This past Sunday we walked through the final verses of Paul's letter to the Colossian church in Colossians 4:7-18, looking at God's heart for how we serve in ministry together as the body of Christ. 

It’s easy to think that because we are no longer reading the main body of the letter, that these words don’t provide much significance. The opposite is true. These last verses are rich. Here we get a glimpse into Paul’s relationships. We learn about those who labored with him in ministry, his partners in the gospel work. We also learn about Paul’s heart for ministry, and really his philosophy for how he accomplished God’s mission for his life.

We learned that: Glorifying God in ministry means that His people work together to accomplish his purpose and mission.

God calls us to work together to fulfull his plan for our church, even when it's hard. While life together with others can be challenging, we know that ministry, at its best, is about amazing people. Living and serving together is a powerful tool in God's hands. 

Through the examples of Paul's ministry, we see some key characteristics of what Glorifying God in ministry together looks like:

• We need to be a strong and steady source of encouragement for others.

We learned about faithful co-laborers Tychicus, Epaphras, Luke, Justus, and Aristrarchus who taught us some keys lessons about how we can be encouragers in ministry: 

We are personally engaged in others’ lives. – We understand the value of get to know each other, truly investing in their lives. Sometimes that means just being there to listen, to offer help, bear each other’s burdens, just be there.

We make the time and sacrifice for others- Because we value personal relationships, we give of ourselves. This means we may have to adjust our schedules, change our plans, and be inconvenienced a bit because we care for others. Those like these men here see people’s needs as a costly and worthy sacrifice. 

I’ve found, though, as God works in our lives and gives us a deeper love for others, we see the time we give as less of a sacrifice or burden and more of an opportunity to serve God and others. As our hearts grow closer to God and others, it becomes an honor and delight to serve others.

We give our whole-heart to what God is doing- These men were completely bought in to God’s mission for their lives, and they used their gifts accordingly.

We have a united passion to serve God- We are all on the same page, striving for the same goal of following Jesus and helping others follow him too.

We are steadily faithful and steady when times get tough. –During the ups and especially downs of life, people like we see in this passage are a steady and constant source of encouragement and refreshment.

We also learned through the examples of Mark and Onesimus:

• We embrace those who are recovering from past mistakes.

Are you willing to truly forgive someone who’s messed up in your life? Do you embraced God’s grace in their life? Do see someone who has messed up in their past as someone God can still use now and in the future? Or, do you continue to hold them at arm’s length?Don’t forget that we serve a gracious God of second chances.

if you find yourself in a “recovery mode” of sorts, here are a few encouragements for you:

Continually remind yourself of the beauty of the gospel- We’ve all made mistakes, but we must remember that our hope comes through Christ’s work. Through his death and resurrection, we are made right with God, by his grace and through turning from our sin and placing our faith in Him. This hope drives us, fuels us to live a renewed life for Him.

Don’t let your past mistakes cripple your growth in Christ- It’s so easy to believe the lie that we are of no use to God because of our past. We can’t let our past bind us. Slowly and surely as we trust God to lead us by his power, we will continue toward maturity.

Through the example of Demas, we learned: 

• We trust God in the midst of disappointment and disloyalty from others.

2 Timothy 4:9-10, written just a few years after Colossians, says this:  Do your best to come to me soon. ¹⁰ For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

This is a warning for all of us. We all have the potential to become like Demas. The fact that he was a disciple and then a deserter a few years later should get our attention. We must always examine ourselves, that we don’t drift toward letting something else, a love for this world, cause us to desert God’s desire for our lives.

This is also an encouragement- Some of us have been deserted and betrayed, it hurts. But, if you have you are in good company. The apostle Paul was no stranger to be abandoned. Even our Lord know betrayal and disloyalty.

We also learned that:

• We must strive to pass on the glorious truth we’ve been given, so others can glorify Him.

Paul’s glorious words about the Christ majesty of Christ and how he transforms our lives wasn’t meant to just stay with the Colossian believers. The apostle called them to take the letter to others gathered in neighboring towns, to others who also needed to hear the good news of Christ. 

Something comes to mind for our church: 

CrossWay, as we move into 2020, we are asking God how we can be better at discipleship.

How we can invest in each other, passing on God’s truth, modeling what it means to grow in Christ? This command sits at the center of our calling.

All in all, remember this: When we understand that life in Christ means we focus on serving God and others before ourselves, we are unleashed to glorify Him and make a lasting difference with our lives.

I pray these words impact us as we get closer to celebrating Christmas. 

See you Sunday! 

Pastor Sam