Living The Truth of the Gospel

Introduction

Video: Truth Refocused (2:30)

Hopefully that video got you thinking about more than what is a “mulibuggins” anyway. Don’t bother googling it, I already did and got skunked…unless I spelled it wrong.

Tension

Anyway, even today the English word “Truth” is rightly defined as “that which corresponds to fact or reality”. Each one of us affirms this on a daily basis in so many ways. Because every time we ask a question, any question, it proves that believe that there is a true answer answer out there. Otherwise, we would be satisfied with any answer that we made up. Our questions prove we believe in the reality of truth.

And it is easier to see it when it comes to things like math where 2 + 2 always equals 4, but what about those other truth claims. Where do we find our source for truth for them?

We may be quick to accept that mathematical truth never changes, but even some Christians today are telling us that many of the truths that the Christian Church has held since it’s beginning are no longer true today. That the times have changed…so the truth then changes with it-!?! umm, no. Not if it was ever really true in the first place.

This summer we are after learning what is true about the Church the Jesus is still building. We have gone back to the beginning of the Church, the Ekklessia, because the Church has come a long way and not really in a straight line. There have been all kinds of branches formed and divergences from what the Church once was in cities like Corinth, Philippi and Ephesus. Not that they were getting everything right, as the Biblical record clearly shows us, but in their corrections we can find guidance for the way that we do Church today.

Last week we talked about the time when the Apostle Paul was ministering powerfully in the region of Asia Minor, specifically in the city of Ephesus. “The unstoppable movement of God” was exploding there. So much so that some of the idol makers realized that this Jesus movement thing was going to seriously cut into their financial profits. So they organized a greedy coalition and incited a confused but willing mob to oppose Paul and the Gospel Message that he preached.

There was nothing that any of the Christians could do to settle down this angry mob, but then God powerfully and mysteriously worked through an unbelieving city clerk to address the mob and dissolve the riot. After these events, Paul set out from there to accomplish exactly what the Holy Spirit told him he would do in verse 21 of chapter 19 says

Acts 19:21 (ESV)

21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

(map)

And the first half of chapter 20 walks us through Paul getting after much of this. Along with his travel details, it offers one story that I just can’t pass up telling you. Paul was preaching for a long time one night in a very crowded hall. It was well past midnight and this young man who was sitting on a window sill fell asleep and fell out the window three stories down to his death… and that is why you shouldn’t fall asleep during the sermon…no I am just kidding. But Paul did stop everything and went out to him and the young man was revived, the people were amazed and Paul was off again, continuing on his journey toward Jerusalem.

But on his way he passed by Ephesus but decides that he had better not stop because he knew that the Holy Spirit was calling him to get on to Jerusalem. Still, in his love for the Church there, he sends specifically for the Elders of Ephesus to travel down and meet him at a nearby city called Miletus. Knowing that this will be the last time he sees these men, Paul teaches these Elders for the last time. The overarching theme of his teaching was to Hold Fast to the TRUTH.

That is what we are after this morning, so let’s turn there together. You will find this story in Acts 20, starting in verse 17. It’s on page 929 in the Bibles in the chairs. I’ll pray and then we will learn from Paul’s address to these Elders together.

Truth

The first theme that we encounter this week is that...

1. Our lives demonstrate the truth of our faith in Christ to others (Acts 20:17–24).

Notice that this is a truth statement. Our lives demonstrate the truth of ....something. In this case the truth of our faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, a person may say they have faith in Jesus Christ, but that may or many not be true. It may or may not correspond to fact or reality…because talk is cheap.

How do we know our faith is true or not? Our lives demonstrate the truth of our faith in Christ to others. Stated another way, our lives give evidence of our faith. How we live our lives shows others that we have been born again, regenerated, become new by the power of the Gospel. That is what “faith in Christ” does, as we said last week, if your life is not changed by the Gospel then there is a problem with your truth claim of faith in Christ.

Let’s look at how Paul teaches this, starting in verse 17:

Acts 20:17–24 (ESV)

17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church (ekklessia) to come to him.

That is an important distinction. This was not the Church meeting in a new location, like we are going to do next Sunday when we gather together with Harvestime in Eleva. This was Paul calling the leaders of the Church together to equip them to continue to lead well in the Church back in Ephesus.

Acts 20:18-19 (ESV)

18 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, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;

These men had seen Paul’s life when he was there in Ephesus. Paul spent three years in Ephesus, longer than he was in any other city. So this was not some sort of disconnected Church leadership training, this was a reunion of battle-worn brothers in the faith. They had seen a lot of conflict together, as they battled in the name of Jesus for the hearts of the people in Ephesus. Paul continues:

Acts 20:20-21 (ESV)20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul invested well in these leaders. He toiled among them and then along side them, seeing them become the leaders that he sees before him. Leaders who could follow his example of demonstrated a consistent message of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Whether in public or private. Whether with Jews or with Gentiles their message remains the same. Repent and be born again. Turn from your old way of life and become new in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and you will have eternal life.

It is so worth it, but in a world rebelling against Him, it always cost something to follow Jesus. Somehow we have lost sight of this message in the modern Church - even though Jesus was clear about it and the Apostles including Paul here are so clear about it. It cost all of them dearly, but somehow we think it will just bring smiles, sunshine and roses for us.

And Paul has already walked through “trials” and “tears” with these men, but he lets them know that there are even more difficult days ahead. He says

Acts 20:22–23 (ESV)

22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

And as discouraging as this may sound to us, I can’t help but wonder if this was a great encouragement to Paul going forward. Not that he was looking forward to the difficulties, he isn’t crazy, but that he could know in the midst of these trying times that he is not off track but he is right where God wants him to be. There is some assurance in knowing that you are right where God wants you to be, even if things seem be going wrong all around you.

Can you imagine what it would look like if we took an attitude like that in our lives. When things get difficult and hard we are so quick to say, “God where are you? What happened? I thought you were leading me into this but now everything is so hard, people are mad at me, relationships are strained, my family is hurting and I am hurting…how did things get so off track?”

And yet here the Holy Spirit has told Paul that being “on track” will bring afflictions and imprisonment. That is hard for us to imagine, isn’t it? How could anyone accept a message like that as being from God? Paul tells us how in the very next verse:

Acts 20:24 (ESV)

24 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.

Because the gospel meant everything to him, Paul willingly risked his life in order to complete the work that Jesus had given him.

This might surprise some of you, looking at my sleek and aerodynamic physic, but I am not a long distance runner. I can’t even imagine what it would take for me to be able to complete a 26+ mile marathon, but I have read that in distance running like this the race really doesn’t start until near the end of the run.

At this point your physical body has used up all of its stored energy and you move into what it sometimes called the ‘lonely miles’––miles 20 to 26––where you must decide to either stop this madness or continue on, no matter the pain or issue. At this point it is all about the drive to finish well.

The Apostle Paul often used racing as a connecting point with audiences, especially Greek audiences, and this is the attitude that he is taking into this last leg of his journey.

Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians during the three years that he spent with these Elders and in it he says

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (ESV)

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Whether in sports or in our faith, there is always a cost to be disciplined. Paul has and will pay that price, and so he points to his own life as an example even as he calls these Elders or Overseers to also be men whose...lives demonstrate the truth of their faith in Christ to others (Acts 20:17–24).

Secondly, Paul prioritizes the Truth by charging these Church leaders to defend the Truth. Our second theme is that...

2. Our Leaders are charged with the responsibility of protecting the Church from false teachers (Acts 20:25–31).

Acts 20:25–27(ESV)

25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

God had made it clear to Paul that he won’t be back among these men again, so he can say confidently that they have everything that they need from him, now it is up to them to follow the Holy Spirit into the next phase of growing the Kingdom of God. But he warns them with a very sober warning and instruction. He says:

Acts 20:28–31 (ESV)

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. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

Protecting the flock is not for the faint of heart, and it is never easy.

Back in the late 40’s there was a young man whose father came back disabled from effects of chemical weapons used in WWII. Growing up without an involved father figure, he was drawn to the fiery preachers of the south. He would go from church to church studying how they were able to draw the attention of everyone in the room with their choice of words and their varied tones.

Many years later, largely in response to the racial prejudice that he saw in the 1960’s he decided to pursue ordination with the Christian Church himself. As a minister, He got actively involved in the civil rights movement. He built parks for kids of all races to play together, he organized soup kitchens that fed thousands, he took in single moms who had no where else to go. He reached out to all the lonely souls who had no where else to turn.

He would hold these contemporary Church services that were full of the young peoples music of the day. Each night, after the praise band had led a prolonged time of hand raising, feet moving energetic music he would get up to speak. Mimicking the energy and power of those speakers from his youth, he would bring the audience to tears and back to joy several times each evening.

Eventually everyone in his big metropolitan city knew his name as he was connected with local celebrities, politicians and the “whose who” of this large city. He was appointed by the Mayor to be the director of the local “human rights commission” and eventually he received the “Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award”. In the height of his ministry, his following was well over 3,000 people and they had to move to new buildings three times to accommodate the growth.

He was well known and well liked all over the country...but not any more. He is still well known, but his name brings nothing but anger, disdain and disgust today. This is…at least part of... the story of one James Warren Jones, otherwise known as “Jim Jones” the leader of the Jonestown cult that perpetrated the largest mass murder suicide in our nations history. 909 people lost their lives that day, including 304 children, from knowingly drinking cool aide laced with poison.

Even before Paul, Jesus warned us about wolves that would try and infiltrate the Kingdom of God. He called them “Wolves in Sheep Clothing” and no one epitomizes this better than Jim Jones. I intentionally told the story in this way because too often we forget that long with all the horrific stuff that we now know that he did, there was a time when his so called “ministry” was hitting the headlines every other week in how it was helping so many people.

Many years later, his son who obviously wasn’t there that day was asked “How could people do this? How could they stand in line and drink the cool aide while they see the effect of the poison on their friends and children ahead of them? His response was, “You would too, if you were there”.

As I reflected on that statement this past week, all I could think of was, OK…then how do we keep ourselves from ever taking even one step toward “being there”? This is what Paul is telling these Elders. Did you notice the inclusiveness of these warnings?

“fierce wolves will come in among you” or “from among your own selves will arise men”

He is not talking about the trials from those from outside the Church, from pagans or Jewish Pharisees. They have already faced that obstacle together so they know about what that is like. He is saying that there will be those who claim to have put their faith in Jesus Christ, but...it... isn’t...true.

So why are these wolves there? Why have they “gathered” together with the Ekklessia in the first place? He tells us there at the end of verse 30… “to draw the disciples after them.”

Jim Jones was never about Jesus. Jim Jones was about Jim Jones. We have extensive audio and video recordings of his teaching. He was very clear that he did not believe the Gospel message, he taught that the Bible was evil and full of errors and eventually he even came to deify himself: calling himself “Father Divine” and he taught that his religion would usher in a utopian heaven like experience.

There was nothing Christian about it, but people were fooled because he did such a good job mimicking the “Church” experience of the day…and so many people fell for it.

That is why this series on the Church is so important. May we never become dedicated to the mode or motion of the Church, but remain committed to the message. So that we are never captured by a particular messenger because we are actively pursuing the life-giving message of Jesus Christ alone.

This is why one of the Biblical qualifications for becoming an Overseer is to be able to teach. The Overseer Team, including myself, have been charged with watching over the flock and protecting them from false teaching and false teachers. The only trustworthy tool that we have to do this with is the inspired Word of God. And from this passage what we know to look for when it comes to “Wolves in sheep clothing” is to be alert to anyone who would draw disciples after themselves. The True Church draws people to become disciples of Jesus Christ, anything else sniffs like a wolf.

And like the Overseers that Paul is addressing in our text today, our team of Overseers has locked shields together too. Even in the 6 years I have been here we have had our share of trials and tears and I know this was true before I came as well. This is why it is so important that...

3. Our leaders direct the Church through Biblical, personal and prayerful relationships. (Acts 20:32–38)

I often remind you that one of the things that drew me to Friendship Church was the pursuit of this leadership structure that we have here. From this passage and many others, I believe that the Church that Jesus is building is designed to be led by a team of Biblically qualified Overseers who are personally doing life together and prayerfully seeking God’s guidance for us as a Church.

It seems clear to me that in the three years that Paul ministered along side these Overseers, he shared in this kind of relationship with them. He says:

Acts 20:32–38 (ESV)

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 Churches that Paul helped establish were never meant to remain dependent on him. Even this Church, who knew three years of Paul’s ministry, had everything they needed in their own relationship with God and the “Word of his grace”. Paul continues

33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.

35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Religion was big business in the ancient world, as we saw last week, but Paul worked hard to meet his own needs when he was among them. Demonstrating that he wasn’t in it for any sort of financial gain, like the idol makers, but only “to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

And now listen to the tenderness of his final goodbye with these dear men:

36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

This was personal for these men. They had done life together in such a way that saying goodbye under these circumstances was a very emotional experience.

I am glad to say that I have experienced this here. Your Overseers know each other. At our Overseer meetings we share both victories and sorrows together. We pray for one another. We pray for you. And we seek the Truth of God’s Word to know how to lead this Church to be all that God desires for us to be.

Gospel Application

The post-modern idea of truth being relative is beginning to show some cracks. People were willing to go along with it in some situations, but many people are waking up to the fact that we cannot really operate with no sense of absolute truth. With no sense that anything can correspond to fact or reality.

I don’t know about you, but I am looking to trust in something more transcendent, more permanent, more stable, more eternal than something that just changes because the times have changed. The times are always changing, but that doesn’t mean that truth does.

Landing

Jesus said in John 8:31-32 (ESV)

31 ... “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Paul left these church leaders, knowing that they knew the Truth. He had loved them, mentored them, supported them and most importantly he had taught them the unchanging “truth of God’s grace” the truth that sets us free. Everything else leads to bondage.

Let’s pray into this together.