Good morning, church.
Would you turn with me in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 1.
That's page 981 in the Pew Bible.
Page 981, Colossians chapter 1.
As we come to God's Word together, let's pray.
Father, we remember during the earthly ministry of Jesus that moment when so many were turning away.
And Lord Jesus, you turned to your disciples and said, will you turn away also?
And they said to you, Lord, where else would we go?
You have the words of life.
So we come to you this morning, God, acknowledging that you have the words of life.
And we ask that by your Spirit you would open our hearts and our minds to really hear and receive and be changed by your words this morning.
We pray this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
So this morning we're looking at Colossians chapter 1, verses 1 through 8.
Let me read these verses for us.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.
And Timothy, our brother.
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing.
As it also does among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
Just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant.
He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit.
So, just this week, did you see this?
Google released the results of a study in which they found that, quote,
social media, email, and news apps were creating a constant sense of obligation and generating unintended personal stress on our smartphones.
They did an entire study to basically tell us the obvious.
In other words, this media giant is admitting that their own devices play a huge role in what we've all come to know as FOMO.
The fear of missing out.
Which I think is in the Oxford English Dictionary now.
Defined as something like the anxiety that an exciting or interesting event might currently be happening somewhere else.
And we're not a part of it.
So, in response to this research, what Google wants to do is to promote what it's now calling JOMO.
The joy of missing out.
In other words, they want to help users have regular disconnection from their devices and from their apps.
So that we can actually enjoy whatever it is we're doing.
Talking with a friend.
Walking across campus.
Playing soccer with our kids.
So that we can actually enjoy these things without worry.
Without the worry that we're missing out on something important or exciting.
Well, that would be a good thing.
But honestly, as I've been thinking about this for the last couple of days.
I think our FOMO runs a little too deep to be solved simply by turning off our smartphones for an hour a day.
Or cutting down on the number of notifications we receive.
As healthy and as good as that all would be.
The fear of missing out.
The idea that there's something better out there somewhere and I don't have it.
That there's an experience of fullness.
Of real life and meaning that's slipping away from me.
I mean, that's a bigger spiritual problem than our smartphones.
Even if our phones seem to be exacerbating the problem, right?
And interestingly, it's not a new problem.
In fact, the book of Colossians was written to a group of Christians who, from one way of looking at it,
were undergoing deep spiritual FOMO.
They had heard the message about Jesus.
They had come to believe it.
But now, other teachers and other thought currents were sweeping into the church that said,
you need something more.
Jesus is a good start, they were saying.
But there's a fullness that you can have.
There's something more that you're actually missing out on.
Jesus isn't really enough.
You need Jesus.
And fill in the blank.
The next new spiritual thing.
I wonder if you've ever felt that.
Maybe this Jesus thing isn't really enough.
Maybe I really need Jesus and a really meaningful career.
Maybe I need Jesus and powerful, charismatic experiences.
Maybe I need Jesus and ancient church tradition and practices.
Maybe I need Jesus and...
Maybe someone somewhere has something that just might work a little better.
And the fear of missing out takes over.
And sometimes it feels like emptiness.
Sometimes anxiety.
And sometimes just annoying discontent that there must be more to life.
Now, the whole letter to Colossians is going to address this problem.
And by the time we're done, we will have soared to the mind-blowing heights of Jesus' person
and work and the reality of living in His kingdom in the present age.
But it starts first and foremost in verses 3 through 8 with thanksgiving.
Of course, it was customary for letters in the ancient world to start with a brief word of thanks.
But what Paul is doing here goes way beyond what's customary.
This thanksgiving section is actually sort of carefully designed and written by Paul
to help us see that what we have in the gospel,
what we have in the good news about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection
is the fullness that we've been looking for.
And the act of thanksgiving, of gratitude,
is the way to start healing the emptiness,
the anxiety, and the discontent that drives our fear of missing out.
So, as Christians, what are we to be thankful for?
And this text points us to three things.
The fruit of the gospel first,
the power of the gospel next,
and then last, the mission of the gospel.
In other words, Paul's going to say,
what should we be thankful for?
We should be thankful for what the gospel does.
It's fruit.
And then we should be thankful for how the gospel does it.
It's power.
And then we should be thankful for where the gospel takes us,
the mission.
So that's what we're going to do this morning.
We're going to walk through this thanksgiving section
looking at each one of these things
which ought to spur our gratitude
and help us realize that in Christ,
we're never missing out.
So first, we must thank God for the fruit of the gospel.
Look again at verses three through five.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you.
Maybe I should just pause there and say,
because of what God has done in Jesus,
we can no longer think of God apart from Jesus.
Who is God?
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's an aside.
Let's keep going.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you.
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and of the love that you have for all the saints,
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Of this, you've heard before in the word of truth,
the gospel.
So we see here the gospel,
the royal announcement about Jesus
is producing a threefold fruit among the Colossians.
Did you catch what it is?
Faith and love and hope.
This is a familiar triad in Paul's letters
and across the rest of the New Testament.
Sometimes it's faith and love and hope.
Sometimes it's faith, hope, and love.
The order sometimes changes,
but the three are often found together
almost as a summary of complete, rich, deep,
biblical spirituality.
And first, there's faith.
But, you know, faith here isn't just sort of faith in general.
Sort of, you know, the latest Nike ad.
Believe in something.
Anything.
And maybe it'll cost you everything.
Faith isn't just a general willingness to believe anything.
Actually, the Bible doesn't sort of commend
that sort of superstition
that we're just sort of gullible and open to anything.
No.
This is faith in Christ Jesus.
Faith in the Bible is essentially trust.
Not just knowing the facts,
but resting your life in something.
If you've ever done a high ropes course,
you know what it's like
to be 20 or 30 feet off the ground
and to be clipped into a safety rope
that will catch you if you fall.
At least that's what they say it'll do
if you fall, right?
And then there's that moment
when you reach one of the landings
and to keep going on the course,
you have to switch your harness rope
that's sort of connected to your harness
from one lead line to another.
You have to transfer your trust
from one safety to another safety.
And in many ways,
that's what it means
to have faith in Christ Jesus.
To transfer your trust.
No longer is this thing
my safety, my security.
This thing isn't what I'm going to trust
to hold the weight of my person anymore.
Now, it's the living Lord Jesus.
Imagine the wealthy Colossian business owner
in the ancient world
having spent his whole life
trusting his business savvy,
trusting in his instincts for profit.
Imagine himself,
imagine him introducing himself
at dinner parties.
How his financial success
is the pride of his life,
the thing that gives him confidence
and hope or,
and maybe he doesn't come right out
and say it,
but you know,
as he measures up the room,
he realizes that he's probably
the most successful person there
and if not,
he'll figure out how to become it.
But now imagine that same business owner
hearing the message about Jesus
from a colleague, perhaps,
with a newfound joy,
a joy that is with him
regardless of the ups and downs
of his business life.
And over time,
our wealthy Colossian business owner
realizes
that the gods of commerce
can't really hold his weight
until eventually in prayer
and in an act of decision,
he transfers the trust of his heart
to the one Lord
who can hold his weight,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now maybe you're not trusting
in your business success.
For you,
maybe it's something else.
But you know,
many of you here
could tell your own story
similar to this,
a story of trust transfer
and of the freedom
and the joy
that that brings
to know that now
you're trusting in someone
that can actually hold your weight.
And according to what Paul says here,
coming to faith in Christ
isn't something
we can thank ourselves for.
It's something
we shouldn't take for granted.
It's something
we ought to thank God for.
Because this transfer of trust
is more than just
a sort of private
religious decision.
No,
it's actually a movement
from one kingdom
in one realm
to a whole new one.
A little later in this chapter,
Paul will describe it
as being delivered
out of the domain of darkness
and being transferred
to the kingdom
of his beloved son.
When we take Christ as king,
we become citizens
of a whole new world.
A whole new kingdom
where Jesus is Lord.
It's a radical
reorientation of our life.
And what does that kingdom look like?
Well, as Paul's thanksgiving continues,
we see that it's a kingdom of love.
The second fruit of the gospel
that Paul expresses
thanksgiving for here
is love.
But again,
this isn't just a sort of
general fuzzy feeling
of affirmation,
but a concrete,
practical love
for all the saints,
Paul says.
And saints here
refers to all Christians,
as you see in verse two
in the opening remarks
when Paul greets the church.
So imagine again,
our Colossian businessman
newly come to faith in Christ
and he gathers
with his fellow Christians,
those who have also
transferred their trust
to King Jesus
and now live under his lordship
and his kingdom.
And as he gathers with them
in maybe a home
of a fellow Christian,
he realizes that,
man,
there are some people here
who are very different from him.
People of different nationalities,
some of different professions,
some of different social classes,
some of different ethnicities,
and outside of Christ,
some of these people
he would have never
spent time with.
Some may have even been
his sworn enemy.
But now,
what they once used to be,
divided,
indifferent,
even antagonistic,
now,
they are no longer.
Now,
they are sisters
and brothers,
one in the family of God,
the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And in this family,
the family mark
is love.
A real concern
for one another's needs,
a real sacrifice
to meet one another's needs.
And this kind of love,
this love that transcends
the dividing walls
of hostility between us,
the dividing walls
of race,
and gender,
and class,
and on and on.
This kind of love
in verse 8
is what Paul calls
love in the Spirit.
That is,
the Holy Spirit,
the third person
of the Trinity,
God Himself.
This is a love
that can only be
the fruit of God
working in us,
working in our hearts,
working in our priorities,
working in our time,
working in our resources,
so that we might have love
for all the saints.
Not just those
fellow believers
who are like us,
but those who are
not like us too.
For here,
as Paul will say
in chapter 3,
verse 11 of this book,
here,
here in the church,
here in the inbreaking
of the kingdom of God,
here,
there is not Greek
and Jew,
circumcised
and uncircumcised,
barbarian,
Scythian,
slave and free,
but Christ is all
and in all.
And that kind of love,
we know,
is something we ought
to be thankful for,
is it not?
But what is it
that fuels this love?
What keeps the engine
of Spirit-given love
for all the saints
burning and churning
in our hearts,
even when it's hard,
because it is hard,
and even when,
humanly speaking,
we want to quit,
and sometimes we do.
In verse 5,
Paul says,
it's because of the hope
laid up for you in heaven.
And notice here
that the word hope
isn't speaking about
our subjective action,
our feelings
or acts of hoping.
Rather,
Paul's talking about
the objective reality
of what's in store,
the hope,
the content
of what God
has prepared for us.
And because it's laid up
for you in heaven,
that doesn't make it
pie in the sky,
by and by.
Rather,
it means that our future hope
cannot be shaken
or stolen
by earthly circumstances.
It's totally secure
and completely certain,
and one day
it will erupt
into the present
when God brings
His saving purposes
to completion.
And that certain reality
of the future
is what stokes
the engine of love
in the present.
Do you see the connection
between verses 4 and 5?
In verse 4,
there's love
that you show
for all the saints.
And in verse 5,
we see that that love
is because of
the hope
laid up for you
in heaven.
Love, of course,
is costly,
isn't it?
Love will take your time
and your money
and your energy.
Love might even
cost you your reputation.
It will take time
on your schedule
that you might have used
for your own recreation.
It will take money
from your bank account
that you might have used
to get nicer,
newer things for yourself.
It will take energy
from your strength
that you might have used
to promote yourself
and your own success.
Love is costly,
but the hope in store
for us
vastly outweighs
the cost.
One metaphor
the Bible uses
for our future hope
is that of
an inheritance.
Paul himself
will use that metaphor
in verse 12
of this very chapter
of Colossians.
Inheritance.
Now,
imagine,
what if
all of us
in this room,
when we reached
retirement age,
what if all of us
would become
inheritors
of individual estates
worth well over
a billion dollars?
Now,
for some of us,
age 65
might feel like
a long way off.
Others of us,
maybe not so far off.
But imagine
what it would do
for your financial
generosity
now
if you knew
that in a few
short decades
or years,
money
would be
no object
for you.
Of course,
that would give you
the freedom
to be radically
generous now,
wouldn't it?
You'd be so liberal
in your generosity
that your friends
would probably think
you're crazy
or at least
irresponsible.
That is,
if they didn't know
about your future
inheritance.
But in fact,
knowing what you know,
it makes perfect sense.
You see,
that's the dynamic.
Our future assured hope
fuels our present
sacrificial love.
But the Bible
doesn't just speak
of our future hope
as an inheritance
of unfading wealth,
but it also uses
the metaphor
of a feast
of rich foods
and well-mixed wine.
It speaks in terms
of a home
where we will dwell
in safety
or a city
alive
with celebration
and joy.
In short,
the hope
that God
has in store
for us
is a new heavens
and a new earth
where sorrow
and suffering
are no more
and of resurrection
bodies free
from sin
and death
brilliant with glory.
And most of all,
our hope
to come
consists
in union
with God Himself,
Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit,
the lover
of our souls
for all eternity.
the magnitude
of what's in store
for those in Christ
makes any costly sacrifice
of love in the present
utterly reasonable.
So this is the fruit
of the gospel,
faith in Christ Jesus,
love for all the saints,
and a hope unshakable
that fuels it all.
So friends,
are we giving thanks
when we see this fruit
growing up
in the church,
when faith
in Christ
is exercised,
when love
is shown,
when hope
is held on to?
That's the real fruit
of the gospel.
Too often
we're disappointed
or discontent
with our spiritual life
or our church experience
when right under our noses
is the fruit
of God's almighty work
in our midst,
supernatural faith
and love
and hope.
And rather than
complaining,
Paul says,
we ought to be giving thanks.
And we ought not just
to give thanks
for our own church
but for other churches
across the city.
After all,
Paul wasn't the one
who started this church
in Colossae.
He had never even been there.
And yet,
hearing about the work,
he still abounds
in thanksgiving for them.
And you know,
we should do the same.
Wherever the gospel
is being preached
and bearing fruit,
we ought to give thanks
whether we're directly
involved in the work
or not.
But where does this fruit
come from?
This brings us
to the second big area
of thanksgiving
that Paul points out here.
We must give thanks
not just for the fruit
of the gospel
but also,
Paul goes on to say,
the power of the gospel.
Look again at our passage.
Pick up halfway
through verse 5
and on to verse 6.
Of this,
you've heard before
in the word of truth,
the gospel,
which has come to you
as indeed
in the whole world
it is bearing fruit
and increasing
as it also does
among you
since the day
you heard it
and understood
the grace of God
in truth.
Now in the middle
of this packed sentence,
Paul speaks of what?
Of the worldwide growth
of the gospel,
bearing fruit
and increasing.
Many commentators
have heard an echo here
of Genesis chapter 1.
Do you remember
when God tells
our first human parents
there to be fruitful
and multiply?
That's sort of
the mandate in creation.
Go forth,
be fruitful
and multiply.
Now,
Paul says,
it's the gospel
that's bearing fruit
and increasing.
It's as if Paul
is saying that
this message about Jesus
brings with it
the power
of new creation
to bring new life
in the midst of the old.
What makes the gospel
so powerful?
What makes it so powerful
that it can bring
new life out of the old?
New creation
out of the broken
old creation
that we live in?
What makes the gospel
so powerful
that it can actually
transfer our trust,
our faith
from ourselves
to Christ?
What makes it so powerful
that it can create love
across our human differences?
What makes the gospel
so powerful
that it creates
an unshakable hope?
Not just for some people,
but for the whole world.
I mean,
we hear a lot of news today,
don't we?
Some of it fake,
most of it bad.
But sometimes
we hear good news,
right?
And yet,
none of even
our good news
has the power
to do
what the good news
about Jesus
is able to do
and has done
and will continue
to do
the whole world over.
what makes the gospel
so different
than everything else?
Well,
it's because the gospel,
as verses 5 and 6
tell us,
is a word of truth
and it's a word of grace.
Think about it.
At the end of verse 5,
it says,
it's the word
of the truth.
The message about Jesus
is a word of truth.
It's something that
actually happened
in history.
Jesus lived
and walked
and taught
and ate
and slept
in first century Palestine.
People saw him
and talked with him
and followed him
and when the authorities
grew tired
and threatened by him,
they crucified him
in history
with real nails
and on the third day
he rose bodily
from the dead
and the tomb
where they buried him
was then really empty
and he appeared
to his disciples
living and in the flesh
and for 40 days
he taught them
and ate with them
until the time came
for him to ascend
to his throne
and of course
at that moment
he could have ascended
to any earthly kingdom,
the throne of any
earthly kingdom he wanted.
He could have ascended
to the throne in Jerusalem
and he could have ascended
to the throne in Rome.
He certainly had
the authority to do it
but instead
he ascended
to an even better throne
straight to the right hand
of the Father
where he not only sits
to reign
but to intercede
for us
and to send
the Holy Spirit
to empower us
the church
to go out
into all nations
and draw people
from all nations
to himself.
Friends,
this is what the gospel
the good news about Jesus
tells us happened
in history.
It's not a nice story
or a myth
that you can take
or leave
or modify
or change
or take some parts out
that you don't like
or put other parts in
that you do.
It's a word of truth
and isn't that
such good news
in a world
of so much
half-truths
and fake news
that God's done
something real
for you
and for me
and because it's
a word of truth
that means you can
investigate it.
Read the accounts
about Jesus
for yourself
in the New Testament.
The first four books
in the New Testament
which we sometimes call
the Gospels
give us first-hand
accounts
of the life of Jesus.
If you're exploring
Christianity
that's where I would
tell you to start.
Read the Gospel of Luke.
Read the Gospel
according to Mark.
Take the Pew Bible
with you
and read it.
We've got plenty.
We can replace them.
It's okay.
That would be a good
place to start
and I think
what you'll see
even if there's a lot
there that challenges you
I think you'll start
to see that the evidence
for Jesus' life
doesn't read
like a myth
or a cleverly devised
spiritual story
but it starts to read
like Luke says
in the beginning
of his Gospel
as an account
of the things
that have actually
been done
and fulfilled
among us.
But it's not just
a word of truth
it's also a word
of grace.
Paul says
at the end
of verse 6
that in the Gospel
we've come to understand
the grace of God
in truth.
The Gospel
isn't just
intellectually coherent
it also brings
a power
to change your life.
Now think for a moment
as we think
about this grace
think for a moment
about the relationship
between hope
and love
that we looked at
back in verses 4
and 5.
Now the longer
you stare at that
the more you realize
that something
is very different here.
That the Gospel
is saying something
utterly unique.
You see
in nearly every other
spiritual or religious system
the relationship
between love
and hope
goes like this.
If you love
others well
now
then
your hope
will possibly
be secure.
In other words
the certainty
of your future hope
depends on how well
you love
in the present.
If you're a loving person
if you put others
before yourself
if you're generous
and kind
then
you'll get rewarded
with a good hope.
Now for some of you
you might be thinking
well yeah
I thought that's
what Christianity says.
I thought that's
what Christianity
is all about.
It's about being
a good person
being a loving person
so you can get a hope
for the future
with God.
But friends
that's actually
not Christianity.
Other religions
say if you love
others well now
then your hope
will be secure.
Christianity says
God
has made your hope
secure in Christ
for you.
Therefore
you can love
others well now.
Do you see the difference?
It's a complete reversal.
One says
if you love well
God will accept you.
Christianity says
God has accepted you
in Christ by grace.
Your future is secure.
Now go love
in the freedom
and the confidence
that that brings.
And if you get that
if you see
how that's something
radically different
then you're starting
to understand
what Christianity
means by grace.
That God saves us
not on the basis
of our loving performance
but on the basis
of Christ's loving performance.
Because the reality is
none of us
loves well enough
to secure
a future hope
with God.
Deep down
we know we should
love our neighbors
as ourselves
and deep down
we know
we don't.
So what do we do?
What are our options
in light of those
two realities?
Option one
we can keep on saying
that we actually
do love our neighbors
as ourselves
all the while
hiding our flaws
and our faults
which is a terribly
inauthentic way to live
and ends up breeding
hypocrisy.
Option two
we can say that
God doesn't really
require us
to love our neighbors
as ourselves
and that he'll accept us
if we just
do the best we can.
But how do you know
if you've done
the best you can?
How good is good enough?
And while we're at it
who are we to say
that God
what God ought to require
or not require?
Maybe God really
does mean it
when he says
we ought to love
our neighbors
as ourselves.
So is there
a third option here?
Other than sort of
maximizing
our own goodness
at the expense
of hiding
all of our flaws
or minimizing
God's goodness
at the expense
of losing God
altogether?
In the gospel
there is a third option.
You see what Jesus did
in history
in truth
he did for
you and me
in grace.
He lived the life
that we should have lived
and the death he died
was the one
that we deserve to die
so that united to him
by faith
we can have
his record
counted to us
as our own
and have a secure
hope for the future
that's dependent
on him
and not me.
We've been watching
a lot of tennis
lately at home.
The U.S. Open
has been going on.
Did you all know that?
No?
The U.S. Open
is happening
like an hour
down the street.
So the U.S. Open
has been on
it seems like
non-stop
at the Lauer House
for the past week
and tennis
is a very
individual game
even when you're
playing doubles
then it's sort of
a doubly individual game.
You know
you take the court
and you have to win
in the strength
of your own performance.
You are the one
who has to stand up
and beat your opponent
and there's no one else
who can help you.
They won't even let people
carry your bags out for you.
Your coach
can't even
flash you a little signal
during the game
or else you get
disqualified, right?
It's up to you.
You've got to beat
the opponent.
But not every sport
is like that.
When a soccer game
comes down
to penalty kicks
there's one player
that takes the field
for all the rest
and if that player
can overcome
then the whole team wins.
The victory
of the one
is counted
to the many.
And friends
that is what God
has done for us
in Christ.
The victory
of the one man
Christ Jesus
his perfect life
and his sin bearing death
is counted
to the many
who trust in him.
He's done it
for those who believe
in the whole world
and he's done it
for you.
Friends
if you come
to understand
the grace of God
in truth
as it says here
in verse 6.
In the whole world
it's bearing fruit
and increasing
because there's
nothing else
like it.
And it's no property
of one particular
people group
or one particular nation.
It's for all nations.
We could sit here
and tell stories
of gospel growth
in Asia
and in Africa
and in Europe
and in the Middle East
and in New England.
But what about
the garden
of your own heart
friends?
Has the truth
of the gospel
sunk in
and has the grace
of the gospel
taken root?
If it hasn't
keep asking questions
and keep searching out
the grace and truth
of who Jesus is
and what he's done.
The stakes are too high
to ignore it.
And if it has sunk in
then start by giving thanks.
Just like Paul does here.
Thank God
for the power
of the gospel.
And if you're starting
to see it for the first time
let someone else know
how thankful you are.
Let your gratitude
be public.
And if you've transferred
your trust to Christ
and become a Christian
then talk to one of us pastors
or talk to a friend
about getting baptized.
That is the first step
in giving public thanks
for your new relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ.
But if you've been
a follower of Jesus
for a while
what does ongoing
thanksgiving look like
for you?
Paul ends by giving thanks
not just for the fruit
and the power of the gospel
but finally
for the mission
of the gospel.
And this is verses 7 and 8
our last point.
He continues,
he says,
just as you learned it
from Epaphras
our beloved fellow servant
he's a faithful minister
of Christ on your behalf
and has made known to us
your love
in the spirit.
Paul here wants
the Colossians to know
that they've received
the genuine gospel
from a genuine gospel messenger.
Now it's probably the case
that Epaphras was from Colossae.
It was probably his hometown
and he probably met Paul
in the city of Ephesus
during Paul's third missionary journey.
Ephesus was sort of
a center city
in that region.
And at Ephesus
Epaphras would have heard
the message of grace
and truth
in Jesus from Paul.
And as it took root
in his heart
Epaphras would have then
taken it home
to Colossae with him.
And there among his own people
in his own city
he would have taught them
all that he learned
about the grace of God
and truth in Christ.
And as his fellow Colossians
understood that grace
and truth
then the fruit began to grow
the faith
and the love
and the hope.
And it grew so much
that Epaphras
could later return to Paul
and report to him
all that he had seen God do
as they heard
the word of truth
and come to understand it.
And especially
their love
in the Spirit.
Trinity
we like to say
that we're gathered
transformed
and sent forth
by the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
And that's exactly
what we see
in this passage
isn't it?
In verse 6
we see the gospel
gathering us
it's this global message
of grace and truth.
And in verses 4 and 5
we see that it transforms us
in faith
and love
and hope
and finally
in 7 and 8
it sends us out
just like it sent out
Epaphras.
And know where Epaphras went.
He went home.
Often we think
that the mission
of the gospel
means traveling
to some far away land
where we don't know anyone
and have to eat
strange foods.
But more often friends
the mission
of the gospel
is to take the truth
and grace of Christ
to our families
and our friends
and our co-workers.
Indeed
the gospel mission
does extend
to the ends of the earth.
The gospel is for the whole world
but the ends of the earth
are sometimes
right in your own backyard
or down your dormitory hall
or across the street
or in the cubicle
next to yours.
And note too
that Epaphras
wasn't an apostle.
He wasn't a superstar
of the early church.
He wasn't a Paul
or an Apollos
or a Peter.
He was just
an ordinary guy
who encountered
the extraordinary
grace of Christ
and he was faithful
to serve Christ
and take the gospel
to his hometown.
And his name
got etched
into the New Testament
and we're still talking
about him
2,000 years later.
And God says elsewhere
in the New Testament
that all of us
who persevere
will have our names
etched
in the temple
of God in heaven.
Brothers and sisters,
the global movement
of the gospel
is bearing fruit
and increasing
right now.
And God is calling us,
calling you
to join in
the mission.
So thank God
for the Epaphrases
in your life,
those faithful ministers
and pastors
who first taught you
the gospel
even if they aren't famous
and then take up
your place
in the mission too.
And for some of you
the global movement
of the gospel
will take you
to the other side
of the world.
Some of you right here
have been to the other side
of the world
and come back
and some of you
can't wait to get there
and that is incredible
and awesome
and you should go.
But for some of you
the global movement
of the gospel
will take you
to the glories
of the mission field
right at home.
And either way
in this mission
of the gospel
there can be no fear
of missing out.
What are you
possibly missing out on?
For here
the power
of God's grace
and truth
in Christ
is breaking
into the world
and the new creation
fruit of faith
and hope
and love
is bursting forth
in the midst
of the old.
What could be
more thrilling
than that?
So brothers
and sisters
live your life
in the gratitude
of the gospel.
Give thanks
for God
is at work
in power
and the fruit
is coming forth
and you have
a role to play.
Let's pray.
God we want
to do that this morning.
We want to give you
thanks
for how we have seen
the message
of your grace
in Christ
produce good fruit
in our midst.
God thank you
for faith
for those
in this room
who have come
to place
their trust
in Christ.
God thank you
for the love
that is shared
between us
and thank you
for the hope
that we have.
God help us
to abound
in thanksgiving
the more
we see you
at work.
Give us eyes
to see it God
and give us hearts
that overflow
with it.
Lord would we
be a people
full of gratitude
because of what
you've done
for us
and we pray
that we as a church
would be a beacon
of hope
and joy
in the midst
of our city.
Would people wonder
what it is
that makes us different
and come to know
with thanksgiving
the grace of Christ
as well.
We pray this
in his name Father.
Amen.