Sermon26-6 Acts20 "Walk together with God toward His Vision" Guide

Acts 20:17-24 theme verse Acts 20:23-24

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this first Sunday of new year 2026, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. New year 2026 has now dawned upon us. In the Oriental world, for this year is called a year of the red horse which symbolizes speed, strength, independence, growth, and challenge, so, as we enter this Year of the Fire Horse, I sincerely hope that each of us will have a year full of dynamism and growth through challenges, just as the red horse symbolizes, in our personal lives, in our family lives, in our social lives, and also in our spiritual lives. Therefore, especially on this first Sunday of the new year 2026, I hope we can take some time to reflect on the vision that God the Father has given us for our spiritual life together.

1)    First, to summarize today's text, Acts 20:13-38, today's text tells the story that as Paul, who, on his third missionary journey, after spending about three years teaching at Tyrannus in Ephesus, decided to go to Rome, after traveling through Macedonia and Achaia, via Jerusalem, on his way back to Jerusalem, he called the elders of the church in Ephesus at Miletus and delivered a tearful farewell message.

In the first part, verses 18-21, reflecting on his past, he said that saying that his ministry was for serving the Lord (Acts 20:19) and was exemplary (Acts 20:18-19) and he told sinners to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ, enduring all suffering with a humble heart and with love for his sheep. And in the second part, verses 22-27, testifying to his present circumstances, as he portrayed himself in six images, I mean, an accountant paying off his debt for the gospel, a runner who wants to finish his course in joyful victory, a steward who proclaims what he received, a witness who testifies to the gospel of Jesus, a herald of the King's message, and a watchman who guards the sheep entrusted to his care, he said, “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 consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” And finally, in verses 28-35, to the elders of the church in Ephesus he invited to Miletus, Paul exhorted that since the Holy Spirit has appointed them overseers, overseeing the church he purchased with his own blood, they had to guard it from false teachers, relying always on God, and remembering the message of the gospel and his admonition, and diligently work, without greed and sloth, striving to help the weak.

2)    Through today's text, we would like to learn few lessons, by meditating deeply on several key points.

First, we would like to briefly review the life of Paul. Paul was born as a pure Hebrew of Hebrews, to a Jewish family of the tribe of Benjamin in Tarsus of Cilicia, located in southern Turkey on the southeastern coast of Asia Minor. His childhood name was Saul, and he possessed Roman citizenship from birth since his father or grandfather acquired it. And he was a youth, he came to Jerusalem and lived there, where he became a disciple of Gamaliel, the greatest teacher of the law in his time, and was thoroughly trained in the Law. And watching the martyrdom of Stephen, the deacon of the early church in Jerusalem, he approved of his death. And then he spearheaded the persecution of the church, arresting and imprisoning church members. Afterwards, when many believers were dispersed from Jerusalem, he asked for letters from the high priest to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he encountered any followers of Jesus on his way to Damascus, he wanted to bind them and bring them back to Jerusalem.

However, as he went on his way and approached Damascus, the resurrected Lord appeared to him, saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Then Saul became blind and unable to see for three days. And after receiving the laying on of hands by Ananias and regaining his sight, he dedicated himself to being a witness to the gospel. I mean, for about 14 years, he served in the early missionary work in Arabia and his hometown of Tarsus. Yet, in AD 45, after being called by Barnabas to the church in Antioch, he worked with Barnabas there. And two years later, from AD 47 to 48, he made his first mission trip to the Galatian region of southern Asia Minor in Turkey. And again in AD 49, he revisited to the sites where he visited in his first mission trip and then guided by the Holy Spirit, he made a second mission trip to the Greek coastal region, from Macedonia to Corinth. And then, from AD 52 to 57, he made third mission trip. After spending about three years in Ephesus, he visited again Macedonia and Greece. As such he lived a life for Jesus totally dedicated to Christ.

As such, as Philippians 3:5-6 and Acts 22:3 said, Saul who was born of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a prominent Pharisee of his time, a zealous persecutor of the church, a blameless student of Gamaliel—the most prestigious law school of his time—and on a path to success, destined for membership in the Sanhedrin, as he himself says in Philippians 3:7-8, abandoned everything he had previously considered valuable and dedicate his life to knowing Christ and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. What do you think motivate him to live that life for Jesus? Yes. It was because of the Lord's calling.

3)    But, behind this kind of the calling of the Lord, God’s hidden grand plan is hidden. I mean, when God created heaven and earth in the beginning, He foresaw the kingdom of God, where He would dwell in it and reign. In that kingdom, we, human beings were created in His image, to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him, to love Him and our neighbors, and to participate in His ruling. However, human beings sinned by rebelling against God, placing their own will above God’s will, and deciding good and evil on our own, not on God's Word so that human nature and all the creations became corrupted.

Therefore, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth (John 11:41-42) as a ransom, opening the way for all who believe in Him to attain atonement, God's righteousness, and eternal life. And then, He granted His Son all authority in heaven and on earth, inaugurating the kingdom of God on this earth, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy in love.

And then after the Lord ascended to heaven, He sent another Advocate, the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), to establish His church and advance God's kingdom on earth. As such, according to God's will and plan, Paul was also called to proclaim and advance God's kingdom on earth.

4)    By the way, there seem to me a few strange points in Paul's journey to Rome via Jerusalem in today's text. I mean, first, looking at the passage immediately preceding today's text, the verses 13-16, we can see that as he had originally planned in Ephesus to travel to Jerusalem after visiting Macedonia and Achaia region, such as Corinth, he returned from Philippi, boarded a ship, and arrived at the port of Troas in Asia Minor. However, as verse 13 says, from Troas to Assos, Paul traveled on foot, not by ship, while his companions sailed on board. Even though in verse 16 it was said clearly that he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost, so even he wanted to avoid delays in Asia, bypassing Ephesus and arriving at Miletus to call the elders of the church in Ephesus there to give them a final farewell, then I am wondering why he walked the nearly 20 miles from Troas to Assos. Some commentators say it was so he could spend more time with the believers in Troas during the day, while Luke and his companions were on the ship, and then he walked about 10 hours to meet them in Assos.

But I also speculate that, probably, during this time of walking, Paul, who already aware of the imprisonment and persecution that awaited him in each city, wanted to spend the time alone with the Lord, making up his mind for the following trips to Rome, via Jerusalem, and also contemplating the message he would deliver to the Ephesian elders, etc.. So even if the apostles, deeply inspired by God, had to take time for self-care, I think that no matter how busy we are, we too have to take time for self-care spiritually, mentally, and physically by spending time with God.

5)    Secondly, in v.23, Paul says that "The Holy Spirit testifies that imprisonment and afflictions await me in every city. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." Yet, through this passage, I think we need to think about what God's will we seek for. I mean, as we live, we sometimes pray to God to know what will happen in our lives generally in order to avoid potential hardships and achieve success more easily.

However, in today's passage, Paul says that although the Holy Spirit told him that imprisonment and afflictions awaited him in every city, he did not account his life of any value nor as precious to himself, if only he may finish his course and the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Even after arriving in Caesarea and staying at the home of Philip the evangelist, a prophet named Agabus came to Paul. Seeing his belt, Agabus told him that the Holy Spirit had told him that the owner of this belt would be bound and handed over to the Gentiles and urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. But Paul said, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus,” and went up to Jerusalem unwavering.

As we can see in these examples, to Paul, seeking God’s will is not about avoiding hardship, but rather about fully committing himself to obeying God’s will and fulfilling it, no matter how difficult the circumstances may be. Therefore, remembering this, I hope we will never forget the reason and essence of seeking His will, I mean, Obedience to God’s will.

6)    Thirdly, as we can see Acts 19:13, saying Paul had decided to go to Jerusalem via Macedonia and Achaia, and then to Rome, why do you think the Holy Spirit did not command Paul, when he was staying in Corinth, to go to Rome directly as a free man and preach the gospel? Instead, why do you think the Holy Spirit commanded him to go to Jerusalem, to be arrested by the Roman soldiers, and to be sent to Rome as a prisoner to preach the gospel there?

Of course, as Romans 15:22-24 say, the Jews who came to Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit and the apostles' proclamation of the gospel, became Christians, and then returned to Rome to establish the church there already, so Paul wanted to visit the church in Rome to provide spiritual guidance and encouragement. However, we can see that God had another plan for his visit to Rome. I mean, as the Lord said in Acts 9:15 that Paul was chosen to proclaim Jesus’ name to the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, God planned Paul could proclaim the gospel to the kings, I mean, the leaders of that time.

I mean, in Jerusalem, he preached to the high priest Ananias and the Sanhedrin. In Caesarea, he preached to Felix the governor and his wife, Drusilla, a Jewess and also to King Agrippa, who was a member of the Herodian royal family and ruled Judea at the time, and his sister Bernice. And in Rome, while under house arrest, he preached the gospel to many prominent people too.

Even though these proclamations of the gospel did not bear fruit at that time, yet after about 300 years later, when that seeds bloom, it made Emperor Constantine finally approve Christianity in AD313, ending the persecution, and then in AD 380, Theodosius I declare Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, and also in AD 392, prohibited the worship of pagan religions other than Christianity, so finally making Christianity the only legal religion in Rome.

As such, the seeds of the gospel Paul sew resulted in the transformation of whole Roman empire into Christian empire. I believe that this was God’s hidden plan through Paul and his imprisonment and sufferings.

7)    There's one more thing we need to think about. I mean, on the night Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, as the Holy Spirit said in Acts 23:11 that "Take courage, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome," he was arrested in Jerusalem, transferred to Caesarea, and eventually to Rome, where he preached the gospel. But, you know, Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea for two years. Yet, even in this Caesarea prison, amidst the roar of the waves, he did not lose heart. Instead, he pledged to "Die for Jesus," dreaming of the day he could go to Rome, the center of the world, and proclaim the gospel. He waited patiently and even eagerly. And also even in Rome, he was arrested in a house for two years, yet, he boldly preached the kingdom of God to the many prominent people who visited him there.

As such, even though he preached the gospel under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can know that it doesn't mean there would be no difficulties or that everything would be understood. Through this story of Paul, we have to remember that even when we encounter hardships and difficulties in our way to follow Jesus for His mission, we should not lose our heart, rather have to persevere and wait patiently while preaching the gospel to those the Lord sends us. Therefore, I pray that as we enter the new year of 2026, our Lord, who transformed this small human, Saul, and made him dream of His kingdom, dedicated to it even to the point of death, may grant a dream of His kingdom to each of us and give the strength to pursue it.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 Through today’s text, we became to know that the kingdom of God which God envisioned from the beginning was His will for creation, redemption and eternity so that He had sent not only His only Son and His Spirit and also His people but also has been sending His disciples even now on. So, after reflecting our life and thinking about whether we received His calling and what kind of dream He gave to us, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also, we became to know that in this journey to follow His calling, even though we can encounter suffering or persecution or even imprisonment or delay, we have to endure and wait for God’s time. So after reviewing our life last year and checking where we were and reminding how God holds us for His vision, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.