Acts 20:13-24 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Acts 20:13-24. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Acts 20:13-16 (NIV)
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.
14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.
15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Kios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.
16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
On verses 13-16: When I read these verses I get the sense that Paul is engaged in a race against time, as if every second counts and every moment matters. As he travels from place to place, he doesn’t take the scenic route. Nor does he stop to veg out. Instead, Paul goes from Troas on foot to Assos, then takes a ship to Mitylene. The next day he sails to Kios (v15), the day after to Samos, the following day to Miletus. He skips past Ephesus so that he can get to Jerusalem as soon as possible. It’s as if Paul is trying to find the quickest route he can to get to Jerusalem.
Why was Paul in such a hurry? It’s because Paul and his team were carrying significant funds from different churches who had trusted them to take an offering to the church in Jerusalem as a thank you gift. So Paul knows he has been entrusted with a significant responsibility and he doesn’t have time to waste. Knowing he is accountable for this money, Paul does everything he can to get to Jerusalem as soon as possible.
What can we learn from this? When you’re entrusted with other people’s money, you want to be incredibly responsible with it. That means using that money only for the purpose that you agreed to use it for and doing so efficiently and thoughtfully. That means keeping good records. That means reporting to the person who entrusted you with the money and giving them an accounting of what you did with it. As 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Especially if we are God’s children and His representatives on earth, we want to be the most responsible and trustworthy people when it comes to money.
Acts 20:17-24 (NIV)
17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia.
19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.
21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
24 However, 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–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
On verses 17-24: Paul was so set on going to Jerusalem that on his way there he doesn’t even stop at Ephesus. But since the church in Ephesus is still on his heart, Paul sends for the elders of Ephesus, knowing that this was likely the last time they would see him.
As Paul talks with the Ephesian elders for the last time, once again you can see how Paul is driven by a sense of responsibility. Not only when it comes to dealing with other people’s money, but when it comes to dealing with all of life generally, including the time and talents God had entrusted to Paul, Paul wants to be nothing short of absolutely faithful with what God had given to him, even if it means going through a great deal of hardship (v23). As he says in verse 24, “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–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
Paul is clear about the mission he is on, about the race he is running, and about the task that God has given to him through Jesus Christ. And Paul will stop at nothing to finish that race and complete that task. You could say that this sense of responsibility empowered Paul’s life.
What can we learn from this? Sometimes responsibility can feel like a burden, a duty, or an obligation. But responsibility can also have this way of empowering us, causing us to get off our butts and do something meaningful with our lives. When you have an empowering sense of responsibility – a sense of calling, a sense of mission, a sense of “I was made to do this” – it puts purpose into your existence, causes you to work that much harder, and to live as if every moment matters.
I pray that, like Paul, you would have an empowering sense of responsibility. May you not aimlessly bounce from day to day without purpose, but like Paul may you know why you are here and spend every ounce of yourself in fulfilling that mission. Paul had that. Jesus had that. And as followers of Jesus, let’s live that way too.
You have a calling: to be alive and worship Jesus, to be expectant and grow more like Jesus, to be involved and serve God with your talents, to be out loud and lead others to Jesus, and to be united and love your spiritual family.
Life is way too short to waste it on things that don’t matter.
Father, I pray for every person reading this GAME sharing today, that they would be clear on the race and the task that the Lord Jesus has given them and that, like Paul, they would make it their life’s ambition to finish that race well and complete that task faithfully. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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