Acts 20

Auto-generated from the audio — may contain errors.

0:00 Hey, the text I want to look at is the New Testament reading. You know, with this whole year, we're going through the selection area where the church has assigned three readings for us, an Old Testament, a Gospel, a New Testament. And they actually, they really go together, excuse me, they really go together this week, which they don't always. So if you're following along, the cards on the clipboard's back there, have the readings for this month, and you can take it home and see how the Jeremiah passage

0:31 fits with the Gospel passage, fits with the Acts passage. And it's about this sheep and wolves thing and false teachers. But I really liked this story in Acts that they have for us, which the reading is Acts chapter 20. But like I said last week, remember that it's really hard just to take a couple of verses and know really what it means that these were books and letters

1:03 that were intended to be taken in large chunks. And Acts is really that way because it's, Acts I think is one of the most fun books to read. If people are thinking, maybe I would like to read the Bible. Sometimes I tell them just to start an Acts. I usually tell them start an Acts of Genesis. To me, those are the most fun books. And I want to get us a little bit of the story so that we get some context for this passage that they give us in Acts chapter 20 that starts at verse 27. But to get there, I want to look at back at Acts chapter 19

1:37 and follow quickly a little bit of what Paul is up to in 19 and 20. In, remember that Paul is this like larger than life character in the story of scriptures. He's the one apostle that Jesus waited until he had his full resurrected body to bring to him. And sometimes I've thought like, I wondered why he did that.

2:09 Such a miraculous show up on the Damascus road for Saul to get him. And I just this week came up with an idea that I like better than any idea I've ever had about why Jesus didn't just get him when he got all the rest of them. Like they even had that moment, you know, when they called Matthew after Stephen. Like there was a lot of opportunities where Paul could have been the apostle, but it has this like this glorified body

2:41 popping down out of heaven on the Damascus road after the ascension and everything just to get Saul and get him to be an apostle. And I decided Saul was so like recalcitrant and determined that some dude from Nazareth claiming to be the Messiah would not turn his heart or mind. But a miraculous blinding of the ascended glorified Christ coming down on Damascus road. Now that would convert Paul, Saul to Paul.

3:15 And it does, right? He's blind for three days. He then lives in Damascus breaking down what he knows about the Jewish tradition and what it means that Christ has come, launches out into Asia minor to start preaching in synagogues and on street corners to talk about that the king has come. The long awaited Messiah has arrived. And he's doing that in chapter 19. If you wanna look there with me and it says in verse one in chapter 19 and it happened that while a palace

3:45 was in Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus and there he found some disciples and he said to them, hey guys, did you get the Holy Spirit? And they were like, no. And then they were like, he's like, but weren't you baptized? They said, yeah, but we were baptized with repentance. He said, cool, let's baptize you into the name of Jesus. And then they do and they have this like outpouring of the Holy Spirit and then verse eight and he entered the synagogue. And for three months spoke boldly reasoning

4:17 and persuading them about the reign of God, the kingdom of God. But when some of the stubborn but when some became stubborn and continued to unbelief speaking evil of the way before the congregation did super cool when you read the Acts of the Apostles that Christianity is called the way, capital W.A. I think it's so mysterious and cool that they called it the way. Sometimes they would call it the way of Jesus. And this is a pattern for Paul. He would go into a town, go into the synagogue

4:48 and start helping people see the ways in which Jesus of Nazareth lines up with the, ways in which Jesus of Nazareth lines up with the Messiah, right? And he would make the arguments repeatedly and then eventually they would kick him out of the synagogue and the followers of the way would retreat to another place. That's what he does in Ephesus. But look at how long he stays. It says verse 10. Well, he takes some disciples withdrew

5:18 and took the disciples with him and reasoning daily in the hall of Turinis, then verse 10. This continued for two years so that while the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. He's there in Ephesus for two years. That's a long time. I was trying to think about if you were living life with someone for two years, I mean, this, the last two years, it's not a good comparison, right? Because it's like some weird time work, you know?

5:52 But that's a long enough time to have built a significant relationship with somebody. And I think that they did enough that then when he moves on, he starts to preach, they gain more followers. And then they have this like thing where he has to leave. You see, in chapter 19, verse 21 has a heading that says, a riot in Ephesus. People get frustrated and he leaves.

6:23 But then he's moved around to a couple of places, stayed periodically, then in chapter 20, look after the uproar ceased. Paul sent to the disciples and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months. And when the plot was made against him by the Jews, he was about to set sail for Syria, but he decided to return through Macedonia.

6:53 I want you to just get a picture, a little bit, about what's happening and how like practical and pragmatic Paul has to be. He's like, he's got this message from the ascended resurrected king who'll be forever. Who Paul, in his letter to Galatians, exclaims, it's changed my experience of life from the inside out. I now have fruit of this original spirit. I have the primordial life active in me. And he's walking around Asia Minor, literally walking, right?

7:24 And then taking boats and he's finding friends and making enemies. He's getting run out of town and he's building churches. And I love this story, the way it goes here, where right here in the beginning of chapter 20, because you get this like travel itinerary. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece and there he spent three months. And when the plot was made against him by the Jews, he was sent about to sail for Syria. He decided to return through Macedonia.

7:55 So Peter of Berea, the son of Piraeus, from Berea, accompanied him. These are friends like, you have a travel log of Paul traveling with his friends. Verse five, he's went on ahead and we're waiting for us at Troas, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of the unleavened bread. And in five days, we came to him at Troas where we stayed for seven days. Verse seven, on the first day of the week, when we gathered together to break bed, Paul talked with them,

8:25 intended to depart on the next day. He prolonged his speech until midnight. He stopped in somewhere for one day and preaching and all these people gathered. There's a funny story there, but then he moves on. Now from Militus, he sent to Ephesus and called the elders in the church to come and meet him. He sailed past Ephesus, his town called Militus, it says because he knew if he stopped in Ephesus, he'd end up staying too long in Asia

8:56 because those are dear friends and he lived there for two years. So he sails past Ephesus and on his way there, it's like a four day journey, he sends notice, hey, for the elders of Ephesus to come meet me in Militus down here because I'm trying, you find out later, he's trying to get Jerusalem in time for Pentecost. He's on the move, man. But he's stopping in Militus because on his way to Jerusalem, he knows the Jewish church is persecuting the followers of the way he does not know what will happen to him

9:28 when he goes to Jerusalem, but he is determined to go. He feels called to go. So before he goes, he wants one more visit with his friends from Ephesus, right? So he can't stay in Ephesus, he's gonna take him too long, he'll miss Pentecost, he sails past Ephesus and tells his friends, come down here and meet me. And that's the conversation that they give us in our reading for today in Acts chapter 20, verse 27. And he's talking to the elders in Ephesus

9:59 after all that long journey around. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of you all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole council of God. Verse 28, pick 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. I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing your flock. And from among your own selves, will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.

10:31 Listen, it's hard in the challenges and difficulties of life to remember to rely just on God. And Paul is saying, hey, think when I leave, people are gonna come up with all kinds of ideas about the places that you ought to put your trust. It's gonna happen amongst the church and it's gonna happen outside the church. People are just gonna have trouble figuring out where to put your trust. Therefore, he says, verse 31,

11:01 be alert remembering that for three years, I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears, verse 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 an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. He goes on, I covered it, no one's silver or gold or apparel, you yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities. He's saying, I didn't come here trying to take anything from you.

11:33 He's trying to build up his credibility as one who is trustworthy. In all these things, I have shown you that by working hard in this way, we must help the weak and remember the words of Lord Jesus, how he himself said, it is more blessed to give than receive, verse 36, and then we'll pause for a second. Then he, and when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was weeping on the part of all, they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful, most of all, because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again,

12:05 and they accompanied him to a ship. That little moment right there, I wonder if you can feel the emotion of the dude that they love, like they were living their life in Ephesus and this dude like a hurricane comes into town and starts preaching in the synagogue and everything changes. He's there for a couple of months and nobody can believe what he's saying and then people divide. And then for two years they live with him and if you read the story of the two years,

12:36 he's in Ephesus, people are healed all over the place. There are miracles, people's lives are being changed, people's sicknesses are dissipating, people's choices are changing. For two years they live with this guy and they begin to understand, believe and receive, the idea that Jesus of Nazareth actually is a king, reigning now, setting up an eternity for them that they can be a part of. Paul has changed everything for them. And then in this moment, they're in Millethos,

13:06 just the leaders of the church and Paul. He says, I'm probably not going to see you again. And they kneel together, weep and pray because even though Jesus is king, people are still having to separate, people are still dying and they don't know what will happen.

13:40 I made you listen through that whole road journey for Paul because I'm trying to pull this text out of some kind of sacred metaphor or analogy or kid story for you and invite you to consider that some several thousand years ago, Paul made these journeys. These people faced these challenges.

14:11 Paul rode the boat and they didn't get far enough away from the shoreline that they couldn't see it anymore. So they would hop from one town to the next on the boat and sometimes he'd walk and meet the boat. He had to deal with the things of real life and he's going to Jerusalem to deal with a corrupt church and false teachers. He's parting from real friends. If we would read all of Acts,

14:41 we would find people with questions about their livelihood. Questions about the way they eat, about the way they raise their kids, about the way they bury their dead. These people are dealing with real life questions in the midst of real life, some of which you may be familiar with. Some of some questions that actually, you may have the same question, though we're not in coastal Mediterranean village. Which sounds great, right? We're in landlocked, Orlando.

15:14 And in the midst of that, what got me this morning is how Paul handles it. Look back at chapter 20 verse 32. Paul says, and now I commend you to God,

15:45 and to the word of his grace. He's leaving his friends whom he loves, trusts, cares for, built up, set aside, prepared for life. He's not going to leave him again. He could leave him with anything. He could say, I'm going to leave you with the network of people and the boats to get you where you want. I'm going to teach you all how to make your own tent so you can take care of yourself or your future. He could give them a lot of things. He could say, I actually, I spent three years interpreting the teachings of Jesus, connecting them to Jerusalem.

16:16 Here's a document, transcript of all my first sermons. You know how much I'd love to hear Paul's first sermon. Let's talk about it. He didn't, he didn't give him my theology. He said, hey guys, I'm going to trust you to the God. Who, whose word is active and real. I'm trying to say that the ones who founded our faith

16:47 penned our scriptures, launched our churches, actually believed that the creator of the world was a real resource for life. That his word had pragmatic help. That to leave people, to commend them to the God and his word was the greatest gift Paul could give, the most hopeful resource.

17:17 So they kneel and pray and weep, not for lack of hope, but for the break of relationship. Paul has all the hope in the world, he says. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace. Why? Because it is able to build you up, they will build you up and to give you the inheritance

17:48 among all those who are sanctified. Talk about this last week. All knows, you may die. This is compelling and there are, we could do a whole thing on the parallels between Paul's life and Jesus. It's remarkable how much Paul becomes a person like Jesus. He's not Jesus, but he becomes a person like Jesus. And he, like Jesus in Gethsemane, is moving towards Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen, reasonably believing death awaits him.

18:20 And his hope is not stirred or broken. Because he knows death is not the end for those who place their hope in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Christ and the church, the God of creation and life. He says, those who are being sanctified have a secure inheritance, which nothing can take away. I read this this week and I thought, I hope and pray that this room of people could be ones for whom faith becomes real.

19:01 When our kids were littler than they are, sometimes still for the youngest, they would be afraid at night and sure they were not going to be able to sleep. And I like had this thing where I didn't want to make promises that I wasn't sure I couldn't keep from happening.

19:38 I can't 100% predict you're not gonna die tonight. I wouldn't tell them that. I can't 100% predict no one's gonna break in to our house tonight. Right? I mean, there are things I can't promise you that are outside of my control. And I can remember with my little ones going, I can feel trite, but I'm gonna pray with you. I can't promise you you won't have a bad dream after this.

20:12 But I'm gonna ask that God will be with you in the midst, bad dreams and good. And I would say the same for you. I, the promise, the problems may increase in complexity, but the answer remains the same.

20:42 I'm gonna give you permission. It is okay to trust in God, just like little kids. I know your life is complicated. Your problems are real and complex. They do not have any solutions. I understand that. I understand there are real consequences and actually bad things that could happen if things go one way or another, I get it. And also, your inheritance is secure

21:14 for those who are being sanctified. The word of the God has the capacity to build you up and secure your inheritance. It's okay in the midst of everything to trust the God. This is the position that Paul takes with the leaders of Ephesus. It's the position that applies still today. It's the position I take with you. I'll read it again.

21:45 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. Let's pray that we could be those who receive it. Hey Lord, thank you for the gift of your word and the opportunity for inheritance and sanctification. We say together, good Lord, this morning that we do, we trust you, we trust you.

22:18 In fact, Lord, our hope is in you, our hope for the future. Meet us here this morning in our trust and hope, in our belief and unbelief, in our faith and doubt. Meet up here this morning in Jesus' name and for His sake we pray.