Jude 2 Mercy , Peace and LOVE be Multiplied!

 Jude 2

I'm not that perfect Christian---I'm the One who knows I need Jesus  ( this was from Facebook.  No Christian is perfect and no Christian would say this really.without Jesus you are not a Christian. Duh)

To Be a Leader You Have to be a Servant First ( Jude was a servant of Jesus even though he was the "brother of James")

Introduction---- If you /I are going through problems which we all do every day, what do we need?  We don't need an angry voice or a loud one shouting .  We don't need to be told we can't do such and such because we are not able to.  We if we are honest struggle with doubts, difficulties, problems and people who annoy every day.  Jude knew that .  Jude knew there were tremendous problems; he was saying how to not give in right in  the middle of.  He was saying to fight the good fight, " contend earnestly for the faith" vs.  

But he does not start with the problems even though that was the reason for writing the letter possibly to people he knew in Antioch.  Vs 17 seems to say various Apostles had been there... " remember beloved the words which were spoken before of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ"

Jude begins as we started a few days ago with encouragement.   " to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called." vs 1 Even Christians have problems and their calling is of God, not themselves.  How comforting to know we are kept and called!

Today , vs. 2 " Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied."  All of these things to the Christians he is writing be multiplied....in the aorist optative passive.  He is praying that what has happened , in the past, by their grounding and faith in the Saviour Jesus Christ will continue in the future....optative. ( I had to look that vb tense up!) 

Jude says & prays that mercy, peace and love continue through the Holy Spirit, and God the Father in the faith they already have in the Son, Jesus Christ.  

1. Mercy---

Mercy is a small Greek word but without God's mercy we would not be born from above, or born again.  

" The Christian receives mercy AT HIS REGENERATION (  I Peter 1:3----' Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead') and every day of his Christian life stands in need of the mercy of God.  NOTHING BUT UNMERITED MERCY can meet the constant needs of habitual sinners."

Here is the question to answer," WHAT DO YOU AND I DO AS BELIEVERS TO APPROPRIATE GOD'S MERCY DAILY?"

---O this one is the key to a lot of our daily grind that is so bitter .  I am happy to have an old house in Andalusia.  Right now I am blessed to go outside for small refreshing moments, and I pick up blueberries off the bush, wash them, and they are better than skittles!  We need such mercy every moment of our lives, from the moment of believing to the moment of death, and in between our living her and interacting with people, problems, perplexities, and possibilities!

2. Peace.  

Acceptance with God leads to peace in the life.  ( Eirene-Greek, Shalom- Hebrew)

" When a man knows himself to be accepted with God, undeserving though He is, this gives him a deep peace in his life." Michael Green, The Epistle of Jude

In the hubub , noise and loud voices of the world, we know what peace looks like.  We seek it, and we try and appropriate it.  A long trip refreshes the soul.  I have been seeing a lot of pictures on FB from the " I love Scotland" site, and it makes me want to go there, to enjoy its people, scenery, animals, castles and beauty.  I saw one this week, a video , of the ocean , near Auchenlarie ( pronunciation?hmmm)

A problem finally solved brings us joy as well as peace.  Perhaps we had that little word  no and mean it, and close a chapter .  There is peace in no.  Boundaries bring peace too.  I had a teacher , pastor one time who said Open windows , open views bring in the bugs.

3.  Lastly, love.  That is the word agape in Greek, charity in the KJV.  What is that country song?  " Looking for love in all the wrong places?"

Not eros, fleshly love, not phileo, friendship, but agape, the love which is sacrificial....This is the only love that satisfies , and can carry us to heaven. 

Romans 5:5 says at the end of a series of questions about the tribulations of life, that require patience and hope, "Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

Jude displays Christian love even in the serious warnings he issues in his letter.

Conclusion----As you go about your day, remember the Mercy, peace and love that has been multiplied , made us full in our lives, knowing we are not alone but God is journeying with us, in the darkness and the light, in the valley and on the mountaintop.

And we Praise God for His indescribable mercy, love and peace!