"Turning the World Upside Down: Finishing the Course"
Sermon Series on the Book of Acts
February 12, 2006
(Acts 20:17-38)
First Presbyterian Church
Dr. Peter Barnes

Introduction
      Last spring in the running of the Boston marathon, our own Alan Culpepper finished fourth with the best American male finish since 1987. In 2002 Alan tied Alberto Salazaar's American best debut for a marathon, and last year he won the US Olympic Trials and finished 12^th in the world at the Olympics in Athens. Don’t you think Alan looks pretty cool in his sunglasses? Now, here’s a picture I like even better of Alan running when he won the 12k USA Cross Country Championships in 2003!
      Alan’s wife Shayne is a champion in her own right. She also competed in her second Olympics in 2004 having won the Olympic Trials at 5,000 meters, and she came in third place in the 3,000 meter distance at the World Indoor Championship. Here’s another picture of Shayne running at the 2004 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. My wife Lorie says that Shayne is a buff babe. I think she could take Alan in arm wrestling! Don’t you?!
      Anyone can begin a race, but it is only the one who finishes the course who will win the prize. Starting out is not enough; finishing well is what it's all about. Paul knew this truth, and here in Acts 20 we read of the way in which he called himself and the elders of the church in Ephesus to finish the course well. As we look at this passage, I would like to focus my comments around two topics:1) Paul's claims for himself; and 2) Paul’s charge to the elders. 

I.  Paul's Claims For Himself
      Here in Acts 20, as Gary shared with us last week, we find the apostle Paul completing his third missionary journey. On his way from Macedonia to Jerusalem, he did not stop in Ephesus, where he previously had spent three years in ministry. Rather, he called for the leaders of the church there to meet him at a place named Miletus just a few miles down the coast. There Paul gives what is recorded as the only speech in the book of Acts that is directed exclusively to Christians. All of the other speeches and sermons in Acts were to either Jews or Greeks, urging them to come to faith in Christ or defending the faith of Christianity. The purpose of Paul's speech here is to encourage and warn the leaders of the church in Ephesus.
      You may recall that a smear campaign had been launched against Paul in Thessalonica, because he had to be smuggled out of the city by night and had not returned. His critics inside the church accused him of insincerity and abandonment. Something similar seems to have happened in Ephesus during the year or so since he had left that city. So he felt he needed to defend the sincerity of his motives, and he did so by reminding them of his ministry while he was with them.
      Here Paul makes three claims for himself and his ministry in Ephesus. First, he says that he had spoken the Word of God fearlessly. Paul said, "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. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Lord Jesus.  ...Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (20:20,21,26).  
      He made a solemn affirmation that he was innocent of everyone's blood. He did not shrink back from proclaiming to them the purpose of God’s salvation, and so his conscience was clear. As John R.W. Stott has written, "He was thorough in his teaching; he was thorough in his coverage, and he was thorough in his methods. He shared all possible truth with all possible people in all possible ways. He taught the whole gospel to the whole city with his whole strength."[1] Paul had been fearless in proclaiming the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
      Could you say that of your own life? Is your conscience clear that you have been faithful to tell your friends and family about your relationship with Jesus? Is there someone with whom God is calling you to share your faith? Do it this week.
      The second claim that Paul makes for himself is that he faced the future gallantly. "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I do not consider my life as precious to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me..." (20:22-24).  Paul's overriding concern was not that he survive at all costs, but rather that he might finish the race and complete his God-given task of bearing witness to the Good News of God's grace. His prophetic eyes seem to peer beyond Jerusalem and his sufferings there to the mission visits to Rome and to Spain of which he was still dreaming. He was captive to the Holy Spirit, and in that confidence he was able to brave anything that the future might hold for him. 
      Do you have that kind of confidence as you face the future, my friend? Are you that rooted in the knowledge of God's sovereignty and His love for you? Can you look into the future and trust that while you don't know what the future holds, you do know the One who holds that future? Trust the Lord; He will see you through.
      The final claim Paul made for himself was his determination to finish the race to which God had called him. The image of finishing the race was a central image in the thought of Paul. We see him use it elsewhere in his letters to the various churches (1Cor. 9:24; Gal. 2:2, 5:7; 2Tim. 4:7). I wonder if Paul had been a runner himself at one point in his own life. Or perhaps he was simply a fan of the great running events in the 1^st century AD and had visited the stadiums where the great athletic contests were held in antiquity. Paul takes this metaphor of running a race and applies it to the Christian life. He didn’t want to stop short of the course God laid out before him simply because it was getting difficult and tiresome. He wanted to finish the course.
      In the Boston Marathon, at about mile 19, there is a very long gradual hill that is known as Heartbreak Hill. It is that place in the Boston Marathon when many runners hit “the wall”, as it is called – a time when you feel like giving up because you are beginning to exhaust your physical resources and the course is just too difficult. When runners hit “the wall” they want to stop, they want to give up. 
      Many of us can relate to this idea of hitting “the wall” in our daily living. We’ve been following Christ for a while, we’ve been at this Christian thing for some time, but now the climb has taken a difficult turn and we find ourselves exhausting our resources to keep on going. We want to stop. We want to give up. It’s just too hard. God seems to be asking too much of us. We wonder, “Lord, how long?” “Why is this happening to me?” “I just can’t do this.”
      Paul must have felt like that at various times in his life. In 2 Corinthians 11 he writes about the hardships he faced while following Christ: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (24-28).
      In spite of all this, Paul kept on going. He fixed his eyes upon the goal set before him – to be faithful to His Lord whom one day he would see in heaven. Along the way people said to him, “No, no, no. Don’t do it, Paul. It’s too hard. The sacrifice will be too great. We need you too much.” But Paul said, “I’ve got to finish the course. That is what God has called me to do.” 
      Where are you this day, my friend? Is the race growing difficult for you? Have you hit the wall? Do you want to stop and give up? Hang in there. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. Follow the example of Paul. Follow the example of our Lord Jesus. Keep on going. The Lord is with you.

II.  Paul’s Charge to the Elders
      Having looked back on his ministry in Ephesus and on to his coming sufferings and separation from them, Paul now gives these elders his final charge. He did not think he would ever see them again, and these words are his farewell address. There are three things Paul reminded them of: he reminded them of their duty; he reminded them of the danger; and he reminded them of his love. 
      A.  He reminded them of their duty. "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood" (20:28).  The responsibility they had was not a duty that they had chosen for themselves. Rather, it was a duty for which they had been chosen and set apart by the Holy Spirit. It was a duty to be shepherds of God's church, His flock.   
      Also, notice what this passage says about the example of the shepherd. Paul reminded the elders in Ephesus first to keep watch over themselves, and only then over the flock for which the Lord had made them responsible. To the staff and elders of  this church, I want to remind you that you cannot care adequately for others if you neglect the care and nurture of your own soul. You cannot give away to others what you don't personally possess yourself. You have a mandate from the Lord to walk in a manner worthy of your calling in Christ Jesus, and I urge you to take care of your own soul as you seek to lead the people of God. Be a person of prayer; be a person who studies the Bible; be a person who cultivates the fruits of the Spirit; be a person who yearns to know more of Christ and live more effectively for Him.
      B.  He reminded them of the danger. "I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!" (20:29,30,31a).  Wherever truth stands, falsehood ever attacks. There is a constant spiritual warfare going on, and the wise shepherd must be on his/her guard. Spiritual leaders need to be people of prayer and discerners of truth so that they can protect God's people from attacks inside and outside the church of Jesus Christ.
      In the ancient Near East wolves were the chief enemy of sheep. Sometimes they hunted in packs, sometimes they hunted alone, but they were always a constant threat, and sheep were defenseless against them. Shepherds could not afford to relax their vigilance for their sheep, and nor can shepherds of the flock of God. Jesus Himself warned against false prophets, and He called them wolves in sheep's clothing. The challenge for the staff and officers of this church is to hold fast to the truths of Scripture and the Confessions of our church in obedience to Christ.
      C.  He reminded them of his love. Through all of Paul's words of admonition, the dominant feelings of affection run deep. Paul cared for these people, and his ministry among them had been a labor of love. In everything, he sought to live out the words of Jesus, which he quotes, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (20:35), a quotation that interestingly does not appear anywhere in the Gospels.  
      Notice what this passage says about the value of people. It should always humble the leader of God's people that the church is not ours. It is God's, and this should inspire us to faithfulness. Leaders in the church will persevere in caring for the people of this church if we consistently remember how valuable they are in God's sight. They are the flock of God the Father, purchased by the precious blood of God the Son, and supervised by elders appointed by God the Holy Spirit. If the three Persons of the Trinity are this committed to the welfare of the sheep, should we not be also?
      Richard Baxter wrote a marvelous book back in 1656 entitled The Reformed Pastor.  Hear his words, and apply them to your own life as a leader of this church:

Challenging words written over 300 years ago, words that are as relevant to the leaders of this church today as they were to the leaders of churches in Baxter's day.

Conclusion/Application
      Paul's claims for himself, and Paul's charge to the elders is to finish the course. As we close today, I want to share with you the true story of Emil Zatopek. I think it speaks to the call to discipleship and finishing the course well. In the 1948 Olympics held in London, Emil Zatopek won the gold medal in the 10,000 meter race, but he came in second in the 5,000 meters where he lost by .2 of a second. The day after his loss, he began training for the 1952 Olympics that were to be held in Helsinki, Finland, and he was determined to have a different outcome. At that Olympics in 1952, the "bouncing Czech", as he was called because if his ungainly running style, won the gold medal and set world records in winning the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races. Only three other men have ever won both events at an Olympic Games before. 
      To the surprise of everyone, Zatopek had also secretly registered to run in the Marathon just a few days after his other victories. To capture all three events in a single Olympic was unthinkable. Sports writers called it "the impossible triple slam." Jim Peters of Great Britain, who was favored to win the Marathon, was asked what his strategy would be to defeat Zatopek. He replied, "I will run him into the ground with a fast pace."
      When the race began, it wasn't long before Peters and Zatopek left the rest of the field, and it became a two-man race. About at the 10-mile mark, Zatopek edged up alongside Peters and said in broken English, "Pace too fast." Peters responded by saying, "No. The pace is too slow!" and he pushed ahead of Zatopek. At about the 15-mile mark, Zatopek once again pulled up alongside Peters and said again, "Pace too fast." Peters once again replied, "No. Pace is too slow!" and he pulled ahead. Then at the 21-mile mark, Zatopek once again pulled up beside Peters and said, "Pace too fast," to which Peters once again replied, "No.  The pace is too slow." But this time Zatopek answered, "You're right!", and he ran ahead of Peters and went on to win the Gold Medal and set an Olympic Record.
      After the Marathon, Emil Zatopek was asked, "What is the key to your training? How did you prepare yourself for this incredible accomplishment?" He replied, "I run, and I run, and I run, until I can run no more, and then I begin my training." Running the race of the Christian life is very much like that. It is putting one foot in front of the other, staying the course, and keeping our eyes on Christ until we finish the course even when we are exhausted and feel like giving up. It is pushing past “the wall” and drawing upon the resources of the Savior. It is learning that when we are weak the strength of Christ will be most evident in our life. May God grant to each one of us the power of His grace to finish well. Amen.