And for our scripture reading this afternoon, we're going to pick up in Acts chapter 20 again. I'm going to read from verse 32. We'll go a little bit before. The bulletin note, it starts at verse 33. Our text will begin in verse 33 to the end of the chapter. We'll start reading in verse 32, which puts us right at the end of what we covered already in our first service. Acts is again found in the New Testament after the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and before the Book of Romans. It's found on page 1710. 1,710 in the pew Bibles. We're looking at Acts 20 verse 32. We're going to read the whole section together out loud. So may we focus upon the reading of God's word together. Let us all say, so now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified, coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who are with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more, and they accompanied him to the ship. And that will be our focus as we study. We'll take verses 33 to the end. And again, looking at the idea of leadership and the idea of really Christian living. What does it mean to live wholeheartedly for Christ? What we'll see in this second service today as we focus upon these words is the idea of what's called generosity. Generosity. And when we think of generosity and what it means to be generous, we might think right away of money. To be generous means you give freely of money, and certainly that's one application or one part of being generous. But really the idea of generosity is more than just money. I don't know if you've ever seen it where perhaps there's a family where the father is no longer around, and a local man in the neighborhood gives of his time to invest in the children where this father's disappeared. They're generous, with their time. They give of themselves. And when you look through the Bible, and when you study the work of Paul and others, and certainly the work of Christ, what you can't help but notice is how generous they were with themselves. How much they gave of themselves for Christ. We can give of ourselves for all kinds of things, and they're not bad. We may have exercise routines. We may have hobbies we love to do and give hours towards. And those things aren't necessarily bad. It can be good to have good hobbies. And even Paul says bodily exercise does profit a little. But godliness is profitable for all things. But the idea of giving of ourselves for Christ The idea of disciplining ourselves that we invest our lives, our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers for God's kingdom. That's the call that's before us here this afternoon. The importance of saying that there is something in life worth giving yourself for. And it's Christ. It's Jesus. To help others get to know him and grow in him. And that's the call we have before us today, that we might learn what it is to give ourselves to build up the kingdom of Christ. We're going to see this in three points. We're going to see a generous apostle, a generous apostle, then a generous Savior, And finally, a generous parting. If you have the notes, the generous parting, I don't believe, is on the notes. I couldn't fit it onto two pages and have that on there. So, it's a small point. You won't miss much on the notes. We start off with a generous apostle. The generous apostle. I want you to notice how it begins in verse 33. Here's Paul, and he is saying goodbye to the church that he served for three years, and he says some interesting words. I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Now, there's a downside of having Pastor Prasad here for so many years. No one's ever left here. But sometimes when churches have a pastor, their pastors come and go. A pastor will stay for a while, and they'll go and serve another church. And when that happens, very rarely will a pastor come into the pulpit and say, hey, listen, I haven't coveted anyone's things. You did have a student, right? Was it Leo last summer? Yeah, Brother Leo came last summer. I want you to imagine at the end of the summer, Brother Leo has been here. He's served you for 10 or 12 weeks. I want you to imagine he says to you, it's my last Sunday, guys. I just want you to know I haven't coveted anybody's new car. I didn't covet anybody's nice shirt. I haven't coveted anyone's big wallet. I just want you to know." Imagine that was how he ended his time with you. That's what Paul is saying. And oddly, Paul is not alone. In 1 Samuel 12, the prophet Samuel is coming towards the end of his earthly race. He knows his time will end and he won't be a prophet to God's people anymore. And when he does, in 1 Samuel 12, in the first few verses there, he says to the people, I have not coveted anyone's donkeys, or oxen, or cattle, or clothing. What a strange thing. In 1 Peter 5, though, we see something else. In 1 Peter 5, Peter is writing to the elders of the church, and this is what he says in verse two. Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. What an interesting thing, that when Peter is writing to the elders, he says to them, listen, don't work for dishonest gain. Have you ever heard the saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely? You ever heard that saying? Do you know it's true also in the church? You can have someone and they're a beautiful Christian, and they love others, and you make them a Bible study leader. And you come into the Bible study for the night, and all of a sudden, they have on maybe a fancy tie. And they come and say, sit down, sit down, I'm about to teach you a Bible study. I am the leader of the churches, seeing that I have great gifts, and so I will tell you all the wonderful things I have learned, right? All of a sudden, they get a little bit of authority, and things change. There's a problem in the human heart. When we gain authority, we can begin to make it about ourselves, instead of about Christ. And so Paul says, listen, I want you to know I didn't use my position to get rich. I didn't come here to make money. I came here to teach you about Christ. And that's why he goes on to describe the lifestyle that he lived. He says, I've coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel, then verse 34, Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who are with me. I've shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak." When you go through Paul's life, there's a number of things that are quite remarkable in the way he behaved. When he first came to Ephesus, he worked with another couple called Aquila and Priscilla, and they were all tent makers, and they made tents together and sold them, and Paul had a job on top of sharing the gospel. When Paul went through his life, it is amazing to see how much he gave of himself for Christ. There's a couple passages in the Bible that speak of them, and I'd like to read them to you. One comes in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. If you want, you can turn there. Why don't we turn there? 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians is found just a little bit further down in the Bible. After Acts comes Romans, then 1 Corinthians, and then 2 Corinthians. We're looking at 2 Corinthians 11, and looking at verse 22. Well, maybe verse 23. And we can read this together. I'm gonna just set the idea of what's happening. We sometimes look at Paul the apostle, and we rightfully think of him as one of the greatest apostles ever, right? Like, Paul was an amazing guy. He went on three missionary journeys. He founded many churches. He was an amazing apostle. But in Paul's time, Paul wasn't always seen as very great. In fact, many people thought Paul wasn't that impressive. One of my favorite sermons is by a guy named Alistair Begg, and he gave a talk to a bunch of pastors, and he said, you know, sometimes we think we have to be certain types of people, but when Paul introduced himself, he said, you know, I didn't come to you with persuasive words. and with fancy talk, in fact, I was kind of scared. And he gave a description of seeing Paul coming to your church, and you pick him up at the airport to come and do a conference, and you drive him to his hotel, and then you go home, and your wife says, well, what does the man look like who's gonna be giving our conference? And you say, well, he doesn't look too impressive. He kind of stumbles over his words, and his knees kept shaking together, and I said, are you ready for speaking tomorrow? He says, actually, I'm kind of nervous about speaking tomorrow. I said, well, we don't want a guy who's nervous. We want a guy who's bold, and then you don't have the right guy, he said. I'm kind of scared. And when Paul would leave a church, sometimes they began saying, you know, that Paul guy, he wasn't the greatest. We like the really fancy talkers. We like the really smooth guys, and Paul, He's just, you know, not so important. So Paul had to defend himself and this is how he did it. In 2 Corinthians 11, this is what he did. We'll start in verse 22. Let's read together. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have been in the deep. And we'll stop there. Paul began to speak of what made him a minister, and he didn't point to the number of conversions. He pointed to what he suffered. He pointed to how he gave himself for Christ. And a little further, the argument continues, okay, it doesn't stop there. But if we skip to 2 Corinthians 12, 14, he picks up on this again. And he's still kind of defending himself. In fact, if we read from verse 13, you can see the defense of himself. So we're gonna read 2 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14. We'll read that together. It says this. For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong. Now for the third time, I am ready to come to you. I will not be burdensome to you, for I do not seek yours, but you." Just stop there. That's Paul's heart. He's saying, listen, I didn't charge you a lot of money, and you thought I wasn't a very good preacher because I didn't charge you a lot of money, but my goal wasn't to get your money. My goal was to get your heart. "'I desired not yours,' he says, "'but you.'" And then if you look just one verse further, verse 15, he says this, "'And I will very gladly spend "'and be spent for your souls.'" What kind of man was Paul? He's coming to Ephesus and he's saying, listen, I didn't come here to get rich. I didn't come here to make money. I came among you, I had a job to help pay the bills, and I brought the gospel because my goal was not money, my goal wasn't what you owned or what you had, my goal was you. I wanted to lead you to Christ. And that's what he goes on to say in Acts 20, he says, I've tried to show you by example that in every way you must support the weak. You must care for those who are weak in a way that strengthens them and encourages them and guides them. For that reason, Paul would pour himself out. He writes in 1 Corinthians 4, an interesting description of the gospel ministry. If you want to go, we'll read that one together too. 1 Corinthians 4. So he really had to defend himself to the Corinthians. But in 1 Corinthians 4, he's speaking of what it's like to be a minister. And I don't know, when I was young, I remember that they had commercials on TV for the Canadian military. I think it was the Canadian military. I hope it was. If it's American, I'll be very embarrassed. There's commercials. And I don't know if you've ever seen commercials for the military, but it looks amazing. Right? This one, when I was younger, it had the slogan, be all that you can be. Do you remember that slogan at all? Be all that you can be, join the Army or Navy. I don't know which one. One of those two. And it would show guys like rappelling out of helicopters on ropes, right? Crawling under barbed wire and climbing over obstacle walls. And I'm like, oh man, that looks really exciting. Let's see how Paul tried to sell becoming a pastor, okay? That's how the military tries to make you join the military. How did Paul try and help people become pastors? We're going to read from 1 Corinthians 4, verse 7. Actually, no, we'll just read verse 11. Verse 11, 12, and 13. 1 Corinthians 4, 11, 12, and 13. Let's read that together. To the present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we labor working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now." What an apostle. He went hungry for the sake of the gospel. He describes himself at times as homeless for the sake of the gospel. Imagine me coming as a guest preacher today and I didn't have a nice shirt on or a nice tie. I had torn up pants and a shirt that hadn't been washed in two weeks. Come to the pulpit and you say, boy, we want someone else up there. Say, well, the reason I'm like this is because for the last two weeks, I've been on mission and serving the Lord. Well, that might be a different story. That's what Paul was like. He gave himself for Christ so he could support the weak. What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to follow Christ? So in which we're called to die to self, to care for others, to be generous with our own lives, to give ourselves to care for those who might not be able to care for themselves. The example of Paul is then strengthened by the example of Jesus. Just a note on this. I just want to say just one thing, lest I get in trouble. When Paul went to one area and didn't have any support from him, he was often supported by other churches. So oftentimes, Paul, he might work, but he might also receive support from other churches so he could work with the weak. And that's how the stronger churches help bring the gospel to the weaker areas. It's not the idea that a pastor should never get paid. That's not what Paul is arguing. He's arguing that in order to care for those who are new to the faith, we don't want to put any burdens on them. We want to go after their souls, not their money. Okay, that's the idea. Let's go on then to see the example of Christ. Where did Paul learn this? And how did this come through in Paul's ministry? Well, the truth is he learned it from the one who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Paul says in verse 35, I've shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now before we get into this too deeply, there's something really neat about this verse. And what's neat about this is that this verse, this quote from Jesus, is not found anywhere in the Gospels. So if you try and find out where and when did Jesus say it's more blessed to give than to receive, you won't find it in the Gospels. But if your Bibles are open, go to John 21. Go to John 21. The very last verse of John 21, right before Acts. John 21, verse 25. It's the very last verse. John 21, 25, right before the book of Acts. We're gonna read this together. This is John's closing words, he says this. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written, amen. You know what that means? It means that Jesus did a whole lot more than what's written in the Gospels. I don't know if you've ever read through the gospel stories and it says Jesus came to a town and they brought him all who were sick and he healed them. You ever read that? Do you remember that line? Can you imagine what that would be like? He comes into a place and all who were sick comes and Jesus heals them all. Imagine walking into Sick Kids Toronto Hospital and there's not a single child in the hospital. Sunnybrook on the highway. Imagine walking into these massive Toronto hospitals, and there's not a single sick person in a bed. Because Christ comes into a city, and they bring him everyone who's sick, and he heals them all. And John says, listen, we can't tell all the stories Jesus did. We tell you some. But he did so much more. Everywhere he went, he was teaching, he was healing, he was bringing people to Christ. And somewhere in there, he said the words, it is more blessed to give. than to receive, and Paul said, we remember that. We heard him say that, and he shares it in Acts 21, or Acts 20. The idea of what Christ says there, it's more blessed to give than to receive, it fits, does it not, with the life that Jesus Christ lived. Where did Paul learn to go hungry for Christ? When Christ started his ministry, the Spirit led him into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights to be tempted by the devil. For 40 days and 40 nights, Christ had no food until the devil came to him and said, if you are the Son of God, turn these stones to bread. And Christ answered, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Where did Paul learn there is something in life worth going without to gain? Something worth suffering for to bring others to know? He learned it from Jesus. There's a story in Luke chapter nine where someone wants to follow Christ. And they say, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus gave a saying back. I don't know if anyone remembers it. Master, I will follow you wherever you go, and Jesus says, Luke 9, 57 to 58, foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. I always think it might be a little bit harsh, you know? If someone says, hey, I wanna come to church, and you say, hey, just know I'm homeless, right? Master, I'll follow you wherever you go, and Jesus says, just, I want you to know, I don't have a home on this earth. Foxes do, birds do, but I have nowhere to lay my head. When we think of what it meant for Christ to save sinners, we confess that he is very God of very God, We confess that before Jesus came to earth and walked upon it, that he was always the Son of God, that he dwelt in heavenly life. Have you thought about what that would mean? For the Son of God to leave the glories of eternal heaven? To save sinners? There's stories in the Bible where Christ speaks about how he's going to the cross, and they're walking to Jerusalem, and he tells them that the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners, and they will beat him, and they will mock him and they will crucify him. But the third day he will rise again. And right after Jesus tells his disciples on this, as they walk down the road, they begin to argue about which one of them is the greatest. And Jesus says to them, do not think of greatness in terms of the things of this world. Who is greater, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves the table? Jesus says, this is not the one who sits down at the table, but I am among you as one who serves. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Where did Paul learn there's something worth giving all to obtain? Where did he see the example of someone giving themselves over and over and over again because it's worth it? He saw it from his Savior. See, who was Paul? In his life and ministry, he was previously known by a different name, wasn't he? His name was Saul. As Saul, he was a man who fought the church of God. He persecuted Christians. We're a little further. My co-pastor preached on Acts 21 this morning in our church. And I want you to notice verse eight of Acts 21. It says this, on the next day, we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea and entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. And my co-pastor said, you know how odd it is that Paul went to the house of Philip? Because Philip was a deacon alongside Stephen. And Stephen was the man who was put to death for Christ when Saul was persecuting the church. And Saul was the man who stood over the clothing of those who killed Stephen to make sure they wouldn't get blood on their clothes when they killed the first Christian martyr. And now here he is in the home of Stephen's friend, Philip. Who was Paul? Paul was one who fought against the church of Christ. He hated Christians. He hated the Lord. And what did God do? As Paul went to Damascus to find and capture any who were followers of Christ, Jesus appeared to him on the road. Paul was blinded by the light. He cried out, Lord, Lord, who are you? Jesus said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. And Paul came face-to-face with Christ, and what happened? Paul was changed, he was converted, why? Because Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of whom, said Paul, I am the worst. Where did Paul learn there is something worth giving your life for, something worth pouring yourself out for, something worth keeping pressing on, and when you're tired and you're weary, and there's a hundred things you'd rather do, where did Paul learn that? But from Jesus Christ. I love the story of Christ in Gethsemane, when he is wrestling with the reality of the cross, and how much it would cost him to die on the cross for sinners. And he prays to the Father three times, and we know those three times weren't just three prayers, but times of long prayer, because each time the disciples fell asleep, right? There are seasons of prayer, and he prayed three times with such fervency that his sweat became like drops of blood upon his head. And he said, Father, if it be your will, take this cup from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done. When Simon, just after Christ prayed, when the crowd comes in to arrest Jesus, they're led by Judas. Simon draws out his sword and he slashes off the ear of the servant of the high priest. And Christ says to Simon, put your sword away. Could I not pray to my father? And would he not send 12 legions of angels? But how then could the scripture be fulfilled that it must happen in this way? And then Christ goes off with this group of mob of men with clubs and torches, and he allows them to mock him, to beat him, and to crucify him. And when he's hanging upon the cross, the crowd begins to join in the mockery. And they say, you who saved others, save yourself. Come down from the cross now and we will believe in you. And even then, what does Jesus do from the cross? But he prays, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Where did Saul, where did Paul learn what it was to give yourself, to pour yourself out because there's something worth giving all for? He learned it from the face of Christ. He learned it from the example of the man who said it is more blessed to give than to receive. He learned it from the man who saved his soul. Why did Paul go from city to city preaching the gospel? Why would he come to one place and be beaten and get up and go to the next place and do it all over again? Did his friends ever say, Paul, why don't you just hang up your shoes? Why don't you just stop the mission? Every time you go to a new spot, they receive you, they mock you, they beat you. Why do you keep this up? Can you imagine what his answer would have been? How can I not give everything for the one who gave everything for me? How can I not give of my life to the one who gave his life that I might be saved? The generosity we're called to as Christians, the way we're called to take up the cross, to lay down our lives, to follow Jesus, it doesn't come from nowhere, does it? It comes from a Savior who gave all to save us. Being a Christian, it's not easy, and living for Christ is not easy. I don't know where you're called to shepherd others in the Lord, but I want you to think about your lives. Where are you called to help others grow in Christ? It might be that you're married and you have responsibility to your husband or to your wife to help them grow in the Savior. It might be in a Bible study or maybe a friendship. Sometimes we have these friendships in the Lord and we pray for each other. I remember a good Christian friend of mine and he came to me once and said, Greg, can you make me a promise? And I said, what is it? He said, will you promise that if you ever see me wandering away from Christ, you'll tell me? Will you come after me if you ever see me struggling and wandering away from Jesus? And I said, yeah, I can do that. Maybe that's what it is for you. Maybe you have a friend and you know you have an obligation. You pray for each other and you want to care for each other. If anyone wanders and encourages you about the things of the Lord. Maybe you're a parent. Maybe you've got kids that you came and brought to the baptismal font and you made a promise that you would raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Maybe you're a member and you stood up here and promised to follow Christ. I don't know where you have responsibilities. But in every area of your life where you want to encourage others in the things of God, if you're trying to evangelize your neighbors, share the gospel with your coworkers, any area of your life where you're trying to build up others in Christ, it will wear you down. It will take you away from other things you could be spending time on. It will call for you to invest your prayers, your energy, your time, Sometimes when we have people we've been working on for Christ and they're new Christians, they call late in the night because that's when they're struggling. I remember the story of one person who was overcoming an addiction. They had several people who were accountability partners to help them in Christ and not falling back into their sin. They had been clean for three or four or five years. I don't remember the exact number. And they were out one time. at a Christian conference, staying in a hotel, when suddenly in the middle of the night, they felt a craving to fall into sin that they hadn't felt for years. And at two in the morning, they called their accountability partners. And at two in the morning, someone picked up the phone, and they said, I need help. I feel like I'm gonna fall right back into where I was years ago. Help me, and they prayed for them on the phone right there, and they found other Christians at the conference who could go to their room at two in the morning to help. If you wanna lead someone to Christ, it will always cost you. It will call for you to give of yourself. It will call for you to be available. It will call for you to pray. It will call for you to hurt. Because you love them in Christ, and when they struggle, you will feel the burden. But beloved Lord, we are called to this, because this is how Christ has given all for us. These are the sheep he loves, the people he died to save. It is worth, it is worth giving all to lead others to Christ. For Christ himself has said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. What happens when we strive to press on when we're tired? What happens when we get those late night calls and we try to give help to a friend? What happens when we pray with someone for some struggle? We walk away and we find that suddenly we're strengthened in the faith. And we have joined the Lord by striving to help others. Christ made this incredible claim. He said that no one who gives even a cup of cold water to a prophet in the name of a prophet will fail to receive a prophet's reward. In Matthew 25, he judges the sheep and the goats and he takes the sheep and he says, I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was in prison and you visited me. And they said, Lord, when did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you? When did we see you a prisoner and visit you? When did we see you hungry and we fed you? And Jesus says, as you did to the least of these, my brethren, so you have done to me. Why should we pour ourselves out in serving Christ and serving his church. Why should we give ourselves to help our kids in late night talks when all we want to do is go to bed? And then you talk about something that's a struggle on their soul. And we push ourselves to lead them to Christ right then, right there, to pray with them. Why? Because as we have done to the least of these, his brethren, we have done to Christ. And you will not lose your reward. Paul didn't lose anything by not having a fancy house on this earth. And Christ certainly didn't either, did he? But for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, and scorned its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus says it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Peter says to the apostles, we have given all to be with you, what shall we gain? Jesus says, I tell you, in the resurrection, you will sit on 12 thrones. In the kingdom of heaven, many a first will be last and the last will be first. Is it worth pouring ourselves out for Christ? The answer is by all means. Because Christ has poured himself out for us. And when we live for his glory, We just get to know the blessing of sharing in his joy, of seeing his kingdom come, his will be done. People strengthen in Christ despite all our weakness. Call of Christian leadership is the generosity to pouring out of self for Christ and for his kingdom and for his people. May the Lord help us to give of ourselves for the Savior. The passage ends with one final point that we're going to hit, and it's just this, a generous parting, a generous parting. After he said these things, the Bible says in verse 36, he knelt down and prayed with them all. If your Bibles are still open, just look back to Acts 20, the verse we looked at earlier today in verse 32, which we looked at in our first sermon. In verse 32, Paul said, so now, brethren, I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I want you to notice what Paul said in verse 32, he did in verse 36. What he said in verse 32, he did in verse 36. He gets on his knees with his brothers and sisters in Christ, and he prays for them, and he prays with them. He commends them to God. Christian life, we serve a real savior, don't we? A God who really hears and answers prayer, And what Paul knew is that they didn't need him, but they needed Christ. So when he goes, what does he do? He puts them in the hands of the one they truly need. He prays with them. And isn't that Christian leadership as well? It brings people to the Savior. That's where the false prophets and the wolves got it wrong, isn't it? Because when Paul cautioned against the wolves, he said that the wolves, verse 30, will speak perverse things and draw away the disciples after themselves. They'll begin to be followers of men instead of followers of Christ. But the Christian who loves the Lord, they want to anchor people not in themselves. They want to lead people to the Savior. So what does Paul do in his parting? He does the very thing he said he wanted to do. He brings them to the Lord. Beloved, when we try to disciple someone in Christ, we try and lead someone to faith, we try and help a struggling Christian, how powerless are we? How many times do you go through a conversation and you walk away thinking, this is what I should have said? I wish I had said that. But do you know what a blessing it is in that conversation to do one thing To say, listen, I don't know all the words I need to say, but I know the one who does. Can I pray for you? Can I pray with you? And to commend them to God. Paul takes them where they need to go. He takes them to Christ. And then we see that there's this incredible fellowship. They all weep. And they fall on Paul's neck and they kiss him. And they sorrow because Paul has announced previously in the sermon that they wouldn't see his face anymore. They take him to the ship. There's this incredible camaraderie within this group of Christians. And they love each other very deeply and they show it. There's a cultural thing here. I remember hearing the story of a missionary. I can't remember where he was a missionary anymore. I believe it was a place in Africa. We had a young man to our house and his father was a missionary and he served in Africa. I don't remember which nation it was anymore. And one time as he was walking down the road beside one of the men in the church, the man in the church grabbed his hand and intertwined fingers and held his hand as they walked down the road. And the Canadian missionary got really scared. And he thought, oh no, what kind of place am I in? But in that culture, it was just natural for friends, male friends, to hold hands. It wasn't weird. It was normal. And as Paul leaves, they fall upon him and they weep on him. Because when someone shows you Christ, you love them, don't you? And this is what the church is supposed to be like, isn't it? We're supposed to serve each other. We're supposed to watch out for one another. We're supposed to give of ourselves to help grow others in Christ, and we're supposed to love each other because of it. Pray together, care for each other, and have an affection, it's like family. Genuine love, why? Because by the grace of God, the people around us have helped us see Christ. And we love them all the more. So what's our calling and encouragement as we read God's word today is to see a beautiful example of Christian living. And by God's grace, looking to Christ to reflect it. God calls us to be willing to give ourselves for the gospel. To give our time and our effort to care for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and to build them up in the Savior. To give our time and effort to care for those who might be outside of the kingdom, who don't yet know Jesus, and how can they unless they are told? To invest our time and effort for those we may get to know in our workplace, in our communities, and certainly in our churches. To show the love of Christ. and appoint others to the one who is able to shepherd, guard, and keep their souls, because he has shepherded, guarded, and keeps our souls. May God help us to be able to know the beauty of who Christ is, and to give of ourselves, to give of our time, to give of our money, to give of our effort, to give of our love, to lead others to know the Savior. Amen, let's join together in prayer. Father in heaven, as we come before you this afternoon, we pray that you will grant us your grace that we might live for you. Help us to be willing, Lord, to pour ourselves out for the gospel, to take the time we have and not first and foremost to think about ourselves, but Lord, to serve in whatever places you've placed us. Maybe it's building up our family members in Christ. Maybe it's encouraging our fellow Bible study attenders in the Savior. Maybe it's reaching out to a neighbor or to a friend at work, but the truth of the gospel, taking time to pray for them, taking time to disciple them. Lord, we thank you that Christ has shown us what it is not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. While we are never called to serve in that model and in the way in which we are the saviors, yet, Lord, we reflect the gifts we've been given and find the joy of giving for the cause of Christ. I pray, Lord, you'll build us up in the Savior. You'll help us to know the joy of the Lord. Lord, you'll use us. You'll use us to grow others in Christ. You'll use us to be able to find how beautiful it is to lay down our lives and find so much more in the Savior. Now, Lord, through this, you will receive glory, your kingdom will come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Will you so guide us in our homes, in our churches, in our workplaces, in our communities, we ask. Lord, will you build your church, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.