6/1 Acts 20:20

²⁰ How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house . . .

Paul invited the elders of the church of Ephesus to come and meet him in Miletus. He was sharing his heart with them, just as he did in Troas, thinking he would not see them again. In our passage for today, Paul reminded the Ephesian elders that he boldly proclaimed everything profitable to them. He declared the whole counsel of God. He didn't hold back from teaching those doctrines that would get him in trouble with the local synagogue or the Greek temples. He didn't avoid doctrines they might find hard to accept.

Paul spent his time with them teaching the Word publicly and from house to house. He had public meetings but also small home meetings. Apparently, the Ephesians were hungry to learn or Paul wouldn't have had so many opportunities. This hunger is a gift from God. Without it we will just get busy with daily life. It's easy to avoid being taught. Those whom the Holy Spirit has anointed to teach are encouraged by eager listeners who have a lot of questions.

Teachers who the Spirit has anointed are also a gift from God. They don't find it annoying when they are invited to a home or a public opportunity to share about the Word. That is what they live to do. When God puts hungry learners with anointed teachers, there is growth in the church. Paul had poured out his heart to the Ephesian elders, and now it was up to them to yield to the Spirit and pass on what Paul had taught them.

Consider: Ephesus is uninhabited ruins today. The grandeur of the third largest city in the Roman Empire lies in dust, but the Word that Paul shared with those elders is still inspiring hearts and minds today. Value what endures.