Full Transcript

Welcome to Share the Word, a Great Commission’s project where we share the big ideas of the New Testament chapter by chapter. In Acts chapter 20, as we continue to follow the Apostle Paul’s travels, I’m honored to introduce our guest speaker, who has asked to simply be introduced as Bob. He’s not only one of our board members, but his experience in leadership training is, to say the least, extensive. In this episode, Bob brings that experience and shares his insights in the principles of leadership of the church. Let’s listen in. Acts chapter 20: Travel with a Purpose.

Chapter 20 is about a lot more of the Apostle Paul’s travels. Do you like to travel? I’ve always enjoyed traveling. When you think about a trip, you think about all the wonderful places you get to go and the things to see. You tend to forget or minimize the difficult parts of traveling. My wife Sherry and I were invited to go on a missionary trip to Costa Rica years ago with evangelist Luis Palau.

When we got there, Sherry’s luggage was nowhere to be found and was finally delivered the next day, but a special white blazer that she had bought just for the trip was missing. Instead of just missing some clothing, when he was traveling, Paul heard reports that the plots on his life while he were traveling were real, so he had to strategically alter his route to avoid the murderers. Paul pretty much had two choices: walk or go by boat. There were no buses, cars, trains, planes, or even phones. Today we can jump on a plane and be on the other side of the world in 20 hours. I had a younger person ask me how we ever met up with each other years ago without cell phones.

I told him we made an appointment, and if the other person wasn’t there, you waited a while and then you left. Paul had several times in the book of Acts where someone failed to appear at the agreed-upon destination. It was difficult. Chapter 20 follows the riot at Ephesus. Notice that the author Luke uses we to describe the band of travelers. He had joined the group in Acts chapter 16:17.

Luke gives a very detailed account of where they were and how many days or months they stayed there. The first two verses of the chapter state twice that when Paul went through the towns, he encouraged the believers. You know it takes a person secure in themselves and in their own identity to be a true encourager. It means you’re thinking of others, not of yourself. A good example would be when you’re invited to a gathering with a lot of people. What are you thinking about right before you walk in the door?

Are you evaluating how these people will respond to you and what they’ll think of you or what they’re thinking? Or are you thinking, How can I be an encouragement to someone in this meeting tonight? Paul preached a farewell message while he was in Troas. They met on the Lord’s Day, which was Sunday. However, in those days, Sunday wasn’t part of the weekend, and it wasn’t a day off. Their time together probably didn’t start till the evening after working all day, and Paul continued talking a long while.

About midnight, one of the young men who was sitting up in a third-story window fell asleep and fell out of the window. His name was Eutychus. The passage doesn’t directly say, but it seemed like Eutychus probably actually died. Paul stopped his speaking and went down and prayed for the young man, and he came back to life and everyone was surely comforted. Paul then continued speaking to the break of dawn. When the rest of the group got on the ship to continue traveling, Paul told him that he wanted to walk to the next town by himself.

Maybe he enjoyed the time alone or the exercise. His overarching goal during these days was to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost. When the group arrived at Miletus, they sent for the elders of the church from Ephesus to come and meet them there. Here Paul mentions all three functions of an elder. First, an elder refers to someone who is mature in the faith and has demonstrable character. Second, they are referred to as bishops, meaning overseers and those providing leadership.

Third, they were called pastors, which refers to teaching the word of God and feeding the flock. When my wife Sherry was a teenager, she told me she was always looking for couples and older people in our church who were the real deal. Her dad had left her family while she was a teenager and divorced her mother, Helen. At the church we started attending, there was no shortage of strong, faithful men with faithful wives. Men like Robert Nitz, Murray Fritz, Floyd Gerard, Gene Hayden, Larry Stauffer, Mitch Sasela, and Ed Arthurs. All of these men and their families had a powerful impact on me and Sherry during our teenage years.

Gene Hayden invited us to church. Ed Arthurs was my first youth leader, and Floyd Gerard led me to the Lord. Eight years after Floyd led me to the Lord, I returned to that same church as its pastor. What a privilege. Floyd became my right-hand man from then on until he passed away. You can’t put a price on leaders like that, especially at crucial times in your spiritual development.

I pray you have godly mentors that you can look up to. Paul then reviewed with the Ephesian elders how his ministry was conducted during those three years he spent with them. He says he served the Lord with humility of mind, many tears, and many trials. His message was always the same: repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 22 he says, And now behold, he’s shifting to the present, and he lets them know that even if he has to die at Jerusalem, he won’t turn back. He gives six pictures of his ministry to explain his determination.

First he said he looks at his life like an accountant. He examined his assets and liabilities and decided to put Jesus Christ above everything else. Next he said that nothing mattered except finishing his course. Later at the end of 2 Timothy, in chapter 4, verse 8, he says, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there’s laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing. We have a race to run.

I pray that you’re having success in yours. He sees himself as a witness, testifying to the gospel of the grace of God. He also sees himself as a herald, preaching the kingdom of God. Finally he describes himself as a watchman. Being a watchman was a serious calling. He had to stay awake and alert, ready to sound the alarm if he saw danger approaching.

He had to be faithful, not fearful, because the safety of many people rested with him. He had been a faithful watchman, declaring to sinners and saints the whole counsel of God. Finally, Paul gave a warning about the future. He warned them of the dangers around them. He called them wolves. We might call them false teachers today.

He warned them about the dangers among them, men arising to speak perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. Here he’s referring to people of ambition within the church, like Diotrephes in Third John. Then he warned them about dangers within themselves. He says, Take heed to yourselves. Don’t be careless. For three years I warned everyone with tears day and night.

Don’t be covetous. He worked as a tent maker to raise his own funds so that he was not indebted to anyone. He warned them against laziness. His tent making also provided for those who traveled with him. He was basically saying, Follow me as I follow Christ. Are you able to say that today to the people who look up to you?

As we continue thinking about the Ephesian elders, let’s think together a bit about the key qualities of the leader and what is servant leadership. In Matthew chapter 20, Jesus said, Do you not know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over people, and the great men exercise authority over them? It is not to be so among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. There are three very real yet subtle temptations that any servant of Christ faces. They correspond with the three temptations our Lord faced before he began his earthly ministry.

Jesus’ first temptation was when Satan said to him that if he really was the Son of God, he should turn these stones to bread. This temptation is to be self-sufficient or self-reliant. This attitude stands in opposition to everything we know about the kingdom. As leaders, we must foster our dependence on the Lord. Instead of being self-assured, we need to be open and vulnerable. Someone once said that Jesus only ever had three concerns.

One, he did what his Father told him to do. Two, he said what his Father told him to say. And three, he went where his Father told him to go. Jesus’ second temptation was to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and trust God’s angels to catch him. This is the temptation to be spectacular or have a celebrity mentality. Jesus refused to be a stuntman.

He didn’t come to impress anyone. The goal of leadership is not to become a celebrity or maintain an image, but to obey God. I’ve often thought what I’d have done in the forty days after the resurrection. I probably would have gone to see the religious leaders, Caiaphas or Pontius Pilate, just to show them that the resurrection really happened. But that wasn’t Jesus’ style. Jesus’ third temptation was Satan said he would give him all the kingdoms of the world if he would only bow down and worship him.

This temptation is to be powerful and in charge. Paul the apostle said, We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as bondservants for Jesus’ sake. To lead is appropriate and necessary, but to push and manipulate and control is never right. In John chapter 12, Jesus picks up a seed and says, There will be much fruit from the seed, but first it has to die. He was talking about his own journey. In our journey, we can have multiplied impact through our life if we’re willing to serve and die to our own goals.

There are eight qualities that a Christ-like servant leader has that are revealed in John chapter 13 when Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. And they’re motivated, like Jesus was, by love to serve others. John 13 says just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that the time would come for him to leave the world and go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. Jesus told them, As much as you’ve done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you’ve done it to me. At Easter time, many years ago, several paintings of things which happened during the week of Jesus’ crucifixion were displayed in an art gallery in London.

The title of one was Christ Before Pilate. People stood silently before the painting. A little girl was among the group. Finally, she could bear the silence no longer and cried out, Will no one come to help him? That little girl was Evangeline Booth, who, when she grew up into womanhood, spent a long, busy life helping Jesus to help others. In time, she became the commander-in-chief of the Salvation Army, a worldwide organization which carries on the healing and saving ministry which Christ began.

Charles Spurgeon once said, There are no crown wearers in heaven who were not cross bearers below. Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love. Secondly, Christ-like servant leaders possess a security that allows them to minister to others.

Only the secure can serve where no one notices. There are no headlines in the dark, difficult, lonely places. Those who are secure can serve expecting nothing in return. They can serve the least among us and conserve in out-of-the-way places. A writer for a great newspaper once visited India one day and met a missionary nurse who lived among the lepers to help them. How tender and loving she was to the poor lepers.

The reporter looked upon her with amazement. He said, I wouldn’t wash those wounds of those lepers for a million dollars. Neither would I, she answered, but I would gladly do it for Christ. I have no thought of any reward other than His smile of approval upon me. Thirdly, Christ-like servant leaders initiate servant ministry to others. In John 13, it says Jesus got up from the table, set aside His robe, and put on an apron.

Then He poured water into a bowl and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with His apron. Someone forgot to schedule a servant that night, and no one but Jesus volunteered for the job. Jesus initiated servant leadership because no one else would. The following day, Pontius Pilate would pick up a bowl of water to avoid responsibility. On this night, Jesus picked up a basin of water and assumed responsibility. He didn’t wait for a foot-washing rally to begin.

He had nothing to prove, nothing to lose, and nothing to hide. Fourthly, Christ-like servant leaders receive servant ministry from others. When Jesus got to Simon Peter, Peter said, Master, you won’t wash my feet. Jesus said, You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but it will be clear enough later. Peter persisted, You’re not going to wash my feet. Well, true servants can receive ministry as well as give.

Do you have too much pride to receive servant ministry from others? Christ-like servant leaders want nothing to interfere with their relationship with Jesus. Jesus said, If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing. Master, said Peter, not my feet only then, but wash my hands and wash my head. Peter moves from one extreme to the other. He hungered to connect with Jesus once he realized it was okay for Jesus to wash him.

He wanted an entire bath. He did everything with reckless abandon. It was his love for God was behind his behavior. They respond quickly to God’s connection in their lives. Someone once asked me why I go to Christian conferences and listen to messages all the time, and I said my attitude is, if it’s from God, I want it. Servant leaders teach their servanthood by their example.

Further in John 13, it says after he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to the place beside the table. Then he said, Do you understand what I’ve done to you? You address me as teacher and master, and rightly so, because that is who I am. So if I am master and teacher and washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid a pattern for you. Someone who said the number one motivational leadership principle in the world is, People do what people see.

It doesn’t work to send your kids to church; you need to take them. Everyone wants to be thought of as a servant, but no one wants to be treated like one. We would all love to wash Jesus’ feet, but we’re commanded to wash each other’s feet. The seventh quality of a Christ-like servant leader is living a blessed life or a happy life. I read several books by a pastor from Mozambique named Surprise. He used to get in arguments and debates about the Lord all the time, and he said one day the Lord told him three things to do: don’t argue, love people, and be happy.

It changed his life. In John 13, Jesus said, What I’ve done to you, I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master, and an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it, and you’ll live a blessed life. Dr. Albert Schweitzer said, I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found out how to serve.

How do we live a blessed life? Have you ever been around someone who laughs easily and has freedom in their spirit, and they’re living a blessed life like Matthew chapter 5 talks about? Jesus tells us there how to live a blessed life. He says you’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope with less of you, there’s more of God and His rule. You’re blessed when you’re content with who you are, no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourself proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God, He’s food and drink and the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you care. The moment you care, you find yourself cared for. You’re blessed when you get inside your world, your mind and your heart put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.

That’s when you discover who you really are in your place in God’s family. You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. Persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. If you put the Beatitudes in the form of personal disciplines, it comes out like this: intentionally admit your need for God, be a person of brokenness before the Lord, give up your quest for personal rights, maintain a hunger and thirst for God, practice an identity with people in need, maintain a pure heart, cultivate peace in all your relationships, and take a positive view of criticism. The final quality of all Christlike servant leaders, according to John 13, is that they live their lives opposite the philosophy of the world. Jesus said, I’m not including all of you in this.

I know precisely whom I selected, so as not to interfere with the fulfillment of the Scripture, the one who ate bread at my table turned his heel against me. In Philippians, Paul said, Don’t push your way to the front. Don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

No wonder they said, Never a man spoke like this. You see, the narrow way is not just the opposite direction of the broad road; it’s in the middle of the broad road going the opposite direction. If we look around this world, we see that there are seven paths to power: force, intimidation, manipulation, exchange, persuasion, motivation, and honor. If Jesus died for his followers, certainly we can live for them. In all of history, the sheep died that the shepherd might live. But Jesus, the great shepherd, died that the sheep might live.

His final thought to them was that this would be the last time they would ever see him in person. This caused a lot of sadness and weeping. How high should we value those leaders and fathers in our lives who’ve helped us progress in the Christian faith? Very highly, I say. How thankful we all should be for men like Paul that laid a great foundation so that we can continue to grow in the faith and spread the word everywhere. This has been Bob for Share the Word.

Thank you, Bob. What a great episode. I’ve certainly gained a greater understanding and a respect as to servant leadership. As a Great Commission project, we follow those principles of servant leadership and pray that those who hear the wonderful and important pictures that each chapter brings grow closer to Christ. The fact that we are able to share all of the information with everyone from around the world is a testament to just how far we’ve come in history from the times when the apostles began their Great Commission. Please take a moment and visit sharetheword.org and check out all we offer.

As always, from all of us at Share the Word, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.