"And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again.  Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you.  For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.  Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that He obtained with the blood of His own Son.  I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.  Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them."

Paul is removing himself completely from the Ephesian church.  He is make a complete transfer:  No longer am I in charge of our spiritual growth - you are in charge of it.  He says, 'Your blood is not on my hands, it is on yours.'

Then we get a glimpse of some of the things that Paul must have struggled with during his tenure in Asia.  The wolves will come to destroy.  Some from your own flock will try to entice the disciples to go astray.  But Paul has an answer for these problems.

The Holy Spirit gave you the calling to be overseers.

What calling does the Holy Spirit give to you?

Since the Holy Spirit is in charge, Paul is not worried.  He would place the calling and prompting of the Spirit against the wolves of religion any day.

Trust in God - His calling on your life means something.

        

"From Miletus he sent a messenger to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him.  When they came to him, he said to them:  You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.  I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus.  And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me.  But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God's grace."

It is notable to understand that Paul is speaking specifically to the leaders here.  He calls for them to come to a 'conference' as he is going back to Jerusalem.  They arrive and Paul reminds them that he gave himself to them when he was in Asia.  Now it is their turn to do the same.

He reminds them that he does not know how he will fare in Jerusalem, but that he gives himself to God's direction.  Now it is their turn to do the same.

He reminds them that his whole life is about God's grace.  Now it is their turn.

Jesus uses this model as well.  Transferring the sacrifice.  Transferring the message.  Transferring the hope.

Now it is your turn to do the same.

        

"We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself.  When he met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene.  We sailed from there, and on the following day we arrived opposite Chios.  The next day we touched at Samos, and the day after that we came to Miletus.  For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost."

It is important to recognize tunnel vision when we see it.

Often, we think of 'being led by the Spirit' as a sort of wandering about.  No clear direction, we just wait until God tells us to go somewhere and then we go there.

This is not what we see with Paul.

Paul has a plan.  He will be picked up, after traveling by land, to Assos.  Then they will travel by ship past Asia.  Asia is too tempting.  Paul would want to stay with believers too long, and he could not offord that if he was going to make it to Jerusalem in time for Pentecost.

When we make plans, we are not abandoning God's spirit, we are giving the Spirit room to work.  We are providing a structure for what God wants to do. 

The only danger in making plans is when we decide that our plans are ultimate. 

Give your life structure, but let God move whenever He wants to.

        

"On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Pal began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.  There were many lamps n the upper room where we were gathered together.  And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead.  But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, 'Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.'  When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left.  They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted."

This is not necessarily a ringing endorsement for Paul's preaching.  While he speaks, this boy, Eutychus, falls asleep.  Then the boy falls out of a window and dies.

But here is what you can say about Paul:  He seems to have faith in ways that we cannot see.

So Paul focuses on faith, and allows his faith to speak for itself.

Paul's faith leads him.  It leads him to fall on this boy and proclaim him to live.  It leads him to make statements that seem far-fetched to us.  It leads him to live his life in a way that is transformed.

Des your faith transform your life?

        

"After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples; and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia.  When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, he came to Greece, where he stayed for three months.  He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews, and so he decided to return through Macedonia.  He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundud from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.  They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas, but we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days."

There is a specific reason these names are all included in Luke's account.  It is not just a list. 

Luke is trying to help us understand what cooperation looks like.

Paul has collected people of similar gifts.  These are all church-planting missionaries.  Most likely, all similar to Paul in one way or another.  But the glorious thing about these people is that they are all from different walks of life.  This is a team, assembled by God, ready for many obstacles.  If they meat a woman who is from Asia, they have a couple of Asian language speakers.  A man from Thessalonica?  Secundud is from Thessalonica - he knows what ou experienced growing up.

This is what a team looks like.  Often, in churches today, we are less concerned with teams and more concerned with individual preachers.

Here we get a glimpse into what effective team building looks like.

So, what do you do to build a team around you?

        

"After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, 'Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemus and of the image which fell down from heaven?  So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.  For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.  So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another, but if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.  For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today's events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.'  After saying this he dismissed the assembly."

This town clerk is doing a great job of keeping the law in place at Ephesus.  He knows how to do his job.  He is also removing the possibility of charges against his city being filed from the Roman government.  Ephesus had religious freedom because they were peaceful about it.

Here is the irony of the Christian faith.  It is normally anything but peaceful.  Faith in God causes riots in our souls.  Faith in God is more a sword than a plowshare.  Faith in God moves us to passion, not contentment.

Paul is found in the middle of this quandary, as we often are.  Do I resist the passion of Christ in order to keep everyone content?

In the next verses, we will find out what Paul does.  But what about you?  Is a peaceful lifestyle your idol? 

There is nothing wrong with peace, but peace does have a price.

        

"When they heard this they were enraged and shouted, 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'  The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's travel companions.  Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let them; even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theater.  Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.  Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward.  And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people.  But when they had recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'

It is true that we, as humans, often forget how to live.  It is more true of the mob.

Here we see what happens when an entire city is swayed by the words of a man who wants to make a profit, no matter what.  Artemis told the leaders of the city that Paul was trying to make them fail.  Now Paul's companions and friends are all about to die by the hands of a mob that refuses to look at both sides.

Herein lies our task as Christians:  To listen to both sides.  Not to be swayed by the mob.  To search for truth.

It is so easy to be caught up in hate.  So easy to give in to popular opinion.

We must work for the Truth!

        

"About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way.  For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen;  these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, 'Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business.  You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.  Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence."

Here is the problem with Christianity:  It will not leave us alone. 

God seems to be determined to give us better lives, even when we refuse them.

These business men, led by Demetrius, are in the same boat that we often find ourselves in.

They are choosing what is really good for themselves:  Money, power, prosperity...

Instead of choosing what is the best:  Jesus.

Please do not be confused.  God is better for our souls than all else.  Look to Him today.

        

"Many also of those who believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.  And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and they began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.  So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.  Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, 'After I have been there, I must also see Rome.'  And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while."

Who is the winner here?  God.

And there is an interesting phenomenon that occurs whenever God is the winner.  His people turn out to be winners as well.  It almost seems like Paul can do nothing wrong here, but the truth is:  The word of the Lord was growing.

We often wonder why there is no power in our preaching.  Why our lives seem devoid of strength.

Paul has it figured out here.  Give to God all the glory.  Do what you can, not so you will be glorified, but so the word of God will increase.

When we place God at the center of our will - we will begin to see God's will.

        

"God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.  But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, 'I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.'  Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.  And the evil spirit answered and said to them, 'I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?'  And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.  This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon all of them and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified."

God never leaves us alone, but He does often choose one or two of us to really show power through.

God is using Paul to work far beyond what Paul would have been able to do by himself.  In fact, it almost seems as though Paul is merely a host to the power of God, more than he is an active participant.  Everyone around wants to get in on the power of God, and so Paul has a great opportunity here.  Paul has the option of pointing to Christ, instead of pointing to himself.

We get the feeling that Paul must have done something incredible to be used by God like this.  The only incredible thing he did, however, was to recognize true power when he saw it.

Where is your focus today?  Are you looking to where God is or to where you are?

Turn your eyes on the One who loves.