Mission Refresh

Why are you here?

Why are you here? I don’t know if you’ve ever thought consciously about that. Many Christians or people who identify themselves as people of faith know that they’re “supposed” to attend church, but if you were to press in and ask why, many find it difficult to articulate the purpose of attending a local church or identify what activities a local church is should do.

We live in a world that is full of high-profile individuals “deconstructing” their faith, and it is leading many other to use that same language to describe their process of walking through seasons of doubt and uncertainty as they move further and further away from biblical truth.

At heart level every person who deconstructs to the point of all-out apostacy do so because they lack a genuine conversion to Christ in the first place.

But I also believe that one of the reasons that individuals end up leaving the church is that they find a disconnect with what the church is supposed to do and be with the individuals who make up their local church. Local churches can lose their way and find themselves mired in internal conflicts, or become a church that exists to enrich the leadership without caring for the flock, or become focused on feel-good messages that don’t ground people in sound theology, or lose touch with the Gospel they are obligated to proclaim. or a myriad of other possible pitfalls.

When churches lose sight of their purpose before God, it is of no surprise that individuals will eventually leave because they were never grounded in truth. It’s tragic that many will leave churches who have lost their way, but not only that they will leave Christianity all together.

I hope and pray that they will never be true of Pillar Fellowship. I pray God’s protection upon myself as the pastor, upon the other future pastors and elders of Pillar Fellowship, that as long as this local church exists, Pillar will hold true to its name: a Pillar and support of the truth of God’s Word.

And so, before we return to finish our study of Philippians next week, I thought to take advantage of the fact that this is the first Sunday of the new year to remind us all, myself included, of why we are here, what the church at large is supposed to be about, and how we hope God will bless the efforts of Pillar Fellowship as we move forward into the year 2022.

We are going to look at Colossians 1 focusing on verses 24-29. In this text there are several things about church ministry that I want us to notice as we come to our final conclusion: Church ministry is about Christ.

Paul shares his own personal experience and his own commission from God, but notice that his entire ministry is about the church. He works to benefit the church, to strengthen the church, and to deepen the church.

Colossians 1:24 ESV

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

Colossians 1:25 ESV

25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

Paul’s entire life is about the church. There is much to be gleaned from Paul’s ministry, and we it should’t be difficult to see the connections between Paul’s calling and our responsibility. The same things that motivated and drove Paul, the same things he was obligated to perform as a minister, we are all called to the same things.

I have five headings for us to consider today, all of them declaring to us what the church is supposed to be about. Why are we here, even today?

Church ministry is about worship, its about the word, its about the Gospel, its about discipleship, and ultimately, its all about Christ.

Biblical Church Ministry is About Worship

There is much about this context we don’t have time to examine today, but I want to give a brief overview simply because Paul’s conclusions at the end of chapter flow directly out of what he writes earlier. It’s all connected together and we must not miss that.

If we were to start at the beginning of the chapter we would see Paul’s words about what God has done in their lives through the Gospel of Christ, in that it is bearing fruit and increasing. We would see how his prayer for the church includes his desire that give thanks to the father who has qualified them to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

We would see the incredible majesty of Christ as Paul points to him as the creator, and sustainer of the world, the head of the church, and the preeminent one who has reconciled the world to himself.

As a result, Paul is able to rejoice, even though he suffers greatly. He rejoices! God is at work! the Gospel is changing lives! This alone evokes a worshipful response in Paul. He rejoices, even if he has to suffer for the very Gospel that is changed lives.

Colossians 1:24 ESV

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

The phrase “filling up what is lacking Christ’s afflictions” has tripped up many readers. It doesn’t mean that Christ’s death was someone insufficient, but rather that Paul understood that God was sovereign over his suffering that he was willing to endure what God had put in front of him for the sake of the Church. When God saved Paul, he said to annanias these words in the book of Acts:

Acts 9:16 ESV

16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

So Paul knew that he was predetermined to suffer for Christ, but that didn’t stop him from worshiping because he knew the benefit that it would being to the church.

We spent some time on this concept when we were in Philippians 1 earlier this year, how Paul’s suffering and even being in prison at the time of his writing has actually led to a furtherance of the Gospel, and in that he rejoices! We worships God because he see God at work.

But notice how he describes the message that he was commissioned to preach:

Colossians 1:25–27 ESV

25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Paul says his mission is to proclaim the word of God and the content of that message is the riches of the glory of the mystery of Christ.

The language that Paul uses is worshipful language.

The riches, of the glory, of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.

Paul looks at what Christ has accomplished, about the truth of the gospel and he is blown away by it! The riches of the glory! The wealth, the abundance of the glory of God as it is on display in Christ.

A few moments ago we sang Come behold the wondrous mystery.

Come behold the wondrous mystery Christ the Lord upon the tree In the stead of ruined sinners Hangs the Lamb in victory

See the price of our redemption See the Father’s plan unfold Bringing many sons to glory Grace unmeasured, love untold

Come behold the wondrous mystery Slain by death the God of life But no grave could e’er restrain Him Praise the Lord; He is alive!

What a foretaste of deliverance How unwavering our hope Christ in power resurrected As we will be when he comes

Brothers and Sister, we have a great and awesome God who has given to us an immeasurably great blessing of knowing Jesus Christ. The reason we sing the songs of praise that we do is to aid our worship of the one who has show to us the riches of the glory of his kindness to us.

Church Ministry is about worship because Christ is worthy to be worshiped. He is worthy of Praise. He is worthy of our adoration.

We must not make the mistake of turning the purpose of the church on its head and make the focus be upon ourselves, but rather must recognize that we, as the church, are to be a people of worship of the triune God for what he has done.

Second,

Biblical Church Ministry is About the Word

Notice the phrase that Paul uses in vs 25:

Colossians 1:25 ESV

25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

Paul’s aim and desire to proclaim the word of God! He wasn’t there to entertain! He wasn’t there make people feel good. Churches that take that approach may see short-term success, but they ultimately aren’t given the people what they so desperately need: the word of God!

God has spoken! He has revealed himself! He has given us 66 books that all have relevance to you and to me today!

At it’s core every church out to have this at its core function, answering the questions what has God said??

Because if we become reliant on the words of man, and not on the words of God, it isn’t going to get us anywhere. God’s word contains the words of life. God’s word has power to change our hearts. God’s word challenges us, confronts us, encourages us, edifies us.

Nothing else can do that. Church Ministry is about the Word

Third,

Biblical Church Ministry Is About the Gospel

Colossians 1:24–27 ESV

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Paul has declared that his ministry is about proclaiming the word of God, and part of that message is the very message of the Gospel itself.

He talks about the mystery that was hidden from past generations but is now revealed to his saints: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Even though Paul doesn’t use the word Gospel here, it is clear that this is a reference to the Gospel.

The word Gospel literally means Good News. Paul explains what the Gospel is in detail in other texts:

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Our necessary response to the Gospel is given in Rom 10:9

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

and the results of the Gospel are given in to many texts to cites, but here in our text in Colossians is one such result: Christ comes to dwell within the believer, giving him the hope of glory.

Paul’s ministry, and ours, is about proclaiming the Gospel. We see him do this in two ways:

Proclaim the Gospel—Inwardly

Often we think of the Gospel as being for unbelivers, that they need to hear of this good news, but so often when aul is talking about the Gospel message he is talking about it and applying its truth to the hearts and lives of believers.

In Col 2:6 Paul writes:

Colossians 2:6 ESV

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

We recieved Christ through faith in the Gospel, and so we are to continue to walk in accordance with that same faith in the same Gospel. We are reflect upon what Christ has done and allow that to influence how we live ours lives in obedience to him. Our obedience is not an expression of earning favor with God, but is a means whereby we show our gratitude to God for what he has done in and through the Gospel.

The Gospel reminds us as believers that we have not reason to boast in ourselves. We are still but sinful human beings who deserve god’s wrath, but because of his mercy we have life. To become prideful or arrogant is foolish and contrary to the very gospel we would claim to believe.

So the Gospel is proclaimed inwardly within the church. Church ministry ought to be about regularly reminding one another about our need for the Gospel. You need the Gospel. I need the gospel.

Proclaim the Gospel—Outwardly

But it is not just within the walls of the local church, the gospel must be proclaimed outwardly as well. There are countless who need to know about what Christ has done.

Notice what Paul says in verse 28:

Colossians 1:28 ESV

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

We proclaim Christ. Warning everyone. Teaching Everyone. Presenting everyone mature in Christ.

Gospel proclamation includes warning and teaching.

The word for warning is often translated as admonish. It speaks of correction. When there are false ideas or behavior, proclaiming Christ means we speak to that. Sinful behavior should be addressed. False ideas ought to be corrected. This must be done with love, but it must be done.

Gospel proclamation proclaims the law of God and the standard of his holiness to use it as a mirror to show the sinner of their need for Christ.

Many churches have forsaken their roll in addressing sin. As many sinful activities have become more and more embraced an normalized by the culture at large, many churches are choosing to drop language that might be offensive to the world.

What these churches are forgetting is that the world is in bondage to sin, and unless an individual is willing to acknowledge their own inability to break free from that which is killing them they will never live the lives that the churches promise to them because they will be seeking to live it without the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, and without submission to His word.

We must be willing to admonish false ideas and behavior if we are to call people to a life of following Christ. It must be done in love, but that same love requires that we speak truth.

We admonish and we also teach. This is the positive counterpart to admonish. If admonishing is identifying and correcting false ideas and behavior, teaching carries the idea of promoting truth and proper living before God.

I’ve gone out have done open-air preaching. I’ve witnessed other preachers come out and preach messages of damnation to everyone and everyone. They called out every sin you can imagine and declared that everyone was on their way to hell. And then they stopped.

They admonished, but they never taught positive truth.

Brothers and sisters, this is not Gospel proclamation. If all we do is preach a message of condemnation, we are missing the Gospel. The world already stands in condemnation. We must offer the good news!

We must teach truthfully about the persona and work of Jesus Christ. We must declare of his goodness and grace to those who are broken by their sin. We must tell of the love of Christ and how we can have new life through repentance and faith in Him. He offers forgiveness. He offers adoption into His family. He offers restoration. He offers new life.

We warn, we admonish. But we also teach.

Church ministry is Gospel Ministry. The church exists to proclaim the good news of the Gospel.

Fourth,

Biblical Church Ministry is About Discipleship

The words for warning and teaching seem to have a dual function. These are the basic activities we are to do when we engage in evangelistic encounters.

But they are also the basic activities in discipleship ministry.

Discipleship is defined simply as helping one another follow Christ.

All of us get to work together to help one another grow. And we do that by admonishing…when we see a brother of sister engaging in objective sin, the most loving thing we can do is to graciously talk to them about it.

We do it by teaching…as we fellowship, gather for church functions, rub shoulders in others ways, we can disciple one another through our informal conversations that help shape one another.

At our church functions those gifted for teaching bring God’s word and teach it. In our discipleship class we engage in conversations designed to help us think intentionally about God’s word and how it applies to us.

All this is designed to move us in a particular direction:

Colossians 1:28 ESV

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

That last line of that verse begins with a “so that” indicating the purpose the previous actions. The reason we admonish or warn, the reason we teach is so that we might all be brought to maturity in our faith in Christ Jesus.

Our desire is to see us all walking with Christ. Living the lives he intends and desires from us. Studying God’s Word. Growing in our walk with him. Representing Him well to the world. Mature believers.

Church Ministry is about Discipleship.

Finally,

Biblical Church Ministry is About Christ

This whole passage is focused squarely on Christ:

Him we proclaim

Unto Him we worship

In Him we mature

Through Him we labor

Colossians 1:29 ESV

29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

The reality is that this approach to church ministry is hard work. The leaders must be willing to put in time, energy, and effort to see biblical ministry move forward. The people of the church must be willing to sacrifice some of their own time, energy, and effort, if we are to be the body that Paul describes in Eph 4 and 1 Cor 12.

Paul says he toils and struggles.

To toil is to labor to the point of breaking a sweat.

As an electrician, most of my time is spent troubleshooting circuits and installing light fixtures. Though I’m on my feet for most of those days, I don’t always break a sweat. However, Everyone once in a while, there are parts of my job that require me to engage in something that I simply have to roll up sleeves and work at it. One of those is driving ground rods into the ground. Using a sledge hammer, these rods must be driven 8 feet into the earth for the safety of the home. By the end of driving on of those, I am dripping with sweat and very tired.

Sometimes its s challenge because there might be rock in the ground where I’m trying to drive it or a variety of other factors that cause me to struggle with the task. But the rod has to be there. So through hard work and perseverance it gets done.

That’s the kind of idea that is in view with the words toil and struggle. It’s hard work. We labor and spend our energy.

But notice…even though it is hard work…this isn’t about us.

This very task reveals our own wekanesses! I need to be admonished. I need to be taught. I also need to be brought to maturity in Christ. I’m not there yet.

And if I try to work this out in my own strength....we won’t get very far.

So I must labor....but it’s in the strength that Christ supplies.

That must be true of each of us, if we are to be a biblical church.

This isn’t about us. If we make it about us we labor in our own strength and will eventually fall on our faces.

But if I, if we, all work in the strength of Christ, recognizing that it is him that we proclaim, it is him that we worship, it is in that him we mature, and it is through him that we can do anything…

then we can be sure that this local church will stay the course. We can be confident that the reasons why we are here today are biblical reasons.