Elders or congregants, STAY THE COURSE!

Stay the course…

When Paul gathered the Ephesian leaders, he reminded them to take care of their spiritual lives, and to take care of the flock (see Acts 20:28). In that conversation, Paul also talked about what solid ministry looks like.

For believers who lead –and that should be every believer, according to our calling and measure of faith—there are five words of missional encouragement found at the beginning of this conversation with the Ephesian elders that remind us to stay the course.

First, the passage…

“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.’” (Acts 20:17-21 ESV)

Those five words: perseverance, attitude, faithfulness, work, message.

Perseverance: “…the whole time…”
Attitude: “…with all humility…”
Faithfulness: “…I did not shrink…”
Work: “…teaching you in public and from house to house…”
Message: “…repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

When Paul says “…the whole time…” there is a lot wrapped up in those few times. He and his fellow workers dealt with a lot of adversity in Ephesus (see Acts 19), but they never gave up. They never quit. They never stopped proclaiming Christ.

They kept the right attitude; they were humble. They were faithful in and to the gospel, preaching it when it was easy and when it wasn’t.

They worked! In public and in private; in large group and small group meetings, they worked. O! Beloved friends, where is that attitude in the gospel in our American Christianity? We should not expect it to be easy! WORK!

And, Paul and his team stuck to the message: repentance towards God and faith in Jesus. Let us never back off from that message!

Leaders, let us receive these five words as we press forward in the gospel today!