Fighting the Good Fight
Acts of the Apostles • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
As we enter into Acts and chapter 20, we are entering the final porting of this book. First, we saw the ministry of the Apostle Peter to the Jews. Then, we saw the ministry of the Apostle Paul to the Gentiles begin in chapter 13. Now, we are coming to an end. The Apostle Paul, over the next eight chapters, will get closer and closer to his death, his final destination would be Rome, even though he hasn’t been there yet.
In the book of Romans 1, Paul says in v. 13
Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.
Then he writes in v. 15
So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
What Paul didn’t know is that God would allow him to get to Rome, but that he would get there as a prisoner. What Paul did know is that there was going to be trials and tribulations in his future.
He says in Acts 20:23
the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
Paul will die in Rome. Tradition holds that he was beheaded be Emperor Nero. He writes to his son in the ministry Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:6-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Paul wrote this letter to Timothy while he was a prisoner of Rome. Obviously, Paul knew that his time was coming and he was saying his goodbyes.
And Paul is saying his goodbyes here. He knows what’s coming.
The reason that he knows is because he has been persecuted by these Jews in every place that he has gone, and now he is headed back to Jerusalem.
But Paul isn’t defeated. And Paul has learned by now that he can rely on the power of God to face any circumstance or hard time, and he is going to need that realization more and more as he gets closer to his death.
From here, Paul’s life is nothing but tragedy. But these tragedies are what made Paul the shining example of what it means to be a living sacrifice for Jesus. And such is the nature of God. That God takes the brokenness of our life and He makes it worthwhile as He ushers us into Heaven’s gates.
The Book of Roman 8:28 tells us that same truth, “All things work together for the good” …and unfortunately too many people leave it there.
We like to say popular things like, “it will all work out.” and sometimes we spiritualize and we quote have of Romans 8:28. But the Scripture teaches, and the rest of Romans 8:28 says that “all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
We want to spiritualize what we have determined important, and then blame God when it doesn’t work. But our life isn’t to be lived for our satisfaction, but it must be lived to the satisfaction of God. Because the only assurance that everything will work out for good is if we work to accomplish His purposes.
Paul is doing this…he is, again, getting ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of the will of God.
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.
Paul was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem because he wanted to get there in time to observe Pentecost. Luke records that in v. 16
And what Paul is doing is he is calling the elders there in Ephesus together so that he can encourage them one more time before he is unavailable to do so in person.
Genuine Leadership in the Church
Genuine Leadership in the Church
And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,
serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;
how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,
testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because Paul knows that the end is drawing near, he is tying up loose ends.
You must remember that Paul was first an apostle, then a missionary, but that he was also a church planter and had the heart of a shepherd. He was not prepared to leave this Ephesian flock defenseless in his absence.
In v. 29, which we will get to in just a moment, he says this very plainly. He says that wolves are going to come into the flock once I leave.
You see, Jesus calls Himself the “good shepherd”. What makes Jesus the good shepherd is that he didn’t just run and hide when things got tough, but that He came to the earth and died for the sake of His sheep.
And because He willingly died for the sake of His sheep, He was taken to glory. And because Jesus was taken on to Heaven, we can know that we are going to be taken with Him if we trust Him.
So, that’s the imagery and how I know that Paul had a shepherd’s heart. He couldn’t leave for good without delivering them a warning about the false teachers that were going to come.
In fact, what he is doing in these initial verses, is he is giving them the qualifications of a genuine leader in the faith and I want to go over these character traits with you now.
A genuine leader in the faith will always have…
A Proper Motivation
A Proper Motivation
In v. 18 he calls attention the the manner he lived among them.
In v. 19 he declares that his motivation was to serve the Lord.
There are many in the ministry today that will be counted as one who worked in the church or took the stage with the wrong motivation.
It’s very easy for our flesh to take over, it’s very easy for us to think highly of ourselves…and Scripture constantly warns against it.
It’s a shame really, that when you go back in the Old Testament, even the greatest kings of Israel turned to sin later in life because they began to think highly of themselves.
While they were sitting on their earthly throne, they kicked God off the throne of their heart.
Paul writes two letters to Timothy, his son in the ministry.
Here in Acts 20, Paul is addressing the Ephesian elders, but when Paul gets closer death, he writes Timothy two more times and addresses Timothy as the pastor there in Ephesus.
Before Paul encourages the elders in Acts 20:18, he gives them a gift and commands Timothy to stay behind to watch over them, fighting away these coming false teachers.
In v. 1 it tells us that Paul left Ephesus to go Macedonia…and then in 1 Timothy 1:3
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
And so the books of 1 and 2 Timothy are a charge to pastors everywhere to manage and defend the church exactly as Paul is exemplifying right here…
and among the many charges that Paul gives in 1 and 2 Timothy, the theme of proper motivation is very present.
in 1 Timothy 2:8, Paul says that the proper motive for a man of the church ought to be prayer.
I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
in 2:9-15, it gives a charge to the women not to draw attention to themselves with how they dress and not to be a loud mouth or a busy body.
Then in chapter 3 of 1 Timothy, Paul gives the qualifications of pastors and of deacons.
In that long list found in chapter 3, the most important factor is that a leader in the church must have the proper motivation. Let me read that list.
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop (pastor), he desires a good work.
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence
(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);
not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
If he is anything but what is listed here, Paul says that he will be damaging to the church.
Paul’s warning in Acts 20 is his warning here, that people with an improper motivation will seek to lead, and we cannot promote them if they do not have the proper motivation.
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,
holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.
But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
Why must a deacon be tested first? To make sure that they have the proper motivation. To make sure they’re not on a power trip…to make sure that their ego won’t get in the way of the advancement of the gospel.
But it’s not just the man that must be qualified, the wife of the man must also have the proper motivation.
Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.
For if the husband has the proper motive but the wife does not, then he won’t have to cause the damage because she’ll do it for him.
So, Paul says of himself in Acts 20:18-19, “from the first day I served the Lord in humility.”
He wasn’t on a power trip. He wasn’t in it for the money, in fact, Paul mostly worked as a tent maker to pay his own way…and Paul certainly wasn’t in it for fame and for glory.
I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.
I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
He says in v. 19 that he “served with many tears and trials.” He didn’t serve for the benefits, he served with a proper motivation, a motivation to serve the Lord, and nothing else.
And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,
except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
His motivation was to serve the Lord. Paul writes to the Corinthians that his motivation for going to Ephesus in the first place was because of the adversaries to the Gosepl.
But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost.
For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
So Paul, in Acts 20, points to the proper motivation that any genuine leader in the faith will have.
He is giving this instruction now because he is leaving for good, and they need to know this for when the false teachers come.
“And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.
For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
So, a genuine leader in the faith will have the proper motivation. That motivation is to serve the Lord and not for personal gain…he also reminds them that a genuine leader will employ…
A Humble Method
A Humble Method
Again in v. 19, he says that he was “serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me.”
serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;
Was it right for a man with so much standing go hungry?
Was it right for a man with so much authority to be bullied and tossed around by those that He was trying to save?
Was it right for man to wash the feet of another that would deny Him the next day?
You see…at first you thought I was talking about Paul…but friend I am talking about Jesus.
A qualified leader in the church must be the most humble of them all. They must be willing to wash the feet of their enemies…to feed the ones that stole their bread…and to seek and to save those that would otherwise have them killed.
Paul says here in v. 19 that they Jews are the ones that have caused him trial and tears, and yet he still wants them to know the gospel of Christ so badly that he would take prison in order to reach them.
Why would he do that?
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
He has one motivation, and that’s Jesus. He has one method, and it’s the method of Jesus…and now we’ll see that he came with one message.
A genuine leader in the faith will only come with one message
A Gospel Message
A Gospel Message
I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,
testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have a problem today. People want everything else other than Jesus.
They want fads, they want trends, they want self-help books, they want a good self image, they want all of these things and none of those things are the answer.
They want legalism in the church or they think that we should just live however we want to.
All of those things are a false message of a better tomorrow.
But the gospel of Jesus Christ is so special. It’s truth and it’s the only thing that matters in life.
Paul warns them of these false teachers that are coming.
For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
What are these perverse things that are going to come?
Well, first, you need to know that their attack will always be against the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Second, there are two ways that these false teachers and false leaders attack the Gospel.
1. They will diminish the Grace of God
1. They will diminish the Grace of God
The Bible teaches that salvation comes by trusting in the grace of God.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Now, faith means to trust.
The gift of God, the grace of God, is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ! That’s God’s gift to the earth.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
That was His gift.
That we couldn’t earn salvation, and we couldn’t keep salvation…but Jesus did earn our salvation, and Jesus does keep our salvation.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That means we cannot lose our salvation because we never earned our salvation. God gave it as a gift. Our salvation doesn’t depend on anything that we can do, it solely depends on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Look, when Jesus died, He paid for all sin, for all of time.
When a person realizes that, understands that they cannot earn their salvation, and instead begins to trust in Jesus for salvation, then they are saved.
And not only are they saved, they are eternally secure. For, “nothing can separate us from the love of God which is is Christ Jesus.”
And so what do they begin to attack?
They begin to attack that truth. They begin to say…”Well, surely you have to do more than just trust…what you actually have to do is…”
Then they’ll say… “and if you don’t do those things, then you aren’t truly saved. Trusting won’t get you into heaven…only performing these works (good deeds) will get you into Heaven.”
There are entire religions based on that attack and that blasphemous teaching. That we must work our way into being saved.
It’s an attack on the gospel.
2. They will dismiss the Righteousness of God
2. They will dismiss the Righteousness of God
They’ll always begin this way… “We just want to love everybody. After all, didn’t Jesus love everybody? We shouldn’t judge, but we should love and we must understand that we can only do the best that we can do.”
Sound good doesn’t it?
It does…it sounds right on target!
Because, it’s true that we need to love everybody.
It’s true that Jesus loved everybody. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.”
It’s true that we ought not judge, because judgement belongs to God. Scripture says of Jesus, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
but here’s where they’re wrong…
Did you hear that caveat at the end?
“we must understand that we can only do the best that we can do.”
Friend, like I just told you, you cannot do anything.
All that talk, all that spiritual mumbo jumbo, all those happy words are just a disguised attempt to place the focus all on you.
A person who teaches like that, a person who preaches like that, is getting ready to tell you that you are ok just the way you are. They are getting ready to tell you that you are good enough to get into Heaven, and that personal sin doesn’t matter to God.
That is a lie
I’ll share Scripture in just a moment but first I want to ask you this… If God was willing to accept you in your sin, then why did He send His Son to die for it?
You see, God is a righteous God. He demands perfection and total freedom from sin if you are to enter into His presence.
Now you say, “Man, I don’t know about that. If that’s true, how does anyone get into Heaven?”
Jesus.
Jesus died to pay for your sin.
Jesus died to erase your sin.
And Jesus died to bring you out of your sin.
To continue in sin once you have accepted Jesus Christ is a slap in the face of a righteous God.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Did you hear what Scripture says?
When you came to faith in Jesus Christ, when you were saved by His grace, Scripture says that you died. Scripture says that you were buried. And Scripture says that you raised to walk in the newness of life.
Those that attack the Gospel message of Christ in this way are people who have never been saved because they continue to walk in their sin and in their rebellion against God.
Not only do they walk in their sins but they put it on display for all to see. It’s the sin of pride, it’s the sin of blasphemy. It’s the sin of saying to God, “I deserve to be with You, but I don’t need to submit to You.”
Scripture has a different view.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him (Jesus) who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
How does someone get their name in this Book of Life?
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Along with accepting Christ is accepting His Word. It means accepting Scripture. It means recognizing that you are dead in your sin and you need Jesus to make you alive.
It’s not a popular thing, but Scripture says,
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
How does someone become righteous? Well, I’ve already said it…but in the same chapter and one verse later Scripture says,
And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
If you want to be with Jesus in Heaven, then you must believe in Him and submit to His authority. There is no other way.
Conclusion
Conclusion
When Paul warned the Ephesians elders about the wolves to come, he was warning them that some will come with the wrong motivation. He says that they will pretend to work for the Lord for personal or financial gain.
Then he says that they will come as men of authority treating the people of the church like second class citizens. People that should bow down to their rule.
Then he says that they will come and they will either say, “You have to trust in Jesus and do good works to be saved.” Or they will say, “You can be saved and continue to live in sin.”
Paul warns them…fight the good fight, protect the sheep. Don’t let these false teachers come in and taint the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to 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.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Here’s what I know…
I don’t deserve to be saved.
But the Bible says that God sent His Son to die for the sins of man.
Even though I don’t deserve it, God in His mercy and in His grace has saved me.
I was saved, not because anything I did, but I was saved because of what Jesus did.
And because Jesus has saved me, my life is His, and I submit to Him.
He is my Lord, is He yours?
