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Struggling in Prayer (Colossians 4:12)
43 Plays2 years ago
Colossians: The Preeminence of Christ
Sunday Message recorded 25 September 2023
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Introduction: The Importance of Worship and Remembrance
00:00:07
Speaker
Well, good morning, everybody. Good morning. It's great to be with you guys. There's no better way to start a worship service than one, worshiping and praising the Lord, and then taking the Lord's Supper in remembrance of what the Lord has done for us. There's no better way to start the service. Amen? Amen.
Concluding the Study of Colossians
00:00:26
Speaker
And it's also very fitting because today, if you want to go ahead and grab your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Colossians chapter four. We're going to be concluding this letter
00:00:36
Speaker
that we've been studying over the last few weeks, over the last couple months. And what we're gonna see here is that this has been a letter that has been very,
Theological Insights of Colossians: Overcoming False Teachings
00:00:48
Speaker
full and rich of theology and of what Paul has been writing to this church about how they're to be living fervently for the Lord despite some outside noise and false teaching. But despite how rich and encouraging this letter is, the way he concludes it is a beautiful conclusion.
00:01:17
Speaker
Letters like this, passages like this, they're passages that we have a tendency, I think I've said this before, even when we looked at the letter of Ephesians to the Ephesian church, we have a tendency of reading the ending as if we read it but we don't really engage with it because our mind
00:01:36
Speaker
are so full. Our hearts are so full with the richness of what Paul has already talked about in the first four chapters. So by the time we get here, our heads are already full. Our hearts are already full.
Spiritual Freedom in Christ
00:01:48
Speaker
We're trying to process some really cool things and we miss what Paul is doing at the end of the letter.
00:01:55
Speaker
Is there anybody else in that boat? Anybody else do that? I do that a lot. I'll confess it. That's why I'm thankful that we do teach through the letter verse by verse and that we do take it section by section so that we don't miss the power, even in the conclusions and the benedictions of the letters.
00:02:13
Speaker
But as I said, this letter has been an incredible letter. It's broken down into two main sections. The first section is that chapters one and two, we see Paul is writing this letter on behalf of an individual who reached out to him regarding the church in Colossae. We'll see who that is here in just a minute.
00:02:33
Speaker
But he's writing this church to counteract or to address some heretical teaching that has been infiltrating this young, believing church. We see that in chapters one and two. He reminds them of the spiritual freedom that they have in Christ.
Living Faithfully: Walking Worthy of the Lord
00:02:51
Speaker
Josh, you can go to that next slide. Oh, I'll get back to that here in just a second. Go ahead and go to the outline for me there, Josh.
00:03:01
Speaker
He addresses the spiritual freedom that they have in Christ, right? And how through Christ and by His redeeming work, they have been set free from any of these, of the legalistic mindsets that have come against this church.
00:03:20
Speaker
And if you go back to chapter one, and as I said there in verses nine through four, he encourages them in this opening thanksgiving and prayer to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. And if you go down to verse 13, he says, he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we now have redemption and forgiveness of sins.
00:03:43
Speaker
So he reminds them of, hey, now that you receive Christ, now that you have heard this gospel and has set you free, walk in it.
Transition to Practical Christian Living
00:03:51
Speaker
Walk in a manner worthy of it. You've been set free from it. He goes on to chapter two.
00:03:59
Speaker
And verses six through seven says, therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus, the Lord so walk in him, rooted and built up and established in the faith, just as you are taught, abounding in thanksgiving. In other words, he's he's challenging and he's bringing them back to a place of remembering where what Christ has done for them and how they are no longer bound to the law, but they are now set free. And many of us today still live in the manner of the Colossae church.
00:04:25
Speaker
Many of us still live as if we are trying to fulfill a standard or a law that is a requirement to receive God's grace. But as we go back to Ephesians chapter two, do we do anything to receive God's grace?
00:04:41
Speaker
is by grace you have been saved through faith, not by your works, not by your works. So Paul is recalling this back to this church. He's saying, hey, walk in a manner that is worthy of Christ. And then he goes on then to the second part of his letter in chapters three and four, and he now addresses moving from the spiritual freedom in Christ to the practical Christian living in Christ.
00:05:09
Speaker
The chapter three, as we looked at, says, if then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And then he says, set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things of this world. In other words, don't follow the flesh.
00:05:26
Speaker
Don't follow the rules and the regulations that which man had set in place. Now, yes, they were encountering, what they were struggling with is following the Mosaic law, right? The Old Testament commands. But what Christ, when He came on this earth, He came to fulfill that law.
00:05:46
Speaker
Through his death, burial, and resurrection, as we remember today, he fulfilled the Old Testament law to where we are no longer bound by that law because we were never able to fulfill it to begin with. He's the only one who can fulfill it. And through that, we've been set free from that law. Again, it's by his grace that we've been saved through faith.
00:06:07
Speaker
And so he moves from the spiritual freedom to the practical living. He says, put to death therefore what is earthly in you, and then put on as the chosen ones, holy and beloved, the things in which Christ has given us to the Holy Spirit, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one
Paul's Connection to the Colossians
00:06:24
Speaker
another. And if one has to complain against another, forgive each other as the Lord has forgiven you, you must also forgive.
00:06:34
Speaker
And then from there, he moves on to the daily practical applications when it comes to our work relationships, when it comes to our family relationships, to our marriages, to the way that we treat our friends and how we are to put them first. Die to yourself, pick up your cross and follow Christ.
00:06:55
Speaker
And through that, allow the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you to be the example by which we were called to be in Christ Jesus to those who do not know Christ or to those who need to be encouraged in Christ. So these are the things in which Paul has been speaking towards to this Colossae church. Again, this is a young church.
00:07:14
Speaker
And you gotta remember, this is a church that Paul himself had never physically been to at this point. They had never put eyes on Paul. So again, Paul is writing this letter from prison. He is under house arrest in Rome, and he is writing this letter, but yet he's able to write to them emotionally and spiritually because of the servant which came to him, and then he would then send the letter back. So he's writing to his people as if he is a spiritual father to them, though he's never seen them.
00:07:44
Speaker
It's a powerful, powerful letter. But now let's look at how he concludes this letter in chapter four. Picking up in verse seven, Josh, sorry, now you can go back to the scripture slides. So picking up in verse seven or chapter four, let's see how Paul wraps this letter up.
00:08:06
Speaker
It says in verse seven, tick a kiss. We'll tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I was sent into you for this very purpose so that you may know how we are and that they may encourage your hearts. This sounds very familiar, right? This sounds a lot like Ephesians.
00:08:26
Speaker
But he goes on, he doesn't just end there with a ticket kiss, he says, and with him, when this miss, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you, they will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you and mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called Justice. Shout out to Justice over here.
00:08:55
Speaker
These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Apaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you always, struggling on your behalf in those prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
Final Greetings and Encouragement
00:09:14
Speaker
For I bear with him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in the Hierapolis.
00:09:24
Speaker
Luke, the beloved physician greets you as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha in the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans? And see that you have also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus,
00:09:48
Speaker
These names are fun. See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the time that we've gotten to spend in this letter of Colossians. It may have been written thousands of years ago, or a thousand years ago, but Lord, it's so practical today.
00:10:17
Speaker
It still applies to every aspect of our life today. We thank you for the fact that your word is living and active and for the words of Paul and his faithfulness to write this letter. But Lord, I pray that we will heed what Paul's message was to the Colossae church, this young church that
00:10:34
Speaker
needed to remember what their high calling is in Christ Jesus, to remain faithful. So Lord, I pray that we will apply this to our lives, and as we work through this passage, that you will continue to speak to us, is in Jesus' name, amen. So again, Paul writes this, the first four chapters have been this incredible letter to the church, reminding them of who they are in Christ, reminding them that it is in the preeminence of Christ that they have been set free.
00:11:03
Speaker
There's no one else to find freedom in. There's no other rules nor the regulations. But yet, it's interesting how Paul, after writing such a profound letter, he could've just ended it. He could've just made this benediction very simple, but yet he chooses to recall to mind faithful individuals, these faithful individuals. I don't think this is by chance.
00:11:29
Speaker
Because again, Paul's addressing this church because of the outside noise that is infiltrating the church. These false teachings that are coming in and they're leading this young believers away. And so for Paul to recall to mind these individuals, these faithful companions of his, it's not by chance, it's to give them examples of how they too are to remain faithful.
Epaphras: A Model of Fervent Prayer
00:11:51
Speaker
It's not impossible. It's hard. Following Christ is hard.
00:11:56
Speaker
The world is coming against the message of the which we believe in Christ Jesus. But yet it's not impossible. It's very possible. And so he's recalling to mind these guys, these different companions. He mentions Tychicus, a faithful minister and fellow servant of Paul. Tychicus would also become a prisoner with Paul.
00:12:20
Speaker
And then as we remember, he was also mentioned back in Ephesians when Paul also wrote that letter. Now, again, Ephesians and Colossians, they're letters that were circulated at the same time. Paul might have written, or we believe that he wrote both these letters while he was in prison in Rome. So they're very contemporary counterparts to one another. But then he goes on and mentions Whenismus.
00:12:48
Speaker
And once Simon, however you choose to say his name, but he's a fellow Colossian as well and a former slave. And this is by no chance that he mentions this guy. This is unique because when it's like I said, he was a slave to a guy named Philemon. And Philemon is actually the one where the Colossian church has probably taken place at his house.
00:13:09
Speaker
And so when Nisbus is a slave to Philemon, he steals from him, runs away, encounters Paul. Paul shares the gospel with him. He comes to know Christ. And then what does Paul do? He says, you need to go back. You need to go back. That's what the whole letter of Philemon is about. Paul writes a letter specifically to Philemon saying, hey, this happened. We get it. He knows Christ now. He's a brother. He's no longer a slave. He's a brother in Christ. You need to welcome him back.
00:13:37
Speaker
Not as a slave, but as a fellow brother in Christ. And the other beautiful thing about that letter of Philemon is that he's doing it so that Philemon can serve as an example to others of forgiveness.
00:13:51
Speaker
a very rich message that's also found in Colossians. So it's a very beautiful thing. But he goes on, he lists Aristarchus, he lists Mark, who is a cousin of Barnabas, a companion of Peter. He would ultimately write the gospel of Mark. There was Jesus or Justus, there's Epaphras, there's Luke and Demas. He goes on and on, lists these different individuals who have positive impacts on the kingdom with the gospel message. Of course, some of them also fall away like Demas.
00:14:21
Speaker
But there's one guy in particular that I really want us to spend our time on. I really want us to look at, and that is Epaphras. That is Epaphras. And why is that? Because Epaphras, you know how earlier I said that there was a servant of Christ that went to seek out Paul on behalf of the church? Because it's Epaphras.
00:14:42
Speaker
He was a fellow member of the Colossian church. Scholars believe that Apaphras was actually the one who founded the Colossian church. He heard the good news of the gospel from Paul. He believed, and he went back and shared the good news. He went back and evangelized the region of Colossae, not just Colossae, but of Laodicea and the Hierapolis, that whole region, the Licious Valley or Licus Valley. He went back and he inevitably started this church
00:15:11
Speaker
And 10 years later, after he started this church,
00:15:15
Speaker
That's when all this, I mean, throughout that time, this outside teaching started coming in and infiltrating the church and started leading people astray. And Epaphras had one of few options that he could do. He could either try to address it himself and try to encourage the people of the church to stick to the true gospel, or he could go and seek counsel. He could seek wisdom from the one who shared the gospel to him at the first place. Paul, that's exactly what he did.
00:15:44
Speaker
He realized that this was too big, that he needed the help that he needed, or that to bring them back to a healthy place and believing in the gospel. You see, we have a tendency to think that we can do things on our own, that if I'm a believer in Jesus, I'm okay by myself.
00:16:07
Speaker
I can handle the outside noise. I can handle what's going on within the church and all the drama that may happen. Or we as a church can think, oh yeah, all those other churches, they're following a stray. But we're still good. We're still rocking a roll. We're following the one true gospel. Well, let me tell you something. If you're in Christ, you're part of the universal church of Christ. I mean like, we are all brothers and sisters under the name of Jesus.
00:16:31
Speaker
We need to be praying for one another. We need to be longing for each other to follow this gospel passionately. And that's exactly what we see from Epaphras. He realizes that this is getting too big for him and that he needed assistance from Paul. So what did he do? He left Colossae and went all the way to Rome. Josh, can you bring up that map for me? Okay, so this is a bigger map here, okay? So I don't know if some of you guys may not be able to see it, but there's a little red circle on that map.
00:17:00
Speaker
That's Colossae. Now, okay, so there's Colossae, there's Laodicea, there's Hierapolis, and over to your left, there's Ephesus. It's about 100 miles away from Colossae. Now, Josh, go back to that zoomed out photo. You guys see that little boot right there on the left side of the screen? Up there on the top corner, that's Rome. That's where Paul is. And under house arrest.
00:17:28
Speaker
Epaphras thought that he believed in his heart that it was worth his trip to go to Rome to see Paul so that he can receive the help and the guidance that he needed to address these teachings that were infiltrating the church. So as a result of Epaphras' desire for the church, for his people, Paul wrote this letter back to them encouraging them to come back to the one true gospel.
00:17:55
Speaker
And not even just this letter, but also the letter that was written to, that was the circulation that was already at the church of Laodicea, which we believe is actually the letter of Ephesians. The letter of Ephesians would eventually work its way back and it would be in circulation in this region. So not only was he, were they reading the Colossae, or the Colossians, but the letter of Ephesians.
00:18:17
Speaker
And so he was a fellow member of the Colossian church, and he was a fellow servant of Christ Jesus, who loved his people well. And as a result of that, and how Paul describes him, that he was a servant of Christ Jesus, he greets you always struggling on your behalf in his prayers. How are we,
00:18:42
Speaker
choosing to pray. If we are believers in Jesus and we believe that Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death, how are we engaging with the world? How are we engaging with one another as a church? Are we fervently praying for one another? I love how John Case mentioned that in his prayer, that we need to be fervently be praying for our nation, for our church, for this community.
00:19:10
Speaker
Being a follower of Christ is more than just claiming the name of Jesus. If the Holy Spirit is in you, you should have a desire and a passion not just to be here at church, but to be praying fervently for the church and for the opportunities to share and to witness the gospel of Christ Jesus to those around us.
00:19:33
Speaker
And that's what Epaphras has been doing. That's what his desire is. And the moment he started the church in Colossae, to this moment where he went and sought out Paul, 10 years went by. And he remained faithful, fervently prayed, struggling in his prayers for this church. This idea of struggling in prayers means that we should pray like an athlete who strains for the goal, the desire, the prize.
00:20:02
Speaker
Does this sound familiar? Paul mentions, I think he says something very similar in the letter of Philippians and how we should forget what lies behind, but press on to what is ahead and we should strive for the upward call in Christ Jesus, the prize in Christ Jesus.
Warnings and Encouragements: Learnings from Laodicea
00:20:22
Speaker
We should be desiring to be praying fervently, struggling in our prayers for not just the church, but for everyone to come to know the freedom of Christ, the good news, the gospel, the salvation. So how are we doing that? How are you guys doing that?
00:20:45
Speaker
Again, this is a question that I have to ask myself daily as well. I am not outside of this. Victor's not outside of this. We as a church.
00:20:54
Speaker
We need to be coming together as a cumulative whole to do this together. And that's what we see here, is that Paphras desires that from this young church, that they come back to the truth, that they come back to the power that was able to save them and to bring them from death to life, from darkness to light, the one by which we now celebrate the Lord's Supper, Jesus. May we cling to that power.
00:21:26
Speaker
And as I've mentioned, so he's not even just a fervent prayer warrior, but rather he is a spiritual contender for the church. We see that here in verse 13. He says, for I bear him witness, this is Paul, that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and the Hierapolis. So again, it's not just about the church of Colossae, but rather it's about the churches in that region, Delicious Valley.
00:21:50
Speaker
He's just as concerned about the Laodiceans and those in the Hierapolis rather than just those at the Laodicean or at the Colossian Church. His passion is pouring out into the community, into those in the surrounding area.
00:22:06
Speaker
And this is actually pretty significant because when we look at this region of the Hierapolis and Laodicea and Colossae, Hierapolis is actually a very prosperous area. They were known for their industry with Dai, so it was very frugal. They had a lot of money there. So with that, there's a lot of different demographics of people.
00:22:28
Speaker
So when you think about the outreach and the evangelistic witness that he had, it was powerful, it was profound. And also, I also read that this is also a high concentrated area for Jews as well. This delicious valley. But something I want to call to mind is that this is not just the last time that the church at Laodicea is mentioned. Where else is it mentioned? Revelation.
00:22:59
Speaker
So we see here a path for longing for the fervency of this church to grow, the passion of this church to grow, to see it last, and it does, it lasts, but not in a manner that we think it did. As you read in the revelations, John would write down what Jesus would say about this church and how they lost their fervency for the gospel. They fell away and followed the world because they fell into the money.
00:23:34
Speaker
How are we praying for our community? How are we praying for our nation? If we're not fervently in prayer constantly, we may end up just like the Laodicean church. And so again,
00:23:53
Speaker
How are we as believers in Jesus today at this church, in this community, in this state, in this nation, how are we engaging with this culture and this world around us that is trying to snuff the gospel out? And it's happening.
00:24:15
Speaker
Again, the first four chapters of this letter is dedicated to these young Colossae people to remember their spiritual freedom, not to give in to the false teachings or the legalistic mindset that is coming at them. That we need to remain in the freedom of Christ.
00:24:39
Speaker
And then as a result of that freedom in Christ, as a result of the power of the Holy Spirit within us, that we need to live a life that is worthy of the manner of Christ rather than of the world. We need to be set apart. Our actions need to be different. Our desires need to be different. I'm not saying that we're gonna, that you have to be like weird, that you have to, you know, like, you know how the Christian stereotype is, like, oh, you're a Christian, you're a weirdo. No.
00:25:07
Speaker
We could still enjoy life. We could still enjoy fellowship and go do things. But when it comes to the convictions of the Holy Spirit within us, we need to set ourselves apart from what the world is telling us is okay. So how are we doing this?
00:25:32
Speaker
Are we like Apaphras? Are we like Tychicus? Are we like Aristarchus? Are we like these examples that Paul mentions? Or are we here to be like a Demus who eventually would fall away? Paul mentions Demus in this letter just briefly right after Luke. But Demus, if you guys remember, he actually falls away later.
00:26:02
Speaker
Not that he falls away from his, in the sense of that he turns from the gospel, but rather he is very much like a believer who is persuaded by the world and turns away and he walks away from the truth. He allows these other teachings to come in to infiltrate him and he turns away and he doesn't want to be a part of Paul and his companions anymore. Maybe not be like a Demas, but maybe be like a Paphras.
00:26:36
Speaker
I hope this has been a very good study for us as a church. Because the noise is only gonna get louder. The pressures are only gonna be greater to bring in more of a, what's the word I'm looking for?
00:27:04
Speaker
all inclusive, I guess, mindset. This idea of progressive Christianity is growing. We need to be on guard. We need to stand firm. We need to be praying diligently as Epaphras does for his church or as he did for his church to stand firm in Christ.
00:27:30
Speaker
So that way when it does come, when you do have an opportunity to confront it, that you confront it in a humble manner, but firmly. So that way, Christ can be known and people can be set free. Does that make sense?
00:27:54
Speaker
That's my desire for our church. That's my prayer for our church. That's not my prayer for the believers in this area. That's my, I mean, for the believers in our nation. Gosh, I, I'm gonna be real for a second. Is that okay? We need to be praying for unity among the believers of the church. The church has been so divided recently when you look at our nation.
00:28:22
Speaker
We need to be praying for the unity of the spirit among believers. That way we can all have the same approach, the same mindset, the same convictions, the same gospel. That's what we need. So may we do that. May we fervently be praying for that so that way we can walk together in unison.
The Lord's Supper and Call to Live Worthy Lives
00:28:49
Speaker
But as we wrap up our time this morning, I do bring us back to what we just did here, the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is about remembering what Christ did for us as our Passover land, right? I pray that we will always remember this daily as we wake up and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe Epaphras did that.
00:29:17
Speaker
I believe Epaphras reflected on the finished work of Christ, the freedom that we have now in Christ through his redeeming blood. So I pray that's exactly what we'll do. But if you're in this place today and you have never experienced a true freedom in Christ,
00:29:34
Speaker
You're still feeling the weight and the tension of the world. You're still living in your sin. You feel in the weight of your sin that you need to, but yet you want that to be released and you want to turn away from that and you want to experience the freedom that we're talking about. I pray that today you will surrender your life to Jesus because that's the only way you'll experience freedom. Surrendering your life to Christ does not mean that you're enslaving yourself to anything.
00:30:05
Speaker
Surrendering your life to Christ means that you're submitting to his authority, but you're setting yourself free from what is truly enslaving you, that is your sin. So if you have questions, you can come talk to me, you can talk to Victor, you can talk to whoever, a believer in this church who you know without a shout out will lead you down the path of truth.
00:30:25
Speaker
I pray that you'll do that. But for those of you guys who are brothers and sisters in Christ with me, my challenge and charge for us is that we will walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, that we will pray fervently for our community, pray fervently for our church, that we will take full advantage of every opportunity of sharing and witnessing to those who need Jesus.
00:30:52
Speaker
as a paphrist did. May you pray with me. God, we thank you for this morning. We thank you for this time. And Lord, as I said in the beginning that we thank you for this letter that is timeless. It's living, it's active, it's applicable in every way to us today.
00:31:07
Speaker
And Lord, I pray that as we process through this letter, as we continue to be sanctified, as we continue to pursue a life that is worthy of the calling of Christ, that we will also desire to leave a legacy like these men that Paul mentioned.
00:31:32
Speaker
whether it's Tychicus, Apaphras, Aristarchus, Luke. Lord, I pray that we will have the same passion and desire for the gospel as they did, even if it calls for our life. I pray that we will remain faithful. Lord, we pray for our community. We pray for the hearts that are being softened
00:32:02
Speaker
that are being prepared to hear the good news. We pray for those who are heart of heart, that you will soften their hearts so that way they can come to hear the good news. The Lord, may we be bold, may we be fervent in our prayers daily.
00:32:20
Speaker
May we not be afraid to share the good news and to long for our community and for our church to continue to grow in the holiness of Christ. But Lord, we love you. We praise you. We thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.