"Give It Away" Sermon: Acts 20:17-38

“Give It Away”
[Acts 20:17-38]
October 17, 2010 Second Reformed Church

After Paul arrived in Miletus – in southwestern Turkey – he sent for the elders of Ephesus – and that would include both the pastors and elders. Why?

Paul had spent about three years with the Ephesians – possibly more than any other group – and he had some final things he wanted to tell them and remind them of – because he did not believe, based on what the Holy Spirit told him, that he would ever see him again.

He begins by assuring them that from the first day he set out through Asia – what we call Turkey – Paul served the Lord with humility and in tears as he suffered at the hands of those who hate the Gospel. However, he never backed down because of persecution; he always preached the whole Word of God – everything he knew – to both the Jews and the Gentiles – urging all of them to repent and believe in salvation through Jesus Christ Alone.

This is not pridefulness – this is not bragging. Paul is stating the facts – that despite his suffering, he did not withhold anything of the Gospel from them. That was important for them to know because, already, there were false teachers going around after Paul saying that they had a further revelation of Jesus Christ – a deeper wisdom – a greater knowledge – that they sought to impart.

Paul needed to assure them – and we need to be assured – that what we have in our Bible is everything that God has said and all that we need to know for faith and life. And salvation is in Jesus Christ Alone. Period. We add nothing – we merit nothing – towards our salvation – and God does not have some secret that we must learn for salvation beyond the Bible.

The Mormons say that the Bible is not enough. The Christian Scientists say that Bible is not enough. The Muslims says that the Bible is not enough. The Roman Catholics say that the Bible is not enough.

Jesus is enough. What God has revealed to us in His Word is enough. What more could God do but send His Son to save us apart from our works?

Paul told the Ephesians that the Holy Spirit was urging him on to Jerusalem and that he didn’t know what was going to happen to him, except that the Holy Spirit told him that he would be imprisoned and afflicted wherever he went.

How would we react to that kind of message from God? “Go to Trenton, and there you will be tortured and imprisoned.”

How does Paul respond to this?

“I do not account my life as 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.”

Was Paul suicidal? No.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, telling them how God had refused to remove his “thorn in the flesh,” saying that God’s Grace was enough. “For the sake of Christ then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (II Corinthians 12:10, ESV).

Was Paul a masochist? Did he enjoy suffering? No.

The first thing that we ought to understand this morning is that the number one purpose of your life and my life and Paul’s life and the life of the Ephesian elders – and every Christian – the number one purpose of our lives is to glorify God by witnessing to others of salvation in Jesus Alone.

Paul wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, ESV).

Paul is not saying that we should deny that suffering exists, or that it is painful and undesirable, or that is causes discomfort and sadness. No, we are right to feel all those things when we suffer and when others die. Yet, as Christians, we have hope in Jesus of the life in glory yet to come. So we can press forward, looking to our Hope, enduring suffering and persecution and loss in this life, but not being destroyed by it, so long as we are pressing forward in our goal of spreading the Gospel to the whole world.

I have sarcoidosis. Thus far it is an incurable and, ultimately, fatal disease. Some days I feel pretty well, other days I feel horrible. Some times I end up in the hospital. I see many doctors and take many pills to cope with the effects of the disease and the side-effects of the medications. If I did not know that Jesus and His Gospel is the sure hope of salvation, I would probably hate God. I would be full of self-pity and anger. I don’t like being sick and feeling pain. If I could be completely well, I would gladly be so, and I do spend time researching, going to doctors, and relying on their wisdom.

However, I know the Glory is coming, and through Jesus Christ, I will be received into the Glory and perfected and made holy for His Sake. So, for now, I endure my Jerusalem, and strive to achieve the purpose for which I was created: to glorify God by living my life as a witness to others of salvation in Jesus Alone.

What about you?

Paul continues talking with the Ephesians, telling them that he will never see them again, and so he wants it to be clear to them that he is innocent of their blood, because he had declared the whole counsel of God before them.

We will remember that God told Ezekiel to prophesy, and God told him that if he prophesied and the people ignored him, their blood would be on their own heads, but if he did not prophecy, their blood would be on his head. This is what Paul is alluding to – he is warning the Ephesians that he has taught them everything they need to know, so if any refuse to receive Jesus and His Salvation Alone, Paul is innocent of their unbelief and the punishment that will follow.

Then Paul tells the elders to watch over the flock very carefully – over their parishioners– those whom God has given to them to teach and lead – because wolves were coming to mislead the flock and steal them away – false teachers would do everything they could – inspired by the devil and his angels – the demons – to steal them away. And Paul warns them that the wolves come from two places – from the world – which we would expect – those people out there and their crazy and evil ideas – but also from within the Church. It is a terrible but true thing to know that there are people in leadership and in ministry who – consciously or subconsciously – desire nothing more than to lead people away from Christ.

We famously note the TV preachers who are only in the ministry for the money they can get. But money is not the only reason that people wrongly go into the ministry. Some people go into the ministry to tell people that everything that Bible says is wrong. Some people go into the ministry to lead people into the worship of other gods – gods who are not gods, but illusions or demons. Elders, we must watch out that the people who come into worship are not misled or abused or taken advantage of – and we must check each other that we are not preaching and teaching things contrary to the Scripture. And to do that, we must know the Scripture and believe.

Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, ESV). “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16, ESV).

The reality is that there are people and creatures fighting against the Gospel, seeking any way that they can to lead people away from Christ and His Salvation, and to confuse us in what we believe and what is True. Let us watch over the flock earnestly.

Paul tells the elders to work hard, with tears, building up the inheritance of the teaching of the Apostles and the whole Word of God. Christianity is not a game; it is not a social club. We are fighting on behalf of Jesus for the souls of the lost. And thanks be to God that Jesus tells us that He will lose no one – no matter how our lives go, despite our sin and failings, Jesus is victorious, and all those He intends to save and bring into His Kingdom will be there. Our work is hard and painful – and joyful – and in the end we have the sure hope that Jesus will accomplish everything He has intended to do, without fail. So we have neither reason to be lazy, nor to despair.

The value of our lives, then, is found in following Christ in thanksgiving for His Salvation. Our salvation is entirely God’s Work, and God’s Plan cannot fail. Still, we are called to work hard for the Gospel – not for our salvation – not to merit God’s Gift – but because God works through us to accomplish His Purposes, and we rightly show God thanks for all that He has done for us – and especially for our salvation – as we follow Him in obedience and see to glorify Him by being witnesses to salvation in Jesus Alone.

Paul tells them that he was even willing to work to support himself, not receive his needs from the Church – which was his due as a minister of the Gospel – but for the sake of the Gospel and the witness he was making, he took nothing from them. And he gave that as an example to them to inspire them to work hard and to provide for the needs of the poor and the suffering and the needy.

And then he told them to “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” What was Jesus saying?

Jesus was not denying that the person who receives from another gets a blessing. Every time we give to someone, the person who receives the gift gets the blessing of the gift. If you give me a gift, I would be blessed by it; if I give you a gift, you would be blessed by it.

What Jesus was saying is that giving reflects God’s Nature. Paul wrote, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him give us all things?” (Romans 8:32, ESV). God’s Joy was made full in giving His Son to glorify Himself and save us from His Wrath and our sin. God was blessed through the giving of His Son to accomplish salvation. We could give nothing to God to make ourselves worthy or to earn our salvation.

Listen to this amazing word: “[let us look] to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2, ESV). Jesus received joy – Jesus was blessed – through giving Himself – through the Incarnation, His Life, Death on the cross, Resurrection, and Ascension.

What does that mean for us?

When we hear Jesus say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” we ought to also hear, “We fulfill our joy by giving our all away.” As we give away our things, our money, our time, our ability – everything we have and are, for the sake of the Gospel – we are blessed – we receive joy

“Now wait a minute,” some of you are thinking. “Are you saying that Jesus wants us to give away every last cent we have? Are you saying that we should neglect ourselves and our families and our obligations and all become monks or nuns?”

Not at all. Let us remember a few things:

First, God gave us the Creation to enjoy. Everything that is was given to us for us to enjoy – to see God in and to experience joy through. We do not have the authority to abuse and destroy the Creation – we are to steward the Creation with the same care that God shows for us. Yet everything – except sin – is for our joy.

Second, God promises to provide for all of our needs each day. We pray that in the Lord’s Prayer – and it is a promise – “give us this day our daily bread.” God will provide everything we need to be God’s people and to accomplish God’s Plan for today. We may not receive everything we want. We may not receive what we think we need. But God will provide us with everything He knows we need. And God has given us minds to plan and budget so we know what we really need and what is above our need.

Thirdly, God has promised to bless us with more than we need to keep and use for ourselves. How do we know that? Because God has commanded us to give ten percent of our gross income to the Church. Ten percent of our salary, ten percent of our Social Security. Ten percent of our pension. Ten percent of all of the gross income we make is to be given back to the Church. That is money that we do not need to live on, but is given to us that we might give back that offering to God in thanksgiving.

Fourth, God has given many of us more than we need, more than ten percent that we are to give to the Church, but blessing upon blessings over that – not just in money, but in time and talent, and all variety of spiritual gifts that we can use to bless the Church and others.

“Well, what I have is mine. I earned it, and I don’t see anywhere in the Bible that says I have to give it away. I’m saving it for my retirement – my kinds – my grandchildren – my nieces and nephews.”

That’s partially right: God has given us minds and we ought to be wise with everything He has given to us and use it and invest it well. Most of us ought not to just give everything away without thinking. And it is good and biblical to help our family – especially those who are in need. You and I may be the ones God uses to provide for the needs of our relatives.

The point is not that we have to give. The point is that when we give, we receive blessing and joy. And as we are able and willing – the more that we give – and remember – not just in money, but in time and talent, etc. – the more we give, the more blessing and joy we receive.

The point is that we ought to think over what God has given us in every area and ability and consider how we might best use what we have been given to the Glory of God. What is the best way I can use my abilities and my time and my money to show others that God is glorious and that there is only salvation through Jesus Alone?

And consider this: after your needs are met and you have given your thanksgiving offering to the Church, the more you give away, the less you have to worry about If you give away your money, you don’t need to worry about it being stolen or taxed. If you give away your boat and your ninety-six inch TV, you don’t have to worry about them being stolen. If you donate your time to working at the Church, volunteering to help the needy, and so forth, you won’t have to worry about getting bored. If you give away the things you don’t need, you won’t have to worry about dusting them or finding a place to store them, much less their being stolen.

Jesus is not saying we have to live as impoverished hermits. What Jesus is saying is that God has given all of us blessings in many ways, and He wants us to use them – steward them – invest them – in the best, most God-glorifying way. And, as we do that, we will be blessed and filled with His Joy.

Trust God and see what happens.

After Paul said all these things to the Ephesians, he knelt down before them and they wept together – because Paul had told them he would not see them again, because Paul was looking towards martyrdom.

They embraced him and kissed him and sent him on the ship to Jerusalem.

And so let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for the witness of Paul and his farewell to the Ephesians. We thank You for showing us that we exists to glorify You by showing others Your Salvation through Jesus Alone. Help us to find value in our lives by following Christ in thanksgiving for our salvation. And help us to be good stewards of all You have blessed us with, even as You bless us and fill us with Your Joy as we give wisely of all You have given us. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.