Past, Present and Future

I'll begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 1a.

Sing Psalm's version, page 1 of the psalm book, Psalm 1a.

Blessed is the one who turns away from where the wicked walk, who does not stand in sinners' paths or sit with those who mock.

Instead, he finds God's holy law, his joy and great delight. He makes the precepts of the Lord his study, day and night.

We'll sing the whole of this psalm, 1a, to God's praise.

Blessed is the one who turns away from where the wicked walk,

who does not stand in sinners' paths or sit with those who mock.

Instead, he finds God's holy law, his joy and great delight.

He makes the precepts of the Lord his study, day and night.

He prospers ever like a tree that's planted by a stream.

And in whose season yields its fruit, its leaves are always green.

Not so the wicked they are like the chaff that's blown away.

They will not stand when judgment comes,

For with the righteous stay.

It is the Lord who sees and knows

The way the righteous go.

But those who live and need will lie,

The Lord will overthrow.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, we do come in need of your presence at all times,

In need of your help, in need of your blessing over us.

We know, Lord, that your word reminds us again and again

That apart from you, we can do nothing.

But we thank you that it continues to remind us, too,

Of your great mercy towards us,

Your great love towards us,

That you are a God of faithfulness towards your people.

And we have been singing of what it means to walk in the ways of being blessed.

And we sing these words that remind us that

It is about being close in our relationship with you.

It is about your word and the study of it.

And how your word instructs us and helps us

Day by day to know you and to worship you as we should

And to live according to your ways.

To live a life pleasing to the Lord,

Even as we were considering together this morning.

And we thank you that your word

Gives us such wonderful encouragement and instruction.

A word that reminds us of

Our frailties and yet your strength.

That you are the one who makes strength perfect,

Even in our weakness.

And we thank you, Lord,

That you are the one who is able to do so much for us.

That there is none of us here this evening,

As we come under your word,

Who is ever too far away from you.

That your mighty arm is not able to save.

There is no one here who is going through

Any struggles that you are not able to help with.

There is no one here this evening

Who can stand before you saying,

Look at what I have done for you

In our own strength.

But we can all come and plead with you before you

To have mercy on us.

And thankful for all that you have done for us

Through your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.

And when we fall short, as we often do,

We thank you that we have a great Saviour.

That in Jesus Christ we have your Son,

Who you sent into this world for sinners.

And we are all that.

But we thank you that he came to be with us.

That he came to be among your people in this world.

To bear witness to you.

To show the fulfilment of all your prophecies and promises.

To show the fulfilment of your great mercy towards us.

That you would provide a Saviour.

The one whom the woman at the well spoke of

When she said that we know that Messiah is coming.

And he stood before her and said,

I am he.

And we thank you that this evening we come

Looking to Jesus, the one who is the Messiah.

The Redeemer.

The Saviour of the world.

And we pray that you will

Remind us of what that means.

Remind us of who we are in light of it.

That in the world that we live in,

Which can be so confusing at times.

And full of so much sorrow and sadness.

So much uncertainty.

A world that is so often changing

Even before our eyes.

And even as we change

Before your eyes too.

And yet we come

To the one who never changes.

The one who is the same

Yesterday, today

And forever.

And we pray to know you.

To know you

And your mercy and your grace

More and more abundantly.

In all our lives.

To know what it is to repent.

And to confess our sins before you.

To know what it is.

To know forgiveness for our sins.

That you are faithful and just

To pardon our sins.

And so help us that we would come

In that sense of confession.

But also repentance.

Turning from our sin.

And we thank you that in prayer

We have such a wonderful way

To come to you.

Not just with words to you

But even with the groanings of our hearts.

That nothing is hidden from you.

And we thank you

That even before we open our mouths

That every uttering of our lips

Is known to you.

Our very hearts are poured out to you.

For you see them already.

You know our grief and our pain.

You know our joy and our gladness.

You know all things about us.

And you know the world in which we live.

You created it and formed it.

You were pleased with it.

As we read at the beginning of the Bible.

In the book of Genesis.

And you saw all that you made.

And it was very good.

And yet.

Not long after that.

We know that sin.

Sin came into the world.

And spoiled the creation.

And there is nothing good in us now.

But we thank you for your goodness.

And your mercy towards us.

And we pray Lord.

That in the wickedness of the world.

In which we live.

That you would come in your mercy.

And in your power.

We so often pray for circumstances.

And situations around the world.

That where we see evil and wickedness prevailing.

Where we see the wickedness of man.

And it's in humanity against one another.

And we pray Lord.

As we often do.

For your mercy over those who desire evil.

And whose hearts are wicked.

We pray for mercy for them.

But even as we have been singing in this psalm.

We are reminded too.

That you are a God who is able to overthrow.

And sometimes maybe that needs to be our prayer as well.

That you would overthrow those in authority.

And ruling over nations.

Where there is wickedness to the fore.

Where there is war and greed.

And so many tragic things happening.

We pray Lord.

That these wicked rulers.

And environments Lord.

Will be overthrown by you.

And for a day of peace to come.

For you to come in your power.

And to show your power in our midst.

You do so so often in many ways.

And yet we heed it not.

But we pray Lord.

That as you show yourself in all of these ways.

That you would bring us to our knees.

And to cry out for mercy.

So Lord hear our prayers.

And receive our thanks at this time.

For all your goodness to us.

As a people here.

And as we represent just a small part of your church this evening.

We thank you for one another.

We thank you for the bonds of fellowship that exist here.

And for all your praying people.

For all who gather week by week around your word.

Both present in the building.

And also tuning in online as well.

And we thank you that we come prayerfully to you.

Pleading with you Lord.

For your goodness over us as a people.

For your help towards every home and family represented here.

To know your peace over us as a people.

To know your strength in the midst of times of weakness.

To know your blessing even as we pray for the week ahead.

And we thank you that we can commit one another to you.

We can commit those who are unwell.

And those who are suffering in different ways.

Those who are mourning and grieving.

Lord we continue to pray for your help.

And your comfort in the midst of so many difficult situations.

But we thank you too that life is not always sadness and sorrow.

But that there are times of much blessing and rejoicing.

And we pray to know these days.

Even in our own week ahead.

That we would be able to rejoice with those who rejoice.

As we even mourn with those who mourn.

And we pray that there will be rejoicing in our midst.

Oh Lord in this coming week.

As we gather for worship and for communion.

We pray as we read in the word.

That there will be rejoicing in heaven.

Over one sinner who repents.

Lord we long to see that many come to Christ.

And we pray.

That your hand will be upon us for good.

To that end even in these coming days.

That by your word and by your spirit.

By the preaching of your word.

That we would come under your mighty hand.

And that we would recognize who you are.

And our great need of you.

And so we pray your blessing.

As we prepare for our communion weekend.

To bless the preaching and ministry we receive.

And the fellowship we enjoy with one another.

Around your word.

That you would be in the midst of all that we do.

May you go before us in all of these things.

Lord and prepare our hearts and the way ahead as well.

And Lord help us to continue faithful in prayer day by day.

Help us to walk closely and humbly with you.

As we long to see your goodness over us.

We pray Lord that you will help us and strengthen us.

For all of our days.

We pray for our church as a whole Lord.

That you will pour out your blessing on us.

That we would know the spirit.

And its mighty work over our land and our nation in these days.

Lord we ask all these things pleading with you.

To remember us.

To do us good.

And to pardon all our sins.

As we bring our prayers before you.

In the mighty name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

As we ask it for his glory.

Amen.

Amen.

Well we will again sing to God's praise.

This time in Psalm 86 in the Scottish Psalter.

Page 340 of the Psalm book.

Psalm 86.

We will sing from verse 1 down to verse 8.

A psalm that reminds us that as we pray to God.

We pray that he will hear and answer prayer according to his will.

O Lord do thou bow down thine ear and hear me graciously.

Because I sore afflicted am and am in poverty.

Because I am holy let my soul by thee preserve it be.

O thou my God thy servant save that puts his trust in thee.

We will sing from verse 1 to verse 8.

To God's praise.

Amen.

O Lord do thou bow down thine ear and hear me graciously.

Because I sore afflicted am and am in poverty.

Because I am holy let my soul by thee preserve it be.

O thou my God thy servant save that puts his trust in thee.

Sith unto thee I daily cry.

Be merciful to me.

Rejoice thy servant soul.

O Lord I lift my soul to thee.

For thou art gracious, O Lord.

And ready to forgive.

And rich in mercy.

And rich in mercy.

All that fall upon thee to relieve.

Hear, Lord, my prayer.

And to the voice of my request.

In trouble, my prayer.

In trouble, my prayer.

In trouble, my prayer.

In trouble, my prayer.

I will call on thee.

For thou will answer sin.

Lord, there is none among the gods that they with thee compare.

And like the works which thou hast done.

Not any work is there.

And then, I will call on thee.

Amen.

Amen.

We will turn to reading God's word now in the New Testament and Paul's letter to the Colossians.

Colossians chapter 4.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

You will find this around page 1185 or thereabouts.

Colossians chapter 4.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

And we take up our reading at verse 2.

Paul's concluding remarks to the church at Colossae.

And he gives instruction to them.

And he reminds us in the last part about people, greetings from different people.

And it's that we're going to focus on at the end of the chapter from verse 12 in particular as we come to look at this passage.

We'll read from verse 2.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison.

That I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.

Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Tericus 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 Hierapolis.

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.

Amen.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

Before we turn to look at this passage again, we'll sing to God's praise once again in Psalm 28.

Page 33 of the psalm books.

Let's sing Psalm's verse in Psalm 28.

And we can sing from verse 4 down to the end of the psalm, verse 9.

So you have these verses that show a pleading with the Lord to deal with the injustices of this world.

And then in the final verses, you see what it is to lift up our eyes to the Lord.

My heart uplifted leaps for joy.

My thanks to him I gladly sing.

The Lord God is his people's strength, a saving fortress for his king.

We'll sing from verse 4 down to the end of the psalm.

To God's praise.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Repay them for their evil deeds

and for their acts of wickedness.

Bring back on them what they deserve

and punish their unrighteousness.

Because the Lord's works they despise

and treat his actions with disdain.

In justice he will tear them down

and never build them up again.

Praise to the Lord for he has heard

the plea for mercy which I made.

He is my strength, he is my shield.

I trust in him who sends me there.

My heart uplifted leaps for joy.

My thanks to him I gladly sing.

The Lord God is his people's strength.

A saving fortress for his king.

Lord, save your people, your own flock.

Be pleased, your heritage to bless.

Be their good shepherd, carry them

Forever in your faithfulness.

We can turn back to our reading

in Paul's letters to Colossians chapter 4.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

And like I say, we're looking at the end

of this letter from verse 12 down to the end.

We're seeing different characters

and different people here

and learning a little from them

of what it means.

Connected with what we were looking at this morning,

you see this letter is just beside

1 Thessalonians which we were looking at this morning

and looking at the theme of living a life

pleasing to God.

And we see this evening

what that looks like in some ways

and also perhaps what it doesn't look like too

as we look at some of these people mentioned

at the end of this passage.

We read in verse 12,

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 witness, bear him witness

that he has worked hard for you

and for those in Laodicea

and in Hierapolis and so on.

It's maybe hard for us to imagine

what it was like to be a people

receiving this letter from Paul

as we read it together this evening.

It maybe doesn't have the same impact

as it did to the people

who were hearing it for the very first time.

The church at Colossae had known

a great blessing

as Paul had come to minister to them

as the church was established

there as they came to hear

of the great mercies of God

through Jesus Christ, his son.

They'd learned so much.

Paul had been then taken away from them.

He had gone to other places.

And as you read through this letter,

you find that Paul is now in prison.

And he's writing from prison

this letter to them

to encourage them

and to strengthen them in the Lord,

knowing that there's a great many challenges

going on around them

and especially those who are coming

into their midst

with a different kind of teaching,

a different teaching to the gospel

that was seeking to take them away

from their faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So it's hard to enter in

just what it was like

to hear this letter for the first time

because so many of them

would have been wondering

what was happening to Paul,

what was going on in his life,

what was happening

to all these people like Epaphras

who had gone from them

and gone with Paul,

what was going on in their lives.

And letters,

especially as you find letters

written by hand,

very personal letters,

they have a powerful impact on us.

And you can maybe think of letters

you've received yourself

or letters you've read yourself.

It's not as common today

because we communicate

in a very different way,

whether it's texts or WhatsApps

or short messages.

We're often using them now.

Perhaps in an email,

we'll write a little longer,

but we still keep it short

and to the point.

But there was a day

when very personal letters

would be written and sent.

Maybe when you were away

in university or college,

back in the day,

you were hearing from different people,

writing letters to you,

telling you what was happening

back at home.

For myself,

it was when I was away at sea,

different parts of the world

and receiving letters from home

and hearing what was happening.

It didn't have to be anything

out of the ordinary,

just the little things.

But just to receive a letter

handwritten

with such a personal touch

that someone had taken time

to write

and was thinking of you

as they wrote it,

it means so much.

And that is really

what is behind this letter as well.

There's a sense of

the personal nature of it

and Paul's love

for the church at Colossae,

as you see in so many

of the letters that he writes

in the New Testament.

They're powerful.

They're personal.

They're longing

that the people

would be growing.

We saw it this morning

with 1 Thessalonians,

his longing

for the people

to grow in the Lord,

to live a life

pleasing to God.

So we live in a world

where communication

is so often instant,

where if we send a message,

we expect a reply

within almost seconds sometimes.

Maybe you've got someone

in your life,

a parent or a partner

who they message

and then if you haven't replied

within a minute or two,

they're getting worried,

they're getting anxious

and they're phoning you.

You didn't reply

to my message.

Where are you?

Is everything okay?

Well, if Paul was sending letters

from Rome,

as he was in prison,

to places like Colossae

or Thessalonica,

it was going to take months,

maybe even over a year

for the letter to get there

and then a reply to come back.

It wasn't the instant communication

that we have.

But his letters

are beautiful letters

and they're worth

just reading through

and taking your time.

God's word through him

to the church at Colossae here.

God's word to ourselves today.

There's a beauty in these words

and a power in these words.

And this evening,

I want to give you

two bits of homework.

The first bit I'm going to give you

just now to do later on

with something to do.

And then the last part

as we come to the end

is something to think about,

to take away and think about

and see if you can understand it

for yourself.

So the first one

is something to do.

And what I want you to do

is to go home tonight

and to read through

the whole of this letter.

It's not a long letter,

four chapters,

but to begin in chapter one

and just to take your time

and read through

the whole of the letter

and to see

the power of God's word,

to see what it's saying to us,

the wonder of God's love

and mercy to us,

the wonder of a concern

and a compassion

as we see Paul's heart

for the people here

and the way the power

of God's word

is able to change

and to keep us

on the right track.

So go home,

take your time

to read through.

It'll take only 10,

maybe 15 minutes

to read through

the whole of the letter

and it'll hopefully help

to put this evening sermon

into context as well.

We're only looking

at the very end

of the letter,

but if you just go back

even to the very start

of the letter,

it starts with

a real sense

of relationship there.

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.

Then he goes into

the next section

that we are always

giving thanks to God

in our prayers

for you.

There's a warmth

from the outset,

there's teaching

as you go through it,

and then there's warmth

and love

as it comes

to a conclusion as well.

So that's your first part

of your homework,

to go home

and to read the whole

of this letter,

to get a feeling

of what's behind it

and the context

of it arriving

with a sense of concern

that people had

what was happening

and then hearing

the love of Paul

and the love of God

towards them

through it.

So this evening

we're going to

just look at the concluding

part of this letter

from verse 12

and looking down

to the end

of chapter 4.

And what you find

as Paul is concluding

his letters

is so often

he mentions people

by name.

And you can learn

a lot

from these people.

We've already looked

at this letter before,

verse 7 down to 11.

We looked at it

a few months ago

and we picked out

the characters

that we see there

and just learned

a little about them

and what it means

for ourselves.

We're just going to

do the same thing

this evening,

picking out some

of the characters

we see here

and learning a little

bit about them.

There's individual

characters,

but the last one

we're looking at

is Archippus,

but also the church.

It's the wider context

of this letter

being written

about a people.

It says in verse 16,

when this letter

has been read among you,

have it also read

in the church

of the Laodiceans.

The people of God

are to hear

this letter.

And when we think

of people,

we often describe people

in different ways.

And the title

for the sermon

this evening

is Past,

Present,

and Future.

And the reason

for that is

we see

how it applies

to people

here in Paul's day

and to ourselves

today as well.

This letter

speaks

into the people's past,

into their present,

and into their future

in the same way

as it speaks

to us

of the past,

the present,

and the future.

And what kind

of people

do we find

in life?

we find people

who sometimes

live in one

of these three

categories.

You can often

find people

being described

as people

who live in the past,

harking back

to previous days.

Others,

you hear of,

they're just living

in the present.

They're living

for the moment,

just wanting

to enjoy

the here

and now.

Or others,

they're living

with,

we sometimes say,

one eye on the future,

one eye on what lies

ahead.

But the reality

is we should be

all of these.

We should never

lose sight

of our past.

We want to live

in the present,

but we always

want to have

an eye,

not just one eye,

but both eyes

on the future,

on what lies ahead.

And that's

what we find

as Paul

concludes

this letter.

There's a little

of the past,

the present,

and the future.

And let's

begin by

reflecting on

the first

character we

have here

in verse 12,

Epaphras.

We take him

and we look at him

just for a few

moments.

The mention

of Epaphras

here would

take the people

back to the

past.

Epaphras,

it says,

who is one

of you?

He has been

with them

in the past.

But the question

would be,

well,

where is he

now?

If you go back

to chapter 1,

verse 7,

verse 6 and 7,

this word

that has come

to them,

as it says,

which has come

to you as indeed

in the whole world,

it is bearing fruit

and growing,

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.

So,

there's a beauty

in these words

as they begin

to hear of Epaphras

from the outset

and here he is again

mentioned

in the closing stages.

It would be easy

for the people

of Colossae

to think

Epaphras

has almost

bailed out on them,

that he's gone

away from them

and just forgotten

all about them,

that he's not

concerned

for them anymore,

but Paul,

as he writes

to them,

he mentions Epaphras

at the beginning

and the end.

He's one of you

and he says

he still has

this concern

for you.

And what we see

in Epaphras

is what we would

long to see

in all of ourselves

as well.

As we were reflecting

this morning

on what it means

to live

a life

pleasing to God.

Here is an example

for us.

Epaphras.

It says here

in verse 12,

Epaphras 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 Hierapolis.

They may have

been thinking

that he has

abandoned them,

that he has

lost any thought

of them,

but it's the

complete opposite.

He's never

forgotten them

and he's always,

as it says,

struggling on your

behalf

in his prayers.

He always

has them

in his heart

and in his prayers.

He's longing

for them

to stand

mature

and fully

assured

in the will

of God,

even though

he is far

from them.

And that's

the wonder

of God's

grace

in life

as well.

The grace

that we see

in this life

of Epaphras.

He was fully

aware of the

dangers

of false

teaching

that was

present

in Colossae.

And he was

praying,

Lord,

keep them.

Lord,

look after

them.

Lord,

be near

them.

Hear my

prayers

for them.

When it

says there,

always

struggling

on your

behalf

in prayers,

it's not

meaning that

he's struggling

in the sense

of he just

can't get

his prayer

together.

He can't

find the

words for

prayer.

It's a

struggle of

a fight

in prayer.

It's a

struggle of

never letting

go

in prayer.

And it's

the kind

of struggle

that we

should have

in our

prayers

as well.

We're not

going to

let issues

go.

We're not

going to

let people

go in

our prayers

just because

we feel

our prayers

are not

being answered.

We are

going to

keep

praying.

We are

going to

keep

struggling

in our

prayers

on behalf

of them,

whether it's

family or

friends or

work colleagues

or anyone

we have

around us,

to have

a people

that we

are praying

for.

I noticed

online just

yesterday that

North Tolstair,

the congregation

there,

they're setting

a challenge

to the

congregation

for each

month.

And for

the month

of February,

it's to

think of

three people

in the

community

and to

pray for

them.

And I

think that's

a great

thing.

To think of

three people

and to

pray for

them,

for that

month,

to pray

for them.

We will

all have

people on

our minds,

family members,

people we

know well

that we

pray for

often.

But even

from time

to time,

to think

of someone

new,

someone

different,

and to

pray for

them.

This is

the example

of Epaphras.

He's one

of you,

a servant

of Christ

Jesus,

struggling

on your

behalf

in his

prayers.

He is

laboring

in prayer.

He's

intense

in prayer

and he's

intentional

in his

prayers.

But we

see to

another

side

that,

yes,

there is

prayer,

but he's

also one

who is

hard-working.

It says,

I bear

witness that

he has

worked hard

for you

and for

those in

Laodicea

and

Hierapolis.

He's

a faithful

servant

of Christ

Jesus.

In his

prayers,

struggling

and laboring

there,

but also

in his

work.

He is

laboring,

working hard

for them

and for

others

in the

kingdom

of God.

And again,

it's a

challenge for

ourselves

too.

as we

think of

a life

pleasing

to God,

what does

that

entail?

Well,

again,

it's just

a wonderful

example to

us to

be a

people of

prayer and

to be a

people of

practical,

practicing

our faith

in life,

doing

for the

Lord.

And he's

got this

heart

desire that

the people

would stand

mature and

fully assured

in the

will of

God.

And if

you're

thinking,

what do

I pray

for people?

Well,

there is a

prayer for

us,

that people

would come

to know

the Lord,

that people

would come

to stand

in the

Lord,

to become

mature in

the Lord,

to become

fully assured

in the

will of

God,

that God

would work

in their

lives and

in their

hearts.

So,

Epaphras,

he was

one they

maybe felt

had abandoned

them in

some ways,

had never

been heard

of again,

and yet

they're

reminded

here he's

never

forgotten

them.

He's

always

laboring

for them

in prayer.

He's

always

working

hard for

them.

So,

an

encouragement

and an

example

to them

at Colossae,

but also

to

ourselves

as well.

the

second

ones we

want to

look at

here.

We want

to take

Luke and

Demas,

and we

see that

in verse

14.

Luke,

the beloved

physician,

greets you,

as does

Demas.

Now,

it doesn't

seem to

say much

to us,

but

we're

reminded

here that

there's

something

in the

present,

and the

present

here with

both Luke

and Demas

is that

they are

fellow

workers

with

Paul.

So,

if you

look at

the current

situation as

Paul is

writing to

the Colossians,

if you look

at Philemon

as well,

you find

them mentioned

there,

Demas and

Luke as

well,

fellow

workers

with

Paul,

and it

all looks

good.

It all

looks

positive.

And again,

just looking

back to

this morning,

as we

were thinking

of Paul

writing to

the Thessalonians,

he was so

encouraged by

the report

that Timothy

brought back

from Thessalonica

about what

was happening

there,

that they were

standing firm

in the faith.

They were

encouraged to

hear that.

And initially,

there's encouragement

here for us.

Luke and

the beloved

physician greets

you,

as does

Demas.

So,

they're there

with Paul.

They're there

working

for them.

That's the

present.

But then you

start looking

into Luke

and Demas

in the future.

What you find

with Luke

is encouraging.

He stands

firm in the

Lord.

We have the

gospel of Luke.

We have the

book of Acts,

all written

by Luke,

the physician.

We have an

insight into

his life,

how he

walked

closely

with the

Lord,

how he

was living

a life

pleasing to

the Lord,

and the

Lord was

working in

him.

But as we

were thinking

of this

morning,

the reason

that Paul

was writing

to the

Thessalonians

was that

their pathway

would continue

in that

direction,

that their

pathway would

be one

that's living

close to

the Lord

all the

time,

and growing

in their

knowledge and

understanding

of God,

and their

sanctification,

as we were

thinking about

God working

in them.

And he

was writing

that to

these churches,

whether it's

Thessalonica

or Colossae,

knowing there's

always the

temptation of

drifting away.

And that's

what you find

with Demas.

Because when

you read of

Demas in

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and verse

10,

listen to what

it says of

him.

for Demas,

because he

loved this

world,

has deserted

me and

has gone

to Thessalonica.

Because he

loved this

world,

has deserted

me.

He had

left

Paul.

He had

gone away

from Paul

and from

God.

And that

stands there

as a reminder

to us of

the need

to always

seek to

walk

closely

with God.

In that

section

in

2 Timothy,

it says,

Luke is

with me.

And you

see there

the difference.

Demas,

because he

loved the

world,

has gone

away.

Luke is

with me.

And there's

the challenge

for us.

You know,

what are we

doing for

the Lord?

Are we

standing firm

in our

faith?

That's great

when we are

in the

present,

but always

be on your

guard for

the future.

Never take

your eyes

of the

Lord.

That's the

warning that

comes through

loud and

clear here.

Luke,

yes,

he's with

Paul.

He's standing

firm.

And Demas is

here at this

moment,

but Demas,

because he

loved the

world,

deserted him.

And I'm

sure we all

know people

who have

seemed to

be walking

close with

God.

They've been

with us

perhaps over

the years,

and we know

that they're

not there

now.

And why

is that?

So often

it's just

because of

what happened

to Demas,

because he

loved the

world.

we allow

the Lord

to lose

focus in

our lives

and in

our hearts.

We allow

things to

come in

that take

us away

from that.

Little by

little,

as we

stop living

a life

pleasing to

God,

then we

find ourselves

just drifting

away.

Drifting

away little

by little.

But we

should never

stop praying

for those

who find

themselves in

that situation.

And we

should never

stop praying

for ourselves

that we

will be

kept from

drifting away

as well.

Whatever we

do, we

are to do

as to

the Lord.

That's what

Paul teaches

so often

throughout this

letter.

To do as

unto the

Lord.

To do all

for Him.

because the

moment we

start doing

it for

self,

that's when

the world

starts to

come in

and the

love of

this world

and the

praise of

people in

this world

becomes more

important than

walking closely

with God.

Luke,

the beloved

physician,

greets you

it sees.

The one

who remained

faithful to

God,

who served

God with

all his

heart.

And then you

have the

comparison

of Demas,

the one

who loved

the world

and deserted,

who turned

away.

So there's

these warnings,

these contrasts

for us of

a life pleasing

to God on

one hand,

but a life

of turning

away from

God on

the other.

There's a

past,

there's a

present,

there's a

future in

all of these

lives.

Luke and

Demas and

ourselves.

It's not

just about

looking back

and saying

that's when

I was

converted.

It's not

just about

looking to

the present

and saying

I'm standing

firm now,

but it's

looking to

the future

as well

and pleading

with God,

Lord keep

me.

Keep me

on your

right path.

Keep me

close to

you.

The final

thing I want

us to see

here is

when we

look at

Archippus

and the

church.

And what

do we

learn from

them?

Well, when

you look at

what it

says about

Archippus

here, it

doesn't say

much again.

Say to

Archippus,

see that

you fulfill

the ministry

that you

have received

in the

Lord.

In many

ways, it's

maybe a

little like

both Luke

and Demas.

Luke went

on to

fulfill the

ministry that

he was

given.

Demas

deserted.

And here's

a reminder

to Archippus

too.

See that

you fulfill

the ministry

that you

have received

in the

Lord.

And then

when it

speaks about

the church

as well,

and what

does it

say to

us?

Well,

Paul is

writing here

to his

beloved

and to

the Lord's

beloved.

As it

says at

the start

of chapter

1,

verse 2,

to the

saints and

faithful

brothers in

Christ at

Colossae.

He's

writing to

the church,

to the

people of

God.

And what

he's saying

to them

is kind

of marrying

the two

things together

that we've

looked at

already.

The place

of prayer

and the

place of

working

for the

Lord.

Epaphras

was one

struggling on

your behalf

in prayers

but working

hard.

Luke was

one who

worked hard

and kept

on praying

and demons

deserted.

Archippus is

reminded too,

see that you

fulfill the

ministry that

you have

received in

the Lord.

It's showing

the different

aspects of

what church

looks like.

A praying

people and

a practical

people.

People who

are fulfilling

the ministry

of the Lord

that has been

given to

us.

And when

you think

about it,

when you

look at

the past

of the

church in

Colossae,

what was

it?

As we

read through

this letter

we see

the wonder

of the

gospel that's

changed this

city,

changed this

place.

The power

of the

gospel has

come to

them and

has transformed

the place.

There's still

challenges,

there's still

false teaching

coming in,

but the

church of

God has

flourished

here.

But it

was not

always that

kind of

place.

It was a

place of

paganism,

false gods,

many gods,

false teaching

was there

in abundance,

and it had

been transformed

by the

gospel.

It had a

past that

was ungodly,

it has a

present that

was very much

God in their

midst, but

what would it

hold for their

future?

Well, that's

what he was

writing to,

to encourage

them to

remain faithful

in prayer and

the ministry

that the

Lord had

given to

them.

And when

we look at

ourselves here

in our own

islands, what

do we see

when we look

to the

past?

So often

our past