VISIBLE SERVANTHOOD
ACTS 20:13-38
Acts 20:36-37 When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.
37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.
INTRODUCTION: JAMES BOICE WRITES, “It is helpful too because we see Paul toward the end of his ministry among these people looking back and pointing out, not in any boastful manner but rather in an honest way, what he considered to have been the important features of his work, those blessed by God and for which he praised God. Clearly, these are characteristics that ought be present in the life of any Christian minister and of all Christians.”
FOR THE PERSON WHO DILIGENTLY SEEKS TO FOLLOW CHRIST, IT IS FOUNDATIONAL TO SEE THE “FOLLOWING” EXHIBITED IN OUR ACTIONS.
HERE AS PAUL PREPARES TO RETURN TO JERUSALEM, UNSURE OF HIS FUTURE, HE SPEAKS VERY CANDIDLY OF HIS LIFE OF MINISTRY, AND IN THE PROCESS OUTLINES FOR US THE ACTIVITIES THAT MADE HIM SUCH AN EFFECTIVE SERVANT FOR CHRIST.
1. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE OR OUR PAST IS NEVER TOO GRIM TO BE A SERVANT OF CHRIST!
a. THERE IS NO VERSE FOR THIS FIRST THOUGHT, YET IT STEMS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF OUR INTERACTION WITH PAUL IN THE BOOK OF ACTS.
b. ACTS 9 RECOUNTS FOR US THE ENCOUNTER OF SAUL (WHO WOULD BECOME PAUL) AND THE RISEN CHRIST.
c. PAUL WAS ORIGINALLY TO GO UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE SANHEDRIN AND ROUND UP CHRISTIANS.
d. JESUS CHANGED THAT AND CHANGED THE WAY PAUL WOULD END HIS LIFE.
NOW, BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER TODAY, I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT JESUS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HIM, HE WANTS TO GET TO KNOW YOU. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT HE CAME TO GIVE YOU AN ABUNDANT (NOT EASY) LIFE AND A NEW ENDING TO YOUR LIFE.
IT IS AS SIMPLE AS A DEFAULT PASSWORD – ABC123
A1 – ADMIT THAT YOU HAVE SINNED
B2 – BELIEVE WHAT JESUS DID FOR YOU
C3 – CONFESS AND ACCEPT CHRIST INTO YOUR LIFE
WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS LATER
2. PAUL SERVED CHRIST WITH HUMILITY
Acts 20:19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
a. THE WORD MEANS HUMBLENESS
b. HUMILITY IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE BROUGHT OUT ON EXHIBITION.
c. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HUMILITY IS SEEN WHEN WE ALLOW GOD TO WORK IN OUR LIVES – GIVING UP OUR PERSONAL OWNERSHIP.
i. PAUL WOULD RIGHT IN THE BOOK OF 2 CORINTHIANS THAT WHEN WE ARE WEAK THEN HE (GOD) IS STRONG.
d. HUMILITY IS SEEN IN OUR SUBMISSION TO CHRIST.
i. PAUL SUBMITTED IN HIS TRAVEL
ii. PAUL SUBMITTED IN HIS PRAYERS AND EVEN HIS INFIRMITIES
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
KEY POINT: -- IN ORDER TO BE A SERVANT FOR CHRIST YOU NEED TO BE WILLING TO BE DIRECTED BY CHRIST! EVEN THE BEST OF SERVANTS RECEIVED DIRECTION AND RECEIVE DIRECTION!
3. PAUL SERVED CHRIST WITH TEARS
Acts 20:19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
Acts 20:31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
a. WHEN PAUL SPEAKS OF SERVING WITH TEARS, HE IS SPEAKING OF A CONNECTION WITH THE PEOPLE HE IS MINISTERING TO.
b. THERE IS ALSO THE ISSUE OF ENDURANCE.
i. THINGS THAT BRING US TO TEARS ARE THE THINGS WE THEN WANT TO AVOID.
ii. WHAT WE SEE HERE IN THE LIFE OF PAUL IS THAT THE TEARS DID NOT MAKE HIM GIVE UP!
c. PAUL CONTINUED THROUGH HIS TEARS BECAUSE THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION WAS AND IS TO IMPORTANT TO MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE IT!
d. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WILL HAVE ITS ROUGH TIMES – TEARS AND SORROWS.
e. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WILL HAVE ITS GOOD TIMES –JOYS.
f. REGARDLESS OF THE TIME WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE READY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL AND NOT LET OUR CIRCUMSTANCES AT THE TIME DICTATE THE VERACITY OF OUR MESSAGE!
4. PAUL SERVED WITH PREACHING
Acts 20:20-21 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. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
a. PAUL SAYS THAT HE DID NOT “SHRINK” FROM PREACHING.
i. THE WORD MEANS TO DRAW IN OR CONTRACT SAILS – IT IS A TERM ASSOCIATED WITH SAILING SHIPS.
ii. THIS WAS WHAT THE SAILORS WOULD DO TO PREPARE A BOAT TO WEATHER A STORM.
iii. IT WAS A WAY OF PROTECTING THE SHIP
iv. PAUL DID NOT PRESENT THE GOSPEL IN SUCH A WAY AS TO PROTECT HIMSELF FROM RETRIBUTION. HE DID NOT WATER IT DOWN OR SUGAR COAT IT!
b. PAUL TOOK THE MESSAGE BOTH IN THE CHURCH AND OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
i. PUBLICALLY
ii. HOUSE TO HOUSE
c. THE GOSPEL IS A BLUNT PACKAGE OF RAW TRUTH – PEOPLE ARE REBELLIOUS AND SEPARATED FROM A HOLY GOD BY THEIR SIN.
d. THE GOSPEL IS A LOVE LETTER OF HOW GOD STILL OFFERS FORGIVENESS, ACCEPTANCE AND ETERNAL LIFE TO ALL WHO BELIEVE.
i. BOTH ARE NEEDED
e. THE GOSPEL PRESENTS AND ETERNAL DECISION, NOT A TEMPORAL ONE!
i. IN ORDER TO SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE GOSPEL, WE NEED TO SEE THE AWFULNESS OF THEIR CONDITION WITHOUT CHRIST.
f. PAUL SAYS THAT WHAT HE DECLARES CONCERNS REPENTANCE AND FAITH
i. REPENTANCE IS WHAT IS DUE GOD – IN ORDER TO SATISFY HIS JUSTICE
ii. FAITH IS WHAT IS DUE CHRIST – IN ORDER TO ACCEPT HIS GIFT OD SALVATION
5. PAUL SERVED WITH PRIORITIES
Acts 20:24 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.
Acts 20:28 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.
a. EVERYTHING WE DO IS BASED ON WHAT PRIORITY WE GIVE IT.
b. FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE DIFFERENT PRIORITIES, BASED ON THEIR NEEDS, WANTS, AND DESIRES.
c. OUR PRIORITIES ARE ALSO AFFECTED BY THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE THAT GOES ON IN OUR LIVES – WE MAY BE REDEEMED, BUT WE HAVE A SIN NATURE
d. TWO PRIORITIES NECESSARY TO SERVE CHRIST
i. A LEVEL OF SACRIFICE FOR CHRIST – I HAVE TO BE WILLING TO PUT CHRIST FIRST IN MY LIFE IN ORDER TO SERVE HIM.
1. THE LEVEL THAT WE HAVE HERE DETERMINES OUR LEVEL OF SERVICE.
ii. I HAVE TO TAKE SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL CARE OF MYSELF FIRST BEFORE I CAN DO THE SAME FOR OTHERS
e. THE BIBLE TALKS ABOUT HOW WE LOVE OUR OWN BODIES AND WANT THE BEST FOR THEM.
Ephesians 5:29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—
f. WE ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO SPIRITUAL DISEASE, AND CHURCHES ARE AS WELL. IF WE ARE NOT PREPARED THEN THE CHURCH IS THE WEAKER FOR IT
i. FALSE TEACHING
ii. SATANIC ATTACK
iii. SIN
iv. LAZINESS
v. APATHY
vi. DECEPTION
vii. DISTRACTION
viii. DIVISIVENESS
6. PAUL SERVED WITHOUT GREED AND WITH HARD WORK
Acts 20:33-35 I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 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.'"
a. TO SERVE WITHOUT GREED IS TO SERVE WITHOUT OBVIOUS BENEFIT
b. WE NEED TO NOT LIMIT OUR ACTIVITIES TO WHAT WE HOPE TO RECEIVE IN RETURN.
c. AGAIN JESUS CAUTIONS US AS TO OUR ATTITUDE AND DIRECTION
Matthew 6:1-5 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
i. THE REWARD FOR SERVICE IS NOT HERE, IT IS HERE AFTER!
SERVE WITH INTEGRITY
PAUL DIDN'T USE HIS POSITION AS AN APOSTLE TO PROFIT FINANCIALLY (20:33), BOOST HIS EGO, BUILD A NAME FOR HIMSELF, WIN A FOLLOWING, OR ACCUMULATE "SPIRITUAL" POWER. HIS MOTIVES WERE PURE—HE DESIRED SIMPLY TO SEE LIVES CHANGED, THE CHURCH BUILT, AND GOD GLORIFIED. HE WAS SATISFIED WITH WHATEVER HE HAD, WHEREVER HE WAS, AS LONG AS HE COULD DO GOD'S WORK.
WHY DO YOU TEACH, SERVE, OR GIVE? WHAT ARE YOUR REAL MOTIVES? IF YOU FIND YOURSELF GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF SERVING MORE THAN JUST THE JOY AND FULFILLMENT THAT COMES FROM OBEYING CHRIST, THEN IT MAY BE TIME TO REEXAMINE YOUR PRIORITIES.
LOOK AT THE THREE AREAS THAT PAUL ADDRESSED IN THESE CLOSING VERSES OF CHAPTER 20 AND USE THEM AS A GUIDE FOR SERVING CHRIST
(1) Contentment (Am I happy, at peace with what I have?) IF YOU ARE NOT CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD WELL.
(2) Diligence (Am I doing my best at my job to provide for myself, my family, and my church?) IF YOU ARE NOT DOING THE BEST WITH WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU, YOU ARE NOT SERVING GOD WELL.
(3) Selflessness (Am I a giver or a taker in my relationships with my family? friends? children? parents?) IF YOU ARE ALWAYS LOOKING TO RECEIVE FROM WHAT YOU DO, YOU ARE NOT SERVING WELL.
