Acts 20:22-38
Notes
Transcript
Don’t Walk with our Eyes Closed: Pay Attention
Don’t Walk with our Eyes Closed: Pay Attention
You know it is interesting to consider all that happens in our lives over the course of just a month.
Think about it, we have done from summer and vacations to school getting back into session. And in the course of all this, think of all that has taken place.
You had to begin readjusting your schedules, getting clothes and supplies for the new school year. And there are a dozen other parts toward this....
So many things, some stressful, some not, but it has indeed been a busy time.
And in the course of these days, how have you taken care of your spiritual life?
Are you spending time in the word of God, are you praying? It is so easy as with any other part of life to allow one or more areas of our life to become neglected.
As we come back to chapter 20 today, we find that the chapter wraps up with Paul exhorting the elders of the church at Ephesus to be careful, to stay watchful and alert to ensure that the church does well.
So lets begin right here, we talked about this a little bit last week, but we didn’t dive into it fully.
It is the topic of finishing well.
1. Finish Well.....
Paul will use this analogy many times as he walks with the Lord and speaks to encourage others. Do you ever think about the end of your days?
What do you want the Lord and others to say about you at the end of your days? Well there is probably many things, but truly at the end, I think we would want it known that we did our best… We finished the last days no matter how good or bad those days were that we finished well.
So lets dive into this.... Look at 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.
Lets look at this verse and discover what the Apostle is communicating to the elders of the Ephesian church.
A. I’m Not the Focus.... Paul, while an Apostle, and important in the Kingdom of God and the Lord’s work. He recognizes he is not the focus. The Lord Jesus is the focus.
Moving that focus off us and placing it on the Kingdom of God and the work God has called us too, teaches us we are not the center of the universe.
When Paul says my life isn’t precious or of value, this isn’t some unhealthy look at ones life. He is just shifting the focus and saying regardless of what the world would have us believe, God is the focus.
So consider that… Is that how we live? Or do we have a faulty or unhealthy paradigm for our lives.
How often do people pursue what they want regardless of what God wants or says in His word. When people do that, we are saying we are the most important, my wants, needs and my desires matter most.
And people say God will understand.... Are we sure about that....
We have to become second and Jesus must be first...
And then Paul tells us that is precious to him, His desire is to finish my course and the ministry I recieved from Jesus.
B. Paul wants to finish the course, the race set before him.
When you look at the the scope of Paul’s letters it is certain he did not know what was going to happen to him, but he did know his desire was to be faithful. He wanted to finish well.
Paul speaks of life as running a race. In I Cor 9, Paul says that in a race all the athletes are competing, running the race but not all win, not all are first. But all are striving, they are running their best to finish the race.
Listen to Paul in Phil 3:13-14
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
I press forward or strain forward.... Paul says his focus is finishing and doing his best to obtain the goal, the prize. The upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul’s ultimate joy would be to complete God’s work in His life.
This motivated Paul to keep pushing until He was called home.... He wasn’t important, Jesus was important.
The most important part of our life is not just this physical life, our children and families, these are the physical blessings, but it will not matter if we neglect Jesus in this life.
As Paul’s life was coming close to an end, he said this to Timothy.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Paul knew regardless of all he experienced, dealt with and suffered through, even suffering to the point of death. He wanted to only finished well.
Stop right there and ask yourself, Am I finishing well? Am I living in a way that serves to complete the calling of God in my life?
That is a challenge, it is tough, the devil will do His best to wear you out when you commit yourself to walking and serving the Lord Jesus.
But therein is our greatest joy my friends. Finishing well.
2. Be Watchful....
As Paul is preparing to leave this city heading toward Jerusalem, He makes sure to exhort those leaders to be watchful, to pay careful attention to those in the body.
He uses the phrase pay attention too in verse 28, which refers to being watchful, it cares the idea of taking notice of and or keeping an eye upon them.
So lets look at our text this moment… 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, we know is speaking to the elders of the church, but there are thoughts here that are applicable to every born again believer my friends.
Lets look at this.... first off..
A. Paul says Pay Attention to yourselves and to the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Now we see the term overseer, in the Greek the word is episkopos, which is the office elder or shepherd/pastor; over those whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you.
So as leaders in the church, Pastor, deacons and other ministry leaders, we are to be careful and care for those whom God has appointed you over.
We are to take the godly principles of the Word and invest them in those God has placed under us.
So check on your life, (pay attention to yourself and those around you....) Inspect your own heart daily and lead those under you well.
Listen we know the devil is seeking to ruin, destroy homes, families, believers and their relationships every day. if he is looking every day, we better be inspecting our heart daily to ensure we are walking properly.
But lets carry this idea even more practically: Can we apply this to the home?
Yes, we can take those principles and say parents, inspect your heart daily, and lead your children and grandchildren well. amen...
We can take these principles and invest them into work, into every area of life.
Friend, God has blessed you and has given so many to you, you are to lead them well.
B. But look at the second part of this, we are to lead those under us well, in ministry why? Verse 28 says Acts 20:28
Acts 20:28 (ESV)
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.
Those in the church that we are to care for were obtained, brought into the family of God by the blood of Jesus.
They were purchased out of sin, out of death by the blood of Jesus.
What an incredible price Jesus paid upon the cross to redeem us, to take all those who call upon the name of Lord from death unto life. To redeem us from our sin, and to impute His righteousness upon us so that we now “right” and justified in front of God.
Jesus paid great price, He gave his life for us and those around us.
We, We are to do our best to take care of, lead, instruct those whom God has placed in our lives.
Paul has done this, literally lived this out in front of these leaders and those in the church family as He cared for them and taught them.
But then, knowing he is about to leave them, and will not see them again, look what Paul warns of.... verses 29-21
Acts 20:29-31
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.
C. Paul warns of wolves.....
Paul is urgent in his plea, why? He knew fierce wolves would strike and hurt the flock, the church.
These fierce wolves are false teachers, gnostics and others promoting heresies that would divide and destroy the church.
Listen, we should not be surprised that Paul warns of a great spiritual battle that is coming… in truth they are always coming, they are hoping to divide, hurt and destroy the church.
Why?
The church is the organism, the living body of the family of God. We are called to carry the Word of His Grace and Salvation to world in need… if the church is divided and broken… it cannot do it.
So the wolves are there to tear us apart and keep us from going and telling....
listen, let me share some passages with you..
Ezekiel the OT prophet, knew of these dangers in Ezek 22:27
27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
And even on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned those he taught there. Matt 7:15
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
And friends, the world is full of wolves… Jesus knew this, listen to Luke 10:3
3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Jesus was warning the disciples, they were going out into the world and it was dangerous out there.
Paul will later warn young Timothy about the days to come, there will be those who will abandon the truth in the hopes of ungodly and and false views in I Tim 4.
My friends, We must pay attention. We cannot allow the wolves of the world to hurt and to destroy our church families...
Paul says in verse 31, be on the alert, watch and pray....and Paul says remember my example with you.
My friends, care for those whom God has placed under you whether it be in ministry, in our families or other places so that none are lost....
Remember the evil one who wanted to sift Peter, Luke 22:21, So he wants to destroy all who seeks to live for God.
I have always remembered this verse 1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Do you hear what Peter says here, be on the Alert, be always watching, praying because the devil is seeking to devour you...
He wants to destroy it all.... that is His mission.
Be on the alert......
Now just one last thought, You have heard Paul refer to time and time again… Be faithful
3. Be Faithful.....
As Paul is closing his address to the elders of the church at Ephesus, he gives them an exhortation to continue in the faith and not give up. Be Faithful.
Lets look at verses 32-36 here...
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. 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.’ ”
36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
So look at that, Paul says.... I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace...
In the midst of such spiritual warfare, Paul commits them to God and the word. So what does that mean?
Paul is reminding them that they are in the safekeeping of God and along with this, the Word of God will keep them spiritually sound.
In these two areas, listen to what Paul says here
A. It can build you up.... To be built up is to be strengthened, it is to be made sound so that one (here the church and its elders) can continue and not fail.
Listen to Paul in his letter to the church at Colosse, Col 2:6-7
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
A beautiful point here, the Christian ( literally ) the one who has received Christ is called to walk in Him. To walk in a godly and acceptable way
So walking in faith, we are rooted, built up…or edified is the other word… But think as we are anchored in Christ and in the word, we send down roots like a tree and that holds the tree so that as it grows and matures upwardly it is established it will not topple over,
All this happens by faith
Paul is calling on the elders of the church at Ephesus to be built up, to be well established in the faith, in the truth. This would enable them to stand during the difficult days to come.
If you are well established in the faith, in the word, you are not easily shaken, you are not easily disturbed.
If you are built up, established in your faith. You will not be shaken, you will not be broken down when the wind comes, when the earth shakes, you are stable.
And then look at the second part of what he is telling them, not only will you be built up, but also it will provide you an inheritance.
What was their inheritance? Well, when we think of an inheritance, we are thinking of money, wealth, possessions that are left behind and given to children when parents pass away.
For the child of God, our inheritance is what came to be promised to us after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Our inheritance is that future event, I love the words of Jesus in John 14:1-3
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Our inheritance is being in His presence, and how do we know… We are in the will my friends, the book of Life.. Our names are recorded there and as such we are guaranteed to receive such a treat, a blessing.
Remember the Holy Spirit is lives in us and walks beside of us, He is our guarantee… Listen to Paul as He writes to the church in Ephesus, in Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
The fact that you are saved, that the Holy Spirit resides in you is you greatest guarantee of the blessing to come… What has been prepared for us, heaven.
How awesome it is my friends that we have an inheritance my friends! Listen to Peter share, I Peter, chapter 1 VV 3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Can it really get any better my friends, No… in Jesus Christ we have it all....
And it can never be lost or taken away. Glory.
Listen my friends, God has prepared for your present and most certainly your future.
And knowing this, He is simply saying walk faithfully!
Walk faithfully and the rest is taken care off...
In all this, Paul finishes His word of encouragement and then prays for them before departing from them...
The challenge for us my friends is to keep our focus so tjhat we finish well.
Do not all yourself to be distracted, especially in your faith, finish well.
Be watchful, the you seek to live from God, know that their will be those who will seek to obscure your vision and keep your focus on those things that do no truly matter.
Be faithful, God has entrusted a lot to you, family, friends, work, and yes ministry. serve well in every area God has called you, be faithful.
In these 3 points, I know if God spoke to me, he is speaking to you. Which area are you struggling with today?
Can you stop right were you are at today and ask God to forgive you for any failures, And I believe He can empower you to go forward in peace and service.