Acts 20:25-38 - He Sent to Ephesus and Called for the Elders of the Church

Introduction

[ILLUS] “Every time we step outside of the comfort of our homes, we are being hunted.”

That was the comment made by a citizen after a recent shooting in a West Mobile neighborhood.

And while thugs may not be literally hunting us in our neighborhoods, we can understand someone feeling like prey for predators after a random act of violence takes place just outside your front door.

Such an experience makes us realize how vulnerable we are; it makes us realize how watchful we need to be.

[TURN] In essence, that’s the message that the Apostle Paul wanted to leave with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20.

The church is being hunted.

You elders need to be on guard.

[CONTEXT] Turn with me to Acts 20:25.

At the beginning of Paul’s farewell address to these Ephesian elders, he reminded them of his previous ministry among them and what lay ahead of him in Jerusalem.

[CIT] In Acts 20:25-38, he tells them to be on guard for themselves and for the flock.

[PROP] This is God’s command for all pastors in all times in all places.

[READING - Acts 20:25-38]

Acts 20:25–38 NASB95

25 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. 26 “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 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 have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. 35 “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” 36 When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38 grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.

[PRAYER]

[INTER] What does it take for elders, overseers, pastors (all synonyms) to be on guard for themselves and for the flock (the church)?

[TS] I believe Paul’s words reveal four NECESSARY UNDERSTANDINGS that a pastor must have if he is going to be on guard.

We’ll see two of them this morning, and two of them tonight at 6:30 when you are all back to close the Lord’s day with worship.

Major Ideas

Necessary Understanding #1: To be on guard, pastors must understand that the church is God’s treasure (Acts 20:28).

Acts 20:28 NASB95

28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

[EXP] There is only one thing that God ever purchased with His own blood, and that is His church.

God became flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus of Nazareth. He lived the life of perfect obedience to God that we should have lived; He died as our substitute on the cross to pay the price for our sins; He rose from the dead because our sins had been paid in full, and He had no sins of His own; Death, therefore, could not hold Him.

Paul later wrote to the Ephesian church…

Ephesians 1:7 NASB95

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Peter tells us…

1 Peter 1:18–19 NASB95

18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Every person who trusts in Jesus as the Son of God who lived perfectly, died sacrificially, and rose bodily is saved by God’s grace and welcomed into His church.

Is that you this morning? Have you trusted in Jesus? Have you been purchased with God’s own blood? Do you belong to His church?

The church is variously described in the Bible as the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the family of God.

Every man would guard his body if it were under attack.

Every man would guard his bride if she were under attack.

Every man would guard his family if it was under attack.

Every man would do this because his body, his bride, and his family are treasures to him.

Well, God (who is more perfectly devoted than the best of men) guards His body, His bride, His family, His church because the church is His treasure.

And He has given pastors to guard His treasure.

Look at the beginning of v. 28, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…”

The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force rather than a divine Person within the Holy Trinity. The Bible, however, refers to the Holy Spirit as a Person, describing Him as a He rather than an it; and the Bible also describes Him as taking personal action.

God the Holy Spirit speaks.

God the Holy Spirit leads.

And, here, God the Holy Spirit makes these Ephesian men elders, overseers, or pastors of the Ephesian church.

The Holy Spirit made them by selecting them.

These men could have plied some other trade; they could have invested their lives in some other work, but they were chosen for this work and could do nothing else.

The Holy Spirit made them by shaping them.

The Holy Spirit shaped their pastoral skills and their Christian character.

The Holy Spirit selected and shaped these men as pastors to guard God’s treasure—His church that He purchased with His own blood.

[ILLUS] Stan Caffy was about to get married, and the process of combining households required him to clean out his cluttered garage. Several items from the garage were going to be donated to a local thrift store including a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Mr. Caffy said that he had purchased it at a yard sale 10 years earlier, and it just hung in his garage, so he didn’t resist much when his soon-to-be-wife suggested they get rid of the document.

Michael Sparks walked into the thrift store in 2006 and saw the copy of the Declaration of Independence that had been donated by Mr. Caffy yellowed, rolled-up, and on sale for $2.48.

Mr. Sparks purchased it, took it home, and after doing some research eventually learned that he had bought one of 200 "official copies" of the Declaration of Independence commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820. He spent nearly a year authenticating and conserving the document before selling it at auction in 2007 for $477,650.

Mr. Caffy said, "I'm happy for the Sparks guy. If I still had it, it would still be hanging here in the garage, and I still wouldn't know it was worth all that. It is just life. So I'm not really upset. But you can't help but feel not very smart…"

[APP] What do you think Mr. Caffy would have done if he had known there was a treasure hanging in his garage? To what lengths do you think he would have gone to protect it? He probably wouldn’t have kept it in the garage; maybe he would have placed it in a vault somewhere, someplace with an alarm system, some place with guards, because that’s what you do with a treasure—you protect it, you guard it.

God has given the responsibility of protecting and guarding His church to pastors, but for pastors to take that responsibility seriously, they have to understand the value of the treasure they are protecting.

If they don’t, they will not guard the church like they should.

The church belongs to God.

His shed His blood to purchase it.

The Holy Spirit has made me an overseer, a pastor, an under-shepherd to the church, to guard His treasure.

[TS]…

Necessary Understanding #2: To be on guard, pastors must understand that the church is under attack (Acts 20:29-31a).

Acts 20:29–31 NASB95

29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

[EXP] Paul knew that the Ephesian church would come under attack after he left because it had been under attack while he was there.

Perhaps he had some specific ‘wolves’ in mind in Ephesus, but every church in every place in every age is under attack because Satan hates the church.

And even though it’ll never happen, he wants to see the church destroyed, so he stirs up his wolves to attack.

Notice that these are savage wolves or fierce, vicious wolves.

The KJV calls them grievous wolves because their threat to the church is very serious, very grave.

Notice that they will not spare the flock.

Wolves do not spare sheep; they prey upon sheep.

If these shepherds do not protect these sheep, they will be devoured by savage wolves who may appear in sheep’s clothing. Jesus warned us…

Matthew 7:15 NASB95

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Notice that the savage wolves would even come from the pastors of the Ephesian church. Look at Acts 20:30 again…

Acts 20:30 NASB95

30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

This is why v. 28 says, “Be on guard for yourselves…”

It is possible for wolves in sheep’s clothing to be pastors…

…wolfish pastors who speak perverse things…

…wolfish pastors who speak perverse things to draw away the disciples of Jesus after them.

But these are two ways that you can help you discern if your pastor is a wolf in sheep’s clothing…

Way #1: Does he teach the Word of God faithfully or does he pervert the Word of God to suit sinful fancies?

If he teaches the Word of God faithfully, then he isn’t likely a wolf in disguise.

But if he perverts or twists the the Word of God to suit sinful fancies, he is a savage wolf.

Many who claim to be shepherds today twist the Word of God to suit the popular sins of our age or the prevailing sins of their own flesh.

They are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Faithful pastors teaches the Word of God faithfully.

Way #2: Is your pastor trying to make disciples that look like Jesus or disciples that look like him?

If he is trying to make disciples of Jesus, he will say like Paul, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ,” (1 Cor. 11:1).

If your pastor is trying to make disciples that look like him, he will present himself as the way, the truth, and the life.

Of course, Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but what Jesus said genuinely savage wolves say blasphemously.

They present themselves as the way of salvation.

They present themselves as the source of truth.

They present themselves as the key to abundant life.

The twisted things they say make twisted disciples in their own twisted image.

True shepherds feed God’s sheep the Word of God faithfully because true shepherds (i.e., true pastors) want God’s people to look more and more like Jesus.

[ILLUS] Sinclair Lewis released his book Elmer Gantry in 1927. It tells the fictional story of Elmer Gantry, a former college athlete turned Methodist preacher who spent his pastoral career as a savage wolf preying upon God’s flock.

In the book, Gantry was ordained a Baptist but was kicked out of a Baptist seminary for not showing up to preach at a local church because he was drunk.

Gantry, however, managed to become a Methodist preacher, and soon proclaimed God’s love from the pulpit while womanizing and swindling.

And this he did repeatedly for years because there was no Christ in him.

The book concludes with “Rev. Dr. Gantry,” as he is called, having been accused in some local news papers of immoral behavior. It’s all 100% true, of course, but he has denied it, and now Gantry has to face his church on a Sunday morning.

He comes on to the stage not sure what to expect, but the church erupts in cheer after cheer after cheer!

With a flair for the dramatic, Gantry drops to his knees, begins to sob, and holds his hands out to the congregation. All 2,500 attendees drop to their knees as well; the people on the steps and sidewalk outside, all the way down the block, drop to their knees too, and Gantry says through his tears…

“‘Oh, my friends, do you believe in my innocence, in the fiendishness of my accusers? Reassure me with a hallelujah!’

Sinclair Lewis writes, “The church thundered with the triumphant hallelujah, and in a sacred silence Elmer prayed…

“‘O Lord, thou hast stooped from thy mighty throne and rescued thy servant from the assault of the mercenaries of Satan! Mostly we thank thee because thus we can go on doing thy work, and thine alone! Not less but more zealously shall we seek utter purity and the prayer-life, and rejoice in freedom from all temptations!’”

It was all fake, of course, even as he prayed “(Gantry) turned to... the choir, and for the first time he saw that there was a new singer, a girl with charming ankles and lively eyes, with whom he would certainly have to become well acquainted.”

The fiendish, fictional preacher in Elmer Gantry is the epitome of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

[APP] Sinclair Lewis was no friend of the church, and the fictional preacher certainly created a stir.

Elmer Gantry was banned in Boston.

Some threatened the author with physical violence.

One said Lewis ought to serve five years in prison for writing the book.

Famed evangelist, Billy Sunday, said that Lewis was Satan’s cohort.

But Sinclair Lewis didn’t invent Elmer Gantry out of thin air. He conversed with various ministers in his day, and from those conversations he learned of real events that helped shape the fictional main character in his book.

But the wrong conclusion would be that every pastor is an Elmer Gantry; every pastor is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing. After all, those are the ones we hear about—Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, Ted Haggard, Bill Hybels, Ravi Zacharias, Carl Lentz, and on and on.

But for every “Elmer Gantry” there are, praise God, hundreds of Tom Carsons.

[ILLUS] In his book, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor, Don Carson recounts the ordinary pastoral ministry of his father, Tom.

Tom never served a large church, but he guarded himself, and he guarded the church that Jesus called him to pastor.

In a town that was heavily Roman Catholic, he warned his people and sent out tracks trying to turn people away from the false teachings of the Catholic Church.

And although he often felt inadequate, he fed his people the Word of God so that they would look more and more like Jesus.

His son, Don, found many journal entries from his father that said something similar to, “Preached this morning on Romans 6—poorly.”

Don, however, didn’t remember his father as a poor preacher and neither did the members of those churches that he served; they remembered Tom as a faithful under-shepherd loyal to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

The church has enough Elmer Gantrys.

I want to be a Tom Carson.

[TS]…

Conclusion

So, what should you do with all this? This sermon has been a word to your pastor more than a word to you, but let me give you a few brief things you can do that will help me guard myself and guard His church.

First, watch your pastor.

Watch your pastor and imitate him only so long as he imitates Jesus.

Watch your pastor and confront him if you see something sinful in his life.

Second, listen to your pastor.

I don’t mean “listen to me and do what I say”; I mean make sure that everything I tell you comes from the Word of God.

So listen to your pastor closely, and listen with your Bibles open. Be like the Bereans who examined everything Paul said against the Scriptures.

And, finally, pray for your pastor.

Pray that he would guard himself and guard the church.

Pray that he would understand that the church is (that you are!) God’s treasure.

Pray that your pastor would always give you the Word of God faithfully so that you become more and more like Jesus.

[PRAYER]