UNSTOPPABLE THEN and NOW A LIFE WELL LIVED Acts 20:17-38 Can anyone tell me what the theme of our summer seres on Acts s? That s rght UNSTOPPABLE. In the power of the Holy Sprt, the Good News of Jesus s unstoppable; Jesus Church s unstoppable; and, you and I, as followers of Jesus Chrst, are unstoppable. Even though we are unstoppable, t s temptng for us to read stores of what Jesus followers dd n the New Testament and assume that the Holy Sprt s power was just for then. But the Holy Sprt was for then and t s for now He s alve and well n us and n our world today, just as He was n the 1 st Century. As John Kng preached last week he mentoned that t s sometmes easer to see the realty of the sprtual battle n other cultures. I ve experenced that on prevous mssons trps and I also notced t on our recent trp to Hat. Along wth the realty of sprtual darkness, we also had the prvlege of seeng God move n some powerful ways and I asked one of our team members Sophe Thessen to share her experence wth us ths mornng. Sophe Thessen s Vdeo Jesus Chrst was unstoppable then n the 1 st Century accounts we read n the Book of Acts and He s unstoppable now. The secton of Acts I m preachng on today s Acts chapters 20-26. Obvously, I m not gong to be able to do justce to 7 chapters and 229 verses n one sermon. What I plan to do s gve you an overvew of what occurs n ths secton of Acts and then I want to hone n on chapter 20 verses 17-38 words of farewell that Paul spoke to the Ephesan church leaders pror to salng for Jerusalem. John Kng dd a great job last week preachng about Paul s mnstry n Ephesus, whch we read about n Acts chapter 19. He talked about the sprtual darkness Paul faced n that promnent ancent cty, whch was a hub of pagan worshp. And I really apprecated the way John brought those truths nto our current context and emphaszed the freedom each of us can have n Jesus over sn and bondage n our lves. We don t have to be bound and controlled by sn. In Jesus Chrst, we re free! 1
After leavng Ephesus, where Paul tells us that he stayed for 3 years, Paul contnued gong from cty to cty n countres that we know today as Greece, Serba and Turkey (pont these out on the map). Estmates are that he was n Ephesus from 54-57 A.D. and that he then spent a year gong through the ctes we read about n Acts 20-26. Hs tme n Ephesus and travelng through Greece, Serba and Turkey were part of hs 3 rd mssonary journey. Then Paul was mprsoned n Jerusalem for 2 years from 58-60 A.D. A lot happened durng the last year of hs 3 rd mssonary journey and hs two years n Jerusalem Durng ths 3 rd mssonary journey t s beleved that Paul wrote 1 & 2 Cornthans, Romans and Galatans. Paul rased a young man named Eutychus to lfe after he fell asleep durng one of Paul s long sermons and fell 3 stores out of a wndow and ded. Paul traveled to Jerusalem where he was arrested durng a rot n the cty. He was then taken before the Jewsh legal group the Sanhedrn, where he gave hs defense. Whle Paul was n prson, a plot was dscovered by hs nephew to kll Paul upon hs transfer to Caesarea. Paul had a chance to present hs case and wtness to 3 dfferent rulers: Governor Felx, a ruler named Festus and Kng Agrppa, before fnally appealng hs case to the Roman emperor, Caesar. Before we turn our attenton to Acts chapter 20 verses 17-38, I want to reflect a bt on the Apostle Paul s lfe. Wth the excepton of Jesus, Paul s the most promnent fgure n the New Testament and a central fgure n the Book of Acts. He wrote nearly half of the books n our New Testament. He planted churches across Asa and Europe and saw hundred and probably thousands of people come to Chrst under hs mnstry. We get a feel for the knd of man Paul was, not only through the amazng thngs he dd, but through some of the statements he made about hmself n the letters he wrote. One of hs clearest statements s found n 2 Tmothy 4:7 & 8 where Paul says, I have fought the good fght, I have fnshed the race, I have kept the fath. Now there s n store for me the crown of rghteousness, whch the Lord, the rghteous Judge, wll award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for hs appearng. 2
The Apostle Paul understood what t meant to lve lfe commtted and surrendered to God. I want us to focus on Paul s words of farewell to the Ephesan elders at the coastal cty of Mletus n Southwestern Turkey because n these verses Paul recaps hs lfe and mnstry and n so dong he provdes us wth an excellent example of how we can lve a lfe that glorfes and honors God. I ve ttled ths message: A LIFE WELL LIVED. Every one of us wants to lve our lves well. We want to make a dfference wth our lfe n the lves of ndvduals we touch and on our world. And when our tme on earth ends we want to hear the words from our Heavenly Father, Well done, my daughter, or Well done, my son. I encourage you to fnd Acts 20:17-38 n your Bble or electronc devce and to follow along as I read Paul s words From Mletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they arrved, he sad to them: You know how I lved the whole tme I was wth you, from the frst day I came nto the provnce of Asa. I served the Lord wth great humlty and wth tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. You know that I have not hestated to preach anythng that would be helpful to you but have taught you publcly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God n repentance and have fath n our Lord Jesus. And now, compelled by the Sprt, I am gong to Jerusalem, not knowng what wll happen to me there. I only know that n every cty the Holy Sprt warns me that prson and hardshps are facng me. However, I consder my lfe worth nothng to me, f only I may fnsh the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has gven me the task of testfyng to the gospel of God s grace. Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preachng the kngdom wll ever see me agan. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am nnocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hestated to proclam to you the whole wll of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of whch the Holy Sprt has made overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, whch he bought wth hs own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves wll come n among you and wll not spare the flock. Even from your own number men wll arse and dstort the truth n order to draw away dscples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warnng each of you nght and day wth tears. Now I commt you to God and to the word of hs grace, whch can buld you up and gve you an nhertance among all those who are sanctfed. I have not coveted anyone s slver or gold or clothng. You yourselves know that these hands of mne have suppled my own needs and the needs of my companons. In everythng I dd, I showed you that by ths knd of hard work we must help the weak, rememberng the words the Lord Jesus hmself sad: It s more blessed to gve than to receve. When he had sad ths, he knelt down wth all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced hm and kssed hm. What greved them most was hs statement that they would never see hs face agan. Then they accompaned hm to the shp. The frst thng I want to call our attenton to from Paul s lfe s the consstency and ntegrty wth whch he lved hs lfe. In verses 18 & 19 and 33-35 Paul says, You know how I lved the whole tme I was wth you, from the frst day I came nto the provnce of Asa. I served the Lord wth great humlty and wth tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the 3
Jews. And, I have not coveted anyone s slver or gold or clothng. You yourselves know that these hands of mne have suppled my own needs and the needs of my companons. In everythng I dd, I showed you that by ths knd of hard work we must help the weak, rememberng the words the Lord Jesus hmself sad: It s more blessed to gve than to receve. Integrty and consstency are at the heart of us lvng n such a way that God gans glory and honor through our lves. Integrty s especally mportant n our day when there s often a notceable gap between how people lve n ther publc and prvate lves and when people are so skeptcal because of the nconsstences they ve seen n people s lves. Becomng a father heghtened my awareness of the need for ntegrty and consstency n my lfe knowng that my chldren were always watchng me and mtatng thngs they d see n my lfe. I keep a poem ttled, The Lttle Chap Who Follows Me, saved on my computer. It speaks specfcally to the relatonshp between a father and son and the language s a bt dated, but ts emphass on ntegrty can speak to all of us. THE LITTLE CHAP WHO FOLLOWS ME A careful man I want to be, a lttle fellow follows me; I do not dare to go astray for fear he ll go the self-same way. I cannot once escape hs eyes. Whate er he sees me do he tres. Lke ME he says he s gong to be that lttle chap who follows me. I must remember as I go through summer suns and wnter snows, I am buldng for the years to be that lttle chap who follows me. The Apostle Paul understood how crtcal ntegrty and consstency were to hs purpose of sharng the Good News of Jesus Chrst, because people were closely watchng and examnng hs lfe. Paul had many crtcs of hs lfe, mnstry and message, but hs ntegrty and consstency ponted people toward Jesus. And ntegrty and consstency are just as mportant for our lves, because many people are observng how we lve. Another trat Paul dentfes n ths passage s, boldly wtnessng to Jesus savng power n hs lfe. Lsten to Paul s words to the Ephesan church leaders n verses 20 & 21 and 26 & 27: You know that I have not hestated to preach anythng that would be helpful to you but have taught you publcly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God n repentance and have fath n our Lord Jesus. And, Therefore, I declare to 4
you today that I am nnocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hestated to proclam to you the whole wll of God. Paul was an evangelst a callng he receved from God n a dramatc way. Few of us have the same callng as Paul and yet each of us s also charged wth the responsblty of wtnessng to Jesus savng power speakng about what He has done for us and makng others aware that hs salvaton s also avalable to them. For some of us ths seems very dauntng, because we don t vew ourselves as outspoken or capable of sharng our fath wth others. I know I ve often vewed myself that way. But at some pont God gave me some nsght that I hope you ll fnd helpful. I ve come to understand that my goal s to poston myself n such a way that I have opportuntes to be n relatonshp wth people who don t know Chrst. I pray for them and look for opportuntes to share Jesus wth them, but mostly, I m just lvng my lfe n front of them. I know that the road each of us travels on through lfe s flled wth bumps and potholes some of whch are unavodable. I want to be close enough to people who don t know Jesus that when they ht the bumps and potholes, I have an opportunty to speak wth them about the fath that I have n Jesus and what s avalable to them n Chrst. Last week I was meetng wth a man I ve become acquanted wth through a local communty organzaton. I know that he s recently walked through a famly crss. I asked how he was dong and as he talked about how hard the past month or so have been I sensed God nudgng me to pray for hm. I hestated for a bt, but the sense I had was pretty strong. So, after a whle I asked f I could pray for hm. He agreed and I prayed askng for God s peace for hm and hs famly. I don t know how God used that prayer n hs lfe, but t was a door I felt the Holy Sprt was askng me to walk through. As we tune nto God s heart of love for people, the Holy Sprt wll open doors of opportunty for us to share hs love and truth wth them. Paul was able to say that he was nnocent before God because he shared hs fath n Jesus whenever the opportunty arose. A thrd thng I see n Paul s lfe whch he emphaszed here and whch may stand out most n Paul s lfe s that he was focused, deeply commtted to God and had a clear sense of purpose. Ths comes through clearly n verse 24. I ll read verses 22 & 23 to set up verse 24: And now, compelled by the Sprt, I am gong to Jerusalem, not knowng what wll happen to 5
me there. I only know that n every cty the Holy Sprt warns me that prson and hardshps are facng me. And now verse 24: However, I consder my lfe worth nothng to me, f only I may fnsh the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has gven me the task of testfyng to the gospel of God s grace. Paul had a crystal clear understandng of hs purpose n lfe. Agan, I m fully aware that you and I aren t the Apostle Paul, but we are called to be locked nto what our ultmate purpose n lfe s brngng glory and honor to our Heavenly Father. In the mdst of focusng on famly and frends and schoolng and your occupaton and routne tasks that need to get done, how do you stay focused on your purpose n lfe? Prayer, readng God s Word, worshp musc and relatonshps wth lke-mnded belevers are all helpful tools n remndng us who we are and what we re about. A Scrpture passage that I fnd benefcal n helpng me focus on my purpose n lfe s found n Romans chapter 12 verses 1 & 2. I frequently recte ths verse at the begnnng of my day. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, n vew of God s mercy, to offer your bodes as lvng sacrfces, holy and pleasng to God ths s your sprtual act of worshp. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of ths world, but be transformed by the renewng of your mnd. Then you wll be able to test and approve what God s wll s hs good, pleasng and perfect wll. Paul s a great example of someone who was able to stay focused on what hs lfe was all about. The fnal trat I want us to focus on today n Paul s lfe s found n verse 32: Now I commt you to God and to the word of hs grace, whch can buld you up and gve you an nhertance among all those who are sanctfed. At the end of the day, after all of hs hard work and tme nvested and prayers, Paul understood that people s welfare rested n God s hands and he was able to commt people and hs work to God. Ths s so mportant for us to remember. One mornng ths week as I was walkng and prayng, I was thnkng about people I have a burden for who have experenced God s work n ther lves, but are currently strugglng. I started to name them n prayer and honestly, t was dscouragng. Thnkng about these people seemed to pont to a lot of wasted tme and energy. But as I prayed I was remnded that they are n God s hands. My job s to be fathful n nvestng n people, but ther lves are n hs hands, not mnd. If we don t remember that God s the one we entrust people to, we ll quckly grow dscouraged and feel lke quttng. Paul saw tremendous vctores n hs mnstry and he 6
saw what could have been overwhelmng defeats, but through t all he ddn t lose sght of the truth that hs job was to commt people to God. Paul s words whch he spoke to the Ephesan elders at Mletus before he saled to Jerusalem that are recorded n Acts chapter 20 verses 17-38 are a great remnder for us of what a lfe well-lved looks lke. These words take on greater mportance when we take nto account that Paul had lved wth these leaders for 3 years n Ephesus. These people knew hm well. Paul lved wth ntegrty and consstency; He Boldly wtnessed to Jesus savng power; He was focused, deeply commtted to God and had a clear sense of purpose; and, He was able to commt people to God understandng that ther welfare was n God s hands. My hope s that lke the Apostle Paul, you and I at the end of our lves can say: I have fought the good fght, I have fnshed the race, I have kept the fath. Now there s n store for me the crown of rghteousness, whch the Lord, the rghteous Judge, wll award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for hs appearng. 2 Tmothy 4:7 & 8 7