Paul teaches the Ephesian Elders that faithfulness to God’s Call requires a willingness to embrace His sufferings, esteem His ministry, and express His truth.

Paul Teaches The Elders About Faithfulness to God’s Call

Acts 20:22-27

This morning we continue our study that we began last Lord’s Day morning on Paul’s Farewell Address to the Ephesian Elders. Paul knows that he will never see these men again, and so he delivers to them a kind of Last Will and Testament. He is on his 3^rd missionary journey. He has spent 3 years in Ephesus where a massive revival broke out, thousands were healed, delivered from demons, and converted out of the occult and idolatry. Then Paul traveled through Macedonia, spent the 3 winter months in Corinth, from which he wrote the Book of Romans, and is now on his way to Jerusalem with a convoy of at least 9 men who are representing their churches and bringing an offering to the poor saints in Jerusalem. Paul is hurrying to be in Jerusalem by the Feast of Pentecost. In all likelihood it is 56 A.D. Interestingly, though he knew he couldn’t stop in Ephesus, because there was just not enough time, he does dock at Miletus, and calls the Elders of the Church of Ephesus to him, so that he will have one final opportunity to exhort and teach them before he departs for good. This teaches us the tremendous importance Paul put on the Eldership of the local church. If you aspire to be an Elder at The Bridge, listen to Paul’s words with all your heart & burn these truths into your heart. The rest of you should also listen with all your heart so that you can imitate Paul as he imitated Christ.

Last week we saw Paul Reminding The Elders of His Ministry Among them, in verses 17-21. We saw last week that Paul saw his ministry pointed in 3 directions:  toward God, toward the church, and toward the lost. First, Paul’s ministry to God was Service. Paul served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and trials.  Secondly, Paul’s ministry to the Church was Teaching. Paul taught publicly in the School of Tyrannus and from house to house. He didn’t shrink back from declaring to them anything that was profitable. He taught, and preached, and declared and testified.  Thirdly, Paul’s ministry to the Lost was that of evangelism. He preached the good news of the grace of God (vs.24), and then called them to repentance and faith. Repentance is the turning from sin; faith is the turning to Christ. Both are absolutely essential to be saved.

Now, of course Paul is not saying all of these things to brag to these Elders. He’s not on some kind of ego trip. He is using his own life as an example for them to follow. He’s wanting to build his life, character, and heart into these Ephesian Elders, so that after he’s gone, they will continue on faithfully shepherding God’s flock. So, this week we are going to see Paul Teaching the Elders about Faithfulness to God’s Call, using his own life as a model for them.

Now, as we come to verse 22, there is a shift in emphasis. Up to this point Paul has been talking about his past ministry among them. Now, he shifts to the present. Notice in verse 22 and 25 – “and now.”  Last week we saw Paul using his Past Ministry as an example for them. Today we will see Paul using his Present Commitment as an example for them. It is as though he is saying, “You know what my life was like over the 3 years I lived among you. Now, let me show you what my commitment is like today as I face the future.”

As we open up this text, we are going to see that Faithfulness To Our Calling Requires A Willingness to do 3 things:

Embrace His Sufferings, Esteem His Ministry, and Enounce His Truth.

1.   Embrace His Sufferings: 20:22-23.

A.  They Are His Sufferings: You do notice, do you not, that I said His sufferings. The reason I said that instead of simply “embrace sufferings”, is because the sufferings that Paul was going to face were going to be brought into his life by the Holy Spirit as part of the will of God for his life.  Notice that Paul is bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem where bonds and afflictions await him. Paul was constrained to go to Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit had produced an inner compulsion, a passion within Paul that he must go to Jerusalem. It was part of God’s sovereign plan for Paul that he go to Jerusalem, be arrested, imprisoned, and travel to Rome where he would bear witness before Kings and rulers. To put it another way, it was God’s will that Paul suffer. Now I know that there is a large wing of the Christian church today which teaches it is never God’s will for His children to suffer. If you believe that, you need to read your Bible again! Job 42:11; 1Thess.3:3; 1Pet.4:19. God’s Word can not be any more clear – sometimes it is the will of God for Christians to suffer. It is part of His sovereign plan for their lives. Just consider the millions of Christian martyrs who have laid down their lives in the cause of Christ over the last 2,000 years. There are still multitudes today who are suffering for their faith. This is not because of some secret sin in their lives or because they don’t have enough faith. It is because God has willed it. But if the Lord brings us into the fire, you can count on Him to be with you in the fire as you pass through it. Is.43:2.

B.  The Spirit Testified About These Sufferings: vs.23. How did the Holy Spirit testify to Paul that he would be bound and afflicted in Jerusalem? Acts 21:4; 10-11. Those in the various churches who had the gift of prophecy kept prophesying that these things would take place. So, this is an interesting situation – the same Holy Spirit that constrained Paul to go to Jerusalem where he would suffer is the same Holy Spirit that warned him he would suffer when he got there. Why? Why did the Spirit constrain Paul to go, but then keep warning him of what would happen in Jerusalem? I think we see here the kindness and severity of the Lord. His severity in that He had ordained suffering for His chosen servant. But His kindness, in that he kept forewarning him in order to soften the blow. Because of the Spirit’s ministry, was prepared and ready for the sufferings when they came.

      C.  Paul Willingly Embraced These Sufferings: notice vs.24. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” Paul not only did not shrink from declaring any of God’s truth to the Church, not matter how unpopular they were, but he also did not shrink from the suffering that came to him as he fulfilled that ministry.

Life Application:  What about you? Paul was a man of courage, conviction, and passion. Are you imitating him in being willing to embrace suffering in order to finish your ministry? It’s one thing to endure sufferings stoically because you have to, and it’s another thing to embrace those sufferings as the vehicle through which you will accomplish your ministry and bring glory to God.

2.   Esteem His Ministry:  20:24.

A.  It is His Ministry:  Our ministry is really His, in the sense that He gave it to us. Paul received his ministry from the Lord Jesus. The word ministry is just another word for service. Paul’s sphere of service was given to him by the Lord Jesus. Jesus was the One who decided what service Paul would render him. It was Jesus who decided that Paul would be an apostle, that he would minister in Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia. It was Jesus who decided Paul would bear witness in Jerusalem and Rome.

B.  Paul Esteemed Finishing This Ministry Better Than Life: It is as though Paul had a pair of scales. On the one side was the preciousness of his own life. On the other side was the preciousness of finishing the ministry Jesus gave him. Which side do you think weighed more? There was no comparison! For most of us, our number 1 priority is self-preservation at all costs. That was not how Paul lived. For him, the #1 priority was finishing the ministry. For Paul there was 1 reason to live – to do what Jesus called you to do. And when that was done, Paul was happy to go and be with the Lord. Why was finishing the ministry so important to Paul? I believe it was because Jesus Himself had given it to Paul. This wasn’t some assignment he had received from the Church at Antioch, or from Peter, or John, or James, Jesus had personally assigned this mission to Paul. And so, out of love to the one who had redeemed him at infinite cost, Paul was determined to lay out his life for his Master.

      C.  Finishing Your Ministry is Like Finishing A Race:  When Paul mentions “finish my course”, he’s not talking about a course of study. He’s talking about a race course. Notice that Paul refers to it as my course. This was the course specially set out for Paul by Jesus. Now, every Christian has a ministry, but our ministries are not all the same. Jesus has called all of us to run a race, but the course we are to run is not the same. For some, it is a long pleasant run down mountain trails.  For others, it is a hard, brutal run up steep hills in the burning sun. For others, it is a marathon. For others it is a short sprint. No two Christians have exactly the same ministry. But every Christian has a ministry. A ministry is just another word for the sphere of service Jesus has assigned you. How has Jesus appointed you to serve? He has appointed some of you to serve as Elders and Deacons. Others as godly wives and mothers. Others as godly husbands and fathers. He’s commissioned some of you to serve in evangelism, others in giving, others in showing mercy, others in helping, others in hospitality, others in encouragement. The important thing is that we fulfill Jesus’ call on our lives. There is nothing more important in your life than to fulfill Jesus’ calling! Nothing! And, in order to fulfill that calling, you’re going to have to finish the race. You can’t burn it up for a few months or years, only to fall on the sidelines, winded, and hurting. No, you’ve got to keep at it until you snap the tape at the finish line. Maybe some of you are feeling as if you have served the Lord hard and long and you want to sit down and rest. Don’t do it! We will rest in heaven. Stay in the race, until you finish!

D.  Living This Way Means Not Pursuing The American Dream: What’s the American Dream? Work hard in your youth, so that in your later years, you can retire and travel, putter around the house, and play golf. Is that the way Paul viewed life? No way! Many could have said to Paul, “Paul you’ve worked hard and long, and you’re growing old. Why not retire on a little cottage on the Mediterranean Sea? Why not take up fishing or painting? You’ve already done more in your lifetime than most people could do in 5! Just take it easy, and coast into heaven. You’re old – let Timothy, a young man, have a chance. Stop considering that crazy plan to visit Jerusalem – you could get yourself killed. And for heaven’s sake, don’t even think about going to Spain. At your age…”  Here are some Webster’s definitions of the word “retire.” “To withdraw from action or danger; to fall back; to go to bed; to march away from the enemy.” Does that sound like the apostle Paul? Does that sound like Jesus Christ? I’m almost 53 years old, and I have finally got my business to the place where I could retire. Should I buy a motor home and travel around America? Should I spend all my free time playing my banjo? No, God has a race for me to run, and a ministry to finish. And by His grace, I’m going to finish it! What about you?

E.  What was Paul’s Ministry? “to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” I just love that! In fact, I can’t think of a better life verse than Acts 20:24. There are 2 words in that sentence that you must master – “gospel” and “grace.” The gospel is the Good News of what God has done in Christ to save guilty, hell-bound sinners.  Grace is God’s undeserved favor. Paul understood that the Good News is not that we should try harder. The Good News is not about what you and I do at all. It is about what God has already done! God has done everything in Jesus. Jesus has already finished the work of redemption. You see the gospel is all about grace. If it was about you tapping into your inner potential to be a better person, it would be about works. But it’s about God’s undeserved favor. You see, the simple truth is that all of us are black with sin and are objects of the wrath of God. We are by nature children of wrath. God’s grace is that which removes us from a state of wrath and condemnation, and puts us into a state of love, favor, and perfect acceptance. What is our role in this process? Repent and believe. And even those two things are gifts from Him.

Life Application:  The same message that Paul testified of, is the same message that we are to testify of. There are people all around you who need to hear from your lips about the gospel of grace. They are weighted down with sin and guilt and shame. They think God is requiring them to try harder to get themselves out of the hole they have dug for themselves. You need to help them understand that that’s not the case. Over 90% of the people I survey believe God is going to let them into heaven because they are good people. They are looking to themselves as the reason they are going to heaven! The truth is that the only hope anyone has of entering heaven is what God has done. The gospel is not “get your act together, and God will love you.” The gospel is “in Christ you are already as loved as you can ever be. You can do nothing to get Him to love you any more, and you can’t do anything to cause Him to love you any less!”  Oh friends, preach that! Let our neighbors, family, fellow students, and workmates hear this glorious truth from your lips!

3.   Enounce His Truth: vs.25-27.

A.  What Is This Truth He Was To Ennounce? It is called “the gospel of the grace of God” in vs.24. It is called “preaching the kingdom” in vs.25. And it is called “declaring the whole purpose of God” in vs.27.

B.  What Was Paul’s Responsibility? vs.26. Paul is alluding to Ezek. 3:16-19. Paul saw himself as a Watchman. A Watchman had a heavy responsibility. He had to keep himself alert and awake so that he could warn the city of any impending danger. God said that Ezekiel was a Watchman, and that it was his job to warn Israel of impending judgment. If Ezekiel didn’t do it, the wicked would die in his iniquity and God would require their blood at his hands. If Ezekiel did warn them, and they didn’t turn from their wickedness, they would still die in their iniquity, but their blood would be upon their own heads. In other words if Paul didn’t warn them, their damnation would in some sense be Paul’s fault. If Paul did warn them, and they rejected the gospel, their damnation would be their own fault.

C.  Why Was Paul Innocent Of Their Blood? Because he had not shrunk from declaring to them the whole purpose of God. The word “shrink” tells us that parts of God’s truth are not pleasant, palatable, or popular. The preacher will be tempted to pass over some truths of God’s Word. It’s not easy to tell a crowd of people that they are sinners, spiritually dead and under the wrath of God. But that is part of the “whole purpose of God.” It’s not easy to tell a mixed crowd of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Budhists, that Jesus is the only way to God. It’s not easy to tell people that if they die in their sins they will spend eternity in the lake of fire, and at the end of a million ages will not be one second closer to the end of their torments. Remember, the Watchman delivered himself by warning of the judgment to come. I believe that Paul is saying that he was innocent, because he had warned everyone of God’s wrath that was coming right at them.

      D.  What Else Would The Whole Purpose Of God Include?  That particular word has a whole range of meaning all the way from someone’s thought to their deliberate plan. However, when we examine how Luke uses the word in Acts it becomes apparent that he sees it in a particular light. Acts 2:23; 4:28. This Plan is predetermined by God and linked to His foreknowledge. This purpose is linked with God’s predestination. Eph.1:11 – this counsel is linked with predestination, God’s purpose and will. Heb.6:17 – this purpose is linked with unchangeableness. So, taking all these passages together which speak of “boule” or God’s Plan, Counsel, or Purpose, we can see that Paul declared to them everything that had to do with God’s eternal, unchanging, unfailing, sovereign plan. Paul had just recently just written Romans, and in that book he wrote of God’s sovereign, eternal plan. Let’s take a look at it. Rom.8:28-30. God’s Plan is that He will be glorified in the salvation of a great multitude of the human family. He will take sinners who are spiritually dead and can do nothing towards saving themselves or contributing toward their salvation, and He will bring them unfailingly to heaven. He has foreknown and chosen them before the foundation of the world unto salvation. Those whom He foreknew and chose, He predestined to become conformed to the image of Christ. Further, at the right time, He calls them into His family through regeneration. He then justifies them, and on the final day of judgment will glorify them. Nothing can by any means stop this Plan from coming to pass. Notice that only those who are predestined are called, and only those who are called are justified, and only those who are justified are glorified. Unless a person is predestined, they are not glorified. In other words, unless the Sovereign God included a person in His sovereign plan before the foundation of the world, they will not be in heaven. But every one who was included in His sovereign Plan will be in heaven. No one is added later who was not included in His foreknowledge and predestination. No one can be subtracted who was included in God’s foreknowledge and predestination. God’s plan can not fail.

Life Application:

1)   Are you innocent of the blood of all men? Have you faithfully warned those that God has called you to witness to about the judgment to come? Have you explained to them the gospel of the grace of God? Have you been faithful?

2)   This is My Goal! At the end of my life I want to be able to say, “I am innocent of the blood of all men because I did not shrink to declare to you the whole purpose of God.” There are going to be preachers with blood on their hands on Judgment Day! Some have churches with thousands and thousands of people, and they are not warning them that God’s wrath is coming, and they must repent and flee from that wrath. The pastor of the largest church in the United States never speaks about sin, repentance, or judgment! Instead he only speaks about what he considers to be positive. Folks, there is a whole lot of truth in this Book that is not exactly positive – but we still have to preach it! When I stand before the Lord I want my conscience to be clear. You may say, “I didn’t like some of the things Brian preached, but I have to admit, he told me the truth. If I end up in hell, it won’t be his fault – it will be my own.” As our Eldership grows, this must be the conviction of all.

2)   Are you convinced God’s Plan Can Not Fail? Are you “in Christ”? If so, do you understand that you repented and believed, not because you were smarter or better than others, but because God called you? And, if He called you, He didn’t do it on accident, but on purpose. And this purpose was not something that He does on the fly, but was formed before the foundation of the world. Do you understand that if God called you, He chose to call you, out of all the people on the planet? Do you understand that if God called you, He will keep you and glorify you, and bring you into His kingdom? Do you see that God’s Plan can’t fail? How glorious is that?!

Embrace God’s Sufferings – Esteem God’s Ministry – Enounce God’s Truth. 

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