Practical Eldership — Acts 18-21

0:00 Here we go. Very good. Acts chapter 20, we're gonna begin in verse 17. Verse 17 says, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. When they had come to him, he said to them, you know from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews.

0:29 How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see now, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me nor do I count my life dear to myself so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God will see my face no more. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

1:28 For I've not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the holy spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Verse 31.

2:00 Therefore, watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I've coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who are with me. I've shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak.

2:40 And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, souring most of all for the words which he spoke that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. Let's pray.

3:08 Father, we thank you for your written word, Lord, that has been preserved and more importantly breathed by you. Your Holy Spirit is inspired and we believe that, Lord, and we ask you to teach us. Teach us

3:24 from this text. Teach us from these these words, which are many and have many things in them,

3:30 but Lord, you would have them for us here to learn today. So as we go forward, Lord, we pray that you might do that. It's in your son's name we pray.

3:40 Amen. Okay. What's... Oh, I got a problem?

3:54 I've been corrected.

3:57 What'd I do wrong? I don't know. I guess... Anyway... Oh,

4:01 okay. So okay. Well good morning. It's good to see everybody.

4:07 And I just want you to

4:40 Now in some ways that's great because this... If there's a portion in in the scriptures that I've studied a lot, this is one of them. Okay? And in other ways it's not so great because that means the Lord's trying to teach me some more stuff and so I hope you learn along the way with us and we'll see how that goes. But I thought I'd start off with this picture and we're gonna have a little bit of challenge with some of the light slides today, but let's see if that helps.

5:09 I took this picture a couple of month or so ago. This is the fields of the Duke of Devonshire and his flock as they are eating calmly in this place in England near, well it's at Chatsworth House. But at any rate, I just I like this picture. It's a picture of, I want you to think about it as a picture of the the church at Ephesus. Calmly and carefully and quietly enjoying the fields, the grass that is perfectly suited for them and what they seem to be just you know the lambs are bouncing around here the ewes are getting their fill because they're gonna feed the...

5:53 And it just it's a calm and pleasant scene and I think that's the way the Lord refers to a flock right a flock in and amongst whom need to be shepherded. And so I wanted to start off with that as we talk about this idea of a farewell from Miletus, okay? And Paul is giving this farewell. I'd like to think of it in two ways. One, he's saying goodbye.

6:20 Right? We've seen that or we we can see that as a farewell, but also a farewell. We, he wants them to fare well. And so he's brought them together to give this address. Right?

6:32 And we know that we've been following the the the travels of Paul, the activities of Paul, the the speaking of Paul for many chapters now. And he does this, he calls for the elders of the church. He sends to Ephesus and asks for the elders of the church. Okay? And so these are the two, if you will, characters in the story.

6:56 The obvious one, Paul is speaking and these gentlemen are receiving that message. But there's also this, I won't say hidden, but very important character in the story called the Holy Spirit, and how the spirit is moving and directing and carrying in and amongst this portion. Okay, so let's start off by talking about this word. I don't know if you've heard of this word before, it's a Greek word. I'm gonna say it as presbuteros.

7:26 That might have a little bit of a Mexican roll on the r. It's not intended. That's just the way it comes out. But it's presbuteros. Okay?

7:33 And it's the Greek word that is interpreted here as elder. Okay? If you take just the straight interpretation, it means older. It really means more experience though. The way you would treat a father or a mother, a person of that stature, of that, of that relationship to you.

7:55 Okay? And that's important because he calls for these folks from Ephesus, but there's another word that is coupled with that and that's this word called episcopos. Episcopos. Again, Don am I saying it right or it's close as close as I can get to it. Okay?

8:15 It's episcopos and it's interpreted or it's said in verse 28 it says, the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Okay? Overseers for this flock and he's he's given that role to you. So so really talking about the the the people or the men in this case and the role that they've been given. When you combine the two together it's the elders of the church.

8:41 It's those that are serving in a capacity, in this role for this church at Ephesus. And so I wanna wanna lay that groundwork as we go forward because that's the basis of our conversation and what we need to remember as we go through this passage, I believe. Okay. When you have this combination, it's... I think it's powerful in the sense that you combine this this experienced one or the one that is, in a sense qualified or one that that has a stature with those that have been given the responsibility.

9:37 I who am a sum presbyteros or fellow elder, and a witness of the suffering of Christ. This is Peter talking. Right? And and I appreciate that from from many aspects. It's Peter, we heard a little bit about Peter, a lot about Peter this morning.

9:55 It's Peter and all that he is, all who he is and all that he's experienced speaking to whom? The elders. Okay? At that time And he says not only is he speaking to them but he calls himself an elder as well, a co elder, a fellow elder. And I just appreciate that and the way John later in second John calls himself an elder.

10:18 So there's this transition, they're apostles, we can't doubt that. First Peter chapter one said that, He was an apostle, but then he's, it's a sense that it's transitioning to an elder role that he has. And he says, Shepherd the flock of God, this is in verse two, Shepherd the flock of God, which is among you serving as Episcopos or overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly. You all have heard that before. But I I appreciate it.

10:48 The way those couple together, we put that together and it becomes the elders, the church. You might look up second John one, Titus one five through seven for similar, and then first Timothy three and first Timothy five to see a similar thing to go forward. So there's this combination and a designation. It was specific, not general. It didn't say, send some old folks.

11:16 Send some of the folks that have been around for... It was send the elders of the church. And that's what they did. They're experienced, not just old, and they had eventually some responsibility and therefore some authority as well. It's these guys, okay?

11:37 If we look at the New Testament as a whole and see first Timothy three, Titus one, other places where we see these were folks that were recognized and qualified to be in this role at Ephesus. Okay? So that's to lay a little of the groundwork. It's those folks that he's talking to. And those folks the Holy Spirit is working amongst with the Apostle Paul.

12:02 Okay? Sort of a little bit of introduction. We're gonna talk a little bit about where he's at, but then I wanna get into this idea of a relationship they had, the example that Paul was setting for them and then told them about, what his mission and their mission was, is going forward, and then some instruction that he gives. Okay, that's our outline for today. But if you haven't worn out your map in the back of your Bible like I have looking back, where is he?

12:29 What's he going? I've put one more up here. Devin had one last week, but remember that the third missionary journey, which this depicts, starts in Acts chapter 18 and doesn't really end until Acts chapter 27 when Paul essentially leaves for Rome. Right? He's been jailed for a couple years before that's over with.

12:49 So a long period of time, and we're in Acts chapter 20, so we got a ways to go before Paul is off of his third missionary journey. The last three weeks we've talked, Roger spoke and then Abe and Devin all about this you know time that he had in Ephesus. Paul calls it three years. We can't add that up exactly, but we're gonna believe him. He was there three years and you know he talks about the riot.

13:18 Devin talked or Abe talked about his riot. Devin talked about departure, and then they go, you know, through this this loop and he decides, you know what, I'm gonna go back, but no, I got to go back this way, and that's where we get started talking today. Oops, wrong way. So I thought this was interesting. Acts chapter 20 verse five and six talks about, you know, it it talks in the form of we and us.

14:02 I wanted to bring that up because it puts a marker on what we're talking about here. Okay. The days of unleavened bread, we know were seven days of not eating leavened bread for remembrance of the Exodus. Okay. And then also it followed directly after the Passover.

14:18 Okay. The Passover, seven days of unleavened bread and then fifty days or actually seven weeks of seven plus the next day is fifty days to the to the time of Pentecost or the day of Pentecost. Okay? And so basically what Paul is saying is I'm trying to get from here, Philippi, down to here in... We'll call it under forty two days.

14:46 Okay? Because he's already made up eight by the time he's working here. So he's in a hurry. He's wanting to get from here all the way to here. So he's been walking all this way and now he starts getting on ships.

14:56 I gotta make some time because he wants to be down here in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Okay? It was Acts chapter 20 verse 16 where Devin told us that he went past Ephesus, and then we'll be down here in Acts 21 in the middle here where they're gladly received it at Jerusalem. So they're moving pretty quick here in terms of chapters, and we are going to spend our time today at this spot where they talked about or we stopped called Miletus. Okay.

15:27 He stops in Miletus and he calls for the elders from Ephesus which is up here just a little bit of ways. It only looks like that much on the map but I looked it up for whatever it's worth. Somebody said it's about a three day walk. Okay? So he gets to Miletus, he gets off the ship and he says, yo, you're going to Ephesus, let them know to come on back.

15:49 So it could have been maybe six days, right? Somebody had to walk up there or maybe took a horse or whatever it was, and they came back three days, so it was it wasn't like that. We we tend to look at these maps and think about what would it take me to travel that far? Well, how fast could I go? I mean, I can go from here to, you know, all the way across New York in a few hours, right?

16:11 So it's it's different then. So we're gonna spend this time here talking about what he said to these folks in Miletus. Let's talk about his relationship. Want to go on to his relationship with these folks. Okay, there it is, we're still in this calm thoughtful, you know, environment of a church that's grazing and it might be interesting to go back to the last time he seen these gentlemen.

16:39 Okay. He saw these folks when he left Ephesus. Okay. Says he called them together after the uproar had ceased, right, no more riot. And he calls them together.

16:50 He embraces them and he said, I'm out. Right? Now we could easily come to the conclusion that he was leaving because he was under some sort of duress. Right? They just had a riot.

17:02 He's gotta get out of town. It's far from that in my opinion. Okay? You see that earlier in chapter 19, he said he had purpose in the spirit to go to Jerusalem and then eventually Rome. I'm gonna go through Macedonia and Achaia first.

17:19 He sent Timothy and Erastus away. He basically has this plan. I know where I'm headed, but then he says, he stayed. He stayed long enough for this riot to happen. Right?

17:32 This big uproar and the idol worship that was there that ably talked about. I didn't mean to say it that way, but he he was very capable in what he said about the riot and I appreciated that. But there was this point in the riot where Paul says, I'm going in. Let me at him. I will go in and and settle this down.

17:54 And what does it say? It says that those folks stopped him. They kept him from going and as a matter other officials of Asia, I have to believe maybe they were believers or they certainly had known Paul, he'd been there for three years or however long teaching and they said, no, we don't want you to go in. Now in some ways you're looking at that, what? I'm the Apostle Paul.

18:18 Why can't I go in? I look at it a little bit differently. I look at it and these folks saying, we got it. You're not needed. It's okay.

18:29 This is under control. We are willing to deal with this. And so at that point he says, okay. This is a good time for me to go. I'm no longer needed here in the sense of they have it.

18:48 I can I can be comfortable that this is a time to go? So I believe that he trusted them. No question about that. That he said, you know what? It's okay.

19:13 But don't, we're gonna talk a little bit more, but don't take it that these were supermen. Okay? There's trust in them for a reason. Okay. We're gonna go on and talk a little more about his relationship.

19:26 When he departs these folks at the end of the chapter it says that he knelt and prayed with them. He hugged them and kissed them. They wept freely and they were sorrowed. They accompanied him to the ship. They were comfortable with him.

19:42 Okay? This is not, you know, a high and lofty individual who has taught them and given them some special, you know, office in which he resides. It was a relationship they had that was tender and close to the point where he was ready. They wept, they hugged him, they were on him. In a sense, they couldn't bear to see him go and yet they knew they would have to.

20:10 So they were very comfortable in this relationship. I think that's important to remember. But let's talk about this summons. He called to Ephesus, so he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders to come. So he essentially summoned them.

20:24 Right? And and that's great. But we can all, we can leave it there that he was just in a hurry. Right? He was just in a hurry to get by.

20:33 He didn't wanna spend, you know, if I go up there I'm gonna have to eat at so and so's place and then I'm gonna have to go here and this person's gonna want... You you could leave it at that. But I think it's more than that. He had a plan. Sure, he was in a hurry.

20:47 We can't deny that from what what we're seeing in his... We'll talk a little bit more about that in a minute. But he said, you come to me. You can say that's an authoritative way to do it, but it's also him saying, come to me because I'm gonna give you a message and then what are they gonna do? They are gonna return.

21:11 So the message then from Paul to Ephesus gets delivered by whom? This group, these elders. They are taking the message back. Right? And not only that, but they are taking the message back.

21:30 It's on their shoulders now. It's it's something where all of a sudden, you know, he laid something on them and you can almost feel them go, now I gotta walk all the way back with these guys and they're gonna talk about it. They are gonna deliver to him or to the church this message that Paul has delivered. That's extremely empowering. Okay?

21:53 I I don't think this is a mistake in the fact that Paul just was in a hurry, but a specific pattern of saying no no no, you guys come because I trust you will take it back. I left you because I trusted in you and because I believe that the church is in a good spot. Okay? And that's a good thing. Let's talk a little bit about...

22:15 A little bit more about the example that Paul set and he's trying to remind them of that. Right? He says, I lived among you. Peter... Or he says, you...

22:26 I lived among you. Peter said, of whom you were among. In other words, there's this among and among thing going on between the elders were among the church, the church was among them. They they were, know, in a... Not not attached at the hip, but intermingled and close and tight.

22:45 Okay? He said we had many tears and trials. He was persecuted while he was there. They saw all of it. Right?

22:51 They saw all of Paul. All of him. And I think that made him authentic. It made him a special person, not just because he had the words of life, but because he lived life with them. He knew them individually and he knew them in a sense piece by piece.

23:12 And they knew him piece by piece, difficulty, good times, bad times, etcetera. He said, I kept back nothing. I was all out there. You you knew everything. There was nothing that I hid.

23:25 It was all there. All for you to witness, all for you to learn, all for you to hear. I kept back nothing. I proclaimed it, but I also taught it. I did it not only publicly where I could announce it, but then I also did it privately in your home.

23:43 You know, so so you you all leave here and and you you say, I think I took it with me. But but if I came to your house you can say, let let me ask you just a little bit more about that point. Or are you sure you meant to say it that way? Or I still don't get it. Explain to it one more time.

24:02 That's the way Paul was. Okay? He didn't discern between Jews. He didn't... Greeks.

24:08 It didn't matter who it was. Purple or red, green or whatever that song says, that's the way he was. He was extremely generous with what he was proclaiming and what he was teaching. Okay. He said, I coveted no silver, gold or apparel.

24:58 He wasn't that way at all. Said, look, I'm here to teach you and it's so important to me, I'll take care of my own expenses. I don't need to have, you know, you pay me how to do it. So don't confuse the payment with or where where my livelihood comes from with what I am saying. Those are two different things and he was very adamant about that.

25:21 I didn't covet anybody, you know that. Didn't ask for your clothes, I didn't ask for your silver, I didn't ask for your gold and it's not a point of pride. It's a point of distinction between the message and the care of the messenger. He relied on the Lord for his care. So he very...

25:38 I'll call that charitable. Okay? Another example that he's setting for these elders. He... Remember who he's talking to.

25:44 Okay? And he was there amongst them for a purpose, wasn't he? He was there just so he could make friends. He was there just so he could, you know, gain a paycheck. He was there so he could get land.

26:00 He was there for whatever other reason to gain power, None. He was there for one purpose. None of those are right. He was there to preach this message. Repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

26:16 Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that it? Isn't that the gospel in a few words? Repent. Repent.

26:26 Turn from your ways. Turn from your your your desire and your your your hope in yourself. And turn towards God and realize and have faith that the payment that the Lord Jesus Christ has made on your behalf is accepted, is capable, is able to save you. That was the purpose. He said to these elders, don't have any other purpose.

26:55 Don't do this for money. Don't do this for fame. Do it for this reason, this purpose, and this purpose only, and that is to convey this message. Let's talk about his mission for a minute. Now again, we talked about back in chapter 19, he says, you know what?

27:13 I'm headed to Jerusalem and then to Rome. I'm gonna stop off in these other places first. So that's a reminder. And then while he was on the ship he said, know what, I don't want to stop in Ephesus, pass him up, let's go on to Miletus. He avoids that and then he says, I'm going to Jerusalem and I want to be there by Pentecost.

27:35 So this is ingrained in Paul. Not even to the point where he's saying it over and over again, and Luke is recording it over and over again. Right? And then he gets to Miletus and he has these words to say, I'm bound in the spirit. The spirit in a sense has got a hold of me and is taking me towards Jerusalem.

27:53 I want to be there by Pentecost, very important. But the spirit is still testifying this idea that there's chains and tribulations that await him. He is going to be bound. Okay? He is going to have difficulties in doing what he's doing.

28:07 And yet he's still going. He's convinced that he's headed that way. He gets to, you know, chapter 21 and I can't wait to hear Andy speak about this because there's three times, you know, he says Paul was testified here by the spirit and then two more times by the disciples in Tyre and Agabus also about, don't go. Make that like a wet your whistle for coming next week because it's really important to understand this, I believe, as well. So here we have this comparison.

28:55 We're gonna compare the the different missions here. They they each have a role. Paul is acting as an apostle and the elders are acting as this overseater or this overseer. Okay? The one that's responsible, the one that's overseeing the activities of the church and watching out for it, okay?

29:14 So so so we can see that Paul's saying, look, I had a role and it was as overseeing the church at Ephesus. I gave you an example of how to act, but now it's your responsibility, not mine. Okay. So there's this transfer of activity. And he says, my mission right now is to go and to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

29:43 He said, I I got to go. I I'd like to stay. Matter of fact, I love this so much that I gave you an example of how I cared for this church at Ephesus. I spent three years not leaving anything on the table, but it's now your turn. Okay?

30:00 It's not mine anymore. I have other things to do. So there's this separation of role and separation of responsibilities. And he gives us these two other Greek words. This first one that was interpreted take heed, whichever it is or something closer to that, but it means basically to be on your guard, watch out, be vigilant, be careful, guard yourself.

30:29 Or guard what you're doing here. And he says do that to whom or for whom? Take heed first to yourselves. And I take this as a, you know, put your own mask on before you put the mask on those who are depending on you. Because if you can't, if you aren't in a good condition, then they aren't in a good dish condition.

30:56 So take heed to yourselves and and and I wanna be careful about saying it this way. But as the elders, we have a responsibility one to another. One to another to to take care of one others, to ourselves. To take care because you know this man walks in a path that only I know part of. Okay?

31:19 And and I walk in a path that only he knows part of. And at a time I walked in a path that only that guy knew part of and this one here. And we have to take care one to another and it is important. We we covet your prayers. It's it's not a lonely spot but it is one that we understand because we're in that role.

31:43 All the flock, everybody, not the ones you like, not the ones you don't like, not the ones that need it or don't need it, not the ones that are portraying all the flock. Okay? To care for all the flock, to take heed, to watch out, to be on guard for all of the flock, to oversee that. And then there's this other word, shepherd. It's interpreted shepherd poi mei...

32:07 Poi mei no. And he basically says that that means to tend to. Okay? To feed, to care for. Now if you ever done anything with sheep, which we did for several years, and you find out that a sheep needs a lot more than just to be fed.

32:24 Okay. You got to be fed the right things. It's got to be given water. Sheep are not very smart. That's no they they do goofy things.

32:34 You gotta watch out for them. When they get a bucket on their head, you gotta go find and track them down and get it off. They get stuck in the weeds. You gotta pull them out. There's all kinds of reasons that there's just a lot to do, to tend to the flock, if you will.

32:50 But this is an important part. It's not just because it's a good idea. It's not just because they need it. It's because they are tremendously, each one of these sheep are tremendously valued to the Lord. He says, I paid with my blood for these.

33:26 The Lord Jesus commissioned him to do this work. Okay? And and in the same way he's saying the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. The Holy Spirit has has demonstrated. The Holy Spirit is gifted.

33:39 The Holy Spirit is enabled. The Holy Spirit is involved in this activity of oversight. And if we forget that we're doomed. We're doomed. Okay?

33:51 And so that's important to remember. It's not a prideful point it is one that is comforting in many ways. He says you will see my face no more. And that in and of itself is the farewell. But he also wants the church to fare well.

34:11 And he says, you're gonna do this without me. Have you ever been given something like that? I've walked into places where you know there's this operation I have to run and my boss says, okay, you got it. See you later. Or he didn't even toss me in or go with me.

34:30 He tossed me out there. He says, see that that guy and figure it out. When when when when they when they leave you you kinda... That's what Paul's doing here. He's saying, I'm out.

34:43 You're in. It's your responsibility. And more importantly, I know you're gonna be able to do it. I know. He's totally confident with that.

34:53 And I think we'll see it in the total of what we're talking about here. So he gives them this instruction. He says, listen, there's some danger points out here. From outside, we will see wolves that are savage wolves come in. From inside, maybe even in amongst the group that was there, men will rise up.

35:12 Men will speak perverse things that they shouldn't be and that don't don't coincide with what the gospel is. These savage wokes will come in. They don't belong there. They don't belong in and amongst this group of sheep. We see the sheep there.

35:28 There's wolves that when they come in here they don't belong. They don't belong. Okay? And he said that the wolves will not spare the flock. What does a wolf...

35:39 Why does a wolf like a sheep?

35:42 To eat it.

35:44 Right? It needs energy. It needs... It's gonna... That's the purpose of what it's gonna do.

35:50 That's what, you know, that's what they're made to do. But these wolves are gonna come in and take the body's money. It's gonna steal your joy. Gonna steal things away from you that the Lord has given to us. And that is the wolf that we need to be watching out for.

36:09 Danger. Drawing disciples after themselves. Okay. This is something that people will all of a sudden think, you know what, I got it figured out better than better than this book. I got it figured out better than the last guy.

36:23 I got it figured out better than what the Lord can do. It's... You know what? Forget about that old dusty book. Forget about those old dusty elders.

36:34 Okay? Follow me and I will lead you and not the Lord. That's a dangerous spot to be in. And so it's important that we understand what this motive is. This is not a motive of, you know what, I made a mistake.

36:48 I made a mistake. It's no longer, you know, I said something, I wish I'd said it different. It's drawing somebody after me. Follow me. I'm taking something away from you.

36:59 That is the danger that we're looking for. Okay, he says watch and remember. Remember how I conducted myself amongst you and that's what you need to do. He said, depend upon or I commend you to God and the word of his grace. Folks, if we if we abandon this, we've abandoned it all.

37:23 If if I try and rely on myself or or the the collective wisdom of the group of us, I am doomed. Okay? This is why Paul is so confident that he believes that they will depend upon God and the word of his grace moving forward and that will be what carries them through. So how can we apply this? Alright.

37:50 I'm gonna try and wrap it up quickly. But this is a... What I'll call a biblical model. This is what the Bible teaches us, I believe, about the oversight and the activities of leadership in the in the church, the local church. Okay?

38:06 It's it's revolving around the elders of the church, and this is only part of it. We could talk more about it, but Paul is leaving these last, these folks with these last words to wrap it up, if you will. And I hope you would take some instruction away from this. Right? Just this discussion and this reading and these points that we've talked about.

38:26 And and say that, you know what, this is based on the headship of Christ. We have to have that first. It's reliance on the Holy Spirit. There's a mission and a role given by the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit. Okay?

38:39 We depend on God and his word. There's plurality, responsibility, qualification, local autonomy. They're among and we're among. We can build and relinquish. Paul did that.

38:54 He built the church if you will and they relinquished control of it. It's important to remember that to these folks that were led by the Holy Spirit. This example was happening here for Ephesus. I mean, Timothy and Erastus, we know Timothy was a gifted man and he sent him away from Ephesus. Okay?

39:12 We know that he left Luke in Philippi, but then we know later that he wrote or wrote back to whom at Philippi? The elders and deacons, those presbyteros and overseers. So, you know, this is a model that we we see throughout the scripture and is emphasized throughout the scripture. I won't delay anymore. We can see that this mission that he was on was very unique.

39:36 It was unique to him and it was unique to this group of elders. It was different. Okay. It may have been transitional. It may have changed, but it was different, unique, but it was spirit led as well.

39:49 Paul was convinced this is what I should do and I know that he's now asked you to do this. You can take away from this the relationship. I don't know if you're an elder, I exhort you. If you are gonna be an elder someday, I invite you or maybe inform you. If you are searching for an elder, which we all should be to recognize that which the Lord has provided, then you should be doing that.

40:19 We all should be. If you're a sheep, watch out for the danger. We need to all know that because what happens in a flock of sheep is that one gets agitated, they all get agitated. We need to understand, watch out for those danger points. If you're not an elder you can hold those who are accountable.

40:35 And if you are a believer, we can all follow Paul's example in the way he conducted himself. No more importantly than the example he set by the way he lived. And if you take nothing away, take this. Paul lived his life in a way that he could say, that you know what, I know I'm going. I know I'm headed into trouble.

41:03 But he didn't stop. I know there's gonna be difficulty, but that's not important to me. My life is not valued for myself, but for him who sent me. That is the value that I place on this mission. And he lived in a way that he could say, that I might finish my race with joy.

41:28 Not like crawl across the finish line. Not you know, finish like as soon as I can, but finish the race he's given me with a joy. He can, in a sense, bound across that finish line and say, Lord, thank you. You brought me this far. I've finished my race.

41:48 Okay? Even to the point where he can say, look, I'm innocent of all the blood of all men. Nobody, nobody can leave a conversation that I've had. Nobody's can leave the teaching and say, I didn't know. I died without the message.

42:07 The blood is on my hands. I killed them in a sense. None of that. Paul can with a good conscience say, I am innocent of the blood of all men. He said listen, I did the did I did not my best.

42:23 I declared the whole counsel of God. That which he gave to me I have given to you. Oh, that we could all live. The mission that he has given us. Whatever it is.

42:37 The unique mission for you. The unique mission for you that you might be able to live in this way. That we could cross with joy. That we could say that the... I've left it all on the table.

42:51 I've run the race. I'm innocent. I've given everything.

43:32 In a way that he's called these elders to do, Lord, to to go and even though he won't be with them, to rely on your grace and the word of that grace to to feel confident in it, to feel comfortable with it, and to in spite of what might come, in spite of the trials and tribulations that we might walk in that way. We pray these things in your son's precious name. Amen.