Well, few people get to say goodbye
for the last time before they die. For many, death comes with
suddenness and there's no time to plan, no time to talk, no
time to get together with people and say your last words. For
others, death comes with sufficient warning, though, to say final
farewells. All of us have known someone
who has died with whom we wish we could have had time to say
more because so much was in our hearts. We've also known what it's like
to sit and talk to someone who we may not see ever again, who's
on their dying breath, or maybe sending someone off to college,
saying goodbye to someone in a foreign country that you may
not meet again. Over the course of Christian history, though,
God has allowed some to know of their impending death. He's
given them the microphone to unpack their hearts. One such
man was the 17th century Welshman and Puritan preacher named Christopher
Love. At age 33, he was just coming
into his prime when his life was snuffed out by a nervous
government who trumped up charges of treason. He was killed by
beheading. Just before his execution, he
was allowed to speak to the thousands who had come to the scaffold
to bid their faithful shepherd and friend farewell. For most
of those thousand, he had been their pastor. I want to read
you just a few of his comments. I can't read them all because
he goes on for about 20 pages in his farewell address. And
the executioner kept saying, please hurry, sir. We have another
one to execute after you. He said this scaffold is the
best pulpit that I ever preached in. In my church pulpit, God,
through His grace, made me an instrument to bring others to
heaven. But in this pulpit, He will bring me to heaven. These
are the last words I shall speak in this world. It may be that
I shall bring more glory to God by this one speech on a scaffold
than I have done in my many sermons in the pulpit. He went on to
say, I bless God that not a high court, a long sword or a bloody
scaffold can make me alter my principles or wrong my conscience. Later, he says, it is true, my
faithfulness has procured me ill will from men, but it has
purchased me peace with God. I have lived in peace and I shall
now die in peace. He says later, it would be great
comfort for me if I would go to heaven. It is a great comfort
for me that I go to heaven because I have a learned, orthodox, godly
man who will fill my pulpit. Isn't that good? He discipled
someone to take over. He says, Here I come to what
many of you have called my untimely end and a shameful death, but
blessed be God. It is my glory and it is my comfort. Let me justify God. He is righteous
in my death because I have sinned. Remember, he was innocent of
the charges. He is righteous, though he cuts me off in the
midst of my days, in the midst of my ministry. My blood shall
not be spilt for not. I may do more good in my death
than my life and glorify God more in my dying on a scaffold
than if I had lived and died of a disease on my bed. Quite an amazing man. Amazing
thoughts. It's interesting even to watch
many of you, when you hear that a man is giving his dying words,
everyone sits up, everyone leans forward. This is important. Faithful
ministers of the gospel long to see people passionate about
the Lord. Such was the case with a man
who we meet in Acts chapter 20. The Apostle Paul, I'd ask you
to turn your Bibles to Acts chapter 20, because we're going to listen
in on Paul's farewell speech to some very important people
in his life. Dan Dumas and I have been tag-teaming
for a couple of weeks here. In a smaller series, began last
week and concluding tonight, we've planned on giving four
snapshots of the Apostle Paul's life. And I would confess with
him that this has been no small challenge. Which text do you
choose? Which parts do you include? What do you leave out? Such a
formidable figure in the pages of Scripture. We've entitled
this little four-part series, A Life Worth Imitating, because
Paul was able to say with divine authority and personal integrity
without one shadow of egotism in his soul, follow me as I follow
Christ. Imitate me. Follow my example. Be like me. There are so many places we could
look in the life of the apostle as benchmarks to imitate. as
places we need to stop and look and meditate on to emulate. Well, with the details that Luke
gives us on his farewell to the Ephesian elders, we really need
to pull the car over and open up the windows and smell the
breezes and enjoy the fragrances of the heart of a man, the likes
of which the world has never seen. When the details of Paul's
speech to the Ephesian elders here in Acts 20 is considered.
We discover features of his heart that we should all imitate. Ministers
long to see people come to the Lord. Parents long to see their
little ones grow up to love Christ. No matter who you are, there
is something for you in this amazing chapter. Now, in the
flow of the book of Acts, Paul's address to the Ephesian elders
here in Acts chapter 20 is his last message preached in a predominantly
Gentile environment. It's the only one that Paul preaches
addressed to Christians. But this isn't just any group
of Christians. This is the Ephesian elders. These are men he spent
three years with, who he led to the Lord, personally discipled,
watched them move from new believers all the way into spiritual leadership,
such that they were able to lead the church. Let's pick it up in verse 13.
Luke writes, But we, going ahead to the ship,
set sail for Asos, intending from there to take Paul on board,
for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Asos, we
took him on board and came to Miletus, or Mylene. Now, this
is really important. Paul was considering whether
or not he should go by land, whether or not he should go by
sea, what should he do, and Luke and his friends prevail upon
him to go by freighter, by ocean vessel. Why? Because of two reasons. First, Paul was a wanted man.
If you went into the synagogues, you would have likely seen a
poster with his name and his face on it, wanted, dead or alive,
the Apostle Paul. Secondly, Paul was carrying a
large sum of money from the Macedonian believers, the Philippians, back
to the Church of Jerusalem. Why? Think about it. The Church
of Jerusalem was full of believers who had been persecuted, many
of whom had lost their jobs. They had no way to sustain themselves.
They were starving to death out of persecution for their faith.
Well, the Macedonians heard that. Collect an offering and send
it with Paul. And for him to have traveled over land with
that large sum of money would have been perilous. He even says
in 2 Corinthians 4 that he was in danger of robbers day and
night. Verse 15. Sailing from there,
we arrived the following day opposite Chios. And the next
day we crossed over to Samos. And the following day, we came
to Miletus. For Paul had decided, verse 16,
to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time
in Asia, for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible,
on the day of Pentecost. Paul's heart's ripped apart here.
He knows that he's on his way to die. He doesn't know exactly
when it's going to be. He thought it could be in Jerusalem, but
the Lord would reveal later to him that he would get to go to
Rome and face death, and Dan will be telling you more about
that tonight. But he wanted to get to Jerusalem.
He wanted to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost. Why before
Pentecost? This was the birthday of the church. This was the time
that all of the believers would get together and remember that
wonderful thing that God did back in Acts chapter 2. He wanted to enjoy that time
with them. But he was doing it at the expense of sailing past
Ephesus, which must have broken his heart. He knew what awaited
him in Jerusalem. He knew he would never see the
Ephesians again. But still, he wanted to get to
Jerusalem to deliver those much needed supplies and much needed
monies to help the believers out there. So he decided to get
to Jerusalem as quick as possible. He had that offering he collected
and wanted to deliver it. He was a passenger, by the way,
on a merchant ship. There were no cruise lines in
the Mediterranean back then. The only way you got around by
boat, by vessel, sea-going vessel, was to hitch a ride on a merchant
ship. He was slowly sailing his way
down the Aegean toward the Mediterranean, stopping at various centers of
trade. And as God's sweet and unexpected providence would have
it, the freighter had to stop at Miletus. Miletus was only
30 miles from Ephesus. He planned on sailing past his
old church, but God gave him a divine layover there at Miletus. Though he hadn't planned on the
layover, though he was probably frustrated with it because he
wanted to get to Jerusalem, He was overjoyed, such that he sent
to have the Ephesian elders come to meet with him. Now, many have
said, why didn't he just go up to see them in whole church at
Ephesus? Well, it wasn't like they had real clear schedules
for boating back then. When the boat was ready to sail,
it went. And they had no roll call. If you weren't on, guess
what? You were left at the dock. He had to stay with an earshot
of when that sound would come, that ringing bell down at the
dock that his ship was about to set sail. So he says, sends
a messenger to the Ephesian elders, please come and meet me in Miletus.
Now during that day the Ephesian church would have met daily,
the book of Acts tells us. Could have been during a meeting
that an out of breath messenger runs in, barges in and says,
are you the elders at Ephesus? Yes we are. Paul is in Miletus. Three quarters of a day travel.
He wants to see you. My guess, they didn't even pack.
They just went. Why did Paul want to see them
so badly? We're going to find out in this text, because he
knew he would never see them again. They gathered into Miletus' house,
and Luke was there to take down Paul's last speech in his physician
shorthand, and also to record the effect of this amazing speech. Goodbyes, they're not easy, are
they? I will never forget coming out
to Los Angeles for the first time to go to Lagos Bible Institute,
which was then a day school here at the church back in 1982. And
I was excited to go. Got in the car, my dad shook,
I'll never forget, he shook my hand and he gave me some money
in my hand. Now my dad, he was a drill sergeant
in the Marine Corps. He was a cop. He was tough. And he just said, see ya boy. That was pretty tender. Got the
gender right and everything. Well, I got in the car, you know,
my heart is swelling, my throat has a giant lump in it, and I'm
driving down, and I look over, and I'll never forget it, because
it was a purple that I thought was feminine, but my mom got
me this little igloo cooler for what she gave me lunch in. Well,
I forgot it, I left it at home. So I went around, saw it, as
soon as I left the driveway, drove around the block, came
back, and I saw my dad with his head against a tree, sobbing,
because I was leaving. Well, we had another goodbye,
a much different goodbye that time. I also remember when my
dad was dying. He got cancer and I had an opportunity
to fly home and see him. And he died two weeks after I
was there. We spent several days just talking and praying, enjoying
one another. And then it came time to say
goodbye and I didn't have anything to say. And he didn't either. We just looked at each other
and we knew. We didn't have to say much, we just knew. And I
hugged him, and I said, I love you. He did the same. We dabbed
our eyes, and then I left. Two weeks later, I got a call
that my dad was with his Savior. Saying goodbyes can be heart-wrenching. And I want to warn you, this
is pretty heart-wrenching to look into this chapter. I found myself
dabbing my eyes yesterday as I was studying and looking over
this passage. But Luke allows us to eavesdrop
on this goodbye between Paul and the men he loved at Ephesus,
the men he had discipled and the men he had trained. As we
go through this text, you're going to hear the heart of a
true shepherd, a genuine spiritual leader. And no matter if you're
a pastor, an elder, a deacon, a parent, a discipler, a Bible
study leader, or even a brand new Christian, you will discover
features of Paul's heart here that you should imitate. They're
features of spiritual leadership, and the reason they should imitate
them is all of us have some level of influence. And Paul tells
us of his own influence and the influence at Ephesus, and we
can glean so much by looking into his example. So as we walk
through this text, beginning in verse 17, I want to show you
four dimensions of spiritual leadership. Four dimensions of
spiritual leadership. They work if you're a A mom who's
staying home with an infant. They work if you're a pastor
of a church. They work if you just got saved yesterday and
you want to have influence. These are pillars. The first
is in verses 17 to 21. Authentic example in ministry. The first dimension of spiritual
leadership is authentic example in ministry. Verse 17. From Miletus, he sent us to Ephesus,
sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. As I said, Ephesus was about
30 miles away, about a day's journey. And imagine those men
and their excitement and the conversation they would have
had along the road. We're going to see Paul. He's still alive. I mean, that was encouraging
news enough for them. Verse 18, when they come to him,
he said to them, You yourselves know from the first day that
I set foot in Asia how I was with you the whole time, serving
the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which
came upon me through the plots of the Jews." Paul is about to
rehearse his integrity and his example, his authenticity and
example before the Ephesian elders. Now, note this, he's not defending
his reputation. He said in Second Corinthians
that he wouldn't do such. Instead, he's going to engrave
indelibly on their memories the picture of his tireless, tearful,
truth telling service as a pattern for their own ministry as shepherds
of the flock that he loves so much. Notice these two concepts backed
up at the end of verse 18 at the first of verse 19. I was
with you, but I was serving the Lord. Don't miss that. He was
physically present with the Ephesians, with the elders, but ultimately
he was serving the Lord, not just serving them. If you're
going to have a great example in ministry, it always extends
beyond the human element to the divine. Why? Because if you look
at the human element, how many of us would be discouraged? How
many of those who discipled us encountered discouragement because
of our example, too? I was with you, but I was serving
the Lord. How? Humility. One of the hallmarks of Paul's
life. He spoke with self-forgetting urgency because he was utterly
focused on the eternal spiritual well-being of those he served
instead of his own convenience and his own comfort. Paul's humility
was manifested by his desire to draw attention of the attention
of others to himself. No, he didn't want people to
look at him. He drew attention to Christ. He was only a compass. He wasn't
the destination. This is not just something that
televangelists and pastors And even your leaders here at Grace
Community Church struggle with. Those of us as parents and disciples,
Bible study leaders, we struggle with it too. How many of us like
to be not liked? There's something in all of us
that says, I want to minister in such a way that you'll like
me. Paul was able to rise above that, to see the eternal. and
a minister in humility, never pointing to himself. I love what George Whitfield
said to a woman who came to compliment him, that great Puritan preacher
in the early American evangelical explosion and Great Awakening. He had preached, he was coming
down from the platform, and a woman said, Oh, Brother Whitfield,
that was the greatest sermon I ever heard. And he said, Ma'am,
you're too late. The devil already told me that. Paul understood it's not about
him. It's about pointing to the Savior. That's why he was humble.
He adds tears. I was with you in tears. Now
think about this. This is incredible theologically. Paul knew that
God had sovereignly chosen and elected people for himself. Yet
that assurance never led Paul to be cold or indifferent. He
was not a hyper-Calvinist. Rather, with tears, he urged
people to repent and believe. His confidence in the sovereignty
of God never, ever undermined or hardened his heart to be soft
and to weep for people to know Christ. Remember what he told
the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 5 20? We beg you on behalf of
Christ, be reconciled to God. He says, I was also with you
in the trials and plots of the Jews. They were always after
him. Paul never lived a day after his conversion that he wasn't
looking over his shoulder. Yet, those trials are what God
used to give him credibility, to prove that his motive was
real. Who would suffer for something you didn't believe? Who would
go to death for something that you didn't genuinely embrace?
Verse 20. How I did not shrink from declaring
to you, I love that word, anything, anything comprehensive teaching
that was profitable. He would also tell Timothy later
that all scripture is profitable for teaching. So he's an expositor. We learn right here. And teaching
you publicly and from house to house. Look at the dimensions
of his ministry. It was publicly to stand in front
of people and to tell them of the glories of Christ as a preacher,
but it was also as a shepherd and a disciple going home to
home and house to house, getting involved in people's lives, specifically
applying the word of God as a salve to their souls that needed it
so badly. What did he say? What was he
doing? solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks. I love
that. Comprehensive scope. He wasn't prejudiced. If you
had ears, he was ready to tell you about the gospel. He didn't just preach to the
rich. He didn't just preach to the famous. He didn't just seek
out people who, if they became Christians, could bring him personal
profit. If you had ears, Paul had a message. What was he saying? Repentance toward God and faith
in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is Paul's shorthand for
the gospel. To repent of your former life
and to place your faith solely and firmly in Jesus Christ. I can't pass this verse without
stopping to say, ask, do you personally know the Savior? Not only do we have visitors
here today, We also have people who have been in the church a
long time. We learned last week in Acts 9 and in 1 Thessalonians
2 that the gospel has to go into your heart and be real. It's
not behavior change. It's not modification. It's not
trying better, stopping a habit, adding morality. It's an encounter
with the living Christ who died as a payment to substitute for
our sin on a cross he didn't deserve. Have you repented toward
God? Have you placed your faith in
Christ? Paul says, look at my ministry.
It was real. It was proven by my humility,
my tears, my persecution. He had an authentic example in
ministry. What's your example? What do
your kids say about you when you're gone? What do they say
about the devotional times? What do they say about our prayers?
What about our Bible study? Do they just experience this
on that wonderful night when we get together and we can be
pretty good for a couple hours, can't we? What about those people
who are called to disciple? Do you forget them? Do they sometimes
come to you and say, hey, I've really been wanting to talk to
you, and you just feel rotten inside because you know that
you should have called them before that encounter? What is our example
like? Paul's was authentic. It was
public, it was private, it was comprehensive. The first dimension then of spiritual
leadership that we learn from Paul is authentic example in
ministry. Secondly, in verses 22 to 27,
selfless commitment to the gospel. Selfless commitment to the gospel. Verse 22, and now behold, bound
in spirit, I'm on my way to Jerusalem. Not knowing what will happen
to me there. Put in parenthesis in your mind, exactly. Why do
you say that? Because the little word in verse
23, except. I don't know what will happen
to me, except that the Holy Spirit has solemnly testified to me
in every city. Everywhere he's gone, the Holy
Spirit has had one message for him. What is it? Bonds and afflictions
await me in Jerusalem. Bonds, that's chains, that's
imprisonment, afflictions, that's physical sufferings and beatings. As Paul contemplated his delivery
of the collection of money to the Jerusalem believers, he had
very good reason to have misgivings about the risk in showing his
face where he was a wanted man. Divinely inspired reasons to
be afraid and have misgivings. But he was under the compulsion
of the Holy Spirit to go. John Paul Hill writes of this
and helps us understand the tension in this text. He says these messages
of the Spirit were not at odds. Paul was indeed being led to
Jerusalem. God has a purpose for his going
there. The warnings prepared him for what awaited him in Jerusalem
and assured him that whatever happened, God was in it. So even though the Holy Spirit
was telling him, you're gonna go, you're gonna suffer, Paul took confidence
knowing this is okay because God is in this. Paul Hill goes
on, Paul would undergo severe trials in Jerusalem, but through
them, he would ultimately bear his witness in Rome, which was
his own heart's desire, end quote. Jerusalem would be tough, but
his desire will be fulfilled He would go up the Appian Way
into the Roman gates and serve there And as we'll learn tonight,
he would meet the face of his master from the launching pad
of Rome Now we come to verse 24, and
I must give you a qualifying comment before we look at this
text. I feel like I am unworthy to be even able to read this
text. This is in the Himalayas of Bible
verses. It might even be on the slopes
of Mount Everest in terms of ministry. This is a powerful,
powerful confession of the Apostle on what life is really about
and Well, life is not about, as I was going over this last
night, praying through this, I just, I contemplated just reading
it and going on because it's so pregnant with meaning. Paul says, 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." This should
be one of your life verses. It doesn't have to be the single
one, but this should be one of your life verses. Underline it,
highlight it, star it, write it down, put it on your bathroom
mirror, put it in your car, whatever you do, this is one of those
life-altering verses if we choose to imitate the great apostle. This really, this is the Bible's
reset button for ministry. If you found yourself not really
sure of what you're doing, why you're doing, lacking motivation,
there is a reset button, and the reset button is Acts chapter
20, verse 24. Self-preservation was not a motive
for Paul. Life or death was not the issue
that really mattered to him. What mattered most was, as he
said to the Philippians, Christ shall be magnified in my body,
whether by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ and
to die is gain. You know, there's a striking parallel
here with Paul's final words to Timothy, where the phrase
finished the race also appears. He tells us here the race he
was running was the ministry he had received from Jesus himself. He understands that infatuation
with this life will distract from preparation for eternity.
And you'll hear tonight how he said those words only days before
he saw the Lord. Kent Hughes captures Paul's heart
when he says, we should be determined to finish the course whatever
the cost. A man or woman who never does anything except what
can be done easily will never do anything worth doing at all. Think of what such an attitude
means to the church. Think of what it means to missionary
enterprise. Undoubtedly, cheeks began to
flame and eyes began to gleam as Paul, Paul's comrades in arms
listened to his gospel passion. What was his gospel passion?
You can look at the end of the verse to testify, to proclaim, to bear
witness to. Solemnly, that means intently,
passionately, authentically, genuinely. of the gospel, the
good news, of the grace of God. Now, as we learned last week
in Acts chapter 9, no one understood the grace of God like Paul did.
A persecutor of the church, one who said your salvation came
by the law, yet God intercepted his will and transformed that
rebel Christian terrorizer into a chief apostle. He says there's good news. God
is gracious. But God being gracious only makes
sense if people know that God is a threat. That we're under
condemnation from the law. That only perfection allows us
entrance into eternity and we will never be perfect. The grace of God gave Christ
who imputes to us His righteousness. that God might receive us. This
week, Kim and I just had a sweet time of fellowship. Rob and Vicki
Anthony, who are Grace Church missionaries to Marseilles in
France, they were over at our house for breakfast. And it was
just one of those times where you want the clock to stop. Just
hearing of their love for the people, their love for the Lord,
their sacrifice, their loneliness, their trials, their joys. Let
me encourage you, have missionaries over for breakfast and dinner
and lunch and staying at your house and talking to your kids. Well, Rob has been back in the
States here for a few days, and he says something to me that
was so interesting, I went and wrote it down. I can't say it any better. He said, you know, I've been
back, I've been spending time with people back in the States, and here's
the problem. He said the problem is that people
tend to make Jesus a part of their lives when Jesus should
be the point of their lives. I didn't write that down because
it was a catchy phrase. I wrote it down because it was
an arrow into my heart. Oh, Christ is good on Sunday.
Bible study. Sunday school. Fellowship group.
Is He the point or is He a part? He's not a piece of the pie,
He's the crust. He's what holds it all together. This is the
reset button for Paul and it should be for you and for me
as well. Do you consider your life as nothing so that you can
be faithful to the gospel? What would Grace Church be like
if we got a clue about that verse? Verse 25, And now, behold, I
know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom
will no longer see my face. One thing was clear, the future
of the Ephesian church was going to be without the apostle to
lead and guide them. Verse 26, therefore I testify
to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. This
is the last time I'm going to talk to you, so it's important
that you know I am innocent of the blood of all men. What does
that mean? Well, Paul's referring to God's sobering metaphor when
he charged Ezekiel with his prophetic responsibilities back in Ezekiel
chapter 3. The Lord pictured a preacher
as a watchman posted on top of a city wall looking for impending
attacks. He fulfills this, fills out this
metaphor in chapter 33 of Ezekiel verses 1 to 9. If the watchman
saw danger approaching with the people inside the city, unaware,
and They failed to take his warning seriously, even though he'd blown
the trumpet and let them know that danger was coming. Their
blood was on their head. He warned them. They chose not
to respond to his warning. But. If the watchman failed to
sound the trumpet, in other words, if the spokesman for God fails
to deliver God's warning of judgment and call to repentance. Then
God will hold his spokesman accountable for their blood. Think about this. Although the
watchman cannot bring the judgment, he cannot even provide the rescue.
What he does or what he does not do has eternal consequences. I find this interesting that
Paul, who understood election, who understood the sovereignty
of God, still understood human responsibility enough to weep
over it and to make sure he was innocent of it. Paul was able to say he held
nothing back. He discharged his duty fully. There was nothing
left to say. He was innocent of any man's
blood. So, let's ask the question, are there people in our lives,
in our neighborhoods, in our occupations where we work, in
our schools where we go to school, can we say that I am innocent
of their blood because I have dispensed fully how they might
be saved? They can never say, when they
get to hell, wow, I wish, and fill in your name, had told me
about this. Can you say that the people around
you, that God has given you the privilege to know that you can
say before the Lord, I'm innocent of their blood. I have told them
fully the gospel of Christ. What an example. What a sacrifice. What did that look like? Verse
27, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose,
the whole counsel of God. Paul held nothing back. There
were no subjects, no scriptures that were out of bounds for him.
He never fashioned a message to appeal to anyone's taste or
even to avoid someone's prejudices. He didn't come to a group and
say, oh, no, I can't talk about materialism. That guy's rich.
Oh, no, I can't talk about swindling. That guy stole from that guy.
He just dispensed the word of God and unleashed it and let
it like a lion do its work. Bottom line, he presented God's
revelation and dared not edit God by neglecting, discarding,
or dumbing down the truths that were controversial. He didn't
skip things that appeared less profitable. Paul preached the whole truth
of God, the Word of God. revealing Jesus Christ as the
integrating center point of all theology. Back in Tennessee, I was going
to a church one time. I didn't know it was not a good
church, but the pastor on Wednesday night was going through 1 John.
I found out later that he was very much non-lordship, even
though the lordship controversy hadn't even been enraging then. And I had come to understand
what Lordship meant a bit through 1 John chapter 2, by this we
know that we've come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
The one who says, you know, I've come to know Him, but does not
keep His commandments, is a liar, the truth is not in Him. Changed
my perspective. Well, when he got to chapter
2 on Wednesday Night Stronger Beliefs, he skipped it, went to chapter
3. It just blew my mind. So I went
out and said, I was so ready to hear chapter 2, you know,
what happened. This is what he said. He said,
there's too many controversial things in there for the church. Not like Paul. Let me remind you too that Paul
did this with a comprehensive audience. Whether you're Jew
or Greek, rich or poor, Everyone he met, upstanding, downcast,
proud, humble, all needed grace that could only be offered in
the gospel of Christ. You know, we want a simple God
taught. I mean, Paul taught what God said, all God said, and no
more than what God said. He was faithful in his commitment
to the gospel. You want to have influence? Then
have authentic example in ministry. Selfless commitment to the gospel. Thirdly, third dimension is faithful
warning about error. Faithful warning about error. Verse 28, be on guard for yourselves,
very important, and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which He purchased
with His own blood. Notice first, in verse 28, that
the exhortation to the Ephesian elders is to guard themselves. C.S. Lewis wrote, The true Christian's
nostril is to be continually attentive to the cesspool, intercesspool
of his own life, end quote. You look to yourself first, and
he told the Ephesian elders to do the same. They've been appointed by the
Holy Spirit to do something special. Shepherd the church. This is
the only, this and another place are the only two places where
all three words for spiritual leadership come together. Episkopos,
Presbyteros, and Poimenes. Shepherding, overseeing, the
shepherd, the overseer, and the bishop, all together to give
oversight to ministry, meaning that they're one office in the
same. Look at the end of the verse.
Shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
God paid an infinite price to acquire his flock. His own blood,
it says. This rendering could be a direct
claim to the deity of Christ. The Greek could be translated
that it's his own blood means his son's own blood, the one
that he owns. In either case, I think it's
talking about the deity of Christ and how precious and infinitely
valuable his death really was. God made an infinitely inestimable
value, valuable price To buy sinners. What a God. He obtained this
treasure at the highest price imaginable and he expects his
shepherds to guard the word of the cross and its effect in people's
lives seriously. Look at verse 29. I know after
my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing
the flock. The greatest threat to a shepherd's flock were wolves.
That's why he would set up a pen. He would sleep at the entrance.
A wolf had to deal with him before he got to the sheep. And from among your own selves. That's almost unreadable. And
from among your own selves, the Ephesian elders themselves will
arise, men speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples
after them. Isn't that amazing? The threat
would not only come from people outside coming to attack the
church, but also some of the Ephesian elders would end up
turning against the gospel themselves. The attack was coming from outside
and inside. Some of the elders would become so intoxicated with
their own influence that they would twist the truths of the
gospel in order to attract followers to themselves rather than to
the Savior. Therefore, be on the alert. Literally, don't sleep. Stand
at attention. Remembering that night and day
for a period of three years, I did that. I didn't cease to
admonish each one with tears. Paul cares so much about the
demise of the church as a possibility. He couldn't eat, he couldn't
sleep, he couldn't do anything without caring for the people. This is not just for pastors
and elders, this is for you as a parent, as a Bible study leader,
as someone who just goes to church. You know what, even though the
church at Ephesus was healthy at this time, Paul's warning
was proven 35 years later. A messenger is sent to Ephesus
from Jesus through the Apostle John. What does he say to the
same church under these elders that Paul is talking to? You
have lost your first love. It happened just like he said
it would. Guard the trust. Guard the treasure. Guard your children's minds.
Guard your Bible study and your Sunday school and your fellowship
group. Guard, guard, guard. Don't ever let down. Always be
on the alert. Paul says, faithfully warn about
error. Number four. A fourth dimension
of spiritual leadership. Before you get too stressed out,
this will be an encouragement to you. Confident trust in God. Confident trust in God. Verse 32. Now I commend you to
God. Stop right there. This is amazing
because he just looked at these elders, this group of men, and
he says, some of you are going to defect. Some of you are going
to become false teachers among yourselves. Then he just takes
a deep breath, he smiles. I commend you to God and to the
word of his grace. Such powerful words, which is
able. Sufficiency of God's grace to
build, literally build into a house, you up and give you the inheritance
that's eternal life among all those who are set apart for eternal
life, sanctified. Set apart as Christians. Paul
says, I'm going to leave, I know it's coming, but I'm not insecure
about that because I'm going to leave you with God's grace. He didn't have to say, oh, if
I'd only given this sermon, if I'd only addressed this subject,
he had been faithful. Therefore, it was easy for him
to say, hey, I commend you to God's grace. Then he says of his integrity
in verse 33, I have coveted no one's silver or gold. It's kind
of funny or close. Heaven, what is your clothes? What is he talking about here?
First of all, it's just potential and possessions. I didn't want
your silver and gold to get what I wanted. And I didn't want your
clothes was to get what you have, which is to get what you have.
I was innocent of materialism. My motive was only for your spiritual
benefit. You yourselves know, verse 34,
that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who
were with me. He and Luke and his companions
built tents. They made tents for a living.
And as they did, he did enough with his own hands. He was a
very good tent maker, apparently, because he made enough money
to pay for the whole team to get along. He wasn't there for money. Verse 35, and everything. Does that not just shock you?
Not a few things, not most of the time, not as a pattern in
everything. I showed you that by working
hard in this manner, you must help the weak and remember the
words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, it is more blessed
to give than to receive. He ends by quoting the Lord himself
and says, It's all about giving. It's not about receiving. Have
a life that gives. Don't own anything too precious that you
wouldn't give it away for the sake of the gospel. Help people
do things that will bring them into a better place of comfort
and blessing. It's better to give than receive.
You know, just on a practical level, don't you know this? Isn't
there something better about giving something someone and
watching their face? You just feel good inside. Then
someone gives you something and you don't know how to react.
Well, I'm surprised. I like that. Thank you. This is okay. And
I'm guilty. I didn't get you anything. It's better to give. Be a giver. It's not just materially,
though. This was a statement about Paul's
philosophy of life. His whole life was giving. summarizes Paul's philosophy
on life and ministry. It's to be one of giving. Paul
gave himself to his work and God's people. Paul gave himself
to the ministry of the Word. Paul gave himself with such intensity
that he forgot himself. And then, verses 36 to 38. I almost feel uncomfortable going
here because it's... It's almost like a husband and
a wife saying goodbye before a husband goes on a long trip.
You just kind of want to walk away and give them some distance. Look at what Luke says. When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with
them all. And they began to weep aloud
and embraced Paul and repeatedly kissed him. grieving especially
over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face
again. And they were accompanying him
to the ship. Even before they knelt to pray,
I am sure every man's eyes were wet." Even though Luke gives such remarkable
detail in capturing the events of this chapter, Paul's words
were too intimate for him to write down. My own guess, just
sanctified imagination, is at this point Luke couldn't take
notes because Luke himself was weeping. When the apostle and the friend
and the shepherd said, Amen. The Greek text indicates they
lamented, they sobbed out loud. Beloved, listen, real men cry
and godly men cry more. Why? Because they're real. And
their hearts are tugged and torn by real people. You know, this
is so encouraging to me. I get this idea that if I'm going
to be a godly or if I'm going to be like Paul, I would just
have this stoic, well, to me to live is Christ to die is gain.
I'm going to go die and go be with Jesus. Amen. Paul understood
that. He was dying was gain, but it
didn't take away the emotional connection that he felt with
the people that he loved. He wasn't afraid to die. But
he was sorrowful to leave his friends. Christopher Love says later in
his speech, I'd rather be a preacher in a pulpit than a prince upon
a throne. I would rather be an instrument
to bring souls to heaven than to have all the nations bring
in tribute to me. I magnify his grace, he said. That
though I now come to die a violent death, that death is not a terror
to me, though the blood through the blood sprinkling, the fear
of death has been taken out of my heart. God is not a terror
to me. Therefore, death is not dreadful
to me. I bless my God. I speak it without vanity because
formerly as a youth, I had the fear and drawing of the fear
of death. And now I have more fear of the
drawing of a tooth than to die. I was for some five or six years
under a spirit of bondage and fear of death, fear death exceedingly. But when the fear of death is
upon me now, death is not near me. The fear of it is far from
me. And then he finally says, I commend
my soul to God. To receive my fatal blow, but
I'm comforted by this, though men kill me, they cannot damn
me. And though they thrust me out of the world, yet they cannot
shut me out of heaven. I love this. I am going to my
long home and you are going to your short homes. But I tell
you, I shall be home before you. I will be in my father's house
before you will be in your own. What's your legacy? What's your
leadership? What's your influence? Please
take the time to stop and think about it. Charles Simeon told
his Cambridge congregation. Whether we shall behold each
other's face again in this world or not, I do not know. God alone
knows. But let us live for God and for eternity. Let us live
as we shall wish we had lived when we shall stand before the
judgment seat of Christ to receive our eternal doom. Let us go forward
in the path of duty, assured that the rest which awaits us
will richly repay our labors and the crown of righteousness
our conflicts. All of us are going to say goodbye,
either on purpose, for the last time, or at a time we never know.
Are we living in such a way that we're ready to step into eternity
and hear, well done from his lips, and can we say today, I
am innocent of the blood of all men because I've been a faithful
spiritual influence? Paul said, imitate me. And this
chapter is a wonderful place to start. So he leaves Miletus,
goes to Jerusalem, and finds his way to Rome. What do his
final days look like? Come back tonight and you can
find that out. Father, thank you for the grace
that is in this text, for the grace of the gospel of Christ.
We're all convicted by Paul. We all say, wow, what a man,
what a God, what a Savior, and are tempted to say what a failure
we can be. But you're the God of grace. We need it today. Make us influencers. Make us leaders. No matter our
station, give us spiritual oversight and a shepherd's heart to lead
the people around us both publicly and privately in the knowledge
of the Savior. In His name we pray. Amen.