Our scripture takes this morning is taken from the book of acts chapter 20.

Acts 20, we begin reading from verse 28 through 31.

Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit had made you

overseas to care for the Church of God, which he obtained with the blood of his own son. I know that after my departure, fierce wolves would come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among you your own

selves will arise means speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not

cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

One way to describe now what Paul has been doing up to verse 28 in this message to the elders at Mylidus who have come

down from Ephesus is to say this. He has been bending over backwards to make plain to them that he did everything

he could do to save their souls.

He labored, he cried, he taught, he shrunk back from no danger, no

no demand.

He has done everything humanly that can be done

to take their blood off of his head and leave it in their own hands before God.

So up until now he's been explaining what he had done and his dedication to this

ministry. But Paul knows something that we don't know as well today I don't think. He knows that you can

make false starts in the Christian life. The gun can go off at the Olympics in a

hundred-yard dash. gun can go off at the Olympics in a hundred yard dash, bang!

And they run for about 10 yards and britt whistled.

Or the gun goes off again and they all can

slow down and mill around and walk back get their feet in the blocks. That's the way some people begin the Christian life

and don't ever go back to the blocks.

There is such a thing as a false start.

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