My Part in God’s Kingdom

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 don’t 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 don’t 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 it’s 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 God’s 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 that’s 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 you’ve 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 don’t need it

you know about spiritual gifts, and you’re 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, I’ll be checking next week to make sure you’re in the Network class, so be warned!

but there are some here this morning whose primary need is encouragement

you don’t feel appreciated within the church

you may feel that your gifts aren’t significant, that you have nothing to offer

you may feel that you’ve done your part, or that you’re too blank to get involved anymore

and you can insert where I said blank your excuse – too old, too young, too busy – whatever you’d like

last week I talked to a woman who is considering joining the church

she said, "I’m thinking about joining, but I know you’re doing this spiritual gift thing. Next thing I know you’ll 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 "I’ve already paid my dues"

rather than teaching about the theology of Network this morning, I am going to talk about spiritual gifts in action

I’m going to look at a passage that is obscure – I bet you haven’t heard too many sermons on the passage that was read earlier for us in Colossians 4

and yet it’s 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

let’s look at five observations from Paul’s 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 don’t 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

I’ve always thought of Paul as a rugged individualist

somehow he comes across sometimes as being very independent

but Paul’s 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 wasn’t a one-man show – it was a team

OBSERVATION TWO: THEIR COMMITMENT TO TEAM MINISTRY WAS A COSTLY ONE

you’re 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: "I’m too old," "I’m so busy at work," "I’ll be on vacation" – I almost get the impression that ministry is what we do if we have any time or energy left over

after we’ve watched all our TV shows, done everything in our careers, then maybe we’ll 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

we’ll look at each of these individuals in detail in a moment, but it’s enough to say that the people Paul lists here had different backgrounds and different gifts

it’s 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?

I’d ask the introverts to raise their hands, but it wouldn’t 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

that’s what you call diversity – it threatens some people, but it’s healthy within the church

the apostle Paul had all sorts of different people around him

they had different gifts, different backgrounds, different nationalities

and that’s 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 PAUL’S 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 didn’t fit

some people say today that they’re not qualified

they say, "I have nothing to offer. You don’t know my background; you don’t know what I’m struggling with at the moment."

what type of people did Paul have around him?

let’s 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 you’re sitting there today saying, "Pastor, I’m not sure that God could ever use me. You don’t know where I’ve been, you don’t know what I’ve done, you don’t know what I’ve thought"

no, I don’t, but it’s 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 Paul’s

in fact, when the mob in Ephesus tried to seize Paul, do you remember who they seized?

they didn’t 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

we’re not sure if he got sick or homesick

but we know this: he left, and Paul didn’t 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, Mark’s with him

not only that, Mark’s 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"

he’s 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 they’re 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 don’t 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 Paul’s

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 Paul’s 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 Paul’s, but sadly, we read in Paul’s last letter that Demas loved the world and deserted Paul

Demas ended up being a quitter

I guess what I’m saying is that God chooses a team full of people with different strengths and different backgrounds

God wants to use you

and there’s no such thing as one who’s 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 Paul’s 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, they’ve 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 we’re 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.

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My Part in God’s Kingdom (Colossians 4:7-14)

Adapted from a message by John Maxwell