Paul's Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
Verse by Verse Study of the Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted
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HOOK
HOOK
DO NOT FORGET TO UNMUTE
It’s the 14th day of January— THURSDAY
Yesterday right here at “The Message” we saw another miracle of God through Paul— and this time it happened in Troas where Paul and his travelling companion stayed for seven days before they went back to Jerusalem— during their last night at Troas, Paul kept talking until midnight— among them was a young man named Eutychus who fell asleep by the window while listening to Paul— he sunk into deep sleep and fell through the window and on to the ground which was 3 story high— Eutychus died— Paul hurried down and put his arms around the young man— miraculously, he came back to life— from this we learned something funny— funny it may be but it is still a lesson to be learned:
DO NOT SLEEP DURING SERMON
Today as we continue with our verse by verse study of the book of Acts, we will continue with chapter 20— we will pick it up from where we left off yesterday— it is when Paul said his goodbyes to the Ephesian elders that he summoned to meet him in Miletus— Let’s see what we can learn from the words of Paul to the Ephesian elders— open your Bible to Acts 20:13-24— this section is quite long so we shall split it into two, and we will take up the other half next time
When studying the Bible, look for words that defines the CHARACTER of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit— keep an eye on COMMANDS to obey— good EXAMPLES to follow, and bad examples to avoid— PROMISES that you could claim— sins to CONFESS— CHALLENGES you encountered— and ENCOURAGEMENT to keep you going
READ ACTS 20:13-24
BOOK
BOOK
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. 17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. 22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
WHAT: Paul said his goodbyes to the Ephesian Elders while in Miletus
WHERE: From Troas they sailed to Assos, then to Mitylene, to Chios, to Samos, and then to Miletus where the Ephesian elders met with Paul
WHEN: Third Missionary journey [52-57 AD]
WHO: Paul, Luke, Disciples, Sopater [son of Phrrhus from Berea], Aristarchus and Secundus [from Thessalonica], Gaius [from Derbe], Timothy, Tychicus and Trophimus
WHY: Because Paul is not expecting that he will still be able to come back to Ephesus— he charged the Ephesian elders— he encouraged them
LOOK
LOOK
YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE NOT HESITATED TO PREACH ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO YOU
The proclamation of the gospel was central to Paul’s calling as an apostle to the non-Jewish people— 1 Corinthians 9:16
HAVE TAUGHT YOU PUBLICLY AND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE
Paul reasoned publicly in the synagogues— and also from house to house— here you see that indeed, Christianity— the church of our Lord Jesus Christ started in homes
THE HOLY SPIRIT WARNS ME
One of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christians is to warn us— to guide us— Acts 16:6
MY ONLY AIM IS TO FINISH THE RACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK THE LORD JESUS HAS GIVEN ME
“Finish the race” is just a metaphor or expression that Paul loves to use— when he gave his final charged to Timothy he also said it this way— 2 Timothy 4:7
That is what should matter to us— to complete that task that the Lord Jesus has given to each of us— we must focus in doing what God has called us to do—
We must not hesitate to preach anything that would be helpful— we shall do it publicly and from house to house— the Holy Spirit will guide and warn us of what’s ahead— and we should focus in completing what God has called us to do
Let me put today’s biblical lessons into sentences that we will easily remember— encouragements that will guide our living
TOOK
TOOK
I MUST NOT HESITATE TO PREACH PUBLICLY AND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE
THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL GUIDE ME TOWARDS THE COMPLETION OF MY GOD GIVEN TASKS
SING
SING
Agape Worship Team— The Blessing