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Speaker 1Thank you. Is it hot in here to y'all? Yes. If if y'all can't open the windows, I'd appreciate it. Goodness gracious.
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Praise God. Here we go. Oh, this is something I put up there so I'd remember. These are the rallies. Would you stand up?
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The rallies and it is Lucas and Hannah. Right? Yep. They are serving in Kampala, Uganda and the surrounding areas. They are, we have a ministry that we kind of are supportive of called Rescue One More.
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A lot of you all know about Rescue One More and that's the sister ministry to Rescue River. There you go. They're gonna be here afterwards. They'll hang around and back and down the hall and they'll be here till the last customer served. Okay?
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They're friendly folks, they are leading it's an interesting system. So we're here where fly fishing is a big big deal and they're there where Rescue One More is taking gals that are out of trafficking and different bad situations, really really bad home situations. And they bring them through the school age and then after school age, this is a job that they could do and are doing. So this is James Tolson actually training someone to tie flies. Is that correct?
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Not a fisherman. This is Dan Tolson that's teaching somebody how to cast. And then this is just a few group shots. But the rallies are there pretty much full time. Right?
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Y'all are there there. And so, if you want to know more about the ministry in Kampala, Uganda and the nonprofit and eventually for profit, I think the way that this works, talk to them afterwards. They're right there and they're not scary people. Acts 20. I was trying to decide this morning.
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I came in early early this morning trying to decide where to stop because Acts 20 as a whole is a lot but I think I'm going to do it anyway. We'll see. That's my main task. I want to say what it says. I want to give the word honor and I asked a seminary professor, how long should a sermon be?
2:07
And he said, long enough to do honor to God's word and I said, okay and he said, and short enough to do honor to his people. That will be dramatically explained during the sermon today. After the uproar had ceased, what uproar? The uproar that's mentioned there is the near riot that we talked about last week in the theater in Ephesus where the town clerk comes and finally calms everybody down and says, nothing to see here, go back to your homes. It was a near riot.
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It wasn't a riot. It's foreboding because we'll see riots from here forward in that. But the uproar after that had ceased in Ephesus, that's where it was, It's a travelogue now and when he had encouraged them or Paul sent for the disciples. The disciples, he had 12 guys specifically in Ephesus and if you're keeping up, there's a lot of parallelism in this third missionary journey of Paul and the ministry of Christ. He's got 12 disciples that were in Ephesus.
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He took them out of the synagogue and into the Hall Of Tyrannus and every day he was teaching them. Every day for couple of years, he was teaching them and so after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and when he had encouraged them and he had taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. So there we are. Macedonia is up here. We've got Neapolis and Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea up in Macedonia and we remember the Macedonian call when Paul left from Troas and went across into what is Europe right there and went in Macedonia the first time and he is leaving from Ephesus which is in Asia and going to Macedonia.
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Now, when he had gone through those regions and he had given them much encouragement, these were people. Remember Lydia, the seller of purple. Remember the Philippian jailer. Remember the unnamed slave girl. So, those were three that we know of, little vignettes of people who God had saved through the ministry of Paul here in that Macedonian call going over with his running buddies into this region.
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Now, when he gone through those regions and he given all of those folks much encouragement in Macedonia, he came to Greece. So, here's Greece down South Of Macedonia. I'm going have a lots of maps at the beginning and then it'll fade. The map people love this stuff. The people are not people say, map people say, why do you do that?
4:38
After he'd given him much encouragement, he came to Greece And there, he spent three months. Now, months in Greece, if you study this in light of the rest of the New Testament, you're to have to kind of take my word for it, I think. Most commentators agree those three months were winter of either 5655 or fifty six AD. Almost everybody agrees on one of those two years. He spent the winter months there because travel was difficult during the winter months and he spent those three months in Greece which is a pretty great place to be.
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And when a plot was formed against him by the Jews, as he was just about to set sail, there's an imminent, he's just about to set sail for Syria, he finds out about a plot against him by the Jews, and so he's planning on going from Greece over to Syria, that's his most likely route, and it's a pretty good ride from there. And they would have had pilgrim ships or people haulers. They're cargo ships but they made space for people and they put as many people on there as they could. And a plot is not hard to carry out on a ramshackled ship full of cargo and lots of people. Throwing him overboard would not have been a difficult task.
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But Greece to Syria, he finds out about the plot, and so just as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia again. So, no to that plan, yes to this plan. So he's walking. So there's a lot of walking. And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea.
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That Berea is in Macedonia. He was accompanied by So he was accompanied from Greece back up to Berea, and Thessalonica, and Philippi, and probably Neapolis by Sopeter of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus. And by this next name Aristarchus, is a kind of an elevated name. It sounds like aristocracy, same roots. Aristarchus is a very elevated name.
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Aristarchus and Secundus. Secundus is not an elevated name at all. You see lots of first baptist churches, you don't see many second baptist churches. It's true. Some places there are some, but you don't hear as much about them.
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The first slave would normally be called Primus because that's the first slave, head slave, and the next would be Secundus. So for this to be Aristarchus, an elevated name, maybe, names, what's in a name? We don't know these people. But just the fact that they're listed together, both of them are from Thessalonica. Aristarchus and Secundus, it's saying, Christ calls us out of every station of life and every place of life and every socioeconomic background, he calls us into the same family and these are Paul's running buddies for this trip.
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By Aristarchus and Segundus of the Thessalonians and Gaius of Derby, Timothy we know is from Lystra and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia somewhere around Ephesus probably. So that's where the folks are from on the map. Now, now some people say, well, where where are the Corinthians? He spent a long time in Corinth. Why aren't they represented?
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I don't It doesn't say. It'd be an argument from silence for me to make any kind of stand there. And what about Philippi? Well, Luke is writing this and a lot of people consider that Luke is writing and representing for Philippi. So maybe, if it's not written, don't put a whole lot of stock in it, but probably.
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Now, these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us. This is Luke right there saying, he had been a part of what was going on where they were in Greece and then these folks went ahead and now, they're waiting for us where at Troas. Troas is right there. That is the place where earlier in Acts when they were hindered from going into Asia which is where Ephesus is and they're hindered from going into Bethenia which is further north in what we would call Turkey. They stopped at Troas and in the night, Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man said, we need your help and so he goes over for this Macedonian man's call and he finds Lydia, the seller of purple, a woman, a slave, and a Gentile.
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Beautiful. Troas, he's traveling back that way now. And at Troas, it says, well, we sailed from Philippi. That's Luke saying, we sailed from Philippi and it was after the days of unleavened bread. This is building up to the Pentecost.
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The day of Pentecost, Passover is before that and so time frame wise, past the winter, and when it gets to be springtime and travel is easier better, they sailed from Philippi. After the days of unleavened bread, they're working their way towards Jerusalem. By prevailing winds, I suppose. I don't I don't understand all of that but we sail from Philippi after the days of unleavened. We reached them at Troas.
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So, this is where we were reunited. Within five days and we we stayed there for seven days. He's very specific about this. The details matter. Right?
10:00
Now, they don't matter as much to me but the fact that there are details gives a lot of veracity and verisimilitude to this thing. You know, it sounds like this is real life. He's keeping a travelogue of the journey. Have you all read like on the road with Jack Kerouac? I don't recommend.
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I'm just wondering. Have you read other travelogue, eat, pray, love, that sort of thing? They're very very interesting because it's like, oh, and we did this and we went there, we did so and so, and when you keep a journal on a trip, you go back years later and you go, oh, yeah. I forgot about that big red rocket of a truck that took us through the streets of Real Decaturc and hit the cheese wheel in the marketplace. I remember it now.
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Lots more where that came from. Now, on the first day of the week, this is the first time in the New Testament that we see. This is the first time that we see. They were celebrating on Sunday, the Lord's day. It's first time in Acts.
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First time in the New Testament as far as we can see. Now, on the day that Christ was risen, you know, it mentions that but this is where we see it happening. At Troas, predominantly Gentile area. First day of the week, when we were gathered together, break bread to take communion, to eat together. It was on a Sunday.
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Paul began talking to them and he was intending to leave the next day. So, he's there. The running buddies are there with him. This other sailing party has joined and now we're going to keep on going. And he was talking to them intending to leave the next day.
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That's important and he prolonged his message until midnight. Oh my goodness. Good grief. Like I've been in church at 12:15 and thought, oh my goodness. My uncle Jerry would not have been happy with Paul.
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My uncle Jerry was the clock watcher. He's the this guy. He prolonged his message. He had so much he wanted to tell him. Now, in Troas, the first time through, it looks like and we can't tell exactly how long he was there.
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He was praying and he has this vision in the middle of the night but he left. He might not have spent a long time in Troas. He might not have thoroughly covered that ground and so, he's telling everything he's gotta say in the same day. He prolonged his message until midnight and there were many lamps in that upstairs room. Luke says, where we were gathered together, he was there and there was a young man.
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The way that it says young man, it's probably eight to 14 years old, usually. That would be the way to be understood. That a lad of eight to 14 and his name was Eutychus. And Eutychus, which means fortunate or lucky. He was lucky to be there in an all day sermon that lasted till midnight.
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There was a young man who was named Eutychus and he was sitting on the windowsill and he was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. We've all been there, Eutychus. But Eutychus was overcome by sleep and he fell down from the 3rd Floor and he was picked up dead. Oh my goodness. This this is almost funny up until that point when you see that Uticus is there and he's falling asleep and it's the weekend all make jokes about the press going on and on and on.
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I said, for the seven sons of Skiva a couple weeks ago that, you know, for the demon to jump on them, I know Jesus and I know about Paul but who are you? And then jumps on him and they all leave the room naked and wounded. I said, that's kind of comic relief. Unless you're one of the seven sons of Sceva. And this is kind of comic relief unless you're one of Eutychus' people.
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And they all were. They're gathered in the same upper room. This is a horrible, horrible thing. He falls out of a 3rd Floor window. He's picked up dead and when Paul went down, Paul went down and he fell upon him and when he lay over him and embraced him, he said, do not be troubled for he's still alive.
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Now, don't take that to mean that he fell and we thought he was dead. He was dead. Luke was a physician. He was dead. But he was resurrected right here and this calls back to Jairus' daughter.
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It calls back to Jesus' ministry where he raised Lazarus. For Elijah and Elisha and the Shunammite woman, it's all about resurrection. The miracles I say authenticate the message. The message that Paul is preaching in this horribly unfortunate event and then God shows up and revives this young man. Don't be troubled for he is still alive and when Paul had gone back up and he had broken the bread and maybe he kept on talking to him for a long while more.
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Just like a preacher. Until daybreak. That's like six hours after midnight. And then he left. And they took away the boy alive and they were all greatly comforted.
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By the words of the gospel and a demonstration of the power of God, yes, it is truly all about resurrection. I will say that being in this job, I I have come across things that have been really, really, really horrible and heinous and the comfort that we take away from it is resurrection. There is a resurrection. There is a resurrection where we understand in part and that one who has passed now sees things just as clear as a bell. Any doubts, any kind of fears, any kind of cloudiness that they had in this life, any kind of struggle that they had in this life for trusting in Jesus is gone forevermore.
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Absolute peace for eternal life and joy forevermore. Unspeakable and full of glory. They took the boy away alive and they were greatly comforted. This did not show up very well. This is a tapestry from the sixteenth century and it's three scenes from Paul.
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You see the burning of the magic books in Ephesus right there and up here is the this scene and you see the two men running down the stairs, and we see maybe Paul, although Paul had cut his hair at Centrist, so maybe not. We don't know exactly how long this went on. He's lying down upon this boy, and the women are scared, and there's a there's a little purse on this one disciple that's running down. This is the same place if you look at Romans 15. This is the same trip where Paul is gathering a collection from the Gentile churches for Jerusalem.
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It's an interesting thing that things that artists pick up. He's catching it at the moment of this boy is dead. It's hard to it's hard to say. He's resurrected in in thread but it just goes straight from the story of Uticus which is an amazing resurrection story and brings up the parallel of the gospels, brings up the parallel of the old testament prophets of this is going to come to pass. The goodness of God, future oriented out there in front of us.
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Faith looking forward, hope looking forward to something that's absolutely will come to pass, resurrection, and has not come to pass for all yet. And then it goes to this, but when we went ahead to the ship and we set sail for Assos intending from there to take Paul on board, that's what we were going to do, for that was what he had arranged intending himself to go by land. So they go from Troas to Assos across this little isthmus, and from Troas to Assos, they sail around and Paul just walks. How many are on the other side? And when he met us at Osos, we took him on board and we came to Middling.
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If you say that in Greek, you might say it different. In Alabama, they said Middling. It's just outside of Montgomery. Middling is on the Isle Of Lesbos, and so from Assos down to Middling, they travel and it says Salem. From there we arrive the following day opposite Chios.
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Opposite Chios. Chios he knew the name of, this is a travelogue too, it was some little place across, I don't know what it was, near Chios. Maybe it doesn't have a name, but that's where they were, just across from Chios. And the next day, we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day, we came to Miletus, and there they are. Oh, didn't show up.
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It's okay. For Paul decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to lose time in Asia. Have you ever been on a journey? And you thought, if I'm going to make it to Jerusalem, I can't stop in Ephesus. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so he wouldn't have to lose time in Asia for he was hurrying.
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He was a man on a mission if it might be possible for him to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. That's what he wanted to have happen. It's a long way. From Miletus to Jerusalem. It's 610 miles and this is not the right time of year to be making that journey, but it's possible, but that's what he wants to do.
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So he is like, if I don't stop in Ephesus, I know if I stop in Ephesus, I'm going have to stay with so and so and I don't think I'm going to get out of there. I don't think I can get away from him. He loved these people. He spent three years there. Actually, let's keep on and let the text tell you where he what he's thinking.
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From Militus, he sent word to Ephesus. He passed Ephesus and then he said, you know what? It's 60 miles of the round trip. It's 36. It's 30 something miles from Ephesus to Miletus.
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He's at Miletus on the beach. He sends word to Ephesus and says, tell the elders I'm here. And so not everybody in the church but the elders come from there And when they came to him, they loved him. They made a 30 mile walk. It's for the moment.
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Didn't know it was coming probably. And when they came to him, said to them, y'all know. You yourself know it's emphatic. Y'all know from the very first day that I set foot in Asia. How I was with you the whole time.
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Y'all know me. I was serving the Lord with all humility and you might look at that and go, oh, how humble I am but no, he's sincere. I was serving the Lord with all humility, trying to do his will and his way, trying to do what he wanted and it was with tears and it was with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews among you. Y'all know how it was. How I did not shrink back from declaring to to y'all anything that was beneficial.
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Anything that I could find in the Old Testament or in the revealed word of God that Christ gave to him. He argued from the scriptures. He presented from the prophets. How I didn't shrink from declaring to you anything that was beneficial and I didn't shrink from teaching you publicly and from house to house. I never stopped.
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I was always on the go. I was solemnly testifying both to the Jews from the book that they ought to know and to the Greeks about repentance toward God and about faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. That's his consuming mission is to spread the actual good news about Jesus. And it's good news for the Jew first and also for the Greek and he didn't leave anybody out. Now, behold, bound by the spirit, capital s, Holy Spirit.
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I am on my way to Jerusalem. Now, you remember in Luke, Luke's gospel and acts is like volume two. Luke's gospel at nine fifty was it? Nine fifty one, it says, and Jesus set his face like flint for Jerusalem and nothing was going to stop him. This is that verse for Paul.
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This is the place where he first says it out loud. Now, behold. Now, he's already said he wanted to make it to Jerusalem but he's doing this in front of his beloved Ephesians. Now, behold, bound by the spirit, I'm on my way to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there. Little foreshadowing there.
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610 miles. Except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city. Whether that's through people or whether that's just directly from God, we don't know but the Holy Spirit is saying that chains and afflictions await me. Christ walked toward the cross and Paul is walking towards the chains and afflictions but I don't consider my life of any account as dear to myself. I have surrendered it.
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I've given it over to the will of God. Whatever it is that he wants for me so that I may finish the course that he set for me. He says to the Ephesians later in the letter to the Ephesians, he says that we were saved by grace through faith and that's not of ourselves. But it's a gift of God so that no one can boast. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works and Paul says, I wanna do mine.
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That's what I'm surrendered towards. I wanna finish out my course in the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus. I want to testify solemnly of the gospel of God's grace and grace is unmerited favor. All of Paul's zeal was misdirected up until that road to Damascus. He was very zealous and he was very learned and then Christ said, you are my chosen instrument to the Gentiles.
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You are the one that I'm sending forward. And all that he ever said was, it's God's grace. I don't deserve to be here. I got knocked off of my high horse. When I was opposed to him, he reached out to me.
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He's not ashamed of the gospel. He's not ashamed of Jesus Christ. He is walking. He is walking. When he finds out about a plot or a danger, he walks around it.
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He knows there's trouble waiting for him in Jerusalem and he walks towards it but he is convinced that he has to get to Jerusalem. So, doesn't want anything to stop that from happening. To testify solemnly of the gospel of God's grace and now behold, I know that all of y'all among whom I went about preaching the kingdom. Y'all aren't going to see me again. That's hard truth.
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Y'all are not going to see me again. Y'all are not going to see my face. Now, for somebody who'd spent three years teaching every day house to house in public in the synagogue before that, that's hard truth. Therefore, I testify to you this day, I'm innocent of the blood of all the people. I've done the best I could.
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I've done the best I could. Now, the disciples are gathered there. His running buddies are gathered there. The elders of the church at Ephesus are there and he's saying, I've done the best I can and then, in a way he's saying, carry it from here. Y'all carry the ball forward from here.
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I've done the best I could. I'm I'm innocent of the blood of all the people. Everybody I've come into contact with, I've done the best I could to let them know. The love of God by the way I live my life and by the way I use my words. And I I I wanna say that.
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I wanna say that. Lord, I'm doing my best to do what I can so that I may be innocent of the blood of all people. For I didn't shrink away from declaring to you the whole purpose of God and I had a professor in seminary who was fond of saying, the mission of God is a blessing for all peoples and so, he wants for those who are a part of the kingdom of darkness to come into the kingdom of light and he's made the way available. He's made the way available through Christ and he's saying the gospel is the whole purpose of God. And then he gives them a solemn warning.
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These are the elders. Be on guard. Y'all be on guard for yourselves and be on guard for all of the flock among whom among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. He said, this is not a message just for every single everybody. This is just for y'all.
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Y'all have to be careful. When you're going forward from here, be on guard for yourselves, be on guard for the flock. Y'all are the overseers. Be sure to be shepherding the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. Don't mistreat the sheep.
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When I read this, I think to it's a few slides away. Ezekiel 34. Y'all might not think of Ezekiel 34 a lot. I do. It says, woe to you bad shepherds.
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Don't mistreat the sheep. I know, Paul says, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and they will not be sparing the flock. They're out for their own and from among your own selves even. Men are going to arise and they'll be speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. He's considering everybody in the church, the disciples.
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Okay? It's not a formal title like the capital D disciples from Jesus. This is like, he's saying that you're the elders, you're the ones who are supposed to be overseeing and shepherding but some of the sheep are going to be drawn away by people. Y'all be looking out for them. Woe to you bad shepherds.
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There are bad shepherds. Therefore, y'all be on the alert. Be remembering that night and day for a period of three years. I didn't cease to admonish each one of you with tears when necessary. Always encouraging but also letting you know when you're off course by the scripture, always by the spirit and now, Paul says, I entrust y'all to God and to the word of his unmerited favor, his grace.
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I'm entrusting y'all to God. I'm leaving. I'm not going to see your face again. I have to go and kind of turn the page here but what I'm doing is I'm leaving y'all to God in the word of his grace and that grace is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all of those who are sanctified. Trust in God.
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Trust in God's grace. Don't presume upon it. Trust in it. He's got you covered. I'm going to move on.
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This permit some reason just seemed like a a quote to put on a pillow. It's a cross stitch sampler. I trust you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. This points to resurrection. It also points to a sanctifying Holy Spirit that stays with us and is concerned about the now too.
29:06
Not just the pie in the sky by above. I've coveted no one's silver, gold, or clothes. How we doing on that, Jackson? You yourselves know that these hands serve my own needs and the men who are with me. Paul was a tentmaker and he's saying that he was applying his trade on this journey.
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He was doing hard work while he was ministering. We hear about the ministry. We don't hear as much about the hard work. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way, you must help out the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that it's better and more blessed to give than it is to receive. Paul, calling back to Christ and going, work hard so that you have something to give.
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There are commentators who blast Paul for taking up a collection as he went back through the Gentiles to go to Jerusalem but he was led of the spirit to do it. He was led of the spirit to tie the Gentile churches and the Jerusalem churches who were suffering together. It's more blessed to give than it is to receive. When he had said all of these things, there on the beach at Miletus, he knelt down and he prayed with them all and they all began to weep aloud and they embraced Paul and they repeatedly kissed him. And they were grieving together especially over the word which he had spoken and that they would not see his face again.
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Grief is hard. Grief is hard and when when people pass, when people die, we know we're not going to see them again and that's that's just about the hardest part. That's the hardest thing is that we don't get to see them again. It leaves an ache in our hearts and he had solemnly testified it. So, he he wasn't saying that he would die and they hadn't seen him die.
30:59
They had actually seen resurrection not far away from there and hearing about it all the time but grieving especially over the word that they're not going to see him again. And they were accompanying him to the ship. That's the close of chapter 20 and we'll go from there to 21. Not next week. Next week, I've got a special word for the fair and then we'll pick up the travel log when we come back after that.
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Imma invite the band back up. We all pray with me. Lord God almighty, when baffling and bewildering circumstances come upon us, When we lose someone, lord, I pray that you would give us the hope of the resurrection. I pray lord that our lenses and our eyes would see things more and more clearly because of faith in you, because of trusting in the gospel, and in the grace of God. I pray Lord that we would be like Paul seeking to do everything we can to bring everyone into your kingdom.
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Whether that is silently in prayer from a distance, Lord, because that is important, or whether it is when given the chance, we speak a good word or we do a good deed. Would you show us the way that you want for us to proceed forward? In Jesus name, really, in Jesus name, gathered here, Lord, not just knowing about Jesus but knowing Jesus, would you allow us to move forward, Lord, the way that you want us to. That's what we lay it down. In Jesus' name, amen.
32:30
Amen.
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Speaker 2Will you please stand up and let's worship the Lord?
