Acts 20:1-6
English Standard Version (ESV)
20 After the uproar ceased,
Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed
for Macedonia. 2 When
he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he
came to Greece. 3 There
he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for
Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son
of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and
Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus
and Trophimus. 5 These
went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6 but we sailed away from
Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to
them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
When I think of an evangelist I
think of the men that used to come to our church and preach powerful, dynamic,
sermons each night for a week. They
would come, people would repent, and they would move on to the next town. It was at one of those services that I publicly
announced my faith in Jesus Christ. Yet,
I never saw those ministers again, unless of course we invited them back for another
revival service.
I have always kind of thought of
Paul as an evangelist because he traveled around to many different areas proclaiming
the Gospel of Christ. However, after
reading this passage today I realize that Paul was not the type of evangelist
that I remember as a child. Paul was a
missionary, pastor/teacher, and evangelist all wrapped up in one. Today we see how he mentored those who he had
introduced Christ to by taking them with him.
He didn’t leave the people behind but took at least one of them with him
so they too could grow in the Lord and learn how to be a true minister. I find it interesting that in the list of
those he took, Timothy was amongst them.
Timothy whom he considered a “son in the faith” is listed right along
with the other men. Could this be
because the author is trying to make a point that these were men that Paul was
mentoring? I had a pastor tell me once
how he had to go to a foreign country as a seminary student and serve as a part
of his studies. I believe this is what
Paul is doing in this case. He is
teaching a seminary class of sorts and he wants each of these men to experience
what it is like to serve. Servant-hood
is a sign of true love for the people with whom you serve and something that
cannot be taken lightly especially as a minister of the Gospel.
Paul used these men as
trailblazers yet in the same respect he was blazing the trail for them. He must have trusted them fully because he
sent them ahead, probably to secure a place to stay and to establish the attitude
of the culture in which they entered. He
may have wanted to have them to begin scouting out possibilities for sharing
the Gospel. In the passage it is states “they
went ahead and were waiting for us” an indication that they really didn’t begin
a ministry but waited. Who did they wait
for? Paul and maybe Silas, as the two were
ministering together at the time. I have
to wonder if these men enjoyed waiting or if they ever became impatient because
Paul was never in too big of hurry to leave the people.
How does this scripture apply to
our lives? Sometimes we can see a clear picture
when we read the scripture and sometimes we make assumption that it applies to
us personally and stretch it to make it apply.
Much like a pair of hose that are too small! We can stretch and tug and stuff with all our
energy but in the end the hose will win out!
If you are a woman and have ever put on panty hose that were too small,
you will know what I mean. If you are
just an innocent by-stander that hears the screams, you probably have a pretty
good idea too! Anyway, we don’t want to
stuff our lives into the life of Paul if that is not where we have been called,
if the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t put it on.
However, we can learn a model of ministry that he used. He disciple other believers, praying for them
in his absence, he taught them in his presence, and he mentored those not just
in their hometowns but he took them to learn how to minister outside of their
comfort zone. Maybe you are not a Paul
but maybe you are one that is being called to be go through a mentorship or
maybe you are being asked to stay right where you are and minister to those
around you. When Paul left, the ministry
did not end but rather those who remained built on the ministry.
Each
of us needs to seek the Lord and ask for His direction in our lives. I heard a song this week that meant so much
to me. Written by David Frey / Ben McDonald / Jason Ingram
and entitled, “Help Me Find It” The chorus goes like this,
“If there’s a road I should walk
Help me find it
If I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment
Whatever Your will
Whatever Your will
Can you help me find it
Can you help me find it”
Help me find it
If I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment
Whatever Your will
Whatever Your will
Can you help me find it
Can you help me find it”
Appears on Album: Live
Like That
http://www.sidewalkprophets.com/songs/help-me-find-it
Seek Him and find His will for
your life.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
.
No comments:
Post a Comment