My Part in God’s 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 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 peo ple 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 t hat 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.

Adapted from a message by John Maxwell