Acts 20:17-28 | Anchored Part 41
Acts Part 41
You’ve not been feeling well. You go in to get a checkup and the Dr. has some hard news. You have a terminal illness. Literally, months to live. What do you do? How do you respond? More importantly, what will your last moments with loved ones be like? What do you want to be remembered after you are gone?
Recap. Are we talking about Jesus
The Christian living on purpose is
Resolved (that we know the TRUTH and it has set us free)
Flexible (To listen, to care for, and to wait on the Spirit’s timing)
Present (To be with someone is way more than to just be physically present)
Acts 20:17-28
Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church.
18 When they came to him, he said to them, “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. 20 You know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house. 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
Paul had spent A LOT of time discipling these people
Think of the relationship of parent and child. You are talking to your child about what you have taught them because it is your last conversation
How to disciple your kids/peers/new believers:
Be present
Serve together
Show what humility looks like
Proclaim the TRUTH. (Speak up, speak out, TELL THE TRUTH)
Teach in homes
Testify about repentance and faith in Christ
22 “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, 23 except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. 24 But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
Paul, who had been given the office of Apostle by Jesus, was prophecying about his future
Notice that it is not positive. It’s dire. It is about his end.
Paul speaks about this not with fear and trembling, but with purpose and reception.
Purpose of calling
Colossians 3:12-13a
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another
Reception of salvation
John 1:12-13
But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
25 “And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will ever see me again. 26 Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.
Paul does not hold back does he?
Super important what he says and how he says it
He tells them, you have no excuse to not walk under Christ’s authority
My Dad and a motorcycle
What needs to be said to those we love? What has not been talked about? The goal is no regrets at graveside.
28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
The body of Christ is not a recreational facility
It’s not here for our entertainment
It’s been provided for our discipleship, our training, our teaching, and our empowering to lead others in the way
Be on guard (proper theology, proper interpretation of God’s word)
Be the under-shepherd Jesus has called to care for His sheep
God has no Ideas.
He only has knowledge. Knowledge of what is right, and what is wrong. Knowledge of what shall be, and what shall not be. Humans have ideas, and apart from God’s authority, they lead us astray.