Acts 20:17–38 | Gospel-Centered Community at Ephesus
Word & Spirit at Ephesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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If today were your last chance to speak to those closest to you, what would be the most important thing for them to remember?
After three years in Ephesus, the time has come for Paul to say farewell to the church in Ephesus.
[MAP1: Paul travels to Macedonia, Greece & Asia Minor]
Paul travels to Macedonia and Greece encouraging the churches he had planted
[MAP2: Paul travels to Troas and Miletus]
Paul travels back via Troas & Miletus.
He sails pass Ephesus because he wants to make it back to Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
From Miletus, he asks the elders of the church in Ephesus to come to him (Acts 20:17)
This would be the last time Paul would see his friends at Ephesus. He has one final message to give to them in person
Let’s read Paul’s words
Read Acts 20:18-38
Paul wants to make sure that the church community remains strong. How is that going to happen?
Main Idea: The gospel of grace is both the spark that starts the fire and the fuel that keeps it burning.
You know the gospel of the grace is God is dear to Paul’s heart. He tells them that he is determined to go to Jerusalem even though he knows that the road ahead is marked with suffering (v. 22)
“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.” (Acts 20:24)
The gospel of grace is essential.
Concordance: Grace
ESV | 138x
Paul | 2/3
What is God’s grace?
“God’s grace is unmerited divine favor, a favor from which comes many gifts.” Lexham Survey of Theology
Ephesians 2:8–10 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Religion says “do.” The gospel says “done.”
The gospel of grace is both the spark that starts the fire and the fuel that keeps it burning.
It is both the foundation and the framing
It is both the diving board and the pool
It is the source of our justification and the power of our sanctification.
Grace is the power of God to save and transform lives. You will never graduate from Grace University.
“The entire Christian life from start to completion is lived on the basis of God’s grace to us through Christ.” Jerry Bridges
What does God’s grace looks like in a gospel-centered community?
5 marks of a Gospel-Centered Community :GRACE
G – Generous Living
G – Generous Living
Generous living is willingness to serve even when it is inconvenient (vv.18-19)
“You yourselves know how I lived among you
serving the Lord with humility
in the midst of TRIALS
Generous living is putting others before stuff (vv. 33-34)
I didn’t serve you in order to things from you.
I didn’t do it for the money or the expensive clothes (the apparel of kings/officials)
Paul used his hands to work in order to serve others rather than exploiting them for his own personal profit.
Generous living says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (v.35)
I was a wretch, I remember who I was
I was lost, I was blind, I was running out of time
Sin separated, the breach was far too wide
But from the far side of the chasm
You held me in Your sight
So You made a way, across the great divide
Left behind, Heaven's throne, to build it here inside
And there at the cross You paid the debt I owe
Broke my chains, freed my soul, for the first time I had hope
Philippians 2:4–8 “4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
What does a gospel-centered community look like?
Those who practices generous living have experienced the gospel of the grace of God. Religion says, “serve for God’s acceptance.” The gospel says, “Serve from God’s acceptance.”
R – Relationships through Authentic Connection
R – Relationships through Authentic Connection
Paul’s ministry was about relationships. “You know I lived among you…”(v. 18)
Paul build gospel-centered, grace-based, authentic relationships using the following two ingredients: truth and tears.
Gospel-centered relationships are built on God’s truth
“I did shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable.” (v.20)
“repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus” (v.21)
“I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” (v.27)
Watch out for false teachers/fierce wolves who speak twisted things to draw you away from the gospel of God’s grace: legalism/license
Gospel-centered relationships are build with tears
“You yourselves know how I lived among you.. serving the Lord with all humility and with tears.” (vv. 18,19)
He genuinely cared about them. It wasn’t for show (public/private, house to house) (v.20)
For three years, “I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.” (v. 31)
Paul did not just share facts, he shared his heart with them like a loving caring parent.
As Paul was ready to take off, “And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,” (v.37)
Embracing & kissing. May I remind you that these are all dudes.
Application: motivation: Gospel humility. You don’t have to wear a mask.
In the gospel we discover that we are far worse sinners than we ever imagined, and yet, we are far more loved and accepted than we could ever dreamed.
A – All People Embraced
A – All People Embraced
Grace and truth are not mutually exclusive. Embracing all people does not equal approving of their sin.
Paul shared the same message to both Jews and Greeks: repent from your sin and turn to God by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. (v.21)
Everybody is in a different journey. Following Christ’s example by meeting people where they are in life. Striving to see people as God sees them, with love and grace.
We value embracing all people because all people matter to God.
As a church we want aim to daily strive to see people as God sees them. We want to make sure that we don’t see people through a political lens. People are not the enemy.
“We see, therefore, even our most passionate critic not as an argument to be vaporized but as a neighbor to be evangelized. This doesn’t mean that we back down one iota from the truth. But we proclaim the whole gospel of truth and grace, never backing down from either.” Russell Moore, Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel.
Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody has time to invite the neighbor over for a meal.
C – Confident and Expectant Prayer
C – Confident and Expectant Prayer
Believing that God hears and answers our prayers.Trusting that God is always working for His glory and our good.
Paul is constrained by the Spirit. That is, he is bound or compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. Like a sailboat driven by the wind. The Holy Spirit is directing Paul to continue God’s mission by going to Jerusalem.
I believed prayer played a key role in discerning God’s will.
Acts 13:2–4 “2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”
We see Paul teaching and practicing prayer:
Acts 20:32 “32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace…”
Acts 20:36 “36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.”
Ephesians 1:16 “16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,”
Ephesians 6:18–19 “18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,”
Application: 60 days of prayer with your spouse.
E – Equipping & Empowering
E – Equipping & Empowering
Discovering and strengthening the unique gifts God has given each person.Creating opportunities to serve and grace to grow through both success and failure.
Paul equipped through teaching
Acts 20:20 “20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,”
Acts 20:31 “31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.”
Paul equipped through example by living out what he taught.
Paul empowered the elders for their role: care for the church
Acts 20:28 “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.”
Everybody has a role to play in the body of Christ.
“You will never exhaust the supply of God’s grace. It will always be there every day for you to appropriate as much as you need for whatever your need is.” Jerry Bridges.
Conclusion: The gospel of grace is both the spark that starts the fire and the fuel that keeps it burning.
"Unfathomable oceans of grace are in Christ for you. Dive and dive again, you will never come to the bottom of these depths." (Robert Murray M'Cheyne)
"The difference between believing that God is gracious and tasting that God is gracious is as different as having a rational belief that honey is sweet and having the actual sense of its sweetness." (Jonathan Edwards)
"I am throwing all my good works overboard, and lashing myself to the plank of free grace; for I hope to swim to glory on it." (Charles Spurgeon)
"Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon." (John Piper)
"No matter where you have been, what you have done, or what has been done to you, the grace of God can wash you clean, consecrate you as his child, and restore what sin has stolen." (Garrett Kell)
"Grace is forgiveness of sin, not approval of it." (Jared Wilson)
"God’s grace didn’t get us going then leave us to get by on our works. Grace didn’t just justify us in the past, it sustains us in the present and will deliver us in the future." (Randy Alcorn)
"There is more grace in God’s heart than there is sin in your past." (Erwin Lutzer)
Grateful law-keeping is the saved sinner's response to received grace. The rest of our lives are a way of saying, "thank you." (Derek Thomas).