WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.720 we need to be in Colossians. We should have already 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.839 finished Colossians on Sunday morning. And then 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:10.919 Jordan skipped ahead. Can we dial this back just 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:12.779 a little? There we go. Yeah, is that good? Can 00:00:12.779 --> 00:00:14.960 you also hear me? Good, good, good. Yeah, so 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:16.820 Jordan skipped ahead because he was supposed 00:00:16.820 --> 00:00:19.000 to preach that passage anyways, but not at the 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.239 time that he did. And so I'll backtrack on Sunday 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:26.440 and cover what the portion we skipped. So we're 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.839 gonna be in Colossians chapter four. And we're 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:33.259 gonna be in verses seven through, we'll see how 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:36.119 far we get. And we're gonna be reading a passage 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:38.280 that both of my interns are really happy they 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:39.939 don't have to read, because if you just look 00:00:39.939 --> 00:00:43.079 at how it starts, you'll see why they don't wanna 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:46.259 read this passage. But it's interesting, because 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:49.679 we're coming to this point in Colossians, and 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:52.399 if we're honest with each other here, you get 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:54.420 to this point in Colossians, and if you're reading 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:56.719 Colossians in your own quiet time, your personal 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:00.500 study time, I'm just gonna say it, 99 % of us 00:01:00.500 --> 00:01:02.560 are gonna skip these final verses, are we not? 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.260 I mean, just look, it's a bunch of names, okay? 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:07.019 How often do y 'all just read through the names 00:01:07.019 --> 00:01:08.879 of the Bible, right? I know y 'all well enough 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.500 to know. Okay, there you go, yeah. So you don't 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:14.500 wanna skip the names. People do it with genealogies 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:16.760 too, but I've said it before, there are so many 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:20.120 good things in the genealogies. And there's actually 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.019 a lot of really good stuff here in these final 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:30.750 names. How ominous. How ominous. There's some 00:01:30.750 --> 00:01:38.849 good stuff and some names. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:01:39.709 --> 00:01:42.489 So, when you look at the names though, one of 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:44.569 the reasons you shouldn't skip them is because, 00:01:44.709 --> 00:01:47.629 and this is on the nose, they're in the Bible. 00:01:48.230 --> 00:01:51.329 And the Bible is inspired by God, and He didn't 00:01:51.329 --> 00:01:54.329 put any fluff in His Word. So the fact that these 00:01:54.329 --> 00:01:57.290 names are included, Means that God wanted them 00:01:57.290 --> 00:02:00.750 to be included. They are here for a reason and 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:03.810 I think the whole purpose kind of behind Putting 00:02:03.810 --> 00:02:06.269 all these names in here and Paul mentioning all 00:02:06.269 --> 00:02:09.310 these various people is the simple fact that 00:02:09.310 --> 00:02:11.729 The Bible is telling us that disciples need other 00:02:11.729 --> 00:02:15.969 disciples We we were never meant to do life alone. 00:02:15.969 --> 00:02:19.050 We need other people in our lives specifically 00:02:19.050 --> 00:02:21.949 We need brothers and sisters in Christ to fill 00:02:21.949 --> 00:02:23.930 our lives and I'm not just talking about people 00:02:23.930 --> 00:02:26.460 that you just go to church with or people that 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:28.520 you see on Sunday morning or on Wednesday, and 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:30.919 you're like, oh yeah, that's my brother and sister 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:32.400 in Christ there, you know, we know each other 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:35.979 from church. I'm talking about living in community 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:39.159 with other Christians, and that is how we are 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:42.939 meant to live our lives. And for me, this is 00:02:42.939 --> 00:02:45.960 pretty difficult because I'm the type of person, 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:48.599 even though I'm a pastor, I don't really like 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:51.439 to be around people that much too often. I'm 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:54.599 a bit of an introvert that way. So it's very 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:58.120 difficult for me to be in large groups of people. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.340 I don't like public speaking, which is another 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:03.639 shocker because I'm a pastor, but I don't enjoy 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:05.719 public speaking unless I'm preaching and teaching 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:08.479 God's Word and then I really enjoy it. But I 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.400 don't like to just be surrounded by other people. 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:12.719 It kind of drains my energy. It takes a lot. 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:14.659 I kind of feel like I'm having to put on a show 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:19.960 for people. My brother -in -law, Bill, Gene's 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:24.199 son, he is not like that. Bill has never met 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:27.599 a stranger. I don't think Bill knows how to be 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:30.180 alone. It's like there's something in him that's 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:32.979 wrong with him. He just can't be alone. He has 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:35.219 to be around other people. It's how he gets energy. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:38.360 I mean, he thrives when he's around other people. 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:41.400 And I think there's probably a good balance between 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:43.240 that, between being Bill and being me, because 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:44.919 you don't want to be me, you might want to be 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:46.919 Bill, but there's probably a healthy balance 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:49.780 somewhere in the middle where we need to be reminded 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:53.259 that we need other Christians in our lives to 00:03:53.259 --> 00:03:56.039 live life with. And so in these verses, I think 00:03:56.039 --> 00:03:58.479 what Paul is doing here, as he's mentioning his 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.240 ministry partners and his friends, he's going 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:04.060 to show the type of disciples that we need to 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.960 fill our lives with. really the type of disciples 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:10.539 that we need to strive to be as well. I want 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:12.000 you to look at this first one here in verses 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:17.500 seven through eight. Tychicus will tell you all 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:20.519 about my activities. He is a beloved brother 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:23.480 and faithful minister and fellow servant in the 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.399 Lord and I have sent him to you for this purpose 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:29.620 that you may know how we are and that he may 00:04:29.620 --> 00:04:33.420 encourage your hearts. Now you might not be familiar 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:36.769 with this name but Tychicus seems in many ways 00:04:36.769 --> 00:04:40.230 to be one of Paul's right -hand men. Paul mentions 00:04:40.230 --> 00:04:43.470 him in Acts chapter 20 verse 4 as being among 00:04:43.470 --> 00:04:45.610 those who went ahead of Paul and waited for him 00:04:45.610 --> 00:04:49.310 in Troas. And actually, if you look at the other 00:04:49.310 --> 00:04:51.949 references to him in the Bible, this was often 00:04:51.949 --> 00:04:54.790 the person that Paul sent his letters with. So 00:04:54.790 --> 00:04:57.129 when Paul was writing to the various churches, 00:04:57.490 --> 00:05:00.769 he would give those letters to Tychicus to take 00:05:00.769 --> 00:05:03.670 to the churches and be his delivery person. You 00:05:03.670 --> 00:05:07.790 see this in Ephesians 6 .21. Paul says, so that 00:05:07.790 --> 00:05:10.970 you also may know how I am and what I am doing, 00:05:11.230 --> 00:05:13.670 Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister 00:05:13.670 --> 00:05:16.550 in the Lord, will tell you everything. And then 00:05:16.550 --> 00:05:19.850 in 2nd Timothy 4 .12, he says, Tychicus, I have 00:05:19.850 --> 00:05:23.870 sent to Ephesus. And then in Titus 3 .12, when 00:05:23.870 --> 00:05:27.149 I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, do your best 00:05:27.149 --> 00:05:30.269 to come to me in Nicopolis, for I have decided 00:05:30.269 --> 00:05:33.600 to spend the winter there. So when you look at 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:35.939 Paul's relationship with this brother, and you're 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:38.319 asking yourself, well, what is there about him 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:40.480 that we should aspire to? What is it about him 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:44.220 that is so crucial to have in our lives? And 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:46.079 I think what you really see out of him is someone 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:50.120 who is willing and someone who is reliable. Tychicus 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:52.500 seems like the type of brother who was always 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:55.199 ready and willing to do whatever needed to be 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:57.680 done, whether it was travel to the Colossian 00:05:57.680 --> 00:05:59.959 church to encourage them and tell them how Paul 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:02.449 was doing. or whether it was to go to Ephesus 00:06:02.449 --> 00:06:06.290 to deliver a letter, he was always willing, and 00:06:06.290 --> 00:06:09.610 he was always ready, and he was reliable. He 00:06:09.610 --> 00:06:11.810 was someone that you could depend on. And I'm 00:06:11.810 --> 00:06:13.490 going to be honest with you, this is the type 00:06:13.490 --> 00:06:17.129 of person that I like to fill my life with. These 00:06:17.129 --> 00:06:20.670 are probably my favorite type of disciples, and 00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:23.730 I think you could probably tell by my two interns, 00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:26.949 this describes them perfectly. These are the 00:06:26.949 --> 00:06:28.810 type of interns I like to have. I mean, this 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:32.480 described Joseph, God bless his heart. That young 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:34.660 man was willing to do anything that needed to 00:06:34.660 --> 00:06:37.139 be done. And the same thing is true of Christian 00:06:37.139 --> 00:06:39.019 and Mark. I mean, that's what I look for when 00:06:39.019 --> 00:06:41.279 I look for an intern. I look for someone who 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:44.120 is going to say, you just put me in and I'm willing, 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.660 I'm ready. I'll do whatever you need me to do. 00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:50.000 And this is really, a lot of you might not know 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:53.000 this, but probably a month or two back when there 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.180 was a lot of sickness going around and my family 00:06:55.180 --> 00:06:57.579 had the flu and there was the stomach bug and 00:06:57.579 --> 00:06:59.160 pretty much everyone in the church got the stomach 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:02.230 bug. I was so certain that I was going to get 00:07:02.230 --> 00:07:05.490 sick that I was writing my sermon and as soon 00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:07.550 as I finished it I was emailing it to Christian 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:10.189 and Mark and I said all right guys here's my 00:07:10.189 --> 00:07:13.050 sermon for this week in the off chance that I 00:07:13.050 --> 00:07:16.029 do get sick I need one of you to preach this 00:07:16.029 --> 00:07:20.529 sermon on Sunday and without fail they both messaged 00:07:20.529 --> 00:07:22.810 me back and said yeah not a problem we got you 00:07:22.810 --> 00:07:26.389 now if you don't know why that's pretty astonishing 00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:29.819 and amazing I want you to know that Mark has 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:33.519 never preached a sermon in his life, ever. Christian 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:35.579 has never preached a Sunday morning sermon, he's 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:38.399 going to later this year, but Mark has never 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:39.939 preached a sermon and yet Mark was like, all 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:41.459 right, yeah, sure, if I've gotta read your sermon 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:44.079 and preach it, I'll do it. This is the type of 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:45.720 person you want in your life, someone who's gonna 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:48.259 say, whatever needs to be done, I'm gonna be 00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:50.959 there and I'm gonna do it. And I think our church 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:54.100 is particularly blessed, because we've got so 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.279 many of these type of people in our church. I 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:59.100 mean, it describes so many. If I were to go to 00:07:59.100 --> 00:08:01.899 Lowell Caldwell, Michael Stevenson, or Gene McKinney, 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:03.759 and I say, hey, I need you to teach gospel group 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:05.939 or Sunday school this morning, they would do 00:08:05.939 --> 00:08:09.160 it in a heartbeat. If I call Brian Hufstedtler 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:12.120 and ask him for literally anything, Brian is 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.879 gonna be there, and he's gonna do it. Or if you 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:16.620 need something done around the church, all you 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:19.120 have to do is call Tommy or Gene, they're probably 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.699 already here, and they're gonna do it. I mean, 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:24.680 this is just the type of disciple that you really 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:27.399 want to have in your life. And honestly, this 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:29.579 is the type of disciple that we should strive 00:08:29.579 --> 00:08:33.139 to be. It's one thing to be good every now and 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:34.779 then for something and say, yeah, if there's 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:37.299 a certain circumstance and the situation is right, 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:39.700 then I'll maybe help out. But it's another thing 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:43.019 entirely to say, I see what God is doing. I want 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:45.139 to be part of that work. And no matter what is 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:47.500 needed of me, I'm there for God. Whatever he's 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:49.500 asking of me, I want to be the type of person 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:52.299 who gets involved. and does what he needs me 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:55.100 to do. I want you to look at verse 9 because 00:08:55.100 --> 00:09:09.279 we see another one here. It says, Now, if you 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:11.059 don't know who this is, we learn a lot about 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:13.220 him from the book of Philemon. So if you're looking 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:15.659 for baby names, a lot of good options in this 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:18.809 passage in particular. haven't heard Onesimus 00:09:18.809 --> 00:09:21.389 in a while, but if you remember the book of Philemon, 00:09:22.070 --> 00:09:25.350 basically Onesimus was a slave of Philemon who 00:09:25.350 --> 00:09:29.769 ran away, and so he runs away, and this is just 00:09:29.769 --> 00:09:32.590 the sovereignty of God at work. Onesimus crosses 00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:36.629 paths with Paul, and Paul shares the gospel with 00:09:36.629 --> 00:09:39.490 him and tells him about Jesus, and God saves 00:09:39.490 --> 00:09:42.429 Onesimus, and so he's converted under Paul's 00:09:42.429 --> 00:09:46.389 ministry, and then Paul sends him back to Philemon. 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:49.220 And based on what we read in Philemon, we see 00:09:49.220 --> 00:09:52.240 the situation was Onesimus owed a great debt 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.440 to Philemon. We don't know what happened to incur 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:57.419 that debt, but we just know that he owed a great 00:09:57.419 --> 00:09:59.720 debt to him. And it was one that he was unable 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:02.679 to pay and he was unwilling to work off that 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:05.919 debt. And so what he did is he ran away, which 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:09.779 was illegal. And so his past is marred by sin 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:12.720 and wrong decisions. And so what's amazing is 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:16.009 after he's converted to faith in Christ, He comes 00:10:16.009 --> 00:10:18.710 up to Paul and Paul's like, all right, happy 00:10:18.710 --> 00:10:20.629 to have you be a Christian now. Here's what I 00:10:20.629 --> 00:10:23.649 need you to do. I need you to go back to Philemon. 00:10:24.809 --> 00:10:27.690 If you're onesimus, this is not what you expect 00:10:27.690 --> 00:10:30.429 to hear, right? If you're onesimus, this is actually 00:10:30.429 --> 00:10:32.070 the last thing you want to hear. You want to 00:10:32.070 --> 00:10:34.549 hear Paul say, and you can stay with me and I'll 00:10:34.549 --> 00:10:36.070 teach you and I'll train you and you can see 00:10:36.070 --> 00:10:38.149 how we do things. But instead he says, brother, 00:10:39.090 --> 00:10:42.090 I need you to go back to Philemon. I need you. 00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:45.480 to be a faithful servant in his household. But 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.220 then Paul tells him, any debt that you have, 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.100 I'll pay it myself. I just want you to go back 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:55.620 and do what's right. And clearly, he didn't just 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:57.639 go back to be a slave because we see here in 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:01.019 Colossians that he is actively serving with Paul. 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:04.940 And Paul is sending him to the Colossian church 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:07.759 as a messenger. And I want you to notice these 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:09.840 beautiful words that it says here. It's very 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.129 easy to look over. But everyone in the Colossian 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:17.529 Church knew about Onesimus' past. They had talked 00:11:17.529 --> 00:11:20.649 with Philemon. They knew the situation. The rumor 00:11:20.649 --> 00:11:22.330 mill started going around. Everybody knew about 00:11:22.330 --> 00:11:25.009 the runaway slave. And so when they thought of 00:11:25.009 --> 00:11:27.850 him, they thought of someone who illegally ran 00:11:27.850 --> 00:11:31.289 away, who was unable to pay a debt, and who was 00:11:31.289 --> 00:11:35.490 a wandering slave. And Paul, notice what he says 00:11:35.490 --> 00:11:38.509 here. He says, I'm sending him to you, and he 00:11:38.509 --> 00:11:41.759 is one of you. Did you notice those words? It's 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.639 so easy to miss. Paul sends them back and he 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:49.039 says, he is one of you. And so when we look at 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:51.620 Onesimus, we get the beautiful truth that the 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:54.059 sins of our past do not prevent us from being 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:57.220 used by God in the present. And that's an amazing 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:01.539 truth, is it not? That the sins of our past do 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:04.080 not prevent God from using us in the present. 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:06.879 I think there are a few things more beautiful 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:12.669 than seeing a notorious sinner with a bad past 00:12:12.669 --> 00:12:17.690 be redeemed by God and saved by God and used 00:12:17.690 --> 00:12:21.070 by God to do great things and you have to just 00:12:21.070 --> 00:12:23.809 imagine how hard this would have been for Onesimus 00:12:23.809 --> 00:12:27.330 to go to a place where everyone knows his past 00:12:27.330 --> 00:12:31.450 everyone knows what he did and yet he's living 00:12:31.450 --> 00:12:34.029 in the freedom in Christ and he's going to live 00:12:34.029 --> 00:12:37.200 for God's purposes and I know I've already mentioned 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.100 it, but I can't help but think of our brother, 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.139 Brian Huffstetler, again, because many of you 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:44.659 have heard Brian's testimony, and it's an amazing 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:47.940 testimony, is it not? I mean, you look at his 00:12:47.940 --> 00:12:50.100 past, and he's got a marred past. I've got a 00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:54.039 marred past. I've got a messed up past. And I'm 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:56.120 sure, because of conversations I've had with 00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:59.960 Brian, that there are certain places where if 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:02.940 he were to go there, people would start talking. 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:05.970 And they say, oh, you... You're talking about 00:13:05.970 --> 00:13:10.070 Huff? Oh yeah, I know Huff. I know all about 00:13:10.070 --> 00:13:13.490 Huff. I know the things that he's done. But the 00:13:13.490 --> 00:13:16.690 amazing thing is, if you mention his name at 00:13:16.690 --> 00:13:21.029 this church, no one says, oh I know about Huff. 00:13:21.730 --> 00:13:24.549 They say, are you talking about Brian? One of 00:13:24.549 --> 00:13:26.809 the deacons of George's Creek Baptist Church, 00:13:26.929 --> 00:13:28.370 that's the Brian you're talking about. You're 00:13:28.370 --> 00:13:30.629 talking about the man who checks on his families 00:13:30.629 --> 00:13:32.970 and calls them every single week. You're talking 00:13:32.970 --> 00:13:35.649 about the man who would literally give you the 00:13:35.649 --> 00:13:38.350 shirt off his back if you said you needed it, 00:13:38.470 --> 00:13:40.809 who would do anything for anyone. Are you talking 00:13:40.809 --> 00:13:42.509 about Brian because that's the only Brian that 00:13:42.509 --> 00:13:46.730 I know? Isn't that an amazing truth that your 00:13:46.730 --> 00:13:50.129 past sins do not get to define you? Your past 00:13:50.129 --> 00:13:52.450 mistakes do not get to define you and your past 00:13:52.450 --> 00:13:55.509 mistakes do not prevent God from using you in 00:13:55.509 --> 00:13:58.309 the present. I'm personally thankful for that 00:13:58.309 --> 00:14:01.509 because I live in my own hometown and there are 00:14:01.509 --> 00:14:04.909 people all across this town who know all about 00:14:04.909 --> 00:14:07.830 Alex Chapman and all the things that I've done. 00:14:08.830 --> 00:14:11.289 And I'm always thankful to get to encounter those 00:14:11.289 --> 00:14:13.929 people and say, you know who I was, let me tell 00:14:13.929 --> 00:14:15.970 you who I am because of what Jesus has done in 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:19.899 my life. You need people like this in your life 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:23.940 to remind you of the amazing grace of God, and 00:14:23.940 --> 00:14:27.220 the mercy of God, and the power of God, and the 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:30.559 transforming power of God, to take a sinner, 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:34.100 to redeem them, to make them clean, and then 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:37.820 use them for His purposes. That's the type of 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:41.840 person that we want to have in our lives. I want 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:44.279 you to look at another one here in verse 10. 00:14:47.180 --> 00:14:49.960 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you. 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:52.580 And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:54.600 whom you have received instructions if he comes 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:58.700 to you, welcome him. Now, Aristarchus seems to 00:14:58.700 --> 00:15:01.500 have been one of Paul's most faithful companions. 00:15:02.299 --> 00:15:04.759 He typically traveled with Paul wherever he went. 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:08.600 But what's amazing is when Paul faced some of 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:12.919 the harshest trials of his life, Aristarchus 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:16.679 wasn't just there for him. He was there with 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:20.379 him in the midst of those trials. I mean, for 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:23.120 instance, we all remember that Paul had a famous 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:26.100 shipwreck at sea. You all remember that? Paul's 00:15:26.100 --> 00:15:29.139 traveling on the sea, he's on a boat, and there's 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:31.799 a shipwreck. You might not remember that Aristarchus 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:34.759 was actually on that boat with him. We read in 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:40.580 Acts 27 .2, an embarking in a ship of Adramidium, 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.159 which was about to sail to the ports along the 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:48.080 coast of Asia, we put to see, accompanied by 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:51.799 Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 00:15:52.779 --> 00:15:55.299 And so we also learn from Paul's letter to Philemon, 00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:58.720 and here in Colossians, that Aristarchus was 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:02.679 a prisoner with Paul. So he wasn't someone who 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:05.559 just kind of hung around Paul, and he wasn't 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:07.360 someone who just said, Paul, if you need me, 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:09.539 I'll be there, just give me a call, you know, 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:12.210 send a letter. He was someone who says, Paul, 00:16:12.250 --> 00:16:13.730 whatever you're doing, I'm going to be there 00:16:13.730 --> 00:16:16.350 with you. Whatever you're going through, I'm 00:16:16.350 --> 00:16:18.090 going to submit myself to the same thing. If 00:16:18.090 --> 00:16:21.070 you're going to jail, I'm going to jail. I'm 00:16:21.070 --> 00:16:24.470 in this with you. And so here was a man who was 00:16:24.470 --> 00:16:27.389 not just content to be there for Paul if he needed 00:16:27.389 --> 00:16:30.250 him, but someone who insisted on being there 00:16:30.250 --> 00:16:33.490 with Paul in the midst of his trials and sufferings. 00:16:34.149 --> 00:16:35.929 And these are the type of disciples that you 00:16:35.929 --> 00:16:39.289 want to have in your life, is it not? I mean, 00:16:39.289 --> 00:16:41.750 it's one thing for people to say they're there 00:16:41.750 --> 00:16:44.929 if you need them or call them if something happens, 00:16:44.929 --> 00:16:47.909 but it's another thing for a person to come to 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:51.529 you in times of trouble and say, I'm going to 00:16:51.529 --> 00:16:53.870 be here with you in the midst of this trial, 00:16:54.190 --> 00:16:56.470 and I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere. 00:16:56.809 --> 00:17:00.029 We are going to bear this burden together. I'm 00:17:00.029 --> 00:17:02.110 very thankful to have people like this in my 00:17:02.110 --> 00:17:06.539 life. I'll just be very candid with you. Maybe 00:17:06.539 --> 00:17:10.660 last year or two years ago. I was having a really 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:15.960 really bad day and My depression and my anxiety 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:20.039 was just at an all -time high I guess for anxiety 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:23.200 depression was all -time low Inversive that was 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:27.460 a bad place a very very bad place. I even started 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:30.200 having Suicidal thoughts again. It was it was 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:34.019 just not not good and I came here to the office 00:17:34.509 --> 00:17:36.589 starting the work day, and that was the place 00:17:36.589 --> 00:17:38.630 I was in, and I didn't know how I was gonna make 00:17:38.630 --> 00:17:41.509 it through the day. And then Jessica and Jordan 00:17:41.509 --> 00:17:46.109 came into my office unannounced, uninvited, because 00:17:46.109 --> 00:17:48.609 Anna had called them and told them what was going 00:17:48.609 --> 00:17:51.650 on with me, and said, I don't trust him to be 00:17:51.650 --> 00:17:53.630 alone right now, I need you to be there for him. 00:17:54.150 --> 00:17:56.329 And so Jessica and Jordan stopped whatever they 00:17:56.329 --> 00:17:59.369 were doing, gave Daniel to someone, and they 00:17:59.369 --> 00:18:02.529 came into my office and I said, hey guys, I really 00:18:02.529 --> 00:18:04.329 don't want to be around people right now. So 00:18:04.329 --> 00:18:07.930 if y 'all could just Leave and they said yeah, 00:18:07.950 --> 00:18:10.650 that's cool. We're gonna stay here Until you're 00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:13.250 ready to be alone. It's like well, I really don't 00:18:13.250 --> 00:18:15.470 want company. They said yeah, we got you We're 00:18:15.470 --> 00:18:18.269 gonna sit here and they did and they sat there 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:21.609 right across from my desk and they gave up hours 00:18:21.609 --> 00:18:25.750 of their day and I was in tears and we were talking 00:18:26.429 --> 00:18:29.009 And they eventually did leave, but they didn't 00:18:29.009 --> 00:18:31.430 leave until I was in a place where they felt 00:18:31.430 --> 00:18:33.990 like they could leave. And it was a reminder 00:18:33.990 --> 00:18:37.049 to me of how thankful I am for people who aren't 00:18:37.049 --> 00:18:39.190 just saying, hey, give me a call if you need 00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:41.369 me, but who will walk into your office and they're 00:18:41.369 --> 00:18:43.849 like, I'm just gonna sit here until I know that 00:18:43.849 --> 00:18:47.450 you're okay. That's the type of people that not 00:18:47.450 --> 00:18:50.049 only do we need in our lives, but that's the 00:18:50.049 --> 00:18:51.630 type of disciple that we need to be in the lives 00:18:51.630 --> 00:18:54.470 of others. We don't want to have our brothers 00:18:54.470 --> 00:18:56.630 and sisters in Christ suffer alone the Bible 00:18:56.630 --> 00:19:00.569 says when one suffers We all suffer when they 00:19:00.569 --> 00:19:03.690 are mourning we mourn when they rejoice we rejoice 00:19:03.690 --> 00:19:07.490 we are called to bear with one another No one 00:19:07.490 --> 00:19:10.289 is meant to carry their load alone And so it's 00:19:10.289 --> 00:19:12.609 not sufficient to just say, hey, give me a call, 00:19:12.769 --> 00:19:14.809 or if you need something, let me know. If you 00:19:14.809 --> 00:19:17.230 know someone's going through something, if you 00:19:17.230 --> 00:19:19.029 know that they are hurting, if you know that 00:19:19.029 --> 00:19:22.029 they're struggling, you need to be with them 00:19:22.029 --> 00:19:25.589 in the midst of their struggle, just as Aristarchus 00:19:25.589 --> 00:19:29.309 was for Paul. I want you to notice he mentions 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:33.250 another one here in verse 10. He mentions Mark, 00:19:33.890 --> 00:19:36.829 the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you've 00:19:36.829 --> 00:19:39.630 received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome 00:19:39.630 --> 00:19:42.730 him. Now who was Mark? Anybody have any guesses? 00:19:45.849 --> 00:19:48.910 Yeah, he wrote one of the Gospels. He was actually 00:19:48.910 --> 00:19:51.509 a disciple of Peter, so if you're reading Mark's 00:19:51.509 --> 00:19:55.230 Gospel, it's actually Peter's account of his 00:19:55.230 --> 00:19:57.130 story with Jesus, which is really interesting 00:19:57.130 --> 00:19:58.549 when you compare it to the other accounts, because 00:19:58.549 --> 00:20:00.769 some of the times when Peter looks the worst... 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:03.720 Those aren't actually in Mark's gospel. They're 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:05.640 in Matthew's. You might be wondering why. Well, 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:08.160 Peter's telling the story there. But he was a 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.839 disciple of Peter, and he was a traveling companion 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:14.319 of Paul. And you might not remember this, but 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.140 the book of Acts tells us that Paul and Mark 00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:21.299 had a falling out. It says that when Paul and 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:24.619 Barnabas set sail to Pamphylia, Mark abandoned 00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:28.579 them, and Paul took this personally. He viewed 00:20:28.579 --> 00:20:30.859 this as Mark being unwilling to do what needed 00:20:30.859 --> 00:20:33.160 to be done for the kingdom of God. He viewed 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:36.319 it as Mark basically copping out and not being 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.640 fit for the ministry and so they had this huge 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:41.180 falling out and it led to an even greater dispute. 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:45.579 In Acts 15 verse 36 through 40 it says, and after 00:20:45.579 --> 00:20:48.839 some days Paul said to Barnabas, let us return 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:51.319 to visit the brothers in every city where we 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:53.359 proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.940 are. Now, Barnabas wanted to take with them John, 00:20:57.119 --> 00:21:01.059 called Mark, but Paul thought best not to take 00:21:01.059 --> 00:21:05.319 with them one who had withdrawn from them in 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:08.980 Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:11.539 So notice the connection. He didn't go with them 00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:13.859 to the work. He was copying out, he wasn't fit, 00:21:14.299 --> 00:21:17.240 and there arose a sharp disagreement so that 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:19.940 they actually separated from each other. And 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:22.700 Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to 00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:26.730 Cyprus. but Paul chose Silas and departed, having 00:21:26.730 --> 00:21:29.470 been commended by the brothers to the grace of 00:21:29.470 --> 00:21:32.589 the Lord. And so, that's what happened, but now 00:21:32.589 --> 00:21:34.710 we get to see something very beautiful here, 00:21:35.170 --> 00:21:38.049 where Mark, who had a falling out with Paul, 00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:40.710 and this huge disagreement, and Paul said he's 00:21:40.710 --> 00:21:43.349 not even fit for the ministry, Mark's now been 00:21:43.349 --> 00:21:46.529 restored. And he's now working with Paul again. 00:21:47.289 --> 00:21:48.950 And I think it's even more beautiful to read 00:21:48.950 --> 00:21:52.539 in 2 Timothy. If you remember 2nd Timothy, Paul, 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:55.039 that's his last letter that he wrote. He is about 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:58.400 to die as he wrote 2nd Timothy. He knows that 00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:00.759 he is about to be put to death. He knows the 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:04.619 end is coming. In his last request, in 2nd Timothy 00:22:04.619 --> 00:22:09.539 411, he says, Luke alone is with me. Get Mark 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:12.880 and bring him with you, for he is very useful 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:17.490 to me in the ministry. How amazing is that? I 00:22:17.490 --> 00:22:18.769 mean, again, that's one of those things that 00:22:18.769 --> 00:22:20.230 we just kind of read over like, oh, he's saying 00:22:20.230 --> 00:22:22.789 a name. But here was this guy that Paul said, 00:22:22.990 --> 00:22:25.470 he's not fit for the ministry. He's not cut out 00:22:25.470 --> 00:22:27.269 for the work. I don't want anything to do with 00:22:27.269 --> 00:22:29.670 him anymore. And then at the very end of his 00:22:29.670 --> 00:22:33.970 life, Paul's last request is bring Mark, because 00:22:33.970 --> 00:22:37.289 he's very useful to me in the ministry. And so 00:22:37.289 --> 00:22:39.049 I think there's a really beautiful reminder here 00:22:39.049 --> 00:22:42.849 when we look at Mark, and it's that if God hasn't 00:22:42.849 --> 00:22:44.769 given up on someone, we don't need to give up 00:22:44.769 --> 00:22:48.980 on them either. If God hasn't given up on someone, 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:52.720 we don't need to give up on them either. Because 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:56.240 where a person currently is, isn't necessarily 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:58.980 where they're always gonna be. And I've seen 00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:02.059 too many times in my life and in my ministry, 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:06.319 where we've almost written someone off and dismissed 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.940 them and given up on them, and God has restored 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.200 them and brought them back. I mean, you can talk 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:14.980 to any of the deacons about this. On our deacon 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:16.859 list, we have an inactive list of people who 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:18.779 haven't been here in a while. If they haven't 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:20.859 been here after a certain amount of time, we 00:23:20.859 --> 00:23:23.519 move them from inactive to no longer members. 00:23:24.579 --> 00:23:26.400 And there have been so many times where we've 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:28.700 said, you know, so -and -so hasn't been here 00:23:28.700 --> 00:23:32.259 for a long time. Should we move them away? Should 00:23:32.259 --> 00:23:34.500 we move them to no longer members? Should we 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:36.720 revoke their membership? And we say, no, let's 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:38.940 just keep praying for them. Let's keep asking 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:41.490 God to do something. and I kid you not we've 00:23:41.490 --> 00:23:44.049 had times where we've had a person or a couple 00:23:44.049 --> 00:23:47.529 on that list for over a year nearly two years 00:23:47.529 --> 00:23:50.009 and we thought there's no way they're ever coming 00:23:50.009 --> 00:23:52.650 back give up on them and sure enough they're 00:23:52.650 --> 00:23:57.730 back with us today it's a good reminder that 00:23:57.730 --> 00:23:59.809 if God doesn't give up on people we don't need 00:23:59.809 --> 00:24:03.890 to give up on them either so if you have someone 00:24:03.890 --> 00:24:05.569 in your life right now that you're frustrated 00:24:05.569 --> 00:24:08.069 with if you're dealing with someone that you 00:24:08.069 --> 00:24:10.750 think is immature in their faith or Maybe someone 00:24:10.750 --> 00:24:13.470 who's acting un -Christ -like or you've had a 00:24:13.470 --> 00:24:15.029 falling out with them and you think, well, that's 00:24:15.029 --> 00:24:17.069 it. They're no good to me anymore. They can't 00:24:17.069 --> 00:24:19.390 possibly help me or nurture my faith or be any 00:24:19.390 --> 00:24:21.609 use to me. I just want you to remember those 00:24:21.609 --> 00:24:23.890 are the same things that Paul thought about Mark. 00:24:24.650 --> 00:24:26.390 And then at the end of his life, he was requesting 00:24:26.390 --> 00:24:29.769 him to be by his side. You never know what God 00:24:29.769 --> 00:24:31.910 is going to do in someone's heart and in someone's 00:24:31.910 --> 00:24:35.130 life. You never know how God is going to transform 00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:38.049 someone and make them useful in His service. 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:43.559 Now you look at verse 11, he says, in Jesus who 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:46.599 is called justice, these are the only men of 00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:49.619 the circumcision among my fellow workers for 00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:51.359 the kingdom of God and they have been a comfort 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:53.920 to me. So this is the only place in the Bible 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:56.759 where justice is mentioned, so we don't really 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:58.740 have a lot to say about him other than the fact 00:24:58.740 --> 00:25:01.299 that he seemed to be a great comfort to Paul. 00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:03.319 But we do know a lot more about the next guy. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:07.079 If you look in verse 12, it says, Apaphras, who 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:10.660 is one of you, servant of Christ Jesus greets 00:25:10.660 --> 00:25:13.619 you always struggling on your behalf and his 00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:16.940 prayers and that you may stand mature and fully 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:20.099 assured in all the will of God for I bear him 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:23.220 witness that he has worked hard for you and for 00:25:23.220 --> 00:25:27.200 those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Now if you 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:30.450 remember Epaphras was the man who planted the 00:25:30.450 --> 00:25:33.130 church in Colossae. Paul didn't start that church. 00:25:33.250 --> 00:25:35.630 It was started by Epaphras. He's the one who 00:25:35.630 --> 00:25:37.650 planted it. He's the one who nurtured them and 00:25:37.650 --> 00:25:39.910 taught them. And I want you to notice this about 00:25:39.910 --> 00:25:44.269 him. He was a prayer warrior. Notice how the 00:25:44.269 --> 00:25:46.190 Bible describes his prayers here. It says that 00:25:46.190 --> 00:25:49.630 he was struggling in prayer on their behalf and 00:25:49.630 --> 00:25:53.369 working hard in prayer on their behalf. So this 00:25:53.369 --> 00:25:56.710 was not your typical church guy where when you 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:59.079 or sharing a request, what does every Christian 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:01.660 say? Oh, I'll pray about that. Or I'm praying 00:26:01.660 --> 00:26:05.680 for you. But then 95 % of them never actually 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:08.380 pray about it. It's just the church answer. Oh 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:10.539 yeah, we'll pray about that. Or I'm praying for 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:12.960 you. And then we don't actually do it. Well, 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:15.539 this was a brother who labored in prayer to the 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:18.279 point that the Bible literally describes it as 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:20.759 hard work. And I'm just going to tell you, you 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:23.700 need people like this in your life. People, when 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:26.740 you share a request with them, They're not just 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:28.299 going to dismiss it, but they're actually going 00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:31.259 to dedicate themselves to praying for you and 00:26:31.259 --> 00:26:34.619 praying for your request and laboring in prayer. 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.460 I'm thankful to have a mom who is a prayer warrior 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:41.799 like that. I consider my mom a great prayer warrior 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:44.160 because I know if I ask my mom to pray for something, 00:26:44.660 --> 00:26:46.880 she's going to pray for it. And she's not going 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:49.059 to stop praying for it until I tell her that 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:51.500 she can stop praying for that particular request. 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:54.319 I've said it to you so many times now, you know 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:57.339 it by heart. She prayed for my salvation for 00:26:57.339 --> 00:27:00.519 18 years. I do not have that kind of patience, 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:02.660 okay? I don't know that I could consistently 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:05.839 pray that long for something for 18 years, and 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:08.839 yet my mom dedicated herself to praying for my 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:12.279 salvation for that long. We need to be the kind 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:14.519 of disciples who devote ourselves to prayer. 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:18.019 And honestly, if we are to be truly biblical, 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:21.079 And we're to do what Christ tells us to do. We 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:23.059 need to commit ourselves to prayer and fasting. 00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:26.619 Now, I don't have time to go into all of that 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:28.759 this evening. I have heard that there is a pretty 00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:33.339 good podcast episode recently released on that. 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:36.779 So if you want to learn more about fasting and 00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:40.900 what biblical fasting is and how to fast and 00:27:40.900 --> 00:27:44.599 why Christians are supposed to fast, then check 00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:47.619 out a podcast that answers questions on that. 00:27:48.169 --> 00:27:50.309 But the point is we need to take prayer seriously. 00:27:51.029 --> 00:27:52.569 And we need to be the type of people who actually 00:27:52.569 --> 00:27:55.549 pray for things and trust that God is able to 00:27:55.549 --> 00:27:58.930 do far more and abundantly than all we can even 00:27:58.930 --> 00:28:01.769 think or imagine. How silly is it for Christians 00:28:01.769 --> 00:28:04.029 to say there's no point praying for that because 00:28:04.029 --> 00:28:06.910 there's no way it's ever going to happen. What 00:28:06.910 --> 00:28:10.750 kind of God do we serve? That we wouldn't entrust 00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:13.750 everything to him and trust that he is able to 00:28:13.750 --> 00:28:15.890 do that. I mean we've got this situation with 00:28:15.890 --> 00:28:18.549 the parsonage right now, right? We didn't see 00:28:18.549 --> 00:28:21.309 that one coming. We didn't know it was going 00:28:21.309 --> 00:28:23.789 to be that bad. And when you had told us at the 00:28:23.789 --> 00:28:25.809 beginning of this year, none of us would have 00:28:25.809 --> 00:28:28.509 said, hey, we're going to get a $45 ,000 bill, 00:28:28.869 --> 00:28:30.930 and that's not even going to cover everything 00:28:30.930 --> 00:28:32.849 for a parsonage that we didn't know how we're 00:28:32.849 --> 00:28:34.710 going to fix. We don't just have that laying 00:28:34.710 --> 00:28:36.509 around. We're not that kind of church that just 00:28:36.509 --> 00:28:38.789 has $45 ,000 in the bank ready to say, hey, there 00:28:38.789 --> 00:28:42.250 you go. But there's nothing too big for our God, 00:28:42.349 --> 00:28:45.690 is there? And I don't think a parsonage with 00:28:45.690 --> 00:28:50.529 some mold is too big for our God. If God owns 00:28:50.529 --> 00:28:52.950 the cattle on a thousand hills, I do not think 00:28:52.950 --> 00:28:58.930 $45 ,000 is too much for our God. And so what 00:28:58.930 --> 00:29:00.970 if we were actually, rather than stress about 00:29:00.970 --> 00:29:04.109 this situation, and fight about this situation, 00:29:04.509 --> 00:29:07.690 and get anxious about this situation, what if, 00:29:07.970 --> 00:29:11.789 novel idea, what if we prayed about it? And we 00:29:11.789 --> 00:29:14.190 committed it to God. and say, God, we don't know 00:29:14.190 --> 00:29:16.130 the way. We don't know how it's going to happen. 00:29:16.410 --> 00:29:17.829 We don't know how you're going to provide, but 00:29:17.829 --> 00:29:20.269 we are trusting that you were able to do for 00:29:20.269 --> 00:29:23.869 us what we cannot do for ourselves. What if we 00:29:23.869 --> 00:29:29.289 prayed, church, and trusted God? I could go on, 00:29:29.289 --> 00:29:32.210 but we've already not even made it to Luke yet. 00:29:33.809 --> 00:29:35.470 I really thought I'd be able to get through the 00:29:35.470 --> 00:29:38.869 names. Look at verse 14 with me very quickly 00:29:38.869 --> 00:29:42.309 because I'm about to run out of time. Luke the 00:29:42.309 --> 00:29:45.569 beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 00:29:45.809 --> 00:29:48.450 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea 00:29:48.450 --> 00:29:51.890 and to Nympha and the church in her house. And 00:29:51.890 --> 00:29:53.869 when this letter has been read among you, have 00:29:53.869 --> 00:29:56.109 it also read in the church of the Laodiceans. 00:29:56.450 --> 00:29:59.630 And see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 00:29:59.630 --> 00:30:02.609 It would have been nice if that letter had been 00:30:02.609 --> 00:30:06.190 preserved, but it was not. So we all know who 00:30:06.190 --> 00:30:09.490 Luke is, right? Luke was the famous doctor and 00:30:09.490 --> 00:30:12.519 the historian. He's the one who wrote the book 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:18.140 of Luke and Acts, and possibly Hebrews. Probably 00:30:18.140 --> 00:30:20.339 Hebrews. I can't prove it with certainty, but 00:30:20.339 --> 00:30:23.400 maybe. But what's interesting about Luke is that 00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:26.000 he never actually gave up his profession as a 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:29.480 doctor in order to pursue ministry. And we know 00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:31.460 that because look how Paul refers to him here. 00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:35.539 He says he is the beloved physician. Instead, 00:30:35.579 --> 00:30:38.259 Luke continued to serve as a doctor while also 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:41.039 participating in ministry. And I think this is 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:43.000 really important for us to consider because it's 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:45.059 one of those phrases that we can just read over. 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:47.619 But I can't tell you how many people I've met 00:30:47.619 --> 00:30:50.380 who say, I want to do something great for God. 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:53.660 I want to serve God. I want to do something for 00:30:53.660 --> 00:30:55.819 God. And so they think they have to quit their 00:30:55.819 --> 00:31:00.279 job and find a job at a church or move overseas 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:02.880 and go to a third world country. in order to 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:05.779 be used by God to do something great. But Luke 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:08.480 reminds us that God can use us right where we're 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:11.079 at to make a difference in this world and for 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:13.579 his kingdom. I've told you all before, some of 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:16.740 the most fruitful conversations and ministry 00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:19.779 I've ever been a part of was in the flooring 00:31:19.779 --> 00:31:23.920 section at Lowe's. I've had some of the best 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:26.200 ministry conversations I've ever had in my life, 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:29.279 not in a church building, but on a tile aisle. 00:31:29.860 --> 00:31:32.440 Talking about mortar and grout and leading people 00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:37.059 to Jesus in that place. You can turn every conversation 00:31:37.059 --> 00:31:40.319 and every opportunity into a ministry if you 00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:42.420 are ministry minded. You do not have to quit 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:45.819 your job and get paid by a church in order to 00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:49.680 be in ministry. I think one of the best examples 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:53.420 of this is William Wilberforce, great man from 00:31:53.420 --> 00:31:56.250 history. And there's a famous story where early 00:31:56.250 --> 00:31:59.289 on in his life he wanted to leave politics and 00:31:59.289 --> 00:32:02.349 quit politics because he said, I want to do something 00:32:02.349 --> 00:32:05.069 for God. I want to serve God. And so he thought 00:32:05.069 --> 00:32:07.990 that meant he needed to quit politics and become 00:32:07.990 --> 00:32:11.490 a pastor. And it was my favorite pastor of all 00:32:11.490 --> 00:32:14.690 time, John Newton, who told him not to do that. 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:18.140 and told him that he should stay in politics, 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:21.019 and Newton said to him that he could serve God 00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:23.759 just as faithfully in Parliament as he could 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:27.400 in the pulpit. And so he took Newton's advice, 00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:30.940 and guided by his faith in God, he dedicated 00:32:30.940 --> 00:32:34.380 his life to abolishing the slave trade. Every 00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:36.880 step of the way he was seeking to serve God and 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:39.380 bring about biblical justice in a world that 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:42.019 needed it and God blessed his efforts and brought 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:44.839 about the complete abolition of slavery in the 00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:49.319 British Empire in 1833 under the direction of 00:32:49.319 --> 00:32:52.380 William Wilberforce. So you don't have to buy 00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:54.980 this lie that you have to be employed by a church 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:58.539 to make a difference in the kingdom of God. God's 00:32:58.539 --> 00:33:02.960 will is accomplished by ordinary Christians leveraging 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:06.619 every single opportunity God gives them to be 00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:09.880 useful in His service. Whether that's on a tile 00:33:09.880 --> 00:33:12.099 aisle, whether that's in a bank, whether it's 00:33:12.099 --> 00:33:16.880 at the grocery store, whatever your job is, view 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:19.059 it as a ministry, because that is your ministry. 00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:21.619 That is your sphere of influence that God has 00:33:21.619 --> 00:33:24.740 given you to tell people about Jesus, to spread 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:26.859 the news of the gospel. And you might say, well, 00:33:26.859 --> 00:33:29.799 I work from home, or I don't work at all. Well, 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:31.819 you know what? You can talk to people in the 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:34.319 grocery store. You can talk to people when you're 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:36.640 out around town. I remember I was going to get 00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:39.500 my tires changed one time, and I normally would 00:33:39.500 --> 00:33:42.460 take a book, and I had a book, and this guy wanted 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:44.640 to strike up a conversation. I said, all right, 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:47.480 this might be an opportunity. So I put down my 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:49.240 book, and I ended up having about an hour and 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:51.500 a half conversation with the man about Jesus 00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:54.920 in the waiting room while we're getting our tires 00:33:54.920 --> 00:33:58.619 changed. You can use these opportunities. Take 00:33:58.619 --> 00:34:02.430 the earbuds out. Put the book down and be aware 00:34:02.430 --> 00:34:05.349 of who God has put in your life and around you 00:34:05.349 --> 00:34:08.710 so that you can actually have gospel conversations 00:34:08.710 --> 00:34:10.929 and seek to make the most of the opportunities 00:34:10.929 --> 00:34:14.829 that God gives you. I think the best way to end 00:34:14.829 --> 00:34:19.170 this would be to read Paul's words to Archippus. 00:34:19.550 --> 00:34:21.849 If you look at Colossians 4 .17, he says and 00:34:21.849 --> 00:34:26.590 say to Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry 00:34:26.590 --> 00:34:31.389 that you have received in the Lord. I don't think 00:34:31.389 --> 00:34:34.550 there's a better way to end it than that. Because 00:34:34.550 --> 00:34:36.550 every single person in this room, even though 00:34:36.550 --> 00:34:39.849 I think Mazan and I are the only people paid 00:34:39.849 --> 00:34:43.289 by this church in this room, every single person 00:34:43.289 --> 00:34:46.489 in this room has a ministry that has been given 00:34:46.489 --> 00:34:51.050 to you by God. And you are to make the most of 00:34:51.050 --> 00:34:54.840 that ministry. When you die, it will not matter 00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:57.519 if you were employed by a church, if you ever 00:34:57.519 --> 00:34:59.940 preached a sermon, if you ever taught a Sunday 00:34:59.940 --> 00:35:03.860 School lesson or a Bible study. Because I promise 00:35:03.860 --> 00:35:05.699 you, people don't remember what I preached last 00:35:05.699 --> 00:35:08.139 month. They're not going to remember it when 00:35:08.139 --> 00:35:12.960 I'm dead. But you won't, when your time comes, 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:15.960 for people to be able to look back at your life 00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:20.019 and say, they served the Lord all the days of 00:35:20.019 --> 00:35:22.949 their life. they took up the ministry that God 00:35:22.949 --> 00:35:25.489 had given them and they seized every opportunity 00:35:25.489 --> 00:35:27.969 that God put in front of them and they lived 00:35:27.969 --> 00:35:31.909 to the glory of God alone and they have died 00:35:31.909 --> 00:35:36.010 and now they are at rest with the Lord. That's 00:35:36.010 --> 00:35:38.429 the testimony that we get to have because of 00:35:38.429 --> 00:35:42.409 what Jesus has done for us. Fulfill the ministry 00:35:42.409 --> 00:35:47.570 that you have received in the Lord. We probably 00:35:47.570 --> 00:35:49.289 still have some work to do on Colossians, but 00:35:49.289 --> 00:35:52.219 that's as far as we're getting tonight. Gene, 00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:54.119 you have a word of wisdom for us?