If you have a Bible I would like
for you to open it to the book of Acts chapter 20 I'm going
to speak today on this subject the Apostle Paul a pattern for
preachers God has given in the Word a pattern for preachers
and I believe that pattern is Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles
and Now, while you're opening your Bible to the 20th chapter
of Acts, let me make a few comments. I want you to listen carefully.
Religion and churches today are beset with untold problems and
confusion. You know that and I know it.
There's very little peace, very little joy, very little real
saving faith. And the problem is not in the
pew. Now, many preachers will lead
you to believe that the problem with the church is today and
the reason God doesn't send revival and all of these other things
is a problem with the people. And I don't believe that. I don't
believe the problem of today's church is in the church pew at
all. I believe the problem is in the pulpit. the responsibility
for our spiritual famine. And the prophet said, the day
will come when there'll be a famine in the land, a terrible famine,
not of food, grain, oats, barley, but of hearing the word of God.
And this great spiritual famine that we're experiencing today,
an ignorance of God, an ignorance of his redemptive mercies in
Christ Jesus falls not upon the people, but upon the preachers. Now, every man who claims to
be a preacher of the gospel, and we have, as one fellow said,
the woods are full of preachers. We have preachers everywhere.
Well, every man that claims to be a preacher of the gospel ought
to constantly study the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. He is indeed a pattern for preachers. In the book of 1 Timothy, chapter
1, verse 16, Paul said this, Howbeit for this cause I obtained
mercy, that in me Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering
for a pattern, for a pattern, to them which should hereafter
believe in him, to life everlasting." Now, if Paul's conversion is
a pattern for those who believe, is not his ministry a pattern
for those who preach? I believe it is. After all, he
is the apostle to the Gentiles. That's what he said. He'd been
called and sent of God to be the apostle to the Gentiles.
That's us. And he was the first missionary
evangelist sent forth. The Holy Spirit said to the church,
separate me, separate unto me, Paul, Paul and Barnabas, for
the work whereunto I have called him. He was the first missionary
evangelist. And then God used this man to
write 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament. He went about establishing churches
and ordaining pastors and elders. Yes, sir Paul is the preacher's
pattern Now then I want you to look down at Acts 20 I told you
to open your Bible to the book of Acts chapter 20 and let's
begin reading with verse 17 and we have here a a very candid
look at the ministry of this man, the Apostle Paul. And this
look at his ministry is provided by Paul himself in his own words. Now, what's the occasion? Well,
in the 20th chapter of Acts, Paul is speaking to a meeting
of pastors, preachers, and elders from Ephesus. He's sent to Ephesus
and called all the pastors and the preachers and the elders
to meet him at a certain place. And Paul is going to speak to
this large group of preachers. And Paul had been the human instrument
that God used to teach these men the gospel. Paul was the
one who taught them the gospel, who first preached the gospel
to them. Paul had been their teacher. And this was the last
time. Now, this is important. THIS
WAS THE LAST TIME THAT PAUL WOULD SEE THESE MEN AND THE LAST TIME
THAT HE WOULD PREACH TO THEM. THIS IS THE LAST TIME THAT THEY
WOULD SEE HIS FACE. HE'D NEVER PREACHED TO THEM AGAIN.
NEVER PREACHED TO THEM AGAIN. HE KNEW IT AND THEY KNEW IT.
IN FACT, IN VERSE 25, IF YOU LOOK THERE IN ACTS 20, VERSE
25, PAUL SAYS THIS. HE SAYS, I KNOW THAT YOU AMONG
WHOM I HAVE PREACHED THE GOSPEL SHALL SEE MY FACE No more. Now doesn't this give a special
weight to what he's about to say? Here he is speaking now
to a group of preachers, elders, pastors, evangelists, missionaries,
men, who had heard Paul preach the gospel, men to whom he had
been the instructor and teacher of the gospel, and this was the
very last time, the last time that they would ever hear the
apostle Paul preach. And in this address, in this
message that he delivers to these men, Paul literally takes them
into his heart. He literally takes them into
his secret thoughts about the ministry. Paul in this message
literally lays bare his motives, his feelings, and his fears. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all
the preachers in America could be gathered today at this very
hour and hear the Apostle Paul speak from his heart for the
last time before he goes to be martyred for the gospel's sake.
He knew that he wouldn't see them again. And he takes them
into his secret thoughts, into his heart, concerning the ministry,
the preaching of the gospel. And we could go forth and imitate
this pattern, this man whom God used so mightily and so greatly. Let's see what he has to say.
I'm interested in this. And as I said, there are great
problems and confusion in the religious world and in churches.
And the problem's not in the pew. The problem's in the pulpit. If we had some Apostle Pauls,
if we had some men like this man preaching today, dedicated,
consecrated to the gospel of Jesus Christ, what God might
do in our day. Well, the first thing in verse
18 and 19, Paul deals with his manner of life, his manner of
life. He says here in verse 18, from
the first day, from the first day that I came into Asia, I
have served the Lord. I have served the Lord with all
humility of mind." Now, Paul called himself a servant of the
Lord, a bond slave. You know what a bond slave is?
Back in the Old Testament, when a man, because of indebtedness
or for some reason, became a slave, he worked for seven years. He
worked for his master seven years. And at the end of that seven
years, he could go free. This master had to turn him loose.
He was free to go. But if he loved his master and
loved his master's house and wanted to remain as a servant
to this good master, then he would go down to the temple and
they would bore his ear. And he would be from that day
a bond slave, a bond slave is held not against his will, but
he's a willing, loving, submissive servant. He's there because he's
a slave. He's a servant. He does what
his master says, goes where his master says go, lives where his
master says live, waits upon his master. He's a bondservant.
He's a slave, but he's a willing, loving bondservant. And that's
what Paul calls himself. He said, I serve the Lord. I'm
a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Now, I'll tell you this about
a servant. Where a servant lives, and what a servant does, and
with whom a servant labors, and what a servant possesses is not
in his hands, it's in the hands of his master. And when Paul
began this ministry, he fell on his face before Christ the
Lord, and this is what he said, Lord, what will you have me to
do? That's the first thing about
this man, his manner of life. He was a servant, servant of
the Lord, a bondservant of Jesus Christ. He deals also with his
with his attitude. He says, it's his kingdom. It's my Lord's kingdom. It's
my Lord's gospel. It's my Lord's church. I serve
not myself. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus, the Lord. We're not the servants of men.
Paul said, if I please men, I'm not the servant of Christ. We
serve not the world for the fashion of this world fadeth away. I'll
tell you this, Paul discovered this. When we serve Christ best,
THEN WE SERVE OTHERS BEST. BUT IN SERVING HIM, WE SERVE
THEM. I'M A SERVANT, HE SAID, OF JESUS CHRIST. WELL, HOW DID
PAUL SERVE CHRIST? LOOK AT VERSE 19. HE SAID, I
HAVE SERVED HIM AS A BONDSLAVE WITH ALL HUMILITY OF HEART AND
MIND. ON ONE OCCASION, HE SAID, I'M
NOT WORTHY TO BE CALLED AN APOSTLE. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, HE SAID,
I'M LESS THAN THE LEAST OF ALL THE SAINTS. On another occasion,
he said, I'm not one whit behind the chief apostle, though I be
nothing. On another occasion, he said,
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I'm chief. Paul was a humble servant. And
he said, I served the Lord with many tears, tears for myself
and tears for you. On one occasion, he prayed this
way. He prayed, he said, I could wish
that I myself was a curse from Christ for my brethren. He said,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. I serve the Lord with humility
of mind, with many tears for myself and my people, and with
many trials and temptations. His life was not an easy life.
All right, look at verse 20 and 21. The second thing he says
about his ministry, he shows us his manner of life, a servant
of the Lord. a bond slave of Jesus Christ.
And then secondly, he tells us about his courage and his conviction. He says to the people there,
he said, I've kept back nothing. I've kept back nothing profitable
unto you. I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. Now, Paul was a man like you
and me with certain emotions and feelings and desires BUT
HIS FEAR OF THE LORD KEPT HIM FROM FEARING MEN. PAUL DIDN'T
FEAR MEN BECAUSE HE FEARED GOD. AND HIS LOVE FOR CHRIST WAS GREATER
THAN HIS LOVE FOR HIMSELF. AND HIS LOVE FOR HIS FAMILY AND
HIS COMFORTS. HE LOVED COMFORTS. HE SAID, I
KNOW HOW TO ABOUND AND I KNOW HOW TO BE ABASED. BUT HIS LOVE
FOR CHRIST WAS GREATER THAN HIS LOVE FOR PERSONAL COMFORT AND
EASE. AND HIS FAITH IN CHRIST KEPT
HIM FROM COMPROMISING THE GOSPEL. HE BORROWED THE WORDS OF DAVID
AND SAID, I BELIEVE, THEREFORE HAVE I SPOKEN. I BELIEVE, THEREFORE
I CAN'T COMPROMISE WHAT I BELIEVE. IN SECOND TIMOTHY 3-16, LISTEN
TO HIM HERE. You remember he said, I kept
back nothing profitable unto you, nothing. What I've read
in God's Word, I've preached to you and I've kept back nothing
profitable. Now he's in 2 Timothy 3, 16,
he said, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and it's
profitable. All scripture is profitable for
doctrine. Therefore, I kept back nothing
profitable unto you. And I ask you this, is not the
true character of God profitable to his church and his people?
God's holiness, God's righteousness, God's justice, God's truth, is
that not profitable? Then why don't we preach it?
God's sovereignty, God's infinite glory, is not the fall and the
condition of sinners by nature, is that not profitable? What
happened in the garden? WHAT HAPPENED IN OUR IDENTIFICATION
WITH ADAM WHEN HE REBELLED AGAINST GOD? WHAT EFFECT DOES THAT HAVE
UPON MEN AND WOMEN TODAY? IS THAT NOT PROFITABLE? IS NOT
THE COVENANT OF GRACE AND MERCY PROFITABLE? I TOLD YOU RECENTLY
THE WORD COVENANTS IN THE BIBLE 250 TIMES. GOD TALKS CONSTANTLY
ABOUT THE COVENANT OF GRACE, THE NEW COVENANT. IS THAT NOT
PROFITABLE? IS NOT THE GLORIOUS PERSON AND
WORK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST PROFITABLE? Christ our surety,
Christ our incarnate God, Christ our representative, Christ our
substitute, Christ our sacrifice, our sin offering, our risen justifier,
our ascended mediator, our reigning king. Is that not profitable?
Is not the righteousness of God in Christ profitable? Is not
the Spirit's work in regeneration profitable? Is not the gospel
of Christ Jesus profitable? Is not repentance and faith and
perseverance profitable? Paul didn't preach what men wanted
to hear. He preached what God commanded
him to preach. He said, and I've kept back nothing.
I've held back nothing through fear or favor or seeking applause
or ambition. I've kept back nothing, nothing
profitable unto you. Do we preach to build churches
or to glorify God? Do we preach to increase the
size of our organizations, or do we preach the Word of God
boldly and fearlessly? Oh, we could look into this man's
life, couldn't we? A servant, not of men, but of
God, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, committed, committed to Christ,
whatever the cost, whatever the trial, whatever the trouble,
THIS IS THE CALLING AND CONCERN OF GOD'S FAITHFUL SERVANTS, HIS
GLORY, HIS KINGDOM, HIS GOSPEL, HIS CHURCH, HIS SON, HIS TESTIMONY. AND THEN WITH COURAGE AND CONVICTION
AND BOLDNESS, FEARLESSLY TO PREACH THAT GOSPEL. NEVER WEARY, NEVER
TIRED, BE DETERMINED TO KNOW NOTHING BUT JESUS CHRIST AND
HIM CRUCIFIED. MINISTER TO THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE.
THAT THEIR FAITH SHOULD NOT STAND IN THE WISDOM OF MEN, BUT IN
THE POWER OF GOD. TO DO AWAY WITH SO MANY CEREMONIES
AND RITUALS AND PLAYING GAMES AND START PREACHING CHRIST. THERE'S
WHERE THE TROUBLE IS. HE SAID, PEOPLE WON'T GO TO CHURCH.
IF THEY COULD HEAR SOMETHING, THEY WOULD. IF THEY COULD HEAR
FROM GOD, THEY PROBABLY WOULD. And then notice the third thing
in verse 22, Paul then looks to his future. What's the future
for such a man? Not much here on this earth. In verse 22, Paul says, and now
I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem. Bound in the spirit. Not knowing
what shall befall me there, the Holy Ghost revealed to me that
prisons and afflictions wait for me Prisons and afflictions. That's what waits me in Jerusalem,
but none of these things moved me. He said None of these things
moved me. None of these things changed
my message Paul was aware that the religious world and especially
the leaders of religion opposed his gospel of grace opposed substitution
effectual substitution in Christ Jesus opposed justification by
faith alone AND THAT HE WOULD BE HATED AND PERSECUTED FOR WHAT
HE PREACHED. BUT THESE CONFLICTS DID NOT FRIGHTEN
HIM, NOR CAUSED HIM TO ALTER HIS GOSPEL. HE ADMITTED THE GOSPEL
IS THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS, THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS, BUT
THAT DIDN'T CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT PREACHING IT. HE SAID, THESE
THINGS DON'T MOVE ME. THE HOLY GHOST TOLD ME THAT BONDS
AND AFFLICTIONS AND PRISON AND EVEN DEATH AWAITS ME, BUT THAT
DOESN'T MOVE ME. I do not count my life dear unto
myself. It's not my life, it belongs
to Christ. My soul is dear to Christ. He
loved me and gave himself for me. But success and honor and
the comforts of this world are totally unimportant. Totally
unimportant. I know, he said, how to be a
base. and I know how to abound. The
hymn writer put it this way, must I be carried to the skies
on flowery beds of ease while others fought to win that prize
and sail through bloody seas? And then notice what Paul says
here. He said, prison and affliction awaits me, but that doesn't change
my mind about the gospel, doesn't alter my message. because I don't
count my life dear unto myself. I have one ambition. Listen,
I plan to finish my course and fulfill my ministry with joy. I started out preaching the gospel
of God's grace and I'm closing down with the same message. That's
what he said. I began preaching Christ in Him
crucified. And when I come to the last hour,
I'll be preaching Christ and Him crucified. I will testify
the gospel of the grace of God, whatever it costs. My friends,
my friends, do you hear what I'm saying? Do you hear what
I'm reading? If we had in the pulpits of America
and on television screens, Men who were servants, not of themselves
and their families and the denominations and the world and politics, but
men who were servants of God. I mean willing, loving bond slaves
of Jesus Christ who could serve the Lord with humility of mind
and heart. who were dedicated to the gospel
of God's grace, 100% sold out, whatever the cost, to preach
Christ in Him crucified, who knew that persecution and heartache
and trial awaited them even from religious people, but who could
say with the Apostle Paul, these things don't move me. THESE THINGS
WON'T ALTER MY COURSE OR MY MESSAGE. I DON'T COUNT MY LIFE OR SALARY
OR AUTOMOBILE OR HOME OR POSSESSIONS OR MY CHILDREN EVEN DEAR UNTO
MYSELF. I PLAN TO FINISH MY COURSE AND
FULFILL MY MINISTRY AND GO DOWN PREACHING CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED
UNDER GOD. I believe God had blessed that
ministry. He that honoreth my son, God
said, I'll honor him. Quit compromising, making excuses,
conforming to this world, trying to sing like the world sings
and dress like the world dressed, put on services that the world
will appreciate, preaching sermons that make nobody mad. You can't
do it and preach the gospel. Notice next of all Paul's comfort
and consolation. Verse 25, his ministry drawn
to a close. Prison and death awaiting him,
leaving his friends to go among the enemies of the gospel. Knowing
that he'd see their faces no more, Paul finds much comfort
in this fact. Listen to him. I have preached
the gospel of the grace of God. I fully testified of the grace
of God. I am free, free, free from the
blood of all men who have heard me preach. I am free from the
blood. Can you say that? I have not
shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. I've kept
back nothing profitable unto you. I have not compromised the
message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and his precious blood.
No, sir, not for an office, not for a raise, not for a position,
not for a handshake, not for an applause, not for a pat on
the back, not for any man living. Can you say that? If you can't,
you need to do some changing. or some resigning. And Paul said,
I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Fear has not moved me. Ambition has not influenced me.
Comforts have not swayed me. And money has not interested
me. He says, I coveted no man's silver gold. What a declaration. What a declaration. And yet,
why should it be out of the ordinary? I ask you that. Why should we
have to turn back so many years to find that kind of dedication?
Why should we have to go back 2,000 years to find a preacher
with that kind of courage? That's what's wrong with the
pew. It's the pulpit. And men who love God will back
that preaching. and support that preacher and
hold up his hands like they did Moses of old. And then he sounds
a warning in closing verse 28. And he says to these preachers
around him here, as he bids them farewell, he says, take heed
to yourselves. Take heed to yourselves, examine
your faith, examine your motives, examine your ministry, take heed
to yourselves and to your doctrine. For in so doing, you'll save
yourself and them that hear you. Take heed to yourself, take heed
to your flock, over which God, the Holy Ghost, hath made you
an overseer. They're the fruit of your ministry.
What's the fruit of a man's ministry? His people, his converts, his
followers, those whom he teaches, those to whom he preaches. They
ask our Lord one day, he said, what's this doctrine you're preaching?
He said, ask them that heard me. They'll tell you what I'm
preaching. YOU WANNA FIND OUT WHAT A PREACHER'S PREACHING,
DON'T ASK HIM, ASK HIS MEMBERSHIP. THEY'LL TELL YOU WHAT HE'S PREACHING.
HE SAID, TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES AND TAKE HEED TO YOUR FLOCK OVER
WHICH THE HOLY GHOST THAT MADE YOU OVERSEERS AND FEED THE CHURCH
OF GOD WHICH HE PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. FEED THEM. FEED
THEM. HE'S NOT TALKING ABOUT HAVING
DINNERS AND SUPPERS AND CELEBRATIONS. HE'S TALKING ABOUT FEEDING THEM
THE WORD OF GOD. FEEDING THEM THE WORD OF GOD,
ALL THE COUNSEL OF GOD, BEING FAITHFUL TO THE PREACHING OF
THE WORD OF GOD, VERSE BY VERSE, LINE UPON LINE, PRECEPT UPON
PRECEPT. PREACH THE WORD, AND AFTER YOU'VE
PREACHED IT, PREACH IT AGAIN. AND AFTER YOU'VE PREACHED IT
THEN, PREACH IT AGAIN. BE INSTANT IN SEASON, OUT OF
SEASON. THERE'S NO SEASON FOR PREACHING CHRIST. EVERY SEASON
IS OPEN SEASON, WHEN IT'S ACCEPTED OR UNACCEPTED. When it's received
or rejected, when it's loved or hated, my job's to preach
it. My job's to preach it. I know
this, he said, after I leave, grievous woes. Wolves in sheep's
clothing, our Lord called them, will come in, not sparing the
flock, hucksters, merchandisers of souls, false preachers who
care only for themselves and their programs and their progress,
their popularity and their possession and their plows of men. Also,
he said, of your own selves shall men rise up, speaking perverse
things and leading disciples after themselves. What would
a man want with a disciple? John the Baptist pointed to Christ
and said, behold, the Lamb of God, follow Him. And then Paul
makes his recommendation. He said, as he closed this message,
I commend you to God. I commend you to God. I commend
you to God and I commend you to His Word. That's the only
refuge. There's assurance there. There's
safety there. There's hope there. There's encouragement
there. There's faith there. God's precious
word. Now, here you have it. Here you
have it. Paul, the pattern of preachers.
The servants of the Lord are humble men, neither proud nor
pretentious nor ambitious because they're servants. You see, they're
bond slaves. And they're not looking for anything
better. They're content with Christ.
And His servants are studious men. They learn the Word, they
study the Word, and they preach it boldly. They're bold to declare
the glorious gospel of His saving grace. And His servants do not
seek the honor of men or the world. They're dedicated to fully
fulfilling their ministry, whatever the cost. And these servants
of the Lord find their comfort and joy in doing the will of
their God and exalting his dear son. And they point men to Christ. He's the savior. Now I have this
message on a cassette tape. It's called Paul, The Pattern
of Preachers. Also one I'll bring next week on the righteousness
of God. If you want it, send $2 donation. That's what it costs
to prepare them. We'll send it to you by return
mail. Until next week, may the Lord
bless you.