COMPLETE THE TASK WHICH THE LORD GOD HAS GIVEN US

PROCLAMATION

“And now, compelled by The Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.  I only know that in every city The Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.  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.”  Acts 20:22-24 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Luke records that the apostle Paul, after travelling through Macedonia and Greece, (Acts 20:1-6) raising the dead boy in Troas, (Acts 20:7-12) and after arriving in Miletus, sent for the elders of the church. (Acts 20:17)  He told them that he had been compelled by The Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem.  He also said that The Holy Spirit had warned him that prison and hardships lay ahead of him, (Acts 20:23) and that they would not see him again. (Acts 20:25)  He advised them to keep watch over themselves and the people of God.  He said that wolves would rise up to devour the sheep. (Acts 20:28-31)

 

APPLICATION

None of us are going to live forever.  Our physical death is a part of living, the end of it.  Some people know or can feel when the end of life is near.  Paul knew that the end of his life was near.  He told them that his life was worth nothing to him. (Acts 20:24)  What was important was finishing the task which The Lord Jesus had given to him.  Some of the apostles and the early disciples considered it an honor to suffer in the name of The Lord or for doing His work.  The Bible says blessed are you when men shall persecute you for His sake. (Exodus 20:11)  We need to get to that point where doing the work of The Lord is more important than anything else, even more important than life itself.  The Lord said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  Our primary goal is, or should be, to finish the race and complete the task which The Lord God has given to us.  If it be His will that we die while doing His work, then so be it.  In the end, we want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant …” (Matthew 25:21)