Sermon Tone Analysis

Timothy Whtimer in Shepherding model for gospel ministry, helpfully says need to know the sheep, before you can care for the sheep, before you feed the sheep, before you can protect the sheep.

Last part of being an under-shepherd that I as a pastor especially felt ill equipped.

Privately yes, read, think, own life , but publically together as a church to discern the evil and error -that attack Christians in this culture, this community, and to boldly, like Gandalf at the bridge in the heart of the lonely mountains : TO say to the Bolrog, - you shall not pass!

If we really love each other must have the courage to contend against those things that would shipwreck the faith among us.

Gandulf, shouts to them Run you fools.

And then turns and faces down the great opponent.

In life know what to speak against, stand against, what you would stake your life on.

Well, this letter of Jude can be summarized in this one word.

CONTEND.

You and I, the church of jesus Christ, not just the Gandalf type Christians, the super duper leaders, you and I are called to CONTEND for the faith in a world of error and evil.

That’s the theme verse, I wanted to write you about our common salvation (never outgrow need for this because salvation is past, present and future)Need to be built up in the holy faith - once delivered.

But if that’s all we hear- familiarity breeds contempt, might get the feeling hey we’re all Christians, we all believe this stuff, no sin, no error could possibly sneak into our church our home, our lives.

That’s why Jude’s letter opens up like you’re pulling out live fire crackers.

Imagine getting a letter int the mail, dear sir, FIGHT, Dear Madame - AGONIZE -

That word contend is the word for ROCKY Balboa, Reuben the Hurricane Carter, M Ali, CONTENDER of the World - train and fight and ready myself to be heavy weight champion of the world.

But what is even more interesting when you look this word up in a Greek dictionary is its antonym, opposite: Peace, to be at peace, to make peace with, to be quiet to tolerate.

For sure there is much in our lives we need to make peace with, reconciling is good, make peace theme of the gospel, between God and us, between each other.

Times when being quiet in not only wise, but truly Christ like things to do - love covers over a multitude of sin.

Jude is not calling for mean spirited judgmental Christianity.

But when it comes to false teaching regarding the gospel, twisting of the Word of God and faith - Jude’s instruction is not what we want to hear, just take it lying down, take it on the chin and turn the other cheek, let the error be it will run its course.

No, he sees how the evil and error about the gospel, has snuck in like silent quick growing weed into the garden - time for action.

Open this letter, it says: Christian you have some agonizing over error and evil to do.

Christian you together, have some contending for the Faith to do together.

A) OCCASION: Need to Contend against False Teaching & Evil

What is the false teaching will be half of our concern, and we get a hint of that in

They have perverted the grace of our God and denied Jesus the Messiah being a Master and Lord.

They have turned him into a Messiah who does not have Lordship is not concerned with reigning in our lives and our world.

But it is not just false teaching that Jude attacks, it is also the false living it produces.

What did they turn the gospel into?

Sensuality … what is it about the quality of their day to day life that he finds troubling and shipwrecking to others around them, not just the false teaching itself, but the false living, they are people who though in the church are ungodly people.

Some may just be ignorant, lazy, some not truly converted, but others deliberate and deceiving , know what they are doing - Jude is saying get ready to contend with them.

And why does Jude says he’s going to write a letter to them about contending rather than just more about our common salvation?

He says it is necessary.

The word has a sense of urgency about it, pressure, hardship, obligation.

And before we any further I need to ask you - + Jude says to us contend for faith here.

How about ungodliness - why did God send judgment on his people in land - became more wicked more worldly , commit more grievous sins than the nations before them!

Alarming isn’t it that - Christian statistics for lying, adultery, for cheating - same as the world, That observant Muslims because they thin salvation relies on it often more upright.

We have an even greater motivation than our salvation to earn, we have a God to thank for grace of his salvation.

Too many think God’s law old fashioned not applicable, though not for salvation and not same ceremonies or civil enactment - God’s law is unchanging gift to his people.

Circumstance and application may change, the principles of his laws.

How about in doctrine overemphasis on the fallibility of human author s who wrote the Bible, go over board and say Not inspired by Holy Spirit in a way kept from error.

RELATIVISM.

Deny jesus as Master and Lord with a voice to speak into our daily lives through His word.

Just three areas today called to contend.

Really shouldn’t be surprised in receiving something so supernatural, so counterculture, so against fallen human nature as the Gospel of Jesus , as the Spirit of holiness, taht we’d have to cotnedn for it.

IE Paradigm shift - at first people like man never fly - but now .

We have the greatest of aparadigm shifts, whole new way of living, - expect opposition until Christ ia all andin all at the very end.

The very coming of the messiah was propehsied as a paradigm shift from false propehts, false teachers, shepherds who cared nothing, and God himself cominog to be the Teacher, the Shepherd, the Proopet - comiong in Christ to us:

HOw will the true sheep not be eaten up bythe false shepherds and led astray to eternal destruction?

It’s by God HImself coming as the true Shepherd:

Christ Himself warned of this in that opening contistitin of HIs kingdom of grace, the Sermon on the Mount:

Christ Himself warned of this in that opening contistitin of HIs kingdom of grace, the Sermon on the Mount:

Before going ot the Cross in he says:

Writing a parallel letter to the many Jewish Christian in the dispersion Peter writes

Of the alter Epistles JOhn writes to Gentile Christains in Ephesus and Asia Minor in his first epstistle: 1 John, just after telling them not to love the world, of the things in it, Warning against inordinate desire of the flesh and of the eyes and the pride of life - sensuality Teaching can’t love God and love the world .

friend of one, enemy of the other.

He says: to Chrsitian s already then:

And there is the urgency for Jude’s reader, and for you and me in the church today.

Behind the false teaching and false living in Church, there is a real and personal facce, Thae Spirt of AntiChrist - mbodied in these errors and evils, Satan the attacker of the churc.

That’s why Jude says, listen here sermons on the faith until the cows come home, but now is an urgent time to recieve instruction, and tactics to combat error!

And one of the main tactics is a hugge surprise - history.

Actually surpris\ing how many people like real history, even a channel.

Why Those who forget teh past are doomed to repeat it.

Tactics Satan uses tried a true spiritual tactics,have changed much.

And the tactics that God’s children are to use to thwart his every move - again tried andture, not new.

History is a commentary on this battle between errror and truth, godliness and godleessness.

And one of Jude’s main tactics is to take that history - in fresh way says - ee this is how Satan works against God’s peoople and this is how we are to stop it.

Interesting taht a yong adult, not going to study history after highschool - yeah I’d read a book on on QWorld War II., every theatre, but each section ends with assessment of gnerals on both sides what did weel what didn’t.

Really what great commmanders from Alexander the Great, tutored by Aristotle, Nero by one of the greatest stoic philospiohers Nero.

Westpoint Academy study battles, ambushes, - spiritually that what Jude does even with spiritual stories tthat are not recorded inthe Bible.

Sya this is wht is going on now and here is how you should respond.

And that’s exactly how Paul says we should be using the OT stories of episdoes in spiritual battle: He says, we were with Israel under the cloud, all passing through Red Sea all baptized in Christ, drank same spiritual food and drink… Rock was Christ, But hen they were tested - and many God’s wasn’t pleased.

Then he writes: .

We are to learn how to hodl to Christ, how to stand against sensuality ay Paul and Jude, how to not live by an idolatry and keep on the journey in vicotyrin Christ, and that is going to take not only fleeing these things, but fighting the rorr from which they stem!

So that is the purpose for which Jude is wrtiing, and I hope youand I can start readingthis book, like that youth learning of the battles in the great War, recnizing great spiritual war is wstil on and we need to be trained to use your weapns ,tto device stratgy and find vicotry over the evil adns godless trnd that spiecitfually chalnagen us.

Martin Luther said: “If you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time, you are not preaching the gospel at all.”

He saw in his day how Satan was so skilled at turning the gospel into law and law into gospel.

As read jdue find what those issues where in his day, what they are in ours.

Becausen not just issues to discusse have oponion and privately hold, but isssues that shipwreck peopele souls tohell, and must have a strategy to deal noonly withthe issues abut withthe people that are brithing these ideas and how to protect those who are falling for their half truths and full out lies!

He comabtted that, what aer we called to comabt?

Certainly in our culture the idea of abasoute right and wrong, where truth is flexible and questionable - is part of the ethical relativism have in common.

Other issues called into the battle ofr Christ, for trutyh, for grace!

So that’s an introduction to the puprose of Jude’s letter, but let me conclude this evening, with the context.

Who is writing these Chrsitain and to us ?

and who are these Christians?

B. AUTHOR: Jude, brother of Jesus, Almost Shipwrecked Unbelief, but Saved & Serving in Power

We begin our letters with the recipeint, Dear_____, or TO Wom it may concern.

But that comes second, and what we do at the bottom, Sincerely , Your’s in Christ , Shalom, and the sender of the Letters anme last; that they put first.

And in Jude’s self-descriptio, the Holy Spirit has given us two esenital facts about this sender for interpetting teh Scriptures.

A lot o information in a few words.

The one who sent this letter toJews presumably in Palenstine area before the fall of Jerusaem aroudn teh same time that Paul let out of prision, his name is Jude, in Hebrew Judas or Judah which means praise.

But several Judas - one in Josephs lineage, two of the apsotles Judas Iscariot, and maybe you remember gospel of john, Judas (not Iscariot) says in the Upperoom what are you show us but not the world.

JOhn 14:22.

Well as call s him this Judas son of James.

But it is not these Jude’s because he says: brother of whom?

James.

Well which james is this not apostles That James killed by Herod was the first apostl martyred.

But his James is the brother of jesus Son of Mary - who was raised up as the pillar of the Jerusalem church.

So active in first church council.

And his brother was Jude also son of mary and brother of the Lord Jesus Christ.