Marks of a God-honoring Ministry

Acts chapter 20. I went in search this past couple
of weeks for a passage to get us to the other side. I’m looking
to get into the Gospel of John, but I don’t even promise that
we’ll do that by mid-January. I’m still laying the foundation,
the foundational studies for that. I will, in the meantime, pick
up a few verses with cause, hopefully that address some basic and foundational
things for us. For this particular passage,
I’ve entitled it God Honoring Ministry, and really what it
points to is marks of a God honoring ministry where Paul gives a personal
testimony to the Ephesian elders. And in so doing, he really gives
us a model for ministry, a model to be followed even to this day. Let me begin to set the scene
for you for Acts chapter 20. The scriptures record an amazing
relationship that developed between the Apostle Paul and this city
church in the bustling city of Ephesus. The history of Paul’s
involvement with that city is largely recorded in the book
of Acts and primarily in chapters 18 through 20. The story actually
begins in what’s known as Paul’s second missionary journey. But
strangely enough, the start of the relationship was delayed
by God himself. You might remember that Paul
had purposed to take the gospel into that region around Ephesus,
but for reasons that scripture doesn’t provide, God didn’t allow
it. Paul and his team were forbidden,
by some means, to go there. Some particular way, the Holy
Spirit forbade even a right turn and then ultimately God directed
him to Europe and the rest of the story. That’s where Paul
would go and take the opportunity to establish churches in places
like Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea and Corinth. Many months would pass, but nearing
the end of that second missionary journey, Paul’s wishes would
finally come true. God would bless his efforts to
take the gospel to Ephesus and Acts 18 records a very brief
visit to that city. He and his message of the gospel,
salvation by faith in Jesus Christ were warmly received and so enthusiastic
was that welcome that when Paul indicated the need to leave this
new little fledgling church, the church literally begged him
to stay. Paul didn’t consent. Instead,
he made them a promise with a very important condition. He said
this, I will return to you if God wills. What an interesting
approach. We make so many plans. We make
so many statements of what we’re going to do tomorrow, what we’re
going to do this week, and what we’re going to do next year in
10 years. And so rarely do we tack on that very important phrase
that Paul adds, if the Lord wills. Years ago when we began to invite
the men to read the scriptures, We talk about how good or how
long our reading list is, if the Lord wills. It’s not just a catchphrase that
Paul adds there. I believe it represents his heart,
that even in a very real way, Paul was submitting his plans,
as it were, to the Lord in that moment. We make a lot of plans,
we make a lot of intentions, and it would be wise for us to
add as well, not just by way of a formula, but prayerfully,
if the Lord wills. Well, Paul’s relationship with
the Ephesian church had indeed been established, and by God’s
good providence, he would return. His very fruitful stay, the second
time around, would last nearly three years. Paul had a rich,
full ministry with the Ephesian church, but unfortunately, Paul
would again be called and compelled away from Ephesus, but the relationship
with Paul and the Ephesian church was now established, and it would
begin to mature. Paul’s relationship with his
church was strong, but it was unique. You think of some of
the churches that Paul wrote to. He seemed to have a warm
relationship, just a naturally affectionate relationship with
the Philippian church. To the Philippian church he wrote
this, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering
prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your
participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For
I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work
in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. He had
a, he had a, almost a, a warm, intimate relationship
with the Philippian church. There were churches about whom
Paul seemed more enthusiastic than he did with the Ephesian
church. Consider the church in Thessalonica. To them, he wrote,
we give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention
of you in our prayers, constantly bearing in mind your work of
faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
in the presence of God and our God and Father, knowing, brethren,
beloved by God, His choice of you. For our gospel did not come
to you in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with
full conviction, just as you know what kind of men we prove
to be among you for your sake. So Paul had these passionate
friendships with these churches. And there were other churches
still that elicited a much greater measure of Paul’s passion, but
this by way of concern. We’ve seen in recent days his
concern over doctrinal error in the Galatian church. To them
he wrote, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him
who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel.
which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing
you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. There were churches
that were on Paul’s radar screen. He loved them, but he was gravely
concerned about them. The church in Ephesus was unique.
And so was Paul’s relationship with them. When Paul wrote to
them, there weren’t these deep expressions of affection There
weren’t these heartfelt accolades like he gives to the Thessalonian
church. And really, other than a couple
of brief mentions in Ephesians 4 and 5, there are no real significant
concerns like he had with the Galatian church. When all the
facts are considered, when you stand back and look at the landscape,
the Church of Ephesus appears to be a church that solidified
very quickly, matured very quickly, and immediately got down to the
work of serving the Lord. It wasn’t a church with a lot
of problems, a lot of drama, and because of that, that seemingly
affected Paul’s relationship with them because it almost comes
off as business-like. It’s almost matter-of-fact when
Paul writes to the Ephesians. But make no mistake, it was a
friendly, passionate friendship, and we’re provided with a glimpse
of that in Acts chapter 20, which records Paul’s final visit to
that region. Paul knew that in all likelihood,
his ministry to the Ephesians, at least as far as being face-to-face,
was likely over. As you know, Paul would go on
to write a letter to this church from prison, And in that sense,
he would continue to serve them. But he sensed here that his personal
face-to-face involvement with their growth in Christ, their
growth as a church, was coming to an end. Paul fully expected
to be arrested in Jerusalem, and he knew that his worldwide
traveling ministry, his days were drawing to a close in that
regard. And he calmly explains here to his Ephesian friends
that they would no longer see his face. Paul passionately wanted
them to know that they would be fine in a real way. Paul says,
you’re going to be better off without me. I’ll explain that
in a moment. Paul is nearing the completion
of his third and final missionary journey. We know from our study
of Romans that there is the likelihood that Paul was released, even
for a brief time, to engage in a fourth missionary journey that
was unrecorded and unpreserved by the Spirit. But for our purposes,
Paul is drawing to the close of his last recorded missionary
journey. And it’s in the midst of this
journey that takes him from Antioch in the east westward through
Tarsus, all the way through the region of Ephesus, and then temporarily
over to Macedonia. If you would, turn back just
a couple of chapters. Keep your finger in 20. We’ll
get there in a second. Acts chapter 18. I just want
to give you some stepping stones, as it were, to get us to chapter
20, to keep you in the loop of how this relationship transpired. In Acts chapter 18, look at verse
22. When he had landed at Caesarea,
he went up and greeted the church and went down to Antioch. And
having spent some time there, he left and passed successively
through the great Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all
the disciples. That last phrase is the reason
I cited that. This is Paul’s new ministry or
perhaps even the second phase of his ministry to these churches.
That once they were established, there was this pattern of Paul
going back through and strengthening them, establishing perhaps leadership
structures, dealing with doctrinal issues. There were many issues
and they varied from church to church. Turn to Acts 19.1. 1901 it records that it happened while
Apollos was at Corinth. Paul passed through the upper
country and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. Now those
disciples are not his disciples. That is just due to the spread
of the gospel. And if you jump down to Acts
20, 1920, where it records that the word of the Lord was growing
mightily and prevailing. Now after these things were finished,
Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem after he passed
through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, After I have been there,
I must see Rome.” We looked at that when we were studying the
Book of Romans. Paul is here in Ephesus and he
begins to chart his final ministry course. He’s going to go back
through Macedonia, strengthening those churches, the second phase
of ministry in those particular churches. Then he purposes to
go to Jerusalem. We know the purpose was to deliver
this financial monetary gift for the famine stricken church
in Jerusalem to not just enrich them, not to pay them off or
pay them back, but really to care for their basic human needs
as a church. And so Paul has charted his course. He has purposed, he has placed
it before the Lord. And now, if you would, Acts chapter
20, look at verse 1. Paul has created an uproar in
his preaching, and it records in verse 1, after the uproar
had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted
them, and taken leave of them, he left for Macedonia. He’s departing
from Ephesus. When he had gone through those
districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to
Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was formed
against him by the Jews, he was about to set sail for Syria,
he decided to return through Macedonia. and he was accompanied
by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and Aristarchus,
and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy,
and Tychicus, and Trophimus of Asia. But these had gone ahead
and were waiting for us at Troas. We sailed from Philippi after
the days of unleavened bread, and came to them at Troas within
five days, and we stayed there seven days. On the first day
of the week, when we had gathered together to break bread, Paul
began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he
prolonged his message until midnight. What we’re recording here is
Paul’s trek now back in the direction of Ephesus, and we pick up the
final leg of that tour in verse 13. But we, going ahead of the
ship, set sail for Asos, intending from there to take Paul on board,
for so he had arranged it, intending for himself to go by land. And
when he met us at Asos, we took him on board and came to Mytilene.
Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios. And the next day, we crossed
over to Samos. And the day following, we came
to Miletus.” That’s important. That’s where we pick up. Paul’s
ministry. For Paul had decided, verse 16,
to sail past Ephesus so they would not have to spend time
in Asia, for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible,
on the day of Pentecost. Now, it’s not that he’s uncaring
towards the Ephesian church or is fearful, but he had just created
quite a stir there in Ephesus. They wanted to arrest him. They
wanted to stone him. And Paul departs in that context,
and rather than step back in and stir the pot, he calls the
elders to himself in that little region of Ephesus called Miletus. And now, if you would, let’s
pick up, and I just want you to look. Listen to Paul’s example. He makes 20 I statements. That’ll be important for our
study in the days and weeks to come. He makes 20 I statements
in this, the remainder of this chapter, pointing to the fact
that he presented himself before the Ephesian elders as an example. I see eight marks of a God honoring
ministry and that’s the direction we’re headed for the next several
weeks. Look at verse 17. From Miletus,
he sent to Ephesus, and he called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him,
he said to them, you yourselves know from the first day that
I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time serving
the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials, which
came upon me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink
from declaring to you anything that was profitable. and teaching
you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to
both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound in spirit,
I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen
to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies
to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself,
so that I may finish my course in the ministry which I received
from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the
grace of God. And now, behold, I know that
all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will
no longer see my face. I testify to you this day that
I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I did not shrink
from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for
yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased
with His own blood. I know that After my departure,
savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And
from among your own selves, men will arise speaking perverse
things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be on
the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three
years, I did not cease to admonish each one 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 have coveted no one’s silver
or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these
hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with
me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this
manner, you must help the weak. and remember the words of the
Lord Jesus that he himself said, it is more blessed to give than
to receive. When he had said these things,
he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep
aloud and embraced Paul and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially
over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face
again. And they were accompanying him to the ship. Paul gives us in that passage
the marks of a God-honoring ministry. It’s Paul’s personal testimony
of his life and his life of service before God, which by God’s grace
enabled him to have a testimony even to these brothers in Christ. We’ll begin considering those
marks of a God honoring ministry, but I want to point out a few
observations from this passage, and they’re important ones. First
of all, note verse 17. Paul didn’t go into Ephesus,
he didn’t go into the church, he didn’t call a church meeting
as it were. He sent to Ephesus, and he called
to himself the leaders of the church, And the leaders of the
church were not the pastors. They were not the very right
reverends. They were not bishops in some
kind of ecclesiastical sense. They were elders. And we see
that already the office of elder had been established in the church
as the primary enduring office for the leadership of the church. There would be another office.
There is the office of deacon that was instituted in the church. But Paul here is calling to him
for very specific purposes the spiritual leaders of the church.
You see, the office of the priest was no longer necessary. That
had been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. The office of apostle
would expire. Their time was limited. The gospel
had been established. Converts were being made. The
gospels were being written. Letters were being generated
by these apostles. The office of prophet would pass
away, and yet the church needed ongoing leadership. It needed
a perpetual office that would oversee and care for Christ’s
flock. And the one primary office referred
to is that of elder. The interesting thing is there
are three Greek words that are used that all point to that one
primary permanent office of spiritual leadership. And the interesting
thing is that in one of two places that occurs here in Acts chapter
20 where all three words are found in the same sentence. pardon me, in the same context.
Paul had called to him the Ephesian elders, and look at verse 28.
He gives them, as it were, marching orders. He tells these elders,
be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Now that word we know
historically, and I’ll talk more about it in a moment, has been
translated as bishop. And some denominations have made
an entire organization headed up by these so-called people
that are supposed to be super pastors over many congregations. He tells these Ephesian elders,
local church leaders, that God himself by the Holy Spirit had
made them overseers. Be on guard for yourselves and
for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers to shepherd the church of God. I’ll make the point at
the end. The point is simple. Whether
you call them elders, or you call them overseers, or you call
them shepherds, it’s all the same office. It all points to
the same thing. Let’s take them one at a time
very briefly. The word for elder is presbyteros. I was just sharing
with a saint this week that one of the first challenges we ever
had in this church was a gentleman that took this word, twisted
it out of its context there in Hebrews where it refers to holy
men of old. aged men, and he basically had
come up with this entire construct saying that every saint in the
church, every believer is an elder. Thank God that isn’t true. Can you imagine those meetings?
They would go on all day long. Well, what it’s pointing to there
is that This word has to be considered in its particular context. And
in Hebrews, it is talking about old men. But the reference refers
not always to refer to men of mature age. It just simply developed
in time as a technical word. The non-technical use of the
word just refers to aged older people. The technical use, though,
was actually started in the Jewish church, and it referred to those
who were in some kind of ecclesiastical ministry. Matthew 16.21 talks about that. particular office when it says
from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must
go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief
priests and scribes and be killed. The office was already in place
in the Jewish church. We know that Revelation speaks
of eternal elders and we’ll save that discussion for another day,
but there is the Christian church elder that is repeatedly mentioned
throughout the New Testament, and almost always in the plural.
Titus was instructed to appoint elders. James says that if you’re
sick, call for the elders. So it’s reasonable here that
in Acts chapter 20, when Paul desired to discuss crucial church-related
matters, that he called to himself the elders of Ephesus to meet
with him, and there were no others. It’s not like he overlooked the
pastors. It’s not like he left the reverends
out. He called the leaders to them,
but the leaders were identified as elders. There’s a second term
that’s used in this context, as I said, with regards to the
leadership of the church, and that’s that office overseer. It’s the same office, just a
different term. And the word there is episkopos. Through the centuries, it’s really
a beautiful word, especially when you think of the office
of a shepherd. What does a shepherd do but watch over his flock?
That’s what is designed office. Well, this word is episkopos.
It’s a blend of two words, epi, over, to skopeo, to watch, to
watch over. But unfortunately, it got mistranslated
somewhere along the way, transliterated. In an attempt to just import
the sound of the word into the English texts, it was translated
as bishop. And that produced essentially
for almost 1,000 years and in some settings continues to this
day, this uniquely separate office of bishop that oversees many
churches, much like a pope. Well, what Paul points to here
is the very simple truth that the elders are those who function
as the overseers in any given congregation. That’s God’s design. And it is just as legitimate
to refer to them as overseers as it is to refer to them as
elders. The two terms are absolutely interchangeable. Be on guard for yourselves and
for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers. The overseers are among the flock. They are part of the flock. They’re
not over it in a harsh and aloof sense, but they’re over it intimately. They are among the saints of
God. They are among the sheep. And so Paul, speaking to the
elders, he reminds them that God himself, through the agency
of the Holy Spirit, had designated them as overseers in the church.
But he adds to that with their particular job description, with
a third term, used for the leadership of the church. They’re all interchangeable.
And that third term is shepherd. Be on guard for yourselves and
for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers, to shepherd the church of God. Now, it’s almost always
translated. Every time it won in the New
Testament, it’s translated as shepherd. We’ll come to that
one exception in a moment. That word used 18 times in the
New Testament. Eight of them clearly refer to
Christ. Christ is the good shepherd. Perhaps the most noteworthy of
those is the lengthy discussion in John chapter 10. Remember
that? Where Christ repeatedly refers to himself as the good
shepherd. I am the good shepherd. Hebrews
1320 refers to him as such. 1 Peter 2.25, he is the shepherd
and guardian of your souls. What a beautiful image. That
Christ is watching over us. That Christ is guarding us and
protecting us as a shepherd would his own flock. Now five of them
allude to Christ as such. And when I say allude, it’s not
quite as direct. Matthew 9.36. Jesus noticed the
people and he said they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Now obviously Christ is the shepherd, we know that from the rest of
the testimony of scripture, but here he just noticed that they
were like a bunch of scattered and wandering sheep, vulnerable. Five of them allude to Christ
in that sense. Four times it’s referred to as,
that word is used to refer to literal shepherds. Now this is
easy because we just finished Christmas, right? There were
literal shepherds. Not the elders of some local
church. There were literal shepherds
out taking care of their sheep and an angel came on the scene
and you know the rest. There’s one time that this word
is translated as pastor One time, it’s translated in Ephesians
411, he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists,
some as pastors and teachers. And unfortunately, that alternative
translation, pastor, seems to fuel the fire of misunderstanding
the relationship regarding the leaders and the leadership structure
of the church, as if there’s a hard and fast distinction between
elders and overseers and pastors. or as if there’s any such animal
as senior pastor, a title that I have not sought, for obvious
reasons. As if the office of pastor is
separate and distinct. They’re all pointing to the same
office. Here’s the facts. Here’s the
biblical data to chew on for just a moment. The bottom line
is that these three terms, elder, pastor, shepherd, and overseer,
all refer to the same leadership office. In 1 Timothy 3, Paul
is giving there the qualifications of an overseer, and they are
almost identical to what Paul gives to Titus when he goes in
search of elders. The terms are interchangeable.
In Acts chapter 20, same thing. In 1 Peter 5, same thing. The
terms elder, shepherd, and overseer are all used interchangeably. So the logical conclusion here,
when Paul called the Ephesian elders to himself, he was calling
the only leaders that that church had. They were the elders of
the church. They were the pastors of the
church. They were the overseers of the
church. One faithful pastor said it this
way. Overseers and pastors are not distinct from elders. The
terms are simply different ways of identifying the same people.
All three terms refer to the same office. So the term elder
emphasizes who the man is. Overseer speaks of what he does.
And pastor, shepherd, deals with how he feels in the pastoral
role of caring for the flock. And that’s what they do. And
the shepherd motif is so appropriate here. You can just stand back
and look at the life of a shepherd, and you can see so many parallels
to how the elders of the church are to care for the flock. They’re
supposed to protect the flock, even as we will see here in Acts
chapter 20. They feed the flock with God’s word. They lead the
flock, not just in passing down edicts, but in teaching through
concepts and ideas, laying forth a direction. They care for the
flock in their practical needs, in their spiritual needs. They
pray for the flocks, James chapter 5. They judge and decide on doctrinal
issues, as we’ll see even in this particular section. They
counsel and resolve conflict. They receive and administer resources
of the church. That’s the office of the elder.
But all three terms refer to the same spiritual office. So with that little background,
I want to direct you back to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter
20. Look at verse 17 again. From Miletus he sent to Ephesus
and he called to him the elders of the church. Not the elder
singular, but the elders plural. the pastors, not the overseers, not the deacons. Paul called
to himself the overseers. I love the way one pastor put
it. It’s quite plain. that what Paul is addressing
here was not distinctively elders in age but elders by office. What made a presbyter was not
age but ordination. Remember you have an office which,
office given you which reckons not by years but by graces. You have to walk the aisles of
your church to tread the streets of your parish as men in one
sense prematurely old. as men of the truest dignity,
which consists not in wealth, not in rank, not even in age,
but in bearing Christ’s commission. We can’t get caught up with that
idea of this being an older man, or we may miss the very calling
on God’s men in the life of the church. What Paul says is that in calling
these elders to himself, he was calling the leaders of the church. Point taken. I want you to make
a second observation. I already noted it, but I want
to just highlight this. It’s absolutely astounding to
me. And you would either have to come away with thinking that
Paul is an absolute egotist or Paul had a point. Paul was driving
home a point. that by God’s grace he had equipped
him and purposed him to be taken as an example. Look at this. I told you there were 20 I statements. Look back at verse 18. You yourselves
know from the first day I set foot in Asia how I was with you
the whole time. Verse 20, how I did not shrink
from declaring to you anything that was profitable. Verse 22,
and now behold, bound in my spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem.
Verse 24, and here you’ll have a lengthy string. I do not consider
my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish
my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus.”
Verse 25. And now behold, I know that all
of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will no
longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this
day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. Verse 27, for
I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
Verse 29, I know that after my departure, savage wolves will
come in. Verse 31, at the very end, I
did not cease to admonish each one with tears. Verse 32, and
now I commend you to God. Verse 33, I have coveted no one’s
silver or gold. Verse 35, in everything I showed
you, which really encapsulates the entire purpose of reading
you that list. Paul wasn’t afraid to be taken
or seen as an example. I think I’ve told you before
about my grandfather. My grandfather would say, do
as I say, don’t do as I do. And you know where he’s going
with that, right? My grandpa was not one to be emulated in
a whole lot of things. by his own admission. I’m not
disparaging him. This was his testimony. Don’t
do what I do. Just do what I say. Paul’s testimony,
though, on the other hand, is do as I do. And I’ll tell you,
we are fearful of that. We don’t want to follow anybody
and we certainly don’t want to lead. We don’t want to be responsible
for somebody following our example. We think that we might do okay,
but what if we slip up? What if we set forth a wrong
pattern? You know what? It doesn’t matter. You are an example to other believers. You are being watched. You are
being emulated, even if it’s just by your own children. You
are an example. I remember one pastor said one
time that example is better than precept. We do need example.
It’s one thing to read the precept on the pages of scripture, but
to have it lived out in the lives of some saint is powerful. There’s
nothing wrong with the biblical precept. We’re not absolved from
it if we don’t have an example. Jeremy Taylor, Puritan commentator
primarily on The pastoral epistles said this, great is the force
of godly example both to the believer to provoke him to further
obedience and to the unbeliever to bring him to a liking for
religion or to condemn him. So when you have that unbeliever
who takes umbrage at the way that you carry yourself or that
you do this or don’t do that, and he takes offense in that,
that is a testimony. You are being an example to him.
And if you have, by God’s grace, if you have an example in another
brother or sister, let them know. Thank them. Thank God for it.
Acknowledge them for it. Paul wasn’t afraid to be an example.
Paul wasn’t afraid to say, do as I do. Listen to this testimony. Philippians 3.17. Join in following
my example. Watch what I do and do likewise.
Are you comfortable saying that? Are you comfortable saying, you
know what, as Paul said to the Corinthians, we are commending
ourselves to every man’s conscience. He basically says, you know,
let me wave a red flag, I want you watching me, okay? Do as
I do. Philippians 4.9, these things
you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice
these things. You’ve seen what it looks like
to be a Christian and to live like a Christian, to be an elder,
a shepherd, to be a godly man, to be a leader. You’ve heard
it and seen it. Do it. That’s bold. That is commendable. That’s leadership. 1 Corinthians 14, I exhort you
therefore, be imitators of me. Now I would say, If we heard
that from the average person, even if it were a Christian brother,
we would say, you know what? You are so proud. You are so
arrogant. Who do you think you are? This
is the Apostle Paul, the greatest pastor the world’s ever known. First Corinthians 11 one, the
imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. No wonder that’s
where he got it. Paul is imitating Christ, and
he says, I imitate Christ, you imitate me. I’m giving you an
earthly example of what Christ is and has done in my life. Listen to this, 2 Corinthians
4.2, which verse I just alluded to. We have renounced the things
hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating
the word of God, but by manifestation of truth, commending ourselves
to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. How would you
like that as your marching orders for the week? You know, we live
in a day where cameras are everywhere, right? We’re going to surround
you with cameras everywhere you go, and we’re going to do exactly
what you do. How would that be? to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote,
you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example because
we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we
eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship
we kept working night and day so that we might not be a burden
to any of you, not because we do not have the right to this,
but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, that you
might follow our example. That’s what we need in life,
right? We need examples. We need godly men and women who
stand up and do what God has called them to do for those that
follow in their footsteps of any age to look to them for godly
example lived out. And that’s what Paul was to Timothy. Let no one look down on your
youthfulness, 1 Timothy 4.12. but rather in speech, conduct,
love, faith, and purity. Show yourself and as an example
to those who believe. That’s what we’re called to. Paul lays forth the fact that
he means to stand before the Ephesian elders, the leader of
this church. that by God’s grace, he had had
a hand in establishing and takes their growth and maturity in
Christ almost, almost for granted. They are grown so strong and
they are so stable that as Paul looks at them, his speech to
them is almost matter of fact. but he stands himself before
them and he says, I want you to watch and do likewise. How confident are you in your
Christian life to that end? How confident in your Christian
life are you to say that we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience?
Put a camera on me, watch me 24-7. Watch and do likewise. What Paul is gonna lay out for
us, by those I statements is at least eight marks of a God-honoring
ministry. That’s what we’ll be for several
weeks. Let’s pray. Oh, merciful God, we thank you for your grace at
work in our lives. And Lord, we lament before you
that so many times you know You don’t need a camera. Your eyes move to and fro throughout
the earth. We know that you see and watch
everything that we do. You hear every thought. You know
how we think. You know our prejudices. You
know our weaknesses. Lord, we pray that you would
So work in us, your grace, that we would be examples to be followed,
that we too would become, as Paul, a pattern, a type, an example
for other young believers to look to. Lord, the frightening
thing is we are already examples. We know already that believers
and unbelievers alike are looking at us. If we have proclaimed
Christ, we have set ourselves up as examples. They’re looking. They’re watching. And heaven
forbid that by that example we cause any to stumble. So we plead
for Your grace that You would work in us, that You might find in us what you desire, and that you
might use this by your glory to build up the saints to testify
to the lost. Lord, we look forward to this
consideration of God-honoring ministry, which Paul has laid
out as he appealed to his brothers, these fellow elders, to shepherd
the church. We thank you and we praise you.
In Jesus’ name. As we close, if you would take
your hymnals, let’s turn to 353, I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord, and
let’s stand and sing together. I love thy kingdom, Lord, The
house of thy abode, A church of blessed redemption With His
own precious blood. ♪ Of thine church, O God ♪ For
love’s unworthy stain ♪ Dear as the apple of thine eye ♪ And
graven on thy hand ♪ For her thy tears shall flow ♪ For her
my prayers will sing To her my cares and toils began, now toils
and cares shall end. Beyond my highest joy, I prize
her heavenly ways. Her sweet communion, solemn vows,
her hymns of love and praise. Verse 6. For as thy truth shall
last, to Zion shall begin, the brightest glories, earth can
yield, and water bliss. Amen. Artists. No, it’s cold in here, I’m cold. We’ll call tomorrow. th th th th And I didn’t want to see the
front of the house. So then, you have to be like,
okay, eight miles south of my thing. They don’t care about
it. There was no way I could take a chance on that. If I didn’t
have to get this, I would have been on time. I got here at 6
o’clock. If you want to, just hold on. I’m sorry about that. But if you do, I will let you
know maybe where you can park because I don’t know if the townhouse
area has that much parking. So I’m actually suggesting that
maybe parking the school across the road from the chow. OK. OK. So, yeah, it’s not bad,
but it’s very not very hostile for me to ask. No, people park. Well, that’s all right. Barbara,
did you see the invite? I did. OK. What day of the week is it? It’s
a Friday. It’s supposed to be a church
day. It started out being that way. They have beautiful stuff. The nice part is that sometimes
you actually get to try on the jewelry and wear them during
the party. Because you look at this and
you’re like, I have no idea what they actually look like. Yeah,
yeah. Yeah, it’s based on faith and
magic, so you actually have all this to do with it. Yeah, so
I mean, it’s only violence, right? I’ve never hosted one before,
so I’m kind of petrified of this, but she’s so small, and the lady
dropped off this, and she goes, oh no, this isn’t small, I’ve
done small. I’m thinking for some picture,
I don’t care if they’re bad, I’m counting everybody. No, that’s
all right. No, it might be a little bad. Do you think that tomorrow
they’re going to be able to do this picture? I hope so. I hope so. I’m going to turn the lights
off. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know if I would sign
up, but I don’t know what I would be for living. Yeah, yeah. I think that’s good. Okay. If it’s set for 71 and it’s only
66, should we be concerned? It’s only what? If it’s set for
71, but it’s only 66 degrees in there, should we be concerned? OK, wait. That’s a Sunday at 145.