I'd like to continue in Acts chapter 20. Paul's teaching the elders at the church of Ephesus. Let me go ahead and read the section one more time. It's been a few weeks since we were in it. Verse 17 of Acts 20. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. When they were come to him and said unto him, he said unto them, You know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you in all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the laying and weight of the Jews, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. But I have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks' repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy. ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God shall see my face no more. Wherefore, I take to you record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember. But by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one, night and day, with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know. These hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how, that so laboring, you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. When He had thus spoken, He kneeled down, and prayed with them all. They all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake. that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship. Well, if you remember the context, after leaving Philippi, Paul traveled on to Troas and spent a week there preaching the gospel of Christ, teaching the brethren. In fact, if you remember, he preached long to them, long into the night. The case where the young man Eutychus fell out of the window and they presumed him to be dead. After Paul preached at Troas, he left there and he determined to meet the brethren in Asos. Now, if you remember, the brethren took the ship and Paul determined to travel on land. After meeting up with the brethren in Asos, Paul determined, I must go to Jerusalem quickly. He needed to get there before the day of Pentecost had come. So he set his sights on Jerusalem, but he determined to stop off at churches along the way to build them and instruct them and edify them, strengthening them in the faith. One of these churches he stopped at was Ephesus. Now, when he reached the church of Ephesus, he had a particular purpose in mind. I must need to teach the elders. This was his goal. This was what he desired to do. He knew that by teaching the elders, they would then indeed watch over the souls of the saints. So, he had to teach them, build them up, strengthen them. So, verse 17, from Aletus, he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. So, his purpose was to build them up. His method was to point to his own leadership. He said that, you know from the first day, verse 18, that I came into Asia after what manner I have been with you at all seasons. So he points them to his own example, and he encourages them basically, follow my example. Look to me, look at the way I led, look at the way I've loved you, I've cared for you. Verse 20, I've kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but I've showed you and taught you publicly, and from house to house. So he teaches the elders. He instructs them. He wants to build them up. And after going through this long discourse with them, you can imagine they were riveted to his words. They loved Paul. They had profited much from Paul's teaching. They wanted to be like Paul. Paul was an elder slash apostle. These elders, pastors, wanted to be just like Paul was, and so they listened to him. When he got to the end of his discourse, he gives them a blessing, a benediction. Verse 32, And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Tonight, I want us to look at one single verse, verse 32, this benediction or this blessing that Paul brings upon the elders. It's a rich verse. It's a verse that's very encouraging. He's speaking specifically to the elders. These are the men that God had raised up as the officers and representatives of the church. And so these are words spoken specifically to them. But that being said, These are words that can be spoken to all the body of Christ because they apply to all. And now, brethren, this could apply to every one of you as Paul commends you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." So tonight I want us to look at this verse, this blessing that Paul gives upon them before finally he kneels and prays with them, enters into the ship, and departs, and they see him no more. very grievous time. This passage is filled with great emotion. And as these men truly loved Paul. So let's look at the the commendation, the benediction, the blessing that Paul gives in verse 32. The first thing we find here is that he commends them to God. And now, brethren, I commend you to God. Now Paul had taken his duty seriously with the church, with all the churches. He took his duty with great sobriety. He understood it was his calling. He understood it was a high calling. He had watched for their souls. He knew that he would give account. And so it weighed heavily upon him. That's the reason in 2 Corinthians 11, after Paul had spoke about all the difficulties he'd been through, he'd been shipwrecked, he'd been stoned, he'd been beaten with rods, he'd been scourged, he had suffered greatly. And when speaking of the great trials and the difficulties that had been so much a part of his ministry, he adds, Besides those things that are without, these sufferings, these shipwrecks, these difficulties that caused physical outward torment, besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all of the churches." Paul saw this as a burden. It was a great burden upon him. Not one that he despised, one that he adored, but he saw it as a burden. 2 Corinthians 12, 15, he says, and I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. He took it seriously. Verse 20 in this passage again, I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. He saw his duty as something that God had placed upon him. And now he knows he's about to depart. Verse 32 again. I'm sorry. I'm lost. Anyway, he's telling them that he's not going to see them anymore. He's about to depart. He's seeing them for the last and final time. And so, in essence, what Paul is saying in verse 32 is now that I am about to depart, And I will not see you again. I will not be able to encourage you. I will not be able to instruct you. In essence, God is ending my responsibility to you. Now I commend you to God. I am placing you in the hands of God, which, by the way, is the most excellent place to be. There's no better place than we can be that in the hands of God, commended to God. David said in Psalm 28, The Lord is my strength, my shield, my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped. Therefore, my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise Him." Or Psalm 18, verses 2 and 3. And these are wonderful psalms. These are psalms you should highlight in your Bible, because when you're going through these difficulties that are so much a part of the Christian life, They bring so much encouragement to know that we are in the hands of God. And our God is a mighty shepherd who holds us firmly in his hand. Psalm 18 reads, The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust. my butler, or my shield, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." In other words, he's our sure defense. He's our mighty king. He says, I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. So Paul is commending these people, these blessed saints, into the hands of God. A wonderful place to be. Now, what does it mean to be in the hands of God? Well, I think we see it in several ways. One, we're surely commended to the power of God, power to endure every trial, the difficulties that come upon the Christian life. Romans 8.35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine or nakedness or peril or sword our mighty God. Nothing shall separate us from the hand of God. So surely in the hand of God, by His mighty power, we are shielded and enabled to endure every trial. And in His power, we are grounded to stand firm in every temptation. Temptations come, fiery temptations. I was sharing with a couple of the men last Sunday night before discipleship training, talking about temptation. It's really only the saints that truly experience temptation. First of all, the laws really don't care one way or the other. It's not like they're struggling hard with sin. Not only that, Satan has them blinded to the gospel. He doesn't have to tempt them. Their own corrupt hearts keep them sinning against God. This is the condemnation that light has come and men love darkness rather than light. Because their deeds are evil. Satan really doesn't have to tempt the lost. He tempts us. And it's terrible temptations. Horrid temptations. You feel it every day. You're in a struggle continually. It's a terrible, terrible ordeal that we face daily. 1 Corinthians 10.13 says, There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which ye are able. But with the temptation he will also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it. God is all-powerful. And though you are tempted and tempted sore, He provides a way of escape every time. He's powerful. I think he's powerful to enable us to valiantly stand against all the attacks of Satan, not only temptations. Satan attacks us in many ways besides temptation. He accuses us. He discourages us. He attacks us in so many ways. Yet, Paul says in Ephesians 6, Finally, my brethren, Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So He gives us the power to endure every trial, to stand firm in every temptation, to fight valiantly through every attack of Satan. And He gives us the power to persevere. In fact, it's by His power that we are preserved into the end. If it were not for His power, you would not continue. You would not endure. It's only by His power that we continue to press on. Jude 1 verses 24 and 25. Of course, Jude only has one chapter. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. If God withheld His powerful hand of mercy upon you for just a moment, you would fall away. You would not continue. It's by His mighty power. For Paul to commend these saints into the hand of God, is to say, you will persevere, you will endure every trial, every temptation, every struggle that you will go through. You will endure, because you are safely in the hands of God. Not only that, to be commended to God is also to be commended to His wisdom, His counsel to direct you in all of your ways, because you don't have any wisdom. You truly don't. You have no wisdom. You might have a little bit of worldly wisdom. Surely you know how to get up from your bed and put on your clothes and start your day. You surely know that. You may have some education. You may have some worldly wisdom, but not the true wisdom that will help you in spiritual ways, that will help you in ways that ultimately count. The lost man doesn't understand the Word of God, doesn't know how to apply the Word of God. So that's the reason that we're just talking about the state of Massachusetts and them outlawing spanking. Because from the human perspective, that makes absolute sense. After all, they've been convinced that spanking your child will lead them to violent behavior. You're teaching them violence. You're teaching them to respond in violent ways. It makes absolute sense. They've been taught now for some 40 odd years of the psychological processes and how to deal with children's psychologies and how to spank them. It just seems like abuse. After all, you're inflicting pain. We don't want pain anymore. That's a bad thing. It's torture. You surely would not want to be torturous to your children. It makes such sense to them. But what they don't understand is that the wisdom of God is so much greater than the foolishness of men. And they think it's right. That's the reason it makes so much sense. You know, a young woman gets pregnant out of wedlock. What is the best solution? best solution from her perspective and from the perspective of the world. And the way we know it's the perspective of the world is 1.3 million babies are murdered every year in their mother's womb. This tells us that there's a lot of people that think they have the answer. This is the right decision to make. Kill the baby. Put it out of my memory so that I can go on with my life and live the kind of life that I want to live. It's the foolishness of this world. God has granted us the wisdom of his word and he promises to teach us. And so for the Christian, commended to the hand of God, we're able to think clearly, think rightly, think the thoughts of God, the God that created us, the God that has told us in his word what things are right and what things are wrong. And so to be commended into the hands of God is to be commended to his wisdom. Proverbs 3, this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I think I've given the testimony many times, but I'll tell you again quickly. Maybe it's been a long time since I've given it. Back years ago, 1985, and I had just started back to LSU after 11 years away from formal education. Actually, 13 years away from formal education. I was taking a botany class that was truly eating my lunch. You have to take a physical science in the College of Arts and Science. Biological science had a choice of biology or botany. Botany seemed like the easier of the two. I figured it would be maybe the classification of flowers and maybe some nice plants and looking at plants under a microscope maybe. But there's chemistry involved in it. Who would have thought? And he was eating my lunch. And one night at the church, we had gathered at the church for some reason for prayer and we were sitting quietly in the pew by myself with my Bible in my hand and I opened up the Bible and this isn't encouraging superstition but it just so happened I opened up to Proverbs 3 and glanced to the page and this is the passage I looked at and it was a tremendous encouragement to me as I I was in grief over the class, and ultimately God saw me through the class quite well, but He encourages us through His Word. It's a wonderful gift from God. Proverbs 3, verses 5-7, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord, depart from evil. Be not wise in your own eyes. Trust the Lord. He'll direct your path. To be committed, to be commended into the hand of God is to be trusted in His hand of power, His wisdom, It's a wonderful place to be. And then I suppose you could also include in this, it would mean to be commended to the person of God, who is most glorious. There is none other being in the universe that is so worthy, so majestic, so powerful, so awe-inspiring, so worthy of our worship. No other being is worthy to bow before. So to be commended to God is to be commended into this mighty being who loves us and is worthy of worship, is to be commended into the Most High God who will always protect and keep us until the end. Second of all, Paul says here, verse 32 again, And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. Now, Looking at this phrase, the Word of His Grace, there's been some disagreement as to exactly what this is referring to. Some believe it's referring to Christ, who is sometimes referred to as the Word. In fact, John, in several times, several passages, referred to Christ as the Word. John 1.1, we all know this, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Or if you skip down to verse 14 of John 1, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Or 1 John 1, 1, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life, So some say that this word here, this word of grace, the word of His grace is speaking to Christ. I commend you to God and to Christ. John Gill, the respected English Baptist of the 18th century, held this view. But it's doubtful that that's what this verse is referring to, that it's referring to Christ. According to J.C. Ryle, It's not clear the Lord Jesus has ever called the Word by any New Testament writer except for John. In fact, all the passages I just read to you, John 1.1 and John 1.14 and 1 John 1.1, all the Apostle John. So it would be very strange then to have the Apostle Paul referring to Christ as the Word when he never has. So the best way to determine a passage, one of the first rules of hermeneutics, is to examine the context. We often go so far astray when trying to interpret the Word of God when we take a passage out of context or we don't use the immediately preceding and the immediately following verses to help to get a clue as to exactly how to interpret a particular passage. And so you read the verses immediately before and those after, trying to get a hint as to what this means and can we find any hints, and we do find one in verse 24. Paul says, but none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself. that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." So in verse 32 he refers to the word of his grace, and in verse 24 he speaks of the gospel of the grace of God. And there are so many times that the Word of God and the Gospel of God can almost be used synonymously. There are many passages that you can use as an example of that. For example, Acts 2.41, Then they that gladly received his Word, that is the Gospel, the Word, the Gospel, were baptized. And the same day they were added unto them about three thousand souls. Or Romans 10 verses 16 and 17. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So you see the very close connection between the gospel and the word of God. You can't separate the two. And then 1 Thessalonians 2.13, For this cause also we thank God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God, which is the gospel, which ye have heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. And so in a general sense, This is referring, or actually in a particular sense, this is referring to the gospel of God, the gospel of Christ, the word of grace, the gospel of grace. It is pointing to Christ. What is the gospel? If someone were to ask you, what is the gospel? Which many people can't answer. The gospel is basically the message of Christ, the work of Christ, His birth. His life, His death, His resurrection and ascension. The gospel is Christ. But in a general sense, the best way to see this in verse 32 is simply to see it as the Word of God. Paul is commending them to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up. So that gives a hint as well. He's commending them to God and the word of his grace which is able to build you up." In other words, Paul is recognizing clearly that the word of God is the very means of God for strengthening, building up, and edifying the body of Christ. You cannot separate the word of God from the growth of God's people. Now God has saved us that we might be holy. That's His purpose, His ultimate purpose. He has saved us that we might be holy. Now there's a sense in which we are made holy in terms of justification. That is a positional holiness. That is justification in which the imputed righteousness of Christ is given unto us. So this is imputed holiness. We are declared holy. We are God's holy people. But on the other hand, God has determined to save us that we might actually live a holy life. So we have a positional holiness, but God has also saved us that we might live a practical holiness. In Ephesians 1, Paul said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath chosen us for the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Holy and blameless. So, I think that the two expressions given in this fourth verse of Ephesians 1, holy and blameless, that we should be holy and without blame, is simply speaking of our outward holiness and our inward holiness. the difference between sanctification and justification. God has saved us according as He has chosen us in Him, that is, in Christ, when? Before the foundation of the world. Why? That we should be holy and without blame. In other words, that we should be holy in Christ, sanctification, and blameless at the same time, that is, justification. So Paul is simply saying here in verse 32, I'm commending you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up, to sanctify you. The word for able, by the way, is from the Greek word dunamite, which is where we get our word dynamite. It means powerful. It means that Paul is saying that this word is powerfully able. It is effectually able to build you up. So God uses his word to teach us, to train us, to convict us. He uses his word to teach us more of himself and of his demands for his people. He uses His Word to convict us of sin and conform us more and more to the image of Christ. In fact, you can only truly measure your life by the perfect standard of the Word of God. You want to see how you line up, how you are living in a holy life before God? What is your standard? How can you tell? Use the Word of God. That's the reason we depend upon the wisdom of God, because the wisdom of the world says one thing, The wisdom of God says something else. God uses his word to teach us his wisdom, and we want to be conformed to his wisdom. So how does he teach us and conform us? How does he sanctify us? How does he make us holy? Through his word. King David, the psalmist, Psalm 119, verse 11, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, I might not sin against thee. That's such a simple statement, but so profound. God, I've hid your word in my heart. I meditate upon it. I study it continually. And why? That I might not sin against you. In other words, by being conformed to your word, I'm conformed to your perfect law of righteousness. So over and over and over, the word of God is seen as that which builds and edifies and strengthens the body of Christ. John 17, 17, our Lord prayed, this is the great priestly prayer of Christ, and he says, sanctify them, sanctify my people, your disciples, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth, it's the word of God. Psalm 119, verse 9 says, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Very simple statements. How can a man cleanse his way? How can a man live right before God? How can a man live a holy life? The answer is quite simple. It's according to the word, the word of God. First Peter 2.2. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Very simple statements. That's the only way you're going to grow. It's the only way. It's God's appointed way through his word. Louis Burkhoff says, The principal means used by the Holy Spirit in sanctification is the Word of God. Scripture presents all the objective conditions for holy exercises and acts. It serves to excite spiritual activity by presenting motives and inducements. It gives direction to it by prohibitions and exhortations and examples. Paul says here, I'm commending you to the Word of God, which is able to build you up Which, in essence, Paul is saying, I'm leaving you. I've taught you publicly and from house to house. And now I will see you no more. So now I am commending you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. Which Paul tells young Timothy, 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17, which you probably have memorized, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine. for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. That's the Word of God for us. It is the means by which God makes us perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. So, Paul is declaring that this Word will build you and strengthen you. But he says one other thing as well. Look at the verse again, verse 32. Brethren, I commend you to God, to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up. And then he adds one more thing. It's also, he's still talking about the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up. It's also able to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Well, what does Paul mean by this? How is it that the Word of God is able to give you an inheritance? among all them which are sanctified." Now, first of all, he's stating a particular group that has this inheritance. It's only those that are sanctified. It's only the elect. It's only the body of Christ. So he's talking to a distinct group of people. And he's speaking specifically of the promises of God given to that particular group. The promises of God that are able to build you up and to give you an inheritance. Now, the Word of God declares that we are heirs and joint heirs with Christ in Romans 8, verses 17 and 18. And if children than heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, we may be also glorified together. For I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans chapter 4 also speaks briefly of the fact that we are heirs and I've prepared, I won't preach it for a month, but I've prepared a whole message on simply the concept of heirship or being those that have an inheritance. It's a wonderful concept, it gives great encouragement for you to consider all that is yours by virtue of you being in Christ. And so what Paul is saying here is that it's through the word of His grace that we receive the promises of God. It's through the word. In fact, what is the very essence of faith? Let me tell you what the very essence of faith is in a very brief statement. The essence of faith is taking the promises of the Word of God and resting on them, trusting them. I've brought before you many times the three aspects of saving faith. Notitia or knowledge, you have to know something. The second is a census, you have to assent or agree with it. And the third is fiducia, you have to trust or rest upon the promises of God. Well, this first aspect, the knowledge, comes from the Word of God. And in essence, we're reading and understanding the promises of God, statements of God concerning Himself. We're reading about what God says about us, in which He says, There's none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's none that doeth good, no, not one. We understand clearly in the Word of God we are undone. But the Word of God is full of promises. wonderful promises. It speaks of those that trust in Christ and rest upon His sacrifice upon the cross. It speaks of them having life, reconciliation, adoption, sonship, all of these blessed promises. All of this is exposed in the Word of God. And so as we read the Word of God, we rest upon these promises. Because we understand by faith that the promises of God are true. So how can you rest upon the glorious truths of God? How can you embrace the wonderful promises of God if you don't even know them? How can you be thrilled and excited about your wonderful inheritance if you know nothing about it? How can you say you have faith in Christ when you know nothing about his death upon the cross or his sacrifice of atonement? You can't. And so Paul is saying that this word of his grace, which is able to build you up, is able to give you an inheritance. In other words, it's like we have this document in front of us, this legal document that outlines for us completely all that God has promised for us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we read them and embrace them. But unless you know them, then how can you receive them? How can they give you hope? How can they thrill your heart? They cannot. So Paul is commending these precious brethren, these Christians, to God and the word of His grace that in essence they might continue to press on to the end. That's Paul's purpose for stopping at Ephesus. He wants to see them built up and strengthened. And what better way? You know, Paul has made it clear that I have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have led you. I have been an example to you. You have watched me and I have taken nothing from you. I have worked with my hands. You have seen me. I have lived an example before you. And now I'm commending you to God and to His Word, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance. I am teaching you that you might press on as the saints of God and continue to the end. And the very means by which God will help you to press on is His Word, which is powerful. Hebrews 4, 12, for the Word of God is quick, which means living. It's quick. and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." There are so many today that actually believe that you can grow in grace without the Word of God. It will not happen. You cannot grow as a Christian apart from the Word of God. There is an inseparable link between the two. That's the reason, if you want to grow, if you want to increase in holiness, if you want to continue to develop as a believer, if you want to be using the words of Paul, if you want to be built up, There is one way that it will take place. Surely God uses other ways too. Prayer is another means. There are means that God uses to build us up, but the chief is the Word of God. If we truly believe it, then will we not avail ourselves of it? The only way you can avail yourself of the Word of God is to read it. to study it, to meditate upon it, to memorize it, to hear it taught, to hear it preached, to use as many ways to do Bible intake as you possibly can. Because you will not grow in grace without the Word of God. You will not become holy. You will not continue to press on in holiness. And I can tell you this as well. There are those that believe you can actually increase in your relationship with Christ apart from the Word of God. And you will not. You cannot. How can you know Christ without His Word? How can you see Christ as all the more glorious unless you know Him? But the more you know of Him, the more you will see Him as so glorious and so wonderful, full of glory and grace, that your heart will be wooed towards Him and you will be in awe towards Him as you continue to grow in your understanding of Him. Apart from the Word of God, none of this will happen. It cannot happen. Now, that being said, the Bible is not just simply an academic exercise. It is not just simply reading to acquire knowledge. we're reading a living word. Remember, the Word of God is quick, it's living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. So we are reading of Christ. This is the Word of God. This is the revelation of God to us. He is revealing Himself to us. So as we approach the Word of God, we're not just simply doing an academic exercise, we're feasting upon Christ in His Word. And so we continue to throw ourselves at it because we're throwing ourselves at Christ. Paul's main concern was that they press on until the end. That's his heart. That's what his desire is. That's the reason he's stopping at these churches along the way, that they might press on in the end. So Paul's words to them is his word to us. that we might press on in faith and assurance until the end when we will receive our final and great reward, the fullness of our inheritance. There are aspects of our inheritance right now, but we will ultimately receive the fullness of our inheritance in glory. It's a wonderful thing indeed. Peter says in 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 5, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept," understand what he's saying here, the promise is there, the inheritance incorruptible undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you and then connected to you to you who are kept by the power of God through faith and the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time God's keeping us and he's keeping us by the word of his grace which is able to build us up and give us an inheritance among all them that are sanctified Paul's words to these elders is the same word to us. He's committing us to God, the power of God, the wisdom of God, the person of God, the word of God, which is able to build us up and give us the inheritance. Continue faithfully feeding upon the word of God, trusting the living God, and he will continue to keep you until the end. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, God, we thank you. That we are safely in your hand. That you're a powerful Father. You will not allow us to fall away. You will continue to keep us by your might and your power. The power that keeps us from temptation. The power that keeps us from falling away. The power that keeps us from the wiles of the devil. The power, Father, that continues to hold us not allowing us to fall away. And Father, we thank you for your Word, the Word of your grace, which is able to build us up. Father, we believe this. So Father, help us to be diligent in our intake of the Word of God, to feast upon it daily, that we would be people of the book. not simply to have it on our shelves or to hold it in our hands, but to feed upon every word that proceeds from your lips. Father, help us to be faithful in studying your word. Father, might you continue to impress upon our hearts the promises, and as we embrace the promises of our inheritance, may our hearts be lifted up May we see Christ all the more glorious, and may we continue marching forward with great excitement and zeal, with great joy, as we continue marching to our heavenly home. Father, thank you for these wonderful promises. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.