1 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:06,640 If you have your Bible with you, please will you open up to the 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,880 book of Colossians. We are starting a new series out 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,680 of a Colossians. If you are new to scripture, I 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:14,880 don't know if you know this, but there is a table of contents 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:16,239 right at the very beginning of your Bible. 6 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:18,640 No, not so laugh. Not so laugh. 7 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,440 Seriously. If if if you want to rather. 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,576 Yeah, for the guys who refuse to ask for directions, you can 9 00:00:26,576 --> 00:00:28,320 find it right about there in your Bible. 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,360 It's among the IANS. You've got Galatians, you've got 11 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,720 Ephesians, Philippians, and then you've got Colossians. 12 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:37,160 And today I'm going to start the series. 13 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,357 And I really, I just want to put some building blocks into 14 00:00:40,357 --> 00:00:43,520 place to help you grapple with and wrestle with Colossians. 15 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:49,200 Because in in for me personally, Colossians is probably Paul's 16 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,720 weightiest letter. And with that weights come the 17 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,600 serious complexities. Yeah, even Peter talks about 18 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,320 Paul's writings as being like, sure, really tough to digest at 19 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:00,920 some stages. And this is one of those really 20 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,840 high up there. It's weighty, it's complex, it 21 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,560 is beautiful. But just so that we don't sort 22 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,367 of lose the forest for the trees this morning, all I really 23 00:01:09,367 --> 00:01:12,520 want to do is I want to put 3 building blocks in place to to 24 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,040 help us as we approach this new book and we run through the 25 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,680 series and Colossians. And the three things I want to 26 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,520 do is I just really want to explain to you the process that 27 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,360 was put in place that brought us this letter to the Colossians. 28 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:27,760 I want to talk about the people involved and the people it was 29 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,040 sent to. And they don't want to go after 30 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,840 the power behind this book, this unbelievable book. 31 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,200 And I think if you're able to wrap your mind around that, 32 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,280 it'll land far better and your journey with Jesus and your, 33 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,182 your understanding of who he is. 34 00:01:43,190 --> 00:01:46,600 So firstly, the process by by now, hopefully you're there, 35 00:01:46,608 --> 00:01:49,179 you've found Colossians. I want to read the very first 36 00:01:49,187 --> 00:01:52,160 and the very last verse of Colossians to give you an idea. 37 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:53,960 And we start on this process. 38 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,840 I think this morning I'm going to sort of start with my teacher 39 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,120 hat on and then get into my preacher hat. 40 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,680 But I want to spend some time just helping you grasp this 41 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,680 thing because it's an absolutely beautiful book. 42 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,360 But verse one, it says Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the 43 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,560 will of God and Timothy. So Timothy was there in the mix 44 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,920 as well to God's holy people in Colossae. 45 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:17,760 Pretty straightforward. Here's a guy named Paul. 46 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,840 He's writing to a church called the Colossians Church in 47 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,560 Colossae. But if you turn to the very last 48 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:29,000 verse in Colossians, Colossians 418 says the following says I, 49 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,880 Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 50 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:33,880 Remember my chains, Grace be with you. 51 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,680 Why does he say I write this greeting in my own hand? 52 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,600 Why doesn't he say I write this letter in my own hands? 53 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:45,120 Now, this isn't a rabbit hole. I was sharing this with 54 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,080 specificity so that you can understand the weightiness of 55 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,280 this book. So let me talk about the 56 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,600 process. Paul says I write this greeting 57 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,480 in my hand because I think a lot of the time when we approach 58 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:01,080 Scripture, we think Paul wrote the way Rembrandt thought. 59 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,000 Paul wrote Colossians and Romans and one and two Timothy. 60 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,840 I don't know if you've seen Rembrandt's picture of his 61 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,800 painting of Paul writing Scripture. 62 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,320 We have it here. And that's, I think that's what 63 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,160 we think. We think, You know, there's Paul 64 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:22,400 sort of sitting there with his quill and his parchments and 65 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:23,600 he's writing. OK, what should I say? 66 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:24,920 It's the Colossians. How's it? 67 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:27,360 How's the weather? You know, Did you watch the 68 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:31,040 rugby? Yeah, he's writing. 69 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,440 I have Paul as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, 70 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:37,280 and Timothy, sorry, what was that? 71 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,200 And Timothy is also here, but maybe a little bit more familiar 72 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,360 with Scripture. And you know that in those 73 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,720 ancient Near Eastern times, there were these things called 74 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:52,520 scribes and scrubs were there. And maybe you're aware of the 75 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:54,840 fact that scrubs would be the ones writing it down. 76 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,840 And maybe you think, well, it's because, you know, Paul wrote 77 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,040 like a doctor. No one would be able to read 78 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,600 scripture. We'd have some very weird 79 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,040 hieroglyphics that we had to figure out. 80 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,360 Or maybe you've got a scribe because, you know, they could 81 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,320 write really small and you can put a lot on the on the scroll. 82 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,480 And maybe your picture is of Paul writing, you know, the 83 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:20,760 scribe has got the the quill and and Paul's like, hi, Paul, an 84 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,480 apostle by the Lord Jesus Christ. 85 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,160 And Timothy, what's that? Yes. 86 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,437 And Timothy, I've got to mention that Timothy, maybe that's 87 00:04:27,437 --> 00:04:31,040 your picture. Either way, it's is incredibly 88 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,450 out of sync with everything that we know about 1st century 89 00:04:34,450 --> 00:04:36,160 letter writing. And this is important for a 90 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,880 couple reasons, which I'll get to. 91 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:39,960 But the first thing you need to know about the letter to the 92 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,000 Colossians was that it was written in prison. 93 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:43,960 So. And no. 94 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,080 Yeah, mahogany desk and air conditioning and a Seaview while 95 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,040 he's writing this. Paul's in prison. 96 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:53,040 That's the first thing you got to realize about this. 97 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,880 So the second thing you need to realize specifically about the 98 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,784 the New Testament books was that most of them weren't written 99 00:05:00,784 --> 00:05:03,880 by a single person. They were compiled in a group 100 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,560 setting. And so if you go through your 101 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,600 letter to Colossians, you'll see names like Timothy made sure 102 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:12,000 that, hey, listen, mention my name. 103 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:14,760 You also got Aristarchus in Chapter 4 where it talks about 104 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,280 being a fellow prisoner. So it's highly likely while he 105 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:21,280 is in prison writing this letter and composing it, this guy's 106 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,080 there in prison with him. And then you've got guys like 107 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,440 Tychicus and Anonymous and Mark and Justice and Epaphras, the 108 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,160 guy who planted the church, they all have their fingerprints on 109 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:34,080 this letter because what they would do is Epaphras, who 110 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,120 planted the church, must have come all the way to find Paul 111 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:38,880 because stuff was happening in the church. 112 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,720 And so he shares his story with Paul and he says, hey, listen, 113 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:43,600 you know, a few things are going on here. 114 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,400 You know, what do I do with, with regards to this? 115 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,840 They, they're becoming very worldly and there's this bit of 116 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:50,840 mysticism. And so they would have these 117 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:54,800 discussions sitting there in prison and Paul would basically 118 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,000 be saying, well, OK, well, we need to address that and we need 119 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,440 to address this. And and then they would, Paul 120 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,604 would actually pretty much teach these guys as well because 121 00:06:02,604 --> 00:06:04,720 he's like, Allison, this is one of my problems. 122 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,640 And so he's busy teaching the guys in the prison cell, 123 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,320 possibly leading to salvation while he's busy doing this. 124 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,440 And then what would happen is they had an iPad as well. 125 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,720 I don't know if you know this and the ancient Near East, their 126 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:17,124 iPad was called the wax tablet. 127 00:06:17,132 --> 00:06:20,614 And so you've got this piece of wood with a thin layer of wax on 128 00:06:20,614 --> 00:06:22,942 it and they would be jotting down sort of like, OK, these are 129 00:06:22,942 --> 00:06:24,380 some of the things that we need to cover. 130 00:06:24,388 --> 00:06:26,155 And so he's writing that what's cool. 131 00:06:26,163 --> 00:06:29,375 But the the wax tablet is if you, you know, once you control 132 00:06:29,375 --> 00:06:31,516 alt delete, you just take it out into the sun. 133 00:06:31,524 --> 00:06:34,656 The wax gets a little soft and then you rub over it again, you 134 00:06:34,656 --> 00:06:36,344 know, spelling mistakes, old school to picks. 135 00:06:36,352 --> 00:06:39,505 And so that he would have these wax tablets and he'd be 136 00:06:39,513 --> 00:06:41,500 scratching in there. Some of your ideas. 137 00:06:41,508 --> 00:06:43,265 And then he'd also include parchments. 138 00:06:43,273 --> 00:06:46,866 So in at the end of second Timothy, we find Paul calling 139 00:06:46,874 --> 00:06:50,008 for his parchments, but the the Greek word is membranos. 140 00:06:50,016 --> 00:06:53,355 So it's kind of like this thin little membrane where he had 141 00:06:53,363 --> 00:06:55,670 notes on. And the reason why I had this 142 00:06:55,678 --> 00:06:57,827 was because Paul used to fine tune his arguments. 143 00:06:57,835 --> 00:07:02,002 He didn't just sit there going like, what should I tell them? 144 00:07:02,010 --> 00:07:05,946 So for example, when Rory first arrived at 3Ci, he preached A 145 00:07:05,954 --> 00:07:07,968 sermon where he used the illustration Go boy key. 146 00:07:07,976 --> 00:07:09,710 I don't know if you've heard that illustration. 147 00:07:09,718 --> 00:07:13,520 You know, he's told that same story at Glen Ridge and at 148 00:07:13,528 --> 00:07:16,906 Cedars because it's the best way he can communicate the father 149 00:07:16,914 --> 00:07:20,030 heart of God is this story. It's not that he's running out 150 00:07:20,038 --> 00:07:22,414 of material. It's just it's a really great 151 00:07:22,422 --> 00:07:24,550 way, approachable way. And Paul would do the same. 152 00:07:24,558 --> 00:07:26,950 So he had these wax tablets and these parchments, these 153 00:07:26,958 --> 00:07:30,240 membranes, and he would actually reuse a lot of his arguments. 154 00:07:30,248 --> 00:07:32,828 So if you're ever reading through the New Testament, 155 00:07:32,836 --> 00:07:36,042 you'll notice that there's about 1/3 of Ephesians is found in 156 00:07:36,050 --> 00:07:39,220 Colossians and a lot of what's in Colossians is found in 157 00:07:39,228 --> 00:07:40,880 Philemon. And, and he's got these thoughts 158 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,325 that he puts together. So this whole process is 159 00:07:43,333 --> 00:07:46,805 happening here, you know, in, in a prison cell with these 160 00:07:46,813 --> 00:07:49,278 membranes and parchments and, and wax tablets. 161 00:07:49,286 --> 00:07:53,285 And then once he sort of put his argument together, he would then 162 00:07:53,285 --> 00:07:56,660 and only then call the scribe. And then the scribe would arrive 163 00:07:56,660 --> 00:08:00,080 and only then would they put together this book of 164 00:08:00,088 --> 00:08:02,882 Colossians. And then the scribe would go 165 00:08:02,890 --> 00:08:05,608 away and he'd put the finishing touches and he'd come, you know, 166 00:08:05,608 --> 00:08:08,230 sort of, I don't know if they had like visitors towns and 167 00:08:08,238 --> 00:08:11,418 prisons in those days, but he'd arrive and he'd sort of read it 168 00:08:11,418 --> 00:08:13,666 to Paul. And then Paul and the guys who 169 00:08:13,674 --> 00:08:16,480 put it into ChatGPT and say, listen, can you make this a 170 00:08:16,488 --> 00:08:17,966 little bit more compassionate and pastoral? 171 00:08:17,974 --> 00:08:20,428 And then they send him back and he'd make some changes. 172 00:08:20,436 --> 00:08:23,125 And then finally, you've got this letter to the Colossians. 173 00:08:23,133 --> 00:08:26,120 So tell you this entire story, this weighty process, because 174 00:08:26,128 --> 00:08:30,020 all of it would have been saturated in prey, saturated, 175 00:08:30,028 --> 00:08:33,712 saturated and counsel and consideration the weightiness of 176 00:08:33,712 --> 00:08:36,787 what this church was facing and the weightiness of the 177 00:08:36,787 --> 00:08:38,760 letter that was going to be brought to them. 178 00:08:38,768 --> 00:08:40,748 And we're going to encounter some of that. 179 00:08:40,756 --> 00:08:44,159 And it's the reason why we finally get this little letter 180 00:08:44,168 --> 00:08:48,275 to the church in Colossians. And historians say how crazy is 181 00:08:48,275 --> 00:08:50,670 this? Historians say this this entire 182 00:08:50,670 --> 00:08:55,600 process would cost between 8 to 10 denarii, which in today's 183 00:08:55,608 --> 00:09:01,975 financial terms is round about 15,000 Rand, 15,000 Rand to 184 00:09:01,983 --> 00:09:07,948 write this letter. So you got to know it is done 185 00:09:07,956 --> 00:09:11,100 with deep thoughts, deep intentionality, much prayer and 186 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:15,012 consideration leading of the Holy Spirit to give us this 187 00:09:15,020 --> 00:09:18,492 treasure. The letter to the Colossians. 188 00:09:18,500 --> 00:09:22,440 I tell you the process because it puts weight on the second 189 00:09:22,448 --> 00:09:25,272 thing I want to highlight, and that is the people. 190 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,010 So because once this letter has now been written, they didn't 191 00:09:29,018 --> 00:09:32,979 have, you know, it's not like he licks it, puts it in an envelope 192 00:09:32,979 --> 00:09:36,002 and sends it via post. What would then happen is you, 193 00:09:36,010 --> 00:09:38,468 you know, we have couriers, they had carriers. 194 00:09:38,476 --> 00:09:42,734 And so a document like this was considered extremely important, 195 00:09:42,734 --> 00:09:47,172 not just because of the cost, but because of the nature of the 196 00:09:47,172 --> 00:09:48,265 communication back in those days. 197 00:09:48,273 --> 00:09:51,752 And so that would give it to very specific carriers because 198 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,644 if, and they believe that this was written in Rome, if it has 199 00:09:55,652 --> 00:09:58,375 to be sent from Rome, that's about 2000 kilometers, It's 200 00:09:58,383 --> 00:10:01,578 going to take weeks, possibly even months for this thing to 201 00:10:01,586 --> 00:10:03,392 arrive. So you've got to put it in 202 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,042 trustworthy hands. It's got to cross oceans and 203 00:10:06,050 --> 00:10:09,402 rivers and roads and be handed to the church. 204 00:10:09,410 --> 00:10:13,155 But what's important to know is when this book gets delivered, 205 00:10:13,163 --> 00:10:16,462 what they used to do in the ancient Near East is it would be 206 00:10:16,462 --> 00:10:19,712 in a scroll or whatever the form it was and it was sealed 207 00:10:19,712 --> 00:10:22,685 with this wax seal. It was then handed to the person 208 00:10:22,685 --> 00:10:25,510 that it was addressed to. So in this case, it was probably 209 00:10:25,510 --> 00:10:28,300 a Appafris, the leader of the church there in Colossae. 210 00:10:28,308 --> 00:10:32,420 And then if it was a government letter, what would happen is 211 00:10:32,428 --> 00:10:36,122 give the letter to Annie. She checks and sees, OK, the 212 00:10:36,130 --> 00:10:38,240 seal is still in text would break it. 213 00:10:38,248 --> 00:10:40,738 She just sort of give her a glance over and then hand it 214 00:10:40,746 --> 00:10:42,600 back. And then the the Courier, the 215 00:10:42,608 --> 00:10:44,400 carrier would actually then read this. 216 00:10:44,408 --> 00:10:49,130 It was very la de da and official in in this moment. 217 00:10:49,138 --> 00:10:53,000 But what would happen here, and this is what I'm going after, 218 00:10:53,008 --> 00:10:56,629 what would happen in the church was it would be handed to 219 00:10:56,637 --> 00:10:58,280 Apophis. He'd read through it, then 220 00:10:58,288 --> 00:11:02,020 handed back to the carrier. And the carrier would not only 221 00:11:02,028 --> 00:11:05,200 read it, but would explain as they go along. 222 00:11:05,208 --> 00:11:10,000 Would you know the Patras has a question or someone in the in 223 00:11:10,008 --> 00:11:12,555 the congregation has a question like what do you mean by that? 224 00:11:12,563 --> 00:11:15,042 You'd refer to something that Paul had taught while they was 225 00:11:15,050 --> 00:11:18,798 he compiling this letter in the prison and would clarify that 226 00:11:18,806 --> 00:11:22,850 kind of like what I'm doing right now. 227 00:11:22,858 --> 00:11:27,824 So the carriers or the carrier was essentially the person 228 00:11:27,832 --> 00:11:31,165 entrusted to preach this letter for the very first time. 229 00:11:31,173 --> 00:11:35,320 And I say that because the people here are key to 230 00:11:35,328 --> 00:11:39,328 understanding the letter to the Colossians Church, because Paul 231 00:11:39,328 --> 00:11:43,276 not only followed the leading of the Spirit when he wrote 232 00:11:43,284 --> 00:11:45,560 Colossians, I believe he followed the genius and the 233 00:11:45,568 --> 00:11:48,986 leading of the Spirit when he determined who it was, it was 234 00:11:48,994 --> 00:11:54,480 going to carry this letter. I want to show you who it was. 235 00:11:54,488 --> 00:11:59,262 If you look, where are we? Chapter 4, verse 7, it says 236 00:11:59,270 --> 00:12:02,175 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. 237 00:12:02,183 --> 00:12:05,340 He is a dear brother, faithful minister, fellow servant in the 238 00:12:05,340 --> 00:12:08,295 Lord. Verse 9 says he is coming with 239 00:12:08,303 --> 00:12:11,226 Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. 240 00:12:11,234 --> 00:12:13,045 They will tell you everything that is happening. 241 00:12:13,053 --> 00:12:14,980 So you've got Tychicus, you've got Onesimus. 242 00:12:14,988 --> 00:12:18,598 And then verse 16, just, you know, to prove my point, after 243 00:12:18,606 --> 00:12:21,904 this letter, letter has been read to you, see that it is also 244 00:12:21,904 --> 00:12:24,910 read in the Church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn 245 00:12:24,910 --> 00:12:28,678 read the letter from Laodicea. So these guys, you've got an SMS 246 00:12:28,678 --> 00:12:32,655 and you've got Tychicus or the carriers, and these guys are the 247 00:12:32,655 --> 00:12:36,055 first people to preach the letter to the Colossian Church. 248 00:12:36,055 --> 00:12:38,040 And I believe Paul and his 249 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,200 genius have, led by the Spirit, sent these two men for very 250 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:45,400 specific reasons. So let me tell you about these 251 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:47,360 two gentlemen. The first one is Tychicus. 252 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:52,080 I call him hoofseun. He's like the poster child of 253 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,680 what it means to be saved, what it means to minister, what it 254 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,040 means to be born and raised in the church. 255 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,000 So we find out Tychicus was a local here where the letter was 256 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,520 sent to. And that's important because 257 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,240 say, for example, you come to Pretoria and you've never heard 258 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,520 about Affies. You're on the back foot already, 259 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:16,640 you know, or anything more a letter or you support the sharks 260 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:21,360 or you don't know about the Greeks and the Portuguese and 261 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,960 the city. But knowing that allows you to 262 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:26,280 know the context, to know the church, to know the 263 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,640 shortcomings, to know that the idols of the city. 264 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,160 And so Tychicus is appointed because of that. 265 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,758 But more than that, what we find in the book of Acts and 266 00:13:34,758 --> 00:13:39,454 Romans, Tychicus was part of a team that took this massive 267 00:13:39,454 --> 00:13:42,320 financial gift to the church in Jerusalem. 268 00:13:42,328 --> 00:13:45,708 And we're talking large amounts because it was sent this 269 00:13:45,716 --> 00:13:48,344 finance, these finances were sent because it was meant to 270 00:13:48,352 --> 00:13:51,462 alleviate the poverty in Jerusalem, as well as the fact 271 00:13:51,470 --> 00:13:54,980 they say it was to express unity and gratitude to Jerusalem 272 00:13:54,988 --> 00:13:56,288 church from the Gentile Christians. 273 00:13:56,296 --> 00:14:00,720 So don't miss this. Tychicus is someone who's 274 00:14:00,728 --> 00:14:04,434 trustworthy financially. He's also respected by the 275 00:14:04,442 --> 00:14:07,464 churches. He's well known among the 276 00:14:07,472 --> 00:14:09,629 leadership there. He's spiritually mature. 277 00:14:09,637 --> 00:14:13,516 He's earned Paul's confidence. He's essentially he's part of 278 00:14:13,524 --> 00:14:18,068 Paul's inner circle, Tychicus. But he also knows Paul. 279 00:14:18,076 --> 00:14:22,612 He's traveled with Paul. So who better to know and confer 280 00:14:22,612 --> 00:14:27,135 Paul's heart than Tychicus? Who better to to show and 281 00:14:27,143 --> 00:14:29,016 display the wonder of Christ than Tychicus? 282 00:14:29,024 --> 00:14:31,650 Now, why do I tell you all of this? 283 00:14:31,658 --> 00:14:35,337 Well, two reasons. One, because I want to call 284 00:14:35,345 --> 00:14:38,836 those of you who have a story like Tychicus. 285 00:14:38,844 --> 00:14:45,700 So in our midst, they are Saints like Dennis and Annie, seasoned 286 00:14:45,700 --> 00:14:47,765 Saints. You've been through church, 287 00:14:47,773 --> 00:14:51,264 you've been in church, you've been raised in church. 288 00:14:51,272 --> 00:14:55,311 You've been in three CR for many, many years. 289 00:14:55,319 --> 00:15:00,810 I want to call you The Who have Sians in our midst. 290 00:15:00,818 --> 00:15:04,887 You know scripture, you've seen God work, you've experienced 291 00:15:04,895 --> 00:15:08,424 miracles, you've you've witnessed redemption and rescue. 292 00:15:08,424 --> 00:15:11,520 You spend your mornings on your 293 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:13,920 knees. I want to call you to not only 294 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:20,120 carry the gospel like Tychicus did, but be absolutely consumed 295 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,200 again by the Christ of the gospel. 296 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,960 See, because one of the reasons why I believe Tychicus was sent 297 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,920 was because he is captivated by Christ. 298 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:36,320 The last thing Paul would have done was to send a goody 2 shoes 299 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:40,000 worth sin with rules and regulations. 300 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,040 Someone who had lost their first love. 301 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:49,240 Can you imagine carrying the gospel as someone who's lost 302 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,240 their first love? And I want to speak to you 303 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,480 seasoned Saints. Have you lost your first love? 304 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:04,040 Was worship just worship? Anything about the blood? 305 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,902 Now it's a little uncomfortable having a black man lead 306 00:16:10,902 --> 00:16:15,855 worship. You know those lines don't land 307 00:16:15,855 --> 00:16:18,938 on your heart no more, and it's not expressed. 308 00:16:18,946 --> 00:16:23,900 You're not standing there shaken by and moved by worship. 309 00:16:23,908 --> 00:16:28,660 Can you imagine if Tychicus had lost his first love? 310 00:16:28,668 --> 00:16:31,583 I honestly believe Colossians would have been dead in the 311 00:16:31,591 --> 00:16:36,817 water. You know the elders, we we're in 312 00:16:36,817 --> 00:16:38,680 danger of losing our first love. 313 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:44,440 You see, those of us who are full time, we're employed to 314 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:53,250 love Jesus. It's my job to sell the gospel 315 00:16:53,250 --> 00:16:58,024 and put bums on seats or money. 316 00:16:58,032 --> 00:17:06,960 We are, we live on the very edge of formula and function. 317 00:17:06,968 --> 00:17:13,900 The poor saw AntarcTychicus's heart, a love utterly captivated 318 00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:18,213 by Christ said. I have to say, I know it's 2000 319 00:17:18,213 --> 00:17:20,549 kilometers, but I have to send you there. 320 00:17:20,557 --> 00:17:22,993 What about our life group leaders? 321 00:17:23,002 --> 00:17:28,055 You're sick and tired of them wetting your bed. 322 00:17:28,063 --> 00:17:31,348 They leave the kids with. I'm talking from experience. 323 00:17:31,356 --> 00:17:34,036 Yeah, sure. We had like a 13/14 year old. 324 00:17:34,044 --> 00:17:37,299 They just couldn't keep it in. And he would sleep on our bed 325 00:17:37,307 --> 00:17:43,070 and life group would end. And you go back and it's like, 326 00:17:43,078 --> 00:17:48,600 you know, and Dennis, he just talks and talks and talks and 327 00:17:48,608 --> 00:17:52,516 you just can't get a word in it. Hypothetically Speaking, of 328 00:17:52,524 --> 00:17:57,392 course, but I want to call you seasoned Saints. 329 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,526 I want to call you to carry the gospel anew. 330 00:18:00,534 --> 00:18:05,700 I want to ask you, has your quiet time become dull and 331 00:18:05,708 --> 00:18:08,348 routine? Have you lost the wide eyed 332 00:18:08,356 --> 00:18:10,504 wonder of Christ? We dare not. 333 00:18:10,512 --> 00:18:14,415 If we as senior Saints are going to be carrying one of and 334 00:18:14,423 --> 00:18:17,402 forming one of the riverbanks for the gospel through the book 335 00:18:17,402 --> 00:18:20,416 of Colossians, we dare not have lost our first love. 336 00:18:20,424 --> 00:18:23,537 Beautiful. I want to call you to be 337 00:18:23,545 --> 00:18:25,865 captivated by Christ, but I want to caution you. 338 00:18:25,873 --> 00:18:31,896 Don't be the older brother. Yeah, Jesus tells the parable of 339 00:18:31,896 --> 00:18:35,980 the the prodigal son. And Tim Keller highlights the 340 00:18:35,988 --> 00:18:40,175 older brother that doesn't get much attention, but he has lost 341 00:18:40,175 --> 00:18:43,205 his first love. He is not behaving like a son. 342 00:18:43,213 --> 00:18:44,806 He's behaving more like a servant. 343 00:18:44,814 --> 00:18:48,725 And the scary thing about the prodigal son is that it's the 344 00:18:48,733 --> 00:18:53,887 older brother who stays outside while there's the wicked, 345 00:18:53,895 --> 00:18:57,144 debauched runaway younger brother gets called in. 346 00:18:57,152 --> 00:19:01,915 And this is my charge to you. Because we are going to be 347 00:19:01,923 --> 00:19:06,589 confronted with the highest of highest, the most glorious, 348 00:19:06,597 --> 00:19:11,063 magnificent description and narrative around the God that we 349 00:19:11,063 --> 00:19:14,052 serve. And it will mean nothing if our 350 00:19:14,052 --> 00:19:20,706 hearts have grown cold. Is Tychicus alive inside your 351 00:19:20,714 --> 00:19:25,160 bones, or have we grown, grown cold? 352 00:19:25,168 --> 00:19:29,080 I've been so deeply challenged by this because you read 353 00:19:29,088 --> 00:19:32,836 Colossians and it is just adjective upon adjective. 354 00:19:32,844 --> 00:19:36,052 And you can just go like, yeah, that wasn't underlined. 355 00:19:36,060 --> 00:19:38,310 Let me go and say something that has life. 356 00:19:38,318 --> 00:19:42,890 But that's only half the story. We also got Onesimus. 357 00:19:42,898 --> 00:19:45,440 Onesimus, this story is even more remarkable. 358 00:19:45,448 --> 00:19:48,832 Onesimus, we've discovered in Scripture, was a slave. 359 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:53,220 It's highly likely that he was born into slavery, which meant 360 00:19:53,228 --> 00:19:56,220 he was the legal property of somebody else. 361 00:19:56,228 --> 00:20:00,010 And to make things worse, he wasn't the best of slaves. 362 00:20:00,018 --> 00:20:03,700 Paul, Paul, the guy who wrote Colossians, actually refers to 363 00:20:03,708 --> 00:20:09,255 he he writes something to Onesimus's master, and this is 364 00:20:09,263 --> 00:20:14,496 how he describes Onesimus. He says he was formerly useless. 365 00:20:14,496 --> 00:20:16,640 Yeah, Gee, thanks, Paul. 366 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:21,920 That's a real Gold Star. So not only is he a slave, but 367 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,200 yeah, everyone kind of considered him a useless slave. 368 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:30,040 Put that on your CV. But there's a twist in the tail 369 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:33,520 here. It does seem like this household 370 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:38,680 that he was a slave in was a Christian household, and he ran 371 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:39,880 away. He went AWOL. 372 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:45,640 Maybe that's you. Maybe, you know, the, the trendy 373 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:50,680 way is saying, you know, you're just deconstructing your faith. 374 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,760 Maybe you've come to that point where you carry so much shame. 375 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,320 I love those words. You carry so much guilt and 376 00:20:58,320 --> 00:20:59,520 shame that you just was, you know what? 377 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:00,680 I'm going to run away from the faith. 378 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,360 I'm going to run away from my family. 379 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,680 I'm going to do my own thing. And that's exactly what our 380 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,800 Onesimus did. But you know, the beautiful 381 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,880 thing is, well, they're not so beautiful. 382 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:13,200 Thing was, if you were caught as a runaway slave, you were 383 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,600 allowed to be beaten. Didn't matter who they were. 384 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,080 If they figured out you're a runaway slave, you had 385 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:23,520 permission to beat them. They would often be branded, and 386 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,320 many times they would be executed. 387 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:28,760 Now, this might be more like you, Tychicus. 388 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:29,600 No. Anonymous. 389 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:31,840 Yes. Yeah. 390 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,840 The things I've done, I deserve to be beaten and branded or 391 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,360 executed for my sins and my shame. 392 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,280 But you know what? Here's the beautiful thing is 393 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,480 that Anonymous didn't encounter execution. 394 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,440 He encountered Grace. It would seem like Anonymous 395 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:52,536 ended up in prison and came face to face with Grace through 396 00:21:52,536 --> 00:21:59,033 Paul himself, got saved in prison by Paul and got so 397 00:21:59,033 --> 00:22:02,911 radically touched by the gospel that Paul's saying, I can 398 00:22:02,911 --> 00:22:09,826 think of no other to send with Tychicus than Anonymous as a 399 00:22:09,826 --> 00:22:12,870 demonstration of this gospel that he carries. 400 00:22:12,878 --> 00:22:17,980 You know, they, they say I read a, a comment that I'll just read 401 00:22:17,980 --> 00:22:20,375 it. Ignatius of Antioch writes a 402 00:22:20,383 --> 00:22:25,140 letter to the church in Ephesus and mentioned a Bishop named 403 00:22:25,148 --> 00:22:27,640 Onesimus. And according to church 404 00:22:27,648 --> 00:22:31,960 tradition, it's this useless, runaway, deserving of death 405 00:22:31,968 --> 00:22:35,805 slave who encounters the gospel and is so radically changed 406 00:22:35,813 --> 00:22:38,142 according to church tradition, they believe he becomes one of 407 00:22:38,150 --> 00:22:39,680 the leaders in the church in Ephesus. 408 00:22:39,688 --> 00:22:42,435 Why am I telling you all of this? 409 00:22:42,443 --> 00:22:44,354 Because maybe maybe this is your story. 410 00:22:44,362 --> 00:22:48,920 Maybe while we go through Colossians, you know, where near 411 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,772 Tarkikas. You know, you can't believe that 412 00:22:51,772 --> 00:22:54,328 there's actually a table of contents in your Bible. 413 00:22:54,336 --> 00:22:57,250 Maybe you'll pick it up again because you know, that would be 414 00:22:57,250 --> 00:23:00,900 pretty helpful. You don't do life group because 415 00:23:00,900 --> 00:23:03,618 you're an introvert and you know you don't like these happy 416 00:23:03,618 --> 00:23:07,276 clappy peoples. Maybe that's more your story and 417 00:23:07,276 --> 00:23:10,634 my charge to you is receive the gospel. 418 00:23:10,642 --> 00:23:13,618 Tychicus, you as Tychicus types be. 419 00:23:13,626 --> 00:23:17,542 Let's carry the gospel, but the anonymous types as we go through 420 00:23:17,542 --> 00:23:20,620 this, I want to invite you to receive the gospel. 421 00:23:20,628 --> 00:23:24,615 You need to discover in the book of Colossians that the gospel 422 00:23:24,623 --> 00:23:28,166 never begins with you. Pursuing God begins with God 423 00:23:28,174 --> 00:23:32,140 pursuing you. It's worth the price of entry 424 00:23:32,148 --> 00:23:36,392 just there if you can understand that the gospel, this love story 425 00:23:36,392 --> 00:23:41,812 didn't start with you. It's all about a God who's 426 00:23:41,820 --> 00:23:48,845 pursuing you in prison, useless, but he is besotted with you. 427 00:23:48,853 --> 00:23:53,732 And the crazy thing is, Onissimus leaves as a slave and 428 00:23:53,732 --> 00:23:58,370 goes back as a son, the younger brother in Jesus parable. 429 00:23:58,378 --> 00:24:02,028 If Tychicus represents the older brother, the younger brother 430 00:24:02,036 --> 00:24:06,179 represented by Onissimus in the parable, he leaves as a son, but 431 00:24:06,179 --> 00:24:09,947 he comes back as a slave. And maybe you're here this 432 00:24:09,955 --> 00:24:12,664 morning. Maybe you'll pluck up the 433 00:24:12,672 --> 00:24:16,864 courage to come again next week. Could I invite you to not come 434 00:24:16,872 --> 00:24:19,980 with slave mentality? Oh, I'm going to be boppered. 435 00:24:19,988 --> 00:24:24,180 You know, God's mad at me. But understand that this gospel 436 00:24:24,180 --> 00:24:28,425 is born in the heart of God for you, not in your heart. 437 00:24:28,433 --> 00:24:35,120 How do I make right and to come week in and week out as we go 438 00:24:35,128 --> 00:24:37,855 through Colossians and discover what they discovered. 439 00:24:37,863 --> 00:24:40,440 I mean, Can you imagine the picture? 440 00:24:40,448 --> 00:24:45,102 They get up and they're reading this and there's one verse there 441 00:24:45,102 --> 00:24:50,135 that says to God's holy people in Colossae can imagine 442 00:24:50,143 --> 00:24:55,082 Onesimus would have gone back his He used to stay in Colossae 443 00:24:55,082 --> 00:24:58,690 at the home that he ran from. So Onesimus is standing, 444 00:24:58,698 --> 00:25:01,294 sharing this to God's holy people. 445 00:25:01,302 --> 00:25:05,902 I bet they're probably going like, yeah, to us we're holy, 446 00:25:05,910 --> 00:25:08,735 but an isthmus has to receive it himself. 447 00:25:08,743 --> 00:25:13,912 Or you read a little bit later where it talks about in Two 448 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,912 Chronicles, us 2IN Colossians 213 and 14 says when we are dead 449 00:25:17,912 --> 00:25:21,148 in our sins and uncircumcision of our flesh, God made us alive 450 00:25:21,148 --> 00:25:23,820 in Christ. And you've got Tychicus saying I 451 00:25:23,820 --> 00:25:25,740 needed that. Don't look at an isthmus, I 452 00:25:25,748 --> 00:25:27,720 needed that. Can you imagine these two 453 00:25:27,728 --> 00:25:31,540 running a commentary on this portion of Scripture through 454 00:25:31,548 --> 00:25:35,515 their lives essentially as exhibit A of what God will do in 455 00:25:35,515 --> 00:25:37,175 and through the book of Colossians? 456 00:25:37,183 --> 00:25:41,718 And so my invitation to you, if you on this side, on that side, 457 00:25:41,718 --> 00:25:44,903 if you come as Tychicus, my invitation to you is what's your 458 00:25:44,903 --> 00:25:47,120 heart? Allow the book of Colossians to 459 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,385 captivate you and set you a light. 460 00:25:49,393 --> 00:25:54,200 And if you come as an Tychicus, allow the book of Colossians to 461 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:59,220 grab a hold of a heart, hard, fearful heart, and allow God to 462 00:25:59,220 --> 00:26:02,631 woo you in together and discover the power in 463 00:26:02,631 --> 00:26:06,200 Colossians. I'm going to ask the band up as 464 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,240 a close discover the power of Colossians. 465 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:11,840 The process is one thing, the people is another thing. 466 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:17,560 But if you can encounter the power of this letter, you will 467 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:19,640 never be the same again. I've asked the band up here 468 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:22,200 because I want to tell you a story about a guy named Rich 469 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,800 Gordon. You probably haven't heard of 470 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,619 Rich Gordon because he's a very ordinary, nondescript guy in 471 00:26:29,619 --> 00:26:33,328 the church, not known for anything really, except for 472 00:26:33,328 --> 00:26:36,290 one thing. He has an incredible revelation 473 00:26:36,290 --> 00:26:40,455 of the gospel and the beauty and the wonder of Christ. 474 00:26:40,463 --> 00:26:45,820 And everywhere he goes, this preacher dude, it's all he does 475 00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:49,018 is he makes much of Jesus Christ. 476 00:26:49,026 --> 00:26:52,675 And the doors have opened for this guy. 477 00:26:52,683 --> 00:26:56,725 And it's confounding because he preaches the same sermon, he 478 00:26:56,733 --> 00:27:01,048 tells the same stories, and he sings the same song. 479 00:27:01,056 --> 00:27:06,647 So I've asked the band Adele, can you give us AC? 480 00:27:06,655 --> 00:27:07,910 Amen. Thank you. 481 00:27:07,918 --> 00:27:11,072 I'm not going to sing this. Don't you worry. 482 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,654 And this is the song that he teaches them to sing. 483 00:27:15,662 --> 00:27:41,670 You're sure? you. 484 00:27:41,678 --> 00:27:47,680 So he gets up, he tells his testimony, he shares about 485 00:27:47,688 --> 00:27:55,690 Christ and he says, all I want to do is I want to help you 486 00:27:55,698 --> 00:27:59,712 encounter Christ and fall in love with him again. 487 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:05,422 And so he's been invited. He's he's preached at a stadium 488 00:28:05,422 --> 00:28:08,978 in Brazil to 50,000 people, same thing. 489 00:28:08,986 --> 00:28:13,384 But the crazy thing is every time he exalts Christ, the 490 00:28:13,392 --> 00:28:17,640 Spirit fills the room to the point where people struggle to 491 00:28:17,648 --> 00:28:21,890 minister. He was in Holy Trinity Brompton 492 00:28:21,890 --> 00:28:25,224 last year. I don't know if you know, HTB, 493 00:28:25,232 --> 00:28:28,894 it's they're very British, they're Anglican. 494 00:28:28,902 --> 00:28:33,800 And there's Rich Gordon preaching the same sermon, 495 00:28:33,808 --> 00:28:37,072 telling the same story, singing the same song. 496 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:41,960 But one of the things he feels to do, and it's crazy Annie, 497 00:28:41,968 --> 00:28:45,444 because he felt just to highlight Psalm 133. 498 00:28:45,452 --> 00:28:51,175 And he says this, he says, you know, there's one thing when 499 00:28:51,183 --> 00:28:55,762 you've got a Taika kiss on that side and an Onissimus on this 500 00:28:55,770 --> 00:28:59,942 side in the same church, and you're all on your own journey. 501 00:28:59,942 --> 00:29:01,400 And this one's the older brother 502 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,440 and the younger brother mess doesn't feel comfortable around 503 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:07,760 the squeaky clean hoofseun, he says, but if you have Christ, 504 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,200 Christ is the center. He says that it is. 505 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,480 God pours out his blessing. Behold our good and our 506 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:19,320 pleasant. It is. 507 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,578 And brethren, when Tychicus types and Onesimus types 508 00:29:22,578 --> 00:29:26,400 gathered together and then he read this, he says this. 509 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,440 It goes on to say it is like precious oil poured on the head, 510 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,480 running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard. 511 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,960 And while he is reading this, there's an elderly gentleman in 512 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:42,600 the in the back part of the church begins to shout, there's 513 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:49,320 oil, there's oil. I've seen the video, an Anglican 514 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:55,480 elderly, well to do man who is shaking as oil drips off the 515 00:29:55,480 --> 00:30:00,080 palms of his hands and so rich climbs over the pews because 516 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:01,840 that's what you have in an Anglican church. 517 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,000 He's climbing over these pews. Sorry, excuse me, excuse me, I 518 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,320 guess over to the very back. And he sees it for himself and 519 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,080 he shouts, there's oil in the Church of England again. 520 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,920 And the Spirit of God hit that room to the point where they 521 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,640 could barely stand to minister. 522 00:30:19,648 --> 00:30:22,705 But he only preaches one message. 523 00:30:22,713 --> 00:30:26,180 It's the very message we find in Colossians. 524 00:30:26,188 --> 00:30:29,907 Jesus. Jesus is enough. 525 00:30:29,915 --> 00:30:33,606 If you're a Tychicus, Jesus is still enough. 526 00:30:33,614 --> 00:30:36,686 Do not lose the wonder of this Jesus. 527 00:30:36,694 --> 00:30:41,174 If you're an Onissimus, do not lose the wonder of the grace and 528 00:30:41,174 --> 00:30:43,100 the gospel. He is supreme. 529 00:30:43,108 --> 00:30:46,234 He is sufficient. He is the head of the church. 530 00:30:46,242 --> 00:30:49,926 He has disarmed the powers and authorities and nail them to the 531 00:30:49,926 --> 00:30:53,882 cross. He calls you, He woos you, He 532 00:30:53,890 --> 00:31:00,920 loves you, He wants all of you. And when Christ is enough, when 533 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:07,308 Jesus is exalted, there's oil in the church again, the 534 00:31:07,308 --> 00:31:10,595 absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. 535 00:31:10,603 --> 00:31:16,418 And we're going to look at this Christ over the next few weeks. 536 00:31:16,418 --> 00:31:19,000 And I know it's going to fall on 537 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,200 hearts. That's been there, done that, 538 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,556 sang the song, got the T-shirt. 539 00:31:24,564 --> 00:31:30,661 But I want to ask you, would you allow him to take your hand and 540 00:31:30,661 --> 00:31:35,870 your whole life to you so that you can't help falling in love 541 00:31:35,878 --> 00:31:40,488 with him? And I know that this word is 542 00:31:40,496 --> 00:31:44,400 going to fall on fearful, dark, shadier. 543 00:31:44,408 --> 00:31:49,130 You might call yourself useless hearts. 544 00:31:49,138 --> 00:31:53,901 I'm going to ask you to would you come again? 545 00:31:53,909 --> 00:31:58,234 Would you come? Let Jesus woo you, date you, 546 00:31:58,242 --> 00:32:03,636 take a hold of your hand and your whole life to you, and 547 00:32:03,644 --> 00:32:08,540 trust that each and every one of us would be eternally changed 548 00:32:08,548 --> 00:32:11,040 because of our encounter with Christ. 549 00:32:11,048 --> 00:32:14,835 I'm going to close and pray, Father. 550 00:32:14,843 --> 00:32:22,920 I just want to thank you that you have given us not only 551 00:32:22,928 --> 00:32:26,160 Christ, but you have given us all things. 552 00:32:26,168 --> 00:32:32,104 You've given us access to you, to your presence. 553 00:32:32,112 --> 00:32:36,772 But Father, I know that in this room we're all on a journey, 554 00:32:36,780 --> 00:32:39,480 some of us running to you, some running away. 555 00:32:39,488 --> 00:32:43,735 And I pray that as we go through the book of Colossians, you 556 00:32:43,743 --> 00:32:48,120 would take our hands and we would fall head over heels in 557 00:32:48,128 --> 00:32:53,265 love with you, Jesus. I know we got very 558 00:32:53,273 --> 00:32:56,760 sophisticated, very complex people here, and we got very 559 00:32:56,768 --> 00:32:59,250 simple, very shameful people here too. 560 00:32:59,258 --> 00:33:03,312 We still need Jesus, We need you, Lord Jesus. 561 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:08,292 And I want to ask through the simplicity of your word, that 562 00:33:08,300 --> 00:33:11,858 your oil would flow again in 3Ci. 563 00:33:11,866 --> 00:33:16,760 Ask this in Jesus name, Amen.