Acts 20:17-38 AS I LEAVE YOU, REMEMBER THIS...
What should I talk about today – my last sermon here at Beautiful Savior as your pastor. If I ever preach to you again, it will be as a guest, or in another church where you will be visiting. So this is it. What should I talk about, on my last day? What I want to share with you this morning is what the Apostle Paul shared with a group of Christians on his last day, from Acts 20. There are three things I want you to remember, about me. And there are two things I want you to remember, about Beautiful Savior – five things total to remember. I hope that by the time I’m done, you’ll have these five points set in your mind, and not forget them for a long long time.
Acts 20 is Paul’s farewell sermon to the leaders of the church in Ephesus. He had spent some time with them in the past, starting a Christian church in that pagan city. And he had spent a great deal of time away from them, traveling. But now, for a moment in his travels, he was able to stop, and meet with them one last time, and share with them five important points that he wanted them to remember.
Point number one is this– remember why God sent me into your life. Paul talks here about how he served them with humility, how he was tested, and then he sums up his purpose very nicely in verse 21: “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” This is why God had brought Paul into the lives of those people in Ephesus – so that they would hear about their sins and repent, and so that they would hear about the Lord Jesus Christ, and put their faith in him.
Remember, this why God has sent me into your life. The number one, primary reason why God has caused our paths to cross over the last few years is so that you would hear two things from me – law and gospel. My purpose for being here was first of all to share with you some bad news – that you are born sinful, that you keep committing sins in your life every day, that you deserve the eternal wrath of God, and that you ought to turn to your God and ask him to forgive you. My other purpose for being here was to share with you the good news – that Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, has died on a cross as a sacrifice for your sins, that he has risen from the dead, and that God offers you the forgiveness of sins and eternal life freely, because of him. This message is why God cause me to live here, in LaPorte County, for a little while. This is why God has caused you and me to somehow cross paths – so that I would have a chance to share with you the bad news of the law, but especially the good news of the gospel. God wanted you to hear these things, and he wanted to work on your heart with his Holy Spirit, either to bring you to faith in his Son, or to strengthen your faith in his Son. I have simply been his tool. This is point number one – remember why God has sent me into your life.
Point number two is to remember why I am moving. Paul talked to the Ephesians about why he was “moving” in verse 22: “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.” It wasn’t Paul’s choice to go to Jerusalem. It was God the Holy Spirit’s choice. Paul knew that God was directing his steps, moving Paul here, telling Paul to go over there. Paul was simply listening to God’s divine call.
Remember why I am moving from LaPorte to Lake Mills, WI. You may be tempted to torture yourself, imagining all kinds of wrong reasons for why I’m moving, such as “He doesn’t like us anymore” or “He just wants to be closer to his family” or “What did we do wrong?” Etc. Churches always seem to torture themselves with thoughts like those when their pastor moves away. The reason I’m moving is found right there in verse 22: “compelled by the Spirit.” This is from God, the Holy Spirit, and not from me. He is the one who sent the divine call my way, who made me wrestle with it for a month, and during that process, He is the one who made it very clear to me that now is the time for me to hand off this ministry to someone else, and to move to Lake Mills, Wisconsin. I’m not in charge of my own life, where I live, whom I serve. God is in charge, and it’s his divine call, not mine. That is the second point I want you to remember this morning. Point number one – remember why God sent me into your life. Point number two – remember that it is God who is moving me away.
Point number three is to remember what I’ll be doing over there. Paul told the people of Ephesus that he would be facing all kinds of trials in Jerusalem, but his main reason for going over there is found in verse 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 to me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” What would Paul be doing while was away from the Ephesians? He would be testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace. He would be doing what we had just talked about before – he would be sharing that message of sin and grace, pointing people to Jesus as the one and only way to heaven, the only Savior for all of mankind.
Remember that this is what I’ll be doing after I leave. For me, the work doesn’t end. The only thing that changes for me is the setting – I’ll be in a different town. I’ll be in a classroom, instead of a church. My audience will be a little younger (or a lot younger depending on your age!). My ministry will be structured differently. On Sundays, I’ll still have the chance to preach, but it will be as a guest, or as a temporary preacher. Lots of changes. But the main job for me will remain the same – as the Apostle Paul said – “the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” That’s what I’ll be doing over there – getting the word out, just as I worked to get the word out over here – pointing people to their sins, and then pointing people to their Savior. Remember, this is what I’ll be doing after I leave.
These are the three main points I want you to remember about me…
1) Why did God send me into your life? So that you would hear that message of sin and grace through Jesus Christ.
2) Why am I leaving? Because God the Holy Spirit is compelling me to move.
3) What will I be doing? The same thing I’ve been doing over here – testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Besides these three main points, there are two other points I want you to remember about you, about Beautiful Savior. Point number one – protect your doctrine. In verse 27, Paul told the Ephesians, “I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” Paul had made sure that they had their doctrine down – the whole will of God. Paul had shared with them everything they needed to know about the Bible – that’s doctrine. Right after saying that, Paul told them to “keep watch!” “Be shepherds.” He goes on to talk about savage wolves, false teachers, coming in to their church, and attempting to water down or change the Biblical doctrines they had learned from the Apostle Paul. “Be on your guard,” Paul told them. Protect your doctrine.
You - remember this here, at Beautiful Savior. In our church body, you are being blessed with a new pastor who believes the same doctrines you believe. What a blessing that is to have that kind of unity in our church body! But in the future, there will be a temptation that might arise in your hearts. What do you think that temptation could be? As you seek to grow in your numbers, and put up a building, as you look at your attendance figures and your finances – maybe things are going alright - but you wish things would progress more quickly. What is the temptation that might arise in your hearts? It’s the temptation is to water down or change your doctrine. “Pastor, don’t talk about that part of the Bible. If you do, people might not come. Pastor, why don’t you skip over that one part of the Bible, or just change it – just a little bit – then our church will grow.” That’s the temptation – to not “proclaim the whole will of God” but just parts of it. This is point number one I want you to remember for yourself – protect your doctrine! Without the truth of Scripture – the whole truth and nothing but the truth – you have nothing to offer here. You won’t be the church that God wants you to be, and your faith will eventually disintegrate. Protect your doctrine, because here is where you find your strength, your comfort, and your reason be a church in the first place.
And this leads into the last point I want you to remember this morning – “recognize your treasure.” Paul told the Ephesians in verse 32: “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.” I also commit to you the word of God’s grace – this is your treasure, this is what can build you up, and give you an amazing inheritance that goes beyond anything you could possibly ask or imagine. This Word of God is what I commit to you. Recognize your treasure, Beautiful Savior. Sure, you don’t have thousands of people coming to worship on Sunday. And sure, you don’t have all kinds of programs and support groups that the bigger churches are able to offer. But I am leaving you with a treasure in your midst, a treasure that can do far more for you than a cool children’s program or cutting edge social club. I’m leaving you with the Word of God, and it is a valuable treasure. This is what will build you up as Christian men and Christian women. This is where God will give you an inheritance – the inheritance of eternal life, and all the joys and wonders that happen in eternity after you finish out the few years you have left here on this earth. More than anything else, this is the most valuable asset you possess as a church – the word of God’s grace. Recognize it for the treasure that it is.
And so this is what Paul shared with the Ephesians before he left them and traveled on to Jerusalem. And these are the thoughts this morning that I would like to share with you. Five points – three of them about me, and two of them about you. First, about me…
1) Remember why God sent me into your life – to be his tool, so that you might hear that message of sin and grace through Jesus Christ.
2) Remember why am I leaving - God the Holy Spirit is compelling me.
3) And remember what I’ll be doing while I’m over there, and that’s the same thing I’ve been doing over here – testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Those are the points to remember about me. And don’t forget those other two points to remember about you…
1) Protect your doctrine. Yes, do evangelism. Yes, work hard to interact with unbelievers, to share the Word of God with them, and to welcome them into your midst. Do that, with all of your heart. And that’s not just the pastor’s job, or the pastor’s wife’s job. That’s your job. So do it. But as you do, never change your doctrine. Protect your doctrine. It’s the foundation of this church, and the foundation of your life. That’s point number one for you.
2) And point number two – recognize the treasure that you have here at Beautiful Savior, the treasure of the Word of God. This is what has been drawing you back to this place, week after week, building you up in your faith. And this is what will draw others to this place as well – the Word of God. Thank God for it. Recognize it for the treasure that it is, and look for God to continue to bless you through it.
For Paul, nothing was more important than sharing these five points with those Ephesians before he left. And for me, the same is true. Acts chapter 20 – remember that chapter. Bookmark it. I pray that God would continue to bless the ministry of the Word here at Beautiful Savior. And I pray that God would continue to bless each and every one of you. Amen.
