Acts 20:25-38

A copy of God's Word, which I hope is with you and well read and meditated on day and night and treasured in your heart.

! And turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 20.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

This morning's text for our consideration is Acts chapter 20 verses 25 through 38.

Acts 20:25–38

That's to the end of the chapter. This is the second half of Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders.

Last week we looked at the measure of successful ministry as Paul holds up his ministry as an example in the beginning of this address.

He shows us ways in which we can see that a ministry is successful, which so often does not look the way the world measures success.

This week we'll look at specific exhortations that Paul gives to the Ephesian elders.

That's the turn he takes as we begin in verse 25 this morning.

Paul in effect says to them, to these Ephesian elders, shepherd the church well in the following ways.

So today there's very clear instruction to the leaders of a church.

Explicit instruction to the leaders of a church.

But I also want us to consider the implications of this text for all of us.

As we're all given some measure of charge over someone, somebody that we're responsible to, to shepherd.

And particularly this morning, I want fathers and future fathers to consider some of these implications.

As that's the case, I'm going to structure our study of Acts 20, 25 through 38 in six points.

They do not alliterate this morning.

And they are as follows, and of course I'll go back through them.

But I want to give you the structure in your mind before we read the text and launch into our study.

Faithful shepherds, number one, look after themselves.

Number two, lead their people.

Number three, protect their people.

Number four, pray and study.

Number five, serve the weak.

And number six, love and are loved.

So let's read together our text for today.

But I think to be fair to Paul's address, we ought to back up and start in 17.

So we looked at verses 17 through 24 last week.

But I want to start reading in 17, and then we'll pick up at verse 25 and read to the end of the chapter.

Before we read, beloved, let me remind you that this is God's word to us.

It was written for His glory and for our good.

And as such, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

So I'll begin in verse 17 of chapter 20.

Now from Miletus, He sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to Him.

And when they came to Him, He said to them,

You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,

serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.

How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable

and teaching you in public and from house to house,

testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And now behold, I am going to Jerusalem constrained by the Spirit,

not knowing what will happen to me there,

except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

But I do not count my life of any value nor as precious to myself.

If only I may finish my course in the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus

to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

And our text for this morning begins here.

And now behold,

I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

Therefore, I testify to you this day that I'm innocent of the blood of all,

for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers

to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.

Therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

Now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace,

which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.

You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way,

we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus,

how he himself said,

it is more blessed to give than to receive.

And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

And there was much weeping on the part of all.

They embraced Paul and kissed him,

being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken.

They would not see his face again.

And they accompanied him to the ship.

Now in verse 25,

Paul states that he will never see these men again.

He's confident of this fact.

He'll never see them again.

So these are his parting words, right?

In his thinking, these are his parting words.

Later, he writes a letter to them.

So there's more instruction given to the church of Ephesus.

But in his mind, these are parting words.

It's the last time he'll speak to them.

And I think that that fact really punctuates this address, right?

The closing address for the church at Ephesus in Paul's thinking.

What does Paul deem of greatest importance to remind these men of before his departure?

Verse 25 is clear about that, right?

You'll never see my face again.

And the first point that Paul makes about the faithful shepherd

is that faithful shepherds look after themselves.

They look to themselves.

The beginning of verse 28.

Pay careful attention to yourselves.

In order for the man of God to lead others to God,

he must be pursuing and growing in holiness.

That is to say, you cannot lead others faithfully

if you yourself are not walking uprightly.

If you yourself are not excelling in things of holiness.

If you're not ahead of the people that you're leading.

Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, verses 20 and 21.

2 Timothy 2:20

And do you recall where Timothy's at when Paul writes 1 and 2 Timothy?

He's in Ephesus.

Now in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver,

but also of wood and clay.

Some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,

he will be a vessel for honorable use.

Set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house,

ready for every good work.

So as faithful shepherds,

we must be putting off those things that are dishonorable.

Putting off sin.

And putting on rather than righteousness.

Right?

Excelling in holiness.

And as such,

the faithful shepherd is set apart as holy.

Sanctified as holy.

I think one of the most wonderful examples I've ever heard,

household simple example of what it means to be set apart in this way,

and something we do in our families,

the idea of a special birthday plate.

If any of you do that.

But we have a plate at our house that's bigger than you should ever eat off of,

and very colorful,

and it says on it,

I am very special around the edge.

And it only gets used on someone's birthday.

So I get to eat off of the I am very special plate on my birthday.

So the plate is set apart for the purpose of celebrating a birthday.

And that's what Paul's communicating here to Timothy.

Right?

And what Paul's communicating to the Ephesian elders,

and what he's communicating to us.

If we want to be useful to the master of the house,

we must be pursuing holiness.

We must be becoming a vessel for honorable use.

Faithful shepherds are out ahead of others in their pursuit of holiness.

In their pursuit of the God who is holy.

Faithful shepherds ought not be like the Pharisees

of whom Jesus said the following in Matthew chapter 23 verse 27.

Matthew 23:27

He said to them,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

For you are like whitewashed tombs,

which outwardly appear beautiful,

but within are full of dead peoples, bones,

and all uncleanliness.

And this is not to say that the faithful shepherd is perfect.

This just means that the faithful shepherd is pressing on,

by the grace of God,

in perfection.

A Puritan pastor by the name of Richard Baxter

wrote a book called The Reformed Pastor.

If you have any inkling of becoming a pastor,

you need to read his work.

In it he said this,

Take heed to yourselves,

lest you live in those sins

which you preach against in others,

and lest you be guilty of that which daily you condemn.

Will you make it your work to magnify God,

and when you have done,

dishonor Him as much as others?

Will you proclaim Christ's governing power,

and yet contemn it and rebel yourselves?

Will you preach His laws and willfully break them?

If sin be evil,

why do you live in it?

If it be not,

why do you dissuade men from it?

If it be dangerous,

how dare you venture on it?

If it be not,

why do you tell men so?

If God's threatenings be true,

why do you not fear them?

If they be false,

why do you needlessly trouble men with them,

and put them into such frights without a cause?

Take heed to yourselves,

lest you cry down sin,

and yet do not overcome it.

Lest while you seek to bring it down in others,

you bow to it and become its slaves yourselves.

Oh, brethren,

it is easier to chide at sin

than to overcome it.

And so faithful shepherds

look after themselves,

examine themselves,

press on by God's grace

in holiness themselves.

Secondly,

faithful shepherds

lead their people.

You see this in the last part

of verse 28.

Take careful attention to yourselves

and

to all

the flock.

And Paul here is referring

specifically to

the Ephesian church.

And I would

suggest

those who would be added to that number.

Right?

To all

the flock.

In which the Holy Spirit

has made you overseers

to care for the church of God

which He obtained

with His own blood.

Whether you have been charged by God

with the care of a church

or with the care of a family,

in some cases both,

you are to give those people leadership.

If you are a man,

then you most likely

have been given the responsibility

to lead someone.

Do not shrink from that responsibility.

Do not think that your job

ends with the chauffeuring

of your wife and children

to school

or to practice

or to church.

Do not think that your responsibility

to your family

and friends

and neighbors

and co-workers

ends

with an invitation

to a church event.

We are meant

to lead

the people

that God has given us

charge over

in our lives.

Sometimes that's more clear

than in other cases.

Certainly,

fathers,

we know

who we've been given

charge over.

What is the tool

of the faithful shepherd

in leading

His people?

The Word of God.

It's the Word of God.

Paul states in verse 26

and 27

as an example himself.

He says,

Therefore,

I testify to you this day

that I am innocent

of the blood

of all.

The saying is,

I have done

everything I could

possibly do for.

Verse 27,

I did not shrink

from to glaring to you

the whole counsel

of God.

Paul says

that he has done

everything

that he could do

to lead

the Ephesians

because

he had boldly

declared to him

the whole counsel

of God.

Now,

I do not believe

that this means

that Paul preached

an expositional sermon

on every text

of the 39 books

of the Old Testament.

What they had

in that day

as their Bible.

I don't think

that it means that.

I do believe

it means

that Paul was

very clear to them

how a man

is to be saved,

God's purpose

in his salvation,

and the way

of obedience

to God,

which meant

he preached

a lot of that text,

but probably

not every bit

of it.

They understood

all things

necessary

to be in relationship

with the Lord

and to please Him.

The whole counsel,

the whole purpose

of God.

He gave to them

a biblical theology.

There is great need

in our day

for faithful shepherds

to lead their people

by the Word

of God.

In Amos 8,

Amos 8:11

verses 11 and 12,

God issues

a frightful prophecy

which I believe

that our nation

and our community

is now

participating in.

Listen to these words.

Behold,

the days are coming,

declares the Lord God,

when I will send

a famine

on the land,

not a famine

of bread

nor a thirst

for water,

but of hearing

the words

of the Lord.

They shall wander

from sea to sea

and from north

to east.

They shall run

to and fro

to seek

the Word of the Lord,

but they shall

not find it.

Is Christ's family

church

and our influence

in our community

a place

where people

can find

the Word of the Lord?

Let's be

bastions

of light

so that our people

know God's Word

and can share it

with those

who so desperately

need it,

those who run

to and fro.

God's Word

is good

for His people

and we should be

concerned about

the good

of God's people

because God's people

were obtained

with Jesus'

own blood.

Jesus died

for the church.

It is true,

if you have placed

believing faith

in Jesus Christ,

that Jesus died

for you.

But I think

it's wrong

for us to constantly

have this personal

relationship

with Jesus Christ

mentality

because Jesus died

for the church.

He saved a people

for His own possession.

And beloved,

if you love Jesus,

you will love

the church.

And therefore,

you'll be concerned

for the way

that it goes.

So faithful shepherds

lead their people.

Thirdly,

faithful shepherds

protect their people.

Faithful shepherds

protect their people.

Verses 29-31,

and we'll pick up

a little bit

from verse 26-27.

Paul says

that people

will come

from outside

and inside

the church

to deceive

the disciples.

So both from

without

and within.

How is it

that our people

are deceived?

How is it

that people

are led astray?

through the

transmission

of ideas.

This is how

they're led astray,

which means that

in our day,

we will have to be

all the more

vigilant

as media

brings ideas

of all varieties

to the minds

of our people.

The teeth

of the ravenous

wolves,

the fierce

wolves,

are ideas.

we affect

people

at the level

of their

thinking.

Men,

you must

protect your

homes from

ideas that

are not

consistent

with the

teaching

of God.

And this

is a work.

We have

to be paying

attention

to what's

coming into

the minds

of our

wives,

to our

children,

our extended

family,

our friends,

our co-workers.

We must

pay attention

to all

of the winds

of philosophy

and their

contradiction.

to the

word of

God.

We find

ourselves

every day

in a war

of ideas

and the

faithful shepherd

protects

his people.

We must

be so

careful in

the matter.

Listen to

the warning

of Jesus

from Matthew

Matthew 7:15

chapter 7

verse 15.

He said,

Beware

of false

prophets

who come

to you

in sheep's

clothing,

but inwardly

are ravenous

wolves.

So we

see someone

who appears

to be a

follower of

Jesus,

and therefore

we listen

to whatever

it is

they may

have to

say.

Some will

be part,

seem to

be part,

of God's

people.

Will not

be at all,

but they

will work

to devour

sheep.

What do

fierce,

ravenous

wolves do

amongst

sheep?

They don't

sit quietly.

They devour

sheep.

sheep.

The faithful

shepherd is

like the

Berean

believer who

searched the

Scriptures to

see if these

things were

so.

And beloved,

we live in a

day that we

need a new

reformation.

In Luther and

Calvin and

Zwingli's day,

people didn't

know the Bible

because the

Bible was

printed in

Latin.

It's difficult

for them to

know the

Bible.

We have no

excuse.

We have

the Word of

God in

our language

with lots

of helps.

We have

no excuse

not to be

like those

Bereans,

to search

the Scriptures,

to be sure

that the

things that

are being

told to

us are

in fact

true.

And we

have a

standard

of that

truth.

We ought

to say

less and

less,

I believe,

and more

and more,

the Bible

says.

Paul issues

similar warning

in Romans

Romans 16:17

16,

verse 17

and 18,

where he

says,

I appeal

to you

brothers,

to watch

out for

those who

cause

divisions

and create

obstacles,

contrary to

the doctrine

that you

have been

taught.

Avoid

them.

For such

persons do

not serve

our Lord

Christ,

but their

own appetites.

And by

smooth talk

and flattery,

they deceive

the hearts

of the

naive.

Beloved,

the church

is meant

to be set

apart from

the world

so that

it can

serve

the world.

We're

meant to

be distinct

from

the world.

We're

meant to

contend

for the

faith.

Turn with me,

please,

to the book

of Jude.

You can

mark Acts

20.

We will

come back

to it.

Turn to

the book

of Jude.

It's just

before the

book of

Revelation.

Jude was

one of the

brothers of

Jesus.

We are not

sure who

this letter

is addressed

to specifically,

but we know

that it was

addressed to

either a

church or

to a

region of

churches.

It could

have been

an open

letter,

quite

possibly.

Anything

we might

think is

really

conjecture.

We're not

exactly

sure.

However,

it is

addressed to

Christians,

and it

contains the

theme that

the church

must contend

for the

one true

faith once

for all

delivered to

the saints.

That's in

verse 3.

And people

of faith

must preserve

to the

end by

resisting the

false

teachers and

following

the truth.

So I

want to

read to

you just

a few

verses from

Jude,

beginning

in

verse 3.

This is

verse 3

and 4.

Beloved,

although I

was very

eager to

write to

you about

our common

salvation,

I found

it necessary

to write

appealing to

you to

contend for

the faith

that was

once for

all delivered

to the

saints.

Seems

that Jude

really just

wanted to

write and

rejoice in

this common

salvation.

Just speak

of these

beautiful

doctrines that

they believed

together,

but instead

he's

compelled

instead

to say

hold fast

to those

things that

we've said

we believe

to be

true.

Verse 4,

4,

certain people

have crept

in unnoticed.

Wolves

and sheep

clothing

who long

ago

were designated

for this

condemnation.

ungodly

people

who

pervert

the grace

of our

God

into

sensuality

and deny

our only

Master

and Lord

Jesus

Christ.

And then

skip down

to verse

10.

But these

people

blaspheme

all that

they do

not

understand

and they

are destroyed

by all

that they

like unreasoning

animals

understand

instinctively.

Woe to

them

for they

walk in

the way

of Cain

and abandon

themselves

for the

sake of

gain

to

Balaam's

heir

and

perished

in

Korah's

rebellion.

We won't

get into

all of

that.

These

are

hidden

reefs

at your

love

feast.

Hidden

reefs

cause

ships

to

shipwreck.

As

they

feast

with

you

without

fear,

shepherds

feeding

themselves,

waterless

clouds

swept

along

by

winds,

fruitless

trees

in

late

autumn,

twice

dead,

uprooted.

Wild

waves

of the

sea

casting

up the

foam

of their

own

shame,

wandering

stars

for whom

the gloom

of utter

darkness

has been

reserved

forever.

So Jude

gets rather

poetic

to say

these are

serious

infractions

to the

church

of God.

Serious

matters

that must

be dealt

with.

These

people

are

damaging

to the

church

of

Christ.

I'm

in no

way

suggesting

that we're

unloving

toward

these

people,

but we

must

contend

for the

truth,

for the

sake

of

God's

people.

We

must

stand

for the

truth.

So the

faithful

shepherd

must

protect

their

people.

But the

aim is

not just

that our

people would

know some

things about

God,

that someone

could recite

to us

orthodox

doctrine,

just knowing

it,

but that

they would

know

God.

Not too

many decades

after Paul

says his

final goodbye

to the

Ephesian

elders,

the apostle

Paul receives

a vision.

So this is

20 to

45 years

later.

I'm on the

longer side

of that.

About four

decades

later,

the apostle

John receives

a vision

which is

recorded in

the book

of Revelation.

So turn

with me to

Revelation

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

By the

time of

the apostle

John's

vision,

what had

happened

to the

Ephesian

church?

Beginning in

verse 2,

Revelation 2.

Jesus says,

I know

your works,

your toil,

and your

patient endurance,

and how you

cannot bear

with those

who are evil,

but have

tested those

who call

themselves

apostles and

are not,

and found

them to be

false.

So they're

commended,

in verse 2,

right off the

bat,

good for you

guys,

right?

You have

been holding

orthodox

belief.

Good.

In verse

3,

I know

you are

enduring

patiently

and bearing

up for

my name's

sake,

and you

have not

grown weary,

but I

have this

against you,

that you

have abandoned

the love

you had

at first.

Remember

therefore,

from where

you have

fallen,

repent,

and do

the works

you did

at first.

If not,

I will

come to

you and

remove

your lampstand

from its

place,

unless you

repent.

Yet this

you have,

verse 6,

you hate

the works

of the

Nicolaitans,

which I

also

hate.

Boy,

I would

have hated

to be a

Nicolaitan,

wouldn't you?

They had

defended

the church

against

false

teachers.

They hated

the Nicolaitans,

and we don't

know exactly

what the

heresy was.

However,

contextually,

it would

seem that

Jesus is

calling them

to repent

and return

to works

of love,

things that

are driven

and fueled

by love,

things that

are consistent

with God's

moral law.

And so

there's

some conjecture

at this point,

but many

believe that

the Nicolaitans

believed the

heresy of

antinomianism,

which means

without the

law,

that they

had disregarded

that there

was any

necessary to

keep any

of the

commands of

God

any longer,

which is

just not

true.

It has

been

renounced

as a

heresy

again and

again and

again,

this morning

as well.

We're still

meant to

keep the

moral law

of God,

not to

be accepted

by God,

but out

of loving

obedience

to Him.

So probably

that's what

they had

hated,

was that

kind of

teaching.

But,

they were

failing to

love one

another.

They were

failing at

this,

the love

that they

had at

first,

which means

that they

were not

rightly

believing

the truth

of God's

love

for them.

They knew

about it.

They knew

about it,

but they

were failing

to believe

it the

way they

should.

So as we

lead our

people and

as we

protect our

people,

we want to

do so in

a way that

doesn't just

stack up

information in

their heads.

That they

would be able

to refute

false doctrine

and know

right doctrine,

which is

good.

We want to

lead people

and protect

people so

that they

will know

God

himself.

So faithful

shepherds

protect their

people.

Let me at

this point

give you

an unplanned

aside.

If you

are a

follower of

Jesus Christ

and you

are not

committed

to a

local

fellowship

of

believers,

you have

not been

given the

tools that

God intends

for your

protection.

You have

not joined

yourself to

a group of

people who

are meant

to work

with you,

to keep

you accountable,

not to

be your

assurance,

but being a

member of a

biblical church

is an

element of

assurance.

That a

group of

Christ followers

have said to

you,

we have a

confidence that

you are in

the faith.

The biblical

doctrine,

the not

often practiced,

but altogether

biblical

practice of

church

discipline is

about taking

sin seriously

and steering

people as

they should

away from

error and

to the

truth.

Loving

restoration,

walk in the

ways of

God,

it's the

best thing

for you.

We want

you to

know Him

and be

obedient to

Him,

to serve

Him as

you should.

The final

step of

church

discipline is

that a

person is

removed from

the fellowship

of a

church.

Because the

church no

longer can

be confident

that they

are in

fact in

the faith.

Their works

are evidencing

otherwise.

Their unrepentant

sin says

no.

So for

their sake,

we say we

just can't

say this

anymore.

We love

you and

we want

you to

come back

and be in

fellowship

with God

and in

fellowship

with the

church,

but we

just can't.

Yesterday I

heard a

quote by

Jay Adams,

a pastor

and a

newtetic

biblical

counselor.

And he

said this,

if you

are not

a member

of a

local

church,

you

have

excommunicated

yourself.

So be

part of

a biblical

church

with

faithful

shepherds,

a group

of people

who want

to love

you with

the truth

of the

gospel.

I would

suggest to

you that

you are

sinning

not to,

so do

so.

Okay,

back to

the script.

Number

four,

faithful

shepherds

pray

and

study.

Pray

and

study.

Verse

32,

we're

back in

Acts 20

now.

Paul

says,

and now

I commend

you to

God.

And I

recognize

that this

text is

not

specifically

calling

the

shepherds,

these

elders in

Ephesus,

to pray.

But it

is another

example of

Paul and

his

commitment

to

prayer.

prayer.

And if

we rightly

understand

the gravity

of the

task of

faithfully

shepherding

God's

people,

we will

pray.

I find

my

prayerlessness

is most

often because

I don't

get the

gravity of

it.

It is a

serious,

serious

matter,

which I

am not

capable of

accomplishing

on my

own.

I must

cry out

to God

to help

me in

giving

leadership

in our

church

and to

my

family.

Prayer

expresses a

dependence

on God

and biblical

prayer lines

up our

wills with

His.

A

shepherd who

does not

pray

shepherds

in vain.

I love

the Latin

phrase

sine qua

non.

Knowing

Latin helps

me remember

things.

Maybe it

doesn't

for you.

Sine qua

non,

which the

reformers

applied to

prayer,

which means

without

which

nothing.

Sine qua

non.

At least

remember the

English.

Prayer

without

which

nothing.

God moves

in the hearts

of His

people to

pray and

He empowers

our lives

in our

praying.

And we

can pray

in confidence

that our

people would

know God

and walk

in His

ways.

Jesus

states in

John 14

John 14:13

verse 13,

whatever you

ask in

my name,

and He's

not instructing

us just

to tack

His name

to the end

of any

prayer that

we would

pray.

What He's

saying is

whatever you

ask that

is consistent

with my

person,

in my

name,

with my

person,

consistent

with my

character,

and consistent

with my

commands,

which we

have here,

this I

will do,

that the

Father may

be glorified

in the

Son.

So we

can pray

with confidence

that God

would help

us in

giving

faithful

leadership

to our

people.

We can

pray that

with confidence

and know

that He'll

supply what

we need.

So my

encouragement to

you would be

to pray

and then

act.

Pray that

it'll work,

pray that

it'll give

you what

you need,

and do

so confidently,

and then

go lead

by the

Scripture's

standards.

So Paul

commends them

to God.

That's an

example in

prayer.

And he

also commends

them to

the Word

of His

grace.

The Word

of His

grace,

the Bible.

If we

are to look

to ourselves

to lead

and protect

our people,

then we

must be

students of

the Word.

We must

be.

We must

know it

and be

increasing

in our

knowledge

of it

and our

understanding

of its

application.

This means

we must

read.

I find a

Christian who

says they

don't like

to read

to be

inconsistent.

We have

to.

We have

to.

God's

very Word

is conveyed

to us

in words

recorded

on pages.

You have

to read.

It's been

a great

work of

missionaries

throughout

history

to educate

people,

to teach

them to

read so

that they

could read

the Word

of God.

What a

privilege

that we're

readers.

The people

who can't

read in

our congregation

are few

and were

probably

sitting on

the floor

earlier

this morning.

We have

the opportunity

to take

up and

read.

And beyond

the Scripture

as the most

important book

we could

ever read,

we have

such a wealth

of other

things to

read.

That's why

I'm

promoting

reading in

our church.

Books that

systematically

take themes

of the Bible

and lay them

out for us,

help us to

understand and

to comprehend.

We have

access to

the church

across history

which is

such a

blessing,

beloved.

I get to

sit down

on any

given afternoon

of the week

and have a

conversation

with Jonathan

Edwards.

It's a

wonderful thing

that I get to

sit with him

and hear all

that he has

to say

about the

Scripture.

It's a

great thing

that we get

to do

to pick

up and

to read.

If you don't

fancy yourself

a reader,

you need to

start working

at it.

You need to

become a

reader primarily

of the

Word of

God.

Read more,

read more

broadly,

read books

that speak

of God's

Word if

you're reading

books that

aren't God's

Word.

Paul says

to Timothy

2 Timothy

3, 16

and 17.

All Scripture

is breathed

out by

God.

He's the

very source

of it.

And it's

profitable.

It's profitable.

It's good

for us.

For teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

and for

training in

righteousness.

These are all

just different

words that

give this

idea of

guiding in

the ways

of God.

Guiding

people to

God

himself.

17,

that the

man of

God may

be complete,

equipped for

every good

work.

So if we're

to be

faithful

shepherds,

we must

pray.

We're

dependent on

God to

move into

work in

our activity.

And we

must study.

We must

know this

precious book

that is so

useful in

giving leadership

and protection

to our

people.

So faithful

shepherds

pray and

study.

Number

five.

Faithful

shepherds

serve the

weak.

Faithful

shepherds

serve the

weak.

Verse

33-35

of Acts

20.