Please God's to bless us as we
continue our meditation in the Acts of the Apostles and it's
chapter 20 and we'll meditate on four verses tonight from verse
29 We'll just read them For I know this that after my
departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing
the flock and also of your own selves shall men arise speaking
perverse things to drive away the disciples after them. Therefore watch and remember
that by the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone
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'm sure you will remember that
the Apostle Paul is addressing the elders of Ephesus. He requested
they come down, he met with them before he took Silo on his way
back to Jerusalem. And so he is here Addressing
them and last week or week before last you may remember We spoke
on those words take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the
flock over which the holy ghost hath made you overseers To feed
the church of god, which is which he has purchased with his own
blood So he gives a wonderfully gracious exhortation and words
of instruction to them And now he comes and he informs them
of that which is to come upon them. And it would seem that
God had given him a divine revelation of what things would occur, because
he says, for I know this. And he could only really know
it by the Spirit of God which had shown him, and what sad things
they are. that after my departing shall
grievous wolves entering among you, not sparing the flock."
Well, the picture of a flock of sheep and a wolf attacking
them is very clear, isn't it? And we know how vicious and how
spiteful and how greedy wolves are, and how they would attack
sheep and flocks of sheep and destroy many of them. And so
that's why the Apostle draws this picture of grievous wolves. Not just a tame wolf, but a grievous
wolf. Enter in among you, not sparing
the flock. Well, surely this is a great
warning, wasn't it, to the Ephesian elders to be on their guard against
this thing happening. Although the Apostle was telling
them that this would come. And what a sad thing, especially
when we think of the great blessings and favour which Ephesus had
enjoyed through the Apostles' ministry and those that were
with him. And he doesn't leave it there.
I mean, that's bad enough. But then he goes on, and he says,
also, of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples after them. So that means he's
pointing now to the very elders that he's requested to come and
to be able to address them before he takes ship. And now he's speaking
to them in this very straightforward and solemn way. And also of your
own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away
disciples after them. Well, what a tragic thing that
is when those who profess the name of Christ, and perhaps even
profess to teach the things of God. Rise up and turn people
away, turn people out of the way. And we read the little epistle
of John, or the second chapter, and in that we're told by John,
they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had
been of us, They would, no doubt, have continued with us. But they
went out, and they might be made manifest, but they were not all
of us." And so how sad a condition and situation there was there. There were those that had pretended
to be joined together, and now they had separated and departed. And so the Apostle is warning
these elders at Ephesus and telling them this solemn situation, that
there would arise men speaking perverse things to draw away
disciples after them. You know, if we try and analyse
that, it must really be jealousy, mustn't it? You know, sinful
jealousy. And therefore, some of the elders
wanted to try and draw people aside to follow them. They weren't
content to follow the way that the Apostle had set before them,
and of course that way had been set before by the Saviour himself. And therefore we read that they
arise speaking perverse things, not true things, but wrong things,
evil things, so that they might be able to draw away disciples
after them. Well, here was very solemn warning,
wasn't it? That the apostle was giving to
those Ephesian elders. And of course, it has reference
to the church of God throughout time, and it has the reference
to the churches today. And therefore, faced with this
situation, he comes and says to them, therefore, watch and
remember. that by the space of three years
I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears." What
a testimony, isn't it? The apostles are able to lay
before them and he tells them to watch out that these things
do not occur, that these things do not creep in, that they're
not allowed to occur and therefore they are to watch. We read a
number of occasions in the Word of God when the true church got
a total watch. We are to watch, we're on our
watch. You know what a watchman is? He's looking out for anyone
that might try and destroy the people, or perhaps destroy the
city, and they set watchmen. You may remember in Gideon's
day, they'd set the watch, hadn't they? There were those soldiers
watching so they might not be attacked. Well, here we have
these words, therefore watch, and we can position this to a
spiritual understanding. Therefore watch, and he then
says, and remember. What have they got to remember?
They've got to remember that for three years the Apostle had
ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears. This wasn't
just a casual preacher of the Gospel. He desired to truly warn
them every day. And he explains it. He was so concerned about their
spiritual state that we read that it was with tears. He no
doubt wept over the Hardness of hearts which existed the rebellion
Well, we know there were those that occasion wasn't it when
all those people who were worshippers of Diana of the Ephesians? I
cried out for two hours To they might say said great is Diana
of the Ephesians world on Ephesians of course wasn't great at all
just an idol And yet you see how they were taken in therefore
the Apostle was so concerned for the salvation of the Ephesians. And he tells us then, he ceased
not to warn everyone. There is a great need for warning
in the gospel ministry, and the gospel is full of warnings. And
we should therefore not turn away from such a situation and
think, well, the minister's just telling us the same things and
warning us. Well, here we have a good illustration
that the apostle is so concerned that they might be found watching
and to remember the warnings that he'd set before them. However,
for the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone,
night and day, with tears. And then he comes and says, and
now brethren, I commend you to God. What a blessing that is,
that we can come and commend one another into the hands of
God. That God, who is indeed a God
of grace 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. Now it's very clear that the
apostle preached the word of grace and the word of grace describes
to them how they didn't deserve any favour and yet God had brought
his grace and that grace shone in the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ And the Apostle, never tired, did he of setting Christ
before them, and Christ in his finished work, indeed as we read
in that 28th verse, and to feed the Church of God which he hath
purchased with his own blood. This was the great message that
the Apostle laid before the Church of God. the blessed life that
the Saviour lived, and his glorious death, that was so glorious to
redeem his people from all their sins, and the cost of that redemption
was his life, his blood, the shedding of it to atone for his
people. And that's why the Apostle comes
again and addresses them, He's only said a few words between
these two statements, really. I know they were strong and powerful,
but he homes in, doesn't he, upon this word of his grace,
which is able to build you up. And indeed, that's what we need,
isn't it? To be built up. In what? Well, first of all,
we need to have a good foundation. And what is that foundation?
It's the Lord Jesus Christ as the rock. And what is the building
up? Well, it's to know more of Christ. It's to enter in to that blessed
fellowship with his sufferings and to, in some measure, realize
the cost of our salvation. This is to be built up, built
up in this spiritual knowledge so that we're drawn to him and
to be thankful for it. The word of his grace, this is
what it is. which is able to build you up
and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."
There is a glorious inheritance, isn't there, for the people of
God. All those who have been built
up, all those who are found with their feet on the rock Christ
Jesus, and all those who will then by his grace be brought
home to that great and glory inheritance which is heaven itself. As the apostle Peter says to
an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth
not away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power
of God through grace, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. It's a wonderful thought and
it's a wonderful prospect. And therefore the apostle directs
these people to this heavenly scene. And that's what we need
to be directed to. Not an earthly scene. The earthly
scene vanishes. The earthly scene fades. The
earthly scene will be burnt up one day. But the inheritance
of God's people is eternal. Indeed God has gone to prepare
it and as our brother said in prayer, he's gone to prepare
he will come again and receive us under himself that where he
is there we will be also. And so as we ponder these words,
the thinking, just really a few sentences the apostle warns these
Ephesian elders of the situation which is to develop He's telling
them what will occur, He's telling them to watch, and then He's
encouraging them as He sets before them the glorious Word of His
grace. And that which will be granted
to the true living Church of God, there will be a building
up. You see, we do need to be built
up on our most holy faith. There is a spiritual growth,
isn't there? We don't want to be left to stagnate. We don't
want to just carry on in just a carnal way. just an outward
performance of religion but we need to know the Lord is building
us up and that we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ to give you an inheritance among all
them which are sanctified. Indeed the whole Church of God
is sanctified, they are made holy and of course the The Apostle
tells us the truth of that when he wrote to the Corinthians and
he spoke to them and he said that they were justified and
they were sanctified. What a blessing it is then to
realize such a great truth and to know that you and I are amongst
those who are sanctified by God, that he has died in order to
sanctify us. And so may we tonight thank God
for such an account as this, as the Apostle was about to leave
them on this journey therefore he wanted to set before them
very clearly the great truths of God and those things that
would come in that would be put there to tempt them to turn away
from the truth of God. Amen.