Finishing The Work Series

FINISHING THE WORK

Text: Acts 20:22-38

Introduction

1. The 1992 Summer Olympics featured two tremendously poignant moments. American sprinter Gail Devers, the clear leader in the 100-meter hurdles, tripped over the last barrier. She agonizingly pulled herself to her knees and crawled the last five meters, finishing fifth--but finishing.

2. Even more heart-rending was the 400-meter semifinal in which British runner Derek Redmond tore a hamstring and fell to the track. He struggled to his feet and began to hobble, determined to complete the race. His father ran from the stands to help him off the track, but the athlete refused to quit. He leaned on his father, and the two limped to the finish line together, to deafening applause. (John E. Anderson, "What Makes Olympic Champions?", Reader’s Digest, February 1994, p. 120).

3. Paul too, was determined to finish the race. He knew that many troubles still lay ahead of him, but he was determined to finish the race God had given him to run.

4. Read Acts 20:22-38

Transition: What we learn from Paul is the necessity of…

I. Completing the Race (22-27).

A. Unless I Use it for Finishing the Work

1. In the previous section, Paul gathered the elders of the church in Ephesus, where he talked about his ministry among them. Now, his speech to them shifts to where his future is headed.

2. In vv. 22-23, Paul says, “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.”

a. Paul begins by saying that he is headed to Jerusalem because he is “bound by the Spirit.”

b. The word bound means “to compel someone to act in a particular manner—‘to compel, to force.’ (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 475).

c. In other words, the Holy Spirit was telling Paul, “This is where you are going!”

d. In addition to telling him where he was going, the Holy Spirit also told Paul what was going to happen to him there.

e. The Spirit told Paul he would be imprisoned and face suffering. In some of his letters Paul reflected on the knowledge of what lied before him.

f. “Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. 31 Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem.” (Rom. 15:30-31).

g. Despite the fact that Paul knew what awaited him, he did not shy away from it. In doing so, Paul provided a strong example to follow for these elders, whom many would also suffer for Christ.

3. As Paul continued, he made it clear that he was more than willing to do what he had to do. In v. 24 it says, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”

a. What Paul says here is not only important for him and the Ephesian elders, but it is also important for us today.

b. He says that his life is secondary compared to the mission he had been given by Christ.

c. Paul often used the illustration of an athlete finishing the race as an example of finishing the mission he was given.

d. He was determined, regardless of the cost, to finish the race well.

e. As he later wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.” (Phil. 1:20).

f. He was a committed person whose life’s goal was to tell others about Jesus. This is why he was the greatest missionary who ever lived.

4. As Paul continues, he says in vv. 25-27, “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. 26 I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, 27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.”

a. It seems clear that Paul was convinced he would never see these elders ever again.