Don't Waste Your Life: Co-Laborers, Not Consumers

Paul ends his letter with a list of co-laborers who spent their lives for Christ. You can waste your life as a consumer, or invest it as a partner in the gospel. Which will you choose?

Transcript

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Well, if you are a fan of sports like I am, or if you're a fan of anyone who is a master at their craft, whatever that may be, you might enjoy watching Hall of Fame speeches. I enjoy going on YouTube and sometimes going back and watching Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame speech because there's something really interesting about those speeches. You get to hear from that person's heart how they view their entire career, how they view the hardships, the grind to get to greatness, the wins, the losses. And it's just insightful to learn what is their perspective on all that they have accomplished. We have been walking through the book of Colossians and we are concluding that series this morning, which is a little bittersweet because I've been having a wonderful time dissecting this text. But what's interesting is when this letter concludes, Paul, if you're like me, you know, maybe when you read the Bible, maybe you kind of gloss over the genealogies because they're boring, just reading a list of names. Maybe you gloss over some of these closing statements at the end of an epistle where they're just thanking a bunch of people, like a Hall of Fame speech. But what I want us to see this morning is there's a lot going on here that we can learn from as members of Christ's Church. The way that Paul chooses to end this letter matters. He doesn't end by waxing eloquent on theological principles as he has been doing for the length of this letter. He doesn't make any doctrinal position uh make anything doctrinal, rather, he chooses to focus on people, names, real people that he served alongside, real men and women who were co-laborers with him in the work of advancing the gospel and the kingdom of God. Some of these people served behind the scenes, some of them were side by side with Paul, some of them went and did stuff uh outside of Paul's purview, some suffered in prison, similar to Paul, some planted churches, some devoted themselves to prayer, but every last one of them mattered to Paul. This was a life spent for exalting the glory of Christ. And what I want us to see this morning, we're going to focus on verses 7 through 18, looking at Paul's final greetings. And I want you guys to walk away with this. God invites you to become a co-laborer in his work, joyfully expending yourself alongside others to help people follow Jesus. God invites you and me to become a co-laborer in his work, joyfully expending yourself alongside others to help people follow Jesus. We're going to look at two things, starting with the first. Faithful co-laborers serve together in diverse roles. If you look at the variety of people that Paul names here, it is really interesting to see how each of them brought unique things to the ministry table, so to speak. So let me just walk through this list and just give some commentary on each of these names. So we see Tychicus in verse 7. Paul calls him what? A dearly loved brother, faithful servant, and fellow servant in the Lord. I don't know about you, but if I got to know an apostle and they were writing a letter to a church and they're going to drop my name, I hope it would sound like that. A dearly loved brother, faithful servant, and fellow servant of the Lord. Tychicus served in this like encouragement role. He was a message deliverer. He delivered this letter, the Colossian letter to the church, along with a ministry update. He showed up in multiple times throughout Paul's ministry. We don't know a whole lot about him other than he was a co-laborer with Paul, and Paul was very fond of him. But then in verse 9, we meet Once Emiss, a runaway slave who became a faithful brother in the ministry with Paul. He got connected, we don't know the whole story, but somehow he got connected. Many of you, you're familiar with the book of Philemon. Once Emiss was a runaway slave who somehow got connected with the Apostle Paul, came to faith in Jesus Christ, and became very valuable to Paul. As a matter of fact, his name literally translated means useful. And that's exactly what he became, both to the Lord and to Paul. And what's beautiful about the story of Philemon and Onsimus is somehow Onceimus comes under the ministry of Paul, comes to faith in Christ, becomes Paul's ministry partner, but then Philemon is also a follower of Christ who had a church meeting in his home, and Paul sends Onsimus back to Philemon and says, Receive him as your brother, not just a slave. Then in verse 10, we have Aristarchus. Paul calls him my fellow prisoner. This man was so faithful that he was in chains with Paul for the sake of the gospel. Which means Aristarchus didn't just serve the Lord and serve alongside Paul when it was convenient. He was really about that life, so to speak. When it came to the risk of his own life and safety, here he is in prison alongside his ministry mentor, Paul. He didn't just serve when it was convenient. He suffered alongside Paul. And he doesn't just show up here. We see Aristarchus in Acts 19, in Acts 20, and Acts 27. He's stuck by Paul. And then we see Mark. You're familiar with Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Mark. Barnabas' cousin. You might remember that Mark, as the young man who left Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey in Acts 15. The Bible doesn't give us all the details, but it seems like Paul had some beef with Mark, where he didn't think he was, you know, worthy to be brought on that missionary trip and they went their separate ways. And Barnabas stood ten toes down and said, I think Mark is valuable. I'm going to rock with Mark. Well, something changed at some point. We don't have the story, but by the time Paul writes this letter to the Colossians and he concludes the letter, Mark is back serving alongside with Paul. Somehow they reconciled, and Paul even asked the Colossians to welcome him as their brother. And in verse 11, we see Jesus known as Justice, who was a Jew. Then we have Epaphras. You might remember Epaphras from when we started this series in Colossians. And Paul says he's always contending for you in his prayers so that you can stand mature and fully assured of everything in God's will. So Epaphras comes to faith, is trained up by Paul, goes back home, is a part of starting the church in Colossae, ministering to his own people, and he grew very fond of the church in Colossi. He was devoted to praying on their behalf, to seeing them mature in the faith. And then we have our brother Luke in verse 14, the dearly loved physician, Paul refers to him as. Notice the difference in all of these characters. So Luke was a trained physician. He used his career to serve the Lord and Paul. He didn't choose, quote unquote, between medicine and ministry. He used his training, his detail-oriented mind, and his pen to serve the cause of Christ. Years later, when experiencing hardship, Paul writes in 2 Timothy chapter 4, only Luke is with me. A physician who stayed faithful to the end. And then we have my sister Nympha, who opened her home to host the church. Which shows in Paul's ministry women weren't sidelined for the ministry. They were a vital aspect of the ministry. They were essential. Now we don't know much about Nympha. She was either widowed or she was just unmarried as at this point, but she clearly had some level of wealth to be able to host a church in her home. And she gets name-dropped in inspired scripture. Then we have Archipus. Paul calls him a fellow soldier who was charged to complete his calling. We have no idea who this dude is. We don't know much about his ministry other than he has a ministry, and Paul wants him to stay focused on the ministry entrusted to him by the Lord. And then in verse 14, we have Demas. Oh, Demas. At this point, he's serving faithfully. He's a ministry partner of Paul, but we'll get back to him later. In this final greeting, Paul name drops 10 different co-laborers in the ministry. He didn't have to do that. When he chooses to conclude his letter, he decides he wants to go out of his way to show honor to faithful brothers and sisters who have helped him advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. He calls them co-workers for the kingdom of God. Every last one of them had different gifts, every last one of them had different roles and functions. Some were men, some were women, some were Gentile, some were Jews, but they all had the same mission. We want to magnify the glory of Jesus Christ in the gospel. Whether they were behind the scenes, whether they were up front teaching, shepherding, whether they were opening their homes to show hospitality and allow the church to gather and be edified by God's word, according to Paul, he said, in my Hall of Fame speech, you all get a shout out. This reminds me of 1 Peter chapter 4, 10 through 11, where God's word reminds us every single Christian has been entrusted with a gift from the Holy Spirit that we are to use for the edification of his bride, the church. Peter writes, just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others. Let me just stop there. Is that a helpful suggestion or just practical wisdom, or is that a command? We can interact. It's okay, guys. It is a command. Just as each one has received a gift, the implication is each one of you has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the very grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God's words. If anyone serves, let it be from the strength that God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ and everything. Notice what Peter does not say. He doesn't say, Every one of you has been given a gift, so use it for your own self-interest. Use it so that people look up to you and you have a platform. He says, No, use your gift to serve others as a good steward and not for your own glory or for the glory of your church, but so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. Which means local churches don't need more superstars, do they? Local churches need faithful servants, like the ten people that Paul mentioned here. Faithful servants who recognize the Holy Spirit has entrusted me with various gifts that I am to steward to help others follow Jesus as I follow Jesus. And I do it to magnify the glory of Jesus Christ in all things. That is what churches need. And I'm not referring to a militia of Navy SEAL Christians in the church, right? You guys know the saying, the 80-20 rule, where 20% of the people do 80% of the work. That doesn't work in God's economy. We don't give to the church so that the hired staff does all the ministry. According to Paul in Ephesians 4, pastors are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. That's y'all. That's why I always say if you're a member of Redeemer Church, welcome to the staff. You have been entrusted with gifts, and you have the privilege and joy and honor to use those gifts to glorify God by helping other people know Jesus Christ and live in a manner worthy of the gospel. This is important because how we understand God's word shapes how we do church. It shapes how we structure our churches, how we view ministry. Colin Marshall and Tony Paine in their excellent book, The Trellis and the Vine, remind Christians that we are all called to vine work. So if some of you are familiar with gardening, I'm familiar with concepts of gardening, but everything we try to grow at my home dies. But a vine and a trellis is the trellis is the wood structure structure that supports the vine that grows up the trellis. And what we as Christians and churches should be doing is seeking to do vine work, which is the work of making disciples. Not just maintaining structures and programs. That's the trellis. The main work of ministry is a healthy vine, which is making disciples who make disciples. And all of us have a role in that. Every Christian who is a member of a local church is to be committed to vine work. All of us, like these 10 individuals, should find our role. Some of us will teach, some of us will lead, some of us will show hospitality, some of us will pray, some of us will serve behind the scenes, some of us will open up our home, some of us will do a mixture of all of those in different seasons, but all of it matters. Not just the people who go on a church website and have a title, not people who got a little lanyard, or those who have the pastor title, or deacon, or missionary, or children's ministry director, or small group leader. Church member is the most important role in a local church. That's why we like to say the purpose, or not the purpose, but one of the aims of this church is every member taking personal responsibility to help one another follow Jesus. That's not unique to Redeemer Church, that's Christianity. A disciple is a follower of Jesus, and a follower of Jesus helps make other followers of Jesus. So when people tell me I'm a follower of Jesus, but they're not helping other people follow Jesus, I'm confused what they mean when they say I follow Jesus. All of us has a role, and they all matter. So what is your role? If you have a role, then you're a fellow co-laborer helping advance the kingdom of God. You're not a spectator or a fan. Let me illustrate that. So if you are a fan of a sports team, you show up to the games when it's convenient for you, you cheer when the team wins, you complain and grumble when they lose. You might have strong opinions on the coach's decisions and how they could do a better job. That's one option. Or you could have the privilege of being a player, someone who's faithful to be at every practice. You're the first one there, the last one to leave. You train, you run the drills, you take the hits, you encourage your teammates, you play through pain, you invest in the team so that you collectively do well. In church life, we have a lot of spectators and fans here in America. A lot of people who are content with just sitting in the bleachers, taking the wins when the collective team gets a win, but being quick to point out the losses and critique the coaches. But not many in American churches are trained to be players on the field who expend sweat and train and show grit to advance the gospel. But here's what ministry partnership is really about it's not just serving together, it's about multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ. And that's costly. And this is where we're going to spend most of our time this morning. Faithful, my second point, faithful co-laborers multiply by investing themselves in others. Faithful co-laborers multiply by investing themselves in others. If you look at verses 7 through 18, there is one thing in common. Every last one of those people that Paul names had a connection to Paul. They were invested in, mentored by Paul, and now they are named because they are doing faithful ministry as servants of Christ as a result of the Lord using Paul to invest in them. If we believe that the growth of the gospel and the health of every local church is dependent on a select group of hired talent, then we're hopeless. If local churches are convinced that my role is just to attend faithfully and give money to the church so we can hire more staff and they will do all that gospel stuff, we have a very poor view of the church. We are fooling ourselves. Church growth depends on every Christian getting involved in the work of disciple making. And when I say church growth, I'm not talking about how many butts are in the seats in the sanctuary. I'm talking about those growing in godliness and maturity, comprehending God's word. And yes, I think the greatest form of church growth is people who are unregenerate coming to faith in Jesus Christ and being baptized into the membership of local churches. Church growth depends on every Christian getting involved in the work of disciple making. And that's what we see in this passage. These brothers and sisters were directly connected to Paul, who invested in them, but Paul also trained them as I invest in you, you go invest in others and tell those people to invest in others, and then tell them to invest in others. And the baton gets passed on and on and on. Look again at verse 12 at my man Epaphras. Paul says he is always contending for you in his prayers so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills. Epaphras wasn't just content with, okay, the people I grew up with, who I love, who are in my hometown, some of them have become Christians. A church has been planted, the work is done. No, Ephros wanted them to grow in godliness. He wanted them to be mature and to have assurance in all of God's will for their lives. And in essence, he's saying, I want them to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. I want them to know the God who saved them. I want them to know what that means that they are now saved, what is their new identity in Christ and to walk in that. Epaphras wasn't content with his hometown church just settling for shallow Christianity. This echoes Paul's own mission statement in Colossians 1, 28 to 29. If you turn back to chapter one, I love sometimes to read this every time we receive new members into the church. Paul shows at the heart of his ministry, we proclaim him, meaning Jesus, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me. I wish every Christian would make that their quote-unquote mission statement for their life. To have a desire to be used by God to proclaim God in his word and the person and ministry of Christ, willing to warn and teach everyone with all wisdom, with the goal of presenting everyone mature in Christ and labor for that cause, for the glory of God. That is the goal of discipling. Mature disciples of Jesus Christ make disciples of Jesus Christ. That's a sad commentary on the American church. The fact that God calls us Christians to help make more Christians and to help Christians grow in maturity. Now listen to me. I am convinced the longer I've been a Christian, the more I've been in ministry, have done ministry, the more I have grown in my understanding of God's word, I am firmly convinced that there is nothing more important, important, and nothing more rewarding in a Christian's life than helping other people follow Jesus. I will argue against anyone who would push back on me on that. Spending your life helping people follow Jesus as you follow Jesus is the most rewarding way you can spend your life on this earth. You can choose to spend your life building things that will ultimately rust and rot. You can accumulate wealth, buy the nice house, get the new Tesla, or the new truck, or the minivan. Or you can invest in people who will live for eternity worshiping Jesus Christ. One choice matters, the other doesn't. Paul did just that. These were like Paul had like spiritual children all across the world. People that he poured into. I think of Timothy, Titus, Silas, Priscilla, and Aquila, the people in this very passage, Paul didn't just give them information. He didn't just give them doctrine to transfer information into their heads. He gave them his life. Some of them bore fruit for decades. Some of them went on to plant churches. Some of them went on to be elders, some deacons, some faithful servants, some died for the cause of the faith. Some died of old age. But he spent his life pouring into others and training them to do the same, to follow his example. And friends, that's hard because people are difficult. Relationships are messy. Not everyone just has their arms open saying, Yes, teach me, Paul, I want to be a disciple of Jesus. Some are stubborn, some are impatient. Let's not forget the ministry of Jesus. He was accused of being the friend of sinners. And when you look around the sanctuary, you realize the accusation stands up, doesn't it? Jesus, the Savior of the world, who was perfect, stripped himself of glory, put on flesh, and dwelt with people who were knuckleheads, who didn't always understand his teaching, who fell flat on their face, who gave into pride and all other forms of sin, and yet Jesus poured into them, gave his life to them over three years, and those twelve men literally flipped the world upside down. So here's the question Are you pouring into people like that? Or let me just ask the question like this If you moved away tomorrow, would anyone be grieved by that? Would anyone in this church be grieved because your influence would be missed? Because they know they're losing a spiritual mother or father in the faith, so to speak. That's what we should be seeking to do as members of a church. To have a level of influence for the sake of the maturity of others and the glory of God. Don't believe me? Turn over to Acts chapter 20. Turn to your left to Acts chapter 20. This is my selfish prayer for every last member of this church. That if you ever were to leave this congregation, that this would be the response of the church. Acts chapter 20, to give you some context, the Apostle Paul has been pouring into these men and uh these elders in Ephesus for about three years or so in very personal ways. And he knows that he's at the end of his ministry, he's going away, and he's likely going to be imprisoned and lose his life. When you look at Acts chapter 20, beginning in verse 17, let's read this together. Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church. When they came to him, he said to them, Now pay attention to Paul's ministry. You know from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. You know that I did not avoid proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching you publicly and from house to house. I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. But I consider my life of no value to myself. My purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of God's grace. And know I and now I know that none of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the Church of God which has which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears. And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me. In every way I've shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now listen to their response. After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them. There were many tears shed by everyone. They embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving most of all over his statement that they would never see his face again. And they accompanied him back to the ship. If God were to providentially take you out of someone's life, that their hearts will be grieved because they are so grateful of how the Lord Jesus Christ used you to help them follow Jesus, to help them know his word, to help them understand their identity in Christ, to help them love the local church and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to invest in other people who will think of them the same way these elders thought of the apostle Paul. There's nothing unique here I just read where we say, well, that's that's unique to Paul. He was an apostle. No, because Paul gave us the blueprint of his ministry, didn't he? He simply invested in people in intentional, genuine ways. He faithfully taught them God's word, not shying away from anything in the scriptures. And he did life with them because he cared for them. That is nothing unique to an apostle, brothers and sisters. Every Christian in this room who has God's Spirit and God's word can do what Paul did. This is why Paul's words carry so much weight in my heart now that I've been a Christian longer, when he says, imitate me as I imitate Christ. He's essentially saying it's an attainable goal. If you want to follow Jesus, if you want to mature in the faith, follow my example because that is what I am focused on as I follow Christ. But when we look at this list of ten names, and there were many more, but in this letter, Paul gave us 10, we know that not all of them stayed faithful. We got to return to our brother Demas. So at this point, when Paul writes the letter, Demas is a co-laborer with him. He's serving alongside Paul. But unfortunately, we learn later in 2 Timothy chapter 4, Paul says, make every effort writing to young Timothy, make every effort to come to me soon, because Demas has deserted me since he loved this present world and has gone to Thessalonica. So at one point, Demas was a faithful co-laborer with Paul, and then in another moment, he was enticed by the world and walked away from the ministry all together. So at one point he looked like he was on fire for Jesus, but then he decided I love the world more than Christ. Let me just be very honest with you. If you take me up on what I'm preaching at you this morning, you spend your life investing in others in meaningful ways to help them grow in Christ and follow Jesus, you will be hurt. And when I say hurt, I don't mean someone's gonna disappoint you, someone's gonna sin against you or say something unkind. No, I mean you're gonna invest in people in meaningful ways who are gonna walk away. They're gonna walk away. And that's okay. Because it's still worth it. I guarantee you, Paul would say I would still invest in demons all over again if I could. Because, brothers and sisters, we don't pour into people, we don't disciple people, we don't mentor people for our own glory, or so that we can say, hey, I'm discipling X amount of people, or so and so like a like a pyramid scheme, right? It's like I got so-and-so under me, and then they got so-and-so, but they all connect back to me. That's not Christianity. We invest in people as faithful farmers, so to speak. We're just trying to be faithful to scatter the seed of God's word. The fruit, that's that's the Lord's business. We won't stand on judgment day before Jesus and He's gonna say, Well, I know you you invested in all these people, but I'm only gonna give you credit for this many because they actually stayed and remained in the faith. No, we have no power over the salvation of others, but we can control what we faithfully do, which is what we saw in Acts 20. We faithfully love, serve, disciple, and expose people to God's counsel. And we leave the results to the Lord. Brothers and sisters, you will be hurt. Just receive it. People will abandon the faith, people will sin against you and disappoint you. That's life. That is local church life. But in the case of Demas, we have a category for him. 1 John 2 9 says, They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might be uh become plain that they all are not of us. Sometimes Christians wonder, well, wait a minute, if Demas, if he was a co-laborer with Paul, if he was preaching the gospel and doing ministry and then abandoned the faith because he loved the world, did he lose his salvation? No. Him chasing the world demonstrated he never truly had salvation. He never was truly in Christ. And he just made that reality uh externally visible by choosing to go ahead and choose the world. I like to think about discipleship as spiritual parenting, where you are pouring into others as you would a child. If you're a parent, you would give everything to help your kids grow up and be healthy and love the Lord. You give everything to raise your kids, sleepless nights, countless prayers, wisdom poured out year after year. But you do it knowing that there's a chance they might get older and they might rebel against everything I have raised them in and taught them. I have no control over that. But you still faithfully care for your child, you still faithfully teach them God's word, you faithfully try to bring them up in the ways of the Lord, but you do it knowing that they might walk away from the faith, and yet you invest in them anyways because you understand that love demands it. It's no different in the local church when you're discipling others. That's spiritual parenting. I am willing to expend myself for your spiritual flourishing no matter the results. So, friends, to be useful for Christ means opening yourself up to heartbreak. It just does. To intentionally and meaningfully pour into others, you have to give yourself to others. You have to open your heart to others, which means you're going to be vulnerable. Someone might break your heart. But you know what? Go read your gospels. I love reading the gospels and just wondering why Jesus did you do what you did. None of us deserve salvation. Peter denied the Savior three times to save his own skin. And Jesus restores him in the Gospel of John. And Jesus ultimately is crucified upside down alongside his wife, finishing his race faithfully. So Jesus understood pouring into difficult people. Jesus didn't pour into people because he saw potential. Oh, well, I think this person probably can sing really good, could be a worship leader. Oh, this person probably will be a preacher. Man, Jesus chose sovereignly by his own will and grace. He didn't need anybody. He didn't need the 12, he doesn't need you and me, doesn't need Redeemer Church, and yet God in his grand scheme of redemption chooses to work through means. And that means is broken sinners like you and me. So what does this look like practically? If you want to be name drops like these individuals in Colossians 4, if you want to be a faithful servant who stewards the gifts entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit to help others follow Jesus and to advance the kingdom of God, let me just give a few applications. Number one, to the older saints, or as I like to say, the more seasoned saints among us. I would encourage you to spend the last leg of your race investing in younger believers. Not just younger in age, younger in maturity, how long they've been in Christ. What a church, older saints, seasoned saints, are a precious gift to a local church. They have walked with Jesus far longer than many of us. They have committed more sins than us and learned from those. They have raised children, they have sent off children, they have tasted God's grace in various seasons of suffering and pain. They have rejoiced in the Lord longer than we have. They have so much to offer. This is why I'm not a fan of churches that do the whole, you know, contemporary service and traditional service. It's like you're segregating your congregation, creating a church within the church, and no one's benefiting from each other because we're segregated. Seasoned saints have so much to offer. Teach the younger believers theology. Model before them faithfulness. What does it look like to love your spouse over decades, confessing sin to one another? Show them what it looks like to follow Jesus for decades as a culture is always changing and opposing your faith, and yet you remain faithful. Younger believers in the faith, seek out spiritual fathers and mothers in your church. Big brothers and sisters in the faith, so to speak. Find someone who's been walking with Jesus far longer than you and learn from them. Don't view them as relics. Learn from them. God loves you so much He created the institution of the local church so that nobody has to figure out this Christian life all by themselves. Take the initiative and even speaking to both seasoned saints and the younger saints, go out of your way to build relationships with one another. When you're looking at your calendar and thinking about who should I invite over for dinner, don't automatically gravitate towards everyone in the same season of life as you. Marry godly men and women who you will build a life with, serving Jesus arm in arm until you die. Married couples, be like Priscilla and Aquila. Disciple younger believers. Open your home. See your home as a epicenter for discipleship. Priscilla and Aquila hosted house churches. They mentored Apollos, who had a teaching ministry, but he didn't have the full gospel. And they said, hey, bro, come over here real quick. Let me help you iron out your theology. They risked their lives for the gospel, serving alongside Paul. So, married saints, don't waste your marriage spending your life on this earth focused on your savings, retirement, attending church faithfully on Sunday. Maybe you join a small group every now and then as long as it's convenient. You read your Bible regularly, you take your annual beach vacation, but nobody truly knows you. All your time is devoted to your career, you retire, and then you die. I say this respectfully, but that is a wasted life. That is a wasted life. As you're raising your kids, as Christians, we should raise our kids so they just grow up confused sometimes. Like I don't understand why my mom and dad do some of the things they do. Like people tend to mock them for their faith. They just they're different. And then you get to have the opportunity to explain to your kids, yes. We do all types of things that to the world are risky, but we do it because Christ is worth it. We're not living for this life, we're living for the next life. Don't waste your life as a married couple being content with the bare minimum of Christianity. I guarantee you, when you were old in age and you're on your deathbed, you're not gonna be sitting there saying, I wish I got my kids to bed on time just a couple more times. I wish I got to play golf just a little bit more. I wish I got to take one more vacation. No, you're gonna think about those you love. Are they walking with Jesus? I'm about to meet Jesus. Is he gonna look me in the eyes and say, Well done, good and faithful servant? Brothers and sisters, you get one life to live on this earth. And we live in a society that is literally spending billions of dollars to convince you to spend your life doing the opposite of everything I'm preaching to you this morning. Every commercial you watch, every ad that you see as you scroll through social media is convincing you to prioritize your personal happiness and convenience. And here I am as a pastor, I get to stand up once a week and try to convince you that that is foolishness, that a life lived for the Lord is gonna be hard. There's gonna be pain. It's gonna be inconvenient. You're going to suffer. People are gonna wrong you and betray you. But one day you get your reward from the savior of the world, and that is better than anything that this world can offer. You can spend your life on this earth trying to amass a bunch of stuff that's gonna rot, but I've been to a few funerals and I've never seen a trailer hitch attached to the back of a hearse. You can spend your time on this earth doing silly things that will mean absolutely nothing in eternity, or you can work with God's help to make heaven crowded. Where you can see people like Paul who have, in the positive sense of a pyramid scheme, have attachments to you because you decided I want to spend my life serving Jesus Christ. And let me be clear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying every member of a local church needs to be a pastor, sell all your possessions, go be a missionary. No, just recognize you can serve Christ in every sphere that you have. Whether you're single, whether you're a mother or a father, a husband or a wife, or if you or a marketing director, a policeman, it doesn't matter. You have been entrusted with gifts and you have been entrusted with time, and they don't belong to you, they belong to Jesus Christ, and we are to use them to advance his cause and to exalt and magnify his glory. Turn over to Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one. This is why I'm passionate about all that I am saying. This is why, as long as I'm a pastor of this church, my goal is to blow up your life, to convince you to spend your life magnifying the glory of Jesus Christ and helping others do that. Here's why. Look at verse 15. Paul describing Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible. Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed. On the cross. Brothers and sisters, if that is true, how on earth can you live as if it's not? If that is true of who Jesus is, how on earth can you spend your life focused on your own self-preservation, your own happiness, amassing your own wealth, playing golf more than you serve Jesus, whatever it may be? How on earth can we read that and not be changed, especially when verse 21 says, once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions, but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him. If you understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, it should radically change your life. And if it hasn't, then I'm just wondering what is your understanding of the gospel? When we look at the ministry of Paul, he would tell you, don't waste your life. Don't live a boring life as a Christian. Don't let the non-Christians in your life look at your life and say, I really don't see a big difference, other than you just go somewhere on Sunday morning that I don't go to. Don't waste your life. God invites every last one of you to become a co-laborer in his work. Not a consumer, not a spectator. That's a challenge in American churches. I choose a church based on what it has to offer me, like a gym membership. I like the price point. It's close to my house. I like the music style. I think it has a lot to offer me. I'm going to go here. Paul would look at American churches and be like, what on earth happened? Some of the people you invest in will stay faithful, some will not. But invest anyway. Because Christ is worth it. The kingdom of God is worth it. The apostle Paul spent his life after his conversion advancing the cause of Jesus Christ. And you know how his ministry ended? His head was cut off under the authority of Nero outside Rome. Now, is that a failure? Did Paul waste his life? Paul, you were locked up several times. You experienced near-death experiences countless times for the sake of Christ. You were shipwrecked at sea, bitten by a poisonous serpent. It goes on and on, and yet your story ends by Nero having your head chopped off, and that's it. That's not a waste, is it? Anything done for Jesus Christ has eternal value. Listen to Paul's words in 2 Timothy, when he knew he was at the end of his earthly ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is close, is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will give me on that day, and not only me, but to all those who have loved his appearance. Brothers and sisters, our role as pastors is to shepherd you, to teach you, to disciple you, so that at the end of your race you'll talk like that. That at the end of your race you will talk like Paul. That you will say, Pastor Kim, Pastor Zayn, I fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith, and there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness with the Lord, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only me, but everyone else, that Redeemer, who served alongside me and longed to see his appearing. At the end of your life, brothers and sisters, will you talk like that? Or even more, will the people you are pouring into also talk like that? Because by God's grace, he used you to bring them to that level of maturity, that level of influence for the glory of Christ. Brothers and sisters, the best and most strategic way you can spend your life on this earth is helping other people follow Jesus as you follow Jesus. If you're married, it starts in your home. If you have children, it starts in your home. But we all have a sphere of influence, which means we've all been entrusted with ministry. The question is do we recognize that? And are we striving to be faithful with what the Lord has provided? With God's help, may it be so. Let's pray.