Dwelling Richly

Bible Reading

Picture of Roman Cole Southard

Show Foundations pictures — world, different ages, different settings. Let them sit in silence.

Resources

The Bible has the program. Jesus gave the pattern. We have resources to share with you.

The Bible

The Master Plan of Evangelism —

Next Steps Table today.

Tonight at 5 PM I walk through the pattern Jesus set as we hear from Emilee Coffee.

Foundations 1 and 2 / Youth

Done

Life Groups

Renew — monthly ladies fellowship

Fireside Meetings — monthly men’s gathering

People

Coffee with a pastor. We will buy the coffee and bring our Bibles.

Others in this room.

Bible Reading

Col 3:10-17

Sermon Introduction

Today I am going to ask something of you that I do not believe you will do unless it becomes a conviciton in your life.

I am going to ask you to take out your list of Life Goals and check it.

Don’t know if you have a well thought out list. Short list. Almost completed list. Every changing list.

Goals are good. Andrew had a goal of dunking. He lifts now. Good trade.

I come to what I am about to say from the best authority there is.

Add this to your list today. From the Word. Not from me.

Reproduce yourself. Teach someone what you know about God. Find one person and pour into them until they can pour into someone else.

Question I have Been Considering this Week

If someone joins this church today and just goes with the flow — where will they end up in five years?

An attender who consumes? Or a disciple who makes disciples?

The flow of this church is set by people like you. Not the staff. Not the budget. You.

Discipleship is the core of what we do. Everything else — worship, community, mission, giving — flows out of people being formed by the Word and forming others.

If we do not know the Word and want to share it with others - what will we sing about? What will we share with others?

Evangelism is really just discipling people who don’t know Jesus as Savior, King, and Lord.

Singing is just encouraging one another with the truth of God’s word.

Fellowship has a substance. We are connected together by more than geography.

A church that is not making disciples is not fulfilling its reason for existing

Every program, every service, every group exists to produce people who reproduce

Discipleship is not just a church strategy. It is a personal necessity for anyone serious about following Jesus with obedience and joy.

What happens when the Word finds a dwelling place in our lives.

Many ladies are expecting. Let me recommend a possible name for you. Epaphras

Epaphras is one of us

Not a traveling apostle or trained missionary

A local man, a member of the community, someone the Colossians already knew

Here’s the most likely sequence:

Epaphras travels to Ephesus He hears Paul teach during Acts 19

He gets saved or grounded there

He returns to Colossae

He brings the gospel and helps start the church

Sat under Paul's teaching in the Hall of Tyrannus Acts 19 — during Paul's two years there the Word spread across the entire region of Asia

He absorbed the Word over time in proximity to someone it was already governing

We cannot say with certainty where Epaphras first heard the Word but what we do know is that it dwelled richly in his life.

He went home — and the Word went with him

Three churches — Colossae, Laodicea, Hierapolis —

All traceable to one man who did more than take notes but let the Word dwell in his life

He carried it home

Epaphras had a great zeal for all three congregations . Colossians 4:13 “13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.”

Acts does not mention Epaphras being in prison when is locked up

When Paul writes Colossians he speaks of Epaphras and how he serves the church.

However, by Philemon Paul calls him a Fellow Prisoner

“Fellowprisoner” could mean: (1) Literally jailed with Paul (2) haring in suffering/persecution for the gospel

“The Word changed that old boys life.”

Not a campaign. Not a strategy. A man who got filled and went home.

Paul talks about discipleship in regard to the Word dwelling in the lives of believers and then sharing it with others.

We should as well.

"His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow. Men were to be His method of winning the world to God."— Coleman, Chapter 1

I. The Word deserves a place in our lives where it dwells richly.

Colossians 3:16a “16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

A. Dwell — Permanent Residence, Not a Visit

Not an Air BNB guests you tell to make sure it look like they never were there.

A resident who governs the house.

Same word used for the Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer — Romans 8:11 “11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you.”

Not invited to consult. Invited to move in.

B. Richly — Saturation, Not Thinly Applied

Wesley: “in the largest measure, so as to fill and govern the whole soul”

The question is not how much Bible you have read. It is how much is governing your life.

C. You - Your Thoughts, Your Home, Our Church

“You” Is Plural — Individual and Corporate

Not just individual hearts. The whole body together.

A church where the Word dwells richly is a great gift to a community.

It is also a decision that requires a corporate decision.

D. In All Wisdom - Skillful, Christ-shaped application of the Word

Colossians 1:28 “28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:”

Same two activities. Warn/Admonish & Teach

Same manner: in all wisdom.

In all wisdom means we don’t just speak the Word—we learn how to place it in someone’s life so it actually helps them follow Jesus.

What Paul does as apostle in chapter 1 he assigns to the whole church in chapter 3

Every believer does for one another what Paul did for Epaphras

Diagnostic Questions:

Residence — Is Scripture something you consult occasionally or something that governs constantly??

Richly: Is there any area of your life where you already know what God said… and you’re ignoring it?

Community: When was the last time you used Scripture to help someone else?

Wisdom: Do you know how to bring Scripture into real conversations and real struggles?

II. The Word dwelling in us will overflow into the lives of others.

Colossians 3:16–17 “16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Lord.”

A. Two Activities

Teaching — orderly communication of truth. Feeds the mind.

Admonishing — literally to place something into the mind. Putting truth into someone you love.

Both present tense — ongoing, not occasional

Both plural — the whole church, not just the pastor

B. This is our work - together or not at all

Requires relationship — proximity to a person, not just a classroom

“Preaching to the masses, although necessary, will never suffice in the work of preparing leaders. Building men is not that easy.” — Coleman, Chapter 2

Their must be people in our lives we “learn of”

Colossians 1:7 “7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;”

“Knowledge was gained by association before it was understood by explanation.” — Coleman, Chapter 2

Discipleship is not a program you attend. It is a life you invite others into.

Jesus models this for us.

We know Jesus peached the Sermon on the Mount

He also sits with his disciples after the death of John the Baptist as they worry about feeding veryone.

He also pulls aside one broken man at night in Gospel of John 3 and walks **Nicodemus through new birth.

He also stoops quietly in Gospel of John 8 and restores a woman caught in sin with both truth and grace.

He also sits one-on-one at a well in Gospel of John 4 and patiently leads the Samaritan woman to living water.

He tells curious Zachiaus he is going to his house today.

He invites some men in John 1 to “come and see” when they asked who He is

Mark 3:14 “14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,”

Illustration — One Sailor. A Thousand Ships.

In 1933, a man named Dawson Trotman sat down with one Navy sailor. Just one. He opened the Bible with him. Helped him memorize Scripture. Prayed with him.

Over time, that sailor began to change. His life looked different. Other sailors started to notice.

One of them came to Trotman and said, “Can you meet with me too?”

Trotman said something unexpected. “No… you teach him.”

The man was confused. “Me?”

“Yes. You.”

Within months, over a hundred men on that one ship were meeting in the Word. It spread so fast that the FBI actually investigated to find out what was going on.

By the end of World War II, that kind of discipleship had spread to over a thousand ships and naval bases.

All of it… started with one man, one Bible, and one relationship.

C. Why is this such a challenge for us?

“The reason you have not poured into anyone is not that you do not have time. It is that you have been spending your time on things that feel more rewarding in the short run. That is not a scheduling problem. That is a worship problem.”

Here are the excuses I have found from life.

We are used to receiving the Word… not sharing it.

We say, “I don’t know enough.”

It takes time. It takes effort. It can get uncomfortable.

We think someone else would do it better.

Here are the responses and guess where I find them? Yes, in the Word.

“Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only…”

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers…”

“Exhort one another daily…”

“God hath chosen the foolish things of the world…”

We often doubt ourselves, the method, or how it will be received—but what should give us tremendous confidence is the power of the Word we hold in our hands.

III. The Word at work through us is powerful to change lives.

Colossians 1:28 “28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:”

A. The Power Is in the Word — Not the Messenger

People don’t change because we are impressive.

People change because the Word is powerful.

Hebrews 4:12 “12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Isaiah 55:11 “11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

We don’t have to change people. You just have to put the Word where it can do its work.

B. The World Is Drowning in Information. It Is Starving for Wisdom.

More content than any generation before us

Information tells you what to think.

Wisdom tells you how to apply it to life.

The church has something rare — the Word handled wisely inside loving relationship.

Preface Series on Wednesday Night: (1) This Book is Unlike any Other Book (2) This Book Contains a Story that Changes All Other Stories

C. Discipleship Has a Destination

Every open Bible, every honest conversation is moving someone toward a destination.

Perfect — complete, mature, fully formed. Not sinless but whole.

Not a graduation date. A direction.

We are not just having conversations—you are setting direction for someone’s life.

Don’t Trifle

Charles Simeon commissioned a portrait of his disciple Henry Martyn before Martyn left Calcutta for Persia. When the portrait arrived in Cambridge, Simeon did not yet know Martyn had already died on a road in what is now Turkey. He wept over it and hung it above the fireplace in his study. He would show it to friends and say: See that blessed man. He never takes his eyes off me. He seems always to be saying — the years are short. Be serious. Be in earnest. Don’t trifle. Don’t trifle.

Then Simeon would answer: I will not trifle.

Discipleship is not a program you attend. It is a life you invite others into.

The man in the portrait is still saying it.

The years are short. Be serious. Be in earnest.

Don't trifle.

The Many Names of Romans 16.

Now maybe we better understand why God would have Paul end one of the greatest books in the Bible with a list of names most of us don’t even recognize.

Turn to Romans 16

This is God’s plan.

Not celebrities.

Not platforms.

Not famous voices.

Just people. Names you’ve never heard of. Faithful believers… taking the Word… and passing it on.

That’s how the gospel moves forward.

Unknown people… Teaching the Word… Until the only name that matters is known.

Conclusion

A. One Command.

Let the word of Christ dwell.

It will tell you what to do next.

As it does obey it.

Share it with others.

What it change the world around you.

B. We trust God with the results of studying and sharing what we learn.

Paul never visited Colossae. But he helped the Word get to men like Epaphras.

Epaphras went home. Three cities changed.

C. Billy Graham could do it all over

“I think one of the first things I would do would be to get a small group of eight or ten or twelve men around me that would meet a few hours a week and pay the price. It would cost them something in time and effort. I would share with them everything I have, over a period of years. Then I would actually have twelve ministers among the laypeople who in turn could take eight or ten or twelve more and teach them. Christ, I think, set the pattern. He spent most of His time with twelve men. He didn’t spend it with a great crowd.” — Billy Graham, quoted in Coleman, Epilogue

The man who filled stadiums. And his answer is twelve people around me.

The Decision

“One must decide where he wants his ministry to count — in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen people who will carry on his work after he has gone. Really it is a question of which generation we are living for.” — Coleman, Chapter 1

Add it to your life goals. Reproduce yourself. Teach someone what you know about God.

Someone in this room is one relationship away from changing a generation. And that person is deciding right now whether they are willing to pay the time it costs.