November 10, 2019
Pastor Ricky Smith

Sermon Notes

I grew up playing sports. I was “that guy”. You may not be that guy, and that’s okay. Whether you are or not, I think you’ll understand this concept. Every football game and every practice started with 10-yard sprints. In fact, every practice started and ended with 10-yard sprints. Every game started with 10-yard sprints, and if the game ended with them, that meant it was a really bad game, and we were being disciplined. 

So, here’s the deal: We would all get on the starting line, and at the coach’s command, we would start to sprint. Now, if I started slow and didn’t start with explosion, I would receive coaching on how to start better, how to be more explosive, how to get off the line fast. If I didn’t finish through the 10-yard line strong, I got correction. I got coaching if I didn’t start right; I got corrected if I didn’t end right.

We understand this idea in sports. We’ve got to finish well, finish the drill, sprint through the line. But even beyond sports, let’s talk about life. High school students, you know how it is. You’re doing well, cruising through high school. You’re doing great with your schoolwork, and your senior year, second semester, senior-itis kicks in. And when you should be sprinting through the finish line, you start to coast and put it on cruise control. You are oftentimes receiving correction. “Why aren’t you applying yourself? Why aren’t you working hard? Why aren’t you finishing strong?”

Let’s not just pick on the students. Adults, you are nearing retirement at work. You’ve worked for the company for 30 or 40 years, and there’s this tendency to kick it in cruise control, right? I’m just going to coast through the last three or four years of work and just take my paycheck and call it a day and back off the gas pedal a little bit. I’ll have a little less drive, a little less determination and fly under the radar. And through that, there’s a little bit of pressure like, “Hey, why don’t we see the numbers? Why aren’t we driving harder?” There is this tendency when we get toward the end, to let up. 

We’re going to see in Paul’s ministry as we’ve been walking through Acts, it started off explosive. He’s starting the end of his ministry, and when everybody would give justifiable reason that it’s okay to let off the gas a little bit, maybe enter into a bit of cruise control, he continues to push. He continues to drive. He continues with fervor all the way through the finish line. 

So, today we’re going to see for the last couple of chapters, if you’ve been following along with us, he’s made up his mind. “Hey, I’m going to begin a journey through Jerusalem to Rome. I’m going to start winding down my ministry,” and this section begins what is a last will and testament, of sorts, for Paul. 

I. Sent to Coach

There are a lot of points that we want to look at today, and here’s the first point that we’ll see, beginning in Acts 20:13-17: Paul was sent to coach. 

Acts 20:13-17
13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. 17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

Here are a couple of observations I want you to just pay attention to. My desire today is, I want to bring out some observations that the Lord showed me as I studied this passage, and I pray that He teaches you some things along the way as well. Here’s the first one: In verse 16, I want you to underline or circle the words, he had decided. In the Greek, this word really means that it was a fixed, predetermined decision. It wasn’t just a,“Hey, while he was on the way, he just decided to do ____.” 

This was a predetermined decision; he had already made up his mind, “Before we get there, I’m not going to go to Ephesus. I don’t want to spend time in Asia now.” This is a predetermined choice that he has made. 

Some of you probably travel that way. “I’ve already made up my mind. These are my stops I’m pinpointing along the way.” I think for Paul it’s important not just to get travel planning advice, but it shows the determination that he had of the path that he was going to take because we’ve seen in the last several chapters, he sent some guys out there to Asia. They’ve been collecting this offering. He’s got a determination. He’s got a date in mind; he’s trying to reach Jerusalem before Pentecost. “We’ve got to hurry up and get there to deliver this offering on time.”

That’s noteworthy. In verse 17, he stops in this city called Miletus, which is about 30 miles from Ephesus. And from there, he sends word to the elders of Ephesus to say, “I need you to come here because I need to speak to you.” Who were these people he was calling? It’s interesting; in the Greek New Testament, we see a lot of different words used. Sometimes we see the word elder, sometimes the word bishop, and sometimes the word overseer to describe them. Essentially, if we were going to contextualize this in modern-day language, he gets to Miletus, and he says, “I need the pastors from Ephesus to come here because I need to deliver a message to them.” That was the audience that he was trying to communicate to. 

I’m going to be honest with you. As I’ve wrestled through this passage, here has been the internal tension I’ve had. We’re going to read through this speech that Paul delivers to the pastors of Ephesus and knowing that audience, I’ve got to figure out how to translate this message delivered to pastors to us today. We’re going to understand this audience is different, but I do think there are some principles of godly living that we can learn from this speech, or message, that Paul delivers to the pastors of Ephesus. 

II. Serve with Humility

So here we go. In verses 18 and 19 is this principle of serving with humility. Paul illustrates this, and we all can learn from it. Let’s read verses 18 and 19. 

Acts 20:18-19
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;

Okay, imagine if you were sitting around the campfire with Paul. You know how this typically goes. When you sit around a bonfire, people start telling stories. I mean, imagine the stories that Paul could tell. He could lay that card down every time to one-up your story. “Well, you know, I got bit by a snake,” or, “I got put in jail,” or, “I got beaten out of town…” I mean, he had some stories of these trials. 

But even in the midst of those trials, he’s trying to draw attention to the fact, “I served the Lord with humility.” Let’s look at the word serve. The word the serve there is the Greek word doulos, which is a really important word. It’s used several times throughout the New Testament. In fact, Paul uses it even to describe himself in 1 Thessalonians 19 and Colossians 3:24. It’s oftentimes translated to be servant, but it literally means “to be controlled by someone else.”

This is important. Paul communicates. “I am a servant of the Lord.” He’s saying, “I am controlled by God. God controls me. God leads me. God influences me. God directs me.” And in this simple statement of identity, he cuts to the heart of a key life question for you and for me: Who is in charge? Who is the boss? Who controls you? I would even say at the core of our sin nature is this question: Who is in charge? Is it me? -because my nature, the nature of the flesh of the natural man wants to be in charge, wants to control. 

But God is saying, “No, I want you to submit to me, serve me, acknowledge me, allow me to control you.” Paul understood that. Do you understand that? If you were in a moment of self-awareness, I just encourage you to pause right now and reflect on this simple but profound question. Who is in control of you? It would be easy to say, “Well, God’s in control.” Okay then, let’s just go a step further to a point of application. Do you ask Him when you make decisions? Do you involve Him in that process, or do you just do it your way? 

Paul understood the importance of control, and he goes on further to say, “I’ve served the Lord with humility because I think humility is a trait that begins to grow in the life of someone who is submitting to the Lordship of Christ.” Let’s just use this physical analogy of his posture. Maybe if you’ve studied medieval history or you’ve watched a movie where there was a monarch in charge, typically the servant or the citizen will come in and physically kneel or bow in the presence of the monarch. Why? Because it’s a very humbling, submissive posture to be in. 

When I reach this place of physical posture, humility directly is a correlation to my servitude. And so, here Paul is saying, “I serve the Lord. I am controlled by Him.” Therefore, humility begins to grow. He reinforces this in other letters. Philippians 2:1-3 says this: 

Philippians 2:1-3
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves

So, there is a challenge for Paul here that we serve the Lord, we’re controlled by Him, and that is evidenced by our humility. 

III. Stand Firm on the Truth

The second principle, the third point of the day that we learn, is that Paul is setting the example that we stand firm on truth. Let’s read verses 20 to 23. We’re jumping right in the middle of his speech. He says:

Acts 20:20-23
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. 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.

There are a couple of things to note here. In verse 20, we see Paul referencing that “I have communicated in public, and I have communicated to you from house to house.” We begin to see as the church develops, there are no big church buildings that they would meet in. Those churches would meet in homes, and it may very well be that these elders who have come, this is where they’ve been teaching and decide to go from house to house as the church has been meeting.

Paul is commanding, urging, or encouraging them to stand firm on truth. And he uses his own self as an example, saying, “Hey, I have committed to preach the Gospel both to the Jew and the Gentile. Why? Because God is God of all things; God is above all things. In Romans 3:29, he emphasized this elsewhere when he wrote:

Romans 3:29
28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Paul is emphasizing the truth of the Gospel, and he basically makes this bold statement that the Gospel is both inclusive and exclusive at the same time. What does this mean? How can the Gospel be both exclusive and inclusive? Well, it’s really simple. First of all, the Gospel is inclusive in that all may come, both Jew and Gentile. God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. “Whosoever will” may come. So, it is inclusive in that it includes everybody. It is exclusive in that there is only one way to Heaven. 

The Gospel is both inclusive and exclusive.

There is only one way: by faith, through Jesus Christ. It is only made possible through the shedding blood of Jesus. That’s why he says in actual Acts 4:12:

Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Paul’s message was simple, and what I want us to notice here in verse 21 is that he really summarizes his whole message in two words: repent and believe. It’s like this: On one side of a half-dollar, it looks as though there’s a picture of John F. Kennedy, and on the backside, it is the seal of America. One coin, two sides. If you look at one side, how much is it? 50 cents. If you look at the other side, how much is it worth? 50 cents. Two sides to the same coin, both of equal value. 

Repentance and belief are inseparable.

And here, Paul is communicating this message of repent and believe. The two are inseparable. Let’s talk about what these words mean because these are really big words. Repentance oftentimes is described as this change of heart. It’s turning from my old life to my new life, and that’s great, but let’s just pull that thread out a little bit more for deeper understanding. 

The essence of repentance is turning my heart toward God. It’s this change of mind. It consists of my soul turning from forgetfulness of God to thoughtfulness toward Him. It’s turning from indifference to His claims toward earnest consideration of His claims. It’s turning from unwillingness of control to a perfect readiness to yield everything to Him. It is repentance. The flip side of the coin is belief, or faith. 

Repentance should cause me to grieve my sin. Faith believes that there is no sin too egregious that God can’t forgive. There is nobody too far gone that God can’t rescue, restore, and save him or her. Faith believes that God created you to be in relationship with Him and trust that God sent His son, Jesus, to rescue you from your sins. 

In Paul’s message, faith and repentance are inseparable. Two sides of one coin, equal in value. He was committed to proclaim the Gospel message of, “Repent and believe,” and you and I have been given the glorious, beautiful mission to take that same message of faith and repentance and share it with the world. 

IV. Set an Example

So Paul says, “We must stand firm on truth.” And then he also says, in verses 24 to 35 to set an example. I realize this is a big, broad idea. I’ll do my best to drill down into it a little bit. Let’s read verses 24 to 35. 

Acts 20:24-35
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.’ ”

Wow, there’s a whole lot there! I’m going to do my best to unpack this for us in a way that we can apply to our lives today. Set an example. If you have siblings, you know how frustrating it was growing up when your mom said, “I need you to set an example for your younger brother or sister.” And you were like, “Okay, can you help me? What is that? Set an example? I could set a good example. I could set a bad example. I can set my example. What does this mean?” 

In these verses, Paul is trying to say, “Listen, I have set an example for you that I would like for you to follow.” This is consistent with Paul’s message, and in fact, in 1 Corinthians 11:1, he even gets specific. He said, “You come follow me as I’m following the example of Christ,” and it’s a redirection or a reflection of who Christ is. 

A. Finish strong

What I want to do is walk through that long passage, and let’s get more specific. When we say “set an example”, what are some things that means? First of all, in verse 24, I think it’s the idea that we set an example in how we finish. Finish strong. Let’s go back to the example I gave when we started this conversation about running through the drill, finishing hard. We should set an example to others in how we finish.

Seniors, you can set an example to the underclassmen by how you finish second semester. Grandparents who are nearing retirement, you can set an example to your children and to your grandchildren’s children of how you finish in your pursuit and your drive. We can set an example by finishing strong. A lot of people think Paul was an athletic person, or at least a fan. He even said in 2 Timothy 4:7. “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” He oftentimes uses that imagery. Finish strong. 

B. Faithful with integrity

Set an example, finish strong, be faithful with integrity. We see this in verses 25 to 27 that Paul knew he was called by God, and because he knew from where his calling came, he was bold. He was courageous. He was committed to preach the whole counsel of God. 

What does that mean? He wasn’t just going to teach one side of the coin. He was going to teach both sides of the coin. He wasn’t just going to teach to the Jews. He was also going to preach to the Gentiles. He was going to claim the full counsel of God. And in fact, if you want to unpack more, what all does that all encompass? 

I think Romans may perhaps be the most exhaustive explanation that Paul wrote on the full counsel of God. It would be a great thing for you just to dive into and read on your own. He was committed to being faithful with integrity. He wasn’t going to dilute the message. He wasn’t going to water it down. He was just going to speak the truth and stand firm on it.

C. Fight the good fight

In verses 28 to 32, he wanted them to fight the good fight. He was warning them, “Hey, guard yourselves.” Now, keep in mind this is a specific statement to pastors over the church. Can we just go on a historical rabbit trail for a minute? 

The word pastor is never used in the New Testament as a noun. It’s never a title, but it has become what we have accepted commonly as our title for this elder/overseer idea because it’s the imagery of a shepherd. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.” And so a pastor comes along to care for you. So, my job is to help care, shepherd, guide, and protect the flock.

And so that’s the imagery that Paul is illustrating here. He’s giving them this warning like, “Hey, you need to beware. Preach the whole counsel of God, both sides of the coin, because there is going to come some from you that will not teach the whole truth or only teach part of the truth. It will be distracting, and it’ll lead people away. Be careful. Be on guard for those wolves coming in.”

I asked myself, what does this look like? I’ve never seen a wolf in real life (I take that back; I may have seen one at a zoo one time), but we’ve got two little maltipoos. Do you know what they are? Yappers; that’s what they are, but they are so much fun in our life. And so, a typical routine is for me to go outside at night, at bedtime, let them go outside in the backyard and use the bathroom, and put them to bed. 

And so, last night I’m out there with the dogs. They’re using the bathroom, and in the distance, in the county, I hear the coyotes howling in the distance, and they are predators. So what am I doing? I’m on guard. I’m watching in that moment because my responsibility is to make sure these little guys get back safely. I’m caring for them, watching out, knowing that there is danger in the distance. 

Now, I think we understand clearly how this applies to pastors over a church. But Dads, Husbands, we say often that you are the pastor of your home. Are you on guard? Are you aware of the dangers that may be around? Are you protecting and shielding your family? I’m not just talking about physical dangers; I’m talking about spiritual dangers, emotional dangers, theological dangers. Are we aware of what our family is consuming and reading and learning? Are we rightly dividing the word of truth? Are we guarding our home? 

There’s a warning here that we fight the good fight as faithful stewards. In fact, I would say verse 28 is both the theological and practical apex of this passage, because he says this: “Care for the church that was obtained by the blood of Christ.” Here’s the practical implication: As Jesus’s hands and feet, as the caretakers of this church or you as the caretaker of your home, I need to care for and guard and protect theologically what Jesus has purchased and entrusted me with. It’s His. I’m guarding and protecting what is His. He bought it. He paid for it by His blood.

I think we go back to what we said about serving the Lord with humility. What a heavy weight that is for all of us! What a heavy responsibility that is! Mamas, as you are nurturing your children and you are guarding and protecting and filtering what they see and hear, what a heavy weight and responsibility that is! Why? -because we have to realize that we have an enemy who Scripture describes as a roaring lion roaming to and fro, seeking whom he may devour. Fight the fight. Be on guard.

D. Freely give through hard work

Paul continues on. In verses 33 to 35 he’s setting an example of finishing and being faithful and fighting, that we freely give through hard work. We freely give. No one could accuse Paul of not working hard. He had such a strong work ethic. He was always on the go, and he had seemingly a very healthy relationship with material things. I think it’s just an opportunity for us to ask the question, do we have a healthy relationship with material things? Are we following God, or are we worshipping the idols of things? What is the relationship between those two in our lives? 

We can see this here, and Paul even illustrated it. He didn’t say this with arrogance; he was trying to set an example. In fact, he didn’t just say it here. He said it elsewhere in other letters that he was like, “You know what? I could demand that you provide and meet my needs, but so that no one could give it another argument against me, I’m going to work really hard at selling tents and working with my hands so I can meet all my own needs. I’m not even going to give you room for that argument.” 

He worked really hard, and I would say for you and me, here would be the balance: We live, just to be honest, in a very materialistic world. Am I the only one who has started working on my Christmas list? It’s just woven into our culture. It’s that time of year like, what things do I want this year? Let me just add them to my list. We do it, right? – because there’s this natural battle at war in our minds, especially in an affluent culture in which we live in America, just battling things. And what Paul understands, and he set an example for you and me to follow, the best counter balance to materialism is generosity. Freely give. And he even makes that point here in verse 35.

V. Sad Goodbyes

So moving on, he sets this example and into the last point of the day, point number five, we see sad goodbyes. Nobody likes to say goodbye. Let’s see how Paul treated this moment and verses 36 to 38. 

Acts 20:36-38
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.

While this was obviously pre 9/11 travel, I remember my first ever mission trip was in 1997. I took a group of students from Atlanta, and we were going to Costa Rica on a mission trip. I’ll never forget it. All the mamas and daddys went up with us to the airport. Our youth pastor, Frank’s, mama walked onto the plane with him, made sure he buckled up, kissed him goodbye, looked at me and said, “You bring him back safe.” And I said, “Yes, ma’am.” I mean, she walked on the plane and made sure that boy buckled his seatbelt!

Goodbyes at the airport look a little different now. It’s at the curbside. You can’t go past security. Things have changed, but what we do understand is this emotional cringe when we say goodbye to somebody, right? -especially if it’s somebody that we think we are not going to see again. This is hard. It’s a sad experience. But even in a sad goodbye, there is hope. Watch what Paul did. 

Paul, with them, gets on his knees and prays. Why is this important? -because even in this moment of goodbye, Paul and those around him posture themselves to acknowledge this submission to authority all the way back in verses 16 and 17. “We trust God in this moment.” Paul has predetermined. Paul is constrained by the Spirit. Paul is courageous on mission for God because he understands serving the Lord with humility. Who controls me? Who controls you? He even allows himself to be postured that way. 

I’m not mandating in this moment that you should always pray kneeling, but I would say that there are times that it’s really good to allow yourself to physically get in a posture that reflects the attitude of your heart. It’s a good thing, because even physically I’m being reminded who’s in control. Lordship is established. So, even in goodbye, Paul and the other pastors who had come from Ephesus to Miletus to meet with him are acknowledging together this mutual trust and submission to authority outside of themselves. 

This is where the trickle-down happens. If I acknowledge and yield authority to a power greater than mine, then I trust His sovereign plan. Then I trust His will. Then I trust His timing. And then I live with humility, allowing Him to always guide and direct me. And that was the attitude and the position of Paul in this moment. 

So what does all this mean? I asked you to consider and accept the challenge that Paul’s example lays out for us. Here are some questions: Are you living your life today in such a way that others could follow your example? Could others look to you and say, “I see how they are living their life, and I can model that”? Paul could. Perhaps you and I could do the same. This is especially true for parents; it should be true for everybody, and as believers who are constantly working to build and send others, does my commitment to make disciples allow me to multiply myself and others and then reproduce God-fearing, humble servants of the Lord?

Or maybe you’ve never stepped into that relationship with God. For you, I point to the truth of Paul’s two-sided coin. Repent and believe are two inseparable concepts, and for those of us who have put our trust in God, do we submit daily to His authority and allow Him to control us in every way, controlling and influencing the way we spend our time, the way we spend our money, the way we discipline our children. Everything. Do we allow Him to influence and control those things? 

Next Steps

• Today, I repent and believe. I desire to begin a relationship with Jesus and make Him King of my life.
• Today, I confess that I have not surrendered fully to Jesus and choose to submit to His desire for my life.
• Today, I commit to set an example for others as I make disciples as an everyday missionary.

Discussion Questions

1. Read Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:10, and Philippians 1:1. In each of these verses, Paul describes himself as a servant of God. Realizing this means that He controls believers, what does this attitude look like in our daily lives? Furthermore, how does a daily life of submission to God impact the maturity of a believer?
2. Read Romans 3:29 and Acts 4:12. Discuss how the Gospel is both inclusive and exclusive.
3. Read Acts 20:28-30. Paul warns of the danger of false teachers. How do we guard the Gospel and filter what we read and hear through Scripture, so that we can protect the Gospel?