Intro to Acts 20:1-17

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/25/2018 12:11 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Acts 20:1-17

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 20:1-17

            Message of the verses:  “1 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. 3 And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5 But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.

    7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. 9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." 11 When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12 They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

    13 But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

    17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.”

            John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary “For the Love of the Church.”  In his introductory comments he talks about different pastors and what they did for the church as they loved the church, even giving up their lives for the church.  He talks about people like Luther, Calvin, the different Puritan pastors, and also talks about Charles Spurgeon.  These men, along with the apostle Paul gave their lives for the church, as many actually died for the cause of Christ while others, because of the stress they went through because of problems in the church died probably before their time.  As we have actually been looking at the life of the apostle Paul through the last half of the book of Acts we can see how much Paul loved the church.  He is now on his third missionary journey as it is about to end, and then will go onto Jerusalem where he will be arrested for the cause of Christ, and then eventually sent to Rome, a place where he has always desired to go in order to preach the gospel in the hub of the Roman empire.  Paul suffered a lot for the church as he chronicles in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28:

            “23 Are they servants of Christ?-I speak as if insane-I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”

            Notice the highlighted portion of this section of Scripture and you will see that the greatest thing that caused pain in the life of Paul was not those physical things that happened to him, but the pressure he had concerning the churches.

            As I normally do when we begin a new chapter in John MacArthur’s commentary, I quote the last paragraph in order to give us the outline we will be following here.

“Acts 20:1-17 does not describe love in the soaring terms of 1 Corinthians 13.  In fact, it contains no doctrine or practical exhortation at all.  But this simple, straightforward narrative illustrates Paul’s love for the church in action (where love is best seen).  That love is made visible in his exhortation, giving, persistence, availability, and concern.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In thinking about love, especially in our English language, it is difficult to think that as a husband that I am to love my wife, when perhaps I would use the same word (love) to describe my feelings for say “baked beans.”  We only have one word for love in our language.  However love is action as Jesus stated “If you love me, keep My commandments.”  Love is more than feelings, as it is doing.  God loved us so much that he sent His Son to die for us.  That my friends is doing something.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Love in the Biblical way.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Samaria” (Acts 8:9).

Today’s Bible question:  “To whom was Abram referring when he told the Egyptians ‘She is my sister’?”    Answer in our next SD.