I learn this from Paul – don’t just do ministry, live your ministry.
• Let your life be a walking sermon. People see you and they see a glimpse of Christ.
• They can see hope, love, joy, and purpose in our lives, because Christ dwells in us.
• WHO you are has a greater and longer lasting impact in people’s lives, than just WHAT you do.
• We want our life to be a ‘walking’ sermon that people never forget.
We know more about Paul from his farewell speech with the Ephesians elders [20:17-38].
This is probably one of the most moving scenes in Acts.
• Paul was heading back to Jerusalem in time for Pentecost. He would not be returning this way and said this was to be his last meeting with them.
• He called for the elders to meet him at Miletus, some 30km South of Ephesus. Paul had spent 3 years in Ephesus, so they know him and he knows them well.
• He spoke his heart with them for the last time.
Parting words are always the most significant. No idle words, not casual talk.
• We share our deepest concern and what is most important.
• This farewell talk reveals a lot about Paul – his person, his motivations, and his calling.
• I just want you to quickly go through some of these verses and fill up the blanks. Doing it this way will give us a deeper impression and understanding of this man. [Give out handouts]
The Man
v.19 – great humility v.33 – honest, not greedy
v.24 – selfless, committed v.34 – work for his own & companions’ needs
v.31 – caring, compassionate v.35 – hardworking
His Motivations
v.19 – serve the Lord v.24 – finish the task of sharing the Gospel
v.20 – preach anything that is helpful v.35 – proclaim the whole will of God
v.31 – getting Jews and Greeks saved
His Conduct
v.18 – You know how I lived… v.32 – prays for them
v.20 – taught publicly and house to house v.35 – In everything I did, I showed you….
v.31 – giving counsel night and day
No wonder they were so sad to part with Paul. I would be.
• He has become such a blessing in their lives. Paul models Christ.
Paul did not just preach Christ – which he has been doing amazingly well, wherever he went he proclaim the Gospel relentlessly.
• But he also lived Christ. He walks his talk. For 3 years, the Ephesians’ believers saw that with their own eyes.
• You can’t fake something like these. You cannot bluff those who have been with you for 3 years.
• Paul lived the message he preached. The people knows he cares about them, the people know he loves them.
WHO you are is more important than WHAT you do.
• If you take a moment to think about the people who have impacted you the most, you’ll most likely discover that it was their character that made the biggest impression on you.
• It’s not their talents, gifts or abilities, but their humility, their kind heart, their compassion.
Who you are as a person will have a greater influence than the specific thing you do, whether it is preaching, singing, or whatever.
• If I preach with eloquence but arrogance, you know it and it turns you off. If you sing to glorify yourself, people sees it and they will leave not with an impression of your song but your pride.
Because Paul walks the talk, he was able to tell the believers to imitate him.
• 1 Cor 4:16-17 “Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.”
• 1 Cor 11:1 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Actually, the walk is more important than the talk. A bad walk nullifies the good talk.
• So let us strive to be an example others love to follow. Let us learn to display the character and attitudes of Christ, in every situation.
• God has called us to live lives worth imitating. In order words, if you are doing something today that you do not want people to imitate, then you need to stop it.
Doug Nichols served with Operation Mobilisation in India 1966-1968.
In 1967, Doug Nochols was serving as a missionary in India. While he was just starting to study the language he contracted tuberculosis and was eventually sent to a sanatorium to recuperate.
It was not a very good place to be. It was not very clean and conditions were difficult because there were so many sick people there. But Doug decided to do the best he could in that situation. So he took tracts and some Gospel of John booklets and tried to pass them on but they were not interested in an American and his God. No one wanted the tracts and books. He tried to witness, but he was handicapped because of his inability to communicate in their language. Discouragement set in and Doug began to wonder why God had allowed him to be there anyway.
Doug would often be awakened in the night by the rasping sound of coughing, both his and others. But then, what can you expect in the TB ward of a sanatorium? Unable to sleep because of his raspy cough, early one morning Doug noticed an old man trying to sit on the edge of the bed, but because of weakness, he would fall back. Exhausted, the old man finally lay still and sobbed. Early the next morning the scene was repeated. Then later in the morning, the stench that began to permeate the ward certified the obvious: the old man had been unsuccessfully trying to get up and go to a rest room.
Says Doug: "The nurses were extremely agitated and angry because they had to clean up the mess. One of the nurses in her anger even slapped him. The man, terribly embarrassed, just curled up into a ball and wept."
The next morning- about 2:00 A.M.-Doug noticed the old man was again trying to generate enough strength to get himself out of bed. This time, though, without thinking, Doug got out of bed, went over to where the old man was, put one arm under his head and neck, the other under his legs, and gently carried him to the rest room. When he had finished, Doug carried him back to his bed.
But what happened after that is what makes the story. The old man, speaking in a language Doug didn’t understand, thanked him profusely, and then... gently kissed him on the cheek.
The story doesn’t end there, either. Eventually Doug drifted off to an uneasy sleep.
In the morning he awakened to a steaming cup of tea served to him by another patient who spoke no English. After the patient served the tea, he made motions indicating that he wanted one of Doug’s tracts.
"Throughout the day," says Doug, "people came to me, asking for the Gospel booklets. This included the nurses, the hospital interns, the doctors, until everyone in the hospital had a tract, booklet, or Gospel of John.
Over the next few days," he adds, "several indicated they trusted Christ as Saviour as a result of reading the Good News!"
A final thought. The world doesn’t care how much you have or what you know; they want to know how much you care.
He said, "Now what did I do? I didn’t preach a sermon. I couldn’t even communicate in their language. I didn’t have a great lesson to teach them. I didn’t have wonderful things to offer. All I did was to take an old man to the bathroom and anyone can do that!"
Reference: Heroes - People Who Made A Difference In Our World by Dr. Harold J. Sala, (OMF Literature, Inc., P.O. Box 2217 Manila, Philippines, 1998), pp. 29-31.
Doug Nichols founded the Christian Mission called ACTION - Action International Ministries (ACTION) and is one of the respected mission leaders today.
• Until people know that you care about them personally, they will never be very interested in your faith.
• Can we model the message we proclaim? Would you say that your life measures up to what you believe and say?
Paul says to the elders in 20:28, first “keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”
• Our priority is to give careful attention to ourselves and then to others under our care.
• Our personal walk with the Lord is important. We must beware of getting so caught up by Christian activities and ministries, that we neglect our own personal lives.
• This is the devil’s deception – just do Christian ministry, never mind about your relationship with the Lord. Just be busy with church work and you’ll be alright.
Paul is fully devoted to Christ. He is passionate and fully committed to God’s call on his life. His ministry is an outflow of the rich life he has in Christ.
• A life begets a life. His life becomes a blessing to many because of the Christ in his life. He makes a great impact in people’s lives because of the Christ in his own life.
• As Christians, this is our calling. Jesus says we are the salt of the earth and light of the world (Matt 5:13-14).
Each one of us is influencing and being influenced. The issue is not whether we influence others but what kind of an influencer we will be.
• What do you want people to be like? You be that kind of person. Do you want the people who follow you to be kind? Then you need to be kind. Do you want them to be hopeful? Then you need to show that hope you have in Christ. Do you want them to be prayerful? Then you lead the way through your example.
• Ultimately, the people you influence will be a reflection of you, for better or worse. This is modelling.
Here is an old poem that says it well: A SERMON
I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye’s a better pupil, and more willing than the ear;
Fine counsel is confusing, but example is always clear.
So I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do;
It is not enough to preach it; you must live the sermon too.
For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
[Author Unknown]
