
My Part in Gods Kingdom (Colossians 4:7-14)
- every single one of us here needs to feel appreciated
- one of the worst feelings in the world is the feeling
of being taken for granted
- in fact, many people say that they would gladly go
without that pay raise at work if only the boss appreciated them
- wives say they dont even mind not receiving flowers
they just want to feel appreciated
- somebody has said, "Appreciation makes people
feel more important than almost anything you can give them"
-
- when it comes to our place in the church, some of us
need more information
- there might be some here who dont understand
what the Bible teaches about spiritual gifts in passages like Romans
12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4
- I debated whether or not to give you more information
this morning, but its my guess that most of you know about spiritual
gifts
- you know the Bible says that you have at least one
spiritual gift
- you understand that it is Gods will for you to
use your spiritual gift
- every Christian has been given a personalized purpose
of service
- and God expects you to use the gifts, talents, and
opportunities you have to serve others
- (1 Peter 4:10) Each one should use whatever gift he
has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in
its various forms.
- so some of you might need more information, but not
many
-
- some of you might need more guidance
- you may understand that every believer has a spiritual
gift, but your question is, "What is mine? What should I be doing
in ministry?"
- you want to get involved, and all you need is a path
to follow
- if thats you, then the good news is that Network
is designed for you
- if you take the program that began this morning, you
will discover your gifts, passion, and personal style
- at the end of the course, you will know what you should
be doing in ministry
- and you will have a personal and private meeting with
a consultant, who will steer you into a ministry
- six months later, that consultant will meet with you
to ensure that youve found a good fit
- so, as a special bonus for those of you in the Network
program, I give you official permission to sleep through the rest of
this sermon
- you dont need it
- you know about spiritual gifts, and youre on
the right track to discover them and to get active in ministry
- so I give you permission to find a comfortable position
and to get a little sleep for the rest of the sermon
- but if I see you snoring, Ill be checking next
week to make sure youre in the Network class, so be warned!
-
- but there are some here this morning whose primary
need is encouragement
- you dont feel appreciated within the church
- you may feel that your gifts arent significant,
that you have nothing to offer
- you may feel that youve done your part, or that
youre too blank to get involved anymore
- and you can insert where I said blank your excuse
too old, too young, too busy whatever youd like
- last week I talked to a woman who is considering joining
the church
- she said, "Im thinking about joining, but
I know youre doing this spiritual gift thing. Next thing I know
youll have me teaching grade six boys, doing door-to-door visitation,
and repairing the hot water heater every time it breaks"
- I know that there are many here who feel one of two
things:
- "I have nothing to offer," or "Ive
already paid my dues"
-
- rather than teaching about the theology of Network
this morning, I am going to talk about spiritual gifts in action
- Im going to look at a passage that is obscure
I bet you havent heard too many sermons on the passage
that was read earlier for us in Colossians 4
- and yet its a perfect example of what happens
when various people begin to use their spiritual gifts
-
- please open your Bibles to Colossians 4:7, which is
found on page 1329 in your pew Bibles
- lets look at five observations from Pauls
ministry:
- OBSERVATION NUMBER ONE: PAUL WAS SURROUNDED BY HELPFUL
PEOPLE
- look down the list of people mentioned
- none of these people are household names
- I dont think anyone has named their children
after any of these people
- in fact, some of these names are mentioned here and
nowhere else in Scripture
- but as you read this passage names like Tychicus
and Aristarchus you get the distinct impression that Paul was
surrounded by helpful people
- not well-known people, but helpful people
-
- Ive always thought of Paul as a rugged individualist
- somehow he comes across sometimes as being very independent
- but Pauls ministry was effective because he was
surrounded by helpful people
- people like the ones listed in this passage
- others such as Timothy, Luke, John Mark, Aquila and
Priscilla, Jason, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus, Quartas, Epaphroditus, Crescens,
Titus, Onesiphorous, Erastus, Trophimus and those are just the
ones with easy names!
- but these were the people that surrounded Paul and
made his ministry effective
-
- Paul understood that there were two possible approaches
to ministry:
- church addition in which he carried the
load himself and did all the work
- or church multiplication where everyone
ministers
- where everyone found their gift and used it for the
glory of God
- but observation number one is that Paul was surrounded
by helpful people
- Paul could not possibly do all that he did without
the help, support, and gifts of others
- in fact, two of the people on this list Mark
and Luke are considered to be the authors of two Gospels
- but it wasnt a one-man show it was a team
-
- OBSERVATION TWO: THEIR COMMITMENT TO TEAM MINISTRY
WAS A COSTLY ONE
- youre asking where I get this from
- the answer is simple: the people listed in this passage
risked personal danger by staying close to the apostle
- Paul was in prison as he wrote this letter
- being a friend of a prisoner was not a very popular
thing
- in fact, you risked being bullied by the rough characters
who guarded the prisoner
- you might be closely linked with a person deemed to
be a danger to national security
- in short, there was a price to be paid for their commitment
to team ministry at that time
-
- in fact, it would have been a lot easier to refuse
to get involved back then
- today we come up with excuses: "Im too old,"
"Im so busy at work," "Ill be on vacation"
I almost get the impression that ministry is what we do if we
have any time or energy left over
- after weve watched all our TV shows, done everything
in our careers, then maybe well think about serving God
with our gifts
- to be honest, we have no idea of the cost that these
people had to pay to use their spiritual gifts
- it cost some of them their lives
- as we read this passage and see the names represented
here, there was a cost to be paid to be part of a team
-
- OBSERVATION THREE: THE PEOPLE SURROUNDING PAUL HAD
DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND DIFFERENT GIFTS
- if you look at the people in this passage, there were
all different types of people
- some were helpers; others were messengers; some prayed
- some were Jewish Christians, according to verse 11,
and some were Gentiles
- one was a slave; another was a physician
- the diversity of people was necessary to reach across
national barriers
- well look at each of these individuals in detail
in a moment, but its enough to say that the people Paul lists
here had different backgrounds and different gifts
-
- its amazing the diversity of people that God
has given us here at Richview Baptist Church
- how many people here were raised in a Christian background?
how many were not raised in a Christian background?
- how many people come here from a different denomination
than Baptist?
- how many people here would consider themselves extroverts?
- Id ask the introverts to raise their hands, but
it wouldnt do any good
- how many people are good on their feet talking in front
of people?
- how many people here would prefer to be behind the
scenes, working without much fanfare?
- I could go on and on task oriented vs. people
oriented, able to work with children, with youth, with adults
- the tremendous variety of gifts represented here
those with mercy gifts, serving gifts, encouraging gifts, musical gifts,
teaching gifts
- thats what you call diversity it threatens
some people, but its healthy within the church
- the apostle Paul had all sorts of different people
around him
- they had different gifts, different backgrounds, different
nationalities
- and thats what makes the body of Christ very
healthy
-
- OBSERVATION FOUR: PAUL PUBLICLY AFFIRMED
HIS TEAM
- Paul wanted to make sure that everyone reading the
letter understood that his was not a solo effort
- he went to great lengths to publicly commend those
who were working around him
- he wanted them to know that his ministry was great
not because of who he was, but because of all the people who were willing
to come around him and help to make it happen
- Paul did this not just here, but in other letters
- in almost every book, Paul would take time to commend
his co-workers and publicly affirm them
-
- OBSERVATION FIVE: NOT ALL THE PEOPLE ON PAULS
TEAM WERE QUALIFIED
- this is beautiful
- as we look at this list of people, it turns out that
some of them would never have made our list
- one of them was a total reject as a missionary
- another one was a runaway slave
- there were people who just didnt fit
-
- some people say today that theyre not qualified
- they say, "I have nothing to offer. You dont
know my background; you dont know what Im struggling with
at the moment."
-
- what type of people did Paul have around him?
- lets take a brief look at each of these players:
- first, Tychicus in verse 7
- beside this name you can write the word "faithful"
- Tychicus is mentioned five times in the Bible, and
every time he is mentioned he is helping Paul out
- he traveled with Paul through Macedonia to Jerusalem
- he was sent by Paul to Ephesus carrying the book that
we now call Ephesians
- and now he bears the letter to the Colossians, along
with a personal message from Paul
- here he receives the highest praise a Christian can
receive:
- (Colossians 4:7) He is a dear brother, a faithful minister
and fellow servant in the Lord.
- in fact, he was sent to the Colossians so that he would
encourage their hearts
- Tychicus was a man Paul could count on
-
- then we see Onesimus in verse 9
- beside Onesimus you can write "bad background"
- Onesimus was a runaway slave
- he met Paul in Rome, and became a Christ-follower
- and Paul sent him home to Philemon, a wealthy member
of the Colossian congregation
- under Paul, he goes back to the place where he was
nothing more than a runaway slave, and Paul calls him "a faithful
and dear brother, who is one of you"
- did you notice there is no mention of his past,
just a commendation that he is faithful and dear, and one of them
- and perhaps youre sitting there today saying,
"Pastor, Im not sure that God could ever use me. You dont
know where Ive been, you dont know what Ive done,
you dont know what Ive thought"
- no, I dont, but its okay
- God has the great ability to take you where you are
and through his grace give you a second chance and cause him to be effective
for his kingdom
-
- then there was also Aristarchus in verse 10
- beside Aristarchus you can write "burden bearer"
- according to verse 10, Aristarchus was in prison with
Paul
- if you look at Aristarchus in the book of Acts, you
find that he is a traveling companion of Pauls
- in fact, when the mob in Ephesus tried to seize Paul,
do you remember who they seized?
- they didnt get Paul, but they did get Aristarchus
- he was taken prisoner with Paul
- he went through a shipwreck with Paul
- Aristarchus was a man who went through thick and thin
with Paul
- he was a burden bearer
-
- then we have Mark in verse 10
- beside Mark you can write "second chance"
- do you remember Mark?
- he is known for a failure
- Barnabus supported Mark in the first missionary journey
- the first missionary journey was Paul, Barnabus, and
Mark
- and something happened during the first time and Mark
left Paul and Barnabus
- were not sure if he got sick or homesick
- but we know this: he left, and Paul didnt like
that
- and when Barnabus wanted to take him the second time,
Paul was so disgusted with him that he parted company and went on his
own
-
- now, all of a sudden, Marks with him
- not only that, Marks a member of the team and
a valuable one
- the apostle Paul calls him a "comfort"
- in 2 Timothy, Paul says that Mark is "helpful
to me in my ministry"
- hes perfect example of someone who failed once
and came back and was used mightily by God
- God is the God of the second chance
- there are some people here this morning who have served
God before, but they failed
- and theyre slow to get involved once again
- but God is the God of the second chance; he used Mark,
and he can use you
-
- in verse 11 we read of Jesus who is called Justus
- we dont know anything about him
- but then in verse 12 we find Epaphras
- beside Epaphras you can write "prayer warrior"
- it appears that he founded the Colossian church, and
we also find him in Philemon as a fellow prisoner of Pauls
- but here he is known as a prayer warrior
- (Colossians 4:12) Epaphras, who is one of you and a
servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in
prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature
and fully assured.
- how we need prayer warriors!
- there might be some here who discover that their ministry
is prayer
- how we need this ministry at Richview!
- this was the very valuable ministry of Epaphras
-
- two more
- in verse 14 we read of Luke
- beside Luke you can write "successful"
- Luke was a physician
- he was well-educated and trained; a careful and exact
historian
- and yet he chose to travel with Paul pretty much all
the time, after Pauls first missionary journey
- in fact, he appears to be the last one to be with Paul
- in the last book that Paul wrote, he said:
- (2 Timothy 4:11) Only Luke is with me.
-
- Luke chose to use his gifts for the kingdom
- he most likely made part of his ministry tending to
Paul and his physical condition
- here is a man who was well-educated and successful,
and he chose to make that secondary to serving God
-
- finally we have Demas in verse 14
- beside Demas you can write the word "quitter"
- Demas is mentioned twice in Scripture as a co-worker
of Pauls, but sadly, we read in Pauls last letter that Demas
loved the world and deserted Paul
- Demas ended up being a quitter
-
- I guess what Im saying is that God chooses a
team full of people with different strengths and different backgrounds
- God wants to use you
- and theres no such thing as one whos more
significant than others
- we just have to submit ourselves to Him
-
- would you bow your heads with me
- Father, we thank you for this day, and we thank you
for what we learn from Pauls life
- and now, Lord, we come and submit ourselves to you
- every man and every woman
- we consecrate our gifts to you
- we ask your blessings upon those gifts
- we ask your Spirit would take and use them for your
glory
- they may seem insignificant
- there may be some who tried and have failed
- encourage them, Lord
- there may be some with great gifts who have had to
learn to submit those gifts to the body so that the body could prosper
- encourage them, Lord
- there may be those like Mark who tried entering ministry,
and it messed up, but unlike Mark, theyve stayed out of the ministry
- encourage them to re-enter and be renewed
- we surrender and give you and consecrate this day and
every gift we have
- and as the church body leaves, may there be a sense
within us that were part of the team
- help us to learn that we become greater by becoming
a servant of others
- take our gifts, mesh them together as a team at Richview,
for your glory, Amen.
Adapted from a message by John Maxwell