Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through the regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. Sopata the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him, and of the Thessalonians Aristarchus, and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and the Asians Tychicus, and Tromphamus. These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. On the first day of the week, we were gathered together to break bread. Paul talked with him, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered, and a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him. And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive and were not a little comforted. But going ahead on to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul abroad there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mytilene. And sailing from there we came to the following day opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos, and the day after that we went to Miletus. But 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 Ephesians and called the elders of the church to come to him. 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. serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and Greeks of repentance towards God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, I am going to Jerusalem. constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that the imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life as any value, nor as precious to myself. If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 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. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease, day or night or day, to admonish everyone with tears. 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. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 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. When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much 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. And they accompanied him to the ship. Amen. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Let's just come to our Lord in prayer. Father, we ask for your presence among us. We need you here this evening. I ask, Lord, that you would give me clarity of mind. clarity of thought, clarity of speech. May all that's said and spoken of this evening, may it all be, Lord, according to your rich word. Father, I pray that you would edify our souls by your Holy Spirit as only you can this evening. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, beloved, we continue our study in the book of Acts. We know from previous weeks that the apostle Paul and his companions now are in their third missionary journey. We were told that in the latter parts of the latter verses of chapter 18. And this now, the apostle is in his third missionary journey. We know that the beginning of his third missionary journey is a beginning where he will go back and retrace where he had been beforehand. through Asia and go back to the regions and the cities and the towns that he has already evangelized, and he'll go through with a mission of encouraging and strengthening the believers, systematically going through town by town that he had been in Phrygia and Galatia. And he does this until he reaches to the city of Ephesus. Now the contents of chapter 19, the chapter that we considered together last week, centers around the Apostle's mission in that city, in the city of Ephesus. And I said last week that his stay in Ephesus was actually the longest stay as far as we know that the Apostle Paul stays in any town or city in all of his missionary journeys. He remained there three years. We're told, at least freely, I should say. Anyway, he remained there three years. And those were three glorious years. The first three months, the Apostle spent with the Jews in the synagogues. Remember, I said that's probably a record. because the Jews are normally expelling him and getting rid of the Apostle fairly early in his stay. They don't want to hear what he had to say. There might be a little bit of interest when he speaks about Messiah has come and other things, but when they really have to hear about who this Messiah is, this Jesus who died on the cross as a curse on the cross and then he's resurrected, they don't want to hear that, so they expel him. But we know also that these Jews don't only expel him from the synagogue, but they persecute Paul and the gospel. They speak evil of the way. They speak evil of the gospel and speak evil of Jesus Christ himself. And so the Apostle Paul then goes and he finds a place in the Hall of Tyrannus and there he'll begin his missionary or his ministry, I should say, to the Gentile people. And what a contrast the gospel is in Ephesus. You remember last week I said Ephesus is a dark city. It's a city steeped in deep dark religious practices, religious worship, and magic, and other dark arts. and witchcraft, you name it. The residents were clearly given over to such practices. And to add that, Ephesus was renowned for its great temple, the Temple of Artemis. You remember that from last week, their beloved goddess Artemis. So when the apostles and his companions brought the gospel to this city, it was literally like a brilliant light shining into the darkness. It pierced through the darkness. And it was a tremendous thing because we were told last week, as we read through and considered that chapter together, that the fruit was extraordinary. Not only were sinners saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but also Paul's prolonged statement that he could emphasize teaching the Word of God. He could emphasize discipling the Christians. And so we saw a massive sanctification happening in an extraordinary way through the city of Ephesus. Christians were actively and publicly renouncing and divulging their evil, their once evil pagan practices. And they were bringing their books and their magic books and their spells or whatever it is they had into the city square and they were putting them up into flames for all to see that we no longer live like that. We belong to Christ. He is our Lord. He is our Savior and we worship Him and Him alone. But of course, no, little persecution will be a result of that sort of revival. And also, last week we had a chance to read about the persecution from all sorts of places, including the Jews, but also the silver smiths who lost a big portion of their business due to the work of the gospel sanctifying people's hearts and the Christians saying, we don't want your idols. We have Christ and that influence of course went beyond Ephesus and went into the whole of Asia where we're talking. So in essence, if you remember last week I was hoping that at least the one thing you took away from that chapter was verse 20 which reads, That's the message of the book. That's the message that nothing can stand in the way of the gospel. Not the Judaizing Jews, not the civil authorities, not the evil idolatrous people, nor powers or principalities, whether visible or invisible. Nothing in this universe will thwart the great commission of Jesus Christ. Jesus is building His church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. The gospel will advance. It's Christ's gospel. It's Christ's Spirit that empowers the gospel. He will accomplish all that He said that He would. And it's no different for us today. Meditating through this book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, over and again, has reaffirmed, at least to my heart, and I hope to yours, that Jesus can be trusted in this. that we are to trust Him. Despite any opposition that comes our way, and our opposition may look a little different to what it looked like in the first century, we need to know that He is faithful, trustworthy. It's up to us. It's up to us to look to Him by faith, to embrace His Word, and proclaim the Gospel as He has given it to us, and trust, trust that He will do the work. So now in chapter 20, We're told after the uproar in Ephesus, how long after, we're not sure, but the apostle has resolved now to leave Ephesus and the mainland of Asia Minor and continue into Macedonia. But not before he calls the believers and he encourages them. I love that. I love the ministry of the Apostle Paul's encouragement. It's so evident through the book of Acts. We've read it over and over again. everywhere we read that he's encouraging the believers, he's gone back to the areas to strengthen the church, and even now he's encouraging the disciples in Ephesus. Luke tells us that Paul works his way through the churches that he's established in the previous missionary journeys through Macedonia, likely starting in Philippi in the north and working his way down south to Berea and beyond. The Apostle was resolved by the Spirit, as we're told in verse 21, to do this. Back in verse 21, in chapter 19, we're told he wanted to go back through Macedonia and Archaea. And then he wanted to go to Jerusalem. If you remember, after that, he had intended in his heart to go to Rome. That's the Apostle's intention. But he does this, and as he does this, he encourages the believers. Beloved, we need to see and we need to understand that the encouragement of the Apostle was not simply coming to like-minded people and giving them a pat on the back and saying, hey, things are going to get better. I know you're struggling now, but don't worry about it. All will be okay. That's not at all what the Apostle would say. The Apostle Paul knew the seriousness of the faith. He knew the opposition against the faith and against the gospel. He knew the critical importance of a right sort of encouragement or exhortation, because that's what the word really means. You see, the encouragement of the apostle was rooted in the Word of God. That's how we encourage each other as Christians, through the Word. He exhorts the believers to hold firm to the body of faith given once and for all to believers or to the church. That's the reason the Apostle tracks over ground that he's already been and ground that he's already crossed. To catch up with the believers, the fruit of his gospel endeavors, and to encourage them in the Lord, meaning to encourage them in the word of the Lord, in the promises of Jesus. And Luke assumes the reader to know what he means when he refers to this sort of encouragement. He's already elaborated back in chapter 14, the first time the Apostle Paul, and back then with Barnabas, go back over, backtrack over areas or regions that they'd been to before. And back then, this is what Luke writes, he says, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, backtracking that is, strengthening the souls of the disciples, hear this, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. Continue in the faith. Continuing what I've taught you, the Apostle Paul is saying. Continue entrusting the promises of Jesus Christ. Look to Christ. Hold to Scripture. Hold to His words spoken by the Apostles. Things don't get better in this world, he says. He saw that there. Saying that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. Persecution will come. Tribulation will come. The enemy will continue to increase the fierceness of his attacks. Your spiritual battle will only get hotter and hotter. And you need to know that the only way you'll get through it is to hold to Christ, is to trust in His Word. Continue in the faith, because only he who endures until the end will be saved. The words of our Lord in Matthew 24, right? Beloved, this is incredibly important. Did you realize that in the text I quoted back in chapter 14 that Lystra was one of the towns that the Apostle returned to? You remember what happened in Lystra. He got stoned and nearly killed in that place, dragged out of that city, abused. He nearly lost his life and only a few weeks later, despite the risks, despite the threats, he goes back into Lystra to encourage the saints. It's incredible. What love does this apostle have for these people? And how important is it that the saints are continually encouraged in the Lord? Beloved, the warning in Hebrews chapter 3 comes to mind, where it reads, but exhort or encourage one another every day. See, it says exhort, which really means encourage. As long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness, of sin. Encouraging one another in the Lord, in His Word, is essential for your spiritual health. It's good to catch up. It's good to fellowship. It's good to do life with one another. It's a beautiful thing. But beloved, we must be intentional to encourage and exhort one another in the Word of the Lord. We need each other in this way. And as I said earlier, our spiritual health depends upon it. And I believe the example of the Apostle Paul is for all of us Christians to hold dear to our hearts. Now, Paul works his way to the south, all the way to Greece, we're told. Now, that's likely the Corinth that is in mind. And after three months there, he's made aware of a plot to take his life. Now, having now encouraged the believers in Macedonia and Archaea, the apostle was about to sail to Syria, likely to visit the home church in Antioch, and then he'll go down or up, because everywhere is up to Jerusalem, at the time of Pentecost. By sea would have been the far quickest way to return home. But it seems, according to the text, that the Jews have hatched a plan involving getting rid of the Apostle Paul. Now, we don't know what the plan was, but Paul's plans to go back by sea were cancelled. Maybe they were thinking of tossing Paul overboard because no one would ever know. But we can't be sure. The Jews were still bitter at Paul. They remembered last time when he was down in Corinth. They remembered what he preached. They kicked him out of the synagogue. And if you remember, to add to that, if you remember that the message of the gospel, the message that the apostle Paul proclaimed produced fruit, not only with the Gentiles, but also with the Jews. In fact, two of the rulers of the synagogue, were converted to the faith. That wouldn't go well with the Jews, right? Remember Christus and Sosthenes? So the Jews were quite bitter towards Paul, and so having been made of that plan, they planned to kill him. Paul diverts his plans, and rather than going across the sea straight to Syria, he takes a very big detour. He goes back through Macedonia to the north, and then he crosses over to the mainland of Asia, sails back down, and then crosses over that way. But it adds a lot of time. to his missionary journey. Now Luke tells us here as well, if you look down in verse 4, he mentions seven men who accompany Paul back to Jerusalem. Then they go ahead of him to Troas, but he mentions seven men. And I'm not going to spend too much time there or on them for the sake of time, because we have a lot to get through this evening. But other than to say that these are the fruits of the apostles' gospel ministry. They were converted under Paul. You hear the names of these men again, and you'll hear them again through the letters of the Apostle Paul when he writes the letters to the churches. But if you realize, they're not all from the same region. These men represent major regions of Paul's missionary endeavors. I love the fact that Luke includes them here. It shows us that Jesus is saving people from all over the world. Remember the Great Commission? Remember what he gave to the disciples back in Acts chapter 1 verse 8? He said, you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and then to the outermost parts of the world. And we're seeing that here. This is a great boost to the confidence of not only these men, but for us as well. But not only are lost sinners being saved by faith and reconciled to Christ, but also the Lord is working, as I said earlier, in sanctifying people, in maturing people, to the point that the apostle is now willing to have them accompany him. This is the same apostle that rejected John Mark. You remember earlier, now he's pleased to take these men to partner with him in the course of the gospel. Now that's incredible. It's incredible. Now it's true that Paul tells us in Romans 15 that a collection was made about this time in Archaea and in Macedonia, a collection to take some funds back to Jerusalem, to the church who is in need. But I do believe that these men are listed here by inspiration of the Holy Spirit by Luke. for far more reasons than just being money bearers to associate or to walk alongside Paul. I believe Luke, under inspiration of the Spirit, is showcasing the blessed fruit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Saved by grace through faith and now by faith being used by Christ as labourers of the same gospel that saved them. The badden is passed from one to the other The nature of the work may change. These men are definitely not apostles. But they yield the same Word, the Word of God. And that's how the gospel continues to pervade the darkness, even now. The Lord saves sinners through His Word. And through the same Word, He sanctifies those who are saved. He matures His people. And then for some, He calls and equips to preach His Word. And that's how He builds His church. And the men who will predominantly do that work of preaching and teaching and discipling after the passing of the apostles in the first century, because the apostles are only in the first century, then these men become the elders and the pastors and the shepherds of the flock. and they're emphasized in this chapter from verse 17. But before that section comes, in verse 7 through 16 we have an interesting account in a place called Troas. The apostle and his companions have now set sail from Philippi to a place on the mainland of Asia called Troas. There they stayed some seven days, we're told. Now remember, time is of the essence for the Apostle because he is trying to get back to Jerusalem by Pentecost, and that detour has added a lot of time to his journey. And we know that there is less than seven weeks to go now because Passover had just finished, and we know there's only 49 days between Passover and Pentecost. But even still, the Apostle had so much to say to the people in Troas and he had so little time. So he gives him a huge dose of the word on the last night that he's there, the night before his departure. Now if you ever thought, wow, that was a long sermon about any sermon that you've ever heard, then that was nothing compared to what Paul is preaching on this night. He goes through till midnight. Now admittedly, being the first day of the week, a Sunday, which was the day the church gathered together, most people didn't have the luxury of having a full day off in this time. They worked through the day, and they gathered as a church in the evening. So Paul's sermon began in the time of the evening. Exactly what time? We don't know, but it did go to midnight, we're told that much. So it was long, and maybe tiresome for some. But I'm sure God's people wanted to be there because God's people are always hungry for the Word. But think about Paul. Because sometimes we think about those sitting under the preaching of the Word, but think about Paul. Humanly or physically speaking, the apostle was exhausted. In 2 Corinthians chapter 7, writing to the church in Corinth, he wrote that around this time that is before us in chapter 20, his body had had no rest. His labour was hard. It was intensive, with much affliction and much persecution. And he was doing a lot of the travel by foot. And even when he went by boat, if he got seasick, because there was a lot of bad weather, some of these time stamps, when you look at them, you know that they've got opposing winds, because journeys that should take two days are taking four and five days. It was tough. And add to all that the extensive travel, not only that he has done already, but the travel yet to come. The apostle was tired, needing to set out by foot the next day, and his companions to follow him by sea the very next morning. That would have been a very good excuse to take an early night and hit the sack, wouldn't you think? Let's be honest, if you had travel the next day, would that not be what you would have done? What I would have done? But I was not wishing to exalt any man. But this man's commitment to Christ and the gospel was incredible. He knew the importance of the task that was before him. He knew the weightiness of the responsibility to be the apostle to the Gentiles. The responsibility that Jesus himself laid upon his shoulders. And he had a love for Christ. He had a love for God's people. And his conscience compelled him to continue to preach the treasure that is the Word of God. to God's people, even if that meant no sleep, which was likely the case this evening. He was willing to pour out his life for the sake of Christ and for the sake of others. What better can I do with my life, he's thinking, than to preach the word of God to God's people. That was the heart of the apostle. And so Paul preaches, and he preaches, and he continues to preach, and preach to midnight. And then we have a young man by the name of Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, listening to the Apostle. Now, the Greek word that connotes, we translate, a young man, or a young man before us, really connotes a young teenager, maybe the age of 14 or thereabouts. Whilst Paul was preaching, this young man, as I said earlier, was sitting on the windowsill, and then he falls into a deep sleep because the ambient temperature up there, the lamps are going, and it's conducive to sleep. And then what we find is something shocking that happens. He falls out of the seal and plunges to his death. Now imagine that. Imagine that. Imagine sitting in a prayer meeting or in a service and hearing preaching, and then you hear a plonk, and one of your members has fallen out the window to his to his death. This was a shocking ordeal. Now his parents and his relatives or his loved ones were likely there. And although Luke doesn't give us their reaction, it would not be an understatement to suggest that they would have reacted with the usual human reactions like you and I would have reacted with much screaming and shouting and horror. That's how we would have reacted. That's probably how they responded as well. This was a real buzzkill. People were horrified. One of their own has just been killed. It was devastating. But the shock will turn into joy. The apostle goes down, and by the power of the Spirit, he brings that boy back to life. Incredible. What's the moral of the story? Don't sleep during a sermon. Don't sleep during the sermon. It could prove fatal. No, that's not the moral of the story at all. We actually don't know. We don't know why this happened. We're not told. We're not told why the young man died. We're not told. We're not told what the Apostle Paul was preaching about. It could have been a perfect illustration if he was preaching about you being dead in your sin, in your transgression, but being made alive in Christ. But that's speculation. Let's not go there. But I'd like to think, going by verse 12, the people in Troas were not a little comforted. And that's Luke the physician's way of saying in polished Greek, they were really, really, really encouraged. I'd like to think that the Lord gave them exactly what they needed at that time. Encouragement. And they were encouraged in him. I'd like to think, due to the excitement, that no one was sleepy anymore. Would you be? I mean, if you were sleepy coming on midnight thinking, Paul, we want to go and rest. We have work the next day. And that happens. I'm sure that sleep has just gone out of your mind. So I'm pretty confident that no one was sleeping anymore. So after breaking bread, they were really attentive, I believe, to all that the apostle was saying. And he continued to speak. Until morning. We're told he had conversations with them. So maybe no longer a formal speech or formal preaching, but maybe conversations to and fro. Maybe they had questions about the whole ordeal. But whatever it is, knowing the Apostle Paul, whatever he spoke and whatever he said, whatever he said, knowing that he has a limited time with his people, you can almost guarantee that it was saturated with the Word. Saturated with the Word. And they were listening, and they listened attentively, and I'm pretty sure they weren't sleepy. But really, don't fall asleep during preaching. It's not good. From there, the apostle walks to Assos. Not sure why he doesn't journey with the others. The others take the ship, and he decides to walk. We're not told why, so we won't go there. But then he continues to sail through the islands to a place called Miletus, about 80 kilometers south of Ephesus. It's there that Paul sends word to the Ephesian elders to meet with him because he had much on his heart to share with these elders. And beloved, the elders come. They know, they know, they know the Apostle, they love the Apostle. And when we don't know, we don't know how many of the elders there were because we're not told, but we know it's a plurality of elders because it's spoken in the plural. And on very short notice, they're willing to quickly come. Once the messenger comes to Ephesus, they're quickly returning with him. And remember, brothers and sisters, the 80 kilometer journey is about a four or five day turnaround. A return trip is between four and five days. So they're just altering their plans on the spot because they know how important it is to meet up with the apostle. And what comes next is absolutely incredible. It's a beautiful passage. And it's just a shame that we don't have more time to really slowly go through it, but maybe one day in the future we will. I'll barely skim the surface this evening with the time that we have left. And to be honest, I did struggle to be able to condense what I wanted to say. But we know that the Apostle Paul, reading this text, wears his heart on his sleeve in the text. He pours out his heart to these men who are able to see his tender and his pastoral side of the Apostle, and his utmost love for Christ, and his evident love for the Church of Jesus Christ. Now this speech is exclusively to the elders, which means it's a Christian group of people, and that makes this text quite unique in the book of Acts. And he hits home, he hits home the serious work of the Gospel. and the commitment that the gospel ministry takes from someone, and the importance of preaching the gospel to God's people and feeding them the Word of God. It is home, the importance to be faithful, no matter the cost. And the cost is great, beloved, but we see that it is worth it. Now I want you to keep in mind as you read through that text and as we work our way through, you've got to keep in mind that the Apostle Paul continually says, imitate me as I imitate Christ. Keep that in mind. Keep that in mind. He's not boasting about himself. He's saying that this is how I am because of the work of Jesus Christ in me and therefore imitate me as I imitate Christ. These men, as I said earlier, were dear to the Apostle. He spent three years with them. They were co-laborers with him in the ministry. Their hearts were knit together. There was a deep sense of brotherly love, one with the other, no doubt. Paul was with them day and night. Their eyes and their ears witnessed day in and day out the life of the Apostle. They knew him, warts and all. They were close to him. And therefore he is able in this text to say to them that I'm now appealing to your senses because you've seen with your eyes, you've heard with your ears, you were with me day in and day out. And you can testify before the Lord that the way I preached and what I preached and what I taught is how I live my life. You saw my life. You know I was consistent. with trying to live out that which I preached I was not a hypocrite you witnessed my heart. How as an apostle of Jesus he says yielding the authority of the Apostle called and sent by Jesus himself yet I served you with utmost humility he says. A humility by the way which he'll exhort these men and others in Ephesus to follow in his epistle that he writes with or to the Ephesians in a few years time. He didn't lord over them His authority, but He served them with humility. Just as Jesus washed His disciples' feet, and then He said to the disciples, go do likewise. I believe that's what Paul is saying here. Paul was a servant to the Ephesians. Day and night, from the very first day, not wasting any time, he says, he labored faithfully. He knew what needed to be done, and he did it well. None of it was easy. He says he did it with tears. And those tears aren't tears of pain because of a persecution that came his way. Verse 31 clarifies that these were tears of anguish before the Lord as He admonishes God's people, the believers. It was a struggle daily for Him. He always struggled because Paul knows how deceitful the enemy is and how important it is for Christians to live according to the Word and to fix their hearts and their eyes upon Jesus. It breaks him up inside to think of any Christians who fall away into the deception of the enemy. So with tears he admonished them, he says. And beyond those tears were various trials, he says. The persecution that came from the Jews is one of those trials. And every step of the way the Jews were speaking evil of Paul and of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ. Speaking evil of the way, we're told. And they tried with any means to break down that which the Apostle Paul was trying to build through the power of Jesus Christ. Beloved trials, they build up the Christian. They shape up our character. And they make us more like Christ. But boy, do they hurt. They hurt. Many trials were faced by the Apostle. And the elders were able to witness how he dealt with those trials. Was his faith truly in Jesus or in his own ability? Was he truly looking to Christ? Was he believing in Him? Did he believe in the sovereignty of God or was this man actually walking by his own strength? And Paul says, imagine that. Imagine being able to say to those who have lived with you day in and day out for three years and say to them square in the face, you saw my life. You saw what I preached and you've seen how consistent I was. What a wonderful testimony to have. This is evidence of the Spirit of God working in this man and bringing him out to be like Jesus Christ. But his hope, despite the trials, was always in the Lord. In 2 Timothy 4.17, likely referring to this time in Ephesus, he writes, So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. Speaking about his trials. The lion's mouth! Have you ever, ever described your trials as being rescued from the lion's mouth? These were serious times that Paul was referring to. Fierce opposition by the enemy despite temptation to give up. He continued and he continued and he continued. He knew what he needed to do and he did it. He knew what his calling was and he accomplished by the power of Christ. Because in verse 20 he says these incredible words, I love these words, how he speaks to the Ephesian elders and says, you know these, you know me, you saw me, you saw how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance towards God and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see the word shrink here connotes a fearful withdrawal and beloved, it may not be obvious. But this is one of the biggest temptations in the life of a shepherd, of a pastor, or an elder. You see, the words of Paul, they're true. But they're also calculated. They're also intentional. The apostle is being intentional with his audience, speaking truth with intentionality. He's not boasting. Now, we know the Apostle Paul enough to know that if he boasts, he boasts in the Lord, or only in the Lord. Every word that comes out of his mouth is prudent, and it's incredibly applicable to the many elders that stand before him. You see, there is much of what we do that is blessed. There's much of what a pastor's job or role is blessing, and it's pleasant, and it's glorious, and it's received well by all. But also the very nature of being a shepherd is to tend the sheep. And that means to warn of danger, and even rebuke and discipline if necessary. That takes tremendous courage. Even if done in grace and love, some truths in God's Word are so peacing and so confronting that it becomes a temptation to soften the blow, or even, God forbid, to remove that blow altogether. No one wants to be the bad guy. And although everything in God's Word is profitable to the believer, some things are far more easy to digest than others. And the Apostle Paul is basically saying, I never shrunk back from anything that is profitable. I didn't shrink back because of the fear of man. If it was profitable to your soul, even if it hurts at any cost, I was prepared to pay that cost, and I spoke it for the sake of your own sanctification. Self-preservation was never a factor for me, Paul is saying. Being liked by others or by all didn't register in my priorities. Only your spiritual health did. For I could not in good conscience withhold truths, as difficult as that may be, or some may be, that's just not loving. So I spoke them in love and in grace, no matter what the cost was." This is how we can see in his letter to the Corinthians, or how he can say, my apologies, that his conscience is clean before the Lord. You know, I'm not one of those guys who gives itching ears. What they want to hear is what Paul's saying. I declared the whole truth, the whole counsel of God, verse 27. Whatever was profitable for your spiritual well-being, as difficult and confronting as that was, I declared it. Now what a lesson that is. How many today shrink back from preaching and teaching what is profitable? People want to hear about heaven, but not hell. People want to hear about the love of God, but not His justice. People want to hear about blessing, but not curse. People want to hear about the forbearance of God, but not His wrath. Sin, repentance, human inability, total depravity, pride, the final, the full and final, condemnation are not popular messages. But beloved, they are infinitely profitable. Because the gospel of Christ is impotent without them. How is it good news if you don't know The bad news. That's why many are preaching a gospel that is devoid of power to save in the name of Christianity. Filling the pews with people, yes, but people heading straight to hell. And that blood is on their heads. That's not me. That's not me the Apostle is saying. I didn't shrink back. I didn't give in to public pressure. I didn't assimilate. I didn't compromise. I spoke it as it is. And I think he's looking at the Ephesian elders and saying, so should you. I think he's looking at us and saying, so should you. Because you're shepherding the flock. And the flock need the unadulterated, pure Word of God. It made no difference whether publicly or in private. That's what the Apostle is saying. He proclaimed it publicly and also he did it from house to house in an intimate one-on-one fashion. He was serious in his discipleship, serious in his shepherding of God's people, all saturated with the Word of God. He was consistent and he was clear on the Gospel and on the Word of God whether everyone was watching or whether he was one-on-one. They could see that. because these men knew him intimately and they heard him publicly. There was a consistency in his message. It made no difference whether he stood or who stood before him, whether it was Jews or Gentiles, we're told. He preached truth, uncompromisingly. Being an apostle to the Gentiles, it didn't excuse him from preaching to the Jews, because we know his heart was still for his fellow kinsmen, right? They hated me, Paul would say. The Jews hated me but I didn't care about their hate towards me. I knew what was good for them and I did not shy back from preaching the love of the gospel to them because that's what love is. I preached the gospel and the essence of the gospel is repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ and he says that. Sure in wisdom, how he arrives at that truth and how he speaks to them about the gospel of Christ, it may differ with his presentation when he's speaking to people who have a working knowledge of the Old Testament, like the Jews, and those who don't, like the Athenians in chapter 18 or chapter 17. But the foundational truth requires that sinners know that they are guilty before a good and holy God, and they ought to come in repentance and faith in the only Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior for man. And that was proclaimed by the Apostle, loud and clear. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, the Jew first and also the Greek. That's his words in Romans 1.16. That's his message. And it was loud and strong. Paul gave great reverence to the words of Christ. I believe when Jesus said, for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes into glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9.26. Paul was unashamed of the gospel and he didn't hold back. If it was profitable for God's people, he spoke it. Suffering and persecution and tribulation. He confronted Paul every step of the way, but he was uncompromised. And so the apostle looks at the elders in the eyes. And I believe he's saying, just do likewise. Imitate me as I imitate Christ. Don't shrink back from what is profitable and true. I'm leaving you with the flock of Christ. Do what is right before them. He continues to tell that the journey doesn't get any easier. The Spirit has revealed to Paul that in every city, we're told, imprisonment and afflictions await me. I don't know what lies ahead, he's saying. The Lord hasn't revealed to me what that looks like, what the affliction looks like. But I know it will continue to come. And I know wherever I go and preach the gospel, I'm going to suffer. Imagine that, beloved. Right now, where you are, imagine that you're sent on a mission, and the Spirit of God has revealed to your soul, no details, just that every single place you go, you'll be afflicted, you'll be imprisoned, and there will be much suffering. Back in chapter 9, the Lord said to Ananias about Paul, I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. But who would have thought the gospel suffer this much? Most of us would break even at 10% of the affliction that came his way. And that may be generous. A wall of suffering is still to come for the Apostle, and yet he says, for the sake of Christ, bring it on. The brothers in Tyre, a place called Tyre, in the next chapter will warn the Apostle of great tribulation that will come when he goes to Jerusalem, and then after Agabus prophesies, about the binding of the Jews and the capturing of Paul when he goes to Jerusalem, all his companions, including the author of this book, Luke himself, will then urge the apostle Paul to refrain from going to Jerusalem, because why would you go knowing you're going to be captured? A true prophet of God has now declared to you, you're going to be captured. There he says, for I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. That's just incredible, isn't it? Who says that? Who can actually say that and actually mean it? We know he does die for the cross. And it's not unlike the reason he gives to the Ephesian elders here in verse 24, if you look down, where he says, "...I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish the course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." What conviction does not put us to shame, beloved? My life is not precious to me. How come, Paul? Why is your life not precious to you, Paul? Because Christ is precious to Paul. He's my treasure. And my goal and my purpose for my life is to finish the course that He has given me. That's my heart's desire. Beloved, say what you want to say about the Apostle. about his incredible courage, his unbreakable conviction, his absolute resoluteness, his love for Christ, his supernatural willingness to give up his own life for the cause of the gospel. Yes, you can say these things and you will not be wrong, but don't you or I dare to excuse ourselves from pursuing the like. Because, all the while, the Apostle is not the archetype. He's not the prototype. He's not the one we look to. He is, and he shows these righteous Christian virtues. But, beloved, the one who fulfills that position, the one that we, as well as the Apostle Paul, look to and imitate, is Jesus Christ. He's the author, and he's the perfecter of our faith. The Apostle Paul, both you and I are called to this type of Christ-likeness. Let's not excuse ourselves too quickly as though the grace that the Apostle Paul was given and the faith that he has is unique only to him. He is an apostle, you and I are not. Yes, of course. But the reason the same apostle writes, be imitators of me as I am in Christ. The key there is as I am of Christ. Because we are all called to lay down our lives for Jesus. Our calling is not one of apostleship. It may not even be one of eldership as Paul's audience. But we are all disciples of Christ if you've confessed faith in Jesus Christ. And irrespective of your calling in this life, being a disciple of Christ is an invitation to die. It's an invitation to leave the world behind and to pursue Jesus Christ. Jesus said, if you're not willing to give up your life for my sake, you're not worthy of me. Paul knows this too well. And he tells the elders before, his overarching drive in the Spirit is to finish the course. No matter what the cost is. He says, I want to finish. I want to finish that which Jesus has given me. To testify to the gospel of grace. That's what I want to do. No matter what cost. That's what I want to do. I want to finish the race. Sounds just like 2 Timothy 4.7, doesn't it? Where the Apostle says, I fought the fight, or the good fight. I finished the race I have kept. I've kept the faith. That was written probably only months before the Apostle was executed. Brothers and sisters, unless our hearts are set on finishing that race, on fighting the good fight like the Apostle Paul tells us, then we're on the wrong track. And repentance is required before the Lord because nothing else matters. We're pilgrims in this world. This is not our home. Sometimes we act as if this is our home. Sometimes we act as if this is where we ought to be building our treasure. To our shame. We need to be reminded that Jesus is our treasure and our home is with Him. I know the Apostle Paul knew that and I know that's what motivated his life. everything in this world will fade away. We need to remember that. We've been called to faithfulness. And that faithfulness is wrought by the Spirit who gives us the faith and the desire to look to Jesus and to look to eternity with Him and to rejoice. And in light of that glory, everything else is nothing. Oh, that the Lord would give us to be faithful in this way. to be able to, by His grace, be able to say that I'm innocent before Him, as the Apostle says in verse 26. He says that He declared the whole counsel of God, and He is innocent of their blood. Verse 26, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Possibly an allusion to the book of Ezekiel 3 or Ezekiel 33, the watchman passage where Ezekiel is told that Israel has sinned, and if you warn Israel of her sin and she does not turn, then you're okay. But if you know and you do not warn Israel, then her blood is on your head. The Apostle Paul says, I'm innocent of people's blood. Why? Because I have declared the whole counsel of God. I didn't shrink back. I wasn't a coward. I didn't hold back. I wasn't fearing men. I knew my calling and Christ had given me what to say and I said it no matter what the cost. I didn't shy away from declaring the whole counsel of God, verse 27. He didn't hold back. Self-preservation was not on the books for the Apostle. I don't care what people thought of me, I cared only what Christ thought of me. His goal was to be faithful to Jesus, and to finish the race that he had given him. And beloved, let's face it, holding back the things that God has given us to proclaim, as hard as they are, and as difficult as they are, and as piercing as they are, and as confronting as they are, it's just not loving. It's just not loving. This was a tremendous lesson to the elders in Ephesians or in Ephesus and even for us today. May the Lord give us to preach and to teach the whole counsel of God and not hold back. You might ask the question, you might say, okay that's good and all and I understand that this passage is speaking directly to the Ephesian elders. I'm not an elder. I'm not entrusted to preach and to teach God's Word. You might say, OK, pray for your elders. Really, really pray. Really, really pray. Uphold. Uphold your elders. Pray for them to remain faithful in the Lord. Pray that they will not shrink in fear of public pressure. That will only increase more and more beloved. Read the newspapers. Watch the news. What's coming? What's coming is an all out assault at the Word of God. We're seeing it already. And that attack will be directed at God's Word and it will be directed at the people who teach God's Word. Pray that we don't value our lives more than the Lord. Pray that we don't value our lives more than the calling that He has entrusted. Pray that we don't value our lives more than His flock. Pray that we don't compromise on these truths. Pray that we concern ourselves to be faithful in Christ's eyes and no one else's. No matter the cost. No matter the cost, beloved, pray. And pray that the Lord will give you the courage and the boldness to proclaim the good news of the gospel as it is. Don't shy back. Don't hold back. Be loving, be gracious, be respectful. But don't hold back. This is the gospel of Christ and it needs to be proclaimed as the Lord has given us in truth. But now in verse 18, the tone shifts from the apostle himself, if you see, to the elders. Beloved, as important as it is that these men who are shepherds, they're meant to be selfless. They're meant to have an outward focus in their ministry. After all, their ministry is to lay down their lives for their sheep, and to lead their sheep, to love their sheep, to be committed and serve their sheep. They should have an outward focus in their ministry. But do you realize the first thing that the Apostle says when he turns the focus on the elders? The first words he says is, pay careful attention to what? Yourselves. It begins with you. Don't think you can be faithful in the spirit to accomplish your calling of guiding and shepherding the flock of Christ if you neglect your own soul. And beloved, that's a Christian principle. How can one care for others if they don't care for themselves? That would be hypocrisy. Watch yourself, Paul says to Timothy. He says, keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching. Persist in this, for by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4.16 What he's saying is similar to what's being said here. Unless you're concerned for what enters into your own heart, unless you're concerned with the purity of your doctrine, unless you're concerned with your own holiness, unless you're concerned with following after Christ and loving Jesus, unless you're concerned with these things, you're no good to anyone else. You're no good to anyone else. Before you can have a genuine spirit-wrought concern for others, you have to be concerned for your own spirit, that you are indeed walking according to the life and the faith that you've been saved into. You teach about loving Jesus, do you love Him? You teach about the necessity of time with the Lord, Do you spend time with the Lord? Do you teach about temptation? Are you overcoming temptation? Do you teach about mortifying sin? How are you dealing with your own sin? Is the Spirit at work in your own soul to the effect that you're teaching others? And beloved, this works for you as much as it is for me. And when we proclaim with these lips the gospel of Christ, do we believe the gospel? And has it done a work in us? Has it produced fruit in us? Does our life look like the life that Jesus wants us to be? not only before man, but also in the quiet places, in our hearts, in our minds, in places where no one else can see, do I believe the things that I speak. You remember the Apostle Paul's instruction to the Jews and Romans 2? He says to them, you then who teach, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who harbor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, dishonor God by breaking the law? For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. Spoken to the Jews, but beloved principally for all of us. Verse 28, "...pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseas, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood." Take care of the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseas. If this is your calling, if this is a calling not made by men, but by God. He's the one who calls, He's the one who appoints, He's the one who gifts, He's the one who equips. Remember that. It's God who's called you. And the true church will simply identify the Lord's choice. It's God who appoints men to be shepherds of the flock. And what a responsibility it is. Because we're told here, He purchased the church with His blood. You realize the wording of the Apostle Paul here? He's saying that the purchasing blood of the church is the blood of who? God he says God it's the blood of God He says he says the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the Church of God which this is verse 28 which he obtained with his own blood It's God's blood, but God is spirit. He doesn't have a body. So how can he speak about God's blood? We know who he's speaking about, right? Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It's the blood of Jesus, the blood of God. This is why Paul's comfortable speaking those words. You and I would not speak them if they weren't written in the text. What a price. What a price. That's the price that he paid. The blood of God is the price that was paid for the church. That's the cost. How valuable is the church? Beloved, how much does God love the church? Let's reverse that now. How much should you and I love the church? If you and I were meant to be people who want to imitate God, who imitate the Son of God, Jesus Christ, if He is the author and the perfecter of our faith, if He's the one that we look to, if Christ's likeness is truly our goal, then if it's His blood that purchased the church, and that's an indication of how great His love is for the church, then how much should we love that which He loves? Overseers, elders, pastors, shepherds, it's all the same thing in the Bible. You're taking care of something that is of infinite value. And I think the Apostle is saying, feel the weight of that. Feel the weight of that. And beloved, as I'm reading this, as I'm saying it now, as I was preparing, it honestly made me shudder. This is a massive responsibility. Pray, pray for your elders. Pray for your elders, we can't do it on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit, we need Christ. He needs to be working in and through us, otherwise everything we do will be completely destroyed. Pray. This is a plea. Pray for your elders. Pray that we'd be able to feed God's people with the pure uncorrupted Word of God. Pray that we don't shy back from teaching the whole counsel of God. Pray that we are bold in the proclamation of truth. Pray that we love God's people as much as He loves His own people. Beloved, this includes protecting the sheep from dangers. And it's hard enough to be vigilant about all the threats, or from the threats that are coming from outside the church. But the ones that come from the outside, the wolves, as the Apostle Paul says here, they're not too difficult to spot. Now, they are ferocious, and they are deadly, and they are ones that devour, and they're very damaging if they're allowed to come in. But they're not all that difficult to spot. If we are committed to the Word of God, we'll be able to see. If we're familiar with the Word of God, we should be able to spot heresy. And hopefully by God's grace, by the power of the Spirit who looks after his own, we'll be able to stop that from getting in. But the terrifying thing that the Apostle Paul is saying here is putting locks on your doors actually won't fix the problem. Because the danger lurks from within as well. He says, and from your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Be alert. Be alert, not only from the threats that come from outside, but also the twisted doctrine of demons that could arise from within. Can elders, can pastors, can shepherds, can overseers do this on their own? No, no they can't. No they can't. Of course, it's Christ who's building His church. It's His Spirit who is the power behind all things. It's His Word that illuminates our hearts. And the Shepherd has a major role in this, because He teaches the Word of God. It's the shepherd's responsibility to remain alert before the Lord and to protect from danger, yes. It's his responsibility to know and study and meditate the Word, not only in the mind, but in the soul, that he knows Christ, that he loves Christ. It's his responsibility to preach the Word continually, to shepherd and to disciple and to love and to pray, to be constantly vigilant in the Spirit and exhorting the church through the Word, to feed the sheep. That's his responsibility. But the shepherd, beloved, and the sheep analogy actually breaks down at a particular point. You see, for the most part, sheep are rather naive, and they stay naive, but that's not you, Christian. That's not you. Because although in that analogy, in the analogy of I don't know what they call it, a farmer analogy. The shepherd leads the sheep, but the sheep do grow up, but they still wander. But we expect more from the Word of God. Christ expects more of His Word in your life and in mine. His Word does produce results. His Word sanctifies and His Word matures all of us. Not only the shepherds and the pastors and the overseas, but all of us. The Bible says you are to grow in your maturity in the faith that comes through the knowledge of the Son of God, Ephesians 4.13. Hebrews 5.14 says this, but solid food is for the mature, for those who have their power of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. The solid food spoke about in the book of Hebrews is the Word of God. The shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures by God's grace. That's what the scripture says. But beloved Christians, it's up to you to eat it. Eat, eat, and eat more of God's Word. Consume His Word. Spend time with Christ. Spend time with Him in prayer. Spend time with Him meditating upon His Word, reading His Word, thinking about His Word, getting to know Christ in a very deep, more intimate way. spend time with the Lord, come to know by the Spirit, have a true knowledge of Him from within, that is the Spirit's work, in and through the meditation on His Word. And through the Word, we grow in maturity. And then as mature Christians, we all play part, hear this, in protecting the flock. Because as discerners of good and evil, as discerners of truth, that which is counterfeit is so clearly seen. You're able to detect the twisted doctrines that might come from within, those who masquerade as sheep, but really are wolves in sheep's clothing. You can see it. You can see it because you know the Word of God, and therefore you know that which is counterfeit. Beloved, your shepherds will not relinquish their Christ-given responsibility. They will not do that. We must remain alert, day and night, without ceasing. But our hope and our duty in teaching God's Word is so that we all grow in the unity in the Spirit, in faith, in the bond of peace, and as we grow in the knowledge of Christ. We too begin to see truth from error and then we are all together working towards protecting the church of Jesus Christ. We can discern God's word together, knowing truth. Together we stand for truth. the strong protect the weak in the truth of the grace of God we all are vigilant before the Lord we're all to be found awake and not sleeping this is this is all our responsibility not just those who stand and preach yes there's a greater responsibility given to some but we're all called to be like Christ we're all called to know his word every one of us You see, the Apostle was not found to be asleep. For three years, these elders witnessed, and I'm almost done. These elders witnessed him admonishing them and the people in Ephesus day and night, he says, with tears. So concerned to see them grow in the knowledge of Christ. So concerned to see them grow into maturity in the faith. so concerned to see them grow in the unity of the Spirit. His heart and soul was for that cause alone, and all of his soul, all of his emotions, all of him, all of Paul was given over to this, that he desired nothing more than to see Christ's likeness in the people of God. And that should be the goal of every one of us. Now that he's not returning to Ephesus, he says to these elders, I'm not coming back. You won't see me again. He says these beautiful words. Because at this point, he's done all he can as an apostle. And now he's handing over the baton to these elders. And then we have verse 32. And now I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I love that. I love that. You won't have me around any longer. but you have all you need and abundantly more. You have God himself, and I'm commending you to God, and you have his word. Beloved, what more does the church of Jesus Christ need? God, by his spirit, is behind his word, and he's able to build and sanctify his people until the day that Jesus returns. Ultimately we trust in Him and throughout this whole chapter we can see the centrality of God's words in what Paul has to say. It's God's word that gives us wisdom to be watchful. It's God's Word that allows us to take care of the flock and to feed the flock. It's God's Word. It's God's Word that we preach and we teach. It gives wisdom so that we know truth from error. It's what reveals the threats that come from outside and the threats that come from within. And it's through the Word of God and by the power of the Spirit that we truly get to know Jesus Christ. And as the saints mature in the faith through the word, they grow into becoming the body that Jesus intends for his people to be. And now Paul commends the elders to God. And through the means that God matures and sanctifies his people, he commends them to the word of God. preach the word at all costs. Paul goes on to say that he provided for himself and his companions. He goes on to say, we know Paul didn't want to be a burden on any of the churches, so he provided for his own needs, and in doing so he was a good example of not only being one who provides for his own means, and not putting any obstacles in the way of others to receive and hear the gospel, but also He was a good example of showing love for others because he not only provided for his own needs and the needs of those companions that were with him, but he also had some to give to others. And he says here, it is more blessed to give than to receive the words of Christ, showing that he does indeed believe every word that comes out of the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Having commended these letters to the Lord and to his word, He farewells them with much tears. He passes the baton on to the elders in Ephesus. He practically says, don't shy back. You have the Word of God. Preach it. Teach it. Exhort through it. Encourage one another in it. Be faithful to the Word of God. Don't compromise it. Trust Christ, look to him as the chief shepherd, but shepherd the flock. This is your responsibility. And the chief shepherd will one day come and reward all those according to what they have done. But in all things, may he get the glory. Let's pray.