Sunday Sermon Colossians 4:7-11 Part 1

Paul did not start this church, but Epaphras and it was here that Epaphras left the church to go to Rome to find Paul who was in prison because false teachers were attacking the supremacy of Jesus Christ and he did not know what to do.

I think it is important to realize that Epaphras was led to the Lord by Paul and that he had to travel about 1311 miles to Rome to seek counsel>>>LOOK AT MAP!!!

When he left to seek the help of the Apostle Paul, he left Archippus in charge who is Philemons son as the church met in his home and we will learn more about him next week or the week after as we close out this letter.

After Paul establishes the Pre-eminence in a believers life and basically teaches his readers that it is not Jesus plus this or that, But Jesus only, he then moves from doctrine to duty or from belief to behavior.

Why? it is because one cannot know how to behave, until he understands what he believes!

Paul taught us to take off our grave clothes and put on our grace clothes church!

Personally, if a disciple of Jesus Christ desires to walk as Jesus walked, it is right here in chapter 3.

So here we are chapter 4:7

Church, it is easy to come to the close of aa letter or the benediction and say, “This is just a list of names, why should I read it?

But a better question would be, what can I learn from this section and these names? Or, Lord what are you trying to speak to my heart?

Do I have faithful friends that are willing to walk with me through thick and thin like the Apostle Paul?

Who are these people Paul is talking about?

What are there character traits?

Why are these names listed?

What was there impact in his life and in the furtherance of the gospel?

Besides church, look what Deuteronomy says:

Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

Look how Jesus responded to Satan or the Devil when he tempted him to turn rocks into stone:

Matthew 4:4 NKJV

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

He responded with Deut 8:3

Did you see that the biblical text says every word that proceeds from the mouth of God?

So let’s not skip over the closing of letters, but rather let’s allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us.

How does that sound?

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." -Henry Ford

Isn’t that true?

Those who truly love us, understand us, have walked with us through trials and tribulations, have seen us suffer, and even know our sinful past, often bring out the best in us.

Colossians 4:7–8 NKJV

I think it is important for us to lay the ground work for this section of scripture by looking back into the OT, but before I do that, I wanted to share that the Apostle Paul always had a little or a lot of help from his friends.

Some helped more than others, but this teaches us church that the Apostle Paul was not a Lone Ranger Christian. Even the Loner Ranger had Tonto!

Colossians Lesson 29: You’re on the Team! (Colossians 4:7–18)

A major source of frustration for pastors is what is called the 80–20 rule: Twenty percent of people in the church do 80 percent of the work, while the 80 percent attend church, enjoy the service, and leave without ever getting involved.

Can you imagine what it would be like if 80 percent of your body were paralyzed? Quadriplegics can function and have productive and meaningful lives, but they’re limited in what they can do. Churches can limp along with only 20 percent of the body functioning, but they could do much more if every member was fully engaged in serving the Lord in line with his or her spiritual gifts.

Our text is one that you tend to skim over in your Bible reading. It’s a bunch of names of people who don’t mean much to us. You may wonder why God inspired these verses to be in His Word. But, actually, there is so much here that I couldn’t fit it all into a single message! The main idea is:

Christians are on a team devoted to serve Christ.

Tychicus- was a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant of the Lord church.

Can you say that about yourself? Ask yourself: Am I a beloved brother or sister, am I a faithful minister and a servant of the Lord?

Paul’s companion could, therefore if we are disciples of the Most High God church, this should be our theme song or our mantra.

Paul did not do ministry alone, but rather had the help of amazing men and women to help spread that Gospel and turn the world upside down

Tychicus’- name means fateful or fortunate.

He was indeed fortunate church to serve with the Apostle Paul for for so many years.

He is mentioned 5 times in the NT.

And he actually is the one that carried the letter of Colossians back to Colossae, Ephesians back to Ephesus, and some scholars believe her also carried the personal letter back to Philemon.

Ephesians 6:21–22 NKJV

But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.

Remember church that Ephesians was written about the same time as Colossians and there are many great parallels.

Church, I think it is important to Notice that Paul did not spell out the details of his personal situation in this letter, although he was in chains for the Gospel and did not know what his future held.

But rather he shared it in private with two brothers Tychicus and Onesimus who would carry his burdens to the church in Colossae.

I think it is important for us to see Pauls humility here in that he shared his burdens with his brothers.

He did not keep them to himself, but rather fulfilled the Scripture:

Galatians 6:2 NKJV

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

What are these burdens?

Burden- ba’ros- denotes "a weight, anything pressing on one physically," , or "that makes a demand on one's resources," whether material, or spiritual, hardship or difficulty. It could be mental or it could be the weight of sin, trial or temptation.

What is interesting here is one Lexicon says that this burden could be transfered or relieved.

Church, a Lexicon is simply a Greek or Hebrew dictionary.

Let’s look back at our verses:

Colossians 4:7–9 NKJV

Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

Paul shared his heart with Tychicus and Onesimus both the good and the bad I am sure.

He shared the burdens that he carried and the struggles that he had and asked them to share it with the church.

But Note: They were faithful and beloved brothers in Christ, faithful minister, and fellow servant of the Lord.

Paul had a relationship with them and he trusted them church, with his stuff.

Paul had boundaries church and a filter.

He did not share whaat was going on in his heart with just anyone.

He had a filter and was led by the Spirit on who to trust and not trust.

The bottom line is the proof is in the pudding.

Paul had gotten to know these men and through their relationships he entrusted them not only the letter to the Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon.

But his own life!

When is the last time that your shared your burdens with aa faithful brother or sister in the Lord? When is the last time your shared them with the Father?

Psalm 55:22 NKJV

Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

1 Peter 5:6–7 NKJV

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

There is a time and place that we can cast or cares and burdens on the Lord for sure, but there will be other times that the Lord will lead us to share our burdens with others. WHY?

We are commanded to. Both to the Lord and to others.

Prayer

Sometimes a burden shared, is a burden lifted.

Accountability

Trust

We all carry burdens. We carry them to work, to the grocery store, to school, and to bed at night. It’s hard to get out from under them. Sometimes, our burdens are a result of past mistakes. Other times, they are out of our control. Things like financial debt, relational strife, unexpected illness, and hurt from our past weigh us down.

In most cases, we can’t sweep our burdens under the rug. We might try to forget about them for a while, but they're always there — lingering in the back of our minds preventing us from fully enjoying the moment.

What if you didn't have to carry these burdens anymore? What if someone else wanted to carry them for you?

God is not only willing to bear our burdens, He is able to!

The way to hand off our heavy burden is to humbly admit, “God, I’m in over my head. I need your help.” Or go to a faithful brother or sister church and let them know the same thing. Share your heart, share your burden

We can trust that He is faithful and will come to our aid.

For the Word teaches us that He is our burden bearer church

But sometimes, in fact much of the time the aid comes through others.

Christopher Sercye was playing basketball with his friends on May 16, 1998 when he was shot in the chest, and a bullet perforated his aorta. His friends helped him get to within forty feet of the entrance to Ravenswood Hospital and then went inside and asked for help. The hospital staff refused to help Christopher saying that it was against the hospital’s policies to administer aid to those outside the hospital. Eventually a policeman was able to get a wheel chair and wheeled Christopher into the hospital where he was helped by the hospital staff. It was too late, however, and Christopher died about an hour later.

Many times it seems that churches are surrounded by people that desperately need to hear the Gospel, yet Christians are content to share it only with those that manage to come inside their church.

What is your burden, who is God telling you to share it with?

As we close and before we pray I wanted to share a song that my little brother shared with me after he was diagnosed with cancer.

My brother and hid wife were in Nashville Tennessee and they went to a Mercy Me concert and Tim Timmons was there.

My brother got to meet him and was able to share his burden of cancer.

Let’s listen:

Danny, can you go to you Tube and Play TIM TIMMONS - Cast My Cares: Song Sessions

Please listen church and reflect on your own life, but much more importantly upon Jesus our burden bearer.

Prayer

Announcements

Are there any announcements?

Last Year we bought gifts for several children whose parents are in prison through the Angel Tree program that is part of the largest Prison Ministry in the US called Prison Fellowship.

This year the Lord has given us 17 Angels to buy for. Last year we ran out of Angels, so he has given us more. Kathy has joyfully taken on the responsibility of heading this up.

Explain the program

There is an Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service being held at Milton SDA tonight at 6:30pm.

Is there anyone interested in packing Boxes for the Christmas box give away?

CAC will be handing out Thanksgiving Meals at 2pm on Thursday.

Benediction

Matthew 11:28–30 NKJV

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

THE LORD BLESS YOU!

YOUR MISSION STARTS NOW!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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