Acts 20:1-16

· INTRO: Good morning! Would you turn with me to Acts 20:1-16? You’ll have to excuse me if my voice cuts out, allergies are just not liking me this week! (ANNOUNCEMENTS- VBS! NEW MEMBERS CLASS! UPCOMING NAUVOO-ITE evangelism)

Would you please stand with me for the reading of God’s word? This is God’s word! (Read vs 7-10, pray, you may be seated)

Intro- Do you ever get tunnel vision? Tunnel Vision is when you can only see 1 thing! You can only focus on 1 thing!

For instance, maybe you get tunnel vision on how to do something! Or maybe you get tunnel vision on WHAT YOU ARE DOING and you can’t do anything else! When I was in Seminary, I once had to write a 20 page paper about whether the Jewish people of Jesus day were legalistic, or were using the law as their cultural identity! For 20 pages and 4 days of writing, I argued passionately that the pharisees were in fact legalistic, building an argument from events of all 4 gospels.

Well, as I wrapped up my paper, I realized I’d made a horrible mistake! I’d forgotten 1/2 of the assignment! I’d shown why this was the right view, but I had not interacted at all with the other view! I’d gotten tunnel vision! I had to go back and furiously make edits Sunday night with just a few hours before the deadline because of my inability to see the bigger picture!

Just like we can get tunnel vision in our daily lives, we can get tunnel vision with our walk with God. This can happen in many ways, but I see 2 primary ways I want to talk about that tie into our passage today. 1 is about how we live and 1 is about how we understand scripture.

· (If we get too focused on daily things and fill up all our time with that, then we can’t live out our faith. Today, we are going to see Paul fight against this BUSINESS, by MAKING INTENTIONAL TIME TO BE WITH OTHER BELIEVERS!

At the same time, we can get tunnel vision and only see one part of a passage which robs us of joy- as we do not see the effects of Paul’s ministry of church planting and revitalization! It’s easy to be focused only on the death and resurrection of Eutychus and to miss EVERYTHING ELSE GOING ON! It’s easy to make this passage almost a joke about sermons! But, there’s so much more!

As we come to this passage, I want to encourage us to approach it with an open mind so that we can see more of the joy that is clear throughout this passage! We’ll see the positive impacts of Church planting and even revitalization, seeing the end goal of it, we’ll see joy over a life that is saved, and we’ll see even more joy as we see believers in fellowship!

· Emphasize how applicable this passage is

Main Point: Great Commission Work Takes Time

· BODY: This is our final week in the book of Acts this spring and honestly, what a perfect passage to end on! It is so applicable to our daily lives! Now, let’s put this passage in context. Last week, we saw how there was a big riot in Ephesus!

o Honestly, we also saw that things didn’t go perfectly! The believers had to TRUST GOD AND PERSEVERE! I promise you that there was growth in their faith from that!

o At the end of the chapter, the town clerk in Ephesus disbanded the riot and ended it, telling the rioters to instead go through the legal methods of prosecution. It wasn’t exactly a win for the believers, but, Gaius and Aristarchus, who were dragged into the ampitheater were allowed to go free!

· This week, we pick up right there. We read, “After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.”- Acts 20:1-3

o This uproar in verse 1, is the riot that we just discussed last week. The gospel moves forward, many in Ephesus are saved; and satan tries to stop it! But notice, satan tries, satan does not succeed!

§ Instead, we see the LORD win! God works and gives strength to the believers in Ephesus! They trust God and God is there, just as God is here with us today!

o The believers in Ephesus TRUST GOD! Paul also trusts God, encourages them and departs for Macedonia.

§ What does he say? Well, like we talked about last week, we can be fairly certain of it based off of what he writes in his letters and even more specifically in his pastoral letters, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus!

· Paul would have encouraged these believers to stand strong in the truth that JESUS came to earth to die for them, to save them from their sins!

· We can be certain also that Paul would have encouraged them to PERSEVERE and to run the race before them!

o Finally, we can be confident that Paul would have encouraged the believers to live out the Great Commission, sharing their faith!

§ That’s what we see over and over again in the New Testament in Paul’s writing. Those are the things that he emphasizes throughout his writing and his ministry!

· Those are the same things that we should emphasize!

· Now, let’s apply this with three very quick points of application; Ask yourself- do you often think of the gospel? Do you meditate on what Jesus did everyday? Do you praise the Lord for it?

· Next, do you pray, asking for strength to persevere and to run the race that this life is?

o Finally, do you seek out ways and pray for ways to LIVE OUT THE GREAT COMMISSION?

§ Paul’s message isn’t just for Ephesian believers, it’s for us!

o As we look at verses 2 and 3, we see that Paul travels through Greece and Macedonia! Macedonia and Achaia were the two regions that the Romans had split Greece into.

§ Paul goes around for 3 months encouraging believers.

· In fact, in verse 2, we see that he doesn’t just encourage, he “gives them much encouragement!”

o Paul’s message to these churches is what we just talked about! He encourages the believers and he takes time with them!

§ That’s a huge part of ministry! Whether you have 40 hours a week for it, or if you have 15 minutes, we can use that time productively, encouraging one another!

· Paul travels all around Greece in 3 months and is able to deeply encourage many believers!

· He then leaves Greece when he finds out that there is a plot against his life.

o Remember, Paul knows that God is calling him to go to Jersualem!

o His mission isn’t to remain in Greece forever!

· Verses 4-6 contain a list of details that can seem unnecessary, but I want to propose that they are actually extremely important! In verse 4, we see a list of men who are proof of God’s goodness and of the impact that Paul and his ministry have had!

o In verses 5-6, we then see a setting shift and we see Luke return to the traveling party.

· Here’s what these verses say, “Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.”- Acts 20:4-6

o Look at the cities that are represented! We see someone from Berea, a pair from Thessalonica, a man from Derbe where Paul was stoned, we see Timothy and we see Tychicus and Trophimus from the region of Asia, where Ephesus is!

§ This is the group that is traveling together! It’s a group from many areas; extremely diverse, from all sorts of backgrounds.

§ I want to make this extremely applicable because it is!

· THIS IS THE END GOAL OF MINISTRY AND OF CHURCH PLANTING/REVITALIZATION! TO SEE PEOPLE COME TO KNOW THE LORD, TO SEE THEM DISCIPLED AND TO SEE THIS MULTIPLIED! The end goal isn’t a larger church, it’s a GREAT COMMISSION CHURCH THAT LIVES OUT THEIR FAITH! It’s what we need and it’s what the world needs!

o Notice something, I just lumped church planting and revitalization together. Why? Because revitalization, and church planting are designed to reach a community that is not being effectively reached! Both are designed to fill a void!

o The goal of a church is not just to remain in one place! It does us no good to have churches filled with thousands if we don’t TAKE THE GOSPEL WITH US to our COMMUNITIES AND TO THE WORLD!

§ The goal of a church is to provide community for believers, and to plant and revitalize other churches! (COMMUNITY=DISCIPLESHIP!) (Fill in the Blank) And then, the churches should reach their community, and should continue PLANTING AND REVITALIZING OTHER CHURCHES!

· It’s a multiplicative effect! Healthy churches are like a large snowball rolling down a hill! Over time it gains more and more speed and momentum! The same is true for churches! It starts small, with one church that wants to GO AND THEN IT BECOMES 2 and 3, then 4, and so on! It begins to multiply!

§ In this case, Paul has gone and planted, or strengthened these churches, something that today we would consider revitalization. Then, THESE CHURCHES TURN AROUND AND DO THE SAME WITH OTHER CHURCHES!

· We’ve talked the last few weeks about being a green dot church and we want to be that! But we don’t just want GPC to be a green dot church, part of being a green dot church, or a GOING CHURCH, is HELPING OTHER CHURCHES DO THE SAME THIGN!

o Imagine if instead of one green dot church in Hancock County there were several that were all working together to SPREAD THE GOSPEL!

o IMAGINE IF THERE WAS A CHURCH IN EVERY COMMUNITY IN OUR COUNTY THAT PROCLAIMED THE GOSPEL EVERY SUNDAY AND THAT THEIR MEMBERS DID IT EVERY DAY!

§ Now, how do we get there? Well, that’s the process of church revitalization and that’s what Paul did so well!

§ He partnered with local churches to support them in this!

· This is why we’ve been discussing options in Nauvoo and working alongside Living Hope! We want to see Nauvoo reached by a green dot church that labors for the Lord alongside us!

· We want to serve the Lord! It isn’t about our name, or our glory, it’s about the name of Jesus!

o I don’t know about you, but this gets my heart pumping! I get PUMPED! LIKE WE CAN PARTNER WITH OTHER CHURCHES AND HELP THEM REACH OUR COMMUNITY AND THEIR COMMMUNITIES AS WE DO THE SAME!

§ Talk about a whole new way to Experience Christ and Share the Experience!

§ WE CAN SHARE BEING A GREEN DOT CHURCH AND HELP OTHERS SHARE THAT TOO, which is what we see shown in verse 4!

o In verses 5-6, we see Luke talk about the feasts and when they are in Troas. This once again doesn’t seem super important, but it is! Luke is showing the importance of time! It takes 5 days to go to Troas and Paul only has time to stay for 7 days.

§ Have you ever had In-N-Out burgers before? They are truly excellent, but for a long time, they were only available in California.

· One year, two of my youth group leaders took a road trip. They left Friday as soon as they were done with work and they drove overnight, probably speeding, driving 15 hours to get to California, to have 1 burger, to then turn around, and drive the same 15 hours back, through the night, to come to church the next day!

o Here’s my point; when we want something badly, we’ll do anything for it! If it’s an In-N-Out burger, we’ll drive 30 hours in 32 hours for it! If it’s Christian fellowship, we’ll spend 5 days at sea for it!

§ I said earlier, this is a super applicable passage. Here’s a practical thing; Do YOU want Christian fellowship that bad? Do you want to encourage believers like Paul did?

· I’d challenge you that we SHOULD! OUR TALK SHOULD REFLECT IT, OUR HEARTS, OUR ATTITUDES, THE WAY THAT WE INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER? IT SHOULD REFLECT A DESIRE TO ENCOURAGE!

· WHY SHOULD YOU MAKE SURE YOU ARE AT CHURCH ON A SUNDAY? TO WORSHIP GOD, TO BE ENCOURAGED AND TO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER!

o THIS IS A HUGE PART OF DISCIPLESHIP THAT WE SAW IN EPHESUS AND THAT WE ARE SEEING AGAIN HERE!

· In verse 7 we read, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered.”- Acts 20:7-8

o The setting suddenly shifts to 7 days after Paul arrives in Troas. Paul has gathered the believers in Troas together and this is his last day with them. It’s a Sunday night and they gather to break bread.

Now, there’s about a 50-50 split from commentators about whether this is a meal with a sermon, or if this is the Lord’s Supper.

§ Honestly, I don’t think it really matters! Let me explain. When we gather as Christians, our conversations SHOULD DRIFT TO THINGS OF GOD! It’s great to talk with Christian friends about sports, or farming, or work but how much better to talk about the things of GOD!

· Paul comes into this meal with the plan to speak to them. He also is leaving the next morning. As Paul speaks, it is clear to him that he needs to continue speaking and he speaks until MIDNIGHT!

§ Now, Luke brings out all these little details and they matter! The lamps are an important detail! In this region, they would light lamps and open the windows so that they could have fresh air to breath!

If not for the lamps being lit, there would be no open window for what happens next!

· In verse 9, we are introduced to a young man named Eutychus. We read, “And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.”- Acts 20:9

o Eutychus is a young man. How old, we aren’t sure. The word here is used to describe Saul when Stephen is stoned and it can also be translated as “youth.”

§ His age isn’t the point, but, it is important that we understand this is ANOTHER DETAIL to show what God is going to do!

o Now, what happens to Eutychus? He falls asleep and dies! He falls three stories and DIES!

§ I have heard this passage is often cited by people when their pastor has preached for too long, or cited by a pastor when someone falls asleep in a service, but I think that is a gross mis-represenation of what happens! Many have accused Eutychus of spiritual darkness and an intentional time of sleep.

oHowever, I actually think that we are well served if we follow the very basic rules of hermeneutics, or the interpretation and application of scripture here.

§ There’s a concept that “SCRIPTURE IS OVERALL SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND!” (FILL IN THE BLANK) So, let’s not read into the motivation of Eutychus, or into the state of his heart. He’s probably tired from his day and from Paul preaching so late. But, he’s not better or worse than anyone else. The point of this story is WHAT GOD WILL DO!

· Look at verse 10 with me! “But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”- Acts 20:10

o Paul goes running down the steps and THROWS HIMSELF ON TOP OF Eutychus! Eutychus then rises from the dead!

§ God sends Eutychus back from the dead!

o “The Story of Eutychus shows us God’s power.” Fill in the blank

§ Eutychus is brought back to life! That’s a SHOW OF GOD’S POWER!

o What a show of who God is! But, we don’t need to see someone brought back to life to be struck by WHO GOD IS! Look around you!

§ That’s what we’ve been seeing over the last few weeks! And everytime we go to church, we should be reminded of the fact that GOD IS POWERFUL AND GOD IS GOOD!

· All around us we see God’s power on display! We see it in scripture, we see it in our own lives and we see it in the lives of others, as we gather together as a church and walk together!

· Verses 11-12 show us a seemingly calm reaction to what has just happened! We read, “And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.”- Acts 20:11-12

o The believers eat and they converse ALL NIGHT LONG, until Paul leaves at daybreak!

§ The believers then take Eutychus way VERY COMFORTED!

o So, in something that looks so simple and straightforward, what’s so important?

§ Well, not only do we continue to see the importance of sacrificing time, we also see the joy that comes from sharing our lives together!

· There’s a million things these believers could have done instead of going to dinner with Paul! But instead, they went and fellowshipped and saw GOD WORK!

o I’m not saying that God will raise someone from the dead every time you are gathered with other believers, but there is something TRULY SPECIAL about gathering with other believers!

· Looking at verses 13-16 we read, “But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and[b] the day after that we went to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.”- Acts 20:13-16

o Far from just being a list of cities, Luke shows us the details of Paul’s travel, showing us each of the cities he stops in, even just for a day! Paul was missionally minded, even as he traveled! We’ve seen that throughout Acts and I really believe that’s why Luke tells us all the cities!

As Paul traveled, he visited these cities and was able to be with believers whenever he was on land. We see that Paul wants to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost. But, notice that once city is missing. He doesn’t stop at Ephesus!

§ The Holy Spirit does not direct him to return and instead, Paul returns to Jerusalem!

· Paul loved those believers in Ephesus, but not as much as he longed to serve God.

o Instead of returning to Ephesus, he reaches Miletus and he sends for the elders from Ephesus. That’s where we’ll pick up in the fall! We’ll pick up with Paul’s tearful goodbye to the Ephesian elders!

§ Remember, one of the most important keys to a healthy church that Paul saw was HEALTHY, STRENGTHENED, ENCOURAGED ELDERS WHO COULD DIRECT THE CHURCH AND LEAD IT FORWARD! Remember, the word for elder and pastor is the same! Paul wants to see HEALTHY CHURCHES, LED BY HEALTHY LEADERS!

· That’s what is going to happen at Miletus in the rest of Acts 20.

· CONCLUSION: As we wrap up our time in Acts this spring, we had honestly an extremely applicable passage. There’s about 50 different applications that we could takeaway from today, from the importance of fellowship to God’s power, to the importance of sacrificing time, to even the importance of rest!

o I want to boil it down to 2 though.

· God is at work in many powerful ways.

· We are commanded to go!

o Let’s break these down.

§ First, God is at work in many powerful ways.

· Today, in Acts 20, we saw this as God raised Eutychus from the dead! But, God’s work is not limited only to the time of the Apostles! God is still at work today!

· People are being saved, the gospel moves forward and God continues to make himself known!

o GOD IS WORKING! Look at the opportunities that God has given us to reach our community! Just think with me even about the history of this church! This church is still around after 150 years! What a testament to GOD!

§ God is working and practically speaking, there’s a simple response to that. We should fall on our knees PRAISING GOD!

§ If you have placed your faith in Jesus and you have a personal relationship with God, this story from Acts 20 should bring praise! If you do not have a personal relationship with God, I want to challenge you to consider that. (GOSPEL)

o Now, the next application that we see today, is one that we’ve seen honestly throughout the entire book of Acts. That is that WE ARE COMMANDED TO GO!

§ I can’t stress the importance of this enough! The believers in Acts wear their faith on their sleeve, they show it to the world! And not only do they show it to the world, they TAKE IT TO THE WORLD!

§ Honestly, the challenge is simple and it’s the same challenge that we keep seeing. We need to TAKE THIS TO THE WORLD!

· And I’m not just talking about us as individuals, WE AS A CHURCH need to take this to the world AND WE CAN!

o I know that may seem impossible in Hancock county, but I promise you that the Bereans didn’t expect to be talked about 2,000 years later! They didn’t expect to be talked about in every corner of the world! They were farmers who loved the Lord!

§ And yet here we are, seeing them again in Acts 20, in addition to representatives from many other churches!

§ We see these churches GOING! They are not content to sit at home and hope that someone else fulfills the great commission, THEY GO AND THEY DO IT!

§ Likewise, we need to GO AND DO IT!

· Whether it’s as an individual, or as a church, we need to live out the Great Commission.

o Coming into the summer, I want to highlight 3 ways that WE CAN DO THIS!

§ Nauvoo

INtentional, unintentionality evangelism starting the 21st! Reach the community on wednesday’s together!

Supporting Living Hope- Be praying for the Lord to give us wisdom and opportunity to SUPPORT AND TO SERVE ALONGSIDE THEM!

§ VBS

HELP US WITH VBS! It’s not just about kids, help us by talking to parents WHO BRING THEIR KIDS! LET’S MAKE OUR VBS SOMETHING THAT IS FIRMLY MISSIONAL SO THAT FROM THE FIRST STEP SOMEONE TAKES IN OUR BUILDING THEY KNOW WHAT WE ARE ABOUT AND THEY KNOW THAT WE CARE!

§ TELL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, ETC! BRING THEM TO CHURCH! LET OUR MESSAGE ON A SUNDAY MORNING START THAT CONVERSATION FOR YOU!

GBC- TAKING FRESHMEN, EASIEST CONVERSATION STARTER- “WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE MESSAGE?”