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December 5 - Acts 20 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, it's the 5th of
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  December and good on you. But tapping on play and inviting
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  me into your day so that we can continue to read a chapter of
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  God's word together. And this morning, this
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  afternoon, this evening, wherever you are is no different
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  because we continue in this story.
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  And this is of course the story of God's church growing from
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  those 12 apostles to be this incredible movement that goes
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  across continents and spans the whole world eventually.
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  But here we see this church growing and growing and one
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  thing that we haven't yet heard, and in fact, today we will hear
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  the only story captured of Paul or an apostle praying and
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  speaking with a group of church elders, church leaders.
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  So that's quite significant as we hear this apostle sharing his
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  heart and instruction with this group of ministers, this group
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  of pastors who will go on to lead God's church.
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  So you ready to hear that? Yeah, me too.
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  Let's do it. Let's read together.
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  Act chapter 20. When the uproar was over, Paul
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  sent for the believers and encouraged them.
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  Then he said goodbye and left Macedonia.
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  While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he
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  passed through. Then he travelled down to
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  Greece, where he stayed for three months.
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  He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot
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  by some Jews against his life. So he decided to return through
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  Macedonia. Several men were travelling with
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  him. They were so parter, son of
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  Pirus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica,
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  Gaius from Derby, Timothy, Anticucus and Trophemus from the
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  province of Asia. They went on ahead and waited
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  for us at Troas. After the Passover ended, we
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  boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later
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  joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.
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  On the first day of the week we gathered with the local
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  believers to share the Lord's Supper.
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  Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next
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  day, he kept talking until midnight.
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  The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering
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  lamps. As Paul spoke on and on, a young
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  man named Euticus, sitting on the window sill, became very
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  drowsy. Finally he fell sound asleep and
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  dropped three stories to his death below.
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  Paul went down, bent over him and took him into his arms.
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  Don't worry, he said. He's alive.
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  Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord's
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  Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them
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  until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was
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  taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.
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  Paul went by the land to Asos, where he had arranged for us to
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  join him while we travelled by ship.
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  He joined us there and we sailed together to Mittaline.
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  The next day we sailed past the island of Chios.
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  The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day
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  later we arrived at Miletus. Paul had decided to sail on past
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  Ephesus, for he didn't want to spend any more time in the
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  province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to
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  Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the festival of Pentecost.
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  But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders
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  of the church at Ephesus asking them to come and meet him.
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  When they arrived, he declared, You know that from the day I set
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  foot in the province of Asia until now, I have done the
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  Lord's work humbly and with many tears.
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  I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the
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  Jews. I never shrank back from telling
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  you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your
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  homes. I have had one message for Jews
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  and Gentiles alike, the necessity of repenting from sin
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  and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
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  And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem.
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  I don't know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit
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  tells me in city after city that gaol and suffering lie ahead.
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  But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing
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  the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus, the work of telling
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  others the good news about the wonderful grace of God.
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  And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the
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  Kingdom will ever see me again. I declare today that I have been
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  faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death,
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  it's not my fault, for I didn't shrink from declaring all that
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  God wants you to know. So guard yourselves and God's
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  people, feed and shepherd God's flock His church purchased with
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  His own blood, over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as
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  leaders. I know that false teachers like
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  vicious wolves will come in among you after I leave, not
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  sparing the flock. Even some men from your own
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  group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a
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  following. Watch out.
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  Remember the three years I was with you, my constant watch and
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  care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.
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  And now I entrust you to God for the message of His grace that it
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  is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all
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  those He has set apart for Himself.
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  I have never coveted anyone's silver or gold or fine clothes.
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  You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my
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  own needs and even the needs of those who were with me, and I
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  have been a constant example of how you can help those in need
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  by working hard. You should remember the words of
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  the Lord Jesus. It is more blessed to give than
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  to receive. When He had finished speaking,
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  he knelt and prayed with them. They all cried as they embraced
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  and kissed Him goodbye. They were sad most of all
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  because He had said that they would never see him again.
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  Then they escorted him down to the ship.
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  My Lord, as we hear this impassioned communication
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  between Paul and these church leaders whom he loves, we see so
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  clearly that this life of ministry in Your name is not one
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  that we do with only one part of ourselves, with our thoughts or
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  with our actions, or with our intelligence, with our heart.
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  No, Lord, this is all of us. Lord, just draw us into Your
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  Kingdom's priorities so that as we live our Christian lives, we
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  would do so wholeheartedly with every part of us.
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  That we would dive deeply into community to share Your love.
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  That we would give our all in our relationships as we shine
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  Your love and Your example in our lives to those around us.
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  Lord, You gave Your all for us, and I pray by Your Spirit that
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  You would enable and inspire us to give our all in our service
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  of You and Your Kingdom. Thank You that You don't ask us
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  to do anything that You have not already done, and that as we do
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  this, we do this in the sure embrace of your love and your
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  forgiveness and our eternal home with you in your family.
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  We thank you so much for inspiring us and saving us, and
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  we pray all of this in your name, Jesus, Amen.