It Takes a Team

Introduction

A couple of years ago there was a story shared by a missionary couple, Gregory and Heidi Whitaker from their time ministering in Cambodia. While in the country, there was a father named Yang, and his son named Mabt. The son was raised in a small tribe but went to college in a large city and in this process, he stayed in a dorm that was led by Christians. During his time in college, Mabt came to faith in Jesus… but being the only Christian in his family, he prayed regularly for his family. One time he came home and prayed in his home for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of his family and set them free from the idols they currently worshiped. While he was praying and singing praises to God, a shelf containing a family idol fell to the floor and the idol was completely shattered. His father rushed into the room and said that because this happened, he could not believe in the local gods but he would not believe in Mabt’s God either. Fast forward a time and the father’s vision began to deteriorate and the son heard about the Whitakers and the medical mission work that they were doing in the country. They traveled by bus for an entire day and the father underwent cataract surgery that helped restore his sight. When they returned to their village, Mabt handed his father a Bible in his own language and he could read about God’s love for him… and eventually, he gave his life to Jesus saying, “I received my sight back, and then I could read God’s words for myself, and now I believe in Jesus.” Think about all the people it took for this to happen: Christian dorm leaders, Bible translators, medical personal, missionaries, Christians back home who supported this Kingdom work. It took a team for this one man to come to faith in Jesus Christ!

Kingdom work takes a team! How do we think about our team, though? We aren’t building a company… we’re building a Kingdom. This means that we can’t think like we would in the corporate world. Some of you are gifted with numbers and details and people and processes. These are good things! But the church isn’t a company. It isn’t a business. The Church has finances and we do conduct business, but that’s not our function and we cannot operate the same way as we would in the secular world. Our focus is NOT earthly revenue… it is harvesting an eternal return. Our goal isn’t simply to recruit but to rescue. It’s not about products but people. Our definition of success is not a final number but faithfulness to King Jesus. It’s not about building barricades, but building bridges. What does all of this require? It requires us as the body to work as a team to accomplish God’s plan for South Gate Baptist Church!

As we conclude the book of Colossians this morning, we come across Paul’s ministry team. Some of these names, we’ve heard of before… other names will be new to many of us. As we think about our team, there are some positions that are more “visible” but there are no positions that are more important in the Kingdom. Paul is going to model what successful ministry looks like, let’s see the importance of teamwork in Colossians 4, starting in verse 7

Colossians 4:7–18 CSB

7 Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here. 10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills. 13 For I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas send you greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home. 16 After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.” 18 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Paul had an incredible team surrounding him - and as we look around at South Gate, I hope you realize that we are blessed to have an incredible team as well. From Life Group Teachers to Light Operators. From Kids Ministry Leaders to Kitchen Helpers. From Wonderful Staff to Supportive Volunteers - it takes a team and I hope that you are thankful for the team that we have here at South Gate and I hope that you know that YOU are appreciated. Let’s pray and ask God to bless our time together this morning and our team as a whole.

This morning we’re going to see the different members of Paul’s ministry team and hopefully get a better picture of the types of teammates we have here at South Gate as we seek do the Kingdom Work God would have us do!

Shepherd Partner (7-8)

Tychicus

Again, the Church is not a secular Company. It is not a bank. It is not a school. It is not a fortune 500 company. Churches are not led by CEOs, Board Members, Presidents, or Chairmen… they are led by Shepherds. 1 Peter 5 calls on these men, Shepherds, or as we often call them, Pastors, to oversee everything in the church because they will be accountable for the ministry of the church, but the pastors cannot do all of the ministry in the church. That isn’t possible and even if it were, it wouldn’t be healthy because of passages like Ephesians 4:12-13 that instruct pastors to

Ephesians 4:12–13 CSB

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

We all have roles to play in this process as the body is built up! The first person mentioned in this list is a man named Tychicus. We see that this individual is a dearly loved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord. This is quite the description! We see him show up 5x in the New Testament in Paul’s letters, but we really don’t know much about him. We first see him come onto the scene in the book of Acts as well as Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Let’s look at his introduction in Acts 20

Acts 20:4 CSB

4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

In Acts 20, Paul is winding down his third missionary journey and he wants to go to Macedonia in order to collect money as a love offering for the church in Jerusalem. Not only is he planning on bringing money to Jerusalem, he also plans on bringing some of these Gentile men mentioned in Acts 20 with him. This man has responded to the Gospel. He is a believer. And now, he is a partner in ministry with Paul. He left his home and his family and his occupation behind in order to be a part of Paul’s ministry team. Fast forward to Colossians and we’re talking about 4-5 years later and Tychicus is still by Paul’s side. He is a faithful servant who is willing to go above and beyond for the sake of the Gospel.

Praise God for saints who are faithful partners in Gospel ministry. South Gate Baptist Church would not exist without members who have stepped up and realized that one person cannot do everything and realize that they are partners in the Kingdom work that God is doing in our congregation. Paul was accustomed to people being present with him for a season and then deserting him (we see one person in this list named Demas)… as a pastor, this is common as well. Someone is your friend one day, and then they abandon you when you need them the most. Someone looks all in, but they haven’t really signed up. Even when Paul was in prison, he could depend on Tychicus and calls him not only a dearly loved brother but a faithful minister and fellow servant - this man was faithful to the task that he was assigned to do. He was literally a fellow “slave” of Christ which is what the word servant means. We’ll get to Titus 3 in February, look at what is said about this man there

Titus 3:12 CSB

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there.

Paul wanted Titus, this pastor from Crete to visit him and in return he would send Tychicus to Crete to pastor. We could say that Tychicus was an interim pastor! He was a partner in ministry. No task was too large, no task was too small. He was willing to do it all! He has the heart of a servant and not only was he willing but he was faithful servant of Jesus Christ.

Friends, we live in a world where it is easy to think that there are things “beneath” us. Things that we have “graduated” from doing. Hear this: If serving is beneath you, leadership is beyond you. As born again, blood bought believers, we are all servants of Jesus Christ! We have to keep this Kingdom Mindset front and center in our lives or else we’ll drift into this mentality… “That’s someone else’s job” “I don’t need to do _______ because I used to do that but I don’t anymore.” These attitudes are pervasive in the church, but they are toxic to Kingdom Teamwork. We have to realize that there is Gospel importance in even the smallest things done for Christ.

Changing Baby Diapers

Teaching a Life Group

Working with Students

Playing an Instrument

Welcoming someone to Church

We are all partners for the sake of the Gospel and the things that we do for Jesus Christ have eternal significance. The average Christian might not know who Tychicus was, but Jesus does. The world will one day forget us, but the work we do for Jesus Christ will last forever. Whether it’s delivering a letter, preaching a sermon, singing a song, or working in the background, praise the Lord for people like Tychicus whose focus is faithfulness, not becoming famous.

Sinful Past (9)

Onesimus

One of the hardest pills to swallow whenever we first read the Bible is the reality of our sin and the significance of our sin in the eyes of God. We read in the Bible that every one of us either has a past where we lived in sin, or that we are presently still living in sin. Even as believers, there was a time in which we were separated from God. We all have this sinful past, and it is so important to remember our past whenever we work as a team because it’s easy to see the flaws and imperfections in others, but we have to remember that we have those as well. Aren’t you thankful, though, that because of Jesus, our past no longer defines us? When Jesus said “It Is Finished” on the cross, He actually meant it! This is awesome news and amazing grace.

The next person mentioned in verse 9 is Onesimus. Have you ever read the book Philemon in the New Testament? It’s one of those books that you could preach the whole book in one Sunday, it’s 25 verses and tells us about this individual, Onesimus. We read in Colossians 4 that Onesimus is coming with Tychicus to bring this letter to this church. But Onesimus is said to be “one of you.” This man is from Colossae but Philemon tells us that Onesimus was a slave of Philemon and he ran away. He broke the law. He abandoned his position and the punishment for this in the Roman world was potentially death. In Philemon, which is written to a single family in this Colossian church, Paul instructs Philemon to welcome him back not as a slave but as a brother

Philemon 17 CSB

17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me.

Paul calls this man, not by his past, but by his present - a faithful and dearly loved brother who is one of you. What does this tell us? As believers, we all have a past, but whenever we are saved, our past is redeemed! We can’t change it, but can know that Christ will use it for something good as only He can do. As a team, we have to realize that we all have different shortcomings. Different stories. Different struggles. But what unites us is the fact that we have the same Savior who has saved us and is sustaining us!

There is evidence among early church leaders that Onesimus actually became the pastor of the Colossian church. If that is true, isn’t that remarkable? This man who was a servant and who broke the law came to know Christ, and Christ changed his life, and eventually called him to pastor the same people who knew him before his conversion. From runaway to redeemed, this is the power of our God!

Servant Posture (10-11)

Aristarchus | John Mark | Justus

Next we see 6 different teammates Paul had and the first he mentions is a fellow servant, prisoner, named Aristarchus. We know next to nothing about this individual other than the fact that he was with Paul during his missionary journey in Acts and was dragged away by a mob of people who were angry that Paul and his companions were preaching the Gospel. This man was a servant, regardless of the cost. So often in our lives, we count the cost first and then we determine if our action is worth the cost. We do this all the time whenever we shop - we see the price tag and evaluate if the item is worth the cost. Is that TV really worth $1,000? Is that car really worth $40,000? Is that pound of ground beef really worth $6? We’re used to counting the cost in life and we’re used to simply having to pay that price because we have to. But whenever it comes to following Christ, there are times where we are tempted to avoid paying the cost. Outside the church there are times where people don’t hold to our Christian worldview and to speak the truth of Scripture will cost you socially - is Jesus worth that cost? Inside the church there are times where you are held accountable to a certain standard of things as a member of a church - is Jesus worth that cost? Many will say so, until they see the cost. They say “Sign Me Up!” Until it’s time to actually sign up. Not so with Aristarchus. Not so with Justus. These men have a servant posture and desire to serve alongside Paul as his co-laborers regardless of the cost.

What about the second individual mentioned in verse 10, Mark? There are several Mark’s in the New Testament and this is the man that many call John Mark from Acts 15, let’s look at this background.

Acts 15:36–40 CSB

36 After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take along John who was called Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas disagreed so much about the company of John Mark that it led them to go their separate ways. Paul continued on doing the Gospel ministry God had called him to do. Barnabas continued on with Mark to do the Gospel ministry that God had called them to do. Have you ever experienced this in a team setting? There is a disagreement that leads people to do different things? Go separate ways? This happens often - even in the same church because we’re people. Sometimes people go separate ways because of a genuine disagreement. Sometimes that is for the best… sometimes it is best for people to leave one team and go to another, to leave one church and go to another, there are times where that is needed! But there are so many other times where we pause, pray, and humble ourselves and God does what only He can do and people are reconciled. Several years transpired from Acts 15 to Colossians 4, and in this time, we see that John Mark and Paul are back to working together. The primary focus of Godly servants is God’s Kingdom, not proving one’s rightness.

Just as Colossians 3:12-16 told us a few weeks ago that we are called to bear with one another and forgive one another, Paul and John Mark practiced what they preached. They found the grace and peace and maturity to reconcile their differences and partner together for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, and this is what we have to have as a team - servants who put the Kingdom first!

Straightforward Passion (12-13)

Epaphras

What are we passionate about? On Wednesday we had our Friendsgiving and, in case you didn’t know, this is a church that is passionate about fellowshipping and enjoying some good food! We’re good Baptists, after all. This is one of the questions that I’ve been asking for months and getting helpful feedback from people: What is South Gate passionate about? Worship. Serving. Discipleship. Evangelism. Reaching our Community. Missions. Kids. Students. There are a bunch of things that you all have shared with me that we are passionate about… but what is our number one passion? Exalting Our Savior. That has to be number one - yes, we are passionate about many things, but our number one thing must be glorifying King Jesus!

We see this man, Epaphras, show up once again in this book here in Colossians 4:12. Remember him from Colossians 1:7 as Paul introduced him as a servant and minister of the Gospel. Epaphras likely was the founding pastor of this church. Acts 20 tells us that these churches planted by Paul’s team had multiple pastors as the idea of a church with only 1 pastor isn’t founded in the New Testament. There were multiple pastors or elders at this church, because we see in Colossians 4 that Epaphras is not in Colossae but instead he is with Paul. What does Paul say about this founding pastor? He is always wrestling for you in his prayers so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. What does this mean? It means that this was a man who loved these people. Though he wasn’t physically around at this time, he was working tirelessly for the good of this church as well as the churches throughout the Lycus Valley. Paul wants this church to know that he worked hard. We work hard doing things that we are passionate about. This man was passionate about seeing these Christians grow to become more like Jesus Christ… and therefore, he worked hard to see that come about.

Many churches are blessed to have wonderful preachers who teach and preach the Word. But preaching isn’t pastoring. Pastors do preach, but not every preacher actually pastors because pastoring includes shepherding. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once shared, “To love to preach is one thing, but to love the people to whom you preach is quite another.” I hope that you know at South Gate that your pastor does love to preach but more than that, he loves the people to whom he preaches. This was Epaphras - he labored and worked hard for this church because he loved them and more than anything else, he wanted them to grow to become more like Jesus! This was his passion.

Kingdom work is hard, but as a team whenever our passion is glorifying Jesus and seeing our body grow to become more like Him, it’s worth all the hard work, sleepless nights, emotional wrestling, and spiritual hardship. It’s worth it because we have a straightforward passion. This passion requires us to work hard - Kingdom work is more than 1 day a week - and I’m so thankful for the teammates we have at South Gate who echo this passion

“Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the Church” - All to Us, Chris Tomlin

Specialized Power (14-15)

Luke - physician | Nympha - provision of house

Every person God creates is unique and has a perfect plan and purpose that is God-given. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, a man or woman, self-employed or just employed, God has gifted you specifically in a way that brings Him glory and is for the good of others as well! Whenever we think of special powers maybe we think of super powers like being in 2 places at once - wouldn’t that be nice!? Maybe we think of super strength and moving large objects. Maybe for you it would be flying and getting to places quicker. While these powers are superhuman, we know that God does gift powers to people. One that we see in verse 14 is the gift of medicine as Luke is called the dearly loved physician. Luke was gifted by God and used his gift for the glory of God!

We read in the Bible that Paul was sick during his first missionary journey. He wanted people to hear about Jesus and he traveled far and wide, but he got sick along the way. What happened during his second missionary journey? He took Luke with him. This man was a blessing not only to Paul, but to the entire Church and God would end up using him to write 52 chapters in the New Testament. Paul wrote more letters, but Luke actually wrote more words in the Bible than Paul did. How did this happen? (Ephesians 3:20 says “to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think…)

John MacArthur shared this about the story of Luke, “God takes people with special talent and gives them the ability to do things they never dreamed they could do and that’s the way He works.” God gifts us and God is glorified whenever we use those gifts for His glory. Think about the way that God has gifted you - we are so blessed at South Gate to have people blessed by God in so many different ways. Medical Professionals, Teachers, Construction Workers, Office Workers, Mechanics, the list goes on - God has given you powers and abilities and gifts. How do we use them?

Does anyone else love missions? I led a team of 24 people to Guatemala 2 years ago and as our team came together, we were trying to figure out what ministry we’d be able to do as we partnered with missionaries and pastors in the country. We prayed about this diligently and had a list of ideas. We wanted to build some homes for families in need, what did God do? He provided a man who owns a construction company that literally builds homes. We wanted to do a VBS for the kids in the village, what did God do? God provided multiple school teachers and Sunday school leaders who were passionate about loving on kids and teaching them about Jesus. We wanted to help teach the people there English as a second language so they could get a better job as they get older, what did God do? God provided multiple people on this trip who were bilingual and several with a heart for teaching. This is what God does! He gifts us and He uses us… are we willing to be used?

The next teammate is a woman named Nympha and her gift was her home. What did she do? She opened up her home to allow Christians to gather and worship Jesus and study Scripture and sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. There were no large church buildings in the 1st century world, so Christians met in houses. There were likely several house churches in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hieropolis. How do we at times feel about other churches today? Sometimes we view other churches as our competition - we think that there are limited resources and we see them as taking those resources and we say that we are competitors… but Biblically, other churches are our teammates. If they are preaching the Gospel, worshiping Jesus, standing on the Bible, we’re on the same team! This is what Paul encourages this church to do - to use their gifts, and to share this letter at their gathering and to share this letter with the Christians in Laodicea. To work together because we are stronger together than we are apart.

Steadfast Purpose (17)

Archippus

Finally we see a person named Archippus and Paul gives him a direct exhortation - “Pay attention.” In Philemon, again, written around the same time regarding a specific situation in this church, Paul calls Archippus a “fellow soldier.” This young leader, this soldier in the Lord’s Army, is the last name mentioned explicitly by Paul for the purpose of paying attention to the ministry God has for him. God had a purpose for this person. What is this purpose? We aren’t specifically told, but Paul told him that he must complete it. This is true for Paul as well - he is in chains as he is writing this letter. He is nearing the end of his life. Yet, his focus was on his purpose. He was in Rome’s prison, but he was Jesus’ prisoner because Paul realized that his circumstances didn’t change God’s character. Friend, your present circumstances don’t change God’s perfect character. He is faithful. He is merciful. He is just. He is gracious. He is sovereign. He is good. He has a perfect plan and purpose for each one of us - our responsibility is to be steadfast and to pay attention and to complete the role He has called us to.

South Gate’s Purpose

We’ve seen a lot in this passage and we’ve learned a lot in this book. We’ve seen today the types of teammates that Paul had during his Kingdom ministry. We’ve seen how these people were servants, they were soldiers, some of them were shepherds, they were special, and they were steadfast. In this book the last few months we’ve seen who Jesus is - He is before all things and after all things. He saves and He sustains. There is salvation only found in Jesus, not in any other name or worldview. There is freedom, hope, love, and grace in Him alone. How Jesus changes those whom He saves. He changes our actions, thought, families, and words. Jesus changes every part of our lives! Jesus also brings us into fellowship with other believers, and that is what He has done for us here at South Gate. Because Jesus has saved us, Satan can’t steal that salvation… So what he does instead is distracts us from our purpose as Christians. He can’t kick us off Jesus’ team, but he tries to make us ineffective teammates. How can we prevent this from happening? What is our purpose?

As a body - Exalt our Savior, Engage our Society. Our purpose is theocentric - it’s centered around God. Bringing Him honor and glory. One of your greatest joys in your life should be coming to church and worshiping Jesus with your faith family because this is God’s purpose for us as believers! To gather together. To encourage each other. To Exalt our Savior and to Engage our Society with the Gospel. This is what we are saved to do.

As individuals - build a tree so that our kids and grandkids can enjoy its shade. We’re a part of God’s Kingdom work and He promised to do this work before our arrival, and He will continue to do this work after our departure… but what about during our time together? As we work as a team, with a straightforward passion of exalting Jesus and engaging those around us with the Gospel, what could God accomplish? As we use our time, talent, and treasure for God’s glory, what could God accomplish? As we play our role on our team with our eyes fixed on Jesus, what could God accomplish? Paul’s team accomplished eternal things, because they made the most of their time on earth! We have this same power (Holy Spirit), the same purpose (sharing the Gospel), but we have a much larger platform - we have to focus on Kingdom Investment. One conversation, one life, one family at a time. What does that look like?

Maybe it looks like sharing snacks and stories with preschoolers - as the father to one of those preschoolers, you will never understand the power of Goldfish until you realize that food fills up the stomach so that the ears are able to hear the Gospel.

Maybe it looks like singing the truths of Scripture on praise team.

Maybe it looks like sharing the Gospel with someone in your family, workplace, school, or team.

Maybe it looks like sending encouraging cards and messages to people in our congregation who are struggling - those who have sent me such cards and messages, you have no idea how impactful you have been to me!

We’re a team - we’re on mission together. We all have a part to play. If you are here and you currently aren’t a part of a local church team, there is a role for you to play here! Maybe you think that you are too broken or too far gone to be used or to belong… let me encourage you with this truth that we see from Colossians, God uses weak and sinful people to advance His Kingdom because the only people available are weak and sinful. We are imperfect people in need of a perfect Savior… and this is the Savior that we have. Look to Jesus and live for Jesus today!