I will now turn back with me
to Acts chapter 20. I titled the message this morning,
Asylum Charge. The Apostle Paul was a preacher. He was a preacher. What is a
preacher? Well, a preacher is a man called
of God to carry His testimony to men. That's what a preacher
is. He has no agenda of his own.
He has no other business or interest. His calling is to declare God's
testimony concerning His Son to all who will hear Him. What is a preacher? He's a man
called of God to carry God's testimony to men. And he is an
ambassador for Christ. Now listen to this. This is a
quote from 2 Corinthians 5.20. He is an ambassador for Christ
as though God himself did beseech you through him. You let that sink in a little
bit. an ambassador. When our ambassador speaks in
Egypt, he speaks for the United States. When God's ambassadors
speak, they speak for Him. Paul said, we are ambassadors
of Christ as though God did beseech you by us. His testimony comes
from the throne, and it carries the weight of the throne and
the majesty on high. His words Do not differ from
the Word of God. If his words differ from the
Word of God, he's not God's ambassador. He's not at liberty to add or
take away from this book. And our Lord said this of his
ambassadors. I want you to listen. This is
the Word of God. This is not my word. This is the Word of
God. He sent those 70 men out to preach, and he told them this,
he that heareth you, heareth me. And he that despiseth you,
despiseth me. Paul was a preacher. He was a
preacher. What is a preacher? He's a man
with a responsibility and burden of which he must find relief. He must get relief from this
burden which God has laid upon him. And his burden is first
to be true to his calling, and then secondly, it's to be true
to the souls of his hearers. His desire is to be heard and
understood. That's it. That's what he wants. Some men want everybody to be
happy. I can't make everybody happy. I can't make my own family
happy. Sometimes I can't make my wife
happy. But I can be true to my calling.
I can do that. Paul was a preacher. And now
Paul's days were coming to an end. 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." His ministry was drawing to a
close. God lights his candle and puts
it where it pleases Him, and when it pleases Him, He snuffs
it out. Snuffs it out. This man had been
a bright and shining light, but the time of his departure was
at hand. And having called all the elders
from Ephesus together, he recounts his ministry to them and warns
them about what lies ahead. And what I want to do this morning
in the light of the loss of one of our dear sisters in Christ
is to survey that which I know to be a true gospel ministry
and compare it to my own. Compare it to my own. Paul was
a preacher. And as such, he carried the testimony
of God to men. He was responsible for what he
said and how he said it. And those to whom he preached
were responsible for what they heard. Responsible. Let me give you five things this
morning about this testimony of Paul, and I hope what is my
own. And the first thing the Apostle
Paul said about his testimony is that it was complete. He said,
I kept back nothing. One of the definitions of this
phrase is reticence. That went right over your head,
didn't it? Did mine too. And I was in the Navy. But it's
a sailor's term. But it's an old sailor's term. And it meant to draw back the
sails before a storm. That's what it meant to do. There
was storm out there, there was strong winds out there, and they'd
pull those sails back. They didn't want everything out
when that storm hit. And what Paul's saying here is
that he used no reticence, no reserve, but he'd gone on into
the wind with all the canvas fully stretched. That's what
he said. No hold barred. Preachers of God understand their
enemy. They understand the powers that
be in this world. They understand those things.
They understand the nature of men. They understand the impossibility
of salvation with men. They understand the futileness
of what they preach if God doesn't Himself empower those words in
the heart. They understand those things.
And Paul said he could see the storm, but he wasn't pulling
in the sails. He said, I didn't hold back anything. I kept back nothing. His message
was complete. It was complete. He said in verse
27 that He declared to them the whole counsel of God. Try that on at the First Baptist
Church. Try that on about any church
in the land. Stand up and declare the whole
counsel of God. And there's a thousand things
to tempt a preacher to hold back certain things. He wants folks
to come, he wants folks to stay, and he wants to get to know them,
and he wants for them to get to know the congregation, but
he cannot do it in good conscience by withholding the truth. He
must tell the truth. There's only one way to tell
the truth, and that's to tell the truth. You can't disguise it with fancy
language. You can't disguise it in catchy
sayings. There's just one way to tell
it, and that's to tell it. Old Bishop Latimer, years ago,
called on by King Henry VIII. Y'all know who he was? Boy, he
was a notorious king. notorious king, put to death
his wives. I don't guess there was a more
immoral king in England than King Henry VIII. And he was notorious
for his sordid affairs and for murdering his own wives. And
Bishop Latimer was called upon by King Henry VIII to come and
address the royal And Bishop Latimer got up that
morning and announced his text, Hebrews 13, verse 4. Marriage
is honorable in all things, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers
and adulterers God will judge. Whoo! You could hear a pin drop
in that place when he announced that text. But old Henry, he
was lenient. I guess he looked at the reaction
of the people or whatever, but he was lenient. But he sent his
counselors down to warn him. And he said, you're going to
come preach next week, and we're warning you. You better change
your subject matter. And you better be careful what
you've got to say toward the sovereign. So Sunday arrived, and Mr. Latimer entered into the pulpit
and read his text. Hebrews 13, verse 4. And he read it this way. He said,
marriage is honorable and all, and to be it undefiled. But whoremongers
and adulterers God will still judge. That's what Paul is telling these
folks. I held back nothing. Nothing. But I declared to you
the whole counsel of God. Later on that day, he was beheaded
for what he preached. Paul said, I kept back nothing. I did not keep back God's eternal
purpose of grace, his divine election, particular redemption,
God's absolute sovereignty, and man's depravity. I told you exactly
what the Bible had to say on those subjects. And I could simply
ignore these doctrines and just leave off warning this congregation
concerning the dangers of false religion and probably fill up
a church ten times their size. But the problem is the only thing
that would change for them would be location. There'd be no change
in the heart and no change in their standing before God. So here's the first thing I know
about the preacher's testimony. It's complete. He doesn't hold
anything back. And he don't care who you are.
And he don't care how much you give. And he don't care if you
frown or you don't frown. He don't care if you smile or
frown or go out the door. He don't care. He's going to
tell you the truth because his first responsibility is to God. He fears God more than he fears
men. And then secondly, Paul's testimony
was profitable. He said, I kept back nothing
profitable to you. It was profitable. Unless the English language has
changed, this book says you can't be saved without the testimony
of God's servant. That's profitable. It's profitable
to hear the gospel. It's a privilege to hear the
gospel. Not everybody gets to hear it.
There's people who live out their days, their whole lives, and
never hear the gospel. There's people who live out their
days, don't even know that there is such a thing as a Bible. And there's people right here
in this country who never heard the gospel. And I tell you, if
you get the opportunity to hear it, it's a privilege. It's a
privilege. Romans chapter 1 verse 16 tells
us that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Verse 17, therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just
shall live by faith. Romans chapter 10 says, how shall
you hear without a preacher? It's profitable. Profitable. That's not a doctrine that this world likes.
I'm finding that out. I'm finding out how much of an
issue it really is in our day. But I'm going to hold it back
from this congregation. I'm going to tell you the truth.
I'm going to tell you the truth. Paul told those Ephesians that
they were the gift of the ascended Christ for the maturing of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body
of Christ. You can't be saved apart from
God's testimony to you through a preacher. And you can't grow
without it either. That's why he gave them. Isn't
that what it says there in Ephesians? That's why he gave these gifts
to the church. kept by the power of God through
faith. And faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. It's a profitable thing. And
if this man is faithful in his preaching, and you're faithful
in your hearing, you'll always, always be profited by the experience. And then thirdly, Paul told the
Ephesian elders this about his testimony. He said it was clear. It was clear. Acts 20, verse
20, he said, I showed you. I showed you. And I've taught
you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the
Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. I have one comment I receive
more than any other about the gospel, I pray. I understand
what you say. That's what I'm shooting for.
I'm hoping that our 11 and 12-year-old kids in here can understand what
I'm saying. That's who I shoot for. That's
who I talk to. I want them to understand what
I'm saying. Now, this thing about believing,
that's the gift of God. I got no power over that. I can't
make you believe. I can't make you do anything.
But He can. But this is my responsibility
is to make it clear, to make it clear. Somebody told me here the other
day, you always make it so plain and easy to be understood. And
I believe I can say even of our children in here that they understand
what I say. You might not agree with it,
and you might not like it, and you might never receive it. But
you can't say you didn't understand it. And this was Paul's main concern.
He told the church at Corinth, he said, when I came to you,
he said, I came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God, for I determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Let me tell you something. One
day before too long, you're going out to meet God. You're going
to go out and meet God. And I don't want to think of
you then and have doubts about what I told you and how I told
you. I'm going to have to look at
you for the last time one day. And I don't want to look at you
and have reservations in my heart that I held back. I held back
because I didn't want to hurt your feelings. Huh? I ain't going to do it. Lord
willing, I won't. I'm going to tell you the truth.
And I'm going to tell you in such a way you can understand
it. Paul didn't use language to disguise
his testimony. He preached plainly. He called
predestination, predestination. He called election, election.
He didn't say election. He said election. He wasn't ashamed
of it. He said, I ain't ashamed of the
gospel. He called salvation by grace,
salvation by grace. God chose a people before the
foundation of the world. Christ died for them. Christ
rose for them. Christ intercedes for them. And
the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the gospel, calls
out all those for whom Christ died. Paul said, my testimony was clear. I showed you. I taught you publicly
and privately. And you have no excuse. And then
fourthly, Paul's testimony was gracious. Acts chapter 20, verse
24, he said he testified the gospel of the grace of God. Huh? Salvation is by grace. It's not by works. If you've
got a salvation by works, you don't have the salvation of God.
You're trying to save yourself. The salvation of God is a salvation
by grace. Our election, Paul said, is an
election of grace. Ain't that how he said it? There were 7,000 men under that
ungodly rule of Ahab and Jezebel who would not bow the knee to
God. He said, I've got 7,000 reserved,
and told that prophet that you don't know anything about. And
they won't bow the knee to Baal. Even so, he says in Romans 11,
verse 5, at this present time, there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. And the coming of Christ is synonymous
with the coming of grace. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. Ain't that what Scripture says?
His Spirit is called the Spirit of Grace. It's the spirit of
grace. His gospel is called here the
gospel of the grace of God. And faith, he said, by grace,
or he said, through faith. Everything concerning the testimony
of the preacher is filled with grace. It's all grace. It's all
the gift of God. Paul said, God called me by His
grace to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him among
the heathen. God's ambassadors do not preach
man or man's glory or man's work or man's will. They testify the
gospel of the grace of God. And almost every gospel church
that I know in the country and throughout the world has included
this word grace in their church name. Almost every one of them. And I'll tell you this, there's
only two religions in this world, regardless of the name on the
sign, works or grace. That's it. That's it. And Paul
defines grace this way over in Romans 11, verse 6. He said,
if by grace, then it's no more works. Otherwise, grace is no
more grace. But if it be of works, then is
it no more of grace. Otherwise, works is no more works. Listen to these Scriptures. To
the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us
accepted in the blood. Huh? Ephesians 1-7, In whom we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace. And then in Ephesians 2, 4, But
God, who is rich in mercy for His great love, wherewith He
loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ. By grace ye are saved. You can't preach the gospel and
not preach the sovereign, eternal, effectual grace of God. The chief
glory of God is the glory of His grace. Moses said, show me
your glory. He said, I'll be gracious. I'll be gracious. And those who
represent God as His ambassadors, they preach the gospel of the
grace of God. And let me be as clear about
this thing as I know how. If you're here this morning and
you're here, you're here by the grace of God. Isn't that right? Everybody ain't here. A lot of
people I'd like to see here ain't here. But those who are here
are here by the grace of God. By the grace of God. And I'm
here preaching the gospel to you this morning by the grace
of God. And if you're here and you can
submit to it and rejoice in it and receive it, it's an act of
God's sovereign grace. Anybody in here don't understand
what I just said? Old John Newton said, it was
grace that taught my heart to fear. It wasn't some preacher telling
a story about the inferno or something. He said, grace taught
my heart to fear. And it was grace my fears relieved. Oh, how precious did that grace
appear. The hour I first believed. Grace. That's what he said. Grace. So this testimony, God's
preachers preach, it's complete, and it's profitable, and it's
clear, and it's gracious. And then, fifthly, to discharge
this testimony is satisfactory. Let me give you three things
here very briefly, and I'll quit. It was and is satisfactory to
save all that believe. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved." Everything that it takes to satisfy that which
God has purposed to do is in this gospel of the grace of God.
It's satisfactory. Satisfactory to the salvation
of your soul. And it's satisfactory to relieve
the burden placed on the heart of the preacher. He doesn't require anything from
His hearers to preach this gospel to men as clearly as His talents
and gifts will allow Him is sufficient. That's enough. That's enough. Everything else is up to God. I want to see men and women repent
and believe. I want to see men and women rejoice
in Christ. I want to see men and women submit
themselves to Christ in obedience and love. But my conscience is
clear. If I can stand up here and point
you to Christ, my conscience is clear. I did what God sent
me to do and what God called me to do. This is as far as my
calling allows me to go. And I preach these things to
you, and I take you to record this day that I am pure from
the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. And then thirdly, it's satisfactory
to God. God doesn't expect me to do what
I can't do. That's right. It's satisfactory to God. God
doesn't expect me to do what He alone has determined to do. Let me give you this, and I'll
quit. Acts 20, verse 32. Having done these things, having
discharged His duty, having been true to his calling, even though
he suffered, even though he went through who knows what. Only
Paul really knows exactly all the things that he went through.
He and God Himself. But he was faithful to his calling. And now he tells them in verse
32, And now, brethren, I commend you to God. I commend you to God. Boy, I'm
glad he didn't say, I commend you to somebody, some helpless preacher. No, he
said, I commend you to God. And I commend you to the Word
of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you
an inheritance among them which God has set apart. This preaching
of the gospel. It's what Paul told them. Knowing that not only was he
going to die and they'd see his face no more, but this thing
works in reverse. When one of you die, I can say
the same thing. I can say the same thing. I can
look at your face in good conscience and know that I've did everything
in my power that God's called me to do in order for life to
be given to you. And it's able. And so at the
end of that preaching, Paul said this. He said, I commend you
to God and to this Word that I preached to you, this Word
of grace. He said, I commend you to Him, and this is able,
this is sufficient, this is satisfactory to build you up. Not only build
you up, but to give you an inheritance. My soul. Think about that. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. How far beyond us is that? You know that's why we weep when
we think about the loss of our loved one. That's why we weep.
Because there's nothing in this world and nothing in this old
nature that can identify with the glory of heaven. You just
can't get a handle on it. You want to. But I know this. She has what I want. She has
what I want. And she's in His presence this
morning. all my soul. Not a tear in her
eye. Not a tear in her eye. No more pain. No more suffering. No more tired. She's forever with the Lord.