Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. The series that we started
in the book of Colossians we call Grace and Peace.
Because grace and peace are the two legs of the
Christian walk. God wants you to follow him,
but he wants you to be walking in both his grace
and his peace. And if you are not experiencing
either one of those, then the book of Colossians
is with you. And for you in all the details that
we've been able to cover. So go back to the website,
the app to catch up with the studies if you have
not seen all of them yet. But today we are on
the eighth study of the series. And we are going
to be talking about God's peace flowing through
us into our teamwork. More about that in a moment.
But what we have learned so much so far in the
study of Colossians is that what you have, the
Apostle Paul telling us is, look, if you believe
in Jesus, if Jesus is your Savior and you're
following him, you have to understand that he
already saved you, brought you from darkness
into his kingdom of light. You are fully reconciled
with him. All your sins fully paid. You have
to worry no more about whether God will love
you or reject you or whether you are good enough.
Jesus has made you good enough. And therefore
you can rest on his grace. And once you understand
his grace, you start experiencing his peace.
But that grace and that peace now that you have
as you are rooted in him, this grace, this peace
starts flowing from you into all of these other
spaces in which you are. Your relationships with
people. Also your relationship at home and your
marriage with your children. Also your relationship
at work in the environment in which God has placed
you to serve him. Also the impact that we have
in our communities and the world as God leads
us to impact the world of darkness with his light.
And today he's going to add how God wants us
to impact our teamwork. With his love, with his
grace, with his peace. Now, it's an interesting
question because if I were to ask you how is
your experience with teamwork, nine out of ten
will say, well, you really want me to tell you.
Because teamwork always involves dynamics that
are challenging, that often are just discouragement
and a pain, just to put it bluntly. And when
we are thinking about serving the Lord and following
Him in the calling that He has given us, most
of the time, He's going to place you in positions
and roles in which you have to work with other
people in order to accomplish the things that
He is calling you to pursue. And that reality,
that space, is where God's grace and peace need
to flow. And what makes it challenging is that
if the experience of working with people is already
a challenge, how do you navigate that space?
You may be there and you say, well, I'm not work
outside. My husband is working full time. I'm
just on a visa here. I cannot work, so I'm a
stay -at -home mom. And it's like, I don't really
have a team so much I'm engaging with. Well,
let me tell you, if you are married, you have
a team. It's called marriage. It's husband, wife,
and God together, the three people in that team.
And therefore, you also have to make sure that
God's grace and peace is flowing into that team.
How does this work? And what are we going to
discover in this study is that there's a person
with a calling. And the Apostle Paul wants to
encourage this person to make sure that they
remain faithful to that calling despite the challenges
that he, as a mature follower of Jesus, experienced
leader, knows this guy is going to experience.
So he writes to him to encourage him to be faithful
to that calling. So we'll go and explore. You
must remember that this letter was written as
the Apostle Paul is in prison, and he is writing
it to these people in the city of Colossae. And
we have gone through the whole book, and towards
the end, we are going to be reading the very
last verses of this book. It's going to be a
selection of greetings. Hey, greet so -and -so
and so -and -so and so -and -so and tell this
person hi and remember this person, he's with
me. And by the way, give this reminder to this
person to be faithful to God's calling. And that's
the flow of the end of the book. So let's see
what it has to say. Tychicus will give you a
full report about how I'm getting along. He is
a beloved brother and a faithful helper who serves
with me in the Lord's work. I have sent him to
you for this very purpose, to let you know how
we are doing and to encourage you. I'm also sending
Onesimus, faithful beloved brother, one of your
own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything
that's happening here in Rome. Aristarchus, who
is in prison with me, sends you his greetings,
and so does Mark. Yeah, Mark, Barnabas' cousin.
As you were instructed before, if Mark goes there,
make sure that he's welcome when he comes your
way. Jesus, not Jesus our Savior, but Jesus,
the one we call Justice. I know the name is common.
But Jesus' name, Justice, also sends you. His
greetings. These are the only Jewish believers
among my co -workers. They are working with me
here for the kingdom of God. And I can tell you
what a comfort they have been. Epaphras, well,
Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and
a servant of Christ Jesus, he also sends you
his greetings. I can tell you, he always prays
earnestly for you. Asking God to make you strong,
perfect, fully confident that you are following
the whole will of God. And this guy, I can assure
you that he prays hard for you. And also for
the believers in Laodicea and Herapolis, all
those cities that are just right next to you.
He's praying for all of you. Luke, the beloved
doctor, he also sends you his greetings. And
so does Dimas, this guy that he is here with
me too. Please give my greetings to our brothers
and sisters at Laodicea and to Nympha and the
church that meets in her house. After you have
read this letter, pass it on to the church in
Laodicea so they can read it too and you should
do the same thing. You read the letter that I
wrote to them. Exchange it. And please, make
sure you say to Archippus, be sure to carry out
the ministry the Lord gave you. And if there's
anything else I have to say, it's just this.
Here is my greeting in my own handwriting so
you know, Paul, right here, my signature there.
Because he's using a scribe to dictate the letter
and write it. But it's like, this is really me.
So you can know. Remember my chains. And may
God's grace be with you. And that is the end
of the letter. The Apostle Paul has served God
throughout all his adult life since the Lord
Jesus saved him. He pursued the calling that
God has given him faithfully. But it was tough.
He went through so many different circumstances.
But in all that space, he was able to see firsthand
the power that the gospel had to transform people's
lives. He went throughout the Roman Empire that
was filled with people with beliefs shaped by
Greek mythology, Roman mythology, and local places
and religions where they worship. Both spirits
and they worship things and deities that they
made up themselves. And in that world, he was
able to be the first person to enter that space
with the gospel. And he saw people coming to
believe. And when they believed, he saw the transformation
that started happening in them. But he was not
alone. Throughout all of these journeys where
he saw people coming to know Christ and Christian
communities started being formed throughout the
Roman Empire. and these churches being planted
that eventually became the focus of his letters
that we have in the New Testament, he got to
meet many people and work with some of them,
and he was able to start experiencing teamwork
firsthand, both the good and the ugly. And he
mentions at the end of his letter lots of people
and names of people that are there with him,
that have worked with him in the past, some that
came to visit him now that he's in prison. And
all of these names and this season of his life
is very meaningful, very important. And the connection
that he's going to give, Archippus and his church,
all of them come together. But in order to understand
this, we have to understand the background and
dig a little bit deeper. I imagine it like this.
Picture for a moment that I found the Apostle
Paul's cell phone and it's unlocked. And I'm
just curious, so I pick it up. Is it the Apostle
Paul's cell phone? Let me see his text. Wow,
Onesimus? Who is this guy? I have no idea. Let
me check. Oh, there he is. Oh, he names Onesimus
here too. But who is Philemon? Let me do a search
in his email. Philemon Onesimus. Like, oh, what
is that guy? You know, and before you know it,
a picture starts emerging once you start doing
all this detective work. Now, I know that doesn't
make you very confident in showing me your cell
phone now. But we don't have his cell phone,
of course, but we have his letters. And we're
going to take this later and start seeing what
are the connections, because once you see the
connections, wow, this becomes something so much
more powerful. Let me start by reminding you
that the Apostle Paul is, towards the end of
his life, he's in prison in Rome, awaiting trial.
And down the road, he is going to die, decapitated
at the hands of the Roman Emperor. He does not
know that yet. But the Lord has been speaking
in his heart that something is coming. But he's
in prison awaiting trial. And as he's in prison,
he leads Onesimus to Christ. And Onesimus was
this slave that had escaped from the area of
Colossae and came all the way to Rome. He shares
the gospel with him. Onesimus comes to know Christ.
And now we find out that Onesimus' master was
Philemon, who happened to be Paul's friend. Who
lived in that city. And Philemon was a Christian.
So now. Paul is wondering about all these things.
And it so happened that. The founder of that
church. That Philemon attended. His name Epaphras.
He is visiting right there in Rome. And now Paul
is asking him. All these questions about. So
tell me how is that church going. And what's
going on. And what are the challenges you are
facing. And as he hears all these things. Apostle
Paul says you know what. If it's okay with you,
I'm going to write a letter to this Colossians.
So he starts writing this letter. And he says,
you know what? I'm also going to write a letter
to this Philemon. And he writes this letter.
And now he has this letter. And it's like, who
do I send with these letters? They didn't grab
during those years. So he couldn't get a motorcycle.
So, hey, Tychicus, would you be willing to take
these letters? And Diacus says, sure, I'll go.
It's far, but I'll go. Would you take Onesimus
with you? Sure, we'll take the letters. So there
they went. And once they go there, and once we
get the letters for the Colossians and Philemon,
you take the letter of Philemon and you start
reading the beginning of it, and you discover
something. Paul starts saying at the beginning
of that letter, I'm writing to Philemon. Our
beloved co -worker. And to our sister, Appiah.
And to our fellow soldier, Archippus. And to
the church that meets in your house. Oh. Archippus
is the guy that he's addressing at the end of
Colossians. Saying, make sure that you are faithful
to God's calling. And now we realize that this
guy. Is here. He is the one that is leading now
the church of the Colossians. And he is leading
them in a season. In which they are being invaded
by all this teaching. And all these misconceptions
about Jesus and the gospel. And all this Jewish
teaching that is saying. As a Gentile you are
not good enough. You have to be circumcised and
follow the law of Moses. And then maybe you will
be saved. And all of these things. And Archippus
is now dealing with all of that stuff. And because
he's addressed here at the beginning of the letter
to Philemon, many Bible scholars believe that
Philemon is married to Appiah, and their son
is Archippus, who is now leading the church at
Colossae. We do not know that for certain, but
there seems to be a relationship there that is
family connections. So now that we find out who
this guy is, it starts making sense. Because
he says, said to Archippus, be sure to carry
out the ministry the Lord gave you. And he's
doing it from a position and a place of experience.
Wait. When the Apostle Paul says to you, make
sure that you are carrying the calling God has
given you, that is something. Because he has
gone through all of his life of service. And
now he's addressing a younger leader in a young
church facing all these challenges. And he sends
this letter to him. The letter of the Colossians.
So that his church can be blessed with all this
truth that he has written to them. And now you
understand that the Apostle Paul has all of these
people that he has worked with. He's an experienced
leader. And he knows what it's like. To have
to lead in a place where teamwork is challenging
because of all the dynamics that are happening.
And now he is in a place of experience, maturity.
And now he has developed a group of people that
he trusts, that love him. It's like what we call
a dream team. It takes a long time to get there.
And it was not easy. And all of these names are
there. And he says, you know, this guy is faithful.
Oh, this is beloved. Oh, this is such a comfort
to me. You know, all the descriptions that he
gives about all these people, they are very encouraging.
And when I'm reading all of those, I can't help
but wonder. It's like if you had to describe
the people in your team, what words would you
use? This person, I wish I knew before I hired
them. Or oh this person. The reality we can see.
That if we are going to be serving the Lord in
our calling. He is going to position us. To serve
in whatever capacity he is calling you to serve
him with. And you will have to work with people.
And that space of working with people. Is going
to be an invitation. To let God's grace and his
peace flow through you into that team. Rather
than use the dynamics of the team as an excuse
to stop following God's calling. And that's why
this letter ends with such a strong calling to
this guy Archippus. Archippus, I know it's hard
to be leading where you are. Make sure that you
follow God's calling. And something emerges from
this picture. Because to get to the place where
he is, he went through a journey and he overcame
common challenges that they had to go through.
One of those problems that they had to overcome
was the problem of motive. Not everybody working
in his team throughout the years had the right
motives. And once you're working with people
that have ulterior motives and healthy motives,
it creates toxicity in the team. And now you
have to navigate that space. And what are you
going to do? We know because we have one of the
other emails, one of the other texts in his cell
phone. And he writes to the Philippians. And
he tells them right there from the same prison
that he wrote Colossians. And he tells these
guys from the city of Philippi what's going on
right there in Rome. And what we discover is
not pretty. I want you to know, my dear brothers
and sisters, that everything that has happened
to me here has helped to spread the good news.
I know I was not hoping. When I started following
Jesus, I was going to end up in prison for so
many years. This was not part of my plan. But
I can tell you that God has been using this experience
as a platform so that the gospel is being proclaimed.
Everyone here, including the whole palace guard,
knows that I am in chains because of Christ.
All these guards, they are now trying to avoid
me because every time they talk to me, it's like
I want to tell them about Jesus. All of them
know that I'm here because I'm a follower of
Jesus. And because of my imprisonment, most of
the believers here have gained confidence and
boldly speak God's message without fear. Some
of these guys that are following Jesus have seen
me in prison and now they're thinking, wow, if
Paul can be preaching the gospel, And leading
people to Christ. While he has lost his freedom.
I am free. I have freedom. I am going to start
sharing the gospel too. And they feel inspired
to lead. They feel inspired to impact the world
with God's word. That's great. But look at what
happens next. It is true. That some are preaching
out of jealousy and rivalry. What? Did I read?
It is true that some are preaching out of jealousy
and rivalry. Really? Yeah. Some people have weird
motives. They're doing all these good things,
you know, but their motive is completely wrong.
And they preach because they have these desires
for rivalry with me. But others preach about
Christ with pure motives. And they preach because
they love me. For they know I have been appointed
to defend the good news. They know who I am.
They respect me. And we have this relationship
with these other people. Those others do not
have pure motives. And they preach about Christ.
But they preach with selfish ambition. Not sincerely.
Intending to make my chains more painful to me.
Really? That happens in the church? That happens
among missionaries? People that are proclaiming
the gospel, taking it to the world, they play
politics? And they can use the pulpit so I can
hurt your ministry? Oh, I just want to throw
up now. And they're doing that to cause you pain?
Wow. So what are you going to do about that,
Paul? Well, it doesn't really matter. Whatever
their motives are, false or genuine, the message
about Christ is being preached. Either way, so
I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. That
is a mature following of Jesus speaking. When
you are serving God and you have this calling,
you will face those moments in which people are
going to have the wrong motives, play politics,
and they drain you. That's why when he says at
the end of the Colossians letter. Hey I have
these other people with me. And they are working
here with me. For the kingdom of God. And what
a comfort they have been. Yeah. Because to find
people. That you share the same heartbeat for
the kingdom of God. That you are really there
because you love Jesus. Not out of selfish ambition.
To be able to work with people like that. Wow.
That is such an encouragement because that is
rare. When you have all these other people with
selfish ambition and jealousy and envy and competition
and all of them are trying to follow Jesus and
work together, it's just like a pain. It's hard.
It's draining. And at that moment, Archippus,
you are going to feel tempted to say, you know,
I'm done. This is too hard. Make sure, Archippus,
that you remain faithful to the calling that
God has given you. Because He is the one that
placed you there. Not these people. So you have
to learn to have thick skin. Let them preach
Christ for the wrong motives. But it doesn't
matter. Because I'm not here for them. I'm here
for the one who called me. And I'm going to remain
faithful to His calling. And you will have to
go through that. And it will be tough. But when
the Lord blesses you with a dream team, ah, you
will be so blessed. The Apostle Paul had to make
a choice. Would he let the ulterior motives and
the politics around him make his life more miserable?
Or? Would he let God's grace and his peace flow
through him into that space? That's a choice
that you and I have to make. Because you will
be tempted to quit when it gets tough. But if
it is true that you are there because God called
you to be there, and you are positioned there
because God positioned you to be there, you will
have to start asking a whole different question.
The question is not, do I enjoy these people?
No. The question is, God, do you call me to be
here? Because if so, would you let your grace
and peace flow through me into this space? Because
the political game is getting very strong. At
the end of the day, it doesn't matter. What matters
is I remain faithful to God's calling. The second
challenge that he had to overcome, as he followed
the Lord and as he became a mature believer and
a team that he could be blessed with, they had
to overcome the ethnic divisions. Because, Archippus,
I know you are a Gentile. I know you're leading
this church in Colossae that are mostly Gentiles,
but yeah, you also got these Jews that started
coming saying, you're not good enough, you're
a Gentile after all, so you also need to become
a Jew to really be saved. I have to tell you,
there are some people that will look at you and
they will see you as a category. They will see
you as not good enough for the job because they
cannot really see you. They don't see the person
you are. They see what you represent, shaped
by all the prejudices. And you want me to tell
you how this whole thing even began? I mean,
from the very beginning, this whole thing of
prejudice in the kingdom of God and the teams
that God established has always been a struggle.
Because, you know, You might imagine that when
the Apostle Peter, my friend, preached the gospel
for the first time, you remember 3 ,000 people
came to know Christ? You could imagine that was
heaven on earth, but it was nothing like heaven
on earth. It was the Holy Spirit on earth, but
not heaven yet. We had conflicts and things.
In fact, the Apostle Peter... Was sent by God
to this town. To preach the gospel to this family.
And they were Romans. Not Jews. They were Gentiles.
And an angel had to appear to him. To send him
in there. So he arrived to this place. Preaches
the gospel to this Roman family. And they all
come to know Christ. So now people started hearing
about what had happened. So the apostle Peter
goes to Jerusalem. And now as he arrives to Jerusalem.
Before he can say anything. People started like.
Looking at him with this judgmental attitude
and asking him these questions, it wasn't pretty.
Soon the news reached the apostles and other
believers in Judea that the Gentiles, can you
believe it? Gentiles had received the word of
God. Those people. But when Peter arrived back
in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized
him. And they said to him, Peter, did I hear
correctly? That you enter the home of those Gentiles.
And you even. Did you even eat with them? I can't
even picture that. I mean the very mentioning
makes me just have nausea. Those people. Archippus.
That's how the gospel of Jesus started reaching
us. And then I had to go to that council later.
And we had debates about whether the Gentiles
were also part of the kingdom or not. And whether
these churches were also legit churches or not.
And whether Gentiles had to become Jews or not.
I mean, I was in the middle of that beginning.
You have a good if you just knew where I was
at the beginning. So that's why. When I started
preaching the gospel and I met Timothy, oh, Timothy,
he was a nice guy. He loved the Lord. He knew
the word. He came from a home where his grandmother
taught him the scriptures since young. And God
started putting in my heart that I needed to
invite this Timothy to work with me. So I approached
Timothy in one of these trips and said, Timothy,
I have a proposition for you. Would you like
to join me in my ministry and travel with me
as we share the gospel in all these places in
the Roman Empire? It's a great, great opportunity.
But Paul knew there's a problem. You see, Timothy's
mother was a Jew, but his father was a Greek.
We meant something. It meant that Timothy was
not circumcised. And that's going to be a problem
because if I take him with me and we meet some
Jews and say, what's your last name? It's like,
hey, that sounds Greek. Is your father a Greek?
Yeah. So are you circumcised? Are you one of
us? If those things start happening, it's going
to create so much trouble with this whole ethnic
tension. So, Timothy, I want you to pray about
this. Find out. You want to join me? But if you
do, here's the deal. We'll have to go through
surgery first. And that's what he says. Timothy
was well thought out by the believers in Lystra
and Iconium. So Paul wanted him to join them
on the journey. In defense to their Jew of the
area, he arranged. In deference to the Jews of
the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised
before they left, for everyone knew that his
father was a Greek. Can you see the level of
ethnic tensions that they had from the very beginning
to the point that he had to even make sure that
this Timothy had it all right? So when he writes
at the end of Colossians, and he says, you know,
Aristarchus, Mark, Jesus is the one called Justice,
these are the only Jewish believers among my
co -workers. That's a lot. You have three Jewish
Christians that have endorsed God's vision for
the Gentile inclusion into the kingdom, and they've
been preaching the gospel with you. Wow, way
to go, Paul. All the Jews that are here in Colossae
that are coming to our church keep telling us
you have to be circumcised before we can become
truly saved. And I'm so glad you sent me this
letter because now I understand the theology
of it. Jesus is enough. Wow. But Archippus, don't
let the prejudice of others keep you from following
God's calling. You are not there for them. They
cannot see you for who you are, but the one who
calls you knows you. So what are you going to
do? Are you going to let God's grace and peace
flow through you into that space to overcome
those tensions? Because there are moments in
which God will place you in leadership roles
in which people will not respect you at the beginning
because they see you as a category. Well, you're
a woman. And women don't lead in my place, in
my company, in my ministry. You're from that
country, and now they entrusted you to lead this
mission? It's like, I'm not sure I can trust
people from your country. They're not honest.
They steal money. So do we have people checking
the finances here apart from you? And you have
all these conversations that are going on in
all of these places. And you are there thinking,
they see me as a category. They hear my accent
and they think that I'm not trustworthy. What
are you going to do? Archippus, remain faithful
to the calling that God has given you because
you are not a category. You are a servant of
the most high God. And he positioned you there.
And until he removes you from there, guess what?
You stick to it. And when his grace and his peace
flows through you, let those people realize that
they were wrong all along. And the year will
come, they will look at you with respect. And
some may tell you, you know what, when you started
this responsibility, this is what I thought of
you, but I was so wrong. To get to that place
takes effort. But more than that, it takes God's
grace and peace flowing through you into that
team. And that's why the third challenge is going
to be very important. But I added these books
here for you because if you are serving in a
multicultural team or you are married in a multicultural
marriage, any team is already challenging to
work together. But you add the multicultural
element to it and it becomes so complex. So complex
that there are books, seminars you can go to.
College, you can get master's degrees in all
this topic. You know what we call it in the academia?
We call it cultural intelligence, CI. You need
to grow in cultural intelligence so that you
know how to work with multicultural teams. And
these two books are very helpful. The Culture
Map is one of them. It's not a Christian book
per se, but it's just an amazing book. I read
it, recommended it, I listened to it, I laughed
through it from the experiences that it shares.
The other one is leading multicultural teams
that was written by this couple who served in
ministry in missions for many years and did an
excellent summary of anthropological studies
on culture and they put it together. So if this
is an area in which you are struggling or serving
and you realize, I need to understand a little
bit more of this, these are two books that I
would highly recommend. But after saying that,
The third challenge they're going to face is
not one of cultural differences and ethnic tensions.
It's going to be one of unsolved tensions. And
this perhaps is one of the most common reasons
why people end up being so discouraged that they
end up quitting and not pursuing God's calling
altogether. And the Apostle Paul had to experience
it. He mentions at the end of Colossians this
guy called Mark. Hey, Mark. If he goes to visit,
you make sure you welcome him. When he's mentioned
in this name, this is fast forward several years,
but at the beginning when we encounter Mark in
relationship to the Apostle Paul's ministry,
what you find out is that when the Apostle Paul
started his ministry, taking the gospel to the
world, and he started working in team, his first
team was Barnabas. And Barnabas and Paul started
sharing the gospel together. They were in Antioch,
serving together at that church. And now they're
going to go and start traveling the world and
taking the gospel to places. And as they're doing
that, Barnabas has a great idea. He has a cousin.
His name is Mark. He's a young guy, but he loves
the Lord. He's a nice person. He could be so
useful. So let's take him with us. So they did.
They decided, okay, let's meet together. Let's
plan our mission trips that we're going to do.
We're going to go this way, all of that. This
is what you need to do. This is what you need
to do. And they had the whole plan ready to execute.
And they started executing it. Except that in
the middle of executing it, this little guy,
Mark, Barnabas' cousin, Says, you know what?
I don't like this anymore. This is not what I
expected. I'm just not going to go back home.
It's like, what? You can't leave us now. I mean,
you should have thought about all this before,
but now in the middle of it? Yeah, you know.
It's like, I don't like their food. It's too
spicy. You know, over there, it's just too hot.
I like AC. This is just not me. This is not what
I expected. So Mark quit. And he left them in
the middle of everything. So now later they come
back, they finish that trip, and they're planning
another trip, and Barnabas says, hey, why don't
we bring Mark this time? Barnabas agreed and
wanted to take along John Mark, but Paul disagreed
strongly. That's to put it nicely. Since John
Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not
continued with them in their work. Did you hear
the word deserted them? Yeah. That's how it felt.
Wow. So their disagreement was so sharp that
they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with
him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas.
And as he left, the believers entrusted him to
the Lord's gracious care. That's how Paul and
Mark began working together. And at that moment,
it was so clear that Paul says, you know what,
I cannot trust this type of people. It's like,
bear me once, bear me twice. No, I don't think
so. But what God will start doing in the life
of the Apostle Paul is that the Holy Spirit is
going to start prompting him. His grace and his
peace has to flow through him into the slave
of this guy. Because, yeah, he made mistakes
because he was immature. But he's growing up.
He needs new opportunities. He will mature. You
can work with him. And eventually, he started
reconnecting with Mark. To the point that now
that he's at the end of Colossians, he says,
Mark. Is here with me. Barnabas is cousin. And
as you were instructed before. Make Mark welcome.
If he comes your way. He's a good guy. A blessing.
And did you know. Paul did not know at the beginning.
Little Mark. The immature one. Was going to become
the author. Of the gospel of Mark. How do you
like that? The gospel that you read about the
life of Jesus was written by this leader that
was able to grow into maturity because God's
grace and his peace gave him opportunities to
learn from his immaturity, his mistakes, and
he grew into a leader shaped by a mentor called
Paul. Yeah. But there's something that the Apostle
Paul does not know yet. One of the guys that
he trusts there, his name is Demas. Demas is
there with him, but something is going to happen
that's going to create a tension that is so deep
and sorrowful. And he will write about this later
to the last letter that he wrote to 2 Timothy.
This is the last letter that he ever wrote before
he died, after the Colossians. And now we know
what happened. He says, Timothy, please come
as soon as you can. Demas has deserted me. Because
he loves the things of this life, he has gone
to Thessalonica, which is in Greece. Crescens
has gone to Galatia. Titus has gone to Dalmatia.
Only Luke is with me now. Yeah, the doctor, the
friend, who also will become the author of the
Gospel of Luke. But he's in a place of loneliness.
He will say in another letter, everybody deserted
me. Only Luke is with me now. It feels lonely.
It feels kind of sad. Because I never saw it
coming from Demas. I trusted him. I mean, if
you would have seen what I wrote to the Colossians
at the end, Demas, you know, I even mentioned
his name as one of my dream team here with me.
In a lifetime, in a thousand, in a million years,
I could not have imagined that Demas would betray
me this way. What are you going to do? When people
betray you, when you are in that space of tension
where there's no compromise, it's like, my way,
not my way, not mine, what are you going to do?
Are you going to use that as an excuse to say,
I'm done with this, I cannot do this anymore
because it's too hard? Or are you going to let
God's grace and His peace flow through you into
those relationships so that You can remain faithful
to the calling that God has given you. Not them,
but God. And perhaps this place is the hardest
of all. When I got ordained as a pastor, it's
been like, what, 20 years ago now. When I got
ordained as a pastor, I remember it was a very
detailed process. I had to write all my doctrinal
statements. It was like a big dissertation like
this. All these questions you have to answer
about everything. Because they want to measure
whether you understand the scriptures, whether
you have mature theology, whether you can engage
defending the faith or not. So I had to write
all this stuff. Then you submit it to a board.
And then all this board meets with you and you
are there sitting and they start bombarding you
with all these questions. What about this? What
about that? What does the Bible say about this?
What is your argument about this? If somebody
says this, how would you counteract that argument?
What is your biblical foundation for this? You
know, it's like several hours of that. And then
after serving with the church for two years and
passing the theological examination, then you
get ordained and now we can trust you. You have
the biblical theology down. You have led. We
can see your character. We trust you. Ordain.
There. But there was one question during the
theological examination I had not prepared for.
And it wasn't about theology. One of the pastors
asked me, Pablo, what are you going to do when
you have someone in your team that stops you
in the back? I mean, at least I knew my theology,
so I gave the right answer. Well, it's like God
says you need to forgive everybody, you know,
77, you know, all that, you know, and therefore,
yeah, that's what you need to do. Easier said
than done. I had headaches throughout the years,
and sometimes people see you as a headache too.
But in teamwork, I've experienced many things.
But only one time, in my entire journey of serving
the Lord, I was stabbed in the back. By someone
in my team. And I can tell you, I was not prepared
for it. It was so hard. a combination of feeling
sad, betrayed, angry, very disorienting space.
And I remember saying to my wife, like, I feel
like my soul, my soul is bruised. And I had never
found myself there. And it took me several weeks
to process it, and it's just like, The peace
of God had been compromised. I was not experiencing
peace. I was experiencing pain. I felt betrayed.
I felt blindsided. I felt it's like... And I
remember having to go into time alone with the
Lord. And the anger coming out in my prayer.
And all of these things being released. Until
I finally was able to say to the Lord, I forgive.
And at that moment, the grace and peace started
flowing again. And now, my soul was in a better
place. And I could see that person again later
in my life. I have no bitterness. I could greet
that person. I could hug that person. I could
do anything. It was no longer shaped by the betrayal
and the stabbing. We have to make a choice. Are
we going to be faithful to God's calling until
the very end? Or are we going to let the complexities
of working with people deter us from God's calling?
And the choice is for you and for me. Not for
the Lord to make, but for us to make. And the
reality of all of these things is that the wrong
motives are going to be there. But not in my
heart. I can control other people's motives,
but cannot control their motives, but I can control
mine. And let my motive be only love for Jesus
and faithfulness to his calling. The reality
is that there will be ethnic divisions, but let
my attitude be that I will never let other people's
opinions define who I am, only the one who created
me and calling me to serve him. And I'm going
to expect it. but I'm going to let it deter me
from following the calling God gave me. It is
true that there's going to be unsolved tensions,
but let those tensions be an opportunity for
grace, for learning, for growing from a mark
that makes mistakes to a mark that becomes the
author of a gospel. Let these spaces be spaces
for growth, not for division. That's why the
Apostle Paul writes, To the Ephesians, these
words as a mature follower, a mature leader.
And he says this to us. As a prisoner of serving
the Lord, I'm going to beg you to do something.
I beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling.
For you have been called by God. Not by the company.
Not by the mission board. Not by those elders.
You have been called by God and positioned by
God. He is the one that you serve. So live according
to that high calling. For you have been called
by Him. So therefore always be humble. Always
be gentle. Even when everything within you wants
to be prideful and hurtful. Be patient with each
other. Making allowance for each other's faults.
Because those faults will happen. And they will
come. But be patient. Expect it. Because of your
love. Your love for the Lord. Your love for the
calling. And therefore, that love that is flowing
from you into your team. Let that love be the
one that propels you forward. Know this challenge
is the one that deters you and causes you to
move backwards. So, do you have the right motive?
Are you navigating that space properly and letting
the grace and peace of God flow through you into
the team? Are you engaging with the prejudice
that you are facing? Letting God's grace and
peace flow through you? Are you engaging with
those team tensions and the complexities of it
by letting God's grace and peace flow through
you? What kind of leader are you becoming? Let
it be true that we only become leaders that are
characterized by the grace and peace of God flowing
through us. And it is our very presence. And
the very wisdom of God flowing through us that
becomes a transformative presence in our teams.
Read with me this section that is highlighted
for us. Because this is God's word for you here
and today. Be sure to carry out the ministry
the Lord gave you. And Lord, yes, we stand in
your presence. Bruised. Scarred. Wounded. Tired.
Exhausted. Disoriented. And all of the above.
But does that really matter? If your calling
is clear. If your calling is true. If you have
called us for this very thing and for this very
season. Lord, we don't want to quit. We want
to be obedient. So if the enemy is using anything,
Lord, in our teams to discourage us, to deter
us, let that voice be silenced today in your
presence. And Holy Spirit, let your voice be
the one that propels us forward. That reminds
us that we are here for a higher calling. And
that it's you who we serve. And no other until
our last breath. In Jesus' name. Thank you for
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you.