Be Faithful to Your Calling - Pastor Tom Loghry
In Acts 20:13-38, Paul begins his journey to Jerusalem. Knowing that he will not return to the area, he calls the Ephesian elders to meet him along the way and exhorts them to remain faithful to God.
Transcript:
We went on ahead to, to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made his arrangements because he was going there on foot. When he had met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. The next day we set sail from there and we arrived at Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. Paul had decided to set, to sail past Ephesus and avoid spending the time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. From Miletus, Paul went to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
Let's pray. Dear Father, as we come before your word this morning, we pray that as we hear the words of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian elders, that you would impress upon us the utter gravity of the ministry which you have given the church and the responsibility that you've placed into the care of elders, and the standard to which you've called your people to expect of those that would shepherd your flock in Christ.
And Father, we just pray that you would inspire us by the Holy Spirit to seek to glorify you and honor you in these things. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. You may be seated.
So, we are approaching the season of graduation, and one might say that among all the graduations that take place, none are probably more pivotal than a student's graduation from high school. And while not all students will go to college or move away from home to go to college, that will be the case for a number of students. That was the case for me when I graduated from high school. My, my first year of college I moved a couple hours away to the Berkshires, and then the year after that I moved down to Georgia to finish my Bible college studies. Now, at the time, I don't think I thought too much about how difficult it must have been for my parents to send me away after having raised me for the previous 18 years. Now that I'm a parent myself, I can say that I do not relish the day when my son, in one way or another, will move on from our home. I'm sure I'll be glad in some certain senses, but it'll be tough for me and Sara. On that occasion, any good set of parents likely wonders to themselves if they've done enough to prepare their son or daughter for the life ahead of them. Of, of course, parents do continue to give us wisdom even into adulthood, and so it's not an absolute end.
But there are times in our lives in which we do come against an ultimate end. Sometimes death approaches us slowly and those preparing to enter their rest undergo a similar but more absolute experience of knowing that they won't be around anymore to be able to give the counsel that they may wish to their loved ones, the counsel that they may need. There can be a grace in a slow approach to death. I, I know many of us might hope for a death in which we suddenly pass away. But there's a real grace and gift in being able to spend time with our loved ones, to say what we need to say. I remember as Sarah's grandfather was approaching his end that he called us to his bedside, and he had something he wanted to say to us. He admonished us to persevere together in our marriage, to persevere together as husband and wife, to remain faithful to each other even through the hard times. He knew from experience that marriage isn't always easy. But his parting wisdom, born of love for us, was that we should stick together and press on, and I will gladly do so to the day I die.
As we close out Chapter 20 here in the book of Acts, Paul is not about to die. But he is reckoning with his mortality and God's plan for him, which will take him away from those in whom he has invested so much love. And so we continue in verses 13 through 17.
As Ernie has read for us this morning, we have a bit of the itinerary here of of Paul's journey. Some of these details to, you know, we're not so familiar with the Mediterranean, so sometimes it can be lost on us. But it's important to remember that, especially to Luke's original audience, these details would've been of great interest to them. And so, as you'll recall, Paul is departing from Troas after having something absolutely spectacular happen there. He had preached long into the night and a young man named Eutychus fell out of the window, and he raised him from the dead. But his ultimate end is he's striving to get to Jerusalem, and then from Jerusalem, he's intending to go to Rome. And so the course that he takes is they're going to Assos from Troas
Now, the rest get on the boat. But Paul walks to asos. Now, we don't know why, it may have been that it was going to be faster for him to go on foot. Sometimes, while a ship would certainly save you the energy, it's not always the most, it's not the most fast way to get to some place. And then the, he joins them on the boat and they head to Mitylene. And they go from there and go from Chios. So they're just kind of working their way down the coast here. Again, they're ultimately trying to get to Jerusalem, but they bypass Ephesus.
And the reason why is 'cause he didn't wanna spend too much time there 'cause he, he was hoping to reach Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost, which was a Jewish feast, and it was gonna be a great opportunity in which there was gonna be many Jews gathered there in the city of Jerusalem, and as a Jew himself, a significant day, significant, significant feast that Paul did not wish to miss. And so the reason why he skips Ephesus thinking that it might take a little bit too much time there is because, well, for one, he spent a couple years there, and so the people might wanna offer him a great deal of hospitality. And in that culture, especially at that time, hospitality was a big deal, and so we can imagine they wouldn't have just allowed him to stop in very briefly and move on. It also could have been the case that the ship that they were on didn't have that as their direct course, and so it just would've complicated the itinerary to have a special boat there and then get on another boat. It, it just could have taken a little bit too much time. And so he goes to Miletus, you can see the red dot there where Miletus is, and he sends for the elders in Ephesus, because he doesn't want to depart from them without being able to give them a parting word.
Now this is a little snapshot of Miletus, rather large city, major port. Had a population about a hundred thousand. But again, his purpose there is just kind, kind of to just stay there for a moment in order that he can have this opportunity to meet with the elders from Ephesus. And so what follows is both a touching and a stirring farewell speech, and it's the only address that has been recorded thus far of Paul exclusively addressing Christians. And as we read it, it brings to mind both Paul's manner and speech that is found in his New Testament letters. So continuing on in verse 18, we read, when they arrived, the Ephesian elders, he said to them: you know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God and repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
So Paul begins his speech to them by recalling his sufferings. That he served, not in a manner of one who expected great acclaim, but one who was prepared to work with his own hands, and he's going to talk about this later on, and with great suffering in doing so, because of the opposition that he had faced from the Jewish population in Ephesus that was opposing his teaching that Christ Jesus was not only the Messiah for the Jews, but the Messiah for all people.
And so he's laying out this, he's laying out this recollection of how he served among them in order to try to inspire them to follow in his footsteps, that they would adopt for themselves the same sort of humility and be prepared to serve and persevere in the face of suffering. Paul is not having to make a defense of his ministry, they know him well, but he is giving them an account here to basically say, my work is done. I've, I've done everything that I'm supposed to do here. Paul tells them that he didn't hesitate to preach anything that would be helpful to them. He held nothing back and he wasn't trying to hide anything, he preached publicly, but he also was preaching personally. He'd meet up with them in their own homes to teach them in the truth. And what we see here is really Paul's heart as a pastor. The true heart of a pastor is to help, help his people and not hold anything back. In the heart of Paul's message is simply the gospel message. It's the message which he preached to Jew and Gentile alike, the message that he describes in verse 21, he says, they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Now, the repentance that he's speaking about here is a repentance of sin. It's a turning away from sin. Now repentance is not sufficient for a person to be saved, just to turn your back on sin. It's a great first step in what God's calling us to do, but apart from Jesus, we cannot justify ourselves before God. We still have the record of all the wrong things that we've done, and what's more is our repentance will be pockmarked with all kinds of failure. So we could never even offer the perfect sort of repentance to even try to make amends to justify ourselves before God. And so repentance is necessary, but is not sufficient for our salvation. Christ alone is sufficient for our salvation, and so it's a message of both repentance and faith in Christ, inviting people to put their trust in Jesus to be their savior. This is the message that the apostles have been teaching from the very beginning, going back to the day of Pentecost on which the Holy Spirit descended upon the church. The disciples, and Paul. And Peter preached a message to the Jews that were gathered in the city of Jerusalem, and he invited them to repent. He says, repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so with this kind of backdrop here in terms of the way in which Paul was serving his, his purpose, in coming among them, Paul then turns to explain why it is that he is bidding them farewell. Continuing on verses 22 through 24, 27 rather, and now, compelled by the Spirit, i'm going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. Now, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
The reason why Paul is departing from Asia, from all these churches that he's ministered among, is because he feels compelled by the Holy Spirit. He's being sent further along. Now, obviously he's been to Jerusalem before, but ultimately his end, his end is he's intended to go to Rome, and he also says that from Rome, not here but elsewhere, he says that his intention is to go from Rome to even to Spain, because he wants to bring the gospel to all of the known world, and he has completed his work here.
And so the Spirit, just as the Spirit has been leading him along all the way up to this point, he's now leading him further on yet. And Paul is moving forward even while he knows that things are not gonna be easy, he knows that prison and hardship await him, and that's nothing new. He's experienced that already in all the cities that he has gone, gone to, and he's, he's saying it is gonna be more of the same, but I need to keep going.
Why does he feel that need to keep going? Why, why does he keep pressing on? He says in, in verse 24, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me-- the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.
Paul's greatest aim is his obedience to the Lord. There's been a call placed upon his life, there's a mission that he's been given and he's completely committed to finishing the race. Not stopping halfway, but seeing it through to the end, and that task is testifying to the good news of God's grace. The message that you can be forgiven of your sins. That you can have a new life in Jesus, that you can receive the promise of a resurrection life to come on the day of Christ's return, when we will all be raised from the dead in the same area that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and that this can come by faith in him.
We remember that Paul, when he was initially brought to faith in Christ when he went from being a persecutor of Christians to this one who was an apostle, that the Lord said to an Ananias, the Christian that was to lead Paul into the faith. He told him, go, this man my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. And so Paul is living out his calling to the end, even if it's difficult, even if it's painful, even if it'll end in a brutal death.
When I think about my own life, that's why I'm, I'm here. This is why I'm a pastor. When I was 16 years old, I was trying to discern what I was supposed to be doing with my life. I, I have a tendency to think far, far ahead, even at 16, and I was really wrestling with it. And after spending, I went out into the woods, I, it was, I love going out in the woods, and I spent some time in prayer. And it was on the journey back to my house where the Lord impressed upon me, just with an indescribable experience of utter clarity, it's almost like getting struck by a lightning bolt that I was supposed to be a pastor. And I hadn't really seriously contemplated that before then I had thought about, oh, maybe I'd be an archeologist, or a police officer, or even a talk show host for politics or something. I hadn't thought about being a pastor, even though my grandfather was a pastor. You think, maybe you think about that, but I, I hadn't really, and, and from that moment on, I knew that's what I was supposed to do. That's what I was supposed to do. And I felt God's call that I should be here, and serve as, as your pastor specifically.
Even when things aren't easy and I'm, when I'm saying things aren't easy, I'm not saying you're not making it easy for me, I'm just saying, being a pastor isn't easy. And being a pastor in Rhode Island and New England isn't easy. There, there are easier places in the country, although each part has its own challenges. But this is, this is a missionary context, really tough ground. But that's why I persevere, because I've, I felt that personal call specifically in my life, and I feel the weight of that, to, to press in on that, even while there might be some other things that could be enticing and attracting, and each one of us has to consider that for ourselves.
What is the call that God has placed upon your life, and you don't need to have the same sort of experience I had. There's lots of pastors that came into the ministry that did not have that kind of experience, but each one of you has a special calling both in service to the, to this church, but also in the service to your family and just in the service to our fellow human beings. God works through you. You're, you, you are the instruments of God's common grace in this world, in the work that you do. And so when you know that God's called you to do something, and he's gifted you to do it, you should do it with excellence and an utter commitment, in the frame of I'm a servant of Christ.
And so keeping that together and, both of those things together, the work that you do and your identity in Christ so that you shine as a light for him wherever you are, and you build up the body of Christ. Of course, specifically here, we think about the context here. Paul's a pastor, he's an apostle, and he's talking to pastors, he's talking to elders, and so he's really setting up this example to them of how they too should be living out their own callings. And what he's telling them is that he's all in.
It brings to mind to me a quote, it's a fairly famous quote from a missionary named Jim Elliot, who was tragically killed with several, several other missionaries as they tried to reach an unreached tribe in South America, the Huorani tribe in 1956. And, a few years previous to that, he kept a personal journal, and he had written this, this note in it, and he says, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. That's, that's kind of the attitude that we see Paul have here. He knows that he, he's not getting worldly gain in what he's doing. He's not getting lots of money. He's not having a swanky kind of life, but he is willing to lose it all. He knows that he's gaining so much more in Jesus Christ, and we're invited to have that same sort of mindset for ourselves. What is our real pursuit in life? Are we pursuing things that we are gonna lose in the end, or are we pursuing things that we cannot lose?
Now, Paul knows one way or another that his path is not going to bring him back to the Ephesian elders. Paul doesn't know everything about the future that he has, but the Spirit may have revealed some certain things to him so that he at least knew that he wasn't coming back here. And so he says to them, he's innocent of their blood, says he can't be held at fault for if they go astray. He says in verse 27, I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. That's the job of the pastor. You're supposed to proclaim to those who are under your care the whole will of God, not just part of it, every bit that they need to know and understand. If Paul was holding things back, if I hold certain things back, if other pastors hold certain things back, we're held accountable before God for those things.
Now, I have to say, it's very easy to hesitate, to not say everything that probably should be said. But again, this is a serious responsibility here, and it's one that Paul says that he has discharged, that he's carried out.
We find this expectation, this precedent in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 26: 2. The prophet Jeremiah says, this is what the Lord says: stand in the courtyard of the Lord's house and speak to all the people, the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. So talking about his own ministry there that he wasn't supposed to omit anything that God had given him to tell the people. In Ezekiel 33, 8 says, when I say to the wicked, you wicked person, you'll surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. So when God has entrusted his word to a person, when he's entrusted his word to the Apostle Paul, and to these elders, to pastors, they're expected to speak every, every bit of it. Otherwise, they will be held to account. In the New Testament, we see the same sort of thing. In one Thessalonians two, four, the Apostle Paul says, on the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people, but God, who tests our hearts. Again, we see the attitude that Paul has. He's not interested in, his only goal is to finish the race and to please God, and that's the goal that we need to have, but it's very easy to kind of, when you face resistance, to turn towards trying to please people. In Hebrews 10, verses 36 through 39, this is a passage that just applies broadly to us as Christians. It says, you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, just in a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. And, but my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. And so whether it's the sharp end of persecution that it's probably being imagined there in Hebrews 10 where talking about literal bodily suffering and death, or whether it's just disapproval of people and people not liking you, the point is, is we need to be faithful to God above all things and not shrink back from being faithful in our proclamation of the truth of God's word and the truth of the gospel.
Now Paul then goes on to make his turn here towards exhorting the Ephesian elders to take care in their own calling. Continuing on in verse 28 says, keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard. Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
So he addresses these elders as those who are shepherds, and this is where the word pastor comes from, as these shepherds of the church. These are men who didn't put themselves into these positions. They were called by the Holy Spirit. And this is why when you think about like terms like ordination, well, what does that mean? What does it mean when a man is ordained to be a pastor? It means that the church is recognizing that they've been called by the Holy Spirit to that ministry, and they lay hands on them and pray, pray over them in recognition of that. And that's, and that's what happened in my case when I, when I was ordained several years ago.
So these men have been called to be shepherds of the church, and it's their responsibility that they keep careful watch over the flock. Why? Why does it matter? It matters because this is the Church of God. This is the church. It was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Now there's a little note here that kind of stands out to you here, when, when you think about it, it says, be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. If you pay attention there and you notice, there's a little detail there that points to the divinity of Christ, it's equating the shedding of blood, of the shedding of the blood of God with the shedding of Christ's own blood. It's another adaptation to the fact that Jesus is in fact the son of God, that he is God incarnate.
And so because the church has been purchased at such a great price, we ought to be completely dedicated to its care. And this is the special charge that are given, that has been given to pastors. It's a solemn, serious charge. It's the responsibility of pastors and elders to feed the flock. Brings to mind what Jesus instructed Simon Peter in John 21:16, where he says, Simon son of John, do you love me? He says this a few times, and, and Peter says, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus said, take care of my sheep or feed my sheep. So yes, pastors and elders, they occupy this position of, of feeding the sheep, giving to them, giving them the word of God. But there's also a calling to guard the flock, to, it's not, it's a calling, not just to provide, but also to protect. And I think that's something that's sometimes lost in our culture. Sometimes I think people kind of come under the impression that you come to church and then the pastor gives you information about your faith and then you just, that's, you're like, that's good. I have more information about my faith and I grow in my faith that way. But people don't always see the role of pastors being one who is actually responsible for watching out for you, for guarding your faith. There's a call here for pastors and elders to both provide and protect, because there's wolves out there that are interested in leading you astray.
Now, it might be someone personally known to you, but especially in our day, we have social media and all kinds of influences. You don't even have to know, the, the wolf doesn't even have to be personally present to be leading members of the body of Christ astray. And so this is why these elders are being called to be watchful. To guard their flock, but not just others. They're also called to watch out for themselves. That's something that we can easily kind of roll past here, that Paul says, the first thing he says is Keep watch over yourselves. It's so easy for pastors in the course of their ministry to stumble and fall and fail to be the pastors that they're supposed to be. And I'm not talking about just, you know, in the performance of the duties that are given to them. Yes, we can fail on that. We're not perfect people. But morally, like serious moral, moral failures. And you see this sadly in the news, of pastors who have abused their positions, who don't, who haven't actually acquired, not that we, any of us perfectly acquire this, but they're not acquiring the characteristics of Jesus Christ in their life. Men who instead are putting up a front because they've become so consumed with the work that they've lost touch with the, the reality, the real substance that is supposed to be manifest in our lives for anyone that is in communion with Jesus Christ.
And this is why Paul, when he sets out the standards for being a pastor, for being an elder, he says in one Timothy three, two, he says, now the overseer, that's another term for the same thing, is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. In Titus one, seven, he says, since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless-- not overbearing, not quick tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Sadly, these are all kinds of ways in which we see pastors fail. They need to be guarding themselves even as they are guarding Christ's Church.
Turning to two Timothy four, two through five. Timothy was kind of an understudy, a son in the faith for Paul, and Paul gives him this charge which really encapsulates the calling of pastors. And it coincides with what he's saying here to these elders. He says, preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-- with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They'll turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
You see, the most effective sort of wolves are those who are going to tell you what you want to hear. And that could be all sorts of, sorts of things. Maybe you, you wanna believe that if you have a relationship with God, you're gonna get lots of money and everything's gonna go great in your life. You, you can find some wolves that will tell you that, that that's what it means if you have a relationship with Christ. Some people say, well, I really want a God that kind of a aligns with what I already think about the world, what I think is right and wrong. Well, you can find pastors that are gonna tell you that, that will be willing to adjust the scripture to the times, and this is just another sense in which pastors can be abusive. I think, you know, often when we think about pastors or elders being abusive, we usually think of it in like physical or emotional or sexual sorts of ways. Those are externally abusive, but pastors are also abusive when they lead people away from the truth, when they teach falsehoods. I think that's the greatest abuse we've actually seen most consistently here in America. There are many false teachers that have led people astray. And we're reaping the consequences of, of those wolves that have infiltrated the church in all sorts of ways.
For those who are being a faithful pastor, for those that are striving to do these things that Paul is saying to Timothy he ought to do, they do so, again, as those who have to give an account to God. And this is something that God has really just burdened my heart with as, as I try to carry out my responsibilities here. Hebrews 13:17 says, have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. It, there are, there are things that can be really difficult in being a pastor and being an elder and having to meet with someone and, and tell them something. Maybe you, you don't want to be the one to have to tell them this, to try to correct them, to try to lead them the path that God's calling them to.
The great burden that God has placed on me as I think about these things is, even while I really do wanna make people happy, I'm kind of an agreeable person, I like to make people happy. My first commitment, my first passion is to make God happy, to please him. And to know that when I stand before him, I'm going to have to give an account for, was I responsible? Did I do the right things when I was a pastor? Now I trust in the grace of Jesus, Jesus Christ. I know I'm not gonna be a perfect pastor, I trust in him for alone for my salvation. But I greatly desire that He would say, well done, that I was faithful in doing that. Again, this is just something for you, information for you, whether it's me or some other pastor. You know, you might not always be here, but just, this is the responsibility that is given to pastors and elders, that they answer to God, and if they're a good pastor, that's their first, that's their first interest. That's their first commitment.
Now there's a little bit of a twist here in, in terms of the watchfulness that Paul is calling for here because he seems to make almost a prophecy here in verse 30. He says that even from among these elders that he's speaking to, that there's going to be some that arise that are gonna twist the truth. It's almost an echo here of of Jesus at the Last Supper with his disciples saying how there, there was, one of 'em is not good, talking about Judas that was going to betray him. It's so interesting, just the parallels here because, and Jesus was approaching the cross in Jerusalem, and Paul's on his way to Jerusalem and he knows that tough things are awaiting him here. So it's just an interesting echo there. But it's also interesting that Paul's invested all this time and he still knows that some of them will go astray.
And he cares so much for them, and this is captured by, in verse 31. He says, so be on your guard. Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. That's his passion. That's his, his love for him. We should have that same sort of commitment in looking out for one another, but especially as pastors, shedding those sort sorts of tears, demonstrating that sort of love for our people. Now, Paul, Paul's told these elders how they should live, what they should teach. He's offered them a living example himself. But now his responsibility for them has come to an end, and he can do no more for them. And so he comes to his conclusion in verse 32 saying, now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You, you yourselves know that these hands of mind have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: it is more blessed to give than to receive. So when Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. They accompanied him to the ship.
So when you've come to your end, and this must be difficult for a guy like Paul, when you come to your end and you're not gonna be with these people, all you can do is commit them to God. And he commits them to his word, to God's word because he knows that if they, if they will keep with God's word, that will help safe guard them, that God will work through His grace, through his word, so that they would be the elders that they are supposed, supposed to be. If they stick with the word, it will continue to shape and transform them, and it'll guide them in the way that they should lead their people. But when they start departing from that, that's when you get in trouble. And that's what, that's what we see happen with, with pastors and elders when they get away from God's word, that's when they get into trouble, both in their own personal lives, if they're not devoting themselves to God's word for their own soul, but also for the, for their own people and the word that they teach to them.
Now Paul also points to his own motive and example here as he departs them saying, I didn't, I wasn't here seeking worldly gain. I gave all of myself for your sake. He was glad to give of himself in that sort of way, and it's following the example of Jesus. He says in verse 35, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now, what's really interesting about this quote from Jesus is that we don't find it in the gospel, any of the gospel accounts, and you might say, oh, so that means it's not a quote, legitimate quote of Jesus. Not at all. It just means that Jesus said more things than was recorded in the Gospels. But of course, it also, it all aligns with things that we know that Jesus taught. Luke 12 verses 33 through 34, Jesus taught his disciples saying, sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near, no moth destroys. For where your treasure, is there your heart will be also.
And so if a person is freely giving, we can say that they're blessed. In fact, they have a, a better blessing than those who are looking to just acquire more and more and more, because their reward is in heaven. It's heavenly in nature, rather than being worldly in nature, which is just going to be destroyed.
And so we see that they're parting, it is truly heartfelt and that they just shed so many tears because they're not gonna see him again. I mean, just to, again, put yourself in your, in their shoes, you think about the fact that they didn't have telephones, they didn't have FaceTime, they didn't have any of these things. And so when Paul says, I'm not gonna ever see you again, it's kind of like his funeral. They're, they're never gonna see him again. And we can imagine that they truly desire that he would stay with them. I mean, imagine, I mean, anyone would want that Apostle Paul to stick, stick around with them to help guide them. But this is just another reminder to us that while God works through people like Paul, and he continues to work through the body of Christ today, that our faith is not bound up in any one person like that, that the, God's grace works through various members of the body of Christ, and it works through his word.
And just, not that Paul is really highlighting this here, but I would just say as a side note, it's a, it's a reminder to us that we shouldn't idolize any one person. We're just instruments in God's, in God's hands. And God is faithful and God will raise up those who can continue to minister to his people and lead them in the way that they should go. And so we ask ourselves, how do we apply this passage, Paul's speech here to the Ephesian elders to ourselves? Now this, this might seem a little challenging at the front end because you're not elders though some of you could be called to become elders. And as I speak to you, I'm, I'm the only elder in this church. And so in some ways it feels like I've been preaching a sermon to myself. In some ways I have, but I don't believe that's the case. There's a word here for you. There's plenty here relevant to you. Paul's speech here is a reminder of the role that I'm supposed to play in this congregation and your lives. I'm called to provide you with sound teaching from the Bible, from the scriptures, the word of grace that can build you up in Christ. I'm called to guard you, and to watch over your lives, to protect you from those who would call you to go astray. I am called to warn you when you're beginning to wander away. And I have to answer on both accounts, both the providing and the protecting. And maybe you didn't realize that when you walked in this morning, and so this will give you a better perspective as to why I do what I do; I'm responsible before God for the members of this congregation.
This is a great responsibility, and of course, even as Paul tells the elders to watch over their congregations, he also calls them to watch over themselves. And so this reminds us that we should be very vigilant in discerning who should be called to be an elder of the church. We shouldn't just put anyone in there. And this is a danger that some churches can fall into. If they have a set number of elders they must have, and they just say, okay, we've got a warm body. We're putting that person in that position. Only those called by the Holy Spirit should be elders. Now, I would say that there are advantages when you can have multiple elders because they can look out for each other, they can kind of pastor each other. So I think there's great advantages if a church has more than one elder. But sometimes circumstances only allow for one, and in that case, I would say that it's important for you, the members of the congregation, to speak up if you have some concern for your pastor, if you have some concern for me.
If a church is only going to have one elder, it is all the more critical that the congregation be discerning in who they call. And I'm not making my farewell speech now, but no one knows what the future holds. I'm not planning to go anywhere, but I could also die tomorrow. Any number of things could happen. So with that in mind I want to remind you to be careful, that you must be careful to bring in a shepherd and not a wolf. Anyone you call to be an elder, to be your pastor, must be a man of good character who is faithful in preaching the scripture. Now, that doesn't mean that he's gonna be perfect, I'm, I'm, I'm not perfect, that no flaw will ever appear, appear, but he should have the humility to admit when he is been wrong in any regard and readily repent as he leads the congregation in following Christ. Paul's words here to these elders are words to the church as they discern those who are called to be elders.
More broadly, I think all of us can learn from Paul's example, the example that he recounts here, the, and the diligence that he expects from these elders. It is an example, it's a life of diligence that every one of us should follow and live out in our own lives according to the call that he's placed upon us. We're responsible for our calling in this church, for our calling in carrying out our family responsibilities. We should be faithful and diligent in our calling that God has given us in our vocational responsibilities. As Paul says in Colossians 3: 23, everything we do should be done as unto the Lord. We'll answer to God concerning our faithfulness and discharging the responsibilities which he has given to us. Every one of us, I have special responsibilities, you have special responsibilities also.
Paul commits the Ephesian elders to God and to his word. Let us commit ourselves likewise, so that we should all be found faithful to the God that, to the call that God has placed on each one of our lives. Let us pray.
Dear Father, you are a God of all grace who gives us everything we need to carry out the call that you've placed upon our lives.
Father, we see an example of this in this passage here of how you gave these Ephesian elders the Apostle Paul to prepare them for the ministry that they were called to carry out. And the foundation of that grace, father, is your word. And so father, for ourselves, we simply pray this, that we would be faithful to your word in calling those who would be elders of your church, pastors of your church, that they would be men of character, that they would be men who are committed to providing and protecting your church. And father, I pray for myself in this role as I serve this congregation, that you would help me to be faithful in those things.
Father, we pray that you would protect our church from wolves that would come along to lead us astray. I pray, father, that you would protect the other churches in our town, in our neighboring towns, from those same sorts of wolves, that if any of 'em are dominated by a wolf now, father, that you would deliver them from that.
That you would safeguard the pastors of our neighboring churches, that they too would be men faithful to the call that you've placed upon them, to guard themselves and to guard your church.
Father, help us to be all in in whatever you've called us to do, just as the Apostle Paul was all in, that we would be ready to run the race and finish it. Even if we may meet resistance, even, even if people aren't pleased with us, make our utmost desire, father, rather, that we would please you.
Help us to be committed to that above all. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we worship God and hear the preaching of his word. It's our joy to welcome you into our community
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)