Thanking God for Gospel Growth

Good morning, church.

Would you turn with me in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

That's page 981 in the Pew Bible.

Page 981, Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

As we come to God's Word together, let's pray.

Father, we remember during the earthly ministry of Jesus that moment when so many were turning away.

And Lord Jesus, you turned to your disciples and said, will you turn away also?

And they said to you, Lord, where else would we go?

You have the words of life.

So we come to you this morning, God, acknowledging that you have the words of life.

And we ask that by your Spirit you would open our hearts and our minds to really hear and receive and be changed by your words this morning.

We pray this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

So this morning we're looking at Colossians chapter 1, verses 1 through 8.

Colossians 1:1–8

Let me read these verses for us.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.

And Timothy, our brother.

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

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 and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid 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.

So, just this week, did you see this?

Google released the results of a study in which they found that, quote,

social media, email, and news apps were creating a constant sense of obligation and generating unintended personal stress on our smartphones.

They did an entire study to basically tell us the obvious.

In other words, this media giant is admitting that their own devices play a huge role in what we've all come to know as FOMO.

The fear of missing out.

Which I think is in the Oxford English Dictionary now.

Defined as something like the anxiety that an exciting or interesting event might currently be happening somewhere else.

And we're not a part of it.

So, in response to this research, what Google wants to do is to promote what it's now calling JOMO.

The joy of missing out.

In other words, they want to help users have regular disconnection from their devices and from their apps.

So that we can actually enjoy whatever it is we're doing.

Talking with a friend.

Walking across campus.

Playing soccer with our kids.

So that we can actually enjoy these things without worry.

Without the worry that we're missing out on something important or exciting.

Well, that would be a good thing.

But honestly, as I've been thinking about this for the last couple of days.

I think our FOMO runs a little too deep to be solved simply by turning off our smartphones for an hour a day.

Or cutting down on the number of notifications we receive.

As healthy and as good as that all would be.

The fear of missing out.

The fear of missing out.

The idea that there's something better out there somewhere and I don't have it.

That there's an experience of fullness.

Of real life and meaning that's slipping away from me.

I mean, that's a bigger spiritual problem than our smartphones.

Even if our phones seem to be exacerbating the problem, right?

And interestingly, it's not a new problem.

In fact, the book of Colossians was written to a group of Christians who, from one way of looking at it,

were undergoing deep spiritual FOMO.

They had heard the message about Jesus.

They had come to believe it.

But now, other teachers and other thought currents were sweeping into the church that said,

you need something more.

Jesus is a good start, they were saying.

But there's a fullness that you can have.

There's something more that you're actually missing out on.

Jesus isn't really enough.

You need Jesus.

And fill in the blank.

The next new spiritual thing.

I wonder if you've ever felt that.

Maybe this Jesus thing isn't really enough.

Maybe I really need Jesus and a really meaningful career.

Maybe I need Jesus and powerful, charismatic experiences.

Maybe I need Jesus and ancient church tradition and practices.

Maybe I need Jesus and...

Maybe someone somewhere has something that just might work a little better.

And the fear of missing out takes over.

And sometimes it feels like emptiness.

Sometimes anxiety.

And sometimes just annoying discontent that there must be more to life.

Now, the whole letter to Colossians is going to address this problem.

And by the time we're done, we will have soared to the mind-blowing heights of Jesus' person

and work and the reality of living in His kingdom in the present age.

But it starts first and foremost in verses 3 through 8 with thanksgiving.

Of course, it was customary for letters in the ancient world to start with a brief word of thanks.

But what Paul is doing here goes way beyond what's customary.

This thanksgiving section is actually sort of carefully designed and written by Paul

to help us see that what we have in the gospel,

what we have in the good news about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection

is the fullness that we've been looking for.

And the act of thanksgiving, of gratitude,

is the way to start healing the emptiness,

the anxiety, and the discontent that drives our fear of missing out.

So, as Christians, what are we to be thankful for?

And this text points us to three things.

The fruit of the gospel first,

the power of the gospel next,

and then last, the mission of the gospel.

In other words, Paul's going to say,

what should we be thankful for?

We should be thankful for what the gospel does.

It's fruit.

And then we should be thankful for how the gospel does it.

It's power.

And then we should be thankful for where the gospel takes us,

the mission.

So that's what we're going to do this morning.

We're going to walk through this thanksgiving section

looking at each one of these things

which ought to spur our gratitude

and help us realize that in Christ,

we're never missing out.

So first, we must thank God for the fruit of the gospel.

Look again at verses three through five.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

when we pray for you.

Maybe I should just pause there and say,

because of what God has done in Jesus,

we can no longer think of God apart from Jesus.

Who is God?

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That's an aside.

Let's keep going.

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

and of the love that you have for all the saints,

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

Of this, you've heard before in the word of truth,

the gospel.

So we see here the gospel,

the royal announcement about Jesus

is producing a threefold fruit among the Colossians.

Did you catch what it is?

Faith and love and hope.

This is a familiar triad in Paul's letters

and across the rest of the New Testament.

Sometimes it's faith and love and hope.

Sometimes it's faith, hope, and love.

The order sometimes changes,

but the three are often found together

almost as a summary of complete, rich, deep,

biblical spirituality.

And first, there's faith.

But, you know, faith here isn't just sort of faith in general.

Sort of, you know, the latest Nike ad.

Believe in something.

Anything.

And maybe it'll cost you everything.

Faith isn't just a general willingness to believe anything.

Actually, the Bible doesn't sort of commend

that sort of superstition

that we're just sort of gullible and open to anything.

No.

This is faith in Christ Jesus.

Faith in the Bible is essentially trust.

Not just knowing the facts,

but resting your life in something.

If you've ever done a high ropes course,

you know what it's like

to be 20 or 30 feet off the ground

and to be clipped into a safety rope

that will catch you if you fall.

At least that's what they say it'll do

if you fall, right?

And then there's that moment

when you reach one of the landings

and to keep going on the course,

you have to switch your harness rope

that's sort of connected to your harness

from one lead line to another.

You have to transfer your trust

from one safety to another safety.

And in many ways,

that's what it means

to have faith in Christ Jesus.

To transfer your trust.

No longer is this thing

my safety, my security.

This thing isn't what I'm going to trust

to hold the weight of my person anymore.

Now, it's the living Lord Jesus.

Imagine the wealthy Colossian business owner

in the ancient world

having spent his whole life

trusting his business savvy,

trusting in his instincts for profit.

Imagine himself,

imagine him introducing himself

at dinner parties.

How his financial success

is the pride of his life,

the thing that gives him confidence

and hope or,

and maybe he doesn't come right out

and say it,

but you know,

as he measures up the room,

he realizes that he's probably

the most successful person there

and if not,

he'll figure out how to become it.

But now imagine that same business owner

hearing the message about Jesus

from a colleague, perhaps,

with a newfound joy,

a joy that is with him

regardless of the ups and downs

of his business life.

And over time,

our wealthy Colossian business owner

realizes

that the gods of commerce

can't really hold his weight

until eventually in prayer

and in an act of decision,

he transfers the trust of his heart

to the one Lord

who can hold his weight,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now maybe you're not trusting

in your business success.

For you,

maybe it's something else.

But you know,

many of you here

could tell your own story

similar to this,

a story of trust transfer

and of the freedom

and the joy

that that brings

to know that now

you're trusting in someone

that can actually hold your weight.

And according to what Paul says here,

coming to faith in Christ

isn't something

we can thank ourselves for.

It's something

we shouldn't take for granted.

It's something

we ought to thank God for.

Because this transfer of trust

is more than just

a sort of private

religious decision.

No,

it's actually a movement

from one kingdom

in one realm

to a whole new one.

A little later in this chapter,

Paul will describe it

as being delivered

out of the domain of darkness

and being transferred

to the kingdom

of his beloved son.

When we take Christ as king,

we become citizens

of a whole new world.

A whole new kingdom

where Jesus is Lord.

It's a radical

reorientation of our life.

And what does that kingdom look like?

Well, as Paul's thanksgiving continues,

we see that it's a kingdom of love.

The second fruit of the gospel

that Paul expresses

thanksgiving for here

is love.

But again,

this isn't just a sort of

general fuzzy feeling

of affirmation,

but a concrete,

practical love

for all the saints,

Paul says.

And saints here

refers to all Christians,

as you see in verse two

in the opening remarks

when Paul greets the church.

So imagine again,

our Colossian businessman

newly come to faith in Christ

and he gathers

with his fellow Christians,

those who have also

transferred their trust

to King Jesus

and now live under his lordship

and his kingdom.

And as he gathers with them

in maybe a home

of a fellow Christian,

he realizes that,

man,

there are some people here

who are very different from him.

People of different nationalities,

some of different professions,

some of different social classes,

some of different ethnicities,

and outside of Christ,

some of these people

he would have never

spent time with.

Some may have even been

his sworn enemy.

But now,

what they once used to be,

divided,

indifferent,

even antagonistic,

now,

they are no longer.

Now,

they are sisters

and brothers,

one in the family of God,

the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And in this family,

the family mark

is love.

A real concern

for one another's needs,

a real sacrifice

to meet one another's needs.

And this kind of love,

this love that transcends

the dividing walls

of hostility between us,

the dividing walls

of race,

and gender,

and class,

and on and on.

This kind of love

in verse 8

is what Paul calls

love in the Spirit.

That is,

the Holy Spirit,

the third person

of the Trinity,

God Himself.

This is a love

that can only be

the fruit of God

working in us,

working in our hearts,

working in our priorities,

working in our time,

working in our resources,

so that we might have love

for all the saints.

Not just those

fellow believers

who are like us,

but those who are

not like us too.

For here,

as Paul will say

in chapter 3,

verse 11 of this book,

here,

here in the church,

here in the inbreaking

of the kingdom of God,

here,

there is not Greek

and Jew,

circumcised

and uncircumcised,

barbarian,

Scythian,

slave and free,

but Christ is all

and in all.

And that kind of love,

we know,

is something we ought

to be thankful for,

is it not?

But what is it

that fuels this love?

What keeps the engine

of Spirit-given love

for all the saints

burning and churning

in our hearts,

even when it's hard,

because it is hard,

and even when,

humanly speaking,

we want to quit,

and sometimes we do.

In verse 5,

Paul says,

it's because of the hope

laid up for you in heaven.

And notice here

that the word hope

isn't speaking about

our subjective action,

our feelings

or acts of hoping.

Rather,

Paul's talking about

the objective reality

of what's in store,

the hope,

the content

of what God

has prepared for us.

And because it's laid up

for you in heaven,

that doesn't make it

pie in the sky,

by and by.

Rather,

it means that our future hope

cannot be shaken

or stolen

by earthly circumstances.

It's totally secure

and completely certain,

and one day

it will erupt

into the present

when God brings

His saving purposes

to completion.

And that certain reality

of the future

is what stokes

the engine of love

in the present.

Do you see the connection

between verses 4 and 5?

In verse 4,

there's love

that you show

for all the saints.

And in verse 5,

we see that that love

is because of

the hope

laid up for you

in heaven.

Love, of course,

is costly,

isn't it?

Love will take your time

and your money

and your energy.

Love might even

cost you your reputation.

It will take time

on your schedule

that you might have used

for your own recreation.

It will take money

from your bank account

that you might have used

to get nicer,

newer things for yourself.

It will take energy

from your strength

that you might have used

to promote yourself

and your own success.

Love is costly,

but the hope in store

for us

vastly outweighs

the cost.

One metaphor

the Bible uses

for our future hope

is that of

an inheritance.

Paul himself

will use that metaphor

in verse 12

of this very chapter

of Colossians.

Inheritance.

Now,

imagine,

what if

all of us

in this room,

when we reached

retirement age,

what if all of us

would become

inheritors

of individual estates

worth well over

a billion dollars?

Now,

for some of us,

age 65

might feel like

a long way off.

Others of us,

maybe not so far off.

But imagine

what it would do

for your financial

generosity

now

if you knew

that in a few

short decades

or years,

money

would be

no object

for you.

Of course,

that would give you

the freedom

to be radically

generous now,

wouldn't it?

You'd be so liberal

in your generosity

that your friends

would probably think

you're crazy

or at least

irresponsible.

That is,

if they didn't know

about your future

inheritance.

But in fact,

knowing what you know,

it makes perfect sense.

You see,

that's the dynamic.

Our future assured hope

fuels our present

sacrificial love.

But the Bible

doesn't just speak

of our future hope

as an inheritance

of unfading wealth,

but it also uses

the metaphor

of a feast

of rich foods

and well-mixed wine.

It speaks in terms

of a home

where we will dwell

in safety

or a city

alive

with celebration

and joy.

In short,

the hope

that God

has in store

for us

is a new heavens

and a new earth

where sorrow

and suffering

are no more

and of resurrection

bodies free

from sin

and death

brilliant with glory.

And most of all,

our hope

to come

consists

in union

with God Himself,

Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit,

the lover

of our souls

for all eternity.

the magnitude

of what's in store

for those in Christ

makes any costly sacrifice

of love in the present

utterly reasonable.

So this is the fruit

of the gospel,

faith in Christ Jesus,

love for all the saints,

and a hope unshakable

that fuels it all.

So friends,

are we giving thanks

when we see this fruit

growing up

in the church,

when faith

in Christ

is exercised,

when love

is shown,

when hope

is held on to?

That's the real fruit

of the gospel.

Too often

we're disappointed

or discontent

with our spiritual life

or our church experience

when right under our noses

is the fruit

of God's almighty work

in our midst,

supernatural faith

and love

and hope.

And rather than

complaining,

Paul says,

we ought to be giving thanks.

And we ought not just

to give thanks

for our own church

but for other churches

across the city.

After all,

Paul wasn't the one

who started this church

in Colossae.

He had never even been there.

And yet,

hearing about the work,

he still abounds

in thanksgiving for them.

And you know,

we should do the same.

Wherever the gospel

is being preached

and bearing fruit,

we ought to give thanks

whether we're directly

involved in the work

or not.

But where does this fruit

come from?

This brings us

to the second big area

of thanksgiving

that Paul points out here.

We must give thanks

not just for the fruit

of the gospel

but also,

Paul goes on to say,

the power of the gospel.

Look again at our passage.

Pick up halfway

through verse 5

and on to verse 6.

Of this,

you've 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.

Now in the middle

of this packed sentence,

Paul speaks of what?

Of the worldwide growth

of the gospel,

bearing fruit

and increasing.

Many commentators

have heard an echo here

of Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Do you remember

when God tells

our first human parents

there to be fruitful

and multiply?

That's sort of

the mandate in creation.

Go forth,

be fruitful

and multiply.

Now,

Paul says,

it's the gospel

that's bearing fruit

and increasing.

It's as if Paul

is saying that

this message about Jesus

brings with it

the power

of new creation

to bring new life

in the midst of the old.

What makes the gospel

so powerful?

What makes it so powerful

that it can bring

new life out of the old?

New creation

out of the broken

old creation

that we live in?

What makes the gospel

so powerful

that it can actually

transfer our trust,

our faith

from ourselves

to Christ?

What makes it so powerful

that it can create love

across our human differences?

What makes the gospel

so powerful

that it creates

an unshakable hope?

Not just for some people,

but for the whole world.

I mean,

we hear a lot of news today,

don't we?

Some of it fake,

most of it bad.

But sometimes

we hear good news,

right?

And yet,

none of even

our good news

has the power

to do

what the good news

about Jesus

is able to do

and has done

and will continue

to do

the whole world over.

what makes the gospel

so different

than everything else?

Well,

it's because the gospel,

as verses 5 and 6

tell us,

is a word of truth

and it's a word of grace.

Think about it.

At the end of verse 5,

it says,

it's the word

of the truth.

The message about Jesus

is a word of truth.

It's something that

actually happened

in history.

Jesus lived

and walked

and taught

and ate

and slept

in first century Palestine.

People saw him

and talked with him

and followed him

and when the authorities

grew tired

and threatened by him,

they crucified him

in history

with real nails

and on the third day

he rose bodily

from the dead

and the tomb

where they buried him

was then really empty

and he appeared

to his disciples

living and in the flesh

and for 40 days

he taught them

and ate with them

until the time came

for him to ascend

to his throne

and of course

at that moment

he could have ascended

to any earthly kingdom,

the throne of any

earthly kingdom he wanted.

He could have ascended

to the throne in Jerusalem

and he could have ascended

to the throne in Rome.

He certainly had

the authority to do it

but instead

he ascended

to an even better throne

straight to the right hand

of the Father

where he not only sits

to reign

but to intercede

for us

and to send

the Holy Spirit

to empower us

the church

to go out

into all nations

and draw people

from all nations

to himself.

Friends,

this is what the gospel

the good news about Jesus

tells us happened

in history.

It's not a nice story

or a myth

that you can take

or leave

or modify

or change

or take some parts out

that you don't like

or put other parts in

that you do.

It's a word of truth

and isn't that

such good news

in a world

of so much

half-truths

and fake news

that God's done

something real

for you

and for me

and because it's

a word of truth

that means you can

investigate it.

Read the accounts

about Jesus

for yourself

in the New Testament.

The first four books

in the New Testament

which we sometimes call

the Gospels

give us first-hand

accounts

of the life of Jesus.

If you're exploring

Christianity

that's where I would

tell you to start.

Read the Gospel of Luke.

Read the Gospel

according to Mark.

Take the Pew Bible

with you

and read it.

We've got plenty.

We can replace them.

It's okay.

That would be a good

place to start

and I think

what you'll see

even if there's a lot

there that challenges you

I think you'll start

to see that the evidence

for Jesus' life

doesn't read

like a myth

or a cleverly devised

spiritual story

but it starts to read

like Luke says

in the beginning

of his Gospel

as an account

of the things

that have actually

been done

and fulfilled

among us.

But it's not just

a word of truth

it's also a word

of grace.

Paul says

at the end

of verse 6

that in the Gospel

we've come to understand

the grace of God

in truth.

The Gospel

isn't just

intellectually coherent

it also brings

a power

to change your life.

Now think for a moment

as we think

about this grace

think for a moment

about the relationship

between hope

and love

that we looked at

back in verses 4

and 5.

Now the longer

you stare at that

the more you realize

that something

is very different here.

That the Gospel

is saying something

utterly unique.

You see

in nearly every other

spiritual or religious system

the relationship

between love

and hope

goes like this.

If you love

others well

now

then

your hope

will possibly

be secure.

In other words

the certainty

of your future hope

depends on how well

you love

in the present.

If you're a loving person

if you put others

before yourself

if you're generous

and kind

then

you'll get rewarded

with a good hope.

Now for some of you

you might be thinking

well yeah

I thought that's

what Christianity says.

I thought that's

what Christianity

is all about.

It's about being

a good person

being a loving person

so you can get a hope

for the future

with God.

But friends

that's actually

not Christianity.

Other religions

say if you love

others well now

then your hope

will be secure.

Christianity says

God

has made your hope

secure in Christ

for you.

Therefore

you can love

others well now.

Do you see the difference?

It's a complete reversal.

One says

if you love well

God will accept you.

Christianity says

God has accepted you

in Christ by grace.

Your future is secure.

Now go love

in the freedom

and the confidence

that that brings.

And if you get that

if you see

how that's something

radically different

then you're starting

to understand

what Christianity

means by grace.

That God saves us

not on the basis

of our loving performance

but on the basis

of Christ's loving performance.

Because the reality is

none of us

loves well enough

to secure

a future hope

with God.

Deep down

we know we should

love our neighbors

as ourselves

and deep down

we know

we don't.

So what do we do?

What are our options

in light of those

two realities?

Option one

we can keep on saying

that we actually

do love our neighbors

as ourselves

all the while

hiding our flaws

and our faults

which is a terribly

inauthentic way to live

and ends up breeding

hypocrisy.

Option two

we can say that

God doesn't really

require us

to love our neighbors

as ourselves

and that he'll accept us

if we just

do the best we can.

But how do you know

if you've done

the best you can?

How good is good enough?

And while we're at it

who are we to say

that God

what God ought to require

or not require?

Maybe God really

does mean it

when he says

we ought to love

our neighbors

as ourselves.

So is there

a third option here?

Other than sort of

maximizing

our own goodness

at the expense

of hiding

all of our flaws

or minimizing

God's goodness

at the expense

of losing God

altogether?

In the gospel

there is a third option.

You see what Jesus did

in history

in truth

he did for

you and me

in grace.

He lived the life

that we should have lived

and the death he died

was the one

that we deserve to die

so that united to him

by faith

we can have

his record

counted to us

as our own

and have a secure

hope for the future

that's dependent

on him

and not me.

We've been watching

a lot of tennis

lately at home.

The U.S. Open

has been going on.

Did you all know that?

No?

The U.S. Open

is happening

like an hour

down the street.

So the U.S. Open

has been on

it seems like

non-stop

at the Lauer House

for the past week

and tennis

is a very

individual game

even when you're

playing doubles

then it's sort of

a doubly individual game.

You know

you take the court

and you have to win

in the strength

of your own performance.

You are the one

who has to stand up

and beat your opponent

and there's no one else

who can help you.

They won't even let people

carry your bags out for you.

Your coach

can't even

flash you a little signal

during the game

or else you get

disqualified, right?

It's up to you.

You've got to beat

the opponent.

But not every sport

is like that.

When a soccer game

comes down

to penalty kicks

there's one player

that takes the field

for all the rest

and if that player

can overcome

then the whole team wins.

The victory

of the one

is counted

to the many.

And friends

that is what God

has done for us

in Christ.

The victory

of the one man

Christ Jesus

his perfect life

and his sin bearing death

is counted

to the many

who trust in him.

He's done it

for those who believe

in the whole world

and he's done it

for you.

Friends

if you come

to understand

the grace of God

in truth

as it says here

in verse 6.

In the whole world

it's bearing fruit

and increasing

because there's

nothing else

like it.

And it's no property

of one particular

people group

or one particular nation.

It's for all nations.

We could sit here

and tell stories

of gospel growth

in Asia

and in Africa

and in Europe

and in the Middle East

and in New England.

But what about

the garden

of your own heart

friends?

Has the truth

of the gospel

sunk in

and has the grace

of the gospel

taken root?

If it hasn't

keep asking questions

and keep searching out

the grace and truth

of who Jesus is

and what he's done.

The stakes are too high

to ignore it.

And if it has sunk in

then start by giving thanks.

Just like Paul does here.

Thank God

for the power

of the gospel.

And if you're starting

to see it for the first time

let someone else know

how thankful you are.

Let your gratitude

be public.

And if you've transferred

your trust to Christ

and become a Christian

then talk to one of us pastors

or talk to a friend

about getting baptized.

That is the first step

in giving public thanks

for your new relationship

with the Lord Jesus Christ.

But if you've been

a follower of Jesus

for a while

what does ongoing

thanksgiving look like

for you?

Paul ends by giving thanks

not just for the fruit

and the power of the gospel

but finally

for the mission

of the gospel.

And this is verses 7 and 8

our last point.

He continues,

he says,

just as you learned it

from Epaphras

our beloved fellow servant

he's a faithful minister

of Christ on your behalf

and has made known to us

your love

in the spirit.

Paul here wants

the Colossians to know

that they've received

the genuine gospel

from a genuine gospel messenger.

Now it's probably the case

that Epaphras was from Colossae.

It was probably his hometown

and he probably met Paul

in the city of Ephesus

during Paul's third missionary journey.

Ephesus was sort of

a center city

in that region.

And at Ephesus

Epaphras would have heard

the message of grace

and truth

in Jesus from Paul.

And as it took root

in his heart

Epaphras would have then

taken it home

to Colossae with him.

And there among his own people

in his own city

he would have taught them

all that he learned

about the grace of God

and truth in Christ.

And as his fellow Colossians

understood that grace

and truth

then the fruit began to grow

the faith

and the love

and the hope.

And it grew so much

that Epaphras

could later return to Paul

and report to him

all that he had seen God do

as they heard

the word of truth

and come to understand it.

And especially

their love

in the Spirit.

Trinity

we like to say

that we're gathered

transformed

and sent forth

by the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

And that's exactly

what we see

in this passage

isn't it?

In verse 6

we see the gospel

gathering us

it's this global message

of grace and truth.

And in verses 4 and 5

we see that it transforms us

in faith

and love

and hope

and finally

in 7 and 8

it sends us out

just like it sent out

Epaphras.

And know where Epaphras went.

He went home.

Often we think

that the mission

of the gospel

means traveling

to some far away land

where we don't know anyone

and have to eat

strange foods.

But more often friends

the mission

of the gospel

is to take the truth

and grace of Christ

to our families

and our friends

and our co-workers.

Indeed

the gospel mission

does extend

to the ends of the earth.

The gospel is for the whole world

but the ends of the earth

are sometimes

right in your own backyard

or down your dormitory hall

or across the street

or in the cubicle

next to yours.

And note too

that Epaphras

wasn't an apostle.

He wasn't a superstar

of the early church.

He wasn't a Paul

or an Apollos

or a Peter.

He was just

an ordinary guy

who encountered

the extraordinary

grace of Christ

and he was faithful

to serve Christ

and take the gospel

to his hometown.

And his name

got etched

into the New Testament

and we're still talking

about him

2,000 years later.

And God says elsewhere

in the New Testament

that all of us

who persevere

will have our names

etched

in the temple

of God in heaven.

Brothers and sisters,

the global movement

of the gospel

is bearing fruit

and increasing

right now.

And God is calling us,

calling you

to join in

the mission.

So thank God

for the Epaphrases

in your life,

those faithful ministers

and pastors

who first taught you

the gospel

even if they aren't famous

and then take up

your place

in the mission too.

And for some of you

the global movement

of the gospel

will take you

to the other side

of the world.

Some of you right here

have been to the other side

of the world

and come back

and some of you

can't wait to get there

and that is incredible

and awesome

and you should go.

But for some of you

the global movement

of the gospel

will take you

to the glories

of the mission field

right at home.

And either way

in this mission

of the gospel

there can be no fear

of missing out.

What are you

possibly missing out on?

For here

the power

of God's grace

and truth

in Christ

is breaking

into the world

and the new creation

fruit of faith

and hope

and love

is bursting forth

in the midst

of the old.

What could be

more thrilling

than that?

So brothers

and sisters

live your life

in the gratitude

of the gospel.

Give thanks

for God

is at work

in power

and the fruit

is coming forth

and you have

a role to play.

Let's pray.

God we want

to do that this morning.

We want to give you

thanks

for how we have seen

the message

of your grace

in Christ

produce good fruit

in our midst.

God thank you

for faith

for those

in this room

who have come

to place

their trust

in Christ.

God thank you

for the love

that is shared

between us

and thank you

for the hope

that we have.

God help us

to abound

in thanksgiving

the more

we see you

at work.

Give us eyes

to see it God

and give us hearts

that overflow

with it.

Lord would we

be a people

full of gratitude

because of what

you've done

for us

and we pray

that we as a church

would be a beacon

of hope

and joy

in the midst

of our city.

Would people wonder

what it is

that makes us different

and come to know

with thanksgiving

the grace of Christ

as well.

We pray this

in his name Father.

Amen.

Amen.