God-Honoring Ministry Part 7

God is characterized by a selfless
dedication to the work of God. Paul said, look, I’m willing
to be pawned. I’m willing to be spent for the sake of the
kingdom. I’m willing to go through whatever God calls me to go through. I’m willing to trust him and
walk with him. And if it means costing my life,
if the gospel flourishes, so be it. I do not consider my life
of any account as dear to myself. Verse 24, And then last Lord’s
Day, we studied the fifth. The fifth mark was an absolute
commitment to God’s word. Paul said, therefore, I testify
to you this day, verse 26, that I am innocent of the blood of
all men. There’s only one thing that can do that. There’s only
one thing that can absolve those who are sent with a message,
absolve them of guilt, and that is the Word of God. To preach
the Word of God in its fullness is the only thing that saves
men and women, and it’s the only thing that absolves the bearer
of good news. It’s the whole counsel of God,
as the old King James had it, the whole purpose. Paul said,
I have an absolute commitment to that. It’s the whole council
of God that he opened before, not just the Ephesians, but everywhere
he went, he preached the gospel, the whole word of God, God’s
great plan of redemption. We come to the sixth mark of
a God honoring ministry this morning. The marks of a God honoring
ministry, looking at Paul’s testimony, a ministry that honors God is
characterized Number six, by a compulsion to warn people of
danger. A compulsion to warn people of
danger. We’ve already pointed out that
Paul had called the elders to himself, but as I’ve said in
the past, Paul embeds in this understanding of the nature of
church leadership, the three basic terms that are all identifiers
for those who lead the church. Not only elder, but overseer
and also in this passage shepherd. It’s a beautiful passage. Look
at verse 28 just as we review that section. Be on guard for
yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers to shepherd for the purpose of 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.” Paul sets himself before them
again as an example. Paul said, look, you remember
how I went around warning you, watching and warning you over
so many things. And now he stands before them
and he admonishes them to the same end. He says, be on guard. And with that, Paul begins this
lengthy discourse. Be on guard. And he says, be
on guard in an ultimate sense. The elders are to be on guard
over the very church, God’s people. Are they precious to God? They
are so very precious to God. Look how the verse concludes.
Paul speaks of it as the church which he purchased with his own
blood. to treasure above all treasures
to God himself. It is of infinite value. It requires
the most careful care and protection. And for it, her servants are
to be on guard. The elders of the church, the
shepherds, the overseers of the church are to be on guard. That is essentially their number
one marching order as God’s servants. This word, You’ll see it a lot
in the Gospels. It’s a very common word in the
New Testament. It’s often translated with an
emphasis on this element of a solemn warning. Just listen to a few
as I review them. Matthew 6, 1. Beware of practicing
your righteousness before men. We know that common struggle
and the Pharisees certainly knew it. That’s what Jesus was warning
is this tendency that we have to pray in public and to let
everybody see what we do in that regard. And then to be something
completely different when no one’s looking. Beware of that.
Matthew 7.15, beware of false prophets. Not unlike Paul’s own
admonition here, beware of those who teach. I am amazed at how
quickly a book or a tape or a video will go viral. That someone reads
it and because they read it and because someone recommended it
to them, the next thing you know, they recommend it and so on and
so forth. And the next thing you know,
it’s the latest rage in the church. We need to examine everything
carefully, hold fast to that which is good. And Jesus said,
beware. Make sure that it’s sound before
you gulp it down and certainly before you spread it to others.
Luke 7.13, pardon me, 17.13, regarding causing others to stumble,
be on your guard. Be on your guard for your own
heart. But he goes on to say, if your brother sins, rebuke
him. Be on guard for your brother as well. We have that as one
of the core elements of membership of this church. That we are to
watch out for one another. And not to allow sin upon one
another. That if we see a brother in sin,
we’re supposed to go to him lovingly. And we’re supposed to appeal
to him, and plead with him, and show him his sin. Beware, beware, be on your guard. It’s translated much more mildly
in the book of Acts, take care, give attention, pay attention. That’s the tone that it takes
in the pastoral epistles, pay attention. But it has that element,
that seriousness behind it of beware, be on your guard, Among
Paul’s strongest statements to these young leaders, Timothy
and Titus, Paul repeatedly uses that admonition. Listen to a
few. He warns them not to teach strange
doctrines nor to pay attention to strange myths and endless
genealogies. Don’t put your mindset there.
You have too much to watch out for in the flock of God. Don’t
dabble in foolish things, 1 Timothy 1.4. 1st Timothy 4.1, some will
fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits. They put their eyes on the wrong
thing. They began to focus and dwell upon all the wrong things. In light of that, Paul admonishes
young Timothy, until I come, give attention, beware, be on
guard to the public reading of the scriptures. That ought to
be your constant focus. Well, elders, Elders are to give
their utmost attention. They are to beware. They are
literally to be on guard over God’s church. They are to watch
and warn. That essentially is their job.
They’re to watch and warn. But I want you to notice what
they’re supposed to watch and warn. And I think there are four
things that you’ll find embedded in this passage. The first major
area over which elders are to watch and warn is themselves. Be on guard for yourselves. An
elder’s number one job description is to watch himself. This is where it all begins.
Watch yourself. Watch your life. Watch your walk.
Observe. Beware. Give attention. That
little exhortation isn’t the first time that Paul would give
that advice. He gave an even more direct admonition
to young Timothy, 1st Timothy 4.16. In 1st Timothy 4.16, Paul
said to this young pastor, pay close attention to yourself and
to your teaching. And so this watch over oneself
for the elders is essentially twofold. It’s not only over your
life, it’s over your teaching. In contrast to the way Paul says
it in 1 Timothy 4, 6, where he says, pay close attention to
yourself. Here he says, be on guard for
yourself. There is supposed to be a vigilance
because elders are not impervious to falling into error. Some of
the great men of the faith, if you read, they proceeded for
a long time with such great faithfulness and then fell into some strange
doctrinal error. Pay close attention to yourself. We’re not impervious to that,
but first and foremost is your life. Paul says, pay close attention
to yourself. I love the way one old pastor
said it, that we should be more afraid of ourselves than we are
of the world. Another one said it very similarly,
we should fear ourselves and our own heart more than we fear
even the devil. Because we can convince ourselves,
we can sear our conscience, we can convince ourselves that things
are perfectly fine, or we’re falling apart at the seams. We
should watch over our minds. We need to watch over our thoughts,
our beliefs, our studies, our attitude, our actions. We need
to watch over what we read. We need to watch our conversations,
that they are on the up and up. We need to watch over our appetites. We need to watch over our weaknesses.
We need to watch over our previous sins, that they don’t rear their
head. We need to watch over new sins. We need to watch over our
strengths. We need to watch over our wives
and our children. We need to watch over our physical
well-being. Elders need to watch themselves,
first and foremost. One Puritan said it this way,
a minister’s conduct influences apprehension of the truth. In
other words, if he’s got a fuzzy life, he’s gonna have a fuzzy
view of the scriptures. It is only as he does the will
of God that he can know his doctrine. The life and the teaching therefore
must receive concurrent attention. Very few men last very long preaching
a solid doctrine whose lives aren’t equally solid. The first
order of business for the elders of the flock should be to watch
over their personal character, to watch over their life, to
make sure that their life is holy before God and honoring
before men. Those two things go together,
sound teaching and godly living. Those were Paul’s admonitions
to young Timothy. First Timothy 6.11, flee from
these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. In other words, he
says, without those things, there is no ministry. Second Timothy
2.22, flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith,
love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure
heart. Pastors are no different. Bad company corrupts good morals.
And he says, your most intimate friends must be godly. But I’ve already hinted that
there’s a second major area over which elders must watch and warn. They must watch their lives.
They must warn essentially themselves. They must be honest with themselves
about the nature of their life. But there’s a second area over
which they have to watch. It’s their teaching, it’s their
doctrine. Paul doesn’t include this consideration of one’s doctrine
here explicitly, but it’s certainly implied. Look at the passage,
he’ll go on to warn of savage wolves. Those who will come in
speaking perverse things, false doctrine, in an attempt to secure
followers. from their own flock. They’re
going to come in and steal your sheep. It’s a great portion of
the elders responsibility to study and pray and watch for
that slow creep of doctrinal error. First and foremost Paul
says pay close attention to yourself but commensurate with that He
says, keep an eye on your doctrine. Watch your doctrine. Watch what
you believe. Make sure that you know how to
defend what it is you believe. We have this saying in this day
and age. I think I first saw it in second
grade. You are what you eat, right? You are what you eat.
Is that ever more true spiritually speaking? If you’re dining on
all this latest stuff that comes off the press, if you’re half
in, half out with regards to your commitment to God’s Word,
if you’re listening to all kinds of nonsense, what do you think
your life is going to be like? Same thing is true for an elder.
It’s especially true for an elder. If you’re feeding on pablum,
if you’re feeding on nonsense, if you’re feasting yourself on
junk food, Your life and your ministry will reflect that in
time. It’s axiomatic. One pastor said, sound doctrine
is that teaching which is firmly rooted in and yielded from the
proper interpretation of scripture, not human systems of theological
speculations. We need to be in the Word. We
need to be bathing our minds in the Word and making sure that
every message, every doctrine, every point of theology is supportable
from God’s Word. We need to pay attention to our
teaching. We need to make sure that it’s oriented in the very
and pure Word of God. One Puritan. said it this way,
that which is preached by him should be according to the scriptures,
be the doctrine of Christ and his apostles and according to
godliness, that it tends to edification and is pure, incorrupt, and that
he defend against all opposition. Essentially, this is the weaponry
for the battle. We have no wits about ourself
outside of scripture. We have no ability to fight against
the wiles of the devil and against doctrinal error if it’s not oriented
in the word of God. Another said it this way, an
elder’s spiritual leadership in the church is not built upon
his natural abilities. You see some great men essentially
start in the ministry Because they lean only on their personality,
or on their background, or on their family name, or on whatever
seminary they went to. They fall flat. It’s the knowledge of scripture.
It’s our plumbing into the depth of God’s word that really makes
us and sustains us. So this one great mandate to
the elders, the pastors of the flock to guard and trust the
treasure that God has given to them to retain the standard of
sound words, to hold fast the faithful word, to protect the
doctrine of the church with all faithfulness. It’s their calling.
This is what they do. It is their duty. It’s their
mandate. Why? Why bother? Why go to all that difficulty
and trouble? Because whether it’s imparting
the fundamentals of the faith to new believers, or the basics
of the gospel to an unbeliever, or the foundations, the undergirding
of the great structure to God’s people, answering simple doctrinal
questions that arise in the church and in the surrounding community,
to up to facing down the fierce and venomous attacks of the devil
himself. Elders are the men for the hour. They are the men tasked with
that great calling. But there’s a third. area, a
third major area over which the elders are to watch and warn.
They not only watch over themselves, they obviously must watch over
their doctrine. But thirdly, elders must watch
and warn the flock. Look at the passage, it’s so
beautiful. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock. And I
take that to mean that there is a tendency in the ministry
to cater to a certain few. James warns strongly against
that. We need to watch the whole flock. I love the way our motto passage
goes, that we teach all men. We admonish all men. that we
may present all men before God. We need to watch the whole flock.
This word flock here, it’s only used in three contexts in the
entire New Testament. But this idea, this metaphor
of the Christian body as being God’s flock is very prevalent.
But the word itself is only used, as I said, three times. It’s
used by Jesus. In a comfort, in a series of
comforts, Jesus says, do not be afraid, little flock, Luke
12, 32. Do not be afraid, little flock.
And in his case, it was a very small flock. He certainly had
the 12 in mind. There were likely others nearby, disciples. Do not be
afraid, little flock, for your father has chosen gladly to give
you the kingdom. He uses that metaphor, does Jesus.
This passage here uses that metaphor. And the only other place that
it’s used in that context is Peter, 1 Peter. Listen carefully. 1 Peter 5, it’s a neat passage
that talks about not only the leaders in the church, but even
the young men. Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your
fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and partaker
also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock
of God among you. Don’t worry about things across
the land. Don’t try to shepherd a flock
that’s abroad. Worry about this bunch. Worry
about this little flock. Put your heart and soul into
them. How? Exercising oversight, not
under compulsion. You’re not obligated to do this
by anyone. And to go about it in that spirit
is wrong anyway. But voluntarily, according to
the will of God, He’s the one that put you there in the first
place. And not for sordid gain, don’t be in it just for the money,
but with eagerness. Eagerly looking to minister to
those in the flock. Nor yet is lording it over those
allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the
flock. There’s that image again. Don’t just follow my words, but
watch my example, Peter says here. And so here in Acts 20,
Paul uses this great metaphor of the church. In his message
to the Ephesian elders, that of the flock of God, it’s not
a new illustration. It goes all the way back to Psalm
23, doesn’t it? Look at verse 28. Be on guard
for yourselves and for all the flock, which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased
with his own blood. Let’s just take those sentence
by sentence or phrase by phrase. Note first of all that the overseers
are among the flock, not over it. Not in a harsh and aloof
sense, they are literally among it, much like a shepherd would
be in his sheep. He is in with them and in a very real way,
the elders in no way are above the flock in the sense that they
are not held to the same standards They absolutely are. Peter said
exactly the same thing as we just read. Shepherd the flock
of God among you. Stay instant with that group
that is most nearest you. It doesn’t mean that you can’t
consult other pastors. It doesn’t mean that you can’t
seek counsel elsewhere, but put your focus on the flock of God
in your midst. Note also, I’ve already said
this too and alluded to it, but Paul here says it so explicitly
again. Be on guard for yourselves and
for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers. Pause for a moment and consider
that. It’s the Holy Spirit. ultimately who selects a man
and gifts a man and calls a man as an overseer or an elder in
the church. The church is absolutely part
of that and elders are to be leaders in that process. We are
part of the process of recognizing and examining and setting forth
men before the body of Christ. Godly church leaders, they do
take a role in affirming the call and the equipping. The congregation
as well is absolutely involved, intimately so. One pastor said
it this way regarding the ascent of the congregation, the involvement
in that process. The congregation’s recognition
and counsel regarding the candidate’s labor and character is absolutely
essential. It’s one of the highest responsibilities
that you ever have, is examining and looking, looking at the standards,
interviewing the man, getting to know the man, and essentially
all we do at the very end, as a body of Christ is the same
thing that the elders did. When the elders looked at the
man, all they did, they didn’t bestow anything upon him. They
didn’t deputize him. They didn’t infuse him with any
special powers. All they did was recognize what
the Holy Spirit had already done. And that’s all the church does.
Recognizes what the church or what the Holy Spirit has already
done in the man’s life. Church’s elders absolutely take
a lead role in approving or appointing additional elders, and the church
body also is part of that process, but ultimately it’s the Holy
Spirit that appoints them. It’s God who ordains them. Church,
the leadership, they merely recognize what God had already worked into
that man. Look at Acts 28 again, that next
phrase, 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. He stays with that motif, doesn’t
he? That little precious metaphor of a shepherd and his flock,
his precious sheep, which he purchased with his own blood.
It drives the point home. That verb which he purchased,
it has this idea of making anything exclusively and especially yours. God bought it for himself. God wanted the church. He saw
the church. He knew the price of the church.
It was the very blood of Christ. And he said, that is a deal.
And he sent Christ and Christ paid with his very blood. And so because of that, Paul
says it’s a sacred trust. It’s a sacred trust because the
church has been purchased with the very blood of Christ. What are we supposed to do? Shepherd
the flock. Shepherd the church, it’s God’s
church. With a constant mindfulness that
it is the institution nearest the heart of God. It is that
for which Jesus Christ Himself died. It is the most glorious,
most precious, the most graced institution on the face of the
earth. It’s the church of the living
God. It is in that perpetual view of that truth that elders
are to exercise a watch care, a loving oversight, a faithful
shepherding of God’s flock. They’re to constantly be aware
of the fact that Jesus Christ paid for this flock. That little word shepherd, used in the New Testament, Matthew
2.6, to refer to Jesus himself. Jesus, of course, is the great
shepherd. Used by Peter, or used of Christ,
used by Christ to restore Peter to ministry. When he said, shepherd
my sheep. This is a high calling. It’s
a solemn undertaking. It’s used by Peter himself to
admonish the young men in the congregations. Shepherd the flock
of God among you. He said to the elders. Used by Paul as well. Shepherd
the flock. We need to seek out the lost.
People have a tendency, God’s people have a tendency to finding
new ways of falling into trouble all the time, much like wayward
little sheep. We need to seek them out. We
need to find them. We need to gather them in when
they’re scattered. We need to watch over and defend
them. We need to know what they read.
We need to know where they go, what their habits are, what their
struggles are. Just as we would if there were
real sheep among wild beasts and thieves. We need to feed
them. We need to care for them. We
need to dig into God’s word and have something substantive to
give them for their spiritual nourishment. We need to shepherd
the flock of God. We protect them, we pray over
them. We feed them, we lead them, we
care for them, we counsel them, we teach them. I love the way faithful pastor John Brown said
it. In another day, he said, it is
not enough for ministers to preach. That’s a pitfall. It’s a pitfall
that I’ve even stepped in from time to time, from season to
season. to think that, you know what, I’m preaching my heart
out, Lord. He says it’s not enough. It’s not enough for ministers
to preach, yea, sacredly and diligently, but they must besides
take a particular oversight of their flock and look into the
conversation and behavior and applying themselves accordingly
in admonition and exhortation and comfort. You need to look
into their lives. You need to get into their conversation
and behavior, not just what they talk about, but how they conduct
themselves from day to day. If a minister know of any of
his people who are riotous or profane, he must rebuke them. If any are out of the way, admonish
them. He must hearten them that be
in a good course to go on still. He must comfort them that languish
under their sins, temptations, and fears. In a word, he must
deal with everyone as the cause requires. You need to shepherd
the flock. There’s a fourth and final area
over elders must watch and warn. Elders must not only watch over
themselves, watch over their lives, watch over their doctrine,
watch over their flock and warn each wherever necessary. But the fourth major area over
elders must watch and warn is over Troublemakers. Savage wolves. Why is there this emphasis on
being on guard in this whole passage? Verse 28. Watching over this little band
of sheep entrusted into your care as if there was some wolf
waiting in the outskirts of the flock. That’s precisely the image. Precisely. And in a sense it’s
a frightening image. Look at verse 29, I know. What
an absolutely horrifying thought. I know, which almost has this
feel that no sooner do I walk up that plank and get on that
boat and sail off from this port, I know just as soon as I’m standing
here now that troublemakers are going to come. They’re gonna
decimate this flock in Ephesus. They’re going to devour you.
They’re going to devour some even in your midst. I know that
after my departure, savage wolves will come. They’re not pets. They’re not domesticated wolves.
They have their teeth and their claws and they’re not coming
in to nuzzle up next to you. They’re coming in to devour.
Just as the devil does to steal, to kill and destroy. Look at
verse 29. I know that after my departure,
savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. They’re not there to be your
friends. And to make matters worse, you’ve got this outside
attack coming in at the church, but then you also have from within. From among your own selves men
will arise, speaking perverse things. They get these zany ideas
and they begin to spread them within the church. Why? Because they want a following
to draw away disciples after them. I know that savage wolves will
come in among you. One Puritan said, a pastor needs
two voices. One for gathering the sheep and
the other for driving away wolves and thieves. He is sustaining
this metaphor of the sheep and the flock and the shepherd and
the number one enemy, the wolf. The wolf likewise is a repeated
metaphor in scripture, Matthew 7, 15, 10, 16. The wolves here represent, as
they always do in the New Testament, that pernicious rabble of people,
the false teachers, false prophets, spiritual troublemakers who seek
only to devour the unsuspecting with their deceitful doctrine. Battling teachers, false teachers,
and wolves in sheep’s clothing is a major part of a calling
as an elder, a major part of shepherding the flock. In fact,
as we close, turn to Titus chapter one. As we close, we’re not really
gonna close anytime real soon. Titus chapter one, verse five,
he tells Titus why he left them. I left you in Crete that you
might set an order where it remain and appoint elders in every city
just as I directed you. Speaking of elders, you’re gonna
need to know what an elder looks like. And he gives them that
lengthy list of qualifications. Look at the end of verse nine.
Part of their purpose, they need to hold fast faithful word, which
is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able to exhort
in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. Well, who
would that be? I’m glad you asked, says Paul. Look at verse 10, for there are
many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those
of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are
upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach
for the sake of sordid gain. That’s your job, elders. It’s
your job as an elder to fight against this kind of attack on
the church. Back, if you would, to Acts 20. But consider this, it isn’t just
those that are gonna come in from outside the church. He says
that in time, they’re gonna grow up from within. And we have to
constantly watch out over our own flock for that very purpose.
I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in, but
that’s not the end of it. Look at verse 30. From among
your own selves, men will arise, speaking perverse things, false
words to draw the true Ineffective, ineffective people in their own
right that just seem to bring trouble. It was Paul’s own experience.
It was his experience with Demas. It was Paul’s experience with
Hymenatus and Philetus. Not only there are gonna be troublemakers,
false teachers that come in from without, but there are gonna
become There are going to be those that grow up from within.
It’s not enough that the stuff is out there. They’re going to
come in. They’re going to blend in for
a while. You won’t know. You won’t know the difference.
And once they’re in, they will not rest until they’ve plied
their wares among God’s people. And they won’t stop until they
gain a following. That’s the goal. They won’t spare the flock. They’ll press and pry until they
gain a foothold. until what Paul says here, they
draw away the disciples, part of our flock. From among your
own selves, men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away
disciples after them. We know that firsthand in this
church. Over the course of 16 years, we’ve seen, I know for
a fact, false teachers have come into our church. And we’ve run
off a number of them. Wasn’t evident at first. They
seemed like very nice people on many occasions. And then the
more we began to dig, we found some very strange thoughts. And
as we pressed, as we listened, and as we probed a bit, we found
not only was their doctrine faulty, their life was faulty as well. They’re out there. Sometimes
they come in. And when they come in, they can
be devastating to a flock. No wonder Paul says, therefore,
be on the alert. Watch. Watch and warn. Remember that night and day,
and here’s where he sets forth his example. Remember that night
and day for a period of three years, I did not cease to admonish
each one with tears. This is heartbreaking stuff. People, real people, really get
harmed by this. As one pastor said, eternal vigilance
is the price of liberty. What a great mark for a faithful
ministry. Let’s examine our own hearts. O merciful God, We humble ourselves
against you and in and of our own strength. We are not. We
are not up for the task. We are mere men. Seeking to fight
against devils and demons. Lord God. Is only by your grace. It is
only by your grace that any of us has an effective ministry.
We thank you for our brother Paul. We thank you for his faithful
witness to us. And Lord God, we plead with you
for that same grace, the same grace that equipped Paul to be
so watchful over himself and his doctrine, over his precious
flocks, and over those savage wolves. Grant us that same grace, Father. It’s in Jesus’ name that we ask.
Amen.