Okay, so that's Acts 20, 13-38. It's on page 1117, 1117.
Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders.
We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard.
He made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.
When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mytilene.
The next day we set sail from there and arrived at Chios.
The day after that we crossed over to Samos and on the following day arrived at Miletus.
Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia,
for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible by the day of Pentecost.
From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
When they arrived, he said to them,
You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with great humility and with tears,
although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you,
but have taught you publicly and from house to house.
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance
and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem,
not knowing what will happen to me there.
I only know that in every city that the Holy Spirit warns me
that prison and hardships are facing me.
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me
if only I may finish the race and complete the task that the Lord Jesus has given me,
the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom
will ever see me again.
Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men,
for I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you
and will not spare the flock.
Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth
in order to draw away disciples after them.
So be on your guard.
Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you,
night and day, with tears.
Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace,
which can build you up and give you an inheritance
among all those who are sanctified.
I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.
You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs
and the needs of my companions.
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work
we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said,
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
When he said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.
They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.
What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again.
Then they accompanied him to the ship.
I haven't got any sheets for taking notes this morning,
but if you've got a new sheet, on the back of that there is a place.
I'm not sure where the pens are.
If anybody would like a pen to take notes, you can put your hand up.
Shane will give them to you.
If you want a pen, I encourage you to do so.
This is part two of a two-part talk.
One was from two weeks ago when we looked at Paul's first visit to Ephesus.
This is part two.
Church, the spread of Christianity around the world.
We thank you for its record for us.
But we also recognise that this is not just mere history,
but it is words written for us today that change us and transform us
and show us what it is to be church and what it is to be your people
and what it is to live as your people in this world.
So we pray that as we read and as we listen,
that you would create us to be more and more
the kind of church you want us to be,
that we would be healthy in every way.
And so we ask for your help in this.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, imagine that you have been given an audience
with the church leaders of Ireland.
Jermud Martin, Bishop Neil, they're your audience.
For one hour, you will get to say what you want
to the bishops who lead our churches and congregations.
Most of the time, we're having to listen to the church
and what they think we should be doing.
But this time, on this occasion,
they're going to be listening to you.
What would you like to say to the church leaders of our country?
What would be the most important item on your agenda?
For example, what would you like to say to them
about how the church conducts its finances?
Or what would you like to say about how the church leaders
live their lives?
Or what their message is?
Well, the Apostle Paul, perhaps the most influential leader
in all of church history,
responsible for writing almost two-thirds of the New Testament,
a pioneer in seeing Christianity spread all over Europe,
well, he has the opportunity to speak to the bishops
of a very influential church in a very influential city.
Paul is on his way home after a five-year trip around Europe,
that he's been travelling from one place to another,
visiting all these local churches,
and his desire that each of these churches
would be healthy and would be strong.
He's not just about starting a church,
but that each church would be healthy,
and that each church would be everything
that God calls the church to be.
So in Acts 20, Paul makes his last and final visit
to the bishops of Ephesus.
Look at verse 16.
Paul had decided to set sail past Ephesus.
If you could just flick the map up there.
Thank you.
There we are.
So Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus
to avoid spending time in the province of Asia,
which is modern-day Turkey.
For he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem,
if possible by the day of Pentecost.
So he's been travelling all around Europe.
He's just been in Greece.
He's on his way back to Jerusalem,
which is south of Antioch, his home church.
And from Miletus, verse 17,
he stops there and he's sent to Ephesus
for the elders, literally the bishops
or the leaders of the church,
because he has something really important
that he wants to tell them.
And as he speaks to these leaders,
he tackles three important issues
that, if followed, will lead to a healthy church.
He tells them three things.
He tells them what the church's message should be.
He says how the church leader should behave
and where the church finances should go.
So what the church's message should be,
how the church leader should behave,
and where the church finances should go.
So first, what the church's message should be.
He starts by reminding them and telling them
what his message was that he brought to the church.
So in verse 20, he says,
you know that I have not hesitated to preach anything
that would be helpful to you,
but have taught you publicly in gatherings just like this,
and from house to house,
which would have been privately in people's homes.
Well, what did he preach?
What did he have to tell them?
What was the content of his message?
Well, look down at verse 24.
He says,
I consider my life worth nothing to me
if only I may finish the race
and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me,
the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
His desire, his life's ambition,
was to preach, to testify to the gospel
of God's grace.
This is the message that the church should be declaring,
the gospel of God's grace.
Now, the gospel of grace simply means
news about something that has been done for you.
It's important we get this right.
It's news about something that has been done for us.
Paul wasn't interested in the church giving people religious advice
about how to be better citizens.
This is what makes the gospel of grace so unique.
Every religion in the world gives people advice.
They tell you what you must do,
or what you must achieve if you're to have a better life.
The gospel is in complete contrast to all of that.
It is good news about a person who has achieved something for you.
Well, what has been achieved for us?
What has been done?
Well, look down at verse 25.
Now, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom
will ever see me again.
Verse 27.
For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
Now, we've got two phrases there.
Verse 25, he talks about preaching the kingdom.
And in verse 27, he was proclaiming the whole will of God.
Now, preaching the kingdom and proclaiming the whole will of God,
they're not different to the gospel of grace.
They actually explain what the gospel of grace is.
The gospel of grace is all about God's will
to restore broken lives and renew this disordered world.
It is God's plan to establish a new kingdom.
A kingdom of peace and justice.
A kingdom of joy and happiness.
Of harmony and unity.
Where there's going to be no more rocket attacks from one side or another.
Where no longer will a mother and a baby die.
There will be the absence of all evil and suffering for all eternity.
It is God's will to establish this kind of kingdom.
That's what the gospel of grace is all about.
And the way that kingdom is established
is not going to be through arms or fighting.
It's going to come through a person.
Through God's Son, Jesus Christ.
So look back at verse 21.
He says there, well he says verse 20,
that he didn't hesitate to preach anything that would be helpful,
which was the gospel of grace.
And verse 21 he says,
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks
that they must turn to God in repentance
and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
The gospel is all about what God has done for us,
but it does require a response.
The response is repentance and faith.
So he says to them, look, it's like,
it doesn't matter whether we're Catholic or whether we're Protestant.
It doesn't matter whether we're black or white,
whether we are gay or straight.
This is the same message for all people,
and the response to the same message is exactly the same.
It's about repentance and faith in Christ.
Repentance being turning away from our own way
and turning to Jesus as King of your life.
And faith is all about our trust and our confidence in Jesus.
In particular, faith in his death for us on the cross,
so that when Jesus died, it was a death in place of us.
He was taking our guilt, our shame in place of us,
so that we could be part of his kingdom.
And his resurrection from the grave
was a resurrection for you and for me.
It was a resurrection that defeated death
and destroyed evil
so that we could be part of a kingdom
where there would be no more death or suffering.
It would no longer rule this world.
It would be the absence of evil and suffering.
So the encouragement is that we would have faith in Christ
who can bring about this eternal kingdom.
That's why the gospel of grace is good news.
It's not just advice.
It's all about Jesus who has done something for you.
And this is what the church's message should be.
We're not telling people to live better lives.
We're telling people about something that Jesus has done,
that he's establishing a kingdom for us.
Now this was Paul's experience
and it had completely transformed his life.
So verse 22,
he says to them,
and now compelled by the Spirit,
I'm going to Jerusalem,
not knowing what will happen to me there.
Now we know from reading through Acts
that all sorts of things have happened to him.
Verse 23,
I only know that in every city
the Holy Spirit warns me
that prison and hardships are facing me.
He's already faced stoning
to within an inch of his life.
He's already been stripped and beaten.
But because Paul believes this gospel,
because he believes this message,
because he's experienced it
and it has so changed his life,
look what he can say,
verse 24,
I consider my life worth nothing to me
if only I would be able to complete the task
of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
He's saying to them,
look, I would gladly die for you.
I would put my life on the line for you.
I'd give up my life for you
so that people can hear
this wonderful free offer of God's grace.
And why could he do this?
Well, because he's already received everything
through the gospel of grace.
He already has the kingdom.
He has everything that he could ever possibly need
so therefore he could put his life on the line
so that other people could receive this grace.
You see, the church only has one message
and it is the message of the gospel of grace.
God's will, God's plan
to restore broken lives
and renew this disordered world
through his son, Jesus Christ,
establishing an eternal kingdom.
So first he's saying to the church,
make sure that your message
is about the gospel of grace
and nothing else.
Well, first the message of the church
is about God's grace.
Second, he tells them
how the church leaders should behave.
Now I have to pay close attention to this
because I'm a church leader.
Ralph, pay close attention,
but it's for everybody.
Verse 28.
Keep watch over yourselves
and all the flock
of which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers.
Literally, bishops or elders
or leaders, elders.
It's all interchangeable.
We take elders.
We don't call ourselves bishops,
but it's the same thing.
Now leadership in the church
is not power over people,
but it's protection for people.
Look at the imagery that we have here.
It talks about, look, verse 28,
be shepherds of the church of God.
The church is seen as the flock.
In other words, the people,
people like you and me,
were like sheep who need looked after
and watched over.
And the leaders,
well, they're the shepherds
who have been given the responsibility
by God to provide the protection
that people need.
But why is there such special care
for the flock?
Well, look at the rest of verse 28.
He says,
be shepherds of the church of God,
which he bought with his own blood.
Jesus died for us.
He gave up his life for us.
He gave up of his riches
to enter into our poverty
so that we could have his riches.
So that we could belong to God.
That means the people in the church,
people like you and me,
we're precious to God.
We're his treasured possession.
We're of unlimited and ultimate value.
And because we are so valuable,
we need special care and attention.
Now, when we think about shepherds and sheep,
we need to get away
from modern farming techniques.
The first century shepherd,
well, he stayed with his sheep 24-7
out on the mountains all alone.
By day, he would take the sheep off
to new places where they could feed
and down to streams where they could drink
and get everything that they needed.
And then at night,
he would bring them into a fold,
maybe something made out of stone
or something like that.
They would be inside
and he would literally sit at the entrance
as a means of protecting them
from all the wild animals
that could get in at them.
He would put his life on the line.
He would put himself between the sheep
and the danger,
willing to give up his life.
So, verse 29,
I know that after I leave,
he said,
savage wolves will come in among you
and will not spare the flock.
Even from your own number,
people will arise and distort the truth
in order to draw away disciples after them.
Now, Paul was a good shepherd.
He had been teaching them
the true gospel of God's grace.
But he's saying to them,
guys, you need to be on your guard
because there are going to be teachers
who are going to come in
and are going to be quite willing
to distort the truth of the gospel
for their own gain.
It's not it might happen.
He says it will happen.
Rather than the gospel
bringing about all what Jesus has done for you,
people are going to come in
and they're going to distort the truth
and they're going to tell you
it's all about what you must do
or something that you must achieve
and what you have to work for.
And Jesus, at best,
will just be reduced
to a little bit of religious advice
and not to be taken seriously.
Those kind of people
will come in and tell you that.
The other people who might come in
and lead people astray
for their own gain
are those that are connected
as we refer to the health and wealth
or the prosperity gospel.
We see it on television
and they'll say something like this.
Well, Jesus wants you to be wealthy.
He wants you to be successful.
He wants your children
to have amazing careers.
He doesn't want you to be sick.
He doesn't want things
to go wrong in your life.
And if you would only believe,
it's going to be put right.
And by the way,
just send us a few dollars
or a few euro
and we'll make sure that that happens.
That's a distortion
of the gospel of grace.
He says those teachers,
look at verse 28 there,
and 29 rather,
they're like wolves
that are going to come in
and tear the sheep apart.
And we need to be aware of that,
verse 31.
So be on your guard.
Remember that for three years
I never stopped warning each of you,
night and day,
and with tears.
These things will happen
and people will come in
and distort the truth.
Now while this is primarily
addressed to leaders,
the Bible makes it clear
that we are all
to care for one another.
In some ways,
we're all to be shepherds
of the sheep.
And we do this in two ways.
First of all,
we are to keep
our leaders accountable.
Now in case you don't know
who your leaders are,
that's myself and Ralph.
Keep your leaders accountable,
that's your role.
Because look at who the wolves
might be,
verse 30.
Even from your own number,
men will arise
and distort the truth.
From within sight,
not from outside.
Leaders,
shepherds,
people like me,
people like Ralph,
can become a wolf.
Now I don't think
we look very threatening,
although,
doesn't Ralph mean
lover of wolves
or something?
So we've got to be careful,
Ralph.
But we could be,
we could be wolves,
we're potential wolves.
And the church
needs to hold
their leaders
accountable
to make sure
that they're living
in line with the gospel
and that they're teaching
what is the gospel.
people.
So the church
needs to pray for us
to make sure
that we keep
the church
together
and keep the church
in the right way.
We're not superhuman.
We're fragile people
who make mistakes
and get things wrong.
And so we need
the church
to keep us accountable,
to pray for us,
to encourage us,
to point out areas
if we're not in line
with the truth
of the gospel.
So first,
keep your leaders
accountable.
Second,
care for our
fellow sheep.
The person
that you are
sitting next to
or the one
who is behind you
is your responsibility.
And the way
that we primarily
care for each other,
we can do it
in all kinds
of practical ways,
but primarily
the way we care
for each other
is to bring
the gospel
to each other,
is to remind ourselves
of everything
that we have
through Jesus Christ.
So we should all
be people
who are able
to read
with each other,
pray for each other.
And I encourage us
all to be people
who do that
and we say it so often,
whether you're meeting
with somebody
one-to-one,
whether you're meeting
in a small group
or whatever you do,
that primarily
we are people
who are bringing
God's word,
the truth of his gospel,
into each other's lives,
holding ourselves
accountable
and encouraging
and supporting.
So first,
keep your leaders
accountable
and second,
care for your
fellow sheep.
So first,
he reminds us
what the church's
message should be,
that it's all about
the gospel of grace.
And second,
he reminds us
how the church leaders
should behave.
Third,
he tells us
where the church's
finances
should go.
Verse 32,
Now I commit you
to God
and to the word
of his grace
which can build
you up
and give you
an inheritance
among all those
who are sanctified.
Well,
you say,
what's that got to do
with finances?
I don't see anything
about money there.
Well,
Paul knows that
the church
is never going
to be generous.
We are always
going to be
tight-fisted
until we grasp
and experience
the word of grace.
So he says to us,
verse 33,
he says,
I commit you,
I put you
into the care
of God
and to the word
of his grace.
The word of grace
is the gospel
of grace
that we've just
been talking about.
It's all that Jesus
has done for us,
everything that he
has achieved for us.
It gives us,
look at the rest
of verse 32,
or it can build us up,
strengthen us,
and it will give you
an inheritance,
that eternal's place
in his eternal kingdom
among all those
who are sanctified.
So the gospel of grace
gives us everything
that we need
for now
and for all eternity.
So this is what
we are to live on
as a church.
In some ways,
this is to be
the diet of our church.
It is to be grace
plus grace
plus grace.
We're constantly
to be drinking
and eating it in,
committing ourselves
to the grace of God.
And the more
we understand
this word of grace,
the more we allow it
to change our lives,
it will show us
how rich
we really are.
It will transform us
into model givers.
It will make us
incredibly generous.
Paul's own life
was an example of this.
Look at verse 33.
The grace of God
had so affected
Paul's life
that he had become
generous
in giving.
Look at verse 33.
I have not coveted
anyone's silver
or gold
or clothing.
He's saying,
I'm not in this
for the money.
I'm not in this
to get a bigger car
or a bigger house.
Verse 34.
You yourselves know
that these hands
of mine
have supplied
my own needs
and the needs
of my companions.
Look at my hands.
There's splinters
in these hands.
Look at the calluses
from the tent making
that I've done.
I worked hard for you
so that I could give
the gospel of grace
freely to you.
The grace
had so gripped
Paul's life
that it had changed
Paul
into a generous giver.
He was literally
willing to give
his life for them.
You see,
if we learn
and understand
the word of grace
and allow that
to impact
our lives,
it will cause us
likewise
to be generous
to those in need.
Look at verse 35.
In everything I did,
I showed you
that by this
kind of hard work,
we must help
the weak,
literally those
who are unable
to help themselves.
Remembering the words
the Lord Jesus
himself said,
it is more blessed
to give
than to receive.
The weak
in our society
are the poor,
the refugees,
those who live
in countries
destroyed
and broken
by war
and famine.
The weak
are all around us
within the community
of this church family,
in our wider
community
of Carragalline.
Now,
we have received
so much
through the Lord Jesus.
We have received
grace upon grace.
We have received
his eternal kingdom
so that we can
generously give
to those in need.
Look at the end
of verse 35.
He says,
it is more blessed
to give
than to receive.
Paul is getting
to the end
of his journey
around Europe.
Five years
he had travelled
around
and we know
from the rest
of scripture
that one of the
reasons why
he went around
those places
was to take up
a collection
to be able
to bring back
to the church
in Jerusalem
that was going
through a hard time
and because of famine.
And so I think
the principle
here for us
is if we've
received this
amazing grace
we too
will give
freely
to those
who are in
desperate need.
We no longer
have to be
tight-fisted.
We no longer
need to be
worried in terms
of the future
because we have
received all
that we need
through Christ.
Christ.
So Paul has
this opportunity
to speak to
the leaders
of this church
an influential
city in that
part of Turkey
and it's the
same word
and it's the
same message
that he speaks
to the church
today.
If we want
to see a
healthy church
the church's
message has
to remain
focused on
the gospel
of grace.
the church
leaders have
to be about
protection and
care not
power and
control.
And the
church's
finances are
to be directed
towards the
weak and
the poor
not the
improvement
of the
church's
lifestyle.
This is
what will
lead to a
healthy church
and a
healthy church
that grasps
these things
will become
a church
that transforms
their life
and the
community
society
and the
nation
all around
us.
This is
what will
bring true
life.
This is
what will
bring
lasting
change.
Let's pray
together.
Father, help
us to be
people who
hear clearly
what you
are saying
to us
as a
church.
please help
us to be
always
talking
about the
grace
of God's
gospel.
Help us
to keep
that central.
Help us
to practice
it.
Help us
to live
it.
Amen.
We pray
for the
leaders of
this church
church, that
we would be
people who
care well
and protect
the flock.
And we
pray for
ourselves that
we would all
be good
shepherds to
one another,
taking
responsibility
to care
for one
another, and
to be
accountable to
one another.
Help us
to see how
much we
have received,
and to be
generous in
our giving
to those
who are
weak.
We thank
you for all
that you are
doing among
us, and
we pray that
we would
continually
fall in
line with
what it is
to be a
healthy church.
Help us to
take away the
things that
are unhealthy,
and show us
how we should
be.
And we pray
that through
us, you
would continue
your mission
in this world
and in this
community, and
that people
will come to
see the
wonder of
your kingdom,
and the
transformation
that Christ
alone can
bring.
we ask it
all in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.