Sunday, March 23, 2025 AM

Let's go to the Lord together in prayer. Lord, again, I thank you for bringing us together this morning. What a joy it is to return to my church family and to be able to worship together. Thank you for the many mercies and graces that you afforded.

Many answers to prayer that we could be here together today. Thank you for the blessing of your word and how full of promise and hope it is. How thoroughly honoring and glorifying it is to you. How perfectly good and nourishing it is for us.

How perfectly it has been preserved and brought powerfully to our lives by your spirit. All that we may know who you are and glorify you through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you as we receive this gift of your word in awe of who you are and pray for your blessing upon us as only you can give.

We pray these things for the sake of Jesus Christ, the one with whom you are well pleased. Amen. I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Acts chapter 20. And we'll be looking at verses 1 through 16 this morning as we conclude our consideration of this passage, the arrivals and departures of the saints and their purpose, their meaning, their importance.

It has been observed that this book that has been entitled throughout history, The Acts of the Apostles, that it might just as well have been titled The Speeches of the Apostles. About half of the book deals with the setting and the impact of 26 distinct speeches given by key figures.

And one in four verses throughout the book actually is direct discourse. So, for a book titled Acts, there's a whole lot of talking. Now, Acts 20 is no exception to that rule. There's a lot of emphasis here about the travels, those who were involved in the travels and all the places that they went, the arrivals and the departures, but their purpose is seen in what was said and why it was said.

In all of Paul's arrivals and departures, he evangelizes the lost and he encourages the saved and does so all in the name of Christ. We're going to read verses 1 through 12 this morning. If you'll please stand with me in honor of the reading of God's Word.

This is the Word of the Lord. After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and departed to go to Macedonia. Now, when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to Greece and stayed three months.

And when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia. Also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus, and Trophimus of Asia.

These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. Now, on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together, and in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep, and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him. Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.

And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Have you ever gone to the trouble of getting up out of your chair, pains and groans and grunting and all, traveling the necessary distance to arrive in another room, all to forget why you did so, and in hopes of recalling why you thought this effort so necessary, you return to your seat and sit, so that you actuate that memory chip that only seems to work when you first sit down.

This experience, which is common to some of us, this experience is best captured by that famous Latin phrase, veni, vidi, ressali. I came, I saw, I turned around. When we rightly organize our lives and make the effort of gathering together with the saints, departing the comforts of our own home, to arrive together in the church house, wouldn't it be sad if you forgot the reason you came?

This is part of our trouble, that it is easy, it is even tempting, to forget the more necessary matters. You came, you saw, you turned around, and you went home. But what did we accomplish? Did you perhaps miss out on something?

Is your physical presence in a room the same as accomplishing the purpose for which you entered that room? No, it's not, obviously. Is mere attendance to church Christ's entire desire for you in the gathering of the saints?

To arrive in the same place and warmly receive and embrace one another, these are good and right and proper. But all of that is necessary preamble for the purpose that Christ has for us, which is Christian encouragement.

Christian Encouragement as the Purpose of Our Gatherings

Encouragement. That's the kind of fellowship in Christ that compels the saints in our arrivals and in our departures, makes our arrivals and departures meaningful, Christian encouragement. The Father saves and sanctifies His children through the Son, who by the Spirit washes them with the water of His Word.

And as Christ was about His Father's business, let us be about Christ's business, and that is the business of encouragement. I want to show you that today from our passage. We've talked about Christian expedition, all the places that we looked at in Acts 20, all the places that Paul left and all the places he went to.

But it has everything to do with the people that he was going to see. The Christian embracing that we see, Paul wanting to reconnect with various saints, to love them, to embrace them as those for whom Christ died.

But this expedition and embracing, all these people and all these places, there's a purpose to it, and that is encouragement. The encouragement that we see in verse 2. Verse 2 reads, Now when Paul had gone over that region and, look, this word, encouraged them with many words, he came to Greece.

Now this word, encourage, I want us to spend some time understanding what it is. Let's think about its definition first of all. This term is very common in the New Testament, and it is variously translated.

But we see it again in verse 12, where it says that they brought the young man in alive, Eutychus who had fallen out of the third story window, and they were not a little comforted. Comforted, there's the word again.

It's the same Greek word, just a different English gloss because of the context. So they were encouraged and they were comforted. Now this word in the Greek, parakaleo, is used over a hundred times in the New Testament, a full fifth of those show up in Acts.

That's what the church was doing, going back and forth, spending time together, encouraging one another in Christ. For example, in Acts 14 .22, we find Paul and Barnabas in Galatia ministering there, and we read that they were strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them, there's the word again, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God.

Also in Antioch of Syria, in Acts 15 .32, Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets, also exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. So Paul encourages the saints with many words. Judas and Silas exhort the brethren with many words.

This is the same term used time and again. Added to the sense of encouragement and comfort and exhortation is a sense of urgency and desire. When Paul was in Troas the very first time, God sent him a vision in the middle of the night, and he saw a Macedonian man who pleaded with him.

There it is again, the same word, different English translation, but again, the context matters. So this man was pleading with Paul to come over and help us. And, of course, Paul said, here we go. And they went across, and they got to Philippi, and they preached the gospel to a group of women by the river, and God saved Lydia.

And then once Lydia and her friends were baptized, she begged Paul and his company to come stay with her in her home. Now those are all different translations of the same Greek word time and again. We're getting the idea here of what this term means.

Parakaleo, compound term. I'm sorry for the etymology. Don't worry about it too bad. It's built from the verb kaleo, which means to call, and para, which means alongside. So it just means to call alongside, to call alongside.

There's persuasion here, but there's the pleading and exhorting and comforting and encouraging, but it all has a very personal and relational basis. You're desiring something for someone. You're telling them that.

But it's more coffee shop than crusade. It's more open arms than the pointed finger. Both are good. Both are necessary. Air-raised sirens are necessary for the battle of faith, but so also are the hymns that bolster the ranks.

This isn't so much the air-raised siren, pointed finger of you had better. This is more of the brother, sister, let us think about this and do well together. This term encouragement has the idea that you're calling someone to your side, calling to one's side by the means of entreaty, in the mode of instruction under the merits of comfort.

It's the means of entreaty.

It's the mode of instruction and it's the merits of comfort. It's what you do when you see your child weeping and you call them over to find out what's wrong, to comfort them. It's what happens when you get on one knee to tie your shoe and you call your eight-year-old over who needs a lesson in that and says, you do the same thing I do, watch.

It's what happens when you are with your family on a hike and the scenic overlook is just ahead and some of them are lagging because the journey is a little steep and you reach back with your hand, you extend your hand, you say, come on up here, it's just over the ridge, we're about to make it.

Come on up here. That's what this word is all about. I don't want you to miscategorize the term though. Exhortation, that sounds really fancy, but that's just the routine blessing of the saints. It has to be normal.

That's not a $25 steak or a $400 steak. That's just beans and rice. This is the normal fare of Christian living is exhortation, encouragement, speaking to one another to exhort one another on to Christ.

Encouragement might sound a little technical, but it's not just what coaches and mentors do. It's not simply to be left into the hands of the experts, but in actuality, all the saints have the grace of God to encourage one another.

The term comfort might sound a little weak as if you're just offering soothing sounds for a weepy three-year-old and the sounds don't have to make sense so long as they do the trick of calming the little one down.

But actually, this kind of comfort is that which is thoroughly engaged in the reasons Christ gives us that we would have consolation in Him. So exhortation, encouragement, comfort, these are not the purview of special saints.

I want this sermon to declassify this grace. This is not above your pay grade. This is what all Christians are to be doing for one another. I want you to see how this encouragement shows up in the passage.

I want you to think about the display of this encouragement in our passage. We see that it is the purpose for which Paul engaged in all of these arrivals and departures. Saints gathering in the same place in order to embrace one another, that is a blessing.

But if we fail to encourage one another in Christ, then we've forgotten what we came in the room to do. So think about this pattern. Paul encouraged the Ephesians on his departure. He exhorted the new saints in Troas, was comforted by Titus' arrival in Philippi, encouraged the saints in Corinth, wrote an exhortation to the saints in Rome from Corinth, was comforted by Gaius' hospitality there, encouraged the brothers with him on the journey back through Macedonia, exhorted the church in Troas, even after Eutychus fell out the third story window and died, and then was received alive again by the saints who were comforted.

Then Paul makes for Miletus and there calls for the Ephesian elders for whom he has many encouragements and exhortations and desires to be comforted by their presence. Over and over and over again. There is the pattern that is, again, the staple diet for the Christian life, this Christian encouragement.

This tells us that it is a priority, but not only does the pattern say, hey, this is a big deal, but also the story about Eutychus very specifically says, hey, this is a big deal, this Christian encouragement.

So let's listen to that story again, and I want you to think about how weird it sounds. Verse 7. Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples had come together, came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together, and in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep, and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third storey and was taken up dead.

But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him. Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.

And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted. Now that's a little strange when you think about it. It's not good enough to say, well, it was back in Bible times, they were all strange.

Now think about the priority of Christian encouragement that is on display here. We see that they gather on the first day of the week, but verse 6 of the passage says they had been there for seven days already.

Why wait until this last day of the trip to go into so much detail and so much encouragement for so long? Why wait until the last day? Because it was the first day of the week. Remember that Paul, according to 2 Corinthians 12, when he went through Troas, a door was opened to him for the gospel, which means he found someone who wanted to listen to the gospel preached, and Paul planted a church there in Troas.

And he must have instructed them about their custom of Christians to gather on the first day of the week and have communion and rejoice in the Lord together. So these disciples, these saints, these born-again Christians come together on the first day of the week.

Now, the Jews throughout the Roman Empire had a special legal permission to observe the Sabbath. They didn't have to work. Masters could not compel Jewish slaves to work on the Sabbath, couldn't punish them for not working on the Sabbath.

Jews could not be compelled to do things on the Sabbath. They had a special legal permission to not work on the Sabbath. Christians had no such special dispensation to worship on the Lord's Day on Sunday.

So the Christians could have pretended to be Jews. The undercover pretend to be Jews and gather on the Sabbath and fly under the radar. They did not. They wait until the first day of the week. Even though this pushes up against Paul's schedule.

Why do they wait until the first day of the week? Because that's the way Christ would have it. Not because Christ or the apostles somewhere declared that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. They never said that.

In fact, Christ and the apostles said that Jesus Christ himself is the fulfillment of the Sabbath. And you can read about that in Matthew 11, 28 -12. And Hebrews 4, 1 -16. Nevertheless, the first day of the week is called the Lord's Day in that Christ rose from the dead on that day.

He is the light.

Remember the first day of the original creation? What was the first day? Light. Jesus Christ is the light that breaks forth on the first day of the new creation. Sunday, when he was raised from the dead.

He is the word. Remember the word begins the creation. The Lord said, let there be light. Well, Jesus Christ is the word that makes all things new on the first day of the new creation, which is Sunday, the Lord's Day.

His new creatures, his new creations, old things passed away. Old things like Sabbath observances passed away. His new creations gather in communion with Christ on the Lord's Day to break bread. Meaning they had communion together.

They also had a fellowship meal together. And that is the venue. This is the opportunity on the Lord's Day, on Sunday, for Paul to engage in some heavy-duty, long-form encouragement. In this sense, many words is an understatement.

Luke was not exaggerating when he said many words because Paul started preaching and preached through midnight and beyond midnight, even to the breaking of the day. And by the way, this is actually the understanding of the days of the week in the modern Greek calendar.

You go over to Greece, get yourself a calendar, get yourself a daily planner in Greece. To this day, Sundays are labeled as Kyriaki, which is the Lord's Day, and Friday is Parskevi, which is Preparation Day, and Zavato is Sabbath.

The Sabbath is not the Lord's Day as far as the Greek calendar is concerned. Now, why did they wait until Sunday? We know that's the Lord's Day. But consider the cost. Consider the emphasis being made here.

They didn't have a weekend. We have weekends in our culture because of deeply rooted Christian influences, but they didn't have a weekend. There in Troas, the saints had worked all day long and then gathered in a third-story apartment in a Roman-style structure called an insula, which is a three-story building with apartments on the top two stories and then shops down at the street level.

And most of the population of the Roman Empire lived in major cities, lived in such structures, tenement blocks. This is not really a house church as much as it is an apartment church. And these folks are not likely to be their own masters.

These are either slaves or clients, and they have masters and they have patrons, and they have got to do what these men tell them to do. They are dominated by the demands of others. And so they finish their long day of work on Sunday, and then they break bread in communion, and Paul preaches from supper till midnight, going on past midnight.

And even though Eutychus falls out the window and dies, Paul says, I'm still preaching until the day dawns. The lamps are burning. There are crowded, warm conditions. But this is Paul's calling. He is going to preach and encourage them with many words as long as he can because he's got to get up and move the next day because he is called elsewhere to preach the gospel and to encourage the saints.

Eutychus, his name means fortunate, which I think is the reason Luke included his name. No need to include his name. You could just say a young man fell out the window, but he includes his name because I think it's funny.

It's just funny. His name means fortunate. But his mortal fall and miraculous resurrection have nothing to do with luck. Eutychus died. Eutychus was dead. That's the opinion of Luke, the beloved physician, and he knows what he's talking about.

This young man, Eutychus, was dead, and Paul goes out and lays on him, embracing the dead Eutychus, and this is clearly the posture of supplication to God that he would divinely intervene and raise him from the dead.

Paul makes the same motions that Elijah and Elisha did in raising the dead, makes the same motion that Peter made in raising the dead in Acts 9, and this man being raised from the dead and reunited with the saints there in Troas was of great comfort to them all.

That's an interesting story, but what's the purpose behind it? Why does the Spirit give us this story? It has something to do with how important Christian encouragement really is. Paul presses past all the limits of his hearers, doesn't he?

He goes too long. He preaches too long, doesn't he? He goes on and on and on with many words, and then even after Eutychus falls out the window and dies, Paul says, now, what did I leave off? And continues on.

We see that although Paul comes in and says, oh, his life is in him, he says, yeah, but he's probably pretty hurt. They don't know the degree to which the problem was, and he's still not in it. They don't bring Eutychus back in until after the whole service is over, and then they're greatly comforted.

They don't really exactly know what's going on with Eutychus, but all they know is the sermon has to continue. The encouragement must continue on. We're seeing something about how important it is for Paul to greatly encourage them in Christ before he leaves.

Is that vital? Is that primary? I found more than one scholar, more than one commentator who described Paul's approach here in Troas as a clear mistake on his part. Preached too long and should have been more kind and thoughtful and compassionate concerning these saints in Troas.

But actually, the story functions in this context in quite the opposite manner. In a sense, the death of Eutychus in the course of preaching represents acceptable losses. That someone died during the course of preaching doesn't stop the preaching, doesn't stop the Christian encouragement.

Even though folks fall out and die, the word must still be preached. The exhortation of the saints must still continue. And that night, everyone lost something. That night, everyone lost sleep. They all lost strength.

They all lost capacity to energetically work the next day for their masters and for their clients, for their patrons. So they lost something, all of them. Eutychus lost his life, but what gain did they all receive?

What gain did they all receive? We see something here very interesting. Did you notice that the resurrection and restoration of Eutychus to the church in Troas was described in the same term in verse 12 as the encouragement received by the saints in verse 2?

What are we being told here? One is as full of grace as the other. One is dependent upon the Spirit of God as the other. What power does Paul have to give life to the dead? He doesn't have that power.

That is God's business. And God graciously, mercifully raised Eutychus from the dead and his restoration to the church was of great comfort to them. But you know what else was of great comfort to them?

One was this encouragement in the preaching of the Word of God to them. That also was of great comfort and encouragement to them. And given the context, more important than the resurrection of Eutychus from the dead, because the preaching had to continue on.

What did Paul say about preaching Christ and seeing Christ written upon the very hearts of those to whom he ministered? He said, who is sufficient for these things? Paul is as unable to achieve the comfort and the encouragement of the saints as he is to raise the dead, but God gives grace for both.

This Christian encouragement is on display here to show us how important it is. It's really the purpose that defines our arrivals and our departures. Why is it so important that we encourage one another in Christ and that this encouragement is indeed Christian?

Now, encouragement is not unique to Christians. This is true. But Christian encouragement is unique. Christian encouragement is unique. And it's important that we clarify that this key purpose of our arrivals and departures is not something that some other group or some other organization can easily replicate.

Anybody can set up an organization for communal encouragement and suggest that it's best taken in weekly doses. Encouragement is not unique to Christians, but Christian encouragement is very unique. One way we can think of this is in terms of contrast.

Christian encouragement is not filled with baseless self-affirmations, uncritical love-bombing, gushing sycophancy that we find in our man-worshiping culture. Those are all cheap substitutes that poison the soul.

We are made for the true nourishment of Christ's exhortations, not the high-fructose corn syrup of diabolical flattery. God made us in His own image. He breathed the breath of life into us. And you know what He did immediately with Adam?

He immediately gave Adam His Word. He made Adam in His image, breathed His breath of life into him, and then He said,.

Here's My Word.

The first meal Adam ever ate was the Word of God. And it was not good for the man to be alone. So God made him a help-meet, a stand-out stand-along. And Adam and Eve were to live in accordance with the Word of God and encourage one another in God's Word.

And when that encouragement went silent, lies filled the void and all was lost. But all is remade in Christ. The centrality of God's Word to God's image in the creation is reflected in the covenants that God makes.

In all the covenants that God makes, He gives promises and then defines parameters. And then He gives signs to remember those promises and parameters and tells each generation to tell the next about those promises and parameters.

If they forget, they can always reflect on the sign. But they had to exhort one another to do what? To know the Lord. Hey, you know the Lord. Hey, saying back at you, you know the Lord. Unless they tell one another to know the Lord over and over again, all is lost.

And yet then there was promised a new covenant with better promises and better parameters in which the Comforter Himself.

Abides within.

And the encouragement comes ever from the changed heart rather than merely the catechized head. The new covenant, Christian encouragement, is unique. It is a call from one saint to another saint to come alongside Christ.

Come alongside Christ. I'm not here to say, I'm the standard, you catch up to me. I'm here to rejoice with you that Christ is the standard and let's catch up to Him. Let's follow Him. What does He have for us today?

What does He have for us tomorrow? Christian encouragement tells us to come alongside Christ in His sovereignty over creation and His satisfaction of the covenants. It is Christ's exhortations to us that no matter who we are or what stage of life we're in, they are for every type of human experience.

He exhorts us, whether it's regarding our family relationships or our work ethic or our wise interpretation of the Scriptures or His promises about the future. Whatever it is, He has encouragements for us all.

Christian encouragement is for all areas and times and seasons of life. Christian encouragement is a gift for every occasion. You don't have to wonder about what gift to get for your brother or sister in Christ.

It doesn't matter what the season is, what the occasion is,.

How old they are,.

How long it's been since you've seen them or if you see them every day. The gift for every occasion is Christian encouragement. Christian encouragement. The true joy, the delight of this is when we see a person encouraged be exhorted and comforted and blessed and transformed by Christ.

Now, this kind of encouragement is not the kind where we say something in just such a way to somebody so that they think really, really good things about us. It's not that self-giving. I got this for you because I knew you'd think of me.

It's not a kind of I'm going to butter you up so you think only the thoughts about me that I want you to think. It has nothing to do with that. This is not about winning friends and influencing people.

We're acting as a true friend, as a true brother or sister. We are trying to influence, but not for ourselves. Listen to the way that Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

There's the noun version of the verb we've been thinking about all this time. Not perikaleo, but perikalesis. The God of all comfort. He's the source of our comfort. Who comforts us in all our tribulation.

That we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. You feel comforted yet? For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation, there it is again, also abounds through Christ.

Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you are partakers.

Of the sufferings,.

So also you will partake of the consolation. This is the steady on every day, three square meals a day of the Christian is Christian encouragement. That we are thinking of who Christ is and his instructions to us and his promises to us.

It is the means of entreaty. It is the mode of instruction. It is the merits of comfort. This encouragement. God is the source of our comfort. The truth of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures is the substance of our comfort.

And the Holy Spirit, he is the agent who brings to us that comfort. It is not that we breathe the breath of life into the dead. It is not that we sanctify the saints. That is the work of God himself. It is his grace.

It is his power. And this is what we desire. Christ and the Holy Spirit share a title that is related to everything we've been saying here this morning. There's pericleo, the verb, periclesis, the noun, and pericletos, the title.

Christ said, I will send to you another pericletos, another comforter, another helper. He is the comforter and he is the advocate. 1 John 2, 1. My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin.

And if anyone sins,.

We have an advocate.

We have a comforter.

We have a helper.

We have a pericletos with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous, who is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us,.

Pleading his own blood,.

Signifying his own righteousness, citing his own righteousness in our place and for our sake. But he's not the only comforter. He has given to us another comforter, the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 14, 16, I will pray the Father and he will give to you another helper, another comforter, that he may abide with you forever.

Verse 26, same chapter. But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Remember? It is the means of entreaty, come this way, come up further.

It is the mode of instruction. Here's all the things that Christ has said. And it is the merits of comfort. This is the means by which we have our consolation. John 15, 26, Jesus says, But when the helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me.

John 16, 7,. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. In other words, the Holy Spirit is our encourager in chief.

He's the encourager in chief. And if you want to know what being spiritual looks like and sounds like, if you want to rightly identify someone who is spiritually mature,.

Then you should look at those.

Who are exhorting and encouraging others in Christ. Who are full of the Spirit. And you can see that they're full of the Spirit because they're not full of themselves. They're full of the Spirit and so they're full of Christian encouragement looking to others' interests above their own, saying, come on, let's go on to Christ together.

The will of the Father.

Is that by the Spirit we who have been made in the image of God and marred in sin are remade in the Son.

The will of the Father.

Is that by the Spirit we are remade in the Son and that will is accomplished by Christian encouragement from the Holy Scriptures as Christ is made manifest. That's the delight of it. That's what we want to see in one another's lives.

Why make so much effort to depart the comforts of our home and to gather in a new place? Well, of course I want to embrace you. Of course we want to shake hands and give hugs and see one another and love on one another.

Yes, of course.

But all of this.

Is prelude to the purpose which is Christian encouragement. That I serve you and you serve me. I minister to you, you minister to me as we encourage one another in Christ. That's our desire. That's our aim.

That's our anticipation. Our aim clarifies our approach and our anticipation guides our actions. We have a role to play in this. Yes, it is all of the grace of God and what grace is working in your life.

How is He desiring you to live in obedience?

Yes, of course,.

Paul couldn't raise the dead, but he could go down there and lay down on top of Eutychus and pray.

Yes, of course,.

Paul can't personally sanctify the saints, but he could stay up past midnight until the dawn broke so that he could encourage them in Christ.

Yes, of course,.

We're ever leaning upon the miraculous grace of God for Him to work. We can't make the wind blow, but we can sure raise the sails. This is the life of faith. What is it that God wants us to do? This is a role that we have to play.

This is not the kind of encouragement which ensures that our hearer thinks well of us because we said just the right things to them. This is the kind of exhortation that leads them on to Christ, builds them up in Christ, ever more thoroughly rooting them in their hope in Him, their identity in Him, exciting their love for Him.