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to Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20 verses 17 to 
38 is what I would call a first pastor's conference. The apostle 
Paul didn't want to spend a lot of time in Ephesus because he 
wanted to get back to Jerusalem for a feast. So while he's in 
Miletus waiting to make that long journey, he calls for the 
elders of the church of Ephesus and he exhorts them. And we have 
already seen the identification of the audience. Verse 17, the 
elders are also identified as overseers in verse 28, and those 
elders slash overseers, pastor. So those three terms apply to 
the one office in the church, which has as its primary responsibility 
teaching and ruling in the context of the church. Then secondly, 
we noted the review of Paul's ministry, verses 18 to 27. Not 
that Paul is boasting, but rather Paul is God's man. God used Paul 
in a tremendous way, and his example is a great pattern for 
gospel ministry. Then last week, thirdly, we saw 
the exhortation to the elders proper, verses 28 to 31. And this morning we'll take up 
the final admonition to these elders in verses 32 to 38. But 
I'll read beginning in verse 17. From Miletus, he sent to 
Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they 
had come to him, he said to them, you know from the first day that 
I came to Asia in what manner I always lived among you, serving 
the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials, which 
happened to me by the plotting of the Jews, how I kept back 
nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught 
you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and 
also to Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord 
Jesus Christ. And see, now I go bound in the 
Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to 
me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, 
saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things 
move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may 
finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I receive 
from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of 
God. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone 
preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore, 
I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of 
all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel 
of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the 
flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd 
the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. For I know 
this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among 
you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men 
will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples 
after themselves. Therefore watch and remember 
that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night 
and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you 
to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build 
you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 
I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you 
yourselves know that these hands are provided for my necessities 
and for those who are with me. I have shown you in every way, 
by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember 
the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, it is more blessed 
to give than to receive. And when he had said these things, 
he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept 
freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most 
of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his 
face no more. And they accompanied him to the 
ship." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
thank you again for the written Word of the living and true God. 
Thank you that you've not left us as orphans in the world. You've 
given us the Spirit, and you've given us this God-breathed Word 
that is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
and for instruction in righteousness. And I pray that we'd have open 
and ready hearts to receive Your Word. I pray, Father, that Your 
Spirit would work in our hearts and lives, that He would illumine 
our minds and enable us to grapple with the text of Scripture, to 
receive it with thanksgiving, and seek by Your grace and the 
power of the Spirit to put these things into practice. Again, 
for any and all here that do not know the Lord Jesus as Savior, 
as their atonement, we pray that you would have mercy and open 
hearts and cause sinners to come out of that darkness into marvelous 
light, confessing Him as Lord and Savior. And we ask this in 
Jesus' blessed name. Amen. Well, as said, this is 
a wonderful exhortation to the church or to the elders, rather, 
in terms of gospel ministry. And I think any man studying 
for ministry or any man that aspires to ministry or any man 
that is in ministry ought to reflect often on this passage 
of Holy Scripture, along with the qualifications for eldership 
in 1 Timothy 3, verses 1 to 7, and then Titus 1, verses 5 to 
9, and then 1 Peter as well, verses 1 to 4. So there's no dearth of information 
concerning gospel ministry. In other words, the job description 
is very clearly outlined. And the specific task of gospel 
ministers is to preach the Word. In fact, that's Paul's parting 
command to Timothy when he's about to die. He says, Timothy, 
preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of 
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. 
Paul then gives two reasons there in 2 Timothy 4 as to why Timothy 
must comply. In the first place, there will 
come a time when the church will not endure sound doctrine. So 
what's the remedy, Timothy? Preach sound doctrine. Don't 
let them call the shots. Don't let your child say, I don't 
want broccoli, I want cake. If the kind of parent says, well, 
then I'll just give you cake, child. That's what we're seeing 
in the church today. We are catering to and pandering 
to those people that don't want sound doctrine. Paul will have 
none of that. If they don't want to endure 
sound doctrine, the antidote is to preach more sound doctrine. It's beautiful logic on the part 
of the apostle. But the second reason Paul gives 
for preach the word is because he was about to die. And he knew 
that. And so he's passing the baton 
to Timothy, his ministerial associate, and he wants Timothy to conduct 
himself in a manner that is consistent with the demands of Christ and 
with the example of Paul. And the same thing obtains in 
this section. Notice the exhortation proper 
in verse 28. Therefore, take heed to yourself 
and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you 
overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with 
his own blood. That is the primary calling for 
gospel ministry. Take heed to yourselves and to 
all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit, not men, not you, 
not because you thought it was a good thing, but because the 
Holy Spirit made you an overseer in that context. And the rationale 
is provided by the Apostle Paul. He says, in the first place, 
there are external threats. Savage wolves will come in among 
you, not sparing the flock. But then within the context of 
the professing church, from your own ranks, men will rise up, 
speaking perverse things, trying to draw away attention from Christ 
onto themselves. And now he comes to finally admonish 
them in verses 32 to 38. So I want to look at first the 
necessity of God's grace in verse 32. Secondly, the example of 
Paul's selflessness in verses 33 to 35. And then the departure 
from Paul's associates in verses 36 to 38. But let's look first 
at the necessity of God's grace, and we see that in verse 32. So now, brethren, I commend you 
to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build 
you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 
Now the connection ought to be obvious. The connection is right 
here in the context. Take heed to yourselves and to 
all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. 
The only way they can do that is through dependence upon God 
and His Word. That is absolutely crucial and 
necessary. Ministers need to be feeding 
their souls each and every day with the Word of God. Ministers 
need to be preparing sermons to feed the souls of the people 
of God every Sabbath, every Lord's Day, every time the people of 
God gather together. And so there is this absolute 
dependence upon God that is crucial for the long haul relative to 
gospel ministry. The particular meaning of this 
word, I commend, simply is to entrust for safekeeping, to give 
over, to entrust, to commend, to entrust someone to the care 
or protection of someone else. So these men are not going to 
do this. They're not going to take heed 
to themselves and to all the flock in a vacuum. They're not 
going to do this as independent mavericks trying to go it alone. 
They're going to do it by virtue of their dependence upon the 
living and true God. And notice that compound object. 
So he says, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. Very often you'll meet people 
that say, God bless you. And sometimes you wonder if it's 
just a generic sort of thing to say at times. This is not 
the apostle Paul. I commend you to God, the living 
and the true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That one from 
everlasting to everlasting. That God of Genesis 1. who made 
the world and everything in by the word of His power in the 
space of six days, and all very good, who did so out of nothing. It wasn't as if there was existent 
material and God just came and fashioned it. No, it was creation 
ex nihilo, creation out of nothing. That God who providentially governs 
all of His creatures and all their actions according to His 
own wisdom, power, holiness, and goodness, and that God who 
is sovereign in the manner of redemption of sinners. He says, 
I commend you to that God, the true and living God, because 
that is absolutely crucial if you're going to carry out faithful 
pastoral ministry to the very end. Pastoral ministry isn't 
a flash in the pan. We don't ordain a man, he preaches 
one sermon, and then he drops dead. As attractive as a particular 
way that might be, that's just not the way it is, brethren. 
It might be the case that a man labors long, And in order to 
labor long, he has to be dependent upon God. But it's not just God. Again, it's not this generic, 
ambiguous, vague, higher power sort of God. But it's God and 
to the word of His grace. In other words, ministers of 
the gospel, first and foremost, are reading their Bibles not 
for sermon material. Ministers of the Gospel are reading 
their Bibles for food for their own souls. Remember, take heed 
to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit 
has made you overseers. It's not the case that man shall 
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from 
the mouth of God. For the flock, it's true for 
the minister as well. That's what Jesus appeals to 
when he's in the wilderness having been driven out there by the 
spirit to be tempted by the devil or tested by the devil for that 
period of 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus withdraws the sword of 
the spirit and hacks at the devil by highlighting that reality 
of his creation. Christ's utter necessity for 
the Word of the Living and True God. So if Christ, how much more 
you and I? I don't know if that's the right 
comparative, but you get the point. If Christ needed that 
Word, then ministers of the Gospel, and by extension, each and every 
one of us, need God and the Word of His grace. It is crucial. The Geneva Bible, Glosses, gives 
this comment. In other words, they're the Aaron 
and Hur that keeps Moses' hands built up in the sky while that 
war rages on in the valley. Matthew Poole describes, he says, 
the word of His grace, the gospel, which leads us to the rock upon 
which we must build if we would not be moved when the storm comes. 
Everybody probably sees how natural this is. I used to say to our 
congregation, with reference to pastors' conferences, pastors 
go to conferences, and they are typically preached to, and they 
are told, you need to read your Bible and pray. So it's not just 
pastors telling the flock, read your Bible and pray. If they 
ever happen to go to a decent conference, they are hearing 
it from fellow pastors calling upon them to read their Bible 
and pray. The Christian life isn't magic. 
The Christian life isn't about spells. It's not about incantations. It's not about amulets. It's 
not about talismans. It's not about experience. It's 
not about charismatic mysticism. It's about faithfulness to the 
living and true God and to the word of His grace. We need to 
be in the Bible. We need to search the scriptures. 
We need to understand truth. We need to know Bible from Genesis 
to Revelation, and we need to know good doctrine. Our confession 
of faith is a handy guide in terms of those things most surely 
believed among us. Again, Jesus, John 17, 17, sanctify 
them by thy truth, thy word is truth. 2 Peter 3.18, Peter says, 
but grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ. How is that to be done? Again, 
is it through emptying our heads, engaging in sort of an Eastern 
mysticism? Is it the absenting of ourselves 
of data and of doctrine and of connections and implications? 
No, it's through filling our hearts and minds with that stuff. 
In Jude 20, how does Jude counsel the people of God? To guard against 
apostates that will inevitably invade the church. Beloved, he 
says you need to build yourself up in your most holy faith, praying 
in the Holy Spirit. So Bible reading and prayer is 
crucial, at least with reference to Jesus, Jude, and Peter, and 
here we have Paul, the apostle. Notice what he also says in verse 
32. I commend you to God and to the 
word of His grace. And now there's this twofold 
purpose that he highlights, which is able to build you up. You want to grow as a Christian? 
I'm going to tell you a little secret. Read your Bible and pray, 
and don't ever miss church. You want to grow in your physical 
strength? Lift up heavy things and put 
them back down again. You want to grow in a manner 
that is consistent with being a healthy creature? Don't ingest 
loads of sugar. Don't ingest loads of carbohydrates. This isn't rocket science, brethren. How do people get stabilized 
and secure in the Christian faith? Again, not through mysticism, 
not through tuning out, not through letting go and letting God, but 
rather through the hard work that pays rich dividends of reading 
Scripture and attending to the public means of grace wherein 
the Bible is proclaimed, hopefully accurately, and the Spirit attends. 
So the Word of God edifies, the Word of God builds up, the Word 
of God strengthens, and these ministers in Ephesus, if they're 
going to make it to the very end, they need to avail themselves 
of that. But it's not just the present 
that Paul highlights with reference to the utility of God's Word 
of Grace, which is able to build you up and, notice, give you 
an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Bruce says, 
by that word, too, they were assured of their inheritance 
among all the people of God, all whom He has set apart for 
Himself. So, just think about this for 
a moment. I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, 
which is, for the present, able to build you up and give you 
an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. It is through 
the Word of God, believed on by the people of God, concerning 
the Son of God, in terms of His redeeming activity, wherein we 
are washed in His precious blood, we are clothed in the righteousness 
that now avails of the Father, and it gives us right and entitlement 
to heaven. I was just discussing with one 
of the brothers prior to the service today that we don't think 
a lot about heaven. We should think more about heaven. 
We should consider that inheritance. And I think that practically, 
as Paul is calling upon these Ephesian elders to maintain faithfulness 
in their ministry, he says to do so with a view to the present, 
but with a view to the future. In other words, what you're doing 
may be thankless now. What you're doing may not pay 
rich benefits now. What you're doing may not yield 
the sorts of things that other people see or want to have for 
themselves. There is an inheritance with 
the rest of God's saints who will stand in the presence of 
our great Lord and confess Him forever and ever and ever, world 
without end. Amen. Paul has that same motif 
in his mind when he writes that section in 2 Timothy chapter 
4, and he says, for my departure is at hand. I have fought the 
good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. 
There is a crown laid up for me. In other words, he had heaven, 
this inheritance, this eternal life in his crosshairs, and this 
encouraged him, it emboldened him, and it was one of the things 
that gave him the grace to persevere in the various trials and the 
difficulties that he underwent. Again, Bruce commenting on the 
value of God's word. He says, in due course, Paul, 
with all the apostles, passed from earthly life. But the teaching 
which they left behind to be guarded by their successors as 
a sacred deposit, preserved not only in their memory, but eventually 
in the New Testament scriptures, remains to this day as the word 
of God's grace. So we neglect it to our own hurt. We neglect it to our own peril. 
We neglect it to our own hindrance instead of our own help and security 
and stability such that we can persevere until the very end. 
And again, Paul's particular audience are elders. But what 
is true for elders, brethren, is true for each of God's people. 
What do you think these elders preached the next Sunday in their 
church? They probably told their people, 
you need to pray and read the Bible. You need to be commended 
to God and to the Word of His grace. Again, not magic. It's 
not esoteric. It's not Gnosticism. It's take 
the eyes that God has given you, or the fingers, should you be 
blind and you have a Braille Bible, and look at it. I know 
it seems odd, but read it, seek to understand it, internalize 
it, pray to God for the power of the Spirit to comply with 
it, and then live as God would have us to do. The voice of Yahweh, 
as we read in Psalm 29, is mighty. It breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 
It shatters those things that are massive and monumental. Certainly, that voice of the 
Lord will help us with our sins, our remaining corruption. That 
voice of the Lord will help us with the various trials and afflictions 
that we undergo. That voice of the Lord will help 
us to have God's perspective in the midst of a world that, 
at this particular time, looks pretty chaotic. We need, with 
Asaph, to go into the sanctuary and then survey the world with 
God's lenses on our eyes, vis-à-vis the Old and the New Testaments. 
This is an absolutely crucial, necessary thing for these ministers. 
If they're going to take heed to themselves and to all the 
flock, they need to be commended to God and to the Word of His 
grace. Now notice, secondly, the example of Paul's selflessness. And here there's two things to 
look at. First, his practice in verses 33 and 34, and then 
his concern in verse 35. Notice in the first place, he 
says he did not covet. This may seem a bit odd. Why 
would he bring this up to the Ephesian elders? Well, Samuel 
does the same thing in 1 Samuel 12, verse 3. Sort of a farewell 
speech from Samuel to Israel, he says essentially the same 
thing. I've never coveted your stuff. In other words, I haven't 
been in this for the money. And Paul is saying that. And 
I think contextually, you'll understand why. In the previous 
section, he's condemned the sin of pride. From among yourselves, 
men will rise up, and they'll try to take away the disciples 
of Christ to follow after them. So he goes after pride, he goes 
after a lack of humility, he goes after that hubris or that 
arrogance that is so contrary to gospel ministry to another 
ministerial sin, covetousness. In other words, when we read 
the pastoral epistles, when we read the qualifications for elders, 
we'll see that Paul cautions elders against being money-grubbers, 
lovers of money. Why is that? Because philosophy 
and religion mattered in the first century. Philosophy and 
religion in the first century made men who taught it much money. In fact, Peter cautions the shepherds 
of the church against that sort of a pursuit. Now, as we'll go 
through this passage, we'll notice that God is not against the payment 
of pastors, but he is against the payment of pastors that are 
covetous, money-grubbing persons that would fleece the people 
of God instead of tend to them and protect them. So the apostle 
condemns pride, he also condemns covetousness. And notice in his 
own ministerial example, verse 33, I have coveted no one's silver 
or gold or apparel. Now, this is particularly useful 
information when you read 2 Corinthians. I think I've shared with you 
one of the problems that Paul is dealing with in 2 Corinthians 
was that there were persons coming to the church and saying, Paul 
doesn't really care about you. Paul's only in it for the money. 
Paul's only in it because he's proud. Paul's only in it to try 
to build himself up. And Paul is able to say, I haven't 
coveted anybody's stuff. I don't want your stuff. I want 
you to know Jesus. I want you to go to heaven. I 
want you to be cleansed in the precious blood. I want you to 
be clothed in the perfect righteousness. I want you to go to heaven and 
be with Him where He is forever and ever and ever. Paul says, 
I haven't coveted your things. I don't want your things." And 
then he goes on to demonstrate this even more powerfully in 
the fact that he provided for himself. Verse 34, yes, you yourselves 
know. Just like he's able to say in 
verse 18, you know what manner I've always lived from the first 
day that I came to Asia. Paul wasn't a secret guy, again, 
living in his ivory tower, coming out once on Sunday, doing his 
thing and going back into the ivory tower. No, people knew 
him, people loved him and people saw his example. And while they 
knew he wasn't perfect, they knew that he was a man of integrity. So he says in verse 34, yes, 
you yourselves know that these hands are provided for my necessities 
and for those who are with me. I have shown you in every way 
by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. So Paul 
labors for himself. He appeals to their knowledge 
of his practice, and he appeals to the reality that he provided 
for his own needs. Remember in chapter 18, Priscilla 
and Aquila? Paul shared the same trade with 
them. What did they do? They made tents. Tents was a 
very important business to be in at that particular time for 
sporting events and for the various things that would obtain in that 
culture, Paul had a trade. And Paul used that ability to 
make money so that he could provide for himself and so that he could 
provide for others as well. And he appeals to their knowledge 
and understanding of this. The apostle does this willingly, 
not because it's wrong to take money from churches. It's a curious 
thing in the history of interpretation that some persons have looked 
at Paul and said, well, there's the obvious example of an unpaid 
ministry. We ought not to have paid ministers. 
In fact, paid ministers is a horrific thing. It's a bad thing. If you're 
a minister and you actually take money, shame on you. Bad are 
you. As if we don't get enough finger 
wagging and enough sort of rebuke from just about everybody else. 
We need that class of people, too, cursing the day that we 
ever ate or learned how to tie our shoes and needed those sorts 
of things because, after all, we're not disembodied spirits. 
If we were angelic beings just floating through this life, we 
wouldn't need shoes, we wouldn't need shirts, we wouldn't need 
pants, we wouldn't need cars, we wouldn't need all of those 
things. But lo and behold, God said, not angels, but men. The Bible teaches to pay pastors. Paul understood that, and we're 
gonna look at that, because again, this idea that it's somehow wrong 
for men to take money for preaching the gospel, that is wrong, and 
we need to be correct with reference to our understanding. In the 
first place, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 
9. The larger context, Paul is dealing 
with liberty issues. But here, specifically, the issue 
of payment of pastors comes out. There were times and instances 
where Paul took money from other churches so that he wouldn't 
have to appeal to the particular church that he was working in 
because he didn't want to do that. That was his choice, his 
decision, and he does that willingly. But in terms of paying elders, 
paying pastors, Not necessarily every elder, not necessarily 
every pastor. There may be situations or conditions 
that there are where the guy can live on love and fresh air. 
I personally haven't met that guy, but for the most part there 
might be some sort of species out there. But look at Paul's 
logic in 1 Corinthians 9, verses 1 to 18. He says it was his right 
to be able to be paid for his labor. Notice in verse 3. Well, 
verse 1, am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Let me just tell 
you, I'm not looking for a raise. I'm not saying I need to be. 
That has nothing to do with me. Nothing at all. I just like that 
people understand what the Bible says. I can honestly say that. 
My whole desire is that people understand what the Bible says. 
And when we get these odd duck interpretations that it's wrong 
to pay pastors, I think we need to deal with that. I think we 
need to go after that. And I think we need to expose 
that. So back to 1 Corinthians 9, am I not an apostle? Am I 
not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ, 
our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle 
to others, yet doubtless I am to you, for you are the seal 
of my apostleship in the Lord. Now notice in verse 3, my defense 
to those who examine me is this, do we have no right to eat and 
drink? He doesn't mean in general, he 
means relative to money provided by churches so that ministers 
can eat and drink. Don't we have that same right? 
Doesn't Paul and his ministerial companions have the right for 
the labor that they engage in to be recompensed accordingly? 
This is his point. Do we have no right to eat and 
drink? Do we have no right to take along a believing wife as 
do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 
Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from 
working? whoever goes to war at his own expense, who plants 
a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit, or who tends a flock 
and does not drink of the milk of the flock." So the first thing 
he says is that it's a right. If a man does labor, pay him 
for it so that he can eat and drink. Notice in the second place, 
it's illustrated in case law. Verse 8, do I say these things 
as a mere man, or does not the law say the same also? For it is written in the law 
of Moses, you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the 
grain. If you do, you're a horrible person. Can I just tell you that? 
You're vicious and vile and reprehensible. Perhaps you saw that scene in 
Chicago where that man rode that horse to the point where its 
hooves were bleeding. and they had to put it down. 
What a vile expression of cruelty to an animal. And so with reference 
to case law, don't muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain. Let the ox eat. Let the ox drink. Let the ox do what oxes do. And guess what? It'll actually 
perform better. It's kind of an interesting thing. 
Put food in an ox, it works better. Put drink in an ox, it works 
better. Same kind of thing with pastors. For it is written in 
the Law of Moses, you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads 
out the grain. Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He 
say it all together, for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt 
this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and 
he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we 
have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we 
reap your material things? If others are partakers of this 
right over you, are we not even more? He affirms it as a right. He grounds it or illustrates 
it in case law. And then in 12b, he highlights 
that he willingly sacrifices this. Notice in 12b, nevertheless, 
we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we 
hinder the gospel of Christ. He amplifies that in verses 15 
to 18. And I suspect the logic is simple. 
He is telling them, I didn't come after your money. When these 
false teachers come in and say, Paul's about money grubbing, 
you'll know better because I never asked you for any money. I didn't 
want it to even appear that way. So he appeals to his right, he 
appeals to the case law, and now notice he appeals to the 
command of our blessed Lord Jesus. Well, before that, verse 13, 
he appeals to old covenant priesthood. Verse 13, do you not know that 
those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple 
and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the 
altar? Remember that when the Israelites came and they offered 
up sacrifice, a portion was to feed the priesthood. The priests 
didn't have a tribal allotment. They had cities to live in, to 
be sure, but it wasn't their tribal allotment. It was the 
other tribes that had the allotment of land. But the priests were 
looked after through the tithes, the offerings, and the sacrifices. 
And nobody questioned that. Nobody had a problem with that. 
Nobody said, well, that's not fair. What do you mean that's 
not fair? A man spends 12 hours a day laboring 
in a particular field of service, and it's not fair to eat as a 
result of that? Do we listen to the logic that's 
involved with this position? Do we ever parse it out and understand 
how foolish it really is? Then he moves to the command 
of the Lord in verse 14. Look at what he says. Even so, 
the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should 
live from the gospel. Again, not in billion dollar 
houses and not with $700 t-shirts, not with the kinds of things 
that you see on that Instagram account, preachers in sneakers. That's not necessarily what Jesus 
commands, but that they get to eat and drink at a normal rate 
with everybody else in the context of the church, get the average, 
that's commanded by Jesus. So these super spiritual, super 
pietistic, holier than everybody else who think that somehow a 
paid ministry is an affront to God, Paul says just the opposite 
here in verse 14. Now turn over to 1 Timothy 5. 
1 Timothy 5, there's several instructions concerning elders. It gives the qualifications in 
1 Timothy 3, verses one to seven. And then in 1 Timothy 5, verses 
17 and following, he gives specific direction on how to deal with 
the elders in the context of the church. For instance, look 
at verse 19. Here's the discipline of elders. 
Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from 
two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke 
in the presence of all that the rest also may fear. In other 
words, the elders are under due process as well. You can't just 
say, oh, that guy did this, that, and the other. No, do not receive 
an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or 
three witnesses. Elders are subject to due process 
just like persons in the church vis-à-vis Matthew chapter 18. 
That is for the protection of the eldership and protection 
of the people of God. But in verses 17 and 18, look 
at what Paul says with reference to elders and payment. Let the 
elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor. Go back 
for just a moment to verse 3 in chapter 5. Honor widows who are 
really widows. That doesn't mean when a widow 
enters into the church, we all stand at attention and give her 
a salute. The honor there means to give 
her money. Give her dough. Give her the 
wherewithal so that she can feed herself. The first line of defense 
is her family. If she has no family and she 
has satisfied the biblical criteria and she is eligible for the widow's 
list, then honor her. The word honor in this context 
means to pay them. to get money or a check or whatever, 
however they transferred funds from one to another back then. 
So in verse 17, he says, let the elders who rule well. That's 
necessary, brethren. If a man doesn't rule well, don't 
pay him well. That's a reality in God's created 
world, isn't it? If a man is a deadbeat, if a 
man is lazy, if a man doesn't do his job, fire him! Get rid of him! If he doesn't 
take heed to himself and to all the flock among which the Holy 
Spirit has made him an overseer, then perhaps greener or other 
pastures are in his future. So let the elders who rule well 
be counted worthy, notice, of double honor. Now he qualifies 
this or amplifies it, especially those who labor in the word and 
doctrine. You see, it is a labor, it is 
work, there is effort involved. And for those who pour out that 
kind of energy and effort, Paul says, give them double honor. And then notice Paul's appeal, 
similar to what he does with these Ephesian elders. He appeals 
to case law and to the command of our Lord Jesus. Notice his 
substantiation or confirmation of his point in verse 18. 4, the scripture says, you shall 
not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain. There's Deuteronomy 
25, 4 again. And then the laborer is worthy 
of his wages. Just by way of a corollary observation, 
look at how Paul treats the gospel according to Luke. It's on par 
with the book of Deuteronomy. It is scripture. The consciousness 
of the apostles with reference to their written documents indicates 
that they knew they were writing the word of the living God, just 
as the prophet Isaiah would say, thus saith the Lord. He knew 
what he was writing was the word of God. Same with the apostles. They weren't just kind of, I 
don't know what we're doing here. They knew precisely what they 
were doing here. And Paul identifies the gospel according to Luke, 
Luke 10, 7, as scripture, right alongside of the case law of 
Deuteronomy 25, 4. But again, the point, Germaine, 
to our observation is that, pay them. They cannot live without 
food and drink. Again, if you manage to secure 
such a pastor, Good on you. I hope you'll enjoy him forever, 
because he doesn't need that stuff. He's going to be great 
for the long haul. And then there's not another 
statement concerning payment, but turn over to 2 Timothy chapter 
2 for just a moment. Gary North once said, and whatever 
you may think of Gary North, he's said a lot of good things. 
He said that people want their religion, but they want it cheap. 
They want it cheap, right? They don't want to have to pony 
up. And again, I'm not looking for race. This is not me. I'm 
just trying to give you the information available with reference to the 
Word of God in this manner of paying pastors. Chapter 2 of 
2 Timothy, verse 1, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace 
that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have 
heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men 
who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure 
hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged 
in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life 
that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. In other words, 
if a man is not paid an average wage so that he can devote himself 
to the ministry of the Word and to prayer, then he is going to 
be divided by necessity. Again, that happens. It's a reality. 
There's bivocational ministers out there. I'm not saying that's 
wickedness or that's sinfulness. But the goal or the norm on the 
part of the church ought to be to set apart men who are devoted 
to prayer and to the ministry of the Word, such that they're 
not entangled in that, such that they are available not only for 
sermon prep, but for the flock of God, should they have any 
issues or questions or whatnot. So we see this constant refrain 
in the pages of the New Testament. Calvin made this observation 
concerning Paul in Acts 20. It's kind of like, well, you 
know, Paul gave it up, so therefore all ministers should. It reminds 
me of when I was a kid. Went to Catholic school. My siblings 
were all kind of coming out of that hippie era. This was late 
60s, early 70s. And I used to say to my parents, 
can I have long hair? Because Jesus had long hair. 
My parents, thankfully, didn't honor that. They didn't see that 
as a moral sort of paradigm for me to grow my hair long in that 
regard. But that's what we see with reference 
to this. Paul willingly, for his good 
biblical convictions and reasons, forewent a right that he was 
entitled to. But He doesn't make that the 
rule for everybody. The reality is that He acknowledges 
that it is His right. He acknowledges it based on the 
illustration of the ox that's treading out the grain, and He 
shows us that it really is the command of Jesus. So going back 
to Acts chapter 20, one of the things that I maintain is that 
He's not only exhorting them to guard their hearts against 
pride, but He's calling them to guard their hearts against 
Covetousness. In the list of qualifications, 
he indicates that a man must not be a lover of money. He must 
not be a greedy man. He condemns false teachers in 
1 Timothy 6, verses 3 to 10. It's in that context where he 
says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Notice 
what he says even there. He doesn't say money is the root 
of all kinds of evil. It's the love of it. Money is 
a tool. We can utilize it for good or 
we can utilize it for ill. The problem isn't the staff, 
the problem is with the heart and how we approach the staff. 
And Paul doesn't want elders to be covetous, greedy men that 
are fleecing the flock instead of protecting the flock. So back 
to Acts chapter 20, that's his practice. Notice his concern 
in verse 35. I have shown you in every way, 
by laboring like this, that you must support the weak." In context, 
I take this to be the temporally weak, not the spiritual. There's spiritually weak people 
that need to be upheld and supported. But he's talking about money. 
He's talking about covetousness. He's talking about those sorts 
of things. So the weak here are those who are weak in terms of 
they're impoverished, they don't have a lot, they don't have resources, 
they don't have abilities. So Paul tells these elders that 
you need to support the weak. Paul's practice was that way. 
Turn back to Acts chapter 11 for just a moment. Acts chapter 
11 at verse 27. And in these days, prophets came 
from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, 
stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a 
great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in 
the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according 
to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling 
in Judea. This they also did and sent it 
to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. In Galatians 
chapter 2, Paul is highlighting when he met the pillars of the 
church in Jerusalem. He says that they gave him the 
right hand of fellowship. And then in verse 10 of chapter 
2 Galatians, they desired only that we should remember the poor, 
the very thing which I also was eager to do. I have said that 
one of the strategies of the apostle in this third missionary 
journey was to collect money from Gentile churches so that 
when he arrives in Jerusalem in chapter 21, he can present 
that money to Pastor James so that they can try to alleviate 
the suffering of the downtrodden and poor that are in the church 
in Jerusalem. He writes in detail concerning 
this in Romans chapter 15. If Gentiles have benefited spiritually 
by virtue of the Jews, then it's the right and the duty and the 
privilege of those Gentile churches to throw out their money for 
the physical support of those Jews that were suffering in Jerusalem. So when Paul in chapter 21 ends 
this third missionary journey, he not only has the various brothers 
that he has seen converted by God's grace in the various regions 
of the then known world, but he also has a sack of dough to 
hand to James so that they can minister that tangible aid to 
people in need in that first century context. So Paul says, 
I want you to support the weak. And now he remembers, or he wants 
them as well, to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that 
he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. You won't 
find that statement as it's written in the gospel narratives. It's 
oral tradition. There's certainly passages like 
it and similar to it in Luke and Matthew, but in terms of 
that statement, that expression, it's oral tradition. to have 
the words of Jesus in the book of Acts in the mouth of the Apostle 
Paul. And when he says it's more blessed 
to give than to receive, he's not saying that poor people will 
never be able to be blessed. If you're poor, there's something 
you can give to somebody somewhere. The point is not that this is 
only a blessing and a privilege for those who have a lot of stuff. 
The idea, underscored, is simple. It is more blessed to help people, 
and to serve people, and to give to people, and to be kind to 
people, and to be generous to people, and to be compassionate 
to people, than to just be a taker. Takers isn't a good way to live. Always out for number one, always 
out for what we can get. That's not blessed. Blessedness 
is to imitate and imbibe the ethic of our Lord Jesus Christ 
and of the Apostle Paul, and to have hearts of compassion 
and generosity that aren't tight-fisted and stingy, that those are the 
kinds of people that God loves. He loves a cheerful giver. There 
is blessing to be had in that. And that's how Paul concludes 
his sermon. Beautiful thing. It is more blessed 
to give than to receive. Now, for those out there that 
might be thinking, it's at this point Paul passed the hat around. 
No, he wasn't doing this to converge to that. You know, you've ever 
been in those situations where you kind of feel like you're 
being worked up and okay, here you go. I doubt that's what happened 
in this context, but he ends on this high note crescendo that 
it's more blessed to give than to receive. Now we'll just quickly 
look at the departure here. Notice in verse 36, and when 
he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them 
all. Beautiful thing. Not just sermonizing, 
not just exhortation, but praying with them all, getting on our 
knees before the living and true God, and then praying, and then 
notice their expression of sorrow. Verse 37, then they all wept 
freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most 
of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his 
face no more, and they accompanied him to the ship. He says that 
in verse 25. He says, you're not going to 
see me again. So these men are affected. These men are pained. These men are sorrowful. Paul 
had made impact on their lives, and as a result of that, when 
Paul now departs Miletus and goes down to Jerusalem, they're 
affected by it. There is this agony. There is 
this sorrow. In fact, the particular verb 
that is used, It's to experience mental and spiritual pain, to 
be pained or distressed, and that again particularly because 
they would see his face no more. John Calvin said, no marvel if 
all the godly did entirely love this holy man. No wonder or no 
marvel if all the godly did entirely love this holy man. How could 
you not love Paul? I mean, I guess if you weren't 
converted, you certainly wouldn't love Paul, but if you had an 
ounce of saving grace in your heart, Paul would be the guy 
you'd want to just be around. Paul was just a warm, generous, 
loving man that knew theology and the Bible too. We like to 
just be around him as a result of that. He goes on to say, For 
it had been a point of too gross unthankfulness to despise him 
whom the Lord had so beautified with so many excellent gifts. 
So Calvin says this is a natural response when you're in the presence 
of a great man. Not great because he's great, 
but great because he's graced, because he's Christ's, because 
he's a servant, he's an ambassador, he is the Apostle Paul. Of course 
you're thankful for him. Of course you sorrow at his departure. 
Of course it causes you distress and pain when you see him go. 
There's something similar in a contrary way in the life and 
ministry of the Judge Gideon. Gideon did great things. Gideon's 
end wasn't great, unfortunately. There was some idolatry connected 
to his setting up at Ephod. But it says that under Gideon's 
judgeship, the nation of Israel had peace for 40 years. And then the text ends by telling 
us they no longer regarded God, nor were they thankful to the 
house of Gideon. Davis makes the observation there. 
When we ignore the instruments of God's grace, we demean the 
giver of that grace. And that is precisely the ethic 
that we see here in verses 37 and 38. They all wept freely 
and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. Again, I'm not out for money 
this morning and I'm not out for more hugs. I feel genuinely 
loved and appreciated and I'm very thankful, but I want to 
preach the text and try to be accurate and have integrity with 
reference to it. There is a thankfulness, there 
is a love for, there is an esteem. I was reminded of this the other 
day talking about my brother-in-law. It's my brother-in-law that God 
used to bring me to the Savior. What's Paul say concerning my 
brother-in-law's feet? They're beautiful according to 
Romans chapter 10. I will always value and prize 
and not adore but genuinely appreciate that man's feet because he brought 
me to the Savior King. Brethren, there is thankfulness 
for the grace of God, but as well for the people that God 
uses in our lives. The Lord is the God of not only 
the ends, but the means. And we ought to value and prize 
the means, or as Davis says, we demean the giver of that grace. God wants us to be thankful. Remember Jesus heals those ten 
lepers and only one of them comes back? He says, wasn't there ten? It was the Samaritan that comes 
back and is thankful to Jesus for having healed him of his 
leprosy. There is a doctrine of gratitude. 
Guilt, grace, gratitude. Yes to God, but also to the means 
that God has employed in our lives that have done us good. 
So in conclusion, the first observation, the necessity of dependence upon 
God and His Word. Verse 28 cannot be undertaken 
apart from verse 32. No elder worth his salt is going 
to take heed to himself and to all the flock among which the 
Holy Spirit has made him overseer, unless he is commended to God 
and to the word of His grace. A second thing we ought to remember, 
the Apostle Paul and his example. Now, typically when I think about 
Paul and his example, I think about verse 21, testifying to 
Jews and the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our 
Lord Jesus Christ. The apostolic doctrine, the book 
of Romans, the proclamation of gospel truth in Athens in Acts 
chapter 17. But there's another side to Paul. Again, it's not just the theology. 
It's not just the doctrine. It's the practical generosity. It is the compassion. It is the 
tears. It is the humility. It is the 
love expressed. It is the charitable heart. We 
see that he didn't covet other people's stuff. He would willingly 
and happily forego his rights for the sake of the gospel. He 
made sure that other people's needs were met. Not only did 
my hands provide for me, but for those who were with me, he 
says, and he lived always in light of Jesus' words, it is 
more blessed to give than to receive. There is a joy connected 
to giving to others, and Paul highlights that and underscores 
it by using this oral tradition of our Lord Jesus. Now, in terms 
of the sermon as a whole, as the sermon as a whole, just some 
necessity of following Paul and his exhortation, not just for 
ministers, but for all of us. And if you are not specifically 
addressed in this sort of list, then pray for those who are. 
Paul says this often to churches at the end of Ephesians. He says, 
and pray for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may 
speak the word boldly as I ought to speak. Paul wasn't just natively 
courageous. He wasn't just this eight foot 
tall bulletproof man that just stared down the enemies of the 
gospel. He lived in dependence upon the 
God of heaven and earth and grace, but as well the prayers of the 
upright. He says in many places, brethren, Pray for us. Here I 
will specifically say, pray for us. Pray for me. Pray for Mike. 
Pray for the Vernon situation. Pray for Ryan. Pray for other 
ministers of the gospel. Pray for John MacArthur right 
now. Pray for those who are seeking, by God's grace, to actually be 
faithful and not the sorts of people that we see so often that 
are just making bank off the back of the people of God. In 
the first place, we need to reflect on Paul's ministerial example, 
verses 18 to 27. That's a great example for every 
man that is in the ministry or going to the ministry. Secondly, 
the need for watchfulness over oneself and all the flock, the 
very emphasis in verse 28. Take heed to yourself. Don't 
let yourself go astray. Guard your heart, watch your 
soul, pray, know God, know His word, those sorts of things, 
and to all the flock. As well, thirdly, the recognition 
of the dignity and the value of the flock. The dignity is 
seen in the choice of language in verse 28. It's the church 
of God. It's not the church of man. It's 
not the church of our building. It's not the church of Jim. It's 
not the church of Paul. It's the church of God. And then 
the dignity, or the value, rather, is seen in the fact that he shed 
his own blood to purchase her. So if a minister of the gospel 
understands that, the idea is simple. If Christ was willing 
to give his life for them, then certainly an elder ought to be 
able to watch and pray for them. Very simple logic, but one that 
needs to be drummed home. As well, the minister of the 
gospel must protect the flock from enemies without and within. 
Savage wolves will come in, not sparing the flock. What's the 
best antidote to prepare the people of God? Teach them the 
truth of God. Teach them to spot the genuine. But as well, caution them about 
error. Caution them about the reality 
that there are many departures from the faith, and sometimes 
looking at the negative, it underscores the value of the positive. And 
then protecting the flock from within, from those self-willed 
men, from those men that have no business or wherewithal in 
gospel ministry, that simply ultimately want to lead men to 
themselves rather than to the Savior. As well, the need for 
constant dependence upon God and the word of His grace and 
the expression of thankfulness for those who have helped us. 
This is a most valuable observation from verses 37 and 38. These 
men sorrowed. These men were affected. Why? 
Because God used Paul to do great things for their lives. And so 
when he departs from them, they cry over that. It causes them 
grief and pain. Well, hopefully we have understood 
and got the particulars involved in this pastor's conference, 
or this message from this pastor's conference, and that we as Christ's 
people will first and foremost now know how to pray for the 
kinds of ministers that we should be pursuing, but as well pray 
for the ministers that we presently have. As well, and I've said 
this in our exposition previously, if God has provided a class of 
men whose primary task is to preach repentance toward God 
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, this is a further evidence, 
a further manifestation, a further demonstration that God is about 
saving sinners. This idea that he's so far removed 
and there's only going to be a handful that are ever saved 
is not biblical. When we get to the book of Revelation, 
there's a great multitude that no man can number from every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The gospel is to be proclaimed 
to sinners everywhere that they, by grace, believe that gospel 
and be saved. God is in the business of saving 
sinners, and to that end, one of the means that He's ordained 
is a class of ministers to preach the Word, to labor in the Word 
and in doctrine for the salvation of sinners. Well, let us pray. 
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this 
blessed, wonderful, text of Scripture in Acts 20, the Apostle's example, 
his own ministry serves as a great illustration for what we ought 
to be looking for in the context of the Church of the Lord Jesus. 
And we do pray for faithful ministers all over this globe, that they 
would continue, that they would persevere, that they would be 
commended to God and to the Word of His grace, and that they would 
know the nearness of God as their good, and that intimacy would 
stabilize them, would provide security for them, would grant 
them the ability to persevere in that ongoing task of looking 
after themselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit 
has made them overseers. We again pray for the situation 
in Vernon, that you would provide for them a man after your own 
heart, a man after your own choosing, and that God you would indeed 
produce in that place a gospel testimony, a gospel witness to 
shine that light of truth in that community. Bless our dear 
brother Michael Kirkpatrick in Surrey, We thank you for this 
young man. We thank you for the obvious grace that is manifested 
in his life. Thank you that people are coming 
to the church and being instructed in good doctrine. And we pray 
that you would prosper that work for the glory of God and for 
the good of souls in that community. And we ask these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.