[Paul speaking to the Ephesian Elders] “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, 23 except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. 24 But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of Gods grace.

25 And now I know that none of you will ever see my face again — everyone I went about preaching the kingdom to. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of everyone’s blood, 27 for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.

32 And now I commit you to God and to the message of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyones silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and for those who were with me. 35 In every way I’ve shown you that by laboring like this, it is necessary to help the weak and to keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, for He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” 

36 After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them. 37 There was a great deal of weeping by everyone. They embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 grieving most of all over his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.”

Acts 20:22-38

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What a tough time. What a short amount of time to say what most needed to be said to a people who have your heart. And, again, what does Paul come back to? 

Just stick with the Gospel. Remember the grace of God. Pay attention to the people He has appointed you to your care. Do not deviate. 

In essence, he was reminding them to keep the main thing the main thing. Stick with the Gospel message. Don’t swerve to the left or to the right. Don’t even side step a little. Keep your eyes, heart & mind focused like a laser on Jesus Christ & the cross. This is our core. This does not change. 

And while they had invested a lot in each other, building deep and abiding relationships, Paul knew & they knew that this was all about more than any one person. This was all about more than a man’s agenda, reputation or ego. This was all about Jesus and that had to maintain long after Paul was no longer around, and after they had passed from this life, too. At the end of the day, they wanted to be able to say, like Paul did, that they did not shrink back. They did not opt for human comfort or prideful posturing. Instead, they left it all out on the field, and they ended their race still pressing forward. No shrinking back. 

That’s what we all want, what we all know we should be striving for, but what our flesh tries with all its might to keep us from accomplishing. We have been called to GoLove others in the Name of Jesus Christ, and we need to do it with some gusto. We need to unleash the passion that the Holy Spirit of God puts inside of us and work under the power that He provides. We need to seek His wisdim daily, and ask for teh strength to act on it in holy discernment. This is our calling, and its not a lot of lolly gagging and killing time. When we see things with Kingdom eyes, with a Gospel centered vision, we come to understand that the time is now, the opportunities are abundant and we need to pray that God will send even more harvest hands into these fields to do the work alongside us. It’s not just about revival. It’s about multiplication, disciple making, church planting and the expansion of the Kingdom for the glory of God! 

This isn’t something we shrink back from. This isn’t something that we push off until later. Too many of us are distracted by too many things that have absolutely no eternal significance. Seek Him first & His Kingdom & all the other things that we really do need in life will be added to us as well. 

Everything else is chaff. Give it to the wind.