friend of god series

Becoming a friend of God Part 12

“Hey Jude – I want to be like you”

Pastor Mike Barnett

Jude (pg. 866) says:

1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by^[a] Jesus Christ: 2Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. 3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

4For certain men whose condemnation was written about^[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

5Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord^[c] delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

8In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. 9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.

11Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.

12These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 16These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

17But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Jude is the English form of the name Judas which was a very common name in Bible times.

Jude was a brother of Jesus and James.

Like the rest of his brothers, Jude did not believe that Jesus was the Christ when they lived together under the same roof.

Mathew 13:53-58 says:

53When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 55"Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 58And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Sometime between the crucifixion of Christ and the time Jude wrote the letter, he became a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This letter that Jude wrote is believed to have been written between A.D. 80-90

Jude writes in verse 1:

1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by^[a] Jesus Christ.

1) FRIENDS OF GOD KNOW THAT GOD WILL NEVER ______________(LET) THEM __________(GO) – THEY KNOW THEY ARE _______________(CALLED) BY GOD. ___________________(LOVED) BY GOD AND ___________________(KEPT) BY CHRIST. V. 1

Friends of God know that “Jesus will never leave them or forsake them” and that “no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Jesus said in John 10:27-30:

27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."

Jesus said in John 14:18:

18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Jude knew that Jesus would not leave him or forsake him and he was not talking about Jesus his older brother….He was talking about the Christ who redeemed his soul through his shed blood on the cross.

Jude starts off his letter by telling Christians that God will not let them go.

QUESTION: DO YOU WONDER SOMETIMES IF GOD IS GOING TO LET GO OF YOU?

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY GOD WANTS YOU?

HAVE YOU EVER FELT THAT….

Maybe you spouse does not want you.

Maybe your family does not want you.

Maybe your boss does not want you.

Maybe you feel like your friends do not want you.

Maybe this world does not want you…but

GOD ________________ ____________(WANTS YOU) AND HE SENT HIS SON TO DIE ON THE CROSS TO ___________________(PROVE) IT!

Romans 5:5-8 says:

5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

QUESTION: WHY DOES GOD WANT ALL OF YOU?....BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU!

When you love a person you want all of them – the good, the bad and the ugly and God wants all of you because He loves you!

God accepts you for who you are and what you are today but he loves you too much to ________________(leave) you where you are in your life today…He will ________________(move) you __________(up) to New Heights where you become more Like __________________(Jesus) and less like the _____________________(world)!

THAT IS GOD’S PROMISE TO YOU – HE WILL NEVER _____________________(LEAVE) YOU THE _____________________(SAME).

UNLIKE PEOPLE GOD IS _________________(PATIENT) WITH YOU AND WILL WORK WITH YOU OVER A ________________________(LIFETIME)!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.

· Jude starts off his letter encouraging Christians that God will keep them and not let them go no matter what!

Theologians believed that Jude intended to write a letter of encouragement , but was led instead to pen a forceful letter urging believers to contend for the Christian faith against false teachers.

2) FRIENDS OF GOD ____________________(WARN) OTHERS AGAINSTS TEACHING THAT CONTRADICTS AND ____________________(OPPOSES) GOD’S _________________(TRUTH). Vs. 3-19

Jude 3-4 says:

3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain men whose condemnation was written about^[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Jude’s letter was addressed to a church or a circle of churches exposed to false teachers.

According to several Epistles(letters in the Bible), false teaching presented a significant problem for the young church.

The issue is raised in 2 Timothy, 2 Peter and 1 and 2 john as well as in Jude.

Each letter warns against false teaching and provides guidelines for distinguishing between true and false teachings.

Jude’s brief epistle (letter) contains an appeal to the saints to defend the faith.

3) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE ____________________(STUDENTS) OF GOD’S HOLY WORD – THEY KNOW THE __________________________(DIFFERENCE) BETWEEN BIBLICAL AND FALSE TEACHINGS. Vs. 4-19

QUESTION: Do you know the difference between true and false teaching?

Acts 17:10-12 (pg. 785) says:

10As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

· The Apostle Paul was the greatest theologian the church has ever known and yet the Christians at Berea examined the Bible every day to see if what Paul was saying matched up to what the Bible said.

· Christians ought to do the same thing today.

· Everything I say from the pulpit, you ought to compare to the Word of God to make sure it is God and not Mike speaking.

· Every time you read a book, hear a preacher on the radio, or on television, you should examine the Word like the Bereans did to make sure it is God’s Word being preached and not man’s Word.

· If you ever feel I have preached false doctrine, from this pulpit, then you have a responsibility to come and talked to me about it – Let’s look at it together and if I am wrong I will repent on the spot.

· At the very least, I can go to God about it and pray to Him for wisdom.

Jude gives several distinguishing marks of false teachers in verses 4-19:

They transform grace into a license to sin more

They deny the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

They reject authority and are motivated by greed.

They criticize others but follow their own evil desires.

They are users, not servants who boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. V. 16
Jude then gives examples of three Old Testament personalities who were false teachers.

Like Cain, they hate their brothers.

Like Balaam, they use religion to gain wealth.

Like Korah, they rebel against those God has appointed leaders.

Jude tells us that such individuals will share the fate of the angles who followed Satan, along with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who “gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion”.

Jude draws from well-known Jewish apocalyptic writings in V. 6, 9 and 14, 15.

Jude intends to show that even these texts, which were misused by false teachers, actually support an orthodox understanding of the Old Testament.

Jude’s main contribution is his exhortation and encouragement to believers is to deal effectively with counterfeit Christians.

Jude says the antidote to poisonous false teaching is not conflict, but commitment to the simple things that promote Christian growth.

4) FRIENDS OF GOD ____________________(BELIEVE) GOD’S PROMISE THAT JESUS IS ______________________(COMING) AGAIN TO ____________________(JUDGE) TO RIGHTEOUS AND THE SINFUL AND WILL CREATE A NEW EARTH FOR THE REDEEMED IN CHRIST TO LIVE FOREVER! Vs. 14-15

Jude 14:-15 says:

ON APRIL 15^th, The week after Easter I will be starting a new sermon series entitled, “WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN – LIFE ON THE NEW EARTH”.

If you ever wanted to be certain what happens after Jesus comes again – then you ought to make it a point to be here and to invite all your friends.

Amazingly, the Bible tells us quite a bit about the afterlife.

I will share with you concepts of the New Heaven and the New Earth that are in the Bible and dismiss those that are not.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS SERIES ON “WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN – LIFE ON THE NEW EARTH”.

5) FRIENDS OF GOD DO NOT ____________________(WASTE) THEIR TIME IN CONFLICT, DISPUTES AND DISSENTIONS, BUT RATHER KEEP THEIR ___________________(FOCUS) ON THE TRUE ________________(WORD) OF _______________(GOD) AND BY BEING IN ____________________(PRYAER). Vs. 20-23

Jude tells Christians in Vs. 20-23:

Jude did not tell Christians to get in arguments or disputes with False Teachers because it is a waste of time.

Instead he told Christians build their faith by reading God’s Word and by praying in the Spirit.

6) FRIENDS OF GOD _________________ __________________(REACH OUT) TO SINNERS THAT ARE PERISHING BECAUSE THEY KNOW ________________(TIME) IS _______________________(SHORT), JESUS IS COMING SOON! Vs. 22-23

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

· Recently a person in our church family came up to me and said: “Pastor Mike, I brought a friend to church today…you know if every family brought one family to New Heights, our Church would explode with growth and a lot of people would come to Christ.

· I think that is a great idea – why not bring one family to church with you on Easter!

· When you realize that time is short and the people around you are going to Hell if they die tomorrow – it ought to motivate all us to invite family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to come to church with us to hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

· Right now I am preaching to Christians, but trust me…. when I see a whole bunch of sinners walk through those doors I will preach the Gospel very clearly and powerfully and give opportunity to come to faith in Christ!

7) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE _________________________(CONFIDENT) THAT JESUS WILL _____________________(FINISH) WHAT HE _____________________(STARTED) IN YOU. Vs. 24-25

Jude says in verses 24-25:

· Today there a lot of books, teachings and programs that try to short circuit God’s game plan of redeeming mankind and setting the captives free.

· God’s way is not always the fastest, but it is the only way by which a person can be set free and become the person God created them to be”.

Jude 20-25 says:

20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

· Jude was confident that Jesus will finish the work that God started in you.

· God is not into quick fix programs

· Sometimes God is not in the prophet or the faith healer, not becomes he can’t be, but because he is more interested in you surrendering to him.

· Sometimes God waits for you to take responsibility before he delivers you.

· Sometimes God uses the pain of the journey to beat us into submission and mold us into the image of Christ.

James 1:2-4 says:

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

· It might take longer than you want, but be assured, God will always finishes what he starts.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-25 says:

9Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us.

Philippians 1:3-6 says:

3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

· James last words to his Christian friends were: