Life can only matter like it's supposed to matter when it's tied to eternity. Dr. Tony Evans says life's true meaning is found in a purpose beyond our earthly existence.
You don't want to end your life saying, I didn't do it, and I didn't even try to find out what it was. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Commitment to God's calling isn't always easy.
Sometimes it leads us straight into challenges and opposition. In Acts 20 and 21, Paul knew that hardship awaited him in Jerusalem, yet he pressed forward, bound by the Spirit to fulfill his mission. Today, Dr. Evans takes a look at Paul's unwavering obedience, showing us what it means to trust God's plan even when the path ahead is uncertain. Let's join him in the book of Acts.
In chapter 20, we finish the first half, and then we come to Paul summoning the elders of the church from Miletus to say goodbye. He knows he's on his way to Jerusalem. He knows he's on his way to Rome. And he knows that the opposition awaits him and that he may not see them again. He is a man on a mission, and he knew that this mission could cost him his very life. So they come to him, and he spends these first section of verses, beginning with verse 18, the middle of the verse.
You know from the first day I set foot in Asia how I was with you the whole time. I served the Lord with all humility and tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews. But I did not stop, verse 20, from declaring to you anything that was profitable in teaching you publicly and from house to house.
So this man would go out into the public and preach the gospel, and then he would go to house to house, because there were a lot of, you know, the churches met in houses then, because they didn't have the sanctuaries like we have today. And he says, and I went around, and I preached publicly out in the streets, and then I went from group of believer to group of believer to minister to you, testifying to both Jews and Greeks, verse 21, of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is an internal decision and determination to turn from sin.
Faith toward Jesus Christ, placing faith alone in Christ alone for the gift of eternal life. But he says now, verse 22, I am bound in spirit. I want to say a word about being bound in spirit. This is where God won't let you go. This is where, even if you want to go in another direction, you can't go in that other direction, because the Holy Spirit has got a vice grip on your soul, okay? Many people ask, how do I know God is leading me? How do I know God really wants me to do something? Because he will not let you escape it. He holds you hostage to that legitimate thing that you cannot escape. He says, I am bound, even though I know what could happen to me, I am bound by the Spirit of God. This is where he puts a vice grip on your soul for his purpose for your life. So with this being bound in spirit, I'm on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, okay? And with the uncertainty, I know I've got to do it, and I can't escape. There's one situation in my life, among numbers, but this particular one, where I had to make a critical, critical, critical life-directing decision. And I knew the right decision, because all night, I'm tossing and turning, I'm trying not to think about it, I'm trying to get rid of it, I'm trying to figure ways where I don't really have to do it like that, and God just would not let me go.
And so, I could only go to sleep when I said yes, and I just, I was like a baby. You know, but that's the bonding of the soul by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the most undervalued, underutilized power in the Christian life, because we often don't know how to relate to his work in our souls, holding us hostage to the will of God, or confirming the will of God. But this is Paul, and that's why you see the Holy Spirit all through the book of Acts, as we've seen.
He says, I don't know what's going to happen, but verse 23, what I do know is the Holy Spirit solemnly testified to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await you, but he won't let me go another way. So, Paul's perspective on life, life can only matter like it's supposed to matter when it's tied to eternity. Once you make life an end in itself, you wind up living in Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes, this guy, Solomon, had everything you and I would call success, in terms of human life.
Success, he says, under the sun that is on earth. He says, I had it all, and all he could come up with vanity of vanity, saith the preacher, all is vanity. The emptiness of life when it is untethered from eternity, when it is not tied to eternity. Life gains meaning when time is attached to eternity. And so, he always had this eternal perspective. Verse 24, I do not consider my life as of any count, dear to myself, so that I may finish my course.
And what does he say in 2 Timothy 4? I have finished my course. I've done what God left me here to do. And you don't want to end your life saying, I didn't do it, and I didn't even try to find out what it was.
I just lived life under the sun, that is earthly existence. That the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly to the gospel of the grace of God. And so he says in verse 25, that he had proclaimed the kingdom among them, the rule of God. But you will no longer see my face.
He did not expect that there would ever be the opportunity for them to come together again because of the uncertainty concerning his own life. So I'm going to instruct you now on what you need to do for the church of God. This is one of the classic passages on leading the church of God. He says, I am innocent of all the blood of all men.
Now what does that mean? That phrase means that anybody who I had the opportunity to share the gospel with, I did. So they can never blame me for not being saved. They can never blame me for not going to heaven.
So I want to ask you this question. Are there family members you have refused to share the gospel with who could blame you? I'm not in heaven because you never said anything to me. Are there coworkers where God has given you the opportunity, but because? See, that's sharing the blood of men where the blood is on your shoulder because you didn't warn them or share with them or witness to them.
And it's normal for Christians to go days, months, and years, and decades and never share the gospel with a non-Christian who's in this circle of influence. He says, I am not going to be held accountable for anybody's blood because anybody that God called me to share the gospel with, I took advantage of that opportunity. So I'm free from guilt. Verse 27, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. The whole purpose of God goes back to what he was saying about the kingdom. That's the whole purpose of God, bringing all of life under God's rule. He says, now, I want you to watch out for yourself and for the flock, okay?
And he uses the word guard. Church isn't just coming to church. Church is watching over the people. Church is caring for the people. Yeah, it's preaching and it's singing and it's all of that, but he tells the leaders of the church at Ephesus that you have to watch over the people, guard them, among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, because this is a spiritual task. To shepherd, okay, that's the concept of pastoring, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. So guard them, protect them, and then guide them, guard and guide, okay?
So the job of the church and its leadership is to guard you and guide you, to give you a spiritual direction and to protect you from negative spiritual influences, because I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Let me tell you two things about sheep. They're dumb.
Sorry, because he calls us all sheep. And they're vulnerable. Easy prey.
They're easy prey. And people sometimes get mad at the church when it wants to guard them from influences. Oh, you hate. Oh, you're not sensitive.
No, no, no. If the shepherding is there and you're caring for people, that's got to be there, but you can't have the shepherding without the guarding. Can't have the guiding without the guarding, because they're influences that try to get into the church to move people away from God.
And he says, and we've had to do this. We've had to dismiss people from our congregation who are being threats to the well-being of the sheep. Because this is not just attending church.
It's about sheep being guided in the right way and being protected from wolves. And so he says, and from among your own selves, men, verse 30, will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Because church can be easy picking for cultism. Because you've got people looking for direction, people wanting help, people needing help, and people who are vacillating, and they become easy prey. That's how you get Jim Joneses and David Koresh, and you get these people who have legitimate needs and are drawn away to personalities.
We live today in a personality cult. The Bible says, give honor to whom honor is due. But the highest position in the church is still subject to the Word of God. There's no position so high that you can just veer off from the Word of God, and it'd be okay because of your position or title. And so that's why you always have to have spiritual people who can see that, detect that.
That's part of the role. When Dr. Evans continues, he'll explain why true leadership is about sacrifice, not just instruction. First though, today's lesson is part of Tony's 14-part sermon series on the book of Acts, where we've been exploring the early church's growth and the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in spreading the gospel. This comprehensive study of the apostles' journeys and challenges will inspire you to live out your faith with boldness.
For the next couple of days, you can get this complete audio collection as our thank-you gift when you make a contribution to help keep these messages coming to this station. And it includes a special bonus, Dr. Evans' insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, a guide to discovering your unique role in God's plan and living it out successfully. Just visit us right away at tonyevans.org, or call us at 1-800-800-3222, make a contribution, and let us send you the Acts audio series and Kingdom Purpose book as a way of showing our appreciation. Once again, you can find all the details on this special limited-time offer online at tonyevans.org, or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.
We'll hear more from Dr. Evans right after this. What if you could unlock the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything in between? Genesis 1 to 11 is the foundation for everything. The Tony Evans Training Center presents a transformative course from special guest lecturer Ken Ham, founder CEO of Answers in Genesis. If you want to understand anything about the universe and anything about life and this earth, we have to jump into God's Word. This course dives deep into the origins of life, the harmony of science and Scripture, and how to build a solid biblical worldview. Does science conflict with the Bible?
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Be on the alert. Keep your eyes open, verse 31. Night and day, for a period of three years, I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
Here we see the heart of Paul. He cried over the flock. He cared about them. It wasn't just telling folk what to do.
It was caring about their well-being. So I commend you to God and the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you, verse 32, the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. God will reward you for your efforts in guiding and guarding the flock. I have coveted no one silver or gold or clothes.
That's another thing you want to look for. Folk who use the church to line their own pockets. The Bible says a servant is worthy of his hire. The Bible talks about that over and over again, but that's a lot different than fleecing the flock.
You know, and using the flock for personal gain as opposed to being beneficial to them. So you yourselves know that these hands ministered with my own hands and to the men who were with me. I didn't just talk a good game. I was there with you. I worked with you.
I worked alongside you. So I showed by working hard in this manner, you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord. Here's a famous scripture. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Let me explain what that means. Why is it more blessed to give than to receive?
Simple. It's more blessed to give than to receive because then you show yourself as a conduit and not a cul-de-sac. You reveal that God can work through you and not just to you. And when God sees He can work through you and not just to you, because you won't be a flow-through and not merely a flow-to, He doesn't mind flowing to more.
So you wind up being more blessed because God can use you to be a blessing. In chapter 21, verse 17, He arrives in Jerusalem. Remember, He was bringing this financial gift to the poor saints in Jerusalem. And He now arrives in Jerusalem and He reports to them now about all that God was doing. Greeted them began verse 19, and relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through His ministry. And when they heard it, they began to glorify God because they were celebrating how God had used this former persecutor of the church to bring salvation to so many people.
However, like everywhere else Paul went, Houston, we have a problem. Again. Because some of the Jews who were among the Gentiles, they were arguing that they're teaching the Gentiles, they don't have to circumcise their children, they don't have to walk according to the customs. In other words, he's working against Judaism. This guy's undermining Judaism.
What then is to be done? They're going to hear that you're here and we've got a problem. So, they say, Paul, we've got Jewish people here and they don't understand all this stuff that you're coming with.
They don't have to do all this stuff. So here we have Paul doing something very interesting. He's accommodating his audience in order to build a bridge with them for his message. Because when he finds out that there are four men, verse 23, who are taking a vow, take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the law. But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from the meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication, then Paul took the men and the next day purified himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice to the completion of the days of purification until the sacrifice was offered to each one of them.
Let me explain what's happening here. We don't want to offend any of the Jews unnecessarily and negate the message. And since we have Jews who are still operating according to our customs, we don't want to force stuff on Gentiles that's not part of their world, but we don't want to offend unnecessarily the Jews. So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9 that he became all things to all men that by all means he might win some of them. The idea is he would adjust to his environment apart from sin and apart from compromising the gospel in order to make them comfortable so he could proclaim his message.
So he was very adaptable. You know, I've been to some places to preach in foreign countries where they had garbs that they wanted to wear. That's not something I would wear. That's not something I was comfortable wearing. But to not be offensive and to not be insulting, I put on those garbs and wore those things.
Same message, but I adapted to the environment because that would have made them more comfortable. So Paul would adapt even to his Jewish heritage in order to make sure there was an outlet for proclaiming the gospel and it would not be a hindrance. And so he would become all things to all men for the furtherance of the gospel, which he did here without imposing it upon the Gentiles.
Well, there still is a problem. When the seven days were over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him. So now they're coming after Paul again. Crying out, men of Israel, come to our aid. This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the law and this place, the temple. And besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled the holy place, bringing Gentiles into the holy place.
Oh no, that's against the law. This guy's against us. He's against people.
He's against everything. So this is unacceptable because they had seen Thraphimus and the Ephesians in the city with him, and they were supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. So they saw him in there. They say, Paul must have brought this guy in here. He's a Gentile.
The Gentiles are not welcome in here. So Paul is causing chaos. So all the city is provoked, okay, because this is the center of Judaism. And the people rush together, take hold of Paul, drag him out of the temple, and immediately the doors are shut. And when they were seeking to kill him, okay, so he's in Jerusalem now, and they're seeking to kill him, a report came to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
Well, we've already seen before that this is a problem because Rome is not going to allow this kind of chaos to break out among the Jews who are living in Jerusalem. So at once, he takes some of his soldiers, Roman soldiers, centurions, and ran down to them, and when they had saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. So Paul is being beaten by the Jews until the Roman soldiers show up. When the Roman soldiers show up, the commander comes in, takes hold of Paul, orders him to be bound with two chains, and he began asking who he was and what he had done.
Okay, why are these people beating you up like this? But among the crowd, some were shouting one thing and another, so it's chaos. And when he could not find out the facts, because everybody's screaming at one time, you've seen that, because of the uproar, he takes him to the barracks, which was good news because now he's taking Paul out of the crowd, so actually the Romans are protecting him from the Jews. And when he got to the stairs, he's carried away by these soldiers because of the violence of the mob.
And the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, away with him, kill him, get rid of him. Okay, as Paul is about to be brought to the barracks, he says to the commander, may I say something to you? And he says, yeah, he said, do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the 4,000 men of assassins out into the wilderness because they'd had a problem with another guy who had brought about a revolt. And now, because he speaks Greek, it's clear that Paul is not that person.
Paul says, I am a Jew of Tarshish in Cilicia and a citizen of no insignificant city, which is going to become very important in a moment. And I beg you, allow me to speak to the people. So he's still trying to talk. I'd have thought it's been a time to be quiet.
The guy that got you in the barracks, you're safe now. We're giving him permission. Paul, standing at the stairs, motioned to the people with his hands. And when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in Hebrew dialect saying, Paul is going to give instructions to the church later. But we're seeing that this instruction does not just come because he's an academician. This instruction that you read in all the 13 books of the Bible that he wrote comes out of a life of living a Christian experience. And when you understand the history of his life and then connect it with the doctrine of his teaching, then you can see the flow to from a person and not just from a heady theologian, which he truly is. Dr. Tony Evans, laying out how Paul's life serves as a powerful example of what it means to press forward, trusting in God's plan. Well, today's lesson is just one of 14 in this powerful, engaging series from the Book of Acts. We'd like to send you the entire two-volume collection on CD or as a digital download as our thank-you gift when you make a generous donation to support the mission of sharing biblical insights and fostering spiritual renewal. As I mentioned, it comes bundled with Tony's thought-provoking book, Kingdom Purpose, which will help you uncover and fulfill your divine calling.
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You'll find the details you need right there on the home page. Once again, that's tonyevans.org. When life feels chaotic and out of control, it's easy to wonder if God is still at work. Well, tomorrow Dr. Evans will take a look at how God's purpose is often revealed in the process, reminding us that even when circumstances seem uncertain, His plan remains firm. I hope you'll join us for that.
