A Date With Destiny
Notes
Transcript
Intro; This morning as we looked at “The Arrogance of a Spiritual Apostate”, we learned that these people have heard the truth, rejected the truth and now the ridicule or mock the truth. We saw that they;
Are dreamers who defile the flesh, reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries [heavenly host]
Their arrogance rises to the level of blasphemy as they were without love (like Cain), greedy for money (like Balaam), and insubordinate to God-appointed authorities (like Korah).
Tonight I want us to look at the main reason why I believe they do what they do. They have no fear of being judged. They believe they have no “Date with Destiny”
Text; Jude 14-16
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.
We live in a time where many simply reject the doctrine of divine judgment for those who deny and oppose the Lord. The main reason why is, hell is no longer preached from the pulpits or believed in public.
Consider the comments of John MacArthur on this passage. “Hell is certainly not a popular concept in Western society. In an age of tolerance and acceptance, the topic of eternal punishment is taboo; the very mention of it is considered unloving. After all, postmodern culture believes that everyone is basically good and expects that life after death (if the afterlife even exists) includes heaven for all but the most evil people.
Sadly, the political correctness and doctrinal ambiguity that characterizes the world has also permeated the church. Even among those who call themselves evangelicals, hell is regarded as a theological embarrassment. Passages that teach eternal destruction are often explained away, arbitrarily softened, or ignored altogether. As a result, society’s erroneous views about God’s judgment are only reinforced.”
Benfield, C. (2015). The Appointment of Apostates (Jude 14–16). In Pulpit Pages: New Testament Sermons (p. 1661). Chris Benfield.
Make no mistake about it, regardless of what people say or think, we all have a Date With Destiny!
1. Enoch’s Prophesy; 14-15a
1. Enoch’s Prophesy; 14-15a
Enoch [dedicated, committed, sold out]. Enoch is mentioned in three Books of the Bible. In Genesis, Hebrews, and in Jude.
Enoch had a personal walk/relationship with God;
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.
23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Enoch had a faith that pleased God
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Enoch gave a powerful witness to God
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
Enoch’s prophesy tells me two things; Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Date with Destiny
Second Coming of Jesus Christ- the return of Christ in glory at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead, and to terminate the present world order and initiate His eternal kingdom.
Matthew 25:31–34 (NKJV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Matthew 25:41 (NKJV)
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
How did Enoch know about the Second Coming before Christ came the first time?
God revealed to Him these things as He walked with Him. The way to have a deeper understanding of the Word is to have a deeper walk with it’s author!
Date with Destiny- the events that will happen to a particular person or thing in the future. Where we will spend eternity.
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
2. Date With Destiny; 15-16
2. Date With Destiny; 15-16
Jude uses the word “ungodly” four times in this verse describing an apostate.
Ungodly- without God, living godless, lawless and without respect for God
Jude said that God will “execute judgment on all” but will “convict the ungodly”
I’m glad that when God judges me, He will see the blood of Christ and only judge my works as a christian not my SIN. But it won’t be so well for the ungodly.
Convict the ungodly- to expose, rebuke, prove guilty
Ungodly Deeds- actions with no respect or concern for others or God
Ungodly Ways- immoral mannerisms and thoughts behind their actions
Ungodly Speech- harsh abusive words against God and His church
They will blaspheme our Lord, gossip about the saints, run down other people, run off some people, speak against the authority of the Bible, the inerrancy of the Bible, they will try to explain away the miracles of the Bible. They are against God and His word. They have spoken harsh things against the Lord Jesus.
Attitude; Murmuerers/Complainers- consistently complaining about their lot in life and blaming God for everything. Never happy, never satisfied, no joy in Jesus.
Action; Walking after own lust- determined to satisfy their flesh at all costs. “If it feels good do it attitude”
Arrogance; Mouth swelling words- they boast of themselves at the expense of Jesus. Prideful, Hypocrites and liars!
Agenda; Flattering people - to win the hearts of men and manipulate them for their own personal gain
When I first read this I immediately think of politicians and people in power. But that is wrong. Jude is talking about people in the church, religious people, or those who were once connected to God and the church at one time . Turn with me to [Mt. 23]
Matthew 23:13–33 (NKJV)
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’
19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.
33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
Close;
Enoch recognized the failure of men and women trying to live their lives apart from God and His will. By faith he walked with God on this earth at a time when sin and corruption were wildly rampant all around him.
Enoch’s daily walk was a walk of faith, a walk of fellowship with God. What the Scriptures are trying to say to us is this: If Enoch could live and walk with God by faith in the midst of his sinful generation, we likewise should be able to follow his example because the human race is the same and God is the same!…
Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5
Jesus, Author of Our Faith, 19, 21.
A. W. Tozer