Faithful to the End (Acts 20:24)
But 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
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Paul, with the summary statement of his life, says, “I don’t account my life of any value nor as precious to myself”. That translates to: I’m dead to myself. This is what Jesus calls all of us, as His followers, to die to ourselves today. It’s not what we want; it’s what He wants. It’s not our desires, it’s His desires. Not our plans over our day, it’s His plans over our day.
Acts 20:24 challenges us to strive to finish well the Christian race.
And specifically, Paul says, “If only I may do this one thing, finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus”. In other words: “Jesus has called me to do certain things today, and I want to be faithful to do what He’s called me to do today. And what He specifically called me to do is to testify of the gospel of His grace, to be an ambassador for Jesus”.
And there’s clearly a sense in which Paul was called to do this in a particular way. But the reality is that this is true for all of us. We have all been filled with the Holy Spirit of God so that we might die to ourselves, live in His Spirit, and testify to the gospel of His grace. We are called to live spreading the good news of God’s grace. And the beauty is that God has put you in a particular place to do that.
He has me in a particular place to do that; He’s given you a course that’s different from me. He’s given you a ministry. And so don’t just picture paid minister picture, I’m talking about a calling from God. You’re on Earth to make His grace known through your life. And He’s put you in a particular place today. He’s put you around particular people today. So die to yourself and be faithful to do all He has entrusted to you, called you to do today. Finish your course today, and then finish your course tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, all the way until we see our Savior’s face.
Acts 20:24 encourages us to be faithful to our God-given calling.
God, we pray that it would be so. We pray that this would be true of all of our lives. Lord, we pray that You would help us to die to ourselves, to die to our plans, our dreams, our desires, our thoughts, our ways.
We want to live crucified with You. We want to live by faith in You as the Lord of our lives. You lead us. You guide us, You direct us. And we praise You for the ministry You’ve given to us. We praise you for the course that You’ve called us to. Not just the big picture in our lives, but even just today. And we pray that You’d help us to faithfully follow You. Help us to faithfully finish our course today. Help us to do all that You’re calling us to do today.
Specifically, oh God, help us to be ambassadors for Jesus today. And then help us to rise and do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. And God, in this, I’m praying for this in my life and others’ lives. God, I just praise You for the meaning and the purpose, the glorious meaning and purpose You’ve entrusted to us in each of our lives. You have given us a ministry that we receive from You to make Your grace known through our lives. May it be so.
God, help us to be faithful with this privilege, this honor, this ministry You’ve entrusted to each of us. And God we pray that You would direct us, guide us in every way even as we pray right now.
A Prayer for the Nogai Tatar People
God, we pray for the Nogai Tatar people of Russia, for over a hundred thousand of these Muslim men, women, and children among the Nogai. Lord, we want to finish and be faithful to our course today. We pray for the spread of Your glory among the nations. And so we’re pressing in right now, interceding for the Nogai people. Please cause the Nogai people and all kinds of other people groups across Russia to be reached with the gospel. And we pray that You would help whoever it is. And if that’s us, then make that clear, oh God, to whoever it is that’s supposed to spread the gospel to the Nogai.
People help us, help them to finish their course and complete the ministry that You’ve called them to. And we pray that over our lives, however You want to lead us today, tomorrow, and all our days ahead until we see Your face. We pray all this according to Your Word in Acts 20:24. May this verse be the cry of our hearts so that we don’t account our lives as precious or valuable to ourselves. That we may finish the course and the ministry that we’ve received from You to testify to the gospel of Your grace. May it be so. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
