May the Lord bless us as we continue
our meditation in the Acts of the Apostles and chapter 20 from
verse 13 down to verse 23. Last week we followed the Apostle
Paul as he was at Troas and now as he And they leave Troas, we
read, and we went before to ship and sailed unto Assos. And of
course he's referring, because the Apostle Luke wrote the Acts
of the Apostles, and therefore obviously he's speaking about
himself, we, and others with him, but not the Apostle Paul.
And we went before to ship and sailed unto Assos, there intending
to take in Paul, for so had he appointed, minding himself to
go afoot. And of course it's interesting,
we might wonder why did the Apostle Paul go by foot? I think it was
about 20 or 30 miles, and across pretty hilly country, and the
ship would have gone round a little point, and he would have no doubt
gone across the hills, or no doubt It gave him the opportunity
for two things, really. Firstly, to speak and to preach
the Gospel to the people that he met, no doubt there would
have been people that he met. And secondly, obviously he would
have had the opportunity of being by himself and able to pray and
to meditate as he went along. So that was how they left Troas
and they went this way, coming to Assos. And when he met with
us, at Assos we took him in and came to Mytilene and we sailed
thence and came the next day over against Chios and the next
day we arrived at Samos and Tared at Trojillium, and the next day
we came to Miletus. So they sailed now just round
the coast coming south towards Jerusalem, a long way away still,
but nonetheless that was their journey. And we read then that
Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus. Now we know that he'd
been a long time at Ephesus, he'd been a number of times at
Ephesus. And he could obviously have stopped again and been at
Ephesus, but no, he sailed by Ephesus because he would not
spend the time in Asia. for he hasted, if it were possible,
for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. And that would
seem not because of any particular religious ceremony as such, but
because it was the anniversary of the wonderful outpouring of
the Spirit at Pentecost, and therefore no doubt there would
have been a good gathering of people there, and therefore he
wanted to be at Jerusalem at that time to be able to preach
the everlasting gospel. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus
and called the elders of the church. So rather than him going
to Ephesus himself, knowing how he would be hindered if he went
there because of demands on his time, he therefore requests that
the elders come to him instead of him going to them. And when
they would come to him, he said unto them. And then it's interesting
what he says and how he declares the truth of God. to those elders
which had come down from Ephesus, and no doubt others that were
with him at the time. You know from the first day that
I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you and
at all seasons." Well, we've followed the Apostle, haven't
we, down through Asia, we follow him at Ephesus, and we know that
his great, great concern was to declare the truth of the Gospel.
His great concern was that Christ might be exalted. His great desire
was that sinners might be led to the Saviour and he was very
conscious of this and he was aware that the people should
have known it also and therefore he says, I came unto Asia after
what manner I have been with you at all seasons. Serving the
Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations
which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews." We observe
here that his great desire and the opportunity he had, and what
he did was to be found serving the Lord. And it's a great blessing
today if we're found serving the Lord. We perhaps sometimes
tend to elevate this position just to those who preach the
Gospel, but it's not so. because every true Christian
is a servant, a servant of God, and should be found serving the
Lord. There are so many ways that the
Lord directs us to be found serving Him, and we should all be concerned
that we are serving the Lord and not serving ourselves, and
worse still, not serving the devil. And the apostle gives
us a little insight into what it's like to be found serving
the Lord. And it may not be, perhaps, what
we might anticipate in our minds as some wonderful and glorious
situation, which it is, of course, but not without cost. And so the Apostle tells us here,
he did it with all humility in mind. And that's a great blessing
to be humble, because naturally we're proud people. Naturally
we want people to take notice of us. We want people to observe
those things that we've been able to do and say. But here
the Apostle, and remember as I've said on many occasions,
Paul was an honest man and he didn't say that which wasn't
true. And so here he was serving the Lord with all humility of
mind and with many tears. Many tears. Many tears that his
ministry might be blessed. Perhaps many tears because of
his own sinfulness. Because we know he explains to
us something of his own self when he wrote the epistle to
the Romans, especially chapter 7. We have some insight into
what he really felt inside. And he did cry, a wretched man
that I am. So there may have been many tears because of that.
There may be many tears because people ignored what he said,
many tears because people spoke against him, and so there's many
reasons why he may have had tears. And again we should think, well,
now Paul you're not the only person that's been like that,
because we have here an example. We should look into our own lives
to see whether we have tears, tears of true repentance, tears
of sorrow, and tears that there might be a great and blessed
outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God, that many sinners might
be converted. And so here was this many tears
and temptations. We don't pass through life without
many temptations. What a blessing it is that we
have that great and glorious example in the Lord's Prayer.
Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. Because
as temptations are there, we don't want to be led into them.
We want to be delivered from them. The devil will lay many
temptations at our feet. And my friends, the devil knows
what tempts you and what tempts me. And they might be very different
things. but he knows what are our weaknesses and therefore
he homes in on those things and therefore we have this statement
of the Apostle when he said to the elders of Ephesus with many
fears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the
Jews. The Jews were there you see to
try and attack him and try and kill him As we read previously
in this Acts of the Apostles, yes, they were up against him
because they hated the truth. And my friends, the natural man
is enmity against God. The natural man hates the truth,
and therefore we should not be surprised that we face such difficulties
in the day and age in which we live. You see, if we are a true
Christian, a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, there
will be a difference, there will be an evidence that we are not
of the world, but that we are separated from it by the grace
and favour of God. Well, the apostle goes on, and
how I kept back nothing That was profitable. Now it's interesting
what he says there. Nothing that was profitable.
He didn't say he kept back things that would please him. He kept
back nothing that was profitable. They may have been very tough
things that he brought to them. Things that perhaps he didn't
really want to hear. But the apostle was a faithful
minister. And therefore he says he kept
back nothing that was profitable unto you. but have showed you
and have taught you publicly and from house to house." And
again, it's wonderful to have such a good example, isn't it,
here? He didn't just, as it were, limit his teaching to the times
when he was in the synagogue, which, as we know, he went to
every Sabbath day to preach the gospel. He did that. It was a
public speaking of the truth of God.
But also, we know, He went and he preached in the marketplace,
publicly, and also here we have the statement that it was also
from house to house. And we must draw the conclusion
therefore that every opportunity that the Apostle had, he desired
to declare the truth of God. Well that's a good testament
isn't it? It's a good example for us today. He says, and have
taught you publicly and from house to house. He taught, didn't
he, the word of God, the whole counsel of God. He didn't hold
back anything. And then he says, testifying
both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And here we have,
in a nutshell, really the great central theme of the preaching
of the gospel, and that which is so essential and so necessary. You know, in just an earlier
chapter that we actually have already meditated on, chapter
17 and verse 30, we read, and the times of this ignorance God
winked at, there were those times with the Athenians that they
be ignorant of the truth of God and the apostle tells us here
and the times of this ignorance God winked up but now now there
was a change now they could not be ignorant and now commandeth
all men everywhere to repent." Well, we've sung in the two hymns
really, we've already sung some clear definition of what repentance
is and how it is obtained, and the whole issue that it points
to us. And one thing is very clear,
that unless there is true repentance, there can be no true forgiveness
of sin. There must be sorrow for sin. And we know, of course, it's
the gift of God, it's the grace of God, but it's important that
you and I have an understanding that God has brought us to a
position to repent of our sins and to be sorry of our sins before
a holy God. This was what the apostle was
testifying to everybody, Jews and Greeks. And he was speaking
to them of this repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ. How again, essential it is that
the Lord gives us living faith to believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Repentance and faith in the Saviour
go together. But my friends, they are both
essential elements in our salvation and we should not forget them
and we should not cast them aside as something irrelevant. We need
to be blessed by the Holy Spirit in our souls and repent of our
sins and to cry for mercy and to find that mercy by faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, realising that He it is that has died to
atone for our sins. And he came into this earth for
that great purpose, to set us free, free from our sin, and
to be with us through our life here, and to receive us at last
into glory. And then he says, say that the
Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions
abide me. Well, the apostle knew, didn't
he? The true Christian life was not an easy life. It never has
been, and it never will be. And if you and I are true Christian,
we won't find our life a bed of roses. We'll find there's
many thorns, many pricks, there's many difficulties. And the reason,
of course, partly is to ensure that we don't settle down in
this sinful world as our home. because we're seeking one to
come, that is, a better country, that is, a heavenly. And what
a mercy if the God sets our hearts and affections upon things above
and to realise the centre of those things above is the Lord
Jesus Christ. And it comes, doesn't it, right
round to that great question, what think ye of Christ? whose
son is he. Well may you and I have right
views of the Saviour as that one who has died on Calvary's
cross to atone for our sins and that through his death we have
hope of eternal life. Amen.