If you will, take your Bibles
and turn with me to Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20. And this morning, we'll be looking
at verse 17 down through verse 27. 17 to 27 we'll be looking
at this morning. Acts chapter 20, verse 17 through
27. The title of the message this morning is, The record of a faithful pastor. The record of a faithful pastor. Verse 17 says, And from Miltus
he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And
when they were come together, he said unto them, You know from
the first day that I came into 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." Now, Paul, on his last
missionary journey, this is his last time that he will see these
saints at Ephesus in this life. And he, knowing this, calls these
men together. These are a group of pastors.
Now, the church of Ephesus obviously was a very large church in that
there were many churches in this region. And so he calls all of
the elders of the churches together. And he begins to give them to
call to remembrance in their minds His record. His record. He says, I want you
to call to mind how I came to you. And in doing this, he is
instructing these pastors. He is teaching these pastors
how it is they are to lead the congregation of God. How they are to be the elders,
the pastors of the churches over which God had made them overseers. And so Paul in this farewell
address, he brings to mind that he was a good servant of God. He brings to mind that he is
a servant of God. And how faithful he was to the
church there. He says, you know from the first
day that I came to you what kind of minister I was. Paul was given
to this church for three years. For three years, he said, night
and day, with tears, I came to you and I did not withhold anything
from you. He said, I was faithful to you.
And you know it. You know I was faithful. I was
a faithful minister to you. And now he calls these elders
to remember his faithfulness as a servant of God. Let me say
this, that for the most part, every pastor that is called of
God is called for a lifetime of service to a particular church. That's the norm of being a pastor. It's not normal for a pastor
to rotate from congregation to congregation. That's not the
norm. There are some that do. But for the norm, God calls a
man to a ministry for life. I remember as I was talking to
Cheryl about coming here, when the Lord called me to this place,
I reminded her that this is more like a marriage. It's for life. It's for life. And when we come
here, I've come here determined to stay here as long as God gives
me life. And unless God moves me, this
is where I'll be until I die. And this is how it should be
for every faithful pastor over which God has made us overseers.
He's called us to feed the flock, to take care of the flock, and
to guard His church, to protect them from false doctrines and
false preachers. Now, we as pastors, as servants
of God, are called stewards in the Word of God. That's what
we're called. In 1 Peter 4 and verse 10, it
says, "...as every man that hath received the gift..." And this
is the gift of preaching, the gift of the ministry. "...even
so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold
grace of God." Now, nowhere in the New Testament will you find
the association of a steward in relationship to a Christian
except for this, except he be a minister of the gospel. Now,
you hear a lot about stewardship, don't you? How you should be
a good steward of your money and how you should be a good
steward of your time. Really, there's nothing in the Scriptures
about that, being a steward. The only stewards are those who
are faithful preachers of the gospel. Are you to be faithful
with these other things? Well, of course you are. I don't
have to tell you that. You know that. You know to be
faithful with your time and resources. But God says stewards are His
pastors, and they're to be faithful. I like that the Scripture says
it is required of a steward to be faithful. He didn't say it's
required of a steward to be good. It said that he'd be faithful.
And I'm so thankful for that. Now, in religion, In the religious
world, men use churches as stepping stones. Men use churches as stepping
stones for personal gain or position. I remember hearing a message
from a man a long time ago, how he was in a conference of young
preachers and the two young preachers sitting next to him said, man,
I hope I can get the endorsement of this other fellow so I can
get into a big congregation. I'll tell you, that man right
there is a dangerous man. He was willing to use anything
to get into a large church or a large position. That's not
God's men. That's what we call hirelings.
Hirelings. They're someone who don't care
for the flock, they just care for themselves. Ministers are
not here. God's men are not here for personal
gain. We're not here for our own selves. We are here as stewards. We're here as shepherds, under-shepherds
for the flock of God. That's what God's man is for.
Now, I'll tell you this, sometimes that doesn't happen. Sometimes
pastors are called to a place for a specific time and a specific
purpose, and then, by the Spirit of God, they are moved. Sometimes
they are moved, and this church knows well how that is. This
church knows well. Daniel Parks was a faithful minister
of the gospel here for a certain period of time that God had called
him to this place. Now I know this in talking to
him, he had determined to die here. He had determined to live
his life here. But as we know, God had other
plans for him. God used him for a very specific
purpose. And as I look at the history
of this church, I can see that. That's clear to me. This church
was in peril. This church was in danger of
being put out. And yet God brings in this man,
Daniel Parks. And what does he do? He shores
up the foundation in this church by faithfully declaring unto
you the doctrines of God's grace, faithfully, constantly. and all
the time weeding out the non-hackers. That's what he was doing. He
was weeding out all of the people that had come in unawares. And he had made a sure foundation.
And you know, I am so grateful for his ministry, because when
I come to you, I'm reaping the benefits of what he has done,
his labors. You know, I'm confident that
many times when I preach to you, you can understand what I'm saying.
Why? Because you've had years of faithful
pastoring under you. And that's good for me. It's
a blessing to me. But he was here for a specific
time and he was called. Yet God has been faithful, hasn't
he? God didn't leave you. here alone. God has sheep here. And what
does God do for His sheep? He brings in a faithful pastor.
And that's what I long to be, is a faithful pastor to you.
I long to be a faithful pastor.
God sends His man to come for a specific time and a specific
purpose, and that is to care for the sheep of God. I know
that it is my desire to stay here until God takes me home.
That is my desire. That is my heart. That's how
it's what I long for. I don't long to be any place
else. I long to be right here. I long to do exactly what God
has called me to do right here in this place until God takes
my last breath from me and brings me into His presence. That's
what I long to do. And I long to be faithful, servant
of God. I want us to see something about
this being a faithful servant, a faithful pastor. What you should
see in a faithful pastor. What you should be looking for
in a faithful pastor. What you should see in me. And
what you should see in every other gospel preacher. First
of all, you should see an humble mind. Look at that in our text. Go back to our text. Look at
that in verse 19. Scripture says, serving the Lord. How? How is a faithful servant
to serve the Lord? With all humility of mind. With all humility of mind. Now Paul, by listing these things
here, he is not bragging on himself. That's not what he's doing. He
is stating the facts. These are facts that can be seen. He said, you know how I came
unto you. I call you to record, to remember
how I came unto you. How did I come? With humility
of mind, with tears, with temptations, with trials. This first thing
He mentions, humility of mind. A man that is called of God,
I want you to see this, I want you to understand this. There
is no higher office in all the world. None. Our president, he is a man that
represents a nation, doesn't he? He was voted in, he was elected,
and he became what the world calls the most powerful man in
all the world. And He does have power. There's
no doubt about that. And He wields it. There's no
doubt about that. Kings of this earth, they have
power, don't they? They rule their lands and they
take from the coffers of their treasury as they will. They are
powerful men. These men have a high office
in the world. But friends, they fail in comparison
to the height of the office of a preacher of the gospel. There
is no higher office a man could attain to. There is none. A pastor. speaks in the stead of God. Now friends, I have to chew on
that daily. I have to think about that daily
and the weight of this office. I speak to you in the stead of
God." Now what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.20, he says, now we are ambassadors
for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. Be ye reconciled unto God. Our authority, friends, does
not come from men. My authority to preach to you
does not come from men. It comes from God. My authority
comes from God. It comes from God's Word. It
comes from God's Spirit. It comes from Jesus Christ, who
is King of kings and Lord of lords. That's where my authority
comes from. And yes, a pastor is worthy of
double honor. Now what the Scripture says?
1 Timothy 5, 17, "...Ye elders that rule well, be counted worthy
of double honor, especially they that labor in the word and doctrine."
Now I want you to understand that I in my person do not count
worthy of double honor. It is my office that counts me
worthy of double honor. Friends, you should hear me and
you should follow me and you should do what I say do according
to the Word of God because of my office. Because of what God
has given to me. The authority that God has given
me over the church. He's appointed me to... I didn't
appoint me to this office. I didn't appoint me to this office. God did. He has given us to oversee
the church. Now what does that mean to oversee?
It does not mean to lord over the church. That's not what it
means. It doesn't mean that we lord over the church. There is
one Lord. Your Lord is my Lord. We have
the same Lord. And yet our Lord has seen fit
to give me the office of an overseer for you. And because of this, you should
heed the words of the messages that I bring to you. You should
follow them, you should heed them, you should do them. Not
because of me, but because of my office and because of my authority,
which is the Word of God. Now even though we have the highest
calling and worthy of honor and oversee the church of God, a
true servant of God must have an humble mind about this office. In other words, a true servant
of God doesn't run around wielding that power as though he were
trying to chain men down by rule or law. And men do this quite
often. Men usurp this authority as an
excuse to lord over the church of God. And that's not what we're
called to do. We're called to have an humble
mind about this office. This friend is the most humbling
thing in the world to know what God has given me. It is an humbling
thing. Paul said that not that we are
sufficient in ourselves to think anything of ourselves. Even though
we have the highest office in the land, we think nothing of
ourselves. I know that I cannot do this
work unless God gives me the power, the wisdom, and the strength
to do this. I'll tell you this, any man could
study theology, any man could have great talents to speak,
but unless he is called of God to this office, he will not have
an humble mind about himself. Usually they'll usurp that to
the Lord over the church. Talent and desire without calling
does not make a preacher of the gospel. But God gives talent,
God gives gifts and desire, but He also gives humility of mind. Paul said, you bear me to record,
I was humble when I came unto you. And so should every gospel
preacher. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made of himself no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant. And being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross." Our Lord was worthy of
more praise and honor than any man. And yet he took upon himself
a servant. How much more his servants who
speak his word. Should we not see that we're
not... I do not exalt me. I cannot. I cannot. Even though God has
placed me in such a high office. A pastor must be a servant. Yes,
He's to rule the church, but He's to rule the church as a
servant. That seems unnatural, doesn't
it? How can you rule being a servant?
But that's exactly how we're to rule, being a servant of all. You see, goats are driven, aren't
they? You have to drive goats. You
have to get behind them and take the whip to them or take the
cane to them and move them forward. Sheep are not driven. Sheep are
led. Sheep are led. In 1 Timothy, Paul gives a list
of what it is to be a pastor. He gives certain things, qualifications
for a man to be a pastor. And you know what? If we are
lacking in one of these things, we are not qualified. Friends, I know I'm called of
God, but all these things, being vigilant, being sober, being
of good behavior, being blameless in the eyes of men, being of
good hospitality, ready to teach, capable to teach, not given to
passions or anger, not given to greed, but must be able to rule the
house of God well and be of a good report. I pray that all these
things are found in me as a minister of God. You see, there's one
thing I can do. I realize my faults more than
you realize my faults. I see them more than you. But in your eyes and the eyes
of others, I should be blameless. There shouldn't be anything in
my life that you may be able to point out so that the gospel
is not affected. I was talking to somebody the
other day about how a pastor is to live above bar. I mean,
there are certain places that you may be able to go and it
would be alright for you, but there are certain places that
I cannot go so that I would not be even tainted with this. It may be a good place, but if
there's something about that place that can cause the gospel
to be not heard by somebody, if they can accuse me of something,
even though it's false, I should be above that. I should move
myself from that. So the gospel is not blamed.
And this is humility. I must do these things. Why? So I can be a servant of God.
And so I can be a servant to you. A servant to you. And number two, he must preach
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look at our text again in verse
20. He says, And now I have kept nothing back that is profitable
unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly
from house to house, testifying to the Jews and also the Greeks.
Here it is. Repentance toward God and faith
toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that we're not called
to be psychologists. I'm not called to be a psychologist.
I'm not called to be a counselor even. What I am called to do
is preach the Word of God faithfully, constantly, ready at every opportunity
to preach God's Word. This is the main office of a
pastor to faithfully preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And
Paul said for three years, you bear me record. Tell me if you
can find one instance in me that I did not preach to you Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. You see, they couldn't because
that's what he faithfully had done. And they were also given
this charge, preach the Word. Preach Christ. False religion longs to hear
of the greatness of man, don't they? They long to hear messages
of law and self-righteousness. They long to hear how they can
please God by their doing, by their giving, and by their works.
Lawless men love to hear how God loves them and how God will
even allow them to keep their sin. But that's not what you love
to hear, is it? Well, good, because that's not what I love to preach.
I don't love any of those things. God's people love to hear how
Christ died the just for the unjust. I love to hear that.
I love to preach that. I love to hear the depravity
of my nature and the amazing grace of my God to reconcile
me to Himself. I love to hear that. God's people
long to hear those things. They hear of the sovereign grace
of God alone and how we are saved by grace through faith in Christ
alone. And this is what God's men preach.
Paul said, I came not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. He
says, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block
to the Greeks' foolishness. 2 Corinthians 4 and 5 says, for
we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves,
your servants, for Christ's sake. That's what we do. A faithful
preacher preaches Christ and Christ alone. Friends, when someone
comes to me, this is one of the most uncomfortable things in
the world. You may not believe this, but
it is. Someone comes to me and they said, you know, I think
the Lord's dealing with me. I think the Lord is really struggling
and I want to believe on Christ. And they come to me. I said,
why are you coming to me? Why are you coming to me? I can't
do anything for you. Go to Christ. Don't come to me.
I'm just telling you what Christ says. Go to Him. Believe on Him. Friends, we're to preach the
Word. I'm not here to save men. That's not my job. I cannot save
you. And friends, I long to hold nothing
good back that's profitable from you. What's profitable for you?
What message is the most profitable for you? Is it not repentance
toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ? Is that not
profitable for you? Of course it is. Of course it
is. This is the only message profitable
for you. Any other message would only
cause you grief and pain. Are you weak and struggling with
sin? Are you in sorrow or pain? Do
you have tribulations? Is there trouble anywhere? I preach to you repentance toward
God and faith toward Christ. Go to Christ. He understands
your sorrows. He Himself, being a man, understands
what it is to be a man. Go to Him and serve Him. Behold
the cross. See what great sin God had placed
on His Son in our stead. How shall He then not freely
give us all things that are good for us? Is there anything God's
going to hold back from you that's good? No, not in the least. Jesus Christ
is the sum and substance of our message. And number three, a
servant is not moved. Look at this in verse 22, starting
in verse 22 of our text. He says, And now, behold, I am
bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things which
shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every
city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move
me. Paul knew that something was
going to happen. He knew that something. He was
going to be in some kind of imprisonment when he got to Jerusalem. He
knew that this was his final time. And yet, what was his attitude? What was his attitude toward
the ministry? None of these things move me, and I count not my own
life dear. Faithful servants of God are
not moved from His work by anything, not even death. I've read this before, and I
don't know if you remember or not, I gave this illustration
before. There was a man who preached the gospel during the Dark Ages,
when the Catholic Church, the synagogue of Satan, they took this man and they wanted
him to recant regarding the Mass. They said, you need to believe
and you need to recant from your position that that is the literal
blood and body of Christ. And he would not do it. He would
not recant. And they were going to burn him
at the stake. And you know what those evil dogs did? This man
had a lot of children and they lined his children down the road
that he was to travel to the stake. And they had his kids
begging him to recant. Imagine your children holding
on to your pants saying, Daddy, please. Daddy, please. Don't go. And all the while, his eyes were
steadfast on the stake. And he was not moved. even by his own children, but
burned at the stake for his Lord and Master. And that's exactly
what a faithful pastor is to do. He is not to be moved. He is to suffer even death for
the witness of Jesus Christ. Let this mind be in us not to
be moved off of Christ, no matter what. Let us not be moved to
compromise the gospel, but I am to preach the gospel and to declare
it with confidence. You know, there's one thing I
don't have to do, is I don't have to argue or debate the gospel. I don't. I just declare it and
leave it alone. If they want to argue, fine.
But there's one thing about having truth is that you don't have
to argue it. Truth is truth. Truth is truth. And you don't have to debate
it. The minute you debate it is the minute you compromise
it. And it's no longer the gospel. The gospel is not to be debated,
it's not to be compromised. It is to be declared as it is
indeed the word of the living God. And let us not hold our
own lives dear, but rather see that we are just sheep counted
for the slaughter. I pray that God would bless this
to your hearts and that you would bear me record. as a faithful
pastor of this church, that God, by His grace, would keep me as
a faithful pastor of this church, that I would preach the Word
to you without compromise, that I would declare God's grace to
you in humility of mind, and that I would not be moved from
it. And I ask you to pray for me. Pray for me. Pray, Lord, bless this to our
hearts.