Acts: Don't Shrink Back! Run with the Gospel (20:17-38)

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Our next lesson is taken from the Book of Acts, chapter 20, verses 17 to 28.

Acts 20:17–28

Now from Meletus, Paul 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 account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

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 am innocent of the blood of all.

For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole council 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.

And 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, that they would not see his face again.

And they accompanied him to the ship.

This is the word of the Lord.

So Paul says, I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole council 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.

Let's pray.

Speak, O Lord, till your church is built and the earth is filled with your glory.

Lord, would you carry your word on these words?

And may the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts be always pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.

Amen.

Be seated.

So here we are continuing our journey through the book of Acts.

Figure this is probably as good a time as any to do a bit of a review, because we've been doing a lot of Acts, haven't we?

Acts is a story of going and telling.

That's the commission that the church receives from the risen Lord Jesus.

If you remember all the way back in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, that's what Jesus leaves the disciples with before he ascends to heaven, where we expect him to return on the last day.

Acts 1:8

Jesus gives a commission to the church and he says, You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in your community, in Judea, the surrounded community, in Samaria, across cultural barriers and boundaries, and to the ends of the earth.

And here we are in Port Perry, benefactors of those who have carried the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The story of Acts is a go-and-tell story.

It is a story of a church that refuses to shrink back in its proclamation of the gospel and instead forges ahead, goes forward, takes the gospel to those who need it the most, who haven't heard it.

So here we are in Acts chapter 20, and we meet the Apostle Paul, Paul who was once known as Saul and was the great persecutor of the Christian church, convinced that he was doing God a favor by putting Christians to death, who in Acts chapter 10 has a profound encounter with the risen Lord Jesus, literally knocks him off his feet, and now he goes around as the great proclaimer of the good news that this Jesus, who was dead, who was crucified, is now alive.

Acts 20 · chapter mention Acts 10 · chapter mention

And we have hope of eternal life in his name.

Paul is a don't shrink back kind of guy.

And Paul knows that what's ahead of him is a difficult thing.

He's en route to Jerusalem.

He sees a future for himself that is going to be very hard.

He sees a future of proclaiming the gospel in Jerusalem, but beyond Jerusalem, even in Rome itself, perhaps even to the Roman emperor himself.

And now on his way to Jerusalem, in the middle of this missionary trip he's taking in the middle of his ministry, he's called the pastors from the city of Ephesus, where he spent about three years training and equipping pastors to be planting churches and ministering to Christians in the city.

He's called Ephesian pastors to travel about 30 miles to the city of Miletus to meet him, where he gives them commission.

Probably Paul doesn't want to stop in Ephesus on the way to Jerusalem because, well, sometimes we know what it's like to just stop by real quick and get caught up in all the business that's happening there.

Paul's a man on a mission.

It's not time to shrink back, it's time to forge ahead.

So he calls the pastors to himself and he gives them this message.

Here's what Paul wants the Ephesian pastors to take with them back into Ephesus, what he wants the church to carry forward in mission.

Here's his message.

Don't shrink back.

Run with the gospel.

Don't shrink back.

Forge ahead with the good news of Jesus.

That's what Paul says, verses 20-24 in our reading in Acts.

I did not shrink.

Why, Paul?

Why didn't you shrink?

He didn't shrink.

If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God, of the good news, of God's favor towards us in Christ.

Paul has his mind on finishing the course.

That's running language.

I want to run ahead.

I'm not shrinking back.

And I want you to do the same.

And that's Paul's commission to these pastors.

That's his imperative to the church.

Not shrinking back, running forward with the gospel requires at least three things, as we see in Paul's message to these pastors.

Running with the gospel requires, number one, perseverance through trials.

Perseverance through trials.

Number two, precision about the truth.

Precision about the truth.

And number three, perspective on our treasures.

Perspective on our treasures.

Perseverance, precision, and perspective.

Now, Paul's address is for pastors who are going to be leading congregations, equipping Christians, but let's not make the mistake of thinking that this message applies to pastors only.

Paul has the church in mind.

The church doesn't exist for the benefit of pastors.

Quite the opposite.

And so Paul's commission here, his message here is for the life and strengthening and equipping of the church.

And new song, if we want to be a go-and-tell sort of church, if we want to be a gospel-centered, community-serving kind of church, then we need to take this imperative to run with the gospel seriously today and every day.

So turn with me, if you will, to Acts chapter 20, either in your order of service or in your Bible this morning, and we're going to see what running with the gospel requires.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

Don't shrink back, run with the gospel.

What does that require?

Number one, perseverance through trials.

Paul points us to his own example here, verse 18.

Paul points us to his past trials, the things that he's endured.

You yourselves, he says to the pastors, know how I lived among you, serving the Lord, he goes on to say, with all humility and with tears, and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.

Now, similar language shows up in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, where Paul's been the victim of sort of a smear campaign.

1 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

Sort of, don't take this guy seriously.

Don't give this guy any credit.

He's just really kind of out for his own interest, his own gain, so to speak.

Maybe something like that's happened in Ephesus as well.

Maybe there are folks pursuing him.

We know that he's got uh enemies, folks who don't like, even previous associates of his who want Paul dead based on the gospel that he's proclaiming.

He is a guy who has been through the ringer.

Tears and trials have happened to me.

Paul looks back and he recognizes there's a need to persevere for the sake of the gospel through the trials that we endure.

But Paul also looks forward and expects much the same.

He says, verse 22, Behold, I'm going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, and knowing what will happen to me there, not sunshine and good times, he says, the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

Paul looks ahead and sees perhaps even worse trials than the sort he's been through.

And you might want to ask, Paul, why are you doing this?

You thought about a career somewhere else.

Paul would tell you this.

He says, verse 24, I do not account my life of any value, nor is precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Why is Paul persevering through trials, past and future?

He's persevering for the sake of the good news.

The good news that Jesus is alive.

The good news that we have the hope of eternal life in Jesus.

That's worth the trials for Paul.

That's why John Stott, the great pastor and Bible commentator, can write, Paul's overriding concern is not at all costs to survive, but rather that he may finish the race and complete his Christ-given task of bearing witness to the good news of God's grace.

See we should notice that word, that phrase, I'm going to Jerusalem.

If we're paying close attention here, if we're reading Acts like it's the sequel to Luke's first book, the Gospel of Luke, then we'll notice Paul's not the first person to be set on going to Jerusalem, right?

Like Jesus, Paul is set on what awaits him in Jerusalem.

Luke 9, 51.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.

And this juxtaposition is very intentional for Luke.

Luke wants us to understand that a life of following Christ is a life of following Christ.

Through trials into glory.

Rachel and I started watching Band of Brothers recently.

It's a hard watch in many ways, so beware.

But it's an incredible depiction of the bravery and trials of the Second World War.

I'm tempted to draw an illustration based on Band of Brothers just being in my mind.

But y'all know I constantly draw from references in the Second World War, so I'm going to set that aside and find another reference.

I never uh take illustrations from Lord of the Rings.

So I'm going to go with Lord of the Rings here.

There's an incredible scene.

Frodo, this little hobbit from the backwoods of the Shire, has been tasked with this incredible responsibility to take this ring, the source of all of evil's power, in Middle Earth and take it right to the heart of Mount Doom, in the heart of enemy territory.

And it's not an enviable task.

In fact, Frodo is desperate about his circumstances here.

But he's talking to Gandalf the wizard, Gandalf, who is a fatherly figure to Frodo, who is a wise mentor to Frodo.

Frodo says to Gandalf in the middle of this journey, I wish it need not have happened in my time.

That is to say, I wish I didn't have this trial, this ring to deal with.

Gandalf says, so do I.

And so do all who live to see such times.

But that is not for them to decide.

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

See, like Frodo, like Paul, we don't get to choose on whether or not to opt in or out of trials, do we?

Our only choice is what to do with the time with the trial that's given to us.

Do we persevere?

Do we shrink back?

If we are committed to the gospel, we can expect trials.

James writes, count it all joy, brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds.

Not if you meet trials, when you meet trials.

But we might say, why in the world would I count it a joy to meet trials?

Whether that's a small thing, like the feeling of social alienation when someone finds out you do this weird thing called going to church.

Or whether that's a big trial, like whatever's going on at work does not comport with God's best design for the world that I live in.

There's something wonky, there is something off going on here, something immoral, and that I can't abide by that.

What are the consequences?

Whether it's trials of small or big consequences here, Christians don't get to choose whether or not we face trials.

We choose how to persevere through the trials.

Paul gives us an incredible hope.

The same Paul who's preaching to the Ephesian pastors here, he preaches to the Corinthian church in his second letter.

He writes, This light momentary affliction, this trial, whatever it is that we're bringing with us here this morning, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen, for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Why do we persevere?

Because the present trial we're enduring, the present trial that Paul's enduring, will give way to an indescribable weight of glory through our Lord Jesus.

We persevere because we have hope, because Christians are a people of hope.

So we don't shrink back.

We persevere through trials.

That's the first thing Paul wants the Ephesian pastors to see.

The second thing about running with the gospel that Paul wants the Ephesian pastors to see is that it requires precision about the truth.

Pay attention is Paul's imperative to the pastors, verse 28.

Pay attention.

Why?

Verse 28, the church is precious to God.

Pay careful attention, Paul says, to yourselves and to the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he has obtained with his own blood.

So a couple of really important things to notice about the church here.

Did you notice these things?

At least four things.

Number one, the church is God's flock.

He cares for the church like a shepherd cares for the sheep.

He protects them, he feeds them, he guides them.

The church is God's flock.

The church is governed by God's Holy Spirit.

Right?

God is not absent from the life of the church.

He is active and present in the life of his church through his Holy Spirit who indwells us.

Number three, the church is cared for by pastors.

The church is not sort of an ethereal, immaterial reality, is it?

God knows that one of the needs we have is for those who are trained to care and equip, care for and equip the saints for the work of ministry.

And Matt and I are humbled to be called into that service.

Number four, the church is purchased by Christ's own blood.

And what more precious thing could there be?

And the cost of the church's redemption is the shedding of Jesus' own blood.

And you know what?

Jesus did not hesitate to shed his blood for you or for me.

That's how precious we are to him.

The church is precious to God, so we pay attention.

There's no gospel, Paul wants us to understand.

There's no gospel without the church.

The gospel finds its life, finds its root, finds its expression, finds its manifestation within the life of the church.

In fact, uh John will later on write of the life of the church, if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, our Lord is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.

And the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin.

So here's what I want us to notice in that quick quote: that the means of salvation, Christ's blood shed for us, is tied up together in this reality of our fellowship.

There is no such thing as a lone wolf Christian.

There's no such thing as going it alone.

Why?

Because we are bound together in the fellowship of Christ's blood.

It's been shed for all of us.

That's a precious thing.

There's no gospel without the life of the church.

But we pay attention because not everyone has the church's best interests in mind.

False teachers will spring up, Paul tells the pastors here.

Verse 29.

I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will arise, pardon me, 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.

Notice that Paul is not talking about people outside of the church.

And you know what?

Some of those critics might have a point.

Churches fall short of the gospel that we proclaim on a regular basis.

And so the life of the church, like the life of the individual Christian, is a life of repentance and renewal, isn't it?

There are many outside the church who might criticize or condemn or attack the church, but there are those inside the life of the church that seem not to not have its best interest in mind.

There will arise men among you speaking twisted things to draw the disciples after them.

And I wonder, I mean, what Paul is describing here comes to pass in the life of this Ephesian church.

Later on, he writes to his protege Timothy, who is the pastor in Ephesus, the overseer in Ephesus.

Later on in Ephesus, Paul writes to correct some of the false teaching that's taken root in this church community, the very community whose pastor is he's addressing here.

There is a sort of hyper asceticism in 1 Timothy chapter 4 that Paul addresses.

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

This idea that if we uh pull up our bootstraps, if we live an ultimate kind of holy and self-denying kind of life, then that's gonna be the kind of thing that God uh is really pleased with.

There's gonna be those who say the resurrection already happened, and Paul addresses that in Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 2.

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

There's gonna be those who are utterly self-centered, who have the appearance of godliness, but not its substance, a sort of false piety, and that's what Paul addresses in 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

So the point is this no church community is immune from false teaching and misguided distorted truth springing up.

Paul wants these pastors to be so conscious and pay attention to what is being taught so that there is no mistaking.

The authentic gospel.

I think we live in a world where we have a renewed appreciation for the value of truth.

I mean, has anyone seen a deep fake?

Has anyone seen what AI is up to?

It's freaky stuff, isn't it?

I remember seeing my first deep fake video, and I think it was some kind of politician singing a silly song or something.

It's like something that would never come to pass, and you're like, that is just so believable, isn't it?

We have a renewed appreciation for the value of truth, don't we?

We have a renewed appreciation for the consequence of truth's distortion, don't we?

We have a renewed appreciation for the need to go to the reliable source, to let the thing speak for itself.

And Paul would say it's no different with the gospel.

It is so easy to be taken in by something that is distorted and misdirected that we always need to bear in mind what the gospel is as such.

To go to the source, to know the truth for ourselves.

It's the witness of the Holy Spirit, it's fidelity to God's word and scripture, the eyewitness testimony we have there that will help us to recognize the authentic gospel of Jesus crucified and risen for our sake.

If anyone proclaims a gospel other than a gospel that glorifies Jesus, crucified and risen for us, that is a false gospel.

If it's a pastor proclaiming, here's what you ought to do for God's sake, that's a false gospel.

If a pastor proclaims to you, here's what you should do for my sake, that will please God, that's a false gospel.

Instead, the true gospel says, here is what God has done for you in Christ.

Through the cross, through his resurrection.

The gospel is a gift, it is grace.

And unless that's what's being proclaimed, then we need to pay attention.

Well, we always do to pay attention.

But the red flag should start going up.

That's true of Matt and I, by the way.

Call the bishop, if we're not proclaiming that gospel of Christ crucified and risen for us.

Therefore, be alert, Paul says.

Know the truth of the gospel for yourself.

Pay attention.

Don't shrink back.

Be alert.

Be precise about the truth of the gospel.

That's the second thing.

Let's touch on number three quickly here.

What is running with the gospel requires perseverance through trial, precision about the truth.

Number three, it requires perspective on our treasures.

This is very practical, but it's a matter of real spiritual freedom for the Christian.

Verse 32, remember the tr remember the true treasure of a Christian.

Paul says, and now I am commit you to God, and to the word of his grace, commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are being sanctified.

Did you notice that the gospel has a gift for us?

It has an inheritance for us.

What's that inheritance?

Paul will later on write a letter to the church in Ephesus, an open letter that'll circulate around these churches.

He identifies what our inheritance is in Christ.

He says, In Christ we have obtained an inheritance, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

In him, that's Christ, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance, until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory.

The inheritance of the Ephesian Church saints is our inheritance today.

And did you catch what that inheritance is in Paul's mind?

It's Christ Himself.

In him.

That's our inheritance.

Jesus Christ Himself, risen, glorified.

The Lord who gave himself for us.

That's our inheritance.

Samuel Rutherford, one of the great Puritans in the 17th century, writes this.

He writes, Christ's love has neither brim nor bottom.

I love that phrase.

How blessed are we to enjoy this invaluable treasure, the love of Christ, or rather allow ourselves to be mastered and subdued in his love, so that Christ is our all, and all other things are nothing.

Let those who love this present world have it, but Christ is a more worthy and noble portion.

Blessed are those who have him.

That's our inheritance, saints.

It's Jesus Himself, Jesus who gives himself to us, brimming with love for us.

See, this true treasure, if we truly, if we truly treasure Christ above everything else, how can it not change our perspective on all other things that we treasure?

Doesn't mean that what other things that we treasure aren't worth treasuring, you know, that money isn't worth stewarding, that families aren't worth spending time with and loving.

Of course, these are treasures that we mind.

But our greatest treasure gives them their value, doesn't it?

And our greatest treasure will change our attitudes towards the material treasures that we might otherwise be tempted to accumulate for ourselves.

So Paul cites from his own experience that treasuring Christ, our inheritance above all things, means we can be free from coveting money.

He says, verse 33, I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.

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

See, Paul's ministry is not financially motivated, and that can't be said of every preacher going around to the different churches in the first century.

Paul wants them to know that the authenticity of the gospel that he's proclaiming is grounded in the reality that he's not benefiting from it.

In fact, he worked himself to be able to proclaim it to these folks.

He's free from coveting money, at least in this sense, and that means he is free to give generously.

In all things, verse 35, I've 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.

See, when we treasure Christ above all things, suddenly our material treasures, they're not the ultimate thing anymore, are they?

And suddenly our treasures become less about what they do for us and more about what they can do for others for Christ's sake.

I think about Luke chapter 18, we meet the rich young ruler.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

And for those who know the story, you know it's a bit of a tragedy, isn't it?

The rich young ruler comes up to Jesus at the peak of his ministry and he says, Teacher, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?

I'm keeping all the commandments, what more do I need to do?

And Jesus says this one thing you still lack.

Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.

But when he heard these things, the rich young ruler became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

See, we might read that and go, well, the tragedy is this guy just had too much money and wasn't willing to let go.

And that's part, partly true.

But the real tragedy here is that he failed to recognize the treasure standing right in front of him.

Talking about his treasure in heaven.

Who's his treasure in heaven?

The one who came from heaven, isn't it?

This rich young ruler failed to see what is truly worth treasuring, so he walks away very sad.

See, it's only seeing Jesus as our true treasure that can transform our hearts and our hearts' attitude towards our material treasure.

That's true, by the way, if we consider ourselves as having lots of money or very little money.

Because it's not just those with lots of money who make an idol out of money, right?

We all of us can assume that if we had more money, we'd have less problems.

That would give us more security.

We can make an idol out of money and covet it whether we have lots or little.

And Jesus says there is freedom from both in both circumstances by finding our true treasure and our heavenly inheritance, and that is Him.

Therefore, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

So we ought to consider where does our true treasure lie?

Don't shrink back.

Discover your true treasure in Jesus, and you'll find perspective on all other treasures.

So you can see why Paul's address here applies to so much more than just the pastors.

New song, we have a chance to bear witness to the gospel in our own life together, in our lives as individual Christians, and our life as a fellowship in Christ.

And there is nothing being asked of us here that Christ has not already gone ahead and done for us.

He has persevered for us through the cross.

He is the way, the truth, and the life, and he reveals himself to us.

And he has come to be our true heavenly inheritance and treasure.

The gospel is what God has done for us in Christ, not what we are expected to do for him.

But given this great gift, if we value it above all other things, how can it not transform our life into running, not shrinking, running with the gospel in perseverance and precision and perspective?

Don't shrink back, saints.

Run with the gospel.

Amen.

Thank you for listening today.

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God bless you and keep you today and every day.