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. Farewell to Ephesus From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them,
“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
“And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for 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. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship. (Acts 20:16-38 NASB)
A good Christian leader is a person who takes care of people and helps them to follow Christ. He does not want money or other things for himself. He does not want a big name. He is willing to work hard to earn money for the things he needs. (But it is not wrong for a Christian leader to accept food or money from the members of the church, if they want him to spend all his time caring for them. Not all Christian leaders have the time to earn money as Paul did.)
A Christian leader must give God’s people true teaching, even when they may not like to hear the truth. He must protect them from people who want to teach things that are not true. He is like a shepherd who looks after his sheep. He must lead them to good food for their spirit (the truth that is found in God’s Book, the Bible), and he must protect them from danger (attacks that come from the devil and from wrong teaching).
Christian leaders are given different names such as elders, pastors, ministers, priests, bishops, or even Group Leaders. Is the name important? What is their work? Is it easy? Is it sometimes dangerous? Spend some time praying for all the Christian leaders you know. Thank God for them. Ask God to help them do their work well and give the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
“And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for 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. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship. (Acts 20:16-38 NASB)
A good Christian leader is a person who takes care of people and helps them to follow Christ. He does not want money or other things for himself. He does not want a big name. He is willing to work hard to earn money for the things he needs. (But it is not wrong for a Christian leader to accept food or money from the members of the church, if they want him to spend all his time caring for them. Not all Christian leaders have the time to earn money as Paul did.)
A Christian leader must give God’s people true teaching, even when they may not like to hear the truth. He must protect them from people who want to teach things that are not true. He is like a shepherd who looks after his sheep. He must lead them to good food for their spirit (the truth that is found in God’s Book, the Bible), and he must protect them from danger (attacks that come from the devil and from wrong teaching).
Christian leaders are given different names such as elders, pastors, ministers, priests, bishops, or even Group Leaders. Is the name important? What is their work? Is it easy? Is it sometimes dangerous? Spend some time praying for all the Christian leaders you know. Thank God for them. Ask God to help them do their work well and give the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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