Walking Through Acts
Today we pick up with Paul in the city of Miletus. What we’ve seen so far is the
breadth of Paul’s journeys as he preaches the gospel wherever he goes. And as a
result, the Church is growing. Yet, Paul is fully aware of what this all means. As he
has seen time and again, the more the gospel advances, the more resistance
occurs from the spiritual forces of darkness. And what we will be looking at today
are the words of Paul to the elders of the Church in Ephesus. And when we read
these words, just know that it is the words of a man who is fully convinced he will
never see these men again. So we ought to lean in and see what the Apostle has
to say.
Acts 20:17
17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to
come to him.
Now, Paul is about to share a message of the utmost importance. And so Paul has
to determine who he is going to entrust this message to. In a lot of Churches
today, they do not draw their ecclesiology from the Bible. In this case, we are
talking about the structure of a Church. Who is to be perceived as the leaders of
the local congregation? There are some churches who place their preacher in that
position, whether in concept or in practice. Some churches place deacons in such
positions and do not have elders at all. Some churches are governed by those who
have money and, so, have a say in what happens and what doesn’t happen in their
Church. Can I just say one thing real quick?
When it comes to ownership (that’s very important), this Church is not my church
(again talking about ownership). This Church is not your Church. It’s not even the
elders’ Church. This Church is God’s Church. And if this Church is God’s Church,
don’t you think we ought to structure it in such a way that is in accordance with
his Word?In God’s church, the leaders are the elders. The Greek word for elder is
presbuteros (elder of a congregation). Later in verse 28, we have another Greek
word translated elders which comes from the word episkopos which means
overseer. And when talking about those who have been charged with the duties of
overseeing the Church, both Greek words here are used delineate who the leaders
of the church are and what they do. The leaders are the elders, and the elders
oversee the Church.
Dale,
“Paul did not send for the evangelist nor the deacons. He sent for the spiritual
overseers of the church. If the minister had been the one to see, Paul would have
sent for him.”
Acts 20:18
18 And when they came to him, he said to them:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day
that I set foot in Asia,
Again, these are the elders from what we would call Asia Minor today, specifically
from the city of Ephesus. Paul is making a rhetoric appeal with these men by first
establishing his credibility. This rhetoric appeal is an appeal to Ethos. Credibility
and trustworthiness. This is the basis that these elders should take heed of what
Paul is saying to them. He’s saying, you know me. I was in your city for nearly
three years. And because of that fact, they would’ve seen his conduct and saw
how he lived and the things he taught. This gave ample opportunity for anyone to
speak up and refute him. But no one did.
One lesson I drew from this, is that there is value in living a consistent life that
reflects the values of what you teach or preach. Because if you live a life that
contradicts what you say and the things you value, you are essentially living a
double life. And the Christian is not to live that way. That would be called
hypocrisy. It is acting one way in Church and acting completely different the rest of
the week. It’s acting one way in front of your family and another in front of
strangers. It is living differently in public than you do in private. And what Paul issaying here in this verse is, you have seen me all these years and the Paul you get
is the same regardless of circumstances. And because of this, there is a level of
trust and respect that is earned among the elders that he otherwise wouldn’t
have had if he had lived differently than he claimed. Let’s look at what Paul says
next.
Acts 20:19-21
19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened
to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you
anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Far too often we see many leaders in Churches and elsewhere where their
leadership does not spring from a posture of humility. And leadership without
humility will fall short every time. This wasn’t well known in the first century.
Humility had for much of human history carried the perception of weakness.
When talking about Paul, this is how a commentator describes his him,
“He did not exhibit a puffed up conceit, or boast of what he had done. Humility is
one of Paul’s favorite words, and not until Jesus had shown what a virtue this
characteristic could be, and not until the Christians began following His example,
did men come to know that humility was anything other than a lowly, vile
characteristic that should be avoided.”
As we have seen with Paul, humility is not synonymous with powerlessness or
weakness, for Paul preached very strong messages to people that drove many to
want to stop him even to the point of wanting to kill him at times. Paul possessed
both humility and strength which is what any preacher of the gospel must have if
they are to preach it faithfully.
Paul says he didn’t shrink back from the difficult teachings that people needed to
hear. No doubt the temptation was there. Think about the time in Lystra when he
was stoned and left for dead. Do you think it might have crossed his mind even if
for just a split second, the thought that maybe he needs to tone down hismessages a bit? And yet, he went on to continue speaking the truth even more
boldly than before. Paul was more concerned about the number of souls won to
Christ than he was about his own life. And how much better the Church would be
around the world today if every preacher thought the same way. Some preachers
today aren’t even willing to let go of the smaller things for the sake of the gospel.
They’ll worry about their reputations, their paychecks, their following on
Instagram or tik tok and sometimes even the loss of their jobs because some
Churches would rather have the style of preaching talked about in 2 Timothy 4:3
(The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having
itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers who suit their own
passions). Paul wasn’t about that life. His calling was much more rich and edifying
because of his faithful preaching of the gospel.
Acts 20:22-23
22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not
knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to
me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
It is here that we learn that Paul feels a strong prompting to go to Jerusalem.
Constrained by the Spirit is a phrase used to denote a person who is fettered,
bound to God’s will on his or her life. Many of us in here have experienced this
very thing. And how do we know it’s God’s leading most of the time? It’s not
always when things are going great and smooth and you think to yourself, I must
be walking with God in this. A lot of times, it is when you are doing things for God
that you would rather not be doing. And the only reason you find yourself doing
them is because you fear God more than anything or anyone else.
Paul is headed towards Jerusalem and he has no idea what will await him there.
And this tells us that even Paul, the Apostle, had uncertainty in his heart. A lot of
us like to be in the know, because that gives us some sense of control or maybe
even security. It’s not comfortable when we find ourselves in times of uncertainty.
But maybe that’s the point. We as Christians need to come to an understanding
that our truest comfort will come from placing our confidence in God rather than
in ourselves. Some of you in here today may be at a point in your life that feels
bleak, empty, purposeless or hopeless. And I just want you to know that when you
go searching for these things apart from God, you will always come up short. But ifyou seek God, you will find fulfillment. You will find your purpose and you will be
filled with hope.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
There is hardship coming for Paul in Jerusalem, but he is not swayed.
Acts 20:24
24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may
finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to
the gospel of the grace of God.
Paul is a soldier for Christ. He has denied all of himself, even his own life, to
pursue God’s will. What a drastic transformation that occurred for this man Paul
who was once Saul. The man once bound to his own will in his hate toward
Christians, now a man bound by the Holy Spirit. And we can say with certainty
that Paul did indeed have a testimony to the gospel of the grace of God. And many
of us in here today can say the same thing. Before our conversions, we were once
this, but now we’re not. We we’re once dead in our sins, but now we’re alive in
Christ. I was once selfish and hateful and prideful, but now I’ve got the fruit of the
spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.
Simply because of the stage of life I’m in right now as a parent of young children,
I’m going to use the example of a movie character my kids love. They love the
song “I’ve got no strings on me” from Pinocchio. The idea is that all puppets had
strings on them. That’s what animated them and what dictated their every
movement. But Pinocchio was different, he didn’t have strings and that was
something to behold; it wasn’t normal. Much of the world today is driven by sinful
desires and the ironic thing is that most people who live in their sin think they are
the most free when indeed, they are wrapped in invisible chains and slaves totheir own sin. And they would call that normal. But Christians are free from those
bonds and, in Christ, sin has no hold over them anymore. That is freedom in its
truest form. So it could be said of Paul, that there was nothing that was going to
hold him back. There was nothing that was going to get in the way of him
accomplishing everything that God has called him to do.
And it is in the following verses that the tone begins to shift.
Acts 20:25
25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about
proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.
Paul firmly believes this may be the very last time he ever gets to see these elders
again. And you can imagine that it was a time of sadness for everyone there.
Acts 20:26-27
26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I
did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Paul is simply stating, hey, I have done what I’ve been called to do. I didn’t just
cherry pick Scriptures to preach and teach from. I taught you all of God’s Word. He
didn’t just pick the messages that would have been more palatable but also didn’t
shy away from the difficult ones.
This is why I love preaching verse by verse through the Bible. It is because of this
style of preaching that no one can ever bring up the accusation that I have my
own personal agenda. And that’s right. My agenda is God’s agenda and I have full
trust in God’s sovereignty that whatever chapter and verse were on, on any given
Sunday, that will be the message he has for us to hear. This style of preaching also
makes it impossible for me to skip over the challenging verses or perhaps the
controversial topics. I can’t look at a passage that contains within it something
that the current culture is not a big fan of and say, I’m just going to skip over that.
As a preacher of the Word, I simply can’t do that. And if I do, I am not fulfilling the
purpose God has placed on my life. I have to come to a point where I recognize
this is God’s Word, so preach it.Listen to the words of John Henry Jowett,
“Preaching that costs nothing accomplishes nothing.”
And no one knew that better than Paul.
Acts 20:28-31
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his
own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men
speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be
alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish
every one with tears.
Paul is telling the elders, hey be on your guard. A large part of your responsibilities
as elders is to protect the flock. At this point in time, Paul is well aware of the
efforts of the Judaizers and others who have sought to undermine everything Paul
had been trying to do in the churches he had planted. It was during his time in
Macedonia that Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians which if you were to turn to
Galatians chapter one, you would see right away what was happening. False
teachers were infiltrating the Churches and were preaching false gospels and he
says, anyone who presumes to preach a gospel contrary to the one I have taught
you, let him be accursed. Because of Paul’s experience and awareness, he brings
that same awareness to the elders of Ephesus. In verse 30 he even mentions that
there will be those within your own Churches or maybe even within your own
eldership that attempt to lead people astray. Be vigilant and ever watchful for the
forces of darkness never sleep. Be alert, he says.
Acts 20:32
32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to
build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.Paul encourages these elders by reminding them that God is their ultimate source
of strength and hope. It is not to be found anywhere else, not even in himself.
Acts 20:33-35
33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these
hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all
things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak
and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more
blessed to give than to receive.’”
Paul’s Christian life was fully devoted to helping those around him know the
gospel. It was not done out of selfish ambition or to attain anything except that
others may be won to faith in Jesus. And so we see that Paul’s self-denial was not
for its own benefit, but it was so that he could devote himself more fully in service
to others.
We will end with Paul’s departure from Miletus and the elders from Ephesus.
Piano to play here.
Acts 20:36-38
36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed
him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they
would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.
It is from this account that we can conclude that Paul’s impact on the elders from
Ephesus was significant, for one rarely mourns when there is no sense of loss. And
here in Acts 20, in these last verses, there was a sense of great loss as they bid
farewell to their brother in Christ.
May we live our lives with such conviction and fidelity to the call God has on our
lives that the messages of hope we carry with us each day are not marred by the
stain of hypocrisy. May we live our lives in such a way that makes good-byesdifficult, because God has not called us to live half-heartedly but rather whole-
heartedly for Him and with those whom we serve.