1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:05,080 We are one church. We love God, love people, love 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,000 His mission, and love His church. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,560 Welcome to the One Church podcast. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,240 Just before we came to Leicester, which is quite a lot 5 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:22,840 of years ago now, I had the excitement of running my one and 6 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:28,000 only ever half marathon. I'd trained, prepared and off I 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:34,680 went and I finished. Yes, I did, thank you. 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:38,360 Don't get too excited. My time wasn't too bad for an 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,480 older person and the pace was not speedy, shall we say. 10 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:46,440 And I, but I didn't walk, which was a really good thing for me 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:47,800 because that's quite a long way to go. 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,520 But not walk, in my book anyway. But as I approach the finish in 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:53,560 my head, I don't know if you've ever had this experience where 14 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,680 in your head things are a bit different to the reality. 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,320 In my head I felt fit. I felt really, really full of 16 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,400 energy. I felt like I was looking good. 17 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,960 You know, feeling good. Ran through that finish line. 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,080 You have an official photograph. And then a few weeks later, that 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,920 feeling had stayed with me of self satisfaction until the 20 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,760 certificate came through the post and the official photograph 21 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,360 came through the post. Because I opened this envelope 22 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,880 and literally on that photo, it was such a different picture to 23 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,680 what I had seen in my mind. I had red cheeks. 24 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,960 I looked exhausted, my limbs were not looking half as toned 25 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:35,040 and supple as I imagined in my head, and this was definitely 26 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,760 not a photo to put on the wall or put on the fridge. 27 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:43,120 Finishing well is a vital concept for us as Christians. 28 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,640 And today I'm really excited because two things are 29 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:48,200 happening. Today we're going to talk about 30 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,240 finishing well, and we're also going to finish the series that 31 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,400 we have been doing over the last few months as a church in the 32 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,600 letter to the Colossians, which is part of the New Testament, 33 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,640 part of the Bible. And we're looking at the final 34 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,560 words that Paul the great apostle shares with this church 35 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,560 in Colossae. We're giving it the title Finish 36 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,160 well in Christ. Well, throughout this letter, 37 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:17,520 Paul has constantly just drawn the church to Jesus Christ. 38 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,600 He's constantly brought us back to Jesus. 39 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,080 In fact, we've given this series the title Jesus Over Everything 40 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:25,760 because that's the theme of the whole book. 41 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:31,040 Christ who is your life is what Paul says in one of the verses 42 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,960 in chapter 2. Christ is over everything. 43 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,280 He's all you need. And if you're here today 44 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,160 wondering what you really need in life, like I did when I was 45 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,800 14 years old and I was thinking, what is the point of life? 46 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,440 Why do I just get up every morning? 47 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,280 I discovered that Jesus is actually the reason that we're 48 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,000 here on this earth. He is the one we're born for, 49 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,400 the one we're made for, to have a relationship with a living 50 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:55,800 God. This is not religion. 51 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,720 It's a living faith in a living God. 52 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,320 He's all you need, and He's worth giving everything for. 53 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,440 And there's many in this room. We found him to be true. 54 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,320 We found him to be the King of kings, and we are giving our 55 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,080 lives for him. So today's going to be a great 56 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,400 encouragement to us to finish well. 57 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,160 And today we're going to look at the whole of chapter 4, but I'm 58 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,040 not going to read the whole of it all together. 59 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,120 We're going to unpack it little bit by little bit, which is 60 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,640 going to be exciting. So Paul signs off his letter 61 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:28,280 with some intensely practical advice and it's all centred 62 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,000 again around Jesus. And then he has some greetings 63 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,320 and requests from some people who are with him and two people 64 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,160 in Colossae. And again, Jesus is over 65 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,480 everything. So why don't we just quieten our 66 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,680 hearts and open our minds and our hearts and our spirits to 67 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,680 allow Jesus to change us through his words. 68 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,280 So let's just pray. Lord, I thank you for the power 69 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,960 of your word. I thank you that it is not meant 70 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,360 just to give us information, but it is meant to change us. 71 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:02,720 And Lord, we invite you to come and change us. 72 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,760 Lord, by the power of your Spirit, as we read this word 73 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,560 together, we're believing that you were going to speak to each 74 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,560 one of us in Jesus name. Amen. 75 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:12,960 Amen. Great. 76 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,760 So as I said, I'm going to read the Scripture bit by bit and 77 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,519 we'll unpack it as we go. It'll be a bit like having a lot 78 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:22,320 of parcels on Christmas Day, just open one time. 79 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,280 So first, Paul has these words of advice. 80 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:28,400 And you know, when somebody is like the apostle Paul, you want 81 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,520 to listen to what their words of advice are. 82 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,480 What is it? What are his last words in this 83 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,040 letter? Because if somebody's lives like 84 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,960 he did and is worthy of respect, you want to know what they've 85 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,240 got to say, what they think is important. 86 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,600 So what are his last instructions to this church, A 87 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,040 Church of really baby Christians, very young 88 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:49,320 believers. So here we go. 89 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,200 Firstly, he says be devoted to prayer. 90 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,560 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 91 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,480 This language is really intense. Devote. 92 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,600 If somebody's devoted to something, you know, they really 93 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:08,640 care about it. It's their focus. 94 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,360 It's the thing they live for. And he says devote yourselves to 95 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,880 prayer. He says be watchful, be alert as 96 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,440 you pray and be thankful. Have an attitude of gratitude. 97 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,960 Have you ever tried actually praying and not asking for 98 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,080 anything of God, just saying thank you. 99 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,360 It's quite hard actually, because we're so wired to ask 100 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,000 him for things. It's good just to say thank you 101 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,840 for this and thank you for that, and thank you for the beauty of 102 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:37,520 creation. Thank you for my family and 103 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,840 thank you for everything. But also then to thank him for 104 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:43,960 the things we may want to ask him about things that are coming 105 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:45,720 up, for example, just say thank you. 106 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:47,800 I know you're with me in that situation. 107 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:49,840 Thank you. I know you've gone ahead of me 108 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,880 into my new job. I thank you that you're with me 109 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:54,560 in my exams. I thank you. 110 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,920 It's really life changing to do that sometimes. 111 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,440 But Paul doesn't specify how we pray here. 112 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,920 He just says pray as a priority. And it's the same for us. 113 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:10,160 All types of prayer, private prayer, devotion, publicly in 114 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,480 groups, together in our small groups as we meet with friends 115 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:18,960 to pray, listening, intercession, praying on behalf 116 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,880 of others. You know, I love prayer times 117 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:23,640 sometimes. I was in a prayer time last 118 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,320 Saturday morning with a group of women, and it basically ranged 119 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:32,160 from silence and being in awe in the presence of God to shouting, 120 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,760 speaking in tongues, you know, just all sorts of things in that 121 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,160 prayer time. People kneeling, people 122 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,640 standing, it's all included. And I love prayer times like 123 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,520 that. Last Sunday here at the central 124 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:48,160 site, I met a young man called Reagan who was from India. 125 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,920 He actually introduced himself to me as a firefighter from 126 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,840 India. And I thought at the time, oh, 127 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:55,320 that must be some sort of Christian organisation in India. 128 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,680 They're firefighters. But actually he said, no, I'm a 129 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,840 real firefighter. I do work as a fireman in India. 130 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,160 But he came to this country to spend some days in prayer and 131 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,640 fasting. And he felt called to come to 132 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,440 our church last Sunday morning just sort of out of the blue 133 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,360 with a friend who lives in Anstey. 134 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,080 And when he talked to me about his burden to pray for the UK, 135 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,360 there were tears in his eyes. And he actually struggled to get 136 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,200 the words out as he talked about what he believed God wants to do 137 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,600 in our nation. And he wrote to me afterwards 138 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,080 and said he felt like one church is a part of that as well. 139 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,480 So let's be devoted to prayer more and more. 140 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:38,040 And Paul now asks the people in Colosse for their help. 141 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,320 And they may have said, well, how can we help you, Paul? 142 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,000 We're just new baby Christians. We hardly know what to do. 143 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,320 We hardly know how to live this Christian life. 144 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,160 How can we help you? You've been halfway around the 145 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,520 Mediterranean. You've preached the gospel. 146 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,480 You've planted churches. You've suffered hugely for your 147 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,280 faith. You're a famous Christian. 148 00:07:57,640 --> 00:07:59,440 Lots of people know all about you. 149 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,880 But he says, no, I need your prayers. 150 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,560 Pray, he says, for open doors, verse 3 and 4. 151 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,880 Pray for us too, that God may open the door for our message so 152 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,160 that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in 153 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,520 chains. Pray that I may proclaim it 154 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,520 clearly as I should. Wow, they can pray. 155 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,920 Do we know? We don't know the power that is 156 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,960 there in the most young new believer. 157 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,280 You may be in this room and you've not been a Christian very 158 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,920 long. Don't underestimate the power 159 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,919 when you open your mouth and you pray to God, when you just speak 160 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:39,120 the simplest of prayers, all heaven hears you. 161 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,720 And it is amazing the power that's at our disposal as we 162 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,520 pray. And Paul doesn't say pray that I 163 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,560 might be released even. He just says, pray that I can 164 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:51,240 share the message of Christ with as many people as possible. 165 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:54,520 And there's a side note to that. Let's keep remembering as a 166 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,280 church all those who are imprisoned around the world for 167 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,200 their faith, thousands and thousands of people who maybe 168 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,840 their relatives don't even know where they are or where they're 169 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:08,000 being held, but who are in chains, as it were, because they 170 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,360 proclaim Christ. I was just thinking about Leah 171 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,840 Sharabu, who is the young Nigerian girl was abducted. 172 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,480 I think it's nearly five, it's 5-6 years ago now with her 173 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:20,880 classmates. But because she refused to 174 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,200 renounce Christianity, she's still kept in captivity. 175 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,640 And we we need to pray for people like her. 176 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,320 But Paul says pray for Open doors for our message. 177 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,000 Do you know prayer opens doors? Have you experienced that in 178 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,120 your life? I remember when we started Open 179 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,240 Hands and it was great to have our Open Hands celebration and 180 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,960 thank you now on Thursday, what a great occasion that was, 181 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,760 saying thank you to our volunteers, the team sharing so 182 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,400 brilliantly well about all the different areas of Open Hands 183 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,920 and we love our charity Open Hands. 184 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,440 But when we first started Open Hands, I remember a lady called 185 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,600 Shalom who used to come along and help on a Tuesday and a 186 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,040 Thursday morning, and she brought a prophecy one day in 187 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,840 our prayer times before the sessions, she said open hands 188 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:09,120 bring open doors. And that was something that sort 189 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:10,560 of stuck with me for quite a long time. 190 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:15,000 As we open our hands to people, it opens doors for the gospel as 191 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,680 well. And you know, prayer can give us 192 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:19,880 that open door. So prayer can often show us the 193 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,040 key for wanting to reach people in our school, our 194 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:27,720 neighbourhood, where we are. If we pray, God will often give 195 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,160 us a key to open the door to that person's heart or that 196 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,680 person's life. It might be an act of kindness. 197 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:39,200 It might be something that we need to say to that person or a 198 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,680 way we need to be. I remember the Lord saying to me 199 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,080 when I prayed about this with somebody close to me, that 200 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:48,080 kindness would open their heart. The key is prayer. 201 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,800 And Paul says all around you there are people who are not yet 202 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,480 believers. There are people who don't yet 203 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:58,160 know Jesus, not yet part of the family of God. 204 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:03,160 And so he says be wise as well. Be bold, be attractive with 205 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:05,920 people. Be wise in the way he says that 206 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:08,440 you act towards outsiders. Make the most of every 207 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:10,680 opportunity. Let your conversation be always 208 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:13,920 full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to 209 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,880 answer everyone. You're in a different Kingdom 210 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,600 now. Paul's already said that at the 211 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,760 beginning of his letter, right back in chapter 1, he was clear. 212 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,200 When you came to the cross, you moved out of the Kingdom of 213 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,800 darkness into the Kingdom of his dear Son. 214 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,280 But Paul says don't now hideaway. 215 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:35,360 Yes, your life is hidden with Christ in God, but you're not 216 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,280 living as a hidden away person in your own little secret 217 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,120 society. We are out in the world living 218 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,440 as believers in the world. We go out from this place into 219 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,640 the places where God has called us to be, and it was the same 220 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:52,240 for them. Paul says be wise, look for 221 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,880 opportunities. Make the most of opportunities. 222 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,800 Don't shy away from opportunities to share your 223 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,000 faith taught to people in a way that will win their hearts and 224 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,200 minds. And he uses this phrase, let 225 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:06,400 your conversation be full of grace, seasoned with salt. 226 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,840 I love seasoning in food. I also love a bit of salt on 227 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,000 food and, and we don't want bland food, do we? 228 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,920 And we don't want to be bland in our conversation in the way that 229 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,720 we talk towards people who are at the moment not yet believers. 230 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:22,840 He says. Paul's really saying be 231 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,200 interesting, be confident, be engaging, be friendly, be 232 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:30,080 normal, be real, don't put on a special voice or whatever, but 233 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,160 just be normal. And I wonder if you've ever 234 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,000 eaten a salty takeaway. Have you ever been to a takeaway 235 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,760 restaurant or you had a takeaway delivered and suddenly in the 236 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,280 middle of the night, you, you're up because oh gosh, I feel so 237 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,480 thirsty. Need to run to the bathroom or 238 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,280 go downstairs, get a big drink of water usually because that is 239 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,040 salty. You've eaten some salty food. 240 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:56,680 And Paul's saying be like this in how you speak, how you act be 241 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:00,800 clear, making people thirsty for the living water. 242 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,000 Jesus Christ, talk in such a way that people are going to be 243 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,400 thirsty when they've talked to you. 244 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,240 At my uncle's funeral, we went, we travelled up to the North 245 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,040 East on Friday for my Uncle Leonard's funeral. 246 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,440 He, he was my, my dad's brother. Yes, we went up to Geordie Lund, 247 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,680 which is where I came from originally. 248 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,560 And it was a wonderful opportunity for David and myself 249 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:28,040 to show love and to speak with grace with many of our relatives 250 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,920 and the friends who were there, both with prepared words, 251 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:33,480 because I'd prepared the tribute for Uncle Leonard. 252 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,360 And also with David being able to share a little message from 253 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,160 the Bible. And then also just taking the 254 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,440 moments at, at the party afterwards, looking for open 255 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,360 doors to share God's love, to share that message as well in a 256 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,640 natural way. And one of my relatives, I'm 257 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,600 afraid I didn't do that well outside of the church, but I 258 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,280 sort of redeemed the day afterwards because it rather 259 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,480 took me by surprise. My cousin's wife said to me, oh, 260 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,160 this has really made me think about my own mortality. 261 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:08,760 And I thought, wow. And I was a little bit taken 262 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,200 aback by her just coming out and saying that I hadn't really 263 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,920 spoken to her for a long time. And suddenly she says this. 264 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:16,720 So I didn't do so great in my response. 265 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,640 But later on, I made sure I found her and we sat and had a 266 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:24,480 long conversation at the table. Just sharing at a level, not not 267 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:26,800 putting myself above her, but talking about all sorts of 268 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,120 things, like we don't really believe in retirement, what that 269 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:31,960 means. I told her my story of looking 270 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,240 for meaning and purpose when I was a teenage girl and how I 271 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:39,240 found that in Jesus and how that changed my life. 272 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,040 And it just sort of flowed. And the conversation was, I 273 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:44,680 believe, quite seasoned with salt. 274 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:47,920 And I went to see her before I left and gave her some parting 275 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,040 words. And then across the table I also 276 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,120 heard David. And I could hear the word Jesus 277 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:54,880 coming out quite a few times in a conversation he was having 278 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,120 with my cousin's friend who was there. 279 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,440 So I know he was doing his thing and talking about Jesus as well. 280 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,360 So there we are. That's a few last words of 281 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:07,160 advice from Paul about prayer, about deeds, about words. 282 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:09,120 And we could spend the whole morning here. 283 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,480 But next comes the bit in these letters that we often gloss 284 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,440 over. We often just whizz to the end 285 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,120 then and forget all the great greetings at the end and the 286 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,520 people, because I believe the people that Paul talks about at 287 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,200 the end of this letter have a lot to teach us and maybe 288 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,560 there's one that's going to speak to you particularly. 289 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,160 So let's see what we find out from them. 290 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:34,920 This really shows as well that we do it together. 291 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:40,040 We finish well in Christ as a church, as those who do it 292 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:41,640 together. Because I don't know if you've 293 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,160 ever thought of Paul as a loner. What image do you have of him 294 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,840 when you read the Bible? I sometimes think of him as 295 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,400 quite an austere man, you know, quite straight laced maybe, and 296 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:53,240 maybe someone who would do it himself. 297 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,280 But I think we need to think again if we think that, because 298 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,480 it seems like Paul was always with others. 299 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:01,960 He's always sending messages from others and greetings to 300 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,080 others as well. Because we are meant to be in 301 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:09,040 this together, this beautiful messy church that we are part 302 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:10,760 of. Isn't it wonderful to be part of 303 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:13,080 the family of God? We know none of us are perfect 304 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,600 yet, but we're on this journey together. 305 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:18,680 And what's Paul doing in these few verses? 306 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,960 Well, anybody here like sewing? Most of us don't have much time 307 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,200 for sewing, do we? So we just like buy clothes. 308 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,520 But back in the day when I was little, my mum would make all 309 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,200 our clothes and I remember being in this like crimpoline dress. 310 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,440 And so just think of that picture of sewing and think of 311 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:41,960 the power of a little thread that is goes in and out, in and 312 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,720 out, doesn't it, to join the two pieces of fabric together. 313 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,320 In itself, it's not very strong. You could just snap it in two. 314 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:51,400 But if there's enough stitches and they're close enough 315 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,960 together, they will bind 2 pieces of fabric together. 316 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,520 And what Paul's doing is he's stitching together the group 317 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:03,720 that he's with in prison or that come and visit him in prison 318 00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:07,560 with the people in Colosse and this new little baby church, 319 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,119 probably only a few households meeting together at this point. 320 00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:16,400 And Paul brings greetings and he sends greetings to them. 321 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,200 And I think they all have something important to say. 322 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:23,359 So firstly, finish well, like Ticacus and SMS and Aristarchus, 323 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,000 I bet you glad you don't have to say all the words today, all the 324 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,560 names. But I've had a practise at that, 325 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:32,280 dear family, faithful servants. So Ticacus, first he says he 326 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,200 will tell you all the news about me. 327 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,360 He's a dear brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant in 328 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:39,720 the Lord. I'm sending him to you for the 329 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,920 express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and 330 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,600 he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with an SMS. 331 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,920 Our faithful and dear brother who is one of you, they will 332 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,760 tell you everything that's happening here. 333 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,240 And my fellow prisoner, Aristarchus sends you his 334 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,160 greetings. So a little bit about those 335 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:03,000 three people, Tikicus from the province of Asia, probably the 336 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,520 postman actually physically carrying this letter from Paul 337 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,640 to the church, and also maybe carrying the letter to the 338 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:11,920 Ephesians, which was a circular letter. 339 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:16,120 He's mentioned in Acts chapter 20 where he's called to 340 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,120 accompany Paul on his last visit to Jerusalem, taking money for 341 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:25,520 the people in need in Jerusalem. And that is a very responsible 342 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,200 thing to do, isn't it? So he must have been a very 343 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,920 trusted brother, loyal, faithful, amazing. 344 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,760 Thank you to all you in one church who are loyal and 345 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:35,600 faithful. And thank you as well to all 346 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,440 those who handle our money, because that is a great and 347 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,680 honourable and responsible position. 348 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,000 What about Anessimus? He's an interesting one. 349 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:46,720 If you read the letter to Philemon you'll find out more. 350 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,640 He used to be a slave in the house, and of course that was 351 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,760 part of the culture then. He used to be a slave in the 352 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,240 household of, of Philemon, but he ran away. 353 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:58,800 He was a runaway slave. He'd run away from that 354 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,280 situation. He'd met Paul in Rome and 355 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,840 apparently been led to Christ by him. 356 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:09,040 And Paul now is writing and sending him back to Colossae. 357 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,280 And if you read the book of Philemon, you'll see he writes 358 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,480 specifically to Philemon to say welcome him now, because now 359 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,000 he's a valued brother in Christ. Don't welcome him back as a 360 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,840 slave anymore. Welcome him back as a brother. 361 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,800 And how does Paul describe him in this letter? 362 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,160 He says, is it, does he say runaway or rebel or Sinner? 363 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:31,000 No, he calls him faithful, dear one of you. 364 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,680 And this teaches us, doesn't it, that our past doesn't need to 365 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:42,600 define us and we can be renamed. We can rename others as well. 366 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,640 Jesus did it all the time. Think about if you know your 367 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:49,280 Bible at all or if you've read, had stories told to you in the 368 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:53,400 past about people like Peter, Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene, 369 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:58,800 Matthew, the tax collector, all became new people in Christ. 370 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,480 Some of them actually literally had a name change, but Jesus saw 371 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,600 them as different. And maybe you used to call 372 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,440 yourself a drunkard. Or a drug addict, or a failure. 373 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,640 Or a school dropout. Or a runaway. 374 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,880 Like an assimus. Well, why not ask Jesus to hear 375 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,920 your new name today? Because he can wipe away all of 376 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,000 that past. And if you've already come to 377 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,400 Christ, then you have a new name and you have a new start. 378 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:33,600 This is not the end for you. You can be renamed then. 379 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,160 What about Aristarchus? Well, he was a native of 380 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,320 Thessalonica, not far away. He was arrested at the time of a 381 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,880 riot in Ephesus. You can read about it in Acts 382 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,520 19. And he'd gone with Paul to Rome, 383 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,600 and Paul calls him his fellow prisoner. 384 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,840 He'd probably chosen as well to either to stay in prison with 385 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,560 Paul or to be a person who would regularly come and visit Paul in 386 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,560 prison. It might mean he was literally 387 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,800 in chains with Paul to say he was a fellow prisoner, but also 388 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,120 many people think it might mean that he was actually a prisoner 389 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:09,200 of Christ in terms of he couldn't leave Christ he wanted. 390 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:10,920 He was constantly chained to Christ. 391 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,720 He was constantly seeing Jesus as the centre of his life. 392 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,200 He'd been captured by Christ. I wonder, have you been captured 393 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,000 by Christ today? I pray that we all have our 394 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,160 hearts captured by him. So one church, these three would 395 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,000 say to us, finish well in Christ, be dear family, brothers 396 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,920 and sisters serving together. Don't let the past define you. 397 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,320 You've got a new name and be a prisoner of Christ. 398 00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:42,960 And then we see finish Well, like Mark, as does Mark, says 399 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,880 Paul, the cousin of Barnabas. You've received instructions 400 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,520 about him. If it comes to you, welcome him. 401 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:51,680 Well, why did they bother? Why did he bother to say, if he 402 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,400 comes to you, welcome him? Why would they not welcome him? 403 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,160 Well, because he'd had a varied life, to put it mildly. 404 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,560 It was a life of ups and downs. He was one of the very first 405 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,200 evangelists sharing the good news around Europe. 406 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,320 And he was a close companion of the disciple, the apostle Peter. 407 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:12,400 He also wrote a gospel. I don't know if you can guess by 408 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,120 any chance what that gospel might be. 409 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:19,160 The gospel of Mark, yes. But confusingly, Mark is also 410 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,400 called John. Mark or John in the Bible. 411 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:22,920 So let's just put that to confuse you. 412 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,120 This is the story behind the back story behind this thing 413 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,120 that Paul is saying now is that he'd been gone with Paul and 414 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:32,680 Barnabas on their first missionary journey, a big 415 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,760 journey all around, many, many places sharing the gospel. 416 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,400 But at some point on that journey, he turned back. 417 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,080 And that was something that Paul didn't forget when Barnabas 418 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,320 wanted to take John Mark again on the second missionary 419 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,600 journey. And if we read in Acts 15 that 420 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,840 Paul didn't think it wise to take him because he deserted him 421 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:55,840 and they had a sharp disagreement. 422 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:00,040 So Paul and Barnabas parted company at that point and Wenden 423 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,360 did 2 separate missionary journeys and Barnabas took Mark, 424 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:08,440 but Paul chose Silas and left and went a different way Later 425 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:09,840 on. Obviously though, Paul did 426 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:13,200 change his mind about Mark, as we see from this letter, 427 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:17,480 possibly because Mark by now proved himself and he now urges 428 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,680 the Colossians to welcome him. And in a letter that's written 429 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,280 five years after this one, the Letter to Timothy, 2nd letter to 430 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,200 Timothy, Paul sees it so differently. 431 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,720 He says only Luke is with me, get Mark and bring him with you 432 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,600 because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 433 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:39,240 So to anyone here who's messed up, Mark would say, well, look 434 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:43,520 at me, God is the God of the second chance, the third chance, 435 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,200 the fourth chance, the many chances. 436 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,000 Don't let your past define your future. 437 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,000 Don't keep looking backwards, but look ahead. 438 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,720 Finish well. And one church. 439 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,720 Let's be those who welcome those who've failed and who've messed 440 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,160 up. And yes, there might be a 441 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:07,040 sensible process to go through when somebody arrives who's had 442 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,920 challenges in their past, but let's believe in the possibility 443 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,880 of restoration and a second chance in Christ. 444 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,360 And on a side note, Paul says that Aristarchus Mark and Jesus 445 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:21,840 Justice were the only Jewish Christians in his close group at 446 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,520 that time. Jesus, who was called Justice, 447 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:28,120 also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my 448 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:31,360 fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, and they have proved a 449 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:35,080 comfort to me. This was important to Paul for 450 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,880 him to have believers, brothers and sisters who were Jews 451 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,200 because he himself was a Jew who had come to Jesus. 452 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,840 And he longed for his fellow Jews to know Christ as their 453 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,600 Messiah that they'd longed for and to be saved. 454 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:54,400 And let's just keep remembering as a church, Jews around the 455 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,640 world today and pray for them to be saved. 456 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,080 Pray for a great end time harvest among the Jewish people 457 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:06,160 to come into God's Kingdom. Finish well then like a paphras. 458 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,760 So there's another great guy. Pray, strengthen, work hard. 459 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:11,440 Listen to what he says about Paphras. 460 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:15,040 A Paphras who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus sends 461 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,360 greetings. He's always wrestling in prayer 462 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:21,000 for you that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature 463 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,600 and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is 464 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,480 working hard for you and for those that Laodicea and 465 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:31,080 Herapolis Epaphras mentioned in the 1st chapter of the letter as 466 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,640 the founder of the church in Colosse and here described as 467 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,840 one of you. He's one of your own, a servant 468 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,360 of Christ Jesus. He wrestles for them in prayer. 469 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:42,560 If you've ever watched wrestling, wrestling involves 470 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:45,040 like hanging on to your opponent, not letting go. 471 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,000 Epaphras carries a burden. He won't let it go. 472 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,400 That they would stand firm in all the will of God and they be 473 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,320 mature and fully assured. And this is our prayer for you 474 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:56,960 as a church. And he's a hard worker. 475 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:58,920 He's working hard. And if Paul says he's working 476 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,480 hard, he's working hard. One church, you are all one of 477 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,320 us. And if you're here as a visitor, 478 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:07,600 you're also honorary one of us as well. 479 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:09,880 And we believe in this next season, it's going to be a 480 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,520 season of discipleship, a season of a greater harvest and 481 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,640 strengthening people. And this will mean we all need 482 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:20,560 to work hard. If Pafras had this laser sharp 483 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:26,520 focus and you know we are all on the same mission together, he 484 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:31,920 would say to us, finish well, pray and work hard for Christ. 485 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:35,840 It'll all be worth it. And then we read about our dear 486 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,280 friend as Paul says. I love how he describes Luke, 487 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:43,120 our dear friend. Luke the doctor and Demas send 488 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:45,720 greetings. What did they have to say? 489 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,440 Well, Luke would say finish well. 490 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,280 Use your gifts and skills to serve Jesus. 491 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,800 Luke wrote two books. This is an amazing group of 492 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,400 friends of Paul, isn't it? Luke wrote two books of the New 493 00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:00,560 Testament, Luke's Gospel and Act of the Apostles that we know as 494 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,960 Act. And he was a close companion of 495 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,160 Paul. And yet here we see him choosing 496 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:10,560 to stay in prison with Paul. He could have been out, couldn't 497 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:11,760 he? Doing all sorts of things. 498 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:15,280 But he chooses to stay with Paul, ministering to his knees. 499 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,680 We have, we have reason to believe because he's Paul, says 500 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,920 Luke, the doctor, that he's actually using his skills and 501 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,800 his gift and training as a doctor to minister to Paul. 502 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:30,200 Physically, not glamorous, but probably this kept Paul alive. 503 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,320 If you think about Paul's life, he'd done all sorts of things. 504 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:35,000 He'd suffered all sorts of things. 505 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,600 He'd had beatings, he'd been in prison many times. 506 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:42,880 He was stoned. He suffered so much in his body. 507 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,200 He, he'd been, it says, in the shipwrecks and all sorts. 508 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,720 And as well as that, the Bible talks about him having a thorn 509 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,600 in the flesh, which we don't really know what it was, but it 510 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,000 may have been an ongoing, challenging physical condition 511 00:27:56,320 --> 00:28:00,720 that needed help. And there's Luke ministering to 512 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:05,000 his needs, helping him. And I was just thinking about 513 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,120 one church and thinking about all the amazing gifts and skills 514 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:12,840 that are in this room. We have nurses, doctors, we have 515 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:14,960 scientists. We have people with wonderful 516 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,520 practical skills. We have people who can clean in 517 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:21,200 an amazing way that I never could because that is not my 518 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,800 gift. We have people who can mend 519 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,800 pipes and do electrical circuits and things like that. 520 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,160 We can have people with all different gifts. 521 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,240 I think what it would look like if we all just laid our gifts 522 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,920 down and we just said, Lord, these are for you for your 523 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,320 service. Yes, they're for my job, but I'm 524 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:42,640 going to use them for you. I'm going to use them for you 525 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:45,000 all devoted to Christ. And then what about all our 526 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,440 personalities and all the experience we've got in our 527 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,040 lives and all the things that go to make us the people we are? 528 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:54,120 If we're just willing to say, Lord, this is yours and 529 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:56,760 rededicate ourselves to use what he's given us. 530 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:00,480 And then what about Demas? Because all Paul says there is 531 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:05,720 and Demas and we'll come back to him just in a moment. 532 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,960 So finish. Well, we belong to this great 533 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,840 and amazing varied family. Give my greetings to the 534 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:15,360 brothers and sisters at Laodicea and to Nimpha and the church in 535 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:17,640 her house. After this letter has been read 536 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,120 to you, see that it's also read in the Church of the Laodiceans, 537 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:23,880 and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. 538 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,640 Brothers and sisters, men and women. 539 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:30,000 Some of the old Bible translators translated the name 540 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:34,040 Nympha into a a masculine form, I think because they couldn't 541 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,520 quite cope with the idea that this church met in her house and 542 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:40,480 what the implication was, was that she was actually the leader 543 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,360 of that church. They couldn't cope with that. 544 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,000 But we have a church, don't we, which is men and women, boys and 545 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,160 girls, all equal family. We have our wonderful deaf 546 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:51,920 community here, deaf and hearing. 547 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,720 We have all our amazing young people sat together this 548 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,640 morning, young and old. We're all one family, all 549 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,080 servants of Christ. I'll just say to all of you, 550 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,600 don't let anything hamper you. Don't stay on the edge of this 551 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,680 family. Get right stuck in because this 552 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,920 is your family and we have a mission to fulfil together and 553 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,760 you have a part to play in that. And finish. 554 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,720 Well. Remember, Demas, we're going to 555 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:19,160 come back to him now. And our kippers, you started so 556 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:23,680 finish, Demas, you remember he was only mentioned by his name, 557 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:25,160 nothing else. He's the only one that Paul 558 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:26,720 doesn't actually say anything about. 559 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,560 It seems that possibly he didn't finish well. 560 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,360 And it's a great sadness, isn't it, when we know people who go 561 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:38,680 strong for God and then seem to it seems to sort of die away. 562 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,200 He certainly had a blip. His faith was not strong enough 563 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:44,480 to stand and he walked away from his mission. 564 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,320 And we read this a few years later into Timothy for Demas, 565 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,120 says Paul, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has 566 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,680 gone to Thessalonica, and we feel Paul's sadness there. 567 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:59,680 Only Luke is with me. Demas couldn't lose his 568 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:01,880 salvation if he was saved, I don't believe. 569 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,800 But it seems he did lose the joy of finishing strong. 570 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:08,360 Although we don't know what his actual ending was. 571 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,000 It could have been better after this. 572 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,360 But why? Why did he walk away? 573 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,040 Because he loved this world. Don't love this world. 574 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:21,160 We have all our wonderful young people here. 575 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:25,040 Don't love this world. Love Jesus first, because that's 576 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,960 the way to live. The best, most amazing life that 577 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:30,760 you could possibly live is to put Jesus first. 578 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,360 Don't live for sport or money or travel or experiences. 579 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,320 Live for him first, because it's only what is done for Jesus that 580 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:41,120 will last. It's only in Jesus that we can 581 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,640 find satisfaction. It might be hard, but it'll be 582 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,200 worth it all. So to put it positively, don't 583 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,240 be like Demas. Be distracted. 584 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,560 Listen to what Paul says to our kippers. 585 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,400 Our kippers may have been the overseer of all the churches in 586 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,280 the area. It says this. 587 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,720 Tell our kippers, see to it that you complete the ministry you've 588 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:05,400 received in the Lord. Was our kippers maybe a bit 589 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:10,000 discouraged, a bit tired in the ministry, losing focus? 590 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,320 Well, Paul's saying finish well, finish well. 591 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,480 And for us, complete the ministry that you have been 592 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:18,040 given. We haven't all been given the 593 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:20,960 ministry of leading a church, but we've all been given 594 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,400 callings from God. We've all been given a purpose. 595 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,640 We've all been given something, a task that He wants us to do. 596 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:30,960 And just listen for what that is. 597 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,560 But it's worth thinking, what is it that Jesus has given us to 598 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,280 do? And is it time to set our heart 599 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,640 again to finish what we started and to know that we can only do 600 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:45,360 that in Christ? So we're coming to the end of 601 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,520 our tour in the letter to the Colossians. 602 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:50,520 It's been a great journey, hasn't it, the last few months? 603 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:54,840 And now Paul himself, we see him almost snatch the pen from the 604 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,120 person that he's dictating this letter to because he would have 605 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,720 spoken the letter to the person writing it down. 606 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:04,960 But he picks up the pen and probably as he his hand went 607 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,560 across the page, he would see the chains on his own wrists. 608 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,240 And he writes this. He says, I, Paul, write this 609 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:15,280 greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. 610 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,800 So let's finish well and remember Paul, his life laid 611 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,400 down. And he once said in another 612 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:26,640 letter, imitate me as I imitate Christ. 613 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:33,080 And so with all this letter, it all comes back to Christ, to 614 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:35,280 Jesus. Finish well. 615 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:41,760 Remember Christ over everything. The letter ends with a simple, 616 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:49,600 deeply profound word. Grace be with you, Colossians 617 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,680 418. The letters use many words and 618 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:55,600 is declared to the Colossians that Christ is over everything. 619 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,600 Remember, Christ has a Kingdom, Christ is supreme. 620 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,360 These are the weeks we've looked at Christ the greatest treasure, 621 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:05,440 Christ in me, the hope of glory, the reality of Christ hidden 622 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:07,800 with Christ. Christ changes everything and 623 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:13,800 now grace has the final word, grace be with you. 624 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,480 And as Paul already knows and he wrote somewhere else, his grace 625 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,639 is sufficient. He said for me, and here's the 626 00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:24,320 word grace. Today church is sufficient for 627 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,639 you, for every single one of us. Whatever you're facing today, 628 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:35,000 Jesus grace is enough. So maybe something in that 629 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,040 message is spoken to you. I believe something is spoken to 630 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:43,920 each person. Maybe you need to remember today 631 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:48,760 that you have a new name. Maybe that was spoke to you, 632 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:54,520 that in Christ the old name you had has been wiped away, just 633 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,280 like it was written on the white board and it's been wiped away 634 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,000 and Jesus has written a new name for you. 635 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:05,920 Just remember that today you are loved, you are chosen, you are 636 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,920 precious. You're a success, you're not a 637 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:15,720 failure. Maybe you need the grace and 638 00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:21,800 mercy to get back up. Like Mark, you've failed in some 639 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:23,800 way, you've messed up in some way. 640 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:29,080 But Mark would say to you today, God is the God of the second 641 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:31,520 chance and the third chance and the fourth chance. 642 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:38,680 So receive that grace today. Maybe you need grace to finish a 643 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:42,200 job, something that God has given you to do, and you're 644 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:48,560 struggling to have the energy to see it through, but His grace is 645 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,800 sufficient for you. His grace is enough. 646 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,040 Just say to him today, I'm going to finish with your help. 647 00:35:55,040 --> 00:36:01,000 I'm going to finish. And maybe you're worried you're 648 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:04,120 going to love this world like Demas, or you feel yourself 649 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:08,560 slipping there. It's time to repent, to turn 650 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:13,160 away from those things and to say, Jesus, I want you to be my 651 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:15,320 centre. I want you to be my focus. 652 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:17,920 I'm going to put you first and believe that everything I need 653 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:23,040 will be given to me as well. Your grace is enough and we are 654 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,680 one in Christ. So why not just say your own 655 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:28,720 little prayer in your own heart right now? 656 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:31,720 Remember what Paul said, Devote yourselves to prayer. 657 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:37,320 Just pray over your own life right now and say, Lord, your 658 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:43,360 grace is sufficient for me. I put you first, I put you 659 00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:50,640 first. Thank you Lord, the Lord bless 660 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:53,600 you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine 661 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:57,800 upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face towards 662 00:36:57,800 --> 00:36:59,520 you and give you peace.