Godly Elders
Godly Elders
Acts 20:17-38
There are certain moments in life that leave an indelible mark. Conversations, events, or speeches which we cannot forget. Why this event or that conversation impacts us is sometimes hard to say. In 1996, the science fiction blockbuster, Independence Day, came out starring Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. Aliens invade the earth and threaten human extinction. The movie builds to the last scene when the president Thomas Whitmore, played by Bill Pullman, addresses the whole world in his climactic speech that, “should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:
"We will not go quietly into the night!
We will not vanish without a fight!
We’re going to live on!
We’re going to survive!"
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!
For some reason that speech has been burned into my memory. And I don’t know. Maybe because I heard it as a 16 year old boy who wanted to be ready to save the world from a future alien invasion. There has been countless times we will be driving down the road facing some particular challenge when I will randomly start quoting the speech to the family,
We will not go quietly into the night!
We will not vanish without a fight!
We're going to live on!
We're going to survive!
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!
Ellen either smiles or rolls her eyes depending on the moment, but the speech comes out. The speech has left its mark.
Another speech, however, has left an indelible mark that shapes almost every day of my life as a pastor. Paul’s farewell address to his dear friends, the beloved elders of Ephesus, has profoundly shaped my pastoral ministry. The speech continues to encourage and convict me when I consider the task of shepherding God’s people and as I try to train others to shepherd God’s people. For me, it is the “Mount Everest” of pastoral instruction. Beloved, if you want to pray for your pastors, this would be an excellent passage to pray over them. Elders, if you want to shepherd well, this passage would be one to commit to memory. Aspiring pastors, if you want to know the who and what of pastoral ministry, drink deeply from the well of Acts 20:17-38.
As a pastor, when I come to these indelible texts that have so deeply touched my soul, I pray I will be able to do them justice. I pray the Holy Spirit will take this farewell speech and burn it in your hearts so you will not go silently into the night, you will not go down without a fight, but you will live on and you will survive. For today, as every day, is our “Dependence Day.” (Hopefully, that’s not cheesy). Let us depend on the Lord’s grace yet again to carry and sustain us in his grace and help us to receive the word with glad and sincere hearts.
When I preached this message for Whit’s ordination, I had 30 points, but today I want to give you merely four, “four must have’s” for the pastoral ministry that Paul hopes will embody the elders of Ephesus and all elders throughout history. The first,
Godly Example
Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus because he did not want to spend a lot of time in Asia as was hastening for Jerusalem, but when he arrived at Miletus, he had one more word to give to his disciples. So he sent word and called the elders to himself. Now Miletus was 62 miles from Ephesus and was a three day journey by foot, but when Paul called, the elders came. Acts 20:17, “Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.” Again notice first the New Testament pattern of church government, Paul called the elders, plurality of Ephesus, singular. The New Testament pattern is each church would have a plurality of elders/pastors to care for and watch out for the church. He called, they came. Acts 20:18–23,
[18] And when they came to him, he said to them:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, [19] serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; [20] how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, [21] testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. [22] And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, [23] except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
Paul grounds his pastoral exhortation in his own pastoral example. He begins, “You yourselves know how I lived among you.” Paul was confident of the example he set for the Ephesians.
Paul was not boasting in himself, but boasting in the grace of God extended in and through him. Paul did this throughout his ministry.
1 Corinthians 4:16–17 - [16] I urge you, then, be imitators of me. [17] That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
1 Thessalonians 1:5b–6 You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. [6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
2 Thessalonians 3:7–9 - [7] For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, [8] nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. [9] It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
Philippians 3:17 - [17] Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
Philippians 4:9 -[9] What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
1 Timothy 4:11–12 -[11] Command and teach these things. [12] Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
And it was not just Paul but Peter and the author of the Hebrews as well,
1 Peter 5:1–3 - [1] So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: [2] shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; [3] not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
Hebrews 13:7 - [7] Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
If we are going to teach others as pastors, parents or gospel practitioners, we must set a godly example for others to imitate. Since the church is called to imitate their leaders, every charge we see to pastors, is in some way a charge also to the people.
Paul was confident in the life he lived before the Ephesians. Again, he is not confident in himself, but in God who worked in him to live a life worthy of the gospel. Verse 19, “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trial that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.” His aim was to serve the Lord. He came with a specific mission of service to the Lord. And he did in three specific ways. He served with humility. One of the greatest marks of the Christian life is humility. If so of the Christian life, how much more so of the pastoral ministry. If there is arrogance in the people, there is arrogance in the pastors. Beloved, if we boast, we boast in the Lord. The gospel of the cross should remove all human boasting from our ministry. We have received our ministry all by grace. I appreciate the way Tim Keller speaks of humility as self-forgetfulness. Humility is not thinking less about yourself but thinking about yourself less. As pastors, we have to think more about the Lord and his people than ourselves. We have to be more concerned with what God thinks of us than what others think of us.
He also served with tears. The pastoral ministry is not merely a combination of tasks to perform but a heart to be given. 1 Thessalonians 2:8.
[8] So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Paul gave his life to the Ephesians. He labored for their souls with tears. True pastoral ministry is a ministry of tears. It is wrapped up with a deep affection for the saints. We want with everything in our souls the maturity of our people. We cry when people walk away from Christ, we cry when people turn from sin to Christ, and we cry when people are sinned against. We cry for our people, because we love our people. True pastoral ministry flows from a heart of love. 1 Timothy 1:5, The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
He also served the Lord through trials. We already know from Acts 19 that somes of the Jews became stubborn and spoke evil of the Way and of Paul. Other Jews throughout Paul’s ministry incited riots, caused imprisonment, beatings and a stoning. Do not be surprised when the fiery trial comes about as though something strange were happening to you for all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. If you desire to serve as a pastor, know this, you are inviting more suffering into your life. You will face more attacks from the evil one and the world.
Paul was confident how he lived among the Ephesians. “You yourselves know how I lived among you.” Let me double click on that last phase, “among you.” Pastoral ministry is not only in the study, but it is in the lives of the people. Jesus came to live among us and as his undershepherds we are called to do the same. We must know our flocks. We must smell like our sheep. We must live among them. So elders are we setting a godly example for our people? Let us give our people an example worth following.
The second pastoral “Must-Have” is godly exhortation.
Godly Exhortation
The main distinction between a sheep and a shepherd in the church is the teaching and oversight of souls. Paul did not want to merely set a godly example, but he wanted to set a godly example so that the message of the gospel would be heard and received among the people. Instruction best comes with relationship. Many of you have probably heard the statement, “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” We may add, “People who know how much you care, will care how much you know.” The aim of a godly life is imitation and transformation into the image of Christ through the word of God. Listen to all the words related to exhortation and teaching. Acts 20:20–27,
[20] how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, [21] testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. [22] And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, [23] except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. [24] But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. [25] And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. [26] Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, [27] for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Paul anchored his ministry on the teaching and preaching of the whole counsel of God’s Word. He did not shrink back or withhold anything that was profitable and good for the people. He told them the whole truth.
He did it publicly and from house to house. Pastoral ministry is merely the pulpit. It is the pulpit. We are called to stand week after week and open up God’s word for God’s people. We stand under God’s authority to declare as a herald of the King his message of salvation. I do not want to diminish the pulpit in any way, but the pulpit ministry is insufficient to complete the pastoral task. We preach publicly and house to house. We take the word into people’s living rooms and kitchens. We share the word on walks and car rides. We counsel the word in offices and hospital rooms. We speak of the glories of salvation and warnings of wrath. The beauty of forgiveness and the terror of judgment. We must teach the whole Word in all of life.
Paul modeled a life of singular focus for the glory of God. He knew he was going to Jerusalem. He knew that imprisonment and a likely death awaited him, but he still went. Why? Verse 24, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Talk about a life verse. I just want to fight the good fight, to finish the race, to keep the faith. He wants to please and honor King Jesus with his life. He says, “my life is nothing special compared to the task I was given.” He wanted to keep testifying about the gospel of the grace of God.
Pastoral ministry is hard. It is stressful. It comes with all sorts of unique challenges and stresses. Barna recently published a survey sharing the high degree of pastoral burnout and stress among pastors. I heard recently from a seminary administration how there are fewer and fewer men wanting to pursue pastoral ministry. Pastoral ministry is hard, but it is glorious. We get to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. We get to give our time to tell people there is hope in Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness from sin and eternal life in Jesus Christ. Speaking of the grace of God never gets old.
Friend, maybe you do not understand the grace of God and our need of it. The Bible says we are all sinners and deserving of eternal damnation in hell because of sin. God is eternal and when we sin against an eternal God, the punishment must fit the crime. Do you see yourself as a sinner? Have you ever felt guilty? Have you ever experienced regret for your actions? Maybe shame for something you have done? All those emotions are to point you to God. First, to point you to how you wronged God and then to show you your need of God. The gospel of grace says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” We all deserve death, but God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay our penalty. He died in our place taking the full responsibility of our sin. But Jesus didn’t only die, he was raised from the dead. He is alive. The grace of God says even though you are sinner and deserve God’s just and right wrath, you can be made alive through repentance of sin and faith in Christ. The gospel of grace offers you eternal life today. Repent and believe. Any one of us would be happy to talk to you more about grace so please ask us. So if you are not a Christian, after the service ask someone near you, “So, tell me more about the grace of God.”
When Paul compared the tears and the trials of ministry with the grace of God, it was a no-brainer. What a precious, precious gift to speak of the gospel. There are days when I am weary in my pastoral labors, but when I think that I have the opportunity to share the gospel of grace and mercy and forgiveness with those who are far from God and to those who need to be reminded of it; I am strengthen for the task by his power that works within in. May I only finish my course and the ministry that I have received from the Lord Jesus. And beloved, we all have received a ministry. We all have been entrusted as stewards of the gospel. Let us be faithful to the ministry we have received from God.
Paul told his friends. I am never going to see you again. But I did not shrink back from telling you the whole counsel of God’s Word. I did not hide anything from you. I told you everything God had told me. I gave you it all therefore I am innocent. Beloved, we cannot make people turn to Christ. For that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Salvation belongs to the Lord. But we plant and we can water seeds of the gospel. We sow the seed and leave the results to God.
Third, pastors “Must-Have” is a godly effort.
Goldy Effort
The first half of the sermon is Paul laying out what he has done. He lived a godly life among them and he testified to the gospel. Verse 28 is when Paul shifts his sermon to the responsibilities of the Ephesian elders. We see a command and a warning. Acts 20:28
[28] Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Paul gives a command to the Elders to pay careful attention to themselves and all the flock and calls them overseers. Paul uses both presbuteros (elder) and episkopos (overseer). The words are used interchangeably in the New Testament but he used episkopos here specifically because it is related to the charge. The word has the meaning to look intently or to inspect carefully. Paul was charging the elders to pay careful attention or to look carefully at two things: themselves and all the flock.
Paul first charges them to watch their own life and doctrine. The first calling of any Christian is to care for their own soul. You can’t give out to others what you do not have yourself. You must pay careful attention to your own soul. You must weed the garden of your own heart. You must spend time with God in prayer and in studying his word. It is interesting that before Paul speaks about the dangers that are coming he stops and tells pastors to take care of their own soul. Pastor, your soul is precious to God. It was purchased with his own blood. The blood of the Lord Jesus died for your soul. He wants to have intimate communion with you. He wants you to have intimate communion with him. The only way you will be sustained in pouring your life out for others is God is being poured into you. If we neglect our own soul, we will not be serving in God’s power but our own flesh. And our flesh cannot produce spiritual fruit. We must watch our lives and doctrine so that we can care for the sheep.
Pay careful attention to all the flock. We are not called to look after only the old or only the young. We are not called to pay careful attention only to the rich and not the poor. We must go after straying sheep, hurting sheep, and lost sheep. We must strengthen and encourage growing sheep. When I look at this verse I see much in what I and the other elders are doing, but I also know we can do better. Are we paying careful attention to all of the sheep? As I prepared this message, I know there are sheep who need better care. God has given his sheep to us to watch out for; the sheep he has purchased with his own blood. The Holy Spirit has made us overseers of a particular flock. Jesus laid down his life for the sheep so must we. For ALL the sheep. Richard Baxter, author of the Reformed Pastor, wrote this on Acts 20:28,
Oh then, let us hear these arguments of Christ, whenever we feel ourselves grow dull and careless: ‘Did I die for them, and wilt not thou look after them? Were they worth my blood and are they not worth thy labour? Did I come down from heaven to earth, to seek and to save that which was lost; and wilt thou not go to the next door or street or village to seek them? How small is thy labour and condescension as to mine? I debased myself to this, but it is thy honour to be so employed. Have I done and suffered so much for their salvation; and was I willing to make thee a co-worker with me, and wilt thou refuse that little that lieth upon thy hands?
When we look for what Christ has done for his sheep, we must give every effort to watch out for their souls.
This verse is also an important verse for church membership. God has designed shepherds to care for sheep. Acts 20:28 helps me happily recommend people to visit and try other churches. It helps me to truly believe the Holy Spirit is the one who assigns people to particular fellowships. If the Holy Spirit leads someone here, then we have been charged by the Holy Spirit to care for their souls. And they have been assigned to us because our fellowship needs their unique gifts and talents and they need the unique gifts of our fellowship. I am not called to be everyone’s shepherd, but only those the Holy Spirit has made me an overseer of.
This verse also encourages church membership. God’s design is for sheep to be under the protection of shepherds. When you decide not to join a church, you are saying, “I do not agree with God’s plan. I do not need shepherds to watch out for myself. I am good on my own.” I think it is prideful and foolish. It is prideful to say you do not need help. And it is foolish because you are refusing God’s design for help. You need shepherds. You need other sheep. And the sheep need you. And shepherds need you. It helps us tremendously when we know who the sheep we are called to care for. And if you are a Christian, and you want to be obedient to God’s word, how do you obey Scriptures like Hebrews 13:17? It holds a similar idea but from the opposite direction.
[17] Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
If you chose not to covenant with a body and under the oversight of shepherds, who are your elders? How can you obey leaders and submit to them? And why would you not take God’s help in the leaders he is giving you for your own good? I would challenge you to give me your defense, from the Scriptures, on why it is God’s desire for you not to join a local church.
The local church is so precious to God that he sent his own Son to shed his blood for the church. And the sheep are so precious that the Good and Chief Shepherd has left undershepherds to stand watch over their souls. If you love Christ and his Word, let me employ to covenant with a body of believers to encourage and strengthen the saints as you are being cared for by godly undershepherds of the Lord Jesus. Because there are wolves who are out to devour you.
Pastors are called to protect the sheep from wolves. Paul knows that after he is gone there will be some who will be captured by the evil one to do this will and work to destroy the church, Acts 20:29–32,
[29] I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; [30] and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. [31] Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. [32] And now I commend 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. (ESV)
There is a steady consistent warning against false teachers. On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said Matthew 7:15–20,
[15] “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? [17] So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. [18] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Our main concern in the church is not ideology of the secular world. We know where the world stands. As R.C. Sproul said, “Paul was not concerned with sheep dressed in wolves clothing, but wolves dressed as sheep.” We should not be overly concerned about the world and their ideas, but if those worldly ideas and philosophies are promoted by the church.
Paul warned the church day and night, through tears, about the danger of false teachers. He warned them to be alert. To be aware of those who come in the name of Christ yet, doctrine is twisted. The job of a pastor is to protect the flock from those who claim to be part of the flock and yet teach or practice things that do not accord with godliness. This task never ends. The task of shepherding the flock of God in the truth will always remain until the Lord returns. We must be vigilant. Scripture will always be under attack. There will be some well-meaning Christian teachers who aim to serve people but will lead them away from the truth. As Paul warned Timothy, 2 Timothy 4:1–5,
[1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5] As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
This will take godly effort.
Beloved, one of the greatest gifts our church has been given has been the people of the church and the elders who care for them. By God’s grace, our church loves the truth and does not desire to wander off into myths. We want to hold fast to the whole counsel of God’s word. And I am grateful to serve alongside elders who deeply love the Word of God and desire for every aspect of our church to be governed by it. But the strength does not come from us, but from God. Verse 32, “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” The good work God has begun, he will complete. He has promised you an inheritance and he will hold you fast. What he has called you to, he will build you up and equip you to accomplish.
Paul turns again to himself and his testimony among them. Highlighting one of the great dangers of those in leadership: money. Acts 20:33–35,
[33] I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. [34] You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. [35] In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
He is not asking the elders to do anything that he himself was not willing to do. There is a danger in working in an unbalanced way, but the work of the ministry is hard work. It requires much labor and much effort. It requires Holy Spirit empowered labor. And it requires us to always remember it is more blessed to give than to receive. This was probably a statement shared by Jesus during this earthly ministry which was passed down orally throughout the generations rather than written in the gospels. Remember John’s words of Jesus, John 21:25,
[25] Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (ESV)
We do not have all the words Jesus said or the things he did, but what we do have is sufficient to believe he is the Son of God and that by believing we may have life in his name.
Godly Emotions
Paul spent years with the Ephesian elders. He prayed with them, did ministry together, taught the truth together and fought against wolves together. And this was the last time they would be together. I hope you can sense the emotion in this passage. Acts 20:36–38
[36] And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. [37] And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, [38] being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.
So many emotions in that moment. Tears of sorrow and sadness. There was much weeping. All goodbyes are sad.
Many parents over the last several weeks dropped their children off to college for the first time and there was much weeping on the part all. There is always sorry in goodbyes, but there is hope in a return. Paul’s speech ended in sorrow because they knew they would not see him again. But there was another farewell speech that did not focus merely on the parting but what the parting accomplished. The greatest farewell address was given by the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Olivet. He looked as his disciples and said, John 16:25–28;31-33
[25] “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. [26] In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; [27] for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. [28] I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father….
[31] Do you now believe? [32] Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. [33] I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
In the world we will have tribulation. But Beloved, take heart. Jesus has overcome the world. Jesus went to the cross. He went to the grave. But praise be to God, Jesus has overcome the world. He is risen. He is alive. And he will come again.
Friends, Paul knelt with the elders and prayed knowing they would not see each other again in this life, but they knew they would see each other in the life to come. They believed in the gospel of grace. They believed in the gospel of the resurrection. They believed in the hope of heaven. Paul’s wrote, Acts 20:24,
[24] But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
His last recorded written words were to Timothy when he said, 2 Timothy 4:6–8;22
[6] For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. [7] I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. [8] Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing…[22]The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”
God strengthened his servant to finish his course and to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. I pray his final word would leave an indelible mark on your soul. May the Lord be with your spirit and may his Grace be with you. In this life you will face tribulation, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the world.