August 23, 2023 | Be On Mission
Paul's Message to the Ephesian Leaders
Scripture: Acts 20:17-38(NIV)
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.
25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Devotional
Even though Paul didn’t want to go back to Ephesus, he sent for the elders of the church in that city to travel 45 miles to be with him in Miletus. Paul told them that this was the last time they would ever see him.
They would have to lead the Christian movement in pagan Ephesus without him. About seven years later, Paul would send Timothy to give leadership to the Ephesian church. Maybe five years after that, the Apostle John would arrive, making Ephesus his new home. But for now, the elders were on their own. Knowing that, Paul gave them advice. How would each of these instructions have been important to them? How can you apply them to your own life in your culture?
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” (v. 28a)
“Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (v. 28b)
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.” (v. 29)
“Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” (v. 30)
“So be on your guard!” (v. 31)
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (V. 32)
Read verses 36-38 again, and imagine you had been there. What would you have thought if you had been one of the Ephesian elders? How about if you had been one of Paul’s traveling companions? How about one of the sailors? What about if you had been Paul himself?
Poem
Captive Of The Holy Spirit
It’s true what Jesus said to us
We—none of us—are free
A master will enslave us thus
The question—Who will be?
The brutal master of the world?
Will we serve mammon, sin?
Or will the Spirit capture us?
Will we live by the Wind?
One tells us lies, a stronghold choke
The pathway to destruction
One speaks the Truth, and freedom comes
Life giving grace instruction
One sets a crooked pathway dark
With thorny ways, pained labor
One guides us in the Way of life
Armed with the Scripture’s sword
With each, true danger we will face
Our future’s not our own
But with the Spirit as our Lord
He guarantees our home
To this life we will say goodbye
And as we journey onward
We’ll cross the Jordan, Michael—guide
Toward hell’s fires or be homeward
