I'm reminded of a time we were
still in our old building, and my oldest daughter comes
to visit, and brought my two granddaughters with her. And
they weren't old enough to still sit in the service, so they were
on their way to the back. And the older of the two stopped
when she got up It was just a door like that and she was going around
and she stopped and looked at me. And she said, Pat Ball. I said, what, what honey? She
said, are you gonna say the words? I said, boy, I hope so. I hope
so. I invite you this morning to
turn with me to the book of Jude. The book of Jude, the last nestled
in next to Revelation, the last book of the Bible, has no chapters, just made up
of verses. And it is a general epistle. It was a letter written to all
in his day that believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us
in verse one that it is to them that are sanctified by God the
Father. What's he talking about? He's
talking about a people that God the Father set apart for the
glory of his name. Just like he set apart the priesthood,
and he set apart the high priest, and he set apart the tabernacle,
He set apart the people that He chose in His Son. And He would use them for the
glory of His name. He'd save them for that reason.
He'd use them for that reason. He'd take them on to be with
Him, just for that reason. And this is who Jude's writing
to. He's writing to those who are sanctified by God the Father. Now, I don't know why Well, I do know why. It's because
they don't understand, but people fight so hard against election.
There's no reason to fight against election. That's just simply
God the Father setting you apart. What if he didn't set anybody
apart? He would just have destroyed
our race and that. The reason he preserved this
world, and the reason that we still exist today, is because
God the Father sanctified the people. He chose the people,
set them apart from all eternity. He made provision
for them, predestinated them, the scripture said, to the adoption
of children. And then he tells us this, this
tiny little letter is written to them that are preserved in
Jesus Christ. Now we used to take, Kathy would
take strawberries and do things. She'd make preserves, and I'd
listen for them little lids to pop. You know, and you'd hear
them, they'd pop. And I thought, boy, that one's
good now. That one, later on in the winter
when there's no berries around, that's gonna be good. They're
preserved. Preserved. And we're preserved
in Jesus Christ, blessed in him, saved by an eternal union in
him, chosen unto salvation, we're preserved in Jesus Christ. And then he tells us that this
letter is to them that are called, called by the gospel through
the powerful working of the Holy Ghost, called out of darkness
into his marvelous light, and called from death unto life.
We're called. Who could perform such a calling?
Does a preacher have power to do that? No, no. Paul said, I'm not fit that you
consider me to be anything. He said, what makes my ministry
effectual is the Holy Spirit. If he's pleased to move, things
will happen. If he's not pleased to move,
it'll go right in one ear and right out the other. So that's
who this letter's written to, written to believers. They're
sanctified by God the Father, they're preserved in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and then they're called in time by the Holy Spirit
of God. To them, mercy and peace and
love, he said, be multiplied. Grace upon grace. Prevenient
grace, grace before grace. Mercy upon mercy, love stacked
up. Look, can you see back now in
your life the layers of God's love? My soul is just layer after
layer after layer. And then from verses four through
19, we're warned of deceived men, ungodly men, men who are
pawns of Satan, used by him, not knowing that they're being
used. Convinced that they're called of God, but they're not.
They're of their father, the devil. That's what our Lord told
those Pharisees. They said, we'd be not born of
fornication. He said, well, if God was your
father, you'd love me because I proceed forth and come from
the Father. The Father sent me. You're of your father, the devil.
And then he tells us this. He said they're like clouds that
promise rain, but have no water. Boy, I tell you, sometimes down
in Arkansas, we get what they call the bubble. And this big
ole high will set up over top of there, and you'll see rain
coming, and the weather channel's telling you, take cover, this
is gonna happen. And it just, pssh, and it's gone. You can just watch it on the
radar. Just watch it break up. It's gone. It's gone. And those clouds, that's what
these men are. They're clouds that promise rain,
but they have no water in them. They're just blown about. He
said that they revel in their fallen natures. They're trees
that promise fruit, but have no They promised food but had
no fruit, and they're like the raging waves of the sea foaming
out their shame. They're like shooting stars that
manifest in the darkness a kind of brightness for a second or
two, and then they sink into eternal blackness, the blackness
of darkness, the scripture said, forever and ever. He said, these
deceived men are murmurs, They're never satisfied. They can never
rejoice in the fullness of Christ. They can't rejoice in the fullness
of God. But they're murmurs and complainers. And they don't walk for the glory
of God. They don't walk in Christ. Paul
said, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.
They don't walk that way. They walk after their own lust.
They speak great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration
for advantage. For advantage. And they separate
themselves from the body of Christ. They're sensual. They live to
feed upon feelings. You're not considered a preacher
who preaches in the Holy Ghost unless you can stir up some kind
of feelings in them. That's what they look for. They're
sensual. They're sensual. They got to have that music and
the drums and they gotta get worked up. They're sensual. Live upon feelings, both theirs
and yours. And they take pleasure in exciting
the lust of the flesh. And they do this because they
have not, he said, the Spirit of God. Now they say that those
are the fruits of the Spirit. But here God says they do these
things because they have not the Spirit. The Spirit of revelation
and the Spirit of God. Now this is just a brief summary
of what's going on in the world on any given day. It's going
on this morning, it went on yesterday, it went on the day before yesterday,
and as long as the Lord carries it, it's gonna continue to go
on. These deceived men, be careful, he said, they'll come in unaware. You won't even know they're there,
and all of a sudden, they're right in the midst. All of a
sudden, there's a boil in the congregation. But you, and this is what I want
you to see here in verse 20. You, you that know the Lord,
you that have the Spirit, you that have been sanctified by
God the Father and preserved in Christ Jesus and been called
by the Holy Spirit of God, you that believe, you build up yourselves
on your most holy Faith. What is holy faith? Is that one
of them words we just read and read over it and go on because
we don't know what it means? What is holy faith? What is holiness? Be ye holy, for I am holy. What
is holiness? Has that got something to do
with goodness? Well, it has a little bit, but
that's not the heart of the matter. Holiness has to do with the whole
character of God, that's holiness. Holiness is the whole character
of God as it's manifested in union. No one attribute being
compromised for the sake of the other. Everything working in harmony
in the character of God, no matter what he does. This is true of
judgment, it's true of salvation, Holiness, now he says you build
yourselves up on your most holy faith. Well what is faith except
trust and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? That's what it
is, that's what faith is, we look to him. We look to him,
well what do we see in him? I see the whole character of
God in perfect harmony in the salvation of my soul. Now build
yourself up on that kind of faith. That kind of faith. It's a faith that considers
the justice of God satisfied and glorified by the death of
His Son. It's a faith that considers the
righteousness of God as it was manifested in a representative
obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law. And as a
man, as a representative man, he was placed under that law
and become obedient under that law as a servant. And he remained
obedient under death, even the death of the cross. That's our
righteousness. My soul, I don't, Paul said,
oh, he said that I might win Christ and be found in him not
having my own righteousness. My righteousness, all of them
are like as filthy rats. We're all together is an unclean
thing. But his righteousness is perfect. It's perfect. So this holy faith is a faith
that considers these things and it considers the eternality of
God who is the beginning and end. He's the author and finisher.
He's the first and the last. It's a faith that considers the
grace of God. God's free and sovereign grace.
I hope there's nobody in here still believes in works. Oh,
my soul. No flesh gonna be justified before
God by the deeds of the law. No flesh. But now there's a righteousness
without the law being preached. It's a faith that considers the
wrath of God. Do you fear the wrath of God?
Do you fear waking up one day in judgment and bearing the wrath
of God? Well, there's only one way for
that to disappear, and that's to see that holy wrath of God
burning itself out on the Son of God on that cross. That's
it. That's it, that wrath is gone. If he bore my sins in his own
body on the tree, then he would be an unjust God to punish me
too. It's a faith that considers the
wrath of God, that holy wrath, that can only be satisfied by
the sufferings of Christ. It's a faith that considers the
wisdom of God in the salvation of sinners by the person of the
Son. It's foolishness to them their
passion, but unto us it's the power and the wisdom of God. Build up yourselves on your most
holy faith, faith in Christ, resting upon Christ, looking
to Christ, trusting in Christ, and waiting in Christ. I was telling folks last night
when we went out to eat, I said, I had an older man in my congregation
and he told me, he said, Pastor, I don't have any insurance. I
just don't have any. He said, I've been at this thing
a long time. He said, I just don't have any
insurance. I said, you mean you don't believe
that Jesus Christ came into the flesh and died on the cross? Oh, he said, I believe that.
I said, you don't believe that he was the son of God sent by
the Father for this? Oh, he said, I believe that.
I said, you don't believe that when he died he satisfied the
justice? Oh, he said, I believe that.
I've seen God as just and justified. I said, you mean you don't believe
God raised him from the dead? And the angels came and took
him into glory, and he was seated at the right hand of God, and
there he reigns, controls everything, reigns as provident. I said,
you don't believe? Oh, he said, I believe that.
I said, honey, that's assurance. Assurance ain't in you. You're
the one being saved. Assurance is in Christ. Assurance
is in Christ. And then he tells us this, he
said, praying in the Holy Ghost. Does that mean we're supposed
to chant in repetitions till we work ourself up into some
kind of spiritual trance? Is that what he's talking about
there? Or are we supposed to face a certain
direction and go through some kind of ceremonial bowing? Are we to speak to God in some
heavenly language that nobody except you and God knows what
you're talking about? No, that's not what he's saying
at all. To pray in the Holy Spirit is to pray in subjection to the
will of God. Not my will, thy will be done. It's to pray with the understanding
of whom you're praying to and why you expect some answer
from him. That's praying in the Holy Ghost. Because your sons, because your
heirs, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. Now you cry, Abba, Father, and
you know what that Father means when you pray. Pray in the Holy Ghost is to
pray with praise and thanksgiving to God. Now watch this, verse 21. Keep yourselves in the love of
God. How on earth can you do that? Huh? I can't keep anything. I can't
keep a paycheck from one week to the next. How am I going to
keep myself in the love of God? Now, I tell you, if you're in
the love of God, you can't be separated from the love of God.
But how in the world am I to keep myself in the love of God? Well, here it is. Just read on
a little further. looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Believers keep themselves
in the love of Christ by continuing to be objects of his eternal
mercy and grace in Christ. Just stay right there, don't
climb the hill. Just stay right there. Stay down
at his feet. Stay down there as an object
of his mercy, needing his grace and mercy every day of your life.
You stay right there and you'll be keeping yourselves in the
love of Christ. Our Lord said to the Pharisees,
they were kind of making light of the disciples and of Christ
and of the people that gathered around him. And our Lord said
to those Pharisees, he said, the whole need not a physician,
but they that are sick. But he said, you go learn what
that means, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I'm not
come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Believers keep themselves in
the love of God by taking their place as sinners before him,
objects of his love and mercy. And then, The writer tells us
to do what we can for those we are given opportunity to do it. He said to some, having compassion
making a difference. We've been Last night and today,
talking about Brother Mahan, and I've read a lot of the things
that they posted on him. But let me tell you what I remember
about him as my pastor. He had compassion on me. On me. And it made a difference. It made a difference. I don't
know why that's so hard for us to learn, but it is. It's a difficult
lesson. Have compassion. I know we feel
helpless. I don't have any power to say,
but I have power to do what God tells me to do. And he tells
me here to have compassion. And he tells me why. It can make
a difference. Only God can save. Well, if that
be so, maybe I don't need to preach. Oh no, I have to preach. I have to preach. How you gonna
hear without preaching? Why? Because God ordained it.
Well, you look that same way at compassion. Same way. Some
have compassion. Makes a difference. Seeing them
in the same shape you were when God had compassion on you. seeing
them headed down the same road you were traveling when God arrested
you. Have compassion. Verse 23. And others save with
fear. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom, isn't it? Save them with fear. Paul told
the church of Corinth, he said, I was with you in the beginning. He said, I was with you in weakness
and in fear and in much trembling. If you have no concern, no fear,
no anxious attitude toward your lost loved ones, do you expect
them to? When you're perfectly content
and satisfied and you don't seem worried, you don't seem upset,
why should they be? You see what he's saying here? He likens them as to already
be in the fire. Brands for the burning, pulling
them out at the last second, pulling them out before they're
totally destroyed. And then that word fear also
has to do with the one who's doing the pulling. We fear. We go to correct somebody or
go to talk to somebody and we say we do it in meekness and
fear, understanding that we can be drawn into that thing. Those
things are deadly to us too. I've got children and grandchildren
and aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews and friends I've
known all my life and I'm troubled about their condition. And sometimes out of desperation,
I just say something, whether it's politically correct or not,
I'll just say it. I don't know how else to do it.
So I'll just say it. Some with fear pulling them out
of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. And oh, how perfectly here does
the Holy Ghost Inspire the hand of this writer. Now, he said,
now. This is how things are. This is what's going on in the
world. There's a power in this world that's irresistible to
the sinner. Satan rules and reigns over him.
He's not able to save himself. He's not able to understand.
He's not able to do anything. If God don't intervene, he's
doomed. That's how things are. But there's
a people that's been sanctified by God, they've been preserved
in Jesus Christ, and they've been called by the powerful working
of the Holy Spirit of God, and they know, they're concerned.
They're troubled about men's souls. And what are they gonna do? They're
gonna pray for them. because there's only one can
do them any good. They're gonna pray. They're gonna pray. And so he says, now, with everything
as it really is, with the truth out in the open, now, unto him
that's able to keep you from falling. Unto him. Unto him. 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 and dominion and power both now and forever.
Were we violent? All myself. Were we victims of
the fall, objects of God's condemnation? Well, the scripture said we were
by nature the children of wrath even as others before he quickened
us. The scripture said by the offense of one, judgment came
upon all men to condemnation. The scripture says in Adam all
die, all die. All right, if our great and omnipotent
God is able to keep us from falling, How does he do it? How does he
do it? Well, he began the work of salvation
before he ever created the first man. He cradled that man in his
hand before he ever created him. He did it in an everlasting covenant
of grace, and he gave you to his son. And his son rejoiced
with you before ever the first man was created. You can read
about it in the book of Proverbs. He began the work of salvation
before he ever created a man. God saved us, Paul told Timothy. And then he called us with a
holy call. Not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us,
when? In Christ Jesus before the foundation
of the world. Oh. blessed us in Christ according
as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world and
predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself according to the good pleasure of his will. There was
a Savior, one chosen of God and precious, one fit for the job,
one able to do what God ordained him to do. One wise enough and
precious enough to make a difference. One whose love was strong enough
to stay bound forever. One who was powerful enough to
defeat all his enemies. One who was faithful enough to
manifest the righteousness of God. Paul said this about Christ. He said, in him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead body. And you are complete. in him. How did he keep us from falling?
You know what the believer finds out? All these thousands of years,
and who knows how much of eternity before that, and then all these
thousands of years that went by, and then in time the Holy
Ghost comes, and in power and the preaching of the gospel,
he regenerates a man, he brings him to know God. You know what
he finds out? God kept him from falling from
all eternity. He had hold of him. Huh? You can read about it over in
John chapter 10. My sheep, he said, hear my voice.
And I give unto them eternal life, and they'll never perish.
Neither shall any man do what? Pluck them out of my hand. Oh,
when'd they get in his hand? When the Father gave them to
him before the world was. Huh? You find that? He already
kept you from falling. He just made you wear it. He
just made you aware of it. And I'm gonna tell you something.
He's able. He was able then, and then when
the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
and he accomplished salvation. He manifested his ability. He manifested his glory. He manifested
his power and grace. It's one called Jesus, born of
the Virgin Mary, who's able. You're not gonna believe on him
until you know he's able. That's when you're gonna rest
in him. He took on himself the seed of Abraham, the covenant
head and surety of all the promises of God. The scripture said to
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not unto
seeds as of many, but as of one, and thy seed, which is Christ.
He took on the holy law of God in all of its glory and depth
and fullness and fulfilled every statute. He exalted the law and
made it honorable. He took on Satan himself, was
tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. He took
on that Antichrist religion and they could do nothing with it.
What could they do? They could do nothing. Every confrontation they come
away exposed for what they were. They took up stones to stone
him and there was a great cliff there at that city and they took
him out and was gonna throw him over the cliff but he walked
right through the midst. He took on the providence of
God and rejoiced in it, though he had nowhere to lay his head.
Boy, this little thing comes along and we start murmuring,
don't we? He said the foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of God had
nowhere to lay his head. But he rejoiced. He rejoiced. Is He able? He proved to be more than able.
He become the author of eternal salvation. And this is assurance. He's able. He's able. Able to keep you from falling
and able to succor them that are tempted and able to save
to the uttermost all those that come unto God by Him. He's able. Abraham believed God. He believed
that what God had promised he was able also to perform. And it wasn't written just for
his sake, but for us also who shall believe. He's able not
only to arrest you and keep you from falling, but here it says
also to present you faultless before the presence of his glory.
It's not so much how we present ourselves to God, is it how he
presents us to himself. I used to struggle and try to
pray, and I just shudder to even think how I was presenting myself
to God. And one day I learned how he
presented me to the Father. Faultless before the presence
of his glory. He's able. Well, what does that
mean he's able? Well, ability has to do with
two things. It has to do with possibilities. Is a thing possible? Is it possible? Is it possible for God to save
a sinner and still be God? It has to do with possibilities.
Our Lord said to that rich young Roman when he walked away, the
disciples said, boy, who then can be saved? He said, with man,
it's impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. Why? Because he's able. He's
able. He has the wisdom, the power,
and the will to bring it to pass. He said, I'm God. He said, there's
nobody comparing me to. I'm God. Beside me, there is
none other. I declare the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying my counsel will stand and I'll
do all my pleasure. He's able. He said this to his prophet Isaiah.
He said, I've spoken it. I'll bring it to pass. I've purposed
it. I'll also do it. So it has to do with possibility
and permission. Permission. That's the second
thing, has to do with approval. I went down to get some of Kathy's
medicine one day. And I went in there and she said,
well, that's a pain pill. I'm gonna have to see your driver's
license. I said, okay, so I handed her the driver's license. She
said, I'm sorry, I can't give you the medicine. I said, why? She said, your license are expired. Now, she had the strength to
give it to me. She had the knowledge to give it to me, but she didn't
have permission. The law forbid her from giving
me that medicine without a current driver's license. I had to go
down and beg for another license because I'd let that one expire.
The ability of God to keep us from falling and to present us
faultless before the presence of his glory is set forth in
the scriptures having both the power and the approval of God. His power is set forth in the
person of his son as he suffered and died for our sins and obeyed
that law. in perfect obedience to God,
accomplished our redemption. And his approval or permission
is set forth in the resurrection of Christ. This Jesus that they
preached, here's what they said about him. They said he was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. We've been justified, Paul said,
freely by his grace through that accomplished redemption that's
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our redemption is said to be
in him because he accomplished it. He tells us in Hebrews 9.12,
by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. He accomplished the redemptive
will of God, he tells us in Hebrews chapter 10. In the volume of
the book, it's written of me, I come to do thy will, O God,
by which will were sanctified once for all in him. He accomplished the redemptive
will of God, and therefore he can freely justify it all for
whom he died. He met all the demands of God,
his justice, his law, his holy wrath, his righteousness, and
therefore he has God's full approval, full approval to gather in his
elect. And then Paul has something to
say to exalt the Savior that he preached. He calls him the
only wise God. He said this man, Jesus Christ,
is God. And he's the wisdom of God. This is God's wisdom being manifested. I have not seen or heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man of things that God hath prepared
for them that love him, but God hath revealed them unto us. How
did he reveal them unto us? In Christ. Well, how come us
to see him now and we didn't see him then? by the Spirit of
God. A fellow told me the other day,
how do you know what the Father will do? I said, well I know
the Father. You know the Father? I said,
yes I know the Father. I said, listen to this. He told
Phillip, he said he that seen me seen the Father. Is that right? We got no other knowledge of
the Father or the Holy Spirit except in Christ. He's the revelation
of God. Christ said, all things are delivered
unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is but
the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom
the Son will reveal him. When we're talking about the
revelation of God, we're not talking about all of a sudden
these big bubbles come up and start to bust in your head about
sovereign grace. We're talking about the revelation
of God in His Son. You're not going to know anything
about the doctrines of grace until you come to see them in
His Son. They'll be astounding facts to you. I'll never forget
reading about the sovereignty of God. I grew up in church and
I said, boy, nobody ever mentioned that to me. What I was reading
over there in Daniel four and over there in Isaiah 46. He's
placed God declaring his sovereignty. But I never saw sovereignty until
I saw it manifested in the Son of God. Boy, that sovereignty. You just read about it just a
few minutes ago. You was in here and you read
about that, all of these things being done according to his hand
and his counsel. That's sovereignty. The only wise God, to him alone
he said, be glory and majesty and dominion and power both now
and forever. You know what he told? Here's
these disciples, and I get tickled, people, when they start talking
about disciples, and they picture these guys with a halo, and they're
all dressed in white, and they were fishermen. Give me a break.
They probably had earrings in their ears, and tattoos, and
everything else. They were fishermen. They grew
up on that Barbary coast there in Galilee, and here they are,
and the Lord said, I'm gonna send you out to preach. And they
said, what? What? Well, he said, let me put it
another way. All power in heaven and earth been given unto me.
Now go you and preach. Even old rough fishermen, even
old rough carpenter like me can go preach because all power in
heaven and earth been given unto him. And he seats at the right
hand of God and he can exercise that power at his will. Huh? We ought to be chomping at the
bit. We ought to be awake Thinking, where am I gonna preach next?
Who's the Lord gonna open this door to next? Oh, my soul. I'm gonna tell you something
else. If God our Savior is like that little pipsqueak Jesus that
I listened to on the television this morning, I don't know why
anybody would ever trust in him or bow to him, let alone find
any reason to hope in him. He can't do anything, his hands
are tied. Man said this morning, if God
done all he can do, it's all up to you. And what you gonna do if God
done all he can do? What you gonna do? My soul, the Christ of God, he
says in the scripture, is all. He's all. It pleases the Father
that in him should all fullness dwell. in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and you're completing him. Why? Because
he's able. Isn't that what he's telling
us here in this tiny little book of Jude? He's just telling us
how things are and then he said now you just keep looking to
him because he's able. You're not able but he is. He is. And even when you're bombarded,
and even when these people sneak into your midst, and you don't
know anything about it, and you think for sure the church is
just gonna blow apart. Ain't nothing gonna happen, because
he's able. He's able. Oh, may God manifest that ability
this morning. Not only in you, but in me. I hunger for it, don't you?