Paul - 100 Percent Engaged

Acts chapter 20 

     "I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots..." - v. 19

     "You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you." - v. 20 

     "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - testifying to the gospel of God's grace."- v. 24 

     "So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears." - v. 31

(C)  v. 19 - Paul saw  [the lost condition of the human race, the evil of sin, the distortion of the gospel and the peril of rejecting the Lord]  as grave realities. 

     v. 20 - Paul preached whatever he believed was useful for the salvation of his hearers. Ministers must be faithful to declare the whole truth of God. They must...teach doctrines that challenge natural prejudices and the desires of sinful nature. 

     v. 24 - Paul's concern was not preserving his own life; what counted most was that he might finish the ministry to which God had called him. Even in the sacrifice of his own life, he would finish with joy and the prayers that "Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." 

     v. 31 - Overseers must be so united with the Holy Spirit that they are carefully and tearfully concerned for their people, never ceasing to warn the flock of danger...and ever pointing them to the only sure foundation - Christ and his Word.