I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 20, verse 32. It is literally months I've been waiting for this moment for us to get to this verse together. We're going to read this verse, we're going to study this verse, you're going to all go home and memorize this verse, and we're never going to forget it. How does that sound, everybody? All right because God is speaking to us. If you've been going through Acts with us, Paul has been radically saved. He's been built up by Barnabas, he's been going around planting churches, he spent the most time out of any church at Ephesus, and now he's speaking to the leaders, the elders of that church, and he's telling them how to be the church. And this verse is the high point, the climax, the very essence of what he is trying to say to these men. And out of respect for God's Word, I'm going to ask if we would all stand up for the public reading of Acts 20:32. And I'm talking to you watching online right now, or out in the courtyard, stand up, stop what you're doing, because this is the Word of God. And if you can understand what this verse is saying, it will change your life. This is Acts 20:32.
“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead and have your seat. Now this speech that Paul has given to these men who are the leaders of the church in Ephesus, this started back in verse 18. And remember, he started by, hey, you guys know how I lived among you, how I was among you. And we saw that all the way back in Acts 19. If you were here, we spent weeks in Ephesus with Paul, with these guys. Well, then he said, if you go to verse 22, notice how he said in verse 22, and now, and he talked about how he was going to Jerusalem, and then in verse 25, he said, and now and, and any shared with them there, you guys aren't going to see me again, this is goodbye, you guys won't see me. And later on, they're crying tears, because they'll never see Paul again. So already two times in his presentation to these men, he said, and now and 22, and now and 25, and then in verse 32, we get the third and climactic “And now.” And now he's going to give them the thing he really wants to leave them with. I'm going to Jerusalem and then to Rome, you guys are never going to see me again. Wolves are going to come in among you, and they're going to try to really mess up the church. But then this is the word that he really has to give to them, that he commends them to God, and to the Word of His grace and “the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” See, I've already got it memorized, you can do it too. All right. So, we want to really understand and I've been thinking about this verse for a long time, thinking about how should we talk about it. And then you can see if you've got the handout, if you want to open up, this is the double double verse is what it is, because there are two who are able. And then there are two results. It's kind of like that old slogan, I don't know if you've ever heard of “double the pleasure, double the fun, Doublemint Doublemint Doublemint gum.” Anybody ever heard that before? Right? So, we’ve got double the power, double gets done. And that's where we get double double sermon. And that's what we're all looking at. Okay. So, we're going to put double right up here on the side of the screen, it's on the side of your handout, and we’ve got to who are able; that’s where the power comes from.
Two agents or two causes that are going to make things happen. One is God, that's your first blank there. Now I commend you to God, he says, I think that God is going to do something with you all there in Ephesus. Now, this word for commend that when he says I commend you, this is an important word paratitheme here in the Greek, it's like I set you before God or I commit you or entrust you to God. Wow, just hold on right there and go back to Acts 14. Just flip back a few pages to Acts 14:23. Because we've already seen this about a church before when they had planted churches and they were seeing the churches grow, and they wanted to encourage those churches. It says in Acts 14:23, “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church.” So, they've got the church now going, they've got leaders to continue in the church when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord and whom they had believed. That's the same Word there when it says committed or commended. Okay? Well, Paul came into town, he preached the gospel of Jesus, the church got started, people got saved and built up to where they could be the elders of the church. And now I'm committing this church up to God, because God is really the one who runs the church. And so he's like, I have confidence, even though you guys aren't going to see me anymore. And even though there's evil, false teacher, wolves, who are going to come in and try to try to lead you astray, here's what I'm entrusting you to, here's what I'm committing you to. I know that God is able. That's what Paul says.
In fact, this is the same word. You could write down Luke 23:46, when Jesus is on the cross, when Jesus is up there suffering and having a hard time breathing and bleeding out, and he says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” or I set my spirit, my soul before you; I commit myself, or commend myself to you. Another time Paul uses this word that you could write down is 2 Timothy 2:2, when he says to Timothy, his true disciple and son in the faith, he says, Timothy, take what “you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses,” and commit it, or entrust it, or set it before “faithful men” who will be able to teach others also. So, Paul is saying, I'm out, you're never going to see me, you guys better watch out because wolves are going to come in and attack. But here's who I'm giving you up to, here's who I think is able to really keep this church going. God, I commend you to God, he says. But it's not just even God, it's also the Word of his grace. So, let's get God down. And the Word down. He gives us double agents here, God and the Word of his grace, the good news of Jesus, the Word of Christ, coming from the Scripture, if you have God, and you have the Word, God and His Word, are able to build you up and give you the inheritance. We'll look at that later. But that's get you to heaven among all those who are sanctified. Now, I'm here to tell you I wholeheartedly believe this. I wholeheartedly believe that if a church really has God, and his Word, that's all we need, because God and his Word are able to build us up. Can I get an Amen from anyone that? That's what we believe here at this church. That's why we're talking about exciting things that we want to see God do in the future, because we believe that him and his Word are able, this is where all the announcements are coming from is this faith right here. But I wonder if everybody here really believes it. And I wonder if you really believe it, not just about the church, you might believe it because you think other people at the church believe it. And you might think that's actually how church works. But I'm talking about you as an individual soul right now. Do you believe that all you need for the rest of your life is God and the Word of his grace? I don't think everybody here believes that. I'll just tell you that right now. Not everybody here lives like that. Not everybody lives, like when they wake up in the morning, like and they're feeling tired, and they're feeling overwhelmed, and they're feeling stressed, hey, you know what? I've got God, and I've got his Word, and he is able and that's all I'm ever going to need. Say I'm talking about your intimate personal moments, I'm talking about how you act in private in the secret place. I'm talking about even the thoughts that you think inside of yourself that you don't share with other people. Do you have this faith that I know God and his son, Jesus Christ through his Word, and that is sufficient for all things in my life? See a lot of people there, they're kind of like, I believe in God by association. A lot of people are like, I believe in God because I go to a church where they preach the Word, or I believe in God because I come from a family where people believe, or I believe in God, because my spouse or my child or somebody else I know has strong faith. We're not talking about somebody else right now. I'm saying, do you know that God is able in your life, do you know that God's Word is sufficient in your life. Do you live like you have eternal life, which is to know God according to John 17:3. This is eternal life. Not going to heaven when you die but acting like you know the one who is in heaven while you're alive right here right now. So, who here really wakes up and reads the Bible and prays and really believes I'm going to have a good day because I got everything I need with God and his Word of grace?
Do you really live like that? See, there's a difference between knowing the right information, knowing the right answer, and actually trusting that God is able, actually trusting that God's Word, like if we continue to read God's Word by ourselves or with our families, and we continue to preach God's Word and encourage one another from God's Word, like there is some kind of power in this Word that is going to do something here among us. Do we really believe that? One of the big defining moments in my life was when a pastor I had before, before I was a part of Compass Bible Church, I had a pastor who told me, we're going to need to do something besides teach the Bible here at this church. And when he said that I knew I didn't agree with that at all. In fact, I believed that the only way the church was ever going to be what it's supposed to be is through God and the Word of his grace. See, so this Word here, that they're able, look at it there in Acts 20:32. We've got double sources of power, so double the power. Here, we have God and the Word of his grace. And then it says, which is a table there. And verse 32, right there in the middle. So, circle that word, able, that's a key Word. That's the verb there. And it's this Greek word dunamis. This is the word where dynamite comes from. This is a word that speaks of ability, power, this idea that there an empowering force. When you and I think about God, there are certain things that we should think God is able to do. When you and I think about the Bible, there are certain things that we should think the Bible is able to do. There is a power that is working. We need to stop watching the news and waiting for the bad, next bad thing that's going to happen. And we need to start looking in the Bible and think, what is God able to do? And what is his Word able to do? That's what I should be expecting to happen on planet earth. See, people got to stop living by fear. And we got to start living by faith. And we're the church; that's supposed to be us. And so, what are you expecting God to do in 2022? What are you like? Well, I'll tell you, I'll tell you right. Now, here's what God is able to do. What's your answer to that? See, that's the idea. He's speaking in a general way in Acts 20:32. I know God, and I know his Word are able, and then he's going to give us the second double, we'll get to in a minute, he's going to give us two things that they're able to do. But this idea that God has the power, that God has the ability, that we are weak, and apart from Jesus, we can do not one thing, but God, he's different than us. He has strength, he has Grace, God is able. See what comes to your mind when you think about the ability of God, his divine power, I would hope that in your mind, especially those who have been coming to church for some time, studying the Bible for some time, that immediately you could start thinking, well, God has power to fill in the blank, things that you would then really believe that you would really expect to see with your eyes and hear with your ears. I believe in a God who's able to do what exactly? Let me take you through a few of the examples.
Let's go to Ephesians 3:20-21. We've talked about this before here at our church, we went through the book of Ephesians. And this was an exciting moment, when we got to Ephesians, 3:2-21. And I remember it was written down in my journal, don't put a ceiling on what God is building. That was the takeaway from Ephesians 3:20-21. Because it's been telling us for three chapters, if anybody ever asks you what's the book of Ephesians all about, you should know, well, there are three chapters about what God does. And then there are three chapters about what we do in response to what God does. And then these three chapters are great theology about the salvation we have in the Father, Son, and Spirit, that our eyes would be open to see all that God is doing for us, that we were dead in our sins, but God made us alive. And it was by grace through faith, not by works. I mean, some of the great Bible verses are in these three chapters of what God does. And then it ends with this. This is Ephesians 3:20. “Now to Him who is able,” our same word dunamis used over 200 times in the Greek New Testament. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Does that sound in any way that our God is limited right there? I mean, I'll tell you God is limited in that he's not going to sin. He's not going to lie. There are things the Bible says that God is not going to do but it says very clearly here that whatever you're thinking God can do, whatever you're asking God to do, he's able to blow your mind. That's what this verse just said. When you see Jesus Christ, when you see the full church assembled in the presence of his glory, when you finally get to see his splendor of holiness and the beauty of who God really is, there is no way you are prepared for that moment, because he's able to do way more than what you're thinking. So, see, this is this verse right here, because of the ability of God to him because of his power to do more. And notice what it says there. Look back at verse 20. And it doesn't even just say, he can do more, notice how they're cramming in language here far more abundantly, right? This is exponential. This is multiplication here. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, see, if you really believe that God is able, then I got a question for you. If you really believe that what are you praying for? What do you ask him to do? You're telling me that you believe God is able and that he's got the power? And you're asking him to do nothing? How does that make sense?
See, there's a prayer that the Bible talks about all the time. It's a prayer of faith. And it's a prayer where a human being dares to go before the throne of God in heaven and say, God, I'm asking you to fill in the blank, because I believe that you are able. The implication here is that people who believe in the power of God are asking him to do something, and God is able to do more than what we're asking him. So, it begs the question, what are you asking God to do in 2022? Are you living a completely reactionary life where you're just responding to what's happening around you? Or are you saying, God, we need you to come down here and do something? Who here is really praying with faith? Like you honestly believe God is able, we all know there's those prayers, and we all pray these prayers at times where it's like, God, I really need you to help me, like we're just trying to get through the day, we're feeling so weak. We're like, O God, I really just need you to get me through. But where are the times when you're praying like God, wow, when I sit back and think about what you're able to do, wow, God, will you do this? God, I asked you to do that. What are the prayers of faith that you believe God is able to accomplish in the church for the glory of Jesus Christ?
Go over to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. It's just a few pages over to the left. 2 Corinthians 9:8. Just another specific thing that it says God is able to do. This is 2 Corinthians 9:8. It says, “And God is able.” These are beautiful verses. If you're not familiar with them, hopefully, they're encouraging reminders to stoke the fire of your faith. But even if you don't know these, you’ve got to write these down. 2 Corinthians 9:8, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency[a] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” Does that sound good to anybody here tonight? That sounds like that covers it all right there. Right? Now look at what this is talking about what it looks like. So, God is able, he's got this abundant grace, he's got this benevolent goodness. And you can have all sufficiency in all things at all times. Well, what exactly are we talking about? We'll go back to verse 6. “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. What is he talking about there, everybody? God Loves you when people are generous, and they give. And this is talking about. You can see in chapter 9, the heading there, there's a “Collection for Christians in Jerusalem.” We've seen this in the book of acts. Like Paul went around to so many of the churches that got planted, and he took a collection of money that he was going to eventually take back to the original church in Jerusalem, which we know is thousands of people, and some of them didn't have a lot of money. And so, he's going to take this offering from all these churches back to Jerusalem to give them the praise report of how many churches there are now, how many people are getting saved, and look at this gift of generosity they have for you. And so, he's making a collection and in the middle of when he's talking about them giving money, he says “And God is able to make all grace abound to you.” He's talking about God's ability to provide for you financially. And he's saying people who are stingy, shouldn't expect a lot from God, people who are generous, God is going to be generous with them. That's what he's saying here. God loves it when his people don't want to hold on to what they have, but they're ready to give what they have. And, hey, the faith that you could have in the ability of God, you're going to have all sufficiency, all the finances you need, in all things at all times. That's what God is able to do. Do you really believe that God is able to provide for you and your family? Okay, if we believe that we should be the most generous people on planet earth. That's what it's saying. God is able to make his grace abound when it comes to even financial investments. So, are we generous people? See, we're asking you a very personal soul-searching question, what do you really believe about God? Because if you believe that God is able, you will pray in a way like you're expecting to see something happen, you will give it away. And this is what really fuels people to give to a church, to give to a building project, to give to somebody else in need. It's not just that God has been good to me, but you have to have faith that God is able to make all his grace continue to abound in all things at all times. Because then when you have that faith in who God is, you'll find yourself becoming a generous person.
So, this idea that God is able, God has the power, and what are you doing about it? Go to Jude, go to the little letter of Jude, right before a Revelation, just one chapter in the book of Jude. Jude 24. This is how he ends, he wanted to just write him a happy letter, but he had to warn him about false teachers, and people falling away from the faith. And he had to contend for what it even meant to be saved. What even was the good news of Jesus, but he gets back to what he wanted to say at the end of the letter. This is Jude 24-25. “Now to Him who is” key word of the night there him who is what? Oh, he's so able, and here's what he can do. Now, specifically, God is able to keep you from stumbling. Does that sound good anybody? And “to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Let me tell you why. And this, you might when you read that he can, he's able to keep you from stumbling, maybe you might consider a moment of temptation that you have. Maybe you had a moment of temptation this week, and there's that question of, are you going to give in to sin? Or are you going to flee and resist that temptation? And so sometimes, people might think that's what this is about. Like, if there's a moment where I might stumble into sin, God is able to keep me from something that's hundred percent true, but the vision of this verse is bigger than just a particular moment. It's saying for the rest of your life he's able to keep you from stumbling, that you don't have to fall away from the faith, you don't have to go back to the old life of sin, that you don't have to give into any temptation. There is always a way of escape because God is faithful. He won't tempt you beyond what you're able. He's always going to give you a way out because our God is able to keep you from sinning, and he's going to present you in his holy presence full of great joy. That's what our God's plan is for you. So yeah, you should resist in this moment, but wait, where he's going to take you, to his perfection to his holy splendor. And you're going to be there and you're going to be like out of the sinner like me ever getting in a glorious place like this, and your heart will just burst forth with joy. That's what God is able to do. So, these are clear promises that you and I are supposed to be living on every single day. When I wake up, I've got a God who's got all the power. And I'm ready to pray and ask him to do something I'm ready to give because I believe he's got the whole world in his hands. He's got the cattle on thousand hills, and I'm ready to say no to sin and live in holiness today, because he's able to keep me from stumbling. I can keep going because God is able to keep me Can I get an amen from anybody like that? If you want to God's people, you're going to have it. You're going to get the inheritance. That's what we're going to talk about in a minute. But right now, we're just trying to get a thought in our minds. What do you believe God is able to do?
Many of you are living your lives like you just have to get through it and God is not going to do anything. That is not faith. When we say what faith is, we often just narrow down the definition of faith to do when somebody believes in Jesus to be saved. Now it requires faith. That is the response to be saved. And if you're not saved, unless you have responded in faith, that's very important. You got to know who Jesus is, that he is the Christ, he is the one that all the prophecies are about. And Jesus came to die on the cross for your sin. And he rose again to give you a new life, and you need to stop trying to do it yourself, and you need to trust in Jesus Christ. But then, that's not the end of faith right there. That's the beginning of faith. That's the foundation of faith. Now, every single day, for the rest of your life, you should live like I left everything behind. And all I'm trusting in is Jesus. Who lives like that. And active, ongoing day by day, like I expect something good to happen today, because I'm ready to see what God is able to do. See, it's not like, oh, I have faith because I got saved years ago. No, show me your faith by how you're believing in God to act right now. Now, this is powerful to consider what our God is able to do, to try to think about his character to try to think about the promises of scripture of what God has already said he's going to do because whatever he said, he's going to do, he's able to do that. That's why it's the double double, because it doesn't just give us God is able, it says, And the Word of his grace is able. So not only is God on His throne in heaven, able to blow our minds with more than we think or give us more than we ever could have thought before, or keep us from here all the way to heaven. But even His Word has power in it, his Word is alive and his Word, even the things that God has said through His prophets and apostles, by the power of the Holy Spirit, even the Word of God's goodness, even that Word, it has a powerful effect, has an ability in your life.
Go to 2 Timothy, chapter 3. And let me show you some of the ability of the Word. 2 Timothy3:15. Maybe you're familiar with 2 Timothy 3:16, that says that all of the Bible, all Scripture is “breathed out by God.” And it's all inspired. It's all profitable for us to be studying here. It'll correct you. It'll train you in righteousness. In fact, this Bible will equip you for every good thing that God wants you to do. Didn't we just read that God is able to give you the money for every good work he wants you to do? Well, the Scripture is able to prepare your soul for every good work that God wants you to do. But before it says all of that, look back at verse 15, where Paul reminds Timothy, and how from childhood, you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise, for what, everybody? Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The sacred writings, these Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation. If people read the scriptures, if people come to a service like this, and they hear the Scriptures preached, they would have their eyes open, they could have the blinders taken off, and they could have God really speak to the thoughts and intents of their heart. And people could see that there is a God, they are a sinner, and they need Jesus to save their soul. I mean, that has happened. We've been doing this now for seven and a half years in Huntington Beach, specifically in this room. We have been doing this for seven years. And in this room, people have heard someone speak from this book, and they have been saved. And this is what it says, the Word is able to do that. Do you believe that? Do you believe that if we just keep getting together and we keep opening up the Bible, and we keep saying what the Bible says that we will see more souls get saved? Do you believe that? Because that's what it says it's able to do. Now, personally, I got nothing else on my calendar. All right? I moved to Huntington Beach for one purpose, to die in Huntington Beach. And I plan on spending all my Saturday nights between now and then talking about the Bible with you good folk right here. Okay, so I don't plan. If anything, I think I'm hoping the best sermons are yet to come. I feel like we're just getting started here in Huntington Beach. All right. So, if we're going to keep doing this, I don't know how long God is going to give us.
I don't know how long… we like to sometimes, Ryan Pierce and I, before we do a service, we like to say, let's make this our last service. Like that's how we like to get back there. You know, like, let's do this like it's the last time. Yeah, I mean, like, almost every week is like this is it. This is the last one right? I mean, we're giving it all we've got but we got nowhere else to go. We're going to keep doing this. And we're going to keep opening this book so I have a confident expectation that more souls are going to get saved. Do you really believe that? When you're talking to somebody, do you think, oh, if they just knew what if they just knew what the Word said, if they could just hear a sermon, if I could just sit down and explain it to him. I know what the Word is able to do. I love how it calls it the Word of his grace. Like there's a story of God's goodness, there's good news in this book. And the good news is that God loved you so much, he sent his one and only son on a seek and save mission for your soul, and that son, Jesus, he paid for all of your sin, and he rose from the dead to give you eternal life. And when people hear that good news of Jesus, from hearing the Word of Christ, that's where faith comes from. When people hear the Word, some people respond by believing the Word and they receive Jesus, and people are saved, there could be somebody who gets saved this very night, because the scriptures are able to make them wise for salvation. And if somebody gets saved here tonight, they'll never stop being saved. Think about that. Every time we come together at church, every time we open up this book, somebody could get saved because the Scriptures are able to make people wise for salvation. Do you expect more people to get saved as the Word sounds forth?
Go over to James chapter 1. Look at how it says it in James chapter 1. We’ve got to see this just a few pages over to the right, James 1. We’ve got to see this. When we were going through Acts earlier, there was a church in Berea. And we thought we called it can you hear this sermon. There were Jews in Berea that were more noble than the other cities, because they were ready to receive the Word, they wanted to hear what God said in the Scripture. And we looked at this verse James 1:21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness.” Humble yourself stop thinking you know it all, stop thinking you've got life figured out, and listen to God tell you, “receive with meekness the implanted word,” which is able to, what does it say there, everybody? Save your souls? What can this book do? It'll save you from eternal damnation. That's what it'll do. Sounds pretty powerful to me. Sounds like a good ability to me. You know, see, when people hear this Word, this Word and the power of the Spirit working through it, people walk out of here… I got a guy the other day he told me, hey, the first time I came to this church, I prayed God, if there's something for me here, show me and I walked out of here destroyed because I knew I was a lukewarm hypocrite. See the Word, the Word convicted him of his sin. And He understood who he was better than he ever did before. Because he heard the Word. Seeing the Word not only does it show us who we are, it opens our eyes. There's something supernatural that takes place when you can really see who Jesus is as the Son of God, and what he did and how significant it is that he actually died for your sin. And then he actually rose from the grave. Like, you start to realize, wow, that's not just something Jesus did two thousand years ago, that's something that needs to happen to me, I need to die to my old life, I need a new life in Jesus. People hear this Word and people get saved. I mean, over the last seven and a half years, we've been doing this, there are easily over hundred people who've been saved from hearing the Word. I mean, can we praise God for that right now? Some of them are sitting here. Some of them come every Saturday for more of the Word. Because what we believe is the Word of his grace is able to save our souls. So, this is why I think that we should strongly consider a bigger auditorium. Now, if you're looking around tonight, and in the time of COVID that we're living in, it doesn't exactly look like … have you seen these empty seats over here? Like maybe we don't need a bigger auditorium, right? Well, yes, we don't need a bigger auditorium right here tonight, but I'm hoping that we're going to keep doing this for the next seven and a half years. And if I fall over and die, don't worry, somebody else will get up here and keep preaching. I mean, my dad's probably ready to come up here and start preaching right now. You know what I'm saying? Right? I mean, people need to trust me, there are men here, who will preach the Word. So, if Jesus doesn't come back, we're going to keep preaching the Word. And if we keep doing that, what should we expect to happen over the next seven and a half years? We should expect more people to get what? Saved! We should be planning on it. We should be thinking about it. We should be coming to church every weekend saying, who's next? Who's next? Maybe it's my neighbor. Maybe it's my coworker. Who could I bring because I believe that the Word of his grace is able to save them.
So, point number one, let's get it down like this: You need to ask God, to increase your faith. You need to ask God to increase your faith. We need to stop reacting to all that's going on around us in the world. And we need to start living with confidence based on God and His Word. What an amazing statement for Paul to say, I'm never going to see you again. And these evil wolves are going to come in and try to destroy you. But God, and the Word of his grace are able see the confidence, the faith that Paul had, that a church could just have a few guys, but as long as they had God and the Word of his grace, all the power that could happen there, oh, the ability that was inherent in who God is, and his Word. See, do we have that kind of faith? Some of us, many of us have faith in Jesus to be saved. But what do you have faith in Jesus to do right now? See, that's what we're talking about. What is the ongoing trust that you think? Well, I know God, and I know what he said, and I know he's going to… what is your fill in the blank? We've given you some examples. So, I'm talking to my brothers and sisters, who are the people of Compass Bible Church, Huntington Beach, and I'm saying, we need more faith here at this church. And you need to study this verse, you need to get this thought, you need to get your thoughts being built on the foundation of what is God able to do. What is his Word able to do? That's the way I want to start thinking, that's how you're going to become a man or woman who is mature in your faith. And let me just talk maybe to some who are here, because there could be people here right now, I saw some new people walking in tonight, some people I don't know, I just need to say that you could be saved through the power of God's Word. Okay, and this is serious. And there are people in this room right now who need to be saved. And some of you might be in denial about that. I know. There are some here who you know, right now you need some help in your life. Well, I'm here to tell you what you actually need is more than help in your life, you need a new life in Jesus Christ. And God is able to give it to you. This Word is able to teach you how just like it has for so many of us. And so, we're so glad that you're here. And we would love to talk to you even after this service. I'll be here right up front. There are many people here who will be looking for you afterwards, they would love to talk to you. In fact, tomorrow, when we have our truck at 12:30. Here in the courtyard, we have this thing called the Foundations class, which if you're new to our church, and you haven't believed in Jesus, you should totally come to that class, because you get to cut straight to the front of the line at the end and our truck. Alright. There'll be a sign that says Foundations Fastpass. You should take that if you're new. And you want to come to the Foundations class, because there is a catch. You go, you skip the line, you got to go to the class. All right. So that's 12:30 tomorrow. I want to, and I'm ready to talk to you tonight. I'd love to have a class with you tomorrow, because I have hundred percent rock solid confidence that this Word of grace is able to save your soul. And I would love to see it happen. You will be happy if it happens. What it tells you here about Jesus through all the prophecies, through all the eyewitness accounts, it is true, and it can change everything about you. And so, that's what I want to say to everybody who's new and just joining us and those of us who are around this, this is a little sketch that the city approved on Wednesday. Can we throw this up here on the screen? Okay. So if we work hard in this room, we can jam pack four hundred people in this room. And that's if like these usher's like boy Jordan and John Warner, that's if they're like on the top of their game. And that's honestly, if they're like offending half of you by making you sit somewhere you don't want to sit. Anybody ever felt like that before? You know what I'm saying? Okay, this sketch that fits into that building that the city has approved, that we could go and make plans for that; we could go and do construction for it that can fit eight hundred people in there. It's got moms’ rooms, it's got family rooms, it's got a little vestibule. So, when people come in and out, you won't be able to hear them or see the light. Like this is a real deal auditorium where we could preach the Word. Do we want to be a part of something like that? See, well, what is God able to do something like that? Is the Word able to save people like that? Do we want to pray for something like that, and give towards something like that, and keep going until the very end? Well, this is a decision that we're going to make as a church because, right now we don't have enough money to do construction. And the owner is coming to us and saying, would you like to do construction? So, we need to answer his question. What it this comes down to. To some degree, it comes down to our faith. What are we thinking God is able to do in Huntington Beach? What are you thinking? What are your expectations for the future, based on the realities of who God is and what he has already said. Because there are two things, there's now the second double.
Go back with me to Acts 20:32. And there are two things it says that God and the Word of grace are able to do now. We bounced around and looked at some other things they're able to do. But let's get to our second double here on the handout. And yes, we have two abilities or two powers coming from God and the Word of his grace. That's what's going to cause it. But what is the result? Well, you can see here, and after it says, which is able number one is to build you up. Let's get that down right there: God is able, the Word of grace is able, not just to save you, but to build you up. And we're going to spend the whole week talking about what does that mean that you would be built up Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night. We're getting as deep into it as we possibly can. What does it mean that God is able and his Word is able to build you up? That's where we're at right now in our church. Maybe that's where many of you are at in your walk with Jesus Christ. What does that look like to grow for you, to mature for you. And then it says, the second thing to give us the inheritance among all those who are sanctified, so you can just write it down is the inheritance of the sanctified. God is able the Word of his grace is able, and they're either going to build you up, and they're going to give you an inheritance, that all of those who are sanctified get. So just like we saw double God in His Word, now we've got double results to build you up and give you the inheritance. So, this idea of like building a house, this is an idea that is throughout the Bible, especially throughout the Greek New Testament. And this is something that we need to all come to understand that Jesus is actively right now all over planet earth, building his church. Can I get an Amen? Okay, he's doing it in every way you can think of. He's doing it by building individual people to get saved. He's doing it by building up individual people to mature. He's doing it by building up churches like ours to come together. And he's doing it in a universal sense, where people are getting saved all over the world every day. It's the most exciting thing going on in planet earth. And none of the news places are talking about it. Okay, this is what Jesus is actively doing.
Go to Matthew 16:18. And let me give you a little preview of what we're going to get into on Tuesday night, if you want to come back, because we're going to study the promise that Jesus has made to all of us here. And this is Matthew 16:18. And I just want to make sure everybody at our church knows about this promise. Matthew 16:18. “And I tell you, you are Peter,” because Peter had just answered the question, “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter had said, “You are the Christ.” You're the Messiah, you are God's Anointed One. You're the one that all the prophecies we've been waiting for all these years. That's what Peter said, “You are the Christ.” And he says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock. I will build my church…” Write that down, circle that, underline it, “I will build my church.” Put it up on your mirror, put it up on your dashboard, put it up somewhere. What is Jesus doing right now? I'll tell you what he's doing right now. He's building his church. And he wants to do it in you. He wants to do it in our church as a whole. He wants to do it all over the world, in every nation, tribe, and tongue. Jesus, he's making a promise here. And how do we know that's still happening? How about this, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Satan and all the demons won't be able to stop it. But even more than that, it might mean like the gates of Hades, like the place of death, even when one generation dies off and the next generation comes of age, now even all of the original eyewitness disciples dying off didn't stop it. Because it continues to go from generation to generation all the way to us at the beginning of 2022 on the other side of the world from where Jesus was when he said this. I guarantee you, if you want to invest your life in anything that's actually going to be a payoff, you should invest everything you've got in the Church of Jesus Christ. That's where you're going to get a real return for your investment. Trust me, you can’t trust the banks. You can't trust the stock market. You can't trust cryptocurrency, everybody. Newsflash right here, I'm just telling you, you might get a good return. You might not know I'm here to promise you this, anything you invest in the church, you will not lose your award because Jesus is building his church. Put it on the front page of The New York Times every single day. That's what's happening on planet earth. He's doing what he said he would do. And if Jesus said he's going to do it, we should be praying about it. We should be giving towards it, we should be thinking, what can I do? How can I be a part of that? How can I be a part of the building because this building analogy, it's so deep, this idea that Jesus is building and he's going to build, you see, not only is Jesus building the church, and sometimes we can get caught up and in buildings. Buildings aren't really the issue. The issue is he's building people. And as he builds up, people see what should happen is as he's building up people, like people come in here, they get saved by hearing the Word, then they start eating the Word up like a newborn baby longs for milk.
So new Christians long for the scripture, and they start putting away the sins that used to define them. And they start putting on these new ways to live in Jesus and obeying all of what he has to say. And their life radically changes. And they start to mature in their marriage and their parenting. And you're like, wow, look at what God's doing in them. And all of that was just the beginning. Because now God wants to use them, so that process can start brand new and somebody else. See we all mature as disciples so that we can all go and make disciples. See, so Jesus is building something. And one of the things that Jesus is building is you, and then this crazy thought that Jesus is building, and he's building you, but then somehow you get to do the building along with Jesus, who's building you. That's a really deep idea. So, it's like, yes, Jesus is doing it.
But then go to Ephesians chapter 4. Let me give you a little preview to entice you back on Wednesday night. See, I'm trying to get you to come every night this week. Look at Ephesians 4:12. And this is one of the things that we need to make sure we're doing when we gather together as a church, because the pastors and teachers, the shepherds, people like me, and the other guys that we've got here that are elders among us, we need to look at Ephesians 4:12, where the reason God has elders at church, pastors and teachers like what I'm doing right now is verse 12, to equip the… who does it say there, everybody? To equip the staff for the work of ministry. Is that what it said right there. That's how a lot of Christians in America roll. Like, oh, aren't you on staff at that church? Okay, so you do ministry at that church, every single person who believes in Jesus who goes to church does ministry at that church. That's how it's supposed to be anyways. That's what I'm supposed to be equipping you to do here. So, what we want to do this week is we want to say, hey, I guarantee you that for the rest of your life, Jesus is going to be building his church. Does anybody here want to work with Jesus? Well, let's get equipped for some construction. Let's go and get equipped so that we can do some building. Look at how it says, “to equip the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Jesus promises to build, he builds you. And the reason he builds you is now you can build up the church. You could now help somebody get saved, you could now encourage a brother or sister, you could now start leading some group here at this church or going and helping plant a church in Long Beach. If we planted this church with like hundred people seven and a half years ago, and we've seen it now go to well over thousand people, what should happen in the next seven and a half years when over thousand people are ready to go for Jesus Christ. It shouldn't level out; it should explode. That's what should be happening. If God could use hundred people to turn us into what we are today, then what could he do with thousand of us? That's what I want to see. See, I believe Jesus is building something here, and I believe we're still at like the first floor. Do you believe that? Is that what you're thinking? Do you think that God and his Word are able to build you up? See, it's really important what we do with our lives here in this place; it really matters. What you decide to do with your time and money this year, and the next few years, it will matter. It will echo for eternity or unfortunately, it will not echo for eternity.
Go with me to 1 Corinthians 3 and let's preview Thursday night. Okay? Because yes, I want you to come all three nights. Am I making my point? Is anybody with me on that? Now if you don't want to, that's okay. But I'm trying to change your mind right now. Okay. 1 Corinthians 3:9. I want you to see that it actually says, and we’ve got to be so clear about this. Okay? The church is not this building. The church is not this new possible building we're talking about. No, look what it says in 1 Corinthians 3:9. It says, “For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's… what does it say? Everybody? Building. See, this is what God is doing with the people, the souls. Now the reason we might want more space is because we've got more souls. That's its sole focus, not structure focused. But look at how it says, it says, “You” are the “building”. And then it says this verse 10, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” For no one can lay a foundation other than that, which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Okay. But see, see what Paul is saying there. He wants to clarify after he said something, because he said, I started something. He's writing to Corinth here. We read about how he went and planted a church in Corinth, he's calling that the foundation, even though now he wants to back up and say, no, Jesus is the foundation of the church. But then our church, the church in Corinth got started when I came there. Now, maybe Apollos is teaching there, and so, he's building on that foundation. And now maybe some of you are even going to build on that foundation. Well, everybody better be careful about how you build on the foundation. So that's where we're at. Jesus started this church. Some of us were here from the beginning, and we saw the foundation, others have joined in later. And now we're ready to build on the foundation, Jesus, the planting of the church. Now we're ready to go and build something even more, and we should take care of how we're building. Look at what it goes on to say. It says in verse 12. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day… with a capital D …will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. What is that talking about? It’s saying that, hey, you are a part of a church, you're at a church right now, this is a church of Jesus Christ. It's a place where we believe that God is able and his Word is able, and we want to see God build us up. Well, what we do in the building is going to be inspected, it's going to be evaluated. And God is going to know if you gave this gold, silver and precious stones, or God is going to know if you gave it would hay and straw. And at the end of your life, there will be an inspection on what you built into the Church of Jesus Christ. Let each one take care what he is building. Can you honestly tell me here tonight that you've given all you've got to the Church of Jesus Christ? You're giving it hundred, you're not giving it your leftovers? You're not just going through the motions, because that's your tradition. But you are here wholeheartedly engaged, thinking, Jesus, you are worth it all. What can I do for you in this life that will matter forever? See, he says there's actually going to be an evaluation about that, that we're going to get deep into on Thursday night. So, do you believe that God and the Word of his grace, are able to build you up? Let's just talk about your personal sanctification because that was the next one, right? The inheritance of the sanctified. Okay, sanctification. What is it? What does that phrase mean that God is going to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified?
We'll go to 1 Peter chapter 1. Let's talk about the inheritance. First of all, we're going to spend our week talking about the building up of the church by Jesus, because the inheritance is something we don't really get to see in the here and now. 1 Peter chapter 1 gives a great definition of this inheritance. And 1 Peter 1:3, it says, “Blessed to be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us” because he is able in his Word, is able. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who, by God's power are being guarded through faith, for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. God is going to get you to heaven, everybody. That's what we're here to say today. inheritance, the reward that you're going to receive from your Father in heaven, what a description there: imperishable, undefiled, unfading. God is keeping an inheritance, all the riches, all the spiritual blessings in Christ, they will be given to you when you are there in the New Jerusalem. Is that encouraging to anybody here that there is an inheritance? See, the call to follow Jesus is to give your life away. And so many people focus on what they're going to miss out on in this life or what they're going to lose or what they're going to sacrifice. And what we should be thinking is, wow, it's going to be so worth it. Anything you might lose in this life, when you see the inheritance you receive in the name of Jesus in heaven, you're going to be wishing you gave more stuff away down here. I mean, this inheritance that the Scripture keeps pointing to, this is not a hope I get this inheritance. No, God is able to give you the inheritance. There's no way any of God's kids, any of God's sons or daughters, if he's adopted you in his love, if he saved you by the blood of his son, Jesus, he is able to give you the inheritance of the sanctified, you will receive the riches of Christ. And God's power is going to guard you until you get there, and he is keeping it in heaven for you. So, your future is secure. This is something you should be so confident in. If anybody here who's my brother or sister, you believe in Jesus, when we die, it will be awesome, everybody. I mean, what we are going to receive, what we will be given at that day? It will be above all that we could ask for or think of right now.
And so, he's saying, not only will he build you up for the rest of your life, not only is he building his church now all over the world, but he's also going to get you to the finish line, the end, and you will receive the inheritance. And then he uses this Word “sanctified”. This is an important word for us, because sanctified means to be set apart, it means to be made holy. The idea of sanctification is that you're set apart from who you used to be. And now you're useful for God's purpose. You're like set apart for your master, for your Lord to use you. So, you're no longer you, because you've been sanctified, you've been set apart from your sin, and you're set apart for a specific purpose that God is going to use you to do something for his glory. You're now a vessel, a jar of clay, and God's going to use his glory working through you. Because you're set apart from your sin and you're set apart for God.
Go to John 17. Look what Jesus prays for all of us about our sanctification. Everybody who's been set apart from sin has a holiness in Jesus Christ. We're all going to get to that inheritance. And so, when it talks about sanctification, that's what a lot of us should be thinking about, like, how am I being sanctified? What does that look like in my life right now? Like, how can I be less like the old me and more like Jesus? Anybody here think that we should decrease, and Jesus should increase in 2022? So, what's that going to look like? What's that sanctification going to look like in your life this year? That's something we should all be thinking about. I don't want to be who I used to be. I want to be set apart from that. I want to be who God wants me to be. I want to be set apart for his use. I want him to make me in his image. And Jesus prayed this for all of us. And in John 17:14, he said, and this gets back to what we were talking about earlier, the words, “being able.” Jesus said, John 17:14-19, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus is saying that his people cannot blend in with the world, we cannot have this camouflage Christianity that has become so common where you say you're a Christian because you believe in Jesus or go to church, but then you talk like the world, you look at things like the world, you act like the world the rest of the week. No, we are here to be sanctified. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that?
We're not of the world. We've been sent into the world. And the way that we get this process of being made holy, of being set apart, it's through the Word, it's through the truth. See, Jesus is asking God to sanctify you, and the means by which God is able to sanctify you is through the Word of his grace. He's able to set you apart from sin, and to make you useful for his purpose. And Jesus says that he set himself apart, and he fulfilled God's purpose, which was to take on your sin, and die in your place, and rise again, so that there is victory, and there is eternal life. Jesus was set apart for a purpose. And now he wants you to be sanctified. And how do you get sanctified through the Word of truth? See, that's why you and I, we need to get in this Word. And as we do, we will, you will see this growth that will take place, this maturity that will take place where your thoughts will be less like how they used to be, and more like how God wills them to be. And it happens through the Word, God and his Word. Double the power are able to build you up and give you the inheritance among the sanctified. Double gets done, double the power, double gets done. Let's never forget this. Let's never forget this.
And point number two. This is where it really the rubber meets the road: Expect God to act in your life. Expect God to act in your life. How are you going to expect? Maybe you already had some thoughts, but maybe those thoughts have more clarity and juice to them now that we've really learned Acts 20:32 together here tonight. What are you expecting God and his Word to be able to do in your life this year and in the years to come? Let's get accurate biblical expectations. What is God going to do? Well, he's going to build you up. You should be expecting how; what's my next step in getting built up? If I'm going to get to heaven, and I'm going to get that inheritance, well, what's my next thing I'm giving away down here? What's the next way the Word is going to make me less like sin and set me apart from that, and more like Jesus. I’m willing to obey him. Like, what should this be looking like right now in my life? I want to see myself grow. I want to see myself be set apart for God's purpose. What are you expecting God to do in your life? What do you think God's going to do in your church? This is the way that we need to learn how to think. This is how Paul thought. Paul could look at a group of guys and Paul knew some of these guys were probably wolves. Paul knew these guys weren't maybe the sharpest guys around. I don't know what he thought about each one of them individually, but here he is looking at this little group of men there. And he's saying, hey, guys, if you have God, and you have the Word, then he's able to build you up. And you guys, I'll see you in eternal glory with all of the sanctified, because that's all you really need to do, church. You just need God and the Word of his grace and watch what he is able to do. Do you really… I'm asking you how much you really believe that? I'm asking like, what does that look like? Now? What are you going to expect God to do in your life?
I was talking with a with a brother who got saved here at our church over the last few years. I basically asked him the question, do you think God's going to grow our church? Do you really think God would grow our church? And I just said to him, look, everything you're living in is an answered prayer, my friend. You mean you specifically yourself are an answered prayer. Those people you just said that encouraged you are an answered prayer. That fellowship group you want to go to is an answered prayer. Like, all of this was built by God and the Word of his grace. And if he's done all this in the days of just getting started, what is he going to do with us in the future? I want to commend to you to God and the Word of his grace because he is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified.
Father, I pray that you would take this Word from Paul's lips to the Ephesian elders from the page right here in Acts 20:32. And I pray that you would put it on our hearts, and then we would think that we've got double the power. And we should expect double the results. And God, maybe some are doubting here. Maybe some are saying, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. But I pray that one thing we'll be able to say you do in 2022 is you increase our faith here at this church. God, forgive us for being so reactionary. Forgive us for thinking the world is somehow going to win. And I pray that if Jesus came to this church, he would not say to us, oh, ye of little faith, but that he would actually find people here who have faith. Because we believe what your Word says, we believe that you are able. So please, Father, I'm asking you to increase our faith and make us people who please you. We know that without faith, it is impossible to please you and we want to please you, Father. So, make us people who believe that you are able, to believe in what your Word can do. Give us that faith that you are stronger than the enemy. You are stronger than the world that's rising up against us. You are stronger than even our own weaknesses and shortcomings and limitations. No, you are able to do more than what we're asking. You're able to keep us from stumbling. You're able to make all grace abound. You're able to save people, even save souls here. Father, I pray that this will be a place people take you at your word, believe what you say; we expect to see it happen. We ask that we will be the church in the name of Jesus.