He was saying so many good things
there, I was trying to think on them as he was saying them,
and he said two or three more, and I hated that I was thinking. That was good. Acts 20. Acts chapter 20. I want to speak for a few minutes. I've entitled this, All the Counsel
of God. We stopped last week in verse
19, and we had looked at the statement
that Paul had made serving the Lord with all humility of mind,
many tears, temptations which befell me by the lying in wait
of the Jews." You know, a faithful preacher
of the gospel, according to the Word of God, is the greatest
gift in this life as we walk through this world. Now, I know
that the Scripture says, For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son. But here's the amazing thing
about hearing of Him. And we must. Brothers, God just read, Not
ashamed of the gospel of God. Not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ. It's the power of God on salvation, for therein, in
that gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed. A faithful preacher of the gospel
of Christ is, for the duration of this life, the greatest gift
that God would give a church. He said in Jeremiah 3.15, I will
give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you
with knowledge and understanding. That's what he told Peter. If
you love me, feed my sheep. Expression of love to a people
from a pastor is that he tells them of Christ. Men whose heart is for God, toward
God. Pastors who associate themselves
with the flock, make it their business to feed
and to shepherd the sheep. Teach them and shepherd them.
Be an example to them. Pastors are in a fishbowl. That's a good thing, but it's
a weighty thing because they're men, frail creatures, and they
feel something of the responsibility to be a pastor. I looked up that word pastor.
I give you pastors. It's shepherds. It also is magistrates. But primarily, it's a spiritual
shepherd. It's a magistrate in the sense
of a shepherd. I think we're going to have an
election here in a few months for the President of the United
States. You know what I'm already guilty
of? Not praying as I ought, asking God to send us a president according
to his heart. People, remember one time the
nation of Israel wanted a king. And the prophet asked them, why
do you want that? Oh, we want a king like everybody
else has got. And they got it. Every time it
crosses your mind, I encourage you, pray that Almighty God have
mercy on this country. Send us leaders, stable, solid. Paul the Apostle praised Almighty God for His
mercy and goodness and compassion for making him what he was, a
servant. Romans 1.1, Paul a servant of
Jesus Christ. We looked at that last week.
What was Paul? He was a servant of Christ, bondservant
that God happened to make an apostle. He was a servant. that God had
made. He wasn't an apostle that God
made to be a servant. He was a servant called to be
an apostle, separated under the gospel of God. A man who is God's servant is a
liberated man. The greatest joy, greatest peace,
comfort is to think that Almighty God would make a man or woman
to be His servant by grace. They are all servants. We looked
at that last time. All men are servants of God.
Some servants to the exhibition or they serve as objects of His mercy or objects
of His wrath. But they are all servants. They
are all going to exhibit their place in the honoring of Almighty
God. Romans 6, 17 says, But God bethanked
that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you.
Serving the Lord, Paul says, was all humility of mine, not
to be an arrogant lord over God's people, but a servant to the
people. I am the Lord's servant and your
servant, a servant to God's heritage because
you're God's heritage. That's the key to it. A pastor
is a servant to the Lord. He hates seeing arrogance and
pride within himself, and he knows that it's there. Fellowship with Christ is his
desire and fellowship with the Lord's people. He considers it
an honor. He said, I am your servant and
I serve the Lord with many tears. I told you. Turn to Luke 19 for
a minute while I tell you this. I told you, I'm convinced. I'm absolutely convinced. Almighty
God is going to call out His own. He's got a people that He's
everlastingly loved, and He's going to have them. But I do know this. I know that Almighty God is going
to be just. In the day of judgment, there
are going to be many that will hear Him say, I never knew you. And I think right now, those that oppose themselves
that the Lord's left to. I mean, you've got them in your
family. I do too. Listen to this, Luke 19. Luke
19, 41. It says, And when he was come
near, he beheld the city and wept over it. Now, think of who
this is. This is the master. This is the
mighty God. This is God Almighty in human
flesh. He came and beheld the city and
wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least
in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace, but now
they are hid from thine eyes. Now you think, just listen to
the absolute sovereignty of Almighty God. This is God speaking, God-man,
weeping over a people, saying, if you had known, if you had
known, at least in this side day, the
things that belong to you, if you knew the things that are
absolutely required for your peace before Almighty God, and
you don't, they are hid from you. For the day shall come upon thee
that thine enemy shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee
around, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even
with the ground, thy children within thee, and they shall not
leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest
not the time of thy visitation." And he went into the temple after
he had just sat there and looked at Jerusalem and wept over it
and said, if you had only known. And you don't. Why? Because it was hidden from
you. Does the potter have the right
over the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another
unto dishonor. And Gary, he knew all these things.
And he grieved and he swept. And as soon as he got through
and the Spirit of God revealed his very thoughts, he went into
the temple, verse 45, and began to cast out them that sowed therein
and them that bought, saying unto them, It is written, is
a house of prayer, but you've made it a den of thieves. Here is the Lord Jesus Christ,
the man of sorrows, he who is acquainted with grief and looked
over the city that the gospel was sent to, the city that killed
the prophets, the city that would soon be laid bare, the city that
was given over to ruin, the one that he said that knew not the
time, but by visitation, the city that nationally speaking
rejected the Messiah. And I don't doubt that there
were those in that city at that time that would be, some of which,
would be at his crucifixion. that would stand there wagging
their heads saying, Oh, He saved others. He couldn't save Himself. And some of the very ones, I
don't doubt, that mocked Him and ridiculed Him on the day
of His crucifixion, the Lord said, Father, forgive them. for they know not what they do.
Only for His elect could He have said that, because He would have
never prayed for the Father to forgive those that He had not
eternally loved. On the day of Pentecost, 50 days
after Passover, the Spirit of God would be poured out and 5,000
souls would be called out of darkness. For those, he wept. He knew what
they would be in time. There they were. But at that
moment, the compassionate Savior cried for him. I think about when he wept at
the tomb. I think about when Martha said
to him, when the Lord said, roll the stone away, she rebuked him. She called him on the carpet. Lord, he had been dead four days.
Now he is beginning to see corruption now. Fourth day, he is starting
to stink. He knew what it was to feel. He was not unacquainted with
our frailties. He was a man that was acquainted. He knew what it felt like to
not believe Him, yet without sin. In all points, he was tempted
as we are. That's what Scripture says. She
doubted Him, and He knew what that felt like. Grieved. Serving the Lord, Paul said,
with temptations befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. The servant of God knows that
even in trials and persecutions that the will of God is always
going to be done. Philippians 1.12, but I would, you should
understand, brethren, that these things happened unto me, which
happened unto me, have fallen out rather unto the furtherance
of the gospel. Persecution for Christ's sake is often the means
by which the Lord spreads His gospel. Those in Jerusalem, when
they were scattered, they went about preaching the gospels,
what they did. It's always hard for us to understand
why we go through what we go through. And the comfort of that
is knowing that Romans 8.28 is Romans 8.28 always. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. Well, Paul had declared back
in Acts 20, serving the Lord. Well, let's look at a few verses
of Scripture concerning his service to the Lord. Verse 20 sets forth
that the servant of Christ is faithful. God's servant, the
servant according to grace and mercy, he's faithful. Paul said, How I kept back nothing
that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and taught
you publicly from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and
also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ. You know, concerning faithfulness,
Revelation 3, 14 says, These things saith the amen, the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Christ Jesus the Lord was God's
servant. A servant. My servant. Faithful witness. This is the
evidence of a true servant of God according to grace. Mercy. Faithful, called and kept. 1 Corinthians 4.2, Moreover,
it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. The character of a man called
of God is that he is faithful to God. The evidence of a man that is
faithful to God, you know what it is? He believes God. He believes God. This is what
Scripture says, Brother Scott. Abraham believed God. And it
was counted unto him for righteousness. He believed Him. We believe His
Gospel. We believe His promise to keep
us. Do we not believe that Almighty
God is going to do us good? No matter what. I'm not saying
that this flesh doesn't rebel against trials. It does. I know
it does. If I've got to go to the doctor
already, I'm already antsy, Carl. I'm just, you know. But I do know in my heart he's
not going to forsake me. He's not going to leave me. He's
faithful. And He's caused His people to
be faithful to Him. They believe Him. God's people
are faithful. Serving the Lord. I kept back
nothing that was profitable unto you. Man by nature does not want to
tell you everything he knows. Have you ever seen anybody that
was a boss or something It's like they wouldn't tell you everything
they knew about their job or they were afraid that you would
learn as much as they know or they somehow you'd threaten them
or somehow you'd. A boss. That won't tell you everything
that you need to know. Is holding something back that
may get you hurt. I do want to tell you everything
I know. I'm trying. Everything I know. I mean, sometimes
I get overzealous. Sometimes I just start saying
things and I have to remember you've got to wait now and go
back to the beginning where you started and build upon precept
upon precept. You know, you don't... I held
nothing back from you that was profitable. This faithfulness
to the Lord is known by the message that a man holds to. A faithful
servant to Christ believes Him. This is what Paul says, testifying
both to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance toward God. What was
Paul in his faithfulness to the Lord, in serving the Lord? What
was the evidence of his faithfulness? He said, first of all, two things
he said there. Repentance toward God. This is
repentance toward God in the essence of it, repentance. You
know, repentance means to change the mind. That's what it means.
But it's in this repentance and in the change toward God. My mind has been changed toward
God in repentance. And here's the evidence of it.
It's an acknowledgment of my sin toward Him. You see,
by nature, man does not believe that he is truly a sinner. In his mind, he thinks he's as
good as the next guy, but somehow he's supposed to make that better.
But as I said, you know, if you compare one maggot to another
maggot, they're both maggots. David said in Psalm 51, 4, against
thee, thee only have I sinned. Well, I thought that this was
toward you or this was, well, David said that all sin is against
God. Against thee and thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest.
When Paul, as the servant of God, faithful servant of God,
he told the people the truth, he said, I did not Hold anything
back that was profitable unto you. And do you know what the
most profitable thing that a man can do, a preacher, is tell you
two things. Tell you who you are according
to the Word of God. And tell you who God Almighty
is and how He is known only in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what Paul said, I told you two things. Number
one, I told you that you're a sinner against God. I preach repentance
toward God. Secondly, faith toward the Lord
Jesus Christ. Trust Him, not yourself. There's nothing in yourself to
trust. What are you going to trust? Now, this may sound strange,
and you've heard this before. I know Brother Scott's preached
this. Many men have faith in their faith. They have faith that they've
exercised their faith. They have faith that they've
done something that they think God's going to accept. Faith. is that grace. If I could remember everything
he just said, I'd quote him. But faith is the grace given
by God. It is the means that believes
God. How is it that we have that which
it takes to believe Him? God grants us Faith. Faith believes
God by faith, by faith, through faith. For by grace are you saved
by the means of, through faith. And that not of yourself. That
faith wasn't of yourself. That was a gift of God. Paul
said, I didn't hold anything back from you. I determined, he said in 1 Corinthians
2.2, not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Not Him as a teacher, not Him
as the example, not Him as the miracle worker, but as Him as
the crucified substitute for a people everlastingly loved
by the Father. Paul said, I was not going to
hold anything back. I told you everything that was
profitable to you. And everything else that men
made your own is unprofitable. If it's not Christ and Him crucified. And I'm not talking about the
day of the crucifixion. I'm talking about everything.
That's the consummation. It's finished right there. that
goes all the way back to eternity. Almighty God who everlastingly
loved a people and chose them in Christ and always looked at
them, always saw them, always beheld them. He said, I've always
loved you. Before I formed you in the womb,
I knew you. He ever beheld them. He always
loved them. They were always the bride of
Christ. Always. Your maker is your husband. And
in time, having fallen in Adam, and he knew them. He knew that
they would fall. And there was the Redeemer. Before
there was ever a fall, there was a Redeemer. There was a Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. Before Adam ever came
into actual being in time, the Lamb was slain. The provision
was made. God ever beheld that. And in
time, when He pleased God, a body was made Him. And He came forth, found in the womb of a virgin,
conceived by the Spirit of God, that holy thing, the Scripture
says. And He came forth. laid him in a manger. And he
grew up. First thing, we actually know
after his birth, 12 years old, he said, no, you're not, that
I must be about my father's business. And then there's silence. And
then somewhere around age 30, we see him again. All those things that we are
not told, that were not profitable for us to be told. But He came
forth and He lived in obedience before Almighty God perfectly
as the substitute or the representative of His people. And in due time,
He went to the cross and He actually died at Calvary. That's Christ
and Him crucified. That's all of it. It's the totality
of it. Every place we look, we see Him. The servant of God. He's faithful.
He's honest. He's consistent. Paul said, I
preached what was profitable to you. Fifty-something years,
this church was blessed with a pastor that preached that which
was profitable, profitable, profitable. The servant of God is submissive. Verse 22, 23, Now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto
Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there. Save,
except this," is what he's saying. I don't know what's going to
happen. Save or accept that. The Holy Ghost witnesseth in
every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. He didn't know the totality,
is what he said. I don't know exactly what's going
to happen. I don't know how this is all
going to play out. Paul says, but I do know this,
that the Spirit of God has witnessed and told me that bonds and afflictions
are going to be there for me. But that did not move him. He says that in verse 24. We'll
look at that in just a minute. But he was submissive. He didn't
try to avoid it. The Lord never promised us that
we would be without trials, without afflictions. But let me ask you
this. Would you walk away with this Scripture in mind? They
that shall live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Alright, now this is what you
know about that. To follow after Christ, to follow
after Him in believing Him consistently, longing after, seeking after
in the hearing of His gospel of free grace. All that live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." All right, now
there's a blanket statement. I don't know all the depth of
it. Paul didn't know the depth of it either when he went to
the city. But did it deter him? Knowing what you know about that
Scripture, could you say, well, I'll tell you this, if that's
what it is to believe that, I'll just walk away." Well, if you
can, you will. But if God Almighty has called
you by His grace, you're not going anywhere. What are you
going to do? You're going to believe Him and
you're going to go. That's what Paul said. The Spirit of God
taught him, He said, you're going to be in some afflictions when
you get there. I want to go to Jerusalem, but
I know that this is what's going to happen. The Lord said in Matthew
11, 29, Take my yoke upon you. Learn of me. I am meek and lowly
in heart. You shall find rest unto your
soul. Meekness is submission to the providence of God. Meekness. It's not weakness. I gave you
the example of Abraham and Lot. Their herdsmen were at odds with
each other. Abraham said to Lot, We're brethren. Let's don't do this. You take
what you want. I'll take what's left. That's
submission. That's meekness. It's bowing to the providence
of Almighty God. The Lord Jesus Christ. Meek. I'm meek. That's the way He said
it. Lowly in heart. And Paul was meek to God's providence. Believers not offended at the
working of Almighty God in His providence. He's not angry with
God. You've done all things well. We don't question God's providence
to think that He does not know. The servant of God is devoted
to Christ. That's what Paul said in verse
24, None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear
unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy in
the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify
the gospel of the grace of God. You know, Paul said, I finished my course. Well, he said, I fought a good
fight. It laid up for me a crown, a
crown of righteousness, the Lord Jesus Himself. You know, we go through this
life, and you know you're going to die. You know you are. As I've said before, except the
Lord Jesus come back and receive us unto Himself, and we happen
to be alive at the day of His coming. Except that be the case,
you're going to die. And to stop and to think for
just a moment, to come to the end of my life
and to think Almighty God was pleased to keep me by His grace,
to keep me faithful to Him because He's faithful. Because he said,
I've kept you by my power. That's the reason you don't go
away. And to be able to say, thank you. Thank you that you've
kept me to this point right here. I know that they that endure
to the end shall be saved. But if he doesn't keep me to
the end, Paul said, I keep my body under
subjection. Now this is the Apostle Paul.
And I looked this up just to make sure that I knew what I
was talking about. I keep my body under subjection,
lest that after I preach to others that I myself should be found
to be a castaway. You know what he said? He said,
I examine myself, beat myself, strive after knowing Christ. Hunger after Him. Ask Him. Lord, help me. Lest that I stand
in this pulpit, you want to know what one of
the greatest disappointments would be? It's to find myself
justifying being able to walk away and justify it in my mind. And I would. I would. In my mind,
it would be right, but that he would not let me stay away and
would bring me to himself. Thank you. He said, None of these
things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself. What would a man give? What would a man give in exchange
for his life? That I might finish my course
with joy. With joy. Well, what an epitaph. Finish my course with joy. Well,
Scott, would you give all the trouble that you went through,
would you change any of that? No. It's worth it all. It's worth it all. None of these things move me.
The servant of God is more desirous of God's glory than himself.
Paul said in Philippians 1.21, for me to live is Christ and
to die is gain. Leave this world and I was the
gainer in that. The Lord said in John 4.34, my
meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His
work. I pray so. I pray it is for me. My food,
my food, my meat, my sustenance is to do the will of Him that
called me a servant and to finish the work. Matthew 16, 24, if
any man will come after me, let him deny himself. Deny himself. Deny his own self-interest is
what he is saying. Take up His cross and follow
Me. And then lastly, the servant of Christ
is courageous before men in the proclamation of Christ. Verse 25, And now, behold, I
know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of
God shall see My face no more. Wherefore, I take you to record
this day that I am pure from the blood of all men. How's that,
Paul? I've not shunned to declare unto
you all the counsel of God. We looked recently at the Lord's
charge to Ezekiel. He said, I call you to be a watchman. No man takes upon himself the
office of a watchman. God does that. I give you pastors,
he said. A faithful pastor were warned. It warns men. The preaching of
the gospel is the warning. It declares the righteousness
of God. That's what Paul said. I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. Therein in the gospel is revealed
what God requires. That's what he's saying. There
in the gospel, therein we know what is required for peace, life. Paul said, this day, I'm going
to lay this down. Here's the record. He said, I've
been faithful to Christ. I have not shunned. I didn't
power down, is what he said. I didn't withdraw. I declared
unto you all the counsel. That purpose is what that word
is. Purpose. I've declared unto you
all the counsel of God. What is all the counsel of God? Listen to this. Isaiah 6, 9 and
6. Here's all the counsel of God. This is the declaration of the
complete counsel of God. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government, that is, the rule and perseverance,
the government, The rule and the perseverance shall be upon
His shoulder, His lot." His lot. It's laid on Him. The perseverance. The continuance of what? All
things. God's will. God's purpose. God's grace. God's mercy. The
government. The perseverance. is going to
be laid on Him. It's His light. It's all on Him. And His name, His position shall
be called wonderful. Now this is good. Wonderful. A miracle. That's what the word
wonderful means. A miracle. His name, His position
shall be called The miracle of God. The grace of God. Counselor. The guide. Same word as counsel. I preached unto you all the counsel
of God. Here is what Paul said. I preach Christ to you. I preach
to you the whole counsel of God. Here is all the counsel of God. God's government, God's perseverance,
the perseverance of all things is laid on Christ, on His lot,
on His shoulder, His purpose. And His position is going to
be called a miracle. The Counselor, the Guide, the
Mighty God, the Champion. That's what it is. He's the Champion. We're more than conquerors through
Him that loved us. Here is all of it. How can all
of these things be? How can all of this be? How can
God be just and justify a sinner? Here is the miracle of God. A
child is born. A son is given. And the perseverance
of all that God Almighty has determined is going to be laid
on Him. That is His lot. His name shall
be called wonder. A miracle. Counselor, the guide. I'm the way. That's what he said.
I'm the truth. I'm the light. No man comes to
the Father but by me. He'll be called the Eternal Father,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The Prince of Peace. This was good too. The Keeper
of the Covenant. Paul said, I am free from the blood of all
men, because I shunned not to preach unto you the whole counsel
of God. I have told you everything that
God has said. What has God said? He said, All
things are in My Son. This is My beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. You hear Him. And everything
else, according to Paul's estimation of what he counted worthy, was
done. Everything else. He said, I'm
determined to preach Christ and Him crucified. That's it. That's
the message that God is going to bless. That's the message
the Spirit of God is going to honor. The Spirit of God will
speak of Him. Almighty God has had mercy on
some people. Do you know how we know those
that He has had mercy on? They believe Him.