WEBVTT 00:00:05.781 --> 00:00:09.011 Thank you, worship team, for leading us so well this morning. 00:00:09.011 --> 00:00:23.125 As we were singing that last song together, I was thinking back in my mind because that song do it again the first student ministry that I had a chance to be part of in the upstate. 00:00:23.125 --> 00:00:42.107 That song became kind of an anthem for us towards the end of our time there and it was a prayer right that God would do it again, that he would move, that he would save youth and that he would build his kingdom through the lives and hearts of young people that were rising up and calling Jesus Lord. 00:00:42.107 --> 00:00:55.588 And then we moved to Somerville in 2018, and we left our families behind my family's from the upstate of South Carolina, tara's family is as well and we came to this new town called Somerville. 00:00:55.588 --> 00:01:03.750 We didn't know anybody, except for the people that we had met in the interview process and the first six months of youth ministry. 00:01:03.750 --> 00:01:08.603 Here we were really rebuilding again from the ground up, and it was hard. 00:01:08.603 --> 00:01:41.026 It was hard and by June of that year I was like this is hard, this is difficult, and it was like we left behind something that was healthy and good, and now we're trying to rebuild something new from the ground up, and I can remember like it was yesterday taking our youth group to summer camp in 2018, we were sitting in Daytona Beach, florida, and the band began to lead that song that we just sang Do it Again. 00:01:41.026 --> 00:01:47.971 And for me, and you know, there are moments where God shows up and it's not an audible voice. 00:01:47.971 --> 00:01:59.690 It's somehow even more impactful than that, and I was sitting in that auditorium hearing the words of that song and it was a reminder that we serve a faithful God. 00:01:59.690 --> 00:02:01.525 He's done it before. 00:02:01.525 --> 00:02:03.240 He can do it again. 00:02:03.240 --> 00:02:29.949 He is continuing to do what he does, and so I love that today, as we embark on a new journey for us as a campus, we're singing the words that remind us we serve a faithful God who sees the end from the beginning and who has the ability to do it again and again and again, and that's good news for us. 00:02:29.949 --> 00:02:46.300 I love that God has the ability to take ordinary people like me and like you and weave our lives together and our stories together with these story for His glory in the earth. 00:02:47.125 --> 00:03:01.269 And today we're gonna look at a passage of scripture in Colossians, chapter four, that, if we're honest, we probably have read before, but we've probably speed read it and just gone ahead to the next section. 00:03:01.269 --> 00:03:16.409 Kind of like when you hit a genealogy in the Bible, like in your personal reading time, and it starts saying like so and so had so and so, whose father was so and so the son was like, and we just like there's so many names we don't know how to pronounce them and we don't know why is this in there. 00:03:16.409 --> 00:03:23.246 Or it's like in Leviticus, when they begin to list out all of the rules and it's like I'm not sure what I'm reading. 00:03:23.246 --> 00:03:35.908 Necessarily there's moments in the reading of scripture where it's like I'm not 100% sure what I'm supposed to get from this and this passage is kind of like that. 00:03:35.908 --> 00:03:41.308 So Colossians, chapter four, with that encouragement, let's read together seven through 18. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:47.528 The apostle Paul, closing his letter, says this Titicus will tell you all about my activities. 00:03:47.528 --> 00:03:52.887 He's a beloved brother and a faithful minister and a fellow servant in the Lord. 00:03:52.887 --> 00:03:59.947 I've sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. 00:03:59.947 --> 00:04:04.263 And with him, anissimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who's one of you. 00:04:04.263 --> 00:04:07.567 They'll tell you of everything that has taken place here. 00:04:07.567 --> 00:04:14.887 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner he greets you and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you've received instructions. 00:04:14.887 --> 00:04:16.505 If he comes to you, welcome him. 00:04:16.505 --> 00:04:18.344 And Jesus, who's called justice. 00:04:18.344 --> 00:04:25.805 These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they've been a comfort to me. 00:04:25.805 --> 00:04:45.909 Apathras, who's one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, he greets you, always struggling on your behalf, and his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God, for I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Heropolis. 00:04:45.909 --> 00:04:49.242 Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demus. 00:04:49.242 --> 00:04:53.568 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house. 00:04:53.568 --> 00:05:07.185 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 and say to Archipus Archipus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you've received in the Lord. 00:05:07.185 --> 00:05:10.219 I, paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 00:05:10.219 --> 00:05:12.747 Remember my chains. 00:05:12.747 --> 00:05:16.362 Grace be with you, father. 00:05:16.362 --> 00:05:22.167 We pray that as we open your word together, god, that you would speak to us. 00:05:22.167 --> 00:05:26.240 We don't need human wisdom or human ideas, father. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.149 We need the power of your word working in our hearts. 00:05:29.149 --> 00:05:35.175 God, we believe in faith today that that is exactly what's gonna happen over the next few moments. 00:05:35.175 --> 00:05:38.409 Together, in Jesus' name, and everybody says amen. 00:05:39.501 --> 00:05:40.905 You all remember newspapers. 00:05:40.905 --> 00:05:49.368 I can remember growing up we had a newspaper that would come every day the Greenville News throw it out in our driveway. 00:05:49.368 --> 00:05:55.219 I had a yellow lab that he wasn't good for much, but he would run to the top of the driveway, get the paper and bring it back. 00:05:55.219 --> 00:05:56.705 That's what he would do every morning. 00:05:56.705 --> 00:06:05.306 And I can remember growing up I would open the sports pages and read the sports page, eating my mini-weets every single morning. 00:06:05.306 --> 00:06:06.630 Growing up that's what I did. 00:06:07.608 --> 00:06:08.639 And you think about a newspaper. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:12.139 Newspapers got headlines right, and headlines are still a thing. 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:17.128 Newspapers still a thing, kind of Headlines definitely still a thing. 00:06:17.128 --> 00:06:26.584 But in the newspaper there's also, like the classifieds right, the ads at the back, the fine print that nobody really reads unless you're looking for something particular, and then you find this sub. 00:06:26.584 --> 00:06:27.603 It's a whole thing. 00:06:27.603 --> 00:06:31.645 Google's significantly easier than newspaper, but that's not the point of today. 00:06:31.645 --> 00:06:34.287 Headlines and classifieds. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:54.510 When you think about life, there are names that dominate the headlines right, whether it's the political sphere or the sports world or the business world or whatever arena, career field you're in, there are people's names that dominate the headlines of your world. 00:06:54.510 --> 00:07:03.269 And then there are people that feel like hey, they're just in the classifieds, we're just glad to be listed somewhere in the fine print, right. 00:07:03.269 --> 00:07:20.219 And you know, it's interesting because the story of the Bible is kind of like that Like there is a name that is the headline of the story, right, and that's clear in Colossians Jesus is the name above names, he is the one that this is all about, from beginning to end. 00:07:20.219 --> 00:07:23.908 This is His story, he is the headline of the story. 00:07:23.908 --> 00:07:30.089 But then there are other guys, other names that like there's some big name guys and ladies in the Bible, right. 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:39.445 I mean you think about guys like Abraham, isaac, jacob how many times did their names show up in the story, the narrative of Scripture? 00:07:39.445 --> 00:07:49.371 David or Solomon, or some of the prophets, or fast forward to the New Testament, I mean Jesus calls out 12 of all the disciples. 00:07:49.371 --> 00:07:50.984 We got 12 that are named. 00:07:50.984 --> 00:08:02.121 We can't name all 12 of them, probably, but we can name three right Peter, james and John, like they're the three of the 12 that even rise to the top of that group and their names kind of get in the headlines from time to time. 00:08:02.121 --> 00:08:14.574 And then you have guys like Paul James, the brother of Jesus, right Names that like you say their name in Bible and it's like, oh yeah, they're in there, they're in the headlines. 00:08:14.574 --> 00:08:29.156 And then you get to something like Colossians, chapter four, and it feels almost like the classifies, like you just get this list of names and some names are like vaguely familiar, like I think I've heard that before somewhere. 00:08:29.156 --> 00:08:39.975 I couldn't put my finger on it if you ask me, but I know he's in there, like, but they're there, they're in the Bible, they're in the scripture, they're there. 00:08:39.975 --> 00:08:43.857 And that brings me to a quick little sidebar. 00:08:43.957 --> 00:08:51.899 This morning, like you all know, when we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit inspired these words. 00:08:51.899 --> 00:09:04.996 Peter says that no prophecy of scripture was produced by humans own will, but men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit wrote down the words of God. 00:09:04.996 --> 00:09:15.817 Paul says to Timothy, second Timothy, that this scripture that we have in front of us is breathed out by God. 00:09:15.817 --> 00:09:25.716 It's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training and righteousness, so that the man or woman of God may be complete and equipped for every good work. 00:09:25.716 --> 00:09:30.981 This is not just human words and ideas. 00:09:30.981 --> 00:09:34.079 These are God's words and God's ideas. 00:09:34.079 --> 00:09:45.975 It's why when we come to the Bible and we read the Bible, it's like the Bible reads us and we're convicted and we're encouraged and something happens and we begin to change. 00:09:45.975 --> 00:09:51.972 It's the power of the word of God and I love that. 00:09:51.972 --> 00:09:54.120 That's the internal testimony of the Bible. 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:59.937 Like the Bible, the scripture tells us that this is from God for us. 00:10:00.769 --> 00:10:16.076 There's a place in 2 Peter where Peter is talking about Paul's letters and he says there are some things in Paul's letters this is 2 Peter 3, there are some things in Paul's letters that are hard to understand. 00:10:16.076 --> 00:10:21.792 So if you've ever come to the scripture and been like I'm not sure what this means, you're in good company. 00:10:21.792 --> 00:10:24.197 Even Peter said Paul was confusing. 00:10:24.197 --> 00:10:26.650 I love that Peter's like. 00:10:26.650 --> 00:10:27.514 It's just complicated. 00:10:27.514 --> 00:10:29.557 Paul is a complicated guy, it's confusing. 00:10:29.557 --> 00:10:30.913 And Peter goes on. 00:10:30.913 --> 00:10:38.336 He says people take Paul's words the unstable, and that the unstable people who don't love God don't know God. 00:10:38.336 --> 00:10:42.495 They take Paul's words and they twist them so that people are led astray. 00:10:42.495 --> 00:10:46.198 And then Peter says this, as they do the other scriptures. 00:10:46.198 --> 00:11:01.293 So I bring that up to say Peter in the first century saw the writings of Paul as the authoritative word of God and that matters. 00:11:01.314 --> 00:11:33.049 That's significant because when we come to something like Colossians, chapter four, verses seven through 18, when you get this list of names that aren't headline names these are like classified ad names we know beyond the shadow of a doubt if it is in this book, it's there for a reason, it's inspired, breathed out by God, and if you wanna hear more about how we got to what we have here, you need to sign up for source. 00:11:33.049 --> 00:11:34.682 How to understand the Bible. 00:11:34.682 --> 00:11:39.769 Starting on August 23rd, taylor Lethco is gonna dive into all of this and it's gonna be exceptional. 00:11:39.769 --> 00:11:47.813 So I encourage you if that's interesting to you and you wanna know how he went from the first century to what we have today and how to make sense of what we have today. 00:11:47.813 --> 00:11:51.375 Source how to understand the Bible gonna be phenomenal. 00:11:51.375 --> 00:11:57.257 But in the meantime, today, what we can say is simply this if it's in here, it matters to us. 00:11:57.257 --> 00:11:58.995 It's there for a reason. 00:11:59.971 --> 00:12:04.850 The Holy Spirit didn't just let something sneak on through that should have been cut out in the process. 00:12:04.850 --> 00:12:05.754 Does that make sense? 00:12:05.754 --> 00:12:09.117 So then the question becomes okay, well, why? 00:12:09.117 --> 00:12:14.740 Why are these names in the story? 00:12:14.740 --> 00:12:18.211 And today, what I wanna do, just for a few minutes to gather, is. 00:12:18.211 --> 00:12:25.158 I just wanna tell you the stories that go along with the names in Colossians, chapter four. 00:12:25.158 --> 00:12:37.036 I wanna tell you the stories of some men and women who were called out by God and whose lives were transformed by their yes to Jesus. 00:12:37.036 --> 00:12:49.298 The first name that we come to here is Titicus and, by the way, when you're reading a list of names like this in public, just say them quickly and confidently, because nobody else knows how to pronounce them either. 00:12:49.298 --> 00:12:53.533 So just act like you do and everybody else will be like amazing Titicus. 00:12:54.135 --> 00:13:00.139 Paul is named Titicus and he says Titicus is gonna do something, he's gonna tell you about all my activities. 00:13:00.139 --> 00:13:03.759 We know that Titicus is an Asian. 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:06.077 We know this from Acts, chapter 20. 00:13:06.077 --> 00:13:12.620 We know that Titicus was with Paul in Ephesus and he delivered Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:17.055 We know that Titicus delivered Paul's letter to the church at Colossae. 00:13:17.055 --> 00:13:21.399 We also know that Titicus went through some stuff with Paul. 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:25.855 He persevered with Paul through some hardship, through some difficulty. 00:13:25.855 --> 00:13:32.220 He had been with Paul on the journey and I love Paul's description of Titicus. 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:47.860 He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant in the Lord, and Titicus appears to be the kind of guy that when he walks in the room he just lights up a room. 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:57.500 Paul says, titicus, he's coming to you for this purpose, that he will tell you how Paul and his companions are and that he may encourage your hearts. 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:03.792 Do you have a friend that when they walk in the room you know things are about to be uplifting and encouraging Like? 00:14:03.792 --> 00:14:06.675 We all need people like that, we all know people like that. 00:14:06.675 --> 00:14:09.620 I hope we all aspire to be people like that. 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:16.573 But Titicus just seems to be the guy that when he walks in a room, someone's getting encouraged that day. 00:14:19.928 --> 00:14:22.896 And with Titicus is a guy named Onissimus. 00:14:22.896 --> 00:14:27.816 Paul also says that he is a faithful and beloved brother. 00:14:27.816 --> 00:14:41.933 Paul says he's one of you, he's Colossian, he's a Colossian man and we know from the letter of Philemon that Onissimus was actually a slave that was freed or ran away and later freed. 00:14:41.933 --> 00:14:44.752 But Onissimus was a new believer in Christ. 00:14:44.752 --> 00:14:50.852 He was with Paul, somehow encountered Paul in Ephesus and gives his life to Jesus in Ephesus. 00:14:50.852 --> 00:14:55.951 And what I love about Onissimus is that he's the guy that he gives his life to Jesus. 00:14:55.951 --> 00:15:01.273 He encounters the grace of God and he jumps in with no hesitation. 00:15:01.273 --> 00:15:10.949 He's like, hey, if Jesus has saved me and set me free and called me out and moved me from darkness to light, and he's moved me from dead to alive. 00:15:10.949 --> 00:15:20.704 I am all in and in a short time Onissimus has gone from stranger to beloved brother and fellow servant. 00:15:20.704 --> 00:15:24.557 Faithful fellow servant. 00:15:24.557 --> 00:15:25.097 Isn't that good? 00:15:25.097 --> 00:15:29.555 And that's the power of the gospel. 00:15:29.555 --> 00:15:30.658 In a story. 00:15:30.658 --> 00:15:37.390 Paul says these two guys, they're coming together, they're gonna deliver the letter and they're gonna encourage your hearts. 00:15:38.774 --> 00:15:46.917 The third name that we have here in verse 10 is Aristarchus, and Paul says he's actually a prisoner, like Paul is. 00:15:46.917 --> 00:15:49.569 He greets you Aristarchus. 00:15:49.569 --> 00:15:54.994 We know from Acts that he's a Jewish man from Macedonia. 00:15:54.994 --> 00:15:59.572 We know that he journeyed with Paul on Paul's missionary journeys. 00:15:59.572 --> 00:16:08.630 He was with Paul at the riot in Ephesus when Paul and his companions were dragged to the center of the city and accused of turning the city into an uproar. 00:16:08.630 --> 00:16:13.053 Like Aristarchus Aristarchus, aristarchus I don't know how you say his name, neither do you. 00:16:13.053 --> 00:16:14.328 He was with Paul. 00:16:14.328 --> 00:16:24.092 That guy was right there in the middle with Paul and he wouldn't leave him To the point where now, in Colossae, he is Paul's fellow prisoner. 00:16:24.092 --> 00:16:29.635 He was with Paul when Paul sailed to Rome in Acts 27. 00:16:29.635 --> 00:16:31.091 He was shipwrecked with Paul. 00:16:31.091 --> 00:16:33.451 He went through the storm with Paul. 00:16:33.451 --> 00:16:41.812 He was a faithful friend a faithful friend we all need friends like Aristarchus. 00:16:43.204 --> 00:16:45.692 And with him was Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. 00:16:45.692 --> 00:16:50.351 Then Paul gives some kind of cryptic instruction that we don't have access to. 00:16:50.351 --> 00:16:53.506 He says, hey, but you know, you've received instructions about what to do. 00:16:53.506 --> 00:16:55.573 If Mark comes to you, you welcome him. 00:16:55.573 --> 00:16:58.192 And I love Mark's story. 00:16:59.164 --> 00:17:02.153 Mark was a young Jewish man from Jerusalem. 00:17:02.153 --> 00:17:06.235 He journeyed with Paul on Paul's first missionary journey. 00:17:06.235 --> 00:17:12.551 But there came a moment in Paul's journey where he and his companions were moving on to a city called Antioch. 00:17:12.551 --> 00:17:24.411 They were going ahead, forging ahead with the mission, the message of Jesus, and Mark, for whatever reason, turns back and goes back home to Jerusalem. 00:17:24.411 --> 00:17:30.437 He deserts Paul, as the language that Paul uses in Acts 15. 00:17:30.437 --> 00:17:33.515 And Mark turns back and he goes back home. 00:17:33.515 --> 00:17:44.391 And so the next time, when Paul's ready to set out on his next journey, barnabas, marks cousin, says, hey, let's get my cousin Mark, like he'll come with us, he'll help us on this journey. 00:17:44.391 --> 00:17:47.894 And Paul's like nope, we brought him the first time. 00:17:47.894 --> 00:17:53.493 And when it got rough and the future got uncertain, mark turned back and he went home. 00:17:53.493 --> 00:17:56.153 I don't want Mark with me on the journey. 00:17:56.153 --> 00:17:58.048 A little bit harsh by Paul. 00:17:58.048 --> 00:18:00.230 Maybe I don't know, but we might've done the same thing, you know. 00:18:00.230 --> 00:18:04.953 So, hey, somebody turns their back on you and leaves you in a bind and kind of hangs you out to dry. 00:18:04.953 --> 00:18:05.776 You're on your own. 00:18:05.776 --> 00:18:08.093 It's like it's hard to trust that person again, right? 00:18:08.093 --> 00:18:18.855 And so Paul and Barnabas actually part ways, and Barnabas takes Mark and they go in one direction and Paul and Silas go another. 00:18:18.855 --> 00:18:26.713 And so Mark not only deserts Paul, but he ultimately becomes the reason that Paul and Barnabas break fellowship for a season. 00:18:26.713 --> 00:18:31.891 But here's what's fascinating about Mark that's not where his story ends. 00:18:34.230 --> 00:18:35.713 Second Timothy, chapter four. 00:18:35.713 --> 00:18:38.961 Paul knows that his time is short. 00:18:38.961 --> 00:18:48.975 He is at the end of his life and he tells Timothy my life's been poured out as a drink offering to God, like I'm at the end of my time here. 00:18:48.975 --> 00:18:51.633 He says Luke alone is with me. 00:18:51.633 --> 00:18:53.250 We're gonna talk about Luke in a moment. 00:18:53.250 --> 00:19:02.336 He says but, timothy, I want you to send Mark to me because he's been faithful and useful in the ministry. 00:19:02.336 --> 00:19:09.953 Guys, that's a beautiful picture of God's grace and reconciliation at work. 00:19:11.387 --> 00:19:18.134 Acts, chapter 15, paul's like Mark is not coming anywhere with me, he's abandoned me, he's deserted me. 00:19:18.134 --> 00:19:33.951 But at some point in time Mark made the decision that his failure was not going to define his future, that he was gonna trust the grace of God and he was going to say yes again to Jesus and get back in the game. 00:19:33.951 --> 00:19:41.769 And by the end of Paul's life, paul says Mark, that guy, he's been faithful and he's been useful in the kingdom of God. 00:19:41.769 --> 00:19:45.233 There's failure in your story today. 00:19:45.233 --> 00:19:47.273 That is not the end of the journey. 00:19:47.273 --> 00:19:51.917 Say yes to Jesus, get back up and keep on pressing on. 00:19:51.917 --> 00:20:03.665 And then verse 11, I love this guy too, jesus, who's called justice, as you would be called too if your name was Jesus in the first century. 00:20:03.725 --> 00:20:05.559 What do we know about Jesus called justice? 00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:10.423 We know that he was called Jesus and he changed his name to justice. 00:20:10.423 --> 00:20:11.912 That's all we know about Jesus. 00:20:11.912 --> 00:20:20.505 And he changed his name to justice and he changed his name to justice and he changed his name to justice and he changed his name to justice. 00:20:20.505 --> 00:20:30.513 That's all we know about Jesus called justice, except for Paul says he's Jewish and he's been a comfort to me. 00:20:30.513 --> 00:21:02.365 And I wanna say today about Jesus called justice that there are no small roles in the kingdom and the story of God, whether you're leading worship from the front of the room or running a computer at the back of the room, or watching kids in the nursery, or living out your faith in your office through the week, or raising your family or taking care of parents, or whether you're single and called to the mission, to feel like it doesn't matter what your role is in the kingdom story of God. 00:21:02.365 --> 00:21:10.035 There is no such thing as a small role in the kingdom of God, I wonder. 00:21:10.035 --> 00:21:13.401 Part of me, wonders like did Jesus call justice? 00:21:13.521 --> 00:21:21.696 Read Colossians and be like, oh, I didn't think my name was gonna get in the story Because I'm not like Mark, I haven't been that kind of guy. 00:21:21.696 --> 00:21:27.233 I'm not like Aristarchus, I'm not like Titicus, I'm not like Apaphis, I'm not like Luke. 00:21:27.233 --> 00:21:30.374 I'm just trying to be helpful to Paul behind the scenes. 00:21:30.374 --> 00:21:42.794 I love that in the economy of God, the kingdom of God, he sees and knows everything that we do, which on one hand it's a little bit disconcerting at times. 00:21:42.794 --> 00:21:46.815 Is it not To know that he knows every thought, every motive of the heart? 00:21:46.815 --> 00:22:02.538 But it's another thing to understand that the stuff that nobody else sees and celebrates, the faithfulness in the dark that nobody else notices, god sees and God notices. 00:22:02.538 --> 00:22:16.548 And Jesus called justice gets his name in Colossians, chapter four, for what maybe many people would have seen as behind the scenes work, the dirty work that nobody else wanted to do, paul says no, he's been. 00:22:16.548 --> 00:22:18.775 He's been a comfort to me. 00:22:20.025 --> 00:22:22.132 The next name in verse 12 is Apaphrys. 00:22:22.132 --> 00:22:24.853 Apaphrys is a Colossian man. 00:22:24.853 --> 00:22:42.965 If you remember, back to earlier in this series, we learned that Apaphrys is actually the guy who came to faith in Christ in Ephesus, went back home to his city, began to live the gospel and share the gospel and actually helped to form and raise up the church at Colossae. 00:22:42.965 --> 00:22:52.730 That Paul's writing to Apaphrys is a phenomenal picture of someone whose life is transformed by the gospel and he just can't stop talking about it. 00:22:52.730 --> 00:23:08.515 He goes back to his home, back to his job, back to his city and the city's transformed because an ordinary man had an encounter with an extraordinary Jesus and he just began to talk about who Jesus is and what Jesus had done. 00:23:08.515 --> 00:23:11.958 And the next thing, you know, a church brings up in Colossae. 00:23:11.958 --> 00:23:33.412 And then Apaphrys apparently travels on to Laodicea and to Heropilus and he does the same thing there and this ordinary man who had an encounter with Jesus starts three different churches in three different cities that grow and that flourish to the glory of God because he was faithful to tell the story of what Jesus had done in his life. 00:23:33.412 --> 00:23:44.851 And Paul says Apaphrys struggles on behalf of those churches in his prayers, and I'm grateful that phrase is in there. 00:23:44.871 --> 00:23:47.011 Y'all, you ever feel like prayer's hard? 00:23:47.011 --> 00:23:51.073 Yeah, like, I'll be honest, like for me, prayer is difficult. 00:23:51.073 --> 00:23:51.614 I'll be praying. 00:23:51.614 --> 00:23:53.204 Next thing I know I wake up, it's the next morning. 00:23:53.204 --> 00:23:54.509 I'll be praying. 00:23:54.509 --> 00:23:55.432 But what was I praying about? 00:23:55.432 --> 00:24:07.950 Like I'm thinking about ice cream or dinner or breakfast in the morning, or like you know, it's like you're driving down the road and you're praying and the next thing you know, it's like I've driven two miles and I literally Terrell say what are you thinking about? 00:24:07.950 --> 00:24:08.868 And I say nothing. 00:24:08.868 --> 00:24:12.632 And, it is true, there is not a single thought in my head. 00:24:12.632 --> 00:24:16.673 And that happens sometimes when I try to pray. 00:24:16.673 --> 00:24:23.963 And so I'm so grateful that Paul says Apaphrys struggles on people's behalf in his prayers. 00:24:25.888 --> 00:24:26.830 See, here's the thing, y'all. 00:24:26.830 --> 00:24:30.461 For followers of Jesus, prayer is natural, but it's not easy. 00:24:30.461 --> 00:24:41.028 It's natural Like, yeah, we're connected to God, and that's amazing, and His Spirit is within us and we know that Jesus is interceding on our behalf and the Holy Spirit's praying for us. 00:24:41.028 --> 00:24:43.067 But for us to pray. 00:24:43.067 --> 00:24:53.216 It's natural because we're connected to God, but it is not easy because when we pray we are engaging in a battle against the powers of darkness. 00:24:53.216 --> 00:24:59.777 And Paul says in the path for us his prayers are for people to be built up in their faith. 00:24:59.777 --> 00:25:03.013 They're for people to move from death to life. 00:25:03.013 --> 00:25:20.038 In the name of Jesus, he is working hard on your behalf in your prayers that you would stand mature and fully assured in all the Like he's praying big prayers and big prayers push back the darkness with the power of the gospel. 00:25:20.038 --> 00:25:27.678 So, y'all, when we pray, we should be ready for our prayers to cost us something. 00:25:27.678 --> 00:25:31.893 Natural, yes, absolutely Easy. 00:25:31.893 --> 00:25:32.173 No. 00:25:34.627 --> 00:25:41.379 Are we struggling in prayer for people who are far from God, for people to be maturing in their faith? 00:25:41.379 --> 00:25:51.234 Are we struggling in our prayers, begging God to work, desperate for God to show up and for God to move? 00:25:51.234 --> 00:26:11.130 Y'all, even as I say that, I'm convicted there's stories about Billy Graham, before he went out to speak, people be looking for him, but hey, he's got like five minutes to get on stage and they'd find him face down in his study, praying, desperate for God to move. 00:26:11.130 --> 00:26:21.439 May our community, our church, be marked by that holy desperation, that sense of God. 00:26:21.439 --> 00:26:24.094 If you don't show up, we are wasting our time. 00:26:24.094 --> 00:26:28.176 God, if you don't move, we might make each other feel better for a moment. 00:26:28.176 --> 00:26:33.626 We might be able to, like you know, smile and encourage and wave and shake a hand, hug a neck. 00:26:33.626 --> 00:26:36.653 But if God doesn't move, nobody moves from death to life. 00:26:36.653 --> 00:26:39.833 If God doesn't move, families aren't transformed. 00:26:39.833 --> 00:26:41.832 If God doesn't move, things don't change. 00:26:41.832 --> 00:26:51.854 We'd be desperate in our prayers because we want to see people built up in their faith, lives, hearts transformed by the power of the gospel. 00:26:53.425 --> 00:26:57.142 Verse 14, paul says Luke the beloved doctor, he greets you. 00:26:57.142 --> 00:27:02.977 Luke is probably the only Gentile author of Scripture. 00:27:02.977 --> 00:27:07.697 He's the only non-Jewish person that wrote a book in the Bible. 00:27:07.697 --> 00:27:11.430 He wrote Luke and Acts and we know that Luke journeyed with Paul. 00:27:11.430 --> 00:27:18.921 Luke figured out a way to leverage his calling, leverage his gifting as a doctor for the glory of God. 00:27:18.921 --> 00:27:21.449 He was detailed, he took great notes. 00:27:21.449 --> 00:27:23.509 He became Luke and Acts. 00:27:23.509 --> 00:27:26.031 He was a physician, a doctor. 00:27:26.031 --> 00:27:28.474 He cared for Paul along the journey. 00:27:28.474 --> 00:27:40.214 I think you can make the case that without Luke's investment in Paul's life, paul might have died multiple times, because Paul went through some stuff and when he did, I guess he was there to fix him up. 00:27:40.214 --> 00:27:40.687 It was Luke. 00:27:40.687 --> 00:27:47.576 Paul says not only Luke, demus also greets you. 00:27:47.785 --> 00:27:49.392 Demus is another interesting story. 00:27:49.392 --> 00:27:57.096 He shows up here in Colossians, he shows up in Philemon and he's called there a fellow worker in the gospel. 00:27:57.096 --> 00:28:01.374 But then he also shows up in 2 Timothy, chapter 4. 00:28:01.374 --> 00:28:08.037 And Paul says you know, luke's with me at the end of my life, luke's with me. 00:28:08.037 --> 00:28:10.591 I want you to send John Mark to me. 00:28:10.591 --> 00:28:12.466 Paul says. 00:28:12.526 --> 00:28:17.175 But in 2 Timothy 4, demus has deserted me. 00:28:17.175 --> 00:28:22.816 He's gone after the things of the world and he's gone back to Thessalonica. 00:28:22.816 --> 00:28:25.649 I think the language Paul uses. 00:28:25.649 --> 00:28:30.576 He says that the love of the world is too much in him. 00:28:30.576 --> 00:28:55.355 And Demus, I think, is in this list as a warning to us today that, hey, there's a call on your life to follow Jesus, but there's also going to be a very real pull back to the old self, back to the things of the world, back to the stuff everybody else chases for comfort, the stuff everybody else puts at the forefront of their life and their pursuit. 00:28:55.355 --> 00:28:58.405 Paul says we want to be like Demus. 00:28:58.405 --> 00:29:00.371 I think it's what Paul would tell us today. 00:29:00.371 --> 00:29:07.605 Let's make sure our hearts are in line with God's heart, that our affection is fixed on Jesus. 00:29:07.605 --> 00:29:12.314 That love for God is squeezing the love of the world out of us. 00:29:15.305 --> 00:29:20.437 And Paul says give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, to Nympha, to the church in her house. 00:29:20.437 --> 00:29:23.033 I love that Nympha's in the list. 00:29:23.033 --> 00:29:28.335 She's a lady that's opened up her home so that a church can meet and grow. 00:29:28.335 --> 00:29:46.397 I just want to say today that the church throughout history has flourished because of the investment of women like Nympha, who are courageous in the face of great obstacles. 00:29:46.397 --> 00:29:49.769 And I think about even in today's world. 00:29:49.769 --> 00:29:56.413 There are areas in the Middle East where, by all metrics and accounts, revival is happening. 00:29:56.413 --> 00:30:09.937 And in large part it's happening because of faithful women who have come to faith in Jesus and who, even at risk of death, are rising up and leading the charge towards Jesus Christ. 00:30:09.937 --> 00:30:19.015 And, ladies, can I just say to you today you've got a role in the kingdom of God, you've got a place, you've got a plan, a purpose. 00:30:19.015 --> 00:30:23.051 God's called you, god's equipped you, you've got a mission in front of you. 00:30:23.051 --> 00:30:29.493 You're no second hand, second class citizens in the kingdom of God. 00:30:34.265 --> 00:30:43.096 Verse 17, paul names a guy named Archipus, probably the son of Philemon, maybe pastoring the church in Philemon's house. 00:30:43.096 --> 00:30:54.152 He's in ministry, but it appears that Archipus is a little bit discouraged because Paul says hey, archipus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you've received in the Lord. 00:30:54.152 --> 00:31:03.354 And aren't you grateful that we serve the God of encouragement who, when we get discouraged because anybody ever get discouraged? 00:31:03.354 --> 00:31:09.928 Every now and then you look at the headlines, you look at the classifieds, you look at the world and it's like this is not good, a lot of bad. 00:31:09.928 --> 00:31:14.894 I think Paul's words to Archipus are relevant for us. 00:31:15.265 --> 00:31:18.574 See that you fulfill the ministry that you've received from God. 00:31:18.574 --> 00:31:23.692 See that you fulfill the calling that's on your life. 00:31:23.692 --> 00:31:26.538 Be encouraged, god is with you, god is for you. 00:31:26.538 --> 00:31:30.144 His spirit is alive in you by grace, through faith. 00:31:30.144 --> 00:31:33.474 If you're a follower of Jesus, you've been moved from death to life. 00:31:33.474 --> 00:31:35.769 God will see you through. 00:31:35.769 --> 00:31:39.311 Fulfill the ministry. 00:31:39.311 --> 00:31:42.112 And then Paul says this I write this greeting in my own hand. 00:31:42.112 --> 00:31:44.388 Remember my chains. 00:31:44.388 --> 00:31:46.710 Grace be with you. 00:31:48.328 --> 00:31:50.454 You flash back to Colossians, chapter one. 00:31:50.454 --> 00:31:55.457 Paul opens his introduction by saying to the church grace be with you. 00:31:55.457 --> 00:32:00.450 And he closes his letter the same way Grace be with you. 00:32:00.450 --> 00:32:04.092 You see the journey of following Jesus. 00:32:04.092 --> 00:32:05.756 It starts and it ends with grace. 00:32:05.756 --> 00:32:12.176 Every step along the way, god's grace sustains us. 00:32:13.665 --> 00:32:14.647 Colossians, chapter four. 00:32:14.647 --> 00:32:21.929 It just reminds me that God sees your story, god knows your name. 00:32:21.929 --> 00:32:34.311 So maybe you're here in this room this morning and you're like I don't know that my story can fit with God's story, I don't know that my past can be redeemed, I don't know that God could use me. 00:32:34.311 --> 00:32:49.134 These are ordinary people who said yes to Jesus and whose name was added to the list of people throughout history who God has used for his glory. 00:32:49.134 --> 00:33:16.967 And what's amazing, y'all, is that at one point in time or another, every single person whose story we talked about today, they were outside of the plans and the purposes of God, they didn't know Jesus as savior, they didn't have a relationship with God and at some point in time, god broke in on their life and they said yes to Jesus and they encountered a faithful God and they were sustained by a faithful God through it all. 00:33:16.967 --> 00:33:21.375 And so today, that's the invitation on the table for us. 00:33:21.375 --> 00:33:22.971 Do you know Jesus? 00:33:22.971 --> 00:33:26.794 If you said yes to Jesus as Lord and as savior? 00:33:26.794 --> 00:33:32.373 Because when you do, your name gets added to a list. 00:33:32.373 --> 00:33:49.478 God writes your story into his story and he weaves your life into the life of Jesus so that in the earth, your life can be used by God for the glory of God. 00:33:49.478 --> 00:33:54.836 So if you don't know Jesus as your Lord and savior, today is your moment. 00:33:54.836 --> 00:33:55.586 Today's your day. 00:33:56.884 --> 00:34:11.576 If you do know Jesus, if you have been a follower of Christ or you are a follower of Christ, here's what I also know that for every single one of us in the room there's a next step of faith. 00:34:11.576 --> 00:34:23.894 There's another yes in front of us, and so what I want to do as we close today is I'm going to go through some yeses that might be in front of us this morning. 00:34:23.894 --> 00:34:25.849 It's a little strange way to close. 00:34:25.849 --> 00:34:27.655 We're going to try it together today. 00:34:27.655 --> 00:34:37.614 If today, as we go through this list of next steps of yeses to Jesus, if one of these resonates with you, I want you to stay into your feet, right where you are. 00:34:37.614 --> 00:34:39.179 That's my next step. 00:34:39.179 --> 00:34:45.057 That's my response to the story of God intersecting with my story. 00:34:45.057 --> 00:34:47.751 That's my next yes to Jesus. 00:34:49.545 --> 00:34:53.896 Maybe you're a follower of Christ, but your next yes is baptism. 00:34:53.896 --> 00:34:58.179 You've never taken that step of faith and publicly declared Jesus. 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:02.630 As Lord said to the church hey, I want to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. 00:35:02.630 --> 00:35:04.431 Maybe your next yes is baptism. 00:35:04.431 --> 00:35:11.086 Maybe your next jest is to be intentional about the discipleship process. 00:35:11.086 --> 00:35:15.066 And you say you know what I Right now I'm kind of walking through life alone. 00:35:15.066 --> 00:35:17.075 I'm following Jesus, but I don't have a group. 00:35:17.075 --> 00:35:18.934 I need to be part of a group. 00:35:18.934 --> 00:35:28.068 My next step is to join a community, to come around some people who will pray for me and encourage me and speak the truth Of the scriptures into me. 00:35:28.068 --> 00:35:28.875 I need to join. 00:35:28.875 --> 00:35:34.191 Maybe your next step is to begin to serve in some capacity. 00:35:34.191 --> 00:35:37.980 You know God's giving you a gift and he wants to use it for his glory. 00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:42.829 And you say my next step is I need to step up and serve in some area. 00:35:44.876 --> 00:35:47.161 Maybe your next step is forgiveness. 00:35:47.161 --> 00:35:50.008 You need to forgive someone in your life. 00:35:50.008 --> 00:35:58.805 You're hanging on to some bitterness, you're holding on to something from the past and the next step is To let that go and to forgive. 00:35:58.805 --> 00:36:05.605 Maybe your next step is To be intentional in your marriage. 00:36:05.605 --> 00:36:20.117 Say, hey, I maybe haven't loved my husband or loved my wife the way that God is encouraging me to have a Grounded my family in the scriptures, but I want to be intentional in my marriage, maybe it's. 00:36:20.117 --> 00:36:22.545 I want to be intentional in my family. 00:36:22.545 --> 00:36:31.378 I want to raise my kids and pray with my kids and encourage my kids and be the kind of father or mother that God is calling me to be. 00:36:33.256 --> 00:36:33.617 Maybe. 00:36:33.617 --> 00:36:39.729 Maybe it's to pursue a relationship with a mentor or to be a mentor to someone else. 00:36:39.729 --> 00:36:46.555 Say, hey, I need help along the journey, or I know there's someone in my life that I can encourage on the journey. 00:36:46.555 --> 00:36:47.700 That's my next yes. 00:36:47.700 --> 00:36:55.729 Maybe the next yes is to share the gospel with someone you see every single day. 00:36:55.729 --> 00:37:00.909 You know they don't know Jesus and they know that you know Jesus before whatever reason. 00:37:00.909 --> 00:37:05.826 Those two things have an intersect and you're like I need to tell them about what's changed my life. 00:37:05.826 --> 00:37:13.668 Maybe the next yes is Simply a personal time with Jesus. 00:37:13.668 --> 00:37:15.695 That needs to be moved up the list of priorities. 00:37:15.695 --> 00:37:16.998 That's daily. 00:37:17.038 --> 00:37:22.128 To do this, you're like I need to seek the face of God and the pages of God's work. 00:37:22.128 --> 00:37:31.706 Maybe there's an area in your life where you know you're a follower of Christ, but there's a stronghold. 00:37:31.706 --> 00:37:34.235 There's an area of sin or temptation. 00:37:34.235 --> 00:37:43.855 It's like you just keep circling back and then you know there's a call of God on your life, but you know the world is real and your next step is to say I'm gonna cut that off. 00:37:43.855 --> 00:37:47.195 I'm gonna replace a lesser desire with something better. 00:37:47.195 --> 00:37:52.048 I'm gonna confess that to someone in my life so there can be some healing and there can be growth. 00:37:52.048 --> 00:38:00.086 Amazing, there's a yes in front of every single one of us. 00:38:00.086 --> 00:38:20.489 Maybe your next yes is God's redefining what it looks like to follow him in your life, in your career, and maybe that yes is like I'm not a hundred percent sure what this yes looks like yet, but I know God's doing something and I just want to be open-handed on board for whatever that is. 00:38:21.956 --> 00:38:30.994 So, father, my prayer this morning, god, is that by the power of your grace, we would be in church full of people who simply say yes to you. 00:38:30.994 --> 00:38:38.880 You simply see our lives not as our own father but as the gift of your grace. 00:38:38.880 --> 00:38:43.035 Who simply see our names not as something to build ups that people see us. 00:38:43.035 --> 00:38:47.186 But, father, may we see our stories as belonging to you. 00:38:47.186 --> 00:38:59.244 His father, when we surrender and we give you our lives and we surrender our, our pride, and we surrender our sin, we surrender to your grace, father. 00:38:59.244 --> 00:39:06.206 You weave our lives together with the life of Christ and you use us in ways beyond anything that we could imagine. 00:39:09.476 --> 00:39:13.347 Father, what we find is that you're faithful and you're good. 00:39:13.347 --> 00:39:18.782 Father, you're exactly who you say you are. 00:39:18.782 --> 00:39:21.059 You're worthy. 00:39:21.059 --> 00:39:26.227 So, father, may our lives be found in you. 00:39:26.227 --> 00:39:32.519 May our names be written in your story, jesus name. 00:39:32.519 --> 00:39:34.309 Everybody says amen. 00:39:34.309 --> 00:39:35.175 Let's stand through our feet. 00:39:35.175 --> 00:39:39.086 We're gonna sing in response this morning as we say you need to pray. 00:39:39.086 --> 00:39:40.439 Pray where you are. 00:39:40.439 --> 00:39:46.297 You can pray at the front, you can grab somebody and pray with somebody if you want to join the church or give your life to Jesus. 00:39:46.297 --> 00:39:50.240 This is a moment for you to respond as we worship Jesus together.