Church for all People

Well, good morning, St. Paul's. It's great to connect in with you again, even if it is

once again on the live stream. We are, I think I've lost count. We're Groundhog Day, I think

nine weeks into this lockdown. And over the course of this time, our connection really

has been a digital connection. Although there was a great joy yesterday when my family and

I, we went for a walk and we ran into another St. Paul's family yesterday. It was just a

joy to see faces in such close proximity. This season that we're in is an awkward and a difficult

season, and yet it's also a season that we can get comfortable with as well. This technology

that we have utilizing over these weeks are an enormous blessing for us to be able to stay

connected in some way. And yet this is not the future of the church. Some are arguing this

could be the future of the church, this blessing that we're in. And I want to argue it's not

the future of the church. It's not a substitution for the church. In fact, in her sobering book,

Alone Together, Sherry Turkle from Massachusetts Institute of Technology writes,

Digital connections may offer the illusion of companionship, but without the demands of friendship.

Our networked life allows us to hide from each other, even as we are tethered to each other,

alone together. That's a great description of our digital age. And the danger of thinking

that checking into a live stream once a week is in fact church, that I've done church,

or that in fact this could be the future of the church. I'm convinced that like nothing else in

our culture, the church has got something very significant to offer our society, and right now

offer our society, and beyond this lockdown. This passage that we are launching into today,

in Acts 20, says a lot about the significance of the church, the church who we are at St. Paul's,

and increasingly church that we seek to be at St. Paul's. So having been separated and locked down

for eight, nine weeks, or whatever it's been, and there'll be another month or more before we

gathered together again. It could be, in fact, just before Christmas. This message, I think, today is a

really helpful message as a reminder message, as a refocusing message, as a let me check my priorities

message. What we have here in Acts 20 is truth, change lies because of truth,

and the deep relationships that truth can form amongst us. So let's jump into Acts 20 and see

that in action. If you've got the St. Paul's app, it'd be great if you could open up there,

and you'll notice that I've got three points. I want to highlight three characteristics of the church

for all people. And you'll notice that those three headings are three of our seven core values here at

St. Paul's. Bible-saturated, humble authenticity, and treasuring Jesus together. So let's jump straight

into this. This is a passage that is often used as a job description for ministers. That is, Paul is

addressing the elders of the Ephesian church here. However, what is particularly, particularly crucial

at this point in Acts, in the development of Acts, is that this passage in Acts 20 is the only speech

in the whole of Acts that's given directly to Christians. So this is not just a message for church

leaders, although it's got something quite significant about that and what gospel ministry looks like,

but it's a message for all of us, all Christians. So let's jump straight in. Paul spent three years

building the church at Ephesus. In verses 18 to 24, he summarizes his ministry to the church,

and we read part of that summary in verses 20 and 21, and they kind of want to focus on this one just

for a bit. You know that I've not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you

but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks

that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. So Paul says here,

I have preached and I have taught in Ephesus. That is the essence of the church's purpose in the

world captivated right there. That is what the church has, the Christian church has, it has a body of

content that must be communicated. Our purpose is to convey truth to the world. Paul has preached

and he has taught and he has propagated and defended and guarded a body of truth for three years in Ephesus.

And this is the job that he now hands down to the elders at Ephesus. And not just to them, but to the church

down through the centuries. So this is important. This is really crucial.

The reason why it's crucial is that if you want to know who I am, you can't just believe anything that

you want about me if you want to know who I am. You know, if someone comes up to me and says,

Steve, you know, you know, I just really like to think of you as a Colombian coffee merchant based out

of Dubai who does salsa dancing as a hobby. I just, that's what I want to, I just envisage you as being that.

Now, I do like my coffee. I'd admit that. Salsa dancing, another thing altogether.

And it is, it is a free country. And so you can believe that about me if you like, and no one's going to

arrest you for that. But it's not the truth. It's not who I am. If you want to know someone,

you need to know what is true about them. And what you know to be true about them is what they

communicate to you about them. What is the evidence? And it's the same as God. You can't just believe

anything you want about him if you want to know him. Let me go one step further and say, you need to

know him if you want to know yourself. That's the difference. You can know anything you want about

me, make up anything you like about me, but it will have very little impact on you. Not so with God.

God. If you want to know about yourself, you must know God as he is. You see, our modern world says

that, well, you know, Steve, you're just a body. You're nothing more than a physical being. There's

no soul. There's no spirit. You're just a physical being. And the Bible says, well, actually, you're much

more complex than that. You are soul and body. Our modern world says that I'm a product of an

evolutionary process. I am a product of biology. I'm a DNA, genes, culture, environment, all those

kind of things. The Bible says, actually, it's even more complex than that because you are made

in the image of a creator God. And the reality is both accounts of those, both accounts claim to be true,

true, but they both can't be right. One form of truth actually has to be wrong.

We need to know the truth if we are to truly know who we are. You see, Christianity declares

that the Bible's account of who we are and who God is, is true. The Bible, therefore, must be

central to the church. It must be preached. It must be taught. It must be defended. It must be guarded.

And Paul also modeled here how we should do this when he says to the elders,

you know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you.

There's two things here. He says, without hesitation and what was helpful.

Paul didn't, in other words, shrink back. He had no hesitation. He did not shrink back. He wasn't

afraid. Biblical truth will always offend somebody somewhere.

But the Christian must lift up the message of the Bible and not shrink back from it when it offends.

But it's also crucial that we must mix boldness with helpfulness. It's not just boldness. It's not just,

you know, just coming out there and declaring the truth and I don't care what anyone's offended by it.

It's also a helpfulness. Notice how Paul speaks with helpfulness in verse 32.

That is, truth is never something that we believe for its own sake.

Truth should never lead us to a position of pride where we communicate and we behave and we think

that we are better than other people. Truth is a means to an end. Truth is food for your heart.

It is food for your soul. It is food for your character. All lack of health in our hearts and our

souls and our character is because truth is not dwelling in us richly. That is, the truth in that instance

is not helpful. If we lack courage, if we lack love, if we lack joy, if we lack peace, hope, patience,

it is because we are not dwelling on the truth and applying it to our lives. We're not driving it down

in our hearts, into our being so that it transforms us from the inside out. How do we do that?

How do we drive it down? We do it together. Paul preaches and teaches without hesitation and helpfully,

he says here both publicly, like I'm doing now, sort of publicly, like I'm doing now,

but also from house to house is what he says. The truth is not just to be proclaimed and conveyed

and protected and guarded like I might be doing right now, but also in small groups and in personal

one-to-one relationships. Now, I want to push something really crucial here right now.

So if you'll just sort of flag it off, I want you to hear this one.

Just turning up to a live stream once a week and listening to a sermon like this

will never be enough truth for it to produce health in your soul and in your heart and in your life.

Once a week live stream will not be enough.

Sometimes our sermons here at St. Paul's are okay.

Sometimes they are blisteringly good.

Sometimes, eh, they miss the mark.

But even if every single Sunday they were blisteringly good and you walked away with tears

and you felt convicted and you spent an hour or so in prayer just applying it to you,

it still wouldn't be enough.

It still would not be enough.

Where truth really gets applied in our lives, where it really gets driven down into our hearts

is when we study, when we linger over, when we have conversations and accountability with others,

when someone brings a word of truth to my life and helps me to see how it connects.

It takes close personal relationships, house to house.

Now, I acknowledge there's restrictions at the moment, but take the point.

Close personal relationships in Christian community where we discover the truth and we apply the truth in our lives.

A crucial part of that community we see here in this passage are leaders.

Leaders who take us on the journey of truth, helping us discover the truth and keep us accountable to the truth.

Paul has a word here for the leaders in verse 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 brought, bought with his own blood.

In every church community, some people are appointed as shepherds.

Shepherds are still sheep, but they have a responsibility to lead the sheep.

They have an authority here as overseers of the flock.

They oversee the flock by bringing the word of God to them.

That is, the word of the chief shepherd to the sheep.

That is, they preach and they teach God's word.

They bring the word of God and they apply it into our lives, corporately and individually.

Let me just go on a little bit of a side point to this, which I think is also quite helpful.

In our individualistic West, there are way too many people who identify themselves as Christian.

And because they've got access to Christian bookshops,

they prefer to do their own work of biblical interpretation and application

and create their own faith journey.

That is, they prefer to do it by themselves.

That is not God's design.

It's not God's design.

He gives us shepherds and he gives us each other.

For truth to make a difference in our life,

it must be disseminated within a Christian community.

It must be pushed into our hearts in community.

And so if I might just plug here,

if you've not joined a community group yet,

right now is a brilliant season for you

because I'm concerned the longer this goes on,

the more individual our journey becomes.

Contact the church office,

contact James Barnett,

get into a community group now.

Also,

I want to ask,

have you had the opportunity to share what God is teaching you

in your engagement in God's word

with someone else during this lockdown?

We continue to encourage,

as I do here now,

for you to pick up your Bible in personal devotional life

and share it with someone else,

what God is doing with you right now.

Why not, in fact,

do that as a community group this week?

Maybe just drop the study that you got planned

and just share with one another

what God is teaching you through his word.

Secondly,

what we see here about the sort of church you want to be

is humbly authentic.

The shepherd here is not just to bring the word of God

to the flock.

Paul says that they must also live it out.

The shepherd's life is to be on display

that they themselves are under the chief shepherd,

that they are being transformed.

By the word of God.

Primarily, the shepherd leads with humility,

compassion, passion, grace, integrity.

In verse 24,

we see Paul's own vision of his life

since he met Jesus.

He says,

I consider my life worth nothing to me

if only I might finish the race

and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me,

the task of testifying

to the gospel of God's grace.

So Paul sees here

that he's given the task of testifying

to God's grace

because that is something that he has experienced

in his own life.

Something that transformed his own life.

See,

this is the Paul

who once described himself

as the chief of all sinners.

a blasphemer,

a persecutor of the Lord Jesus

and his church.

He consented to the murder,

to the beatings

and the false imprisonment of Christians.

And the gospel of God's grace

helped him see

that he was off the spectrum,

more wicked and sinful

than he could ever possibly imagine.

Paul,

Paul,

the religious man,

was self-righteous.

And the gospel helped him to see

that in fact he was covered in shame and guilt.

The good news tells us

the worst possible news

about ourselves.

Oh,

but when we grasp that news,

when we understand

how sinful we are

and we believe that reality,

that truth

and do what verse 21 says

and turn to God

and repentance

and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,

that's the moment

we receive the best possible news.

Because of what Jesus has done for us

in dying on the cross,

we have God's love,

we have God's regard,

God's life.

And it's in no way

subject to our own performance

in life.

In Jesus,

God loves us

as much right now

as he will love us

a billion years from now.

And that means that in Jesus,

finally,

because of the security

and the love

that we have in Jesus,

the acceptance

we have in Jesus,

finally,

the mask

can come off.

We don't need

to pretend anymore.

We don't need

to hide

our failings

and our flaws.

That's what the truth

does for you

in your life.

It transforms

your character.

We don't need

to be anxious

about people noticing

that we are anxious.

we don't need

to pretend

that we've got

this lockdown

all sorted.

Our social media

posts can reveal

that, in fact,

I actually do

have bad hair days.

Not me,

they're all the same,

but we do have

bad hair days.

Our Facebook posts

can reveal

to the world

that I am

just as ordinary

as every other

parent.

My house

is just as big

of a mess.

My kids

actually don't

have fun

every single day.

I'm not the parent

who programs

good things

for them

every day.

This is so

counter-cultural

to the digital age

in which we live

and the culture

that we live in

in Sydney.

Our society

values

power,

success,

competence,

strength,

progress.

Our culture

values us

being on top

of everything.

We don't talk

about the hard

things.

And so that

means very rarely

do we ever

feel deep inside

of us that we

ever measure

up.

we are

always

insecure.

And you

don't need to

go much

further than

your Instagram

account and

your other

social media

to realise

other people's

lives always

appear to be

better than

mine.

But in the

gospel,

in Jesus,

we have the

praise of the

praiseworthy.

Not the

praise of a

thousand Facebook

friends,

but the

praise of the

praiseworthy.

We can be

real with

him,

authentic.

The gospel

both brings

us to our

lowest point,

but it also

fills us up

in a way that

we never

could be.

It changes

us.

And Paul

reveals here

the authentic

gospel-shaped

life in verse

18.

You know

how I lived

the whole time

I was with you.

I served the

Lord with

great humility

and we

tears,

although I

was severely

tested by the

plot of the

Jews.

In other

words, what

Paul says

here, this

truth of the

gospel transformed

my life.

life.

And my

life was on

display and

it revealed

the good

news of the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

All parts

of his

life were

on display.

Humility,

honesty,

industry,

hard work,

meeting needs

and generosity

were just some

of the

characteristics of

his life.

life.

If I can

push this

point a

little bit

further.

If

Christ-centered

biblical

saturation,

if the

truth of

the gospel

is something

that we

declare that

we are as

a church,

that we

hold to as

a church,

it must

show itself

in gospel

transformation

in life.

If it

does not,

we have

missed the

truth.

Biblical

truth must

lead to

authentic

humility.

Or we

need to go

back and

revisit the

truth.

This is so

crucial for

us as we

reflect on

God's agenda

for the

gospel to

go out to

the ends

of the

world as

we go

through

Acts and

mission

month.

Paul often

talked of

his weakness

and his

hardship in

ministry as

he does

here.

Paul was

often

overwhelmed

in ministry.

He often

had tears,

but in

Paul's

weakness,

others

experienced

the power

of God

at work.

A

pastor,

a

preacher,

a

counselor,

a friend,

a youth

leader,

who is

weak

and not

altogether,

who is

clearly humbled

by the

gospel,

moved by

the gospel,

will

authentically

reveal a

crucified

savior to

the world.

a person

who is

trembling

and feeling

inadequate,

but filled

with love

and humility

will show

a crucified

savior to

another better

than a

polished,

altogether

biblical and

theological

scholar.

Unless the

gospel transforms

our identity

humility and

humbles us,

then and

only then,

then and

only then,

will people

want to

come into

this community

and embrace

the truth.

Only then.

Only then.

if I may

push it

harder around

the other

way,

I care

very little

about your

grasp of

the Bible

if there's

no transformation

of life.

We want

to be a

church that

doesn't shrink

back from

the truth,

want to be a

church that

is sure

about the

truth,

want to be a

church that

is growing

in the

truth,

we're going

to be a

church that

is so

keen to

proclaim the

truth,

and yet a

church that

is so

humbled,

so

transformed of

character that

the skeptic,

the doubter,

the unbeliever

will experience

such grace

and humility

and warmth

amongst us

that the

person who

walks in with

another idea

is not going

to experience

them being

shut down.

that's the

church I

want to

be.

So

finally,

I'm

convinced that

when we

have a

biblical

truth that

matches a

real genuine

change in

character,

development of

humility in

the individual,

we will see

deep relational

ties.

We will

treasure Jesus

together.

one of the

things that

builds friendships

and community

is common

beliefs and

convictions.

But you

also can't

have genuine

friendships and

community without

humility and

vulnerability and

transparency and

sharing of the

real you,

your real

struggles,

your real

hurts.

No community

can be built

if everyone is

just revealing

the airbrushed

versions of

themselves.

Multiple

times people

have asked me

in the last

number of

weeks,

say,

how are you

getting on?

My default

thing is I'm

okay.

You know,

a little hard

but I'm

okay.

The reality

is I am

okay but it's

significantly

harder than

that.

I have moments

where I am

deep.

I've got moments

where I'm

feeling I'm

languishing,

that I'm

unsure.

I am

struggling on

so many

days to

concentrate on

anything.

This sermon

took me most

of last week

to write.

That is highly

unusual for me.

This is a

struggle we're

in right now.

And to be

honest with you,

I'm even

finding it hard

to pray.

when we have

truth and

humility,

then we have

the ingredients

of authentic

deep relationships.

At the end

of this chapter

and the beginning

of the next

chapter,

I think is

quite moving.

Have a look at

verse 36 with

me.

When Paul had

finished speaking,

he knelt

down with all

of them and

prayed.

they all

wept as

they embraced

him and

kissed him.

And then at the

beginning of the

next chapter,

after we had

torn ourselves

away from

them,

we put out

to sea.

Now that

is genuine,

deep

relationship.

They had to

tear

themselves away

from each

other.

people

together.

These are

not

acquaintances.

This is not

Paul and his

parish council.

These are not

associates here.

They prayed,

they wept,

they embraced,

they kissed,

they had to

tear each

other from

each other

away from

each other.

This is

deep

relationship

that is

based on

truth that

has changed

them all.

The Ephesian

elders are

European,

Paul is

Middle Eastern

and there

is a

unity here

stronger than

their own

cultures.

Notice here

that they

knelt down

and they

prayed.

What does

that mean?

We are

together

focusing

on another.

They have

God in

common.

C.S.

Lewis

writes in

his book

The Four

Loves

that friendship

is not

absorbed in

the other

person like

a romantic

love is.

He says

friendship is

focused on

a common

point of

interest.

The same

thing

awes them,

attracts

them,

grips them,

motivates

them.

You start

there at that

foot and

then you

over time

build in

relationship

with each

other.

These guys

kneel and

they pray to

their common

fixed point,

Jesus.

They are

treasuring

Jesus

together and

as they do

that they've

built this

relationship,

this deep

connection.

Let me just

say that

any two

people,

any two

people who

kneel to

Jesus,

who have

experienced

his grace,

any two

people can

have that

depth of

relationship.

He who

binds us

together is

greater than

anything that

separates us.

This is

reflected in

the spread of

the Christian

faith across

the globe

over the past

2,000 years

as I've said

before earlier

in this series.

The Christian

faith is the

most culturally

and racially

diverse religion

by far of

any other

world religion.

It changes

peoples.

It unites

peoples like

no other

religion or

philosophy of

life.

That's so

drastically

different than

the society

in which we

live.

Most people

hang out with

people who

are like

them.

Developing

deep,

relational,

cross-cultural

barriers is

extremely

difficult.

What is so

unique about

the gospel

is that it

exposes who

you are.

It changes

you.

It humbles

you in such

a way that

you can build

relationships with

people who

you would not

normally be

able to.

Nothing

else in

this world

has power

to do

that.

Jesus

Christ has

destroyed the

dividing barriers

of his

hostility and

binds us

together into

deep unity.

Not just a

truce between

people.

More than

just getting

along,

deep,

deep

friendship.

Now of

course we must

work at it.

We must choose

to do it and

keep looking to

the gospel as

we do it.

What's

remarkable about

this passage,

as many

commentators will

point out,

is that in

Luke chapter

Luke 9 · chapter mention

9 we are

told that

Jesus resolutely

set his face to

go to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem.

Jesus is the

power here for

us to build the

church that we

need to be.

It's the gospel

is the power for

our friendships and

our relationships with

one another.

Jesus resolutely

set his face to

Jerusalem.

What is

remarkable in this

passage is that

Paul,

likewise,

will not be

distracted from

going to

Jerusalem.

Jerusalem.

Paul is

called to

Jerusalem by

the Holy

Spirit and

like Jesus he

knows full well

that he may die

there.

Paul is

clearly walking

in the footsteps

of his

Saviour and

yet the

difference is

he's not

like Jesus.

Unlike

Jesus,

as Paul

travels to

Jerusalem,

he is

surrounded by

friends every

step of the

way.

Everywhere Paul

goes on his

way to

Jerusalem,

he has

support,

he has

friends.

It's the

opposite of

Jesus.

On the

night of his

arrest,

the Lord

Jesus was

deeply distressed

in the Garden

of Gethsemane.

His friends

were there.

they were

asleep.

In the

hour of

he described

of his

greatest need,

they were

asleep and

they could

not even

kneel and

pray with

him.

Not even

for 10

minutes.

Jesus Christ

was abandoned

by his

friends,

but the

ultimate blow

came when he

cries out from

the cross,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

He was

all alone.

He felt a

disconnection,

a cosmic

loneliness that

we would never

experience,

the worst

possible form

of loneliness.

And he did

that so that

you and I

could be

friends,

not just

with God,

but with

each other.

He took

all the

barriers

away.

This kind

of deep

relationship

with God

and with

each other

is what

every single

one of us

need.

And right

now we

should be

feeling that

more and

more in

this lockdown.

yes,

we can

still have

it to a

degree,

this friendship

now.

It's why

I've got to

say this

digital church

thing is

such a

blessing for

us in

this season,

but I

just need to

push this

point.

This is

nothing but

an emergency

measure.

This is a

stopgap

measure.

This is not

the ultimate

way forward.

Face-to-face

gathering as

the people of

God is so

precious.

And you

need it.

You

absolutely

need it.

In order to

understand what

you have in

relationship with

Christ.

And yet we

still have the

opportunities to

build those

relationships now.

So can I

ask, what

is stopping

you jumping

straight on

after this

service into

the morning

tea over

Zoom?

I'm assuming

you don't have

anywhere else

to go.

What's

stopping that?

Too busy?

Or are you

afraid?

Does the

gospel need to

transform you in

that part of

your life?

Are you

afraid?

Afraid of a

lack of

privacy?

Afraid for

the real you

to be known?

Afraid of

accountability?

I just need to

push it.

Jesus died

alone so

that we can

live together.

And I'm

going to say

I'm missing

you.

I'm missing

the togetherness.

We have

something very

significant to

offer this

world.

We have

truth.

Truth.

We have a

gospel message

of hope.

Gospel message

of genuine

transformation of

life.

life and a

gospel message

that draws us

together into

deep fellowship

as we walk

this journey

together.

This is the

church that we

are at St.

Paul's and

this is the

church that we

will seek to

build at St.

Paul's.

God bless

you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.