Doxology (Jude 24-25)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We are finishing up the book of Jude. It is near the back of your Bible. If you start at the end, run through Revelation, you'll run into Jude.
If you have one of these blue Bibles, it's on page 594. If you don't own a Bible, take one of these with you. That's our gift to you, but we want you to own a Bible. I don't need that, so I'm going to just kick it over here. All right.
My parents go on vacation to the beach in September, and they always want their children and grandchildren to come, and so I just got to go to the beach for a couple of days. And one of the things that happens if you spend time around little children is that everybody, adults and children, point out everything that they think is even remotely interesting. The children are going, hey, look at this, look at this, look at this rock, look at this. I had multiple children constantly running up to me going, hey, is this a shark's tooth? It never was. It was always just some sort of black thing.
And I'd be like, no, but it's cool. I handed one back to my nephew, and he was all excited. I was like, ah. Part of me wanted to be like, yeah, it's a shark's tooth, but that was not true. So I said, no, but it's a cool rock.
And he went, ah, and threw it on the ground and ran off. That was all he wanted was a shark's tooth. But you just point out everything. Look at that cloud. Look at this shell. Well, we were at the gas station on the way up, and I'm in line at the gas station.
And my youngest son, who's four, busts the door open. His older brother's behind him, and they go, daddy, daddy, daddy, there's a leaf bug out here. And they just turn around and run back out. The door closes behind them. Everybody looks at them. I'm in line.
And then four or five seconds later, they bust back in like, did you not hear us? Why are you still in line? They bust the door back open. A leaf bug. You come with me. Like just incredulous that I would not have already dropped what I was doing or run outside.
And I'm excited this morning because we're looking at Jude verses 24 and 25, and I get to do that. I get to say, hey, look at this. Look at how wonderful this is. Take this in. Don't miss this with something infinitely more exciting than a leaf bug, which consequently turned out to be a grasshopper. This is wonderful, wonderful news.
It is joyous and hope-filled. And so for the believers in the room, I think this will be encouraging, worshipful, the way Jude ends this letter. And for anybody in the room who is not a Christian, that you're trying to figure this out. I've got people that hang out with our community group, and that's kind of where they are. It's like just trying to figure this out, trying to see what I believe, trying to see what the Bible says. If that's the zone you're in, we're excited that you're here this morning, as we would be any Sunday.
But I think this Sunday is a good morning for you to see what we believe. And so for the Christians in the room, I hope this is some encouragement. And for anyone who's not a Christian, I want you to see this as an invitation. This is an invitation for you to today decide, no, I'm going to follow Jesus because of how wonderful he is. So let's read the text and then pray together, and then we'll start walking through it.
We've already read this once this morning. Jude, verses 24 and 25. Let's pray. God, as we draw our attention to this text this morning, help us to realize it. Help us to grasp the beauty of this. Help us to take this in and to respond in faith and worship at you, our God, our Savior, our Lord, who is glorious, majestic, and rules forever.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. So the way this passage breaks down is that he says now, he's turning and he's saying, to him who is able, to the only God, be. To him, to the only God, be. That's kind of how this breaks up. So it's to, and he's describing.
He's just kind of pausing and saying things about Jesus, about God. And then he says to, and he's describing and pausing and saying things about God. And then he's saying be, belong, be given to. And so that's kind of how we're going to walk through it. We're going to walk through those two phrases and then the B sentence. So the first thing he says is, now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.
The first thing we're going to look at is that him who is able to keep you from stumbling. It's the first thing we want to look at. To him who is able to keep you from stumbling. Honestly, him who is able is a good way to describe God. He's able. He's capable.
But it says to him who is able to keep you from stumbling. Praise the Lord. Isn't that good? That he keeps us from stumbling. The TV show The Office is one of my favorite TV shows. And I've probably since college just kind of watched it at all times.
It's off and off. And if there's ever anything, like we just don't have anything to watch, we'll just watch The Office and be thoroughly entertained. Even though we know it's coming. It's still hilarious. But one of the main premises of The Office is that the boss is an idiot.
And there's a scene in The Office where he's got to go negotiate something. And he's in a good position to negotiate except for there's one thing that he can't say. If he says this, it'll ruin everything. And he's got a couple people with him and they're getting on an elevator and they're looking at him. Because they know he's an idiot and they're going, just don't say it. Just don't bring it up.
Just don't. We're not going to mention this one thing. He's like, no, we're not going to mention it. We're not going to mention it. Elevator closes. They go up like two levels.
And it shows the elevator door open and he's like this. I'm just really afraid I'm going to mention it. I just, I think I'm going to say it. Like he just knows himself and he's like, there's a real good chance that it'll just come out. And I'll ruin everything. And I feel that way with following Jesus.
That there are times where I'm like, I got this. I got this. I got this. And then a month later, a week later, a moment later, I'm going, I really feel like I might mess this up. I really feel like I might just ruin this. Like there are those moments when you just see there's something wrong with me.
There's something deep inside of me that is broken. And I really just feel like there's a chance that I'm going to derail this. That if you fast forward five years from now, there's something in me that might just choose sin. And it's terrifying. Oh, praise Jesus that he's able to keep us from stumbling. That that's the hope we have in him.
Not that he saves you and he takes you and he cleans you and he says, okay, here's your life. Your sins are forgiven. You're cleaned up. Now I'll meet you at the finish line. Keep your record clean. I've cleaned everything off.
I'll meet you at the finish line, but you've got to finish it out. No, he's the one who keeps us from stumbling. Like a father holding hands with a child. That at any moment that child can just pitch forward about to lose it and immediately be brought back to safety. That he keeps us from stumbling. And that's wonderful news that our hope is in him.
Not in ourselves. I want you to see this. This is in John six. I'm going to show you two passages where Jesus is talking about this idea. John six, 37 through 39. He says, all that the father gives me will come to me.
And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. So if you come to Jesus, if you trust in him, if you place your faith in him, he will never cast you out. This idea that maybe I'll send so much, maybe I'll fail so much. Maybe he says, no, I'm, I'm going to keep you for I've come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. The idea that I might fail at this is the idea that Jesus might lose me.
But he says he's not going to lose anything. The father's given him. That he is able to keep us from stumbling. John 10, a few chapters later, Jesus is talking again. He says, I give them eternal life and they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of my hand.
My father who has given them to me is greater than I, and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. If we have trusted in Jesus, he keeps us. The father keeps us and he is able to keep us from stumbling. So Christian, brother, sister, that right now is seeing your sin, can feel it, can know it, and is fearful. Cling to this promise that he will keep you and run back to him. Use his hand to steady yourself and trust in the fact that he is the one who is good, who keeps you, who redeems you, who brings you to the finish line.
That's wonderful news. On my sabbatical, I started listening to some audio books and it was a three book long trilogy and it was, each of these books was very long. But they were like sword fights and magic and time travel and people who could see the future. It was very nerdy stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed it. But one of the things, one of the main storyline plot things of the story was that one of the characters you meet when they're like 17, you're kind of following through and then you learn that they had traveled back in time and died.
But people know this because it already happened. So you meet them here, you're following them through time, but you know that they're going to travel back in time and die. So what happened in the story was that this character would get into a lot of really bad situations and be like, this might go poorly for me, but I don't die here. Because I know where I die. It's already happened in time, but not for me. It's kind of confusing.
But he would just know, like I'm getting in this situation, it's difficult, but I don't die here. This isn't the end for me. And so he would just lean into, he still had to fight, he still had to show courage, he still had to do everything he could to get out of the situation, but he knew this isn't how it ends. And I find that that's what we get to do with Jesus. I don't lose to this. Jesus is going to keep me.
I know how this ends for me. And so I can cling to that promise to give me hope as I trust in Jesus to see me through. So for Christians, this is wildly encouraging that our hope is that Jesus is the one who gets us to the finish line. And if you're not a Christian and you think, I can't be a Christian, I'd mess it all up. No. Because if you trust Jesus, he takes you and he keeps you and he brings you to the end.
He is able to keep you from stumbling. But then it says this, to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. He's able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. So we're going to walk through and just look at these different words that are here and just try to unpack them a little bit. So let's start with blameless.
Blameless means without blame. Without accusation. With nothing that anybody could say bad about you. Now, if you are self-aware at all, that is a poor description of you. And if you are not self-aware but have friends, which is difficult to do if you have no self-awareness, ask them. They will tell you.
This is a bad description of you. Have you ever been in the situation where you were the one to blame? Just give you some examples. But you had blame. A teacher starts to take up homework and you don't have it. Or something that happened to me all throughout my school career.
Someone would look at you at lunch and say, man, are you ready for that test? Or were you able to finish your project? And you would respond, what project? And they would look at you like, oh, buddy, life's going to be hard for you. That amount of fear. Or somebody's looking for the person who stole something and it's in your pocket.
You know that type of blame that you have? Your dad's coming home and you're the one who broke the thing and you understand how this is going to go? So, the idea that we would stand before the God of the universe in the presence of his glory, the glory of the one who tests hearts, who knows minds, who can see through us and be blameless, is shocking. And it's wonderful. Because the blamelessness does not come from us, but it comes from the one who is presenting us. Do you see that?
That he would present us blameless. 2 Corinthians 5.21, I want you to see this in another place where it talks about this idea. It says, for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin. Okay, so, for our sake, he, that's God the Father, made him, that's Jesus, to be sin. So, Jesus became sin. Jesus, who knew no sin.
He was sinless, but he becomes sinful. He takes on our sin. He doesn't actually sin, but he takes our sin and he puts it on himself, so that in him we might become, what? The righteousness of God. That through Jesus, we are righteous because he took our sin and he gives us his righteousness, so that he might present us blameless. And that picture of him presenting us, him bringing us into the glory of the Father, that's what he says, before the presence of his glory.
In the Old Testament, you don't get to enter the presence of his glory. Everybody who even comes into, brushes into contact with the presence of his glory, he shows up just in a burning bush and he says, take your shoes off. This is holy ground. You're not welcome here as you are. If there was only, was the high priest able to go once a year into the holy of holies, into the presence of his glory, and even that with sacrifices made on his behalf before he went. That Moses, who was the closest to God, asked, can I see your glory?
And God says, no, it would kill you. But you can see the back of it. That Isaiah gets brought into the presence of the Lord and he falls down and he says, I'm sinful, I don't belong here. You ever been in a situation where you felt dirty? You felt shameful? You felt like, I should not be here.
There's something wrong with me. I'm the one who's ruining everything. Peter meets Jesus. Jesus performs a miracle and Peter falls down and says, get off my boat. I shouldn't be in your presence. You're holy and there's something wrong with me.
The idea that we get to be presented blameless is wonderful and it points to the glory of Christ who took our sin and gave us his righteousness. And he joyously presents us. Picture this. He comes into the glory of his father, into the glory of the Holy Spirit, into the glory of the Trinity. And he says, look. Look at them.
Aren't they beautiful? Look at how clean they are. Look at how blameless. Look at these sons and daughters, these brothers and sisters who belong here. And it's all to the praise of his glory. Some of you go, I'm too dirty.
I wouldn't be able to be there. But that does not degrade you. It degrades him. That he is incapable of cleaning you. Oh, to the praise of his glorious grace will we be presented blameless before the father. Will we be presented blameless in the presence of his glory.
And we will stand there awestruck to be welcomed into a place that we should have no business being. But because of the blood of Christ. Because of this exchange that took place. That he took our sinfulness. That he gave us his righteousness. That we have the righteousness of God.
That we are now able to be there. That's wonderful. And he says, present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. Whose joy? Well, ours certainly. Can you imagine the freedom, the delight to be in the presence of God.
To be in the presence of his glory and belong. I think we can kind of wrap our head around being in the presence of his glory and not belonging. Like a moment of just this is amazing and now I'm going to die. But to be there and that to be our home. That to be where we're supposed to be. And that to be where we're supposed to enjoy being.
Because it brings glory to Jesus who's the one who redeemed us. Who's the one who presents us joyously. That we are overwhelmed. By joy. That every little bit. Every time you've laughed and laughed until your face and stomach hurt.
Every time you've been in a place where you were so at peace. That you just kind of could feel yourself just relax. That you felt safe. That you felt at home. Every time you've been around the people. Where you just have this moment of this is how life is supposed to be.
Every single one of those was just like a sniff of the meal that we're going to get to partake in. That's here and gone. Every one of those is like a drop of water on a parched tongue. Of what the joy will be like in the presence of his glory. That he cleans sinners like us. That he brings us to him.
And do you know how else's joy it is? It's his joy. That great joy is not just ours. It's his. He delights to do this. I love we were studying through Psalm and it says our God reigns in the heaven.
He does whatever he pleases. Which means that it pleases him to redeem sinners like us. That's what Jesus says in Luke 15. He says just so I tell you. There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. I was reading that book Gentle and Lowly.
While I was on my sabbatical. And a lot of you were like didn't we read that way earlier? Y'all did. I didn't. But it was good.
So I caught up. And if you'll remember. So those of y'all who walked through it. There's this illustration that he gives. It's written by a guy named Dane Ortlund. There's this illustration that he gives.
He says imagine if you will. A doctor. Who's independently wealthy. He's able to go on this. And he decides he's going to go. Halfway across the globe.
To reach out to some tribal people. And to offer vaccinations. Help them. You know things like polio. Help them with things. That would absolutely destroy them.
But there's a vaccination for it. They cannot have smallpox. If they'll just kind of go through this. They can get past pertussis. If they'll just take this vaccination. He's going to go and help save.
He says imagine that he goes. But they don't trust him. They don't know what he's talking about. It takes a long time to build trust. He says but imagine. The day.
That finally. One brave. Person. Steps forward. And receives the vaccination. He says.
What does that doctor feel? Joy. He said it's the whole reason he came. He feels joy. And that made so much sense to me. I remember sitting in my office.
Thinking. Yeah. Of course he does. Of course he delights to do that. Of course he's ecstatic that day. And how dare I.
Fail to see. The great delight. Of the God of the universe. Who since eternity past. Purposed. To redeem a people for himself.
And then came. To live. And to die. And to rescue. So that he might one day.
Present a people. To belong to him forever. That he might rescue a people for himself. To belong to him. And how I fail to miss. How joyous that is for him.
If you're in here. And you're not a believer. And you think. I can't come to him. I'm too broken. I'm too dirty.
I'm too messed up. Oh. Hear. Hear how happy he will be. To save you. Hear how much joy there is.
For you to walk forward. And say I'm a sinner. In need of cleansing. I need somebody to rescue. Can you see the smile crack. Across his face.
And he says. That's why I came. That's what this was all about. So that people. Who could not rescue themselves. Might be rescued.
And redeemed. Come. I sing to my boys. In the evenings. And one of my favorite songs. Is softly and tenderly.
And it says. Softly and tenderly. Jesus is calling. Calling. Oh sinner. Come home.
That's what he came to do. There's delight. That's what Hebrews 12. 2 says. Look. To Jesus.
That we ought to be looking to Jesus. The founder and perfecter. Of our faith. Who for the joy. That was set before him. Endured the cross.
Despising the shame. And is seated at the right hand. Of the throne of God. It is his delight. To redeem. Sinners.
So that one day. If you placed your faith in Jesus. He's going to keep you from stumbling. He's not going to lose you. And then there's going to be a day. When he brings you into the presence of his glory.
And we celebrate. A day of overwhelming joy. That Jesus can save sinners like us. A day where he receives so much glory. That he can redeem someone as broken and as busted as you. Someone whose thoughts.
Even when you're trying. Are so twisted and mangled. There are times where I think. I'm so messed up. And I'm trying. This is the Holy Spirit at work in me version.
That is trying. And I'm still like this. And to be able to stand. And know that he's going to keep me. And to be ushered into his glory. And that that day will be joyous.
Don't miss this. That's the first thing he says. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling. And to present you blameless. Before the presence of his glory with great joy. To the only God.
Our Savior. Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. That's his next statement. To the only God. Our Savior.
Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Okay. People argue. That all religions are the same. We all believe the same thing.
And I just want you to know. Christianity makes exclusive claims. That there's. He's the only God. There is no other God. And he's the only God.
Who saves us. Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. That there is no other Savior. There's no other way to the Father. But through Christ.
So if you want to argue. That Christianity is wrong. Well the Bible. Logically will fit with that. You can say it's wrong. But it won't fit with.
It's kind of right. It's right. They're all right. It won't do that. Because it says no. There's only one God.
And there's only one Savior. But I want you to see this. To the only God. Our Savior. Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord.
That through Jesus Christ. We receive salvation. And it's just so encouraging. You need a Savior. And if you become a Christian. You don't cease to need a Savior.
There's not going to be a time. Where you think. I've graduated. I'm no longer a sinner. I'm no longer in need of a Savior. High five Jesus.
I don't need you anymore. That's not how it works. He delights to redeem sinners. Now. He's also our Lord. So we repent.
We obey. We follow. We follow. But we follow. Because he's our Savior. Who's rescued us out of sin.
And given us hope. And if you're not. A Christian. You need a Savior. One of the things that. That Spencer pointed out.
When we first started Jude. Is that Jude. He highlights for us. That there is great judgment. And great joy. There's judgment for sin.
There's a. He calls it the great day. There's a day of wrath. There's a day of judgment. And that everyone. Will either receive judgment.
Or they'll receive joy. But you'll get one or the other. Either Jesus will receive your judgment. For your sin. On your behalf. And then you'll be a recipient of joy.
Through Jesus. Or you will receive judgment. And if you say. I don't need Jesus. What you are saying is. I'll stand on my own.
In that day. And be held accountable. For my sin. But the invitation. Is that you would come to him. Who delights to save.
Delights to keep. And delights to rejoice with. Eternally. Through the work of Jesus. That you would trust him. To save.
You. So he's our only God. Our savior. Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Be.
So now he's saying. Be. This belongs to him. Give it to him. That's kind of what it means. It's his.
So we ought to respond. By giving it to him. We ought to respond. By. So he's.
Praising him. By both saying. It's his. And also. We. We acknowledge that.
We give it to him. Says. Be glory. Majesty. Dominion. And authority.
Authority. Before all time. And now. And forever. Amen. So these things belong to him.
Before all time. If we ever say the phrase. Eternity past. That's what we're talking about. That there was a time. Before time.
God invented time. There was. Something before that. It messes up. Because you have to use the word. Before.
Before. But I guess that's time. So then it was before. But then you can't use before anymore. Because there's no time. So we just say eternity past.
Before all time. He was in charge. He creates time. So now. He's in charge. And then.
Forever. Which is. We don't say. Eternity. Future. Sometimes you can say that.
You just say. Eternity. Forever works. What happens after time. Be glory. Meaning that all praise and honor.
Belongs to him. There is no boasting. For us. That when we're presented. Blameless. Before him.
We don't go. I know you're glad I'm here. Feel free to clap. If you would like. We don't do that. We're joyous.
But we're joyous. Based off of his work. Not ours. There is no boasting. There's no swagger. There's delight.
Certainly. There's tears. Certainly. There's a feeling of. Welcome. And belonging.
Certainly. But there is no boasting. The glory is his. And this. This has helped my brain so much. When I sin.
To help me know. That I turn to him. And I ask for forgiveness. And I delight in the fact. That he receives glory. From saving sinners.
Like me. I don't pursue sin. Because of that. I pursue him. Because of that. Majesty.
I looked that up. One of the definitions. Was. Regal impressiveness. He's impressive. Not us.
He has dignity. And honor. He's a king. That it belongs to him. That's his. And he's had it.
Forever. Dominion. Meaning he is. Over all things. He rules. Over all things.
That he is in charge. Over all things. That he works out. Everything. According to his. Will.
That there is not. A square. Millimeter. Of existence. In the ocean. On the earth.
In the sky. In outer space. In some sort of. Spiritual realm. We don't understand. There's not a square.
Inch. That doesn't belong to him. That isn't under his rule. That isn't under his care. That it is under his domain. When we look out.
Into the sky. And we see. Infinite stars. Like we just. We're baffled by it. That does not.
Declare to us. Our place in the universe. It declares his. Majesty. And goodness. And his.
Greatness. Authority. He's a king. And he does. As he pleases. But praise be to his name.
That it pleases him. To redeem sinners. To forgive. And to welcome. Before all time. And now.
And forever. Amen. Brothers and sisters. In the room. Cling to this. Remember this.
Believe this. That he'll keep you. That he'll guard you. That he'll. Make you reach the end. And that that day.
Will be. Joyous. And if you have not placed your faith in Jesus. Don't say no to this. But come to him and say.
Please. Save me. And he will. That all who come to him. He will not lose. One of them.
But trust in him. The band's going to come back up. We're going to join. Jude. Jude ends this by saying. Look at how wonderful.
Jesus is. Look at how wonderful. God is. To him be glory. And majesty. And dominion.
And authority. Before all time. And now. And forever. And for a moment. We're just going to let our voices.
Join an eternal chorus. Of those who understand this infinitely more than we do. We're going to join Jude in saying. Isn't he wonderful. Isn't he good. To him be the praise.
It's not about me. It's about him. And he's so good to redeem. A sinner. Like me. Let's pray.
And then let's sing. God we thank you. That it is your delight. To save sinners. We thank you. That you are able.
To keep us. From stumbling. And for those in the room. Who feel like they're stumbling. That they're going to. Fall.
That they're going to lose this. They're going to fall into sin. Lord. That you're going to. Lose them to sin. That it's going to engulf them.
Lord. May you hold them. And draw them back. In forgiveness. And redemption. That you rescue sinners.
That that does not mean. That we will never sin. It just means. That we'll never lose to it. And so Lord. May we cling tightly.
To you. Who keep us. May we hold firmly. To that promise. And Lord. May we look forward.
To the day. When we are presented. Into the presence. Of your glory. Made blameless. By the work.
Of Jesus. And may there not. Be a soul. In this room. Who enters that day. On their own account.
Lord. May there not be someone. In this room. Who stands before you. On that day. In their sin.
But may we stand. In the righteousness. Of Christ. Through the blood. Of his sacrifice. And so Lord.
I ask that through your Holy Spirit. You would help. Anyone who has not trusted in you. To believe. To run to you. And to say.
Forgive me. And to receive that forgiveness. And to receive this promise. As they might stand. With your people. On that day.
Made blameless. Through your son. To the praise. Of his glory. And his wonder. And his name.
In Jesus name. Amen.