Shall we turn in the word of God to the Ephesian epistle chapter one, please? Chapter one in the Ephesian epistle written by Paul. Reading in chapter one, verse three. The wonderful words of the apostle written by the Spirit. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us. with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Then turn back with me if you will to the second epistle of Corinthians chapter one and reading again beginning at verse three the words of the beloved apostle as he writes to the Corinthians saints to say and note The beginning of the verse is the same as in Ephesians. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort or encouragement wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Our third and last scripture is in the first epistle of Peter. The first epistle written by Peter. Chapter one and once again we find it coincidentally at verse three we begin reading and note again the same word beginning the reading of this portion as the two others. Peter writing by the Spirit and saying, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively or a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who were kept by the power of God, ready to be revealed, through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time. May God, by His Holy Spirit, bless the reading, and most of all, bless the ministry, of his precious word from these portions of Scripture to our hearts today. I'm sure you've recognized in the reading of these three portions the introduction of them by the word blessed. There are two words in the Greek Testament for the word blessed. They have different meanings. They've been translated both of those words in our English version to the word blessed but they have a different meaning one meaning in the original tells us happy meaning happy you find that particular expression could be applied to the beatitudes in Matthew chapter five blessed of the poor in happy of the poor in spirit and so on another scripture you will find is in Revelation chapter fourteen verse thirteen blessed are happy or the dead who die in the Lord but in our scriptures that we have read the meaning is a different word we get our English word eulogy from it to speak well of to praise and to eulogize and in each of these three scriptures The beloved Apostle Paul twice, Peter once, eulogizes the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now note very carefully, on each occasion it is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is eulogized and prayed. One cannot help but think, as you look at these three scriptures, Paul eulogizes the Father for what he has done. He eulogizes the Father for what he is doing. Peter eulogizes him for what he's going to do. Suggesting to us the past, the present, and the future. Each one of them eulogize the Father for. And what a blessedness it is. when you and I are able to eulogize and praise and worship and adore the Father for what he has done in the past for what he is doing in the present for what he will yet do in the future said the psalmist in chapter thirty four I believe I will bless and that's the same word I will eulogize the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth may I suggest to you when one is the believer in the Lord Jesus having found him as her or his Savior you can praise God the Father for the past for the present and for the future for what he has done for you for what he is doing for you and yet for what he will do for you what a blessed thought from the word of God the believer in the Lord Jesus can eulogize bless and praise God the Father for what he has done for him or her for what he is doing for him and her and for what he will yet do for him or her the past, the future and the present and the future. Eulogizing him for. Consider them with me separately from the scriptures that we have read. The one in Ephesians chapter one is where Paul by the Spirit eulogizes God the Father for what he has done. Saying, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now let me for just a few moments remind you what he has done and what he can do for everyone who will trust the Savior. If you were to read beginning in this portion going down through verse fourteen you would find the three persons of the Godheader mentioned God the Father is first introduced to us as we have already noted and then further down in verse six down through verse twelve God the Son is introduced to us and then last of all in verse thirteen and fourteen God the Holy Spirit is also introduced and presented to us we have the work of God the Father the work of God the Son and the work of God the Holy Spirit for our redemption and salvation I cannot and we sign that lovely hymn and are good to recognize that wonderful day or moment when as a sinner you and I who know the Lord Jesus trusted him as our Savior and in that portion of Scripture May I suggest to you, you have the whole Godhead mentioned in our verse that we read. Let me quote it again. Blessed be the God and Father of who? Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with our spiritual, meaning the blessings of the Holy Spirit in heavenly places in Christ. And God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, together have worked for the redemption of the human race. My beloved, may I impress you again, together to my own heart also, with a blessed fact, redemption of the human race has been accomplished by the great Godhead. God the Father, you read from verse four through verse six, you find God the Father wanted you and wanted me to be his child and to take us out of the human race of lost guilty sinners and make us his children to be holy without blame before him in love God the Father wanted a family my beloved may I say reverently The great heart of God, the Father, I cannot fathom. Nor can I measure. But there in his infinite love and grace, he wanted a family. He had one son, his only begotten son. But he longed for more like that beloved son. And to reach and get them from the human race of all places. passing by the angels and coming to the human race. And to have a child taken out of this world, redeemed to be holy without blame before him in love. Mind we thank that lovely hymn as I refer again to it, that wonderful day when he redeemed us and when we trust in him. But oh may I remind you, please, Take in what he wants and what he intends to do. That when everyone he redeems is in heaven, they're going to be like the Son. Holy, without blame, before the Father in eternal life. My beloved, may I emphasize, the love of the Father for his children is beyond your understanding of mine. and comprehension well did John write in first epistle chapter three behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God and it does not yet appear where we shall be but we know when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is that blessed Savior But then not only the father, one of the children, but the son had to come to the earth to redeem us. And in verse six and seven we read, and precious are the words, we have been made accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of his grace. And the son came to the earth to redeem us. and the joy of knowing. And may I say it humbly again, may I again refer to that dear old hymn, the reminders of the time, the moment we trusted the Savior, of the joy of knowing. We were accepted by God the Father because of the beloved and through the beloved. Accepted in the beloved. And what a joy to know. God the Father receives the poor, guilty, held his worthy, believing sinner, as he would receive his Son. One well wrote the word, So near, so very near to God, more near I cannot be. For in the person of his Son I am as near as he. So dear, so very dear to God, more dear I cannot be. The love wherewith he loves the Son. such is his love for me and then following the work of the Son the work of the Holy Spirit upon believing Paul wrote ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise may I again present to you the great work of the Godhead to save your soul in mind God the Father determining to have a family and determining to take them out of the world of sinners lost by his grace and mercy and matchless love. And then he sends the Son and did send the Son to redeem us. And the Holy Spirit, upon believing, seals us until that day the Lord Jesus comes back and claims the redemption of what he has bought with his blood. Grand thing to be saved. And as Paul said, Blessed, blessed, let me eulogize the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And let me emphasize, note carefully, not temporal blessings, spiritual blessings. Now let me ask the question, can you bless God for that? can you eulogize him can you praise him for that can you speak well of God the Father acknowledging he redeemed me by the blood of his Son he blessed me with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ he chose me he wanted me and he sent his Son to redeem me and the Holy Spirit to the seal Me to be the possession of Christ and the Father forever and ever. It requires taking the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Convicted, I am a sinner. But I believe, like the old hymn says, I now believe, I do believe that Jesus died for me. But on the cross he shed his blood from sin to set me free. Let me please state this. If you can't rejoice in that, neither can you enjoy the other two blessings that we read of. For the first one is Ephesians one three. God saves me through my faith in the precious Savior in his blood and feeds me with the Holy Spirit to be forever his. If you haven't had that happen, if you've never had that wonderful day as we sang it, I hope you'll get it today. Right now, for he that receives the Son hath everlasting life, he that believeth on the Son of God, we know shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And you think of John three sixteen, God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world, to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. And may I say again, make certain you have come to the Lord. invite faith repentance of your sins confession of them and repenting and confessing I believe what God says if I trust his son and his redeeming work I become a child of God for who for if any man receive him thank God whosoever receives him becomes a child of God but then the other two blessings As Paul in Corinthians says, and you may know it well, blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he calls him the Father of mercies, who comforteth us or encourages us in all our trials or tribulations. And there you have another thought. Paul blesses or eulogizes God for what he is doing. I can only commend to you for brevity's sake. the reading of this second epistle of Corinthians, even the chapter that is before us. And you'll find Paul mentioning some of the troubles, the trials, the difficulties, the heartaches, and the sorrows that he and his companions preaching the gospel passed through. They were in many times in distress and did not know what to do. But he eulogizes the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ before he mentions his troubles. And in our verse he calls him, not only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, who and the God of all comfort, encouragement, who comforts us in all our tribulations. that we may be able to comfort those in any kind of trouble by the comfort that we have received ourselves. Oh, the joy of knowing, even though I can rejoice and do for what He has done, the present. My beloved, let me say very frankly, the travel, the journey from being saved and getting to glory can be a rough one. I'm sure that many of you realize. I must confess that my salvation, I didn't realize it as a young man, that I would have troubles. In fact, I went home that night saying to myself, John, you're not going to have any more troubles in your life. John, you're going to be the best boy that ever lived. John, the devil never bothered you anymore. Boy, I made three mistakes right away. That's not so. Remember the Lord Jesus, I learned later, it was different. And the Lord Jesus said in John, sixteen, thirty-three, in the world ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. And we have been assured from the word of God. And may I say further, you'll be assured by your experience that you're still in the world of trouble. Not out of it yet. But praise God, someday we will. when we know the Lord Jesus. But let's think of the thought. Paul's saying he's the God of all comfort. Who comforteth or encourages us. Well, shall we not indeed think upon that precious truth? For in the present I can eulogize the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ because he'll care for me and comfort me and encourage me. How does he do it? My beloved, let me say one way that he does it quickly. Reading Romans chapter fifteen in verse four, we find the beloved apostle Paul there and recites the fact that we have the comfort or the encouragement of the scriptures. The word of God. Oh, the joy of being able, as when you find the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you can turn to the Word of God and find words of encouragement. Oh, the joy of notice again and again, the power and the comfort of the Scriptures. Read the whole hundred and nineteenth Psalm. Practically in every verse, hardly any exception. There's some mention of the Word of God. in its power and in its effect and blessing and you have other scriptures and how again and again the comfort of the word of God can come to the heart of a believer in his and her trial the comfort of the scriptures the psalmist wrote in Psalm ninety four verse nineteen in the multitude of my thoughts within me thy Thy blessings comfort my soul. Thy word comforts my soul. Thy thoughts comforts my soul. And beloved, how again and again we have the comfort of the Scriptures from beginning to the end that we as believers can turn to in the time of trouble. Well, let me give you another thought. You'll find in Second Corinthians chapter seven and verse six another source of comfort, one that the Apostle Paul enjoyed. And he writes in that sixth verse of chapter seven, we were comforted by the coming of Titus, one of his fellow companions. And just preceding that verse, He tells how they had been in distress, how they were troubled, how upon every side they knew not what to do sometimes. But when Titus came and Titus brought some good news of blessing at the church at Corinth, and when Paul received it, he and his companions were comforted by the coming of time. This is the comfort of the saint. My beloved, I thank God for the Christians. I don't know. But may I suggest to you, the best people on the earth are Christians. Now, I didn't say they live the best, but they are the best people on the earth. They are God's people. They are saved by His grace. The fellowship of saints is a wonderful one. When you and I are saved, may I say it again in my own experience, I recall being saved on that night long ago. The following Sunday, I thought it would never come. I wanted to get back to where those Christians were, where I'd heard the gospel and been saved. But I will admit, before I got saved, I wasn't in a hurry to get back on Sunday. I was more interested that Sunday go by quick so I could play ball and do other things through the week. But my beloved, what a difference. I wanted to be where the believers were. And may I indeed remind you what Paul writes in Hebrews chapter ten, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together till the coming of the Lord, the comfort of the saints, the fellowship of saints. And as our brother prayed and now suitable to give a word of encouragement, For those that need it, in whatever manner it may be, or just the smile. But then there's another comfort which is the best of all. Not only the comfort of the Scriptures, not only the comfort of the saints, the greatest of all comfort is in First Thessalonians chapter four. Verse thirteen through eighty, which you may know very well some of you. As Paul writes, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren. concerning them which are asleep that she sorrow not as others that had no hope for if now here's the condition if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also we sleep in Jesus will God bring with him for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall come from heaven, descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. As our sister in the introduction of the music, play that lovely old hymn I recognize. Face to face with Christ my Saviour. Face to face to see and know what with rapture I'll beholden. Jesus Christ who loved me so. The comforting hope, the blessed hope. And you'll never need any more comfort after that takes place. You take our dear brother out. He doesn't need any comfort. He's enjoying it in the presence of the Savior. And my beloved Lord, let me ask you the question. Can you bless God that He saved you? Can you bless God the Father that He's taken care of you? And you've got the comfort of the Scriptures. You've got the comfort of the saints. You've got the comfort of that blessed soul. Oh, the joy of knowing God. He's the God of all comfort. But then our last scripture in First Peter, go with me to it if you please. For Peter speaks of the future. And so definitely. And he does the same in the introduction of his statement. He eulogizes the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto, and you noted, thy abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living old. Now he's referring to the future, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And my beloved one is joining us. You know, because the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, every sin will be raised from the dead. Now I tell you sometimes, I don't know whether you ever feel this way, but I often wish when I had a funeral service in the cemetery in which the resurrection would come, I sure will enjoy that moment. Seeing the dead in Christ come out of the grave. Please let me pause for a moment. Sing with me the tremendous miracle it will be. Not all the day. All the day will rise sometime, we know. But the resurrection takes place, one for the saved first and for the unsaved sometime later. But the miracle that dead in Christ shall rise first. And we which are alive and remain shall be changed. All because the Lord Jesus lives. As Paul well wrote, Because he lives, we shall live also. You know it's almost worth dying for, in my humble opinion. And I often have said to my friends, I should like to wake up dead. And be in the presence of the Lord. But it's the thought. My future. Oh, the joy of knowing. I know what's going to happen. Let me ask you, please let me ask you personally, do you know what your future is going to be? I don't mean down here when the end of the trip comes down here. When your burial takes place, if it will, and there's no telling it by all normal means, it does. But what's going to happen after that? There's two resurrections. The Lord Jesus said the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the damned. One unto life, the other unto eternal sorrow and eternal woe. What's your future? Please let me tell you, I'm stating to you from the Word of God the future that the Word of God tells. If you're saved, you're going to meet the Lord in glory. in the air. If you're not saved, you won't. Think about it. Don't worry about tomorrow. Worry about eternity. Be concerned about that. But let's go down and see what Peter says. Why he eulogizes God. For what he's going to do for the believer. And you go to verse four, if you please. And you find him saying what he's going to bring us to. To an inheritance. Not down here. Praise God, not down here. If you get one down here, you might lose it. And somebody might take it away from you. And if nobody else will, the IRS will try. Not some other government agency. But here's an inheritance. Incorruptible. Meaning, it cannot be destroyed. It cannot decay. incorruptible oh the joy of knowing an incorruptible inheritance such as the apostle writes here incorruptible oh beloved Lord remember the old hymn abide with me in one of the verses oh thou who changes or change and decay in all around I see oh thou who changes not abide with me Please let me say to you frankly, everything down here is corruptible. Even your body is going to dust. And everything that is materially will someday disappear. But here is an inheritance incorruptible. But note a second thing about that inheritance. Not only incorruptible. And note the next word. It's undefiled. Meaning nobody can spoil it. No one can spoil it. Undefiled. Read chapter twenty of the Revelation, the last verse in it, where the story of that golden great city of God is recorded. And at the end of that chapter, nothing shall enter into it that makeeth an abomination. or even tell a lie. But only those whose names are written in the land's book of life. I think at the moment of a story of a dear little boy, he came in from the outside at home one time, tired. He jumped on his mother's lap, he said, Mother, tell me a story. He couldn't speak very plainly. Mother, tell me a story. And she said, Now you go and wash your hands first. and then come back and I'll tell you a story so he went obediently to wash his hands he came back jumped on his mother's knee and she asked him well what would you like me to tell you he said mother the story of the beautiful city he loved that story of the glory of the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven from God and when she came to the end of the story and says, nothing shall enter into it that make us an abomination, nor anything that tell us a lie. Wait a minute, mother, I better go take the soap out of the water. She'd asked him, did you take the soap out of the water? And he told her, yes. But he told her, but she convicted him. He said, mother, let me take the soap out of the water. You know what boys are. I'm defiled. Nothing can spoil it. Let me ask you something. Do you think this world is spoiled? I think it's rotten. Sin has spoiled it. And you and I have seen the evidence of it all around us. Wouldn't it be a glorious thing to be in a place? No sin? No pain, no sorrow, no sickness, no crying. The former things passed away. Undefiled. But note that. Not only that. He says here, and it fades not away. It fades not away. The glory of it will never change. It will be perpetual forever. I often think when I read these words, I think of General MacArthur when he made his final speech to the Congress and his retirement. And the statement he made at the end of his talk, all soldiers don't die, they just fade away. Well, beloved, look, he's faded away anyway, and so you and I will by nature. But here, in that glorious inheritance, it will never fade away. But go further. And I like what it follows. It's reserved in heaven for you. It's reserved in heaven. Look, have you got a bank account in heaven? Have you got a reservation in heaven? Have you got a reservation of eternal glory in heaven? That inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, can never fade away. I'll tell you one thing. You know, sometimes people say, I've had some of my good friends say, Brother John, are you thirty-nine and holding? I say, no, I'm ninety-five and holding. But not up there. Not up there. Oh, beloved the joy. What an inheritance. You know, I feel like dying over heaven. But look, lay hold of it. Paul could bless God for what he had done and for what he is doing. Now Peter blesses him for what he's going to do. What an inheritance. But not only. Reserved in heaven. Thank God it's up there. I'm glad it's not the Federal Reserve Bank. I don't trust it. But I do trust this book. Are you going by it? Are you resting on it? Please, if death comes to you before you tomorrow, do you have that reservation? It's not what you have down here, that doesn't mean anything. It will never get you to heaven. You know that if you know the Bible and the way of salvation. But oh, here is holding out the joy of an eternal inheritance. But not only that, is not only reserved in heaven but no verse five who are kept by the power of God through faith under salvation ready to be revealed at the last time the inheritance is not only kept for me I'm being kept for the inheritance I think of the words of Judas he closes his epistle and says he is able to keep you from falling Please, may I say, I rest entirely on the truth of the word of God. That inheritance is being kept for me, and I am being kept for it. Oh, the joy of knowing such a salvation. No wonder Peter eulogizes God for what he's going to do, and holds out to the believer in the Lord Jesus this blessed eternal truth. the reservation of an inheritance, because, no, kept by the power of God, how? Through faith unto salvation. Raises the question, make sure you put your faith in the Lord Jesus. Make sure you put your faith in God's salvation. No other way to get to that glory. Faith in the Lord Jesus, as Paul said in Ephesians two. We are saved by grace through faith. That not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now let me summarize them again. These three blessed eulogies to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. And will you please know, you could not eulogize a greater person. You cannot eulogize a greater person. You might eulogize some of your friends and some of your relatives and some other person. But you cannot eulogize a greater person than the eternal God. And to recognize that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit has provided a redemption to faith in the Blessed Lord Jesus. And let me say again, please let me say, if you put your faith in the precious Savior in his blood you'll have an eternal inheritance and you'll have a comforter who'll comfort you all the way home no matter what you go through but make sure you have put your faith in that great salvation let me close by the words of the Apostle Paul if he wrote Hebrews chapter two when he says how shall we escape from the judgment if we neglect So great salvation. Salvation is so great. Neglect is so easy. But escape is impossible if you die without Christ. Oh, the joy of being able to say, I hope you can. And will today, if you have not before. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. I praise Him for what He has done for my soul. I thank Him He's caring and He will care for me to the end. And I praise and eulogize Him for what He's going to do. Shall we pray? Oh, beloved Father, what a great joy to realize the greatness of our salvation. It could not be more perfect, accomplished by the determined counsel of the Father. by the blessed sacrifice of his son. And when believing, upon believing that son, seal with the Holy Spirit. We pray, Father, each one in the audience today will be able to say they can eulogize and praise the Father for what he has done for their soul, for what he is doing and be faithful in keeping them. and ultimately what He will do to bring them by His own power. Let's not forget it, Father, kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Lord, we're just as safe as if we're already in heaven when we trust the Lord Jesus. Lord, give it at home. to the hearts and mind of every one of us. Oh, we thank thee for such a great salvation. And ask thy blessing as we separate. Lord, sanctify the truth to every heart. Please let everyone go home saying, Thank God, I put my faith in that precious Son of God and his redeeming word. And I eulogize the God and Father for the past, for the present, and for my future. We ask it all for the glory of our Savior. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of our Father God, and the blessing or the conviction and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be upon us in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Thank you for coming. And may the Lord bless every one of you. And I hope you, look, I hope you can bless God.