JumpStart # 1371

Acts 20:24 “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the Gospel of the grace of God.”

 Our passage today is a private meeting the apostle Paul had with the elders of Ephesus. God allows us to listen in on what was said. Paul was heading to Jerusalem. He had been warned by prophets that harsh persecution awaited him there. He was determined. He felt that he needed to go there. As it turns out, from Jerusalem Paul would be sent as a prisoner to Rome. He preaches wherever he is. Even some in Caesar’s family become obedient to the Gospel.

With the Ephesian elders, Paul was warning them about trouble that would come from among them. He also reminded them of his work and dedication. This meeting would end with tears and hugs. Those elders knew that they would never see Paul’s face again. Parting is hard. It is especially hard when one recognizes that someone will soon pass away. I’ve been there many times. It is never easy. I have walked out of hospital rooms, and looked back one final time, realizing that I’d never see that person alive again, at least not on this planet. It breaks the heart. This is one of the pulls for Heaven. No tears, no death, no mourning and we’d add, no separations. Home with God and His people, what an amazing thought.

Our verse shows Paul’s determination. He would not back down, even when faced with coming dangers. Backing away was never in Paul’s play book. Once he was stoned and dragged out of town. The persecutors thought that he was dead. He wasn’t. He got up. And what did he do? He returned right back to that same town. Amazing.

There is a wonderful expression found in the King James Version. Our verse begins, “But none of these things move me…” The ‘these things’ was the coming trouble and rumors about persecution. It didn’t even move Paul’s needle. He had a mission to complete and he was going to do it. The text states that he had a course to finish. That thought takes us to 2 Timothy 4, where Paul says, “I have finished the course.” He kept it. He kept it until the very end.

None of these things move me. Great line. Great thought. Great motto to live by. None of these things move me. Don’t you wish we could say that? Sometimes things do move us. They shouldn’t, but they do.

Worry can move us. We stay up at night, thinking and thinking about problems. We see the problems more than we see the Savior. Like Peter walking on the water, we look at the waves of trouble and our faith starts to slip and sink. We are not as strong as we ought to be. Our attendance suffers. Our prayer life takes a dive. We’ve been moved by worry.

Discouragement, the ugly sister of worry, does the same thing. We get discouraged and we feel like throwing in the towel. Like ole’ Elijah, hiding in his cave, we feel that we are the only ones doing right. No one else cares, we declare. No one else is doing anything, we proclaim. It’s always our family who has to do things. That old song gets sung over and over until we’ve memorized it and soon we find ourselves moved. We’ve been moved by discouragement.

Error will move us. Some error is so subtle that it’s hard to recognize. That’s why Jesus warned about wolves in sheep clothing. It is not so obvious. A twist here, a turn there, a new definition, a new idea and before long, we’ve been moved and we didn’t even know it. Parents will warn their children about evil companions and bad influences, but those same parents become gullible to what’s written in books and found on blogs. Friends are trusted more than Scriptures. Error leads to changes in worship that are not improvements, just radical. Different is in. New is in. The old is out. Jeremiah pleaded with his people to seek the ancient paths. They’d have nothing to do with that. Error will move us. It has in the past. It continues to do so. We must keep both eyes open and put a stake in the ground and stand where God stands.

What’s the answer? How do I keep from being moved? Stay close to Jesus, the Shepherd. Stand beside Him. Pray for wisdom as James tells us. Study diligently as Timothy was told. Become absorbed in the word of God. Develop that keen eye and sharp nose that can sniff out things that do not seem right. The mature, Hebrews tells us, can discern right and wrong. That takes time, experience and work.

None of these things move me. In 1899, David Lipscomb, writing in the Gospel Advocate about the digression that was taking place throughout the country said, “Nothing in life has given me more pain in heart that the separation from those I have worked with and loved.” He continued, “The majority seem to be going away and leaving those who stand firm for the old ways. I love to be with the majority and would certainly go with them if I were not afraid of offending God in so doing.” He was not moved by those things.

How about you? Are you where you ought to be? Has your position on moral subjects stayed with God or have you found yourself disagreeing with God? Are you looser than what you once were on principles such as modesty, divorce, purity and holiness? Have you moved? Have you allowed worry, discouragement or error to take you places where you shouldn’t be?

Isn’t it time to get back to God as the Bible teaches? Isn’t it time to put your own stake in the ground and declare with certainty, “None of these things move me!”

Roger