Acts chapter 20 for our reading this morning from verse 17 through verse 38 through the end of the chapter. Remember Paul has been making his way to Jerusalem after his third missionary trip here. And we'll take things from where we left off as he comes to Ephesus and Miletus. But let's first pray and ask the Lord's blessing on his word read and heard. Lord, we call on you in the name of Christ, our Savior, and we pray that you would help us to benefit from the scripture today. Give us minds and hearts that will concentrate as the word is read and as it's preached, that we would sense your blessing on us, and that as we consider these things, we would be taught of God We would see truths that we've perhaps never seen before or come to know, and that you would work that conviction and that instruction to us. And Lord, insofar as we may be reminded of things, Lord, add to our understanding and confirm our steps to both know and to do according to what you would have us to know and do. We pray, Lord, that you would mature us in our callings in life as members of the Church of Christ, whether we serve as leaders or whether we are disciples more generally, that, Lord, you would bless us each to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Christ our Lord and Savior. And so, Lord, give your blessing on your word this morning. In Jesus' name and for his sake we pray, amen. Well, verse 17, this is God's word. From Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, you yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials, which came upon me through the plots of the Jews. How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. And now behold, I know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure Savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves, men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years, I did not cease to admonish each one 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 have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands minister to my own needs and to the men who were with me in everything. I showed you that by working hard, In this manner, you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that 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 they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken that they would not see his face again, and they were accompanying him to the ship. Well, it's a sad story, but it has many enriching truths about our life in Christ as a congregation. Today we're looking at the importance and the necessary topic of marks of good church leaders. I know that most of what I say today has directly to do with the pastor and with the elder of this congregation. And even so, lest you conclude that what I have to say relates only to two men in this congregation, you should know that what I have to say is useful to every one of you. You may ask, how is that? Well, for a variety of reasons. You yourselves must know and understand these things that we bring forth from the word of God today in order to fulfill your biblical responsibility to choose and appoint good church leaders in future days to come. If any of you young men aspire either to pastoral ministry or to the work of the eldership, there is here a sort of job description. qualifications, responsibilities for what a pastor or an elder should do. As a congregation, each one of you must pray for and you must pray about these very things. Furthermore, you should expect your leaders to exemplify these very characteristics in their lives and in their leadership and ministry. And if they don't, then you must hold them accountable to these very things. And lastly, although there are probably other points, those of us in leadership, we need to be reminded of what Christ calls us to. what we should be about and that for which we should strive both to maintain as well as to do more or to do better. And so we have this morning marks of good church leaders according to Acts chapter 20. What are marks of good church leaders? Who should you have as leaders? What would Jesus have for his church concerning church leaders? How did Paul himself conceive all of this? His last address to the Ephesian elders touches on all of these very things. He speaks, if we could put an outline on this, first concerning the minister or the pastor, and secondly concerning the elder. In some ways, these two terms are synonymous, as a study later in the day will show. But there's a basic distinction that's useful for you and for me in this. You notice that Paul, as the apostle, as the preacher, a teacher of the Gentiles, is here distinguishing himself from the eldership. In chapter 20, verse 17, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. Now, Paul is an apostle. He is also an evangelist, and he is also an elder. And even though he shares the office, there's a sense in which he's got a distinction as an apostle from the elders. And so we draw a distinction between a minister and an elder. We'll explain that more. But even throughout his address here, there is something that he says a couple of times at verse 18 and in verse 34 you yourselves know he's speaking to the elders you yourselves know these things and then he distinguishes himself by a similar phrase in verse 25 and verse 29 I know Again, I know, you yourselves know for two different verses, I myself know for two other distinct verses. All of that I merely illustrate that there are exhortations to the minister, there are exhortations to the elders generally of a congregation. There's another introductory comment we should note. and mention here at the outset to emphasize these marks of church leaders that this is the last address, this is the only message that Luke records in Acts of Paul addressing Christian people. It's the only one in the book of Acts. Clearly, Paul taught Christian people, but it's the only address that's recorded to Christian people. He had other times addressed unbelieving Jews, Gentiles evangelistically like the Jews. He had attempted before to preach and give a defense to a civil magistrate. We will see him in times coming preaching to civil magistrates, but this is the only address that Luke records. of him preaching to Christian people. Now, of course, it's a farewell address. He's saying goodbye to a beloved church with whom he spent three years, day in and day out. And so in light of this, because it's the church, but because the church will only be as strong as its leaders, he therefore meets with the elders of the church at Ephesus. If Satan can compromise, if Satan can remove and get at these leaders, then how much easier will it be for the sheep? If he can strike the shepherd, the sheep will scatter. And so Paul is concerned to have these elders meet him at Miletus. His schedule itinerary is chock full. He can't afford the time to go into the harbor and into Ephesus. And so he sails past and he calls the elders to meet him at Miletus. And he solemnly charges these men and reminds them they must be good church leaders. And here are the marks that will mark them as good church leaders. And so we look at these today concerning the minister and concerning the elder. Of course, this is a basic portrait. This is merely getting at the contours. These are noting the features. These are how you can recognize good church leaders. This is a portrait. This is not a page from Where's Waldo? With all the detail and the specifics, this is painting a picture for you. So we go to the first one concerning the minister. Again, as we'll show later, there's a distinction in terms of minister, a teaching elder, and other elders, there's a difference of emphasis, but in terms of the use in the scripture, the minister, that elder who emphasizes teaching, preaching, who is evangelistic in his teaching the message, who is there to shepherd in terms of the word, to instruct, to exhort, to explain, to apologetically reason with people and try to persuade them of the doctrine of the gospel, the news of Jesus Christ. They're committed to God's word. They're committed. If someone is committed, we use that phrase now, I'm all in. I'm committed. That means that we've put our hands to the plow, we've laid hold of it, we're not letting go. We're committed. The minister is committed to God's word. There's nothing that's gonna take his hand off that plow unless God reaches down and lifts that hand. He's committed. That marks a good church leader in terms of the pastor, of the minister of God's word. Now under that general point, you notice some of the ways in which Paul's commitment was evident. And there are several here. I've got seven that I'll go through rather briefly that he's committed. And so he's humble. He's committed with humility. You notice in verse 19, he was serving the Lord with all humility. Now, what's all about this humility? Well, again, the circumstances. Paul is here in territories unknown to him. He's a stranger in a strange land. Paul's circumstances were those of countrymen that should be believing the gospel and should be high-fiving each other that someone had told them that the Messiah has come, and he's explained the Old Testament to them. But instead, it's one of vitriol. It's one of hostility and persecution. And so Paul, by his circumstances, is humbled. It's humility that has to do not merely with circumstances, but even with his own attitude. He has been called, remember, from Acts chapter 9, as once a persecutor of the church, now a preacher in the church. And of all the privileges there is to be had, he's not merely born again, but he is now a preacher. He's an evangelist. And so in his commitment to the word of God, he is humble that I say it clearly, he has the greatest calling in the world. It's to be a preacher of the gospel of grace. He's a preacher. And so he's humble. He gets to do the very things that Jesus was sent to do. He's humble. His commitment is also seen as you go on and you see it's with tears. He was serving the Lord with all humility and with tears. Well, I guess if you see your countrymen that are unbelieving, you begin to weep. You see how people reject the gospel. They don't have reason to object to it. They have every reason actually to believe it and yet they don't. And there's a sense of personal love for people that there's tears when they reject the gospel, when they turn away when they have things they should be believing. There are tears when you come to mourn for sin. There are tears when you look on lost people that are trying to do the right thing, and yet they think they are, but they miss that they have a sinful condition, and they're lost, and you weep. Remember as Paul, for his own countrymen, wept in Romans chapter nine, and he wished that he was accursed, as if he could gain them instead. This is a personal investment in the gospel, and his commitment was not only with humility, but with tears. You go on and see that he had perseverance, a third mark in his commitment to the ministry of the gospel. In verse 20 it says, how I did not shrink from declaring to you. We could say in the opposite of shrinking, Paul rose to the occasion. In times where he might want to put his head down and duck and try to get through the crowd, Paul, we just saw him wanting to rush into the theater and speak. Paul didn't shrink. He wasn't a coward. He was bold. He was persevering. When it looked like it was time to go away, Paul rose to the occasion and he didn't shrink from opportunities he had. to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He persevered, he did not shrink. You see it again in verse 27, where he says there, I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. He didn't shrink, there were no vacations on that three years in Ephesus. There was day to day, night and day, publicly and from house to house, he was committed. He persevered. We see it also, his perseverance, that in verse 22, it's said to him by the Holy Spirit, and it's not clearly spelled out, but it's impressed on him in every city. Paul, bonds await you. Shackles await you. Afflictions await you. Troubles await you. And even so, Paul didn't turn away. He didn't go to remote places. What did he do? He kept on in his plans to Jerusalem. He knew what was ahead of him, but he was committed. He was committed to the word of God, and so he persevered. Fourthly, his commitment was marked with solemnity. Solemnity. In verse 21, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks. solemnly. There are some preachers today and they are all smiles. They are all entertainment. There's no solemnity in their preaching. There's no warning. There's no seriousness. There's no discussion of things that are solemn. They won't preach judgment. They don't preach really the doctrine of sin. They don't speak of mankind as fallen, as in rebellion against God. They don't preach about hell. In the gospel, it's here's what's offered to you that doesn't in any way warn people and elicit in them, foster in them a way of showing you have a need of Jesus Christ. It's all good stuff. It's all appealing to people and sort of tickling their ears. But with Paul, he was solemnly committed. This is serious stuff. We're dealing with the souls of people. We're dealing with the eternal states of people that should they die today, as Jesus said, you fool, this very night your life is required of you and you must give an account. It's appointed for man to die once and then to face judgment. And so every week we get in the pulpit, every day perhaps we talk with people and we warn them that they need Jesus Christ. If as Jesus said, how will you escape the sentence of hell? This is solemnly testifying. It's not only solemnly warning people, but it's solemnly testifying because think about it, the very son of God shed his blood. This is no light, easy message. This is God executing his fierce wrath in the shedding of the blood of his only begotten son. This is God who loves even, who shows mercy in ways beyond what are cheap and trivial ways of thinking of the idea of love are today. This is the kind of love that loves sinners, rebelling hostile sinners, in such a way that the blood of the Son of God is shed. These are solemn statements. We don't preach merely that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. We don't speak of the love of Jesus merely with a smile, but with a sense of awe that God so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever will believe on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. There's a sense of marvel, of wonder. And so we solemnly go about our ministry. In terms of verse 24, he didn't even love his own life as dear. He solemnly testified. We go on to another one about his commitment, and it's without partiality. It's with humility, it's with tears, it's with perseverance, it's with solemnity, but there's something here that it's without, and that's without partiality. He doesn't pick favorites. He doesn't just do what satisfies his own self-interests. Paul's commitment as a minister was without partiality. In terms of the message, he was without partiality. It says there in verse 20 that he preached and taught publicly from house to house anything that was profitable. Anything. He'd open the Bible and if there was anything that like a water-filled sponge, he could wring out of the scriptures, he'd wring it out. And when the sponge was just about dripped, he'd squeeze it and turn it more and shake it a little bit. Anything that was profitable, anything that's useful. If I need to repeat myself, I'll say it again. If I need to study and bring something new that they've not heard from the scripture, I go through the study. If there's something I need to, well, I just preached this last week, but they need to understand it and hear it better, I tweak it a little bit so they can hear it better. This is Paul who preaches with the message without partiality. He goes about it anything that's profitable. It's without partiality because verse 21, he solemnly testifies to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. If Paul was partial, he wouldn't preach repentance. Because who wants to be told they have to leave their sin? Who wants to be told you need to stop sinning against God or else there's judgment? Many people today, they prefer the else. They say, well, I don't want to preach these dark themes of the gospel. And they're partial preachers. They're not impartial. They preach with partiality. They tell people the things that they want to hear in the way of just carnal, temporal things. They don't preach the things that have to do with touching their soul like repentance and faith. Like if you do not repent, you will not be saved. And if you are to believe, it must have the precise object of Jesus Christ. Yes, you must personally leave your sin and endeavor to change your way, believing on Jesus Christ alone that he personally will save you. And so there must be a direct, decisive leaving of the way of sin and saying, I've had enough of this. I need to be forgiven. And only Jesus provides that way of escape. He died at the cross for the sinner. And if I believe on him, my sins will be forgiven and his obedience will be credited to me instead. I will then believe on nothing else but the person of Jesus Christ. If Paul was partial, mentioned neither repentance nor faith in Jesus Christ. He would have continued being a good Jew, which would have said, here's law to keep. But the conscience resists the law. And the conscience deep down inside says to the person, you're guilty. Law is not going to help you. The solution to you, my friend, is to repent of sin and see in Jesus Christ a ready Savior. And so repentance and faith His teaching also, in terms of not being partial, you see it there at verse 24, testifying solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. Grace isn't easy to preach. It's not easy to preach because it involves people being caught up in the wonder of that grace, that despite who you are, hard topics to preach, God is nevertheless gracious. Some people, it's easy to put out a blanket grace. God loves all of you. God loves all people. You need do nothing. God loves you just as who you are. That's an easy message to preach. Warning people and moving beyond, but if I say that, they won't flatter me. They won't congratulate me if I tell them and warn them of things to come. With the Apostle Paul, he preached the grace of God that despite who you are as a sinner, should you believe on Jesus Christ, you will be saved and you will be safe forever. That's grace. It's grace that comes at the expense of Christ shedding his blood. at the expense of Christ taking on himself the judgment that sinners deserve. Paul was not partial with the grace of God. And that's why at verse 27 he says that he did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. He'd preach a system of the faith. The whole news, as it involves good and bad news, as the good news. Paul was not partial with his message. He wasn't partial with the people either. You can imagine the Apostle Paul preferring one over the other. Well, the Jews, well, they gather at the synagogue. I'll only go to the synagogue. They'll believe. But Paul went first to the Jews. also to the Greek. And even though the Jews were generally hardened against the message, he still preached to Jews, and he still went to his countrymen first. But as he had opportunity to preach to the Gentiles, sometimes sort of forced into it because the Jews would run him out of the synagogue. He'd go to Mars Hill, preach at the open air preaching at the Athenian Areopagus where people love to have their ears tickled with something new to philosophize about. Paul would go into strange places, people he didn't know. Didn't know what was gonna happen, but because they were people, Jews and Greeks, he was there preaching to them solemnly testifying night and day, publicly and from house to house. It wasn't just unbelievers that could be saved, it was believers that had been saved. Paul was not partial. Wasn't partial at all. His commitment was seen as a sixth way with selflessness. Selflessness. You see it in verse 33, I've coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes. Not in the ministry for the paycheck. It's not in the ministry for certain perks. A lot of people today, sadly, particularly you see them on TV sets and they have their extravagant ministries, they have coveted people's silver and gold. And they charade themselves in their fine clothes. their leer jets, their various items that they have to support their ministries and such things that have become the strength and the real backbone of their ministry rather than the gospel itself. But with Paul, it was selfless. It was even to the point, and he reiterates this in verse 34, you yourselves know that these hands If there's any mistake, these hands, hey, see them? These hands, these worked night and day, ministering to my own needs and to the men who are with me. That's a great test for the preacher. Are you gonna keep on preaching with the ministry? Are you gonna find a way, even if it seems the way is dried up? What if some natural disaster happens? Church loses resources, assets. People don't have the funds to sustain the ministry. What are you gonna do, preacher? Are you going to still preach or are you gonna call it quits? What got you going in the preaching? Was this offer of money and funds and provisions? Or was it that Christ called you to the ministry? Are you gonna preach as a provided for person or as someone who's Poor, what will you do? For Paul, he looked at it and said, Christ has called me, people will believe, I have skills, I will work while I preach the gospel. There is such a thing as a tent making pastor. And anyone who's unwilling to work beside the ministry, If need be, well, that's somebody who's not committed to the ministry of the gospel, at least as Paul was, and as he here urges people. And that can be a test for a preacher. If even the provisions dry up, will you still preach? The answer, of course, is a selfless approach to the ministry. And if it has been the call of Christ and the money never mattered, it has to do with the message. and the gospel being set forth. Paul had that, every good church leader as a minister will. Lastly, let me just note his example. Verse 35, in everything, what can happen in the course of three years? Well, everything can happen. In everything, I showed you that by working hard in this manner, you must help the weak. and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, and here are these words that you don't find in the gospel. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but clearly it's there in red letters. This is something Jesus, Paul said under inspiration, said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. We know that at birthday times, we know that at Christmas morning. It's better to give than to receive. To see the joy of other people receiving, and saying, yes, that's how the gospel works. Other people are blessed, and the receiving I only get is the giving itself. That's grace. People affected by the gospel, they get that. And Paul's example was one of, example, of doing what the Lord himself had set forth in giving, even to the point of death at the cross. Those are his commitments to the word of God. Seen in humility, in tears, perseverance, solemnity, without partiality, with selflessness, and with example. But you can see that there's a second part of his commitment. And it is that he commends these men to God himself. He commends the people, in this case the elders, to God himself. Back in chapter 14, we had what is now the echo of chapter 14 in verse 21 to 23, where they had preached the gospel in an earlier missionary trip. They had strengthened the souls of the disciples. They encouraged them to continue in the faith. They said, we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. This idea of commending is literally to put something close beside something else. To set right up close against something. We would say to entrust. We might say to deposit in some cases. You know what a deposit is. Paul here commended these elders. When we commend, by extension of this word, we cast something in a favorable light so that that will be received. We have recommendations where we commend something or someone. Maybe we're a reference on a job application and we commend this person for works done in the past and that they'd be a good worker. We commend our children when they obey. Here is Paul commending these elders to the Lord. What an expression here. It's as though Paul is saying to the Lord, I commend to you. Could I recommend these elders? Could I put these elders right up against? Could I deposit them into your safekeeping? Could I entrust them into your care, Lord, that you would look favorably upon them, that you would receive them and lay your affections and your heart to be with these men. Paul commended them to the Lord. That's something of the manner in which the ministry goes about. You hear it in prayers. It should be evident in the preaching and the care of the preacher toward his sheep that he commends them, the elders, the deacons, commends them all to the Lord. It's a wonderful gesture to know that a church leader will commend the people, to the care of Jesus Christ. That's a mark of a good church leader. Someone that will commend you, not in terms of your own life before yourself or anyone else in the church, but will commend you, sort of scoop you up and lay you before the Savior and before the throne of grace. You think about it, Paul would never see these men again. How would things fare for them? Well, he knew that savage wolves would enter in. All the more reason, love for these people, the threats of harm and danger, all the good that God has purposed, scooping them up, commending them to the Lord. That's how church leaders, good church leaders, go about the ministry. in word and deed. Well, we have to talk about the elders too, so let's go on to our second point in terms of the elders. And again, a study that we'll have later will show more deeply, richly about minister-elder distinctions. But you see it here at verses 28 through 31, where Paul really lays into this topic with maybe some more solemnity, be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock. Notice here how his impartiality is coming to bear upon the elders. All the flock. We can't just shepherd some sheep and not other sheep. We can't merely tend to those that we like, those that we really click with, that think like us, that have the same interest. We have to shepherd all the sheep, those that nibble and chew on your heels, as well as those that feed so easily from your hands. We have to tend to all of them. And as he exhorts the elders, he starts off here saying that as elders, elders must guard themselves. They have to guard their very selves in caring for the sheep. Again, be on guard for yourselves. You know how it works on the airplane. If there is ever a catastrophe where that oxygen mask comes down, who puts the mask on first? The adult, so that he or she can then tend to the child. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock. It's that way with eldering, shepherding. We will be no good to the flock unless we have what's been called by Spurgeon, the minister's self-watch. We have to watch for ourselves. We have to be careful knowing that there is a lion running around seeking to prowl and devour someone else. And as we've seen with our Lord Jesus, strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. Which is why your pastor and your elders deeply appreciate prayers that are offered for us. in terms of guarding ourselves, our own lives. That's what Paul reiterated to young Timothy as he began his ministry. Chapter 4 of 1 Timothy, verse 16, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things for as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. It's Robert Murray Machean. He's a late-era Puritan who said that my congregation's greatest need is my own holiness. That's one of the greatest needs, of course. He's making the point by putting a period. Or is it an exclamation on this issue? Be on guard for yourself. As elders, we have to be on guard for ourselves. It's not merely going to meetings. It's not merely praying for people. It's not merely going through all the duties of leading the church. It's about being an example. It's about cultivating these things in our own lives. We are but men. We have the same troubles. We have the same besetting sins that all Christian people have to deal with and take up. And yet we are in a place where we have to be leaders, we have to be examples, we have to set forth both in word and life the things that Christ requires of all of us. And so how bad it is when we say one thing and do another. We ought to mean what we speak and we ought to do as we mean, and mean as we do. And so there's the whole guarding ourselves. Satan would love to take us out as leaders. And so elders then have to be careful to guard first themselves. But secondly then they have to guard the sheep. Sheep are interesting animals. They wander, they stray, they tend to follow things for no apparently good reason. They get themselves into thickets, and I don't just mean that metaphorically. Literally, they get themselves into the most curious of problems. Sometimes they wander far, and it doesn't seem to bother them that they are literally on the brink of destruction on XYZ precipice. And they seem to be content there. Shepherding is not easy. Sheep are an interesting creature that the Lord was pleased to use as the way to tenderly refer to his beloved disciples, children, sheep. They're sheep, they have their faults. And often as you tend to them, they can repeat the things over and over again. which is why they need a shepherd and an elder, someone that can rule them by rod and staff. We have to guard the sheep. It's not only about sheep for who we all are as sheep. It has to do with sheep because who they are as sheep. It has to do thirdly on this notion that we must guard against the savage wolves that because they are sheep and because we are shepherds with limited resources, but mighty resources, that they need to be guarded. Savage wolves will come in, separate and divide. Get sheep to start turning against each other. Get a sheep off all by himself so that it's easy prey and target. That's why the minister has to be careful about issues of the day that people aren't deceived by what they hear. False teachings, false promises, false ways of going about the Christian life. One of the things that balances sheep is the regular care of a pastor and elders that will walk with them, that will pray for them, care for them, spend time for them, encourage them, set them an example, all sorts of things. Be on guard for yourselves, be on guard for the sheep to protect them that they may safely graze, and be on guard as if watchmen that are there watching for the savage wolves that will come up on the scene and devour the sheep that the Lord bought with his own blood. This is like David with Goliath. This is how we ought to be as elders. We've taken care of lions before, David would say, as to why he should be able to take on Goliath. Well, David, you have nothing to take on Goliath. Five stones, that's all I need. The Lord will provide the sword that will cut off the guy's head once I knock him out with the stones that the Lord has provided. That's all I need now. The Lord will give me whatever else I need to protect against vicious Goliath and bring him down. David was fearless. All he needed was the name of the Lord, which Goliath despised. Elders are those that go forth against savages. People who can be relentlessly stubborn, that can come in and make havoc of congregations with their bold, brazen-headedness. People that can bring in dissembling that we need to speak to and deal with patiently, but forthrightly. We need to be weighing people as to who comes into the fold of the sheep. Calls for discernment and saying things that may be difficult to say but need to be said. We need that kind of courageousness. We need to guard against savages like David with enemies. This is what Paul said to the elder, be on guard. Be on guard for yourselves. and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood." When it comes down to it, the mark of a good elder, like a good pastor, is someone who realizes that it is not merely the congregation that has me here. It is the Holy Spirit who has made me an overseer. I can't abandon my post. I can't abandon it. I must stay on for what the Lord has me to do for the well-being of these sheep. Just a couple closing applications in terms of these marks of good church leaders, the minister and the elders. Look at the fellowship and the love that these elders have together. And I think this is the real strength of a congregation. It's not often touched on, But it's the bond and the affection that these elders have together. When he had said these things, verse 36, he knelt down and he prayed with them all. They began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, repeatedly kissed him. Of course, that was an ancient Near East custom. Grieving especially over the word which he had spoken that they would not see his face again. That's one of the strengths of our relationship as elders. I have much encouragement from my elder. The first day he set foot in this church, my heart was so lifted. And God's providence, he came at a time that we were just on the other side of difficult matters in the church. The Lord was greatly encouraging through this brother here in the second row. And it's continued. I mean, that affection has, I think, only increased. It's at least remained the same. And that's been a great strength for us in the ministry. And it's helped us to foster something of what it's like as the Lord's people, cherishing each other, laughing together, enjoying our days together, helping each other through times of inadequacy, receiving correction and criticism, helping each other through personality quirks and faults that we have, yet as brothers. And here they are on the beach and they kneel down and they pray. They weep together, they share life together, they miss each other. This is the way a good eldership ought to function. You look at some of the affection, the personal bond of affection. We had that with our dear brother Peter. Oh, how we miss that. And then he came a couple years after David. And what encouragement and wisdom and filling out and joy, creativity, earnestness for the Lord's sake. How much we miss him. But the Lord provides this bond of affection. And it's that which is the strength, it's a sort of pulse and heartbeat for the Lord's sheep as we gather from week to week. And we ought to be zealous to not only pray for it, but do all we can to maintain that. But in closing, I need to end on an exhortation. And it is that as a church, particularly as the elders, we take these things to heart. Because if you go to Revelation chapter two, and you fast forward from this event on the beach, on the seashore there, to, oh, it depends on when you date the book of Revelation, decade later, maybe as much as 40 years later. Revelation chapter two, I know your deeds, Jesus says to the church at Ephesus, and your toil, and your perseverance." You can see the things that Paul reflected to these people while they continued it. That you cannot tolerate evil men. And you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and they are not. And you found them to be false. And you have perseverance and endured for my namesake and have not grown weary. That looks like an A plus. But then verse four. But I have this against you. You've left your first love. You've left your first love. What happened? We don't know for sure. But there was a crack. Somehow these savage wolves had entered in, as Paul said. He saw things that the elders maybe didn't quite see or still get. Maybe they were discouraged. Maybe there was hostility. We really don't know. But there was a change in the health of the congregation. They had good things, but Jesus said, this one thing, I've got to mention it, I have this against you, you've left your first love. If we're to have good leadership, if we're to have a healthy congregation, may it be that not a one of us would leave our first love. And do you know what that first love is? It's Jesus Christ. and not being distracted from what brings us together, what makes us want to gather together on the Lord's day, what makes us realize we need leaders to lead us, to help us in that we're all sheep. It's the Lord who is building his church and saying, I have others to bring, more blessing to come. Shepherd the church of God which is among you. Sheep follow your shepherds because in all of this, it's about Jesus. Somehow they had lost that. Maybe it was the elders, maybe it was just the sheep. But in closing then, we have to see the important issue that's at stake. It's all about knowing Jesus and walking with him. So good marks, high marks for church leaders concerning the minister and the elders, and as it affects all of us as sheep. God, give us hearts to receive these things and cherish them in our days together. Let us pray. O Lord, our God, we rejoice in the saving and keeping care of our shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, We thank you that he shed his blood for the church. And because of his death, we have all that we have in his righteousness, his forgiveness, his peace that he secured for us through the cross, that we have not only been saved from our sins, but we've been brought together to be a congregation, a flock that is his. And we pray, O Lord, that as you have raised up elders and shepherds to lead, that you would bless us to do that, Lord. Everything that we've spoken of that a minister and elder should be about, Lord, fulfill in our lives. Make it be something that we hold high and cherish and have a sense of responsibility with and accountability toward as well. We pray that as elders in this congregation, we would serve the flock well, that, Lord, they would follow our leadership, that we would always be good examples to them, and as we ourselves stray, that we would be corrected, that we might lead well and carefully. Lord, help us all to see that we have need of the Savior, and insofar as sheep, we need your rod and your staff to comfort us. Lord, bring us back to the shepherd and guardian of our souls, Christ Jesus, that we may safely graze in his pasture land. Lord, protect this church. Help us to protect it as elders, as servants. And Lord, may it be that others would be brought into this fold to treasure Christ in whom and toward whom is all our affection. Lord, bless us with this grace. We commit to you the things that we've heard and we pray that you would make them full in our lives. Bless us we ask in Jesus name and for his sake we pray, amen. Let's respond with Psalm 71C. Let's stand as we give the Lord praise. 71C. I'll come to tell the mighty deeds that God the Lord has done, and I'll declare your righteousness, I'll speak of yours alone. O God, I have been taught by you from early days of youth, and all the wonders you have done I still declare as truth. And even when I'm old and gray, O God, forsake me not. Until your strength and power I have each generation. For God, your righteousness extends beyond the heights we view. And you have done such wondrous things, O God, who is like you. Though in the past you made me see much trouble and distress, you will revive and raise me up from earth's end-closing depths. Increase my honor, turn again to give me peace and rest. My God, with hearts I'll praise and sing about your faithfulness. O Holy One of Israel, the harp I will employ. Redeemed by you I'll sing your praise, will shout your praise with joy. Thy tongue will also speak about your justice all day long, for they are humbled and ashamed who seem to do thee wrong. Let's be seated once again. And let's now give to the Lord our tithes and our offerings with thanks and with joy. Let's give our thanks and pray. Father, we call on you with thanksgiving and with joy for how you have provided for us. And as we give again this week, we are confessing that you overlook no need of ours. You may delay in giving as our time would look at it, but Lord, you provide for us everything that's good and needful. At the right time, you have blessed us beyond what we even deserve, even what we've asked, and you are to be praised. We ask for help in this new week, that as we look at the work ahead of us, as far as we know it, and the choices we must make, the plans we've made that we seek your blessing to confirm, Lord, help us with our work, help us with our life's way to be with us this week as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ in our various callings. Help us not only in the time of need, but remind us each hour of the day that you are with us and that we would render all that we do as service to you in the name of Christ. Lord, we're thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in this land. And we pray that you would continue to bless this land for the sake of freedom, and even more so, freedom in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Bless those civil magistrates that work hard to ensure protection and righteousness, just laws, and through the court systems to uphold what is good, both to punish the wicked and to protect the rights of citizens. We ask, Lord, that you would make for evils that are very much penetrating the warp and woof of this society. Lord, make for them to be evident to people, to be repented of in your grace and left for the righteousness of Christ that will, in its course, exalt this nation again. We ask, Lord, for righteousness in place of all sorts of immorality. And Lord, how could this change but that you change people's hearts? Bless then our witness to our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, our relatives, people that we meet. May it be that we'd be salt and light to them for their conversion and their blessing. We pray that you would uphold judges and law enforcement, our president and his administration, the various congressmen and women and senators and ask that, Lord, in all of their intricate working, that through the corruption, that through the evil and lawlessness and ignorance and self-interest, that, Lord, there would be righteousness that does serve as blessing for this land. Protect us this week from threats and acts of terror. We pray that the nations of the world would be blessed by you and that for the sake of the gospel, many would come from their life in the world to life in Christ. Blessed missionaries of our denomination as they serve in relation to Japan, to India, to Pakistan, to church planning works both abroad and here at home, make for our churches to be growing. We pray for our brothers and friends in these outlying communities and pray that the gospel would take hold throughout this county and state. And we ask that, Lord, there would be a return to true gospel preaching and living in earnestness for the sake of Christ, not being deceived with false hopes and false messages, but, Lord, the true gospel of grace. We ask, Lord, that in our homes there would be peace, There would be love one to another, confessing of faults that we might be healed one with another. We pray that there would be encouragement in building up patiently enduring trials for the sake of advancing love in our homes. Lord, bless our children. with hearts that will fear you, that whether young, they might have a tender resolve to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and certainly in their older years as youth, where they take on responsibilities as adults. Lord, bless them. Help them with fears, with pressures, with choices in terms of calling in life, career, plans that they make, the way that they spend their time for service of Christ, Have your hand on them as you are faithful according to what we've just sung in the song. And Lord, may it be that as we return next week, we would be gathering up and scooping up ways of bringing thanks to you, answered prayers. rescue in time of needed mercy, and gifts received that we were not anticipating from you. May it be that we would come full of bundles of thanksgiving to offer to you. Make us each day to know the good blessings we have in Christ and to live brimming with your praise each day this week. Thank you that you hear us. And Lord, those burdens that we carry that will, in some way, make it difficult to live joyfully, help us to endure, to know that your spirit is with us, and that even here, you will bless us for good, and that nothing can and ought steal our joy in Christ, which we have evermore. Help us through this week, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.