We Will Not Be Moved

Sermon Summary

I love Vancouver. I really do. The mountains, the culture, the people. It's a city of stunning beauty, vibrant neighborhoods, and an unmistakable energy. But more than the skyline or the sea wall, what I truly love is that we, as a church, get to live and minister in a place that reflects so much diversity and opportunity. But as much as I love this city, I know it is constantly changing. Whether it’s your favorite café turning into a condo or a skyline that looks different every year, change is the one constant here. And it’s not just structural—it’s social, cultural, political. Change is rapid and relentless.

Faithful to a Spiritual Family

And yet, as followers of Jesus, we’re called to a different kind of consistency. A deeper, Spirit-rooted faithfulness. We’re called to remain steadfast. That’s the heartbeat of Acts 20 where Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders. This is his farewell. His last words to the pastors of a church he deeply loves. And what does he begin with? A reminder of his faithfulness to the spiritual family. He says, "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you" (Acts 20:18).

Paul wasn’t a celebrity pastor. He didn’t parachute in, drop truth bombs, and then disappear. He walked with the people. He wept with them. He shared burdens. He endured hardship and persecution—with tears. That’s what a spiritual family looks like. It’s not surface-level smiles or Sunday morning greetings. It’s a deep, enduring commitment to one another. It’s stepping in when life gets messy, praying specifically and persistently, bearing burdens, and showing up again and again even when it’s hard.

When Paul reminds the elders how he served the Lord with humility and tears, he’s not bragging. He’s modeling what it means to be faithful to a spiritual family. And church, that’s what we’re called to as well. That’s why we say every saint a servant, every member a minister. Because the local church is not a service to consume—it’s a people to serve.

So let me ask: Are you faithful to your spiritual family? Not just present, but invested. Not just attending, but loving. Not just receiving, but giving. Paul poured out his soul for the sake of the church, and we’re invited to follow his example.

Grounded in Biblical Truth

Paul not only reminds the elders of his personal investment, but he makes it clear that he never held back the truth. "I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable" (Acts 20:20). Later in verse 27, he says, "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."

This wasn’t about preference. It was about conviction. Paul wasn’t trying to win popularity contests. He didn’t flinch when it came to hard truths. Why? Because he knew the Word of God is what shapes people. It saves, it sanctifies, it strengthens.

And we need this today more than ever. We live in an age of sound bites and algorithm-driven theology, where people gravitate toward teachers who say what they want to hear. Paul warned Timothy about this very thing: "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching… they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions" (2 Timothy 4:3).

We see it happening now. Teachers with no biblical accountability drawing crowds by softening truth or diluting doctrine. And Paul reminds us—it’s not just the teacher who’s responsible. It’s the listener who demands a message that scratches their itch.

That’s why we are committed at City Baptist to preaching the whole counsel of God. Verse by verse. Truth in context. Not cherry-picking the encouraging parts while avoiding the convicting ones. We want to be a church that doesn’t just inspire—but instructs. A church that doesn’t just comfort—but convicts. Because God’s Word is not meant to make us feel good about ourselves. It’s meant to point us to Jesus, to expose our sin, and to shape us in holiness.

So yes, we’re going to preach repentance. We’re going to talk about grace and judgment. We’re going to call out sin and call people to hope. And we’re going to do it without apology. Because we love the church too much to give it a watered-down gospel.

Paul didn’t hold back. And neither can we.

Unmoved by Future Opposition

Then Paul turns to his future. He’s going to Jerusalem, and he says plainly, "I don’t know what will happen to me there. Except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me" (Acts 20:23).

And then he says something so powerful: "But none of these things move me" (Acts 20:24).

None of these things move me.

Paul had already counted the cost. He knew the path of obedience would lead to suffering, but he had already died to himself. His life was not his own. He says, "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."

This is gospel grit. This is what unshakable commitment looks like. Not the absence of fear, but the presence of conviction. A resolve to follow Jesus even when it hurts. Even when it costs you your comfort, your convenience, maybe even your life.

And friends, this is the kind of commitment we need today. We are not just called to faithfulness when it’s easy. We’re called to faithfulness when it’s costly. The winds of culture will blow harder in the days ahead. The social pressure to compromise will intensify. But the people of God cannot afford to be moved.

Because Jesus is worth it.

And we have to decide now—before the opposition comes—that we will not be moved. That we will stay faithful. That we will keep running our race. That we will finish our course with joy.

Reflection

Paul’s final moments with the Ephesian elders were soaked in tears, passion, and unflinching resolve. He called them to commitment. Not comfort. To truth. Not trends. To courage. Not cowardice.

And that’s the call on us today as well. In a world of shifting values, let us be people of unwavering truth. In a culture of self-focus, let us be people of sacrificial love. In a time of fear, let us be people of Spirit-empowered courage.

We are made for more than survival. We are made for steadfastness.

So stay faithful to your spiritual family. Stay grounded in the Word. And stay unmoved in the face of opposition. Your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Let’s be the church that finishes our race with joy—for the glory of Jesus and the sake of His gospel in our city.