Are you ready to experience the rich tapestry of history and theology that is Paul's third missionary journey? Our episode unravels this complex narrative, shedding light on the ancient city of Colossae, its church, and the courageous message of Paul that challenged both Roman rule and religious customs. We spotlight Apaphras, a determined minister and prayer warrior, whose commitment helped disseminate the gospel from Ephesus to Colossae.
Why is historical context so crucial for biblical interpretation? We plunge into this question as we study the book of Colossians, considering the intricate details of the author, the church, the people, and the circumstances surrounding its creation. As we journey through this discussion, we also reflect on the growing pressures Christians face in America today, pondering how we might react if our faith was under similar threats as those faced by the Colossians.
Finally, prepare to be moved as we explore God's boundless agape love as portrayed in Paul's writings. We marvel at the complete supremacy and sufficiency of Christ, emphasizing the necessity of leaving this study with a deeper appreciation of Him. As we conclude this journey, our aim is to expand your perception of Christ, igniting a desire to seek the kingdom of God in every aspect of your life. Join us on this exploration and be forever changed.
Are you ready to experience the rich tapestry of history and theology that is Paul's third missionary journey? Our episode unravels this complex narrative, shedding light on the ancient city of Colossae, its church, and the courageous message of Paul that challenged both Roman rule and religious customs. We spotlight Apaphras, a determined minister and prayer warrior, whose commitment helped disseminate the gospel from Ephesus to Colossae.
Why is historical context so crucial for biblical interpretation? We plunge into this question as we study the book of Colossians, considering the intricate details of the author, the church, the people, and the circumstances surrounding its creation. As we journey through this discussion, we also reflect on the growing pressures Christians face in America today, pondering how we might react if our faith was under similar threats as those faced by the Colossians.
Finally, prepare to be moved as we explore God's boundless agape love as portrayed in Paul's writings. We marvel at the complete supremacy and sufficiency of Christ, emphasizing the necessity of leaving this study with a deeper appreciation of Him. As we conclude this journey, our aim is to expand your perception of Christ, igniting a desire to seek the kingdom of God in every aspect of your life. Join us on this exploration and be forever changed.
I'm going to pass around a map. This is the third journey of Paul. We know that Paul made three journeys to spread the gospel, not counting the one where he went to Rome, where he is when we begin this letter. He is a prisoner in a Roman jail and one of the things we're going to do tonight is look at the background to this book and why it's important that we understand it. But this is a map of Paul's third missionary journey.
Speaker 1:You'll see that Colossae is not on. First of all, it's not on his first or second trip. It's not on this trip either, and that's because Paul never went there. We'll get into that as well. But he did spend a fair amount of time in Ephesus, and from Ephesus I think it was a couple of years, and from Ephesus the gospel spread thanks to a man by the name of Apapharis, which we're going to look into this guy a little bit more tonight Because chances are, if you're anything like me, the name is recognizable. But beyond that there's not too much else. At least in this brain there wasn't too much else. This guy is an amazing guy and he is a real cog in the whole church in Colossae cog by an important piece in the church because actually he started it. So this map kind of shows you where Colossae is.
Speaker 1:This map is a map of Turkey and you can't really superimpose them because they're a little bit at different scales, but that's where Laodicea is and Ephesus is and Colossae is and Philippians and all that. Turkey is a huge country, but I want us to get an idea of where Colossae is and if it existed today it would be in the country of Turkey, which is where Paul did so much of his evangelizing in. Today there's only a few you know, percentage wise, it's only a few Christians in Turkey. Turkey is by far and away a Muslim nation. But have no fear, the Lord wins.
Speaker 1:I'm going to read the first eight verses in Colossians. I'm going to be reading out of the ESV as we do our study. Sometimes I'll go from the English Standard Version to the New American Standard Version. It depends on what version I was looking at at the time.
Speaker 1:Verse one Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God, our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before, in the word of the truth, the gospel which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world, it is bearing fruit and increasing, as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God. In truth, just as you learned it from a Paphras, our beloved fellow servant, he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit. May the Lord bless the reading of his word.
Speaker 1:So let's look at an introduction to this book before we actually get into the first eight verses. When we look at a few of Paul's epistles, we see that there are themes in each one of them, and as an example, romans is primarily justification by faith. Ephesians unfolds the mystery of Christ and the church that he died for. Philippians opens up for all the readers of that book the joy that we should have in Christ, no matter our circumstances. And Colossians. The book we're studying now reveals to us like no other book including the Gospel of John, the complete supremacy and the complete sufficiency of Christ as the head of all creation and as head of the church. It will be important for us. Actually, if we don't come out of this study with a new appreciation and awareness of all that Christ is, then we will have missed a great opportunity to know him more and deeper.
Speaker 1:When I say this, I am not at all speaking about what I might say to you. My words are, frankly, useless unless they point you back to the Scriptures, where the Scriptures will point you back to Jesus, the Messiah. I want to read this quote to you from John Newton because Colossians. This kind of sums up at least the first chapter in Colossians. And, as the Lord would have it, I was reading. One of the books I was reading was a commentary on this, and another book I was reading was on Psalm 23. This quote was in both of those books. I want us to pay attention Now.
Speaker 1:Everybody knows who John Newton was. John Newton was a captain of a slave ship that brought slaves from Africa to England, back and forth, back and forth. The slaves were treated brutally, horrendously. They were chained together with no room between them, in the bottom of the boat, where there was no fresh air, there was no sunlight, no place to go to the bathroom, lousy food, standing up virtually the whole time, and John Newton could have cared less about those slaves, could have cared less about them until he was saved.
Speaker 1:And when he got saved, his life flipped totally upside down, as every born again individual's life should, because we are new creations. The old is gone, the new has come, and John Newton became an incredible gospel believer, gospel liver and gospel deliverer. He became a pastor, and this is what he said. He said this speaking of Jesus Christ. In him I have an offering, an altar, a temple, a priest, a son, a sun light, a shield, a savior, a shepherd, a hiding place, a resting place, food, medicine, riches, honor, wisdom, righteousness, holiness. In short, I have everything in Christ. Now let me repeat this again because it's worth it. Here's how John Newton, the decrepit captain, the evil captain of a slave ship, after he got saved, this is who Jesus Christ was in reality to him.
Speaker 1:And as I read these again, I want each of us, if we can just think or maybe write down where is Jesus not complete in my life, in any of these descriptors that John Newton comes up with. He says in Christ, I have an offering and we just think about that right. We no longer have to worry about that. Jesus made himself an offering for our sin on the cross. I have an offering, an altar. Jesus Christ is our advocate. We don't have to be in church to go to an altar to be before God. Jesus stands before the Father as our advocate. He intercedes for us. John Newton says I have an offering, I have an altar, I have a temple.
Speaker 1:Hebrews tells us that we can boldly go before the throne of grace and ask for mercy. Those doors are swung open 24-7, 365, 24-7, because of Jesus. He's our Son. He's our light in the midst of darkness, in the dark world we live in. He's our light in that darkness. He is a shield. He is the one that will protect us from all evil. If we will only ask Him to do so, live by what he tells us to do. We have a Savior. We no longer have to worry about our sins, paying the penalty for our sins. He paid it all. He paid.
Speaker 1:We have a shepherd and as I read through Psalm 23 and the fact that you know the Lord is my shepherd is what David says in the beginning of that. Think about that. The Lord Edoni Yahweh, the one who says to Moses, when he asks, who shall I say and sent me? He says tell them that I am right, I am sent you, yahweh. The first time Yahweh is used in the Old Testament, exodus, chapter 3, it's either verse 14 or 15. In other words, I am that I am. I have no beginning, I have no end.
Speaker 1:There's anything that God does. He loses no power when he does it. He pours out His grace. He has an ever-flowing amount of grace and of mercy. He needs nothing. He doesn't need us. He doesn't need anybody to be saved. He doesn't need any part of His creation. He exists within Himself Always, has always will and yet, and yet he becomes our personal shepherd. He stoopes down so low to be the one that will take care of us. As a sheep needs a shepherd. He's our hiding place. He's our hiding place. We can run and go into the cleft of the rock when we need to be delivered from this world. A resting place, a place where we can go to. That's Jesus. We can go to our Lord and Savior anytime we need to find rest.
Speaker 1:We open His Word, we read the Scriptures, every page in the Scriptures, from Genesis 1, 1 to Revelation 22, 21. All talk about Jesus. Old Testament Jesus is hidden. New Testament, jesus is revealed. He's there everywhere. He can and will be our resting place. He's our food. Man shall not live by bread alone, right, but by every word that proceeded from the mouth of God. Say it to the Lord of hosts.
Speaker 1:We turn to His Word. This is Christ's Word. He is our food, he is our medicine. We turn to the Lord. We did that this evening, right. People that are hurting, people fighting cancer, bum, knees, kidney stones, whatever it might be in your life. We go to Him because even if he decides to use doctors and medicines, guess who has to be behind your healing for your body to heal? He does. He does Riches. We have every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.
Speaker 1:Paul tells us in the book of Ephesians there's nothing we need, nothing we will ever want for W-O-N-T. Zero. It's all in Christ. We have incredible riches in Christ. Honor. We have honor in Christ. We're His. He died for us and now we are His children. We're part of His family. No one and nothing can take that away from us.
Speaker 1:It's not from us, as Paul tells us so elegantly in the book of Romans Wisdom, where does wisdom come from? It comes from above. Wisdom from the Lord comes to His children when they ask for it and when they're not double-minded. Being tossed about like the waves of the sea, says James right, we find wisdom in His, the righteousness. We have no righteousness in ourselves. It's all His. It's all the righteousness of Christ imputed upon us, transferred to us in this miraculously incredible, mysterious way. Our sin is imputed upon our Lord when we give Him our lives, and His righteousness is imputed upon us, holiness. How on earth could we ever be holy apart from the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, which he does the moment we receive Christ as Lord and Savior? The Holy Spirit is with us and never departs, and it's only through Him dwelling within us that we can ever be holiness. And then he ends it by saying, in short, jesus is my, everything Is that my.
Speaker 1:This is our goal in the study of Colossians To realize all that John Newton and Moore realized he had and we have in Christ. We must expand our view of Christ to understand Him more, his power and His dominion, his love and His affection, his mercy and His grace, who he is and how we must respond and hopefully have us look more to Him as our all in all and to seek the kingdom of God first, as we move throughout our lives day by day, not starting with tomorrow or Sunday at church, but as we move about in our lives day by day, starting tonight or starting tomorrow morning, changing the way that we reflect all that Christ is in us to the world around us. With every book that we study, it's important that we look at the background of that book. It's important that we look at the author of the book, the circumstances surrounding the writer, the specific city or the person, like Philemon, that the writer of the Epistle wrote to, and the church that he's writing to, and you know why he's writing. You may wonder if any of that is important at all. Right, because we could go into Colossians, chapter 1, verse 1, and start reading, like I just did, and not know anything about the city, the church, the people. Don't have to know much about Paul, don't have to know where he is or anything, why he wrote the letter, but we will miss so much if we don't understand the circumstances surrounding the reason the Holy Spirit had Paul write this letter and then make it part of canon, make it part of the Scriptures. So let me give you an example why background information is important.
Speaker 1:Let's say you read in the paper that there was a woman that died from some terrible disease. We would think to ourselves well, I heard about this disease, I know that it can kill people, it's a horrendous disease and obviously here's an example of somebody that died from this disease. Maybe maybe she didn't listen to her doctor, maybe she didn't listen to the authorities to protect herself, maybe she was way overweight or had diabetes or some other comorbidity that allowed the virus to infect her and take her life. We kind of say that's too bad about air and go on about our lives. But what if we looked into her life, this same woman? What if we looked into her life a bit more and found out that she contracted the disease because she worked tirelessly at a hospital in selfless labor to do whatever she could to help her patients overcome this same dreaded disease? She had done this for over a year. She was overworked, she was way past being tired and although she might have been very discouraged throughout this year, she kept working with little or no concern over her own safety, only focusing on those that were sick, doing whatever she could with her knowledge, her hands, her feet to help them recover. Finally, being physically and mentally exhausted over such a long period of time, the virus entered her body and, due to the effects of the lack of sleep and being so overworked, her immune system could no longer help her to overcome the results of the virus attacking her body and she died.
Speaker 1:We would now read that same death notice with a much different attitude toward this incredible wrong. Right, that's because we got some answers as to the who, what, where, when and why of this story. We didn't just read the headline, as it were, we dug in a little bit more. And with those answers, not only did we become more familiar with the surrounding events, we got to know a little bit more about the selfless woman, who? Woman? Who lost her life serving others. We have a newfound empathy for her and her loved ones.
Speaker 1:It is for reasons like that that we start out our books with the background information, so that we can better understand all that's going on. And, before we even read the first verse, we have a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the writer. That's Paul. His background We'll talk about this. He's in prison, where he was when he wrote it. What inspired him to write it? Ultimately, the Holy Spirit, but, as we'll see, when a path first comes back to deliver. As we read this great news, paul is exuberant over these believers in Colossae. Who did he write it to? And, ultimately, the purpose behind the book. We will hopefully answer all of those questions Again, not to become scholars in these answers, not to fill our minds with head knowledge, but to advance our understanding of all that stands in the background to this great epistle itself. And with that it helped us to better understand the background, so that we can better understand the compassion, the love and the care that the Holy Spirit has for his children that would cause Paul to pen these exact words to the church in Colossae.
Speaker 1:Now, how many times do you think the word Colossae? You don't have to answer this, but if you want to, you can. How many times do you think the word Colossae is actually written in the Holy Scriptures Once? All right, in the passages we just read, it's the only time Colossae has ever mentioned in the Scriptures.
Speaker 1:It was located about 120 miles east of Ephesus in a valley in ancient Phrygia. That's why I'm passing the maps around Part of the Roman territory of Asia Minor. Today it's Turkey. It was one of a triad or a triple of cities in the area, the other two being Laodicean Hierapolis, resting at the foot of a mountain called Cadmus. Its biblical significance lies in the fact that the book of Colossians was addressed to the church there and that Philemon lived in this city. But if you went to visit Colossae today, nothing there. Gone, it's gone, nothing to see. The city was destroyed by a devastating earthquake that struck the whole valley sometime around AD 60. Incidentally, most of us have been around for 50 years or longer here. Maybe not all of us, but most of us.
Speaker 1:How old do you think Paul was when he wrote this epistle? He was about mid-60s, 64, 65 years old. Now we're not gonna write canon, right? The book of the Bible is closed forever and ever. But should any of us think that our best days are behind us? Think again. Right, paul's in his mid-60s and whatever we've gone through, he may very well have gone through much more than we have to get to this point in his life. All the beatings, the shipwrecks, the robberies, the murder attempts, everything that Paul went through and, incidentally, he went through all those things and he says I'm paraphrasing. On top of that, my concern for the church never left me. That was Paul. But unlike its two neighbors, colossae was never rebuilt rebuilt presumably because the risk of more seismic activity, the risk of another great earthquake, was too great.
Speaker 1:Maybe this is conjecture, maybe the reason that Jesus didn't mention the church in Colossae in Revelation, chapter two and three, when he mentioned the seven churches in Asia, because most scholars believe that Revelation I don't wanna get into the weeds here, but most scholars believe Revelation was written around 90 AD. Not everybody believes that, but most do and therefore Colossae would have already been destroyed by the time that it was written. We mentioned this, but Paul had never visited Colossae when he composed his epistle to the church here. But he does imply that Epaphrys founded the church, along with those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. We get that from Colossians seven and eight, what we just read, along with chapter four, 12 and 13, which we'll get to in two years, not only kidding. This was probably during Paul's third missionary journey when he preached in Ephesus for two years.
Speaker 1:Acts, chapter 19,. Verse 10 says so that all they which dwelt in Asia, all they which dwelt in Asia, heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. So, even though Paul never actually went there, he knew the world that they lived in, for, as inhabitants of the Roman province of Asia, they all belong to one of history's greatest and one of history's most ruthless empires. They were Roman subjects in Caesar's world, except that wasn't the whole story. They were also Christ followers living in Christ's world. Despite having never met the Colossians, and despite the separation forced by his languishing in prison, paul is insistent on the fact that they were living in these two worlds. And he, paul, was well aware of how radical and how dangerous the message he was writing was going to be.
Speaker 1:Now think about America today, right, how our government is discriminating and starting persecution against Christians. We're just starting to get into it. Under Roman rule, it was much worse. Maybe someday this country will get there. We have to make sure that we know that we prepare and we know how we're going to respond should that day ever come to us.
Speaker 1:Jack, the Baker in Colorado, who has beat the government of Colorado at least twice it's taken him 10 years to do it has now been set up to have to go before the court system a third time. This guy has. He is probably doesn't have a dime left in the savings account. Fortunately he's got some Christian lawyers that are defending him for little or no money. But his life has been ruined. For not maybe not ruined he's a believer, so his hope and his joy comes from Christ for sure. But his life has been turned upside down by the government of Colorado and it's common. It's important, if persecution and discrimination continue here in our own homeland that we remember this book.
Speaker 1:Sue and I on Wednesday are going to see a movie done by Dinesh DeSousa called the Police State. It's a movie about America and how, since Bush George W was president and we got the 9-11, destruction by the terrorists and Homeland Security was created where the government, the federal government, no longer needs the same reasons that at one time it needed to listen in on our conversations, to follow us, even to break into our homes. Those went by the wayside to a great degree when that took place. It was a horrendous thing that some people saw when Congress passed these laws, but now the DOJ, the FBI and other federal authorities are taking advantage of this. That's why I can't remember his name, but that Catholic fellow in Pennsylvania got awakened by his front door being with a battering ramp smashing down his front door, and 15 FBI agents with AK-47s pointed at him at six o'clock in the morning, taking him off in handcuffs because they said that he broke the face act as he was praying for women going in to an abortion clinic not stopping them, not impeding them, just simply standing in the sidewalk not bothering anybody but praying and he was carted off. And one of the things that and this will be in the movie one of the things that the one of the FBI guy said is essentially parade him out for all to see. We want everybody to see what will happen to them should they take this side of abortion. So it's not that far away, guys.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm saying and that's that's where the, where Asia Minor is, with the Roman Empire, the Caesar's eventually it was going to be Nero that would have Paul killed in in Italy, right in Rome. They were ruthless, absolutely ruthless, and remember this that Caesar Augustus, he said that when he died he would become the son of God and therefore he needed to be worshiped while he was still alive. And if you didn't worship him, you did so with the possible, the real possibility of death, and that's why so many Christians that would not succumb and give in to this edict that you either worship Caesar or die. They would meet in the catacombs where other Christians were already killed and that's where they would meet and that's where they would hold their Bible studies and their church services and sing their hymns and say their prayers. It can get devastatingly bad and it might get that way here and, as we've said so many times, we've got to be ready.
Speaker 1:It's not usually until we dig into this letter that we realize just how bold this epistle to the Colossians really is, paul. Paul is boldly and dangerously politically incorrect. He is writing, writing to people that he has never met, nor is he ever likely to meet. He only has a report of their mutual friend Apathras to go on from reading, and that we read that in Colossians 1 7. But still he has the love and the audacity to write to them about their lives and faith, to instruct and even to challenge them. Paul sees the world in black and white, with everyone split between the domain of darkness and the kingdom of light. That's how Paul saw the world, and high overall in Paul's mind and it should be likewise in our mind stands King Jesus.
Speaker 1:Whatever Christ has said is recorded in the scriptures. Whatever he has done or achieved according to the scriptures is automatically true, is true for every person, at every time, in every place, those that read and all the scriptures were put together at that time but those that read the Old Testament in the time of Paul, in the time of the Caesars. They found their faith and their hope in the Old Testament scriptures. We have those along with the New Testament. That's where we go every single time. That's where we go because the truth of Scripture never changes and this is what gives Paul such confidence in applying Christian truths to these strangers. This is what made him courageous in the face of martyrdom. But he knew how important it was to be crystal clear for these young believers, because so much was stacked up against them by the government of Rome and also by the Gnostics, which we'll get into. That's the background of this incredible book written to ensure believers in Colossae we're not taken away from the truths of exactly who Jesus is, and it's applicable for us as well.
Speaker 1:Here's just some of the things that we're going to find out in this book. We're going to be reinforced I shouldn't say find out, but we'll be reinforced in the book. Jesus is the foundation of our faith. He is the Lord of all, like we saying earlier tonight. He has created all. Like we saying tonight, and we'll read in Colossians, starting in chapter 1, verse 15, he sustains all. His dominion is over all the earth and all other things, and it will never end. He is the Alpha and he is the Omega. He is the beginning and he is the end. He is all in all and he is above all things. What we read when we read these things, as we read about power, power. There's power in the name of Jesus. There's power being his child, if you will, being brought into the family of God, because his blood has covered our sins and he's given us the faith to believe in him. These are some of the things that Paul is forced by his conscience to write to a church he didn't plant and to a people he loves, even though he has never met them. One more thing before we get into the word itself. Actually, there's two more things.
Speaker 1:What if your church received a letter from someone you may have heard of but never met? This man was in prison, but you weren't sure why. The government had arrested him. His letter was sent to your church to warn you about being led by some false teachings, maybe even from your own pastor. Leadership reads the letter to the congregation, how would we respond? Who is this guy to tell me? Who does he think he is? He can't be talking about us. Maybe this letter came to the wrong church. How would you or I react to such a letter? The answer to that is whether or not we think that the letter sent to our church came to us on love, care and concern for our spiritual well-being.
Speaker 1:And, as we have already seen and will continue to discover at Paul's conversion, his life was a life of overarching love love for Jesus, love for the church that Jesus died for, love for the people of God who Jesus died for, love for the unsaved, who Jesus also died for, but they were yet to receive them. But him, paul's love centered around Jesus Christ and his love for the world and from the love that Jesus had for Paul, paul reflected that love to everyone around him. But part of love is to be honest and to correct when you see wrongs being taught or wrongs being done, and Paul never withdrew from the hard topics, for he, similar to our Lord, was not a respecter of persons. In other words, paul didn't care if he was talking. Who he was talking to could be a king, could be a pauper, it mattered not. Paul was going to unabashedly tell them about their need for Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. He was bold, beyond bold. He was loving beyond love. He was a true man of God. For him, nothing else mattered but to serve and proclaim the Lord Jesus and him crucified. That's an incredible man of God, incredible man of God.
Speaker 1:The time we have remaining, I want to read to us about a path for us, because this guy is really something else. Here's what the Bible says about this man. I'm going to reread Colossians 1, 7 and 8. Just as you learned it, that's the Gospel from a path for us. So what do we know about a path for us if we stop there? Just as you learned it, just as you churchgoers in Colossae learned it from a path for us. What will we say? He was Teacher, yeah. Minister of the Gospel, preacher, yes. Just as you learned it the Gospel from a path for us. Our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. Here's more about a path for us in the same book, chapter 4, verse 12.
Speaker 1:A path for us, who is one of you. What does that mean? Well, that means he's a Colossian and a fellow believer. A path for us who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus greets you Now remember. A path for us is now with Paul. Okay, so Paul's writing back to the church and says that a path for us, who is one of you, a servant of Jesus Christ, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. And finally, in Philemon, verses 23 and 24, there's only one chapter in Philemon A path for us, paul, says my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus. So now we know that a path for us is a preacher, a teacher, an evangelist. He's a servant of Christ. We also now find he's a fellow prisoner in Jesus Christ with Paul, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, aristarchus, demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
Speaker 1:This Colossian named a path for us is described in many ways. He was Paul's fellow servant. He was Paul's. He was a servant. He was Paul's fellow prisoner and a faithful minister. He was also Paul's representative of a class A where he had founded the church. Most believe, according to verse 7 and chapter 1, that the path for us actually founded the church in class A and sought, under Paul's advice, to combat prevalent heresies there. So in other words, there's some heresies that are creeping into the Colossian church. A path for us is kind of overwhelmed by these heresies, maybe not making enough headway. So he goes to seek out Paul and incidentally, that wasn't around the corner. Paul's in Rome. I don't know if you remember that map, but Rome is a long way away from Colossae.
Speaker 1:The apostle had affection for a path for us who ministered unto his need, paul's need in prison and of the need of others. It is in his prayer ministry, however, that a path for us is conspicuous, well known. This giant in prayer knew how to lay all before the Lord and, laboring in secret, made the saints to be perfect or mature and complete in their standing. Through his kneeling he strove earnestly in his prayers for the Colossians. He wrestled in prayer that they might be perfect or mature or complete in the perfection of Christ and all the things and more that John Newton talked about, and also praying for them to be fully assured in all the will of God. As we read in Fulemon, paul also testified to the perseverance, as well as to the prayers, of the path for us. He knew how to toil on behalf of the saints of God. He was practical as well as prayerful. His prayers for the stability and maturity of others were numerous, they were continuous and they were strenuous.
Speaker 1:Apaphras brought to Paul at Rome a report of the Colossian church, where he administered in Paul's stead, an account that shared Paul's heart and resulted in the writing of the Colossian epistle, which Apaphras took back with him back to his own flock. Look at what happens when you or I reach out and deliver good news to somebody else. So many times we might hold that good news within us. Might be something good that happened to us, might be something good that happened to somebody else that we know and we may praise and thank the Lord within ourselves or maybe with that person. And then it stops right there. Apaphras leaves Colossae, goes to Rome to talk to Paul, delivers the news.
Speaker 1:Paul's in chains, in prison, and is exuberant. He's overjoyed with how these Colossian believers are responding to the gospel. How, in love, how about us? Can we call ourselves successors of the devoted servant of God, apaphras, do we know how to wrestle in agony of prayer? You know, paul says in Romans 1530, I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive. And that strive means this is in prayer now, right. It means to contend for victory, like in a sporting event. It means to struggle, right. It's to fight with other company, alongside of other people, other people assisting you To fight against those that are oppressing or opposed to what you or what I or what your church or fellow believers in your lives are trying to do. Neither of the words used that Paul uses either in Colossians or in Romans means that there's a fight, wrestling against God, as there was between Israel and God back in Genesis 32. But rather this is a striving, a struggling, a wrestling together against the powers of darkness.
Speaker 1:Do you think that the powers of darkness are around us today? Anybody here tonight that doesn't think that the powers of darkness are around us must have just woken up from about a 20 year sleep. Right, all around us guys, and we think we try to be insulated and our holy huddles at church and in our homes and thank the Lord for the church and thank the Lord for like-minded friends, and thank the Lord for our homes, where we find a haven and security in those homes. But we're hoping, you know, that this isn't going to come through our front or back door. We're hoping it's not going to come into our church. We're hoping it's not going to this darkness isn't going to meet our friends, that it's not going to meet us. It's here, it's here.
Speaker 1:And if we're not praying against the darkness, if we're not because that's where our battle is, battle is right, that's where our fight is. That's what Paul tells us in the book of Ephesians. We're not wrestling against flesh and blood people. You know, we want the Lord to we may not say it to take out Biden, to take out Harris, to take out Huckle, to take all those evil people. And they are evil people, right, they are. But as we'll see as we dig into these first eight verses, those are the feelings that we've got to push aside, because we're not fighting against flesh and blood, but against darkness, against the spiritual realms. That's who we're fighting against, maybe even here tonight, who knows?
Speaker 1:You remember when Daniel was praying and and not Gabriel, who's the other main angel? Michael, michael, michael. And Michael finally comes to Daniel, right Two or three weeks after Daniel was praying, and he says God's heard your prayers, daniel. I know I was delayed. Let me tell you the reason. I was delayed Because I was fighting the you know the powers, the spirits of Persia.
Speaker 1:There's a spiritual realm out there that, by God's grace, he does not allow our eyes to see, but there's a dimension Beyond time, length, width and height, that exists, that our Lord doesn't allow us to see for awfully good reasons, because we would probably cower down in the basement and never move right. Even though Jesus wins, his power is you know there's not even a number how greater it is from Satan and his minions, and yet he, in His grace, doesn't allow us to see it. But that's how we pray, and if we're not praying fervently and wrestling against the powers of darkness and wickedness, for those that aren't saved yet, for those that are being persecuted by these powers, whether it's someone in the United States getting worse, or it's in Venezuela, or it's in India, or it's in Turkey, or it's in Iran, or it's in Israel or Iraq, or wherever it might be China, north Korea we need to pray for those brothers and sisters in Christ Book of Hebrews says pray for those in prison, as though you're chained with them. When's the last time we did that? No, it's coffee time now, and then you know, off to work or whatever, and shopping, whatever it is.
Speaker 1:I know we I'm not-. I know we I'm not Point that finger at anybody. I do the same thing. Right? That's what I'm talking about, guys, we need to change. The time is now. We can't wait.
Speaker 1:Darkness is advancing and you know what someone once said the only thing it takes for evil to advance is for a good man or woman to do Nothing. Right, we're either Marching forward or we're losing ground. And the way we march forward, not only do we stand when we're called to stand, physically, spiritually and with our mouths speaking the truth. We stand through all this by being on our knees and praying to the Lord that his grace and mercy and power will overcome this time of darkness and that he will once again reign in our nation and around the world. He does reign, ultimately. He obviously reigns, but for whatever reason, in his incredible timing, he's allowing this to take place. Maybe there's only one reason this is taking place. Maybe he wants to see how his children react and what we do.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you guys, if we leave this study, this isn't me, this isn't me, this is the Holy Spirit and this is Paul the Apostle. If we leave this study and our prayer life doesn't change and it ain't gonna be easy, because to change a habit takes work if we don't change our Prayer life and you might have a great prayer life. Take it up another step, another notch Right, for the sake of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. We need to do that and watch what he will do, watch what he will do. But Paul makes clear is that a path versus prayers echo Paul's own. As Paul struggled for them, so does a path for us. Paul's term refers to wrestling and prayer. It's a vivid metaphor. Okay, as Paul wanted them to be mature and confidence, a confident in their faith, so did a path for us. Path for us was a minister, a pastor, and Colossae probably. Now he's in prison alongside of Paul, so he has a new ministry, a ministry of what? Prayer is a ministry of prayer? One commentator wrote this I received a letter from a young preacher who was paralyzed and cannot preach anymore.
Speaker 1:That's devastating, right? You think of your pastor, whoever he might be, and he's up there every week and he's pounding on the pulpit for the glory of Jesus Christ. And he's out there doing other ministerial things. Maybe it's, you know, maybe it's whatever it might be. Maybe he's comforting other Christians, visiting the sick in hospitals, you know. Maybe he's helping those that are struggling in their marriage. Whatever it might be, he's at work and he loves doing what he's doing. He's been called by God. I remember Chuck Smith once saying he was. They were playing hands on a new pastor, and Chuck Smith said this. He said you know, we're not the ones that anoint you to be a pastor. We're just the ones that affirm what God's already done Right. So this pastor, who's now paralyzed, we assume, was anointed by God to preach the gospel. He wrote a most discouraging letter. I answered him like this I Know you can no longer preach because of your paralyzation. I have a job for you. Pray for me.
Speaker 1:Prayer is a ministry too. If God takes you out of the act of service, pray for God's Servants. It simply means God has given you a new Ministry. He has something different for you to do. If at one time you did all kinds of physical things, but now your body is such that you can't do those physical things anymore. You have a prayer ministry. Don't abuse it, don't ignore it, don't push it to the side.
Speaker 1:A Paphras is concerned for his congregation, manifested itself in his prayer life. But Paphras did not give birth to the church in Colossae and then abandoned it. Rather, states Paul, he's always wrestling in prayer for you. How cool would that be if our pastors wrestled for their flocks. How cool and they might be right they might be.
Speaker 1:This man by the name of Clarence Forsberg tells a story about what it means to be part of a team. Okay, we got a team in this room tonight. You're part of a team at church. Clarence Forsberg tells this story about what it means to be part of a team. It is a story of Al McGuire and butch lead. Does anybody know who those two guys were? Al McGuire Was a great basketball coach. He was also a commentator on the NC 2a basketball March Madness tournament for many years before he became. He came down with cancer and died, but he was a very humble guy. He was a great basketball coach, a coach who retired from our cut after winning the NCAA tournament tournament back in 1976. Bush Lee was a kind of a prima donna player on the team. The story is about McGuire trying to teach butch Lee about team basketball. This was the coach's word.
Speaker 1:Now, butch, the game's 40 minutes long and if you divide that between the two teams, that means there's 20 minutes when one team will have the ball and there's 20 minutes when the other team will have the ball. There are five players on each time on each side. That means each player will have the ball for about four minutes. Now, butch, I know what you can do with the ball in the four minutes that you have it. What I want you to show me is what you can do for the other 36 minutes. There is more than one lesson here, and it goes beyond basketball to the whole of life for all of us. What do you or what do I do when someone else has the ball, when someone else is in the limelight, when you are the supporting member, not the star of the game? You know, ts Elliott wrote this play called the cocktail party, and it spoke to these questions.
Speaker 1:He said half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, necessarily, but the harm doesn't interest them if they do it or they don't see it, or they justify it just because they're absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves. That's the problem the endless struggle to think well of ourselves, the absorbing quest for significance. Paul's final greeting to the Colossians speaks to this struggle and this quest. It also addresses the question about what we do when someone else has the ball.
Speaker 1:Listen, when we read this list of names Taichakas, onesimus, aristarchus, mark, justice, apaphras, luke, demis, nymphas and Archipas all those named throughout the book of Colossians it is not readily apparent that this is a list of heroes of the faith. So it is well that we pause now and then to celebrate the supporting cast. We might obviously know the names of Luke and of Mark, but what about these other names? It is possible for the main character to come through with impact at center stage that's our Lord Jesus Christ Only if the backup crew are performing well, and that's you and me. The heroes of the faith, mostly unsung and unknown, are celebrated by Paul in this epistle and we should be inspired. On the ship called the church, there are no passengers. We are all members of the crew. We're all members of the crew.
Speaker 1:Lastly, before we close out tonight, I just want us to think about this. I'm going to read this scripture and then I'm just going to throw out some stuff, a vision you have heard before in the word of the truth, the Gospel which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world that is bearing fruit and increasing. You know, even in spite of Caesar, rome, roman soldiers, all these evil edicts that came out, guess what's happening? The Gospel is still bearing fruit and it's increasing. All the evil of the world will never stop that. The Gospel will always advance. God will always use his word and his people to advance his story, to glorify his son and have more men and women, boys and girls come to saving faith in the Messiah. You never, evil will never stop the Gospel from advancing and from the family of God increasing as it also does among you. In other words, the Gospel is bearing fruit and increasing even in class A, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God. In truth, just as you learned it from a paphras, our beloved fellow servant, he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf.
Speaker 1:When we come to the end of our lives, whenever it might be, what do we want? How do we want people to think about us? What would we like people to say Not out of pride, but what would we like them to say? How about if they said you know that and I'll just pick a name that's not here you know that Sam guy. He was a beloved fellow servant of Christ. I saw him working side by side here and there. You know, this guy named Jack, or this gal named Debbie, was a faithful minister of Christ, and I don't mean pastor in a church, but I mean ministering.
Speaker 1:We have, we all, all of those of us that are born again have a. We are to be ministers of reconciliation. Right, we are the ones that are supposed to tell people that you can be reconciled to God. All this, this woman that's that's laying in this casket right now, this guy that's laying in this casket right now what a servant of Christ. What a fellow bond servant of Christ. What a what a fellow prisoner of Christ. Wouldn't that be wonderful if people said that about us. What a legacy to live.
Speaker 1:Leave, right, your spouse, if he or she is still alive, hears those words. They will be music to that spouse's ears to hear that. There will be tears flowing down their faces when they hear someone say yes, whoever's in that, in that, in that casket right now, what an incredible servant of Christ he or she was. Their kids will hear that. Their friends will hear that. Acquaintances that might not know the Lord will hear that you will have lived a life where you put Jesus Christ in the foreground of your life in all that you did, because you looked at him as an offering, an altar, a temple, a priest, a son, a shield, a savior, a shepherd, a hiding place, a resting place, food, medicine, riches, honor, wisdom, righteousness, holiness. In short, jesus Christ for you was everything and you took that and you worked on that to develop a boldness and habitual things, to go out and spread the gospel through words, actions and deeds.
Speaker 1:And the number one way to do that, as we already read but have yet to study, is a four letter word called love, and in this passage in Colossians, the word that Paul uses is agape. Agape, love, a love. A love that is not given because the receiver of that love is worthy of it, because none of us are Agape. Love emanates from God, it begins with God, it ends with God, it is a love that no matter. You know what is.
Speaker 1:What is Paul? What does Paul tell us? You know, while we were yet sinners, christ died for us. We were at enmity with God, we were his enemies, we were his haters. How great is agape love? He shows us that because, while we were yet sinners, christ died for us.
Speaker 1:That's agape love. He looked at everyone in this room and I know that there may not be anybody in this room that had the egregiousness of sin that I had before I got saved, but we all had some percentage of it and he looked at you, and he looked at me, and he's with agape love and said I'm going to drive you to the cross, I'm going to give you the faith to believe in my son. His blood is going to be shed for your sins, every single one of them, past, present and future. And you will have a purpose for as long as I leave you on this planet, which is to glorify me in all that you do. And then, when I call you home, you will have eternal life with my son, forever and ever and ever.
Speaker 1:That's agape love. That's a love that never ends and it's a love that never changes. You know why? Because it doesn't depend on us. It's zero dependence on us, although we should do our best to love God back with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and obey His commandments. Love our neighbor as ourselves. We fall so far short of it. Does God say you're in the doghouse, put the dunce cap on and turn your face to the corner? Go out behind the woodshed, it's time for a beating.
Speaker 1:Well, there may be times when he decides in his omnipotence and in his incredible love that we might need to be chastised for our sin. Does his love wane for us? Not an iota, because it's agape love and it comes from a God that cannot change. We serve an incredible God, people, an incredible God. We have all these things in Christ Jesus, and even more than John Newton wrote down.
Speaker 1:Our job, starting with tonight, if we haven't already done it, is to read this book and to read this book again. You know we're not going to get to verse 15 for probably a month and on, and then, seriously, we're going to be there a long time because, as I said in the beginning, there is no other book, including the gospel of John, that identifies and proclaims the supremacy of Jesus Christ more than Paul does in this book, and that's because there were those in Colossae that wanted to make it otherwise and Paul, having never met them, loved them too much to let them be messed up by Gnastics who said that Jesus was something or someone other than who he truly was.