Serving and Teaching
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2023 · 22 October 2023
For the Christian, there is the promise that when God calls you, He will not only give you the spiritual gifts, He will not only open the doors, He will not only make the ministry a possibility, but He will give you the time to finish it. And that’s borne out here in the testimony of the apostle Paul. He knew that he had a certain amount of time, and that in that time he would finish his ministry.
God may just take Christians home before they even get going, some who continued to express that carnality at the Lord’s Table were killed by the Lord. Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead on the spot. It may be that if a Christian fails in it continuously, the Lord just removes him because he’s more trouble than he’s worth. At least in terms of a testimony to the world.
Sometimes it’s not a question of a shortage of time; it’s a question of failure on the person’s part to make the use of time. Paul says twice, “Redeeming the time.” A definite prescribed time. Redeem means buy up time. Paul maximized every moment. In 1 Corinthians 12, God has gifted us all diversities of gifts, operations and ministries, right? And He granted us the Holy Spirit.
He has also given us the faith to operate those gifts. So, there’s an equal measure of faith for the type of gift that you have. In Ecclesiastes, we are taught the wisdom of man. But the wisdom of man intersects with the wisdom of God periodically in Ecclesiastes. Look to Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purposes under heaven, a time to be born, and a time to die.”
All the bounds of a man’s life are sovereignly designed by God. Ecclesiastes 3:17, says, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.” 1 Peter 4:2 says, “in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.” The idea here is that God has prescribed time to be maximized for His will.
In Acts 17:26, Paul was preaching on Mars Hill in Athens. He said, “From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.” Yes, God has bounded the life of a man sovereignly in terms of time. And there is enough time for you to finish the work that God gives you.
The apostle Paul was a man who believed in making use of time. And he didn’t believe it only for himself, but he propagated it to others. He wrote in 2 Timothy 4:5, “Fulfill your ministry.” He said to Archippus in Colossians 4:17, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.” So you need to maximize your ministry, to make the most of time.
Now, this brings us then to Acts 20, where we see the apostle Paul as a man who is running against time to finish his ministry. Remember he said to the Philippians, “I’d like to spend time with you. But it is far better to be with Jesus.” All he lived for was to finish. I’m going to finish the ministry, and all it’s going to do is release me out of this world to be with Jesus anyway.”
I hope you live to finish the work God gave you to do. The apostle Paul came to the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:6 where he said, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close.” How did he know that he was going to die? Verse 7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” He finished the course.
God help us to see our life in terms of the bounds of time which God has prescribed to us. Some say, I’m not in the ministry. Oh yes you are if you’re a Christian. And whatever spiritual gifts and whatever ministry God has called you to has to be maximized within the time God has given you. And when you’ve accomplished that, the joy and glory of going to be with Him is the reward.
Verse 17, “Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church.” Paul, on his third missionary journey, is saying farewell to his beloved in the eastern Mediterranean area. He has a sense in his heart that he’ll never be back, because he knows the persecution of the Jews. He feels this is the last time. Plus, he’s on his way to Jerusalem and then to Rome.
He wants to get there by the feast of Pentecost. And he has a chance to ask for the elders of the church over in Ephesus, which is about 50 km away. Because he just wants one more chance to share with these men that he loves. He won people to Christ, and he founded that church. And he got involved in all of the churches in Asia Minor, the ones mentioned in Revelation.
And for three years, he nurtured them and taught them, and they grew until he had a whole group of mature Christians. And out of that group rose those elders or pastors who were called by God to lead. And these men were his own disciples, so he calls to them to meet with him. The word “elders” comes from presbuteroi, from which we get presbyter, from which you get Presbyterian.
It simply refers to a mature spiritually person. Old age doesn’t necessarily mean you are spiritually mature. Sometimes it is a younger men who has spiritual maturity, like Timothy. Notice verse 28, “The Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers. That’s the word epískopos, from which you get Episcopal. An elder is a mature man, and he rules the congregation, according to Peter, by example.
Verse 18, “When they came to him, he said to them, “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, you know how my ministry operated.” This is the only speech, in all of Acts, which Paul made to Christians. All the rest of his messages are to unbelievers. This is made to Christians. So, it’s important to study the apostle Paul in terms of his communication to believers.
Paul may be defending himself against some people who tried to undermine him. Or what he’s saying is here’s how I want you to do ministry. So, it may be apologetic; or it may be just instructional. Beginning at verse 19, we see Paul’s view of his ministry. Verse 19, “Serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.”
Listen carefully, because it can really be formative in your own ministry. Paul gives us four views. Our ministry has to relate to God. Our ministry has a perspective toward the Church, to save people. Toward the lost, and toward ourselves. Those are the four dimensions of the ministry. My ministry will be effective in terms of how I relate to God, to the Church, to the lost, and to myself.
Paul says then, in effect, “These are the four ways I view my ministry. Toward God I see it as a service to Christ. Toward the Church I see it as teaching. Toward the lost I see it as evangelism. And toward myself I see it as being sacrificial. Now, let’s look at the first one. Toward God, Paul saw his ministry as a service to Christ. And I think we have to see ours as the same.
In Galatians 1:10 Paul explains that to us with a definitive comparison. He says, “Am I striving to please people or to please God? The Judaizers had come in, and they had just told the Christians in Galatia, “Look, the only reason Paul didn’t impose circumcision on you all was that he wanted to be popular. But if your ministry is to be popular with people, you are on the wrong path.
And Paul answers that criticism in Galatia 1:8, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, let him be cursed!” Paul is no men pleaser. It does mean that you do not necessarily consider the reaction of people if the demand of God is clear. You do what’s right and let God take care of the consequences.
You serve the Lord Jesus Christ. You respond to His leadership to the church as they serve Christ and give you direction from Him. Ephesians 6:5 says, “Slaves (Employees), obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ.” You should work at your job as if you were working for Jesus Christ Himself, even if you are an atheist.
That’s your obligation as a Christian. Everything you do, from the moment you open your eyes in the morning till you close them at night is service to Jesus Christ. There is no secular and sacred division. All the things that you do in this life are rendered to Christ. In Matthew 25:34 - 40, Jesus is talking about the judgment of all people that’s happening at the second coming.
And He says to the sheep on His right hand, “Enter into the kingdom. When I was thirsty, you gave Me a drink. When I was hungry, you fed Me. When I was naked, you clothed Me,” etcetera. They said, “When did we do this?” And Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.” Whatever you’re doing, is a service toward Christ.
What kind of service are you rendering Him? Our service is no less personal than if Jesus Himself were our employer. I serve Him; I do not serve men. And, you have so much of this. Many things are avoided because people don’t want to offend the guy who gives them the most money. Notice the word slavery, literally in the Greek it is bond service. Paul uses it 17 times in this epistle.
It is a high calling to be a slave of Jesus Christ, to be a servant of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When I prepare a sermon, my thought isn’t, “Will these people like this sermon?” My thought is, “Will God be pleased?” I want to do this so you’re taught, you’re instructed, and God is served. And I don’t want to do anything that would detract from Him, no matter how it affected you.
Verse 19, “Serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.” It’s one thing to be a servant; it’s something else to have the spirit of a servant. Serving the Lord has to be done with all lowliness, with a total sense that you’re a servant. Humility. As capable as he was, as much of a man of knowledge, he was humble.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 expresses it, “For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” He says, “I don’t deserve anything, but I am what I am by the grace of God.”
Serving the Lord involves humility and suffering. That’s the lot of the servant, you know. Jesus became a servant and suffered. The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is the perfect example. And Peter says, “As He was a suffering servant, so we also are to follow in His footsteps.” All that will live godly in this present age are going to suffer persecution. It’s surely going to come.
There are two areas that the suffering comes from. Notice verse 19, “with many tears” – that’s inside suffering – “and trials” – that’s outside suffering. The servant of God, who serves with a full heart in all humility, is going to experience suffering. And first of all, it’s going to be inside suffering tears. Paul’s service to the Lord involved tears because he grieved when he saw how sinful the world is.
Three things grieved him. One, people who were lost. Romans 9:2-3 says, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.” Secondly, carnal Christians. 2 Corinthians 2:4 says, “For I wrote to you with many tears so that you should know the abundant love I have for you.”
Secondly, there is suffering from the outside in Acts 20. The Jews continually plotted against him. Suffering is a part of living a holy life in an unholy world. His obligation to the Church was to teach, verse 20, “You know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house.” Paul didn’t hold back a thing.
He withheld no doctrine, no exhortation, no admonition that was needful. If he knew it was God’s truth, and he knew it was needed to be applied. The question of applying right principles, whatever the consequences, is a question answered by Scripture. You just do it. Paul says, “I held back nothing profitable.” All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.”
You must teach expositionally through the Bible; because then you’re going to hit the counsel of God solidly. Notice two ways Paul taught: publically and from house to house. The idea of teaching publically is simple. They had public meetings, and people came and learned. But he also did it from house to house. Because there you can reinforce and apply the truth which you teach here. Let’s pray.