Paul’s Heart On Display

PAUL'S HEART ON DISPLAY
Acts 20:1-16
- We took a break from the book of Acts and delved into the book of Isaiah for a few weeks. Now we are back in Acts, resuming with chapter 20.
- Extended narrative text describing a period in Paul's life, where he is going from place to place doing mission work.
- We focus on the heart of Paul for missions - his tenderness and heart for people
- He is the "chief of sinners" according to himself but also encourages us to "imitate him' in many things including the following:
I. Encouraging people
- There had been a riot in Ephesus, and he could have left, but he stayed, spending much time speaking and preaching to people: this shows his desire to encourage them as best as he could.
- After Ephesus, he departed for Macedonia and there he committed himself to the encouragement of the believers
- How many of us would take those risks in order to encourage our brethren?
- Biblical encouragement is not the same as worldly encouragement. Many people, even church leaders, are very good at the latter rather than the former.
- Biblical encouragement is not telling people they're good and things are fine, but that Christ is good and we should cling to Him.
- Paul had a bold heart, willing to set aside his own life to build others up. In verse 24 he says, "But I do not count my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
II. Fellowshipping with people
- Paul's team seems to have drastically increased (8 names mentioned)
- Paul was unmarried, academic, isolated most of the time. We can deduce from Vs 13 that he might have been an introvert. People are becoming more and more introverted and lonely, but sadly, many make this an excuse to keep from fellowshipping with others
- We see in Paul his heart for people, even if that wouldn't come as something natural for him.
III. Tenderness and care for people
- motivations for raising this boy >> the same reason for all resurrections in the Bible. It was mostly never for people who died. It was for their beloved ones.
- we see it in the way that he raises this boy from the dead. He goes down and beams over this boy and got him into his arms and literally hugged him into life
Could we learn a bit of tenderheartedness from Paul?
How many times did Paul speak of the church as his beloved - who he longed and cared for?
He would bestow tough love but was also able to write 1 Corinthians 13.
Do you love the people around you and do they know you love them?
As Christ has been tender towards us, let us be tender towards our brethren.
Perhaps this is an area we can grow in - so that the world can know that we are Christians.