Colossians 4:7-18

So you take your copy of God's Word and turn to Paul's letter to the Colossians.

It's our final Sunday in this book. Lord willing, I don't fall over dead this morning.

Because then next Sunday someone else will have to preach the rest of it to you.

I hope that you've enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed teaching it and learning from it myself as I've studied it.

So we will look this morning at Colossians chapter 4 verses 7 through 18.

Colossians 4:7–18

Begin reading in verse 7.

Tychicus will tell you all about my activities.

He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

And with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother who is one of you.

They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you.

And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions.

If he comes to you, welcome him.

And Jesus, who is called Justice.

These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God.

And they have been a comfort to me.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers,

that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Heropolis.

Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas.

Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house.

And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans.

And see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

And say to Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.

Remember my chains.

Grace be with you.

This is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

So we find ourselves at the closing of Paul's letter.

Let me remind you that all of the Word of God, the book that you have, I hope, in your lap or somehow digitally in front of you,

the 66 canonized books of the Old and New Testament were written by God himself through men.

So men themselves penned the letters, the Spirit of God working in them.

The Word of God was breathed out by him, yet was not divorced from the context, the particular circumstance, and the personality of the writer.

So it's proper, as Paul is writing a letter to a particular church, that he concludes the letter.

He does what you do in a letter.

He wraps it up.

Finishes it out.

Finishes it out.

And we've moved now from Paul's direct exhortation, his doctrinal stances and statements in the beginning of the letter,

to his correction and now how it is that these things are meant to play out in the life of a Christian,

to things that can seem, maybe at first look, a bit insignificant.

I don't know if you, like me, upon the reading of epistles, again and again, will get to this point and just hurry up to the end.

I finished the letter now.

I just need to go through these names quickly to get to the end.

They have some historical significance, I'm sure, but there's nothing really to be learned from them.

And this is a grave error.

Every word is inspired by God.

It's important that Paul wrote this conclusion the way in which he wrote this conclusion.

And we need to take the time to stop and look at it and see what it is that we can learn from it.

This morning there are a number of things we can learn from this.

We could take a look at each of these men's lives as individuals and look at the phrasing that Paul uses and the titles that he gives them.

And certainly this is a thing that should be done at some point.

But this morning I primarily just want to say two things from this text.

And that is that we are all needy and that we are all needed.

We're all needy and we are all needed.

We're all needy.

Paul himself, arguably the greatest of Christians, needed support.

He needed a fellowship of brothers around him.

He needed both spiritual and practical ministry to him in his life.

And this is such a wonderful example of that.

He's not the only.

We'll look further at that.

But I want to take you to the Old Testament for just a bit.

So turn to the book of Exodus with me.

We've been in the habit, as we preach verse by verse, of doing something New Testament and then doing something Old Testament.

Before Colossians I preached through Mark.

Before that we preached through Nehemiah.

So we've kind of broken the pattern already.

Prayerfully we're considering beginning the book of Acts.

So we're breaking it all up.

So today I'm going to take you to the Old Testament for at least a little while.

To scratch that itch.

To Exodus chapter 4.

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

And I just want to show you a few examples in the life of Moses.

Again, a leader mightily used by God in the life of God's people.

And the way in which Moses needed.

And the way in which God provided for that need.

So Exodus chapter 4 verses 1 through 17.

Exodus 4:1–17

This is after the call of Moses, the burning bush experience.

God's still speaking to him from the burning bush.

And Moses answered,

But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice.

For they will say, the Lord did not appear to you.

The Lord said to him, what is that in your hand?

He said, a staff.

And he said, throw it on the ground.

So he threw it on the ground and it became a serpent.

And Moses ran from it.

But the Lord said to Moses, put out your hand and catch it by the tail.

So he put out his hand and caught it.

And it became a staff in his hand.

That they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers,

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has appeared to you.

Again, the Lord said to him, put your hand inside your cloak.

And he put his hand inside his cloak.

And when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow.

Then God said, put your hand back inside your cloak.

So he put his hand back inside the cloak.

And when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.

If they will not believe you, God said, or listen to the first sign,

they may believe the latter sign.

If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice,

you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground.

And the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.

So there's these three miracles, God says,

both shows them that they will work.

And then a third that he says, if you do this, it will happen.

If they don't believe what you say, do these things and they'll listen to you.

And then his response beginning in verse 10.

But Moses said to the Lord,

Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant,

but I am slow of speech and of tongue.

Then the Lord said to him, who has made man's mouth?

Who makes him mute or deaf or seeing or blind?

Is it not I, the Lord?

Now, therefore, go and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.

So God's response to him in his faithlessness is he knows I'm naturally gifted.

I'm not a good speaker.

God says, but I made your mouth.

I will speak through you.

Moses responds, verse 13.

But he said, Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.

And he said, is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite?

I know that he can speak well.

Behold, he is coming out to meet you.

And when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth.

And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do.

He shall speak for you to the people.

And he shall be your mouth.

And you shall be as God to him.

And take in your hand the staff with which you shall do the signs.

So even as God responds in anger, his anger is kindled against Moses.

And then he says, and I will give you a helper.

I will bring somebody to help you.

I will bring you a partner in the ministry that I have called you to.

We see another example in Exodus 17.

Please turn there.

Beginning in verse 8.

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

So Moses said to Joshua, choose for us men and go out and fight with Amalek.

Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.

So Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed.

And whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses' hands grew weary.

So they took a stone and put it under him.

And he sat on it while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side.

So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

So once again, a task given to Moses to see the people of Israel prevail in battle at the leadership of Joshua as long as the staff was raised.

And in his human frailty, he's unable to do this for the duration of the battle.

And so he's supported by Aaron and by Hur.

One more.

Turn a few books.

Numbers chapter 11.

Numbers 11 · chapter mention

Numbers 11 beginning in verse 11.

This is after the people of Israel once again have grumbled greatly.

They've complained against God.

God's actually set some fires at the borders of the camps that have consumed part of the camp.

He's died down those fires now.

Beginning in verse 11.

Moses said to the Lord,

Why have you dealt ill with your servant?

And why have I not found favor in your sight that you lay the burden of all this people on me?

Did I conceive all this people?

Did I give them birth that you should say to me?

Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing child to the land that you swore to give.

To their fathers.

He was like,

Why am I in charge of all these babies?

Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?

For they weep before me and say,

Give us meat that we may eat.

I am not able to carry all this people alone.

The burden is too heavy for me.

If you will treat me like this,

Kill me at once.

If I find favor in your sight,

That I may not see my wretchedness.

Verse 16,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel,

Whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them,

And bring them to the tent of meeting,

And let them take their stand there with you.

And I will come down and talk with you there,

And I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them.

And they shall bear the burden of the people with you,

So that you may not bear it yourself alone.

So we're seeing again and again this pattern with Moses,

That he's called to do these things by God,

And God equips,

And he equips him,

How?

With people.

With help.

With partners.

In the ministry.

So the greatest of leaders for God still need other Christians.

We see this to be true of Paul.

The more that you mature in your Christian faith,

You're going to realize how much you need the church.

How much you need other people.

That's always true of you.

The more you mature,

The more you realize how very true it is.

So we get this list.

A laundry list of shorts from Paul.

About these different men.

The beginning, verse 7,

Tychicus is sent to him with the letter

To tell about all of his activities.

Paul describes him as a beloved brother

And a faithful minister.

And a fellow servant in the Lord.

At the writing of Colossians,

Tychicus has been with Paul for approximately four years.

We can't pin that time frame down exactly,

But it's been about four years since he's been with Paul.

He's mentioned five times in the New Testament.

All of which are very brief mentions.

Usually it's just his name drop in there.

But they give us a very, very rich profile of him.

I'll give you two examples.

Titus 3.12

Tychicus is sent along with Artemis

To temporarily replace Titus,

Who's the pastor on the island of Crete.

While Titus is coming to visit Paul.

So he's one of the men that's sent there

To replace Titus for a time being.

And we see this again in 2 Timothy 4.12

So that Timothy can travel to see Paul.

Paul's now writing these letters,

Afraid that his life is almost over.

Wants to see Timothy, his son in faith,

One more time.

And Tychicus is sent to replace him in Ephesus.

You can see that in 2 Timothy 4.12.

And he's been sent, verse 8,

I have sent him to you for this very purpose.

That you may know how we are

And that he may encourage your hearts.

The reason he's sent

Is that he may encourage their hearts.

And I think rightly to read and understand

By knowing how they are.

By seeing the way in which God

Has been graciously working through the ministry of Paul.

To come and impart to them

How things have been going.

You see again in verse 9

The inclusion of Onesimus.

They will tell you of everything

That has taken place here.

It's a great encouragement

Or it should be at least to us as believers

To see the way in which God is working

In the rest of the world.

And Paul knows this.

And he sends Tychicus for this very end.

On this particular journey

Paul has sent him to carry the letter

To the Colossians.

Also to the Ephesians

In the same region.

And likely, we don't know for sure

But likely the letter of Philemon as well.

Philemon who's a part of the Colossian church

And the church there likely met

In his house.

This is an incredibly difficult journey

So we shouldn't make light of that.

Being sent to carry a letter

Such a distance from a Roman prison

All the way to the town of Colossae

Would have taken quite some time.

He would have had to cross Italy on foot

At its very shortest distance

The closest port from Rome

To the east coast

Would have been a hundred miles.

He had to sail across the Adriatic Sea

Traverse Greece once again

Closest possible thing

Another hundred miles on foot

Sail across the Aegean Sea

And once he got to the coast of Asia Minor

Where Ephesus was located

He would have had to go yet another hundred miles

On foot to there.

It's not an easy thing to do.

You add up those distances in your mind

And you say, well that's no big deal

But in this day it was incredibly dangerous

To travel distances of this kind

And in this way.

So a faithful man

Being sent by Paul

On Paul's behalf to be an encouragement

To the churches at Ephesus

And Colossae.

And Paul sends with him

Onesimus, verse 9

Our faithful and beloved brother

Who is one of you.

Now we know

If we've read Philemon

And if we see this clue

In this text in verse 9

That Onesimus

Was a Colossian.

Somehow

Paul's encountered him

Along his way

And

He knows

He's from there

He's sending him back

To his people

And we learn

From reading in Philemon

That Onesimus

Was the slave

Of Philemon

And he's being sent back to him

As part of his repentance.

Right?

That he was a runaway

Became a Christian

Under the ministry of Paul

And he's now being sent back

To Philemon

And we can see a little bit about this

So turn to the book of Philemon

With me

This is why we suppose

That Tychicus

Was also carrying this letter

With Onesimus

To give this letter to Philemon

That Philemon would

Rightly receive

Onesimus back

No chapters in Philemon

So just verse 8

And I'll read through verse 22

Paul writes

Accordingly though

I am bold enough in Christ

To command you

To do what is required

Yet for love's sake

I prefer to appeal to you

I Paul

An old man

And now a prisoner also

For Christ Jesus

Appeal to you

For my child

Onesimus

Whose father I became

In my imprisonment

We take that to mean

That Onesimus

Somehow encountered him

While he was imprisoned

And Paul shared his faith

With him

And he came to Christ

Verse 11

Formerly

He was useless to you

But now he is indeed

Useful

To you

And me

I am sending him back to you

Sending my very heart

I would have been glad

To keep him with me

In order that he might

Serve me on your behalf

During my imprisonment

For the gospel

But I prefer to do nothing

Without your consent

In order that your goodness

Might not be by compulsion

But out of your own accord

For this perhaps

Is why he was parted

From you for a while

That you might have him

Back forever

No longer as a bondservant

But more than a bondservant

As a beloved brother

Especially to me

But how much more to you

Both in the flesh

And in the Lord

So you see what he's saying

Is I could keep him

I wanted to keep him

And just say to you

Send this letter to you

To say

I've kept him

And this is your good service

To me

That I've kept Onesimus

Because he's been

A faithful brother to me

And he's ministering

To my need here

But I also recognize

That it's possible

That maybe Onesimus

Left you

In order that he might

Become a brother

And come back to you

And be yours forever

And serve you

And so he's making

This appeal to him

To ultimately send him back

But to do what he thinks

Is right

In the boss-employee relationship

Between himself

And Onesimus

Verse 18

If he has wronged you at all

Or owes you anything

Charge that to my account

I, Paul, write this with my own hand

I will repay it

To say nothing of your owing me

Even your own self

Yes, brother

I want some benefit from you

In the Lord

Refresh my heart

In Christ

Confident of your obedience

I write to you

Knowing that you will do

Even more than I say

At the same time

Prepare a guest room for me

For I am hoping

That through your prayers

I will be graciously given

To you

And see this appeal

On the behalf

Of Onesimus

To send him back

And then to receive him again

In return

From Philemon

Very neatly about this

And I think of note

As we consider

The life of Onesimus

A rebellious slave

Who ran away

But now

Had become a Christian

And saw the need

To return to his master

Right?

That things might be made right

Between them

The name Onesimus

Was a common Greek slave name

And it means useful

In Greek

And so in verse 11

When Paul

This parenthetical

You'll see

It's a word play

He's saying

Formerly

Useless

Was useless

Or useful

Was useless

To you

Formerly useful

Was useless

To you

In that he had no

Real

Eternal

Bearing and weight

In your life

Right?

But now

He is indeed

Useful

To you

And to me

So in Christ

Onesimus

Had eternal

Value

And worth

And purpose

In the service

Of both

Paul

And Philemon

Back home

In the Colossian

Church

Faithful

And beloved

Brother

They've been sent back

To tell them

Everything that's happened

Alright

Verse 10

We see

Aristarchus

Listed

Fellow prisoner

Greets you

And mark

The cousin

Of Barnabas

Concerning whom

You have received

Instruction

If he comes

To you

Welcome him

We don't know

About the instruction

But probably

There had been

Some other instruction

That came from

The church

In Jerusalem

About him

Likely

This is the case

So he's just saying

That instruction

I've heard about

Make sure you obey

That instruction

And Jesus

Who is called

Justice

Now Aristarchus

We know from

Biblical text

Was a native

Of Thessalonica

He first appears

In the biblical narrative

During Paul's ministry

In Ephesus

He was part of

That group

That was seized

That was associated

With Paul

The mob came

And seized them

In Ephesus

He was one of

Paul's companions

Agreed about that

In Acts 19

29

He traveled with

Paul to Jerusalem

Acts 24

And to Rome

Acts 27

4

And now we find

Him still

Alongside Paul

As a prisoner

Also a prisoner

Kept in chains

Because of the

Gospel of Jesus Christ

We see Mark

The cousin of

Barnabas

This is

This is the Mark

That authored

The Gospel of Mark

We talked about him

Quite a bit

At the very beginning

Of our study

Of that book

That Mark

Is kind of an obscure

Character

But he pops up

In some places

And is a wonderful

Picture of redemption

Mark is the one

That deserted

Paul and Barnabas

You see this

In Acts 13

Because of fear

He was just afraid

To go on

In the ministry

Of the gospel

And he abandoned them

And he was later

The point of contention

Between Paul and Barnabas

Acts chapter 15

Acts 15 · chapter mention

And the reason

That Paul and Barnabas

Actually is part ways

Is that Barnabas

His cousin

Wanted to give him

A second chance

And Paul said

I only want brave men

With me

I'm going on

Without him

And so we see

This great redemptive

Story carried out

In Mark's life

As he is now

One of

Paul's fellow workers

Paul now esteems

Him well

And God uses him

To author

The Gospel of Mark

Which is so incredibly

Precious

To all of us

And then we see

Jesus

Who was called

Justice

Now Jesus

Was the Greek form

Of the Hebrew name

Joshua

It was actually

Incredibly common

It's important

That we know

That so often

Jesus was called

The Christ

Because of this

It was a distinguishing

Factor about who he was

Not just another Joshua

He was Joshua

The Christ

Joshua means

In Hebrew

Savior

So this is another

Man named Josh

But not just Josh

But one who's called

Justice

Justice would have been

His surname

His last name

Of sorts

Which means

Righteous

He was

Righteous

Because

He has

A Savior

And Paul writes

These are the only men

Of the circumcision

Among my fellow workers

For the kingdom of God

And they have been

A comfort

To me

And remember

That Paul's

Primary ministry

Was to the Gentile population

That there were

Other apostles

Most of the apostles

Ministering to

Jewish populations

Peter was the major

Leader of that

Back in Jerusalem

Ministering to the Jews

Paul's been turned out

To the Gentiles

But all the same

Right

He's got this desire

This hunger

That people of his

Ethnicity

Would come to Christ

Romans 9

3

He says

For I could wish

That I myself

Were accursed

And cut off

From Christ

For the sake of my brothers

My kinsmen

According to the flesh

Right

Those that had

The patriarchs

Those that had

The prophets

Those that should have

Known what true worship

Of God would look like

And yet had turned

From Christ

Paul longed for them

To come to Christ

And not only were they

Rejecting the gospel

But they reject Paul

Altogether

Much of the danger

Paul faced

On his missionary journeys

Came at the hands

Of Jews

I'll give you an example

2 Corinthians 11

26

As Paul records

The challenges

That have faced

His Christian ministry

On frequent journeys

In danger from rivers

Dangers from robbers

Dangers from my own people

Dangers from Gentiles

Danger in the city

Danger in the wilderness

Danger at sea

Danger from false brothers

And you see him list

In that danger

From his own people

So they were Jews

Who did not seek

To kill him

Right

But also they were

A reminder

These Jews

That were fellowshipping

With him

They weren't

Seeking his life

As others were

Right

So what a comfort

That would have been

But they also

Were a reminder to him

Of the eternal purposes

Of God

A reminder to him

That God was still

In fact

Working amongst

His brethren

Working amongst

The Jewish people

He knows about the church

In Jerusalem

He's visited the church

In Jerusalem

But these are men

Who are with him

Who are a wonderful

Reminder of that

I'm going to

Encourage you to read

At some point

Romans chapter 11

Romans 11 · chapter mention

And wrestle with it

And try to understand

What Paul is having to say

About God's eternal purposes

To the Jewish people

The bloodline

Jewish people

But he turns

From all of that

And all of his

Understanding

Of how it is

That God is still

Working with the people

In Romans 11

Romans 11:33–36

Verse 33

To 36

He says

Oh the depths

Of the riches

And wisdom

And knowledge of God!

How unsearchable

Are his judgments!

And how inscrutable

His ways!

For who has known

The mind of the Lord?

Or who has been

His counselor?

Or who has given

A gift to him

That he might be repaid?

For from him

And through him

And to him

Are all things

To him be glory forever

Amen

And I just imagine

That hymn Paul sings to himself

As he's troubled about his brethren

He's troubled about Israel

And yet he looks at the lives

Of these three men

Who have faithfully

Given up all things

In order to pursue Christ

And he praises God

For God's eternal purposes

To the Jewish people

Verse 12

Epaphras is listed

Not the first time

We've heard about Epaphras

Epaphras was

The founder of the Colossian church

Became a believer in Ephesus

Brought the gospel back

To this rather insignificant town

Kind of a blip on the map

In history

He says

Epaphras

Who is one of you

A servant of Christ Jesus

Greets you

Always struggling

On your behalf

In his prayers

That you may stand

Mature

And fully assured

In all the will

Of God

For I bear him witness

That he has worked hard for you

And for those

In Laodicea

And in Heropolis

It seems that he

Expanded his gospel ministry

Out beyond just

Colossae

And out to Laodicea

And out to Heropolis

As well

And he has labored

Even while he's been gone

Even while he's been with

Paul in Rome

He's been struggling

On their behalf

So that they may stand

Mature

And fully assured

In all of the will

Of God

Remember that

At the very beginning

Of the letter

Colossians 1

Colossians 1:3

Verse 3

When Paul hears

About the Colossian church

He says

We always thank God

The Father

Of our Lord Jesus Christ

When we pray for you

Since we heard of your faith

In Christ Jesus

From Epaphras

And of the love

That you have for all the saints

Because of the hope

Lied up for you in heaven

Of this you have heard

Before in the word of truth

The gospel

Which has come to you

As indeed in the whole world

It is bearing fruit

And increasing

As it also does among you

Since the day you heard it

And understood

The grace of God

In truth

Just as you learned it

From Epaphras

Our beloved fellow servant

He is a faithful minister of Christ

On your behalf

And has made known to us

Your love

In the Spirit

There's this

This

Work on Epaphras' part

Which Paul sees

As an extension of his

As Epaphras became

A believer in the Ephesian church

Under the ministry

Of Paul

And he's now

Taking it back home

He's rejoicing in

And he's sharing in this work

That Epaphras is doing

And sees this point

Of Epaphras' ministry

And his prayers

That he may stand

Mature

And fully assured

In all the will of God

And it goes on then

In Colossians chapter 1

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

And so from the day we heard

We have not ceased

To pray for you

Asking that you may be filled

With the knowledge

Of his will

In all spiritual wisdom

And understanding

That you may know rightly

Who God is

And then

Verse 10

How you should walk

So as to walk in a manner

Worthy of the Lord

Fully pleasing to him

Bearing fruit

In every good work

And increasing

In the knowledge of God

Are you seeing it?

Are you catching

All of the spiritual

Both investment

Into Paul

As he is needy

As well as the way

In which he's extending

His ministry

Through the lives

Of these men

Paul needed

These men

Paul was needy

Not just physically

But verse 14

We see him mention Luke

The beloved physician

Luke is only mentioned

Three times

In the New Testament

And all of these times

Are in Paul's letters

Here

Philemon verse 24

And 2 Timothy 4

11

Luke is the one

Who authored

The gospel of Luke

As well as

The book of Acts

Pretty significant

As far as his contribution

To the scripture

But mentioned very little

In the scripture

It's been understood

That Luke was Paul's

Personal physician

And that he joined him

On his second missionary journey

And mostly remained with him

For the remainder

Of his life

That Luke

Certainly a man

Gifted by the Spirit

At least at record taking

And giving us

The gospels

Certainly could

Teach well

The doctrines

Of Christ

But primarily

Tied himself

To the side of Paul

In order to be

His physician

There's much postulation

About what the thorn

In Paul's flesh was

But most agree

That it was some kind

Of physical ailment

That caused him

A great deal of trouble

As he traveled

And after his

First missionary journey

It's believed that Luke

Picks up with him

In order to help him

And to aid him

And to meet his

Physical needs

As he's going

Luke recognizing

That he was given

A gifted mind by God

Has been able to study

And to know

How it was

That he could help Paul

Along the way

And he does so

He's with him here

In this house imprisonment

That he's at

Able to minister

To his needs

And the rest of verse 14

He mentions Demas

Demas is with him

In Rome

As does Demas

Now sadly

We find out later

That Demas doesn't

Remain with him

2 Timothy 4

9 and 10

Paul writes to Timothy

Do your best

To come to me soon

For Demas

In love with this

Present world

Has deserted me

And gone to Thessalonica

Crescens

Has gone to Galatia

Titus

To Dalmatia

And so Demas

Deserts him

Deserts him

Because he loves the world

More than the ministry

Of God

That Paul

Was doing

And this should be

An encouragement

To all of us

Especially those

Who are in

Places of Christian leadership

Jesus had his Judas

Paul had his

Demas

And it's a comfort

To know that the two

Greatest leaders

In the world

Have had men

Who have failed them

Along the way

And then he concludes

Give my greetings

To the brothers

At Laodicea

And to Nympha

And the church

In her house

Which was understood

To be the church

In Laodicea

And when this letter

Has been read among you

Have it also read

In the church

Of the Laodiceans

And see also

That you read the letter

From Laodicea

There's a lot of postulation

About what the letter

Of Laodicea is

Some people suggest

That it actually was

A particular letter

Written to the Laodiceans

Many agree

That it actually was

The letter of Ephesians

That was actually taken

And dropped back off

On the journey

Back to Rome

And that they all

Benefited from these letters

We don't know for sure

But all the same

There's an instruction

To read Paul's other letter

To be sure that they're

Very clear

On the understanding

Of the gospel

Of Jesus Christ

And then in verse 17

He writes

And say to Archippus

See that you fulfill

The ministry

That you have received

In the Lord

So I've been talking

And I know in

Spattering of history

About these men

About Paul's life

And the way that

Paul himself

Was needy

Paul needed men

Right?

The grace of God

To him

Through men

To minister to him

And to help him

Minister

To others

We see also

Verse 17

That we are

Needed

So we are needy

But we are also

Needed

Say to Archippus

Now Archippus

Is only noted

Here in Philemon 2

We don't know

A lot about this man

Fairly insignificant

In the scope

Of history

Again Philemon

Believer in the

Colossian church

Colossae itself

The Rome

Rome had built

The road around

Colossae

Was really insignificant

Reminds me a lot

Of Dahlonega

In a lot of ways

Nothing major

Happening

In the town

Your educations

Are major

But

Not real significant

As far as

Commerce

Or military

Might

Was concerned

Right?

In Philemon 2

Though

Archippus

Is called

Paul's

Fellow

Soldier

And I don't

Believe that his

Ministry was

Of any

Particular note

Simply because

It's not noted

He doesn't say

See that you

Fulfill the ministry

And then give us

The specifics

Of what that

Ministry

Is

But just

Fulfill the ministry

That you've received

In the Lord

This

Task that God

Has granted

To you

I don't think

It's particularly

Noteworthy

I think Paul

Just recognizes

That this man

Needs to be

Encouraged

To continue

In his ministry

As a disciple

Of Jesus Christ

What is the ministry

That all disciples

Of Jesus Christ

Are given?

To make disciples

This is the work

That we are to be about

As believers

In Jesus Christ

And so I think

That we could read

Rightly read

And say to Archippus

See that you continue

To make disciples

Of Jesus Christ

This is the ministry

That God has given you

In Christ

As a follower

Of Him

And we find ourselves

In the church

In a great deal

Of trouble

And I'm speaking

In broad

And general terms

There are certainly

Exceptions to this

And I think in many ways

Our church

Is an exception

To this

But so many

Churches

Function

As businesses

Where the pastor

Serves as the CEO

And much of this

Comes out of the

Church growth movement

Of the 60's

And the 70's

The glitzing up

Of the church

The putting on

Of program

In so many churches

We don't need prayer

Because we have websites

We don't need evangelism

Because we have

Road frontage

So much of this

Was given away

And so many

For generations

Have sat in churches

And they've seen

Their part

To be sure

That they give

Direction to

The CEO

Of the company

They pay his salary

And they make sure

That he does

The things

That he's supposed

To do

And as long

As they can look

Around and they

See some growth

Of some measurable

Kind in the life

Of the church

Then everything

Is good

And everything

Is going well

And we could talk

For the next few

Hours about all

The detriments

That this has been

To the life

Of the body

But we see

A much different

Picture in the

Scripture

Of what the church

Is supposed to

Look like

Christianity

Is a team sport

We're all meant

To get in the mix

And play together

1 Corinthians 12

20 and 21

Says as it is

There are many parts

Yet one body

The eye cannot say

To the hand

I have no need of you

Nor again the head

To the feet

I have no need of you

And I think we get this

I think we all

Understand that

I can't say to anybody

Else in this church

You're not necessary

But here's the problem

I think often

What happens

And at least not

In word

But functionally

People say

You have no need

Of me

You turn it around

And you say

I'm not a necessary

Part of the body

Of Christ

And this is not

The church

Pictured in Scripture

The way many of us

Function in church

Is entirely foreign

To the pages

Of the New Testament

New Testament believers

Would look at our scene

Today and go

What has happened

That you believe

That your part

In the church

Is to show up

And occupy a chair

Is not the case

There's a time

And a place

For such a thing

But it's not the only time

And the only place

You are needed

If you are found

In Christ

He has set you

On a mission

You have a part

To play

I don't know

What it is

In every single case

I think one of the things

I ought to be doing

As a pastor

Is helping you understand

Who you are

And how you can serve

What body part

You are

What's happened

Is this has placed

A huge labor

A difficulty

On pastors

And some of the statistics

Are just absolutely

Staggering about

What's happening

In the lives

Of churches

And what's happening

To pastors

I want to just

Show you a few

This is a study

Conducted by Lifeway Research

1500 Southern Baptist

Pastors

Let me say to you

That I'm an exception

To most

If not all

Of this

I don't mean this

To be whining

In any way whatsoever

Please don't hear that

From me at all

I feel very loved

By our church

I'm very thankful

To be a pastor

Of this church

But I just

Want to point out

To you the danger

Of thinking in this way

Not believing

That you're needed

Not believing

That you have a place

And a part to play

In the life of a church

So here's some stats

I'm going to rattle

Them off to you

25% of pastors' wives

See their husband's

Work schedule

As a source of conflict

45% of pastors

Say they've

They've experienced

Depression or burnout

To the extent

That they needed

To take a leave

Of absence

For ministry

So give it up

For a while

52% of pastors

Say that they

And their spouses

Believe that being

In pastoral ministry

Is hazardous

To their family's

Well-being and health

56% of pastors' wives

Say they have

No close friends

70% of pastors

Don't have any

Close friends

75% report

Severe stress

Causing anguish

Worry

Bewilderment

Anger

Depression

Fear

And alienation

80% of pastors

Say they have

Insufficient time

With their spouse

80% believe

That pastoral ministry

Affects their families

Negatively

90% work

More than 50 hours

A week

Which I don't think

That's that big a deal

That sounds whiny

94%

94%

Feel under pressure

To have a perfect family

You get that

94% of pastors

Feel

Of these 1500

Feel under pressure

To have a perfect family

Everything's always

Put together

84%

Say they're on call

24 hours a day

80%

Expect conflict

In their church

80%

Expect

That the church

Is going to be

A disaster

54%

Find their role

Of pastor

Frequently overwhelming

!

And the last one

53%

Are often

Concerned

About their family's

Financial security

That shouldn't be so

In the church

Just should not be

The case

And so much of this

Is the result

Of

A pyramid

Scheme of sorts

We put the pastor

At the top of

So much of this

Is about pedestalling

A pastor

Making them

The perfect one

In which we should follow

So many churches

Are cults

Of personality

And hear me carefully

About this

People attend a church

They're in fellowship

With a group of believers

Because of who the pastor is

Not because of Christ

And this is so dangerous

And from the very outset

Of Christ family church

Existing

We have always said

It's been the great desire

Of my heart

That I could cease

To exist

That this afternoon

I get in a horrible accident

And I'm gone

And this church

Does not fall apart

If anything

This church is bound

Together further

You have my permission

To take a Sunday off

And mourn

And you better get back

In the mix

And we have men

In this church

Who are gifted preachers

And should be up here

And should be talking

Instead of me

Just get back in it

And pull together

And soldier on

Because you don't follow me

You follow Jesus Christ

The very greatest thing

That I can do for you

Is show you

My great need of grace

And constantly push you

Towards the cross

You don't need me

You need Jesus

I'm a man

And I have

Just natural failing

I have natural limits

To what I'm able to do

Take my introversion

As an example

I'm a horrible small talker

And probably all of you

Have experienced

Some moment of weird

With me

Where I just didn't know

What to say

And I'm working on it

And I think that

This is a thing

That can be redeemed in me

That the spirit

Can in fact

Change my personality

And so

I pray for that

And I work for that

But I know that

Sometimes I'm just

Awkward

I'm not the guy

That gets in the middle

Of a new people

Social setting

And pulls it all together

And makes it feel great

It's just not me

I'd really rather

Stand against the wall

In the corner

And watch a room

Than be the center

Of attention

In a room

So I have limitation

To who I am

But I'm just

A part of the body

Who's the head

Of the body?

Christ

I'm not the head

I'm needy

I need you

And you're needed

For this very reason

And you're needed

Ultimately

Because you're needy

So get that

Because we need Christ

That's what makes us needed

If we do it well

We are constantly

Showing people

The gospel of Jesus Christ

We're constantly

Showing them

The way it works out

In our lives

But it doesn't have

To work out perfectly

Because we're people

So stop thinking

That you're not good enough

Many of you think

You're not good enough

To serve others

And to serve the church

And ultimately

You're not insulting yourself

You're insulting our God

Who's changed

Who you are

He's changed your heart

He lives inside of you

And you're saying

He can do nothing

With me

You are needed

Because you're needy

Minister in the church

Point people

To the cross of Christ

So often I hear people say

That they don't have time

To do this

Now listen

You may not have time

To be in the cleaning rotation

To come up to the building

And clean

That's okay

You may not have time

To come up here

And cut grass with us

That is okay

Right

You may not have time

To come to our picnics

We had one yesterday

Some of you weren't there

That's okay

These are extra things

The grass could be

Three feet tall

I don't care

If this church is

Functioning spiritually

Together

It's okay to not have time

For those things

But

If you don't think

That you have time

To make disciples

This is what God

Has called you to

Then you either

Don't understand

The importance of it

That's possible

You just haven't seen

That being a follower

Of Jesus Christ

Means

That I make disciples

That I'm about

Sharing my faith

With other people

Or

You don't have

Your priorities

Set right

They're all askew

Right

You serve yourself

Much more

Than the living God

Set your face

Towards God

Ask what he would

Have you do

With your days

And I can promise you

It'll have very little

To do with you

And it'll have much

To do with serving him

By serving the church

And when I say that

I mean those who are

Yet to be part of it

As well

God is calling together

Christ died

For the church

And he is calling

Its number together

And when it's completed

He'll come back

Praise God

Come thou fount

Of every blessing

And then verse 18

So we are needy

And we are needed

And he closes it out

I Paul

Write this greeting

With my own hand

He often was speaking

To somebody

Who was transcribing

For him

He takes the time

I'd love to see

That original manuscript

I wish we could

That original handwriting

Remember my chains

Don't forget that

I am in prison

For the gospel

Of Jesus Christ

Back at the beginning

Of chapter 4

We talked about

Praying for opportunity

To share the gospel

To be opened up

And then he says

Grace be with you

And this is a common

Closing salutation

You see it at the end

Of Romans

Into 1st and 2nd Corinthians

The end of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians

1st and 2nd Timothy

Titus

Very common closing

Salutation

Grace be with you

And really that little phrase

Is kind of the summary

Of Paul's letter

To the Colossians

Salvation comes

By grace alone

Through faith alone

And the all sufficient

Supreme work of Christ

Alone

And the Christian life

Is sustained

By the same

And so as we talk

About being

Needy and needed

It is the grace of God

To us in Christ

Like put into play

By the work of his spirit

By the word of God

Right

That sustains us in this

And encourages us

In the right way

That we should go

And so

As you're considering

These things

I want you to recall that

I want you to remember

That it is God

Who is at work

In you

To accomplish

These things

And I want you to

Do so by

Reflecting with me

On 1st Corinthians

Chapter 15

Verses 8 through 11

I'll read it carefully

To you

Paul has been talking

About the resurrection

Of Jesus Christ

And his appearing

To varying groups

Of people

And in verse 8

He says

Last of all

As to one

Untimely born

He appeared also

To me

For I am the least

Of the apostles

Unworthy to be called

An apostle

Because I persecuted

The church of God

But by the grace of God

I am

What I am

And his grace

Toward me

Was not in vain

Right

So he was converted

From one who was

Persecuting the church

Of Jesus Christ

Into one who served

The church

Of Jesus Christ

And he says

By grace

This happened

This grace for me

Was not in vain

On the contrary

I worked harder

Than any of them

Though it was not I

But the grace of God

That is with me

Whether then it was I

Or they

So we preach

And so you

Believed

Let's pray together