No need to say Goodbye
Acts 20:17-20:32
How do you say “goodbye” when you leave friends?
Gotta go. Bye
It’s been fun.
Take it easy
Adios Amigo
After while, crocodile
So long
Catch you later
Ariverderchi
“Toodle-oo.”
Goodbye and God bless you
Perhaps Paul Harvey’s , good day.
This morning we are once again dipping into the wealth of knowledge in Acts. This time we are looking at the 20th chapter. We will be using pieces of the chapter as we listen for God’s wisdom today.
We are looking at how Paul says goodbye to the Elders of the church in Ephesus. He seems to have three points, the past, the present and the future.
Listen to what he says about the past, “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.”
Paul explains his service to the people in Ephesus. How he had lived in a way to demonstrate his faith. How he has shared tears with the people he loved so much. I suspect that it was not just one kind of tear. Every body of Christ has sadness over loss and hardship but, when we balance the emotions felt over the years we will also remember tears of joy. Perhaps even a few occasions were tears flowed uncontrollability because of laughter. Which would be my favorite memories.
Paul continues and briefly mentions troubles with people, what he preached and where. Basically he is saying that he placed no limits on what he would do for Jesus Christ.
There was a pastor had a stray kitten that climbed up into a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, called to it, got catnip, etc., but the kitty seemed frightened of would not come down.
The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the tree would bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.
He used a weight to throw the rope as high as he could securing it to a good sized limb and attached the other end to the back bumper of his car. Then he drove the car slowly, watching the tree’s progress as it bent lower and lower to the ground. He was about to get out of the car and reach for the cat when the limb with the rope snapped and the tree shot up with a tremendous whoosh. The pastor caught a glimpse of the kitten in the side mirror as it sky rocked toward heaven and out of sight.
The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they’d seen a little kitten. No, nobody had seen a stray kitten. So the pastor prayed, “Lord, I just commit this kitten to your safe keeping,” and went on about his business.
A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a known woman cat hater and she made everyone aware of that fact whenever cats came up in a conversation.
So the pastor asked her, “Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?”
She replied! “You will not believe this,” and told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept telling her, “No!” She said, “This kept up every few days.” Her daughter would beg again and again. Finally, she said that she told her daughter, “If God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.”
She said, “Pastor, I watched my daughter go out in the backyard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. Pastor, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. As my daughter was praying suddenly a kitten came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed in front of her. This is why I am buying cat food!”
In this illustration, the cat represents ME.
6 ½ years ago I was comfortable where I was, I was serving Jesus in my church and I had lots of church family that loved me and my family. The still do.
I had resisted the coaxing of God come down out of my tree, to step up to something more, his call for me to enter the ministry.
The pastor represents God to me, with the exception that He totally knew when the launch would happen and more importantly He knew exactly what he was doing.
I see the congregation filling the role of the mother that responded to the actions of God. The sudden unexpected appearance of something you never asked for. I suddenly landed here without the benefit of your desires or prayers.
It was early December and there was a new guy in the pulpit.
In those days we shared only a couple of things. First was the shock of the Methodist process which sometimes looks and feels like being shot out of a catapult. The second being our common relationship with Jesus Christ.
In our past, I hope to have been at least a little like Paul in my service. I have preached the Good news, repentance, Gifts, Forgiveness, call, grace and most importantly agape Love.
Part of Matthew 25:35 says, “I was a stranger and you invited me in.” I came here as an unknown and the church received us and helped us and loved us.
Not because we deserved or earned it, but because of your existing relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of your openness to the spirit, we have shared many years together. We have shared all kinds of tears and served our Lord in all kinds of ways.
We have a common past that we can look back on and find more goodness and blessing than pain and suffering. Personally, I know I will always have great memories of our time together.
Paul describes his current situation, starting in verse 22 "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 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 the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
Paul says current situation is in response to being “compelled by the spirit.”
Compelled - we tend to think that means forced, perhaps irresistibly made to do something. I am not sure that is what Paul is describing.
When compelled is used as an adjective instead of a verb it means, being under moral or legal obligation. It means keeping a promise or responding because of a commitment.
When Paul describes being compelled to go to Jerusalem, I believe that he is responding to the leading of the spirit; however, he can say no.
But Paul is responding because he is filled with the spirit.
If a man is filled with anger, then anger controls his life.
If a man is filled with greed, then greed dominates his life.
If a man is filled with lust, then lust governs his life.
If a man is filled with love, then love influences all he does.
And if a man is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is controlled by the Spirit - it is, if you will, "control by consent."
Paul responds to the spirit even though he really has no idea what will happen to him. The spirit has warned him of troubles, prison and hardships, and he is still going anyway.
What is he thinking? Don’t you think the spirit would be trying to warn him and keep him safe?
According to Paul the spirit has called him to go and it is not going to be fun. He will have fewer friends and less visible successes on this trip. The sprit gives him direction and just enough warning so that he will know that he is on the right track -- even when the troubles come.
Paul sees his life as being useless if he is not using it the way that Jesus Christ expects.
He sees this new direction as being how Jesus, God, has planed him to “spend” his life. If he is responding to God’s plan and preaching the Gospel in all situations, instead of deciding for himself how he will spend his limited resources, then his current situation is worth all the trouble he faces.
Mother Teresa is a woman whose name has become synonymous with greatness. This correlation may have resulted from her philosophy of greatness. She simply believed, "We can do no great things; only small things with great love."
In our time together I have never done any great things. My tiny efforts for you and with you have been offered with the Love that God has given me.
This current transition, My departure and Alvin’s arrival is a time full of mysteries.
Will we all feel blessed and happy?
Will we like the people?
Will we like what God is doing in the coming days?
Paul clearly explains that not every task that the spirit draws us to will not automatically be good. He explains that sometimes we will even know that it is going to be bad, but we will be called, led, compelled to go through it just because we want to do what Christ asks of us.
There is nothing wrong with hoping and praying and expecting the best of situations; however, we are compelled to persevere and give of our resources…our lives simply because of our faith and His promise.
Paul also talks about the future, this way, 28 “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.”
A fortuneteller, gazing into a crystal ball, said to a frog: “You are going to meet a beautiful young woman. From the moment she sets her eyes on you she will have an insatiable desire to know all about you. She will be compelled to get close to you--you’ll fascinate her." The frog asked, "Where am I? At a singles club?" The fortuneteller said, “No, biology class."
It is a hard part of life that we don’t know our future. The frog suddenly had great concerns over his future.
How do we view the future?
What is important to us in this life?
Are we focused on our comfort? Enough food and money, how about vacations?
How about as a part of the body of Christ? Church Growth, budgets met, presence of God felt, someone to teach Sunday school, the salvation of one person or the neighborhood. Making a difference for Jesus in this fallen world….
Paul is talking to the leaders of the Ephesus Church and he cautions them to watch over the people that the spirit has trusted into their care. He tells them to act as good shepherds over the church that Jesus bought with his own blood.
It seems that Paul has concerns over what can happen to the church if they, the leaders fail to be good shepherds.
Savage wolves will come….Don’t jump to any wrong conclusions… I am not talking about Rev. Taylor your new pastor. He is coming and brings his experience and gifts for the benefit of this church and community. He is coming as a trusted, experienced shepherd.
-I am talking about unexpected problems that come from the world. The stresses of life and the influence of the culture that can lessen hope and joy in every person’s life.
Paul offers another warning of problems from inside the church that will also come and he says, “distort the truth.”
I believe that he is reminding his hearers that unity is important.
Remember that this is your church.
What you do and are is for the glory of Jesus Christ. The things that draw outsiders to Jesus and glorify God need to be continued. The church needs to be unified on what is the best actions and have the strength to act and move. Not with power or physical strength and ability but with love compassion and a dependence on God.
A church that is unified will work together to focus their time and efforts in a direction. But it means that as a member of the Body of Christ you speak your opinion in Christian Love. And more importantly you listen and affirm others to do the same.
The biggest wolf for dissension any church faces is FEAR.
Fear of what is happening in our world.
Fear of change….
Fear of our personal relationships…
Fear of future…
Fear to admit you are in Christ…
Fear to stand up and respond to your call….
Next Sunday, God is sending you a new shepherd. He will bring new talents, gifts, discernment and wisdom to this community of faith.
It is ok to be a little bit shy but please don’t avoid him. Welcome him and his family with the love of Jesus Christ. Take some risk and offer them friendship without expectation of a return.
Offer love and grace to them even though you don’t know them.
Offer a listening ear and help the tailors settle in quickly so that they can be a part of this blessed family of God.
A few weeks back, I mentioned that I don’t like change. But I hate to say good bye even more!
But the Spirit is compelling me to move on to another church family. Personally, I haven holding on to what I have and been satisfied. So it is back into the catapult to see what God is doing down at Silver Creek. But that means my time to help directly in your struggles is changed.
From personal experience I know that things change when time together and distance comes into our personal relationships. It feels different. I know that we can still be friends, we may still bump into each other every now and then. We will still call and hug.
But if any of you has not really submitted to a full relationship as a member of the family of God then today may actually be Good bye.
That scares me, it is unacceptable, it is a horrible future.
God loves you too much for you to let that happen.
If you have any doubts about your relationship with Jesus Christ, talk to me or Rev. Taylor as soon as you can. It is too important to be put off.
Until we meet again, All Glory Be to God
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.
