World Wide Witness: Healthy Church Part 2

Okay, so that's Acts 20, 13-38. It's on page 1117, 1117.

Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders.

We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard.

He made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.

When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mytilene.

The next day we set sail from there and arrived at Chios.

The day after that we crossed over to Samos and on the following day arrived at Miletus.

Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia,

for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible by the day of Pentecost.

From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.

When they arrived, he said to them,

You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia.

I served the Lord with great humility and with tears,

although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.

You know that I have 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.

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem,

not knowing what will happen to me there.

I only know that in every city that the Holy Spirit warns me

that prison and hardships are facing me.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me

if only I may finish the race and complete the task that the Lord Jesus has given me,

the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom

will ever see me again.

Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men,

for I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.

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 bought with his own blood.

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you

and will not spare the flock.

Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth

in order to draw away disciples after them.

So be on your guard.

Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you,

night and day, with tears.

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 have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.

You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs

and the needs of my companions.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work

we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said,

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

When he said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.

They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.

What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again.

Then they accompanied him to the ship.

I haven't got any sheets for taking notes this morning,

but if you've got a new sheet, on the back of that there is a place.

I'm not sure where the pens are.

If anybody would like a pen to take notes, you can put your hand up.

Shane will give them to you.

If you want a pen, I encourage you to do so.

This is part two of a two-part talk.

One was from two weeks ago when we looked at Paul's first visit to Ephesus.

This is part two.

Church, the spread of Christianity around the world.

We thank you for its record for us.

But we also recognise that this is not just mere history,

but it is words written for us today that change us and transform us

and show us what it is to be church and what it is to be your people

and what it is to live as your people in this world.

So we pray that as we read and as we listen,

that you would create us to be more and more

the kind of church you want us to be,

that we would be healthy in every way.

And so we ask for your help in this.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, imagine that you have been given an audience

with the church leaders of Ireland.

Jermud Martin, Bishop Neil, they're your audience.

For one hour, you will get to say what you want

to the bishops who lead our churches and congregations.

Most of the time, we're having to listen to the church

and what they think we should be doing.

But this time, on this occasion,

they're going to be listening to you.

What would you like to say to the church leaders of our country?

What would be the most important item on your agenda?

For example, what would you like to say to them

about how the church conducts its finances?

Or what would you like to say about how the church leaders

live their lives?

Or what their message is?

Well, the Apostle Paul, perhaps the most influential leader

in all of church history,

responsible for writing almost two-thirds of the New Testament,

a pioneer in seeing Christianity spread all over Europe,

well, he has the opportunity to speak to the bishops

of a very influential church in a very influential city.

Paul is on his way home after a five-year trip around Europe,

that he's been travelling from one place to another,

visiting all these local churches,

and his desire that each of these churches

would be healthy and would be strong.

He's not just about starting a church,

but that each church would be healthy,

and that each church would be everything

that God calls the church to be.

So in Acts 20, Paul makes his last and final visit

to the bishops of Ephesus.

Look at verse 16.

Paul had decided to set sail past Ephesus.

If you could just flick the map up there.

Thank you.

There we are.

So Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus

to avoid spending time in the province of Asia,

which is modern-day Turkey.

For he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem,

if possible by the day of Pentecost.

So he's been travelling all around Europe.

He's just been in Greece.

He's on his way back to Jerusalem,

which is south of Antioch, his home church.

And from Miletus, verse 17,

he stops there and he's sent to Ephesus

for the elders, literally the bishops

or the leaders of the church,

because he has something really important

that he wants to tell them.

And as he speaks to these leaders,

he tackles three important issues

that, if followed, will lead to a healthy church.

He tells them three things.

He tells them what the church's message should be.

He says how the church leader should behave

and where the church finances should go.

So what the church's message should be,

how the church leader should behave,

and where the church finances should go.

So first, what the church's message should be.

He starts by reminding them and telling them

what his message was that he brought to the church.

So in verse 20, he says,

you know that I have not hesitated to preach anything

that would be helpful to you,

but have taught you publicly in gatherings just like this,

and from house to house,

which would have been privately in people's homes.

Well, what did he preach?

What did he have to tell them?

What was the content of his message?

Well, look down at verse 24.

He says,

I consider my life worth nothing to me

if only I may finish the race

and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me,

the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

His desire, his life's ambition,

was to preach, to testify to the gospel

of God's grace.

This is the message that the church should be declaring,

the gospel of God's grace.

Now, the gospel of grace simply means

news about something that has been done for you.

It's important we get this right.

It's news about something that has been done for us.

Paul wasn't interested in the church giving people religious advice

about how to be better citizens.

This is what makes the gospel of grace so unique.

Every religion in the world gives people advice.

They tell you what you must do,

or what you must achieve if you're to have a better life.

The gospel is in complete contrast to all of that.

It is good news about a person who has achieved something for you.

Well, what has been achieved for us?

What has been done?

Well, look down at verse 25.

Now, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom

will ever see me again.

Verse 27.

For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.

Now, we've got two phrases there.

Verse 25, he talks about preaching the kingdom.

And in verse 27, he was proclaiming the whole will of God.

Now, preaching the kingdom and proclaiming the whole will of God,

they're not different to the gospel of grace.

They actually explain what the gospel of grace is.

The gospel of grace is all about God's will

to restore broken lives and renew this disordered world.

It is God's plan to establish a new kingdom.

A kingdom of peace and justice.

A kingdom of joy and happiness.

Of harmony and unity.

Where there's going to be no more rocket attacks from one side or another.

Where no longer will a mother and a baby die.

There will be the absence of all evil and suffering for all eternity.

It is God's will to establish this kind of kingdom.

That's what the gospel of grace is all about.

And the way that kingdom is established

is not going to be through arms or fighting.

It's going to come through a person.

Through God's Son, Jesus Christ.

So look back at verse 21.

He says there, well he says verse 20,

that he didn't hesitate to preach anything that would be helpful,

which was the gospel of grace.

And verse 21 he says,

I have declared to both Jews and Greeks

that they must turn to God in repentance

and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

The gospel is all about what God has done for us,

but it does require a response.

The response is repentance and faith.

So he says to them, look, it's like,

it doesn't matter whether we're Catholic or whether we're Protestant.

It doesn't matter whether we're black or white,

whether we are gay or straight.

This is the same message for all people,

and the response to the same message is exactly the same.

It's about repentance and faith in Christ.

Repentance being turning away from our own way

and turning to Jesus as King of your life.

And faith is all about our trust and our confidence in Jesus.

In particular, faith in his death for us on the cross,

so that when Jesus died, it was a death in place of us.

He was taking our guilt, our shame in place of us,

so that we could be part of his kingdom.

And his resurrection from the grave

was a resurrection for you and for me.

It was a resurrection that defeated death

and destroyed evil

so that we could be part of a kingdom

where there would be no more death or suffering.

It would no longer rule this world.

It would be the absence of evil and suffering.

So the encouragement is that we would have faith in Christ

who can bring about this eternal kingdom.

That's why the gospel of grace is good news.

It's not just advice.

It's all about Jesus who has done something for you.

And this is what the church's message should be.

We're not telling people to live better lives.

We're telling people about something that Jesus has done,

that he's establishing a kingdom for us.

Now this was Paul's experience

and it had completely transformed his life.

So verse 22,

he says to them,

and now compelled by the Spirit,

I'm going to Jerusalem,

not knowing what will happen to me there.

Now we know from reading through Acts

that all sorts of things have happened to him.

Verse 23,

I only know that in every city

the Holy Spirit warns me

that prison and hardships are facing me.

He's already faced stoning

to within an inch of his life.

He's already been stripped and beaten.

But because Paul believes this gospel,

because he believes this message,

because he's experienced it

and it has so changed his life,

look what he can say,

verse 24,

I consider my life worth nothing to me

if only I would be able to complete the task

of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

He's saying to them,

look, I would gladly die for you.

I would put my life on the line for you.

I'd give up my life for you

so that people can hear

this wonderful free offer of God's grace.

And why could he do this?

Well, because he's already received everything

through the gospel of grace.

He already has the kingdom.

He has everything that he could ever possibly need

so therefore he could put his life on the line

so that other people could receive this grace.

You see, the church only has one message

and it is the message of the gospel of grace.

God's will, God's plan

to restore broken lives

and renew this disordered world

through his son, Jesus Christ,

establishing an eternal kingdom.

So first he's saying to the church,

make sure that your message

is about the gospel of grace

and nothing else.

Well, first the message of the church

is about God's grace.

Second, he tells them

how the church leaders should behave.

Now I have to pay close attention to this

because I'm a church leader.

Ralph, pay close attention,

but it's for everybody.

Verse 28.

Keep watch over yourselves

and all the flock

of which the Holy Spirit

has made you overseers.

Literally, bishops or elders

or leaders, elders.

It's all interchangeable.

We take elders.

We don't call ourselves bishops,

but it's the same thing.

Now leadership in the church

is not power over people,

but it's protection for people.

Look at the imagery that we have here.

It talks about, look, verse 28,

be shepherds of the church of God.

The church is seen as the flock.

In other words, the people,

people like you and me,

were like sheep who need looked after

and watched over.

And the leaders,

well, they're the shepherds

who have been given the responsibility

by God to provide the protection

that people need.

But why is there such special care

for the flock?

Well, look at the rest of verse 28.

He says,

be shepherds of the church of God,

which he bought with his own blood.

Jesus died for us.

He gave up his life for us.

He gave up of his riches

to enter into our poverty

so that we could have his riches.

So that we could belong to God.

That means the people in the church,

people like you and me,

we're precious to God.

We're his treasured possession.

We're of unlimited and ultimate value.

And because we are so valuable,

we need special care and attention.

Now, when we think about shepherds and sheep,

we need to get away

from modern farming techniques.

The first century shepherd,

well, he stayed with his sheep 24-7

out on the mountains all alone.

By day, he would take the sheep off

to new places where they could feed

and down to streams where they could drink

and get everything that they needed.

And then at night,

he would bring them into a fold,

maybe something made out of stone

or something like that.

They would be inside

and he would literally sit at the entrance

as a means of protecting them

from all the wild animals

that could get in at them.

He would put his life on the line.

He would put himself between the sheep

and the danger,

willing to give up his life.

So, verse 29,

I know that after I leave,

he said,

savage wolves will come in among you

and will not spare the flock.

Even from your own number,

people will arise and distort the truth

in order to draw away disciples after them.

Now, Paul was a good shepherd.

He had been teaching them

the true gospel of God's grace.

But he's saying to them,

guys, you need to be on your guard

because there are going to be teachers

who are going to come in

and are going to be quite willing

to distort the truth of the gospel

for their own gain.

It's not it might happen.

He says it will happen.

Rather than the gospel

bringing about all what Jesus has done for you,

people are going to come in

and they're going to distort the truth

and they're going to tell you

it's all about what you must do

or something that you must achieve

and what you have to work for.

And Jesus, at best,

will just be reduced

to a little bit of religious advice

and not to be taken seriously.

Those kind of people

will come in and tell you that.

The other people who might come in

and lead people astray

for their own gain

are those that are connected

as we refer to the health and wealth

or the prosperity gospel.

We see it on television

and they'll say something like this.

Well, Jesus wants you to be wealthy.

He wants you to be successful.

He wants your children

to have amazing careers.

He doesn't want you to be sick.

He doesn't want things

to go wrong in your life.

And if you would only believe,

it's going to be put right.

And by the way,

just send us a few dollars

or a few euro

and we'll make sure that that happens.

That's a distortion

of the gospel of grace.

He says those teachers,

look at verse 28 there,

and 29 rather,

they're like wolves

that are going to come in

and tear the sheep apart.

And we need to be aware of that,

verse 31.

So be on your guard.

Remember that for three years

I never stopped warning each of you,

night and day,

and with tears.

These things will happen

and people will come in

and distort the truth.

Now while this is primarily

addressed to leaders,

the Bible makes it clear

that we are all

to care for one another.

In some ways,

we're all to be shepherds

of the sheep.

And we do this in two ways.

First of all,

we are to keep

our leaders accountable.

Now in case you don't know

who your leaders are,

that's myself and Ralph.

Keep your leaders accountable,

that's your role.

Because look at who the wolves

might be,

verse 30.

Even from your own number,

men will arise

and distort the truth.

From within sight,

not from outside.

Leaders,

shepherds,

people like me,

people like Ralph,

can become a wolf.

Now I don't think

we look very threatening,

although,

doesn't Ralph mean

lover of wolves

or something?

So we've got to be careful,

Ralph.

But we could be,

we could be wolves,

we're potential wolves.

And the church

needs to hold

their leaders

accountable

to make sure

that they're living

in line with the gospel

and that they're teaching

what is the gospel.

people.

So the church

needs to pray for us

to make sure

that we keep

the church

together

and keep the church

in the right way.

We're not superhuman.

We're fragile people

who make mistakes

and get things wrong.

And so we need

the church

to keep us accountable,

to pray for us,

to encourage us,

to point out areas

if we're not in line

with the truth

of the gospel.

So first,

keep your leaders

accountable.

Second,

care for our

fellow sheep.

The person

that you are

sitting next to

or the one

who is behind you

is your responsibility.

And the way

that we primarily

care for each other,

we can do it

in all kinds

of practical ways,

but primarily

the way we care

for each other

is to bring

the gospel

to each other,

is to remind ourselves

of everything

that we have

through Jesus Christ.

So we should all

be people

who are able

to read

with each other,

pray for each other.

And I encourage us

all to be people

who do that

and we say it so often,

whether you're meeting

with somebody

one-to-one,

whether you're meeting

in a small group

or whatever you do,

that primarily

we are people

who are bringing

God's word,

the truth of his gospel,

into each other's lives,

holding ourselves

accountable

and encouraging

and supporting.

So first,

keep your leaders

accountable

and second,

care for your

fellow sheep.

So first,

he reminds us

what the church's

message should be,

that it's all about

the gospel of grace.

And second,

he reminds us

how the church leaders

should behave.

Third,

he tells us

where the church's

finances

should go.

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.

Well,

you say,

what's that got to do

with finances?

I don't see anything

about money there.

Well,

Paul knows that

the church

is never going

to be generous.

We are always

going to be

tight-fisted

until we grasp

and experience

the word of grace.

So he says to us,

verse 33,

he says,

I commit you,

I put you

into the care

of God

and to the word

of his grace.

The word of grace

is the gospel

of grace

that we've just

been talking about.

It's all that Jesus

has done for us,

everything that he

has achieved for us.

It gives us,

look at the rest

of verse 32,

or it can build us up,

strengthen us,

and it will give you

an inheritance,

that eternal's place

in his eternal kingdom

among all those

who are sanctified.

So the gospel of grace

gives us everything

that we need

for now

and for all eternity.

So this is what

we are to live on

as a church.

In some ways,

this is to be

the diet of our church.

It is to be grace

plus grace

plus grace.

We're constantly

to be drinking

and eating it in,

committing ourselves

to the grace of God.

And the more

we understand

this word of grace,

the more we allow it

to change our lives,

it will show us

how rich

we really are.

It will transform us

into model givers.

It will make us

incredibly generous.

Paul's own life

was an example of this.

Look at verse 33.

The grace of God

had so affected

Paul's life

that he had become

generous

in giving.

Look at verse 33.

I have not coveted

anyone's silver

or gold

or clothing.

He's saying,

I'm not in this

for the money.

I'm not in this

to get a bigger car

or a bigger house.

Verse 34.

You yourselves know

that these hands

of mine

have supplied

my own needs

and the needs

of my companions.

Look at my hands.

There's splinters

in these hands.

Look at the calluses

from the tent making

that I've done.

I worked hard for you

so that I could give

the gospel of grace

freely to you.

The grace

had so gripped

Paul's life

that it had changed

Paul

into a generous giver.

He was literally

willing to give

his life for them.

You see,

if we learn

and understand

the word of grace

and allow that

to impact

our lives,

it will cause us

likewise

to be generous

to those in need.

Look at verse 35.

In everything I did,

I showed you

that by this

kind of hard work,

we must help

the weak,

literally those

who are unable

to help themselves.

Remembering the words

the Lord Jesus

himself said,

it is more blessed

to give

than to receive.

The weak

in our society

are the poor,

the refugees,

those who live

in countries

destroyed

and broken

by war

and famine.

The weak

are all around us

within the community

of this church family,

in our wider

community

of Carragalline.

Now,

we have received

so much

through the Lord Jesus.

We have received

grace upon grace.

We have received

his eternal kingdom

so that we can

generously give

to those in need.

Look at the end

of verse 35.

He says,

it is more blessed

to give

than to receive.

Paul is getting

to the end

of his journey

around Europe.

Five years

he had travelled

around

and we know

from the rest

of scripture

that one of the

reasons why

he went around

those places

was to take up

a collection

to be able

to bring back

to the church

in Jerusalem

that was going

through a hard time

and because of famine.

And so I think

the principle

here for us

is if we've

received this

amazing grace

we too

will give

freely

to those

who are in

desperate need.

We no longer

have to be

tight-fisted.

We no longer

need to be

worried in terms

of the future

because we have

received all

that we need

through Christ.

Christ.

So Paul has

this opportunity

to speak to

the leaders

of this church

an influential

city in that

part of Turkey

and it's the

same word

and it's the

same message

that he speaks

to the church

today.

If we want

to see a

healthy church

the church's

message has

to remain

focused on

the gospel

of grace.

the church

leaders have

to be about

protection and

care not

power and

control.

And the

church's

finances are

to be directed

towards the

weak and

the poor

not the

improvement

of the

church's

lifestyle.

This is

what will

lead to a

healthy church

and a

healthy church

that grasps

these things

will become

a church

that transforms

their life

and the

community

society

and the

nation

all around

us.

This is

what will

bring true

life.

This is

what will

bring

lasting

change.

Let's pray

together.

Father, help

us to be

people who

hear clearly

what you

are saying

to us

as a

church.

please help

us to be

always

talking

about the

grace

of God's

gospel.

Help us

to keep

that central.

Help us

to practice

it.

Help us

to live

it.

Amen.

We pray

for the

leaders of

this church

church, that

we would be

people who

care well

and protect

the flock.

And we

pray for

ourselves that

we would all

be good

shepherds to

one another,

taking

responsibility

responsibility

to care

for one

another, and

to be

accountable to

one another.

Help us

to see how

much we

have received,

and to be

generous in

our giving

to those

who are

weak.

We thank

you for all

that you are

doing among

us, and

we pray that

we would

continually

fall in

line with

what it is

to be a

healthy church.

Help us to

take away the

things that

are unhealthy,

and show us

how we should

be.

And we pray

that through

us, you

would continue

your mission

in this world

and in this

community, and

that people

will come to

see the

wonder of

your kingdom,

and the

transformation

that Christ

alone can

bring.

we ask it

all in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.