LIFE SCRIPTS

13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. 17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. 20 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. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. 22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 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. 25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 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. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” 36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Acts 20:13‭-‬38 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/act.20.13-38.NIV

Paul was now making the return trip back to Jerusalem. However, he chose not to follow the route he had used while going to the Gentile cities. He knew that he would face a heavy predicament in Jerusalem so in many ways, this was a farewell tour for the places he had lived and ministered to as an apostle. Ephesus was one such church. He had stayed there for sometime and used of God to impact the city so immensely with the gospel. So much was his connection to Ephesus that he called over the elders of the church so that he might share his last words. Some few insights could be drawn from these words. First, Paul was a man full of a desire to share the gospel. He didn’t just sit on his gifts but used them to preach the word to others. He even used his vocation as a tent maker so as not to burden others but instead to be a blessing. We like Paul have been sent to a hurting world. God has given us skills, talents and abilities we can use to fend for ourselves while in the world so that we are free to preach the gospel to hurting people. Pastors and evangelists have their place. But for us who can use our vocation to unburden others are well placed to make an impact like Paul. Second, Paul warned them of wolves in sheepskins who would penetrates within in order to mislead many. He is warning them as he warns us to keep watch and pray. The picture of a watchtower comes to mind. This raised beacon was meant to track suspicious movement that would endanger the city. Ravenous wolves are on the lose and their quest is to mislead as many through false doctrine. Many of them hide in church. A number of them even have pastoral titles. But we must keep watch and pray. We must dig deep into the word so that we grow in it. Lastly, Paul knew that he was going never to come back. So he bade his friends farewell. He knew that Jerusalem was the seat of the church but was also a place of danger because many Jews opposed to him were there. He was honest to his friends that they would not meet again. He didn’t give false promises of coming back but was truthful. Truthfulness penetrates through all quarters. If we choose to be true to the big things but untrue about the minor ones, then truth will continue evading us. How many times do we say, ‘I’ll be back’…while knowing very well that we won’t? The life of Paul was a life of honesty and truthfulness.