John 10:28-30; Acts 20:18-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:5-9

Summary: In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul leaves the city of Ephesus for the last time. In his farewell to the elders of the church, he summarized his work both as a fellow elder and fellow servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Acts 20, Paul was about to leave Ephesus and the church he helped to plant. For over three years, he and his fellow elders in the faith worked together to proclaim the message of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. He also spent considerable time teaching the Word of God and sound doctrine (Matthew 7:28-29; 1 Timothy 4:6; Titus 1:2, 2:1) to the members of the church. The time had come when he was preparing to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Pentecost (Acts 20:16). He also knew that troubles would follow him as he continued to preach the Gospel. He knew that further suffering for the sake of Christ was promised, and it was something he accepted as part of the calling that the Lord Jesus had placed upon him years ago (Acts 9:1-6, 15-16).

Acts 20:17-32 describes the last time that Paul would meet with the elders of the Ephesian church before he left for Jerusalem. He reminded them of the work he had done for the Lord Jesus Christ and warned them that they would face “savage wolves” who would do their best to tear apart the church and spread false teachings about Jesus and the Word in order to destroy its influence and render it ineffective in its mission.

In verses 18-21, Paul testifies about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was everything to him, and he was devoted to Him. This devotion and love for Jesus is the major foundation for any minister of God. Paul faithfully preached the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and sound doctrine. He taught all the Word, both easy and hard, holding nothing back. He never diverted from the message of salvation through Christ alone (Acts 20:18-21; John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

Paul was totally open to the direction of God (20:22-24). He did not let opinions, feelings, or personal preferences get in the way of doing the will of his LORD. He faced hardships for the sake of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), ending up in a dank Roman prison at the end of his life (2 Timothy 4:6-8). In none of his letters nor demeanor did he ever get over the fact that he had been called by the Lord Jesus to preach the Word and spread the message of Christ to the expansive, pagan Roman Empire. Even though he had been a persecutor of the church, Jesus saw fit to use him to build and strengthen His church (1 Timothy 1:12-17). He never lost his sense of wonder and thanksgiving.

This should be our attitude in serving the LORD. We are sinners, unable to redeem ourselves (Isaiah 53:4-6, 64:6; Romans 3:23). He graciously rescued us from the penalty of sin, death, and hell by taking our sins upon Himself upon the cross, redeeming us from the eternal condemnation we so richly deserve (Romans 5:6-11). How could we not be grateful and thankful for this act of love, grace, and mercy? Let us never forget the fact that we are great sinners, but Christ is a great Savior.

Paul was led by the Holy Spirit and trusted God to direct his path, graciously obeying the directions of the Good Shepherd without hesitancy or question. He submitted to what the LORD required of him, ready to accept what came his way, including persecution and hardship.

A good pastor will have the same attitude: to remain open to the direction of the LORD wherever it may lead. In this age of self-centeredness and “being number one,” the idea that we need to trust the leadership and commands of Christ goes against the grain of the world system and its emphasis on the satisfaction of flesh, fantasy, and the pursuit of pleasure. The world should NEVER be the model by which we live our lives or conduct ourselves as children of the King. Too many churches have bought into the lie that we need to “get along with everyone” and adapt to the times. Nonsense. A good pastor will heed the words of Scripture and not allow himself nor his people to be friends with a world system that is rotten to the core and end up in ashes at the end of history (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 Peter 3:10).

Paul was also committed to the teaching of the Bible and sound doctrine and teaching the people to be on guard constantly for the spiritual wolves that would come with their mission of destroying the flock with false doctrines and false teachings (20:28-32).

An effective and faithful pastor will teach his people the Word of God and share it with those who are lost and without direction, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:35-38). A good pastor will also teach the people what to do when someone comes into the fellowship preaching those things that are in contrast with the Word and will take the necessary course of action to stop it, and if possible, correct that person and divert him from the certain path of spiritual destruction.

The pastoral teaching and example set by Paul was followed by Timothy, and Ephesus remained a strong church up to the end of the first century AD.

Scripture alone gives us the foundation for pastoral ministry and care. The Lord Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of His church (John 10; 1 Peter 5:2-4). He set before us the perfect example of what it means to be a good pastor and leader of a flock. Paul followed in His steps as did the other apostles and others throughout history who heard the call of the LORD and took upon themselves the duty and privilege of being Christ’s under-shepherds in both good and bad times and who, like the heroes of the faith described in Hebrews 11, were such of whom the world was not worthy.

Jesus is coming back soon, and we who have been called to be leaders in the church need to be faithful to Him, to His Word, and to the welfare of the people whom He has entrusted to us in order to guide them to the green pastures and still waters He promises to all who come to Him for guidance, love, and comfort. Amen.

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John 14:6; “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Then Acts 4:12, “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine)

The above two verses explain what the entire Bible is about. For anyone who believes that Jesus only came for one specific group of people – the Jews – John 10:16 clarifies that. “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.” The Old Testament speaks of a coming Messiah, and the New Testament tells of His arrival, death, burial and resurrection, and the future of our whole civilization. Some will rejoice, some will not, but Jesus came for all who would call out to receive and accept Him.

Our Heavenly Father is not a God who forces His will on anyone. He allows us the freedom of choice, and for all who have His Son in their hearts, He will make sure they are added to the precious flock of saved souls. Even before Jesus came as a human on this earth, there were those who had a special relationship with the Father.

King David had one of those special relationships all his life with God, and even after he committed sin, he relied on the Father to forgive Him. He knew he would receive discipline, just as any parent would do, as given in Hebrews 12:4; “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” Then verse 11, “For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” This refers to loving discipline, not physical and mental abuse, and the reference to “sons” also includes daughters.

Consider Psalm 51:10-12; “Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right Spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation, and uphold me with a willing Spirit.” David had faith that God is merciful and would forgive him when he was willing to confess he had done wrong.

This Spirit is part of the Holy Trinity and is referred to as the Holy Ghost as well as the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16-17, Jesus told his disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

All our Savior asks is that we make room in our hearts for Him. Please know, He does not want us to believe we can earn or buy our way into Heaven. Ephesians 2:8-9 sums this up very well; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”

No matter what we could ever do, no matter what sacrifice we could ever make, just know nothing on our part could ever satisfy the Father’s requirement for perfection. Hebrews 10:4 states, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The follow-up verse to this is Hebrews 10:12; “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” Then verse 14, “For by a single offering, He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

For those who try to say that Jesus was just a good prophet and never claimed to be God, we have John 10:30; “I and the Father are One.” Also, He had no illusions about how many would follow Him. Jesus was the only “human” who would ever live a sinless life. Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide, and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Then 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the way of the cross is folly to those who are perishing; but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” This is aligned with 2 Peter 3:3; “knowing this first of all that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.”

Our purpose in life is to follow the ABCs of Romans 10:9-13. Admit we’re all sinners in need of a Savior. Believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God, who was the perfect sacrifice for our sins and was raised from the dead to conquer sin and death for all who would Call on Him to be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13).

This sounds too simple for many, and they believe it is just too good to be true. For all who truly make room for Jesus to be their Savior, an eternal life in Paradise with Him is waiting. We will have eternal, immortal bodies and a mindset such as He has that will not be subject to temptation and sin.

In Isaiah 41:10, the Father promises us, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Please note, when God says, “I Will,” He has made a covenant He will not break. He cannot lie, as given in Titus 1:2, Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, and Hebrews 6:18. When the Father repeats anything in His love letter to us – the Bible – it’s definitely worth taking note of.

For all who will not make room for Jesus, we have John 3:18, 1 John 2:22-25, 1 John 4:15, and 1 John 5:12. All tell us that whoever has the Son has the Father; and anyone that does not have the Son does not have the Father either.

For those who take their last breath on earth without Jesus as their Savior, the outcome is the Great White Throne of Revelation 20:11-15. There is no mercy, no pardons, no suspended sentences there. It’s the lake of fire for all eternity.

We do not know exactly when the Rapture will take place to remove all true believers to keep us from the Wrath/Tribulation, but all the signs today say we’re getting very close. With each passing day, we can see the end of this age rapidly approaching. In Luke 21:28, we’re told that when all the signs “begin” to happen, we’re close to our Savior’s redemption. The signs started a while back, a decade or so ago, and what we’re witnessing today is beyond anything we’ve known so far.

Right now would be a very good time to call out to Jesus. The thief on the cross did that just before he died, and Jesus promised that he would be in Paradise that day with the Savior. To put it off could be the biggest mistake ever, as we’re not promised to live another day here. Make room in your heart for the Savior. It’s something you will definitely be grateful for forever.

Come, Lord Jesus! (Maranatha!)

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