Book of Acts - Ch. 20, Vs. 1-38 (06/08/2003)

Acts chapter 20. A side note, did you realize, or do you realize, that Russia, and the

United States for that matter, we had a friend visit us today, and he's retired from the

Iron Workers Union. He spent quite a bit of time in Yemen, or whatever it is, and he said while he was there he got friendly with some embassy,

I don't know the particulars of it, but the man asked him, would you like to see what your wife is doing?

He said, what do you mean? He said, right now. So they went into lots of machinery, but there was a

TV screen, and he wanted to know what was

Chuck's address, and after manipulating the dials he pulled it up on the screen, and he could see everything.

And pretty soon his wife came out, got in the van, went to the store, came back, went in the house, in real time.

Now think about that. Chuck lived in Minnesota at a certain address, and they pulled it up on a screen half a world away, and watched him.

That just blew my mind, because of all of the satellites, they're able to do that.

So don't ever think that you're not being watched, because if they want to, they can.

He said he could read the numbers on the license plate. Well, that's wonderful, and scary.

Chapter 20. And after the uproar was ceased,

Paul called unto him the disciples, embraced them, departed to go to Macedonia.

Now, Fred, we're to trust in God, but it does not come before prudence on our part.

To expect God's protection while we do nothing is not to honor but to tempt

God. Enthusiasm produces sincerity, and trust accomplishes no victories without it.

After the uproar was ceased, evidently, you remember we've just listened to Demetrius, he induced

Paul to leave Ephesus apparently sooner than he had intended to, because he had written to the

Corinthians that he was going to leave after Pentecost. But it's very probable that he left earlier.

Two, that when he had gone over the parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece, and there abode three months.

And when the Jews laid wait for him as he was about to sail into Syria, he proposed to return through Macedonia.

We overlook Paul, we think he is set apart, he's something special, bad things don't happen to him.

He was just like us, only more so, because he was teaching

Christ more than we do, he was persecuted more than we are.

A corrupt zeal is a guide and instructor to murderers, and we're instructed by the wisdom of God to prevent the work of wicked men wherever we can.

It's part of our training. And there accompanied him into Asia, Sopata of Berea, and the

Thessalonians, Arcticus, Secundus, Gaius, of Debre, and Timotheus of Asia, and Tychus of Trophineus.

Now, five, there's a shift. These going before, tarried for us at Trohas.

What do you see in that verse that you have not seen up to here? Anybody?

That's right. You see the word us?

You haven't seen the plural pronoun before. Six, and we sailed away from Philippi after the day of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Trohas in five days, where we abode seven days.

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread,

Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech until midnight.

Now, first of all, what day of the week was it?

Dennis? Joy? Sunday.

Take note of that. It was Sunday, which tells us that they were accustomed to meeting on the first day of the week,

Sunday. Well, Paul's in a big way of preaching.

He had to be, because he preached until midnight to break bread, evidently to celebrate the

Lord's Supper. And there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together.

Now, we come in here, we turn on many lights, but Greg, the smoke doesn't bother us.

If these were lamps and candles, they didn't have candles yet, but something equal, it's not a forced air system.

So what would happen to the smoke? That's right.

I asked Greg, what would be, where would the smoke go? They'd be caught in the room.

Not in this house. So, the drowsiness of the heat from all of the lamps, and then the smoke adding to that, increased the drowsiness.

And the smoke from the many lamps in this upper chamber could have contributed to the cause of Eutychus' fall asleep.

Now, he fell, and he fell asleep. Also, to prevent the possible scandal, the devil taking care to trouble the church with great offense, gives

Paul a singular occasion to confirm the gospel. And there sat in the window a certain young man named

Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep, and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep.

Now, visualize the room, it's on the third floor, rectangular room, many windows, and this young man had perched himself in a window, or whatever breeze there was.

Well, he fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

I often wonder, did he wake up on the way down? Well, sitting in the window, and at last overcome by drowsiness, he fell to the earth three stories below, and that was possibly thirty foot.

The language implies that he was dead when he hit the ground, or shortly after.

We have here the record of a sudden death. The sudden death of a man in the prime of life.

He was asleep. Is your soul asleep? Are you sleeping in carnal security?

Are you asleep in Satan's arms? Is he lulling you to sleep?

I pray the alarm of the Holy Spirit will awaken you out of that sleep.

The candle of the word is burning close to your bedside. Now, ten.

And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said,

Trouble not yourself, for his life is in him. David had to explain that.

That's right. There is no explanation. His life was not in him before Paul fell upon him.

When he therefore was come up again, now he goes back to the same spot, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day.

So he departed. A momentary intercession for Paul and the group.

And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. And we went before to ship, and sailed unto

Asos. There intended to take in Paul, for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.

But Paul is walking, and they sailed. And when he met with us at Asos, we took him in, and came to Middle Leah.

And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios. And the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogillium.

And the next day we came to Miletus. For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia.

For he hastened, if it were possible for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost, that he might have opportunity of preaching the kingdom of God to multitudes of Jews.

They all come from different parts of the world. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

And when they were come to him, he said unto them. Now he's going into a long rehearsal of what he had done.

So let's see what he says. And when they were come to him, he said unto them,

Ye know, from the first day that I came unto Asia, after what manner

I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the living in weight of the

Jews, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the

Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our

Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as by your sermons you preach in season, what is it by your life you preach out of season?

We have to, we just must live the life that we are proclaiming.

22 And now behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto

Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there. Moved by invincible purpose, his soul led in bonds by the will of God.

Dennis, I doubt if the people around him, well, there's no way they could experience that because it was meant for Paul.

I wonder if you or any of us at the close of our life can say,

I hope I have done well and finished my work of this life, or would you be able to say as Paul, I have finished all of my work.

Bound in the Spirit. Bound. Greg, what does bound mean?

All right. He is bound in the Spirit. What's that mean, David?

Well, what does it mean? All right.

Joy, was he going with a desire to see the place where his father's worshipped?

Did I see Bob come in? Raise your hand. I can't even see his hand.

Come up and sit on the front pew. I can't hear you from the booth. Don't sit too loud.

Now will the rest of you come up, please? We can hear you.

All right, I'm just going to talk to you. Was Paul returning to Jerusalem to see the place where his father's worshipped?

Yes. Is that why he's going? All right, did his spirit compel him to go to Jerusalem to see where his father's worshipped?

Tell him to see the Jews. Well, just a yes or no is a surprise.

Want me to guess at it? I say yes, okay. I'm wrong. No. He could really care less about the ascetics, about the geography.

He was going to preach to the Jews and Gentiles. Now, 23.

Say that the Holy Ghost witnessed in every city saying the bonds of affliction abide me.

Pardon? Afflictions abide me. He testifies that he goes to his imprisonment by the commandment of God.

Now, he calls the guiding direction of the

Holy Spirit, who forced him to take his journey to Jerusalem, the bond of the

Spirit, whom he followed with all his heart.

Now, have you ever had the Holy Spirit to forcibly urge you to do or to go to a certain place?

Dennis, or to do a certain thing?

Well, we've all experienced this, not knowing or realizing it. For as we go about our daily tasks, we are walking the walk that he planned for us.

24. But none of these things moved me. Neither count

I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and ministry, which

I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Now, David, he said none of these things moved me.

What did he mean? I wonder if we could say the same thing.

And now behold, I know that ye all, among whom

I have gone preaching, the kingdom of God shall see my face no more.

Shall see my face no more. When we depart this house on Sunday, we each could say that.

Wherefore, I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men.

For I have not shunned to declare unto you all of the counsel of God.

He hath told them everything. Take therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the

Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

He said feed, not fleece. There's a big, big difference.

For those that believe you must join a certain earthly church in order to be saved, would be like a man being kept from drowning because he joined the association of men that had been saved from drowning.

He that neglects his own soul will never take a faithful care of the souls of others.

All the flock must be known that it may be heeded.

Others are ordained by the apostle who are guided by the

Holy Ghost, and whoever is set apart to that office now according to the rule of God's word may truly be said to be made an overseer by the

Holy Ghost. Almighty God, concurring to outward bless his own institution, we must remember that the church is purchased of Christ.

Now, we're a part of that church, not the whole thing. The force of the apostle's argument, if the church be thus dear to Christ, the chief shepherd, she ought to be very dear to all of us, the under -shepherd.

If Christ judged her salvation worth his blood, well may he, his ministers, judge it worth their sweat.

Now, from the whole, note this. The church is

Christ's flock, this church. Consisting of sheep and lambs,

Christ himself is a great and good shepherd. His ministers, under -shepherds and overseers, bloody persecutors, heretical, heretical, heretical, that sounds funny to me, heretical, seducers and false teachers, which wolves, they will come in and devour the flock.

That every flock should have its own pastor and every pastor his own flock, how true that is, that the flock should be no greater than a man, a pastor, could oversee and handle.

I see so many great churches, big churches, and one man cannot handle that.

That every overseer of Christ's flock ought to take great heed, both to himself and to the whole flock in all parts of his pastoral work, particularly public preaching and private inspection.

29, Paul says, for I know this. Now, after my departing, shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

That's when Paul left. Were they present in the day of Paul?

Are they present today? Have you personally met one of them?

Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them.

Paul says, after my departing, he means after I'm dead and gone, shall grievous wolves enter in among you.

There's two classes of coming enemies, and Paul announces both of them.

The one more external to themselves, the other bred in the bosom of their own community.

Those that move in and those that develop here, both were to be teachers, but the one grievous wolves, not sparing, that is making a prey of the flock, but watchfulness against all that tends to injure and corrupt the church which is the duty of its pastors in every age, and I would add it's the duty of every church member to be aware of it.

Therefore, watch. Now, Bob, therefore means what?

All right. Greg, what does therefore mean?

That's right. For what he has just said. Therefore, watch and remember.

Don't ever forget to remember. That's me and my problem today.

We can't remember. We carry on a conversation and we don't remember.

That by the space of three years, I cease not to warn every one night and day with tears.

And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Now, please notice, he did not say to build, but rather to build up.

What's the difference, Dennis? That's right.

Absolutely. I have coveted no man's silver, gold, or apparel.

Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me,

Paul paid his own way. He did it by working as a tentmaker.

Don't overlook that. I have showed you all things, how that no labor, that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the

Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

A truly generous mind, in affluence, rejoices in opportunity to do good, and feels happy in having done it.

A man of an independent spirit, when reduced to poverty, finds it a severe trial to be obliged to live on the bounty of another, and feels pain in receiving what the other feels happiness in communicating.

Let, therefore, the man who is able to give, freely give himself, the obliged person then thinks how much pain the feeding heart of his supplicant must endure in being obliged to forego his native independence.

I'm not speaking of a common beggar now. These have got their minds already depraved, and their independence reduced by sin and idleness to severity.

So it's not to that. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them, prayed with them all, and they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all.

What do you suppose they were sorry for, the most of all? Him leaving.

Well, that's true, but the words that he spoke, you'll see my face no more.

What a statement. They accompanied him to the ship.

If Jesus Christ entrusts to our care the souls he has bought by his own blood, what an awful account will we have to give in the day of judgment if we fail, if we fail on any account, to give true instructions.

Well, this is a little bit early, so let's have some discussion. Yes, sir.

No, no. He meant physically, you'll not see my face anymore. I'm not coming back here.

This is my last time. When we pray and I wave farewell, that'll be it.

So in this life, you'll not see me anymore. That's a good question.

Well, he knew at his stage of life, I don't know how old he is here, but above 50, and the average age at that time was about 37.

But he knew that the journey that lay ahead of him would not bring him back this way.

So with some assurance he could say that, and prompted by the

Holy Spirit, I said, I think he said it. Someone else.

Surely there's a question from someone. Well, then you're all informed, and I can give you a test next week.

Bob, dismiss us, please. Father, we thank you for this vision.

It's a letter. You better.

I can't look at most of you. Actually, here's the letter.