Standing in All the Will of God - 260113

SPEAKER A Hello, I'm Rod Butler. Welcome to Let God Speak. The phrase, "A champion team will always beat a team of champions," emphasizes how teamwork can overcome a roster stacked with individual superstars who may lack synergy. The Apostle Paul showed that mission is teamwork. He assembled his dream team of fellow workers to minister to the Colossians. Stay with us as we discuss Paul's approach to nurturing the Colossians and how we can apply the same approach in our church mission work. On our panel today we have Daniel Vokurka and Harold Harker. Welcome. Hi, Dan. Well, before we start our discussion, let's bow for prayer. Gracious Father, we thank you, Lord, for the wonderful messages that we are getting from the book of Colossians. And Lord, as we have this discussion today, we ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us, Lord, and lead us into the deeper truths. And I pray, Lord, that our viewers will be blessed. We pray in Jesus' name. SPEAKER B Amen. Amen. SPEAKER A Well, the concluding remarks to the Colossians are in chapter 4 and verses 7 to 17. They're in the form of final greetings. These final greetings highlight that mission is a collaborative effort of people and working close together in close connection. And key to collaboration is communication. Today, letter writing has largely been replaced by the mobile phone and social media with face-to-face calls. So Daniel, I've got a question for you. Do we see Paul linking other churches together with letters? Yes, we do. SPEAKER C We see this in the letter to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Philippians. Paul recognized that the success of the gospel mission depended upon everyone working together, Jewish and Gentile men and women. He did everything possible to network people together to strengthen the churches. SPEAKER A Okay, thank you for that. Now, there's an interesting story in the Gospels, and I'm going to read this, and it highlights teamwork. SPEAKER B Sure. SPEAKER A And then I've got a question for you, Pastor Harold. And it says, I'm reading Luke chapter 5, and I'm going to read verses 1 to 7. And it came to pass, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch us out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. So Harold, how does this emphasize or illustrate teamwork in mission? SPEAKER B Well, these fishermen were very experienced and they'd been out all night and they'd caught nothing. And then Jesus said to them, launch out again and let down your nets. Now this was daytime, the fish weren't there, but accordingly they obeyed him, they threw the net out And it became so full it was almost breaking. So they called out to the other ship, come and help us. And the other fishermen came quickly and they filled both boats with the fish. And so this is illustrating teamwork. Call on someone else to come and help us. Teamwork is really shown here. And we too are in the business of fishing. And I want to read to you a verse, and it's in Matthew 4:19. He said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." So we're in the fishing business. We need to be as a team. SPEAKER A And we need to be able to help, lend a helping hand if we see someone else struggling. Yes. Okay. So Daniel, what was Paul's technique to plant and grow churches? SPEAKER C Well, Paul preached and stayed in the major towns and the cities as Corinth and Ephesus, and visitors to those cities heard his message and took it back to the inland towns. So in a world where communication was by letter or in person, Paul followed up the churches that he had raised to personally strengthen the new believers. And when he couldn't visit, he sent letters so the believers knew that he remembered them and cared about them. He focused on communication. SPEAKER A He did indeed, he did. Well, let's look at some of these workers that Paul connected to help the Colossians. And starting with you, Harold, who was Tychicus? What did Paul have to say about him? SPEAKER B Well, let me read what it says. And it's in Colossians. This is the letter that Paul wrote to the Colossians in chapter 4 and verse 7 up to 9. He says, Tychicus, who is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I'm 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 the things that are happening here. And so here it is. These two people, Tychicus and Onesimus, were faithful ministers. They were working with Paul. They were a team. And Paul couldn't go. So he sent them to strengthen them. You know, he also sent, Paul sent him to Ephesus as well as to the Colossae. And in 2 Timothy tells us that Paul also thought about sending Titus. Now Titus was in Crete. And here is another one accompanying him to Colossae was Onesimus, whom Paul had converted in Rome. So he was a very close friend of Paul. And they were to comfort the Colossians and be emissaries sending news back and forth to Paul. They were his ears and they were his mouth to the Colossians. SPEAKER A Yeah, it's interesting because he was connecting with them, but he was depending upon them. Correct. They were very important people as part of his ministry. SPEAKER B Well, Paul wouldn't be there. They would be. SPEAKER A Yes. Yes. Very important role. Daniel, how did Paul connect his missionaries to the churches? SPEAKER C Well, we read this in the same chapter in verse 10 and verse 11. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, with Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him, and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision. They have proved to be a comfort to me. So we see here that in his greetings were also introductions of his fellow workers. We learn that Aristarchus was in prison in Rome with Paul, that Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, and he prepped the church for a possible visit by Mark. Justus is commended as trustworthy fellow laborer in the gospel. So Paul makes a point in mentioning that Aristarchus, Mark, and Justus are also Jewish believers. SPEAKER A So he's actually given that introduction so that the Colossians will know who they are, their background, and so forth. SPEAKER B Yeah. SPEAKER A So Harold, what can we learn about Paul and his mention of Mark? SPEAKER B Well, let's go back. John Mark had a mother called Mary. And as it was just said, he was a cousin of Barnabas and he was a prominent young disciple. And he had been with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. They went to Pamphylia and it must have got a bit hard there. So he said, I'm going home. And he left Paul and Paul didn't like that. If someone leaves, but John Mark had grown. And in verse 11, Paul says that Mark is now not only a loyal person, he's a comfort. And let me read to you how he wrote it. He says, "Only Luke is with me." This is 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 11. "Only Luke is with me. Get Mark." 'And bring him with you, for he's useful to me for ministry.' And so here is someone that Paul had said, 'I don't want you.' Now he wants him. He'd grown and he was a disciple who was wanted and loved by Paul. SPEAKER A Yeah, that's interesting. We have to learn from Paul that we can't judge people because they will grow. SPEAKER B And look what Mark did. SPEAKER A And Mark became— SPEAKER B Mark even He wrote the Gospel of Mark. Man, that's a big thing. SPEAKER A Yes. So someone who Paul wrote off earlier ends up being such an instrumental person, not only to his ministry, but as you say, he wrote the Gospel. SPEAKER B Correct. SPEAKER A Well, look, let's keep reading. I'm going to read verses 12 down to 14. And I've got a question for you, Daniel. 12 to 14. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you. Always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them that are in Hierapolis. Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. So Daniel, what was Epaphras' connection to Colossae? SPEAKER C Yeah, so we can actually find this in Colossians 1:7. And if we go there, the Bible says, "As you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf." So Epaphras was from Colossae, and he likely heard Paul preaching in Ephesus. He took the gospel back to Colossae, He was also likely instrumental in the gospel going to nearby Laodicea and Hierapolis, and he also later went to Rome when Paul was in prison and told him about the believers in Colossae. He prayed for and served the church. SPEAKER A Another fairly active layperson. SPEAKER B Very active. SPEAKER A So Harold, when we hear the story of Epaphras, what can we learn about missionary work and what lessons can we take from his work? SPEAKER B Well, we think the work of the gospel— here's Paul, the great missionary, but it's not just Paul, it's Epaphras, it's everyone. You know, the work of the gospel is not just for big-name pastors or evangelists. Every believer is called to be a missionary. And it's the Holy Spirit that takes that, and it's not our capability, God will bless by His Spirit and He will use all of us to take the gospel to our community. Every believer is called to be a witness for Christ. Epaphras was. We are too. SPEAKER A Yeah. And I guess another lesson we can learn is that we can learn to support the layperson who's involved in missionary work. Correct. Because they also need support and Here's Epaphras, who what he did was fantastic. So Daniel, with that, Ephras prayed to the Colossians, it says here in verse 12, that you may stand perfect and complete in the will of God. What's he meaning by to stand? What's the emphasis there? SPEAKER C Yeah, so it means to be rock solid. And unmoved in your commitment and obedience to the gospel message. And we can also find this in Colossians 1:23. And Paul says here, 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. SPEAKER B Mm-hmm. SPEAKER A Okay. So what is notable about these gospel workers, Epaphras, Luke, and Demas? SPEAKER B Well, these three were all from the Gentiles who'd become Christians. They were Greeks, and there were tensions in the church at this time. There were some Jews trying to make everyone be circumcised, even the Gentiles. Now this creates a barrier when there's supposed to be unity in the church. Paul, however, had no problems with different ethnicities. He could work with the Greeks as well as the Jews. They could all work together and working together, then we're united in Jesus. And Paul's the example of how we can come together and work together, whatever our our ethnicity, wherever we come from, Paul used them. SPEAKER A And I guess the message there is that when people are in Christ, your background doesn't matter because you've got that common goal of spreading the gospel. SPEAKER B We're all Christians. SPEAKER A We're all Christians. We all follow the Lord. SPEAKER B Correct. SPEAKER A Yeah, very good. Now Paul is calling that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Is Paul here, Daniel, Is he sort of calling for sinless perfection? SPEAKER C No. So the word translated perfect is from the Greek word teleios, and teleios can simply mean a mature, full-grown adult in respects of understanding and goodness. So Paul is calling the Colossians to be mature in understanding and goodness. And we can also see this in Ephesians 4:13, "Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." And so the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. This results in teleios, or the perfect mature man. SPEAKER A Yes, so he's talking about he wants us all to grow in Christ, to grow in perfection, to grow in maturity. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER A Yes, right, okay, so that sort of deals with that, but then we have this other word there, complete. Does that sort of have the same implication there? SPEAKER B No, it doesn't. The word translated complete complete is from the Greek, the Greek word, plerio. And when applied to people, it's used elsewhere in the reference to God making us full of joy. He makes us complete that way. Let me read a verse where this would be in Acts 2:28. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy. That's complete. You'll make me full of joy in your presence. So that's what it really is talking about, how God can fill us and make us complete within Him. SPEAKER A Amen. Thank you for that. Well, Paul also mentions the last comment on this particular phrase, all the will of God. What's that sort of How do you unpack that one, Daniel? SPEAKER C Yeah, so Paul prayed that the Colossians would be filled with a knowledge of God's will for them. And again, if we go back to the beginning of Colossians, so in chapter 1 and verses 9 to 10, we might learn something here. For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to 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. So it means an understanding of God's all-embracing plan that God has for their lives. And they aim to fulfill that divine purpose. SPEAKER A Because that's one of the big challenges for most Christians, you know. Sure. What is the will of God for my life? How do I know the will of God? We have to, we have to know the scriptures, don't we, to know the will of God for our lives. Okay, now in this, Demas is the last person mentioned, but Paul doesn't have much to say about Demas. What do we know about Demas, Harold? SPEAKER B Well, Demas is mentioned in the Book of Colossians and in 2 Timothy, and he's also mentioned in Philemon. Paul wrote these letters to the Colossians and these when he was firstly imprisoned back in Rome. And in Colossians 4:12, he mentions Luke. In Philemon, he mentions Mark. And Aristarchus in Luke. However, there's some time later. Paul is now imprisoned the second time. So some time has gone. And in 2 Timothy, Paul's got a lot to say about Demas. Let me read you 2 Timothy 4:10. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica. So here's someone who was working with Paul, who'd been with him a number of places, or he'd sent to a number of places, and now he's left the work and gone back to the world. So he's forsaken Christ. And so Paul would have no time for Demas now because he's turned his back on Jesus totally. SPEAKER A It must have been really heartbreaking for Paul, because earlier in the ministry Demas was obviously a worker that Paul relied upon, was contributing, and now we have the situation where he's left and he's gone after the world. So Daniel, what does it mean to love the world? How do we describe that? SPEAKER C Yeah, so it's the world's values and so the world's standards and materialism. If you look at them in the at the core, it promotes self-gratification. And following the standards of the world leads away from God because God is selfless, the world is selfish. And also, again, the core of that again comes back to Lucifer because he kept saying, "I will, I will, I will." He had a big "I" problem. That selfishness, unfortunately, the world has been promoting and accepted. And so the more one loves the world, the less fulfillment that person has because the focus is on self. And if we go to 1 John 2:15-16, we read the following: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. SPEAKER A Now it's interesting when you apply that criteria You can apply that to Eve when she was bedazzled by the fruit. So it's, this is an age-old thing, isn't it? Goes back to the beginning. And the world has this way of offering something seemingly tantalizing. When you get there, it tarnishes very, very quickly. Let's keep reading. We're gonna read now verses, this is Colossians 4:16-18. And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, and thou fulfill it. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. Now he's mentioning here Colossae with Laodicea in the same sort of context. Did Paul visit Laodicea? And, you know, what were the conditions of life? SPEAKER B There is no record that Paul ever visited Colossae or Laodicea. They were two towns about 16 kilometers apart. And it seems that missionaries had gone there and they were growing in Christ. Christ as two separate groups of Christians, one in Colossae, the other in Laodicea. Now Paul wrote to the Colossians about AD 60. That was about the timeframe. But then something happens in the time after that because John, when he's writing Revelation, he's writing to the churches and he mentions Laodicea Laodicea, and they had major problems. And he's giving to them a great message of what they need to do to strengthen their, their walk with the Lord. Let me read to you. I'll read it later. But let me tell you, this message written 30 years later is one that's relevant to our time. Because Laodicea was the last church that Paul wrote to, and we could be the last church that God is messaging. That's right. SPEAKER A And if you do a study of Revelation, you can see that those letters to the churches represent different time frames, and Laodicea is the last church before Christ returns. So with that in mind, Harold, a question for you, Daniel: What are the conditions of the last-day church of Laodicea? SPEAKER C Yeah, okay, so we find that in Revelation chapter 3 and verses 15 to 17. So this is Jesus talking. Yeah. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy,' and do not know that you are wretched— sorry, and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. So it's a pretty serious condition, and its condition is that it's lukewarm. And Jesus requires His last day people all to love and to live for Him wholeheartedly or not at all. And so God does not want a relationship with a lukewarm person. And lukewarm Christians have their focus on worldly materialistic things and they do not see their need of change. SPEAKER A [Speaker:BD] Yeah, they've got a foot in both camps, haven't they? They love the world and they're in the church, so to speak. So the last-day church, which is us today, we have this Laodicean condition of lukewarmness. What do we do about it? What are we to do about it, Harold? SPEAKER B John gives us the answer to these problems. Let me read Revelation 3:18. "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see. This gold is the faith that comes as we believe in Jesus. It'll be tested by trial and affliction, but we can hold on and we're to witness for that faith and stand firm. Then the white raiment is the righteousness of Jesus and our righteousness is like filthy rags. But that's the the answer. And then you need to be able to see. And so we put on eye salve that we can see. The eye salve represents the Holy Spirit working with us. And we're able to ask for the Holy Spirit to open our eyes so that we can see the need of our Savior Jesus. This is what the Laodiceans needed. This is what we need today. And so the answer for any of the problems— SPEAKER A read the Bible. We need that Holy Spirit, don't we? We need that eyesalve to see our true condition. And yeah, that's all we've got time for. Thank you, Harold. Thank you, Daniel. Well, Paul's final words to the letter to the Colossians are filled with love and heartfelt concern for them. His love and concern is to connect the right people, to support and comfort the Colossians as they grow, to maturity in Christ. In our churches today, we too need to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us. We need guidance connecting the right church members, to nurture the church, and to support and comfort our community contacts. And we're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. Remember, all past programs plus teacher's notes are available on our website, 3abnaustralia.org.au. Email us on [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you. Next week we're going to start a new series of programs on growing our relationship with Christ. Tell your friends about the program and join us again next time. We'd love to have you watching the program and learning more about Jesus. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.