Getting Ready for Our Final Goodbye (Part 2)
Acts 20:17-38
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Dec. 12, 2007
*Eugene J. Toni is a Vietnam veteran. In 1991, Eugene made a visit to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Standing under a full moon, he flipped through the directory of names on the wall. Mr. Toni was mostly looking for friends, but he turned to the T’s in a long-shot search for an uncle he never met. Instead, Mr. Toni was shocked to see his own name. Eugene and his wife, Nancy, walked down to panel 17 and counted down to line 121. Eugene later said, “I showed her my name and then we both looked at each other like we couldn’t believe it.” (1)
*It was a wake-up call for them both. And this passage of Scripture should be a wake-up call for us. In vs. 25 Paul told the church leaders of Ephesus that they would never see him again in this world. Paul was ready for that final goodbye, and in these verses he shows us how to get ready.
1. First, recognize the unparalleled value of God’s Word.
*In vs. 25-27, Paul reminds us of the priceless value of the Word of God. Listen again to what he said: “Now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”
*John the Baptist said that he was not worthy to loose the Lord’s shoes. And I am not worthy to loose Paul’s shoes, much less the Lord’s. But tonight I can also tell you that every time I preach to you I always strive to declare to you the whole counsel of God. I always ask the Lord to show me what to say to you. My prayer is, “Lord: Please tell me what to say to these precious people! Please show me what you want me to say to these people concerning these wonderful words of life. Let me say everything you want me to say and only what you want me to say.”
*My greatest desire when I preach to you is “to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” -- But why is the Word of God so priceless? Why is it so valuable? There are many reasons why, but one of the reasons we see here is God’s purpose. That word “counsel” means “advice” or “will” or “purpose.” God has great purposes for your life, and He reveals them most clearly through His Word.
*I like the way Rick Warren described 5 of God’s great purposes for our lives:
-You were planned for God’s pleasure: That’s worship.
-You were formed for God’s family: That’s fellowship.
-You were created to become like Christ: That’s discipleship.
-You were shaped for serving God: That’s ministry.
-And you were made for a mission: That’s evangelism. (2)
*God’s Word has infinite value, because it tells us about His purpose, and His pardon. Everybody in this world desperately needs a pardon from God for their sins, and the only place they will ever find it is in God’s Word. In these verses Paul gives us the essentials for getting a pardon from God. In vs. 21 it’s “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” In vs. 24 it’s “the good news of the grace of God.” And in vs. 28 it’s because Jesus Christ paid for our pardon “with His own blood.”
*By the way, vs. 28 also establishes the divinity of Jesus Christ, because there Paul told those pastors, “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of GOD which HE purchased with HIS OWN BLOOD.”
*By His grace, God the Son became a man and took the punishment for our sins when He died on the cross. We receive a full pardon from Him when we turn to God in repentance and faith. We also become part of His Kingdom. -- And all of this comes through the Word of God.
*Russian Pastor Vsevolod Lytkin once spoke at a church in Minneapolis. His parents were atheistic university professors, but they raised their son to “think for himself.” During his teen years, Pastor Lytkin struggled with many spiritual questions. When the Communists told him there was no God, he questioned their teaching, and began to search for reading material where he might find the answers.
*The only books on religion available at his local library were atheistic, but they often quoted verses from the Bible to mock or refute them. -- And that was enough to get the job done. Lytkin’s greatest discovery was a set of encyclopedias on atheism. He copied every Bible verse in those encyclopedias by hand. Soon he began to believe, and asked God to forgive his sins. (3)
*This is the infinite value of the Word of God. And this is why Paul was so careful to “declare the whole counsel of God.”
2. The best way to get ready for our final goodbye is to recognize the unparalleled value of God’s Word. -- And remember our urgent need for God’s Word.
*Paul passed on a great sense of urgency to us in vs. 28-31, telling those preachers: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.”
*These words came from a heart pressed by the greatest sense of urgency. Paul had the Good Shepherd’s overflowing concern for His flock. And it was justified concern, because we live in a world where false teaching is rampant. Probably the most visible false teaching in American Christianity today is the prosperity gospel: Health and wealth -- “God wants all of His followers to be rich. And you will be -- especially if you show your faith by sending some money to me.”
*So the good news is warped into being all about what I can get, instead of what I can give, and what I can become. One of the key buzzwords is “favor.” -- God’s favor. Let me tell you that I believe in God’s favor. And I -- we have been blessed beyond measure by the gracious, loving favor of God.
*But what happens with these false teachers is that they mingle the truth with a lie. It’s one of the same strategies the devil used when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. In Luke 4:9-12, the devil brought Jesus to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.’”
*The strategy of the false teachers is to mingle the truth with a lie. On top of that, the problem is not just what they say. -- It’s what they don’t say. I don’t think you will ever hear a sermon on “TBN” from 1 Timothy 6:3-11. There Paul wrote:
3. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness,
4. he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
5. useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
6. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
*The problem is not always what they say. It’s what they don’t say. And it’s not my job to judge anybody -- But if you ever hear Joel Osteen mention sin or the cross in a sermon, please call me. False teaching is rampant.
*Like Paul, we must remember that people have an urgent need for God’s Word. And one of the best things we can do about that is to invite people to church. Don’t let this Christmas season go by without taking full advantage of this great open door to invite people to church. Use our Christmas brochures and our invitation cards.
*Listen to this email I got from our Becky in Miami last September:
“My pastor Rick Blackwood was at Starbucks and ended up giving an invitation card to the waitress. (We have business-card sized invitations like a lot of churches do.) And the waitress said something like, ‘Well, that’s it. I guess I’m supposed to go there.’ Then she pulled out a bunch of other cards that other church members had given her. (She also ended up giving the pastor his coffee for free.)
A similar thing happened with a guy who worked at Publix (grocery store). He showed up at church with about 10 invite cards and told guest services that’s why he ended up coming -- nice people taking the time to invite him.
*Why -- Because they remembered the need.
3. The best way to get ready for our final goodbye is to remember our urgent need for God’s Word. -- And rely on the unfailing power of God’s Word.
*Just like Paul was doing in vs. 32, when he said, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” God’s Word is able!
*As Alton Coleman reminds us: “The Word of God is profitable for all who will read and obey it in faith. It is profitable as:
--A mirror to behold and reflect-- James 1:22-25; 2 Cor.3:18.
--A sword to fight with and to divide-- Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12.
--A lamp to guide and direct-- Psa. 119:105.
--Bread to strengthen and nourish-- John 6.
--Milk for growth and development--1 Peter 2:2.
--Seed for regeneration and fruitfulness-- 1 Peter 1:23. (4)
*God’s Word is able to build us up into the people God wants us to be.
*Vance Havner once told the story about Dr. Clyde Turner who was the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Greensboro, Kentucky. A young boy in the Sunday School was a terror, and nobody knew what to do with him. Finally, he stopped coming to Sunday School.
*Dr. Turner said, “I am ashamed to say it, but I think we were all glad of it.” Nobody made any special effort to get him back. But one day they were having a little meeting and here came that boy running down the aisle with a musical instrument case under his arm. “Dr. Turner,” he said, “they gave me a fiddle for being good.” “In the first place,” Dr. Turner said, “I could imagine nobody giving him a fiddle; and in the second place, certainly not for being good.”
*The boy sensed the wonder on the pastor’s face and said, “You see, doctor, I am gooder than I used to be.” And Dr. Turner said, “I saw him scamper down the hall and I thought, ‘YES, THANK GOD, BY THE GRACE OF GOD A LOT OF US ARE GOODER THAN WE USED TO BE.’” (5)
*That’s what the Word of God will do in our lives. When Paul told husbands to love their wives in Eph 5, he said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
*How does Jesus make the church into all He wants it to be? Through the transforming power of the Word of God.
4. So the best way to get ready for our final goodbye is to rely on the unfailing power of God’s Word. -- But also reach for the unselfish behavior we see in God’s Word.
*Paul gave us a great example to follow in vs. 33-35 where he said, “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
*The heart of these verses can be summed up with these words: “Don’t be selfish. Work hard. And do all you can to be a blessing to other people.”
*Pastor Wade Hughes tells the story of a little boy who had an unselfish, generous heart like that. This happened years ago in Lee County, which is one of the poorest counties in Virginia. And Pastor Hughes said: “I taught school in Lee County, Virginia during Christmas season. Some boys dared Joe to kiss two pretty girls and if he would, they would give him two quarters. Joe got in trouble and had to go to the office, and Joe received a paddling. But Joe came out of the office very happy. He took his 50 cents and bought some pieces of leather that a little girl had. Joe came up to my desk and asked to borrow the glue and the stapler. Joe worked diligently and made a nice little leather pouch.
*Later, as the kids opened their exchange presents from under the old silver tree, there was a package for Mr. Hughes. Joe wanted to give me, his teacher, something for Christmas. I opened the gift -- the gift was more than a little pouch; the gift had cost Joe dearly. I always treasured that pouch.” (6)
*And he should because of the loving heart that made it and paid for it. That’s the kind of unselfish, generous people God wants us to be.
5. The best way to get ready for our final goodbye is to reach for the unselfish behavior we see in God’s Word. -- And rest in the unbreakable bond we have through God’s Word.
*Rest in that unbreakable bond of love we have with God and His people. -- Full of love and yes, sad to say goodbye even for a little while. It’s the kind of bond we see in vs. 36-38. There Luke tells us that “when (Paul) had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.”
*Grief is the natural result of saying goodbye to someone we love. Where there is no love, there is no grief. -- But wherever there is love, there will be grief, even when we are sure that our loved one is safe and secure in Heaven.
*Vickie’s Godly dad died in Oct. of 2005, and she later expressed this sorrow the best way I have ever heard. Vickie came into my office and said, “I know he’s gone to Heaven. But he’s gone.” And that’s what hurts. But if we know Jesus, we know we have an unbreakable bond with God and His people. So speaking of the death of a believer, Peter Marshall once said, “The one we love is with the Lord. And He is here with us. If the one we love is with the Lord. And he is here with us. Then the one we love cannot be very far away.” (7)
*Bearing that in mind, I found myself wanting to change the title of this message. It was too late to do it, but I really wish I could have, because the best news of all is this: For those who believe in the Word of God, for those who know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, THERE IS NO FINAL GOODBYE!
1. Original source unknown.
2. Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
3. SermonCentral illustration submitted by Clark Frailey
4. SermonCentral sermon “God’s Word Is Profitable” by Alton Coleman - Psalm 19:1-11
5. SermonCentral sermon “The Grace of God” by Steve Shepherd - John 1:14
6. SermonCentral sermon “Going away sad? What does your giving show?” by Wade Hughes - Acts 20:35
7. Original source for Peter Marshall quotation is unknown
