of the earth, and grant, Lord, good success to
that great work that some of them are doing in the Mombasa
mission in Ghana, and thy servant Ian Sadler as he travels in Africa,
and India, and Burma, and Pakistan, and that great work that he is
doing there, and the orphanages that he supports, and the distribution
of thy word. Grant good success, O Lord, we
do, humbly beseech thee, and remember us for good. Remember
those who suffer in those dark places of the earth where the
name of Christ is hated and thy people are persecuted. Lord,
remember thy people there. We do humbly beseech of thee. And send them help from the sanctuary
and strengthen them out of Zion. We also remember, O Lord, those
war-torn country of Ukraine, of Sudan, many thousands launched
from time into eternity. Lord, if it could please you,
put a stop to war, bring to naught the counsels of the ungodly.
O Lord, we do beseech of thee for thy great namesake. We thank
thee, gracious God, for all thy tender mercies. We thank thee
for the glories for the wonders of redeeming love. Oh, we thank
thee for sin put away and divine justice satisfied in that glorious
sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary's tree. We thank thee
that in his holy life the law has been fulfilled and honoured
and magnified and thy people are made righteous in him. Jehovah
Sidkenia, the Lord our righteousness. or we thank that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and has bodily
ascended into heaven. Gracious God, incline thine ear,
we do humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake and be with
us now as we turn to thy holy word. Come and touch one's lips
with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus
Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 234. The tune is Arabia 617. He that believeth Christ the
Lord, who shed for man his blood, by giving credence to his word,
exhorts the truth of God. So far he's right, but let him
know, further than this, he yet must go. Hymn 234, tune Arabia
617. God be with you, Christ the Lord,
? Hark the herald angels call ?
? Shining bright the new born King ? ? Christ the Lord is born
in Bethlehem ? ? To God be praised ? ? The good
and fair and lowly ? ? The good and fair and lowly ? ? The good
and fair and lowly ? ? The good and fair and lowly ? ? The good
and fair and lowly ? ? The good and fair and lowly ? ? His praise
? ? And to a better day ? ? His prophet now ? ? Becomes his praise
? ? And stays in my heart ? ? Thy righteous eyes ? ? This gentle
day ? ? And Christ's redeeming will proclaim ? ? Christ be thy
kingdom come ? ? The church angels sing ? ? In
Christ he reigns as Master and King of kings ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, and sing we all God's song. Thine
be the glory all the earth ? And angels resound the shofar
? ? O say can you see by the dawn's early light ? ? What so
proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I'll direct your attention to the epistle of Jude
and we'll read for our text verses 20 and 21. The general epistle of Jude, reading
verses 20 and 21. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves in your
most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in
the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life. Some very solemn things that
Jude the brother of James speaks of here. In the list of the apostles,
the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jude is called Judas.
There were two Judases, Judas the brother of James and Judas
Iscariot. And this, who wrote this is Judas
the brother of James. Whether he changed his name because
of Judas Iscariot, that we cannot tell. due the servant of Jesus
Christ and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God
the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. See, he sets out the qualifications
of a true Christian. They are sanctified by God the
Father. In what sense are they sanctified
by God the Father? Firstly, in his electing love
from all eternity, choosing them unto life and unto immortality,
choosing them to become the disciples of Jesus Christ, the followers
of Jesus Christ. And in that sense they are sanctified
by God the Father, separated under this wonderful grace that
is in Christ Jesus, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father through sanctification of the Spirit and bringing them
to faith in Jesus Christ. You know, how vital then are
these things that Jude speaks of here, Now the other sense of being
sanctified by God the Father, the Holy Ghost proceeded forth
from the Father and from the Son. It's made very clear, especially
in that discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 16, how
the Spirit of God proceeds from the Father, from Christ, from
both of them. Christ says in one place, whom
I send in my name, and then he says, whom the Father will send. And it's the Holy Spirit, by
his divine effectual work in the heart, in dwelling in the
soul, that makes a true believer. And in this sense, they are them
that are sanctified by God the Father. Because God the Father
has sent his Spirit. into our hearts. What a wonderful thing, my beloved
friends, if we indeed know what it is to have the Spirit sent
into our hearts. The Holy Ghost, how vital is
His work in the heart. Now, He goes on here and He says,
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you, of the common
salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort
you, and obviously there has been some doctrinal problem in
the churches. And so Jude, he says here, it
was needful for him to write unto you and exhort you that
you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once
delivered. unto the saints, earnestly contend. Oh, that the Lord would ever
make us earnest in the things of God, in the truth of God,
in the doctrine of Christ, in those fundamental doctrines
of our most holy faith, the doctrine of truth that is found in the
word of God. And This was one of the reasons
why Jude writes his epistle, that they should be established
in the faith. And it's obviously the problem,
it says in verse four, 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. And so he writes to exhort them
that they should contend, earnestly contend. May we ever be earnest
in our religion. May the Lord deliver us from
that solemn spirit that was found in the church at Laodicea. Thou
art neither hot nor cold. Therefore, will I spew thee out
of my mouth, neither hot nor cold. God disliked it, neither
one thing nor the other, neither of one opinion or the other opinion.
Some people, you know, friends, and it seems to be part of their
character, they sit on the fence, and they never go one way or
the other. And they were obeying in the churches, in the early
church, and they're obeying in the church today, people that
are not of a decided opinion, but they're free and easy and
just go whichever way the wind blows, not being firm in their
convictions, not being earnest in the faith, which was once
delivered unto the saints. You know, that brings us really
in a sense to our text. And he says, but ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith. The exhortation,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith. It's a holy
faith. It's faith that worketh by love
again there's a double sense that we can look at this often
when faith is spoken of in Holy Scripture it means in a very
broad sense the doctrines of grace your most holy faith and
that broad sense of the doctrines of grace free grace the divine
work and power and grace of the Holy Spirit, the divine work
and power and grace of the Holy Son, and of the Holy Father, your most holy faith. It's holy
because it's implanted from above. It comes from the work of the
Holy Ghost. within you. And that work of
the Holy Ghost within you is holy. Hence it's called your
most holy faith. And it will produce fruits of righteousness. Now
these things are fundamental to our faith. But beloved But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Now, we've just outlined what
Jude is saying in the beginning of who he's writing to, true
Christian believers, in whom the Holy Spirit has entered.
Their soul has been quickened. They've been brought from death
unto life. They've been brought to know themselves as poor sinners.
They've been brought to know that they're empty and ruined
and undone. They've been brought to feel it and to know it. And
they've been brought to feel and know that Jesus is the way
to God. Jesus is the way to bliss. In
this way the saints have trod down from Adam's day to this. And that's the foundation. What does The dear Apostle say,
Christ in you, the hope of glory. What else does he say? Other
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is
Christ Jesus. And by laying that foundation,
he's not speaking in a broad general term, we know It says,
doesn't it, in Isaiah chapter 28, behold, I lay in Zion a foundation,
a triad, a precious cornerstone. That, of course, is Christ. But
when Christ, when the apostle is speaking to the Corinthians,
and he speaks other foundation can no man lay than that which
is laid, he's speaking of that foundation being laid in the
heart by the Holy Ghost. when the Spirit of God gives
faith, when Christ is revealed, when Christ is made precious. It speaks in our text, and keep
yourselves in the love of God, and you know, when Christ is
made precious, you love Him. He's made so precious, you love
Him. Just like David in Psalm 116, I love the Lord, because he had heard my voice,
the voice of my supplications. I love the Lord. What a mercy
when we know that. You think of those lovely words
in Ephesians chapter three, and ye shall be rooted and grounded
in love and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.
Do you know the love of Christ? The Apostle, I think, when he
writes to the Romans and he says that, for the love of Christ
is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. How vital
is the work of the Holy Ghost? How vital is the work of Jesus
Christ? How vital and essential is the
eternal love of the Father? These are fundamental doctrines
of our most holy faith. He's speaking to a people in
whom a foundation is laid. When he writes these words of
exhortation, he's speaking to a people, a foundation has been
laid in their hearts. Now, just as it is with any building,
you lay the foundation and then you build the superstructure
of the building on the foundation. And the foundation gives stability
to that structure that is built. And this really is the illustration
that is being used here by the Holy Spirit. But ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto Eternal life. What does Peter say? But grow
in grace. And this is what really Jude
is saying here. Building up yourselves in your
most holy faith, but grow in grace. You know, friends, there's
something that is very wrong when there is no growth in grace
and no stability. And there are many exhortations
given to us concerning this in the Word of God. But ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost. It's really showing the essential
nature of the work of the Holy Ghost in the heart. And the work
of the Holy Ghost in the growth in grace. You know, in some senses, we
have that set forth in John the Baptist. He says, I must decrease,
he must increase. By that, he means I, John the
Baptist, must decrease. He's the herald of salvation.
He's the one that, the messenger that the Lord sent before him.
I must decrease. He, that's Jesus Christ, must
increase. And in a sense, that is setting
forth before us the growth in grace in the true believer. I must decrease. And in all the
way that the Holy Spirit works in the heart and the experiences
that you pass through, there's a decrease in the estimation
of yourself. You may write bitter things against
yourself. You may deeply feel that you
have an unbelieving heart and it troubles you. You may deeply feel that indwelling
sin within you and it troubles you. And the clearer views that
the Holy Spirit gives you of your inner self. You know, it's often the way,
certainly has been with me As I read the experiences of the
Lord's living family, it was with them. The older we get,
the more we seem to realize the sinfulness of our nature. The
corruption of our heart. Perhaps in your early spiritual
days you thought that you'd get better. But you see, we don't
get better. There was of course that gross
error of John Wesley who taught that a believer can reach such
a height of sanctification they become completely holy and of
course that is completely wrong but because that is wrong let
us not run away with the idea that the believer doesn't get
better in themselves in the sense of trusting in Christ and cleaving
to Christ and Look into Christ, and that is what it is to grow
in grace. It is because you feel such a deep emptiness and poverty
in yourselves, you flee to Christ. You look to Christ. You cast
your all on Christ. If ever my poor soul be saved,
it's Christ must be the way. You long to hear Christ preached.
You long to sing about him in the hymns. Because there is all
your salvation. There is all your redemption.
that we may indeed be among those that do grow in grace, but ye
beloved building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying
in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. You know the the Apostle Paul
when he writes his epistle to the Philippians and he speaks
in there in that third chapter so much so beautifully concerning
his longing desires after Christ and he says in verse 7 he speaks
in the previous verses of what he was as a Pharisee but then
from verse 7 He says, but what things were gained to me, those
I counted loss for Christ? Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung that I may win Christ. This is the longing
of a living soul, that I may win Christ and be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law. but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith. You see, the more you realize
your sinfulness and that indwelling sin, you know, you need to be
careful. I'm not now talking about living
in sin. I'm talking about sin living
in us and that is the great trial of the believer. Sin lives in
us. Evil thoughts, adultery, They
live in us. They rise in us. Covetousness,
it's all part of our fallen sinful nature. But you see, as the Spirit of
God shows you your lost and fallen state, He also reveals Christ. And you long to be found in Him,
not having mine own righteousness. You have to say, don't you? I
am all unrighteousness. I am unclean. I'm unrighteous
altogether. I feel it, Lord. But you see, he reveals here
a righteousness which is by faith. But that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. What
is that glorious righteousness of Jesus? How should we describe
it? What actually is it? When Christ lived here upon earth, we read, he did no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. He's righteous, he's perfect, holy. The hymn writer says, doesn't
he spotless? Innocent and pure, our great
Redeemer stood while Satan's fiery darts he bore and did resist
the blood. So, he lived a life we cannot live. You might say,
why can't we? Because he was holy in his very
conception, holy in his life. He'd walk in his condom. You
and I are unholy by our very conception. We're born in sin,
we're shaped in iniquity. That is our condition. Christ
came to deliver us from that condition. He was holy and pure
and righteous altogether. And that holiness and purity
of Christ is the fulfilling of the law. Christ himself said,
didn't he, I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And
he did it in his holy life. in his walk, in his conduct. On more than one occasion in
the Gospels he speaks of the holy law of God and what is contained
in that holy law of God. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and thy neighbour
as thyself. That's the law. That's the fulfilling
of the law. And that is what you and I can't
do. Because we have a sinful heart. a sinful nature. We're unclean and we're unrighteous
altogether, but that glorious righteousness of Christ, which
is received by faith. As he says here in Philippians,
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness,
which is of God by faith. I may know him and the power
Isn't that just what we need? And the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable unto his
death if by any means am I entertained unto the resurrection of the
dead. He goes on in verse 12 and he
says, but I follow after if that I may apprehend that which also
I'm apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended but this One thing, oh, that we may have
this single eye of faith, but this one thing, I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before. This, my beloved friends, is
growing in grace. You see yourself as nothing,
but you see Christ as everything. If ever my poor soul be saved
is Christ, must be the way. You see, reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark. This
is growing in grace for the prize of the high call of God in Christ
Jesus. Pressing toward the mark, longing
to lay hold of Christ, seeking perfection in him alone. You
can't find it anywhere else. You can't find it anywhere else. No. You know, friends, and the
apostle, when he writes here to his son Timothy in the faith,
and to the Philippians, sorry, to the church at Philippi, he
speaks about, so strongly, about work out your own salvation with
fear and tremor. Work out your own salvation,
just as we have in our text. The same sort of language. Building
up yourselves in your most holy faith. Work out your salvation
with fear and trembling. Or that we may see clearly this
divine teaching that we have in the word of God concerning
growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
thinking of this, also this building up yourselves in your most holy
faith, my mind went to that well-known portion in the first chapter
of the second epistle of Peter and how there, we have the exhortations
in a similar way to what Jude is exhorting here. And it says
in 2 Peter 1, verse 5, but beside this, giving all diligence, add
to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge
temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience, godliness,
and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity,
love in action. Let us not love in word only,
but in deed and in truth. And if these things be in you
and abound, they make you that you shall be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he
that lacketh these things is blind, cannot see afar off, and
hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Oh, that the Lord would impress
these things upon us, and that it may be our exercise, our concern,
our burden. James speaks, doesn't he, so
clearly, Faith without works is dead, being alone. Faith produces fruit in the heart,
in the life, in the walk, in the conduct of the living child
of God. Are we fruitful? Are we fruitful? But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Doesn't the Apostle Paul when he writes to the Romans and he
speaks in the 8th chapter much about the work, the divine work
of the Holy Ghost in the 8th chapter of the Romans. And he
says from verse 4 that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. after
the Holy Ghost. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. For to be calmly minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. You see he goes on and he says
in verse 9, but you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so, be that the Spirit of
God dwell in you. Now if men have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. If Christ be in you, the body
is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we
are debtors not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For
if we live after the flesh, we shall die. But if we through
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, the term mortify
means to kill the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. For you have not received the
Spirit of bondage against fear, but ye have received the spirit
of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father. You see, my beloved friends,
these things are written for our instruction in the way of
righteousness, in the way of truth. And it goes on in the
same chapter, chapter 8 of the Romans, and it says in verse
26, likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities, For
we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit
itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered. You know, the Holy Ghost is the
author of real prayer, of groanings that cannot be uttered. And the
believer sometimes comes into those places where they cannot
put into words what they feel. They're so burdened, they're
so pressed with the oppressive weight of sin and of a broken
law, et cetera, that it presses them down. And their burden and
their agony is so great that they cannot put into words. But
the Spirit maketh intercession. What a wonderful aspect that
is of the work of the Holy Ghost. But the Spirit maketh intercession
for us with groanings. A groan. I often think of our
Lord Jesus Christ at the grave of Lazarus. And he groaned in
spirit. He groaned. You see, my beloved
friends, what a mercy if we know something of that same pathway
of following after Christ. but ye beloved. It's very sweet how he speaks
to the believers, isn't it? Verse 17, but beloved. Remember
ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And then in our text, but ye
beloved, building up yourselves in your most holy in Christ. Christ is a magnet to faith,
it draws faith. His glorious person, his power,
his grace, his love, his mercy, his precious blood, his glorious
righteousness, is what faith seeks after, looks for, prays
for, longs for, that I may know him in the power You see, a risen
Christ destroying death and swallowing up death in victory. Oh, that
I might know that resurrecting power in my own soul. But ye,
beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying
in the Holy Ghost, praying in the Holy Ghost. Oh, that we might
know more of this, praying in the Holy Ghost. May we know more
of it as a spirit of travail. For as soon as I am travail,
she brought forth her children. But travail is a very painful
thing and can be a very long process. How we need the Holy
Spirit to give that to us. That spirit of real travail. One of the epistles, I can't
remember which one, The I think it was in the Galatians when
the Apostle Paul writes to them. I travel again in birth with
you You didn't know the truth, but
now you seem to have left the truth All that we may know this
spirit of travel praying in the Holy Ghost Keep yourselves in
the love of God Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life Those blessings in Christ are eternal. Jesus
Christ is saying yesterday and today and forever. I am come
that they might have life and that they might have it more
abundantly. I give unto my sheep eternal
life. That's what Christ has purchased
for his people. That's why he suffered and bled
and died for his people. And what does it say in Isaiah
53? He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. Christ will and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many. Declare them to be without sin,
justify many. Because of his precious blood
and righteousness, I have redeemed thee. Come ye, blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation
of the world. What Christ has done for his
people. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that
where I am, there ye may be also. This is all part of our most
holy faith. Life beyond death. Eternal life. Eternal glory. Eternal salvation. But you, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith. That's on Christ. Your most holy faith. We don't
actually build on the grace of faith, but faith looks alone
to Jesus. Faith believes in Jesus. Faith honours and expects all
the blessings in Jesus Christ that he has procured for his
people. It looks for his glorious righteousness. It looks at his
sinatonic sacrifice, his precious blood. That's what faith looks
to, what Christ has done, what Christ has accomplished. And
then those wonderful words of Jesus, I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there ye may be also. But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
keep yourselves in the love of God. It's almost as if the Apostle
here is saying, this is what will keep you, the love of Christ, the love
of the Father, the love of the Son, the love of the Holy Ghost.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, that this spirit The spirit
of love, it's a faith that worketh by love. It's a holy love. It's a love to the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost. It's lovely, isn't it, what the
Lord Jesus Christ in John 17, how he speaks there so beautifully
concerning the oneness of the church in Christ. and the oneness
of the love of God within the Godhead. It says in verse 21,
that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, I
in thee, and that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them, that they may be one even as
we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one, that the world may know that thou hast sent
me, and has loved them as thou lovest me. Father, I will, that
they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou
lovest me before the foundation of the world. But ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto eternal life. May the Lord have his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 251. The tune is Enoch 924, when Jesus with his mighty love
visits my troubled breasts, my doubts subside, my fears remove,
and I'm completely blessed. Hymn 251, tune Enoch 924. ? Jesus, Lord at Thy birth ? ?
In Thy holy tomb ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? For I know in my heart ? ? That
God's mercy could not be found ? ? And if I'm frightened, lost, departed ? ? And all is calm by prayer ? ?
That in the peaceful time of day ? ? Thine soul is there ?
Take care of everything that's dear to him, for he is old sir,
dear. But where he should visit her,
There not quite left her there. I miss the presence of my friend, Thy wondrous comforts prompt. I to thy courts have placed written
Thy wretched state, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly
streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, Nor freak the dead thy visioning,
Nor leave them on their last. Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each, both now
and forevermore. Amen.