Is that the same thing that happened
to you? Go with me, if you would, back
to Jude. We've been going through the
book of Jude on Wednesday nights. And we've come to the last two
verses of the chapter. And I felt led to look at them
for our message this morning. Verse 24 says, 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 Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. Amen. Now, this is what I want
us to find out this morning. Jude said, He is able to keep
you from falling. He is able to keep you from falling. Here is the question that I want
us to ask. How do we know? Are we going to hang our souls
on this? How do we know that He is truly
able? How do we know? If we're going
to put all our trust in Him, if we're going to put all of
our hope in Him, how do we know? Because what religion says is
maybe I ought to do a few good works on the side just in case. How do we know? that he is truly
able. Look at a few scriptures. Go
with me to Daniel chapter 3 after Ezekiel. Daniel chapter 3. King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden
image and he told everybody in the kingdom to bow down and worship
it. It was a command of the king.
Bow down and worship this golden idol that he made. But Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego wouldn't do it. Verse 13 says, Then Nebuchadnezzar
in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar
spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego? Do not you serve my gods, nor
worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if you be
ready, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet,
flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of
music, you fall down and worship the image which I have made well. But if you worship not, you shall
be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace,
and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king,
O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this
matter. We're not full of care over this. If it be so, our God, whom we
serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And He will deliver us out of
thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto
thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the
golden image which thou hast set up." They said, we're not
going to fret over this issue at all. You know, if you need
an answer for us, we already have it. We don't need to think
about this. We already have it. Our God is
able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. Now, here's the
question I want to ask. Really, how did they know? Did He deliver them? Did he do it in reality or is
that just a fairy tale? How did they know? It hadn't
happened yet. They had never been put into
a burning fiery furnace before. How did they know? Go with me over to 2 Timothy
chapter 1. 2 Timothy 1 verse 12 says, FOR THE WHICH CAUSE I ALSO SUFFER
THESE THINGS, NEVERTHELESS I AM NOT ASHAMED, FOR I KNOW WHOM
I HAVE BELIEVED, AND AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE TO KEEP THAT
WHICH I HAVE COMMITTED UNTO HIM against that day. The Apostle
Paul said, I am absolutely persuaded that he is able to take care
of everything that I have committed unto him against that day. What have I committed? sin. I have committed sin and I have
committed all of my sin unto him to take care of it against that
day. Paul said, I am fully persuaded
that he's able to do it. What makes him so persuaded? Are we entering into the reality
here? We daily commit sin. We commit
sin and we commit sin and we commit sin. And we are believing
in our hearts that when we go meet God, it's all going to be
taken care of. How do we know? How do we know? I'll give you
one more. Hebrews 11. Go with me over to
Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 verse 17. By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered
up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only
begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy
seed be called. God promised Abraham a seed,
a family as the stars of the heaven and the sand of the seashore.
And he said, they're going to come through Isaac. And he offered
him up, verse 18 says, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall
thy seed be called, accounting that God was able to raise him
up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure. Enter into the reality of that.
He was going to go ahead and kill him. Okay, God promised
him this seed. And God said, you take him up
on Mount Moriah. He was going to go ahead and kill him because
he believed in his heart that God was able to raise him from
the dead. He said in his heart, if I'll
just believe God, everything will be fine. God will raise him from the dead. What made him believe that? How
could he know that? As of that moment in history,
no one had ever been raised from the dead. He had no examples
to go on. How did these people know, and
how can we know, that he is truly able to deliver us, to take care
of everything that we've committed, and to raise us up. And as Jude
says in our text, to keep us from falling. How do we know? How do we know? I have a short
but to the point message. We have three reasons. He is
able for three reasons. I want us to look at three reasons
why we know he's able. Number one, we know that he is
able because of who he is. We know that he is able because
of who he is. Now, who are we talking about?
Who is the one that will deliver us? Take care of everything we've
committed, raise us up and keep us from falling. Who are we talking
about? Go back to our text in Jude verse 25. The last verse says
to the only wise God, our savior. We're talking about our savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 1 21 says, call his name
Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. He is the one
who's able. How do we know he's able? Number
one, because of who he is. Who is he? Verse 25 says, To the only wise
God, our Savior. He's God. He's God. God saved us. God came
down. God did. Philippians 2 says the Lord Jesus
Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Why would He not think it was
robbery to be equal with God? John 1 verse 1 says it's because
He was God. That's why. He was God. A little baby was born from the
womb of a virgin. The angel told that woman, you
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with
us. Isaiah 9 verse 6 says, For unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the mighty God. The mighty God. I heard a man
say one time, he made this statement right
here, he said, aren't we so glad God sent Jesus? God didn't send Jesus. God sent Himself. To say that God sent Jesus is
to imply that Jesus works for God. It's to imply that he was on
an errand for God. It's to imply that he was the
faithful servant of God. Behold my servant, right? That's not who he is. That's not who He is. He is not
just God's servant. He's God Himself. He's God Himself. He is not just
God's Son. Is He God's Son? God says He
is. God gave His only begotten Son. He's not just God's Son, He is
the Son of God, the Trinity. If He was a man like you and
me, even though we know He was a much, much better man than
you and me, a man of God. But if He was just a man of God,
none of us could put our trust in Him. None of us. I have yet to meet a man that
I can put my trust in. I've yet to do it. Better men
than me. I can't put my trust right here.
I've yet to meet a man. If he was just an angel, the
angel of the Lord came, if he was just an angel, an angel of
God Almighty, an angel of the heavenly host, We still couldn't
put our trust in him. Our brother read for us just
a minute ago in Jude that a third of the heavenly host of angels
fell into sin and they're reserved in chains unto the great day
of judgment. Isn't that right? That's not who he is though.
Thank God that's not who he is. He is not just a man of God. And he's not just an angel of
God, he is the very God himself. Look with me at 1 Timothy chapter
3. 1 Timothy 3, verse 16, and without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That means it was God Himself
who came down. Verse 16 says, God was justified
in the Spirit. That means the Spirit said, yes,
that's God. He descended on Him like a dove.
That is God Almighty. Verse 16 says, He was seen of
angels. Every angel that saw Him said,
yes, that's God. He was preached unto the Gentiles. This man is God. He was believed
on in the world. I believe this man is God. And it says God Almighty was
received up into glory. He is able, number one, because
of who He is. He's God. He's God. Alright, number two. The second
reason we know he's able is because of what he did. What did he do? Philippians 2 says, He made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as
a man He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. What does that mean? He died
on the cross, yes, but what is that saying He accomplished?
What does that mean? Hebrews 1 says that means He
by Himself purged our sins. What the law could not do. God gave His law through Moses. We have it. Let me ask you a
question. Are we perfect? No. I have it. I read it. I know what it says. Am I this? Not in the flesh. What the law could not do. What the blood of bulls and goats
could not do. This man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down. Why did he sit down? because his part was done. Now
the rest is up to you. No. He sat down because it was finished. He would not sit down until it
was finished. It had to be finished. Well, I'm pretty sure I'm following
you. I hear what you're saying. But just so I can be clear, what
was finished? What do you mean it was finished?
Just so I can make sure we're on the same page, understanding
you correctly, what exactly did he do? Turn with me to Colossians
chapter 2. Colossians 2 verse 13 says, which was contrary to us, and
took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. He took every
ordinance that the law had against us, every single one of them,
and he nailed all of them to his cross. Every one of them. And then he willingly hung himself
on that cross. and he suffered the punishment
of the law. God's wrath and God's judgment in our place. Because of the blood that he
shed on that cross, all of our sins are blotted out. All of them. You believe that? I believe that. How do we know? It's because he went all the
way to the end. He didn't just incarcerate himself
for a while and then he paid his price and got it. He took
it all the way to the end. Some people deserve to be in
jail for about a month. Some people deserve life in prison. Some people deserve death. He went all the way. He went
all the way. Through His blood, every single
transgression we've ever committed is now blotted out. I mean, it
is gone. We're forgiven. It's done. The first reason He's
able is because of who He is. God Almighty. The second reason
He's able is because of what He did. He paid the price of
our redemption to the last cent. There's not one cent left that
has to be paid. He paid it all the way to the
grave, left nothing undone, totally finished. The third reason why
we know He is able is because of where He is right now. Where is He? Philippians 2 says, God the Father
is well pleased with him and has highly exalted him. Look with me at Hebrews 1. Hebrews 1 verse 1 says, God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of His
power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on High." Our God is seated in
the heavens. He is seated on the right hand
of the Majesty on High. Verse 8 right here in Hebrews
1 says, But unto the Son, God the Father said, Thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. He wears the crown of sovereignty
as King of kings and Lord of lords. Peter said, and I love
this, this is one of my favorite verses. I can't wait to say it
with him. Peter said, we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. We saw his majesty. We saw the
king. We've seen the king. He's the
king. He is right now eternally reigning
King. King of all heaven and earth. He is the King of heaven. He's
the King of earth. He's the King of all. He does
as He sits on His throne with His scepter of righteousness.
He does whatsoever He pleases. HE DOESN'T ASK FOR PERMISSION.
HE DOESN'T SEND ANYTHING BEFORE A JURY. HE DOES WHATSOEVER HE
PLEASES. FOR THAT REASON HE IS ABLE TO
SAVE THEM TO THE UTTERMOST THAT COME UNTO GOD BY HIM SEEING HE
EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION. for them. That's what he wants
to do as he sits on his throne. We can approach that throne with
boldness. That we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need because this is what he
wants to do. He desires to make intercession for his people. If he wants to make intercession
for his people, his people will be interceded for. He's the He's
the King. Back to our text, Jude 1 verse
24 says, Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you spotless, washed,
perfect, holy, faultless, before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy unto Him. Now who is He? Verse 25 says,
To the only wise God. What did He do? To the only wise
God our Savior. Where is He now? To the only
wise God our Savior be glory and majesty dominion and power,
both right now and forever. Amen. Amen. Let's all stand together.