Paul in Acts 20 is already giving farewell to Churches they planted and revisited. He knew deep inside him that his time is about to come. And these are his last words to the Christians he ministered.

Acts 20:23-24

23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Life GoalPaul’s Life Goal

He fully understand what life means.

 “Consider my life worth nothing to me”. And it’s worth nothing if it is for the Lord. Paul knew that his faith will indeed bring him to hardships and persecution. But he also knew, that behind all these, there is something that awaits him, something that will make him better.

There is nothing wrong in taking care of your life. There is nothing wrong in pampering it sometimes. But what’s wrong is if you value it way too much that it has become the most important thing in this world. That is when you start to become aphatetic to other people, when you start to become self-reliant, self-focused, self-indulging.

Paul however knew one thing, his life is Christ’s. It’s no longer his life, but the life of Christ. That’s why he says, “for to me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). This is also in agreement to what Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24: “23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

He has a focus

“My only aim is to finish the race.” It is about finishing the race well. It is about not to be disqualified. It is about following the rules. And the rule is living in Christ.

He knows that he is racing with time. He knows it well, in verse 23 of our passage. For him, there is no time to waste. Focus on the goal, and that is to finish the race.

Completing the task

“Testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” One of the distinct characteristics of Paul is his pursuant of completing the task our Lord gave him, and that’s bringing the good news of God’s grace to as many people as possible. That’s what he is saying in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22.

As long as we live, we all know that we have a task to finish. And one of those universal tasks, is about testifying to the good news of God’s grace. It certainly is difficult to share your religion to other people. But it is never difficult to share God’s grace in your life and how He guided you and saved you.

Get Totally FREE Sermon Outlines and

Step-by Step Guide on How You Can Further Develop It

  • Free sermon outlines where you will not have to worry about plagiarism. It’s my personal sermon outlines made for the past twelve years of experience.
  • Freedom to develop the sermon outlines to contextualize it in your own situation.
  • Freedom to use it where ever or when ever you need it.
  • Freedom to develop it and produce your own teaching materials.
  • Ste-by-step way on how you can effectively improve it and use it in your context.
  • And much much more…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Shares