Pastor Terry Ciona's Farewell (Acts 20:17-38)
- it seems like there’s always good news and bad
news for a youth pastor
- the good news: you’ve baptized three people on
a youth retreat
- the bad news: you lost one of them in the current
-
- the good news: the youth committee sent you a get-well
card
- the bad news: the vote passed by 4 to 3
-
- the good news: Mrs. Jones thinks you’re a great
youth pastor
- the bad news: Mrs. Jones is also wild about the Gong
Show and the Bay City Rollers
-
- the good news: your youth have come to your house for
a visit
- the bad news: it’s midnight and they’re armed
with toilet paper and shaving cream
-
- the good news: the senior pastor accepted your job
description the way you wrote it
- the bad news: he’s formed a search committee to
find somebody capable of filling it
-
- the good news: God has moved you on
- the bad news: you have to listen to what I have to
say before you leave
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- Terry, it’s time to say goodbye
- saying good-bye has some obvious benefits
- it allows us to reflect on where we’ve been together
- it helps us to appreciate one another, and reminds
us not to take our relationships together for granted
- it reveals the true nature of the relationship we’ve
had together
- and it allows both of us to stand on our own, to see
what we’re really made of
-
- saying good-bye can also be difficult
- I guess it all depends on who you’re saying good-bye
to
- but Paul tells us how to say good-bye
- please turn in your Bible to Acts 20
- Paul was traveling to Rome, against the better judgment
of many of the early Christians, and passed near Ephesus, a city he
had visited earlier
- he couldn’t pass by without calling for the leaders
of the Ephesian church for a very emotional farewell
- as I looked at this passage, I’ve discovered two
characteristics of a good-bye that could be applied to our situation
here today
- two lessons, if you will, on how to say a good good-bye
-
- LESSON NUMBER ONE: SAYING GOOD-BYE MEANS APPRECIATING
OUR PAST RELATIONSHIP
- as Paul meets the Ephesian elders, the first thing
he does is reminisces on their past relationship together – particularly
the integrity of his own ministry among them
- read with me:
- (Acts 20:18) When they arrived, he said to them: "You
know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I
came into the province of Asia.
- (Acts 20:19) I served the Lord with great humility
and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
- (Acts 20:20) You know that I have not hesitated to
preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly
and from house to house.
- (Acts 20:21) I have declared to both Jews and Greeks
that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord
Jesus.
-
- when saying good-bye, it’s easy to look back at
the past
- Paul points out that he wasn’t reluctant to jump
in when he started, but says "from the first day" that he
ministered the same way among them
- his motive was simple: he wanted to serve the
Lord (verse 19)
- he wasn’t in it to make money, and he wasn’t
in it for his ego
- his only motive was to serve the Lord
-
- the manner of his ministry was also simple
- the entire time he was with them, he lived a consistent
life, and served the Lord with humility and tears
-
- and his message was well known to the Ephesians
(verses 20-21): he didn’t hesitate to preach anything, but told
sinners to repent and have faith in the Lord
- he had ministered to both Jews and Gentiles, and preached
a balanced message, not hesitating to include anything that would be
of benefit to the congregation
- in short, Paul had an exemplary ministry while he ministered
in Ephesus
-
- the thing I like about Paul is that he didn’t
have to hang his head in shame when he left them
- Paul could look back and praise God for an effective
and credible ministry while he was among them
- were there problems? of course! just read Acts 19
- I guess you could call a riot a bit of a problem!
- but Paul could look back without shame or regret, and
praise God that his motives, manner, and message were beyond question
while he was among them
-
- I learn from Paul an important lesson here
- it’s important, Terry, to appreciate the past
we’ve had together
- you can see tonight that you’ve been appreciated,
and we’ll continue to appreciate you as we move forward
-
- but Paul also teaches us a second lesson
- LESSON NUMBER TWO: SAYING GOOD-BYE MEANS WE ACCEPT
GOD’S LEADING ABOVE OUR OWN DESIRES
- (Acts 20:22) "And now, compelled by the Spirit,
I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
- (Acts 20:23) I only know that in every city the Holy
Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
- (Acts 20:24) However, I consider my life worth nothing
to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord
Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
- (Acts 20:25) "Now I know that none of you among
whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.
- (Acts 20:26) Therefore, I declare to you today that
I am innocent of the blood of all men.
- (Acts 20:27) For I have not hesitated to proclaim to
you the whole will of God.
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- Paul says in verse 22 that he is "compelled by
the Spirit" to leave for Jerusalem
- it didn’t make a lot of sense
- everywhere he visited, the Holy Spirit told him through
prophesies that jail was waiting for him ahead
- I don’t think anyone really wanted Paul to leave
- probably even Paul experienced the occasional doubt
-
- but I love verse 24:
- (Acts 20:24 NLT) But my life is worth nothing unless
I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the
work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness
and love.
- Paul is saying, in effect, "I don’t care
if I end up in jail – I have to go where the Spirit takes me. I
don’t know what is going to happen, but I know I’m following
Jesus."
- and you can read between the lines and sense that Paul
is reminding the Ephesian elders that even if they don’t want him
to leave, they had better accept God’s will
-
- I could preach a whole sermon on sensing God’s
will, but what I know is this: when God calls, you had better listen
- God has called you away, Terry
- just as you sensed God calling you here, you have sensed
God moving you away
- we know God is preparing you for something
-
- jumping ahead for a minute to the end of Paul’s
message, we see how the people reacted
- (Acts 20:36) When he had said this, he knelt down with
all of them and prayed.
- (Acts 20:37) They all wept as they embraced him and
kissed him.
- (Acts 20:38) What grieved them most was his statement
that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him
to the ship.
- nobody wanted Paul to leave, but if Paul is compelled
by the Spirit, he had better go
- and if we are compelled by the Spirit as well to move
on, we had better go!
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- Paul teaches us quite a bit about saying good-bye
- he’s reminded us to appreciate the time we’ve
had together, and to accept the Spirit’s leading
- I’m excited, because we’re both on the threshold
of a new adventure
- with God’s help, and God’s future leading,
who knows what blessings lie ahead?
- saying good-bye isn’t easy, but with the lessons
we learn from Paul’s good-bye, it’s a little bit easier
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- I hope you’ll pray with me that Terry’s ministry
here will have reflected the words written on an old burial plaque 300
years ago
- "In the year of 1653, when all things sacred were
throughout the nation destroyed or profaned, this church was built to
the glory of God by Sir Robert Shirley, whose singular praise it was
to have done the best things in the worst times"
- may it be said of us that, like the Apostle Paul and
like Sir Robert Shirley, we built our ministries to the glory of God
by having done the best things in the worst times
