All of Christ for All of Life: Christ Over Our Ministry

Ishmael LaBiosa: Let's talk about the letter to the Colossians. The simple title of this series is All of Christ Over All of Life. You know, as I was writing the sermon this week, I couldn't help but reflect upon a story from a man who's now in heaven. And it's hard when you guys go to heaven. I can't ask your permission for the stories. So hopefully he'll forgive me. You may know who he is. I'm certainly not going to tip my hand to who he is, but He was dying and he had faithfully served here and he had faithfully served at many other churches. And he said, you know, come visit me. And I said, well, no problem. I had been visiting him, but he had something on his heart that particular day. His mind was fine. His body wasn't fine. He was dying a rather painful death. And even while he was talking to me, he would kind of wince from time to time. And I thought when a dying man calls me and says, come over, let's talk, that usually means he wants to plan the funeral. But that's not what he wanted to talk to me about. He actually wanted to talk to me about ministry. And he wasn't a minister, but he was a very faithful layman. And he told me a story. He says, you know, Rusty, you know some about my life, but let me tell you everything about my life. He said, I had a hard life. He said, my childhood was hard and after my childhood completed, he said, I developed a terrible problem. He says, I was a drunk. He said, I drank and drank and drank and drank and drank terribly. He said, it had me, it had grabbed me. I couldn't overcome it. And he said that finally by God's grace, I was liberated from that. And he said, I don't struggle with that anymore. ⁓ And he said, that was God's blessing to me in my life, that which held control over me doesn't. He said, but once, you know, I got my drinking behind me and I really wanted to faithfully serve the Lord more. He says, I poured myself deep into a church. And he said, before I knew it, I was serious. And he said, before I knew it, the church knew I was serious. And it didn't take too long that I was just an attender to one day I woke up and I was the chairman of the deacons. He said, wow, he said, that was tough. He said, church life's hard. I said, who you talking to? He said, I didn't know people acted this way. didn't know. He says it was enjoyable, but it was harder than I thought it would be. And he said, and then kind of lo and behold, ⁓ the pastor at the church where I was at began to struggle and maybe do more than struggle sin to the point that I had to... call for his termination. He said, I was gracious. I did it in private, but I had to get rid of him. He says the right thing to do. He said, that was hard. He said, I'll never forget standing up one Sunday morning and the pastor was gone and I was the lone man standing and I'm the chairman of the deacons. And I had to try to conduct a worship service. And he says, you know, that was the first time in almost 20 years that I thought about drinking again. And he says, you know, I just want to tell you something. Serving the Lord is the right thing to do. But you need to know before you get too deep in that it's not the easiest thing to know. It's the easiest thing to do. You know, I think today ⁓ what he said to me now some time ago, I think the apostle Paul says that very thing, but maybe in even a more ⁓ powerful way because rather than suffering for the mission being unique, actually I would say suffering to make all of Christ known and all of life is not unique but the norm. I can't tell you how many people have told me, you know, I no longer go to church or I no longer deal with church people because I've been hurt. And you know what I want to say? I'm very sorry you've been hurt. I am genuinely sorry that you're hurt. But the truth is, if a Christian is not willing to suffer in some way for the mission, I think you might misunderstand the mission. Because when you look at Jesus' life, He leaves heaven to come to earth only to do God's will, fulfill the mission, and He doesn't end the mission To applause, he ends the mission on a cross that leads ultimately to ⁓ a resurrection. And so if we are to follow Jesus and we are to want to make Christ known to the ends of the earth, then the truth is we need to have a new relationship, I believe, with hardship and suffering. So much of the letter to the Colossians is about our own personal transformation. But today, Paul is not looking to himself as much as he's looking to the mission. He's looking to people who need to know the gospel and says, if we want all of Christ to be known in all of life, then our heart should be for Christ to be known just not in us, but in others. If you have a Bible today, Colossians chapter 1 verse 24, And we're going to go to chapter two, verse five. They didn't ask me when they made the chapters in the Bible, but if they did ask me, I would have fixed this one for them. Chapter one should have ended in chapter two, verse five. We'll let them be okay with putting them as they are, but this is kind of the block of teaching as it is. The first big idea today is this. To put Christ over all of life, we should understand the role of suffering. to see Christ's work accomplished in our lives. Verse 24 says, now I rejoice in my suffering for you, for I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's affliction for his body that is the church. We see here a clear theme that is often in Paul's letters, joy in suffering. He says, I rejoice, that's his first. words, now I rejoice in my suffering for you." But then he goes further than he usually does and says this phrase, I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's affliction for his body, that is the church. I'll never forget this passage being preached. It preached by a guest preacher here at the church and he read this passage and you know he said? He says, I have no idea what that means. I thought, well, you shouldn't say that. If you don't know, just keep your mouth shut. You know, but he just came on out with it. And I do think I know what it means. So let me take a run at it. ⁓ Joy, listen carefully for the Christian, is not found in our situation. Clearly. But joy is found, here's my turn of phrase, it's not found in our situation, but our participation. Now there's this wonderful idea that is really central to Paul's letters and it's the idea of being united with Christ. Okay, so watch this. Christ died and the reason some people trip over this verse is what is lacking in Christ's suffering. That makes no sense. Jesus paid it all. My redemption is paid in full on the cross. Well, yes and amen. I have no issues with that. That's clearly taught in other places in the New Testament. But what this text implies is that while Christ died and rose again, that which Christ did through faith in Him, I participate in. And everyone who's a Christian understands that. That Christ's death was not for his alone, but for me. Christ's resurrection was not for him alone, but for me. Christ rose, I will rise. But Paul says, just keep playing that out. As you go on the mission, when Jesus ... gives his final words in Matthew 28. He says, go and make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to observe, baptizing them in name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which we did today, teaching them to observe everything I have taught you. And then he says, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Not only is Christ with us on the mission, we are with Christ on the mission. And especially at moments when we are on the mission and we are with Christ and Christ is with us and we endure suffering that we participate with Christ in his suffering on the mission. I mean, that's clearly Paul's he's just continuing to follow the logic. Here's the deal. One day God's mission will be completed at his return. But on this day, the mission is not completed and God has called us to join with him in his mission. And as we suffer on the mission and people come to faith on the mission, guess what we're doing? We are participating with Jesus to push His gospel to the ends of the earth, even amid suffering until He comes. Paul says, I fill up in my body that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. This is a full participatory action. And here's the deal. Sometimes we need to realize that as we go on the mission, Christ goes before us and behind us and with us and as we join with Him, He joins with us and that as we suffer for Christ's sake, He suffers and we suffer there with Him to see His mission accomplished. That is clearly the case. You know, I think if you're going to be mature in your Christian faith, honestly, it's one of the things I look for if someone says, I want to be a leader in a church. And I say, are you a man or woman of character? Are you ⁓ mature? Do you know the Bible? But you know what I also look for? Are you tough? Have you been through a few things and still hung around? Because if you can be taken down like this, you probably aren't ready to be a leader in a church because this is the essence of Christian ministry and suffering doesn't mean something's wrong. Oftentimes, suffering for the mission means something's right. Sometimes I ask people who I have a deep respect for, tell me some books you have read that have inspired you. And a man I have a great deal of respect for held up. I said, give me the top 10 books that have influenced you. And quickly he went to his shelf and held up an old book. I thought that one, it was a simple biography called To The Golden Shore. And it was the story of Adoniram Judson. I want to tell you that story just for a moment because it's inspired so many people you might not know it and it encapsulates this perfect idea of suffering to see Christ's mission accomplished. Adoniram Judson, born a long time ago, ⁓ 1788 to 1850. But what makes him special is that he really is thought of by many people as America's first overseas missionary. And he spent 38 years in a place called Burma, which is in Southeast Asia, which is modern day Myanmar. Okay, nevertheless. Adniram had a very interesting life. He was born in Malden, Massachusetts to a Congregationalist minister. ⁓ Adniram, that was his first name, by the way, Adniram Judson, that was his last name, was brilliant. He was a very smart man. He was valedictorian at Brown University. and graduated Brown University by the age of 19. ⁓ He wasn't a Christian when he graduated Brown ⁓ and after college kind of went into a time of skepticism, was kind of unsure about faith, but then experienced a radical conversion to Jesus Christ and felt called immediately into ministry. He went to Andover Theological Seminary and while there in seminary felt God's call to mission work. In 1812, at the age of 23, he married his wife, Anne Houseltyne, who was tough as nails, just to be honest. She was the toughest woman I think I've ever read about. ⁓ And they were married and immediately set sail to Burma. He was married to his dad was a congregation list minister, but as ⁓ Ed and I room and and sailed to Burma they began to read the Bible together. They had a lot of time on the ship and while they were there Well, they became Baptists, which is nice I mean it wasn't the most important thing in their life, but they began to read the Bible and believed in believers baptism and said we only believe that those ⁓ Who have professed faith in Christ should be back? baptized and then when they got to Burma formed the American Baptist mission. Very important. ⁓ When they got to Burma, however, It was hostile to them. Christianity was foreign and basically as a whole, the culture rejected Adnirum and his wife, Anne. They said, we don't hear from you. You have nothing to say here. Your ideas are foreign. We all hold to a different religion. Primarily, they were Buddhist and they said, we don't want to talk. And for eight years, guess how many converts he had? Zero. and thought, actually, Ed and I are in these early days, never really thought differently about the mission. And then nevertheless, after about a decade, he got his first convert and then after just a little over a decade felt like he was getting some traction, had a total of eight converts to Christianity there in Burma. And so he thought, now things are going to catch fire. Now we're going to move forward at that time. A war broke out between Burma and Britain. And because Adoniram was Anglo, they said, we now know why you've been here all this time. You are a spy. You're going to jail. And they put him in one of the worst prisons imaginable called the death prison. It was overcrowded. It was filthy. It had no sanitation. They were shackled during the day. And you ready for this? They hung him upside down all night. Awful. Anne actually built, his wife built a little shack outside the prison, tried to do whatever she could to let the guards just give her enough food, ⁓ get enough food to smuggle in to keep Adniram alive. And after almost two years in the prison, after nearly escaping death multiple times, he got out. Unbelievable. He gets out and finally, you he and Anne are reunited and when they get out, actually they call on Ad Nirem. I don't think I'd have been this nice, but you know, that's why God didn't call me to be Ad Nirem Judson. The Burmese said, you're one of the few people who can actually speak English and Burmese. And so he helped work the peace negotiations. Yeah. You bring the guy out of the prison, you've hung upside down every night to work the peace negotiations. He gets out, things look nice. He's won the hearts over. of some of the Burmese people and then almost immediately when he gets out after Ann being there for him the whole time, she catches smallpox and dies. It throws him into clinical depression. He actually goes out into the woods of Burma. He digs a hole, which is his own grave, and sits next to it and says, God, just kill me and put me in this hole. He says, let a wild animal come tear my head off and let me die. And basically, after months just laying out in the woods, he kind of crawls back. And there is another widow of another missionary. Her name was Sarah Boardman. And God uses Sarah to kind of help him get up out of his depression. And they marry and have eight children. Like, wow. ⁓ And then it doesn't, he has a pretty happy, still ministering now, he's kind of back with it, ministering to the Burmese people. She only lives for nine years and she dies. Then he remarries again to a lady by the name of Emily, who's able to serve with him and faithfully keep on the mission. By the time Adoniram will be sick around 60, he will die at 61 in route back to America trying to get medical help, he'll actually be buried at sea because he doesn't even make the trip. But by the time he's dead, however, he has a full Burmese translation of the Bible. He's produced a Burmese to English dictionary that's actually still used today. And ⁓ by the way, Myanmar, which is modern day Burma, is one of the largest Baptist communities outside the United States. You know what Adniram Judson would say? I fill up in my body that which is lacking in Christ's suffering. You know, when you read a story like that, at least the longer that story goes on, all my little problems start getting real thin. You know, sometimes I just think, and maybe this is what the whole point of the Sunday morning sermon is, to kind of get out of our own way for a half a second, to think about not only Jesus who gave so much, but to think about others who followed in Jesus' name who gave so much, and then to kind of have a look at ourselves and just ask the question, what am I giving? Where am I? suffering not because I like suffering not because I'm looking for suffering but just because I'm going on the mission that suffering and difficulty comes not as an invalidation of what I'm doing but precisely a validation of what I'm doing and and honestly if we want to make all of Christ known of all of life it's going to require of this I want you to think about this what am I willing to suffer here's the other two points are relatively brief now. What am I willing to suffer? The second question, who am I willing to reach? It says here in the second big idea in these next few verses to put Christ over all of life, we should be compelled to share the message about Christ with everyone. Verse 25, Paul says, have become its minister according to God's administration that was given to me for you to make God's message known fully. the mystery hidden for ages and generations, now revealed to his saints. God wanted to make known to those among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Paul is an interesting person in the sense that he is Jewish, but God's mission for him was to primarily share the gospel with non-Jews, to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and to share this great mystery that Christ is in you. Christ can be with you. which is the hope of glory. I asked a simple question. This is in some ways Christianity 101, but even though I know it's Christianity 101, sometimes I'm a little concerned that we might not actually have taken the first step. Like what am I willing to suffer? But the second question, who am I willing to share to? Look, we cannot, in our limited lives, we can't share with everybody. But in our limited lives, we can share with somebody. And I do wonder today, I mean, if I were to ask you, I'd catch you in the hallway and I'd say, when's the last time you shared your faith with anybody? The sad truth is for so many Christians is it's been a long time. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna actually set the bar about as low as I can possibly set it today. Okay. Like honestly on this, on this level, I don't think if I set the bar any lower, it's going to be on the floor. Okay. I'm sorry I'm talking about funerals today, but it is kind of what I deal with. So, you know, it's just, it's my line of work. If you want to join Liberty Baptist, one of things we require ⁓ is that you take a new member orientation, a new member class. And the purpose of the class is to make sure you know what you're getting into. You understand? We like full transparency on the front end. And one of the things that we request, we don't require this because some people have a hard time writing, but we request that you write out your testimony, okay, in the new member orientation, and that you don't have to turn it in that day. If you'd wanted to turn it in a week later, you can turn it in, and then we file those. Like for, I don't know, 15 years, I've been filing testimonies in a fireproof safe in the office when people come through the class. And let me tell you something that's sad. this is, you know, if I'm going give you little bit of advice, please follow this one. You don't have to do anything I say. You know what I'm saying? But you should do this one. Because it won't be too long. I hope it'll be a long time. it is really sad when they say, well, know, such and such has died. I say, it's really sad. And so then I go meet the family. And we start playing in the funeral. And then usually somewhere in the funeral preparation, I say, would you like to tell me, because I really like to hear from the family. I'm a big proponent of a personalized funeral. It shouldn't feel like it was the last guy's funeral with like their names changed. Like, tell me about the person. So I want to listen to the family and I say, Luke family, would you please just tell me about the spiritual life of whoever, this person. It's usually the quietest moment during the funeral plan. They go, well, sometimes they see this. Well, he didn't say much about that. I'm thinking, well, that's bad. She didn't say much about that. So you know what I do? It's like, I reach in my pocket and I pull out their testimony from the new member class. I say, well, can I read it for you? And they, I mean, they're like, where'd you get that? I said, I asked for it. Sounds like some of y'all should have asked for it, you know? And so I read it. And then when they read it, next thing I know, the table there at Robinson Funeral Home, I see teardrops puddling up. And they said, I wish he or she would have shared that with me while they were alive. I've got so many questions now. And here's the deal, don't die before you tell your family where you are. Can we put it any lower on the bar here? Like if you haven't gotten around to telling your children, your grandchildren, how you came to faith in Jesus Christ and what He's done for you. I want to say shame on you, but I'm feeling Christian today. I'm going to say bless you, but do it. You see? Because if you're going to make God's message known to the Gentiles, to non-believers, to your neighbors in the nations, your family ought to know first. You ought to sit down and say, let me just make sure you know all of this. And here's the deal. Don't assume that they know. because in my experience, they don't. You thought you made it plain, they're rather, or if you want to do this, say, I'm very much alive right now, if you, you know, and say, tell me my testimony back to me, if you want to test them. And if they say, I can't recall, then you ought to recall it for them until it's seared in their memory. Because one of the best ways you can share the gospel with your neighbor is guess what? Tell them your testimony. Tell them what Christ has done in your own life. And that ought to happen at least first, right among your own family. Sometimes us Baptists have been good at getting the ball across the line, like we convert people. Not we, but Christ through us, right? We call for conversion. But you know what Paul doesn't call just to create converts. If we're gonna make all of Christ known over all of life, We don't just call for conversion. Listen carefully. We call for disciples. We call for people to be mature. I got a lot more to say about this point, but I introduce it to you today. We'll finish it out in the next paragraph next Sunday. But I just want to put the idea on the table for you today. The third idea to put Christ over all of life. We should strive with those under our ministry to become mature in Christ. Verse 28, we proclaim Him. warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this striving with strength that works powerfully with his strength that works powerfully in me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, for those in Laodicea. You may say, why is he talking about Laodicea? Because Laodicea is right down the street from Colossi. They're all in the same neck of the woods. And for all those who have not seen me in prison. I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery Christ. In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments, for I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit rejoicing to see your good order and the strength of your faith in Christ." Here's a simple conclusion today. What am I willing to suffer? Who am I willing to reach? And how long am I willing to stay to see them grow up? And if you say, you know, I want all of Christ known over all of life, and they're not willing to suffer, you're not willing to go, and you're not willing to stay until you see maturity. then Christ, at least through your life, won't be fully known. And so I call you today. I ask, you know, are you willing to stand up among your friends and be counted for the gospel's sake? Are you willing to stand up among your coworkers and be counted for the gospel's sake? Are you willing to stand up to your neighbors and be counted for the gospel's sake? And maybe God today may be calling someone. ⁓ I couldn't help but I don't have permission I'm not going to say that but ⁓ All I can say is God could be calling some of you. to missions. Some of you could be saying, you know what, my ministry's not here in Appomattox. God has planted me here and I've served here faithfully, but I need to pack up and I need to go to a place where there's greater lostness, a place of calling. And I need to be there and I need to serve those people and I need to share the gospel to those people. And I think we ought to be open to the Lord wherever he sends us, wherever. We need to go, that we will say, Christ, I want you to be known in every place through my life, and I want you to have all of me, so here I am. Send me. You know Christian today, you ought to think about it. What is your mission? We all have different missions and different callings. When you wake up in the morning and you say, must do this thing before I die, I think the Lord, God, the Holy Spirit lets you know that. And whether it may seem little or big, you know what I would try to do before I die? Complete it. And so I would set before the Lord and say, God, what do you have of me? And if you're here today and you're not a Christian, maybe you heard what I ask in the baptismal waters. I ask every person when they come to the baptismal waters. Baptism doesn't save you. Christ saves you. And I ask every person before they are baptized, have you admitted your sin and trusted in Jesus as your Savior? If they can say yes to that, those are the only requirements necessary to become a Christian. If you haven't done that, this altar is open. I'll be here, Pastor Ishmael will be here, and we will counsel with you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask you, God, would you maybe shake us from where we are, and God, give us clarity on the mission you have for us. God, whether right where we are or down the street or around the world, may Christ be known in our life. God, for those today who... have endured difficulty due to following you. God may they have the perspective found in your word that they rejoice because their suffering is for the good of those they're sharing with. God give us a fresh boldness and God may we go and then God once we get to the place you've told us to go may we stay long enough. to see those that we minister to mature in you. God, would you be with Liberty Baptist? God, help us to be faithful. God, not only faithful to come, but God faithful to go, to be faithful on the mission. God, may our lives be worthy of the gospel. In Jesus' name, amen.

Colossians 1:24