Acts 20
Acts 6
Start here: Good evening. Let me begin by thanking Pastor Justin for allowing me the privilege tonight of giving the charge for our son in law, Travis Turner. My wife, Denise and I love this church. This church will always have a special place in our hearts…this is the place where we grew up and were nurtured in the Lord. I started attending this church because my next door neighbors invited me and gave me a ride every Sunday for years. It is the place where the most significant events of our lives have taken place. I made my
• Profession of faith at age 9, baptized 53 years ago this month. *
• Preached my first sermon as a college student *
• Rededicated my life when I was 21 *
• My first ministry position was here
• Married here *
• Ordained here *
There is a spot right in front of the pulpit in the sanctuary where all of these decisions were made. So for me that has always been holy ground. And now my son in law and my daughter actually serve here. God is amazing. And tonight we have the privilege of ordaining Travis to the ministry.
The scripture points us to a time in the NT when the church was very young and was growing rapidly. On one day over 2000 were saved and baptized and on another day another 3000 were baptized. So very quickly the church had over 5000 people in attendance and it quickly came to everyone’s attention that the church must get organized. So deacons were selected. And they were given the responsibility of
• Caring for widows
• Seeing that food was distributed all who needed it
• Taking care of the offerings
This was done for two reasons… (1) The people needed this ministry. Some of the widows were not getting enough food. There were no social programs; widows had zero income and they needed help (2) to free up the pastors of the church so that they could give their attention to two things (1) prayer and (2) the teaching of the word. That is the assignment of anyone who is ordained to the gospel ministry.
Now following this we come to the story of the dramatic conversion of Saul. He was completely changed by the grace of Jesus and became a tremendous missionary in the spread of the gospel. Paul then wrote about ½ of the NT and was the greatest missionary to ever walk on this planet. But there came a time when Paul’s job was done. He had fulfilled his purpose here. He had to move on.
In Acts chpt. 20 we find Paul speaking to those who had now become the new leadership of the church in the city of Ephesus. Paul speaks to these leaders with a great urgency because he knew that the time of the end of his ministry was very close. He knew his life was in danger. It had been for years. But now he even says to them these words…none of you will ever see me again. And Paul knew that if no one accepted the assignment of carrying out his work that all of Paul’s work could be in vain. Someone had to step up and take the ministry forward.
And then he charges them with ___things. And tonight I want to give the same charge to you Travis.
One of the most compelling pictures of a pastor in the Bible is that of the shepherd. A good shepherd does several things. The shepherd feeds the flock, defends the flock and rules/leads/rescues. Episcopos is the word used in the NT. It means overseer. Travis, God has called you to the position of being one of the overseers of the flock here at FBC. In that position, you must
(1) keep watch over yourself. You must be holy, separated to the Lord’s work. In your personal life you are called to be above reproach. When there are decisions you are called upon to make you must choose the better way. You are an example to the people in this church and in this community. V. 28. We cannot tell others how to live if our own house is not in order. I charge you with keeping your life holy. I charge you with living a life that is separated.
• You are charged with bringing the gospel message to this city. You are the only full time youth pastor in this county. You have a special assignment to minister to the large flock of young people in this area.
• You are charged with preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when you do preach you must do it with authority. Always remember the charge, “this saith the Lord.” You have been chosen to be a spokesman for God and that is a powerful assignment. Never treat it lightly.
• Tonight, Pastor Justin and this church the church will affirm your calling. When I was in my early twenties I struggled with whether I could actually do what God had placed on my heart. I spoke with the pastor of this church at that time and he gave me some very wise advice I want to pass along to you. He said (1) If God has called you, He will provide the strength you need to do the job. He will not do one without the other. (2) He said, God calls every Christian to full time service, no matter what capacity you serve in. So work as if you are working for the Lord because you are. The work you will do will make an eternal difference in the lives of the people.
• I charge you to work hard. Our work is never done. There is no OT pay. It’s never 8-5. Be a good provider. Make your wife and children the proudest people in this community. And always no matter what you do, put them first. Never apologize to anyone for doing so. It is what God expects. Always remember that before God ordained the church, He ordained the family. They must be your first priority.
• I charge you with being a shepherd. Sheep need a shepherd. Protect your flock from false teaching. The gospel message was at stake and frankly it still is. If the gospel were to change, the death of the church would be certain. There are those who try to water it down, rewrite and it and some even attempt to eliminate it. You cannot allow that to happen. You are God’s chosen servant in this place. And as you work, work as though you are working for the Lord.
So do as Paul says in v. 31….be on guard. Be committed to God and His grace. His grace will get you through many time of difficulty you will face. The Bible says it will build you up and will give you an inheritance. The Bible says that when he had said all of this they knelt and prayed. .
Let me pray for you at this time. Lord, this is your chosen servant. He is like a son to me and to you as well. He holds a special place in our hearts. I pray tonight for him and Allison as they serve you here that you will use them both in a powerful way. I know they are a team in the ministry. Help them Lord when one of them falls down to always be there to pick the other one up. Give Travis the grace and courage he needs to be the spiritual leader in his home and a spiritual leader in this church and community. May his ministry make a difference in this place that we love so much. In Christ name. Amen.
