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"When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, 'I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.' And he sailed from Ephesus."
(Acts 18:20-21)
The last part of verse 21 says, "And he sailed from Ephesus." Paul is determined to leave a good thing in Ephesus because he knows God has called him to Jerusalem then on to Antioch. He would not be sidetracked with the good, but rather pressed on to what was best.
I love people of determination. Chuck Swindoll describes Paul as a man of grace and grit. Another graceful and gritty man for whom I have much respect is Pastor Timothy Keller. Pastor Keller, his wife Kathy, and their three young sons moved to Manhattan to plant a church among the unchurched in the late 1980s. It was a daunting task, but he was determined to do this, no matter the odds or the naysayers. And there were many naysayers. People told him it was a fool's errand. Church meant conservative, but NYC was very liberal. Church meant families, but Manhattan was full of singles and nontraditional families. Church meant belief, but Manhattan was the epitome of doubt, skepticism, and cynicism. People laughed at the idea of church, and congregations in the cities were dying. He was told that the few congregations that were surviving were compromising traditional Christian teaching for a more pluralistic ethos that reflected the city. Pastor Keller said the people were incredulous when he told them the church that he was planting would focus on the historic tenets of the Christian faith, like the infallibility of the Bible, the deity of Christ, and the necessity of the new birth—doctrines considered hopelessly outdated by most New Yorkers. But Pastor Keller was faithful to the call God put on his life, and today, Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan has 6,000 regular attendees in five worship services, many daughter churches, and they continue to plant churches all over the world! He stepped down as the lead pastor in 2017. (See Timothy Keller, The Reason for God, p. xiv)
In verse 21, Paul says, "Thanks but no thanks, guys; with all that is within me, I have to keep my vows to God and go where He leads me." Allow me to ask you, how determined are you to live for Jesus Christ? How passionate are you to complete the tasks He has mandated in Scripture? The road of mere good intentions leads nowhere, but the path of perseverance and determination always leads you to your destination.
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