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and the word being preached, Lord in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. OK, we're in Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20 this evening, and we're actually going to pick up where we left off on the book of Acts, typically where we study the book of Acts on Thursdays. But of course, last week we had our Thanksgiving dinner. We had a Thanksgiving gear type of a message. And so I want to catch it. Catch us up on the book of Acts. So we're in chapter 20 this evening. And the title of the sermon is Grievous Wolves Entering in. Grievous Wolves Entering in. Of course, let me just give you a recap of chapter 19. If you remember, in chapter 19, the apostle Paul, he's traveling. He's revisiting the churches that have already been established. And he runs into some disciples, so-called, who, you know, they say they've been baptized into the baptism of John, but they weren't even saved, they had believed in vain. And so they get saved. We see that taking place there towards the latter end of chapter 19. We see that the momentum that Christianity is gaining in Asia. And the reason we say that is because of the fact that there's an uproar in the city of Ephesus due to the fact that the apostle Paul's preaching the gospel is turning many away from their false gods to the true and living God. And this, in turn, is causing the craftsmen and the silversmith to become anxious and worried that they are basically going to lose their job. Their job is to basically create these shrines and these idols of Diana, the goddess of the Ephesians. And they're afraid that they're going to lose their occupation because of the fact that Christianity is gaining all this momentum. And good riddance, amen. So he's doing this. He's preaching the word of God and is showing you how influential the apostle Paul is in Asia. I mean, there's tons of churches in Asia. We know that there's at least seven prominent churches because of the Book of Revelation. But there's many churches there. A lot of people have been saved there. And a great work is being accomplished. But then there's this uproar amongst the Ephesians because of this. The gathering assembly together. Demetrius is the one who's kind of heading spearheading this entire crowd here. And then we have a an individual who basically comes and speaks some reasoning into the people. He says, look, if they're doing something illegal, then what you need to do is bring it before the law. There's some deputies here that can arrest them. But other than that, we need to make sure we don't have this unlawful assembly just because you disagree with what this man is preaching. They're not robbers. They're not thieves. They're not blasphemers of your goddess. You know, he's basically defending them, saying, hey, this is an unlawful assembly. This shouldn't be done here. And so at that point, they basically dismiss the assembly and they parted ways. So in Chapter 20, we see that the apostle Paul, because he's a reasonable individual, he's thinking to himself, well, I got to leave Ephesus. And look, that's a biblical principle. If you're in an area that's very dangerous, that where your life is possibly at stake, where people are threatening your life, it's good to go somewhere else. Right now, I'm not saying someone threatens you online and they say something, you know, they're going to kill you and they're going to kill your children. We get that all the time. And we're not going anywhere. But, you know, I'm not saying that. I'm talking about when there's literal threatenings taking place, you know, where people are literally grabbing him, they're stoning him. I mean, he's on the brink of death. He recognizes, hey, you know, I need to dust my feet off here. I need to head somewhere else. I need to go confirm of the churches. So he moves on from there. And that's where we find ourselves in Chapter 20. Now, in Chapter 20, he leaves Ephesus. He goes to Macedonia. From Macedonia, he goes to Greece. And we can safely surmise that he probably visits the churches, which are in Berea, Athens, Corinth. He's confirming the brethren that are in those areas. And then he decides to go back into Macedonia. But then what we see is that the Jews are lying in wait once again. So what that means is that there are Jews waiting for him to basically either arrest him or stone him or try to impede the work. Well, he catches news of this and he decides instead to go somewhere else. He decides basically to go back to Ephesus. And we'll look at what it says in verse number one. It says after the uproar was seized, Paul called on to him, the disciples and embraced them and departed to go into Macedonia. And we had gone over those parts and had given them much exhortation. He came into Greece. Look what it says in verse three. And there are both three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him and he was about to sell into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. And they're accompanying him into Asia. Zapater of Berea and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Segundus, Gaius of Derbe, Timotheus and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. So what do we see here? Well, we see is Paul's fruit that remains, OK, because he's out there just kind of voyaging and going in these different areas, and he's preaching the word of God. He's, you know, possibly going to fall at the hands of these Jews who are trying to take his life. But we see a band of men that are following him. And these are people that he's one to the Lord. These are people that he's discipled. He's trained and they're from different parts of the world. So what do we see here? We see that it's his fruit, but it's not just this fruit. It's this fruit that remained right now. Go with me, if you would hold your place there. Go to John Chapter 15, if you would. John Chapter 15 says a lot about the Apostle Paul. And by the way, you know, sometimes we read the Book of Acts and we wonder why John, Peter and these other apostles not being mentioned very much. You know, obviously, we understand this because they decided to stick to preaching the gospel to the Jews, not to the Gentiles. Paul's agenda was God's agenda to reach out into the uttermost parts of the world, preach the gospel to the Gentiles. But it could also be that Paul actually has fruit. You know, he's actually preaching the Word of God. He's discipling people. And there's a band of men that are following him that are basically doing the work as well. And we see a list of them right here. Now, let me read to you from Romans Chapter one, verse 13. It says, Now would have not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes that purpose to come unto you, but was let hitherto that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So he's like, hey, I want to go to Rome because I want some fruit there, too. Some believers, some disciples, some people that I, you know, can win to the Lord, beget people through the gospel, have people there. Look at John 15, verse 16. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit. Now, keep in mind that when the Bible talks about fruit, specifically in the New Testament, this is referring to people. You know, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that wineth souls is wise. And so we, as we go on and preach the gospel, we get people saved. That's our fruit, OK? That is the fruit of our labor. And that's what he's referring to. He's like, I'm ordained to go out and bring forth fruit, get people saved and that your fruit, look what it says, should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the father of my name, he may give it you. Now, what this means specifically, I believe this is referring to is the fact that when you get someone saved, they just remain saved. Amen. Because he says fruit that remains. So he's saying, look, you're not only going to get fruit. This is eternal fruit. OK, now they may not come to church. They may not get baptized. They may not serve the Lord. But we know it's fruit that remains. It's real fruit. In other words, it's legitimate fruit is what he's saying. But I think a secondary application that we could get from this is that people, what God is saying here is that, look, if you are faithfully preaching the gospel, you're going to eventually get someone who actually remains in church. Because remember the parable of the seed in the sower has four seeds. The first one is not saved. The other three do get saved. But out of those three, only one produces fruit. So we can safely assume that the fourth one that produces fruit is the one that what remains. So how do we do that? Well, here's the thing. You got to be faithful for many years, obviously, and preaching the gospel. You got to go out and not just preach the gospel, get people saved, but get them baptized, not just getting baptized, but also teach them all things whatsoever. God has commanded. Christ has commanded them, commanded you and love them, care for them, you know, impart your soul into them, teach them the word of God and train them. And look, folks, that's why at our church, we have the system of teams. Amen. We have the system of teams to create fruit that remains, to create bona fide preachers of the gospel that can go out and get other people saved, they can get their family members saved, they can get the stranger saved. It's fruit that remains. And Paul is doing just that, you know, and it's pretty neat that he has all these guys go back to Acts chapter 20. He has all these guys following him, you know, and they're I'm sure they're out there preaching the gospel as well. I'm sure they're out there doing the work and discipling people. He's doing a great work. This is a band of men whose hearts God has touched. You understand? So we see that his fruit remains. And look, the vast majority of the fruit in Asia is from the Apostle Paul. Right now, unfortunately, we see later on, he says all those which are in Asia have forsaken me. I mean, they just completely turned against against the Apostle Paul, which is just insane to think that all the work that he put in, just trying to get these people saved, discipling them, and then all of a sudden they just turn away from the Apostle Paul. It's a sad statement, but it's it's part of the ministry. You're going to have people turn against you. You're going to have people who claim to be loyal to you, claim to be your friend, claim to love you, claim to pray for you, claim to want to be a blessing to you. All of a sudden you just turn around and backstab you. It's going to happen. It's part of life, part of the ministry. And, you know, that's one of the reasons why the Apostle Paul put that and he wrote that that all those which are in Asia, you know, have turned from the Apostle Paul just so you don't feel as bad. When one person backstabs you, don't worry. He had a whole continent or region turned against him and just forsake him. And we're talking about the Apostle Paul. Right. So we see here that he has fruit, fruit that remains. And of course, I'm sure there are pockets of people in Asia. Maybe he was exaggerating, exaggerating a little bit. There's I'm sure there's pockets of people who actually remain faithful to following Paul, following the word of God. But probably just in general, those who were in that region have turned against him, have turned against him. Now look at verse number five. This is a pretty interesting and funny story here. Says, These going before tarried for us at Troas, and we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow and continued his speech until midnight. So you think it's bad when I preach for like an hour? The Apostle Paul over here is preaching until midnight. So what does that say about the Apostle Paul? He's got a lot to say. Right. He's got a lot to say. Look, folks, the Apostle Paul will not be invited to your average independent, fundamental Baptist church who only prefers a 30 minute sermonette. You know, where 15 minutes of his talking about money or something, quoting other books, not even talking about the Bible. He's preaching until midnight. And look, he said of himself, though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge. So would you say that the Apostle Paul is like a boring preacher? I don't think so. I think he was fiery. I think he can keep people's attention. I think he was just an awesome leather lung preacher, as they used to say. Verse eight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together. There's a reason why it's saying this, because, you know, it's late at night. He's still preaching, but there's lights there. People can see him. Look at verse nine. And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus being fallen into a deep sleep. And as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep and fell down from the third loft. And was taken up dead. So what's going on here? Paul's just ripping face. He's just preaching the word of God. I mean, he has revelations from God. This is interesting stuff, right? He's preaching the word of God. There's a guy named Eutychus. He's sitting on the third loft. He's sitting at a window. The Bible says that he falls into a deep sleep. He sinks into sleep. What does that mean? It's just like. And his, you know, in his sleep, he just falls out of the window. And dies. Now, we don't know if he really, you know, it says he's taken up dead, but then Paul goes to him and says his life is still in him. So it could be that, you know, maybe he was unconscious or something, or maybe he did die. We don't know. It says in verse 10, and Paul went down and fell on him and embraced him and said, trouble not yourself, for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again and had broken bread and eaten and take it and talked a while, a long while, even till break of day, so he departed and they brought the young man alive and were not a little comforted. So let me explain what's going on here, okay? Paul's preaching. The guy falls asleep. He falls out of the third loft. I mean, this is pretty embarrassing if you think about it. He's going down in history as the man who fell asleep during Paul's preaching. Like, you're in heaven and he's just like, hey, what's your name? Eutychus? Hey, Acts 20. You're the guy who fell asleep during Paul's preaching. He's like, yeah. Now, what are some practical applications that we can get from this? Well, number one, let me just give you the most practical of all. You should not fall asleep during church. Amen? I mean, that's the most practical thing that you can get from this, right? You should not fall asleep during church. Now, the exception to this rule, let me give you the exceptions to this rule. And let me just tell you, the young men are not the exception to the rule. Because Eutychus was a young man, you know what I mean? The exception to the rule would be like a guy or a man who works graveyard. But folks, let me just say this. Even if you work graveyard, that means you're probably still getting sleep when you're supposed to sleep. See, an individual who works graveyard needs to be disciplined and sleep when they're supposed to sleep, right? But how about this? How about mothers with small children, right? I mean, any young mother with young children know it's hard to get decent sleep. Some of you who are gonna be new mothers, it's a rude awakening in a couple months, okay? Because sometimes it is just sleepless nights. Children keep you up. They got stomach issues. They get an earache and they're sick or they're just having a hard time. Or how about this? When ladies first have babies, when they first give birth, you have to feed the child every couple of hours. If you're doing it right, breastfeeding, right? You have to get up, feed the child, go back to sleep, get up again a couple hours later, feed the child. I mean, it's a lack of sleep. But you know what, here's the thing. I rarely run into a mother who's doing that who still falls asleep in church. They typically don't. They discipline themselves to still stay awake. Because typically a mom who disciplines herself to wake up every couple of hours is disciplined enough to stay awake during church, right? Those would be the exceptions to the rule. Other than that, there is no exception. So stay awake. Look folks, and look, everyone pretty much stays awake in our church, okay? And I know I'm not the apostle Paul up here. And I know I'm not that exciting as he is. That's why I don't feel bad when I read this story. I'm like, hey, you know, he even had someone fall asleep. But there are certain individuals. Hey, and I have to say it, amen. For what? To wake that person up. I'm being serious. Stay awake in church. And look, let me give you an example. Like when I was in Bible college, okay? I went to Bible college for many years. Don't hold it against me. I sat under some pretty boring preaching. Really boring preaching. Like very boring. Some stuff that is just like, you can be a eudicus in that class. And they would probably wouldn't hold it against you because they're so boring. But you know what, I still stayed awake. Even during boring preaching. Now, I will say this, there's one time in class where I did fall asleep. And that was when years ago, what was it, 2008 for the hour when we did the Proposition 8 thing? This is when we were constitutionalists. And we were doing the Proposition 8 because the homos were trying to pass the law to get married or whatever. And so they had this campaign where we were gonna just disband as many signs of Proposition 8 throughout the city of Long Beach as possible. We literally did it from like 11 at night till five o'clock in the morning, right? It was a long day, long night. We're going and then people would wake up and it's just nothing but Proposition 8 signs everywhere. I mean, it was a great work. I'm being facetious here. It was a waste of time. So I get home, I lived in Downey at that time. I get home around six. And you know, I'm like, man, I got class at eight. So I'm just gonna shower real quick. I'm gonna eat something, get dressed, and go to college. So I went to college and I did not sleep at all. And I stayed awake, but then you know, you got your born preacher that's coming up there. And I kid you not, like I was struggling to stay awake. And the only, so I think I fell asleep for like two seconds. And then I heard my friend say, look at Bruce. I heard literally someone say that in class, like, look at Bruce. Because they were saying like, he fell asleep. And I woke up, I was like, no way, I'm not doing this. I'm not gonna be the laughing stock of this Bible college, you know? And I never fell asleep thereafter. Now I've known people in Bible college that would fall asleep to the point where like, their folders are falling out of their hands and they're just like. I remember this one time, there was a girl who would fall asleep in class every single time, every day. Without fail, okay? But she had it down to a science. Like she'd fall asleep, like some guys are just like. They're just like, they look dead. She would just go, perfect posture, just fall asleep. So one time, the teacher, he was calling on people for different answers, and he just so happened to call on her. And literally, as he's calling on her, she literally fell asleep right then and there. Let's just say her name is Barbara, okay? He's like, Barbara, what do you think about that? And she's just like, and he's like, Barbara? Ow. But you know, we learned to never fall asleep, not just in chapel, but just in church, period. Why, because you know, you're hearing the words of God being preached. And you should have enough discipline to stay awake during church, okay? And look, if you're having a hard time staying awake in church, number one, you might be pre-diabetic. I'm being serious. You might need to change your diet, okay? Or two, you're just not going to sleep at night. You know, staying up all night playing Fortnite or something, some stupid video game, or watching some stupid show, taking away your sleep from the most important things, you understand? And look, even if you stay awake in church, if you're staying up all night doing that nonsense, you're not going to be able to focus in church. Why even come to church? Just to have a warm body in church? Come to church fully focused, ready to listen, ready to hear. Be swift to hear, the Bible says. What does that mean? You got to be focused. Why would you come to church just to like, fall asleep with your eyes open? You should be in church willing to listen, pay attention, to listen to what God has for you. Look, we should have respect for God's word, amen? We should have respect for the preaching of God's word. The Bible says in Proverbs 19, 15, slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep. And this is one thing I could not understand, is when like guys in Bible college, they'd be falling asleep. Oh man, I got this story. Let me tell you the story in Bible college. This guy, right? He just kept falling asleep, kept falling asleep. And my wife's uncle, Uncle Johnny, he's like, we'll call him Brandon. He's like, Brandon, stand up in the back. You keep falling asleep, son. Go stand up in the back. And he gets up and he's like, he goes back there and he's just like, and he's like still struggling. He's like, Brandon, you know what? I commend this guy. He's falling asleep, but the guy's probably working late. He's like, you work graveyard, son? He's like, no. He's like, what time did you get off of work? He's like, I don't even have a job. He's like, what? Then why are you tired? Why do you fall asleep if you don't even have a job? But here's the thing, people typically who have jobs, stay awake. Those who do not have jobs have a hard time staying awake because slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep, the Bible says. Proverbs 6 says, go to the ant thou sluggard. Consider a ways and be wise, which having no guide overseer or ruler provideth or meeteth in the summer gathereth her fruit in the harvest. How long without sleep, O sluggard? When without rise, out of thy sleep, yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, and you'll miss the whole sermon. So should I poverty come as one that travelth and I want as an armed man. Now look, this is definitely applicable in the most literal sense, but in the spiritual sense, you'll become poor spiritually if you just fall asleep and you're not paying attention to church. You'll be bankrupt spiritually because you're not getting, and there is a command in the Bible to be vigilant, to be sober, to be awake. And I'm hoping that this is the last time I have to mention this in church, amen. And look, they used to give us like little methods of how to stay awake, they're like, look, if you're struggling during chapel or during class, pluck the hairs off your leg if you have to. You just just like stand up, go drink water, do whatever you have to do. But folks, do we really have to go that far? Canst thou not watch with me for one hour? The sermon is literally one hour. You see what I'm saying? Hey, and by the way, all of us like sleep, okay? Who doesn't like a good night's rest, a good night's sleep? Ask the moms in our church. They would love to get a good night's, just one good night of eight hours rest or something, you know, but here's the thing, don't love sleep to the point where it's impeding you from being an effective Christian, okay? The Bible says, love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty, open thine eyes, and thou shall be satisfied with bread, again, in the most literal sense, this is very applicable, but even in the spiritual sense. Hey, open your eyes and you will be satisfied with the bread of life, the bread of the Word of God. That'll keep you awake, that will benefit you spiritually. Now, let me give you a secondary application. So don't be a eunuchist in church, first and foremost, okay? And look, you might be cast into a deep sleep or to the point where you just fall off your chair. Let's just be honest, you'll become a byword in a proverb in our church. It's funny, but it's not funny. Don't be a byword in a proverb in our church. And look, we don't have this issue here where like a bunch of people are falling asleep in church, but this does need to be addressed. It needs to be spoken of, it needs to be rebuked and corrected and reproved, okay? Change your diet, go to sleep on time, get on keto, do whatever you gotta do to help your body recuperate so you can stay awake, okay? And I guarantee you, if you're falling asleep in church, you're probably falling asleep at your job too, if you have a job. Go to, the day that sleep, sleep in the night. That's when you're supposed to sleep, not during the day. Now, let's give a secondary application. So don't be a eunuchist in church, stay awake, drink a cup of coffee if you want, stay away from the monsters. But here's the secondary application, is that Christians shouldn't be asleep spiritually too. Okay? Because that's really the spiritual application, because the opposite of being asleep, obviously, is being awake, and the Bible talks about this. It tells us, awake, arise and Christ shall give thee light. Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light, the Bible says. And it's not referring to you being literally asleep, it's referring to being asleep spiritually. And obviously, the way you wake up spiritually, first and foremost, you get saved. So you got a lot of people in the awake movement, the truther movement, who are not even saved, they're not really awake, folks. Because Jesus Christ is the source of all truth. He's the source of all awakeness. I mean, once you come to Jesus Christ, you get saved, you believe on him, you are truly awake. Now, obviously, there's other information you need to learn after that. But, you know, it's sad when you have people on social media who only know about the nefarious agenda of this world, but didn't even know the answer to that is Jesus Christ. So what does it mean when it tells us to be vigilant, to be sober, to be watching? In other words, don't let your guard down. You know, when you're asleep, you're letting your guard down, right? You're vulnerable, in other words. So spiritually speaking, if you are asleep spiritually, you are vulnerable. We as Christians need to be watching, right? Now go to Matthew chapter 26, if you would, Matthew chapter 26. Excuse me for my voice, typically on Sunday nights, I start losing my voice. Matthew 26, in verse 36, Jesus Christ is about to be crucified. He's in the garden of Gethsemane. Look what it says in verse 36, Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Tear ye here and watch with me. Very simple instruction, right? He went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, Oh my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will. And he cometh unto the disciples and findeth them asleep and saith unto Peter, What? Could he not watch with me one hour? I mean, we're talking about Peter. This is one of the leaders of the disciples. And what did he do? I mean, you have Jesus, you're supposed to be guarding Jesus Christ. He's saying, watch with me. He's basically saying, watch out for people who might come. And he's going out there and praying. In a sense, he's a little vulnerable. And he comes back and he finds Peter asleep. He's like, can't you just watch for one hour? Can't you stay awake for one hour? Watch and pray, verse 41. They enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, Oh my father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again for their eyes were heavy. And he left them and went away again and prayed the third time, saying those same words. Then come with each of his disciples and say unto them, sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand and the son of man is betrayed until the hands of sinners rise. Let us be going, behold, he is a hand that doth betray me. So what is the principle that he's teaching here? Well, actually this has an end times application to it. And the end times application is this, is that Christians who are asleep will not be vigilant at the second coming of Christ. Now we understand, according to the Bible, that the second coming of Christ comes after the tribulation not before the tribulation. A lot of people want to teach that Jesus Christ can come at any moment. He's going to come, you know, it's going to be a secret rapture. Our clothes are going to fall to the ground. It's this perverted, you know, rapture going on here. The Bible doesn't teach that at all. The Bible says that Jesus Christ, every eye shall see him. It's not a secret rapture. Everyone's going to see Jesus Christ. And he comes after the tribulation. And the implication there is that Christians will go through tribulation. And in fact, Paul said we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Bible constantly promises us tribulation, constantly promises that we're going to go through temptations and trials. You know, the antichrist is going to come. You have the abomination of desolation being set up. 75 days thereafter comes the second coming, the resurrection, okay? But here's the thing. There's people today who are going to be asleep during that time. Now look, you think to yourself, well, how can you be asleep when the abomination of desolation is going on? All these, you know, you have the beginning of sorrows, the four horsemen of the apocalypse. You have all these things being instituted. How are they not going to know the second coming of Christ? Well, I'll tell you how. The same reason today people are getting their minds off of the most important things and focusing on all the trouble that's out there right now. Most people are not awake, they're asleep. See, to be awake is to be spiritually minded and understanding what the Bible actually says. But I guarantee you in those days, people are going to be so focused on the four horsemen of the apocalypse, they're not even really understanding, or the events that are taking place of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, that they're not recognizing, hey, you need to make sure you endure until the end. Because if you stumble and you fall, it's just showing that you're not vigilant, you're not watching. Now go with me if you went to 1 Thessalonians chapter five. I'm going to read to you from Mark chapter 13 verse 34. It says, For the Son of Man is a man taking a far journey, who left his house and gave authorities to his servants, to every man his work, and commanded the poor to watch. Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch, he says. So we as Christians need to make sure that we're watching the news. No? By the way, don't depend on the news, folks. Bunch of liars out there. What are we supposed to be watching? Social media? No, we're supposed to be watching with our spirit. The coming of the Lord. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And you know what, when you're in the flesh, the concept there that it's trying to teach us is this, is that when the flesh is weak, it means it's asleep. When the spirit is willing, it's awake. You're being vigilant, you understand the things that are taking place. You are like the sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, okay? Look at 1 Thessalonians 5, in verse four, this is referring to the second coming of Christ. It says in verse four, but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of the light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, look what it says, the hope of salvation. So why does it say for a helmet, the hope of salvation? Well, think about this, someone who has a helmet on them is being vigilant for the things that are coming from the sky. In other words, they're protecting themselves so they're not caught off guard from an arrow, from a spear that comes from the sky. Well, you know what Jesus said, when you see these things come to pass, lift up your heads for your redemption, draweth night. So this is synonymous with someone who's just aware, you understand? That day is not gonna catch them off guard because they're not in darkness. They understand Christ is coming, we're getting ready for that, and therefore they have the helmet of salvation, which is the hope of our salvation. Now, the salvation obviously that it's referring to is our resurrection, the salvation of the body. Now, here's the thing, I'm not saying that we shouldn't know about the nefarious agendas of this world. Obviously we need to know about those things because we need to expose those things. You know, the vaccine agenda that they have, whether it's human trafficking, whether it's adultery, whether it's sodomy that they're trying to promote, whatever agenda Hollywood has, we should know of those things in order to expose those things, but not at the expense of knowing what the Bible says. Don't be so knowledgeable about the evil of this world that you just completely negate what the Bible actually says. We should be more knowledgeable of the word of God and not so much of the evil of this world. Now skip down and go back to Acts chapter 20, if you would. So don't be a eutychist, spiritually speaking either. Don't be asleep. Be vigilant, be awake, be watchful. And look, be not afraid of sudden fear either. There's a lot of sudden fear that's coming in 2021. You thought 2020 was bad. It's only gonna get worse. It's only gonna get worse. And if you think 2021 is bad, wait till the beginning of sorrows and great tribulation comes. That's the worst. And in fact, those who are supposedly on our side, the truth or movement, they're gonna be the ones turning us in. That's how bad it's gonna get. Because they think they're doing God a service. That's a sermon for another day. Now I'm running out of time, so skip down to verse 17, if you would. This is the main part that I want to talk about this evening. So Paul gives a farewell to the Ephesians. He heads to Ephesus. It says, and for Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. And they were come to him. He said unto them, he know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I had been with you all at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the line and weight of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith to our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there. Now, listen to what's taking place here. Is he supposed to go back to Jerusalem? No, he's supposed to stay over there. He's supposed to expand the work. God specifically told them, hey, you need to leave Jerusalem. He sent persecution in Jerusalem so that they would leave and go to the uttermost parts of the world to go preach the gospel. So when he says he's going bound in the spirit, he's not talking about the Holy Spirit. He's bound in his own spirit. It's his attitude, his desire, his emotion that's carrying him back over there. Now, what does this teach us here? It teaches us that Paul, even though he's a great man of God, is still a fallible man. Because think about this. We just spent the entire chapter seeing him make the decision to say, well, I got to leave Macedonia because of the lying weight of the Jews. I got to leave Ephesus because of the lying weight of so-and-so. He's leaving all these regions because he knows his life is in danger in those regions. Well, Paul, then why are you going back to Jerusalem? That's where the majority of the Jews are. I mean, they tried to kill you back there before. And you kind of wonder like, what's up with Paul? Well, it's just showing you that he's fallible. It's showing you his fallibility and the fact that though he's a great man of God, he can make mistakes as well. And sometimes his discernment is off. And look, let me just say this is that every leader, often their discernment can be off sometimes. Mine can be off sometimes, where I feel like I'm doing right. And I lead an individual or a church or my family in a certain direction that I think is correct and it might be wrong. Now, here's the difference though, is that the Bible tells us that all things work together for good to them that love God. So when we make a mistake, but we keep serving God, God corrects that mistake and he works it out together for good. We learn from it, we keep serving God and thank God for that. We need Romans 8.28 because we're fallible. You need Romans 8.28 because you're fallible. And there's certain decisions that you think, well, man, this is a good decision. I'm bound in the spirit. This is what I believe I should do. But then we see later on, oh man, that was a stupid move. That was a stupid decision. That was a stupid thought. That was a foolish thing to think of. Why? Because our spirit, our attitude, our emotions are not always right. The heart is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know what the Bible says? And sometimes we make certain decisions and we think, man, this is the right one. But then it ends up being something bad. It's a terrible decision for us and our family. You know, there's people who have made a decision to move. Now, some people who move from our church, this is like, that was a good decision. Thank you for doing that. Hey, go bound in the spirit. Go bound in something. Go bound in your luggage and whatever. Just leave, please. Because there can be a thorn in the flesh, okay? But other people who are well-meaning, sometimes they make that decision and it's not the best decision for them. Let me say this. If you make a decision like that, nowhere in the Bible does it say you have to consult with me if that's what you want to do. But I'll tell you this, it's wise to do that. Any major decision you make, you should consult with your spiritual leaders. Why, because we have your best interest in mind. Now, there's times that it calls for you to move somewhere else, whether it's because of a job, you know, for marital reasons, you know, whatever it may be. There's different various factors and they play a role in someone leaving a certain area to go somewhere else and sometimes that's needed and it ends up working out for them because they love the Lord. You know, they get established in that church. They become a blessing there. And sometimes they flourish there more than they would flourish here and vice versa. But there's times when people move and it's for selfish reasons. They don't get any counsel, they don't get any consultation and they end up suffering the consequences because of it. Okay, now can God work it out together for good? Absolutely. But I'd rather God work it out together for good with the good decisions that I make. Not always being bad decisions that I make. You understand? But, you know, God is with Paul. He's leading him and he's right. I mean, the Holy Ghost does witness in every city. So yeah, he is witnessing in Jerusalem but that's not where God wants him. So basically what we see here is that he's just fallible, he's making mistakes and, you know, that's just what it is, okay? Now, he tells them at Ephesus, look, you're not gonna see my face anymore. And it gets kind of emotional towards the latter end of Acts chapter 20 and it really shows you how close he was to his people there at Ephesus. Because it's like, you're not gonna see my face anymore. Like this is the last time you're gonna see me. He's basically saying like, you know, when I leave, I'm probably gonna die. And so I love you all and just know that I've been here, you know, with tears, preaching in the word of God. I'm free from, pure from the blood of all men. I've tried preaching the gospel to everyone, teaching the word of God and you know what? I loved him for that. We see towards the latter end of the chapter, they fell upon his neck and they kissed him and they're sorrowing over the words that he was saying that he would see them no more. And look, this shows us that you know what? Some of the best relationships that you ever develop is in church. Now, hopefully a lot of that includes your family, amen? But sometimes it doesn't. You know, I had family travel out from Utah to come here. My dad was here and he saw his grandchildren, it was great. He got to see his grandchildren, some of his grandchildren for the first time. I don't really keep a whole lot in contact with him. He stays very busy out there. But I'll be honest with you, my closest family members are here. I'll just be honest with you. Of course, my wife and my children, they're the closest to me, but second to that would be the people here. Even more so than the people who are my physical blood relatives. These are the people that I love. These are the people that I'm with. And even though we didn't grow up together, we're growing up together spiritually. And it should be that we as Christians endear our hearts one to another in our local New Testament church. And that's why they call it a church family, amen? So with that being said, hey, don't be afraid to get close to the people in our church. It's like, oh, I've been hurt so many times and backstabbed so many times and just, you know, trash that. And you know what? Yeah, that's just life. People are gonna backstab you, they're gonna turn on you, but that should not impede you from developing healthy relationships within our church. That's right. You know, I'm not afraid to develop relationships with the men in our church and get close to the families in our church and love them and be here for them and befriend them. Hey, we have church tonight, but folks, let me just say this. Once church is over, the party's just getting started. Amen. We, I mean, we travel. We take the party elsewhere. Because these are the people, and I understand, not everyone can make it to those things because some people, you know, we got little kids and everything. But I'm saying, you know, develop relationships with the people in our church, develop the friendships, because these are some of the most important relationships you ever have. And look, these are the people you're gonna need in times of trial and tribulation. You know, when you're going through a difficult time, you need your church family. And it's hard when you go through a difficult time if you don't have a church family. You know, who do you go to for help and empathy and sympathy and all these things that you need? Who are you gonna go to? Here, at least you have people that say, hey, I need you to pray for me. I need your help. Folks, I remember a couple months ago when my wife and I were going through a very difficult time because she was very sick and ill, I went through some of the men in our church and I said, hey, I need you to make sure that this thing runs like a weld old machine. I'm gonna come and preach, but you guys need to come and they were just like, we got you. Go do whatever you gotta do. I'm so thankful for that. And you know what, I'll just be honest with you, my hearts were endeared to those men a little more because of that. All the men in our church. Because everyone participated in helping us get back on our feet and help us through that difficult trial. It's needed. But what if we weren't close to anybody? Wherever you weren't close to anybody, it's just like you kinda go through those trials alone. And look, if you go through a trial alone, it's your fault. Because you have a ton of people here you can establish relationships with, be friends with. He that hath friends must show himself friendly, the Bible says. So what we see here is that he had a really good relationship with them. Now, what does he decide to leave them with? I mean, these are his last words. And he's just like, before I go, let me just finish with this. Look at verse 27. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood. So keep in mind, he's not just talking to the entire church. Who is he talking to? The elders. Because he calls together the elders. The elders are what, the pastors, the leaders of that area, right? And he's saying, hey, you guys gotta make sure you feed the flock of God which are among you. Why? Look at verse 29. For I know this, he's not saying, I think this might happen. It's a possibility. He's like, no, I know this. That after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. So he said, look, you have to make sure that you preach the word of God. You gotta teach your people because when I'm gone, grievous wolves are gonna come in and they're gonna eat up the flock if you don't teach them. And notice that he calls them grievous wolves. Why, because wolves cause grief. Through damnable heresy, damning people to hell, molesting children, stealing money from the church. I mean, they cause a lot of grief to God's people because they're evil, right? They lead people astray, they beguile unstable souls. They're wicked individuals and he's telling them, look, when I'm gone, it's gonna happen. People are gonna come in teaching damnable heresies. Now look what it says in verse 30. Also of your own selves shall men arise. Now who is he talking to? The elders. Yeah. So he's looking at them, he's like, also one of you. You, one of you guys are gonna get up and to lead away disciples after them. One of you guys are gonna be teaching perverse things. That's pretty gangster for him to say to their face like that. It's like one of you guys right here. Now who does that remind you of? Reminds me of Jesus, does it not? Peter is like, to whom shall we go out of the house towards the eternal life when we believe that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God? And he's just like, have not I chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil? Peter's getting all sentimental with him and then he's just like, one of you guys is a devil. Just wanna let you know that. Look, if Jesus had one devil amongst the disciples, that means any pastor who trains pastors or invests in pastors, eventually one of them is probably gonna be a devil or two or three or four as we have seen over the last year or so. Says, also of your own selves shall menorize, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. He's like, look, it's gonna happen, mark it down. The nature of the beast, pun intended, is that one of you so-called pastors are gonna rise up, you're gonna start teaching perverse things because you're a wicked individual or a devil. And this is the nature of ministry sometimes, folks. It's unavoidable, okay? So why does God allow this? Why can't we just have like a normal church where no rules come in and there's no infiltrators or reprobates and we just teach the word of God, we just have a good time. Why does this grief have to come upon us? Well, number one, because it motivates pastors to feed the flock of God. Think about that. Now, when we think, oh, he's feeding the flock of God, he's basically teaching them, they're gonna teach people about false prophets, reprobates, but really what he's teaching them is just teaching them the Bible. Because when you teach people the truth and they know what the truth looks like, whenever a lie comes, they'll be able to say, that's not the voice of the shepherd. So the responsibility of the pastor is to get the congregation acquainted with the voice of the shepherd. To be able to say, this is the voice of the shepherd. Hey, the King James Bible is the voice of the shepherd. The word of God, this is the voice of the shepherd, this is the truth, learn it, get acquainted with it, this is something that you need to know. And when they learn that, they're able to filter the lie. You know, my father-in-law used to use the illustration that people who work with money, they don't study counterfeit dollars, they just study the real deal and when they feel fake money, they know it's not the real deal. All they do is spend their time studying the right money, the real money, just feeling it in their hands, looking at it, so when that which is counterfeit comes, they can identify it like that. We don't have to spend our lives studying all manner of false religions and knowing all kinds of false doctrines, we just need to know the right doctrine. And when the false doctrine comes, we already know what the Bible says about it. That's why it's so easy for us to preach sermons in light of the Bible, right? Like this religion in light of the Bible, all we have to do is compare it to what God says and there you have it. So it's a motive for pastors to feed the flock. But here's the problem, pastors are not feeding the flock today, folks. They're more interested in preaching a 20-week series on grace and love than on preaching on what the Bible actually says in other portions of scripture. Now, we're all about grace and love around here. That's what we do when we go out and preach the gospel. But folks, there's other things in the Bible that need to be talked about as well. There's concepts in the Bible, there's doctrines, there's portions of scripture to teach us how to save ourselves from seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. So it's a motive for pastors to feed the flock of God. But not only that, grievous wolves need to come in to purge out the undesirables as well. Yeah, I said it. What do you, what do I mean by that? Did you know that there's certain people that God does not want to be in our church? In any church, for that matter. Now look, the doors are open for almost everyone. You know, almost everyone. But let me just say this, is there's certain people according to the Bible that should not be in church. According to 1 Corinthians 5, it gives us an entire list of people who shouldn't be, people who are railers, extortioners, idolaters, drunkards, fornicators. Now obviously we have people who do those things who come into our church not knowing that the Bible speaks out against them and then they learn and they're like, okay, I want to get my life right then. But there's other people who like, for example, are railers, people who just lie about other people, they just make up lies about individuals, they attack pastors, they attack leaders, and they're in churches. God does not want those people to be in a local New Testament church. So what he does is he allows grievous wolves to come in because he knows that those types of people are attracted to grievous wolves. And they kind of operate like a magnet attracting those people to them, which is good. They kind of basically do the dirty work, so to speak. And look, there's people in our church who were like that. The Politis family is an example of that. And no, I'm not saying they're not saved. I don't really care. They're as heathens and as publicans to me according to the Bible. But here's the thing, they're over here railing against godly men, pastors, on YouTube comments, saying all manner of evil against people while they're attending our church. Just railing on people, folks. It's evil, it's wicked. Now luckily, when the flat earthers who left our church, when they left, they kind of went with them, kind of thing. They kind of found each other. It purged our church of undesirables. Because we don't want railers in our church. We need unity in our church. We need to endeavor to keep the spirit of unity in our church. Not have someone smile to my face and say that they love me and I'm their pastor and all this hoopla. And then they go back home and they're on the internet like, ungodly, he's so wicked and all these things. They're just taking shots. We don't need that. Let me just say this. You got something to say, just say it to my face. I mean, I'm right here. Just say it to my face. You don't have to say it behind the screen. If you attend our church and you got a problem, then just come say it to my face. You don't have to go on a rail and post these things on Facebook, taking these shots. Our Thursdays are so much better now. Unnecessary. Because we don't mind dropping the names. Name calling is biblical. Amen? Amen. But it purges the church of undesirables. And then lastly, it proves the leadership. Go to First Corinthians chapter 11. This is the last verse we're gonna go to. Brother Ulysses, why don't you turn off that AC. I'm sure the ladies are just freezing in here right now. But it's keeping the eudicuses awake in church, man. Just kidding. I'm hearing some amens in here. It sounds like auto-tune or something because they're just like so cold. Hey, hey, hey, man. So it's gonna prove the leadership, right? Look what it says in First Corinthians 11 verse 18. For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there be some divisions among you and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you. He says there must be that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. So you know when there's like some sort of heresy that's going on in our church or some railing in our church, you know what that causes me to do? To show myself approved. To take out the trash. Because what if I came up here and I was just like, well, you know, people are still good people and you know, God loves everyone and you guys gotta be nice to them. It's just like, that's weak leadership. Strong leadership says these people are trash, folks. Plain and simple. And let me show you why. Call them out by name, you recognize this is heresy, the flat earth is heresy. Racism is garbage. These, you know, this couple that was in our church trying to teach racism to our people like, you know, and really what it was is they just hated black people. They hated this guy right here, Maury. Everyone look at Maury. I'm serious, they hated Maury, I didn't know that. They would tell me, oh, we're not racist, we just believe that every race, you know, needs to be preserved. But then they're going around showing racist gangster rap. Like Nazi rap or something. What kind of nonsense is that? What kind of Christian listens to that nonsense? Violent racist rap against racist, against Jews, against black people. Folks, that is heresy that has no place in the house of God. No place. And here's the thing, like, you know, they try to make themselves seem as though they were saints before me, but then when they went to certain individuals or in their church, what are they trying to do? Draw away disciples after them? You know, oh, come to Tennessee with us, take a road trip with us, and let me just pop in this music, see what you think about it. Wicked, folks. Evil. Racism, prejudice, I don't care, whatever you want to call it, it's both wicked. Okay? Oh, you shouldn't call it racism, it's prejudice. You know what I'm talking about. But it proves the leadership, okay? And by the way, it shows you that I'm not a respecter of people. Amen. Because here's the thing, when people come to our church, look, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I give people the benefit of the doubt, I love them until they're proven guilty. And I even go out of my way to kind of back people up and try to defend them, because I want to think the best of everyone. But when it comes down to it, and they just, I think this mic is on, I keep hearing some, no, that's not on. Am I hearing things? Am I hearing, I'm hearing, it's getting late, it's getting late. But when it comes down to it, when they just expose themselves for who they really are, then the hammer comes down. And mine eye shall not pity. Amen. Why? Because the Bible warns us about this. It says grievous wolves shall enter in, see, I knew it, I hear it. You guys hear it? Who hears it? Raise your hand if you hear it. All right, cool, I'm not losing my mind here. There's a mic that's still on, I think is what it is. We got an infiltrator back there. No, I'm just kidding. What I'm saying is this, is that the Apostle Paul, and by the way, he's telling the church at Ephesus, and let me just say this, the church at Ephesus, they took this to heart. How do we know that? Because we have Revelation chapter two. Go to Revelation two, and we'll finish there. If you got to go, I understand completely, if you got to take off, I won't call you out as you're walking out of the church. But everyone will see you. Look at Revelation chapter two, verse one, unto the angel of the church at Ephesus write, these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience. Look what it says, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and has found them liars. Now think about this, this is a speculation here. Think about this, he addressed the elders at Ephesus. So who knows, maybe one of those elders got up after he left and said, well I'm actually the apostle here. And they're basically like, well we're gonna try it to say if you're an apostle or not. And they found him to be a liar, and it's just like, we're not bearing with you, get out of here. We don't want you here. He says, and has borne, and has had patience, and for my name's sake, has labored, and has not fainted. Look what it says in verse six, but this thou hast that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. So what do we see here, we see that the apostle Paul, his words, you know, they were strong, and they took it to heart. They're like, man, grievous wolves. We gotta watch out for this. Any individual who came, they're like, they tried them, those who said they were apostles, those who said they were elders, and they found them liars, and they're like, get out of here, we don't want you in our church, you're a false prophet. And we should take these things to heart as well, amen. And again, we need to be balanced. We can't have this judgmental type of spirit where it's just like, we suspect everyone. It's like, everyone's a reprobate, everyone's a false prophet not in my book. And look, we need to have the spirit of the pastor too, by the way. If I give people the benefit of the doubt, I expect you to do the same. And look, if I'm wrong about somebody, then okay, I'm wrong about somebody. We know that their folly shall be made manifest. But the spirit of our church, the attitude of our church is that we love the individuals who come to our church, we believe the best in them until they're proven guilty. We're not gonna think any more. We don't want every individual who comes through these doors to think, well, man, maybe this is the infiltrator. Maybe this is the Judas. That's not what I think. The only time I think that is when they fully have exposed themselves, teaching heresy. They're teaching flat earth, they're teaching racism. And at that point, it's just like, okay, these people are wicked. Time to preach like a couple sermons on them. And there you go. And so that's pretty much it for Acts chapter 20. Great words there. Let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for Acts chapter 20 and the principles there. I'm touched by the relationship that those at Ephesus had with Paul. And it shows you that ministry is not just paperwork. It's not just preaching. It's also developing close relationships with the people in your church. And I honestly can say with all sincerity that I do love our people here. And I would, even if I wasn't the pastor here, this is the church where I would wanna come to. Because I love the people here. And I believe that same love is reciprocated, Lord. And that helps our church to be strengthened so much more. When the pastor and the congregation gets along and we endear our hearts one to another, it causes us to have each other's back and help us through difficult times and trials, Lord. And Lord, that's needed, especially as we go into the latter days, the end times. We need it so much more. And I pray, God, that you'd help us to do so. Help us never to bear those which are evil, those which say they are apostles and are not.