Jude, here is the big idea of the Book of Jude. If I had to get it down to one sentence, it would be this. If you claim Jesus is your savior but you are not submitted to him as Lord, you're a fraud. It's spicy, little bit of heat coming at you.

If you claim that Jesus is your savior but you are not submitted to Jesus Christ as your Lord, in other words, you are not living your life in submission to his rule and his reign, you are not following him by faith. You say, "Oh yeah, Jesus is my savior. I've got him in my heart. I have him tucked away way into my heart. So deep into my heart that he has no impact on my everyday life.

If you claim Jesus as your savior but you are not submitted to him as Lord, you are fraud. That's the message of the Book of Jude. And he begins ... Jude verse one. It's one-chapter book. You actually don't have to say Jude 1:1. You can just say Jude verse one. It's kind of cool. Jude verse one. "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, brother of James, to those who are called beloved in God, the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ, may mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you."

This is an incredible introduction of this little known letter, near the end of the Bible here. Incredible introduction. He actually gives us pretty much all of the theology that you need to understand the Book of Jude is packed into these two verses right here just in his introduction. You will notice, first of all, that Jude does not address letter to any particular church.

Okay? You read other letters in the New Testament, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the church in Ephesus or to the Christians in Rome or to the church in Corinth," so on and so forth. Not so with the Book of Jude. Jude does not direct his letter to any particular church. He is directing his letter to the Church, capital C, throughout all of history.

He simply says, "To those who are called beloved in God, the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ." To paraphrase that, Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, brother of James, to all Christians everywhere in every place at any time, to all Christians everywhere, to any Christian everywhere in every place at any time, to the capital C Church. One of the last books of the Bible, this is one of the last words in the Bible written to the church.

And here it is, here we are at the beginning of a new year receiving it. And I'm telling you what. As one of the last recorded letters to the Bible or I mean to the church in the Bible, it is an extremely timely relevant message for us here today as Grace City Church in the year, 2022.

So, Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. Now, why does he introduce himself that way? He introduces himself that way because he wants his letter to land, excuse me, he wants his letter to land on his audience, on his readers. And he wants it to have authority. He wants it to have authority. So, he appeals to his brother. He says, "I'm the brother of James."

Now, who is James? James, the apostle is the head of the church in Jerusalem, he very first Christian Church. That's a big deal. He's the head of the church in Jerusalem. The day of Pentecost, Peter got up, preaches a sermon. Three thousand people get saved in a day. So, the very first church, by the way, was a megachurch, kind of interesting. Three thousand people in an instant, boom, get saved. Huge church all of a sudden.

And James becomes the head of that church, the very first Christian Church. And Jude is the brother of James. And so Jude is saying, "Hey, listen up. Listen up because I know somebody that you would listen to. This little guy you may have heard of James, the apostle. He's my bro. He's my brother. He's my brother."

But do you know who James is the brother of? James is the brother of someone you may have heard of. Jesus Christ. James is literally the biological brother of Jesus Christ which means if we use some logic here, Jude is also the brother of Jesus Christ.

So now, you read this and you're thinking, "Well, I mean, come on, Jude. As long as you're name-dropping, why not just go varsity?" Jude, the brother of Jesus Christ. Do you think that would get people's attention? Yes, it would. Yes, it would. But he doesn't do that. He says rather, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, brother of James."

He wants to have his letter have authority. Why not pull the ultimate name-drop card, "I'm the brother of Jesus?" Why introduce himself as the servant of Jesus instead? Because Jude knows this, that if you want to live with authority, you need to be under Jesus' authority.

So, it is actually more authoritative for Jude to introduce himself as the servant of Jesus Christ than it would be for him to introduce himself as the brother of Jesus because if he introduces himself as the brother of Jesus, he's putting himself alongside Jesus. If he introduces himself as the servant of Jesus, he's putting himself underneath Jesus. And that my friend is the stronger of the two positions to be in.

You don't want to elevate yourself up to be alongside Jesus Christ as if you are his equal. No, you want to be under his authority. And under his authority, there is great power. If you want to live with authority, if you want your life to matter, if you want your life to make a difference, if you want your life to make an impact, you need to live under and submitted to the authority of Jesus Christ. This is getting out our big idea, is it not? If you say that Jesus is your savior but you are not submitted to him, you're a fraud.

Also from this introduction, we get this amazing good news that the grace of God, the grace of our God in the gospel of Jesus Christ is exponential. The grace of God is exponential. Look what he says. Second half of verse one, he says, "To those who are called beloved in God, the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ." So here's the logic of that.

Here's the flow. If God has called you, if God has called you, he loves you. And if he loves you, he will not lose you. If God has called you, he loves you. And if he loves you, he will not lose you. In other words, in the moment of salvation, in the act of salvation, in the reality of salvation, you do not bring anything to the table. I do not bring anything to the table.

Jesus Christ, God the Father, but through sending his son, Jesus Christ, and then applying the work to our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit does 100% of the deal. He does 100% of the deal. But you and I, we like to take credit for things. We like to take credit for things. And so, the way we approach our relationship with God sometimes is as if we are bringing something to earn something from him. We are bringing something to impress him with in order to earn something from them.

Even if it's just 1%, we really like that 1%. Even if it's just 1%. Even if it's just 0.00001%. We really like to hold on to that 0.0001%. But here's the problem. If you think that you have done anything to save yourself, if you think that you have brought anything to the table, if you think you have even if it's just a minutia percentage, what becomes the all-consuming focus in your mind, the 99.99999% that God did or the 0.00001% that you think you did, the 0.0001% is all that you care about, that's all that you think about.

And the gospel says, "No, that's not how it works." It is not that you show up to the table with 0.001%. And that impresses God and then he does the other 99.999. It is not even, friend, that you show up to the table with 0% and God does 100%. It is that you show up to the table with an infinite negative percentage.

You're not just at zero, you're not just at zero and then God gives you a hundred percent. You have an infinite negative percentage because the debt of sin, the price of sin is an infinite offense against an infinite and holy God. You deserve hell and damnation. That's how you show up to the table of salvation, deserving hell and damnation.

You have an infinite negative percentage that is your debt that you owe that you could never pay off if you tried. So, Jesus goes to the cross, dies for your sin. He pays the price of your sin. That brings you back to zero. Now, you're at zero. But it's better news than that. Not only does Jesus pay for your sin, he gives you his righteousness. Okay?

Martin Luther called this the great exchange. We give Jesus our sin and he gives us his righteousness in return. So, his death brings you to zero. And then his righteousness that is in imputed to you by faith brings you to that 100%. And now, you get to be counted as a holy and blameless son or daughter of God, the Father. And that is the good news of the gospel.

And that is why when Jude is writing, he does not say, "May mercy, peace and love be added to you." He says, "May mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you." In other words, the grace of God is so great that it's exponential. It's exponential grace. May it be multiplied to you. So, are you giving God the credit? Or are you holding on to that 0.0001%. That's a total lie anyway.

But do you think you brought 0.001%, friend. You brought nothing. You had an infinite negative percentage. God has done everything. And his grace stands available to you today to be multiplied to you. So, this is the beginning of the Book of Jude. That if you want your life to matter, if you want to live a life of power and authority, you need to be submitted under the authority of Jesus Christ.

Why would you be submitted to him? Why would you be submitted to Jesus? Friends, because he's so good. Because his grace is exponential. You're not going to find a better deal than that anywhere. Who else are you going to follow? Yourself? How's that going?

Grace is exponential. So now, Jude sets up his letter. And this is where the heat starts getting turned on. Okay. Verse three, "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation." I love this. "Although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation." Okay.

Look, guys, I wanted to just write you a letter where we could all just kick back and talk about how good everything is, how good God's grace is, how much he's blessed us with. And man, isn't just everything good? Woo. I mean, Paul, man, he writes some fun intros. He some blessed letters. I wanted to do that, but I found it necessary to write to you appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

In other words, Jude is concerned. He is concerned that this gospel, that this faith, that he wants to just revel in and celebrate. He's concerned that it might get lost. "Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints for certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ."

And there's the main idea again. What is their fundamental problem? These false teachers, these heretics, these people who are threatening the faith once for all delivered to the saints, what is their fundamental problem? They deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If you claim Jesus as your savior but you're not submitted to him as Lord, you are a fraud.

And we're talking about grace. It's exponential. It's amazing. It's incredible. It creates a question. Well, if God is so gracious, if he's so gracious, if he's just going to forgive me no matter what, doesn't that mean that I can just do whatever I want? That's what these people are saying.

And Jude is saying, "No, they've missed the whole point because when the grace of God actually touches your life and raises you from the death of your sins and brings you into new life in Christ, the person who is truly been converted and saved and transformed by the grace of God, what do they do?" They obey. They are submitted to Jesus Christ. They're submitted to him.

They would never think about perverting his grace into something that makes it all about them so that they can build their own kingdom and do whatever they want and live a disobedient life to King Jesus. They wouldn't do that. Because if you claim Jesus as your savior but you're not submitted to him as Lord, you're a fraud.

So, "Contend for the faith, Jude says. We are living in a day and age where a lot of people want to diagnose the problem of our day and age. They want to diagnose the problem as there's too much contention, where it's too contentious out there. And in particular, this diagnosis lands on Christians.

Christians, they're just always fighting. They're always arguing. They're too contentious. They're too opinionated. Those Christians, they're too contentious. Jude says, "You're not contentious enough. You need to contend for the faith." Now, the Bible says, "We need to avoid stupid arguments and silly disputes. And we need to guard against division as much as we possibly can. And as much as it depends on you, live at peace with all men." Yes, yes and amen.

Okay. Don't get swept up in the wrong kind of contention, but certainly be devoted to the right kind of contention, namely contending for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. So, in our day and age where the diagnosis is often, "Christians are too contentious," I want to say and Jude wants to say, "The problem is not that Christians are too contentious, the problem is that Christians are too prone to compromise." That is the problem.

And isn't it a great irony that we are in fact living in contentious days. When the church is prone to compromise, it results in a lot of contention. But when the church contends for the faith, it results in great peace and unity. I noticed over the last couple years, a lot of Christians are obsessed with having conversations. They're obsessed with having conversations. And these are conversations that they're being pressured to have by the culture.

"You have to have a conversation about this. You have to have a conversation about race. You have to have a conversation about sexuality. You have to have a conversation about this movement, that movement. What these people are saying you have to have a conversation." And the reason why I think a lot of Christians have been obsessed with having conversations is because they're afraid of being canceled.

If we just have the conversation, the cultural madness will appease the cultural anger for just a little bit longer and they won't cancel us. Okay. Jude doesn't say, "Have some conversations." He says, "Contend. Fight for the faith once for all delivered to the saints."

Now, he continues. And this is really the main body of his letter. Okay. Verse five, Jude says, "Now, I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus who saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire."

We're starting to understand the hot sauce a little bit. Spicy. He continues, "Yet in like manner, these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce the blasphemous judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.' But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and they abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs or blemishes." Another translation, you could say blemishes. "At your love feast," that's a reference to communion. Okay.

When the church gathers and we take the bread and we take the wine, remember the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ broken and shed for our sins. Okay. Those are our feast. That's our feast. "These people are blemishes at your love feast as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds, swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever." That's called a New Testament Bible verbal smacked out.

Now, I want us to notice that these people that Jude is concerned about are not the big bad people out there. They're in the church. They're in church which makes this a timely and relevant message for us so that we guard ourselves against committing the same error, perverting the grace of God into an excuse to live however we want rather than being transformed by the grace of God and in a way that it submits our life increasingly so day by day to the Lordship, and the direction of Jesus Christ as we follow him by faith, and as we endeavor to grow in obedience to him.

This is a letter written not about all the big bad people out in the world but about the people in the church, in the church. Contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Don't become one of these people. Now, what a crazy passage of scripture that was that we just read. It's like a sci-fi fantasy novel, isn't it?

I mean, Michael, the archangel duking it out with Satan over the body ... Did you know that happened by the way? Apparently, it did. Jude tells us. Fighting over the body of Moses. Duking it out with Satan. Crazy stuff here. He is referencing primarily stories from the Old Testament, from the Old Testament. And I'm going to do my best to really quickly summarize all of his references. And we're going to do that in the form of looking at seven unique sins, seven unique sins that I believe Jude is pointing out as he makes these references.

So, the first one is idolatry. And idolatry is the sin of unbelief. Idolatry, the sin of unbelief. He referenced it. He says in verse five, "I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus who saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe." What is that a reference to? Well, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years. God raised up and delivered a Moses who brought them out, rescued them out of slavery.

They go into the desert to meet with God. God is giving them his law, the 10 Commandments. And after this amazing story of redemption, the Exodus, this is the Book of Exodus, what do the people do immediately? They build a golden calf. Idolatry, the sin of unbelief.

Now, here's what's amazing about this. Because it's easy to think of idolatry as something that ancient pagan people who weren't very smart did. No? Okay. They build this golden calf and they do not say, "Look at this cow. This cow is the maker of heavens and earth." No, they build the golden calf. They look at it and they say, "Look, this is Yahweh. Here he is. This is Yahweh who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

And don't we do the same thing? Whenever you are looking to anything or anyone whether it's a material thing, possessions, wealth or relationship, a spouse, a child, a parent, anything or anyone, your status, your reputation, your job, your vocation, your achievements, your goals. Anything or anyone that is needing the deepest level of your needs, the level of satisfaction. Like, "My life would be over if I didn't have this thing or this person in my life or this accomplishment. I would be done. I'd be nobody. I'd be ruined. My identity would disintegrate and fall apart."

Anything or anyone other than the one true God meeting that deepest level of need, satisfying you on the deepest level being the end goal, the chief end of your life. That's what idolatry is, looking to anything or anyone other than God to meet your deepest, most fundamental basic needs, the level of satisfaction, the foundation that you build your entire life or what you attached your identity to. That's idolatry.

And so ultimately, it's a problem of belief. You're not believing God for his promises, for what he says, for who he says that he is, for how he has revealed himself. "Look, here's God over here, this cow. Look, here's God over here, my bank account. Look, here's God over here, my health. Look, here's God over here, my marriage. Oh, look, here's God over here, my whatever, my aspirations."

God is God and there is no other. Idolatry, the sin of unbelief. It's a reference to the Exodus story, the golden calf. Now, next one is there's different ways you could say this, but the way I've worded it, demonism. Demonism, we're getting spicy now. Okay. Demonism, the sin of rejecting Created Order. Demonism, the sin of rejecting Created Order.

Notice that he references the angels who fell, the fallen angels who became demons. In verse six, he says, "And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day." There are many several references in the Old Testament, prophets that talk about the fall of Satan.

By the way, Satan is a created being. Okay. God is the only uncreated being. God is the only one who is uncreated. This is a characteristic you share with Satan. Are you nervous? You are both creatures. You are created. Satan was created. Every angel was created. Satan was made to be an angel to worship God in heaven.

And he rebelled against God. He wanted to sit in God's seat. He wanted to sit on God's throne and a bunch of angels fell with him, joined him in that rebellion. They were kicked out of heaven. And here they are waiting judgment on the last day. So, demonism is the sin of rejecting Created Order. What did they do? They left their proper place.

They left their proper place of authority and they got kicked out of heaven. They left their proper place of authority. They got kicked out of heaven. This is just really helpful. Okay. God is the creator. Everyone else is created. Everyone else is a creature. And God has given you a role. He has given you a position. He has put you in a place and the chief end of your life is the same purpose that God had originally created, even Satan and the angels. And that is to bring glory and worship to him.

The angels were made to worship. You were made to worship. That is your proper place. And when you leave that ... And by the way, it's a place of authority. Did you notice that? They left their place of authority. When you leave your place of authority and you strive to ascend the ladder to become God, that's what the demons did. Demonism, rejecting Created Order.

Next one, sexual immorality, the sin of settling for less. Sexual immorality, the sin of settling for less. He references Sodom and Gomorrah in the next passage. You can read the story in Genesis 19. It's one of the darkest chapters in the whole Bible, story of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were an entire city of people that were just totally given over to their lust and to sexual immorality. And Jude has some fiery things to say.

They serve as an example to this day, undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Here's what sexual immorality is. Notice how Jude says. He does not say that they pursued their desires and they had a really good time. They're having so much fun just partying and having a good time and just giving themselves to their immorality. No, he says they pursued unnatural desire, unnatural desire, which is why sexual immorality of any kind is the sin of settling for less.

And one of the great lies of the world is that it's fun. That it's good. That you're missing out. That you're missing out. It's not better. It's not fun. It's not good. It's the ultimate settle. You're settling for less. It is unnatural desire. Sexual immorality, the sin of settling for less.

Next one, blasphemy, the sin of spiritual pride. Blasphemy, the sin of spiritual pride. Now, I want us to read this. Once again, look at verse eight, "Yet in like manner, these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael contending with the devil was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'"

We often think of blasphemy as we liken it, we equate it to taking the Lord's name in vain. And that could be a form of it. And we shouldn't do those, it's bad. Don't take the Lord's name in vain. But here, blasphemy is presented as really the sin of spiritual pride. What is Jude saying?

He's saying these people that Jude is warning about, they're all about their dreams, they're all about their own visions, they're actually all about spiritual experiences. They really like spiritual experiences. And they're kind of hyped up on their own spiritual experiences. And they hold that, they hold those out as if there is authority in them.

"I had a dream. I had a vision. I did this. I did that. I'm a very spiritual person. I'm a very spiritual-minded person." And they walk around as if their own spiritualism, spirituality, spiritual experiences is what gives them authority. And then, when they go to do spiritual warfare, they start rebuking demons and Satan as if they have the authority to do that on their own.

But notice what Jude says. Look, not even the archangel Michael, not even the archangel, Michael, when he was duking it out with Satan, stood up to Satan and said, "I rebuke you." No. He said, "The Lord rebuke you," which is right back to our main idea of being under authority, under authority.

I remember as a kid, I went to this youth camp and there was a worship leader leading worship. And it was so weird because every time he would talk, we'd sing songs and he would talk. And every time he would talk, when he would pray, he spent more time in his prayers talking to Satan than he did talking to God. It just started getting really weird. "Satan, we rebuke you. Satan, get out of here. Satan, this. Satan, that." It's like we're supposed to pray to God.

I'm all for resisting the devil. I'm all for spiritual warfare. It is very important. We do battle under the authority of Jesus Christ, not in our own authority, not in our own authority, even the archangel Michael. Do you think you're more powerful than the archangel Michael? The Lord rebuke you. The Lord rebuke you. He's the one who has the power. He's the one who has the authority.

So, spiritualism, hyping up your own spiritual experiences, walking around with a sense of religious, spiritual pride because you've done this and you do that and you see this and you saw that, and you've got the power and you've got what it takes. Blasphemy. You don't have the power. Jesus Christ has the power. Come under his authority and then you'll become very effective in the fight, in the fight against the powers of darkness under the authority of Jesus Christ.

Murder, the sin of envy. Murder, sin of envy. Verse 11, "Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain." They walked in the way of Cain. Okay. Which is Genesis chapter four, Cain and Abel, second generation of humans, sons of Adam and Eve. They both bring an offering to God. God is pleased with Abel's. He is not pleased with Cain. Cain is envious of his brother and he ends up murdering his brother. It's the first murder. He murders his brother.

Well, what is at the heart of that murder? Envy. Envy. Murder, the sin of envy. Thinking about someone else that what they have that you don't have or what they accomplish that you didn't accomplish and thinking that that's not fair. "I should have that. It's not fair that they got that and I didn't get it. That's not fair." And you envy that person. And that envy gives birth to hatred. And hatred when it is full grown gives birth to death. So murder is the sin of envy.

Envy is a very, very dangerous damaging thing that will rot your soul from the inside out and ruin your relationships. When I was a kid growing up, I had a childhood friend. We were really good friends and he was more talented than me in pretty much every area. More athletic, smarter, faster, stronger. He was just more talented.

We were great friends. I became envious of him. And that friendship didn't last very long. It just kind of disintegrated. We just grew further and further apart through middle school into early high school years. And I had to repent of that before the Lord. I had to repent of that. "Lord, I repent of my envy. That is wrong. That's sinful. You made him faster than me and that's okay. You're God and I'm not."

He did nothing wrong by getting better grades, being faster, whatever. He did nothing wrong against me. So, instead of being grateful for what God has given you, you become envious of what you don't have, envious of what you don't have.

Our culture is currently obsessed with talking about privilege. Privilege, as if it's this terrible thing that you should feel guilty for. Why not be grateful for God's blessings? My goodness. Every human being walked in here, a man or a woman of immense privilege by nature of the fact that you live in this town, that you're sitting in a heated room while it's freezing cold outside, that you drove here in a vehicle, that you probably ate a meal today.

I mean, my goodness. Thank you, God. Thank you, God, for these privileges that you've given us. It doesn't make us better than anybody else. We just want to be grateful. We just want to be grateful. The culture that is obsessed with trying to make people feel guilty about the blessings of God, these dirty privileges that people have, is a culture that is enslaved, that is bondage to this sin, the sin of envy.

Next one, greed, the sin of selling out. Greed, the sin of selling out. He mentions Balaam. They abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error. Who in the world is Balaam? Balaam is an Old Testament character. And Balaam is the prophet for hire. Okay. He was a prophet. And rather than using his prophetic gift in service of God, he was the prophet for hire.

So, an enemy king, an enemy of God's people hired Balaam to prophetically curse God's people. So, he's a prophet for hire. So, why? Well, I guess he wanted some money. Greed, the sin of selling out, selling out. Literally, Jude says, "You lose yourself. Lose yourself. You lose your integrity. You lose who you really are through this compromise and through selling out."

Balaam, so it's this great story. So, Balaam is on his way to do this deed, to pronounce this prophetic woe against God's people. When he should be speaking to God's people on behalf of God, he's sold out. He's on his way. He's on this road. He's riding a donkey. And the donkey all of a sudden comes to a dead stop and will not move.

And Balaam is kicking his donkey and he's whipping his donkey and he's punching his donkey. "Come on, donkey, move." And the whole point of the story by the way is who's the real donkey. Okay. There's another word for donkey. We won't say it. Who's the real donkey? And the Bible is funny. I mean, you can't ever accuse the Bible being boring or unfunny. Just read it, it's hilarious.

So here he is kicking his donkey. God has opened the donkey's eyes and the donkey sees on the path the angel of death who's going to kill Balaam. And so, he's saving Balaam's life by not moving. God opens the mouth of the donkey. The donkey speaks to Balaam. Balaam's eyes were open. He sees the angels. He's, "Oh my goodness." And he repents. Okay. So, Balaam, the donkey guy, the donkey prophet. Greed, the sin of selling out.

Now, you're, "Really, a talking donkey?" Okay. I was talking with a guy several months ago. I don't know, 19, 20, young adult guy. And I was asking him, "Where are you at? Where are you at with the Lord? Where are you at with Christianity? Where are you at with the Bible?" And he goes, "I don't know, man. Sometimes, some of the stories in there, the miracles, whatever, are just kind of hard for me to believe."

I said, "Okay." I said, "Do you know that you are living in this little place called the Milky Way galaxy on a ball of dirt and molten lava in the center, spinning around at something like 36,000 miles an hour around this flaming ball called the sun that is so big? It's a star. It's so big. The sun is so big that you could fit a million earths inside the sun?" Okay. That's our sun.

By the way, it's just average, just a mediocre star out there. A million earths inside the sun. You're spinning around this thing. You are traveling 36,000 miles hour. While you are orbiting the sun, you are spinning just on ... This ball is just spinning. I mean, the earth is spinning on its axis. On its axis, what are you talking about? It's just a ball out in space spinning.

Add another 1,000 miles to the speed that you're traveling. And yet when you wake up every morning, get out of bed and walk to the bathroom to brush your teeth, you are somehow able to ... This blows my mind. You walk in a straight line without falling over. Let alone flying off of this ball into outer space. That is incredible. And then, the smart people like to come and be like, "It's not incredible. It's gravity."

Well, thank you very much. Now, I understand everything. Imagine a tiny little seed. Just imagine that this was real for a second. It's going to stretch your imagination to imagine this is real. Imagine a little seed, just a little seed. The seed goes into a little patch of dirt. Okay. This ball, this flaming ball that you could fit a million earths in that is out there, that is a long ways away. Millions and millions and millions and millions of miles away, and yet it still burns you. That's a hot light.

The seed is in the ground. Just imagine this is true. And this ball is out there. And it's somehow just sending this magical force. Just doing that every day. These clouds come along. Somehow they're carrying water. How do they do that? I don't know. Okay. They're carrying water. They dump water. Starts raining. Rains. Rain. Give it time. Redwood tree.

Guys, I'm going to blow your minds. I'm not making this up. That's true. That happens. Now, this redwood tree ... Now, the smart people, the smart people in the room be like, "It's not impressive. It's called photosynthesis. Don't you know about photosynthesis?" Oh, well, thank you for clearing that up for me. This redwood tree, rain, tiny little seed, huge redwood tree, this redwood tree is just sitting there releasing this thing called oxygen.

It's just releasing it. You're walking around, staring at your phone, watching TikTok videos, thinking you're smart. You're walking around. That oxygen goes into your windbags. You have two windbags in your chest. They fill up. Somehow, that oxygen, it enacts it. It wakes up this red goop that is in your body. Oxygen hits it. Comes to life, races to your brain, turns the lights on upstairs so that you can invent words like photosynthesis.

So, yes, a donkey talked once. Okay. You are living in an unbelievable fantastical miracle magic world. That's a total side note, has very little do with the sermon. I just wanted to explain the talking donkey. Okay.

All right, last one is rebellion. And this is ... I'm going to give you a big word. Okay. Rebellion is the sin of egalitarianism, big word. And what is egalitarianism? It's a philosophical movement. Okay. It's a couple hundred years old, philosophical movement that is where you define justice, fairness and equality as the eradication of any and all distinctions.

So, fairness, justice, equality suddenly becomes the eradication of any and all distinctions. That's egalitarianism. And that is the sin of rebellion. And who does he mention? He mentions Korah. Now, this is a crazy story. This is from the Book of Numbers. Moses is leading God's people in the desert and there's this guy named Korah who decides he's going to lead a rebellion. And he rises up against Moses and he gets 250 guys to come with him.

And he says, "Moses, who gave you all the power? Why are you such a big shot? We're all holy. Doesn't God dwell among all of us? We're not going to listen to you anymore." Moses says, "Okay, we're going to have a little showdown." And I was always told growing up that there are two people in the Bible who don't die, Enoch and Elijah. Enoch walked with God and he was no more. Elijah was the prophet of God and a chariot of fire comes down, takes him up to heaven. So, wow, yay for Enoch and Elijah. They didn't die.

Actually, there are several hundred people in the Bible who did not die. Korah and his 250 goons also did not die. They just didn't go up. Okay. So, here's Kora. He's leading this charge, "Moses, who gave you all the power? I want to be in control." Egalitarianism. "Who gave you? We don't need distinctions. We don't need leaders. We don't need profits. We don't need priests. I want the power. Let's eradicate all distinctions."

Moses pleads with him, "Look, guys." They were Levites. "Guys, God has already set you apart for special service. And now, you want more. He's already given you everything. You want more? My goodness." "Let's eradicate the distinction." He leads this great rebellion. And Moses says, "All right, everybody get away from him. Trust me. You're not going to want to be near him. Everybody get away from him."

If they die as all men die, then I'm a liar. But if the earth opens up and they go down alive into hell, then you'll know that I'm not here on my own authority. I'm here because God has called me to lead you. The earth opens up and Korah and all of his goons go down alive into hell. The earth opens up and swallows them just like that Star Wars scene. You know what I mean? Just like that pit. Gone.

Wow, hot sauce. It's getting spicy. You feel the heat? That is rebellion, the sin of egalitarianism. So, friends, there is a hierarchy in the world that God has set in order and it is good and right. And who is at the top of the hierarchy? God. God but there are lesser hierarchies. And everyone in authority under God needs to be under God's authority. Otherwise, they give up their authority but there are lesser hierarchies that God has made.

So, kids, how are you doing obeying your parents? How are you doing obeying your parents? Wives and children, how are you doing respecting your husband and your father? He is the head of the home. God has put them there. He's not there on his own authority. He's there with God's authority.

Now, parents, how are you doing with that responsibility that God has given you? Fathers, how are you doing with that responsibility that God has given you? How about when it comes to the church? Are you here to be here? Are you here to be accountable? Are you here to get plugged in? Are you here to be in community? Are you here to walk with the wise so that you can become wise?

Are you here to you to increasingly submit your life to the authority of Jesus Christ even as you submit your life to those around you, to the community of the body of Christ and the elders and pastors that God has raised up to lead Grace City Church? Or are you here just because it's a good show. And if a better show popped up, you'd go to that one.

We need to press into this, to press into this, to eradicate the eradication of any and all distinctions, and to embrace our God-given place in every relationship, in every community that we are a part of. It is a good and right thing. Friends, when you are in your proper place under authority, you will live a life with great power and great authority.

The path to living an authoritative life is not through rebellion against any and all authority, but through submitting to the good and right authority that God himself has set in place. And, of course, at the top of the hierarchy is God himself, God himself. Jesus Christ is king over the world. Amen.

So, now, we'll move really quickly here and we'll wrap this up. He continues, "It was also about these that Enoch," so here comes Enoch, speaking of guys that didn't die. Here he comes. "The seventh room, Adam, Enoch prophesied saying, 'Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy wants to execute judgement on all and to convict the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

These are grumblers." Oh man, just when you thought you were off the hook. Just when I thought I was off the hook. I mean, all these atrocious sins that we've been looking at, idolatry and demonism and sexual immorality and murder, grumbling. These are grumblers. These are grumblers.

My goodness. I was shoveling. During the snowpocalypse, I was shoveling. And there is an older lady who had come out and first words out of her mouth. I love this because you learn so much about people. First words out of her mouth, "Well, I'll tell you what, I didn't sign up for this." And I thought to myself, "You are more right than you know. You certainly did not sign yourself up for this. God signed you up. You're welcome. He signed me up, too."

You don't have signing up power. God put you here. Here you are. You're born. You're walking around on earth. You didn't sign yourself up for this. God signed you up. You're welcome. You can either raise your hand to rage or you can raise your hand to praise. But either way, it will not change the fact that you certainly did not sign yourself up for this.

So, be grateful. Be happy. Come on. Be happy. Be joyful. Give thanks. Don't grumble. I remember a parent. I don't remember who it was. I can't remember this is before I had kids or where they were really young still, but I heard a dad once say talking with his kids. They were eating and it was about food and not being picky and blah, blah, blah.

And I remember him saying, "In our house, we believe that picky-eaters are made not born." I thought, "Ooh, that's really good. I'm going to log that away. And I'm going to try to parent my kids that way." Picky-eaters are made, not born. So, if they're picky, it's my fault.

I have four kids. I'm here to tell you, picky-eaters are definitely born. And they need to be broken. Okay. And if my mom was here, she would say, "Amen." Picky-eaters are definitely born and they need to be broken. But we grumble about the stupidest things, don't we?

It snows, we grumble. The sun comes out, we grumble. It rains, we grumble. Too hot, too cold, too this, too that. I didn't sign up for this. Yeah, you're right. You are absolutely right about that. And you can raise your hands to rage or you can raise your hands to praise.

But you remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, "In the last time, there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions." Okay. There's nothing new ... Okay. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, speculating that maybe he was the first prophet, seventh from Adam. That's a long time ago.

Enoch, first prophet, he prophesied about this stuff. In other words, sin is as old as humanity. Every generation is a new batch of people committing all the same old sins. The apostles told you this would happen. These are the people who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Holy Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

He does not say, "Try harder, do more, impress God and then he will love you." Friends, he already loves you. Keep yourself in his love. So, if you're sitting here, wow, this is a long list of sins. I'm feeling guilty. I'm feeling convicted. What is the answer? The answer is not you pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. The answer has already been given. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the love of God, the Father, for you. Keep yourselves in his love.

Don't try harder on your own. Submit to him. Submit to him and receive his grace and his love. Remember, it's exponential. Have mercy on those who doubt. Maybe you are here and you have doubts. You're like the guy I talked to in the parking lot. You struggle with the miracles. You struggle with the talking donkeys. Hopefully, the redwoods helped.

But you doubt. Something terrible has happened to you. You've had a lot of pain in your life and you cannot reconcile the fact that God exists and this pain exists. You didn't sign yourself up for this. And you have doubt. There's mercy for you, friend. And Grace City Church by the grace of God is a place of a lot of mercy. We are a lot of messed up people in here.

I know I am. We're a lot of doubters, grumblers, complainers, whiners, screwed up, messed up people. And thanks be to God, there is mercy and grace for each one of us. So, if you are sitting here doubting, I want you to know Jesus loves you. He has mercy for you. He has mercy for ... He's not waiting for you to try harder. He's waiting for you to receive his love.

Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others, show mercy, hating even the garment stained by flesh. You don't keep yourself from sin so that you can earn God's love. You keep yourself in God's love so that you can learn to hate your sin. You don't keep yourself from sin so that you can earn God's love. You keep yourself in God's love so that you can learn to hate your sin.

And then finally, 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, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time now and forever. Amen.

I want to invite you to stand with me. And this is one of the greatest benedictions in the whole Bible. Just receive this word. Jude ends his letter exactly where he starts, with an appeal to the very top of the hierarchy. He's appealing to ultimate authority namely God himself. Keep yourselves in the love of God and know that ultimately, God is the one who has the keeping power.

Keep yourselves in the love of God and be encouraged. God is the one keeping you. That is good news. He is able, friends, in this year, 2022, to keep you from stumbling, to embolden you, to encourage you, to put courage into you so that you can start contending for the faith where there is compromise, so that you can repent of the sin that is in your life that is hindering your growth and your progress in Christ, so that your life can come under increasingly so into submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And, friends, when you are under that authority, you will live a powerful life, a victorious life. You will be a person, a man, a woman in your family, at your job, in your relationships, in your city group. You will be a person of great spiritual authority not because you're so great, but because you're submitted to the one who is.

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. You've messed up in your life, haven't you? You've messed up a lot. You have regrets. Man, they eat at you, they gnaw at you. God is going to present you one day and you're not going to come in with your head low and just kind of shuffling before him. You're going to come before him blameless.

That's exciting. To the only God, our savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time, which includes our day, now and forever. And everyone said together, amen.

Father, let this word sink deeply into our minds and hearts. Let us leave here encouraged and excited and ready to follow Jesus. He is both Savior and Lord. It is not only that he is both Savior and Lord, he is Savior precisely because he is Lord, because he's the only one who has the power to save. He's the only one who has the ability to keep us from stumbling.

So, we look to him. We run to him at the start of this New Year. Would you fill our lives with your Holy Spirit so that we can be more about Jesus this year in 2022? We love you, Lord. We give you all the praise and all the glory. In Jesus' name, everyone pray together, amen.