Do you feel from heaven to earth to show the
way? From the earth to the cross, by day to day?
From the cross to the grave, from the grave to
the sky? Lord, I lift your name on high. As a
child of her choice. Thank you. Thank you. not
regale you with tales of how we come to be in
the book of Jude today. But if I did, it would
be a grand adventure through 20 books of the
Bible and probably, I don't know, 4 ,000 verses,
something like that. And here we are in the book
of Jude. So pretty cool. God has done amazing
things, at least in me. And so I hope I can share
some of that with you. And I think we'll see
something in these verses today. The sermon is
entitled, Let's Get a Few Things Straight This
Year. It is a new year, 2026. We did some incredible
things in 2025. We got married, praise the Lord.
We overcame health struggles. We shared the gospel
and saw lots and lots of people get saved or
profess to be saved. We baptized some folks.
We served, I've lost the number exactly, but
something like, let me see if I can do this here.
30 ,000 families with emergency food between
the pantry here and Life Station. Tommy took
what you're pushing for the year. You're going
to push 10 ,000, no, 7 ,000 deliveries. What
was it? For 25? How much? Say it again. 5 ,000
times Tommy took emergency food to people's houses
in 2025. So we as a church have done amazing
things. Some of us moved, and some of us moved
twice. We worked in the church building. We worked
on the lot. We worked in the community. We went
door to door. We have done a lot in 2025. But
2026 is now our present concern. And there are
a few things that we need to get straight. The
lightning point you'll see is ancient delivery.
So what you're going to see today is a quote,
essentially. It's not a word -for -word quote.
But written in the book of Jude is a statement
saying that the apostles delivered a certain
message. Now, you and I both know that the apostles
delivered primarily, first and foremost, the
gospel of Jesus Christ. They told people how
to get saved. That's the first. But this other
part of the message, I hope it won't take you
by surprise. If it does, we'll adjust to it as
rapidly as we can. What if the message to us
is something different from the basic you can
be saved? That's the question. The truth is you
can be saved. Those who call upon the name of
the Lord will not be put to shame. If you will
confess the Lord Jesus Christ with your mouth
and believe in him and with your heart that he
was God's son and deserves to be Lord and was
raised from the dead, then you will be saved.
That's what the word says. But there is something
more. There is another piece. In fact, I submit
to you that because it consumes the largest part
of the thinking in the book of Jude, it is a
very, very important point and it should not
be missed. We're going to now read from the book
of Jude, chapter 1, and it is the only chapter
of the book of Jude. So you can actually write
this as Jude 17 to 25 because there is no chapter
2. This is it, just the first chapter. And it
says this, beginning in verse 17. It says, But
you, beloved, ought to remember the words that
were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And if we stopped right there,
we would be thinking of the gospel. The truth,
that you can be saved by believing in Jesus.
That would be it. They would be going, wow, that's,
yes, of course, I'm not going to forget that.
I'm going to live with that in the light of my
life, in the center of my heart. Every day, all
day, I'm going to be thinking about how Jesus
is the way to salvation. That's the message of
the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he
goes on to say then, the message includes this,
that they were saying to you, Not just that you
could be saved through Jesus Christ, but they
were saying to you that in the last time there
will be mockers following after their own godly
lusts. So a mocker is a person who says that
Jesus is worthless. That following Jesus means
nothing. That being a devout Christian, truly
doing, and as some of the things we're going
to see in this passage, like that is not worthwhile.
They will be following after their own ungodly
lusts means we have things that we want. We have
desires in our flesh that are not directly related
to God. We have the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, the pride of life, it says elsewhere.
So the things that we want, we want to feel good
about ourselves. That's not godly. God says who
you are, you trust God, believe who he says.
That's it. Not waking up every day and going,
I wish I was better, I wish I was stronger, I
wish I was able, I wish I could say the right
things, do the right things, wish I made more
money. But not feeling bad about yourself, but
realizing God says who you are. A big part of
knowing who you are is trusting what God says.
And so if you judge yourself even in saying,
I am not what God would want me to be, you're
taking the place of God. You're doing what God
does. You're doing God's job. But we also know
there's someone else who does that, and that's
Satan. And he leads people then. He will trick
you into thinking that you're not good enough.
He'll trick you into thinking you don't have
enough. He'll trick you into thinking you can't
do or you're not able. Schemes that have lasted
for thousands. I don't mean 2 ,000 since Jesus.
I'm talking about way before that. 5 ,000, 6
,000 years to make people think that they are
not able to have a relationship with God. These
lusts, then, we seek after the things that we
want. Every guy wants a pretty girl. Every girl
wants a handsome man. Every person wants a good
income, a safe place, a warm place when it's
cold, full belly, right? But if those are the
driving things of your life, you're a little
better than an animal, frankly, because that's
not what we were given to want. We were given
to live for, to want a relationship with God
that goes on well beyond. You'll never be hungry
in heaven. So when your hunger is well gone,
or your inability to control your diet is well
gone, when your fatigue is well gone, when your
need for finances are well gone, you need a relationship
with the living God. And all of those needs and
so much more will be eternally met. But there
will be those in the last time who will be mockers
and following after their own ungodly less. Remember
that they were saying to you that in the last
time there will be mockers following after their
own ungodly lusts. These are the ones who cause
divisions. They're the ones who cause the difficulty
in the church, the difficulty in the kingdom,
the difficulty in the world. They're worldly
-minded. They adapt to the system of the world
and what a person should want or what a person
should be rather than the system of the kingdom,
which is listening to God for leadership, direction,
and molding. They're worldly -minded. They are
devoid of the Spirit. That means internally they
have not received, they are not receiving direction
from the Holy Spirit of God. You could even say
that means they are not saved truly, though they
may well be in the church. And this letter is
written to people who are in the church about
people who are in the church. It's not gossip
or slander, but there is a fact that the disciples
were teaching, the apostles were teaching us
that as we get closer to the end, there will
be those who are following their own ungodly
lusts. Even though they once claimed the name
of Christ, they said they were Christians and
they were serving mightily, even doing mighty
things. They will be the ones who cause divisions,
the ones who are worldly -minded. They think
like the world thinks or what the world wants
them to think. And they are devoid of the presence
of God or devoid of the Spirit, as verse 19 says.
Then it says in verse 20, but you, beloved, so
he's going to say, now this is for you. So if
you're here today and you're a Christian and
you understand this teaching that the apostles
were setting forth for you, which is that there
will come in the latter day a group of people
inside the church even, claiming to be Christians
even, are like what was just described. Then
he says, but this for you differently. This is
for you. This is what direction I'm going to
give you, he says. But you, beloved, he says,
building yourselves up in your most holy faith.
In other words, there is work to do, steps to
be taken. You're putting things together. You're
making connections. You're not just listening
to the sermon or listening to the radio or listening
to the podcast or listening to a show on TV about
Christ. and filling yourself more and more with
the word, but you're building your life on what
you believe. There is a job to be done. We can
build our lives the way people build their lives.
We can get jobs, and then get promotions, and
then get raises, and we can work our way up.
And they'll tell you, well, if you do a really
good job for 10 years, some year you'll be promoted,
and you'll be watching over all the younger people
who are coming up, right? We can build our lives
that way. That is not how the kingdom builds.
We build on faith. We walk not by sight desiring
what we see, but by faith seeing what God desires.
He says, you will be building yourselves up on
your most holy faith. Then he says, you will
be praying in the Holy Spirit. So it's one thing
to lift up your concerns to God. We say things
like, God, I want. God, I need. God, so -and
-so is sick. God, there's money. You know, where's
the money going to come from? God, there's a
bill. I don't know how to pay it. God, please
protect me from the flu virus that's going around
and so on. It's one thing to ask God for things.
It's another thing to open your heart to God
and say, God, I'm deeply hurt. I don't understand
why things are the way they are. Why did this
happen? It's another thing to pray like that.
And it is still another thing to pray in the
Holy Spirit. The truth is that what we really
need, what you really need deep inside, what
you really need for tomorrow, without any control
over what tomorrow is actually going to look
like, the Holy Spirit will help you pray that
to God. And there's times where you just go,
God, I know I need, but I don't know what I need.
I can't imagine what's going to make this better.
And he says, pray like that, praying in the Holy
Spirit. Verse 21 says, keeping yourselves or
keep yourselves in the love of God. The truth
is, we know when things are calm and everything's
at peace, I know God loves me. I just know it.
It's like, it's a given. But when things are
a little rougher, when the water's more turbulent,
when the days grow dark or the storms bloom,
when the winds blow 50 plus mile an hour, we're
not thinking about whether God loves us or not.
We're thinking about how we're going to not get
blown over, how we're not going to collapse under
stress, how we're not going to blow up and do
something stupid that we know we shouldn't do
and so on. And he's saying that in those moments,
Keep yourself in the love of God and realize
that, look, if the wind is blowing 50 miles an
hour, I'm in no real danger. If God blows me
away, I'm in no real danger. If a car falls on
my head today, I'm in no real danger. If a bullet
goes through my brain today, I'm in no real danger.
I will be immediately translated into the kingdom
of heaven, which will last for eternity. And
my body, which is simply carrying me now, will
cease to exist. The heart that God has given
me will no longer beat. The brain will no longer
wave. The muscles will no longer flex. But I
am in no real danger. And it is by that understanding
that we keep ourselves in the love of God. He
says, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ. To eternal life. Day by day.
Our focus is not on what goes right or what goes
wrong. But where we are headed. What's going
to happen. The end destination. If you know you're
saved. Then really the events between now and
then. They're all grist for the mill. They're
all passing by. We can say this too shall pass.
As the scripture often says. It came to pass.
And that's talking about things that happened
in the back. In the background. A thousand years
ago. People died so that you could receive the
gospel. People gave up their homes, their jobs.
People were persecuted, thrown in the pit with
lions. People were sold by the thousands and
tens of thousands into slavery or into the arena
in the Roman Colosseum to be killed by lions
or gladiators and refused to fight back. and
stood praying in the Spirit, waiting anxiously
for the mercy of God to truly be revealed, so
that you and I could receive the gospel. But
here we are, living in America, where a worldly
system says that everyone should try to prosper,
do well, prepare for tomorrow, and so on. And
so we take our eyes off of, sometimes, we cease
waiting anxiously for the mercy of the Lord Jesus
Christ to eternal life, and still think about
the things of the world. And he's saying that
there's better for you. There's better. Had a
conversation yesterday with a man and woman who
profess to be Christians and are trying to devoutly
follow the Lord. And we were talking about how
easy it is to be concerned about the things of
the present and to do everything that's needed
to be okay. Take the necessary medicine. You
got a headache? Take a pill. Things go differently?
See a counselor. Adjust. Change. Be affected.
Right? But God didn't make us okay. God wasn't
trying to just give us enough to get through.
Yes, it's a little bit about perseverance. Sometimes
there are difficult things that even you might
persevere physical damage that makes it very
difficult for you to physically survive, right?
Like your body may die and you have to overcome
your surgery, overcome your pain, overcome your
suffering, overcome your disease, overcome the
physical, somebody shot you, whatever, and you're
persevering. So sometimes it's about persevering
and getting through. And all the while, while
all that is going on, it's actually about waiting
anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
to eternal life. Verse 22 says, and have mercy
on some who are doubting. Realize that there
are those amongst us, there are those who profess
to be Christians who are struggling with just
being a Christian. They're struggling with why
things are the way they are, questioning God,
and they might struggle with depression or anxiety
out of that, or whether or not they can serve,
being faithful in service. And we ought to show
mercy, mercy in us, mercy to them, mercy of God
to both us and them, as we realize what they're
actually doing is doubting. Doubting God as to
whether waiting anxiously for mercy, whether
keeping ourselves in the love of God or praying
in the Holy Spirit, whether building ourselves
up in holy faith will be enough. They're doubting.
And in that doubting, out of that comes, they
start to listen to the lusts, the ungodly lusts.
They start to mock whether following Jesus is
really enough. Creating division and so on. And
we should have mercy on some who are doubting.
Verse 23 says, save others. That means deliver
the gospel, that other truth, that first preceding
truth of Jesus Christ and how to be saved. Save
others. But listen to this verb. Snatching them.
Snatching them out of the fire. Snatching them
out of the fire. And I will do an object lesson
for that in a moment. It says, and on some, have
mercy with fear. So we show mercy to them, but...
But with fear? That's kind of weird. What do
we have to fear if we're anxiously waiting the
mercy that God has delivered to us? What do we
have to fear if we're keeping ourselves in the
love of God? What do we have to fear if we're
praying in the Holy Spirit? He says, but for
some, show mercy with fear. And then he clarifies.
He says, hating even the garment polluted by
the flesh. In other words, there is that thing
that is involved. While that person, struggling
with doubt, following their lusts, creating division,
mocking God, whatever, and you're trying to show
them mercy, or maybe they're in the very early
phases and they're doubting, and you go to try
to show them mercy, and it says that we should
hate even the garment polluted by the flesh.
Now you can go and do some theological study
on that, but here's what I'm going to tell you.
In the book of Leviticus, there are five, count
them, five, five of what may... in many cases,
be the most boring chapters of the Bible because
they're very liturgical. They're very rules -oriented,
right? But there are five chapters dedicated
to the fact that when a person sins, that which
they touch becomes affected by their sin. If
you go and lust after another woman, the clothes
that you are wearing are now affected by your
sin. And then you take those clothes home and
you put them in the washer and wash it out. And
that doesn't make any sense. What God is saying
is sin spreads. You sin, it affects everything
and everyone around you just as much as it affects
you. And so when we go to try to show mercy to
a person who is in sin because they're doubting
and maybe they've even become a divisive person
or a mocking person or whatever, we need to understand
that there is there all around them everything
that would be necessary for us to go and sin.
I'll give you an example. you have a brother
or sister in Christ who claims to be a Christian,
and you go and you say to them, look, I saw you
doing this, and I really think that's not real
godly, and I think you should repent of that.
You know, Matthew 18, accountability begins,
I think you should repent of that, turn back
to the Lord, and God will heal you, God will
forgive you, God loves you, God sees better for
you, and you're saying positive things, and they
say back to you, well, who are you? Who are you
to even say that to me? I've been a Christian
for 20 years, and you've been a Christian for
a year or five. How much Bible do you even know?
I can recite 40 verses to you right now. How
much Bible do you even know? And they come back
at you with venom. Or they say to you, well,
yeah, you can say that if you want, but he who
lives in a glass house ought not throw stones,
because I saw you do this. Right? And you come
away from that meeting where basically all you're
trying to do is help them walk out the thing
that God has given them to do. Help them be the
person that God has made them to be. And you're
now challenged in your faith. And you begin to
doubt. And there are those amongst us who doubt.
And we know that. We're warned of that. And so
what they're saying is don't begin to doubt when
you carry out Matthew 18 accountability. Or just
you see somebody walking down the hallway and
you realize that, oh yeah, there he is. Yeah,
he lied. I'm not going to do Matthew 18 accountability
with him because, you know, I got sins too. I
shouldn't be judging anybody for the bad things
they do. So I'm not going to talk to them. I'm
just going to keep it quiet. I don't want to
cause any stress or friction or anything like
that. And you let that go. Well, that's a sin
against God because Jesus is the one who said
in Matthew 18 accountability, when a brother
sins, you go and show him his sin. So now you've
sinned against God by not going and showing him
what he was doing wrong, the mistake that he
was making. Or you decide, finally, you're like,
I don't want to sin against God. I'm going to
do it reluctantly. We're right there. The reluctance
to follow, that is not walking, building your
life in faith. That's not doing what he just
said we're called to do. And so you're doubting.
You're doubting whether by showing somebody Matthew
18 accountability that they've done wrong, whether
you're helping them do better, you're doubting
whether or not God can have his way. And so then
that doubt leads you to another problem. And
so what we're warned of is that all around, people
who are doubting and doing these kinds of things
are going to be pitfalls. And he says, see, so
show the mercy. Still do it. Still go after them.
Still help them. Do what you can to help them
walk it out in the Lord. But do it with fear,
recognizing that you are going to be exposed
to the trappings, to the affected things around
them. Hate even the garment polluted by the flesh.
Have nothing to do with the thing, the trappings.
You go, say, well, I'm going to go to my house's
friend on Sunday. We're going to watch a football
game. While I watch a football game, I'm going
to talk to him about Jesus. I'm going to be a
good example there. I'm going to be godly. I'm
going to be a godly man. We're going to watch
football together. Yeah, but I'm going to be
there as a representative of Christ, telling
them what they need to know. And by the way,
if you're going to go watch football with a friend,
that is how you do it, right? But while you're
there, you're going to be watching beer commercials.
And probably they're going to all be smoking.
If they're smokers, drinking. If they're drinkers
and talking foul language. And you're going to
be sitting in that filth the whole time. So yeah,
go show the mercy. Go do it. But be prepared
and realize you cannot be part of those things.
You cannot be affected. You have to walk in faith.
You have to build yourself up in faith. You have
to be prepared for the challenges of this life.
And we have to go into the dark places and be
subject to the darkness. that the light that's
in us may shine there. That's what he's saying.
So have mercy with fear, hating even the garment
polluted by the flesh. Verse 24, almost done
with the text. Now to him who is able to keep
you from stumbling. Oh, this is the beauty of
it. So when you go into those dark places to
take the light of Jesus there, God is able to
keep you from stumbling. Are you able? Maybe
not, but God is able. And if God is in you, then
he is able to keep you pure. He is able to keep
you. Holy, he is able to keep you clean. He is
able to make you stand. He who is able to keep
you from stumbling and to make you stand in the
presence of his glory, blameless with great joy.
That is your destination. You are not a human
being who was fixed up a little bit while you
were on earth. and is going to be somehow transformed
to be good enough to be in heaven. You are already
one who is made able by the Holy God of the universe
to stand in the throne room of God. And when
you pray in the Holy Spirit, nothing less than
that happens. You Skype or Zoom or video call
somebody and they see your face. You pray to
God in the Holy Spirit and you stand before the
Holy God of the universe. fully vindicated by
the blood of Christ that was paid to wash away
your sins. Nothing less. It's not a video call
to God. You are in His presence when you pray
in the Spirit. Now to Him who is able to keep
you from stumbling and to make you stand in the
presence of His glory, blameless, with great
joy. To the only God our Savior, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Be glory. That means He gets
all the shining. He gets all the light. He gets
all the attention. You don't worship your wife.
You don't worship your husband. You don't worship
your money. You don't worship your car. What
does it mean to worship? It means to declare
the worth of. You don't worship your football
team. You don't worship your quarterback. You
don't worship your hobbies. You don't worship
your job. You don't worship anyone except the
God of the universe. To Him be all glory. All
majesty. No one and nothing else other than the
God of the universe is in charge. We don't make
our decisions by our own ideas. We make them
by what God wants. Right, Jason? We make them
by what? Punch him, Tommy. Not too hard. Thank
you. Appreciate it. All right. We don't make
our decisions by what my dad thinks. By what
my mom thinks. By what my pastor thinks. We make
our decision by the direction of the God of the
universe who is sovereign. 1 Corinthians 2 says
you have the mind of Christ. You can know exactly
what God wants from you. Romans 12 says if you
will become a person whose mind is renewed daily.
by following God, by the Word of God, by praying
in faith, etc., the very things we're talking
about, then you can know the good and perfect
and approved will of the God of the universe
and do exactly that. We have a sovereign Lord.
He is in charge, and He has all majesty. And
if your boss says, do it or don't get paid, and
God says, don't do it, then you say, I'm sorry,
I can't do it. If your boss says, you need to
fear me when I give you orders or I'll write
you up and fire your butt, then you say, and
if you would do that, I would get a new job.
Because the God of the universe always provides
for me. Do you know why wealthy men always land
on their feet? Because their God provides for
them. It is their money. And they'll buy a new
job. You can do that. You go somewhere to someone
who has the ability to hire you and needs some
one of your qualifications. You give them gifts.
You write them letters. You friend them on LinkedIn.
Spend ads. You make sure they see. Eventually,
they'll hire you. Because you're capable of doing
what they need you to do. You can get somebody.
If you've got the money, you can make money.
We all know that. And so they always land on
their feet. You know why Christians always land
on their feet? Because our God is not money.
Our God is not time. Our God is not health. It
is not relationship. Our God is the God of heaven
who literally owns it all. That's why if you
follow the Lord, you will never truly go hungry
or without. I'm not saying you'll be wealthy.
I'm saying God will take care of you because
he's the sovereign God of the universe and he
can. It says that to him be all glory, majesty,
dominion. That means rule and authority. That
means he says and it happens before all time.
When there was nothing. When not a single atom
existed. When there was not a molecule of air.
When no DNA had ever been written or even needed.
God spoke into existence. That's Nihilio. He
created everything out of nothing. Did he lose
that authority somewhere along the line? Like
he's been holding it together for so long, God's
barely keeping up now? No. God gets all glory,
majesty, dominion, and authority before all time,
and now, and forever. And then a little amen,
which says, so let it be. Basically he's saying,
I'm with it. I'm for that. I agree. Let's give
it to God. We're going to do a little object
lesson for a second here. I need a volunteer
firsthand. All right. Welcome to Game Show. The
Game Show. Snatch it now. You ready? On the Game
Show, snatch it now. Stand right there in front
of the pulpit facing in this direction. Okay,
the game's so snatched now, we drop the object
in front of the player. The player attempts to
grab the object as it falls. Are you ready? If
you grab all three objects, you win. Guess what?
Absolutely not. It's just for fun. Okay. All
right. Here we go. And go. That would be zero
for one. I'm going to try again. It's just as
close as that. It's not dirty. Okay, you ready?
Here we go. Okay. All right. Now, before we go
on to the third object, what does she do differently?
The first time, what did she do differently?
She caught it, that's right. Okay, what else
did she do differently? She didn't paint. No?
No, she didn't paint quite as much, that's true.
Okay, I want you to watch your hands, okay? This
is the last, this is my sock man. It's a clean
sock. Okay. I made this. I just want you to know.
I can give you the recipe if you want. It's a
three rubber bands, some stuffing, and a sock.
Clean sock, preferably, but it doesn't have to
be clean. All right, you ready? Are you watching?
Okay, what did she do differently? She held her
hands out. She prepared, right? Thank you very
much. You want the sock, ma 'am? Yes. It's yours.
See, you did win something, but she didn't catch
it on that try. Okay. All right. There are three
key attributes of everything. If you distill
it all down into simple, palatable, digestible
pieces, there are three key attributes laid out
in this text. And the first one is... Some years
ago, I didn't ask permission to share this illustration,
and that's okay because that's a good one. Some
years ago, my wife and I were invited over to
Deacon Tony's house. This was in the very early
days, or maybe even before New Heights started.
We were still doing a Juana program at East Toledo
Baptist Church, and we had a fellowship, and
we were going to just kind of eat and play games
and stuff, and mostly in Tony's garage. We were
also in the kitchen, the backyard, and all around
and stuff. And at one point in time, Tony, I
remember him very, very vividly standing in the
doorway to his garage. And he was holding up
his Bible and he had his finger in it like this.
And he began to speak from 2 Timothy 2 .15. Now
that's the key verse for a wanted study to show
yourself approved, right? And in there is a word.
I imagine you know what the word is. Diligent.
Be diligent. And at that time, Deacon Tony told
me, he told us, Sherry was there, my kids were
there, some of the LITs were there, I don't remember
who all it was, other family members and so on.
He told us that he had taken the time to look
up the word diligent. When he was reading that
verse, he said, I looked up the word diligent.
And he said, I was convicted. I was cut to the
quick. He said, because this is what the word
diligent means to me. It means work hard. And
he said, that's something I can do. I can work
hard. He said, it means to prepare yourself and
work hard. To do the job. To not quit. And these
are all things I know how to do. I do them all
the time. I do them in my job. I do them in life.
These are all things I know how to do. You know
how to do it. You're still here. And the Bible
says we're to be diligent. Now that verse says
be diligent to show yourself a workman who need
not be ashamed to prove rightly dividing the
word of truth. Talking about the Bible specifically,
right? This diligence tells us how to live. It
tells us what to do. If you know what to do,
then prepare yourself to do it. Do the work.
If I told you that in a year from now, you're
going to be working a job that requires you to
lift 50 pounds every two minutes for eight hours
straight, and you're going to make $100 ,000
a day, and if you believe me, you'd start working
out. You start consuming protein. You're like
50 pounds every two minutes, but $100 ,000 a
day. Gosh, that's a lot. That's 30 times an hour.
I'm going to have to do 240 times a day, 50 pounds.
I'm going to start today. Today, I'm going to
say, can I lift 50 pounds? Oh, boy, I can. Just
barely. I'll do it once, and an hour later, I'll
do it. An hour later, I'll do it. And then tomorrow,
I'll do it twice every hour. And the next day,
I'll do it three times every hour, and then four
times every hour. And you'd go until 365 days
from now. You'd start that job lifting 50 pounds
every two minutes, and you'd be ready. Now, your
muscles would be a little bit more ripped. Your
pecs would be stronger. Your biceps would be
stronger. Your sleeves would be tight. But you'd
be ready. And if it was for $100 ,000 a day?
You wouldn't lift 50 pounds starting tomorrow
every hour? Sure would. It's nothing less than
what God is asking us to do. Not physically.
He's not asking you to work out. God's not even
asking you to completely change your diet, sleep
schedule, nutrition, hydration, etc. Which most
of us probably need to do. And we would probably
be found faithful if we did that. But he does
say, building yourself up in faith. And guess
what? You're at New Heights Fellowship Baptist
Church Sunday gathering. And we have talked a
hundred times or more about how to build yourself
up in faith. They're called the spiritual disciplines.
We highlight ten of them. Right now we're highlighting
meditation and prayer, which is actually two
of them. So, no surprise, you should be meditating
and praying. Now think, in the last seven days,
how often have you meditated and prayed? If you
can't say it's every day, then I'm going to say
to you that you have not been diligent in building
yourself up in faith. But it's also reading your
Bible. It's also worshiping. When we sang, did
you sing? If you couldn't sing, if you couldn't
bring yourself to sing, did you find in yourself
a worshipful attitude? Did you meditate on the
words? Did you think about the words? Were you
worshiping God when you worshiped? You can't
worship God in here. You're proud with others
who are... trying, all overcoming our own barriers
and whatever, to do that. You're probably not
going to do it tomorrow afternoon at 1. But if
you're building yourself up in faith, you're
going to practice the spiritual disciplines.
You could literally do this. You could say, I'm
going to write a plan for myself on how, it's
going to be like a training plan, on how I'm
going to build myself up in faith, and you can
take each of the spiritual disciplines. I can
give you a book that I wrote that describes every
one if you want. You can look them up on the
internet. Google them. Chat GPT. Whatever you
do, it'll give you not 10, but probably 20. And
then you can go down the list and pick your favorite
10 and find a way to do every single one of those
things every single day. And in one week, in
seven days of doing every single one of those
things every day, you will find that you are
a more powerful, God -filled, Spirit -led, Christian.
And you're not doing it, and I don't know why.
Building yourself up in faith, be diligent. Work
hard at it. Praying in the Holy Spirit, be diligent.
Are you going to pray in the Holy Spirit? Well,
you know, you might want to start by repenting
of sin, because the Holy Spirit doesn't really
have anything to do with that. He's not interested.
So if you're living in sin right now, stop it.
Say, no, I'm done. I'm going to surrender my
life to the Lord and live the way God wants me
to live. And I'm going to do that praying in
the Holy Spirit. So I'm going to sit down. I'm
going to say, God, I want to tell you, I really
want to tell you what I got on my mind. I really
want to tell you what concerns me. But what I
really want is what you want. So now, Lord, help
me pray what you want me to pray. And it may
come out like babbling or rumbling or grunting.
Or not like words at all. You might not make
a sound. Are you taking time? Well, I mean, if
you're going to pray in the Holy Spirit, you're
going to have to repent of sin. You're going
to have to mark out a little bit of time. You're
going to have to spend a little time in the Word,
figure out what that looks like maybe. There
might be some steps that you could take to talk
to God the way God wants you to talk to Him.
Be diligent. Work at it. Keep yourself in the
love of God. To keep something is to store it.
It's to mark out a boundary. It stays there.
My dishes are in the cupboard or on the rack
drying or in the sink waiting to be washed. They
are not meant to be sitting all throughout the
house. Keep them where they belong. If you're
not actively using them, put them in the sink,
wash them, put them on a rack, put them in the
cupboard. That's where they belong. You keep
the dishes where they belong. Keep yourself in
the love of God. When what you say is not loving,
shut up. When what you do is hateful, stop. When
what you watch is evil or wicked, don't. Do the
work. Keep yourself in the love of God. If you've
got nothing better to do, if you're sitting bored,
you've got to reach for your phone to check social
media. Before you do that, recite a minimum of
three miraculous events from Scripture that you're
aware of. Think of it. Just think about the feeding
of the 5 ,000 or the walking on water or one
of the 10 plagues against Pharaoh in Egypt. Think
about three miracles that God did before you
ever lived and three miracles that God has done
in your life or the life of somebody close to
you that you know before you reach for social
media. All social media does is make you wish
your life was like theirs anyway. It's proven
science. Messes with your head and your psychology
and your emotions and your spirit. And I'm not
saying it's sin by any means, but you should
keep yourself in the love of the Lord first,
waiting anxiously for the mercy of our God. This
is permission? To be anxious? All of us, lots
of us like to do that anyway, right? We want
to do that. I want to be anxious. I want to be
excited. I want to be apprehensive. I want to
be worried. I'm concerned. Where is this going?
What's going to happen? We're going to do that.
So here's permission to be anxious. But it is
literally the only thing to be anxious for. We
should keep ourselves anxiously waiting for the
mercy of our Lord. What does that look like?
Well, for one, you might want to stop and think
about the fact that your life compared to the
life you're going to have when you're in heaven
is crap. It's crap. Sitting at your daughter's
graduation is crap compared to heaven. It's nothing.
It's worthless. It's useless. The fun you have
with your kids crawling around the floor, nursing
babies, raising kids. Doing jobs, receiving money,
it's all nothing compared to the one second in
heaven with God. There is nothing that we can
have. It's all a tiny fractured image of how
good it's going to be then. So every time you
experience good, think, this is awesome. Praise
the Lord for his sovereignty. Praise the Lord
he gave me this. But man, that's going to be
better. And every time you experience trouble,
difficulty, and it gets bad, you're like, man,
I can barely stand. I feel bad. I don't know
what's going on. I can't figure it out. You're
mourning. You're lost. You're depressed. You're
angry, whatever. You say, but this is temporal.
I've been here before. And it's going to be a
minute, an hour, or a day, and it'll be over.
And eventually my life will be done and it'll
be over forever. We're waiting anxiously. When
you're really going through it, you should be
thinking about when it's really going to be over.
And when you're really receiving, prospering,
doing good, you think about when it's really
going to be over. Everybody thinks that you get
more money and that's always a good thing. It
isn't even true. You get more accolades and it's
always a good thing. That isn't even true. Half
the time money and accolades is a bad thing.
More than half probably because our job is to
be anxiously awaiting the mercy of the Lord.
And if you've got plenty of money, you really
don't need it. If you've got plenty of accolades,
you really don't need it. Why do you need to
listen to what God says about you when you've
got 15 people telling you about you what you
want to think about you? The answer is you don't.
Be diligent to be anxiously waiting for the appearing
of the mercy of the Lord. The gospel, the truth
of Jesus Christ, salvation, is not a burden.
It's not a heavy weight to bear. It's not cumbersome,
tiring. It isn't an extra schedule consideration.
Like, oh, I'm going to go to church, but I might
not be able to go to church that day because
I have these other things I have to do. Or I'm
going to read my Bible, but I might not be able
to because I've got to be to work at a certain
time. The Bible, God, the truth of Jesus, His
presence, these are not extras. They are the
whole thing. The whole thing. story of all creation,
all history, all lives of men from birth to death.
All the Word, written by over 40 authors over
1 ,400 years, most of which didn't even know
each other, and it all has the same theme. Why
do you think it's like that? It's like that because
all of life is about this one point, the fact
that mankind was made for a relationship with
God and doesn't have it unless he has it through
Jesus Christ. That's not a burden. That's the
key that unlocks tomorrow and eternity. The gospel
is not a burden. It's not a cumbersome or tiring
thing. It's not an extra weight to bear. It's
not an extra schedule consideration. If it's
treated that way, it will be a thing dispensed
within dark times rather than a thing clung to.
In other words, you're going to let it go. When
you're really sad, upset, hurting, struggling,
you're going to let the gospel go. You're not
going to worry about that. You're going to think
about pills or counseling or just body healing,
changes you might make. You're going to think
about every other method of salvation except
for the one method of salvation that not only
saves your body, it saves your soul. The gospel,
if it's an extra burden to you, if being a church
member, being a saved Christian, serving God
is an extra thing for you, then when you cut
your life down to only the things that you can
handle, when you trim everything back and focus
on what you really need to deal with, you'll
let the gospel go. You'll let Jesus go. You'll
let faithful following go. You'll let anxiously
waiting go. Don't be that person. Diligently
apply what God has given you, what God has given
us, the spiritual disciplines, walking in faith,
walking in love, etc. In the darkest hours, if
the gospel, the truth of God, isn't a thing to
cling to, then its true nature was never known,
and it has probably never come to your house.
That is to say, you are not saved. When you get
down, you have nothing left. If you need help
to take your next breath, and you can't cling
to Jesus in that moment, a moment later, you
may be in hell instead of heaven. And so it needs
to be like that when the money's flowing or not,
when the health is good or not, when the relationships
are great or struggling. When the task is large
or seems pretty easy. When the pathway is bumpy
or seems pretty smooth. When the air is calm
or the storm is raging. When the water is placid
or the waves are so high that you can't see the
boats. The gospel salvation, Jesus Christ, has
to come to the center of your being and be like
that. And I'm telling you, I know a lot of Christians
that I don't think that's true. I'm asking, can
you cling to Jesus when you can cling to nothing
else? You know how many boats left docks without
life jackets or life preservers or escape boats?
Too many. And some of them sank. And the people
died. If you leave the dock and you go out to
do what it is that you do and you let go of God,
you let go of diligently building yourself up,
praying in the Holy Spirit, diligently keeping
yourselves in the love of God, diligently waiting
anxiously for the mercy of the Lord, then when
your ship is sinking, you will reach for something
else. And if you don't survive that moment, you'll
go tumbling into hell with all those who reached
for something else for their whole life. And
that would be just dumb. That would be foolishness
because right now, you're where you need to be.
Right now, you're hearing the truth. Right now,
you have the Word. Right now, you have access
to Christ. But in the last day, there will be
those who do this very thing that we are talking
about. And we are warned by the apostles at the
very beginning of the church that in the church,
there will in the last day be those. I don't
want it to be me. I don't want it to be you.
And I don't think you want it to be you. And
I sure hope you don't want it to be me. The second
point that encapsulates it, that makes it clear,
makes it palatable, makes it workable, is mercy.
And it says, and have mercy on some. And it says,
save others, snatching them out of the fire.
And it says, on some have mercy with fear. We
are a people of mercy. If you have been saved
by the living God of the universe, How dare you
walk around and think that there are people around
you that you would not want to be saved? If you
are anxiously awaiting the appearing of the mercy
to go to heaven and one day be with the Lord
forever, how could we possibly tolerate anyone
around us who mocks God, creates division, struggles,
and we just go, that's okay for them, not for
me. No. We are called to mercy. Share the truth
of Jesus Christ. You say, but he doesn't want
to hear it. I don't care if he wants to hear
it or not. I don't think God cares whether he
wants to hear it or not. Well, they're going
to get angry. I don't think we care whether they're
going to get angry. I'm not saying be mean. I'm
not saying insult them. Say, you're so stupid
that you won't accept Jesus. First of all, That's
probably not going to rile them up as much as
if you just told the truth about Jesus, that
they can't go to heaven unless they accept him.
That's probably going to blow them up even more.
Because you say, they're so stupid, you won't
believe in Jesus. They're probably going to say
back to you, you're so stupid, you don't believe
in Jesus. Because they're a mocker. They're used
to mocking and being mocked. That's their language.
They don't have a problem with that. But if you
just lay it out, when the next time somebody
offends you, you say, well, you know what? I
have done worse. And Jesus, Jesus forgave me.
I have received mercy from the Lord of the universe.
And having received that mercy, I now give you
mercy. I will not take vengeance on you. I'm
not going to snap at you. I'm not going to treat
you with disrespect. I'm not going to look down
at you. I'm not going to go somewhere else and
talk about you. None of it. I give you mercy.
I offer you forgiveness. You think they're going
to like it? Well, some are going to see that
as different than what the world does. And it's
going to provoke a question in them. And then
you can explain by simple methods. John 3 .16,
for God so loved the world. Romans wrote, While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And
all you have to do is believe in your heart and
confess with your mouth. Or just, Jesus died
for me and I'm saved and I want you to have it
too. As simple or as complex as you or they need,
in that moment you share why you're giving them
mercy and you snatch them out of the fire. We'll
come back to that at the closing. The last one
that's in this text is simple, palatable, we
can work with it, we can do it, is practice caution.
It's caution. He uses this phrase. He said, hating
even the garment polluted by the flesh. Mercy
on some who are doubting. Mercy with fear. Because
polluted garments, the trappings of being a sinner,
will affect you. They'll affect you. They'll
affect your family. They'll affect your kids.
Mercy is needed. We've become agents of this
mercy. We speak urgently because reality is urgent.
People live 50 years. Do you know that there
are people still, surely, all over the world
probably, living 50 or 80 years and dying, not
having a Christian in their life clearly entreating
them, trying to deliver the mercy of God. When
I was 25 years old, Sherry and I decided, we
said, well, there's got to be something more
to life. We were at wit's end. We had two cars.
Each one had a payment. We had a house, had a
payment. We bought a mower for our yard on a
credit card. I'm driving back and I'm going,
okay, let's see. I don't want a boat and I don't
want an RV. I've already got a motorcycle, two
cars, a house, one kid, a lawnmower, riding lawnmower,
so I don't have to push it anymore. Hmm. Oh,
I think I'm done. Got everything I need, everything
I wanted. And I'm like, is that it? Really? I
mean, a lot of people live to be 80. So from
25 to 80, I'm just going to live like I beat
life. I won. I've got all the trappings. It doesn't
make any sense. That can't be it. So we just
pay off the debts. But then the cars are going
to go bad. So you're going to get new loans maybe
or buy new cars to repair the house. So now we've
got everything. So now all we have to do is spend
the next 65 years taking care of it and we win.
That's it? That's how that goes? Didn't make
sense. So Sherry and I are sitting on the couch.
We're talking about it and say, well, we've got
to figure out there's something more. Maybe it's
faith. Maybe it's church, right? And so we say,
well, we're going to go to the only church where
we know where there is a person, get this, who
has ever told us that they are a Christian. At
25 years old, we knew one, exactly one person
in all of our life that had ever said, I am a
Christian and I go to church. That's how many
we knew. So we went. And six months later, God
won my heart. Two weeks after that, God won Sherry's
heart. And now almost 35 years later, here we
are. The point is this. There are people in your
circle who if they knew that they need to know,
would want to know. And we're not telling them.
We are sharers of mercy. We practice and diligently
deliver that mercy. We do so with caution because
we're going into a place where there are many
things. many trappings, many problems, many issues,
many physical things that are coated in sin,
spread sin, affect people with sin. So we will
diligently work to build ourselves up in faith,
to pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in
love, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our
Lord to be shown. We will not treat the gospel
as a burden or a cumbersome thing, as an extra
schedule consideration. We will cling to Christ
with all the might that he has given us as we
deliver mercy and practice that caution. A word
has reoccurred. In fact, I think it's my word.
So I do this thing every year at the beginning
of the year. I don't make a big deal out of it.
But every year I pick one word. I read a book
called One Word, a small book. And they said,
take all that you think that God's kind of trying
to do. And you pray and you listen and you make
a list. phrases or whatever, and you dial that
down to a list of words, and then you take a
list of words, and you pray over it until you
get down to one word. And now, I think my one
word for 26 is ruthlessness. Sounds kind of mean,
but it's ruthlessness to cut out that which doesn't
belong. It's ruthlessness to be right and do
the things that need to be, to focus on the great
and let go the minor things. Ruthlessness against
pollution would make for a clean world. Ruthlessness
against sin would at the very least highlight
the problem that mankind has, whether or not
they could ever get free of it because they would
need salvation. Ruthlessness. So you think about
what God wants you to do, and then you make time
for that ruthlessly. Our family travels periodically.
We don't travel as much as we used to, but every
time that we've traveled since becoming a Christian,
we never miss church. We've been to church in
the weirdest churches and the weirdest places.
And we went to one where they didn't talk about
Jesus at all, and they didn't read the Bible
at all. And we left there, and we had one of
the teenage girls in the church with us, and
our teenage daughter, Maya, was with us. And
we walked out, and we went. So I said, well,
what did you think? And the one that was with
us said, well, I don't think that was about God
at all. And so we had church after church. One
Sunday we were traveling over in Illinois and
we went to a church. The church didn't exist
anymore. So we're on Google and we found another
church. Went there and it wasn't there. Went
to another church, didn't have an address. So
we wound up sitting in a buffet parking lot,
buffet restaurant parking lot, and we had church.
We picked songs and we sang hymns and we preached
the word and we had a children's devotional.
And we had church in the van because we'd gone
to three different church buildings and none
of them were there. And we're coming back from
Florida and we didn't have anywhere to go to
church and it was... A challenge with all the
kids. It was all the Shopes, the Hartleys, and
the Stephensons. Everybody was there. And it
was going to be murder to find a church. So we
had church. I preached. RJ did a devotion. We
had an inspirational moment. Just like we were
here. And we were able to watch this church because
it was online on Facebook. What I'm saying to
you is, where is your ruthlessness? Do you not
understand that... As we have seen in this text,
building yourself up in faith, praying in the
Holy Spirit, keeping yourself in the love of
God, waiting anxiously for the mercy, being a
mercy deliverer, responding with caution about
the way the world might affect you, but always
going out. This is it. This is what we've become.
If that's not good enough for you, then I don't
think heaven's going to be good enough for you.
Because that is heaven on earth. And that brings
us to our conclusion. Before I get there, I have
an illustration for the conclusion. You may or
may not have heard of a famous guy who preached
in 1741, a long, long time ago. He preached a
sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
God. Now, he was a member of what would be considered
a devout sect like the Puritans. Now, we don't
really see Puritans anymore, but these are very,
very devout. These are people that memorized
whole books of the Bible. They dressed a certain
way so everyone would know that they were a Puritan.
So they started whole communities. And so the
assumption amongst the Puritans was that everyone
was saved. The kids, as soon as they were old
enough to hear, right? They had everyone. And
then he preached a sermon and he said this, there
is nothing that keeps wicked at any one moment
out of hell. But the mere pleasure of God. By
the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign
pleasure. That means he decides. His arbitrary
will. That means only he decides. Restrained
by no other obligation. There is no reason that
any human being should not fall immediately into
hell. That's what he's saying. Hindered by no
manner of difficulty. Nothing stops that. Any
more than if nothing else but God's mere will
had in the least degree any hand in the preservation
of a wicked man one moment. There is only one
thing that is keeping the wicked, keeping those
who do not know Christ from falling into hell
right now like this. As if a ripcord were pulled,
we're all walking along and all of a sudden a
door opens up under every person who does not
know Christ and they all fall immediately into
hell. And he says there is only one thing that
is stopping that from happening and it is the
good pleasure of the Lord God. The truth of this
is evident by the consideration of these things.
There is no want of power in God to cast wicked
men into hell at any moment. In other words,
God doesn't lack power to do that. Are you with
me, Mike? Wake him up. Sit up. God does not lack
power. I'm going to call you out. You come in
here and fall asleep. I'm going to call you out.
I apologize. I know you stayed up too late last
night, but it happens. So now it's time to be
diligent. All right. So there is no want of power
in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment.
Men's hands cannot be strong when God rises up.
The strongest have no power to resist God, nor
can any deliver out of God's hands. He is not
only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he
can most easily do it if he should choose to.
Sometimes an earthly prince meets a great deal
of difficulty to subdue a rebel. A rebel who
has found means to fortify himself and has made
himself strong by the number of his followers.
But it is not so with God. There is no fortress
that is any defense from the power of God. Though
hand join in hand and vast multitudes of God's
enemies, and believe me, they're out there and
many of them are calling themselves churches,
okay? Though hand join in hand and vast multitudes
of God's enemies combine and associate themselves,
they are easily broken in pieces. They are as
a great heaps of light chaff, that's the stuff
that blows away in the wind when they're working
on crops, before the whirlwind, or large quantities
of dry stubble. before devouring flames. And
then just a little later he says this, he says,
the God that holds you over the pit of hell,
much as one holds a spider or some loathsome
insect over the fire, abhors you and is dreadfully
provoked. Ephesians 2 says we were objects of
wrath. Wrath is when God opposes us. Now, you
say, abhors means hates. And what you've just
said is that God hates you. And that's not actually
what he means. What he means is that he is in
complete opposition to the way a man exists if
a man does not exist in Christ. But notice, he
is a merciful God. And he is slow to anger. And
it is by, as he said in the early paragraph,
God's mercy alone that men do not now suddenly
all, all who have not accepted Christ. Jesus
did not come to condemn, but they are condemned
already by what they have done with the name
of God. That they have not all suddenly been
swept away and fallen into hell for eternity
is mercy from God. We hope boldly because mercy
still reaches into the fire and snatches people
out. That hope equals diligence for us. mercy
for us, and caution for us. And if you are not
being diligent, I call you today to be diligent.
Do the work. Go to bed on time on Saturday night
so when you come here on Sunday morning, you're
not tired. Eat the right food. Drink the right
water. Sleep. Exercise. Study. Pray. Worship.
Give. Serve. Do the things of the kingdom and
walk in faith. And stop treating the gospel as
another thing that needs to be scheduled in.
Well, I wish we could do that, but we've got
to be in church. Oh, that really sucks. What?
I wish we could do that, but we've got to mark
out time for worship or prayer or devotion. Turn
the TV off. Be diligent. Get your hands out.
Snatch somebody from the fire before they slip
into the fires of hell. It's just like that.
It's scriptural. Jude knew it. The apostles preached
it. And the church is no church except the church
that was started on Pentecost. That is who we
are. We are a people who will diligently walk
this way. Who will mercifully be outreaching
and preparing ourselves to snatch people from
the fire whenever we possibly can. And cautious.
Cautious that we should not be polluted by that
which is all around those whom we are seeking.
If you are a doubter, I call on you today to
receive the mercy of the Lord. If you have declined
some offer of God, I call on you today to receive
that offer. Mercifully, he offers it again. If
God has called you to be a diligent servant,
and according to this scripture, he has called
us all to be diligent, and you have not been,
then I call on you today to repent. For the mercy
of God is this. If you will repent and call upon
the name of the Lord, you will not be put to
shame. He will walk with you and show you how
to practice spiritual disciplines, how to pray
in the Spirit, how to be His, how to treat the
Gospel as something other than a burden or a
time conflict. If you can't have money and also
have Jesus, then have no money. If you can't
eat well and also make Jesus the center of your
life, then eat nothing. If you can't be merciful
to the people in your life and really be mercy,
then repent and turn unto the Lord for to show
mercy to mankind, though he could have been equal
with God, he was God in the flesh, he nonetheless
submitted himself to death, even death on a cross.
And that's our example. Because of that, we'll
be diligent. And because of that, we'll be merciful.
And because of that, we'll be cautious. And because
of that, we'll be in heaven. I ask you today
to make whatever decision the Lord is burdening
you with. And let Him carry it. I ask the praise
team to come forward now and lead us in our closing
hymn. But if you are making a decision, if God
is calling on you, if God is asking you to make
a commitment, asking you to repent, asking you
to be diligent, asking you to be merciful, asking
you to be cautious, and you have not been one
of those things, then I'm asking you today to
turn to him for the strength to do it correctly.
And the apostle's message was not just you can
be saved, it was also you can stay the course,
you can prepare yourself, you can save others,
you can see the throne of God right from where
you're standing. Would you stand with me and
sing this song? As the Lord has laid it on your
heart today, then you will be found. Bye. to
make you stand, to hold on to you through it
all. Whatever you've added in, you let it go.
That's what matters.