Developing the Heart of a Servant part 1 Acts 20:18-38
The Apostle Paul is about to head out for Jerusalem, but, before he leaves, he wants to say goodbye to the believers in Ephesus. The time he’s spent with these believers has been a special time and Paul has grown to love each one. In these verses we find one of the most moving and heartwarming farewell speeches ever recorded in literature.
In his farewell speech we find 3 attributes that each of us should desire and strive for. Today we’ll only see the first one, which is:
1. Faithfulness: Look at verse 18
In this verse Paul reminds them that for 3 years he was faithful to them.
Notice that he says “From the first day.”
Paul got busy from the moment he arrived and even in the face of many hardships he was dependable. The word quit was not in Paul’s vocabulary.
I believe faithfulness is the most important quality any person can possess.
There are many right here who are faithful in a number of things but there may be some things you simply cannot do. You may not be able to get up here and sing. You may not be able to teach a Sunday school lesson like your teacher did this morning. You may not be called to preach a sermon…but there’s one thing you CAN do. There is one thing we ALL can do.
No matter what you do, you can be faithful in what you do!
Faithfulness is a fine quality to find in a person …BUT more than anything, faithfulness is a quality which God requires!
Paul says in [1Co 4:2 NKJV] “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
Let’s examine some areas where each of us must be found faithful:
a. We must be faithful to our family.
Faithfulness begins at home or it doesn’t begin at all!
Remember the ’96 presidential campaign? People were pushing the idea that a candidate’s private life was his own business, and has nothing to do with how he would lead our nation. (Clinton’s little Whitehouse fling. Funny how a pastor gets thrown to the wolves for the same thing)
But if you ask me, that is just a whole stick of bologna! That’s pure hogwash! Public office is a matter of public trust, and if a person can’t be faithful at home, he/she won’t be faithful anywhere. If a person isn’t faithful in their own house how can I expect them to be faithful at my house, your house or the White House? If a person is not faithful in their own house they will not be faithful in God’s house.
I’m not necessarily talking about having some physical affair because a person doesn’t have to be physically unfaithful to be considered unfaithful.
Some people have affairs with their jobs and spend more time at work than at home. Others have a love affair with shopping or sports…
Being faithful involves beginning and preserving proper priorities, even outside the bedroom.
We must be faithful at home and NOTHING should be so valuable that we would refuse to give it up for our spouse.
No bass boat, no job, no golf outing.
No friend should come before your spouse.
Your coworker should not know secrets you won’t tell your spouse!
Here’s one that you may not like BUT your children and may I add, your grandchildren should never come before your spouse.
Faithfulness is an awesome quality but it begins at home or it doesn’t begin at all!
So first we must be faithful to our family…
b. We must be faithful in our finances—
OH I KNOW YOU’RE NOT PASTOR… Yes I am because I have to.
Do you remember the question last week? What would you do FOR ten million dollars?
Well my question today is, what would you do WITH ten million dollars?
Would you say “I’d give some to the church, pay off all my bills and the rest I’d put in savings”
I have a feeling that I know what you’d do if you had $10 million dollars.
You would do exactly what you’re doing with the $10 you have right now.
In other words, if you’re not putting God 1st now and tithing now, you wouldn’t tithe if you had ten million dollars.
If you’re not paying your bills now, you’ll find something else to spend it on. If you’re not generous now you wouldn’t be any more generous if you were rich.
In other words, if you’re not faithful in your finances now you wouldn’t be if you have $10 million dollars!
You may be having trouble believing that, so check out what Jesus said in:
[Luke 16:10 NLT] “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.”
God says, “If I can’t trust you with a little then I can’t trust you with a lot”
The very next verse says [Luke 16:11 NLT] “And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?”
God says, “The test of your faithfulness in the spiritual realm is what you do with your finances in the physical realm.”
Many today are missing out on great spiritual blessings, because they are not faithful when it comes to money and not just the tithe that God requires. Some are missing blessings because they’re not being faithful with the portion God trusts us to keep and use wisely!
The money isn’t the real issue…the money is simply the test.
The real issue is, how responsible am I with what God gives me to keep?
The truth is that you’ll go nowhere spiritually until you pass this simple test of ownership!
So we must be faithful to our family, in our finances…
c. We must be faithful to the fellowship
The Bible has so much to say about faithfulness to fellowship.
I am so excited to see you here today. But can I ask you something?
When should we expect to see you again?
[Rom 12:5 NKJV] “so we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
That means you and I are part of each other, much like your arm is a part of your body. Lately my arms have been aggravating my body and making the rest of my body miserable. BUT they are still a very important part of this body.
My point is, that when the body, we call EBC, comes together and you’re missing…a very important part of the body is missing. When any part of the body is missing the body cannot function to its maximum potential and when you’re missing, we cannot fully function. No matter what the world may teach, we need each other!
[Heb 10:25 NLT] “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
I often hear people say you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian and theoretically, that’s true. However, I tend to doubt the sincerity of the salvation of a person who forsakes the “meeting together” without giving it a second thought. Especially when it’s in their power to be there. I know men and women who would give anything to sit where you are but they’re trapped in some bed or hospital or nursing home… their bodies won’t allow them to sit where you sit.
Someone may say, “I get just as much out of sitting in a deer stand, or out on the lake, or with my family at some theme park.”
But even as the words begin to roll off their tongue, they expose the very core of their problem.
See you don’t come to church just for what you can get, but for what you can give.
Jesus said in, [Mat 20:28 NLT] “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Let me ask you something. Just how many children can be taught about Jesus if you’re at the lake? What missionaries could be supported, how many letters can a person write from a deer stand? How many babies can be held and rocked, so others might here hear the gospel preached, if you’re at the bowling alley?
How much will your marriage be strengthened or your family improved while you’re out with friends at a ball game?
Every time you come to church you’re telling God that He is important to you. But you’re saying more than that. By being present and accounted for, you’re also saying, “pastor, you’re important to me”, and you’re saying to ALL the people around you, “you’re important to me!” When you decide to deliberately skip church, the enemy would have you say, “it’s fine it won’t hurt ME.” The absolute truth is, it will, not only, hurt you but when you deliberately skip gathering for worship or fellowshipping with fellow believers, it hurts others too!
I read about a man who took on the challenge of a Sunday school class that needed a teacher. This man quickly began working on recruiting more men for his class! He even suggested the church he attends, set up a greeter schedule that will help welcome people to their church! I think that’s an awesome idea! But here’s why this excited me so much. This man was 89 years young, at the time!
He gets it! He knows you don’t just come to church for what you can get, but what you can give. Every church needs more people like him!
I think about Chris and Bob who get up every time I call for pocket change collection and the offering, while able bodied people just sit. There are some days that every step is painful for Chris and yes it may take her longer to get the job done and Bob may not tell you that he’s having a day of pain BUT they won’t let it stop them from serving because they didn’t come to get something they came to give! Now don’t try to take it away from them. Fond something else to do.
We need to be faithful to our family, in our finances, to the fellowship…
d. We must be faithful to the faith.
Many today, even Christians, doubt some parts of God’s Word. Some approach the Bible like they’re at a buffet restaurant. They scan it, taking only what they like and leaving the rest behind.
They find themselves putting question marks after some commands of the Scriptures. Just look around at the world we live in today!
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the time for putting question marks in the Word of God.
Even some, who call themselves “theologians”, doubt the truth of the Word of God.
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said: “the chief danger of the 20th century will be #1Forgiveness without repentance #2 salvation without regeneration and #3heaven without hell.
I heard, on the news that the number of people attending church is steadily declining. One young lady said that she believed in some higher being…God, but she just refused to believe in hell…They just can’t believe any more…
We have made it to the 21st century and our generation is lost. It seems that most of the modern church is lost. Today it’s acceptable to mix Christianity with other religions, so we need faithful people who’ll be faithful to the faith
Can this be said of you? Are you faithful? Are you faithful to your family?
Are faithful with your finances? Are faithful to the fellowship? Are faithful to the faith?
