Working Hard for the Lord

Introduction

Good morning church.....

It is a blessing as always to stand....

Remember to be praying for Shelba and Rich.

Prayer series starting next week.

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Today is the day… we will be finishing up our study in the book of Colossians. I pray it has been a blessing to you and an edifying time but more so pray that the Lord has been glorified through our time together learning His Word.

As we begin our time this morning…let’s take a brief look back at our journey where we started 10 weeks ago.

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Paul quickly reminded us in the first chapter that that we are to encourage one another because we need each other and that in all we do our objective should be to point others to Christ because He is everything to us.

He also taught us that we must be growing in our relationship with Christ and to do that we must be a people that walk in the ways of the Lord....why? Because of the price that was paid for us.

Paul went on to proclaim who Jesus was.... fully God and fully man.... the head of the church and He is the one that literally holds us together.

Colossians 1:15–17 CSB

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

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Paul, by example, showed us that we should be servants of Jesus that seek and strive to make Jesus known.

And at the core of this message in Colossians was the underlying threat that awaited them and still exists for us today..... False teachers. False teaching will sound reasonable to us, which is why we must be completely rooted in the teaching of Jesus Christ.

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Paul culminated this book with the admonishment in chapter 3 in how we must preoccupy ourselves with Christ. And that regardless of what the world tells us....Jesus is for everyone and in all.

Paul went on to lay out for us how we as Christ followers should look and what we should be putting on and what we should be fleeing from. These things will then affect our actions in how we deal with one another and as we looked at last week, how our words will be affected.

Out of the overflow of our hearts are the words that come from our mouths.

As believers in Jesus, we are different. Because we have been bought and paid for by the shed blood of Christ Jesus.

We must live our lives in a way that we are set apart from the world so that the light of Jesus shines bright for all to see.

Because Jesus is for all and in all.

Colossians 3:11 CSB

11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

And in the same how Paul began this letter lifting up his co-laborers in the Lord, he ends the letter the same.

Please stand...

Colossians 4:7–18 ESV

7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 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. 10 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), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. 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. 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. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 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. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

As Paul is giving his final greetings to the Colossians, basically takes this opportunity to exalt the work of his friends and fellow believers. All while making sure understand who it really is about. And it’s a call to us, through the example of fellow saints, that our work for the Lord is hard....it should be hard work.....but also, we should strive to be working hard for the Lord because of who He is and what He has done for us. And that we should be steadfast in that work.

Like Paul, it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate the sacrifice of our fellow believer.

Why?

As believers in Christ, we need one another. We are not meant to do this alone.

You may be saying, well isn’t Jesus sufficient for us. Absolutely....and specifically for our salvation. But Scripture is very clear and consistent in the fact that we need others. It would not spend as much time exhorting us on what to do with each other, how we should treat one another, that we should encourage one another, if it wasn’t important.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 CSB

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

We need each other. God realizes that though He should be our ultimate source for encouragement, comfort and peace, we also need one another.

That’s part of our love for one another.

John 13:34 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

And that is Paul’s example to us here and why he draws attention to his fellow co-laborers. Let’s run down those he mentions-

And the first person Paul introduces us to is...

Tychicus- Tiki-kos

This is not the first or only mention of this brother albeit all mentions are brief. He is mentioned 5 times in the N.T. The first is in the book of Acts, chapter 20. Again in Titus 3, 2 Tim. 4:12, Eph. 6.

Some things we can learn about him from this was that he was a beloved brother. That meant Paul regarded him with high esteem, He was faithful in his service and Paul trusted him to carry out the mission. Lastly, he was a servant. He gave of himself. And he clearly submitted himself to the leadership of Paul.

It is clear to us through these accounts, that Tychicus was the one who delivered many of the letters Paul wrote. He was a faithful servant of the Lord and loyal to the cause of Christ.

As fellow believers, we should strive to be loyal servants, committed to the cause of Christ.

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The next person Paul mentions is Onesimus. O-Neece-E-Mos

Now, hopefully you recognize this name as he takes center stage in the book of Philemon as the runaway slave that Paul makes an appeal for.

Philemon was one of the leaders in the Colossians church and there is speculation that the church actually met in his home.

Paul encountered Onesimus in Rome after he ran away, led him to the Lord, then urged him to return to his master in an effort to be an example of Christ to him.

Seeing how Paul speaks of Onesimus here, it is clear that Paul loves him and holds him as a dear brother in the Lord. It didn’t matter what had happened, why he ran away, etc.

Our past circumstances do not define our present or our future, when we are in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Paul reminds them that Onesimus is one of them. He doesn’t refer to him as the runaway slave but He is in Christ now…he is one of them, a member of the Church, the body of Christ. Christ is for all and in all.

Galatians 3:28 CSB

28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.

It’s clear how Paul regarded him by having Tychicus and Onesimus be the two to inform the Colossians further on the situation he was in.

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The next believer was Aristarchus.

Paul refers to him as a fellow prisoner.

Greek Alert

Fellow Prisoner- aichmalotos- aich- mallow-tos= one caught with a spear/captive

This refers to being a war captive. It’s generally believed that he was not literally a fellow prisoner with Paul, but was seeking to share in Paul’s prison existence by living a certain lifestyle.

This shows us his immense heart and sympathy and sacrifice as he was trying to minister to Paul. And the example he sets for us...

We should be seeking to sacrifice in an effort bear the burdens of our fellow believers.

In an effort to love others, encourage them....... it also results in giving of our time, wants and needs. It’s not about us.

Our command in scripture is to love the Lord and to love others. More often, we see a call to humble ourselves and sacrifice, not exalt ourselves.

Scripture tells us when others are going through trials, struggling or just need encouragement we should be willing to take that on for them.

Galatians 6:2 ESV

2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

This doesn’t just mean sympathize with them, this literally means to be burdened and broken like they are. If someone experiences loss, we should be overcome on their behalf, if someone is struggling with hurt feelings, financially, etc....we should carry that same level of hurt and struggle.

Why?

Because it pushes us to love and encourage all the more. It make us invested. When we keep people and their problems at an arms length, we can stay separated from them. We don’t have to get personal.

But that’s not the way of the believer. We are to get down and dirty with one another. Do life together. Dig in and build true relationship with one another. And a huge way we do that is to bear the burdens of each other and serve others.

Aristarchus shows us how to be that person.

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Paul, somewhat quickly and briefly mentions, Mark and Barnabas.

This is another instance of our past does not determine our present or future.

In Acts 13, Mark and Barnabas were traveling with Paul. I wont go into great detail but Mark abandons them when it got tough and then it caused division between Paul and Barnabas.

But, somewhere along the way, redemption took place and obvious forgiveness happened. And Paul thought so highly of both of them to mention them here and appeal for them to be listened to as trustworthy.

Mark’s turnaround was amazing and what a blessing occurred through it, that eventually he was granted an amazing thing....he wrote one of the gospel accounts.

Understand this.

We are never beyond redemption and reconciliation with God or others.

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Not much more is known about our next laborer..Jesus Justus.

All we really know, is he was a fellow Jew that believed the message Paul brought and was willing to follow.

In a time when most of the Jews in Jerusalem rejected, plotted and even tried to kill. Justus was willing to be set apart, be bold in the face of persecution and go against what he always had known…because he was made new.

He was committed and it showed.

We too must follow suit.

We must allow ourselves to be set apart for the sake of the Gospel.

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It’s our dear brother Epaphras again…the founder of the Colossian church.

Paul reminds us here of this mans great love for the church. He aches and battles for them in prayer. And his desire is for them to be found fully assured in God’s will. Meaning, they are mature in their faith, so that when faced with the battle they can be victorious.

Ephesians 4:13–14 ESV

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

And his wrestling didn’t stop with Colossae, but also for the church Laodicea and Hierapolis.

We all should hope and pray for such desire in our hearts for ourselves and our fellow believers.

Do we find ourselves battling for each other in the same fashion?

Are you seeking the Lord on behalf of your fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord?

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We get to another familiar name, the good doctor, Luke.

He was Paul’s personal physician and dear friend. He was also a gentile. Which furthers our theme that it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, Christ is for all and in all. And we all are bonded together in our belief.

There is much speculation about Luke and his life, none of which is mentioned in the pages of Scripture. The one thing we can take away from this is servant though is

We need to be willing to surrender our talents and abilities in service to the Lord.

Luke was a great doctor, was willing to take his abilities and use them still to serve the Lord. I pray we all do the same. Because of his sacrifice and commitment to the Gospel, God blessed in writing a fair amount of the Scriptures.

So, how are you using the abilities and gifts God gave you?

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And now, the last man Paul draws our attention to is Demas.

So, this is where things get sad.

Demas is actually a tragedy in this account. Obviously here, he was seemingly walking in the way of the lord. But we must realize, the Bible does not sugar coat things for us. It doesn’t always end happy. And it gives us realism.

We all realize that life doesn’t always go the way we want and unfortunately, Demas walks away from the Lord. We see that often time after time today and it was no different then.

Paul records for us in 2 Tim.

2 Timothy 4:9–10 ESV

9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

Demas had not heeded the warnings we find Paul teaching us and allowed the love of the world and worldly things to take root in his heart.

This should be a sobering reminder for us that when we DON’T guard our hearts and follow the commands of the Lord, we open ourselves up to the deceit of the enemy.

John MacArthur says this about this moment.

“Jesus has His Judas, and Paul had his Demas.”

Many of us can relate to moments like this, that we had trusted someone and they turn their back on us.

Personal Testimony

We can take heart though and be encouraged because it is not something we experience alone, the two greatest leaders in the history of the church experienced this and one of them was God himself.

And it should remind us

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

That is the strength of sin and it is the battle we are fighting against.....peoples literal eternal destinations are hanging in the balance.

We must be steadfast in our faith as we fight the battle that is raging in the heavenly realms.

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Paul wraps things up by issuing his final greetings to the nearby churches and requests this letter be read before them too. We also see that another letter had been written, probably similar in nature to this one. Some suspect that letter to be Ephesians.

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Paul gives one final exhortation to Archippus, who is a leader in the Colossian church to take heed of these words and implement them for the benefit of the church and the ministry.

And that is an important reminder for me, the deacons and for each of you.

We can not simply hear the commands of Scripture and agree, we must put them into practice.

James reminds us of what we should be doing...

James 1:22–24 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

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Paul’s final greeting is a reminder of the price that is paid when we follow Christ....because it’s not just a call to remember Paul’s chains and sacrifice, but it should push us to remember Christ’s sacrifice for us.

And then as Paul often reminded them....grace be with you.

As believers, we often need to be reminded of the grace that was given to us by God and extend that same grace to others.

Closing

Gospel

It’s in the message of the cross that we find our hope and what Paul is pointing us to. Why? Why would Paul want to emphasize who Jesus was and continually point people towards Him. Because of what Jesus was willing to do on our behalf. He was willing to die after living a perfect, sinless life....and take on all of humanities past, present and future sin…getting the brunt of the full wrath of God. So, that when we trust in Him, when we cry out and say Yes, Jesus is my Lord and Savior, we are forgiven and then presented to God as blameless and pure. But that only could happen through a payment and that payment was made by Jesus.

And it’s the only way we can get to heaven…it’s the only way to the Father. By trusting in the son…Jesus. Because when we don’t only eternal pain and suffering await.

Which is why this Gospel message is so imperative. Our focus must be on point for the Gospel. Jesus died for all so that hope would be available through forgiveness and restoration. That when we call upon the name of Jesus and believe that He died for us and defeated death by rising from the dead three days later, we have forgiveness and our eternal destination is Heaven.

I implore you today, to believe. It’s not something I or anyone else can do for you, but it must come from the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Please, if you are feeling that prompting today. Come and see me after the service. If you are online, message us, call the church. This is that important.

And for us that believe,

As i have said before....Jesus has drawn the line in the sand and Paul continued to lay the foundation of truth here for us in the book of Colossians. Much is expected of us in our behaviour as believers, but that pales in comparison to the actions that Christ made on our behalf on the cross.

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This book points us to the fact that Jesus is completely sufficient for us. There is nothing that this world can offer that can do for us what Christ has and continues to do in us.

We will continue to be swayed and tossed around by the teachings of this world. People will try to break us but we must remain steadfast to the truth of who Jesus is. That’s where the hard work comes in for us as believers. This takes time and effort and growth and commitment and loyalty and sacrifice. Hard work. And it’s always because of Jesus…He is all we need.

Psalm 16:5–11 ESV

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Like David, we shall not be shaken…our hearts should be glad and we should rejoice.

David was steadfast in his trust of God even though he did not fully know what was to come.

We on the other hand know who it is that brings us out of the pit…who is the one who gives life and who allows us to bask in God’s presence forever.

His name is Jesus and Jesus alone is who we need.

Pray