Acts 20-21 Die, Defend, Live the Gospel
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Last words have meaning -
What would be your last words to your-
Children – I love you and I am proud to be your dad. No matter what, follow Jesus even if it costs you your life. It will be a life well lived.
Spouse – I am thankful for you; I could never imagine how much I have loved you and been loved by you. Be strong, stay the course, and step out in faith – God will meet you there.
Friends – Thank you for accepting me, warts and all. Now go expand the Kingdom of God.
Church – Keep Jesus and the Kingdom of God the center of all you are, love each other deeply, open your arms to those who need Jesus most, be patient God is expanding His Kingdom in Osage. Lastly, go make disciples and do not live in a ghetto that separates you from those who need Jesus most.
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Today we explore the sayings of Paul on his last missions’ journey as he visits and says goodbye to the churches and disciples he raised up.
His words are significant and should speak loudly to us, as these were his parting instructions and encouragements to his spiritual children.
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For Paul, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the reason for life and the purpose of humanity.
Paul described the Gospel in Ephesians 1 as
· Chosen to be holy and blameless before God in Love
· Adopted through Jesus as sons and daughters of God
· Redemption from our slavery to sin and the spiritual principalities and powers.
· The reconciliation of all things in Christ both in the heavens and earth.
· Sealed for an inheritance (physical resurrection) by the Holy Spirit
It is in light of this Good News – Earth shaking news – New Kind of Human News that Paul makes three incredible addresses to the body of Christ in chapters 20 and 21.
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The Gospel is worth dying and living for.
The Gospel is worth dying and living for.
And when they had come to him, he said to them,
“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,
serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;
how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,
solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
“And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
“And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.
“Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
“For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him.
Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses.
As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
Many claim they would die for the Gospel while struggling to live for the Gospel.
living is harder than dying
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Let’s be real it is not easy living the Gospel.
It is easier to hate than to love our enemies
It is easier to default to sin patterns than to deny ourselves so we can live in victory.
It is easier to live selfishly than to live for others first.
The Gospel calls us to die to the patterns of this world that have formed us.
To pick up our cross daily.
As a young man I dreamed of being a martyr for Jesus.
Martyr – Greek – To witness.
You may not be killed for your faith but you can live your daily life as a Martyr of the Gospel!
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The Gospel must be Defended in the hearts and minds of the Church.
The Gospel must be Defended in the hearts and minds of the Church.
“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.
“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
“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.
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,
nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.
But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,
wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
Jesus warned us of this very thing. –
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Guard against a false Gospel
Grace with no holiness
The Gospel of self - You are the most important.
Two I have dealt with recently -
How do we guard against this?
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;
and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.
‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
We must return to our first love – remember from where you have fallen
And do the works we did at first
Remember when you first came to Christ, your love and desire to know him more.
Return to your first works – fervent prayer, passion to know him, trust and faith.
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Conclusion –
If Paul was here to address this Church, I believe he would remind us
The Gospel is such great news, it is the greatest of all announcements.
Therefore, we must be willing to live and die for this great news.
Elders and leaders, you must defend the Gospel in the hearts and minds of the people by pointing them back to our First Love.
The Gospel is worth dying for
The Gospel is worth defending
The Gospel is worth living