Be Prepared!
How Shall We Persevere? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
There are three Greek participles in our passage...each these modify the Greek word: τηρήσατε
It comes from the root word:
Interestingly enough these words act as ways that we might keep ourselves in the “love of God.”
So Jude exhorts the reader to keep themselves in the love of God by interacting in their walk with the Lord in the following ways:
Build—Increase
Build—Increase
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
Notice two thing:
Jude is not exhorting the reader to build numerically here, but in relationship to their faith.
The idea is holding onto the faithful foundation already laid.
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
It has to be on the foundation already laid.
Even so as Peter reminded in 1 Pet. 2:5 that believers are being built into a Spiritual House.
And Jude exhorted to cling to the common salvation as once delivered.
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Essentially Jude has said go back to the Word, The Gospel, ...Jesus...
This is our growing in The LORD
Then he moves to Prayer...
Pray — Decrease
Pray — Decrease
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
Notice again the following:
This is not about their wants, it is not about their desires, it is about the direction of God.
Pray —-IN THE SPIRIT!
So what does it look like to pray in the Spirit?
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Maybe we should just look at the Words of Christ as He prayed in teaching the disciples to pray:
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Do we often notice the depth of what Jesus taught His disciples to pray?
YOUR WILL BE DONE!
When we pray in the Spirit...we are simply asking God to clear the stage of our own purposing and let His come to fruition.
If you have been with us over the last 8 weeks, you will know that the context of the passage is an exhortation to move away from and be guarded against being led astray...but not now let’s be mindful...that this is a picture of preparation.
This is our Fellowship With The LORD.
Wait — Hope
Wait — Hope
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Our goal is not in this life, but the one to come.
We are not waiting for tomorrow for a better bank account, a deeper thought pattern, a grander situation...we are waiting for Him.
Why? Because He promised:
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Our hope is on what is to come:
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
But what if you don’t have that hope...or what if you don’t understand how we hope.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
This is the hope...
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
This is His Name: Jesus
Would you turn to Him today?
Would you trust Him in faith?
Would you believe in Who He is and what He has done?
Would your acknowledge your own sin, need, lostness and turn to the one who paid our penalty?
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Walking Away, But In...
Walking Away, But In...
Grow in His Word
Pray in His Spirit
Watch for His Coming
