The marks of a true servant of God, using the Apostle Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders as a primary example. It highlights Paul's consistent humility, tenderness, and steadfastness in the face of trials, contrasting his unwavering commitment with the fickleness of human nature. The core lesson is that true service involves obedience and utilizing the gifts God has given, regardless of their size, leading to a life that reflects both message and conduct. The message concludes by urging believers to be dependable lights, to serve with genuine heart, and to remain faithful to God's word, trusting in His grace to build them up and provide an inheritance.
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when they were come to him he said unto them ye know from the first day that i came into asia after what manner i have been with you at all seasons serving the lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations which repel me by the lying in wake of the jews and how i kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Now behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned the care unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves unto all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. To feed the church of God. which he have purchased with his own blood. But I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own cell shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Therefore watch and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not warn everyone night and day with tears. Now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me, I have showed you all things.
How that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. When he had thus spoken he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed them. soaring most of all for the words which he spake that they should see his face no more, and they accompanied him into the ship. We took up this chapter about a week or two ago, but there were a lot of things we omitted because we only dwelt on two or three verses.
But I want to mention some of the marks of a true servant. What a true servant is, and I'm sure the Apostle Paul was a true servant, even said to be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. And so he was a true servant. We can't all come up to the statue of the Apostle. In fact, I don't suppose any man has come up to the statue of the Apostle since his day. He was a chosen vessel. one mightily used by God. And so we can't all be great men. We can't all be apostles, but there's always something we can do.
In our end, we mention the fact of a glowworm and a star. Now, a glowworm, you likely have seen them at the night and how they flicker. Then you ought to do so for a few seconds, and then you'll see it over here, and you'll see it over there. Unless the glowworm makes its identity known here and there and yon, and then you lose it. But a star is something that's fixed. No matter when you go out or what night you go out, if the sky is clear, you can see the star. There it is shining in its sock of the blue.
kept there by gravity from the sun or from the earth. Now that's the way God would have us to be. Not just flickering now and then. Inconsistent. But God wants consistency. He wants steadfastness. And it's nice to see a person just as happy on Monday as he is on Sunday. Poor blue Monday. That used to be the excuse back in the days when they had to do all the washing over a scrubbing board and hang it all on the line of how the world's mothers got along in those days I'll never know.
Mothers with six children like my mother had to do all the washing on Monday, all the ironing on Tuesday, house cleaning on Wednesday, something else on Thursday. And they didn't have cars to drive for mothers in those days. No, they had to walk uptown and back when they wanted something from the supermarket. And of course they went on to Saturday and Saturday night was bath night. The whole family baby, that of one tub, and we got ready for Sunday. But today, with all our convenience, unpress buttoned convenience, and still they don't have time.
I don't know what. I just don't know what. But here's the Apostle Paul. My, he was shining steadily, consistently all the time. He speaks a weeping night and day with tears. He was like a star shining. There you see it. Always can depend upon it. It's nice when you find Christians like that. Always dependable. Not flickering now and flickering then and flickering sometime again. Their light is shining always. Always. But again, relative to the Christian, we can't all be cranes.
We can be pulleys. In the railroad shop where I used to work in Canada, they had what they call little cranes, pulleys. And they were able to lift about a thousand pounds. Had a big sign on. capacity, one thousand pounds, and you'd pull it up with a chain. But then overhead, there was a big train that could lift up a hundred pound, a two thousand pound, two thousand ton engine, and pick it up and carry it over all the rest of those engines right down to the bottom link that that repairs you. Now, there's a big difference between the little bully and the big, huge, powerful, crain that could carry a tremendous load.
And so if we can't be a big crane and carry tremendous loads, loads of responsibility, we can at least be a little crane. And I'll tell you that little crane was very useful. Doing its little job, it was always there. And you couldn't get the crane whenever you wanted. It was so occupied with lifting engines. But you could use the little train any time and was there for light loads. The Bible speaks of a number of gifts. One of them is health. It's so easy to be a health. A health. Instead of a hindrance.
God wants us to be health. If you're not an engineer, do you don't have the ability to bring behind the controls of a huge locomotive? You can at least get an oil can and go around and stop the streets or oil some parts of the locomotive. We can all do that. There's always something we can do that will help all the assembly, these little jobs. In other words, if we do what we cannot do, we do what we can do, God will do what we cannot do. But if we do not, what we can do, then God will not do what he wants us to do and will help us do.
If we do our little part, then all the resources of God are at our disposal. But if we don't do our little jobs, then we can't expect God to help us with larger jobs. Oh, you hear so many Christians say, well, I just can't do it. I can't do it. Well, if you boil it right down to this point, none of us can. I can't point a soul to Christ. I can't do it among strength. I've got to call upon that great reservoir of power, the power of God. And where is a little job, what a big job?
It simply means that God has got to be the one to supply the power. And so there are these little things that God wants us to do. Certainly there are some things some Christians can't do. They just don't have the natural capabilities. But that's up to gone. And so God wants us to be real servants. To do little or much. The main thing is to be obedient. And if God's only given you one talent, use it. If he's given you five talents, use them. If he's given you ten, use them.
God will hold you responsible for the number of talents you've got. He'll not accuse the man with one talent for not using ten. He didn't have that capacity. The man with ten talents, he had the capacity to use ten for one with one talent. And God gives grace, according to the measure of gift, the Bible says that, grace according to the measure of gift. And so whatever our gift is, our ability, God will give us the necessary strength that must eventually all come from him.
Do you notice the Apostle Paul in his speech? of his message and his manner of life. He lived it. And if you can't preach it, preach the gospel at least, you can live it. Paul speaks here of his message and his manner of life. These two things went together. Verse eighteen you have his manner of life, and verse twenty-one you have his message. And it said concerning the Lord Jesus, These things began Jesus both to do and to give. First of all, there's the doing, and then there's the preaching.
And if my preaching is not what I'm doing, it's a contradiction, it's hypothesis. But if my life backs up my preaching, then God will bless me. And like the Chinaman says, all talkie, talkie, no, walkie, walkie. And that's true. He began to do and to teach. And that's what God wants from every one of us. Paul's manner of life came before his message. You know, Paul was one who could say, I did my best. I did my best. I don't think I can say that.
I've seen times when I could have done better. But Paul was one who could say, I've done my best. My conscience is clear before God and before men. My what a statement that was true. God will not say to you, and I'm referring to service now, because salvation is a free gift. God will not say to you at the end of your life concerning your service, well done. the good and faithful servant unless you've done well. He'll only say to those who've done well and used the gift they've got.
Well done, the good and faithful servant. You know, Acts follows facts. You notice that in the beginning of our studies. Where do you get the facts? You get the facts in the gospel. And following those facts, you have the Acts. I say this, if we're gripped by the facts, then there'll be acts. If I'm gripped by the fact of sin, not souls, if I'm gripped by the fact of the sacrifice and death of Christ, if I'm gripped by the fact that many women must be saved, if I'm gripped by the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again, if these facts grip me, there'll be some acts.
action on my part the secret of all true success after all is what you've got in the acts there are three things that are very prominent the spirit of god the word of god and the man of god i think we mentioned in the early going of these studies that the spirit of god is mentioned fifty eight times the word of god's mentioned thirty eight times the man of god is mentioned repeatedly Peter gets the prominent place in the first part of the Acts and Paul the latter, because Peter was to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles. Thus you have here God's wonderful order.
Divine might, divine message, and the divine man. God's divine might, that's the Holy Spirit. The divine message is the gospel of his grace. and the divine man, the heavenly-minded man. God's witness, the truth. God's warrior, fighting error. And then you have God's workman, he's laboring in the gospel. I think the whole thing can be more or less summarized from Zechariah chapter four and six. Not by might or by power, but by my spirit.
sayeth the Lord. It's not by my might. It's not by my power, but it's by the Holy Spirit that I'm able to accomplish anything. These things have been prominent throughout the studies in the Acts. First of all, I want to notice fifteen P's heretic. The first one is the privilege of being a servant. What a privilege. Oh, Mr. Pell, passed away many years ago and his son William who died only a couple of months ago. I've been in that home, a very godly home. One of the most godly homes I've ever been in.
And old Mr. Pal used to say this, to be consciously used of God once is worth living a lifetime. Just to know that the Almighty God, the Creator of all of it, The one who inhabiteth eternity should deign to stoop so low to take up a human being and use that human being to further his cause to advance his program. Think of it. God stooping down, pick up two or six, to save them by his grace, then use them.
for his glory. My angels must envy Christians. You never find in the Bible about an angel being sent or dispatched to lead a soul to Christ, no. They might fight mighty armies and destroy men by the thousands. When it comes to a soul being saved, God sends a human being. A man or woman saved by grace. take that message of the gospel to the sinner and point that sinner to Christ. Oh, what an honor we have. Those of us who were saved by His grace, the wonderful privilege to be servants of His, to win lost souls to Christ.
So we have the first one, the privilege. And the next thing relative to Paul, here is his humility. Notice what he says in verse nineteen, the verses we started with. Serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears. Humility of mind. When we're proud, haughty-minded, we're like the devil. When we're humble-minded, we're like the Lord Jesus Christ. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble, meek and lowly in heart.
The Lord Jesus Christ makes it plain. He says, I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Why did Satan fall from heaven? Because he coveted the throne of God. He coveted power. And he said, I will. I will. He exalted himself, it says, above the throne of God. And he was hurled out of heaven. And if pride fills my heart, and conceit rules my thoughts, I'm more like the devil in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ was meek. He was lowly in heart. And oh, the apostle Paul, how humble he was, serving the Lord with all humility of mind.
I suppose some of you heard about the young Scotch preacher. I mentioned it a few years ago, I think. And it was one of those old-time clerks. I saw someone I was in England about nineteen years ago. Wave up a stairway to the pulpit, and the pulpit's right in the middle of the auditorium, and the people are sitting all around. And, of course, this young fellow, he couldn't wait for Sonny to come. He was going to preach. He just stood before the mirror and got himself all in good shape, best wise. And then he thought himself and preaching. And he went through some of the motions.
Oh, he just couldn't wait till he got up before that crowd. He was going to impress them with his oratory. He was going to tell them this and he was going to tell them that and let them know how smart, how intelligent, how gifted he was. When the time came, he stocked up the stairway. When he got up there and he looked down on all those people, and I'll tell you it's not a very easy thing to get up on the platform and look down on all those people for the first time. That's why this halt was a good thing to hide creatures' knees. You can't see them shake. But anyway, he went up full of himself.
And when he got there, he opened his mouth. Oh, he had his text. It outlined there. He had committed it to memory. He was just ready to cut it loose. And when the time came from the speak, he couldn't think of a thing. His mind went blank. He hung his head. He bit his lip. He was so embarrassed. He turned around and hurried down the stairs. So embarrassed. An old Scotsman down at the foot of the stairway said, young man, if you'd have went up the way you came down, you'd have come down the way you went up.
If you'd have gone up humble, if you'd have gone up depending on God, you'd have come down happy and calm. You'd have gone up, you'd have been charged with the situation. you were in control of the hour and the task at hand you had the ability you could do it yes you went up with that in mind and God let him see how empty he was with them sir how little he knew God deflated the flesh God tell him he'll do that he'll deflate the flesh if the flesh shows off God will deflate it.
I'll assure you that. I learned one thing early in life. That was this. Back in my young days, in my early twenties preaching, God in sovereign grace, giving help to preach and people getting saved. I knew God was helping. I was saying things I never knew before. the sneaky thought would come into my mind you're really getting their attention tonight you know the next thought that hurried into my mind and i believe from god i'm helping you tonight if you take the credit i'll let you alone tomorrow night and if there's anything a preacher hates to be is left alone by god Get up there and stumble around.
Out of words that are flat and without power. And if a man takes the credit, God will see that he gets the humbling the next time. He has a way to do it. Who to think of facing a meeting when God gave you help the night before and you took your credit for it? Now you're facing another meeting. back in your mind the voice of God says you're on your boat I'm not going to help you I know in my experience if there's a hole up here somewhere it caught in it realizing God wasn't giving the help God will deflate those who are potty and high-minded and conceited then the next thing concerning the Apostle is in verse nineteen his tenderness serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears just think of that with many tears he must have been a very affectionate man the Apostle Paul yes he was very
affectionate the Apostle Paul took his ministry the heart Tears were frequent with the Apostle. He was a tender, hearted man. I think we have real tenderness of heart brought out in the text the Lord Jesus Christ used. It is written concerning him. A bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flat shall he not quench. What did he mean by that? Over in the east They made their little flutes.
The shepherds used to make them. They'd make their little flutes out of kind of straws. And they'd cut the little niche out. And they would get another one to fit inside that straw and get it down just about where the niche was cut out. And they worked with it until finally they could get a few notes out. It was made out of a reed. I appoint! But it fell. And someone stepped up. And the owner of it picked it up and tried to blow it, but he got no music, no sound.
What are you going to do? Throw it away? No. A broken reed. A bruised reed shall he not break. When a Christian fails, when a child of God is discouraged and he gives up. Stories gone, what does our Lord Jesus do? He picks us up and in tenderness, he fixes the reeds, he repairs it until it sounds again. A broken reed shall leap, a bruised reed shall he not break.
And a smoking flax! He shall not quench. Here's a flax, and it's smoking. A sign, there's some heat there. What does he do? Throw cold water on it? No, he fans it. Maybe he can get that little spark from become a flame. a smoking flax, he will not grinch. How often when a person is discouraged and despondent, others will throw cold water on or hurt. But the Lord Jesus is not like that.
He's so affectionate. He loves us, people. How often he's picked up those bruised reeds, until they're happy again. and he can use them. And those smoking flats. Yes, he's got them into a flame and they're on fire for God. Here you have the tenderness and the compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was an affectionate man. That's what God wants us to be. Think of the tears the apostle refers to here. Tears.
Six times, I think, in the book of Acts, you read about Paul's tears. You read about Joseph, and seven times Joseph went. The Lord Jesus, three times he went over the city of Jerusalem, at the grave of Nazareth, and in the garden. It's not feminine to weep. We live in a day when People think, why? I've looked good for a man to weep. It's a sign of Feminine's Day for weakness. Don't you believe it? The greatest personality this world has ever known.
The greatest man this world has ever known. The Lord Jesus Christ, he wept. Jeremiah was the prophet of weeping. right throughout your Bible, you'll find men God used, and they were men of tears. Men of tears. I would love to have the sight today, to go to a church and see the man in the pulpit so in love with Christ, so ecstasy so saved he could preach with tears. Tears.
You know what David said? I'm going to put all my tears into his bottle. No, he shall put all my tears. That's right. God shall put all my tears into his bottle. If you've ever gone to a Bible museum, I have been to two or three, you'll find a tear bottle. Sometimes it's just about destroyed, but parts of it are there so you can see just about what it was like. one was a cheer bottle back in the Old Testament stood in some place in the East well it was a bottle there were that they were used in the family and here is a mother and she has had the same done to her she's so she's going to do the same for her little daughter and someday her little girl is brokenhearted something has happened and all she's breaking her those tears rolling down her cheeks.
Another day she's weeping for some other reason. And those tears are gone. She gets hurt and she's in much pain, crying with pain. The mother catches those tears. And so on through the light of that girl as she grows up. All the tears. of any consequence that have run from her eyes have been caught in that bottle. And when she's buried, that tear bottle is buried with her. And always from the east, it used to be, and in some of the cases today, that tear bottle is buried with the person whose tears were put into that bottle.
David says, thou shalt put all my tears. into thy bottle. What's the thought? It simply means this. Only emotions and feelings that would be expressed in tears were genuine and worthwhile. That's why the bottle was used. And all those tears were caught. And that tear bottle was placed beside it. And that tear bottle represented all the tears, all the experiences, the emotions produced those tears.
And they're worthwhile in their whole life. They're in that water. I wonder if God's caught any tears from our eyes. The tear of repentance. where a sinner under conviction of sin is weeping about his sins. God likes to catch that tear, the tears of repentance. When God's people have sinned and they've wept, David wept, God likes to preserve those tears. But I think in eternity of the judgment see that Christ, Only those things that are the result of sincerity and courage.
If we glorify God in our sorrow, if we glorify God in our sickness, those experiences in our lives in which God was glorified and tears were shed, these are the things that God's will reward. Is that it? David says, Thou hast kept all my tears from all my tears in thy body. One time the Salvation Army lieutenant was quite discouraged. He hadn't seen any results in his dual charge. And he wrote General Duke, General, I haven't seen anyone save for a whole year.
I prayed, I visited, I haven't seen anyone save for a whole year. I preached with all my heart, I haven't seen anyone save a whole year. The great general sent a message back to this discouraged worker. This was the message. Try a deer. try it here. Get a little softness into your heart. A little love. A little compassion. A little tenderness. That's it.
I wonder how much God is going to collect out of our lives that which was right from the heart. That which was real. It was genuine. I just won't. so you have the tenderness and the compassion of the Apostle. The next thing you'll notice is trials and testings, also in verse nineteen. Serving the Lord with all humility of mine and with many tears, and temptations which repel me by the lying and wait of the Jews. Trials and testings and temptations.
You know, an untried and untempted preacher or Christian is not liable to be of much help to anyone else. If I had my choice as a young Christian, if say I lived in the days of Peter and James, and I knew the lives of these two men, and I had my opportunity my choice to go and talk to these two men, either Peter or James. You know which one I'd go to? Peter. James, they call on the old camel knees.
Stir! Oh, yes. Hard lines in his face. James is unbending. He's a legalist. A legalist. Read his epistle and say, But they say that from the time that Peter denied his Lord, and was restored that morning beside the fire, beside the lake. They say a tear glistened in Peter's eye from that day on. And it was Peter that the Lord said, Peter, would you mind feeding my sheep? Would you mind feeding my lambs?
why one of the disciples' mothers might have spoken of it. Lord, don't you know what Peter did? He denied you. He cursed and swore. Are you telling him to feed your lamb? I didn't do anything like that. Why don't you ask me? Peter had learned this lesson. And Peter's repentance was genuine. He had made his mistake, and he had gotten restored. And he was the one the Lord used on the day of Pentecost when three thousand souls were saved. Peter knew what it was to faith. And when a Christian came up to him, came up to him a young Christian, or an old one.
Peter, I've made a mistake. I've done something I shouldn't have done. You can see Peter's arm go around the man's shoulder. Dear brother, I know just how you feel. I made a mistake too. I made a mistake too. But the Lord was gracious and he forgave me. James would say, why? You see, the Lord will punish you. The Lord will never leave you. You're through. The difference in the man. I've seen men in my life I wouldn't go to if I had to go to them with some of my troubles.
But I've seen other men I'd go to. Men that I thought understood they had had a few experiences in life. Then the whole heartedness of the Apostle in verse twenty. and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. My how whole heart of you are. Going from house to house. Yes, I've taught you publicly, I've taught you privately. Anytime, night or day, the apostle was willing to tell.
then you also have his message in verse twenty three and one of the message it was verse twenty two one twenty one testifying hope to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ that was his message and it never changed the Apostle Paul was not a modernist that's God's message today Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That's it. And every preacher today should emphasize those two points.
Being steadfast in the faith, declaring the truth of God, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That was his message. That's our many afflictions. Verse twenty three. say that the holy ghost witnesses in every city say that bombs and afflictions abide me afflictions of the mind afflictions of the soul afflictions of the body and i'll tell you this the lord's work if you're in it and give yourself to it you know something of these afflictions victions of the mind,victions of the soul, the heart, and the body.
It'll take its toll. Before I went out preaching, I worked in the railroad shops in Stratford, eight hours in the border department. And I tell you, I slept like a baby. I went to bed at night, eleven o'clock, I'd fall asleep in a minute or two. Sleep right through to the morning. When I went out preaching, my sleepless nights began. After a while, my headaches came off, and I was tumbled, tossed all night, getting up the next morning, feeling as though I should go back to bed, dragging through the day.
What's the trouble? What's the trouble? The demand? of the work of God. Souls are going to have men and women need to be saved. The souls of God's people may need help. These things press upon your mind the responsibility of presenting the gospel as it should be presented. Yes, the afflictions in the service of the Lord. Then again, you'll notice Paul's steadfastness in verse twenty four he says but none of these things move me all the sufferings that he was born to face referred to in verse twenty three but none of these things move me neither count I am I like dear unto myself so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus testify the gospel of the grace of God.
None of these things moved. My sister and another young Christian back in our hometown were given out tracks one day. One would go in this house, the other would go in the next. The other would go in the next one. And my sister started in this house up on the platform with her great big pit bulldog, a British bulldog. And he didn't look too friendly. My sister stopped. The other girl said, what's the matter? I said, look what's up with that. She said, well, the Apostle Paul says, none of these things move me.
Go ahead. I thought, oh, my sister did not. I think I'd go pretty gingerly to see if he waved his tail or none of these things. How wonderful to reach that maturity spiritually when we can say, facing any danger, none of these things will fail. I'm willing to face it. God will give me the courage. I'm in this realm. I'll accept the circumstances. That's wonderful, isn't it, that kind of steadfastness. You know, on the Acts the Apostles, you'll find three expressions as we go on through the Acts.
I've noticed them. It is these. They began. They began. They began. You'll find that often. And also, they continued steadfastly. They continued steadfastly. They continued steadfastly. And the other, what is? They ceased not. They ceased not. They ceased not. Isn't that steadfast? In other words, you find them. continued step-fastly and they cease not. Mine's nice to see Christians like that.
You know, some people, it takes them so long to begin to start to do something. They think so much about it. God wants them to get started and do something. I'm just thinking one day this week. How Our circumstances so often seem to more or less mirror our spiritual condition. I've been with men who have had stalks. You know the first thing they look at in the morning? I've been with them, I know what I'm like. I don't have any stalk, I'll tell you that.
But I've been with men who have. And the first thing they look for in the morning, the stalk part. And you can generally tell that it's gone up or down. It affects their Christianity. If the stock's gone down, they're kind of numb. Unblown. If the stock's gone up, oh, my, they're whistling. It's fine. The stock market is the brawler for their spiritual life. And the war. The war is good going in our favor and our... Army's winning? Well, we're happy Christians. If the war is bad, our Christianity seems to go down.
Is that right? But also sometimes our health monitors our joy. If we're feeling good, you've taken some geratol or some vitamins or something. We're feeling good, you swallowed a couple of cups of coffee, strong coffee. Boy, we're feeling fine. Yep. We're feeling good physically. We've got lots of joy. We're happy. Wonderful to be saved, you know. Sometimes the sun is not shining. Oh, the sun is shining. We're fine.
Everything's going my way. Life's wonderful. And we're happiest Christian. But if we're under our clouds, something happens that we don't like. We don't get our way. Something upsets us. A little test or trial comes along. We're as sour as a little pickle and as irritable as a snapping turtle. Yes. Our spirituality is controlled or monitored by our circumstances. You know, we have no right to ask when sorrows come, why did this happen to me?
Unless we can say the same thing when toys come our way. Why did this happen to me? You ever think of that? Oh, it's easy to say, when sorrow comes, trouble comes, why did this happen to me? Why did God permit me? Oh, when God blesses us, fills our cup, joy fills our heart, we've got good health, the sun shining, it never stops alone. Why has this happened to me? I'm not worth, I'm not deserving. all these blessings.
If I can't say the one when sorrow comes, don't say it when joy comes. Why did this happen to me? We're undeserving of all his blessings. Then you'll notice concerning the apostle, another one of these marks of the true servant, his joy in verse twenty four, how wonderful his joy was. that I might finish my course with joy. With joy. Now tears are often mingled with our joys. Sometimes it's wonderful.
I've seen many a person saved. When they got saved, they were crying. I said, what are you crying for? I'm crying for joy. A while ago I was crying because I was lost and going to hell, but now I'm so happy. I'm crying for joy. My sins are forgiven. I'm going to heaven. Yes, it's nice, and that's the case. But remember, in life we're going to shed some tears, and it's not because of joy. But in that day, although tears are shed here on earth, There's a time coming when all tears will be wiped away from with heaven's handkerchief, when God shall wipe all tears from our eyes.
Then joy unmingled will be mine, as the hymn writer says. Earth, tears, and trials all forgot. So cheer thy heart no more, he pined. His word is true. He'll carry now. And when he comes, that will be the end of tears. The joy of the servant. And the joys of the apostle was because he was a faithful servant. He was happy. And then when he gets to glory, think of the joys that will be his. Joy intermingled his service here. Tears intermingled his service here.
But... Tears won't intermingle with his worship there. All tears are gone. That's the task. You'll notice two Paul's faithfulness in verses twenty six and twenty seven. Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men? For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Paul said, I will tell nothing. He's saying this after his third missionary journey. And he refers to the elders several times here.
He has taught these men from their infancy. The whole council of God be with hell nothing, then. He gave them all that God gave him. I'll tell you that, speak them, speak. Then you'll notice his warning in verses twenty-eight and thirty. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseas. I want to say then, over in Timothy, also in Titus, again in Peter, the Spirit of God tells us about some of the qualifications of an elder.
He says, Feed the flock of God over which the holy ghost have made you over you. God is not going to call the Spirit of God is not going to use a man in that capacity unless that man has come up to the standard that the Spirit of God himself is in those he business. When you fill that frame, then you can function as an elder. overseer ought to be. And it doesn't say come as close as you can. Do your best. God gives the standard and there it is.
You say, well, the standard's too high. Will God set a standard for a man and not give him the ability to meet that standard? God doesn't mock his children like that. God will give you the strength to meet that standard. He wouldn't put it before you just to tease you. If he says, this is what I want to characterize an elder, a deacon, he means just that. And he'll give you the ability thus to function if you're submissive and pliable in his hands.
And you'll notice too in verse thirty. Twenty-nine and thirty. For I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. That's trouble from without. Notice trouble from within. Also of your own cell shall men arise, speaking perversely, to draw away disciples after them. Trouble from this. Albany Gospel Chapel. The modernist can rave and rant all they like. Doesn't worry me a bit.
I'm more concerned about trouble from the dead. That's where the damage comes from in a testament. Men rising up from when he took all the disciples, all of his after them said. Paul warns them against it. And I've learned in my life, I wrote down one time a number of things, maybe forty or fifty little things, and I headed that list with this half I learned. I read the other day. One of the things is this. Men who can't start something generally are gifted in starting trouble.
That's true. A man that can't start a work. often cause trouble in that way. And so we've got to watch these troublemakers from within. Paul warns against such right here in the scriptures. And then you'll notice furthermore this care. We haven't time to do all this. Our time is up verse thirty-two. Now brethren, I commend you to God into the word of his grace, which is able to build you up to give you an inheritance among all them that are saints. Go on to the next. Verse thirty-two, you have his prayer, the prayer of a sir.
Watch his prayer, verse thirty-six. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all, and they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed them. Sorry most of all for the words which he spake that they should see his face no more. and the accompanied him into the ship. Paul could have said to them when they wept, Brother, just save your tears. Save your tears. You're very sincere and soft enough. Do you know what happened five years later?
Paul said, All they which be in Asia... have turned against me. Only Luke is with me. We think that almost impossible, Luke, that all those Christians and those assemblies that he pled turned against me. The old warrior, the old soldier of the cross, the aged apostle, he could reflect upon those partings when those elders were Ah, the fickleness of the human heart.
All thee that be in Asia are turned against. Tory, that great preacher of a number of years ago, was given to man all over the world, the man that followed Giamudi. He was up in North Carolina, in Asheville, North Carolina. One of the creatures I knew up there, Jimmy Smith, he went to see the old brother, the old brother, Tory. Jim said, brother, Lester, it was the most heart-rending experience I ever had. Here's a man that was playing by his denomination, praised and exalted in the days of his youth.
Little brother Torrey said, Brother Jim, I never did a day. You're the first one that's visited me in days. No one from my denomination had been. Because Torrey toward the end of this life you began