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Building Inheritance

Building Inheritance
Words of Faith 7-15-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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Acts 20:32
"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. [33] I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. [34] You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. [35] In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
[36] When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. [37] They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. [38] What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

How do we bid farewell to friends or family we love and find release from incessant worry? Paul shows us today as he prepares to part with the leaders of the church at Ephesus. In saying goodbye, he used an interesting expression, “I commit you to God and to the word of His grace.”
Paul had reason to worry over the church at Ephesus and, indeed, all the baby churches he had planted over the few years of his mission efforts. There were dangerous possibilities ahead including arrests, persecutions and even death. There was also the danger of spiritual wolves coming in among the young believers and teaching false doctrine.
These dangers could have been a constant worry to Paul but instead he committed those he loved to God and to the Word of His grace. Paul knew that God is sovereign. God can be trusted. God is faithful. And God’s word of grace, the wondrous Gospel of Jesus, can build up baby believers into a strong and powerful witness.
The key to this farewell was that Paul had built into those he loved the tools that lead to an inheritance of strength, a solid relationship with God and a love of the word. These are the two things that can build a believer up and give a rich inheritance.
This was not simply a matter of church attendance or scripture memorization. A relationship with God is caught more than it is taught. If a child sees father and mother turning to God in prayer, relating to God in personal ways and responding to the leading of God, they will find it hard not to catch that same faith.
But If a child see father and mother ignoring God day after day, consulting with worldly advisors and responding to their own carnal desires, they will catch that sort of “faith” as well. Learning to love God’s Word is caught as well. Children do not learn to love the Word by having it pounded into them. They learn to love the Word by seeing someone who loves the Word and finds peace in living by it.
Paul was not bringing some new challenge to the beloved leaders at Ephesus. He had spent three years there teaching them by precept and example the faithfulness of God and the power of His Word of grace. The commission of Christ to the church is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Disciples are nurtured through relationship. Paul pointed out to the Ephesian leaders the ways in which his lifestyle had modeled absolute trust in God rather than the things of the world.
This Scripture raises the question-- What are we building into those we love by our example? What are we teaching by the way that we live our lives? How are we preparing for the farewells of life? Are we laying the foundation that we might commit those we love to God and to the word of his grace, which can build up and give inheritance among all those who are being sanctified?

Lord, help me today to lay the foundation of faith in those I encounter today, especially those closest to me. Help me to depend wholly upon You and Your Word of grace. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2001, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.