[0:00] And we've been looking at Jude on and off for a few weeks, and we had a little bit of a break for a few weeks as well, so we're back to Jude for this week, next week, and possibly one other week as well.
[0:13] While you're turning there, can I just again remind you, as you can see, the table is laid for the Lord's Supper, for communion, at the end of our service. Please, if you know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, share with us as we remember him who suffered and died in our place.
[0:31] But if you know in your heart you're not a Christian, you're not walking with the Lord, you don't know him as your Savior, then the Bible urges you to refrain. Don't take of the bread and wine. It can do you no good. It's not magical. It's not mysterious. It's just bread and wine.
[0:46] It's an act of faith, and we take it, saying, Jesus, you died for me. And if you want to confess him as your Lord and trust him as your Savior, then do so and rejoice with us and celebrate with us in that time.
[1:01] So we're going to read from Jude. We're going to read the first 19 verses, not the whole chapter or the whole letter, just the first 19 verses. And then we're going to be particularly looking at verses 11 to 19 tonight.
[1:14] Here is God's faithful word. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who've been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ, mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
[1:32] Dear 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.
[1:44] For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men who changed the grace of our God into a license for morality and denied Jesus Christ our only sovereign and Lord.
[2:01] Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home, these years kept in darkness bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great day.
[2:20] In 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.
[2:32] In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But 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.
[2:52] Yet 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.
[3:03] Woe to them. They've taken the way of Cain. They've rushed for profit into Balaam's error. They've been destroyed by Korah's rebellion. These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm.
[3:18] Shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind. Autumn trees without fruit and uprooted, twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame.
[3:31] Wandering stars for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesies about these men. See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way.
[3:49] And of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These men are grumblers and fault finders. They follow their own evil desires. They boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
[4:03] But dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, in the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.
[4:14] These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the spirit. It's a very difficult letter as we've seen in many ways.
[4:26] Sometimes a very negative letter. But it is a letter which has such a lot to teach and help us as we live in this present day. And we'll be looking at some of these things as we get to God's word in a moment.
[4:41] I've got a Bible to hand. It would be very helpful if you can have Jude open. As I said, that's the last but one letter in the New Testament. The last but one book of the Bible.
[4:53] It's only short. There's 25 verses that we have. And we've been seeing that Jude is someone who has a great passion and heart for the well-being of God's people.
[5:06] He's a man of humility. We saw that at the very start because though he was the half-brother of the Lord Jesus, yet he was someone who didn't boast about that but spoke of himself as a servant.
[5:17] He was somebody who had a great passion to write to Christians and share about the wonderful salvation that they had and shared. And we talk about the things of Christ. But there was a pressing matter upon his heart.
[5:29] Something that really forced him in one sense to write this letter. A brief letter. Almost off the hip type of letter. To warn them about people who were false teachers in the church who were creating great harm.
[5:43] Very much like many of the other letters we read in the New Testament again and again. Most of them have to raise the subject sadly of people who were lying and deceiving and teaching falsehood in the name of Christ and in the church.
[5:58] And so he has already gone and laid before them the examples of what happened in the Old Testament. That was happening in the New Testament. What was happening in his day and in our day is nothing new.
[6:09] Even back as he showed in those people who were left Egypt and those in Sodom and Gomorrah and the angels. Where there always were times where they were false amongst the true.
[6:20] As it were weeds amongst the weeds. And so we're going to pick up where we left off a few weeks ago which is from verse 11. Now everything that we do in life is done because there's something that motivates us to do it.
[6:37] We're driven by things. Driven by natural forces as well to do what we do. Take the very natural act of eating which most of us will have done I imagine since we last here this morning. Why do we eat?
[6:49] Well we eat because we feel hungry. And that motivates us to take food. Or after the sermon, at least I hope after the sermon when we go to bed, we go to sleep.
[7:01] Why do we go to sleep? Well because we're tired. Tiredness motivates us, moves us. Even if perhaps you're somebody who likes to occasionally stay up late and watch the end of a film. Before you know it you can't help with that power as it were pulling your eyelids down.
[7:16] And so you can't fight it for long and you go to sleep. But beyond those natural and everyday sort of functions whether it be eating or sleeping or whatever. There are other things as well that we do which we're motivated to do.
[7:30] What is it that drives a person to run a marathon? What is it that moves a person to study for several years at university? What is it that makes a person pursue a challenging vocation in medicine?
[7:43] What is it that motivates two people to come together in marriage? These actions are not driven by physical need are they?
[7:54] But they're driven by something else. Something that motivates them. And so the question I want to start off this morning and really this evening rather. And look at throughout this passage is this.
[8:06] What is it that motivates me? What is it that motivates and drives me in the way that I speak? The way that I think? And the way that I act?
[8:17] You see according to the Bible which we know to be true there are only two possible forces that control and motivate a person. In Romans chapter 8 as Paul is writing to the believers there he makes this point very clear.
[8:33] He says to the believer you however are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the spirit. Either we are people who are moved driven and motivated by the sinful nature or by the spirit.
[8:49] That's the Holy Spirit. That's true of every single person in the world. If you divide the whole of humanity in half or divide them down the middle this is one of those things which divides the whole of human nature.
[9:03] The sinful nature drives us or the Holy Spirit drives us. There's no mixing of the two. Notice Paul doesn't say some of you are controlled by the sinful nature even though you have the spirit.
[9:15] No he says you are controlled not by. There's some people who get the idea that there is a Christian who can be a Christian who's an unspiritual Christian. No you can't have an unspiritual Christian.
[9:26] A Christian is a Christian because of the spirit of God who dwells within them. A person without the spirit as Paul makes very clear is not a Christian. If anyone does not have the spirit he does not belong to Christ.
[9:40] There's no mixing of the two. You see they're like the positive and negative poles on a magnet. They just won't go together. They're like the two teams in a tug of war. They pull apart from one another.
[9:52] They never pull in unison together. They are enemies, opponents. And they battle within us constantly. Even as Christians we who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
[10:04] We are not exempt from this tug of war that goes on. Where the sinful nature is pulling to take control. Paul himself wonderfully in Romans 7. That chapter which is full of honesty from the great apostle.
[10:17] Confesses this was a problem he faced himself. Verse 19. What I do is not the good I want to do. No the evil I do not want to do.
[10:28] This I keep on doing. No if I do. Now if I do what I do not want to do. It is no longer I who do. But it is sin living in me that does it.
[10:39] He goes on and says. For in my inner being I delight in God's law. I see another law at work in the members of my body. Waging war against the law of my mind. And making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
[10:52] What a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death. Thanks be to God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. So when we act. We are either acting in obedience to the spirit.
[11:04] Or we are acting in obedience to the sinful nature. We are not acting in obedience to both. That is what I mean when I talk about the fact that they are enemies. And that we are motivated by one or the other. So in this brief letter Jude has made the same point.
[11:18] He has been saying exactly the same thing. He calls the sinful nature by various names. You can see it there in verses 16, 18 and 19. He calls the sinful nature their own evil desires.
[11:35] He calls it in verse 18 ungodly desires. Verse 19 natural instincts. It is all the same thing. And then verse 19 we have it clearly shown the divine. These are the men who divide you.
[11:46] Who follow mere natural instincts of sinful nature. Do not have the spirit or follow the spirit. These false teachers. These dreamers as he has called them before. These ungodly men were motivated.
[11:57] By the same principle. The same driving force. Their sinful lusts and their sinful desires. These men therefore were not believers.
[12:09] They claimed to be Christians. They claimed to be those who spoke about the things of God. But as Jude has pointed out very clearly. They cannot be and they are not. Born again of the spirit.
[12:20] They are people who are still in the flesh. Still in the sinful nature. Still doing their own thing. Going their own way. So Jude is at work here in this whole letter.
[12:30] As we've seen. The largest chunk of it. Topped and tailed by encouragements and blessings. But the large chunk from verse 3 onwards. It's all about Jude working hard to warn.
[12:42] To press home. The danger of listening to these men. And following their example. These dangerous heresies. And he shows not only to those men.
[12:55] Who follow these teachings. Not only to these men. Who bring these teachings. Not only to destroy themselves. But they do a great deal of harm. To others as well. Serious damage in the church.
[13:07] And dear friends. If we know anything. Of the life of the church of Jesus Christ. Through the ages. We've seen. How false and destructive teachings. Have had such a devastating effect. Upon the gospel.
[13:18] And upon those of faith. And so just as in verses 5 to 8. Where we had those Old Testament examples. Of people who lived for the sinful nature.
[13:29] And came to their own ruin. So again. In the following verses. From 11 onwards. We have other examples. From the Old Testament again. Of people who went their own way.
[13:40] And came to ruin. And each one of them is different. Each one of these examples. Has a different emphasis. A different motivation in their lives. But their motivations.
[13:50] That I'm sure all of us. Can associate with. And their motivations. That all of us. Are in danger of. Following. From time to time. And so the first of those examples.
[14:02] Of course is very well known to us. Verse 11. They have taken the way of Cain. They've taken the way of Cain. Genesis 4 relates of course.
[14:14] As many of you will know. The story of Cain and Abel. Cain was a man. Full of envy. He was envious of his brother Abel.
[14:26] God warned him. Not to allow that envy. To control his life. But Cain. Was controlled by it. His sinful nature. His envy. So that he ended up.
[14:36] Murdering his own brother. So destroying a very precious life. But also bringing upon himself. A life. Long. Long ruin. Destruction. And curse.
[14:49] And so when we look at Cain. These people were people. Who acted. Out of envy. Perhaps envy of the apostles. Who were held in such high regard. Envy of people like maybe Jude.
[15:00] And Peter. And Paul. And others. Who were. Whose writings were. Were listened to. And teachings were obeyed. They wanted to have that place. We don't know. But the question is not.
[15:11] What motivated them. But what motivates me. Do I do things out of envy. Am I jealous. Of others. Is my life motivated.
[15:24] My career. Motivated by envy. Of those who are above me. Those who've got a better position than me. Those who are more respected than me. Is my life motivated.
[15:36] In the church. By envy. I want to be seen. I want to be accepted. I want to be thought well of. Is that what motivates us.
[15:46] In our family. In our relationships. We know that it's there. We know it's part of that sinful nature. Of us all. To envy others. And want to be like them.
[15:59] To have their gifts. To have their looks. To have their youth. To have their abilities. Their skills. Whatever it may be. How can we overcome that pull. Of envy upon our hearts.
[16:11] When we look at others. But we can do that. By acknowledging. That God has made each of us. Differently. Made us differently. Because together. We work better.
[16:21] To his glory. And praise. One. The church at Corinth. Was a church. Divided and split. Because of envy. And jealousy. And so on. Between the peoples. And of course.
[16:32] In chapter 12. We have that wonderful picture. That Paul brings. Of the parts of the body. Being the antidote. To this envy. Listen to what he says. The body is made up.
[16:44] Of one part. But of many. If the foot should say. Because I'm not a hand. I do not belong to the body. It would not. For that reason. Cease to be part of the body. If the ear should say.
[16:55] Because I'm not an eye. I do not belong to the body. It would not. For that reason. Cease to be a part of the body. In other words. He's saying. If the ear was envious of the eye. Wished I was an eye. Or if the hand.
[17:06] The foot wishes I was a hand. No. He says this. If the whole body were an eye. Where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear. Where would the sense of smell be? But in fact.
[17:17] God has arranged the parts in the body. Every one of them. Just as he wanted. If they were all one part. Where would the body be?
[17:29] By recognizing that each of us. Has been given by God. Different positions. Whether it be in the workplace. Whether it be in the family. Whether it be in the church. Acknowledging and recognizing.
[17:39] We have different gifts. But they are there. That we might work together with them. There's no need for me to be envious of you. Or you of me. Or one another. Because Christ has placed us in his church.
[17:52] Each with differing gifts. That we might serve. And glorify him. And therefore serve one another. He talks about the weaker parts of the body. The unmentionable parts of the body.
[18:03] That are treated with special concern. He talks about the fact that every one of us is apart. Envy has no need to be in the heart of the Christian.
[18:15] It isn't to motivate us. In what we do. And then he turns to Balaam. They have rushed for profit into Balaam's era. But Balaam again is someone probably known to most of us.
[18:26] If you don't know about him. You can read about him in Numbers 22. There's quite a long section. Balaam was a prophet who was motivated by greed. Motivated by greed.
[18:38] A king by the name of Balak. Wanted Balaam to pronounce a curse over God's people. And even though God had said to him. No you mustn't go. He kept on nagging God. Until God let him go.
[18:48] In one sense. He was Balaam's error. Which was to rush for profit. He was a man who was motivated by money and greed.
[19:00] Now again. In our day and generation. In lots of ways. That's seen as not too bad a thing. A very famous film from the 1980s. The character said greed is good.
[19:13] To have more money. To succeed. To get a promotion. To have a rise. All these things are helpful. Surely. And good. For people to set their goals upon.
[19:26] But. We know that greed. Is. Bad. The result for Balaam was this. Not only did he get no money. Because he wasn't able to curse God's people.
[19:38] God wouldn't allow him to do that. But later on Joshua tells us. He was put to death by the sword. He destroyed himself. By his greed. But not before. He had also brought a great deal of harm.
[19:52] And. Caused the Israelite people to fall into sin. And so lose God's blessing for a time. People say. Oh.
[20:02] Money is the root of all evil. No. That's not true. That's like many places. Where people try to quote the Bible. But have never read the Bible. So they get it wrong. No. Money isn't the root of all evil.
[20:14] 1 Timothy chapter 6. The love of money. The love of money. Is the root of all evil. And. Love of money.
[20:25] Is what the problem is. If we are motivated. With a love for money. Then we shall surely bring ourselves. Great sorrow and harm. Here's what. Paul writes. To. To Timothy.
[20:36] Godliness. With contentment. Is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world. And we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food. And clothing. We will be content with that.
[20:47] People who want to get rich. Fall into temptation. And a trap. Into many foolish. And harmful desires. That plunge men. Into ruin. And destruction. For the love of money.
[20:58] Is a root to all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money. Have wandered from the faith. Pierced themselves. Of many griefs. What's the answer? We're living in a materialistic world. How do we deal with money.
[21:09] And finances. When we are surrounded by that pressure. As it were. To be greedy. Well it's quite simple in one sense. Be generous with what we have.
[21:21] Use it to bless others. Give. Don't think of what we have. As being our own. It's not. As Paul pointed out there. Very clearly. When we were born into this world. We hadn't a penny to our name.
[21:32] Even if our parents were very rich. We have nothing. Except what God has given us. We're to steward the gifts. That we have. Our money is not our own.
[21:45] And sometimes again. Even as Christians. We can fall into this. Foolish understanding. Well this is my money. And that part is God's money. No. All of it is God's money. Whatever we have.
[21:56] Just as all of our life. Belongs to God. All that we have. Belongs to him. We're to be generous with it. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9. God loves a cheerful giver.
[22:08] He doesn't need our money. God's been quite able to run his church. And will continue to run his church. Without all the money. But he gives us the opportunity.
[22:20] To share in the privilege. Of giving. Our God is a giving God. Isn't he? The Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world. He gave. So when we become Christians.
[22:31] God says. You can share in being a giver like me. That's why it's very important. And if you. If you're not sure about this matter of giving. 2 Corinthians 9. Is a great place to look to.
[22:43] Where we're to be prayerful. About what we give to the Lord each week. Prayerful about how we're to use our finances. And steward them. God doesn't want us to live as misers. But we're not to love money.
[22:55] And live for it. Balaam did. And he fell flat on his face. And so there's another example. Isn't it? We've seen this. Cain motivated by envy. Balaam motivated by greed.
[23:06] And then we have. Those who have been destroyed. In Korah's rebellion. The last part of verse 3. Perhaps Korah may be the least well known to us. But again. That's in numbers as well. Earlier on.
[23:17] Number 16. Korah was one of the. Important tribal leaders. During the days of Moses. Here's what happened. Number 16.
[23:27] I'll just bring a brief part of it. Korah son of Ishar. The son of Kohath. The son of Levi. And certain Reubenites. Which it names. Became insolent. Or rebellious.
[23:38] Rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men. Well known community leaders. Who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses. And Aaron said to them.
[23:49] You've gone too far. The whole community is holy. Every one of them. The Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly? What was the driving force in Korah's life?
[24:02] Well it seems simply to be this. Ego. And pride. Moses had been appointed by God. To lead his people through the wilderness. Korah thought. Well it's about time. If somebody else got a turn to lead.
[24:14] Somebody else got the limelight. Somebody else got the big stick. And the position of authority. He was somebody who was motivated. As were the others with him.
[24:25] By their ego. And by their pride. Sadly if you read the story. You find that they again were destroyed. The Lord sent fire out. And destroyed them.
[24:36] Because ultimately as Moses said. They weren't rebelling against Moses. But against God. The Lord had appointed him. And it was the Lord who appoints. And the Lord who removes.
[24:48] What about me and you? Don't we want people's praise? Isn't it tempting to do things. So that people will think well of us. Or say nice things about us.
[25:01] Aren't we at times motivated by that. Rather than a genuine love. A genuine generosity. Aren't we motivated by that desire. To have our 15 minutes of fame.
[25:13] As Andy Warhol put it. We just want people to do. What we want them to do. Is it actually a little bit of a power struggle? Well I think I know best.
[25:24] I think I know how the church should be run. I think I know what people should do. I think I should be in charge. What's the answer to that?
[25:36] Well Jesus himself said in Luke 9. He who is least among you all. He's the greatest. He who is least among you all. Is the greatest. Remember the disciples. They had that problem didn't they?
[25:47] They were arguing on the road. Jesus said what are you arguing about? And they were ashamed to tell him. They were arguing about who was the greatest disciple. Doesn't that sneak in sometimes.
[25:59] To our hearts as well. What's the antidote. To pride. Well the antidote to pride of course. Is to take a generous. Dose of reality.
[26:11] We're sinners. We're sinful sinners. We're people who don't deserve anything from God. Least of all praise. Least of all. Exaltation.
[26:23] Least of all. For our egos massaged. If we examine our own hearts dear friends. With the help of the Holy Spirit. We'll just see just how full of fault we are. Do you really think.
[26:34] That you should promote yourself. To be a leader. Do you really think. That you have all the gifts. And all the abilities. And all the skills. To be someone who. Can hold that responsibility. No.
[26:46] Certainly not. Moses we're told. Was the humblest man who ever lived. He had a good dose of reality. About himself. Which is why the Lord chose him. Ultimately. If God wants to honor us.
[26:56] He will honor us. But don't seek honor for yourself. Don't seek to have a position. Or a name. Or a badge. Or a title. Don't be motivated. In what you do.
[27:08] By people's praise. Or popularity. Let's serve one another. Out of love. As Christ did. As we sang in that. Him. From heaven you came. Helpless babe.
[27:18] This morning. Let's serve one another. Because in our hearts. We want to serve the Lord. And live for him. See these teachers. Were bringing upon themselves. God's wrath and destruction.
[27:30] God's judgment. But ultimately. They were bringing upon. Those who were listening to them. And following their example. Great harm. And so now. Jude turns from these. Old Testament examples.
[27:41] To really pinpoint. What these men were doing. In everyday life. He brings examples. From the things that we see. Around about us. In nature. And in life. To show. Why we should avoid.
[27:52] This sort of company. He gives us also. Dear friends. Helpful. Pointers. Signs. That we can discern. Where those things.
[28:02] May be evident. In our lives. Or evident. In the lives of others. Around about us. The reality. As we said at the beginning. Is sadly this. That in the church. Of Jesus Christ. Today. There are those.
[28:13] Who are just like these men. There are false teachers. Sometimes they're on the telly. Sometimes they speak at conferences. Sometimes they're in pulpits. Or in churches. Sometimes they write books.
[28:24] But sadly. There has always been. False teaching. And there always will be. False teaching. And we've got to really be discerning. What should we avoid? How can we point. Pick these things out?
[28:35] How can we see. What's right. And what's wrong? It's complicated. It's confusing. No wonder the world around. Paulus is confused. But what the real Christian message is. And so he picks up some points here.
[28:47] Which go through. From verse 12. To verse 13. First of all he says. These people are blemishes. Rather than blessings. Look at verse 12.
[28:58] These men are blemishes. At your love feast. Eating with you. Without the slightest qualm. What's he mean? It's the same sort of problem. I think when we get to 1 Corinthians. In chapter 11.
[29:08] When the church came together. When they especially came together. With fellowship meals. These men spoiled it all. Because they got drunk. They went to excess. They were the people.
[29:18] Who loaded their plates high. When not everybody had had enough to eat. We get tempted to do that. At fellowship lunches. Don't we? But we must resist. Not get drunk.
[29:29] I mean. Not the drunk. Just the plate. Because we don't have any alcohol. At our fellowship lunches. But they were encouraging excess. And almost certainly more than that. Because the people who Jude was writing to.
[29:41] Many of them would come from. That pagan style of worship. That pagan celebrations. Where there was food. And there was immorality. There was drunkenness. There was orgy.
[29:53] You see. They weren't acting any differently from the world. That's the point. Where instead of coming and being a blessing. When they met together. They spoiled it. They were a blemish. They were bringing the world's ways of doing things.
[30:06] The old type of ways of doing things. Into the church. So what about these Christian teachers? Are they people who live lives differently from the world?
[30:18] Do they use the same. As it were. Same techniques. As the world's. Could you. Can you separate them? Can you see that they're different or not? Are their teachings actually a real blessing to the church?
[30:31] Or actually a blight to the church? When they speak about things like prosperity. And God wants you all to be rich. Is that actually helping people struggling with their finances? Or is it actually causing them to be unhappy and unsettled.
[30:44] And discontented with what they have? They were blessing. Blemishes rather than blessings. Secondly. We're told. They were takers rather than givers. Verse 12.
[30:56] Shepherds who feed only themselves. And so we have illustrations here. Three illustrations. Shepherds, clouds and trees. First of all.
[31:06] Shepherds who feed off the flock. But never care for the flock. They only see that the sheep as being there for their own profit. As being there for their own. As it were lining their own pockets.
[31:18] They like to fleece. Again. Is there. That aspect of greed in Balaam. Are there those who are Christian men.
[31:29] Who teach that you should send them money. And give them money. And that money is the answer. And they're always asking for money. What's their motivation? Is it really to bless? Or is it to feed themselves?
[31:40] Then we have clouds. Clouds who hold the promise of rain for a dry and thirsty land. But give no refreshing showers. Clouds without rain. Blown along by the wind.
[31:53] They look good. They look like they're going to bring a lovely refreshing shower. But actually they don't deliver. They've got nothing of substance. Is that the case perhaps?
[32:05] In these Christian teachers. These false teachers. They have all the glitz. The glamour. The bands. The music. They look the part. Or perhaps quite the opposite. They're very austere and sober. But actually when it comes down to it.
[32:17] There's nothing real. You can get your hands on. There's nothing that refreshes the soul. And then there's trees. Autumn trees. Without fruit. And uprooted.
[32:28] Twice dead. Autumn trees are the richest aren't they? That's when the apple trees really are full aren't they? And loaded in the autumn. They should be full of fruit. But these aren't full of fruit.
[32:38] Again. Superficially. There's the show of being fruitful. There's the show. That they are producing life. Claims about miracles perhaps.
[32:50] Claims about things being changed. And people being saved. But when you begin to look a bit closer beyond the leaves. There's no fruits. Jesus spoke about such false teachers. He said by their fruit you will know them.
[33:02] If there's no fruits. Then you'll know that they are not godly people. Those are those three. Then he goes on to some more examples. Not only they take us rather than give us.
[33:15] They are show and no substance. Even more. Verse 13. They are wild waves of the sea. Foaming up their shame. There's been a lot of wild waves of the sea this last week.
[33:27] The wind's been blowing. And the white horses have been out there on the sea. But powerful waves and rough seas look impressive. But they're no good to anybody. You can't go fishing in them.
[33:38] You can't travel in your boat on them. Can you? They're just destructive. But about shooting stars. That's what he's talking about. Those wandering stars. He means those stars that we see from time to time.
[33:51] Those comets in the sky. And so on. They give a great display. But you can't navigate by those stars. Can you? They're just here. And then they're gone. They give a bit of a flash.
[34:03] But they don't do any good. They give you no guidance. No leading. In other words again. What Jude is saying to his friends. The warning is this.
[34:13] Look. All that glitters isn't gold. All that sounds good. All that sort of pours sort of balm upon you. And gentle words and soft words and nice words and good words.
[34:27] If they don't do any spiritual good. Then they aren't any good at all. They may talk the talk. But they don't walk the walk. You may feel that you're flattered.
[34:39] You may feel happy for a moment. Because your emotions or your ego soothe. But ultimately verse 16. They're empty froth. Foaming up their shame. Surely one of the greatest marks.
[34:55] Of a false teacher is this. That they divide believers. It's there isn't it. Particularly in verse 19. These are the men who divide you. They bring divisive teaching.
[35:06] A new teaching. We've got a new teaching to tell you about. We've had this new revelation. This new picture. This new thought from God. But sadly. Ultimately. All it does is divide Christian from Christian.
[35:18] If you're with me. They'll say. Then you're on the right side. But if you're not with me. Then you're not on the right side. How often. Teachers have said something like that. That church just isn't spiritual.
[35:29] Because they don't listen to my teaching. They don't follow my advice. Who is it who divides? There's only one person who divides. That's Satan.
[35:40] That's his work. To divide believer. Against believer. It's Satan's work. Because he knows that divide is to conquer. So what are we supposed to do?
[35:52] How does Jude close this passage? It's been quite negative. It's been challenging as well to us. Hopefully. But it's been quite negative about these false teachers. How does he close this section?
[36:03] Well he drives his message home with two prophecies. Verse 14. And then through into verse 17. One of them is from the apocryphal book. The book of Enoch.
[36:14] Remember we looked at this a few weeks ago. When we looked at that apocryphal book. The assumption of Moses. Which is mentioned there in verse 9. About the burial of Jesus. These were books that were written between the testaments.
[36:26] Between the Old Testament and the New Testament. They aren't included in the Bible. They aren't included in scripture. But they were well read. By Jews particularly.
[36:37] And by people. So they're a bit like the. We might almost say the popular novels of the day. So Jude illustrates what he's preaching about from those books.
[36:47] He's not saying that they are authoritative. Authoritative. He's not saying that they are full of the word of God. Or the spirit of God. But he's saying. Here's an illustration that you're aware of. That I'm using. Just like Paul.
[36:58] When he preaches at Athens. He quotes from a pagan prophet. A pagan poet rather. So again. Jude does it similarly here. Not authorizing the apocrypha.
[37:09] But using sections of it. To teach and illustrate Bible truths. In a way that these people can understand. And what is this prophecy? What does Enoch say?
[37:19] That is true from the rest of the Bible. The Lord is coming to judge. The Lord is coming to judge. All this that's going on.
[37:30] This false teaching. This infiltrating of the church. With men and women. Who are teaching things which are destructive and harmful. They're only for a season. They're only for a time.
[37:41] In the end. Everything's going to be revealed. They will stand before the judgment seat of God. Just as we will stand before that judgment seat of God. And of course the judgment seat of God.
[37:54] Seats one judge. The Lord Jesus Christ. Again and again. The New Testament makes that clear. Acts 10.42. He's the one whom God appointed as judge.
[38:04] As the living and the dead. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Christ Jesus who will judge the living and the dead. Those who are getting away with indulging in their sinful desires. Those that are getting away with pleasing themselves.
[38:17] They will be brought to book at Christ's return. They will be brought to that place of judgment. To answer for how they've lived. And so will we. And that's important as well.
[38:28] It's not just for us to read these things and say. Oh yes. I know who he's talking about. Oh yes. I can think of somebody like that. The question is surely this dear friends. What about me? What about me?
[38:41] Am I ready for that day when Christ comes again? Am I right with God? Am I living that life as I should live? For it's not just Enoch who prophesied that Christ will come again to judge.
[38:53] But Peter himself. The apostle. In fact many times if you read through the second letter of Peter. You can see lots of links between here and Jude. Clearly Jude had read Peter's letter.
[39:06] For he almost uses exactly the same words there. When he speaks about the apostles of Christ. For telling. In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their ungodly desires.
[39:17] To Peter in chapter 3. And it says the same thing. Again you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come scoffing and following their own evil desires.
[39:28] Jude had Peter's letter. And now he quotes from it. To speak again about this truth. That Christ is coming to destroy wickedness. And bring righteousness to fulfillment.
[39:41] Hopefully God spares us. We'll look at the positive aspects at the end of this letter. But let us close with these thoughts. Let's come back to that first question. Let's ask ourselves in the light of what we've heard and seen here.
[39:53] What motivates my life? What is the driving force of my life? What motivates me to do the things that I do? Is it the spirit of God within me?
[40:07] Is it him who moves me to generosity? Moves me to loving kindness? Moves me to humility? Or are the things that I do driven by my own sinful desire?
[40:18] To please myself? To get people's adoration? To attain? And to gain? See the problem with these men was this. It goes right back to verse 4.
[40:30] The problem is this. That they denied Jesus as their sovereign and lord. That was the big problem. That was the big hinge pin as it were. In their lives. The reason that they did the things they did was this.
[40:43] That Jesus was not the lord of their lives. That was the great mistake. The great mistake that many people still fall into. That somehow you can have religion. You can have this sort of type of Christianity.
[40:54] And you can have this sort of ritual and words and all these things. But you don't have to have Jesus Christ as the lord of your life. You can have the salvation bit.
[41:06] And the forgiveness bit. But not the lordship bit. You can't separate Jesus. You can't divide him. He is lord and saviour. Saviour and lord.
[41:18] If we receive Christ we must receive him for all that he is. And we must receive him to be part of our lives. He must be the lord of my life. Not just on a Sunday but on a Monday to Friday as well.
[41:29] He must be the one who day by day I desire to please and to serve. He must be the one that when I wake in the morning and decide that I'm going to do something.
[41:40] My heart's being guided in one sense by the compass that says. Is this pleasing Christ? Is this in keeping with his word? Is this in keeping with the spirit? Notice at the very start of this passage verse 11.
[41:54] Jude uses the words of Jesus. Whoa. Whoa. Can there be any more sobering sorrowful words than the word whoa? Whoa to them.
[42:07] Why? Because Jesus isn't the lord of their lives. Whoa to them. What untold misery and suffering they bring upon themselves in this life. And judgment and eternal ruin for the life to come.
[42:18] Because Christ is not the one they yield and bow the knee to. Whoa. Whoa. To them. But dear friends. Those of us who bow the knee to Christ.
[42:31] And we've got to keep doing it daily. It's not just something that happened once in a meeting when we put our hand up. Or when we prayed a prayer. It's something that we have to do day by day. Moment by moment.
[42:42] Acknowledging and trusting. And honoring the lord Jesus Christ. There's not woe to us. But there is blessed be.
[42:54] Blessed be. Dear friends. Let me ask you. Who runs your life? Who's in control?
[43:06] Jesus. Wonderful. Keep on honoring. Keep on bowing. Keep on trusting. Keep on following his example. Self and sinful nature.
[43:17] Dear friends. What woe have you experienced? And what woe will you experience to come? Better. To have Christ as master of lord of all. Than anything else in all the world.
[43:31] I'd rather have Jesus in silver and gold. The old hymn says. Than to be. The king of a great palace. Or whatever it is. It's wonderful words. I'd rather have Jesus.
[43:41] Than anything else the world has to offer today. Let's sing together. Reminding ourselves again. That Christ is worth trusting.
[43:55] And worth following. Because he is the one who has at great cost to himself. Bought our salvation. And forgiveness. 712.
[44:05] Lord of the cross. Of shame. Set my cold heart. Aflame. With love for you. My saviour. And my master.
[44:16] And then Richard will lead us. As we come to. The communion table. The Lord's table. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[44:26] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[45:05] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[45:19] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[45:32] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. . .
[46:02] Stay straight to the other way. As the new york, the joy of sin forever.
[46:16] Someday I am here, now and this hour I am. Come in my world, I'll say to you forever.
[46:36] Please be seated.