Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 13

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. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life 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. (Acts 20:17-24 ESV).

Our reading comes in the midst of a greater context. The story is a continuation following a situation of civil unrest. Paul spoke to his disciples and gave them words of encouragement before he left for Macedonia. He preached to the people there and then traveled onwards to Greece. After discovering plots against him in there, he decided to travel back to Macedonia. It is encouragement to the “ministry.” In this context we should understand the apostle to be speaking of what all Christians do (cf. Ephesians 4:11-12). What ministry looks like is as varied as Christians are varied. It’s not an office like elder or deacon; it’s a lifestyle devoted to making much of Christ and meeting the needs of others. It is “running our race.” It means that we “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Whether we are bankers or bricklayers, it means that we aim at advancing other people’s faith and holiness to the glory of God. Fulfilling your ministry is more important than staying alive. This conviction is what makes the lives of radically devoted people so inspiring to watch. Most of them speak the way Paul did about his ministry here: “I do not account my life 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.” Doing the ministry that God gives us to do is more important than life. You may think you need to save your life in order to do your ministry. On the contrary, how you lose your life may be the capstone of your ministry. We need not fret about keeping ourselves alive in order to finish our ministry. God alone knows the appointed time of our lives. He will decide when our death is not an interruption of our ministry, but the last act of our ministry. Henry Martyn was right when he said, “If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die.” In other words, I am immortal until my work is done. Therefore, ministry is more important than life. How are you running your race?