Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Acts 20:1-16

Transcript

Acts 20:1-16 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
So, good morning. You are stuck with me.
0:04
I'm thankful the memo didn't get to too many people that I was preaching, otherwise the crowd would be even smaller.
0:12
!
0:30
And so, I was hoping I had two more weeks to prepare, but Brigham came up and said about a minute ago or so,
0:38
you are ready, and I'm thankful that I can trust in the Lord, that whatever is said this morning, He will use, and I'm thankful for that.
0:49
So, just to catch us up, a few things and a quick summary of Acts 19, which Clay will be preaching next week and the week after,
0:57
to kind of catch us up to where we're at.
0:59
So, the last time we were preaching in Acts, which was two weeks ago, we looked at the end of Acts 18, where it talked about Apollos,
1:06
and he was a man who came to Ephesus, and he learned a bit from Priscilla and Aquila.
1:10
And Nathan talked about how he serves us very well as a model of zeal in his preaching of the gospel,
1:16
a model of humility and being teachable by other believers, Priscilla and Aquila there,
1:21
and a model of reputation as he really defended the gospel against all its opponents.
1:26
So, there it says that he crushed all opponents of the gospel.
1:30
Okay, so that was the end of Acts 18.
1:32
That's where we were at last time.
1:33
In Acts 19, Paul shows up in Ephesus.
1:37
He continues to work with Apollos, disciples him a bit there.
1:40
Apollos is baptized.
1:42
The Spirit works very powerfully in him.
1:44
And then Paul stays in Ephesus for a while, teaching in the synagogue.
1:47
And eventually a riot breaks out there because there was believers were being drawn away from worshiping all the false gods there.
1:56
And so, that being said, that riot happened, and then we are brought up to Acts chapter 20.
2:03
So, Clay will teach on all that stuff over the next couple of weeks.
2:08
But that is what has just happened.
2:11
And so, that brings us to our text this morning.
2:14
It is, I would say, a fairly difficult text.
2:19
It was probably the most difficult text I have ever tried to prepare and to link together.
2:26
So, be praying with me this morning that the Lord will be able to use this time for us to really understand this text and also to be able to apply it.
2:36
So, go ahead and read with me verses 1 through 16 here in Acts chapter 20.
2:42
So, it says,
3:06
So, on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day.
3:31
And he prolonged his speech until midnight.
3:33
There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered.
3:37
And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer.
3:43
And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.
3:48
But Paul went down and bent over him.
3:50
And taking him in his arms, said,
3:52
Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.
3:54
And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while until daybreak.
4:00
And so he departed.
4:01
And they took the youth away alive and were not a little comforted.
4:04
But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there.
4:09
For so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land.
4:12
When we met at Assos, we took him on board and went to Middeline.
4:16
And sailing from there, we came the following day opposite Chios.
4:20
The next day we touched at Samos.
4:21
And the day after that, we went to Miletus.
4:23
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he might not have to spend time in Asia.
4:28
For he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
4:33
Okay.
4:34
So first off, I want to restate the statement that Paul makes in Timothy that we thought through a good bit last week.
4:41
In verse 16 and 17 of 2 Timothy 3, it says that,
4:44
So what we just read is scripture.
4:57
And so this statement holds true.
5:00
So looking at this passage, that may initially be a hard thing to see.
5:05
So let's look at it, break it down a little bit.
5:08
So we can basically see two sections here.
5:10
The first one in verses 1 through 6 is a bit of like a geography lesson,
5:15
mentioning all these different places and telling just a lot of where Paul went.
5:20
There's not much talk here in Acts 20 about why he was going to all these different places.
5:26
But if we look at a lot of different cross-references from a few of his letters,
5:29
we can piece together what all was going on there.
5:34
And the second, it really is a pretty crazy story of Paul preaching for a really, really, really long time.
5:39
A young man getting very sleepy.
5:42
It was probably very stuffy in this room with a lot of people cramped into it.
5:46
And he fell out of a window.
5:48
And he died.
5:49
And then he was raised from the dead.
5:51
So these are two really, really awesome things.
5:54
But if you look through this passage, there isn't really a big theological statement.
5:58
There's not a big exhortation.
6:01
There's not a big spot where it's explaining some key piece of doctrine.
6:04
But, as we just talked about from 2 Timothy,
6:08
all scripture is read that by God and profitable for teaching,
6:12
for proof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
6:15
that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
6:19
So this is true of this passage.
6:21
And it has proven true so much for me and my study.
6:25
And I hope it is for you this morning.
6:27
So the more I studied it and the more I looked at it,
6:30
I was seeing very clearly just so many ways in which Paul demonstrates his love for the church.
6:36
And that was really, really encouraging for me
6:38
and really just a great picture of what our love should be like for those believers around us.
6:44
And so I'm going to structure the study in this way,
6:47
just looking at Paul's love for the church.
6:49
So if you're taking notes,
6:50
I'll just really have three points,
6:53
and they all begin with this statement.
6:56
Paul demonstrates his love for the church in his.
7:01
Okay, so three points.
7:02
Start with that.
7:03
Paul demonstrates his love for the church in his.
7:08
Okay, so point one.
7:10
Paul demonstrates his love for the church
7:12
and his concern for their physical needs.
7:15
We can see this a lot in verses one through six,
7:18
but it is not immediately apparent
7:21
because we don't know exactly why,
7:23
just from looking at this text,
7:25
why he's going to all these different places.
7:27
But if we look at a few of his letters,
7:30
we can really piece that together well.
7:32
So if you will turn with me to Romans 15.
7:37
Romans 15.
7:45
So toward the end of Paul's letter to the Romans,
7:47
he's talking about making a visit to them,
7:49
and that's the context where we'll pick up reading.
7:53
But he's explaining currently
7:55
that he is trying to get to Jerusalem,
7:58
doesn't want to visit them in Rome yet
8:00
because he's trying to get there,
8:01
because he's bringing support
8:02
to some poor believers that are there.
8:04
So let's read it in Romans 15,
8:06
verses 25 through 29.
8:09
So he's explaining why he can't come
8:11
and visit them right then.
8:12
So verse 25 says,
8:14
At present, however,
8:15
I am going to Jerusalem,
8:16
bringing aid to the saints.
8:18
For Macedonia and Achaia
8:19
have been pleased to make some contribution
8:21
for the poor among the saints of Jerusalem.
8:23
For they were pleased to do it,
8:25
and indeed they owe it to them.
8:26
For if the Gentiles have come
8:27
to share in their spiritual blessings,
8:29
they ought also to be of service to them
8:31
in material blessings.
8:32
When therefore I have completed this
8:34
and have delivered to them
8:35
what has been collected,
8:36
I will leave for Spain by way of you.
8:38
I know that when I come to you,
8:41
I will come in the fullness
8:42
of the blessing of Christ.
8:44
Okay.
8:44
So Paul could have used his time
8:46
he had here on this earth
8:47
in ministry in any way,
8:49
but he chooses to make a trip to Jerusalem
8:52
because he wanted to help
8:53
the poor brothers that were there.
8:55
He cared a lot about their physical needs.
8:58
He cared that they were doing well.
9:01
So here he's really just explaining
9:04
to the Romans that he needs
9:05
to make this trip to Jerusalem
9:06
before that he comes and visits them.
9:10
And so we can see from that
9:12
that that is what's going on
9:13
in chapter 20,
9:15
is he's trying to get to that trip,
9:17
all these different places
9:18
that are mentioned,
9:19
that's where he's going.
9:20
He's heading toward Jerusalem.
9:22
And because of why he's doing that
9:24
is just because he cares about their needs.
9:26
He wants to see them provided for.
9:28
Another passage that we can
9:30
gain a little bit of insight on this
9:32
is in 1 Corinthians 16.
9:33
So turn there with me
9:35
to 1 Corinthians 16.
9:42
So there's another passage
9:43
talking about the same collection
9:44
that he is making
9:45
for the church in Jerusalem.
9:51
So we'll look at verses 1 through 4 here.
9:56
So it says in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 1,
9:59
Now concerning the collection for the saints,
10:01
as I directed the churches of Galatia,
10:04
so you also are to do.
10:06
On the first day of every week,
10:07
each of you is to put something aside
10:09
and store it up as he may prosper.
10:11
So there will be no collecting when I come.
10:14
And when I arrive,
10:15
I will send those whom you credit
10:16
by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
10:19
If it seems advisable that I should go also,
10:21
they will accompany me.
10:23
Okay, so we can learn a couple more things
10:24
about this collection from this passage.
10:27
The first thing is that he did not want this
10:29
to be spontaneous.
10:31
He wanted all the collecting to happen
10:33
before he gets there.
10:35
He didn't want this to be done
10:36
out of any sense of guilt
10:37
or out of any sense of,
10:40
oh, everyone else is giving to this cause.
10:42
I should too.
10:43
He wanted this to be thought out.
10:44
He wanted this to be planned.
10:47
In a book I've been reading with a few guys,
10:50
it's about musical worship.
10:52
Bob Coughlin makes this statement
10:53
that we like to think spontaneous ramblings
10:55
are more genuine than prepared thoughts,
10:58
but that is hardly ever true.
11:00
So there, Coughlin is talking about
11:02
actually figuring out exactly what we're going to say
11:06
before we're talking to a congregation
11:08
so that we can make sure
11:10
we're drawing people's minds to the right things.
11:13
This is the same concept
11:14
that Paul is talking about in this offering here.
11:18
He doesn't want it to be spontaneous.
11:19
He wants it to be thought through
11:21
of how can we serve these other believers here
11:24
and what would be the right way to do that.
11:27
And so it's not out of any desire
11:29
to just guilt people into doing something
11:32
or out of any sense of like,
11:35
everybody else is doing this,
11:36
so we need to do this.
11:38
It's more he wants people to have the heart
11:40
behind serving other people,
11:43
serving their physical needs here in this case.
11:45
And so this also,
11:48
this passage can also help us see a bit
11:50
of who all these people are back in Acts.
11:52
Verse 4 of chapter 20 back in Acts
11:55
says,
11:56
So these men came with him,
12:09
likely to protect the collection
12:10
that he was trying to get to Jerusalem from robbery,
12:12
and as really a bit of a layer of accountability there
12:16
to show that Paul is not using the money
12:19
for his own good
12:21
or just trying to sneak money away somehow,
12:25
just to prove to the churches
12:26
that he's being faithful to what he has set out to do.
12:30
And so really what we can see in our passage then,
12:34
as he's making this trip to Jerusalem
12:36
because he cares about the church's physical needs there,
12:39
he's using his time really well.
12:40
And so that brings us to our next point.
12:43
Paul demonstrates his love for the church
12:45
and his concern for their spiritual needs.
12:50
So Paul demonstrates his love for the church
12:52
and his concern for their spiritual needs.
12:59
So the first thing I want to note
13:01
is all the different times in verses 1 through 6
13:04
that we see that he encouraged different groups.
13:06
So first off, if you look in verse 1,
13:09
after the uproar in Ephesus had ceased,
13:11
he encouraged those believers that were there.
13:14
If you look in verse 2,
13:15
as he went through Macedonia,
13:17
it says that he had given them much encouragement.
13:20
Then note that he spent three months in Greece,
13:23
and he must have been faithful to preaching the gospel there
13:25
because he ended up with another plot against him by the Jews,
13:28
and he decided to go and continue to build up the churches
13:32
in Macedonia and Berea, Thessalonica, and Philippi.
13:36
Then in verse 6,
13:38
we see that they get to a place called Troas
13:41
where they stayed for a week.
13:43
And in verses 7 through 12,
13:44
we get a very detailed account
13:46
of what that looked like there.
13:49
Before we get into that account,
13:50
I think it would be helpful
13:54
to see a little bit of Paul's heart
13:56
in building up the church spiritually
13:58
because here we see that it's told
14:01
that he went and encouraged this group of believers.
14:03
He went and encouraged this group of believers.
14:05
But we don't see any actual spelling out
14:08
of what that looked like.
14:11
But because we have such, such, such a wealth
14:14
of Paul's writings in the New Testament,
14:15
we can see that pretty clearly
14:17
in a lot of other places.
14:18
So I'd like to look at a couple of spots
14:22
where we can see Paul praying
14:23
for believers in different areas.
14:26
So first off, let's turn to Ephesians 1.
14:34
So really what I'm doing with these passages
14:36
is trying to show us some of what Paul's heart is
14:39
in building up the church spiritually there.
14:44
So here in Ephesians 1,
14:45
this is a prayer of Paul's for the local church.
14:48
At Ephesus, the one we just,
14:50
in chapter 19, we'll hear about from Clay,
14:54
where the riot was and all that.
14:57
Okay, so this passage will sound pretty familiar
15:00
to those of you that were at the wedding yesterday.
15:03
So we're going to read verses 15 through 19 here.
15:06
So again, this is one of Paul's prayers
15:09
for the church at Ephesus.
15:11
So it says in verse 15,
15:13
And for this reason,
15:14
because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
15:16
and your love toward all the saints,
15:18
I do not cease to give thanks for you,
15:21
remembering you in my prayers,
15:22
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15:25
the Father of glory,
15:26
may give you the spirit of wisdom
15:28
and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
15:30
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,
15:32
that you may know what is the hope
15:33
to which he has called you,
15:35
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance
15:37
in the saints,
15:38
and what is the immeasurable greatness
15:40
of his power toward us who believe
15:41
according to the working of his great might.
15:44
And we'll stop right there for now.
15:46
Here Paul writes that ever since he heard of their faith,
15:49
ever since he heard that they had put their faith in Christ,
15:53
he's given thanks for them.
15:54
It's the first thing he mentions.
15:56
Next thing is he is just list off
16:00
all these different things that he's praying for them.
16:02
He explodes into a bit of just a big,
16:05
talking about all the things that the Lord has done for them.
16:08
Look at verse 17.
16:10
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
16:12
the Father of glory,
16:14
may give you the spirit of wisdom
16:15
and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
16:18
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,
16:21
that you may know what is the hope
16:23
to which he has called you,
16:24
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance
16:26
in the saints,
16:27
and what is the immeasurable greatness
16:29
of his power towards us who believe
16:31
according to the working of his great might.
16:33
And so he wants these believers at Ephesus
16:36
to really understand what the Lord has done for them.
16:39
He wants them to understand his greatness,
16:41
what he has done for them in the gospel.
16:44
And so this,
16:45
we're really seeing Paul want this church
16:48
to have a big knowledge of the Lord
16:50
and just to be encouraged by that.
16:54
He wants the Lord to grant them
16:55
a spirit of wisdom and understanding
16:57
in that way.
16:58
So there's one spot
17:00
we can see a bit of Paul's heart
17:02
and wanting to build up the church spiritually.
17:05
Let's look at one more spot.
17:07
So turn to Colossians 1.
17:13
This one might even be a bit more detailed
17:15
of what we can see his care for for the church.
17:20
So looking at verses 9 through 14
17:31
here in Colossians 1.
17:33
And so from the day we heard,
17:35
we have not ceased to pray for you,
17:37
asking that you may be filled
17:38
with the knowledge of his will
17:39
and all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
17:42
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
17:45
fully pleasing to him,
17:46
bearing fruit in every good work
17:47
and increasing in the knowledge of God,
17:50
being strengthened with all power
17:52
according to his glorious might,
17:54
for all endurance and patience with joy,
17:57
giving thanks to the Father
17:58
who has qualified you to share
17:59
in the inheritance of the saints in light.
18:02
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
18:04
and transferred us to the kingdom
18:06
of his beloved Son,
18:07
in whom we have redemption,
18:09
the forgiveness of sins.
18:11
So Paul in his prayer here for the Colossians
18:13
is explaining what he wants for them even more.
18:15
He doesn't stop here at being filled
18:19
with the knowledge of the Lord's will
18:20
and all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
18:22
He presses that even further
18:24
so that because of their understanding in the Lord,
18:27
they will walk in a manner worthy of him,
18:29
that they'll bear fruit in every good work.
18:32
Since he heard that they were producing
18:33
that preliminary good fruit
18:35
that was proving that they had faith in the Lord,
18:38
he wants them to do what good trees do,
18:40
produce more and more and more fruit.
18:42
And so that is what Paul is wanting
18:45
for all the churches here.
18:47
He wants to give the Lord glory
18:49
and how that is done
18:50
is through building up the church.
18:52
It's through pouring into them
18:54
and then them being able to pour out to others.
18:57
It's in that bearing good fruit there.
18:59
And so he wants them to see them grow up
19:01
not only in their knowledge,
19:02
but also in their acting out of that
19:04
and that bearing good fruit
19:05
and pressing on further and further.
19:07
And thinking about how that's done.
19:11
In Romans 10, 17,
19:13
we hear that faith comes from hearing
19:15
and hearing through the word of Christ.
19:17
Think about what Paul is doing on these journeys.
19:21
He's heading to Jerusalem,
19:22
taking a very, just a monetary gift
19:24
to the church in Jerusalem.
19:26
But what is he doing all along the way?
19:29
He's preaching the word.
19:30
It's exactly what he's doing.
19:31
He's building them up spiritually.
19:33
And so that's what we see him doing here
19:36
in verses seven through 12.
19:39
We see him being very concerned
19:41
about their spiritual growth.
19:43
And so that is exactly what he's doing
19:44
all along the way.
19:46
We can see his heart in wanting this
19:47
for the churches to grow up
19:49
in their knowledge of the Lord
19:50
and to start acting that out
19:52
and that bearing good fruit.
19:55
Okay, so seeing his heart in that,
19:58
let's talk about this specific example
20:00
in Acts 20.
20:01
So that brings us to our next point.
20:06
Paul demonstrates his love for the church
20:08
in his persistence and tirelessness.
20:13
So Paul demonstrates his love for the church
20:16
in his persistence and tirelessness.
20:21
So with this, we're going to focus on
20:24
verses seven through 12 here in Acts 20.
20:28
So I pray none of you are sinking
20:30
sinking into a deep sleep at this point.
20:32
And I'm very excited
20:34
that no one's sitting in any windowsills.
20:39
So it's been a good while
20:43
since we've read this portion of the text.
20:45
Let's reread it together.
20:46
Verses seven through 12 here in Acts 20.
20:49
So it says,
20:50
On the first day of the week,
20:51
when we were gathered together to break bread,
20:54
Paul talked with them,
20:55
intending to depart on the next day,
20:57
and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
21:00
There were many lamps in the upper room
21:02
where we were gathered,
21:03
and a young man named Eutychus,
21:05
sitting at the window,
21:06
sank into a deep sleep
21:07
as Paul talked still longer.
21:09
And being overcome by sleep,
21:11
he fell down from the third story
21:12
and was taken up dead.
21:13
But Paul went down
21:15
and bent over him
21:16
and taking him in his arms said,
21:18
Do not be alarmed,
21:19
for his life is in him.
21:20
And when Paul had gone up
21:22
and had broken bread and eaten,
21:24
he conversed with them a long while
21:25
until daybreak and so departed.
21:28
And they took the youth away alive
21:29
and were not a little comforted.
21:32
So first off,
21:34
we can see super clearly
21:35
just from this,
21:36
he had so much persistence
21:38
with this group of believers.
21:39
believers.
21:39
We see so many times
21:41
that he is talking till midnight,
21:43
he ends up continuing his conversation
21:46
all the way till daybreak eventually.
21:48
And note here
21:49
that he was planning on
21:50
heading out the next day.
21:51
He wanted to get to Jerusalem.
21:52
He was trying to make it there
21:54
by the day of Pentecost.
21:55
So it wasn't like he had
21:57
all kinds of time.
21:58
He was trying to be on a journey there.
22:00
But Paul loves the Lord,
22:03
and because of that,
22:03
he loves the Lord's people.
22:05
And so he did not just keep going
22:08
and keep pressing on,
22:10
hurrying on this journey.
22:11
He was so available to them
22:13
and so persistent with them
22:15
and just tireless in his efforts here.
22:19
And so since he loves these people,
22:21
he wants them to be built up in the Lord.
22:23
And that is what we can see him doing.
22:25
And so he preaches and he preaches
22:26
and he preaches all the way until midnight.
22:28
And then he keeps preaching
22:29
and preaching and preaching.
22:31
The text almost seems to make
22:33
a bit of fun of him here.
22:35
So as Luke's writing,
22:36
he's like, yeah, Paul prolonged his speech
22:38
until midnight.
22:40
And talks about the young man
22:41
drifting into a deep sleep
22:42
as Paul talked still longer.
22:45
To me, it sounds a bit like
22:47
the old Thursday night Bible studies
22:48
for those of us that remember that
22:51
of still talking and it's 1130.
22:54
I don't know.
22:55
So in that context,
22:57
we see this poor guy.
22:58
He's late at night.
23:00
It's really stuffy in this room.
23:01
All these lamps probably made it really warm.
23:04
And he's trying to get fresh air
23:06
sitting in this window sill,
23:07
trying to do his best to stay awake.
23:10
But he couldn't do it.
23:11
And so that being said,
23:13
he fell asleep.
23:14
He's probably like this
23:15
and just falls asleep,
23:17
falls out the window.
23:19
And how terrible that had to be,
23:20
how much of an embarrassment
23:21
that had to be
23:22
with this probably great preaching here.
23:25
And he falls asleep
23:25
and falls out the window.
23:27
In verse nine there,
23:29
it says he was taken up dead.
23:31
If you study that word,
23:32
that literally means that he was dead.
23:34
It does not mean that he was just injured
23:36
or knocked out or something.
23:37
It means he was dead.
23:40
So, and another thing
23:41
that we can remember about this
23:43
is Luke wrote this.
23:44
Luke was a physician.
23:45
He was very, very, very qualified
23:47
to determine whether he was actually dead or not.
23:49
He was dead.
23:51
And so Paul went down
23:53
and he took him up in his arms
23:54
and he was alive again.
23:55
The Lord raised him from the dead.
23:57
This is definitely a miracle.
23:58
I believe it would be appropriate here
24:00
to talk about
24:01
why we see miracles like this
24:03
and what is going on
24:05
in scripture.
24:07
And we've talked about that a lot,
24:08
especially when going through Mark,
24:10
just to restate a few things
24:12
that we talked about back then.
24:14
They're never meant
24:15
to draw glory to themselves,
24:16
but they're meant
24:17
to push glory to the Lord.
24:19
John MacArthur often says
24:21
that the purpose of miracles
24:22
is always to increase faith.
24:24
That's exactly what happened here.
24:27
Notice in verses 11 and 12,
24:29
they go up and eat
24:30
and conversed all the way
24:31
until daybreak
24:32
and were not a little comforted.
24:35
So the miracle that the Lord did here
24:37
gave validation
24:38
to the apostle Paul's authority
24:39
and comforted all those
24:41
that were there.
24:43
And so we see it bringing glory
24:45
to the Lord in this case.
24:47
It validated the gospel.
24:48
It showed that Paul had the authority
24:50
there to be speaking these things.
24:53
I'm sure he had their full attention
24:54
after something like that happened.
24:57
Um, so when they go back in,
24:59
they continued to converse
25:00
and, um, were comforted
25:02
all the way till the next morning.
25:05
So remember that Paul
25:07
was wanting to leave,
25:08
keep going on his journey
25:09
to Jerusalem this next day.
25:13
And so he did.
25:14
So the next morning,
25:15
um, he wanted to keep
25:17
going on his journey
25:18
to serve the physical needs
25:19
of the Jerusalem church.
25:20
He didn't tarry much longer.
25:22
He just goes and starts up
25:23
on his journey.
25:23
Um, let's look at verses
25:25
13 through 16 with that.
25:29
So in verse 13 says,
25:31
but going ahead to the ship,
25:32
we set sail for Assos
25:33
intending to take Paul
25:35
aboard there.
25:36
So he had arranged
25:37
intending himself
25:37
to go by land.
25:38
And when he met us at Assos,
25:41
we took him on board
25:42
and went to Middeline.
25:43
And sailing from there,
25:44
we came the following day
25:45
opposite Chios.
25:46
The next day,
25:47
we touched at Samos.
25:48
And the day after that,
25:49
we went to Miletus.
25:51
For Paul had decided
25:52
to sail past Ephesus
25:53
so that he might not
25:54
have to spend time in Asia.
25:55
For he was hastening
25:56
to be at Jerusalem,
25:57
if possible,
25:58
on the day of Pentecost.
26:00
So, Paul on his way
26:03
to Jerusalem,
26:04
still seeing that
26:05
this whole time,
26:05
he's really been
26:06
on his way to Jerusalem,
26:08
but stopping so often
26:09
and encouraging the church
26:11
while he's there.
26:13
And that is really
26:14
the biggest thing
26:16
that this passage
26:17
really showed me
26:18
in this crazy story
26:20
and in all this geography
26:22
and all these people mentioned.
26:24
Paul is so persistent
26:26
and he is so tireless
26:28
in his efforts
26:28
to as he's making this journey
26:30
with the intention
26:31
of getting to Jerusalem
26:32
and not wasting
26:33
a whole lot of time
26:34
of getting there,
26:34
he wants to see
26:36
the church built up.
26:37
He cares about God's people
26:38
and so he wants to stop
26:40
every chance he gets
26:42
and preach.
26:43
He wants to encourage
26:44
all those along the way.
26:47
And in Paul's second letter
26:49
to the Corinthians,
26:51
he makes a statement
26:51
that I will most gladly
26:52
spend and be spent
26:54
for your souls.
26:56
Makes a statement
26:57
that he's going to go
26:59
with everything he's got
27:01
for the benefit
27:02
of the church.
27:03
That should be true
27:04
of us.
27:05
That should be true
27:06
of all of our interactions
27:07
to serve the physical needs
27:09
and even more so
27:10
the spiritual needs
27:10
of the church around us.
27:12
We should want,
27:13
because they're our family,
27:14
because the Lord
27:15
has made us
27:16
all his people,
27:18
we should want
27:18
to serve each other.
27:20
This passage
27:21
really reminded me
27:22
of Jesus' words
27:23
in Matthew 20,
27:25
verses 27 and 28.
27:27
Here Paul is spending
27:44
his life for the benefit
27:45
of the church.
27:46
Just as Christ spent
27:48
his life for the benefit
27:49
of the church,
27:50
just in different ways,
27:51
the Lord gave his life
27:53
up in taking the sin
27:54
that we have committed
27:56
and dying the death
27:58
for that there on the cross
27:59
so that for those of us
28:00
that put faith in him,
28:02
we can be free
28:03
from that sin,
28:04
we can have a right
28:05
standing with God.
28:07
Paul gave up his life
28:08
to build up the church.
28:09
He gave up his life
28:10
fully in everything he did.
28:12
He was going on a mission
28:14
to Jerusalem,
28:15
but he was stopping
28:16
and preaching the gospel
28:17
everywhere he went.
28:18
And so in that same way,
28:21
that is the same model
28:23
that we should be following.
28:24
We should not be seeking
28:25
to be served
28:26
by those around us,
28:27
but to serve,
28:27
to give up our lives
28:29
just as the Lord
28:31
has given up his,
28:33
to seek the interest
28:34
of those around us
28:35
and not our own.
28:39
And so I think
28:40
it would be fitting
28:41
also just to remember
28:43
what Paul,
28:45
what his motivation is here.
28:47
And that's what the Lord
28:48
has done for him.
28:50
That's it.
28:50
He knew that he was a sinner
28:52
and had committed sin
28:53
against an all-righteous
28:55
and all-holy God
28:56
that he could never pay
28:58
a debt back to.
29:00
And he knows,
29:01
just as he wrote
29:02
in Romans 3,
29:04
that God has been
29:05
a planning God
29:05
and he planned to be just
29:07
and also to be the justifier
29:09
of those that believe in him.
29:12
And how great that is
29:13
that the Lord
29:14
has not compromised
29:15
his attributes
29:16
of his justice
29:18
and his holiness,
29:19
but he has made a way
29:20
for us to be reconciled
29:22
to him.
29:24
And that is not
29:25
done without
29:27
a huge price.
29:29
That is not done
29:29
without, in fact,
29:31
without an infinite price
29:32
being paid
29:33
by Christ.
29:35
And so just as Christ
29:36
gave up his life
29:37
in that way
29:38
as a ransom
29:39
for many,
29:40
for us,
29:41
that's how we're welcomed
29:42
in to this family,
29:44
we should do the same.
29:45
We should follow
29:46
in that example
29:47
and that the example
29:48
that Paul gave us
29:49
in his tirelessness,
29:50
his persistence
29:51
with the church
29:52
for their physical needs
29:54
and also for their
29:55
spiritual needs.
29:55
We should do the same.
29:56
We should follow
29:57
in that.
29:59
To be typical,
30:01
I'll end with
30:02
a Spurgeon quote.
30:02
It says,
30:06
Not for yourself,
30:07
O church,
30:08
do you exist
30:09
any more
30:10
than Christ existed
30:11
for himself.
30:13
Let that be true
30:14
of us this morning.
30:15
Let's pray.