Sermon Synopsis 12.07.25

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Scripture: Jude 1:24–25 (NKJV)

24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

I.               INTRODUCTION

1. Before we move into the text, take a moment and breathe in the goodness of God.
   Every breath we take is borrowed grace.
   Every day we wake up is God’s hand holding us steady.
   And so we begin by simply saying:
   Lord, thank You for Your keeping power. Transform us by Your Word today. Amen.
2. Jude opens his benediction with a declaration that is not nostalgic and not futuristic. He begins with one powerful word: “Now.”
   Not yesterday.
   Not someday.
   Not after conditions improve.
   Now unto Him who is able…
3. Because the God who kept you in childhood, the God who brought you through your darkest nights, the God who lifted you when you could not lift yourself—that same God is holding you right now.
4. When you look back across the chapters of your life, you see evidence everywhere:
   • storms that should have drowned you
   • valleys that should have buried you
   • seasons that should have broken you
   • attacks that should have ended you
5. Yet here you are—breathing, standing, surviving, becoming.
   That’s not luck.
   That’s not coincidence.
   That’s not resilience alone.
   That is the Lord who kept you.
6. Jude writes to a community of believers facing infiltration, deception, confusion, and spiritual drift. They knew Scripture deeply—they knew the Exodus, the rebellion of angels, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jude speaks their language. He uses apocalyptic imagery, the Bible’s way of pulling back the curtain to reveal the unseen world where God is at work even when chaos is unfolding on the surface.
7. Apocalyptic literature says: You see trouble, but God sees triumph. You see confusion, but God sees completion. You see danger, but God sees destiny forming behind the scenes.
8. Jude identifies the threat of apostasy, a drifting away from what once anchored your soul.
9. Apostasy shows up as:

• A departure from truth
• A departure from trust
• A departure from the Teacher Himself

• People were turning from sound doctrine to seductive doctrine—truth that feels good instead of truth that is good. They replaced conviction with convenience and discipleship with distraction. Jude tells them, “You must contend for the faith”—not casually, not occasionally, but intentionally—because everything valuable must be protected.
• It is against that backdrop that Jude declares:
  “Now unto Him who is able to keep you…”
• Not “you must keep yourself,”
  but He is able.
• Not “you must hold it all together,”
  but He is holding you.
• Not “you must navigate every threat alone,”
  but He is the Keeper of your right now.

II.               HIS POWER TO PRESERVE

• Jude doesn’t begin with God presenting us; he begins with God preserving us. Before we ever get to the glory, before we ever stand faultless, before we ever experience joy—God starts by keeping us.
• There are moments in life when the weight becomes so heavy that you feel your knees buckling.
  Moments where breath is short, tears are frequent, and hope looks blurry.
  Yet deep in the tension, God upholds you in ways you didn’t even realize at the time.
• Jude says that God keeps you from stumbling—not from walking into difficulty, not from facing pressure, not from encountering grief—but from the kind of falling that destroys your purpose, your identity, and your belonging in Him.

A.    He Guards Us from Falling

1. Picture a small child walking through a crowded downtown street—eyes lifted, captivated by lights and storefronts, unaware of dangers around them.
   But behind the child is a parent—watching, pacing, ready to intervene instantly.
   The child sees attractions; the parent sees threats.
   The child sees opportunity; the parent sees danger.
   The child walks freely; the parent covers faithfully.
2. That is what God does for His people.
   He places Himself between you and what intends to harm you.
   You don’t even realize how many attacks never reached your doorstep because God intercepted them.
   1. Ephesians 6 describes the armor of God—helmet, breastplate, shield, sword, belt, sandals.
      Everything listed protects the front of the believer.
      So who protects your back?
   1. God does.
      He is your rear guard.
      The reason the enemy never successfully blindsided you, the reason the dagger thrown behind your back never struck, is because God Himself stood between you and every unseen attack.
3. God’s preserving power is not the absence of adversity; it is the assurance that adversity cannot overthrow His purpose for your life.

B.    He Guides Us to Finish

1. Preservation is not merely defensive—it is directional.
   God does not only guard you from falling; He guides you toward finishing.
2. You were not designed to wander aimlessly.
   Your steps are ordered—even when the ordering feels like disruption.
   Every closed door was a redirection.
   Every lost opportunity was a pivot.
   Every breakup, job shift, disappointment, and detour was a steering mechanism.
3. If that door had stayed open, you would still be stuck in a place too small for the destiny God planted in you.
   If that relationship had not ended, you would have been yoked to someone who could not carry the weight of your future.
4. God’s keeping power is also a guiding power, pushing you toward the place He ordained long before you understood the path.

III.               HIS PROMISE TO PRESENT

• Jude moves us into the crescendo of the text:
  “…and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”
• The world sees your flaws.
  People see your history.
  The enemy sees your weaknesses, but God sees you through the finished work of Christ.

A.    He Presents Us Faultless

1. From childhood many of us have been labeled—
   • “not enough”
   • “too broken”
   • “too inconsistent”
   • “too flawed”
2. Teachers underestimated you.
   Family criticized you.
   Friends magnified your mistakes.
   Some people didn’t know how to handle the gift in you, so they mishandled you.
3. But when God presents you, He does not present you through reputation—
   He presents you through redemption.
4. Faultless does not mean you never did wrong.
   Faultless means your wrongs no longer define you.
5. Picture a courtroom where charges are being read—charges you know are true.
   You brace yourself for the verdict.
   Then the Judge enters and announces:
   “Case dismissed.”

Not because you were innocent,
but because you were covered.

This is why we cannot condemn each other.
Grace that lifts us cannot be used to shame someone else.
If God removed your guilt, who are we to reattach guilt to someone else’s name?

B.    He Presents Us With Fullness of Joy

1. God doesn’t present us reluctantly—He presents us rejoicing.
   Not with minimal joy.
   Not with decent joy.
   But with exceeding joy—overflowing, abundant, unstoppable joy.
2. Joy is not emotion; joy is infrastructure.
   Joy is the internal engine that keeps running even when external conditions collapse.
3. Joy is…A Fruit of the Spirit — Galatians 5:22
   2. A Strength-Giver — Nehemiah 8:10
   3. A Response to God’s Salvation — Psalm 51:12
   4. A Gift Found in God’s Presence — Psalm 16:11
   5. A Hopeful Expectation — James 1:2
   6. A Mark of the Kingdom — Romans 14:17
4. Happiness is external:
   flowers, applause, affirmation, compliments.
5. Joy is internal:
   revelation, identity, stability, presence.
   1. Imagine a neighborhood during a power outage.
      House after house goes dark, but one house is still glowing.
      Why? Because that house has a generator—power that does not depend on the grid.
   1. That is joy.
      Joy keeps you shining when
      • the relationship collapses
      • the finances tighten
      • the job shifts
      • the storm hits
      • the wind howls
      • the ground shakes
   1. This joy you have—the world didn’t give it, and the world cannot take it away.

IV.               HIS PRAISE IS PERMANENT

• Jude concludes by lifting our gaze beyond earth’s instability to heaven’s permanence:
• “…to God who alone is wise, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, both now and forever.”

A.    His Glory Is Eternal

1. Worship is not entertainment; worship is surrender.
   The presence of God moves where ego dies.
   The glory falls where agendas collapse.
   Healing emerges where surrender deepens.
   When glory enters a room, nothing remains the same because glory reveals God and conceals man.
2. We come to church saying, “I need a word,” but God also asks, “What will you give Me?”
   Clapping is appreciation.
   Worship is surrender.

B.    His Greatness Is Exalted

1. Consider a lighthouse in the middle of a violent storm—
   waves crashing, winds screaming, clouds swallowing the sky.
   The lighthouse does not calm the storm.
   It does not silence the waves.
   It does not stop the wind.
2. But it stands.
   Unmoved.
   Unshaken.
   Unintimidated.
3. Why?
   Because the storm has motion,
   but the lighthouse has foundation.
   The storm has noise,
   but the lighthouse has authority.
   The storm has force,
   but the lighthouse has dominion.
4. That is your God.
   Everything around you can shake,
   but He cannot be moved.
5. Everything around you can change,
   but He remains forever.
6. And because He is the Keeper of your right now,
   He is also the Keeper of your tomorrow.

C.   INVITATION

1. If you are reading this and you feel far from God…
   If life has pushed you into a place of confusion or transition…
   If you’ve drifted and want to return…
   If you’re longing for His glory to rest on your home, your family, your purpose…
2. There is no shame.
   No condemnation.
   Only grace.
   Only arms open wide.
   Only a Savior ready to keep you, guide you, and present you faultless with exceeding joy.
3. Come to Him.
   Come into His keeping.
   Come into His glory.

Have a blessed and victorious week in the Lord.