WHAT WOULD JUDE PREACH?

We still serve a miracle working God, amen. So we’re having a ministers conference around here.  All the ministers that are in the house, will you stand?  Amen, if you’re a minister stand?  Okay, there you go, so we do have some ministers here, that’s good. Amen, Hallelujah. And I want, just to clarify things, every single person that’s a child of God is a minister. Maybe God’s not called you to preach and stand behind a pulpit and do that kind of preaching, but everybody’s called to minister. God has called us to minister.  

I do have a message for you and a message that is directed from God.  I’ve been preaching since 1978 so that’s 30 years.  I accepted my call in April, so a few months away from 30 years.  And I got all these messages and I got all kind of outlines and I got all these things and you know what, he gives me a message I’ve never done before.  So, when Sister Woods called me, I said to myself “ I got this message, this message, and this message, I’m going to go down there and Gods going to anoint me and I’m going to show out cause I’m going to preach something I know.” Well, no, I’m going to preach a new message, so okay.  Hallelujah

It”s kind of funny cause years ago when I was trying out for the church, they got down to me and another preacher, so I had all these messages and I was going to go down and impress the people… I’m trying out for this Church to be their pastor and they need to like what they hear and God gave me a new message and I said “God, we’ve not preached this one, don’t you know were trying out for a church”?  Amen. 

One of the things ministers have to learn is God knows exactly where you are at and where you’re going and where he wants you to be, but I do have a word from the Lord.  Last Sunday morning, I’m sitting in the church, a few songs away from getting up to minister and the Lord said “I want you do this”.  I said okay.  So what we’re going to do what the Lord has directed me to do and I’m going to tell you something.. what’s important as ministers.. it is important that you can get the mind of God. 

Now understand, we’re human.  Every time we climb behind the pulpit, maybe we might not have direction from God and we have to just fall back on preaching the Word by faith, because the Word is always good and always right.  But there are sometimes that things are directly given, and we like those times.  And so, God had directly given me a Word for us tonight.  I don’t know how good it will be, that’s not my job.  My job is to be obedient.  You are a success in Christ if you are obedient.  No matter how many people you win, but did you witness to all that you were supposed to?  and so and so forth.. so lets pray before we get started.

Father we come to you in the mighty name of Jesus, I thank you for the opportunity to be here Lord and I’m so very excited Lord its been a long time since I’ve been outside of our church to preach and I’m so excited to be here tonight.  And Lord, you know that I’ve been before you all day praying and studying, and you know, I just thank you for this opportunity.  Now Lord, I ask you to minister to your people, these are your sheep.  They are not mine, they don’t belong to me, they belong to you in the mighty name of Jesus help me to deliver that which you have given that they may eat and be well fed.  In Jesus name we ask, amen.

God is good. And I want to tell you something, I respect the ministers here so as I’m ministering to ministers, I want you to understand, I’m not getting up here pretending that I know something and you don’t, I mean, some of you have churches and don’t you just love a little preacher to come in and he’s got all these things and he’s preaching like you haven’t been teaching your people anything. You know, I’ve got the answers… well we all do.  Amen, we’re ministers.  Amen.  We’ve all been before God, and we’ve all prayed and God has given us all messages, you know, we are part of the body of Christ.  

We’re part of a body and as I have two of my favorite singers here to sing tonight, and in the morning, I’ve already asked one of my other favorite singers, which is my daughter, right over there and she’s going to sing for me in the morning before I preach.  Listen, if your in the ministry for money, you need to get our right now.  I preached about 15 years before I ever got my first offering.  My daughter started singing when she was 17 or 18, a church had her to come and minister in song, they give her a big offering and I never had received an offering in my life at that time.  Amen, so if your going to preach for money that is the wrong reason, there are some that make money at it, but not very many.

I’m  going to preach Jude’s message.  God’s said “preach the book of Jude” and so, he told me that and I want you to read this and just see how he’s talking to ministers.  I thought, man Lord, this goes right in with the ministers conference. 

We need encouragement.  We need to encourage one another, we need to pray for one another, we need to be there one for the other.  We don’t have to go to each others church all the time to find fellowship.  To be backing one another.  If we are minister’s we don’t have time to go to everything our Christians Brother and Sister are doing. 

I called my brother today, bro. Paul Massey, he’s the pastor of Signal Mountain Church of God, and I wanted to get his dads number because his dad was at the church where I got saved and I was telling him I was preaching here tonight and he said well, I’m out visiting and working in the fields and I don’t know if I can make it or not, so he showed up and I was glad he did but I was also shocked.

But that’s what we do, ministers minister.  So, let me preach this message to you cause if I don’t get in it, we won’t get done. Amen, and if we don’t get done, we will miss what God has for us. And look, I am so excited about being here tonight, I ran off and left my billfold.  I was so excited about being here tonight, I ran off and left my watch.  You would do well to pull yours off and put it in your pocket and hide it.  The anointing should be good, and don’t let the watch become a distraction.  Amen.  I don’t have one. 

And listen preachers, I want to tell you something, when we get anointed, we are our favorite preachers.  There is nothing like a preacher getting anointed.  Nobody in the church might be anointed, but that preacher is.  So we get happy and we loose track of time.  I mean, after all, we are dealing in eternity aren’t we?  

Jude 1:1

   Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Jude the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James to them that are sanctified.  You sanctified?  You been set apart by God the Father.  So God does the sanctifying and God did this and preserved in Jesus Christ and called.  Ministers need to be called.  We need to understand our calling. Ministers need to be called.  So many ministers, I’m telling you, today we have ministers that are not called.  Now sometimes we study from other people but a minister that is called, does get revelations from God.  They have revelations.  And it just amazes me that we have a lot of people trying to be preachers; that need to be..what did the bible say?  They need to be taught again?  Again the Word.  Okay.  Here we go. 

We’re called, we’re sanctified, praise God, Amen. 

Jude 1:2

   Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

Mercy unto you, I like mercy don’t you? I like mercy. I like the mercies of God. I wished I could tell you I got saved and stayed on fire and never made any mistakes and never sinned, no, I’ve had to fall on the mercies of God.  You know we have to stay focused and sometimes we have to cry out and say God, I messed up. 

But he said in peace, have peace.  Do you have peace?  Now, one of the things our Sister Woods have been talking about the last two nights, she’s talked about going through some hard times.  And its comical because this is something that my wife told me.  My wife told me on Wednesday night, she’s looking at me after church and I said what are you looking at.  She said, I’m just amazed at the work God’s done in you.  I said what do you mean?  She said well all the things that you’ve been through and all the things that have come your way and all the things that’s happened, your not on drugs, you don’t have to take antidepressants.  You have a sound mind. Your not having a nervous breakdown.  And understand, ministry is tough sometimes.  I want you to understand that, but I also want you to understand that there is nothing more fulfilling than ministry.  But sometimes, ministry is tough. 

You’ve got to understand your calling. You’re called. Okay, what are you called to do?  Don’t become a pastor if your not a called Pastor.  Pastoring is very hard.  Pastoring is hard.  Let me just give you a few things that has happened to me on top of all the lies, and you want to know what is worse than lies, is misunderstanding.  And people won’t let you straighten it out.  Pastoring sometimes is like this, here you are with your best friends boy in your arms and he’s bleeding, he’s been in an accident and he’s bleeding.  You got to call his dad and tell him to come to the hospital.  You got to meet him at the hospital. 

Pastoring is me and Joel going to the hospital and 14 year old boy rides out in front of a car on a bikecycle and we’re in the room with him and everytime he breathes, blood is squirting out of him and the family wants us in the room with them. The next day, if he makes it to the next day, he would be 15. Pastoring is hard, you got to be called to pastor. 

You need to be called to be an evangelist.  Cause I’m telling you, I wouldn’t want to travel all over this world.  I like going home and looking at my wife’s pretty face.  I married up, incase you haven’t noticed.  I’ve come from Suck Creek, I married up, if I married anything, I married up.  Been married 36 years, will be 36 this march, and so that’s pretty good for a hoodlum from Suck Creek.  Amen. amen.

But you got to be called.  I wouldn’t be comfortable going all over the countryside, being an evangelist.  I like seeing my kids.  And I like being with my grandkids. I went to Mexico for 10 days, twice.  And on the 7th day, the first time I’m down there, I’m dreaming about my grandbabies.  Here I see Drew and Drew’s face is just as plain as everything and I wake up crying and I go back to sleep and I see Haley and I wake up crying and then I see Hayden, then Hope and I’m just, man I don’t like this stuff.  I mean, I’m good for 7 days but after that I’m going crazy… let me go home.  We had a wonderful time, during Christmas holidays.  They all came over on Christmas eve eve and spend the night and we open presents the next morning on Christmas eve and everybody goes home sometime Christmas eve.  They stay all day. The next day we’re sitting there and I told my wife, I said, It’s so quiet.  I miss the noise.  Don’t you?  And so I love my grandkids and I am thankful that God has blessed me with grandchildren and I have 7.  And I’m thankful that my Lord has all my kids raising them.  Amen. 

But, anyway, lets get back to the message. Amen. Cause I got a long message and if I keep going down these sidetracks, its going to be longer, then your going to stone me.  The guy that you’re laughing at, you may not laugh at no more.  Amen. 

Jude 1:3

   Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, the common salvation. It is time that we get back to the preaching of the common salvation. 

You remember the salvation that used to preach about the blood.  You know it’s still about the blood.  It’s the blood of Jesus that washed and cleanse and make whole.   You know we need to get back to singing nothing but the blood of Jesus.  What can make me white as snow, nothing but the blood of Jesus.  We need to get back to saying there is power in the blood, to wash, to deliver, to set free.  There is power in the blood, remember that common salvation, and his name is Jesus Christ, Savior of the World, his name is Jesus hallelujah.

So it looks like Jude is running into some situations where some are not talking about the common salvation. And this is a few years after Jesus has died. Needful for me to write unto you, so here we see, Jude said, okay… it is needful.  Needful, and I’m telling you. 

God ordained these series of meetings, and he put it in our sisters heart, it’s needful that our ministers have a ministers conference, its needful that we get together, its needful that we pray for one another, its needful that we hear the message that God has sent our way, Amen. 

And exhort you, exhort you.  Here we are, he wants to exhort them, he wants to encourage them, that you should earnestly, we should earnestly contend for the faith.  We need to get back to contending for the faith.  What did he say?  Which was once delivered to unto the saints.  Here is one that after a few short years after Jesus, and he is already having to say hey, we need to get back to preaching the common salvation and we need to get back to contending for the faith and striving for the faith and delivering the faith that was once delivered to the saints. 

Already, somebody had started straying from the faith and people had started teaching false teaching, already.  You want to be a successful minister, you need to understand one thing…you are not in control of your ministry. Jesus Christ has a ministry.  You have been chosen to be a part of it.  You have been chosen to have a speakers part of it.  Thank God that he has chose some of us to do some things for him and called us to these things. 

But we need to recognize that he directs the message, he directs the message and if we can’t get his message, we need to move aside and let someone that can get the message, amen.  And so here we see, that which was once delivered unto the saints. 

Jude 1:4

   For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men…into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Ungodly men, they’re eat up with lust.  There are people who are eat up with lust that are behind the pulpit today.  Why, we even have some churches that say its okay to ordain a homosexual.  There is no such thing as an ordained homosexual because see, I’m in the church of God, I’m an ordained bishop in the Church of God, but my ordination didn’t come from the headquarters, my ordination comes from God and God would never ordain a homosexual, he has to be cleansed and washed and delivered, and God is able to do that, he is able to come and save a homosexual and cleanse him and wash him. 

People say, why don’t we see many homosexuals saved?  Well, have you ever heard a minister preach at them? I want you to know that homosexuality is a sin, just like any other sin. And so here we see, God wants to cleanse and wash and deliver.  The last time I read this book, the only sin that I knew was unforgivable was the blaspheming of the Holy Ghost.  And so, they crept in and covered this thing and they denied the only Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  How do we deny God?  We deny God by denying Jesus Christ and denying his Word.  This is it.  The written Word.

Jude 1:5

   I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

I will therefore put you in remembrance. 

Jude said, I will put you in remembrance, were going to put each other in remembrance.  Remembrance, are you ready to be put in remembrance?  Remembrance…though you once knew this, you once knew it…amen.  And so he’s telling these people, I want to put you in remembrance and you once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

Oh my goodness, that doesn’t go well with some of the doctrines of today does it?  But, Jude didn’t know, he didn’t have all this great teaching that you know, you can say once you got saved, you can live anyway you want to, they didn’t know that.  He thought God destroyed the people out of Egypt after He had saved them. I’ll believe Jude, you can believe who you want to. 

Jude 1:6

   And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation.  Here is a group of angels, already in heaven, they sinned he throws them out of heaven and, he hath reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.  Oh my goodness gracious, you know what is the difference between an angel and you?  An angel messes up, he gets thrown out. We mess up, we can find mercy.  If we repent, understand we got to repent.  We just don’t get it automatically we have to repent amen.

Jude 1:7

   Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Even as Sodom and Gomor'rah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, men with men, women with women.  It’s okay they say, not according to Jude.  Jude says lets get back contending for the faith … about 5 years ago I heard that in Canada, that you could not preach against homosexuality on the radio or television.  In some countries, it is called a hate crime.  I don’t preach against homosexuality because I hate them, I preach because I love them.  God wants to wash them and cleanse them, deliver them and set them free.  He doesn’t want to send them to hell, he wants to take them to heaven.  And so, you know, here they are going after strange flesh and said, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 

Eternal punishment, oh some people don’t believe in eternal punishment.  When is the last time you turn your television on and heard somebody preach on hell?  Amen.  There is an eternal damnation.  There is a God that will deliver us and save us and set us free if we’ll allow Him to, and use us graciously and we can lay up treasures in heaven and have rewards.  But there is also an eternal damnation and people need to know, we can’t do anything we want to, we can’t live anyway we want to. 

There are consequences for living against the Word of God.  We got to get back to contending for the faith, about the blood of Jesus, and the righteousness of Jesus and holy living.  Does anybody believe in holiness anymore?  Does anybody believe in living right anymore? Does anybody believe in praying anymore?  Does anybody believe in laying hold of God anymore, until we see God move, hallelujah. 

I want to tell you something, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  And I want to tell you something, we need to quit looking for miracles cause God is always performing miracles.  What we got to do is we just got to believe.  We got to stop hoping and just start believing hallelujah.   These signs shall follow them that believe.  In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, glory to God, don’t you understand, if we just believe, we will see God move. 

Oh, I don’t know.  It’s the times we live in.  Listen, you live in the hardest time ever to preach the gospel.  But not only that, you live in the hardest place in the world to preach the gospel.  You live in the Bible belt, not just of the just United States.  You live in the bible belt of the world.  People know more than their pastor.  It’s amazed me man, I’ve been preaching for 30 years and somebody gets saved 6 months and, I don’t know anything and they know everything.  It’s amazing, it’s just so amazing. 

You know I’ve read through the bible, I don’t know how many times, a bunch of times and studying and praying hours upon hours and laying in the floor, sometimes spending all night studying, sometimes praying all night.  And here comes somebody that don’t ever open their bible, but they know everything.  Oh, my goodness, what a dummy I’ve been.  Hallelujah

Jude 1:8

   Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities and things.  And this is the way people are.  Listen, our governments not perfect.  But you live in the best country on the face of the earth. 

Jude 1:9

   Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

Michael the arch angel, and I’m skipping a lot of stuff, because I went through this earlier today, and it took me 3 hours to get through it, and I don’t know if we preached 6 hours and one of you fell out of the window that we could raise you up.  Amen.  I don’t know if I preached 3 hours if there would be any of you here.  Amen. And listen, as long as God is in a place, I think any of us could stay here.  Amen.  we’ve been in anointed services, but listen, sometimes, a preacher will keep on preaching after the anointed has gone…God will quit before the preacher stops sometimes.  Amen, so Lord help us not to do that amen. 

Yet Michael the archangel when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.  Need to understand, Satan is our enemy, we don’t go up against Satan in our name.  It’s in the name of Jesus.  It’s the name of Jesus that he has to flee.  It’s in the name of Jesus that he has to run.  It’s in the name of Jesus that we got to get back to using that name and understanding that it’s in the name of Jesus. 

It was by the work of Jesus that we have this grace. And you know about the grace of God, have you heard about that?  Let me tell you what the grace of God is.  The grace of God isn’t for somebody to jump in and do anything they want to, like some people teach it.  The grace of God was this, Jesus left heaven to come and die for you and to pay for your sins and go through the crucifixion.  That’s grace.  We could never have earned that, for him to come and pay for our sins.  He paid for our healing, he paid to wash away our sin.  He even paid for our peace.  You know but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace is upon him and by his stripes we are healed.  So he paid for our sin, he paid for our peace and he paid for our healing. 

Does anybody in this house believe that Jesus still heals?  Does anybody in this house believe that Jesus can deliver a dope addict?   Is there anybody in this house believes that Jesus can deliver a drunk?  Is there anybody in here believes that the blood of Jesus is more powerful than any sin that you can come up against?  If somebody is willing to receive him and oh, glory to God I want to tell you Satan has to flee, but you have to make a choice and I want you to understand this, it is God and man working together. 

It’s never all God and it’s never all man.  You receive the grace of God and you know the scriptures, oh don’t you know the scriptures Bro. Bradford, don’t you know that we’re saved by grace through faith and not by work lest any man should boast.  Yes, you know where those are found?  Anybody?  Okay ministers.  2:8-9.  Does anybody know what verse 10 says?  Will some man of God or woman of God go to Ephesians 2:10 and read that to me.  We are his workmanship unto good works.  Oh my goodness gracious. Oh my goodness gracious, yes. We’re his workmanship. 

I want to tell you God is not going to claim some of this workmanship that’s been going on in some peoples lives.  There is good works. If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things pass away, behold all things become new.  There is a change.  If you are saved, you’re changed.  You might not be perfect, but you have an understanding that you didn’t have like my brother said the other night.  The Word will quicken you when you know the Word. And if the Word don’t quicken you, the Holy Spirit will. There is a difference.  We need to get back to contending for the faith, people live right. Amen.  can I get an amen.  The people that don’t want to live right, want to crucify you. 

And so Michael, one of the most powerful arch angels that God has, wasn’t even coming against Satan himself.  He said the Lord rebuke thee. 

Jude 1:10

   But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

But these speak evil of those things which they know not.  Oh, my goodness gracious we have this stuff going on today.  We have the media speaking about the things they know not.  We have homosexuals speaking against things they know not.  Never has period has been a time when Christianity has been under attack by the media and the things that are going on now. 

And like I told you, you live in the bible belt and you live in the hardest time to preach ever and the hardest place.   But I want to tell you something, you have been chosen for this time.  You have been chosen because you are able to minister in this time. You are able to get a breakthrough and go through and help people. 

But your going to have to realize, we are  going to still have to do it the old fashion way.  It’s not just going to come because we’ve been called, it’s going to have to come because we still seek him.  Lord I need you.  Lord anoint me.  I was before the Lord today and I said Lord I need you, I need you to minister to the people.  Lord I don’t have anything to give the people, I don’t have nothing in my hands.  If you don’t anoint me and use me and give me the words to say to the people, they will receive nothing.

So we have to get before the Lord and we have to depend upon him.  If anything gets done, it’s going to be God.  God is not going to share his glory.  You hear a lot of people talking about things that are not even so. Why?

What they know naturally as brute beast and in those things they corrupt themselves.  They know naturally things.  Have you ever tried to reason with somebody spiritual things and they can’t get it.  Understand this, natural or carnal people can’t receive the things of the Lord.  They don’t understand.  So, you can talk to them all you want.  Or you think if I could just talk to them, no it won’t work.  They don’t understand. 

What you got to do is call in your help. You have help, you have help.  You can pray for God to convict, for God to draw, for God to deal, for God to reveal.  Does anybody believe that God can reveal things to people.  Does anybody believe as one person said they were praying as their son was backslid, and out of the house of God and they was praying for him.  They said God shake him, shake him, shake him in his bed and then the boy woke up in the middle of the night, he was giving his testimony, he said he woke up and something was shaking him.  I want to tell you, sometimes, God can really do that.  We don’t need to limit God Amen. 

But what you need to do is you need to learn this. You need  to learn how to pray this way. Lord, how do I pray about this situation.  Don’t you know that the bible tells us that sometimes we don’t even know how we ought to pray and the Holy Spirit will pray for us.  Oh, glory to God, so here we see this common salvation and it’s time to get to the leadership of the Holy Ghost.  Amen. 

Tarry till you be endued with power from on high.  Understand, you will not have power if you do not tarry.  You can have a shout, you can have a dance, you can have all kind of things but no power.  We got to have power, amen. 

Glory to God, I don’t know how much fun your having, but I’m having a ball.  Nervousness and all.  Hallelujah

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February 2008