Over the years, we have seen several prominent church leaders dropping out of the ministry due to the lure of money, sex and power.

We do not say this to judge or condemn. Instead, we want to underscore this: God does not want us to merely look at what we can do or accomplish. God’s heart for us as disciples and followers of Christ is to watch out for who we really are, and for who we are becoming.

Even as we serve the Kingdom of God, we must guard our inner being, our inner life and our everyday conduct. So, as committed disciples, we have prioritised two very vital essentials based on Acts 20: keep watch over yourselves, keep watch over your communities. 

The words in Acts 20 were Paul’s swan song to the leaders of the church at Ephesus. It was not just another superficial cliche – to watch over yourselves – that Paul was saying.

Paul lived out his life as a living proof of how to behave. And he didn’t leave us guessing – from Acts 20:17-27, Paul made four bold references to how he conducted his life, led others, and kept watch over his own soul. 

Keep watch over yourself: Paul’s 4 Ps for a clean life

1. Personal transparency and resilience 

“When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.” (Acts 20:18-19) 

How many of us can say we live our lives like an open book constantly, serving God’s people without calling attention to ourselves?

Paul served with tears, and he did not give up under opposition. Paul lived out the truth.

2. Personal courage and truthfulness

“You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:20-21)

Paul showed valiant courage and truthfulness by declaring openly and boldly anything that might profit the church, that would build up the church, and preach the Gospel of repentance rather than easy faith.

He didn’t fear what people might think or say about his forthrightness and straight talk. Paul spoke the truth.

3. Personal conviction and fearlessness

“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)

Paul showed unwavering conviction and fearlessness to go to Jerusalem as the Spirit directed him, even though he knew that prison and afflictions awaited him. Paul gave it all for the truth.

4. Personal integrity and wisdom 

“Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” (Acts 20:26-27) 

Paul demonstrated deep integrity and wisdom by having done what’s best for the church. He gave his all and did not back off from declaring God’s whole counsel and truth. To the end, Paul kept the truth. 

Paul lived the truth, spoke the truth, gave it all for the truth, and kept the truth. 

Keep watch over your community

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”” (Acts 20:28-32)

Paul urged the church leaders to pay attention to the flock because of an external threat to the church. Verse 29 tells us what the external threat was: false teachers would come with distorted truths and half-truths to lure believers away.

So what did the Apostle Paul recommend the church to do in order to keep watch over the community? Two very important pieces of counsel were given here from Acts 20:28-32:

• Exercise tough words and tender tears
• Entrust people to God and His Word 

i. Exercise tough words and tender tears

Paul says that for three years, he did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

This is probably quite the opposite to the world we live in today, where leaders will not cease, night and day, to rule with power and oppression, with anger and intimidation! It is the spirit of this age of lawlessness, but not the Spirit of Christ.

Paul prescribed tough words and tender tears. We need to be careful that we are not sucked into a people-pleasing ministry. There are times when we need to tell our people the hard truths, but it must always be done with tears of compassion.

That’s how Paul wants us to keep watch over each other.

ii. Entrust people to God and His Word 

“”Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)

The second way to keep watch over your community, Paul says, is to entrust people to God and His Word.

We are called to entrust and turn God’s people over to God. We want our people to be disciples of Jesus Christ, to be fully dependent on God – not us, not the pastors, not the church leaders. 

We need to be careful that we are not sucked into a people-pleasing ministry. There are times when we need to tell our people the hard truths, but it must always be done with tears of compassion.

We want for them to become disciples of Christ, who walk with Jesus and and fix their eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of their faith, instead of on their pastors and leaders.

We don’t own our people, God does. We are not their gods – God Almighty is their God! The safest place our people can be in their lives, on this side of eternity, is in the hands of God. 

If we could only continue to be faithful, to teach and to show them what it means to walk with God and be tutored by His Word – we can do them the greatest favour in their spiritual pilgrimage, as they walk with Jesus and follow Him.

What we want is for people to feed on God’s Word on their own, and not wait for us to dish it out to them.

So, our mentoring needs to be centred around God’s Word and the Spirit.

Consider how good it is to just open the Bible to a certain passage and ask: “What do you observe about this verse or passage? What do you think this word means? How are you going to apply it?”

We must also continue to be faithful to preach God’s Word systematically through the Bible. We must continue to feed God’s people with the faithful exposition of God’s Word, week by week.

Carrie Nieuwhof wrote that the number one factor that people look for in any church, in any country, is the quality of the preaching; 86% of people choose a church based on the quality of preaching!

If we as pastors and leaders are willing to learn and grow and receive the necessary feedback of coaching and mentoring. I assure you – pastors and leaders who open up God’s Word over the pulpit – we can learn and grow together!

Keep watch over yourself and the community

In conclusion, the two essentials we must prioritise in our life and ministry are these: keep watch over yourself, and keep watch over the community.

In keeping watch over ourselves, we must reexamine these four aspects: personal transparency and resilience, personal courage and truthfulness, personal conviction and fearlessness, personal integrity and wisdom. That’s living the truth, speaking the truth, giving it all for the truth, and keeping consistently to the truth.

In keeping watch over the community, we are guided by two important words of counsel: exercise tough words with tender tears, entrust God’s people to His Word and to God.

If we keep watch over ourselves and our community, then we are free and empowered to give of ourselves to others like Jesus and Paul did.

Yes, the spiritual warfare and battle may be real and fierce. Yes, it will intensify – but the Church of Jesus Christ is God’s primary instrument to change the world. Millions have not yet heard the Gospel, so the Church of Jesus Christ must press on.

We must press on and take courage because Jesus says, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!”

This article was adapted from a message preached by Pastors Tony Yeo and Tan Kay Kiong at IDMC Conference Singapore.