[0:00] Well, good morning. I'd just like to say thank you for inviting me here today, and I'm quite excited to be here, and I'll have to maybe stand a little bright bunch that my knees don't knack together too much.
[0:16] But I am truly excited to be here this morning and just to share with you from God's Word this morning. And, you know, the title of my message is Being Valiant in Prayer this morning.
[0:30] And as I hear from your heart this morning, and, you know, it's Christmas season, and my message isn't really concentrating on Christmas this morning, but yet it's on Christ's Son.
[0:45] So in a roundabout way, it does come to Christmas. But, you know, as I think of being in prayer and I think of families and Christmas, you know, sometimes Christmas has a tone of pain that comes with it.
[1:01] And I feel with Peter, you know, it's going to be 26 years this Christmas, this 27th of December that my mom passed away. So I understand. I understand what's happening and what's going on.
[1:12] And, you know, there's this joy of Christmas when you're really excited, and you go shopping, and it's all good, and all of a sudden it just hits you. And it's just boom. And there's tears flow.
[1:25] And you can't really explain what's going on, but it's that heart that just yearns to have that one more moment. So I want to encourage you to keep them in prayer.
[1:37] But that's what this whole portion of Scripture speaks of. It speaks of prayer. It speaks of continuing earnestly.
[1:49] I'm not going to be into my plot teach too often because then I get derailed.
[2:04] But we'll go there once in a while. But I just want to just really extend a hearty welcome from Countryside. Countryside Community Church, that's where we come from.
[2:16] And my name is Dwayne Wolfe. And we've served there as an associate pastor now for a year. End of December we were ordained.
[2:26] But we've been serving there as deacons for the last nine years. We've been serving together with Brother Peter here on the conference side. And, you know, the Lord's been doing an amazing work.
[2:40] And I'd just like to share a little bit of our testimony and just want to share that it's been a difficult year for us. Actually, more so the last two years. The Lord lay his call on ministry onto our heart.
[2:54] And we had a business. We had a thriving business, a very busy business. It was called Perfect Performance Machine Work. And I was there where I thought I'd always wanted to be.
[3:06] I had the equipment that I wanted. I could build the engines that I wanted. I could even do some performance stuff. I had my engine dyno. Things were going well as far as I was concerned. And the Lord kind of turned things around.
[3:18] My business became a sour stench to me. And just there was no fulfillment in business anymore. There was no desire to build engines or to build hot rods.
[3:32] And for anyone who knows me knows that that's been my identity. That's been who I've been all these last years. So we sold our business of 17 years.
[3:44] We moved it to town. We handed it over. And kind of wiped our hands and said, Okay, now what? But the plan actually was that we were going to be in PRBI this winter.
[3:59] We were actually, we were registered. We were going to go to school. We had committed to two years of school. And I was going to be here and walk alongside Pastor Wayne. And these things were going to be exciting.
[4:10] Things were going to be different. But the Lord again has a hand in it. And our plans changed.
[4:22] And it actually had to do more so with our church. We decided to hire Mr. Peter Enns from Ethnos. I'm not sure if you guys know Peter Enns. But we decided to hire Peter Enns.
[4:32] And he came to countryside. And he's committed to be with us for a full year. To teach us, to train us, and to help us make the same change that you guys are working at with an eldership.
[4:46] So we're maybe one step ahead of you with our teaching and our training. But yet we've worked alongside you guys all this last year and a year and a bit. As we want to learn what scripture says and what scripture teaches about eldership.
[5:02] And how this eldership and the leadership and how this whole system works throughout the church. To make sure that there's nobody in your church service that goes missed.
[5:15] That isn't touched by someone, not necessarily of leadership, but of love in your church. That the church truly knows your needs and your hurts.
[5:29] So we decided to stay in La Crete. We decided it was best for me to take this training with Peter Enns instead of coming to Bible school.
[5:40] So it was relieving on one hand. And yet I was sort of disappointed. We had set ourselves up that we were going to come to Sexsmith.
[5:53] We were going to make a move. I've never lived anywhere else other than La Crete. We've moved twice in our married life from town to eight miles out. So my roots are pretty thick and they're pretty deep.
[6:06] But I was willing to shake them up. And I was excited to come and to truly to get to know more people. And to get to know this church. But so here I am.
[6:19] And I want to share with you this morning out of the book of Colossians. And what I have prepared is I did a, I preached through a series of Colossians.
[6:33] It was together with another brother in church. And we had multiple messages as we worked through the book of Colossians. And what I want to share with you today is the overview. As I have the time to share with you those six and seven messages that we spent in Colossians as we walked through each chapter, verse by verse.
[6:54] But I want to share with you the overview of what God has taught me. And you know, I find that I cannot preach a message or a sermon that God hasn't pulled me through.
[7:06] I can't share words from Scripture that God hasn't burned into my heart. Or that He has rattled my bones with in order for me to bring it to you.
[7:20] You know, some of these truths that God has taught me has come with many tears. You know, some of these truths that we learn even in this book. You know, they really, they grip you and it just squeezes your heart as it squeezes out that selfishness.
[7:37] That who did great it, that not to read. And as that is being replaced by God and who God is. I'd just like to open in prayer.
[7:50] Father, I just thank you for this morning, Lord. And I pray that you will just anoint me with your spirit. Father, a calm spirit. May I just speak your word, Lord. And may it be your word and your truths that they remember and that they take from here as valuable.
[8:08] And Lord, I just thank you for my opportunity to be here and to present this word to them this morning. I pray in your name. Amen. Amen. Amen. What I found with the book of Colossians is its purpose was or it was written as a letter.
[8:31] And originally when it was written, it didn't have chapter pieces in it. It was just one letter. It didn't have four chapters. It was a letter. And it was written to be read from beginning to end.
[8:44] You know, we have a tendency to open a book. We open the Bible and we go to chapter so and so and we start reading from there. And I believe sometimes we miss or we lose the message of that chapter if we don't understand what the chapter before has said.
[9:03] And what has that chapter laid for groundwork? And it seems to me every time I read through this book that I get a new truth. God reveals something new to me.
[9:15] And I've read this book many, many times. And that, you know, just the way it is written and the whole purpose of it. And how Paul, when Paul wrote to the small church in Colossae, the purpose of the letter to begin with was to combat a heresy, to combat false teaching.
[9:37] And I marvel at the way that Paul writes it. You know, he simply just writes it with love and with compassion. And he teaches them what is the true meaning of being with Christ.
[9:50] Now, as you read from chapter 2 and verse 1, it says, For I want you to know what great conflict I have had for you and those in Laodicea, as far as many have not seen my face in the flesh.
[10:09] These people hadn't seen Paul in the flesh. He had never been to the church in Colossae at this point. We don't even know if he ever did get to visit this church. And yet he has this deep, great love for this church.
[10:23] And, you know, Paul being in prison when he wrote this letter to the Colossaean church, I assume he had a lot of time on his hands, you know, to devote to prayer and to just to meditate, for one, on God's Word, but also for these people.
[10:38] As we read in chapter 1, starting at verse 3, it says, We give thanks to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.
[10:48] And since we have heard of your faith, Jesus, and of your love for all the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you as it has come in all the world and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth.
[11:13] As you also learn from Epiphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love and spirit.
[11:28] As we see in this portion, we see Paul's heart. We see that his prayer is specific. We see that Paul knew them by name. As we study, we understand that Epiphras is the church planter in Colossae.
[11:45] Epiphras is a man who was under Paul's teaching when Paul was in Ephesus. And he went back to his hometown in Colossae, and he planted this church. We also know from Ephesians and the other books that Epiphras was also in prison together, and he had shared his heart with Paul.
[12:05] And Paul, his prayers are specific. He knew these people. He knew their testimonies. He knew where their church stood foundationally.
[12:20] And yet, you know, I believe that the church Wi-Fi, I'm sure, was probably down or sketchy at best. But these reports came to Paul of who these people were and what their heart was because he loved them so.
[12:33] It was because he had that deep love and desire to know them and to know who they were. You know, I just continue to marvel at how Paul, the Lord, how God inspired Paul to write this letter.
[12:50] As I mentioned, he combated a strong heresy, a false teaching that was in the Colossae church. And he doesn't mention this teaching or these teachers by name.
[13:01] You know, we understand that this small church was being beat up by what is now known as Gnosticism. This is a teaching where Jesus could not and could not be fully man simultaneously.
[13:17] They taught that God's spirit came upon Jesus on his baptism, as in the parallel with the dove. And they also taught that this spirit, which since it's being God, could not have died, so it must have left him on the cross, leaving him to be mere man on the cross.
[13:36] And we understand this to be a false teaching, as Scripture teaches us. And they also taught that they needed to have a special knowledge to navigate through different levels of heaven in order to have access to this almighty God.
[13:52] And this is all mixed together with strong Jewish traditions. But Paul, what does he do? He affirms Christ as one in the deity. He proves Jesus Christ was completely God in human form on earth.
[14:09] And he teaches and he continues to prove that he was present in the creation of the universe. And these teaching, in turn, squash the false teaching in the church in Colossae.
[14:21] But it also does something else. It also, in turn, it squashes the false teachings that are here in our modern church. Because we can still take this same teaching, we can hold it up against any teaching of man, any philosophy, anything.
[14:36] And if it doesn't meet what God has said and what Jesus has taught, it is false. And therefore, there is the wisdom in how God has inspired Paul to write this book.
[14:50] As it combats and it defeats false teaching in our churches today, simply by being pure in how it teaches and preaches Christ.
[15:04] Not only does Paul build a police-like guard for the church, but it's a continual callback to the basics of salvation.
[15:16] He continually calls them back to what they were taught. And for them to live strong, to live a strong Christian life. As we read, it's in chapter 1, verse 9.
[15:27] It says, For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints.
[16:03] In the light, he has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.
[16:19] You know, as we continue to read in verse 19, it says, For it is pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
[16:41] You know, Paul had just finished to declare all the things that were made were made through Christ, and not only by him, but for him. And in verse 21 we read, And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he is reconciled in the body of his flesh through death.
[17:02] You holy and blameless and abrupt reproach in his sight, if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
[17:21] I understand with talking with Pastor Wayne this week, that he's been teaching for you to walk in Christ, and what it is to walk in Christ, what it is to have a life that is Christ-like.
[17:34] And I wish we could expound this scripture even more and get into it deeper of what Paul is writing, but what he's saying is, For you who have heard and know the truth, remain in it.
[17:49] Do not be weak, and allow yourselves to be deceived, but to be grounded, to be strong, to grow deep roots in Christ's gospel, and remain steadfast in the faith.
[18:01] The Apostle Paul really hammers it home in the latter part. There's my teach. He really hammers it home in the latter part of the first chapter as he breaks down any barrier that could have been in the false teaching for the requirement of a special knowledge to be able to communicate with God.
[18:21] As we read in verse 27 of chapter 1, it says, To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery of the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
[18:37] Now we preach, or him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
[18:48] To this end, I also labor, striving, according to his working which works mightily, which works in me mightily.
[19:00] Their hope was to be in Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Son of God from the beginning to the end. From before there was time.
[19:12] You know that word eternity. I'm not sure if you have an understanding of eternity or how you can describe eternity. Naivite.
[19:24] You know, that's naivite. We reden here from naivite. It's not naivite. But what else is naivite? You know, if we think of, let's even have an example. You take a piece of, a sheet of paper.
[19:34] You know, maybe it's two feet wide and as long as what you can imagine. You know, from here, but forby Mexico. And then, and then, and then, and then, and then, the greatest for the course denken. Then we take, and we make a two-inch mark on this paper.
[19:49] This two-inch mark is time. It is all of time. It is from the day God created earth to the end of time, till there is no time no more. That is what our comprehension is of time and that paper is a representation of eternity.
[20:07] It has no end. It has no beginning. And that is where Christ comes from. He was in glory with God from before time. And he was involved in this creation of this world.
[20:23] He was fully God in the realm of God the Father himself. You know, as I, as I study through Colossians, I, I, I thank you, brother, for, for reading our text in chapter four.
[20:40] And, you know, I'm, I, I kind of get sidetracked and, and I'm, I get hung up on some of these verses and, and verse 28 is one of those.
[20:51] It says, for him we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we make every man perfect in Jesus Christ. That verse alone could be a series of multiple weeks of what that actually says and what that means.
[21:08] But we want to preach him and we want to make a commitment to preach Christ and to preach him only. And with all these materials and resources that we have available to us, you know, there's many awesome books we can read.
[21:23] There's many good studies we can read and we can do. We can watch a lot of good YouTube. But there's also a lot of them that is not. But compared to anything and everything, it is all rubbish compared to God's word.
[21:40] We need to stick to God's word and be true to God's word. That is what Paul is saying to this church. You have been taught God's word. Stick to it.
[21:51] Be in it. Be in nothing else other than in God's word. There is no need for us to bring in anything else to add to God's scripture, to his gospel.
[22:09] His gospel is complete. His gospel was complete in defeating Satan on the cross and all evil. It is everything that is needed to fulfill the plan of salvation is in God's word and Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of it.
[22:27] So Paul's rebuke to the Colossian church was to keep their eyes on Jesus Christ and his word only and not to be swayed by the flashing lights and the entertainment that seems to be in those that are around us but to put our blinders on to stay to remain steadfast in Jesus Christ.
[22:52] In chapters 2 starting at verse 6 it says, As you therefore have received Jesus Christ the Lord so walk in him rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving.
[23:10] Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ.
[23:23] For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power.
[23:35] There is nothing outside of Christ that we need for a complete fulfilled life. Not in the days of the Colossian church not in the modern days of 2020 or 2021 but it is our personal responsibility to test the spirits to see if they are of Christ or not.
[23:54] We are to be like the Bereans to study and to take the word and to hold it up against God's truth. It is your responsibility as a congregation to test your pastors and your leaders if they are in God's word.
[24:11] Not to criticize not to bash them down but to encourage them to uphold them to exhort exhort as an encouragement because they are mere men as well as are you and together together we want to hold fast to the truth not to tradition not to anything else but to the truth and to the simplicity of God's word.
[24:39] If we add anything else to it we have a term for that it's called legalism or you know we are quite familiar with religion we understand if our religion takes priority over Christ and what God says and what Christ or what God's word teaches us to us that is a root that we need to remove.
[25:07] This is the things that Paul addresses in this letter as we read in chapter 2 starting at verse 13 it says and you being dead in your trespasses actually and the uncircumcision of your flesh he has made alive together with him having forgiven you all trespasses having wiped out the handwriting of requirement that was against us which was contrary to us and he has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross and Jesus said it is finished as he hung on the cross the plan was complete the information needed for us to preach him only had been established as we read in verse 20 it says therefore if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world why as though living in the world do you subject yourselves to regulations to do not touch do not taste do not handle which all concern things which perish with the using according to the commandments and the doctrine of men these things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self imposed religion false humility and neglect of the body but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh it seems like
[26:31] Paul was writing this letter to the Mennonites Mennonites you know and I'm thankful for our Mennonite heritage you know it has a we have strong tradition we have a rich heritage but as I read and I study scripture I'm constantly in a mind battle of what tradition says to what the Scripture says.
[27:04] As we, I believe, we see and we interpret Scripture through our menno glasses. And that is one of those things that we need to work on. We need to be able to clear that menno glasses to wipe those traditions out, the ones that interfere with what God is teaching us.
[27:24] As we see in the book of Colossians, the first two chapters, Paul focuses on correcting the origins of what is to be taught.
[27:36] And in the following two chapters, concentrate on how we are to live and manifest this new life that we have. This Christ in you, the hope of glory.
[27:47] And chapter 3 calls us to seek those things which are above. To set your mind on things above. Not on things on the earth. A renewing of the mind.
[27:59] To lay aside convictions based on this tradition. And to be replaced with convictions from God's Word. This Scripture is commanding us to evaluate our priorities of what is most important.
[28:14] Earthly possessions. Fame. Or to live our life according to God's will. No matter where that leads us.
[28:25] That in itself is a little bit of a proclamation. We like to know where our tomorrow leads. We like to know, we like to be somewhat in control of what our next year is going to have in store for us.
[28:41] But as I shared our journey these last few years. That isn't what we had envisioned for our life. Had you asked me two years ago that I would be here and I would preach from God's Word.
[28:54] I would have laughed. I would have said, no, no, no. Nicht me. Dan tanz du mich noch nicht. And yet this is where God has me. And God has given me a deep desire to preach His Word.
[29:07] And to be clear. And to be precise. In what God is teaching us. So after Paul had worked through the leadership of this church.
[29:21] After he had silenced the lobbyists, if you will. He had silenced the small groups. The small sects that were standing in. That were demanding change. He had silenced them with the truth.
[29:34] They had nothing to say. There was no way that they could combat the truth of God's Word. Of who Jesus Christ was. He brings everything back to the individual heart.
[29:47] And he's calling them to put to death the members of sin that they were living in. As we read in chapter 3, starting in verse 5. It says, We must remember that Paul is writing to the church.
[30:13] These are church people. They're not standing in the city square and proclaiming this truth. He's writing this to the church. And he's not asking if these issues are in the church.
[30:26] He's saying these issues are there. And he's also not asking us to just reprioritize our life.
[30:38] To try to minimize these issues in our life. No, he's telling us to put them to death. To dig up the roots. To dry them out and to burn them. It's not just to minimize.
[30:50] It is to remove. It is to utterly destroy. These sins in our lives. It's to clean out our life for our heart. And our mind and our life to be pure and clean.
[31:03] In order for us to walk. And to live. This new life. And if we would stop there.
[31:14] If we would not read on. If we would not continue in the teaching that he has. We would feel empty and naked. You know, here we've taken and we've removed everything that we thought was important to us in our life.
[31:25] Or what we enjoyed. And now that has all been removed. But what does he say? You know, we all understand what happens to an empty grain bin in a windstorm, right?
[31:39] An empty grain bin which isn't fastened down to the ground. It topples over and it is destroyed. But a grain bin that is full of grain. That is full of that delicious wheat.
[31:50] It will stand. And it will weather the storm. Likewise are we. And we are to put on these tender mercies. We are to put on this humility.
[32:00] We are to put on this love. And we are to be filled with this love. This God's love is this delicious wheat that is in this bin.
[32:12] That grounds us and that enables us to endure the hardships. But it is also this infilling of God's love that totally transforms us.
[32:26] You know, Scripture talks of being a new man. A new creature. A new creation. The old has passed away and we are now totally new.
[32:40] But what does that mean? And as I understand, Pastor Wayne was in this portion of Scripture only a few weeks ago.
[32:51] As we read in chapter 3, we can read in verse 18 through 23.
[33:04] This is the relationship. This relationship of how we interact with people has totally changed. I'm not sure what his perspective was on this Scripture. But think of it.
[33:17] If we take the rest of this book and we have applied that to our lives. And this is the reading that you read in the first century Christian. In a world where wives are a possession.
[33:30] They aren't someone who we cherish. They're not someone who we really draw in and we share love with them. They are a possession that are there to cook for us. To bear children for us.
[33:42] The relationship that man had with wife. And he's calling them to, for the wives first to submit. But to submit to a loving husband. Who brings them in.
[33:54] Who nurtures them. Who loves them. Who teaches them. Who brings them up. And who strengthens them. And gives himself for her.
[34:04] A total transformation of the marriage relationship. A totally new look of what this marriage looks like. And it pours into their children.
[34:18] Children are no longer just ones you count off. And you boast at the city gate. I got 12 sons. No, you love them. And you have them along with you.
[34:28] And you teach them with diligence. The word of God. They are something that are precious to you. So precious that you would give your life for them.
[34:39] As did Christ for the church. A total transformation of the relationship between parent and child. And so it goes on to the, another primary relationship in our world.
[34:55] Here they called bond servants. I think we can have a better understanding of employee to employer. We as employers. Or pardon me, as employees.
[35:05] We are to work with diligence. And to give everything. As verse 23 says. And whatever you do, do it heartily. As to the Lord and not to men.
[35:17] Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ. It's a total change of heart. It's a total change of mindset.
[35:29] You are working joyously. And in turn this relationship with the employer is totally changed as well. Because the employer also has a new heart. So he treats you with kindness.
[35:42] With fairness. With dignity. You are no longer a possession. You are a friend. That is the result of this new heart.
[35:52] That is the result of having Christ in you. The hope of glory. And this brings us to our text.
[36:04] So now we're at chapter 4. Chapter 4 starting at verse 2. It says, Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside.
[36:31] Redeeming the time. Let your speech always be seasoned with salt. That you may know how you are. How you ought to answer each one.
[36:43] If you have a highlighter in your Bible. And if you're one of those that highlights scripture. And you don't have this portion of scripture highlighted. I would encourage you to highlight this scripture. To write it on a recipe card.
[36:55] Stick it on your fridge. Stick it in the mirror of your truck. Or on your toolbox. Write this scripture somewhere where your eyes see it daily.
[37:06] So that your heart can absorb the truth of this scripture. As it is the result of a transformation that has happened within our heart.
[37:19] The outpouring of this new man. What I have noticed in reading this book from cover to cover.
[37:32] Is the progression of the responsibility Paul lays on us individually. For example in the first chapter he expresses his commitment.
[37:43] To keep them in prayer. And he affirms the sound teachings that they received. From brothers like Epaphras. And other faithful ministers.
[37:55] These things others have done for them. And it is out of their faithful service to Christ. That they benefited. Now it is their turn to be faithful.
[38:08] It is our turn. It is my turn. It is your turn. To be faithful. And to purge from our lives these roots of sin. To fill our minds and our hearts with God's word.
[38:21] With God's love. And to live out this new man. Where it really counts. In your home. With your spouse. With your children.
[38:32] In your workplace. With your employer. With your co-workers. And the result is that the people from the outside. It is not.
[38:44] You know they are like non-developed people. It is not they are like all of us. To be able to do it. It is not their people. They are not going to be. That is what is not.
[38:55] We are not going to be. That is what is not. Mind. That is where we come from. It is a result of this new man. If the result of our new heart.
[39:12] Our new man. If the result is only that now we come to church regularly. And we spend our hour in church. And then we go home. If that is the only thing that has changed.
[39:24] Sorry we have a lot of growing to do. Our heart needs to be totally transformed. As we read in Romans chapter 12. It needs to affect every aspect of our life.
[39:39] It needs to change every relationship that we have in our life. So that it can be an example. Of what Christ has done for us.
[39:51] And what he has given for us. God sent his son to earth as we celebrate in this Christmas season. He sent him to be a baby.
[40:03] To learn all the things that we learn. To know all the hurts that we know. To experience all the difficulties that we experience. For the purpose to die on the cross.
[40:17] The most cruel and evil death. That they could muster in the time. So that I and you may have eternal life. That we can live in this joy.
[40:28] This is the purpose. And he has given us the power to do so. To clean up. To dig up these roots.
[40:40] No matter how deep. No matter how much it hurts. To dig them up and to destroy them. And then to be faithful. And to fill our hearts and our minds.
[40:51] With his word. His true word. Not follow man. But to follow his true word. And for the people to see.
[41:04] Not for the purpose to draw attention to ourselves. But to draw attention to the transformation that has happened. Through Christ. So that you have an opportunity to share your testimony. So that you have an opportunity to share Christ with them.
[41:18] As you may be the only church. That they get to see. In their lifetime. What picture do you want to leave?
[41:30] What legacy do you want to leave with them? In verse 2 of chapter 4. Paul calls the hearers of the letter.
[41:41] To continue earnest. With purpose. And he calls them to pray specifically. One thing that we have learned as we have studied eldership.
[41:52] Is the only way that we know what these people's needs are. Is to spend time with them. The shepherd needs to spend time with the flock. We as leaders.
[42:04] And as people. That have a true love for Christ. We need to spend time with you. We need to be in your home. To drink your coffee. And to have fastball with you.
[42:15] To share testimony with you. So that we as a church in turn. That we can pray specifically for you. Your specific need.
[42:28] With your name. It's not a general prayer. It's a specific prayer. And he says to pray continually. To stay in prayer. As he has given us the example in the beginning of this letter.
[42:43] As he said. That I continually pray for you. And he names them. He names specific prayer. We need to know the people.
[42:55] To know you. So that we are praying in order. For you to be watchful. For you to be alert. And to be intentional. With heartfelt sincerity.
[43:07] So that I can truly serve in joy. But in turn. That you can serve together with me. With God's joy. With thanksgiving.
[43:20] And as a prayer request. We see. That Paul added a prayer request. He said. For things to pray for. Pray for me.
[43:30] But he asked for prayer. For his ministry. Not as a main object of prayer. Or a subject of prayer. But as a request. So imagine here is Paul.
[43:40] Paul is in prison. It is cold. It is damp. It stinks. And there is. You know. Possibly filled with rats. And snakes. And spiders. And all things nice. In which I know for certain.
[43:54] They usually didn't feed well. In these prisons. And the beds were none too comfortable. Dehodnik nefenavoldak. Or nepharikasis. But he doesn't ask for prayer for himself.
[44:06] For his comfort. For his lodging. For his food. But he asks for prayer. That God would open. A door for him. To share. God's word. For him to share his love.
[44:18] An opportunity for him. To live out the gospel. While in chains. With a woman. Way of doing these things. He was most likely chained. To two other. Prison guards.
[44:30] And they had shifts. So he's praying for new people. To come on shift. So he can. So he can share God's love. With these new people. I can just imagine. He's hanging.
[44:41] Out his hands. With the chains on it. Please. You know. Why don't you pick you. And be shackled with me. So I can share the good news with you. Because once you're locked on. You're here for at least eight hours. I got you for a full day.
[44:53] You can't go anywhere. And I'm going to share my heart with you. That was his purpose. That was his desire. That was his heart's longing.
[45:05] And he's giving us this example. For us to live the same. For us to have that same heart. Longing to share God's word. In the circumstance.
[45:18] And you know. As I've studied. And I've studied even this past week. I feel guilt and shame. In how I ask for prayer. Because the times when I ask for prayer.
[45:31] It is for my comfort. It is for my strength. It is for comfort for my neighbor. For comfort for our church. And yet.
[45:42] Paul's example is given. Not for his comfort. But it is truly. Only for Christ's gain. For opportunity for him. To share God's word.
[45:55] An opportunity to pray with people. In their specific need. Paul. Paul. A faithful servant of God.
[46:08] And I see his priority. Was to share the gospel. And care for the people. As a shepherd to the sheep. He exemplified. The life of Christ. He was an example of. In his current situation.
[46:21] He didn't complain. He didn't groan and mumble. And say. Only if God. If you would give me freedom. Then I will preach. It was in the circumstance. Is where he preached his word.
[46:34] In verse 4. It says. That I may. Make it manifest. As I ought to speak. Sometimes we need to dig. A little deeper. Into the English language. I said. I said.
[46:44] I said. In high school. English wasn't my favorite subject. I squeaked by. I mean. Often. But if we. Study. And we. We try to understand.
[46:55] What these words mean. Even if we. We use a different translation. To help us understand. As I read. In the ESV. Version. It says. That I may make it clear. So that it is.
[47:07] So that people can understand. What God's word is saying. Which is how I ought to speak. You know. There's also. There's some of the false teaching. That were there.
[47:17] Some of these. These people. They were. Highly educated. And they would use big words. And they would use huge philosophies. And then they would say. Since I have this understanding. You listen to me.
[47:29] And then I will teach you how it is. That is totally wrong. That is false. We ought to preach. And teach. Clearly. So that you can understand. No matter. At what level you are.
[47:40] That is how God's word is to be presented. And as we teach. And preach to those that are around us. We ought to teach. In a way that is. Understandable by them. Using words.
[47:51] That they can understand. It is of no value. Of no purpose. For me to use big words. Since I don't know them anyway. But to use big words.
[48:03] That you can't understand. Because you walk out from here. Going man. They write an app. Get out of here. But I know what they say. Then I haven't. I haven't conveyed. God's word to you.
[48:16] This was Paul's purpose. To live and to speak Christ. Every day. All day. And in verse 5. We read. Walk in wisdom. Toward those who are outside.
[48:27] Redeeming the time. The word walk. Means to live. It is our life's walk. It is one step at a time. We have a direction in life. When we are walking. We are not just walking aimlessly.
[48:39] You know. We don't just walk into the parking lot. Going circles and circles. No. We walk towards our vehicle. We have a purpose. We have a direction. And he is saying. Walk with purpose. But walk in wisdom.
[48:50] Towards those who are outside. This is a teaching for us. To walk towards those. Who are outside of our church. To be a witness to those. To share God's love.
[49:01] To those who are on the outside. It is also to this outside. That we are demonstrating. This relationship. Transformation that has happened.
[49:12] In our lives. The marriage that we have. That is rejuvenated. You know. The marriage that is thriving. If our marriage is kind of held down.
[49:23] I don't know. That is a bit uncle. Batista in our marriage. There is transformation. That is needed in our marriage. And it. Most likely it begins with you. We are to demonstrate this love.
[49:37] That God has. Got us fall. For it to pour out. To those that are around us. And to be evident. In the relationships that we have. If we speak.
[49:48] Or teach to be kind. And to be gentle. And yet we are harsh. And short with our wife. They just see that. Dort wähtel ans speckert. Aspiet verkomm. Right?
[50:02] It says. Let your speech. Always be with grace. Seasoned with salt. This is a high order. You know. As we learn from the book of James. It is that wiggly thing in our mouth.
[50:13] That is hard to tame. There is many times. When we get kind of riled up. And you know. The tongue just spews things. From the heart. And then we hang our head in shame.
[50:26] He is saying. Take control of this thing. And make sure. What is in your heart. Is love. And it is joy. And it is kindness. So that when this thing waggles.
[50:37] And it speaks. That it speaks kindness. And love. To those that are around us. And the latter part. It says. That you may know. How you ought to answer each one.
[50:50] I have to admit. This portion. I have to be stumped. I had to stew on it. For a few days. And I prayed. And I asked God. For understanding.
[51:00] Of this. What does this portion. Of scripture mean? How will I come to the point. Where I have the wisdom. So that I. So that I will know. How I can answer people.
[51:12] When people come to you. With tough questions. How are you supposed to answer them? And the scripture says. That I will know. Or I ought to know. But it was only.
[51:28] As we had worked through this book. Of Colossians. I had repeatedly said. You need to read this book. As a letter. You need to start from the beginning. And read all the way through. You need to.
[51:40] Apply as it is taught. Not just one portion. But the entirety of the book. And it was there.
[51:50] That I found this answer. That I found. Peace in my heart. Of how this could be. In chapter 3.
[52:07] In verse 12. It starts. It says. Therefore. As the elect of God. Holy and beloved. Put on. This is what we are. Investing into our.
[52:18] Our heart. Into our mind. This is a. A physical act. This is something that we do. We are responsible for this. Is to put on. Tender mercies.
[52:29] Kindness. Humility. Meekness. Long suffering. Bearing with one another. And forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint.
[52:40] Against another. Even as Christ forgave you. So you also must do. I wish I had time this morning. To really dig into this. This scripture. This is another portion of scripture.
[52:53] If you have a highlighter. Highlight this. Write this out on a piece of paper. Put it in your world. Somewhere where you see it. Every day. For this is.
[53:05] Where this answer lies. It says. But above all things. But above all these things. Put on love. Which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God.
[53:16] Rule in your hearts. To which also you body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ. Dwell in you richly. In all wisdom. Teaching.
[53:27] And admonishing one another. In psalms. And hymns. And spiritual songs. Singing with grace. In your hearts. To the Lord. This is how we will know.
[53:41] How we ought to answer. It comes after being obedient. To God's word. By his spirit. Our responsibility.
[53:53] Is to fill our minds. And our hearts. With God's word. The understanding. Will come. By his spirit. We don't need to find.
[54:05] Understanding through philosophy. Reading. Theology. And all those things. That's not where our understanding. Comes from. God's word is. Simple. It is pure.
[54:16] The understanding. Comes from. His spirit. We ought to. Fill our minds. And fill our hearts. With God's word. And to allow. This. To rule.
[54:28] Our hearts. Verse 15 says. And Lord of God. Rule in your heart. It is an obedience. It is an obedience. That happens. That happens within us. And it ends that verse.
[54:45] And be thankful. To have an understanding of God's word.
[55:09] And to be thankful. And to be thankful of it. And then to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. How are we going to allow Christ's word to dwell in us richly if we don't know his word?
[55:23] How are we not? How are we going to know his word without spending time? Investing time? And investing with real earnestly into God's word to understand and to know his word that is within us.
[55:41] It is through this that we can know how to give good answers. Because it is while we are in study. It is while we are being infiltrated.
[55:52] While we are being saturated with God's word. That these questions will come. It is while we are teaching. It is while we are singing. Fellowship together with these people. Is where these questions will come.
[56:03] And we have opportunity to share our testimony. What God has done in our life. With that person. And how God has transformed my heart. That is going to answer questions for that person.
[56:15] For their heart. We can't direct them to this is what I did. No it is what God has done. That is where these answers and this peace comes from.
[56:30] And as I read the final greetings of this letter again. I see the passion and the love that Paul had for these believers. And again. This is the same relationship I have with you.
[56:42] Many of you have never seen me before. This is the same relationship. Paul had this deep love. And this deep passion for these people. That he mentions them by name.
[56:55] He affirms them publicly for their faithfulness. To extend confidence in these men to the church. That they can trust them in uncertain times.
[57:05] As faithful men. You know in 2020 we can. We have. I really understand. In all the upheaval. In all the uncertainty that we have had in our year.
[57:19] This church has had the same. And this is what Paul writes to this church. Have faith in these men. Because they are faithful. Because they have stuck to the word. What fascinates me so much about this letter.
[57:33] Is that it's the complete message. The rebukes to teach and to preach Christ completely. Correctly in his purity. Adding nothing. Having complete faith in his word.
[57:45] As creator. And as the savior of all mankind. And Christ being the only one. Who can redeem us from our sins. And we are to cut off. To put to death our sinful members.
[57:58] Not just recategorize. Or to put on this character. So that his love. Can and will flow.
[58:10] Through us. To those around us. We see the results of Paul's life. As we read the rest of this chapter. And I'd like to just start in verse 7. Of chapter 4.
[58:21] And I'll read to the end. Tychicus. A beloved. A faithful minister. A fellow servant in the Lord. Will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose.
[58:34] That he may know your circumstance. And comfort your hearts. With Onesimus. A faithful and beloved brother. Who is one of you.
[58:44] And they will make known to you all things. That are happening here. And if we study the book of Titus. Which is just. Just down the road a little bit. We understand who Onesimus is.
[58:55] Onesimus is a runaway slave. To the slave master Titus. And we understand in their culture. That when Onesimus returns to Titus. Titus has full freedom to do with him.
[59:07] Whatever he wants. If he wants to kill him. If he wants to torture him. Whatever Titus would like to do to Onesimus. He has the freedom to do so. In their culture.
[59:19] And here is Onesimus. Traveling together with. Tychicus. Why can't they just have names. Like Peter, James and John. But Tychicus.
[59:30] They are carrying letters. The letter of Ephesians. The letter of Colossians. The letter of Titus. As they are making their journey. From Rome. To Colossae. And to Laodicea.
[59:40] And to Hierapolis. And here is this slave. Knowing that he is going back to his master. Knowing that his master has full right to do with him. As he pleases.
[59:52] And yet he is going to what Paul has commanded him to do. To go back and to make things right. And to Aristarchus.
[60:04] My fellow prisoner. He greets you with Mark. The cousin of Barnabas. About whom you received instruction. If he comes to you. Welcome him. And Jesus who is called Justice.
[60:14] These are my only fellow workers in the kingdom of God. Who are of the circumcision. And they have proved to be a comfort to me. Epiphras. Who is one of you?
[60:25] He is their church founder. He is in prison with Paul. It says. A bond servant of Christ greets you. Always laboring. Always laboring fervently for you in prayers.
[60:36] That you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you. And those who are in Laodicea.
[60:47] And those who are in Hierapolis. Luke the Bledemus greet you. Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea. And Nympha. And in the church that is in his house.
[60:58] And when this epistle is read among you. See that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans. And that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus. Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord.
[61:12] That you may fulfill it. And says this salutation by my own hand Paul. Remember my chains and grace be with you all.
[61:25] Do we hear that love and that great desire that Paul has for this church? He knows them by name. He knows what they're struggling with.
[61:37] He knows where they are. And he sends Antichicus Onesimus to them. For them to share their life with them. And I believe that the charge has been to Tychicus and Onesimus.
[61:50] If possible come back to me. And to share with me the heart of Colossae. This is who they were to become.
[62:02] They were to become this love so deep. And that love so great. For them to have a desire to know and understand who they were personally in the church.
[62:15] So that they were able to pray specifically. Not only for them but with them. To share together with them. To share life with them.
[62:26] To teach and to sing together with them. It changes who we are. To share our testimony with this person. And to pray with them. And to cry with them.
[62:38] And to laugh with them. To rejoice with them. It changes who we are. It changes who they are. And that is the message. For us to be transformed into the likeness.
[62:51] Into the image of Christ. And Christ alone. With no adding. No subtracting. But to be transformed. To the image of Christ.
[63:07] My prayer has been that you will have been able to understand. The depth of this book. I know you got a quick overview of the book. I would love to have the opportunity.
[63:19] To share. All of the struggles that I had. As I studied through this book. Some of these roots that God exposed. And I needed to cut off. And to dig up.
[63:30] And to burn. And the journey that I've had. And the opportunity that I've had. To put into practice. This tender mercies. To put into practice.
[63:43] Meekness. Where it has nothing to do with I. But all to do with Christ. My prayer is that you will understand.
[63:55] That you will see. That you will take from here this morning. That we are. That we ought to fill our hearts and minds with God's word. And then to allow this.
[64:06] To flow through us. And to rule. Who we become. By understanding through the spirit. And to truly allow Christ in you.
[64:20] To be your hope. To be your glory. That he may richly indwell your spirit. And cause a transformation. And to grow to obey.
[64:33] And need God. To all of the. The charged. The loose breaking. And loose shal. That it was in wicked.
[64:43] Reward God. That's all of what ever you believe in us. Cause that's what God can match often. That stupid. Beat easy. What we do on the ram. You build. That might do loose.
[64:56] God slicked on that. To not fine breaking. God. And it is only by his power. It is only by his spirit. That we can be truly transformed.
[65:07] And renewed. And I pray for you. That it will be through this transformation. That you will truly be able to enjoy this Christmas season. That you will truly be able to enjoy family.
[65:21] I don't know your family. But I'm sure there's some of you that have difficulty in your family. I pray for you. I pray that you will be able to enjoy this season.
[65:31] As you relay this love that you have. Doesn't matter what's coming back. What is on your plate is to share God's love. And I pray for you that this love.
[65:43] This transformation will be evident through your marriage. That as you come in contact with your family. As you come in contact with people that you know. That they will look at you and go.
[65:55] Man. Yes. What on us. That gives you opportunity to share. To share what has happened in your home. And as you teach your children. It gives you an opportunity.
[66:05] To share this great love that you have with other families. That is my prayer for you. That is my heart for you. For you to understand.
[66:17] What the word says. And the instruction that it has for you. Personally. For your heart. This instruction is for you. And everything around you will come in a different light.
[66:34] May God truly bless you. May he truly give you a deep understanding. Of who you are in Christ. What your position is.
[66:45] And that would give you joy. And it would give you peace. As you search his word. And as you search for your place in your life. Let us pray. Father I thank you for this opportunity.
[66:56] I thank you for these people. Father I thank you for your word. Father I pray that your word will have gone out. And it will have penetrated every heart and every mind.
[67:09] Father I pray that we will go from here. Being convicted. Not by man. But by your word. To make change. To allow this transformation to happen.
[67:21] To allow this kindness and this goodness that is in you. To flow from us. Lord that we would allow you to dwell in our hearts. So richly. So that it would cause transformation in our relationship.
[67:34] With our wives. Our children. Our employers. Our employees. With our families and friends. That Lord that we would truly become this new man. Who you have.
[67:45] Given yourself for us to become. May today be that start for our growth. May today be that day that we lay aside.
[67:57] God. All our hangups. And our bitterness. And the resentments that we have. And that we will put mercies.
[68:08] We will put on your kindness. But most of all Lord that our. Our green bin. Our speck. God. Will be filled with your love. And that we are willing.
[68:19] And able. To share it with all those that are around us. I pray for this church. I pray for Pastor Wayne. I pray for Brother Peter. As they lead. And as they teach.
[68:30] May they be filled with your word Lord. May the congregation. Also be so filled with your word. To uphold them.
[68:42] To encourage them. And just to walk alongside them. I pray these things in your name. Amen.