Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision

By Finishing Well 07/12/09

Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging our Vision

Title: By Finishing Well   Text: Acts 20: 13-38

Introduction:

ILL: In 1968, Tanzania chose John Stephen Akhwari to represent them in the Mexico City Olympics. Along the way as he ran, he stumbled and fell, severely injuring both his knee and ankle. It was 7 PM and a runner from Ethiopia had won the race. Everyone else had finished and there were only a few thousand spectators left in the huge arena. All of a sudden a police siren caught every-one’s attention. Limping through the gate came 36 year old Akhwari with his leg wrapped in a bloody bandage. The people cheered. A reporter at the gate asked him the question that was on everyone’s mind: “Why continue the race after being so badly injured?” He replied, “My country did not send me 7000 miles to begin a
race; they sent me to finish a race” (Johnny Carver)

‘They sent me to finish a race.’ In a very real way, when God called you to Himself and placed in your heart the faith to accept Jesus as your Savior, He entered you in a race whose finish line is heaven...and God expects you, to finish well.

But how do we do that when there is so much that wants to keep us from running, from finishing? That’s what we find in our text this morning, through the life and words of the Apostle Paul.

Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 20:13 (pg. 849 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) For it’s there we will discover we enlarge our vision of God, by finishing well.

I. Acts 20:13-16 Making plans

Read: Acts 20:13-16

God had placed in Paul’s heart the desire to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost. To celebrate with his brothers and sisters in Christ, all that God had done for His Church...and to bring the financial gift the churches in Asia collected for the poor in the Jerusalem church.

Paul made plans how he was going to get from Troas to Jerusalem...not for his own purposes, but to fulfill God’s calling in his life. I think that’s why this itinerary is listed in Scripture...to show us that we need to be proactive, intentional about where we go on our journey of faith, so that we can fulfill God’s calling in our lives.

Transition: And in order to stay on course, to stay in the race to the finish line, we need to develop a disciplined approach to running the race God has set before us. That’s where the rest of the text comes in.

II. Acts 20:17-21         Develop Relationships

Read: Acts 20:17-21

Paul invited the elders of the Ephesian church to meet with him. And what he said to them tells me that Paul felt developing and nurturing relationships with people, especially those in the church was essential to finishing well. Let’s look. According to the text:

·       There was a transparency to Paul’s life and ministry that set him apart from many leaders in the church today. He openly shared his life with those he ministered to.

·       He did that by living with them...he was their neighbor. That means he saw them around town; at the food store, at the stadium and at the other places people hung out in those days. In other words, he spent time with them.

·       He lived and served with great humility. Humility is putting the interests of others above your own. It is sacrificing your interests for the good of others. That was also Jesus’ practice as well.

·       He shed tears for and with his friends. He connected with them in their times of need.

·       He taught them what they needed to know, not necessarily what they wanted to hear. He taught them what would be helpful for their own race so that they too would finish well.

·       He taught them where they were....contextually this is referring to their physical location...in the synagogue, in the School of Tryannus, and in their homes. But I believe it has application to us spiritually. Paul met the people where they were, not waiting till they got where he thought they should be.

·       He taught them the basics of the Christian life of the race to the finish line. He boils it down to the big two: Repentance before God and faith in Jesus Christ. And this is not just a one time event...we need to constantly turn to God, repent of our sin and then turn to Jesus in faith for the next step on our journey of faith, our next lap in the race God has set before us.

Developing relationships is essential to finishing well.

Transition: Paul is not finished setting the example for us to follow. Let’s look at verses 22-24

III. Acts 20:22-24       Getting personal

Read: Acts 20:22-24

ILL: James Calvert was a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands. As he was going to the island, the captain of the ship said: ‘You will lose your life if you go among such savages.’ Calvert replied: ‘I died before I came here.’ (Jerry Vargo)

 

Paul openly talks about his heart desire and life devotion, that which motivated him to run the race God set before him and to finish well.

·       ‘...compelled by the Spirit...’ Motivated, driven, bound by the Spirit,...for what purpose? To do the will of God. Does God’s Spirit have a hold on you? Do you want Him to? Will you allow Him to lead you where He has called you to go?

·       ‘Not knowing what will happen to me there’ Uncertainty would not stop Paul from finishing well...But it sure stops a lot of us doesn’t it. We often stand still in our tracks while everyone else passes us by. Why? Fear of the unknown. Yet, God’s Word assures us that perfect love casts out all fear...God’s love for us is enough to keep us in the race.

·       ‘...the Holy  Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.’ Paul would not let the thought of prison and persecution stop him from finishing the race God had called him to run. Like James Calvert, self-preservation was not his primary motivation...serving the Lord faithfully, finishing well, was his chief motivation in running the race God set before him.

·       ‘However, I consider my life worth nothing to me...’ For Paul life, apart from Christ, just wasn’t worth what he would gain from a life with Christ. I pray you too have reached that conclusion.

·       ‘...if only I may finish the race...the Lord has given me...’

Like John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania, Paul was chosen to finish the race, not just start it. And notice that it was the race Jesus had given... to HIM. Not to you. Each of us has our own race to run and it is different than anyone elses.

·       ‘...the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.’ Notice he doesn’t say the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s wrath, God’s punishment, or even God’s justice. He says ‘...the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.’

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our principle task is not to scare people into hell. Our principle task is not to openly condemn people’s sin. Our principle task in not to judge another Christians lifestyle. Our principle task is to tell and demonstrate to everyone; inside and outside the church...the gospel (the Good News) of God’s grace.

Paul said the same thing a bit differently in Romans 2:4

Read: Romans 2:4 ‘...do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness,(same idea as grace) tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?’

Grace my dear friends, God’s wonderful, amazing, underserved grace. Let it be the refreshment you drink as you run the race God has set before you...and you will finish well.

Transition:  In this next larger section, Paul explains to the elders from Ephesus how to lead the church God has placed them in. But, there is so much more here than that. Paul is telling them and to us that we finish well when we live by a higher standard.

IV. Acts 20:25-35 Living by a higher standard

Read: Acts 20:25-35

·       ‘I am innocent of the blood of all men because I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.’ Paul is saying his conscious before God is clear. He has not withheld anything of God’s Word from those God has called him to speak to. Can we say that?

·       ‘Keep watch over yourself...’ Paul said to do some personal reflection...and to keep looking inside to be certain that you are being faithful not only to your calling by God but to the Word of God.

·        ‘...and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit had made you overseers.’ Yes...we are our brothers and sisters keeper...but always in love and with great grace. We don’t finish well by sabotaging, hindering, or condemning the race of others.  We finish well when we help others run their own race.

·       ‘Be shepherds of the church of God which he has bought with his own blood.’ The church building, the ministries here at CBC are not mine nor are they yours. We all serve the Lord. This is God’s church building. The Nominating Committee will be asking you to serve in God’s ministries, here at God’s church. Don’t ever get that confused. People are here, not because of what we do, but because of what God has done and continues to do.

·       ‘...savage wolves will come...’ In other words, stay true to the Word, don’t be misled by smooth talking, promise making, too good to be true spiritual used car salesmen. Who tell you only what you want to hear. Who pervert God’s Word for their own purposes. They may sound and look good, but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

·       ‘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.’ Paul was probably never going to see these men again. He wanted them to know that they were not running the race alone. God was with them. And Paul was reminding them to seek God during the race, to use God’s Word to help then navigate the course so that they will finish well. And when they stumble like John Stephen Akhwari from Tanzania, God will help them get up and continue in the race....Grace

·       ‘...It is better to give than to receive.’ Never make serving God about money. Never make doing or not doing ministry about money. Never make getting something in return, the reason for doing something for others.

When we do what Paul talked about and lived out, when we are intentional and disciplined to live them out, day after day, we can be assured of finishing well.

Transition: One more necessity to finishing well...compassion.

V. Acts 20:36-38        Being compassionate

Read: Acts 20:36-38

Did you know that praying for and with someone is an act of compassion? Praying for and with someone shows them

·       not only that you believe God is big enough to meet their need,

·       but also that you care enough about them to take your precious time to lift their need up to the Lord in prayer.

This also shows me Paul heart...he didn’t leave them with cold, hard doctrine, but with love, tears and prayer....that’s grace.

Conclusion

ILL: A pastor was preaching about heaven and suddenly, he asked how many people wanted to go to heaven. Everybody in the church raised their hands except for one man. The preacher said, "Brother, don’t you want to go to heaven?" He replied, "Yes, but I thought you were getting a load ready to go now!" (Steve Shepherd)

 

That’s the crux of our problem with finishing well....we think we can put it off till later. But finishing well requires that we start now...because we don’t really know just how long our race will be. It is not something we can put off.  Allow me to close with a true story.

ILL: In 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people were preparing to have a "hurricane party" in the face of a storm named Camille. The wind was howling outside the posh Richelieu Apartments when Police Chief Jerry Peralta pulled up sometime after dark. Facing the Beach less than 250 feet from the surf, the apartments were directly in the line of danger.

A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved. Peralta yelled up, "You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm’s getting worse." But as other joined the man on the balcony, they just laughed at Peralta’s order to leave. "This is my land," one of them yelled back. "If you want me off, you’ll have to arrest me."

Peralta didn’t arrest anyone, but he wasn’t able to persuade them to leave either. He wrote down the names of the next of kin of the twenty or so people who gathered there to party through the storm. They laughed as he took their names. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving.

It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille’s wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high.

News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars, and gambling houses known as Pass Christian, Mississippi, where some twenty people were killed at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation; the only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day. (Steve Shepherd)

 

Start now....We enlarge our vision of God by finishing well.