Daily Bread Acts 20
Daily Bread Acts 20
22"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel 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. 26Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28Keep 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. 29I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
Observation:
As Paul prepares to go back to Jerusalem (the mother church), he makes many stops at the churches he has previously spent time at. Since he was now pretty much a marked man, he had to change travel plans frequently to prevent those who were after him to prematurely end his ministry. Once he goes by land to avoid the Jews on the ship headed for the Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival. Another time he sails against the winds even though it will take him a few days longer to get to where he wants to go.
The passage above is his farewell to the leaders of the church of Ephesus. He realizes that he will probably not see them again so his message is heartfelt. The main point of the message is for the elders to be good shepherds over the flock that God had given charge over (accountability for). Paul realized that after he left many would come and try to distort the teaching that he had entrusted to them. This was the gospel of grace that brought them salvation through Jesus Christ. As overseers of the church this was their primary mission to guard the deposit of faith the Holy Spirit had entrusted to the believers there.
Paul takes the time to encourage these overseers (literally bishops) to be faithful and guard the members of the church with their very lives.
Application:
We see in this passage, Paul’s pastoral heart. Paul didn’t just convert people and then leave them on their own. He made sure they were discipled with sound teaching. He spends his last time with them teaching them into the wee hours of the night. In fact, one of the young lads fell asleep and fell to his death three stories below. But Paul literally jumped on him and brought him back to life (Reminiscent of Elijah in the OT who did the same thing.)
Encouragement is a critical gift that is badly needed in the church. To encourage means to come along side and offer comfort, help and even at times exhortation (challenge). The primary time that happens is on Sunday morning as we are encouraged/exhorted by the Word of God (sermon) and also in the Sacrament (breaking of bread, Lord’s Supper). Notice this practice started early in the church. But we also see the encouragement happened as well after the formal service. Ie. Sometimes those meetings in the parking lot are where the true encouragement happens.
I pray that you are encouraged today and that you have people in your life that speak truth into your life and challenge and comfort you at the appropriate times! If not find someone. God will lead you to the right person(s).
Prayer: God thank you for giving us such a gift in the apostle Paul who encourages us so with his testimony of how he ran the race and finished it. May we be as faithful with those you have given us to oversee, even if this primary place is in our own household. Protect us from the evil one who would sow strife, division and envy instead of unity and mutual consolation in the community of faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
22"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel 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. 26Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28Keep 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. 29I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
Observation:
As Paul prepares to go back to Jerusalem (the mother church), he makes many stops at the churches he has previously spent time at. Since he was now pretty much a marked man, he had to change travel plans frequently to prevent those who were after him to prematurely end his ministry. Once he goes by land to avoid the Jews on the ship headed for the Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival. Another time he sails against the winds even though it will take him a few days longer to get to where he wants to go.
The passage above is his farewell to the leaders of the church of Ephesus. He realizes that he will probably not see them again so his message is heartfelt. The main point of the message is for the elders to be good shepherds over the flock that God had given charge over (accountability for). Paul realized that after he left many would come and try to distort the teaching that he had entrusted to them. This was the gospel of grace that brought them salvation through Jesus Christ. As overseers of the church this was their primary mission to guard the deposit of faith the Holy Spirit had entrusted to the believers there.
Paul takes the time to encourage these overseers (literally bishops) to be faithful and guard the members of the church with their very lives.
Application:
We see in this passage, Paul’s pastoral heart. Paul didn’t just convert people and then leave them on their own. He made sure they were discipled with sound teaching. He spends his last time with them teaching them into the wee hours of the night. In fact, one of the young lads fell asleep and fell to his death three stories below. But Paul literally jumped on him and brought him back to life (Reminiscent of Elijah in the OT who did the same thing.)
Encouragement is a critical gift that is badly needed in the church. To encourage means to come along side and offer comfort, help and even at times exhortation (challenge). The primary time that happens is on Sunday morning as we are encouraged/exhorted by the Word of God (sermon) and also in the Sacrament (breaking of bread, Lord’s Supper). Notice this practice started early in the church. But we also see the encouragement happened as well after the formal service. Ie. Sometimes those meetings in the parking lot are where the true encouragement happens.
I pray that you are encouraged today and that you have people in your life that speak truth into your life and challenge and comfort you at the appropriate times! If not find someone. God will lead you to the right person(s).
Prayer: God thank you for giving us such a gift in the apostle Paul who encourages us so with his testimony of how he ran the race and finished it. May we be as faithful with those you have given us to oversee, even if this primary place is in our own household. Protect us from the evil one who would sow strife, division and envy instead of unity and mutual consolation in the community of faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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