ACTS 20:17-21 – Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 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, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
THEME OF THE DAY: TRUE FELLOWSHIP AMONG GOD’S PEOPLE. Today’s scripture is a heart-warming exchange between the Elders in the church at Ephesus and the Apostle Paul. Please take time and read the entire account to the end of Acts 20. Within the exchange, the Apostle Paul is baring his heart to these dear brothers in whom he has invested a lot of his time and self. This is a picture of true servant-hood and fellowship, but the main thing we want to see today modeled by the Apostle Paul is his love for God’s people manifested by his sacrificial investment in God’s people.
In observing the Apostle Paul’s life, we see a Christian living under the controlling power of Christ’s love (2 Corinthians 5:14). How do we know? His fellowship with other believers. It will always be this way. True fellowship is based on love, Christ’s love controlling His people that is manifested in a sacrificial life investing in God’s people. We simply cannot claim to know and be experiencing the love of Christ and remain at a distance, uninvolved in the spiritual lives of other believers. Oh, by the way, just meeting for an hour or so on Sunday is not meeting the requirements of sacrificial investment in other believers. Meditate on Paul’s testimony of his love for and investment in these dear Ephesian believers – You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle held nothing back.
And it wasn’t just the believers in Ephesus. Consider his testimony of loving sacrifice to the Thessalonian believers – Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 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. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:6-12).
Now is a good time for a little self-examination. Are we striving for true fellowship among God’s people as modeled by the Apostle Paul? I hope so. If not, let’s start, for our joy and the joy of others depend upon it.
PRAYER: “Father, make me a servant who invests in Your people with a love that knows no limit on sacrifice.”
QUOTE: “To be under the control of the love of Christ will always manifest itself in sacrificial investment in His people.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim