Excited to Proclaim the Gospel

Acts 20:17-23

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ And when they came to him, he said to them:

“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, ²¹ testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by^[a] the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+20%3A17-23&version=ESV)

Have you ever been in a hurry to get somewhere?  I am always so excited to get to see my children and grandchildren that I can hardly contain myself.   I miss my children very much but those grandchildren, who grow so quickly, I can hardly wait to see.  I am almost on the edge of my seat trying to get their quicker and then, the same stoplight turns red, just a few blocks from the house and I have to sit and wait just a little longer. 

Paul was excited to get somewhere too.  He avoided crossing into Asia because he knew he would get detained and he needed to get to Jerusalem.  So, instead of going into Asia he calls the elders from Asia to him.  The passage today is the beginning of his farewell speech to them we will have more of it later. 

I wanted to look closely at this passage and to what Paul is telling these elders.  These are the men that truly knew Paul, they had seen his life and knew who he was in spite of what others might have been saying.  The words of a Christian, even in today’s society, can be twisted and turned and people have a hard time knowing who to believe, yet these men knew of Paul’s integrity.  Take for example the misconception of Paul being arrogant.  Because Paul was pretty straightforward in his speech most would not have seen him as humble, yet he was, humble enough to keep on serving and preaching the Word through adversity and trials.  He had a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ far beyond what we ourselves may have experienced.  I have had trials in this life, some which seemed unbearable to me, yet Paul suffered far beyond any trial I may have had.  He was imprisoned, beaten, thrown out of cities, and left for dead.  Yet he continued sharing the Gospel because he knew what he said was true.

My question today, for myself, “Would I still be excited to proclaim the Gospel if I knew that it would cause me pain and suffering?”   I would hope that I would, yet, I need to continue to seek Him and have faith that He will see me through, in order to have His strength to fulfill His plan for my life. 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila