Colossians 1:24-2:5 Suffering and Toil

You are listening to the podcast of Recast Church in Matawan, Michigan. And it actually is an acronym for our core values.

So the R and the E stand for replicating, the C stands for community, the

A for authenticity, the S for simplicity, and the T stands for truth.

Last but not least, actually, I like to think of the last one as the one that holds it all together and is the main point, and that is truth.

And we believe that the word of God is truth, like capital T, truth, like it has power for our lives.

And so we spend some time each weekend listening to God's word. Hopefully, what you listen to, you actually believe.

You take it in, you wrestle with it, you come to a place where you believe it, and then you launch out into your week in order to live it.

So that's kind of the pattern of what we would call here growing in faith, is taking in God's word, believing it as truth, and then going out and living according to it.

And I believe that the word of God has the power to transform us. Not by magic, not by osmosis, not by using the word of God as a pillow to sleep on and somehow it's going to rub off on you or something like that, but by faith.

Faith is the way that the word of God has power to transform us. When we really study it, when we really believe it, and not just believe it in our minds but believe it enough to let it impact our actions, that is the place of growing in faith.

This morning our text is going to address two very popular subjects, subjects that we have to really kind of take what the word of God has to say about it, versus what our culture or what we would tend to think about it.

Popular subjects like suffering and toil, really popular subjects. Probably not so much.

Maybe they're not the most popular things to talk about in our culture, but they are significant in that they are exactly what these 11 verses are about, exactly what the word of God is bringing to us as we march through the book of Colossians to talk through suffering and toil.

And yet even as Paul gives a report to the Colossians about his own suffering and his own toil on their behalf, the way that he served that church, the way that he worked for the church in Colossae, in the midst of talking about that, he weaves a really intricate theological tapestry that explains some of the ways that God works in his church to help us grow.

So in talking to the church in Colossae, he is in essence talking to a church and it's something that we can take on and listen to as a church, as a gathering of God's people, and we can grow together as a result of the things that he has to say to that ancient church over 2 ,000 years ago.

And I want our church to continue to grow up. Do you guys want our church to continue to grow? And I mean grow internally,

I don't just mean grow numerically, I mean both of those are I think essential for what it means to be a church and a lot of times it's kind of unpopular, it's either one of two extremes, either you're like all about numbers or you're like not allowed to talk about numbers, but how many of you know that numbers matter when you're talking about souls of people who are going to spend eternity someplace?

So numbers do matter, right? Would you agree with me on that? But also we want to be growing deeper in our understanding, those that are here, that we would walk closer with Christ this week than we did last, next month more than we did this month, next year more closely and intimately with our

Savior than we did this year. And so that is what we're doing when we gather together, that's what we're focusing on.

I want us all as individuals to keep expanding in faith, community, and service. I don't know if you thought about this, but continued growth is a sign of life within us.

And so my prayer for all of us is that we continue to grow. So let's open our Bibles to Colossians 1 to 24 and again we're going to carry it over past a chapter heading and you might go whoa, wait a minute, aren't you supposed to stop at every chapter?

And an interesting thing is the guys who sat down in the Middle Ages to actually kind of put together the chapters and verses didn't always get the theme right or didn't always connect it well and so you'll even notice that even the people who translated the

English Standard Version of the Bible have one big subheading that covers verse 24 of chapter 1 all the way down to verse 5.

They agree with me that this should be divided up a bit differently. Hey, how many of you would like that job though of like reading everything and trying to figure out where to break it down?

So I'm not going to be critical. That guy, I look forward to seeing him in heaven and thanking him for just making it more accessible to us.

Colossians 1, 24 through chapter 2, verse 5 and if you don't have a Bible on your lap or a device to navigate to the

Bible, just please raise your hand and Mike's going to bring you a Bible. That's the only reason I would not have to call you out and if you feel more comfortable during connection time getting up and grabbing one, but we want everybody to have a copy of the

Word of God on their lap and we'd like you to be able to take one home with you if you need that and so you can grab a

Bible off the table back there, get one from Mike and take it home with you. Follow along and read with me together

Colossians 1, 24 through 2, 5. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh

I am filling up what is lacking in Christ afflictions for the sake of his body that is the church of which

I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the

Word of God fully known. The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints to them

God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery which is

Christ in you the hope of glory. Him we proclaim warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ for this

I toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me for I want you to know how great a struggle

I have for you and for those that lay out of Sia and for all who have not seen me face to face that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery which is

Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments for though I am absent in body yet I'm with you in spirit rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ let's pray as Dave and Rob come to lead us in worship this morning.

Father I thank you for the opportunity that we have to gather together and we are people that are people

I know we are people that are easily moved by emotions whether that's discouragement this week or excitement and enthusiasm or happiness or sorrow father

I pray that you would help us to turn all of those thoughts over to you are such a big God you are so capable of handling the things that we face day in and day out so father

I pray that wherever we find ourselves this morning that we would turn those thoughts over to you if it's been a rough week to just tell you it's been a rough week and to acknowledge that here in your presence father if we found ourselves just being cluttered and encrusted with sin this week if we find ourselves just kind of bogged down at the place that we're at in our lives that confession would be our work here this morning father that if we find ourselves discouraged encouragement would be your work for us this morning father where there is error that correction would be your work in our hearts this morning but father

I pray that as we have an opportunity to enter to enter your presence through worship and singing and praising really entering your presence in worship is kind of a silly thing to say because when it comes down to it my hope and prayer is that we are worshiping on the way here we are worshiping when we woke up and we will be worshiping when we leave here but to actually praise and sing songs as your body is a beautiful thing and an opportunity that we have to do this rarely and not throughout the entire week so father

I pray that this would be a meaningful time where our emotions would be engaged before you where we'd be able to let go of some of those things we've held on to this week and rejoice and delight in the salvation that we have through your son

Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen amen thanks a lot to Dave and Rob for leading us in worship this morning and make sure you keep your

Bibles open to Colossians 1 24 through chapter 2 verse 5 and thank you everybody for the hugs and stares the stares were a little bit awkward but aside from that I appreciate the happy birthday so Paul steps up to the mound right away in this text throwing us kind of a nasty curve ball if you think about it his pitch starts with rejoicing and then it breaks for the dirt real quick with the word suffering rejoice in sufferings it's quite obvious that we don't start with fluff here right how many of you know that Paul can tend to be a pretty serious guy he can tend to get down to the point right away if you've read the

New Testament if you read his letters sometimes he just starts off with a bang and he begins our text right away with now

I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake wow and to be clear verse 24 has been pretty hotly debated it's been a hotly debated verse because it says some strange things about suffering first to rejoice in sufferings for the sake of the church or really for any reason to rejoice in sufferings at all sounds a bit masochistic right to sound a little bit strange and a little bit twisted and weird did

Paul like pain was he glad to be shipwrecked was he glad to be pelted with rocks or caned with sticks as he was on multiple occasions in our text

Paul explains the rejoicing later in this same verse he had a unique perspective on suffering that has an impact on his big picture view of the world and his big picture view of the church and a viewpoint that I think would be good for us to adopt as well

Paul thinks of suffering for the kingdom like a bucket being filled like when a bucket is being filled and when the bucket is filled then the suffering will be over is the viewpoint that he has so he talks about filling the sufferings and completing the sufferings that were began now the sufferings of Christ nearly filled the bucket but now whenever Christians in this church age suffer for the sake of the church or suffer for the sake of Christ or for his kingdom they are participating in the filling of that same bucket as Paul sees it

Paul's view of suffering is really not at all misguided it's very accurate and of course he's saying these things by the revelation of the spirit but in reality there is a time according to scripture when suffering will be no more anybody excited about that day anybody look forward to that day now is it reality here and now no but do we have hope that it will that day will arrive yes we do there is a time when when

Christ himself will return the bucket of suffering of his people will be completed it will be filled it will be done and all suffering will be finished for his children there will be no more pain no more sorrow no more tears but until that day

Paul rejoices think about this think about this mindset Paul rejoices that every time he suffers he recognizes that we are now one more day closer to that final end one more day closer to that final rest when suffering will be no more

Paul proves right off the bat that he has a perspective that all of us need to grab a hold of and need to let it transform us and that's a long -term perspective of the scope of what

God is doing in us and through us suffering lasts for like a moment but God's love endures for a lifetime and ultimately for eternity so he has that long -term perspective and his hope was not found in a clean bill of health his hope was not found in a promotion at work or the relief from pain that medication can provide his hope was consistently found in the return of his

King that was the place of his hope so first up first of all

Paul saw suffering as his service to the church and helping to do his part and completing the sufferings that were started by the

Messiah Jesus Christ himself but secondly he saw his suffering as a result of the stewardship that he had been given by God a byproduct of service to the church a byproduct of serving and ministering to others

Paul isn't just running around by the way looking for opportunities to suffer and I don't think he believes that you and I should either how many of you know that you don't have to drum of suffering sometimes suffering just finds you you don't have to go out and look for it and Paul isn't suggesting that you go out and look for it but he is recommending that you fulfill your calling and in your calling he's suggesting and all of the

New Testament suggests that in your calling you'll find enough suffering if you fulfill and discharge the gift skills abilities and calling that scripture places on your life you will help to fill the bucket you'll be used in part to minister to the needs of others but help do your part to fill that bucket of suffering towards the end with a with that long -term mindset that every day every moment certainly is a gift from God but certainly is one day closer to that final completion but his suffering came about because of his calling to serve the church very clearly in our text

Paul doesn't mention any specifics of suffering did you notice that in the text he doesn't talk anything about the specifics what is suffering what what does that look like for him but if you think of any time that someone endures hardship or difficulty in the cause of advancing

God's kingdom in the cause of serving other Christians in the cause of reaching out for the kingdom and doing evangelism or whatever then you're understanding the suffering that Paul is talking about because he's talking about suffering because you are serving

Christ suffering because you are serving his saints he was a steward who knew what his role was in the kingdom according to verse 25 he was given a stewardship from God for the church that involved for him personally his specific calling was one of teaching the truth now you have a variety of different callings and not necessarily the same as Paul but he says my suffering came about because of my calling my very specific calling that was from God for the service of the church that involved the teaching of truth now

I love the way that Paul had a really keen understanding of his role of his gifts of his ability to serve others and what

God had called him out to do now to be fair because I mean some of you might be sitting here and you're kind of like well what is my calling what is my place what is my role some of you have figured that out some of you thought you had it figured out and then something crumbled and you're not quite sure what your role and responsibilities in life and culture in your family in in the church you're kind of wrestling through that and figuring that out and I have to be fair because remember that Paul had a different experience than you and I probably have had

Jesus himself appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus how many of you would like that to happen to you and it hasn't happened yet like you just haven't had that light appear and Jesus say hey dude stop being a jerk and follow me and here's what

I want you to do and spell it out in detail like he did to Paul he said you are gonna be my mouthpiece to the

Gentiles you are gonna be the one who's gonna bring the gospel to those who are not Jews and he was given a mission statement a purpose statement for his life right and so I want to be fair about that but but Paul took that and ran with it in a sense that I mean you know

God didn't tell him every single person to share the gospel with every city to go to every place to go but he still ran with that mission of understanding that to glorify

Christ who he had met was his calling and I would say that at least start there recast at least start in that place where you recognize that your calling has something to do with Jesus Christ the reason you are sitting in seats the reason you are breathing air the reason you woke up again today is because Jesus has something to do with you he has a desire for you he has a purpose for you a mission for you to accomplish does that energize anybody does that get you excited to realize that you're here for a purpose and it's tied up in the divine plan of God Almighty on your life you have a reason to be here and I can't tell you anything beyond the generalities of what scripture has to say about that but I can tell you it's a glorious thing it's a beautiful thing that he has given to you some of it's behind the scenes some of it's not up front some of it's not standing up and teaching

God's Word as it was for Paul some of it is evangelism outside of the church some of it is inside the church some of it is rocking babies in the nursery some of it is setting up and tearing down chairs some of it is a whole host of different things that you can conceive of that God is using you and and by the way just that simple thing of setting up and tearing down chairs on a

Sunday morning is not the sum total of it is it I mean I'm gonna be know that there's a whole lot wrapped up in our lives from Monday through Sunday that is all wrapped up in what

God desires of us so we have different functions and different roles in our workplace and in our families and in the church and all of that is tied in with this stewardship from God but he identified specifically that teaching component so what about what about us do you know how you fit in with the church with church of Christ I feel that many of us are happy to sit around the edges as spectators kind of feeling our way along the edges of the church kind of just taking it in or even conceiving of the church is like I come and I get filled on Sunday morning and then

I leave or I come and I just take in a message and it's kind of like the cultural thing to do and by the way

I respect the fear that often comes with being involved in a church I recognize that some of you have been burned by the church and I'm saying big

C church you know you've attended a church in the past or even just relationships or you've how many of you ever come up against hypocrisy any of you hit that it's a big comment in our culture about the church and so you've encountered it you've been bruised you've been hurt

I've actually encouraged people to just sit back for a while and kind of take things in to I mean if you're wounded and you're hurt come and talk with me and I'd love to help walk you through that and equally there's a time to to push ahead and engage and there's a time to just take a moment to reconnect with Christ have you ever had a season of life where you needed that you need it is just just take a moment to step back from that busy frenetic pace of ministry to just say

I need to just get my bearings again I need to get reconnected with Christ or you've been wounded or you've been hurt so I respect that fear that that can be they can come upon us about being involved in a church but but I also want us to consider this amazing thing consider that Paul that's writing to us today went from enemy of the church persecutor of the church to builder and champion of the church in an afternoon in an afternoon he was on his way to arrest

Christians to pull wives away from husbands and husbands away from wives and dads away from children to arrest them and carry them back to Jerusalem a couple hundred miles away where they were going to be tried some of them executed and Jesus appears in the sky to him and says stop it stop persecuting me

I'm gonna use you to build my church and he does and in an afternoon he turned around I consider your pain suffering difficulty how many of you recognize that it's our it can be our tendency to keep our eyes on ourselves and I would say man you've got to be really careful with those seasons you got to be careful when there's hurt when you've been frustrated when you've come up against hypocrisy when you've encountered the problems of the church because there are problems in the church and there are problems with people and if we set our minds on people how many you know they're gonna disappoint us pretty much all the time okay so if we if we make them our standard then of course we're gonna be discouraged but taking that time and be really cautious that's a dangerous time in life when you're taking that time off and you're you're because that's the time where Satan wants to tell you it's all about you you know you recognize that in your own heart and in your own life those seasons of introspection those times where you're kind of like man

I am hurt and I do need a break and then that break turns into my life is all about me so we need to be cautious and I'd encourage you have somebody else walk you through that to help keep an external perspective and some other eyes on that hurt and on that frustration that you're encountering to help gain some perspective and again that that doesn't have to be me

I'd be willing to walk through anybody who's going through that hurt that's suffering with you set up a time to meet with me

Haley's out there she's got my schedule I'd love to love to see some of you on my calendar just to walk through that with you and work through it with you it might be somebody else find somebody who you can kind of be accountable to if you're going through that pain and that suffering and kind of feeling like it's it's all here right now consider that each one of us has a part to play now it suggests to you that our role will involve some level level of suffering it requires sacrifice to get up early and set up the chairs it requires a unique kind of hardship to change diapers in the nursery or to take time out of a crazy busy week to prepare a lesson for our middle schoolers that are out there upstairs learning right now all ministry to the church requires sacrifice and Paul doesn't divine his suffering for us in the text but we know that it was tied into his calling to make the

Word of God fully known there's an element of suffering in his calling to teach and like Paul any preacher should set it as their goal as he states clearly for us in the text should set it as their goal to explain

God's Word now let me be clear that I recognize I'm I'm being genuine

I'm not trying to be falsely humble let me be clear that I recognize I am NOT the best preacher out there as a matter of fact

I have some preachers that I listen to regularly that I'd commend to you that I feel like really challenged me and they helped sharpen me

John Piper is one that I listen to regularly anybody ever heard of him or heard him I you know

I'm humbled by his ability to just break down the word or Matt Chandler with his connection to kind of the culture and the word and bring those things together and so I'd recommend if you if you have some time during the week if you've got a commute listen to good preaching listen to what's going on and and the fact of the matter is

I recognize that my style isn't for everyone it's not for everybody and it might not even be for you but if God decides to transfer you out from this church for whatever reason whether it's a job transfer or things just kind of aren't working for you or you're just visiting here for the first time and you're like man

I didn't I didn't connect with that then my encouragement to you and to all of us is to make sure that we are at a church where the pastor's goal is to make the

Word of God known where the goal is that you would walk away from a gathering of God's people with more understanding of this with more connection to God through the way that he has revealed himself to us that's what

I hope happens as we gather together each week I don't want to ridicule but I think probably all of us have had this happen at times and I'm not gonna mention names at all

I would man I would be that would be shameful for me to mention names but I've listened to messages in a church context where I walked away with more understanding about the preacher's athletic prowess and exploits on the football field then

I walked away with an understanding of God's Word if you had that you experienced that I hope you haven't experienced that here but if you ever feel and I mean this sincerely if you ever feel like I'm sliding away from the explanation of the

Word of God if you fee if you if you feel that that's happening then please let me know please do it respectfully but let me know if you feel like there's a slide if you feel like things are moving away from an explanation of God's Word be bold and let me know and I'd accept that correction at least process it

Paul has suffered in fulfilling his calling to proclaim the Word and in verse 26 he further identifies that his suffering has come about through the divine timing of God it's all in God's timing you see for ages the

Gentiles had been lost in darkness they'd lived in a place of darkness where there wasn't complete revelation for ages and generations there was a hidden mystery that has now been revealed to those who

Paul in our text calls saints or holy ones set apart ones and his suffering is in part due to bringing this message at the right time to those who were in darkness and now according to Paul at his time the mystery has been solved and God chose to make known to the

Gentiles the riches of the glory of this divine mystery and the mystery is simply this profound and simple statement the mystery that God was revealing that was hidden from the

Gentiles in ancient times all the way down generations and ages without this knowledge and now it is revealed in you and me

Christ in you the hope of glory what is Paul suffered for what is he endured why endure hardship with joy because he had an eternal perspective because he had a stewardship from God because he had a message to bring to the people but also because he saw glorious results godless pagan

Gentiles like you and me can now be called saints of God as we come to understand the great treasure the great glory of Christ dwelling in us what is our hope what is this mystery that's finally revealed after years of being unknown that Christ would take up residence in his saints that he would live through you and me that he would live through us shine through us walk with us guide us and never leave us this is the hope of glory this is why

I have hope that I will one day be glorified because I am in Christ and he in me and where Christ is

I will be because he is in me not just God with us not just a manual not just the

Christmas message of the baby born but Christ in us shining through our lives all week long the

Old Testament Saints seem to get quite a bit of what God had revealed they had quite a lot of revelation quite a lot explained to them but this close and intimate relationship that you and I experience is an incredible privilege the age that we live in where the

Spirit lives in us and is alive in us it's an amazing privilege and again as I'm reading through Leviticus it's such a potent reminder a detailed reminder of how our approach to God needs to be if we come based on law and it's detailed the way that the high priest would come into the most holy place only once a year into the presence of the glory of God himself to make sacrifice once a year one man through a whole host of preparations and rituals and washings and sanctifying him through the sprinkling of blood and all kinds of stuff that gets gruesome and weird and strange and all of these details and hoops that had to be jumped through just to enter the presence of the

Almighty spelled out clearly in the first five books of the Old Testament if we are gonna approach

God based on law then that's what it looks like but when grace was fully realized at the fullness of time not only was the curtain torn in two in the most holy place but now he resides in you if you are his child now he takes up residence in you and all of his saints all of those who have given their lives to Christ by faith and trust in his sacrifice on their behalf a sacrifice once for all sat down on the right hand of God Almighty you ever read the

Old Testament have you read through Leviticus have you read through Deuteronomy have you read through Exodus and all those Old Testament laws and all those all those things that had to be done to enter his presence and he's in you he's in you if you are his child the great mystery now revealed among the

Gentiles were Gentiles the great mystery revealed Christ in you the hope of glory

Paul wraps up the discussion of his suffering in verse 28 by reiterating the message for which he has suffered says him we proclaim who

Christ Christ is the content of the message that Paul brings he warns everyone teaching everyone with all wisdom that he may present each one the word everyone there is each one it's it's like a corporate individual word that I might present each one mature in Christ it's great that Paul identifies for us he was not a fly -by -night evangelist that showed up stirred things up set up a tent got a bunch of people around had a bunch of people raise their hands come forward for salvation and then split town he worked to help the

Saints grow in each one of these communities suffering and toiling and working to see not just scalps not just people raise their hands and give their lives to Christ but mature

Christians growing in the faith and I love that Paul's ministry was seen in the text is both warning and teaching warning and teaching warning and teaching we're a culture that doesn't warn anymore because we don't like to talk about judgment we don't like to talk about condemnation so what do we do we teach a lot and our expectation seems to be that man if we could just get more information to people then they would come to faith but there's a root there's room for warning how many of you are just honest that kind of the warning component was what brought you to faith in Christ a little bit of fear there was there any fear involved in your conversion now

I'm not gonna say the problem is that that when that's the only thing when there's only warning and there's no teaching

I mean you know I don't know that that's a problem too right if it's if it's just fear is the only thing that brings you then do you really love because a real decision for Christ is ultimately motivated out of recognition for his great love for us and man

I love Jesus so much because he paid the price for me not just a get out of hell free pass right because that's the way that a lot

I mean you know honestly that's the way I kind of heard it as a child and I'm not I mean I think there's a component of that that helped lead me to faith in Christ but man how many of you know that you've got to correct some things when you were saved that way there needs to be some corrections to bring you about to a place of love when fear was the motive that started the whole thing are you getting what

I'm saying in that if the reason if the thing that brought you to faith in Christ was solely and only fear that man you've got to grow to the place where you recognize love and his great passion towards you and his being with you in his presence with you is in a terrifying thing because if you start with fear how many of you know that I mean

I personally lived for years thinking man got whenever I read about God watching over me

I was like oh really uh do you know what I'm talking about I know it's

God watching over you and as I think it's Zephaniah one of the one of the minor prophets talks about him dancing over his people with joy

I was like man don't look at me God don't watch me man because I'm messing up all the time he said he delights over his children with joy that's true he's with us he's guiding us he's directing us he loves you so much and he is the one that Paul was proclaiming he warned and he taught the fact of the matter is getting back to the warning component just a little bit after I've kind of corrected that with love and recognize that there's got to be balance in it the stakes are very high when it comes to Christ the stakes are crazy high

I fear that even I might not nail this ministry of warning enough without Christ condemnation is real it's real hell is a real destiny for real people people that you and I know people that we eat turkey with at Thanksgiving people who live in our neighborhoods and people who we interact with at school and at work and at the gym and all around us and there is growing in our culture and in our community and in our hearts a brand of nice that lets people around us go to hell but at least doesn't offend them with the gospel and I don't know about you but to my ears that doesn't sound very nice you know what

I mean a brand of nice that won't bring up the issue and we'll let them remain in condemnation okay that was heavy but Paul Paul warned and taught with the goal of seeing each one

I think Paul genuinely had a heart for everybody he met and he wanted to see each person that he knew presented on that final day mature and complete in Jesus Christ and now

Paul moves on from his suffering and speaks to another side of his ministry it's been suffering yes but not just suffering now you expect the good right now you expect the part where he says it hasn't just been suffering but it's been a delight to serve

I mean you know that at times it's even in the midst of hardship it can be a delight and a joy to serve so is that where Paul's gonna go next suffering but you know

I feel fulfilled in my ministry I really like it and it's fun and I I get you know

I get to feel good about he moves from suffering to toil hard work since it hasn't don't worry don't worry guys it hasn't just been suffering it hasn't just been painful but it's also been really hard I don't think these things should be completely separated although he does definitely use different words for these two components it's very clear in the text that there's a division here in verse 29 but there's a little bit of overlap would you agree between suffering and toil suffering and hard work they kind of have a tendency to go hand in hand but in verse 29 through the end of our text through chapter 2 verse 5

Paul explains his work ethic on behalf of the church he toiled he struggled and I believe him

I believe if you were an eyewitness to Paul's life you might have been moved in your heart to encourage him to pace himself a bit like have any of you ever heard had anybody say to you or maybe you've even said to somebody life's a marathon not a sprint maybe ever hear that says who says who right

I mean I can understand some concept of of that and I get what people I think well well -meaning people mean when they say that is they're like don't burn out don't don't feel like you've got to carry it all on your shoulders and I think there's some wisdom in that but reverse nine here and see what

Paul does because it's extremely important significant for us to grab a hold of Paul toiled toil is a strong word it is hard back -breaking work

Paul toiled Paul struggled but he never had any any doubt about whose energy and whose power was working even through his hard work

Paul knew that in his ministry it was the energy and power of God that was enabling him to continue on he was not ashamed to say that he was working hard on behalf of the

Colossians and those in the neighboring city of Laodicea just a few miles down the road but somehow in church culture it seems to be unpopular to declare and recognize hard work but there are those who are working hard here even in our midst

I'm so thankful for even the slightest inconveniences that anybody would be willing to endure for the cause of God's work here in our church and again

Paul states his goal of everyone maturing Christ in a more corporate way he said that about his suffering that that was the motive for his suffering but now he talks about toil he's talking about motivation for the entire church so he's struggling and toiling with God's power so that the entire church may be three things encouraged and strengthened that the church might be knit together in love and that they might have full assurance that comes from understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ so when you pose the question to Paul why why work so hard why toil why suffer in ministry

Paul did it so that the church might be stronger so that the church might be more unified and so that the church might be more rooted in Christ as their assurance and this is such a beautiful picture of motivation for whatever ministry

God has called you to do I would love for each each of you to consider this statement of this really and think of it in terms of a standard of the

New Testament regarding the church everybody helpful nobody a spectator if you read the

New Testament you would get that flavor from the entire weight of the New Testament regarding the church everybody helpful nobody a spectator and the fact of the matter is you have a role to play in sacrifice and hard work for the purpose that hearts may be encouraged here at Recast that unity might be stronger here at Recast and that others might be more strongly rooted in firm hope in Jesus Christ I want to be clear

I didn't pick this text you know it's not a plea for more workers it's not an advertisement for volunteers you know now

I'm going to put up a bunch of things that you could be doing in the church it's not some side handed request for you to get involved as a matter of fact what

I'd like to say at this point is I'd like to commend you I'd like to commend you the the the rumor has it that 20 % of the people have you ever heard this stat 20 % of people do 100 % of the work in a church or a volunteer organization that's just not true here that's just not true well over 50 % of the people in our church are involved in a ministry we have 70 people if you're to count the number of people in this room we're probably somewhere around 120 130

I'm guessing right now we have somewhere around 70 people involved in our children's ministry alone so just back there working with kids nursery on up through the middle school ministry 70 people that routinely and regularly take part in that and then then we're just scratching the surface of people involved in worship people setting up chairs people doing the coffee people doing the soundboard all of the stuff that goes into making this church work we've got a lot of people who volunteer and connect and use their gifts so I'm just doing it because there's a need and they're willing to to fill that it's probably it might not be the most passionate calling on a person's life to set up the chairs but they do it you know what

I'm saying and so there's a there's an involvement here that I love and I'm I'm grateful for many here are indeed working hard but this is meant to be an explanation of a text that God has led us to this morning regarding his church

Paul is not just telling us about his suffering and toil just for information sake okay check we get it

Paul you suffered you toiled okay move on he's working to define for us his own motivations and in us coming to grips with his motivation why suffer why toil we might be moved by the same things that moved him you see he says in Christ are hidden the treasures of all wisdom and all knowledge and he knew that and where are the where is that going to be found in the body of Christ in his church and in his word you want an adventure you want a treasure hunt pick up the treasure map and begin to dig for the treasures of wisdom and understanding that are found here they're found in a life with Christ found in life together with other

Christians with all the pains and the ups and the downs and the heartaches connecting with a church is vital according to the new testament that's why we talk about growing in faith growing in community and growing in service we need each other it's the way we're made the way we're designed the way that we're meant to grow spiritually is in community with other believers that's why he did this whole thing called the church otherwise he would have just kept us all separated it would have been less messy if he didn't have us come together right if you were just all sitting in your uh sitting at your computer watching uh uh an online preacher and then taking communion individually with your own little cup and your own little packet and sing a couple songs and how many of you think that would be less messy okay because when we get together we knock some rough parts off of each other and sometimes we bruise each other and we can hurt each other because we're broken and and God says that's what

I want is I want community and relationship where you have to face your problems me on myself

I never I don't disagree with myself very often I need others to point out my failures and my flaws

I need aside from community aside from relationship aside from connecting with other humans

I think I'm doing okay do you know what I'm what I mean I make but when

I have to come up against other people that's when I find growth actually happens and God knows that and he brings us together in community but only in community that's centered on Christ is that going to be helpful or beneficial because wisdom and knowledge is found where does he say in the church all wisdom and knowledge is found where anybody see it in Christ it's all in Christ Paul wanted to see

Christ raised high in the church of Colossae in the church of Laodicea I want to see

Christ raised high here at Recast he recognized that when Christ is raised high and given his proper place only then will the church be strengthened only then will it be unified only then will it have a sure hope but a church that doesn't hold

Christ high a church that neglects Christ is a church that will be easily deluded by sound by by fine -sounding arguments as we see here in verse four

I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments he says I point to Christ so that you can be less easily fooled you won't be tricked as as easily if Christ is held up central if he is pointed to as the source of all wisdom and knowledge then that will help safeguard the church

I read an extensive and gut -wrenching article in Christianity Today how many of you when you read an article you read about two -thirds of it get the main point and sometimes fade away at the end anybody anybody with me on that this was one that was riveting and I just kept reading and I couldn't put it down it was like reading a train wreck but it was about a leader of a national ministry he started off leading a church much like recast continue to grow he's now the head of a national ministry he developed a ministry around himself and somehow he was able to gather such a following that people began to turn over to him homes cars personal property somebody in his worship somebody in his one of his churches wrote a praise and worship song and gave him half of the proceeds from that song it's a song that you and I would sing it's a song that you and I would know and I just don't want to I don't want to go there and like I said name names and by the way when

I talk about all this finances the article was much darker and more sinister than just about finances about things that he had demanded of his congregation things that he had said

God told him and I only bring this up to say if Christ is not lifted up at a church if he is pointed to as the source of all wisdom then that safeguards a church from error it doesn't guarantee that there won't be error but it puts some roadblocks in the way if I'm standing here and I'm pointing to myself

God forbid then we're in trouble but if I'm standing here pointing to Christ saying turn to him for all wisdom turn to him for all knowledge and the things that I'm saying check them to make sure that they are true and they are accurate according to the word of God we have a standard we have a place to go to know whether the things that I'm saying are true or not

I mean study research to know for yourself but I hope that you're all being trained here to check in with God's word to check with Jesus himself

I'm a man who gets things wrong from time to time I know that might be a shocker um but I am and I'm merely a man with a stewardship just like Paul declared

I'm a man with I hope a big sign pointing to Jesus I hope

I never become anything more than that and it would be a privilege I counted a privilege to be a signpost on the new earth pointing the way to the king's castle

Paul got this and he counted his suffering and his toil worth it to point to Jesus keep pointing to Jesus he loved people even suffering and working hard for some that he had never met because he had such a deep love for his king and such a deep belief that he is the only source of hope

Paul was not able to visit the church in Colossae by according to verse five the very end here we find out later that it had something to do with him having been arrested by the

Romans he's imprisoned while he writes this but he says I'm with you in spirit because they share together the connection in the spirit through Christ if Christ in common and Paul further in verse five rejoices that the

Colossians have good order and firmness in their faith he says good order is a military word used for ranks and files he says you've got good organization in your church he's glad that they have that and that they've stood strong in their faith they've been steadfast and firm they have been unshaken from their faith in Jesus Christ Paul ministered through suffering and toil for the sake of the church and I think we should all consider what

God desires for us to do with this as well let me wrap up by three very quick applications here from the text first of all put suffering in its proper perspective sacrifice suffering or facing difficulty serves as a reminder that a day is coming when it will be all gone in this life you have trouble but since when has your hope been placed in this life there's a life yet to come second we have a great message that Christ will come and dwell with anyone who will come to him by faith our message is one of warning and teaching without Christ we have no hope but in Christ we will be presented mature on that final day the challenge

I want to present to you is who do you need to proclaim Christ to this week who do you need to warn who do you need to teach who do you need to bring along and lastly toil with the energy and power of God whatever service