The Last Words of Paul to Church Leaders
February 5, 2026
If you would, turn over to Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20. And we’ve been on the book of Acts for a while. We are on Paul’s third missionary journey. I’m just going to kind of update us where we are, then we’re going to read a little bit and dive into it. Acts chapter 20.
And when you find that, would you say amen? It’s good to see a couple more folks slip in. Well, first Wednesday night at 6:30, that’s a change for us. It may take us a little while to get used to, but we’ll get there. I think we may have found our sweet spot; it’s just going to take us a little bit to get everybody used to this 6:30 time here. Remind them ten times, and they’ll need to be reminded eleven times.
If you put up that map of Paul’s third missionary journey… I’m used to seeing Brother Josh back there. Look at that. We’ve changed beard and hair a little bit. A couple things we’ve changed there, so we’ll take it.
Third missionary journey, of course, they started out at Antioch of Syria right here, and they came on up. They were at Ephesus for three years and two months. Last Wednesday we talked about the revival at Ephesus. And boating it wonderful, and just revival broke out, if you will, and they took all those witchcraft books and spells and all the rest of that junk, and they burned it. I’m talking about millions, some would say billions of dollars worth, and just burned it all. The Bible says the Word of God grew minally and prevailed. It was just a wonderful thing. God was using Paul in a great way there.
You remember at that time, it was a special time, but even the handkerchiefs from Paul—not from this Paul, Apostle Paul, amen, not my handkerchiefs, you don’t want to touch them—but just the handkerchiefs from Apostle Paul, they would take them over here to someone sick, and they would be healed. It was a special time; God was working through Paul mightily. At the end of the revival, there was an uproar in Ephesus. We won’t get into that. But imagine that Paul was there for two years and three months. He was there a long time. For Paul, that was a long time to stay at one church. God used him to really start that church, starting off those twelve disciples, and God used him to really establish this church. There was a special bond. You start a church, there’s something special about it. We had the privilege to start this church, and I love it when other people are starting churches. I love to help in it because it’s just something special about that. So, the special bond with Paul and this church at Ephesus, I just kind of want to note that.
Then he leaves, goes up here to Troas. That’s where he preached until midnight. You think this Paul preaches long? Paul preached until midnight. I remember the guy in the window fell out. You know the way to remember his name? If you had fallen out a third-story window, you wouldn’t forget it. His name was Eutychus. Now you’ll remember that. That’s where that happened. Paul went down there and healed him, brought him back to life. Then he went over here to Macedonia and down to Greece or Corinth and made the way back up, back over to Troas, and here’s where we are. He landed over here in Miletus, and he called for the elders, or the church leaders of Ephesus. He said, “I want to see you one more time.” He gave them time to think about what he was going to say because, hey, they had to come meet him there. So he had a plan, and he wanted to say something to them. I’m not going to read all that he said to them, but we’re going to get the last words that Paul gives these church leaders. By the way, if you want to be a leader in a church, these are great words of advice, just in his last words. God used him greatly there.
He left for a while, coming back, and he said, “I want to see you. This is going to be my last time I get to see you,” and he’s giving words of advice. Here’s the interesting thing: it’s not even his words. The last words of advice Paul gives to these church leaders were Jesus’ words. There is a lot of wisdom in that, by the way. There is so much self-help and everything else out there, but what matters is what God says. I’m not saying all that’s bad, but when it gets down to it, I’m not going to answer for all that they say or say to do. I’m going to answer for what God says. So Paul’s last words of advice were from Jesus. We want to see this great apostle, church starter, who had a special bond with these Ephesus leaders. Let’s look at the last words of advice he gives them. Would you please stand?
I had to read this together. We’re starting at 6:30, so this is going to be confusing to me for a bit, looking at the clock back there. I’m so used to starting at seven, getting out at 8:15. I try to keep winging it because the next day everybody’s got school or most people have to go to work. Some can stay home and click buttons on the computer in their shorts and their jams. I better get to preaching. Amen. We’re going to get in trouble here. Look in verse number 25, Acts 20 and verse 25. I want you just kind of see this. We’re going to jump down to the last words he is saying to these elders, these church leaders from Ephesus: “And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching in the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.”
He said this is the last time I’m going to see you. Paul was on a mission to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost. I particularly don’t think that was God’s will; we’ll talk about that next Wednesday. But Paul was set on it. He said, “This is the last time I’m going to talk to you.” So we’re getting the last advice to these church leaders. Let’s just jump down to the very last line of advice he gives them. Look in verse number 35. Acts 20:35: “I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said…” Here it is. The last words of advice to early church leaders are Jesus’ words. Here it is: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Would you say that little phrase out loud with me, please? Here we go: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Now, let’s keep brief; we’ll finish out the chapter. I’ll read it out loud to you: “And when he had thus spoken, he gave thanks with them all, and they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more: and they accompanied him unto the ship.” That little phrase is his last words of advice tonight: Jesus’ words. It is very interesting how Paul knew that was from Jesus. There is a lot of debate about exactly how he heard it—maybe through other people, maybe directly. But here it is from Jesus, Paul’s last words of advice: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Pray with me that God would speak to our hearts about that wonderful truth right there. Father, Lord, help me to rightly divide Your Word. Lord, help me to bring out what You want brought out tonight from this truth, Lord, and then would You apply it to everyone—me too, Lord. Father, help me to remember this when I need to remember it. Father, we’ll thank You for what You do. Lord, we ask for this in the name of Jesus. We pray. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
Let me start off here with this: It is not teaching or saying it is wrong to receive. Notice he said it’s more blessed to give than receive, so there is a blessing in receiving. If somebody doesn’t receive the gift of salvation, they’re going to die and go to hell. So sometimes it’s a wonderful thing to receive. There is nothing wrong with receiving. By the way, in a healthy relationship, there is going to be giving and receiving. Remember that. That’s a healthy relationship. You give and you receive in a healthy relationship. If someone cannot receive, there is some kind of problem. It may be pride, it may be fear, but there is a problem. We ought to be able to receive. It’s not bad. It’s more blessed to give than receive, but there are blessings in receiving.
In a healthy marriage, each partner should be receiving something. Sometimes, well, a lot of people say 100/100, I understand what they are saying, but in a healthy relationship, sometimes one partner may be very busy. I think about my wife when she went through nursing school. It was one calendar year, January to December. She was very busy. I may have given a little bit more during that time because she was so busy. She just works PRN. When you say a nurse is PRN, that means like there is full-time, part-time, and then PRN. Everybody else says, “Oh, you’ve got the princess shift.” That’s not fair; you don’t have to work all the time. When I say that, I mean my wife doesn’t work forty hours, whatnot, so she may be able to give more. But in a healthy relationship, sometimes it shifts. Sometimes someone is sick, and so the other one has to give. It may be 40/60 or 30/70, but it will change. In a healthy relationship, you are giving and receiving. I understand the 100/100 if it is an emergency time, but that is not a healthy relationship all the time.
So, nothing wrong with receiving. Let me say this about receiving. We are going to get at the giving here just a minute, but there is a danger in receiving. If I receive, receive, receive, receive, receive, two things can happen. That is a danger. One is I lose my thankfulness because I just get used to receiving all the time. You know, America, we receive so much. We have so much in our day and time. Everything they can dream up to make a dime on, they are going to put it on Shark Tank and it is going to be sold. We receive everything in the world. If we are not careful, we are receiving all the time, but we have lost our gratitude. Gratitude is a sweetener in life.
Remember back in the day, if you wanted chocolate milk, you got milk from the white cow, not the brown cow. You got the milk, and you got this little metal can out, and it said, “Hershey’s Chocolate” on there, and you popped that little lid off. Ever do that? Sometimes you even cheat and get some of that chocolate syrup. That is pretty good stuff. Ever cheat and it is the unsweetened chocolate? Nasty. That is the way life is when you do not have gratitude. You have all the chocolate, but there is no sweetener. Gratitude is a sweetener in life. If you are not careful, because if you are receiving, receiving, receiving, receiving, after a while, if you are not careful, you will lose your gratitude. It is a shame sometimes when someone has to lose something to appreciate what they had.
Years ago, I was visiting a lady while knocking doors. She was a very kind, sweet lady, and her husband had passed away several years before. She said, “I just miss having a man around so much just to do little things.” But I thought, “I do not want to be like that. I want to appreciate what I have.”
Sometimes receiving—two warnings—if you get and get and receive, receive, receive, receive, and receive, after a while you just do not appreciate that you are receiving so much. Let me say this about receiving: It is a good thing. It is blessed. More blessed to give, but it is a blessing to receive. But another thing about receiving: if you are not careful, you will grow an appetite. The more you eat, the more you want to eat again. The more you receive, you are just growing an appetite for receiving more. If you are not careful from receiving, you can grow accustomed. Somebody may not be in the limelight; they are good people. But it is amazing sometimes you put that same person in the limelight, and they get some compliments, and boy, they grow an appetite for that. They just want more, more, more, more, more, more, more. If you are not careful from receiving, you will just get focused on that receiving. And here is sometimes what happens. You see the phrase, “More blessed to give than to…” what? You said, “More blessed to give than to…” Sometimes receivers, if that is what I am really focused on and I am receiving, sometimes they even get to—I would say—a step further: they become takers.
Let me just talk to you for a bit about this, even getting at the point of takers. If we were to line up and maybe the Lord were to say, “All the givers over there, and the majority of you are takers over there,” which line would you be in?
Here is the thing: He was talking about taking care of the weak financially and taking care of those in need financially, but it is not just applied to money. It is applied to other things in life. Look over, if you will, in Luke chapter 6, if you would please. Luke chapter 6. This is a verse you will know. We will know the verse we are going to get to, but I want you to notice the context a little bit here, all right? Luke chapter 6—it is actually the Sermon on the Mount—and Jesus has given the Beatitudes and blessed are the poor in spirit, and all these things, talking about a lot of different subjects: mercy, forgiveness, judging, and all these different things He is talking about. We are going to get down to a subject here in just a minute. Look in verse 36, Luke 6:36. Are you there tonight? Good. He says, “Be therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” So the subject matter, the context, is mercy here. Verse 37: “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” Now I want you to notice all the context here. Here is the verse we hear so often. We usually hear it applied to money, and that is true, but it is not just money. He is talking about forgiveness, judging, and condemning. Forgive all these in mercy. Verse 38: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” God gives to givers, but that is not necessarily just talking about money-wise; it is talking about forgiveness.
Now, I just want to take this: “More blessed to give than to receive,” and apply it not just to money, though it does apply to that. Are you a joy giver, or are you a joy taker? Are you a taker of friendship, or are you a giver of friendship? Are you an encourager, or do you always want everyone to encourage you? Nothing wrong with receiving, but are you just wrapped up in yourself? Is your conversation all about you, or is it sometimes about them?
Jesus over there in Luke says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” It is not necessarily just talking about money; it is talking about all these different things. Here is an interesting thought: The most important things in life you cannot go out and get. Go get you a good spouse in life; you cannot just go get that. Go get a true friend; you cannot just go get that. Go get someone that truly loves you; you cannot go get that, but you can go give those things. You can give friendship. You can give love.
By the way, that verse in Luke 6:38, “men shall give it to you”—yes, God will take care of that, but it is not men that give that promise out; it is God that gives that promise. You can be surrounded by people that are not going to love you, but you keep giving love out, and God, in His time, says you will reap what you sow. Friend, if we are not careful, we will focus on the receiving, and you cannot control the receiving. The closest you can come to controlling the receiving as far as these important things in my life is giving it. Give. Don’t get too focused on the receiving. He gives to givers. Be a giver.
If I am giving just to get back, that is called a loan. If the only motive I am giving friendship for is so I can be popular, and everybody can say how many friends I have, and everybody knows I am the social bug of the church, and I am doing that just to get back, then that is not really giving. God knows the truth. After a while, a whole lot of healthy people will know it.
“More blessed to give than receive.” Nothing wrong with receiving, but do not get focused on that. Get focused on the giving. Make that your priority, the giving. By the way, if there were two lines—one line of the givers and one line of the takers—the givers are the happier of the two. My best Christmases, as an adult for sure, were not when I received, but when I gave the best gift that I worked hard for. That is what I remember. It is more blessed to give. Take care of the receiving; do not get stuck on that. Trust God with it. He said, “Give it,” and it shall be given to you. If you get stuck on the receiving, you are going to be on a roller coaster ride because some days you are going to receive, and some days you are not.
You get two givers in a good marriage—boy, you have something going right there. Just focus on the giving. “More blessed to give than receive.”
Years ago, my wife was telling me some ladies from church went out to eat. One lady really set it all up. She wanted to go to a nice restaurant in Nashville. It was not super expensive. But this one lady took about six, seven, eight ladies out from her church. She had saved, she had planned, and she paid for the whole meal. She had a gift for every one of those ladies. My wife said you should have seen that lady—she was like on a high. She was so happy; she was just enjoying life. My wife said the happiest person by far there was the lady that was giving. It is more blessed to give than to receive. It is so true.
Now let’s change gears for just a minute here and look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, kind of along the same line. I want to talk to you for a minute about charity. First Corinthians 13—we call it the love chapter. If you follow the King James Bible, it does not say love. What does it say in 1 Corinthians 13? Charity. Now, charity is love, but this is interesting. We will not study it all out because we are going to run out of time. But you know the Bible uses the term love a little bit broadly, a little bit loosely. If you study up over there when David’s son loved Tamar, the Bible says he loved Tamar. I am just saying the Bible uses love fairly broad if you study it out. I understand the Greek: there are different types—philia and eros—and then there is agape, and that narrows it down in the Greek, from which we get the New Testament. The Bible uses this word charity. To me, charity is a very broad term of love, narrowed down to this: charity, a deep, strong, pure love. I think very few times do we truly get to the level of charity; that is the deepest love. Charity is the top level of Christianity.
Look over here when it talks about charity in 1 Corinthians 13. Look in verse number four. He describes what charity does and is. Verse number four: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own.” By that, to me, you pretty much nail it down right there: Charity is not about herself. “Is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” Charity never faileth. By the way, that does not mean that charity always accomplishes what it wants to accomplish. It means charity never runs out. Charity loves no matter what. Charity never faileth, never quits, never ends. “Charity never faileth: But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” Charity—you can wrap charity up in this—charity is all about the other person. It is all about giving, if you will. Receiving is a good thing, but charity is not about receiving. Charity is about giving the other person what they need. That is the motive to it. Motive is a good word for it. It is just concerned about the other people. That is charity.
Here is just a little thought about this saying that I have been working on. I for sure have not arrived at it. If you have a lot of needs—look, if someone is drowning, it is hard for them to help someone else out. They are going to have to be on solid footing; they have to be a great swimmer or something to be able to help other people. I have to get my needs met in order to be focused on others’ needs. The main source of getting my needs met is the Lord. The more I learn to receive and get what I need—emotional needs—we have talked about it. They say there are four things we are tempted to make an idol of in our life: money, pleasure, honor. What is the other thing? Power. They want to be the top dog; they want to tell everybody else what to do. They want to influence everybody else. Money, pleasure, power, or honor. They want everybody to look up to them. But look, if I can learn to get my needs met by the Lord, then I can go out in life and have charity.
Sometimes God will give me the right people in my life to give me what I need if I am lacking in an area, maybe because of childhood or something, but it comes from the Lord. It always worries me if a man is trying to get his ego fed somewhere else besides the Lord, his wife, and his children. Be careful with that; it leads to a lot of trouble. But friend, I am saying if I learn to get my needs met from the Lord, then I can go out into life and have charity for other people because I have my needs to care for. The Lord is the I AM God; He can give you what you need. You can go out in this world saying, “I am satisfied, I am happy, I am content,” and now I can focus on the needs of everybody else. I can be a giver because I have my needs met by the Lord.
Look over in 1 John 4. This is a song we used to sing. Some will say, well, if someone is not saved, they cannot love deeply. I do not necessarily agree with that. John says Jesus came to the world, the light of the heart of every man. So I think everyone has some love, using it broadly. But when it gets to this deep agape, charity type of love, that comes from God.
Look over here in 1 John 4. Look in verse number 7: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” So you are born of God, born again from the Lord, and you know God. You are walking with God. Come about this deep agape love, or charity, if you will. Verse 8: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” If somebody is going to love deeply and strongly, they are going to have to get that from God. They get their needs met by God’s love, then they go out and they can have charity love for others.
Let us try it. Let us try it. Here we go, let us try it: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Beloved, let us love one another.” 1 John 4:7 and 8. Good. Let us try it again. Let us do it. Let us just try it again. Here we go, let us try it: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Beloved, let us love one another.” 1 John 4:7 and 8. Good deal. Think about that. If I am going to go out and be a giver—truly deep love, concerned about giving to everybody—I have to have a walk with God, be born of God and knowing God. He meets your every need: emotional, spiritual, financial, physical.
Sometimes when people—I talk about drowning. I wasn’t planning on telling the story, but a dear friend of mine in Alabama, he was a wheeler-dealer. He drowned. They found on his clothes, his boots, and everywhere else—I think it was like $6,000 stuffed in his socks everywhere. He was just a wheeler and dealer. He had, that is where we got our first church van from. He had, I think it was 32 cars. His homeowner’s insurance guy came out, and while walking through the grass, he tripped over a bumper and got mad. He was a mechanic, and he said, “If you do not get rid of some of these vehicles, I am going to cancel your insurance.” So he called me and said, “Do you want a van?” I said, “Yes.” That was our church van. God provides in the usual ways, folks.
He found a good deal on a canoe, bought it, could not swim, and took one of his sons out on a swift current river. The canoe flipped over. His son called me before they even found his dad’s body. His son’s youth director for a while, his name was Daniel. Daniel called me crying and said, “Brother Paul, I was trying to save him,” and he had tried to save his dad, but his dad panicked, and his dad almost drowned his son. I tell that story to say: If I cannot stay above water on my own, I am not going to be able to care for others.
But if I learn to get my needs met from the Lord, and I know God—His perfect love casts out fear—then I can go out into life and love people and be focused on giving. At the end of the day, oh, it is a blessing to receive, but it is more blessed to be the guy going out in life, giving.
Some people are peace-takers, and some people are peace-givers. But those people who walk with God, they get that love from God, and they just go everywhere giving out. He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Let us bow our heads for just a moment here tonight. Lord, help me to be a giver in life. Would You do that? We are going to pray. Let us just spend a little time. Lord, help me to be a giver. Let me walk with You so close You meet all my needs. I want to learn to receive from You, and I want to spend my life giving. That is just “more blessed to give than to receive.” Father, thank You for Your Word, thank You for Paul repeating it to us, to them, and to us, Lord. Help us to learn to get our needs met from You. And Lord, yes, sometimes the people You put in our lives are those from whom we are supposed to receive. And then, Lord, let us spend our lives just giving. Just giving. Thank You, Lord. You taught us so clearly: More blessed to give than to receive. Help us to focus on giving. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Just giving, just giving, just giving. Lord, help me to be a giver. Sometimes you are in crisis and you need to receive, but if you are not careful, you will get stuck in that, and you are missing out on the better part of life. Just giving—that is the best part. Let us get from the Lord, receive from the Lord, and go out in life and just give. Just give to others.
Original File: 2026-02-05 - Pastor Paul Chisgar - ＂The Last Words of Paul to Church Leaders＂ Wednesday 2⧸4⧸2026