Who’s Leading You?
Acts 20:17-38
September 8, 2002
Intro:
A. [Illustration]
A bumper sticker reads: “Don’t follow me. I’m lost too.”
Motion does not always mean purpose.
Be very careful if you follow the crowd, for they may not know where they are going.
B. Ephesians 4:14-15 (NIV), Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
1. That is a very apt description of our society today.
2. Our society certainly knows how to follow the crowd.
3. We learn it from childhood when we use the peer pressure phrase, “Everybody’s doin’ it.”
4. And it seems that most in our society never quit following the crowd even when they become adults.
5. Often our leaders don’t even know any better: they don’t know how to determine the right course for themselves, so they take polls to see whether the winds of popular opinion are blowing on a particular day and simply give the people what they want.
6. The problem is that predicting the direction of the popular opinion is just as difficult as predicting the winds of weather.
7. Paul could certainly be describing our society when he says they are “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”
8. So how is the Christian to respond to this?
9. What do we do to prevent ourselves from be tossed back and forth by the waves and being blown here and there by every wind of teaching?
10. Well, one of the ways is to get some godly leadership in our lives.
C. [Illustration]
An ancient Persian proverb offers the following excellent advice on leaders.
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not is a fool—shun him.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not is a child—teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows is asleep—wake him.
He who knows, and knows that he knows is wise—follow him.
D. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV), Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1. Paul knew what it took to be a Godly leader.
2. Paul encouraged others to follow him as he followed Christ.
3. Paul called people to follow him as he followed Christ and that is Godly leadership and all of us need people like that in our lives.
4. Today in Acts 20 we’re going to look at Paul’s departing words to the Elders at Ephesus.
5. Paul knew that he would never see the Ephesians again and so he traveled near Ephesus and sent for the Ephesian Elders to come and meet him at Miletus.
6. There, Paul gave an emotional farewell address to the Ephesians.
7. In Paul’s farewell address to the Elders in Ephesus we find ten characteristics of a Godly leader…
I. Godly leaders are transparent.
Acts 20:18 (NIV), 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.
A. Paul tells the elders at Ephesus that they know how he lived.
1. When the Ephesian elders got to Paul, he told them that they knew how he had lived the whole time he was in Ephesus, which was about three years.
2. Paul did not hide himself in some ivory-towered monastery and then show up on Sunday mornings to preach and teach them.
3. Paul lived amongst the Ephesians and they knew all about how he lived.
4. Paul did not hide his private life from them.
5. Paul’s public life was in his private life and his private life was his public life.
6. Paul’s religious life was his private life and his private life was his religious life.
7. Paul did not compartmentalize his life into different sections; Paul’s life was Christ’s life; 24/7.
8. The Ephesians knew how Paul lived; he was transparent with them.
9. Paul had nothing to hide from anyone at any time.
B. This is a mark of a godly leader.
1. Godly leaders do not hide out in ivory towers.
1. Godly leaders do not hide out from people so that they don’t see their private life.
2. Godly leaders are like Paul; they are transparent with people.
3. Godly leaders allow people to see into their private life.
4. Godly leaders let people know that they live what they believe.
5. Godly leaders are transparent and let people see them behind the suit and tie.
6. Godly leaders show and model how to live Godly lives.
C. That is the kind of person that you need leading you.
1. You need Godly leaders who live and breath and play with real live people.
2. You need Godly leaders who are willing to let you and others see how they live.
3. You need Godly leaders who will model what Christ-like living is all about.
4. You need Godly leaders who don’t try to hide parts of their lives from others.
5. You need Godly leaders who don’t teach one thing and live another way, but they hide their lives so no one knows how they really live.
II. Godly leaders are humble.
Acts 20:19 (NIV), I served the Lord with great humility and with tears
A. Paul told the Ephesians that he served with great humility and tears.
1. Paul served them with humility.
2. Paul was not an arrogant person who said that he was the only one who knew anything.
3. Paul had others who helped him.
4. Verse four tells us that Paul also had Sopater, Pyrrhus, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, Trophimus, and of course Luke was with him as well.
5. Paul was one of many—he wasn’t the all-knowing, most powerful one who was always going around demanding that people respect him.
6. Paul served with humility and tears.
B. That is what Godly leaders do.
1. Godly leaders are not proud.
2. Godly leaders cry frequently.
3. Godly leaders serve God with humility.
4. Godly leaders don’t raise their voice and loose their temper when they don’t get their way.
5. Godly leaders demonstrate the humility of Christ.
C. And that’s the kind of leader that you need.
1. You need people who will serve the Lord with humility.
2. You need people who don’t demand that everyone sees everything their way.
3. You need people who speak the truth in love.
4. You need people who don’t demand allegiance to them.
5. You need Godly leaders who serve the Lord with tears and humility.
III. Godly leaders are courageous.
Acts 20:19-21 (NIV), I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. 20 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. Courage to persevere.
1. Paul had the courage to persevere in spite of all kinds of opposition.
a. Paul had the courage to persevere in spite of persecution.
b. Paul had the courage to persevere in spite of stoning, beatings, and jail.
c. Paul had the courage to preserve in spite of severe testing.
2. And we need Godly leaders who stick through it, through thick and thin!
B. Courage to say what needs to be said.
1. Paul said that he did not hesitate to say what needed to be said.
a. He did not hesitate to preach what needed to be preached.
b. Paul did not hesitate to say what needed to be said either in the pulpit or in people’s homes.
d. If there was something that spiritually needed to be said, Paul did not hesitate to say it.
2. And that is the kind of Godly leaders we need.
a. We need the ones who are not afraid to call a spade a spade.
b. We need the ones who will come and tell us the truth.
c. And, of course, we need to be willing to hear what they have to say.
C. Courage to do what needs to be done.
1. Paul did not hesitate to go to people’s homes if that’s what needed to be done.
a. Paul did not hesitate to go to certain cities where danger a waited him, if that that was what needed to be done.
b. Paul went and did whatever needed to be done.
2. Of course, we need Godly leaders who do not hesitate to do what needs to be done.
a. We need Godly leaders that don’t spend great amounts of time debating the necessity of doing needed things.
b. I know a church that has been debating whether or not to paint for the past six months.
c. I know a businessman nearby who says he can’t serve in the leadership of a church because if it took him as long to make a decision in his business as it takes most churches, he’d be out of business.
d. We need Godly leaders who will pray and weigh the evidence, but who will then get in there and do what needs to be done.
IV. Godly leaders are Spirit-lead.
Acts 20:22-23 (NIV), "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
A. Paul was clearly being lead by the Spirit.
1. He said that he was being compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem.
2. He had no idea what was going to happen to him there.
3. He only knew that in every city that he went to, the HS warned him about prison and hardship that was facing him.
4. And Paul was willing to follow the Spirit’s leading no matter what might lie ahead.
B. That’s how Godly leaders are.
1. Godly leaders are Spirit lead.
2. Godly leaders know the Spirit and follow Him wherever he leads them.
3. Godly leaders follow the Sprit’s lead no matter where He leads.
C. And that is the kind of leader we need.
1. We need leaders who know the HS and not just know about the HS.
2. We need leaders who know the voice of the HS and not just what the Bible says about Him.
4. We need leaders who will show us how to live by the Spirit.
5. We need leaders who do more than just teach us what the Bible says about the HS.
6. We need leaders who know and have a relationship with the HS.
7. How else are we going to learn to follow the Spirit’s leading in our lives if there is no Godly leader to show us how to do that?
V. Godly leaders are focused.
Acts 20:24 (NIV), 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.
A. Paul had a specific goal in life that he was focused on.
1. Paul’s task was testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
2. That was Paul’s number one priority in life.
3. That was what drove his life.
4. He considered his life worth nothing if he didn’t finish the race.
5. He considered his life worth nothing if he didn’t complete the task Christ had given him.
6. The driving force of his life was sharing the gospel with others.
B. Such is the life of Godly leaders.
1. Godly leaders strive towards the finish line.
2. Godly leaders strain towards finishing the race.
3. Godly leaders live to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
C. And that is the kind of leader we need.
1. We need Godly leaders who consider their lives worth nothing if they don’t spread the gospel.
2. We need Godly leaders who live for sharing Christ and the Word with us.
3. We need Godly leaders whose lives are not compartmentalized into spreading the gospel and something else.
4. We need Godly leaders in our lives that live to share Christ with us.
5. We need Godly leaders whose number one purpose in live is to spread the gospel.
VI. Godly leaders are sincere.
Acts 20:25-26 (NIV), "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
A. Paul was a man of sincerity.
1. Paul wasn’t playing games with people.
2. Paul served with a clear conscience.
3. Paul said he was innocent of the blood of all men.
4. Paul said that if anyone went to hell, it wasn’t his fault because he had given them every opportunity—he was innocent of the blood of all men.
5. Paul was sincere about what he did and he did it to the best of his ability with a clear conscience.
B. Of course that is how Godly leaders are as well.
1. Godly leaders are sincere.
2. And we can usually tell when a person is sincere or not.
3. Sincerity is evident in a person’s life and their speech.
4. Of course the Godly leader will always have those who oppose him (as did Paul) who will question their sincerity.
6. But for those who are truly seeking after God, they will be able to recognize the sincerity in a Godly person’s life.
7. It will be evident that they aren’t just wearing a title so they will be noticed and respected.
C. We certainly need to be lead by someone who is sincere about what they are doing.
1. We need Godly leaders who truly care whether we go to heaven or hell.
2. We need Godly leaders who truly care about leading us to Christ.
3. We need Godly leaders who truly care about helping us develop a good relationship with the Father, Son, and HS.
4. We need Godly leaders who are sincere.
VII. Godly leaders are shepherds.
Acts 20:27-31 (NIV), For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 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. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
A. Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders about the importance of shepherding their flocks.
1. Paul spoke to them about the importance of shepherding those who God had entrusted into their care.
2. Paul spoke to them about the importance of shepherding those who are in their sphere of influence.
B. So what is a shepherd and how does a Godly leader do it?
1. Shepherding is assuming the long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers.
2. Shepherding is what a shepherd does for sheep except with spiritual people.
3. Shepherds feed their flocks while spiritual shepherds spiritually nourish their people.
4. Shepherds protect their flocks from wolves and predators and likewise spiritual shepherds.
5. Spiritual shepherds actually take responsibility for the spiritual nourishment and protection of their flock and don’t simply carry a title.
6. Spiritual shepherds take long-term responsibility for the spiritual welfare of those in their flocks.
C. And we need Godly leaders who are interested in our long-term development as disciples of Christ.
1. We need Godly leaders who are willing to hang in there with us for the long haul.
a. None of us have lives that are only a couple of years.
b. None of us become fully devoted followers of Christ after only a couple of years.
c. We need Godly leaders who are there for us in raising our kids and sending them off to college.
d. We need Godly leaders who are there for us during our children’s weddings and our grand children’s births.
e. We need Godly leaders that are there for us for the long haul.
e. We need Godly leaders who will go through the good and the bad times with us.
f. We need Godly leaders who will be there for us in times of sickness and in health.
g. We need Godly leaders who will be there for us for richer or poorer.
2. We need Godly leaders who are willing to risk their lives to protect us from wolves.
a. We need Godly leaders who are willing to protect us from those who will lead us astray.
b. We need Godly leaders who will protect us from those who would lead us away from Christ—even if they come from within our own families or our church.
c. Paul warned the Ephesians that there would be some from within their own church who would lead people astray and it was up to those Elders to protect the flock from those wolves.
3. We need Godly leaders in our lives who are willing to take long-term responsibility for our spiritual welfare.
VIII. Godly leaders are directors.
Acts 20:32 (NIV), "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.
A. Paul said that he was committing them to the Word of God.
1. Paul was directing them to the Scriptures.
2. Paul had done that the whole time he was with them and he was doing it when he left them.
3. Paul always directed people to the Word of God.
B. And that’s what Godly leaders do.
1. Godly leaders direct people to the Word of God.
2. They don’t just tell people to take their word for things.
3. They don’t just tell people that they should trust them.
4. They don’t just ask people to believe them.
5. Godly leaders direct people to the Word of God.
C. And that is the kind of leader we need in our lives as well.
1. We need people who will show us what the Bible says.
2. We need people who will challenge us to live by what the Bible says.
3. We need people who direct us to appropriate passage of Scriptures for different circumstances in our lives.
4. We need people who will continually direct us to the Word of God.
IX. Godly leaders are hard-workers.
Acts 20:33-35 (NIV), 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. Paul worked hard.
1. That was Paul’s point here and that was his only point.
2. Paul is not saying anything more or less than using himself as an example of hard work.
3. Now there are people that will try to use this or similar passages to try to prove that it is wrong for Godly leaders to be paid.
a. But we know that is not what Paul was teaching here because of what he said in other passages.
b. 1 Timothy 5:17-18 says (NIV), The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."
d. So Paul doesn’t believe and isn’t saying that Godly leaders should not be paid for their work; Paul taught that Godly leaders have the right to be paid.
4. What Paul is saying is they saw him work hard and they should follow his example.
B. And of course we need Godly leaders who work hard.
1. We don’t need people who simply sit around and watch others do the work.
2. We don’t need people who think that since they are supposed to be a leader, they don’t have to work.
3. We don’t need people who think it is their job to sit back and supervise the work that others do.
5. We don’t need people who think it’s their job to do nothing but teach.
6. We need Godly leaders like the apostle Paul who was willing to roll up his sleeves and get to work.
7. We need Godly leaders like the apostle Paul who was willing to set an example of being a hard worker.
8. We need Godly leaders like the apostle Paul who was willing to work and not just teach in the classroom and supervise in the field.
9. We need Godly leaders like the apostle Paul who actually work and work hard and show (not just tell) us how to work hard for the Kingdom of God.
X. Godly leaders are compassionate.
Acts 20:36-38 (NIV), 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. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
A. Paul was a compassionate man.
1. Look at how these people responded to his farewell address.
2. These people loved and cared for Paul because he had loved and cared for them.
3. They wept and hugged and kissed Paul.
4. That tells us what Paul’s ministry meant to these people.
5. I’m sure Paul wept with them as he mentioned back in verse 19.
6. Paul was a compassionate man and it was evident in this touching farewell.
B. And that is exactly the kind of leaders we need in our lives as well.
1. We need compassionate leaders.
2. We need leaders who are compassionate about us.
3. We need leaders whom we will sorely miss when they are gone.
4. We need Godly leaders who will be tough to part with.
5. We need Godly leaders who have the compassion in their heart to develop rich relationships with us. We need Godly leaders who are compassionate.
Conclusion:
A. [Leadership by Example]
Shepherds of God’s flock are not to lord it over the flock, but to prove to be examples.
They are to lead by their example.
This is a graphically illustrated in the U. S. Army.
The symbol of the infantry (foot soldiers who do most of the front-line fighting) is a soldier with a rifle in one hand, helmet cocked, and head looking back behind him.
The rifle is pointing forward, the other arm is giving a “Come on ahead” motion, and the leader is shouting back, “Follow me!”
This symbol illustrates leadership-by-example, as this soldier calls his men to follow him in the heart of the battle.
B. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV), Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1. Who’s leading you? What is your plan for maturing in your faith?
2. We all need Godly leadership in our lives so that, “… we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Who’s leading you?
