Paul’s Farewell: Serving With Faith

Serving with Faith (Acts 20:17-28, 36-38)

ACTS 20

VERSE 17:
Paul was on his 3rd missionary journey.
– He was re-visiting the churches he had started in Asia Minor and Greece.

– Throughout Greece, he collected an offering
  for the suffering church in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

– He was on his way to Jerusalem to deliver that offering.

– He was in a hurry to get there before the Day of Pentecost (Acts 20:16).
– He didn’t want to be slowed down by changing ships for a stop in Ephesus.

– He asked the elders of the church in Ephesus to meet him in Miletus (Acts 20:17).
  Note: Miletus was a seaport 40 miles south of Ephesus
             (boats would dock there to load and unload cargo).

             “elders” – Those who were respected leaders of a fellowship; overseers.

VERSES 18-19:
When the elders arrived, Paul began his farewell message.
– He had lived with them from the 1st day he arrived in the Roman province of Asia.

Note: Paul spent over 2 years in Ephesus
           preaching and teaching (Acts 19:8,10; 20:31).

Note: His ministry there was so effective,
            that many quit worshiping man-made idols.
            Note: This caused a problem for the silversmiths. They made and sold
                        silver images to be taken to the famous temple of the goddess
                        Artemis (Diana). Since the local economy was being damaged,
                        the silversmiths started a riot (Acts 19:23-41).

– In spite of repeated trials and testings,
  Paul served the Lord with humility and tears.
  Note: Although he was focused on his task (Acts 20:24),
             he had great feelings for the Lord (Acts 20:19),
             and for the people he had been sent to (Acts 20:36-38).
  Note: Paul was a rugged man with a big heart (Philippians 1:3-7,
             1 Thessalonians 2:11,19; 3:9; Philemon 10-12)

  Note: Paul expressed frustration with people when they departed from
              the faith they had been taught (1 Corinthians 5:1-2; 2 Corinthians 10;
              Galatians 1:6; 3:1; 4:12-16).

  Note: He made his feelings known when others opposed him,
             or caused trouble in the churches
             (Acts 18:6; Galatians 5:12; Philippians 3:2; 1 Timothy 4:2;
             2 Timothy 4:14; Titus 1:10-16).

  Note: Paul was not driven by his feelings (Philippians 1:15-18),
             but his feelings were involved in his purpose.

VERSES 20-21:
– He always preached what he felt would be helpful,
  regardless of the consequences.
  Question: Why was this important?
                           – The city was filled with false teaching
                             and ungodly practices, including:
                                   – Exorcists (Acts 19:13-16)
                                   – Sorcerers (Acts 19:18-20)
                                   – People devoted to the goddess Artemis (Acts 19:23-28).

– He taught both publicly, and house to house (more privately).

– His goal was to teach both Jews and Greeks the necessity
  of repenting from sin and turning to God; to trust in Jesus for salvation.

VERSES 22-28:
– As typical, Paul followed the lead of the Holy Spirit,
  even when he did not know what would happen to him.

– He was obedient even though the Spirit warned
  that he would suffer and be imprisoned.
  Note: This happened several times as he traveled from city to city.

Question: Why would he obey when these hardships awaited him?
                        – He placed more value on sharing the good news,
                          than he did on his own life.
                          Note: He compared the mission the Lord had given him,
                                     to running a race.
                                     He did not want to disappoint the Lord
                                     by failing to finish the race.

                          Note: His travels through the Roman province of Asia were difficult
                                      for Paul, but he was determined to complete his assignment,
                                      no matter what happened to him.

                         (25-27) – He was convinced that the Ephesian elders
                                         would never see him again.
                                         Note: “preaching the kingdom” was basically
                                                    the same message as “preaching the good news”.

Note: His Jewish opponents were relentless
           in their attack on the gospel Paul preached.
           They felt that to be fully accepted by God required obedience
           to the Jewish Law, and participation in the Jewish rituals.

Paul was faithful and dedicated to renounce this type of teaching.

– He was innocent of the blood of all men.
– Paul had a clear conscience.
– He carried out his responsibility of sharing the plan of God.
– If any were lost, Paul felt he was not responsible,
  because he had shared God’s plan.

Paul warned the Ephesians to be on guard not only for themselves,
but also for the believers in their care (assigned by the Spirit).
– The elders were to oversee and shepherd their local congregation.

– This group was part of God’s church,
  which was bought by the blood of His Son.

Elders:
    – Under-shepherds of Christ.
    – Christ is the Chief Shepherd (John 10:11, 14, 1 Peter 5:4).
    – Elders were to shepherd the church as Christ would shepherd them.
    – They had a responsibility to teach and preserve the Scriptures.

Question: Why would Paul tell them to be on guard?
                         – (20:29) Spiritual predators were waiting to infiltrate the church.

                          – (20:30) Even some within the church
                                          would distort the truth and mislead believers.

                          – (20:31) He warns them again
                                           (he had been warning them for some time – 3 years).

VERSE 36:
After passing the baton to the elders,
he knelt down and prayed with the church leaders.
Note: Paul was confident that during his ministry
           he practiced humility, hard work, and generosity (Acts 20:33-35).

VERSES 37-38:
All of their emotions started overflowing.
Note: You can see the affection and appreciation they had for Paul, and his service.

They were broken-hearted at the thought of never seeing him again.

They wanted to spend all the time they had left
with him – they escorted him to the ship.

Summary:
– The gospel is vital to the health of the church.

– The task of sharing the gospel was given first to the apostles (like Paul),
  and then passed on to the church elders.

– Church leaders have the same responsibility.

– Two points about Paul’s ministry:
  1. He saw himself as a servant of the church, not its boss.
  2. He taught the necessity of turning from sin and turning to God (in faith).

– Just as the church faced attacks back then, the same is true today.
  Note: Some may unknowingly attack the church through their actions
             (constant complaining, gossiping, being inconsiderate of others, etc.).

– In the midst of attacks, we need to remember that God has the power to:
      – Rescue us from our circumstances.
      – Lift us up and sustain us in our darkest moments.
      – Strengthen us to live in a godly manner***.
      – Enable us to be successful in serving Him.

– We should learn from Paul’s examples:
      – He had a heart for the church and believers
      – He let the Holy Spirit guide him in all that he did.
      – He persevered in spite of any opposition.
      – He loved the Lord.

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