Life is a mission.
The Apostle Paul devoted the best years of his life to “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials.” (Acts 20:18-19) These are three gifts that nobody wants: Humility, tears, and trials. Paul wasn’t in it for the perks. He knew a little saying of Jesus that isn’t found in the Gospels: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
He gave all. He held back nothing that would benefit the Church and bring the lost to repentance.
Paul was more blessed because he gave more. He gave all. He held back nothing that would benefit the Church and bring the lost to repentance and faith in Jesus.
“I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable”, he says to the Ephesian elders. (Acts 20:20) Paul was honest and comprehensive in his teaching and preaching. He didn’t avoid hard truths in favour of pet topics. He covered all the bases and connected all the dots. “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27)
This was Paul’s last trip home. He describes himself as a man tied up in the Spirit: The Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22-23)
“In every city“ means that Paul had been receiving these ‘edifying’ prophecies in churches he visited on this journey. But his heart was fixed. Like Jesus before him, he set his face to go to Jerusalem to be rejected by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles (Mark 10:33; Acts 20:11).
We say life is precious. But Paul says life is worthless if it does not fulfil God’s purpose.
We say life is precious. But Paul says life is worthless if it does not fulfil God’s purpose. “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)
Life has meaning when it serves God’s mission. When you complete your race and fulfil your purpose in life, death is gain.
Pastor Rick Seaward was a man who, like Paul, gave his all for God’s mission.
Through his leadership, more than 1,800 missionaries went out from Singapore, and more than 10,000 churches were planted around the world.
His sudden demise on March 24, 2018 has left a void that only God can fill. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24–26)
Life is a mission. Fulfil it.
Fast and pray
“I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:20-21)
“I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27)
Think biblically. The whole counsel of God includes the moral and ethical demands of the Gospel. Jesus and Paul insisted that there are certain patterns of behaviour that exclude people from the kingdom of God. They did not shrink from preaching the whole Truth.
Will you make it your life mission to preach the whole Truth?
- Truth hurts.
For the love of God and the good of Singapore, pray that we will not shrink from teaching our young what is true, what is right, what is excellent. Pray that parents will lead their families in the holy fear of God and disciple their young in personal purity. Pray that church leaders will not shrink from dealing with the hot issue of public morality.
- Truth stands.
For the sake of public good, pray that we will not shrink from teaching our young that God’s Word is the universal standard by which we live. That we cannot and we must not lower it to suit ourselves or to fit the prevailing mood of society. Pray that as we reach out to the gay community, we will not confuse our young with mixed signals of compromise. Pray for strong conviction to stay true to the Truth at all cost.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Luke 21:33)
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
- Truth frees.
For the healing of the nation, pray that we will not shrink from teaching our young the intrinsic worth of every human being. That the Church is not against the LGBT individual. But that we are against same-sex ideology because it violates creation order, it diminishes human dignity, it offends God, and it puts public health at risk. Pray that we will teach our young that we do not ostracise the LGBT person. Instead, we pray for them. We trust God for opportunities to reach out to them – because Christ died for all, including the LGBT.
Read the devotional from Day 26: Goodluck Eutychus here.
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