Team Instructions 5/23
Sermon Series: Acts – Faith Explosion
Text: Acts 20:26-36
Title: Team Instructions (5/23/10)
“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.” (Acts 20:26-36, ESV)
Theme: This message deals with the fact that we are called to be ministers in the context of a community. Paul gives instructions to this team of church leaders from Ephesus which includes warnings and commissions but the main characteristic that you notice is the fact of a team concern for God’s work.
Introduction: It’s those stately geese I find especially impressive. Winging their way to a warmer climate, they often cover thousands of miles before reaching their destination. Have you ever studied why they fly as they do? It is fascinating to read what has been discovered about their flight pattern as well as their in-flight habits. Four come to mind.
1. Those in front rotate their leadership. When one lead goose gets tired, it changes places with one in the wing of the V-formation and another flies point.
2. By flying as they do, the members of the flock create an upward air current for one another. Each flap of the wings literally creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. One author states that by flying in a V-formation, the whole flock gets 71 percent greater flying range than if each goose flew on its own.
3. When one goose gets sick or wounded, two fall out of formation with it and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with the struggler until it’s able to fly again.
4. The geese in the rear of the formation are the ones who do the honking. I suppose it’s their way of announcing that they’re following and that all is well. For sure, the repeated honks encourage those in front to stay at it. As I think about all this, one lesson stands out above all others: it is the natural instinct of geese to work together. Whether it’s rotating, flapping, helping, or simply honking, the flock is in it together…which enables them to accomplish what they set out to do. (Swindoll quoted by Gene Getz in “Elders and Leaders”)
Transition: As we come to this passage in Acts today I want to ask for you all to have some patience with me today. In a lot of ways this section of Luke’s narrative is by far my favorite section of scripture in this history. I know you have heard me say that before but this one is really special. This section of scripture formed the core for the Master’s thesis which I wrote and I believe it holds the key for both the structure and function of the leadership for the Church which God had in mind when He birthed it on that Pentecost 20 centuries ago.
I. God’s ministry is team ministry
a. The example of team ministry.
i. Churches were originally all seen in the context of the larger team function. Paul’s view of the churches which he was associated with demonstrates that he expects all of the churches to be a team working together for the benefit of the kingdom.
1. The principles which are a part of this trip that we do not see from the text of Acts.
a. Part of Paul’s reason for this trip was to collect the offering which was going to Jerusalem.
b. Romans 15:25-26
c. While he was traveling on this trip he was composing the letters which we find in our NT to Rome, Corinth.
2. It is a sad fact of the modern church that we have become so splintered in our practice and understanding of the gospel of grace that we rarely worship or work together for the common good of the kingdom. It is clear that the original churches which were planted saw themselves as a part of the larger body of Christ. I do not think that it is necessarily a bad thing that we don’t worship in the same manner in every church in the world. I am sure that God enjoys all of the different types of worship which comes His way, I just don’t think that He likes the intractability which has become a part of almost every Christian faith tradition.
ii. The other thing that stands out to me in this passage and really in this whole book is that fact that Paul always does ministry in a team setting.
1. He did not leave on any of the missionary journeys until he had gathered a team to be a part of the process.
2. From the text we see that as Paul traveled around he had as many as 8 companions that accompanied him and shared in the labor of this
iii. He left teams of ministry leaders in all of the local churches that he planted.
1. Acts 14:23 – “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” (Acts 14:23, ESV)
2. These eldership teams are the team leaders. This leadership function is not ever intended to be singular. Every single instance of eldership that we see in both the new and old testaments is always – let me repeat – always in a plurality. Unlike any other institution inhabited by man, the spiritual institution of the church was and is intended by God to be done in the midst of the team concept.
b. When we work as a team we are fulfilling God’s design and letting the world see the incredible beauty of a community built on the concepts of God’s grace lived out in community.
c. There’s a wonderful story about Jimmy Durante, one of the great entertainers of a generation ago. He was asked to be a part of a show for World War II veterans. He told them his schedule was very busy and he could afford only a few minutes, but if they wouldn’t mind his doing one short monologue and immediately leaving for his next appointment, he would come. Of course, the show’s director agreed happily. But when Jimmy got on stage, something interesting happened. He went through the short monologue and then stayed. The applause grew louder and louder and he kept staying. Pretty soon, he had been on fifteen, twenty, then thirty minutes. Finally he took a last bow and left the stage. Backstage someone stopped him and said, “I thought you had to go after a few minutes. What happened?” Jimmy answered, “I did have to go, but I can show you the reason I stayed. You can see for yourself if you’ll look down on the front row.” In the front row were two men, each of whom had lost an arm in the war. One had lost his right arm and the other had lost his left. Together, they were able to clap, and that’s exactly what they were doing, loudly and cheerfully. Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, 1987, Word Books Publisher, p. 104-105.
II. Team Requirements
a. There are some requirements for those of us who have been enlisted in remaking this world into the kingdom which God intended for it to be.
b. Some of these instructions are implicit in the text.
c. Pay careful attention –
i. To yourselves
1. You have been chosen by God to fulfill this function, don’t let satan short circuit the process by falling short.
ii. To the flock
1. Share in one another’s lives to the extent that you will see the dangers and traps which you we are each falling into and have a positive influence on one another’s lives
d. Be Alert
i. Stay awake – Story of my falling asleep with a flock of 1000 sheep to watch over.
ii. Have a community focus we have to be willing to open up our lives and our hearts to one another.
1. You notice the way that Paul describes us Christians – we are sheep, a flock. I know sheep they are not real bright and they are fragile. Sheep need to be protected both from the predators that lurk around the edges of the flock and from the short sightedness of ourselves.
2. Throughout the NT we are reminded that we have become new people.
a. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)
b. “even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” (Ephesians 2:5, ESV)
c. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4, ESV)
d. I have been crucified with Christ. 20 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Gal. 2:19-20
e. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3, ESV)
f. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10, ESV)
g. Use these verses to summarize the idea that as little babies emerging into a brand new existence and being transformed into a new creature which all of the world hates.
e. The danger then and now
i. Paul reminds the pastors at Ephesus that they are surrounded by a dangerous world.
