To Him Who Is Able Jude 24-25 Adapted from a sermon by Steve Shepherd http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/to-him-who-is-able-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-god-brings-hope-127856.asp

1. To Him Who Is Able Jude 1:24-25 Adapted from a sermon by Steve Shepherd http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/to-him-who-is-able-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-god-brings-hope-127856.asp

2. Jude 1:24 NET Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, 25to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

3. Coming home from his Little League game, Billy swung open the front door very excited. Unable to attend the game, his father immediately wanted to know what happened. “So, how did you do son?” he asked. “You’ll never believe it!” Billy said. “I was responsible for the winning run!” “Really? How’d you do that?” “I dropped the ball.”

4. Were you ever a good ball player? Not everyone can play ball or play it well. When it comes to playing ball some people have the ability and some don’t. Of course, this is true for all sports. Did you ever find your sport? Did you ever find what you were good at in life? Many people end up with jobs they hate simply because they never discovered what they are good at.

5. A concert violinist had a brother who was a bricklayer. One day a woman gushed to the bricklayer, "It must be wonderful to be in a family with such a famous violinist." Then, not wanting to insult the bricklayer, she said, "Of course we don't all have the same talents, and even in a family, some just seem to have more talent than others."

6. The bricklayer said, "You're telling me! That violinist brother of mine doesn't know a thing about laying bricks. And if he couldn't make some money playing that fiddle of his, he couldn't hire a guy with know-how like mine to build a house. If he had to build a house himself he'd be ruined."

7. If you want to build a house, you don't want a violinist. And if you're going to lead an orchestra, you don't want a bricklayer. No two of us are exactly alike. None of us have been given every gift and ability. Our responsibility is to exercise the gifts we have, not the ones we wish we had.

8. When it comes to making decisions about your own life and the direction it should take, focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Know yourself. Know what you do well, and then go with your strengths and shore up your weaknesses. We all have a certain amount of ability. There are some things we can do and many things we can’t do.

9. There is someone who is able to do all things well! He is able. And we need to cling desperately to Him who is able! An airliner flew into a violent thunderstorm and was soon swaying and bumping around in the sky. One very nervous lady happened to be sitting next to a preacher and turned to him for comfort.

10. She said, "Can’t you do something?" she demanded. He replied, "I’m sorry, ma’am, I’m in sales, not management.“ This is true for all of us. We’re in sales, not management, which means there are some things that we can’t do or can’t handle, but we know someone who can! HE IS ABLE!

11. Our text tells about the one who is able to do everything good for us. That’s the beauty of our God. He is primarily interested in doing good things for us and in us.Jude 24,25 reveal 3 things He able to do. 1- He is able to keep us from falling2- He is able to present us without fault3- He is able to receive all praise

12. HE IS ABLE TO KEEP US FROM FALLING Jude 1:24a NET Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling,… Perhaps you heard the old story about the preacher who said, "I wonder how many of you would be willing to admit that you love sin?"

13. “I do,” one man said. The preacher said, “You mean to tell me that you are willing to admit in front of all of these people that you love sin?” The man, “Oh no, I thought you said GIN.” What’s your greatest temptation in life? We won’t make a list right now, but we all have at least one area of temptation and probably many.

14. Here’s a quick look at the first human temptation & sin. Genesis 3:4 NET The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die, 5for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil.“6 When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye,

15. and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. The 1st sin! Satan dangled a “carrot” in front of Eve in the form of equality with God in knowledge plus mouth watering fruit. She had to have it, so she took and ate, then gave some to Adam so he could have knowledge & tasty fruit too.

16. 2 Samuel 11:1 NET In the spring of the year, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, David sent out Joab with his officers and the entire Israelite army. They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. 2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing.

17. Now this woman was very attractive. 3So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4David sent some messengers to get her. She came to him and he had sexual relations with her. (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.) Then she returned to her home.

18. You remember the rest of the story. Bathsheba became pregnant. King David, trying to cover up his sin, murdered Uriah & married Bathsheba. King David was confronted with his sin by Nathan. 2 Samuel 12:13 NET Then David exclaimed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD!" Nathan replied to David, "Yes, and the LORD has forgiven your sin. You are not going to die.

19. 14Nonetheless, because you have treated the LORD with such contempt in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die." And the son born from that adulteress sin died. Let’s see just what kind of man King David was according to Luke’s record of Paul’s message to the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch.

20. Acts 13:21 NET Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22After removing him, God raised up David their king. He testified about him: 'I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, ( 1 Samuel 13:14)who will accomplish everything I want him to do.'

21. In God’s own words David…a man after my heart! What would we give to have God say we are a person after His own heart? When we think of a man after His own heart, many of us think that this is a title reserved for a few "super-spiritual" folks. It isn't for us. We want these kinds of people around us, but we never think we can be one of them.

22. We aren't spiritual enough. But look at David: a warrior who killed hundreds of men with his own hands, a fugitive, a traitor, a man who had seasons of backsliding, an adulterer, a murderer. Yet he could be called a man after His, (God’s) own heart. If David can have our sins, then we can have his heart. We can love God and pursue Him with the kind of focus and heart David had. (Guzik)

23. The road to sin is as old as time! We’ve seen the way of sin for thousands of years. Yet we sometimes still follow the same old road. We’re lured into temptation when something pleasing to our eyes is dangled in front of us. We pause for closer inspection of it, allowing ourselves to be caught up in its desirability.

24. We dabble in it and play with it. We then participate in the sin and in doing so, either immediately or eventually we involve others in sin. You’d think we would have learned the route sin takes and would have stopped by now.

25. It’s not easy doing battle with Satan & resisting all the temptations he’s always throwing in front of us. We’ve all seen the people we thought were above sin fall into its grasp. Some are humiliated in public on TV. The names Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart come to mind.

26. FALLING INTO SIN, SHAMEFUL SIN, CAN HAPPEN TO ANYBODY! But it doesn’t have to be that way! THE LORD CAN KEEP US ALL FROM FALLING! But only if we let Him, only we keep our eyes on Him!

27. Psalms 119:9 NET ב (Bet)How can a young person maintain a pure life? By guarding it according to your instructions! 10With all my heart I seek you. Do not allow me to stray from your commands! 11 In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you.

28. Matthew 4:2 NET After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread." 4But he answered, "It is written, 'Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "(Deu 8:3)

29. It is God’s Word that can keep us from falling. The Word of God is alive, active and powerful and if we hide it in our hearts and minds it will keep us from falling into sin. HE IS ABLE.

30. HE IS ABLE TO PRESENT US WITHOUT FAULT Jude 1:24 NET Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, Someone said, "Women have their faults. Men have only two. Everything they say and everything they do." Who said those words? Probably a woman.

31. Three preachers were spending some time at the lake, resting, fishing, and trying to relax. One of the preachers had a confession to make. “Since we’re told to confess our faults to one another, I have something I need to get off my chest. I have a weakness for alcohol. It’s been a temptation for years, and many times I’ve given in to it, but I feel so much better for sharing this with you.”

32. Then the second preacher spoke. “I, too have a weakness. I smoke cigars on occasion. I know that it’s not honoring the temple of the Lord, but it’s a recurring problem that I haven’t been able to conquer.” And then the third preacher spoke. “Frankly, fellows, I have a problem with gossip and I can hardly wait to go tell others about this meeting."

33. You all know as well as I do that everyone has faults. Of course, when it comes to talking about them I’d rather talk about yours and than mine! Call them faults, mistakes, problems, sins, but they’re all the same. They come between us and God. Since God is holy, completely holy we cannot rightfully be in His presence. Holiness cannot stand the filth of sin.

34. It was said that no man in Scotland was more saintly than Robert Murray McCheyne, and yet he said, “No one but God knows the depth of sin in my heart.” To another saintly man, someone said, when he was on his deathbed, “How happy you must be; the gates of heaven will be crowded with your converts waiting to greet you.”

35. But he replied, “If I can but crawl into heaven on my hands and knees before the gate shuts, I’ll be the most blessed man in heaven.” Does this sound like you? Crawling into heaven? Well, guess what? We will not crawl into heaven on our hands and knees and it’s all because of Jesus!

36. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NET God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God. Colossians 1:22 NET but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him —

37. Doesn’t this sound great? He is able to present us rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence! The story is told of a little girl who lived near a cemetery. Even though she had to pass through it after the sun was set she never seemed to be apprehensive. Someone finally ask her: “Aren’t you afraid to go through the cemetery?”

38. “No way,” she replied, “I am not afraid, for my home is just beyond the cemetery." Our home is just beyond the cemetery and the grave! He is able to present you rejoicing, without blemishbefore his glorious presence,

39. HE IS ABLE TO RECEIVE ALL PRAISE 25to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen. Romans 16:27 NET to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever! Amen.

40. Ephesians 1:3 NET Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. 4For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NET So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

41. Galatians 1:4 NET who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen. In 1808, shortly before Haydn’s death, a grand performance of his piece called the “Creation” took place in Vienna. Haydn was present, a man of seventy-six years.

42. He was so feeble, however, that he had to be wheeled into the theater in a chair. This was the last time that the great composer made a public appearance. The audience greeted the old man with great enthusiasm, and when the orchestra and chorus arrived at the place where there is a sudden change from the minor to a major, at the words “And there was light,” they gave a great applause.

43. The old composer struggled to his feet and mustering up all his strength cried in reply to the applause of the audience: “No, no! not from me, but from heaven above comes all!” at the same time pointing upward. True for Haydn and true for us. If we’ve ever done anything good in this life then to HIM be the glory and the praise!

44. In a conference at a formal church where it was not encouraged to say "Hallelujah or Praise the Lord" out loud. Each person was given a helium filled balloon and told to release it at some point in the service when they felt like expressing praise in their hearts.

45. All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over only 2/3’s of the balloons were released. Some people had not let their balloon go. We must let our balloon go! Our balloon of praise! WE MUST PRAISE HIM CONTINUALLY! He deserves praise and glory, both now and forevermore!

46. One time an Army brat was boasting about his father to a Navy brat. "My dad is an engineer. He can do everything. Do you know the Alps?" "Yes," said the Navy brat. "My dad has built them." Then the naval kid spoke: "And do you know the Dead Sea?" "Yes." "It’s my dad who’s killed it!"

47. A lot of bragging going on between those two kids. My daddy is bigger and better than your daddy. Folks, our daddy can do more than any daddy! Ephesians 3:20 NET Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think,21to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

48. Our God is able! He is able to save us, cleanse us, change us, use us, & take us to heaven! Praise His name!