Pay Attention to The Flock of God

at verse 28 down to verse 32 in particular. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the Church of God which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock.

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And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease day or night to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Well in this passage, Paul is,

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coming from Meletus to Ephesus and in Ephesus he spent a time of ministry there and he is now getting ready to go to Jerusalem and he goes with a sense of foreboding because he knows that imprisonments await him there. The spirit of God has been speaking to him knowing that really challenging times are going to await the apostle Paul there.

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And in light of that, in light of the fact that he will not see them again, he doesn't believe he will lay eyes on them again, he wants to emphasize to them, and in particular, to the leadership of Ephesus what they need to know. What they need to know about who they are, who the flock of God are, who their enemies are that will come, but...

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principally who God is and all of these things we want to look at this morning as we continue to think about and work toward electing those who will be elders and again I ask that you would pray that you would be thinking about these things seriously and prayerfully and and as God helps us work those things out through his word and by his spirit

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may we truly be blessed in this process. And so Paul is leaving Ephesus here with a shadow upon them, and he is impressing upon them who they are and who God's people are. although he is directing what he is saying here to the elders, it says as much about ourselves as well.

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in terms of who we are, not just who they are, but who we are and what the stakes are, how high the stakes are. And so as you read through that, as we go through it, you'll hear language that is very intense. Paul is preaching as a dying man to dying men. He's preaching as if he will never preach again. He's trying to impress upon them

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how high the stakes are, how important it is for the people to know who they are, know what they're up against, even as much as he is speaking to elders to know who they are and what they're up against as well. Paul has already emphasized so much of this by giving an example of his own life and how he has lived among them. He is modeled for

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the Ephesian elders what commitment ought to look like, what it means to be a leader. We see there in verse 18, we see how he identifies with the people of God. You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia. I lived among you. That is to be a quality of an elder, not that he

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goes and lives where we are, but works, neither did Paul. Paul didn't live in their home. Paul, he worshiped with them. He developed friendships with them and so on. And that's exactly the kind of relationship that he is modeling here. He was one who identified with the people. He's one that served with humility, serving the Lord, in verse 19, with all humility.

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and tears and trials. With humility, that means Paul absorbed maybe anger issues or stresses within the congregation. As much as lay within him, he was able to shoulder those burdens, not reacting with hatred or anger or bitterness, but in humility, was patient with the people of God, patient with the flock.

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enduring whatever suffering that would come upon him as a leader in the church, knowing that the Lord was sovereign, that the Lord was able to work all these things out for a wonderful purpose. So he served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews. So it was never without a time of opposition.

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And of course, that says a lot about what Paul was doing. Wherever the gospel is, it's going to invite opposition from the devil. The devil is always going about. He's always at work. He was there in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus spoke to him directly. Paul warned in many places about the work of the devil. And so did the other writers. And so...

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there were always these tears and trials that happened through opposition. He taught the gospel, verse 20, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public from house to house, testifying to both Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. So he labored in the word.

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And his message, if you boiled it down, was one of repentance toward God. That means to turn from your sin, to turn from your unbelief, and by God's grace, walk before him in a new obedience that comes through the joy of the gospel, that comes through the grace of God working in your life. And so this was the central message of Paul. He didn't keep from them anything that was

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profitable to them. And so with that he says to them keep watch over yourself keep first and foremost that their task as elders is a personal one. We saw that last week in first Timothy three where it goes through that list of what kind of characteristics a leader should have. What kind of person they ought to be in terms of their godliness in terms of their

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ability to look after their own family and in terms of their own self mastery that they're not mastered by things like money or fame or mastered by self glory and self aggrandizement there they have a love for Jesus that is being expressed in the congregation that's the

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way in which they are to keep a watch on themselves, keeping watch over sins that might get into their lives and taking whatever steps necessary to deal with that. As the Lord Jesus said, if your hand causes you to offend, cut it off or your eye to pluck it out. Of course, he was speaking metaphorically. wasn't speaking literally that pulling the eye out would get rid of sin in the heart. But he was saying that what

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even if it's something as precious to you as an eye, that must be dealt with. So keep watch on yourself. Paul said the same to Timothy. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in doing this, for by doing so, you will save both yourself and your hearers. Keep a watch on yourself.

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Guard your walk with God, guard your time with God, guard your time in the word. Be avoiding situations that may compromise your moral integrity in any way. And so in today's language, we might talk about television or internet or our phones or whatever it may be that is a snare for us. And so Paul is emphasizing this

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self-watchfulness that they have to exercise over themselves. Pay careful attention to yourselves. Pay careful attention. There must be ongoing self-examination, considering one's motives. Why do I want to be in this position? Why do I want to hold this office? Am I doing it out of a love? If Jesus is the chief shepherd, the shepherd of the sheep gives us

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life for the sheep? Am I of that same quality? Do I have the same view of the church, of the people of God as the Lord Jesus? Now I'm not saying that it is that to that same degree. We fall short of the love that Jesus has for us. We often do. But there is a measure in which we are reflecting that in our desire. And that's where

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the Holy Spirit is working in a man to call him to the office because he says, care about this church. I care about the people. I want to have that place where I can show care and love to the people of God, that love that God has given me for them.

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And so he says, watch over yourself and the flock of God. And he gives several reasons to emphasize why that is. The flock of God, what incentive continues to push the office bearer, the elder, to keep watch over the flock of God in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Remember what we said last week, an overseer is one who

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overseas. He looks over the flock. When they are maybe distracted with other things, he's looking on the distance, on the horizon for things that may endanger the flock. He is keeping a close watch on the comings and goings, the spiritual state of that particular flock. But he's one who has been called by the Holy Spirit.

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And that is by what I just said in terms of creating a love in that person's heart for the people of God, giving the right motives for being called to that office. And that's where the congregation then comes in to say, this person has a love, they have a concern. They have shown through their attachment and their

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dealings with the congregation that there is a love and concern that has been given by the Holy Spirit, given by God, to look after the flock. And so as we are working that out, we ask for the Spirit's guidance to identify people like that. The Spirit then works in the congregation to identify this person or that person to say,

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they would be suitable. They bear the marks of someone who has been called by the Holy Spirit into this great and noble work. In Acts 13, it talks about the call of Paul and Barnabas. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them to do. And so there is, even within the book of Acts itself,

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the Spirit of God speaking to the congregation saying, set apart these people for the work. So this is the first incentive that the apostle gives to the elders concerning the flock, that they have been called by the Holy Spirit. And that is an awesome thing. That is an amazing thing, to be called by God into this great work.

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in which he has made you overseers to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood.

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Now, again, listen to the intensity of Paul. Tears, night and day, trials. I have never ceased to keep from you that which is profitable to you. He talks about that the Holy Spirit has made you overseers of the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

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Do hear the intensity in the language of Paul? He's trying to get them to not underestimate in any way the significance of what they're doing. But notice as well what it's saying about Jesus. God is a spirit. God doesn't have flesh and blood. He doesn't have bones and skin and hair and eyes as we have them in a physical way. But here he talks about

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He talks about his own blood, the Church of God which he obtained with his own blood. Now, he's obviously making reference here to Jesus on the cross. You who are far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. So what is that telling us about who Jesus is, the significance of Jesus, that he is God himself?

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And that nothing less than God manifested in the flesh can save us.

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Nothing less than the blood of the Son of God is powerful enough to rescue us. That's how serious our sins are. That's how desperate our situation is that we need the blood of the Son of God. Because only His blood has the virtue and the power to redeem all the sins of God's people down through the centuries.

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No one man, no matter how good he is, is capable of that. No, it's the God-man. And Paul is bringing that home to the people.

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Nothing less will do, but nothing more is needed. How wonderful that is. It's very simple. And so he is getting across to the elders, this is how special these people are. This is how valuable this flock is because they've been purchased with the blood of the Son of God. Which then,

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As I said earlier, it's not just for elders, it's for us to reflect on what's this passage saying about who we are and what our standing is before God. Have I myself been cleansed by the blood of the Son of God? Have I been washed in the blood? For nothing else will do. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

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Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow, no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

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And friends, this is where it comes home to us. This is where Paul, he's leaving. And he may not see these people again. And he's saying, the blood of Jesus has been shed. This is what it's all about. Just as when Jesus was leaving this world, he said, this is my body, which is broken for you. This cup is the New Testament in my blood. He puts the blood before them.

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because he knows he will not see them again.

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And we need to ask ourselves, friends, this is what it's all about. You need to ask yourself this morning, have I been washed in the blood of the Son of God? If Paul is going to such great pains to make this the very centerpiece of the message.

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of the Christian faith. How have I dealt with it? How have I handled it all through the years? Have I kept God at an arm's length? I tried to be substituting something else for it? My good works, my good intentions.

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Nothing, no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. If you haven't done so up until this point in your life, you can know the forgiveness of sin by trusting in the shed blood of the Son of God. That's why Paul is saying to the elders, keep it front and center. This is what it's all about. These people have been washed in the blood, purchased, obtained with his own blood.

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So Peter, Peter refers to Jesus in the same way by saying that it was not with gold or silver that you have been redeemed, but with the precious blood of the lamb without spot and without blemish. So Jesus has purchased this church.

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at great cost to himself. That's the second incentive that he gives to the elders to be watchful, to be vigilant.

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but also

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of the danger that lays on the horizon. Verse 29, I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.

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This is a perennial problem. This is a problem that has plagued the church even from the pages of the New Testament itself. And I made allusion to that last week with the first epistle that Paul wrote, the epistle to the Galatians, he had left the churches in Galatia and now was writing back to them because false teachers had gotten in.

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and saying that you need to be circumcised, you need to eat the right foods and keep the right days and all these sorts of things in order to be justified before God. And Paul was saying that is a false gospel. And he calls down judgments upon people who would say such things. Paul's language was incredibly intense.

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Jesus says, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. In other words, the false prophet often looks very pleasant to the eyes, very nice person, may do lots of good things in a church, may be a very friendly person. And that's why Jesus describes them as those in sheep's clothing, harmless.

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I mean, a sheep.

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Inoffensive, harmless, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. That's how he describes what it is to be subject to false doctrine. It's like someone devouring you.

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I remember being at a funeral one time where a person was speaking, the person at the front was speaking about the person who died who had no care for the gospel, no care for God, no interest in it, and had no trouble putting him into heaven. And I thought that person is being violent, violent toward this congregation. Many people in the congregation who were not churchgoers, who had, again, themselves no connection with the gospel or interest in Christ,

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And yet there was this person, very nice person, very pleasant person, but they were coming across as a ravenous wolf, destroying those people's souls because they were saying that life, eternal life, was a matter of what you give to this world, what you leave behind. And you often hear that kind of language. It's what you leave behind. Really?

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How does God feel about that? Where does that language come in the word of God? It's important to leave behind good things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that. But that's not the basis of eternal life. It's not what we leave behind. It's what Jesus has done on our behalf. But we hear this kind of language. And Paul is saying, I know.

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He knows because of history. History repeats itself. It was that way with ancient Israel. The false prophets came in. You had your Jeremiahs and your Isaiahs, but you also had the false prophets. There was sometimes one faithful prophet, two hundreds of false prophets. You remember the prophets of Baal? And there was Elijah.

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And this is what Paul is saying. I know that this is what's going to happen. Peter himself said, false prophets also arose among the people. That's where he's looking back in the Old Testament. Just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

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So he is saying this to the elders. He is preparing them because he knows that history repeats itself. And the 20th century and the 21st century has been a history of faithful churches gone astray. Faithful churches gone astray.

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where the Gospel became offensive. And where a genuine, perhaps, desire to reach out to people and reach out to the culture meant toning down the Gospel, or leaving off certain issues, or jumping on the bandwagon of society to say, well, let's soften our tone on these things, and maybe people will like us, and we'll be able to bring them in and hear the message that we've got.

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And you hear it all the time from evangelistic teachers, megachurch pastors. And what it's doing is it's creating a false narrative. It's creating a false idea that in order to win people

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You have to stop talking about certain things. Now that can sound very appealing and pleasing to people. We'll just tone that down. We won't talk about that. Well, Paul says, I have not kept anything from you that was profitable. I have not failed to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

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So he's saying, these false teachers will arise from among you, they'll arise from within the church. I know that after my departures, false wolves will come in among, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away disciples after them.

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How does that come from within? You may find a faithful congregation. But in a society where the gospel stands out like a sore thumb, you may feel we're tired of being a sore thumb. We want to be liked, we want to be accepted, so maybe we should jump on the bandwagon of this and on the bandwagon of that. And what ends up happening is you lose the gospel.

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Paul says, the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but will have itching ears, and they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. They will accumulate for themselves false teachers. So the enemies can come from outside in, but also from within the group itself.

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So they must be watchful over their enemies. But also watchful, keeping their eyes on the Lord. Verse 32.

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And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

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In other words, Paul is not saying just get your doctrine right. Remember that was the problem in the church in Ephesus in Revelation chapter one.

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Right? They were the loveless church.

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Look at Revelation chapter 2. The loveless church, Ephesus. This church that he's speaking to. In other words, you can have all your doctrine right. You can be fiercely confessional. And yet Jesus says to them in Ephesus, you have lost your first love. You don't love me.

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And so here he says, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace.

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that God so loved the world. Think about the God who loved you. You were in a relationship with that God, you know, loving. He was writing not long after, maybe a generation after, through John, to the same church that had lost its first love.

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I commend you.

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The leaders must be men of God, must be those who love God first and foremost, their dealings with the people, their relationship with the people, are to flow out of God's love and grace that they themselves know and have discovered. God alone can empower these leaders to

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achieve his purposes. Peter says we are kept by God's power and are being guarded through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Peter again, his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness by which he has granted to us precious and very great promises. He says to the Philippians, he who began this great work in you will carry it to completion unto the day of Christ Jesus.

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I commend you to God.

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and to the word of his grace.

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That is the Gospel. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus.

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He says in verse 24, but now I do not account my life as any value nor precious to myself. If only I may finish my course in the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

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This, again, will be the thing that will be preached. Keep that message front and center. That there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved. That it's through the cross alone that men are saved. When they start to depart from that, a church is in trouble. And leaders, elders, and the people themselves must guard that that is the principal thing.

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Am I hearing the gospel from that pulpit?

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Is the Gospel just on paper in this church? Or is it proclaimed? Is it the principle of life among us?

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This is the centrality of what Paul is, the central thing that Paul is laying upon them here. I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. That alone.

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The grace, by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works. You hear that? Not of works, lest any man should boast. When we lose the gospel, we lose the church.

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And of all the people, Paul is reminding the elders that they are to hold on to that most fiercely.

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keep the word of His grace which is able to build you up. If there's no gospel, there's no growth. If there's no gospel, there's death. Without gospel, there's division. Without gospel, there's competitiveness. Or as Paul says in Galatians, devouring one another because then it becomes a matter of competition. Who's better? I'm holier than you. I do more religious things than you. And what ends up happening is you're devouring one another.

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And the ravenous wolves are doing their work because the church is eating itself up. But the grace of God sends us in the complete opposite direction. The grace of God builds one another up. We accept one another as sinners, saved by not by our own goodness, but by the grace of God. And we celebrate that together where we can easily forgive one another when things go awry. Because

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That is the principle by which we came in in the first place. When we lose the gospel, we turn in on ourselves. But the gospel of grace keeps our eyes focused on God and His goodness and His love for us. And that's what builds a church. That's what causes a church to grow. It's a gospel culture that we live and breathe.

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and the way in which we associate with one another. And so Paul, in this passionate plea as he leaves, he may not see them again, he makes this passionate plea to know who they are, to be watchful over themselves, watchful over the flock of God, which has been purchased by the blood of God, recognizing that

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History always repeats itself, that there's always a shadow on the horizon, and that they must be aware of that, and being aware to draw upon the grace of God and the goodness of the gospel. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for this powerful episode in the life of the Apostle Paul. We thank you, Lord, that he left.

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everything on the page. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He held back nothing, not only in his ministry among the Ephesians, but even in this sermon that he preached. He shows us beyond a shadow of a doubt, what's at stake. Father, we pray that each one of us would not have our head stuck in the sand thinking that

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that our lives consist in what we own or the things that we enjoy, but help us to know that true life, true wisdom begins with knowing who you are. As our Lord Jesus has said, this is eternal life, that we might know you, the only true God, and Jesus whom you have sent. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen.