How to Succeed as a Christian

Transcription

1 How to Succeed as a Christian Acts 20:17-38 Sunday, July 8, 2018 Acts 20:17 38 (NKJV) 17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 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, 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. [(The New International Version.) 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.] 22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 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. 25 And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 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. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 32 So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have coveted no one s silver or gold or apparel. 34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. 35 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 Page 1 of 8

2 blessed to give than to receive. 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul s neck and kissed him, 38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. We generally think of Paul as the great evangelist, traveling some 10,000 miles on three distinctively different missionary journeys. Or perhaps Paul the author, writing 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament. Or obviously, Paul the Apostle. This morning we get to see a different side of this completely sold out Christian man as Paul the Pastor. Paul has been given his Traveling Orders. When you get a set of traveling orders in the military you are told when you are going, & where & when you are expected to report to your destination. Paul has a set of traveling orders from the Lord. He is to leave now and report to Jerusalem in time for the Passover. Paul has stayed in Ephesus longer than in any other city. He was there on two of his missionary ventures. On the first in Acts 18, and then on the third in our previous chapter. Corinth came in second place for the longest stay. So, with these travel orders, Paul skirts by Ephesus, simply because it wouldn t have been just a whistle stop for him. To get to Jerusalem on time he had to go around Ephesus. But Pastor Paul, had to see the leaders just one more time. Sailing past Ephesus, his ship docks 50 miles south in Miletus. From there Paul sends for the church leaders of the Ephesian Church. Paul opens up his benediction speech by recounting his total of three years of pastoral service in Ephesus. First of all, he served with Humility. (v.19) You had better not say that you had, unless you had. Page 2 of 8

3 Humility is one of those things that just may well go unnoticed. However if it is ever mentioned, then everybody notices and can immediately tell whether it s true or not. In his writings Paul calls upon us all to serve with humility: Philippians 2:3 (NKJV) 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Romans 12:10 (NKJV) 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; Even Peter calls every Christian to a self-effacing, modest walk - 1 Peter 5:5 (NKJV) 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Comedian, Bob Hope said - I feel very humble. But I think I have the strength of character to fight it. The reason that he got a laugh with that line is because it describes who we all are. That s our natural man, our flesh. Peter and Paul remind us not to live according to our proud and resourceful old man, but to walk as Christ walked. AND - then they become a living example for us. Paul was relentlessly attacked by - we will call them The Jewish Resistance. The Jewish leaders who refused to accept the facts, pointed out in the Old Testament that Jesus Christ of Nazareth had fulfilled - - some will say 55 Old Testament prophecies, others say 353. The odds of just fulfilling 8 of them would be 10 to the 21st power. That would be one in ten with 21 zeros behind it. Of course, the resistance still holds out today. Paul s tears were not because he was persecuted and was missing out on a comfortable lifestyle. His tears were because his persecutors were missing out on eternity in heaven. Page 3 of 8

4 By now you have heard that Muslims fighting in a Jihad (a fight against the enemies of Islam), will immediately go to heaven if killed. Now you know that way of thinking is wrong. Well, the Jewish Resistance believe that they are going to heaven simply because they are descendants of Abraham and are in some way attempting to keep the law. The law - not just the big 10, but all 613 laws found in the Torah. To the church in Galatia, Paul said this Galatians 3:24 (NKJV) 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. A tutor; a teacher - What did the Law teach us? That it was IMPOSSIBLE to go to heaven by keeping the law. What then? You would need a substitute to die in your place, because the wages of sin was death. Now I couldn t be the substitute for your death nor could you be the substitute to die in my place. The reason is because we each have sinned and our death will be the penalty for our own sins. Therefore, we would need a perfect, sinless Person to die in our place. Voila! The only sinless Person is Jesus of Nazareth who fulfilled all 353 messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Therefore, if you have not accepted the atonement (I like the way Pastor Chuck would describe that word ~ atonement at-one-ment.) Being at ONE with God only comes through the cross of Jesus Christ. OK, let me say that again - if you have not accepted the atonement for YOUR sins by Jesus, you are on a path that leads to eternity in hell. A Jihad will not save you; being a descendent of Abraham, will not save you; attempting to keep even the 10 Commandments, not to speak of the other 603, will not save you. Page 4 of 8

5 The ONLY way to pay the price for your sins is either you die and go to hell, or you accept the gift of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ, by believing in Him and following Him the rest of your life. That s why Paul shed those tears. And so should we be shedding tears for lost souls today. That s not only the heart of Paul, but more importantly, it describes the heart of God. Jesus wept as He uttered these words Matthew 23:37 38 (NKJV) 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; We learned last week that Paul taught publicly (v.20) at the School of Tyrannus, and he was also doing home Bible Studies throughout the city. Paul was preaching repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus That s what I was talking about just a moment ago. Repentance - turning away from man s formula to get to heaven by jihad, heritage, works, and turn towards God and His mercy through Jesus. That takes faith. All of mankind is either putting faith in himself or investing his faith in Jesus. Where are you placing your faith today? Paul doesn t know HOW, but he knows WHAT to expect when he arrives in Jerusalem: The greatest persecution of his life. Something we would want to avoid, but since Paul has Traveling Orders from the Lord, he is content. He doesn t want to come across the finish line of his race whimpering, cowering, pulling back, flaking out! He wants to pour on the steam and charge across, whatever the cost. Here s the verse that just slays me in this paragraph v. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. What does he base his innocence on? Page 5 of 8

6 v. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Ok, that s Paul s job description. That s good for him. Yeah, I know - then he passes on that mantle to us. He hands the baton to you and me. v. 28 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. You might say to yourself right now, Well that s a big one for you Pastor Gary but not me. I m not a church overseer. Do you have kids, grandkids? Do you have a wife?. How about a brother or sister? A niece or nephew who isn t saved, or even is saved. You have a responsibility to witness, testify, encourage, and teach others in the faith. I ve been going to the VA hospital a lot this past week or so. Jim Olesen from our church has Leukemia and has been there for some time. He has had a rough go of it, but is doing much better. I understand that his brand of Leukemia isn t quite as aggressive as originally thought. Anyway, I have this hat that I put on, and I carry a Thank You card and a pin to give to various vets that I see in the hallways or on the commuter bus. My hat? It has Sgt. stripes (my rank), and the Marine Corps emblem. Hey, nobody would listen to me if I wore a Navy cap! Anyway, I hand them the card and pin. I let them read the card, What is a Veteran, which ends with the words God bless you. Then I ask them Has God blessed you? I get all kinds of replies from I think He is trying to to Everyday. That opens the door to letting me share the Gospel. I can explain that the greatest blessing is that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for our sins (yours and mine) on the cross and if you believe and trust in Him you will be saved. Obviously, there can be a lot more to our conversations. Page 6 of 8

7 I ve seen this one guy twice now. He is very appreciative and thankful that I ve taken the time to talk with him. The second time that I saw him he showed me that he was wearing the pin that I gave him. We all have a sphere where we can minister and share the Gospel. If you haven t found yours, you are probably not looking. Let me wrap our study up with these three verses. There is so much in this paragraph, we could spend hours poring through it, but we don t have hours this morning v.29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Folks, damnable heresies have been attacking the church. Bombarding from the outside, creeping around - stealth like - ever spreading from within, from the days of the apostles to this very moment. Those heresies are taking down, taking out, and destroying the testimony of many. So Paul gives you a remedy. The ONLY proven weapon against False Doctrine is. v. 32 So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. If your Bible collects dust from Sunday to Sunday, you are as vulnerable to false teaching as they come. In the Young at Heart Bible study this week we took a look at Psalm 1. Here is the Christian key to a successful walk - jot it down: Psalm 1:2 (NKJV) 2 But his [the Christian s] delight is in the law of the Lord, [or the Word of God - the Bible] And in His law he meditates day and night. Page 7 of 8

8 In the Bible, the Christian meditates day and night. Two times every twenty-four hours that you should be reading and/or meditating on the Word of God Day and Night. Page 8 of 8