Acts 20

So a week ago we had the opportunity to hang out at the Austin-Pardoe house and listen to some great live music at our Outdoor Concert. A lot of what Rachel played were new songs that she had written since the beginning of the pandemic. The songs were written to be a part of a funeral service, a requiem of sorts, and they were stunningly beautiful. They really were. Themes of loss and lament were mingled with the joy of the resurrection in a way only possibly thanks to the gospel.

But it got me thinking about funeral services. Have you ever noticed that so much of what we value and pursue in life is rarely talked about at a funeral service? David Brooks is a columnist probably best known from the New York Times, he wrote a piece back in 2015 all about this. He suggested that there were two sets of virtues. Resume virtues and eulogy virtues. The resume virtues are the things we bring to the marketplace: your promotions, the big projects you were a part of, your skill with a particular software.

But you never hear much about these virtues at a funeral service, do you? No, the virtues that seem to endure even after we’ve passed, and the virtues we want to be remembered by, are what Brooks calls the eulogy virtues. They describe the character of our lives, and, it’s funny: every time we are attend a funeral service, we all collectively agree that eulogy virtues are far more important, and yet day-to-day we tend to spend most of our time cultivating and pursuing and thinking about our resume virtues.

Well, our passage this morning is essentially a eulogy, given by Paul, about himself. This is at the end of his third and final missionary journey, one final loop circling back on churches he has started, supported, and encouraged. Paul knows that this is the lat time he’s going to see these friends. He knows what awaits him in Jerusalem, and so he gives a farewell address. And like any good eulogy, Paul talks about the character of his life and his ministry. He doesn’t talk about how many people he’s baptized, or how to give a good sermon, or how to ask the right questions at a Bible study. No, he talks about the character of his ministry. So this morning I want to look at how Paul characterizes his life and ministry in two ways: he is steadfast and he is focused. Look with me at Acts 20, verse 17:

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 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. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Angela Lee Duckworth is a psychologist out of the University of Pennsylvania who conducted an extensive study across a diverse field of difficult situations. They went to West Point and tried to predict which cadets would stay and which would drop out. They went to the national spelling bee and tried to predict which children would advance the farthest. They went to schools in tough neighborhoods and asked which rookie teachers would last the entire term and improve the learning outcomes for their students. They went to private companies and tried to predict which sales people would keep their jobs and make the most money. And in all of these different situations, there was one characteristic that emerged as a significant predictor of success, and it was not social intelligence, not networking, not good looks, or even IQ. It was what she called, “grit.”

“Grit” is passion and perseverance for long term goals. It’s stick-to-it-iveness. It’s remaining steadfast even when things become difficult. And throughout our journey through the book of Acts, it should be clear by now that Paul was the most steadfast guy you’ll ever meet. He’s the guy who never gave up. He’s the guy, who in every city he came to, he was beaten and driven away. He’s the guy who kept proclaiming the gospel again and again, before synagogue leaders and philosophers, the poor and the rich, even though, when describing himself, he said he was not a good public speaker! He recognized fully that he was not an impressive person, and yet the Lord used him in ways that blow us away.

Paul says that he served in all “humility and with tears and with trials.” That’s the kind of thing you say after a difficult journey over a long period of time, having experienced both great reward and great failure. Humility, tears, and trials were constants in his life, and yet he did not shrink away from declaring the whole counsel of God. What he means is that he didn’t shrink away from the hard parts of the gospel. He didn’t just talk about the comforts of the gospel, but the challenge as well. He didn’t just talk about grace, but the importance of holiness as well. It wasn’t just our life in Christ, but it was also dying to our selves. Paul’s ministry was steadfast and gritty.

But what enabled him to be so steadfast in his ministry? What gave him the stamina? The grit? Well, Paul firmly believed that the life that he was living was not his own, but it was Christ living through him. Galatians 2:20 has also been a favorite verse of mine, and this is what Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

How was Paul able to be so steadfast in his ministry? How was he able to continue on? Because Christ continued for him. Jesus was the most steadfast person to ever have lived. A friend of mine, who hates running, said he likes to run to a destination - there and back, because if he gets tired, there’s only one way he’s getting home, so either he walks and it takes forever, or he continues on even though he’s tired. He said he just can’t run on a treadmill, because it’s so easy to stop. Jesus is as steadfast as they come, because at any point in his ministry he could have just stopped. At any point while suffering on the cross, he could have just hopped off the treadmill. These people are too rebellious, too cruel, too stubborn, too violent. I’m out. He could had done that! But he stuck it out. He was steadfast in his love and in his grace.

And this is the life that Paul now lives. He doesn’t live a life directed by his own desires. He lives a life directed by the love and grace of Christ, and that life leads to sacrifice. It’s the same for you and me. Our life in Christ leads to sacrifice. There is no life in Jesus outside of a life of sacrifice. And the only way we can continue, and be steadfast, in our ministry is in his power.

The second characteristic we see is that Paul is focused. He is single-minded for the gospel. Paul knew that he had been called to follow Jesus and to work the harvest of God. He knew his calling and he lived a laser-focused life on that calling.

Now here’s the thing about that we get confused about calling and being called to ministry. We typically think about calling as something super specific, a particular mission-field, a specific vocation, leveraging a specific gift or skill. And what happens is that we often spend so much time thinking about “What’s my calling? What does God want me to do? How can I follow Jesus faithfully?”

Well, Jesus was asked a question along these lines once. He was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” In 21st century language, he was asked What does God expect from us? What does it look like to live faithfully for God? How should we be living? And Jesus tells them, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and Prophets.”

There you go! How do we live a life that is faithful to God’s call? What should we do? Jesus has already told us: We should love God and we should love the people around us with every fiber of our being. This is our calling. All of us. Can it be more specific? Of course. Without a doubt your individual abilities and affections will intersect with God’s redemptive plans in unique ways - and part of being a disciple of Jesus is pursuing that, developing that, leveraging that. But our calling is never a mystery. Love God. Love people. With every fiber of ourselves.

This is what Paul is laser-focused on. His life’s focus is singular, and he’s always on guard against that which would steer him off course. Look at verse 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. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 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.

We don’t like to think about it, but there are wolves in this world. There are wolves in our churches, on our TVs, on our computer screens, and yes, even in our own hearts. We are inundated in this life with things that would pull us away from God’s word. So, how does Paul do it? How does he stay focused on the gospel of Jesus? On loving God and loving others? Verse 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.”

The only way to see the wolves for what they are is to know the word of God’s grace in Jesus. The only way to stay focused on our calling is to be covered head to toe with the truth of Jesus. In our service we pray this together, actually. During our gospel reading, when the cross typically would come into your midst, we pray, “Lord, may your word, be always on our mind, upon our lips, and deep in our hearts.” It’s a prayer of focus. Lord, let your word of grace be what fills my thoughts from the moment I wake to the moment I sleep. Lord, let your word of love be what flows from my mouth, no matter what I face today. Lord, let your word of peace be what resides in my heart, that every decision I make, I make as a servant in your kingdom. We make the sign of a cross every step of the way, on our foreheads and lips and chest, not because it’s a magical sign or anything, but as a physical prayer that it be Christ who controls our minds, our lips, and our hearts, because it is only his words that can direct us towards true and abundant life. It is a prayer of focus.

So Paul’s ministry is characterized by these two qualities: steadfast and focused. Grit and single-mindedness. Each one of us is called to ministry. Each one of us is called to serve in Christ’s kingdom. Our service concludes with that reminder. Throughout the summer and fall we’ve said together, “And now Father, send us out into the world, to do the work you have given us to do.” We’ve all got a work to do, we all have a ministry and a calling. But remember where that prayer occurs in our service. It’s after we’ve been invited to his table, to receive his grace, and to be nourished by his presence. We’re not working to earn God’s love. The quickest way to burn out on mission work is to be working and serving for God’s love rather than in God’s love. Our ministry is steadfast and focused because we are sent out on mission as the deeply loved children of God and heirs of his kingdom. We are invited first. Sent second. Redeemed first. Commissioned second. That means it is with great confidence and assurance, you and I this week can take inventory on our lives. Are we steadfast? Are we focused? Where is the Lord calling us to renew our commitment to him and his kingdom? And where are we deriving the passion and perseverance to continue on in his name?