Go ahead and grab your Bibles and open to Acts chapter 20. And we’re going to be in verses 17-38 today, 17-38. And as you’re turning there, you may remember like last week we saw Paul. He had left the riot in Ephesus and he was in that upper room where Eutychus fell out of the top window. And then he moves on. We kind of breeze through verses 13-16, but in those few verses we see that Paul is anxious to get to Jerusalem for Pentecost.
And in verse 13 we see that he chooses to walk this twenty-mile journey to Asos rather than jump on the ship with his teammates, ok? And I think that that was part of his silence and solitude and devotion to the Lord as he’s contemplating the speech that he’s about to give today to the Ephesian elders. And I also believe he was contemplating the risk of his next days that would lead to his death in Rome. And this passage that we will look at today, it gives us a picture of the apostle Paul as pastor. Not just Paul as the evangelist, not just Paul as the church planter, but Paul as a pastor.
And can I just share with you that Paul as pastor is something that I deeply desire to be like here at Gospel City Church, but in my life until I’m home in heaven. And Paul as pastor is something that the elders and pastors and overseers of this church must imitate and continually grow in and exemplify among God’s people. I’ve been so encouraged in the last couple weeks. I’ve heard an elder say, I’ve heard a pastor say, “I just want to be a better elder. I want to be more biblical edler. I want to grow in my understanding of what an elder looks like and what a pastor looks like.”
And it should encourage you that your pastors and your elders don’t think they’ve arrived and that they want to grow and continually grow in imitating Christ. And Paul as pastor models characteristics that all believers should aspire to because Paul was only imitating Jesus Christ. And it should be your pursued aim in life to be like Jesus and to minister the gospel of grace one to another.
Pastors are a great blessing, aren’t they? I can think of pastors in my life who have just been a great blessing all throughout the years. I’ve been marked not just by what they said, but how they lived and how they treated me and how they invited me into their homes. But great pastors, they know that they’re expendable. They know that they’re the end-all, be-all of their ministry or your life or anything that they would say. They’re just servants of the Lord. Great pastors are slaves to Jesus Christ. And that’s what Paul constantly says. He was a bondservant to Jesus Chrsit. And great pastors are teachers to their people so that their people will carry on the mission when they are gone.
Now there is a lot of heart and soul in the passage that we’ll look at today. And it really is one of the most influential passages in Scripture that speak to how the church is to be loved and cared for and protected. If you hate hard goodbyes, this passage has the hard goodbyes in it for you, ok? But the big idea of this passage is this: learners of Christ spend themselves on their assignment from Christ until they finish their course. Learners of Christ spend themselves on their assignment from Christ until they’ve finished their course.
Paul was a pastor only because he was first a disciple. And the pastors and elders and overseers of this church are first disciples of Jesus Christ. And anyone here today that calls himself a Christian is a disciple or a learner of Jesus Christ who has been put on the same mission as the apostles, to be Christ’s witnesses in all the world and to the ends of the earth. And so if you have been called by God, if you have been brought from death to life, then you are on the mission of moving the gospel of Jesus Christ forward. And Paul’s heart today is for your good and for your growth.
So let’s get our eyes on a copy of Acts 20. I’m going to read verses 17-21 and then we’ll look at four different points that Paul gives to disciples today, and specifically these Ephesian elders. But for us, it’s for our good.
Verse 17. Now from Miletus he was sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:17-21)
So we’re going to look at four points throughout this text. The first one is this: disciples live an exemplary life as they proclaim the gospel. Point number one, disciples live an exemplary life as they proclaim the gospel. An important leadership principle that I’ll give to you is this. You cannot lead people if you’ve not gone. Have you heard something like that? I’ve talked to our worship team about that for many years. You can’t take people to the feet of Jesus if you’re not leading, if you’re not going personally to the feet of Jesus yourself. And the same is true in your life. Any leadership situation that the Lord has given you, you can’t take people where you are not willing to continually go on your own.
Would you be familiar with the term “sherpa” if I said, “Do you know what a sherpa is?” I”m not talking about the like comfy wooly jacket that your wife wears or maybe your boyfriend. I’m talking about the Sherpa people or the community, ok? They were from Tibetan heritage and they grew up, you know, they were in the Himalayan region. And so early explorers to the Himalayans, they found the Sherpa people like very valuable because they were able to take them all through the mountainscape as if it was their home, because it was.
The Sherpa community, they were climatized to the altitudes and the mountainscape and they knew the peaks and the valleys. And so you would follow these Sherpa people through their community. Now the term “Sherpa” outside of Nepal has become synonymous with a mountaineer, somebody who is an expert mountain climber. And so if you wanted to climb Mt. Everest or you wanted to climb any mountain you could go and you could hire a Sherpa.
And a Sherpa is someone who has been tested and proved as they go up the mountain. And I’ll tell you what, if I’m going to try to climb a hard mountain, I want to follow a Sherpa. I don’t want to follow somebody who says, Hey, I’ll take you up the mountain but I’ve never been. Because that person, if I’m following that guy, I’m probably not going to make it to my destination. And I might give up and I might turn around and I might die.
And the same is true when we go to the feet of Jesus. Without leaders who are continually going there, we may never make it. We may give up. We may turn around. And you can’t lead people where you are not continually willing to go yourself.
This is so true in church leadership. And so rather than Paul in this farewell speech to the Ephesian elders (he’s been with them for three years now) rather than him coming and saying, Hey, this is what I want you to do, he starts by reminding them how he lived for the last three years among them. He says, “I want to remind you of my example to you so that you can follow me as I loved and led you.”
In verse 18 it says when he came to them he said, “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia. (Acts 20:18)
Disciples live among the world’s people in a certain way. You are the salt and the light of the world. You are a city that is sent to a city. So the difference in your lifestyle should not only be evident, but it can be noticed from the first day that you step foot into a new environment. From the first day you step foot into a new school or a new job or a new friend group or a new family setting. Paul says, “From the first day I stepped foot into Asia, I lived as an example of Jesus Christ.” Because Paul’s highest aim in life was to serve the Lord, to love God and to love people. He was a slave to Christ, and his entire life was devoted to the service of Jesus.
I want to give you five characteristics of Paul’s example that we see in this text, ok? Five characteristics of Paul’s example. The first one is humility. Humility. Verse 19 it says “serving the Lord with all humility.” Humility is a mark of true and lasting leadership. I’ve heard David Brooks say…He’s a writer in the New York Times. I don’t even know if David Brooks follows the Lord. But I love this quote about humility. He says this: “Humility is not thinking lowly of yourself; it’s an adequate view of your own mature that you are not equipped to perform the tasks that God has asked you to do.” We’re not all that we sometimes think we are.
And the Bible says in James 4:6 that God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble. And one of the defining marks of Paul’s service to the Lord was the fact that he remained under the power of the Spirit and not his own strength. He didn’t come to Asia relying on his intellect. He did not enter a new city thinking that he was the Savior of that city. He did not think too highly of himself or his accomplishments, but he boasted in the cross of Jesus Christ and gave glory to God. He wanted nothing to be known among him except Christ and Him crucified. And so he served the Lord with humility.
The second characteristic is brokenness. We see that Paul served the Lord through brokenness. Verse 19 goes on. Serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews. (Acts 20:19)
I’ve heard my friend Steve Canfield (he’s a revivalist with Life Action Ministries), I’ve heard him say, “Humility is learned through broken hearts and broken roads.” That was the apostle Paul. he was humble and he had walked through hard things, down broken roads. His heart had been broken over and over again. And yet he was unashamed to show his followers his weakness.
And you will either allow the hardships of life and ministry to cause you to give up or they will make you more like Christ. Paul served these people vulnerably and he served them through tears. And we’ve seen him be honest about his trials and his fears. He was fearful in Corinth and he allowed Aquila and Priscilla to encourage him. He cried with these people. He hurt with these people. He persevered through trials, setting an example that the message of Christ is more important than safety because Paul was nothing but a jar of clay, that the surprising power of Christ might come through him. And in his weakness Christ was seen as strong.
The third characteristic that we see in this text is Paul’s boldness. Paul served the Ephesian elders. Paul served in Ephesus with boldness. Verse 20 says, I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable (Acts 20:20). I mean, this has been a pillar in our church from day one that we would be a local church marked for bold preaching, that we would open our Bibles every single gathering and we would expose the truth and we would apply the truth and we would not apologize for what the truth says that might be offensive to our sinful nature.
And what Paul is saying in that sentence is that which is profitable is not always easy for us to hear. It’s certainly not what the culture is preaching. It’s certainly not what our feelings desire to always be confronted with. And much of what Jesus has said was certainly not the message in Ephesus, but it’s the truth that sets you free. And Paul’s example as a pastor was to never shrink from telling those within his reach the truth about their sin, the truth about their neediness, the truth about Jesus Christ who can save, the truth about what the culture says and the opposite of what the kingdom of God looks like.
And so many pastors, so many churches, have shrunk back from declaring the whole counsel of God’s Word so that they might get people in the seats or that they might have an easier life or so that they might not have to deal with the hard things that God’s Word says. And I honestly believe that in our culture right now, people are getting fed up with it. I think people are hungry for truth.
I think that’s why you’re here today is because you’re hungry for truth and you’re tired of lies and you’re tired of soft things that enver lead to freedom. It is the truth of God’s Word, and we have to be regularly confronted with truth. Paul never shrunk back from declaring that which is profitable.
Number four, characteristic of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus was that he served with relationships. Verse 20 goes on that, He was teaching you in public and from house to house. Paul knew these leaders and Paul loved these elders. And he’d spend quality time investing in these leaders as part of his ministry and the future ministry that he would leave in Ephesus. And he taught in the public ministry, but Paul was the same man in the private ministry.
And Paul was on the platform in the synagogues but he was in the homes of his leaders and his elders and he was there probably breaking bread together and talking to their kids. Maybe he had board game nights with them. I don’t know. He probably got really close with these people. And his heart was endeared to them, and they talked about theology and they discussed doctrinal issues, not just in the large setting but in the small setting. It’s a great example for us that this is great. This large gathering is awesome. But man, be known in a small group setting.
I was talking to someone yesterday who said, I love church, but there is nothing like being known in a small group of people, nothing like being known where you can be vulnerable, you can share your struggles, you can feel cared for and loved by people in the family of God. And this is a big church. You’ve got to get in a smaller group setting so that you can keep growing up into Christ.
And then fifthly, the fifth characteristic of Paul’s leadership, was that it was gospel centered. Always gospel centered. We’ve seen this to be true about Paul. The gospel drove everything that Paul did, and we desire the gospel to drive everything that we do here at Gospel City. Everywhere Paul went he testified to all people what it says in verse 21. Repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus. And those are the necessary responses- we’ve already talked about it- to the gospel of Jesus Chrsit, that you would repent and you would believe. And by grace you will be saved through faith.
Paul’s example, lifestyle and ministry was always rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and it wasn’t just a message for believers in their past but something that he lived and preached to himself every day as he continued to point people to Jesus Christ.
Now the second main point that I want to give to you is this- disciples value faithful ministry over self-preservation. I love this point. I’m convicted by this this week. Disciples value faithful ministry over self-preservation. Look in verse 22. And now behold, I am going to Jerusalem constrained by the spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me that in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22-23)
I just want you to notice Paul’s allegiance to Christ in this section right here that we’re looking at. I want you to be absolutely inspired by it and I desperately want us as Gospel City Church to grow in what Paul is modeling. Paul was heading to Jerusalem where last time he was there they wanted him dead. And Paul was constrained by the Holy Spirit. He was forced, compelled, by the Spirit of God to go into the unknown. He didn’t know what was going to happen and yet the Spirit of God was calling the shots. He was under the influence of the Spirit.
Do you live your life under the influence of the Spirit of God so much so that you will follow Christ at all costs? And he was willing to move to the unknown. He was willing to take risk for the Lord because he knew that inaction would be profitable for nothing. So Paul was willing to go even though it was most likely going to bring pain, imprisonment and death. And the reason that he was willing to go is because of the incredible statement that he says inverse 24. You’ve got to look at it.
He said, But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)
Y’all, this is everything. I mean, it is everything. I mean, being a disciple of Jesus is not about your moral goodness. It’s not about you creating a great life for yourself here on earth. The disciples’ best days are in heaven. And so we spend ourselves this side of heaven on storing up treasures in heaven and not on this earth. And Paul didn’t care about the comfort. Paul didn’t care about his own status. Paul cared about advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ even unto death. And his statement is not unique to himself, but it is an example for all who have been called by the grace of God.
God has given you a course. If you’re here today, He’s given you a course if you’re a follower of Jesus. He has given you a ministry. Listen. I truly believe that in this season of my life, God has called me, given me, this assignment to preach the Word. In eternity past God knew that this was going to be part of my course. And denying it because of the difficulties or running from it because of my own insecurities, which I have tried to do, only prove for me to try to comfort and try to grab onto something that I perceive as more precious than what Christ would call me to.
And I run into people…you all have been so gracious in this season. And people have said, Hey, you’re doing a good job. Do you love it? Are you just loving it? And I’m like…I was thinking about that answer like on Friday. And I’m like, I love Jesus so much that I could not do anything other than what He has asked me to do. And I truly believe that. And I want to grow in that. I want to grow in that more and more.
And as I try to…there are things that I perceive sometimes that I’m better at or that I have greater comfort in or that bring my life, you know, I say, I can say to the Lord, Lord, I feel like I bring you more value if I do something like this. And it’s like no, that is a broken, finite thing to say to the God of glory. I have nothing to offer God other than my heart and my life. And so until we say yes to the Spirit of God and follow Him and risk sometimes, we’ll never see what God wants to do in and through us.
Have you received an assignment from the Lord? Do you know what your course is? Listen. Maybe God has not called you to be like Paul or to be a pastor in a local church. Perhaps He has called you to the marketplace. Maybe God has blessed you beyond what you could fathom financially. Maybe you are entrepreneurial or you can build and fix things. Or maybe you’re a creative or an artist. Maybe you are an elder or a pastor or a servant in a local church.
But the end of your life on earth will not be measured by your bank account or your success in your job or your church’s size or your resume or the things that you’ve built. The effectiveness of the course of your life will be measured by what you’ve done with what Christ did for you. And that should inform the way you live and that should inform the message that you carry every single day. And everyday was a chance for the apostle Paul to testify of the grace of the gospel of God.
A poet, C.T. Studd said this famous line: “One life will quickly pass, but only what’s done for Christ will last.” Your life and what you’ve accumulated here on earth, it is here today and it is gone tomorrow. It is but a vapor. But only what’s done for Jesus Christ will last.
And I just want to argue with you a little bit that we can do better. We can do more. We can allow the Spirit to lead us and press us. The world around us shouts that you should preserve your life. The world around us shouts that you should fear death and value comfort and store up treasures on earth and live the American dream. But Paul gives us something so much higher to aim for. And he valued what Christ thought of him. He saw Christ as more precious than silver and gold. And he would find his rest in heaven. So until that day he made much of Jesus Christ.
What do you count as precious in your life? What is of highest value to you? Is it your life? Is it your ministry that you have received? Paul was setting an example to these elders who would never see him again. And he sets an example to us, to you and to me. Our life is not our own. Only what’s done for Christ will last. So faithful ministry- value faithful ministry over that which is fleeting.
I would not be upset if you left this place today a little bit uncomfortable and i you said, You know what? I have been avoiding that thing that the Spirit has been asking me to do. I have been holding too tightly to this comfort or this thing that I’ve perceived as valuable.
I would love it if the Lord would raise up. I met someone the other day who felt called to go somewhere where the gospel has never gone before. And so they’re giving up everything. They’re making plans. They’re setting their jobs aside. They’re starting training and they’re starting to move overseas somewhere where it’s dangerous.
God called them to that. He might not call you to that. But what is He calling you to and what are you preserving? What are you protecting? What am I preserving and protecting? We have to ask those things to the Lord. Maybe He does want you to give up your job. Maybe He does want you to give up this friend group so that you can pursue another situation. Maybe He does want you to move across the country or out of the country. But until we say yes to the Spirit of God, until we start accounting our life as no value nor as precious to ourselves, we will not finish the course and the assignment that the Lord has given us sometimes because of our own pride and comfort.
Look at verse 25. He says, And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:25-27)
These people will never see the apostle Paul again. But he says, I’ve given you everything. I’ve poured out tears and blood and trials and pain. And I’ve been vulnerable with you. And I’ve given you the whole counsel of God’s Word because I’ve never shrunk from giving you truth. Now follow Christ. Follow my example.
And he moves on to point number three as he starts to talk to the Ephesian elders. Point number three is this: Disciples love and protect the local church. Disciples love and protect the local church.
Verse 28-30. Let’s read it. Paul says to these Ephesian elders. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:28-30)
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11, “Be imitators of me as I imitate Christ.” And likewise in this passage he said already to these elders, You’ve seen me live this way among you for three years. Now you go and do likewise. And to help these Ephesian elders, he gives them three warnings and three charges that we’ll look at.
SPLIT HERE
Ok, let’s take the warnings first.
Three warnings to church leaders, and the first one is watch yourself. Watch yourself. If you’re an elder, a pastor, a shepherd in this church, Paul says watch yourself. He says in verse 28, Pay careful attention to yourselves. Why should these elders pay careful attention to themselves? Because when we don’t, it’s when the enemy loves to attack.
And Satan is after your spiritual leaders. Satan desperately wants to take out the leader because he knows that if he gets to the leader, the sheep will be sitting ducks. And you’ve seen it happen time and time again in local churches where spiritual leaders have let down their vigilance, let down their guard. And Satan has gotten in, sin has run rampant, and it always takes people with them.
So a responsibility of a faithful elder, pastor or any disciple is to examine their actions and motives, morality, speech and conduct every day. Everything that we do as elders and pastors and I’ll say, disciples of Jesus Christ should be in check as we follow Jesus. If we’re going to claim to follow Christ, we live an exemplary life. The most impactful spiritual leaders or fathers in my life have been those whose personal holiness was of utmost importance to them. I have been impacted by things that pastors have said, but I have been marked by faithful followers of Jesus who cared about their holiness and who lived a holy lifestyle. Paul is exhorting these elders to not just hold the title, but to pay careful attention to live the assignment. And we can’t just claim our title as disciple or Christian without paying attention to our lives and our holiness as we pursue Christ.
Now the second warning that he goes to them is to watch the flock. Watch your flock. Verse 28. Pay careful attention to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Parents, watch over their children. Husbands, watch over their families. Bosses, watch over their employees. But elders, watch over their flock. And the flock are the people of God bought with Christ’s blood. Christ shed His precious blood for you. And if you’re truly saved, He owns everything, He’s created everything; but if He’s bought you with His blood, then the church is double owned. We are double owned by the creator of the universe. So you’d better believe that He cares about those that He has purchased.
God cares about your life. God deems you as precious, a chosen nation, a holy nation, a royal priesthood called out of darkness into His marvelous light. God thinks the world of you. And so as He gives faithful men and puts faithful men in charge of His local churches, He desires that these men would love and lead you and care for you and know you and weep with you and pray with you and care. So this is the reason for you to be a member of a healthy church. Because God has designed and called men to model, lead and feed you in the things of God.
And then the third warning that he gives is to watch for wolves. And just look at 29-31. Know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. (Acts 20: 29-31)
So you’re familiar with this wolves in sheep’s clothing phrase. Obviously that was made popular by Jesus ast the Sermon on the Mount referring to false teachers. Those who look the part and say the right things, but inside they are ravenous wolves with an agenda to steal, kill and destroy within the Body of Christ and in your life. Paul doesn’t warn that these wolves might come. He says that they will come. And they will come not only from the world around you, but they will rise up from within you. And as you could imagine, sheep are pretty defenseless against ravenous wolves. Wolves are master scavengers and their predators. They’re sneaky, they’re calculated; they aim to get the mass.
I was reading…I got on a rabbit trail this week and was reading all these fascinating stories about wolves getting into sheep’s herds like in France and Switzerland and all this stuff. And I read this one account. Three adult wolves killed 120 sheep in a single incident near Dylan, Montana. Three wolves killed 120 sheep in one night. That’s how sneaky they are. That’s how lethal they are. They get in and among the sheep and they kill their way out. And the sheep are defenseless against them.
Obviously Scripture is giving us an analogy that if you are the sheep and if wolves are false teachers, and if wolves devour sheep and if wolves wait until shepherds are absent or less vigilant to attack, then wolves have no place in the house of God. Their theology should be protected against. And so it is with false teachers that we must be on guard from twisted and detrimental doctrine and theology.
And so we want to be vigilant about these things and that’s why Paul gives them these three charges to help with it. Watch your flock, watch yourselves, watch your wolves. And then the three charges. I’ll give them all to you right now. Keep teaching. Keep in grace. And keep others above yourselves. These are his final words to the Epheisan elders. Keep teaching. Keep in grace. Keep others above yourselves.
Verse 31. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:31-35)
Paul exhorts the elders, as you watch yourself and your flock and for wolves, keep alert and keep teaching. Because the greatest defense to wolves in sheep’s clothing is the continual teaching of the truth of God’s Word. Where the Bible is being continually taught, disciples are deepend and wolves will go and find an easier prey. So we must stay vigilant and committed and hungry for the teaching of truth, biblical truth, deep doctrine, robust theology.
And I’ll just tell you, like I started working at the South Bend library, just discovered it recently. Great place. Beautiful building. Lots of cool areas to sit and to study, and it’s quiet. I asked them, “Hey, where’s the Christian…?” I’m not, I’ve never been like a big library guy. You could imagine probably. But I’m like, “Where are the Christian book section?” I went and found the Christian book section. And I’ll tell you what, I could probably make a giant bonfire with the Christian books that aren’t worthy to be on those shelves or in your houses. And that’s just the truth.
There is so much garbage out there. And if we’re not careful to be like the Bereans and have a gospel grid and to view everything through what God’s Word has said, man, ideas and philosophies and wrong theology can get into our homes and into our churches and into our small groups. And it could tear us apart. It could send you astray.
And God has given us a Spirit of discernment. God has given your elders and your pastors a spirit of discernment. And it’s our job. It’s the elder’s job to protect the things that we’re reading and to protect the things that we’re putting on the shelves in this room.
Paul commends them all to the grace of God because even with all of these comforts and efforts, we are nothing without the grace of God. He says never forget His grace which builds us up, makes us holy, gives us our inheritance in Christ Jesus. And then Paul charges them to continually treat others better than themselves. And Paul quoted something that Jesus said. Interesting that this sentence, Jesus did not, it was not recorded in the gospels.
So Paul says that Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive.” I think it’s pretty cool that Jesus has a lot more stuff to say. And I’m super excited to get more wisdom from Jesus. And yet it’s also a testimony of the sufficiency of the Word of God that He’s given us all that we need for life and for godliness. And so we take what Jesus has said and we apply it to our lives. But we look forward to the day when we will get infinite wisdom from the God of glory, Jesus Christ, as He speaks to us.
But it’s a simple reminder and something that doesn’t come naturally to human beings. Paul says don’t get caught up coveting others things or other’s situations. Don’t get caught worrying about what you can gain. Remember, don’t account your life of any value or as precious. Remember the weak. Pray for the weak. Feed the weak. See the poor. Be with the poor. Love the poor. Be hospitable to others. Give to others. Meet the needs of others. And give, give, give, give before you ever receive.
And this was most perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ who gave up everything including His life to seek and to save you while you were lost. John 10:10, The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came that you might have life and have it abundantly.
Jesus didn’t come taking but giving that we might receive. And Paul lived that way. Paul exhorts church leaders to live that way among the flock and church leaders set an example for you and exhort you to live the same way one to another in the world.
And the fourth point the apostle Paul gives from this section, disciples stay by but stay anchored to the hope of heaven. Disciples say goodbye but stay anchored to the hope of heaven.
Verse 36. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship. (Acts 20:36-38)
Does anyone in the room hate hard goodbyes, sad goodbyes? I’m not a big hard goodbye guy. I can think of some moments in my life where I’ve had to have some sad, hard goodbyes. I think about the moment my parents left me at college. Definitely cried at that moment. And I can think about the moment that my wife and I drove out of her parent’s driveway newly married, heading to Virginia to set up a new life. And there were tears flowing that day. That was a tough one.
And I think about the day that the Lord called Nicole and I here to minister in Granger, Indiana. We had a close-knit friend group in Virginia that the Lord provided. And we served with those friends and we talked theology with those friends and we helped one another. We just had a lot of fun together. And the day came. We packed up our little bit of stuff in the Harvest Bible Chapel, Granger trailer and we all stopped and we said goodbyes and the tears were flowing like Niagara Falls among us all. Pastor Tyler Holder and Janelle were there. I didn’t kiss Pastor Tyler because I wouldn’t do that if it was my last day on earth. He’d probably do that.
But we paused and then we took a moment and we prayed together. And we prayed to an unchanging merciful God who doesn’t always take us where we want to go. But He knows the course so much better than we ever could. And so my wife and I, we drove off from Virginia trusting the Lord and leaving where we had been planted to go to a new land in a small church plant here in Indiana.
And I love that Paul knelt down and prayed with these Ephesian elders. Sorry, y’all. Whew. Through tears, right? I love that Paul knelt down and prayed with these friends and I love that all of the hard goodbye moments in my life have had moments of stopping and praying. Because prayer anchors us to our hope in heaven. And with Jesus Christ, our hard goodbyes, they’re more like “see you later”s because while the Lord might take us different places on this earth because of the assignments that He gives us, because of the course that He’s called us to, we’ll be all meeting again in glory and we will be built up in Jesus Christ. And we will see the people that we’ve had to say goodbye to.
And Paul knew that he would see these Ephesian elders again as they carried out his legacy and as they continued to point people to Jesus. So you might say goodbye to family. And you might say goodbye to best friends. And you might say goodbye to people that mean the world to you. But we stay anchored to the hope in heaven where we will be joined to Christ. And we do not lose heart and we press on toward the upward call in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And I do not know why I have been so emotional about that little paragraph this week. But it’s because I’m inspired by the apostle Paul. And church family, I want you to be inspired by the apostle Paul. I want you to have a story of redemption and salvation, but I want you to give it all up and follow Jesus. I want you to just, you know, yeah we’ve got to enjoy life and we’ve got to enjoy the joys that He’s given us, but let’s stay open-handed and let’s continually lay things down at the feet of Jesus. Let’s ask the Lord to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or think through us as we are faithful to the assignment that He gives.
Because we want to finish the course. You don’t want to get to the end of your life and say, Oh man, I lived a really great life on earth and I had all these things. And I climbed the ladder of success and I had a perfect family. No. You want to get to the end of your life and say, Only what’s done for Christ will last. And man I spent myself on serving Jesus. I spent myself on the message of Jesus Christ. And I promise you, it’s going to be worth it all. It’s going to be worth it all. Let’s pray.
Lord, thank You for Your grace and Your mercy to us. Lord, we’re so undeserving. We desperately need You. Lord, we thank You that Your Spirit knows our course. Lord, I pray that through my words this morning that something clear has been said and Lord that Your Spirit would open our hearts and our minds to not just hear these kinds of truth, not to take them for granted, but Lord, would You cause us to step in faith to follow You, to say that every breath that we take is for the glory and the majesty of God. and we thank You that You desire to use us.
And so Lord, even if you call us to new places, even when we have to say goodbye to those that we love or those that are hard to leave, Lord, we set our minds to finish the course that the good Lord has given us because we don’t account our life of any value nor as precious to us. Forgive us for when we do. But Lord, we cast it down and we say we will follow You until You come again or we stand in glory. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. C’mon, let’s stand and let’s sing together.
