Title At Miletus/Acts 20:17-25
Contents
At Miletus/Acts 20:17-25
We have several sermons of Paul in the book of Acts. However, the sermon recorded by the Ephesian elders in Miletus recorded in today's text is completely different from other sermons.
Look at verse 22. 'Behold, now I am bound by my spirit to go to Jerusalem, and I do not know what I will meet there. Only the Holy Spirit testifies to me in each city, and bonds and tribulations await me.
do you' he said. What do you mean? Now Paul is not going because he wants to go. It is a confession that we are advancing toward such a death where we are led by the strong hand of the invisible Holy Spirit to Jerusalem and have to undergo internal martyrdom, not knowing what will happen.
Paul himself, who was leaving, was not alone on the difficult and arduous road. Paul saw the external persecution and temptation, and the delusion of many false teachers, approaching like a dark cloud in the church in Ephesus, which he left behind.
In this context, Paul is speaking to the church leaders and ministers who arrived in Miletus from Ephesus.
Verse 18 says, “When he came, he said to them, ‘You know what I have always done among you from the first day I came into Asia until now. Here, it shows what attitude Paul worked for for three years. No matter what we do, our attitude and attitude are very important. The attitude we take determines our success or failure. No matter what a person does, he always approaches with a positive and positive attitude. On the other hand, some people always work negatively and passively. There is no need to explain who will be successful and who will reap the fruits of what they do. That's why there is a saying in English that 'attitude is more important than facts'. Whether we study or do business,
Our active, positive, and creative attitude is very important whether we are in love, lead a religious life, or serve the church. Who is really attractive? Someone has said that a person full of existence is the most attractive. Who is full of existence? A person who is passionate about what he does and does his best. A person who lives his or her life to the fullest.
The Apostle Paul says in today's text that you know better how he acted.
What do you mean? He said that in Ephesus, not only in words, but in his life and actions, he showed how to live and how to act as the Christian life. He continues to confess specifically what attitude he served when he served the church in Ephesus for three years.
First, they say that they served with 'all humility'.
What does 'all humility' mean here? total humility. It means serving and serving with humility in all things. Some people fall flat on those who have more money, more power, and more power than they do. no, it's completely overturned. However, if he thinks that he is inferior to him, he gives strength to his neck and dominates by shouting loudly. This is not humility. True humility is to treat everyone with humility in everything.
In particular, we Koreans try to accept humility as a Confucian meaning. For example, if you ask for something, 'I don't know what to do.' He does a good job, but he pretends to be polite and gets rid of it. This is not humility. If you see it sometimes, when you set up food that breaks your upper legs, you say to your customers, 'I don't have anything set up, but eat a lot'. This is not humility, it is hypocrisy and hypocrisy. Oriental humility is close to the hypocrisy or hypocrisy recorded in the Bible.
The most important virtue we need to live as Christians is the virtue of humility. Paul says in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you. that is, the mind of Christ Jesus.” The heart of Jesus Christ is the humble heart that forsook the heavenly throne, came into the world, and became obedient to death on the cross.
In particular, leaders and volunteers need more humility to humble themselves. A person grows and rises as much as he humbles himself. The Lord humbled Himself to the point of dying on the cross, so that all things might bow their knees before Him.
Second, he served and ministered with tears.
Paul raised the Ephesians just like a mother gave birth to a baby. When parents raise their children, they cannot raise them without tears. Isn't the crystal of all devotion and love a child? Seeing my daughter raising a baby sometimes makes me feel a little pathetic. Children don't just eat and grow. They grow up eating the love and tears of their parents.
There are actually several types of tears. The tears Paul speaks of here are tears of love. Where true love abounds, there are tears. If you analyze tears, they are water and salt. But there is an amazing power that cannot be proven by science.
Looking at Jesus' ministry (Matthew 9:35-38), the method or strategy was not important. The most important thing was a heart that felt sorry for and loved each soul. More important than evangelism methodology or technology is 'a heart that loves the soul passionately'. When one soul passionately loves one soul and there are tears of true love for them, the history of repentance and return appears. Also, when you have a passionate love for the soul, you will naturally learn methodologies and techniques.
Third, he served with long-suffering patience.
In the middle of verse 19, it is said that 'he endured the temptation that he suffered because of the wiles of the Jews and served the Lord.
There are many times in our lives that it is not easy to be patient. But you don't know how important and necessary it is to be patient. How many times have you failed because you didn't fail even if you endured only 5 or 10 minutes, and failed because you couldn't bear to have succeeded? How many times have families that would not have been broken if they had endured and persevered, gave up on studies that would have been achieved if they had endured just a little bit of patience, and failed businesses that would have been successful if they had been patient and persevering?
Fourth, they preached the gospel and worked with courage.
In verse 20 and below we encounter Paul's great courage. He had courage and boldness to preach the gospel in the past, but despite what may happen to him when he goes to Jerusalem in the future, he is determined to fulfill his course and the mission he received from the Lord Jesus, namely, that he does not consider his own life as precious at all. You can see what's going on in the spirit.
This shows the courage of his faith. We need courage in life. It takes courage to be truthful, courage to overcome fear, courage to do justice, courage to love, courage to sacrifice and dedicate