Keep Yourselves

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Me

SHOW ZAKK NAME GRAPHIC HERE. WAIT TO USE MAIN SERIES GRAPHIC WHEN REQUESTED BELOW.

I’ve spent a good chunk of my life studying marriage. I was a marriage counselor for years. I’ve worked with couples as a pastor. I’ve read the books — sat with countless couples — I’ve got the training and the letters after my last name to prove it.

If there’s a person who should walk into marriage prepared — it’s me. But then I actually got married. And I discovered there’s an entire body of knowledge no book ever prepared me for.

For instance — I did not know — until I was a married man — that a household can contain towels you are not allowed to touch! There they are. Hanging in the bathroom. They look like towels. They’re shaped like towels. By every observable measure — they are towels. But if your hands are wet — you’re not actually allowed to use them to dry your hands! No — those are the good towels. Those are for looking at.

So I asked Blaire, “What do we dry our hands with?” And then I was directed to a smaller — sadder towel. The working towel. The towel that has given up on its dreams.

There’s a candle in our house that I’ve never once had the opportunity to smell, because it’s “too nice to burn”. WHAT!? Its entire purpose — the one job it was manufactured to do — is to be set on fire. And we are protecting it from that!

And then there’s the throw pillows. There are pillows — on our bed — that I am not permitted to sleep on. You have to take them off the bed — in order to use the bed. Every night we relocate the decorative pillows so we can access the functional ones.

Make it make sense!

Here’s what I’ve noticed about myself though — maybe you’ve noticed it about yourself too. I do the exact same thing with the stuff that actually matters.

I’ve got good stuff: margin — and energy — faith — and time. And my first instinct is to protect it. Don’t spend it. Keep it nice. Save it for looking at.

And I keep learning the same backwards lesson: the towel you never use isn’t a treasure. It’s just a towel wasting its whole life on a rack. The thing you guard so carefully it never gets used — you didn’t keep it. You just kept it from doing the one thing it was for.

Which — it turns out — is exactly the thing we’re going to see about our faith today:

“YOU KEEP YOURSELF” GRAPHIC

You keep yourself by giving yourself away.

We

We’ve been in the Book of Jude for the last two weeks — and this morning — we’re continuing there in our series called “Kept”.

SHOW MAIN TITLE GRAPHIC

And if you’ve been with us the last couple weeks — we’ve gone through a lot already. Two weeks of contending for the faith. Two weeks of watching out for the wolves.

Maybe you’re tired and you’re just thinking, “Zakk give it a rest already.” Which is totally fair by the way.

And if you’re anything like me — there might be a thought starting to form in the back of your mind: “I can barely keep my own faith standing up. I’m running on fumes as it is. And now you’re telling me I’m supposed to go help somebody with theirs?”

If that’s you — I want you to know — that’s not a faith problem. It’s an honest one though. And it’s the exact problem Jude is about to walk straight into.

Because he recognizes a strategy that almost all of us are running on. We think, “Let me get myself sorted out first. Let me get my own walk solid — or my own house in order — or my own tank full — and then I’ll have something to give somebody else.”

First me — then them. And that sounds responsible. It sounds humble, even. You can’t pour from an empty cup, right?

So we do what I do every night with those throw pillows. We spend all our energy rearranging the stuff we’re not allowed to use — and never actually get in the bed!

There’s just one problem with that plan. We never actually get to the “them” we’re supposed to reach.

So we treat life just like the “good towel” I’m not allowed to dry my hands on. We take the most valuable thing we own — a living faith — bought with the blood of Jesus — and we hang it on the rack where it’s safe. We protect it. We keep it nice. For when we’re finally ready.

God

This morning Jude is going to show us what we keep forgetting. And he’s going to show us the exact opposite of what’s in our nature to do. He’s going to show us that you keep yourself by giving yourself away.

Exposition

v. 17-19

So turn with me to the Book of Jude — and we’re starting this morning in Verse 17. And listen to how the tone changes. For the last several verses — Jude has been on fire about false teachers. Wolves. And waterless clouds. And wandering stars. It’s some of the most scorching language in the whole New Testament.

And then Jude says this:

Jude 17 CSB

17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Don’t rush past what Jude is saying here at the beginning of this verse.

Jude 17 CSB

17 But you, dear friends…

Some translations of this verse say “beloved”.

After all the heat from Jude — he then turns to the church — to tired — and ordinary — and running-on-fumes believers like us — and the first word out of his mouth is a term of affection. Beloved. Dear friends. He’s not turning the fire hose on these people… he’s pulling them in close.

But then in Verse 18 — he draws a line down the middle of the room. Take a look:

Jude 18 CSB

18 They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.”

Scoffers — just another word for the false teachers Jude warned us about last week. And he’s saying here — this shouldn’t be a surprise. These people — and us — we’ve been warned about them.

And Jude says “in the end time”. That doesn’t mean some far-off-end-of-the-world moment. In the New Testament — the “end times” or the “last days” began the moment Jesus rose and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the people. We’ve been living in the end times the whole time. So these scoffers aren’t a future problem — they’re a right-now problem. In your news feed. In your family. Sometimes in your own head.

Here’s why this is a problem. Verse 19:

Jude 19 CSB

19 These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.

Look at how these people are described. Every word describes people who are curved inward: creating divisions — worldly — not having the Spirit.

It’s all me — and mine. These people he’s talking about are the ultimate self-preservers. They live entirely for the protection and pleasure of themselves.

And Jude sets them up as the contrast for what he’s about to say to us. Because the “beloved” are about to be sent toward everybody else.

v. 20-21

Look at what Jude says in Verses 20 and 21 — he’s buried the entire Christian life in a single sentence:

Jude 20–21 CSB

20 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

There’s our word again. Keep.

Jude 21 CSB

21 keep yourselves in the love of God… Jude says.

If you’ve been with us this whole series — you know this word is the spine of the whole book.

“TEREO” GRAPHIC

It’s the Greek word tēreō — we talked about that last week — and Jude keeps returning to it like a drumbeat.

Jude 1 NLT

Week one — Verse 1 — You are kept.

That’s God’s action. It’s done to you — and you’re on the receiving end.

Jude 6 CSB

And then week two — Verse 6 — the angels who didn’t keep their place got kept in chains.

That was the warning.

And now in Week 3 — the same word comes back one more time — but look at what’s different. This time it’s a command. This time — you’re the one doing the keeping.

Jude 21 CSB

21 keep yourselves in the love of God.

And maybe you feel some of the tension here. Week 1 — we said God keeps me — so now why does Verse 21 tell me to keep myself? It almost feels like a typo — like Jude got to Verse 21 and forgot what he wrote in Verse 1. Maybe he has ADHD like me. But it’s not an either / or — it’s a both / and. These two thoughts don’t compete.

You keep yourself because you are kept — not in order to keep it. In other words — God’s grip is the ground we stand on. Our “keeping” is how we stand on it.

And Jude give us three concrete handles in Verses 20 and 21 of how we do that. He says here’s how we keep ourselves in the love of God.

“BUILD YOURSELVES UP” GRAPHIC

First — he says to “Build Yourselves Up”. Notice — “yourselves” is plural. Build one another up. The Christian life is done shoulder-to-shoulder — not in isolation.

Which is a little inconvenient — because the solo version sounds much easier — right? Just me — and my Bible — and nobody touching Blaire’s good towels!

“PRAY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT” GRAPHIC

Second — Jude says to “Pray in the Holy Spirit”. See — we don’t white-knuckle our way into keeping ourselves. We lean on the power God gives us through prayer.

“WAIT FOR THE MERCY” GRAPHIC

And then third — Jude says you keep yourself by “Waiting for the Mercy of Christ”. And don’t miss what mercy Jude means. This isn’t the mercy we work for to earn — it’s mercy that was bought. It cost Jesus the Cross to purchase it — and it’s handed to us for free. So keeping yourself isn’t us generating something out of an empty tank — it’s leaning forward onto mercy that’s already been paid for and is still coming our way.

Jude’s blueprint for us tell us plainly — you stay kept by staying connected — not by staying protected. You keep yourself by giving yourself away.

v. 22-23

And then — as if to prove it — Jude turns the whole thing outward and doesn’t even pause. Look at Verses 22 and 23:

Jude 22–23 CSB

22 Have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Jude tells us to keep ourselves — and then in the very next breath — he’s got us running to other people. There’s no gap there. There’s no “get yourself sorted out then — phase two — go help other people”. The keeping and the giving are the same motion. The moment he tells us to keep ourselves — he has us reaching into a fire to drag somebody else out.

And notice how specific this rescue is — this isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Jude names these people:

Those who waver — he says. In other words — the doubters. The people struggling with faith. And he tells us to have mercy on them.

And then there are the people in the fire. It’s urgent. He says snatch them from the fire. If you see a house on fire — you don’t pull up — put the window down and say, “Hey — praying for you guys! Let me know if you need anything!” No! You pull them out!

And finally — there’s the ones you approach with caution. Jude is a realist. He knows there are those who act like Christians but who really aren’t — and can pull us in with them.

This is the most complete picture of what it means to be a disciple. Mercy for the wavering. Urgency for the perishing. And wisdom for the dangerous. Different people with different needs — but one posture: go get them.

So where did Jude get this pattern of reaching people? He got it from Jesus Himself. And Christ said it plainly. In Mark 8:35 — He said:

Mark 8:35 CSB

35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it.

Think about it. Jesus is the one Person who had every right to keep Himself. To protect Himself. To hang his life up on the rack where it was safe — because His life was the only truly good thing that has ever existed — infinitely more precious than any towel we’ve ever been afraid to use.

He could’ve stayed in Heaven — kept — un-contending — and unspent. But He didn’t. He’s the One who reached into the fire. And He kept us — going all the way to the Cross — for us.

That’s why we can afford to spend our life on other people this week. Not because we have so much to spare… but because we were bought — and rescued — and right now — we’re being kept by Someone who already walked into the fire and came out with us over His shoulder.

You keep yourself by giving yourself away — because that’s exactly how Jesus kept you.

You

So there are two things I want you to do this week.

“BUILD SOMEBODY UP” GRAPHIC

The first — is build somebody up. Not “be more encouraging” in general. But one specific person — in our church family. Reach out to them this week. Somebody’s whose faith is maybe struggling. Send the text. Or make the call. You’re not responsible for fixing them. It’s just simply showing up. Building them up — on purpose. Let them know they’re loved — and seen — and cared about.

“REACH INTO THE FIRE” GRAPHIC

And the second — is reach into the fire. Think of somebody outside the faith. That co-worker. The neighbor two doors down. Maybe that family member you stopped bringing up faith with because it got awkward. You know the one. It got awkward at Thanksgiving that one year. And now you’d rather help that person move a whole piano before bringing up faith again. You’d sign up for jury duty to get out of the conversation.

See — our instinct is to protect the relationship by staying quiet — to keep it nice — and keep it safe. Keep that towel hanging up on the rack. But Jude says there’s a fire — and we don’t keep a relationship safe by letting somebody burn.

The great theologian and pastor Charles Spurgeon says it this way:

SPURGEON QUOTE

“Do you put yourselves entirely at God’s disposal? Are you really his, or have you kept back a bit of yourself from the surrender?”

Charles Spurgeon

So have just one — honest — mercy-filled conversation. Something as simple as, “Hey — can I tell you about something God’s been doing in my life lately?”

And notice the tone that Jude sets — because it matters. It’s mercy. Have mercy on the doubting. It’s not trying to “fix” somebody or argue a point. We aren’t called to condemn people who are on fire. We’re called to go in the same way somebody went in after us.

So this week — give yourself away. To two people. One in the family — and one in the fire.

Don’t be that fancy candle in my house that never gets used. It’s just a very expensive paperweight that smells like “Pumpkin Pecan Waffles” — whatever that means. And it’s going to live its entire life in mint condition — sitting there — looking costly but doing nothing. And then one day it’ll get packed in a box marked “fragile” and go to its grave having accomplished not one single thing it was made for.

Don’t be the candle.

We

So go with me for a second — and picture yourself sitting here on a Sunday a year from now. And there’s one or two people sitting in the seat near you. A co-worker — or a neighbor — or a family member — whose faith exists partly because you gave yourself away. Maybe you didn’t feel like you had anything extra to spare when you started. Maybe it felt like you were running on fumes. But you built somebody up anyway. You made the awkward reach anyway. And a year later there’s a person walking with Jesus — and your fingerprints are all over it.

Friends — that’s all discipleship is. It’s the thing we’ve come back to again — and again — and again this year. And that’s what we’re after. Not a fuller building — but fuller hands. Hands that finally stopped guarding the towel and started using it.

And here’s the beautiful irony we’ve circled all morning: the people who spend themselves like that are never the empty ones. The tank fills in the pouring. You keep yourself by giving yourself away.

If you already belong to Christ — if you have a relationship with Him — then you’ve just been handed your assignment. You are kept — and you are sent. You don’t have to feel ready and you don’t have to feel full. You just have to pick a name and take the first step this week.

And if you aren’t there yet — maybe you’ve been hearing about people being rescued from the fire — and you realize — you’re still the one standing in the fire — here’s the good news the whole Book of Jude is pointing at: before Jude tells anybody to give themselves away — the very first verse says we are loved by God and kept for Jesus Christ. Being kept doesn’t start with what you do for God. It starts with what He already did for you. He reached into the fire Himself — and He came for you.

If that’s you — if today you’re done watching from the outside and you want to be kept — it’s as simple as reaching out to Him. A simple prayer — that says, “Lord — save me. Keep me. I can’t keep doing this myself. I need you to pull me out of the fire.”

That’s it. No performance — no aisle to walk — no hand to raise. Just you and the God who has been reaching for you the whole time. If you pray that this morning and mean it — I want you to tell someone you trust this week — because being kept was never meant to be carried alone.

But the seeking — the surrender — the asking — that happens between you and Him — right now — right where you are.

You keep yourself by giving yourself away. But underneath all of it — holding all of it — is a God who was keeping you the whole time.

Prayer

Communion