Dangerous Testimony: To the Flock

Acts 20:28–32 ²⁸“Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. ²⁹I know that after my departure savage wolves, who will not spare the flock, will come in among you. ³⁰Even from your own group men will rise up, twisting the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹Therefore be always on the alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.

³²“And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which has power to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

“Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” Amen.

While Paul was on his third missionary tour through Greece and Asia Minor, he was preaching salvation through Jesus Christ in the city of Ephesus. This was cutting into the profits of Demetrius and other Ephesian craftsmen whose business was making silver statues of the goddess Artemis to visitors to the temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

Demetrius and the other craftsmen led a mob in chanting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” When the uproar ended and the mob dispersed, Paul left Ephesus. He didn’t leave hurriedly in fear of the riot. He had been planning to revisit the congregations in Macedonia and Greece before he headed to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21).

A conscientious missionary like Paul could not just slip away from Ephesus. The many souls gained there for Christ and heaven could not be dismissed from his mind and heart. So, he called for his disciples to gather to him so he could fortify them in the faith.

Paul was the head missionary and pastor who trained other pastors and missionaries in Ephesus. He met with them in a coastal city away from Ephesus. They were shepherds working under Jesus as their Good Shepherd. Paul didn’t know whether he would ever see them or the saints in Ephesus again. He suspected that he would be martyred soon for his dangerous testimony. So he wanted to leave some lasting instructions for the people who were so precious to him – fellow sheep of the Good Shepherd. Paul wanted these spiritual leaders to share his heart for the saints and their Savior. So he instructed them.

Though Paul is speaking to elders and pastors with these words, we can also apply them to each of us. Pastor and people. Spiritual leaders in the church. Spiritual leaders in the home. Maybe even spiritual leaders and confidants in your college or workplace.

How important these first words are. “Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” The pastor who doesn’t first watch over himself cannot be an effective leader in watching over the flock. This is also true as spiritual leaders in your home. Parents, your children are little lambs who are watching you – how you pray, when you study the Scriptures, how you place an importance on the Good Shepherd. Before you can give anyone else your attention, you need to give attention to your own spiritual welfare. We were taught at the Seminary to preach each sermon first to ourselves before we preach it to others. We need to study God’s Word for our own spiritual nourishment and enjoyment before we can present it to the people in sermons and Bible studies.

It's like the directions of the flight attendant that you always ignore. She tells you that in case of emergency, make sure you are buckled into your seat and your oxygen mask is properly in place. Then you can help your children and those next to you.

This isn’t being selfish or self-centered. You are no good to anyone else if you’re the one in trouble.

Confess your sins before you point out the sins of others.

Apply God’s comfort to yourself before you comfort others.

Feed on God’s Word and Sacrament before you invite others to the Lord’s banquet table.

The Holy Spirit has called you to this high position and serious responsibility. The Lord has called me to be your pastor. He has called Pastor Schmitzer to be your pastor. The Holy Spirit has placed you as fathers and mothers in your home and teachers in our school and high school. He has called you to be overseers in the Church of God.

Who are these precious lambs and sheep in your care? They are the ones “purchased with God’s own blood.” That is a striking expression! Don’t pass over it too quickly. God’s blood. Isn’t that impossible? How can God have blood? He doesn’t. … Unless he is the God who took on human flesh and blood in his conception and birth. Then shed God’s blood on Calvary’s cross. God bought back his Church – you – from the devil. You now belong to him! You are citizens in his Kingdom! Children in his family! Saints around his throne! Lambs and sheep in his flock!

The apostle Paul tells us the reason for this watchfulness. “I know that after my departure savage wolves, who will not spare the flock, will come in among you.” There are real dangers out there. There are spiritual predators ready to attack the spiritually weak, unhealthy and inattentive sheep.

Paul is echoing the words of Jesus to his disciples. “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). That doesn’t stop Jesus from sending them out. He wants them to be aware of the dangers all around them. Spotting them won’t be easy. Jesus warns, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). They can be practically indistinguishable from true sheep. But they can destroy unsuspecting Christians.

These dangers don’t just come from outside the church. Wolves are most devastating when they are attacking from inside the flock. If you’ve been a member of this church for over two decades, you know personally the havoc one false teacher can wreak within a church. “Even from your own group men will rise up, twisting the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”

But always being watchful is hard. Getting dressed up for worship, singing hymns, studying God’s Word and praying is time-consuming. Answering children’s questions and sharing your faith with others is uncomfortable. We should just let someone else do it.

But the Holy Spirit doesn’t call someone else to be his overseers. He calls you. The Good Shepherd doesn’t find other people, he found you to be his under-shepherd. This is your calling. Your responsibility. Your Christian vocation.

Denying your vocation is not God-pleasing. Being apathetic to your calling is dangerous. Ignoring the warning to be watchful is disastrous. Failure to warn others about the savage wolves in their midst will be bloody.

When you fail to take the danger seriously, see the serious work of your Good Shepherd. Jesus stepped in front of the danger for you. The wolves of the Jewish Sanhedrin and Roman soldiers surrounded him and pierced his hands and feet (Psalm 22:16).

When you fall into thinking that your spiritual welfare is fine, see the extraordinary heroism of your Good Shepherd. He placed himself between you and the wolves. He let them attack him to protect you.

When you shrug about the inconvenience of being diligent in spotting spiritual danger, see the deadly diligence of a Savior who left the safety of heaven to be struck by the fangs of the Serpent and pierced with the spear of death.

When you feel content with an hour of sitting in pews or on the sofa for worship, consider the eternity of hell that Jesus endured during his six hours on the cross.

See the price Jesus paid to make you his own. Jesus acquired your body and soul at the cost of his divine blood. You are worth dying for. Someone loved you enough to tell you about your loving Savior.

Close your eyes (it’s OK, you won’t fall asleep), and mentally flip through the spiritual scrapbook of your life. When you think of the person or persons who shared Jesus with you, whose pictures do you see?

Maybe you see your father who didn’t do much parenting, but he made sure he dragged your butt to church every Sunday.

Maybe you see your mother who tenderly read Bible stories and prayed with you every night before you closed your eyes.

Maybe you see your child who bugged you about taking her to Sunday School when you wanted to sleep in.

Maybe it was your pastor who was so persistent, who wouldn’t give up on you, who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, who kept inviting you to membership classes until you either told him to leave you alone – which you would never do – or you took the classes.

Maybe you remember Pastor Jaster or Pastor Kraus (or Pastor Schultz or Pastor Janke) or your confirmation pastor.

You are blessed right now because the Holy Spirit placed an overseer who took the responsibility for your soul seriously. Now the Holy Spirit is renewing his call for you to take your God-given responsibility as an overseer seriously.

You needed a Shepherd. You still need a Shepherd. The children in your home, the students in our school and high school, the co-workers at your job, the people in our community, and the saints in this church need that same Shepherd. Who is watching out for them? Who is talking to them? Who is warning and inviting them?

I pray it is every one of you.

“And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which has power to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Over the years, I’ve run into many people who have said to me, “I don't have to go to church on Sunday to be a Christian. I know what I believe, and that’s enough. After all, faith is a private matter between me and God, isn’t it?”

This is what I tell them. “You know, I’ve looked through the Bible, and I’ve found a number of people who agree with you.”

When they say, “Really? Who?” I’m free to share:

“Well, there was Moses. He didn’t want to talk to Pharaoh about freeing God's people.”

“Then there was Jonah. He didn’t want to tell the folks of Nineveh about their sins.”

“Then there were the disciples who, after Jesus’ crucifixion, kept themselves locked away.”

“There also were the Jewish leaders who told the apostles to keep their faith to themselves.”

The reaction is usually something like this: “I didn’t know that.” All those folks thought their faith was a private thing.

The only problem with their thinking was God didn’t agree. It’s then I mention to the fellow who wants to keep his faith private, “Of course, you realize God shot down all of Moses’ excuses and sent him to Egypt. And the Lord used a miracle to turn Jonah around to go and preach words of repentance covered in fish vomit. The disciples were eventually given the Holy Spirit, and then they couldn’t stop talking about Jesus. And when the Jewish leaders told them to be quiet, they said, “We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

The last thing I share is this: “My friend, you are a believer today because for 2,000 years people have shared Jesus’ story. Through the ages, people around the world have conveyed their faith with others. I finish with, “But, of course, I could be wrong. Can you tell me where in the Bible you've heard the Lord say, ‘Don't go and preach the Gospel’ and ‘Don't baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,’ and ‘Don’t teach others all that I have commanded’?”

Naturally, they can’t do that.

Share Paul’s heart for the saints and their Savior. Be under-shepherds in the Good Shepherd’s flock. May the Lord of the Church bless you as you share Jesus’ dangerous testimony today and every day. Amen.

“And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which has power to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Amen.