So success even in most churches is measured by nickels and noses by the amount of money and the number of people.

Transcription

1 Every Man Ministry Colossians 1: /7/2008 Copyright by Mark Vaughan 9/2008 Keywords counseling, discipleship, leadership, ministry, pasturing, speech, spiritual growth, CMC, perseverance, sanctification As we meet together today officially beginning our Fall semester, I want to give a directional sermon for the life of this church. As we experience growth, we as elders thought it would be profitable to share about a focus we want to keep. There is always a danger for a church to drift in various ways, whether doctrinally or in practice or to slack off in certain areas of emphasis. We experience that in our own personal lives we are prone to wander because entropy happens spiritually just as it does in the physical creation. So each day we need to bring ourselves back to the standard of God s Word and the riches of the Gospel. And each week as we gather together as a church, we realign ourselves under God and His Word. But there are also particular times in the life of a church where we need specific reminders of what we dare not lose sight of. Often, we need not just reminders but corrections because we ve already drifted off course and need to be brought back. So today I want to focus on a part of church life that easily gets lost. Especially in our culture where so much of what we do is experienced as spectators, it s hard to have right thinking. With sports and entertainment and news and weather and more, our involvement in many things is only as an observer. So success even in most churches is measured by nickels and noses by the amount of money and the number of people. The goal becomes gathering larger and larger crowds of people. And that can be a good goal if we want many people gathered to hear faithful preaching of God s Word. That is a good thing, isn t it? We want as many people as possible to hear the truth of the Bible explained and applied to their lives, right? Of course, when churches shorten and soften the preaching of God s Word for the sake of getting bigger crowds, then that s a problem. But it is a good desire for us here in this church to want more people to be reached and changed by the truth. We should all be pursuing outreach to people, to talk to them personally about Christ and to bring them to various church ministries. We are all commanded to make disciples. But as numbers increase in any organization & especially in the church, there is a danger of letting individuals slip through the cracks. There is a danger of losing track of people and losing sight of the importance of each and every person. There is a danger of people being treated like another number among the larger number of people. And we don t want that to happen. Or I should say that we don t want it to happen anymore than it already does happen and has happened. 1

2 So today I want to speak to you about the importance of what I ve entitled Every Man Ministry, a ministry focused on bringing every person to Christian maturity. One of the most compelling passages emblazoned in my mind about this ministry priority is Colossians 1: So turn to Colossians 1:28-29 with me this morning and let s see how God emphasized every-man-ministry through the Apostle Paul s description of his work. Read along with me in Colossians 1: [READ] Did you notice what was repeated 3 times in verse 28? Every man and that is singular, every man or every person. It is not speaking of all men or all people generally as a large number or group, but of each specific individual. The emphasis is upon every person who trusts Christ and is in Christ. Every person who has Christ in him or her is important in Paul s philosophy of ministry. And this was not something he was pursuing alone, so he spoke in the plural in verse 28 he spoke as we and not merely as I. Paul and his companions and those who led the Colossian church could be included here. This letter is written from Paul and Timothy verse 1 says but here the plural we may include more than only he and Timothy. He may especially be including Epaphras, through whom these people learned the Gospel according to verse 7 of this chapter. Epaphras may have been the pastor of the church at Colossae because he had reported to Paul about their love (1:8). Turn over to chapter 4 of Colossians to see Epaphras s heart for the Colossian church where he was a member. Read of Epaphras s love for them in Colossians 4: [READ] Epaphras was one of them and praying for them and I believe Paul may have been including Epaphras in this idea of we in Colossians 1:28 as he described every man ministry. I say that because shepherding of the church is not a one-man job it is the work of a group of men called elders or pastors or overseers. And I am more convinced that Paul included Epaphras in the we of verse 28 because Epaphras s longings are the same. Colossians 4:12 describes Epaphras as laboring earnestly in prayer for them, which is the same word that Paul used to describe his striving in verse 29 of chapter 1. The Greek is where we get the English word agonize. So Paul and Epaphras were undergoing the same agonizing labor in ministry on behalf of the Colossians. And their goal was the same also that the Colossians would stand perfect or complete in Christ. The word for perfect in Colossians 4:12 is the same as the word for complete in Colossians 1:28. So what Epaphras was praying for was the same thing Paul was aiming at for people to stand perfect or complete in Christ. Therefore, it s reasonable to assume that Paul was including a number of leaders in the we of Colossians 1:28. 2

3 So Paul s goal of every-man-ministry was not something that only Apostles should strive for. It is something that church leaders now also must seek and model and it is also a philosophy of ministry that everyone should live. And that means that these truths should be precious to if you are a Christian and a member of this church because we as a church want to be committed to your spiritual good. Young people, as you grow up in this church, we want you to know that we love you and long to do all we can to pursue your fullest pleasure in following Christ. We want you kids whatever your age to grow up with an overflowing sense of how wonderful it is to be loved by God and to be a part of a church family that loves Christ. And these truths should matter to all to us also because we need to be committed to the spiritual good of other members of our local church. So this passage has compelling truth for all of us. But let me pause & say that if you are not a Christian, then this text cannot be fulfilled in you until you come to Christ in faith. Your sin has separated you from God and you need to be rescued by Him and reconciled to Him. You can t do that on your own, but God will hear you if you seek His mercy by faith in the Person & work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God the Son who came to earth and lived perfectly and died to pay sin s penalty for all who trust Him. If you turn from self-rule and sin to trust Jesus Christ, then you can fit into this glorious goal described in our text today. And you can pursue every-man-ministry in this local church if you are a Christian committed to membership. I know that some of you are new and not yet members and that s fine. But let me say to everyone that you will only experience nurturing spiritual body life if you are committed to the fellow believers of a local church. That commitment is seen not only in membership, but also in faithful attendance and service in ministry and sharing life with others. It comes through personal relationships and regularly being here to encourage others and use your gifts in ministry. And biblically, each one of us needs every other member doing his or her part, serving and using his or her gifts. Passages like 1 st Corinthians 14 highlight that truth. 1 st Corinthians 14 uses a body analogy for the church to explain how every part or member of the church body matters. And that focus on every person is what Paul is highlighting in Colossians 1:28-29 that s the main theme to see today. With that emphasis in mind, I want to note 3 truths about every-manministry that help us to see what it looks like and how it s pursued. Read the 1 st half of verse 28 to see as a 1 st point that everyman-ministry requires relationships. [READ] He rose from the grave in victory over sin and death and He gives His victory to anyone who trusts Him as Lord and Savior. Paul s basic description of life and ministry is to proclaim Christ. 3

4 Paul said that he and others proclaim Christ. They proclaim the depth & wonder & implications & applications of Christ living in those who trust Him. And that is a summation of ministry for our times as well. We proclaim Christ He is the sum of all we need; He is the center of the Gospel; His is the life we seek to live and He is the Person from which it all flows. We must always recall that we have acceptance with God through Christ so we don t obey or work to earn God s favor. And we must also recall that we have power through His Spirit in us as believers so what may seem impossible for us to obey, we can step out in faith and be supplied with the grace we need. And we recall that we are seeking to be like Christ and to display His goodness to others around us. So Jesus Christ is central to every decision and detail of our existence. And the sum of ministry is proclaiming Him in that depth of fullness and that breadth of experience. We always want to be Gospel-centered in our motivations and pursuits and that requires keeping Christ central. That s why Paul starts verse 28 by saying we proclaim Him. But then Paul explained what that proclamation looks like in two ways (1) admonishing every man and (2) teaching every man. It is helping people toward action by instructing and exhorting them with truth and warning them about danger. For example, it s what parents do when they point to the benefits of certain behaviors or foods and the dangers of other behaviors or foods. Paul described the ministry of leaders as one that must involve admonishing. [Acts 20:31; 1 st Cor. 4:14; 1 st Thess. 5:12] And it is also a NT command for all believers in every day speech and in specific situations. [1Th5:14; 2Th3:15] Turn to Romans 15:14, which clarifies that all believers are able to apply God s Word in counseling or admonishing others. Read what Paul says of the Roman church in Romans 15:14. [READ] If all Christians in a young church could apply knowledge to counsel or admonish one another, then the same is true today. So admonishing must be done both by leaders and by all Christians and it can happen in public groups or in private. The same can be said about the second description of the practice of proclaiming Christ in Colossians 1:28, which is teaching every man, which you see if you turn back there. Some say verse 28 highlights admonishing because it leads to repentance and highlights teaching because it leads to faith. This teaching is conveying information, communicating truth, and explaining and instructing. Admonishing is putting truth into the mind of a person. If you ve heard of biblical counseling described as nouthetic, that word nouthetic comes from this word for admonish. And it is a responsibility of every Christian with one another and a special emphasis for those in spiritual leadership. 4

5 Colossians 3:16 mentions both admonishing and teaching as the fruit of Christ s word dwelling richly within us and as part of singing. And the practice of every-man-ministry as Paul described it involves teaching probably in both large and small groups. It is what Paul did in Ephesus as he said in Acts 20:20 that he had taught them publicly and from house to house. But that kind of ministry is more than one man can do. It requires leaders and people to have relationships that involve caring for others spiritual growth & giving the truth needed to urge them on. So we see our 1 st point that every-man-ministry requires relationships. Every-man-ministry requires relationships where leaders admonish and teach and where all Christians admonish and teach one another. To fulfill that in our church, we each need to expect to be admonishing & teaching & being admonished & being taught. We need to view admonishing and teaching as normal parts of life. But often we don t expect that, do we? We re Americans and we love our privacy and we expect people to give us our space and respect our freedoms. We re proud and self-sufficient and don t think we need other people sticking their noses into our home or business. We often think we re happier if we try to hide our issues & problems. We tell ourselves we can handle it without the embarrassment of others knowing what we re really like. And if anyone dares to raise a question about how we are living or our priorities or decisions, then we may be offended and not believe they would dare be so judgmental. We may tell them not to be such a know-it-all or we may proudly contend that we already knew that anyway. We see that kind of pride in kids when a brother or sister or friend says something & a kid will say, I know I knew that. You ever do that? You young people may admit to saying something like that, but we adults do the same thing in more sneaky ways. But does any of that normal American thinking & behavior fit with biblical commands to give and receive admonition and teaching? It doesn t, does it? What actually looks more biblical is when we speak the truth in love to others and raise concerns and offer warning and encouragement and then we respond to others words with gratitude and humility. Biblically we should be opening ourselves up to being admonished and taught all the time by leaders and people close to us and we should be glad to give & receive help. And that kind of regularity is what the verbs of verse 28 describe. They describe this as a continual, regular habit and lifestyle. And Paul also mentioned that it is done with all wisdom, with an allencompassing reach of God s truth to every area of life. So it requires prayer for God s wisdom to say the right thing at the right time in the right way and for biblical wisdom to know what truth to apply to each situation for each individual. 5

6 Since this all describes God s design for church life, we can expect such relationships to be joyfully satisfying and peaceful and good. So let me urge you not to run from openness and accountability and vulnerability with other Christians. Instead, embrace it and listen to one another and speak up and help one another and especially listen when leaders are speaking. And these truths work in the home too. Teens if you have Christian parents who love you, listen to them and value their input. And parents be involved in your kids lives, not controlling them but loving and listening to and shepherding them. This kind of every-man-ministry requires relationships real, meaningful, accountable, honest relationships that s point #1. That s what we constantly need to pursue in church life. Next note point #2: that every man ministry goes after a goal it goes after a goal. Read verse 28 again and note the purpose clause, the so that goal stated at the end of the verse. [READ] Christians don t just get together to have fun and laugh a lot and sing cool songs and help each other feel better about themselves. And we don t gather simply because it sounds like a good idea or because we need to know that other people like us exist or that other people have similar beliefs or morals. We actually have a goal we are aiming at in our relationships. We have a direction to go and a purpose we want to achieve and it is the same for us today as it was for the Apostle Paul. Verse 28 states that goal as presenting every man complete in Christ. Again the emphasis is on every man, on each individual person, male or female, that must not be lost. And proper every-man-ministry has an objective to seek that might most basically be stated as becoming Christ-like. Verse 28 states the goal as being presented as complete in Christ, which means being mature and stable and sufficient and healthy and even perfect in Christ. As I mentioned from Colossians 4:12, that word for complete can also mean perfect. The idea is of being brought to the finish or end in Christ or of not lacking anything in Christ. It has the sense of being brought to completion as a person grows up and reaches a goal of stable maturity. There are several ideas conveyed by this. Generally it means the goal is for every professing Christian to reach stable, fruitful maturity in his or her walk with Christ. A mature Christian is one who reproduces himself in others, who can accurately evangelize and disciple others. A mature Christian models love & the fruit of the Spirit & understands his or her sufficiency in Christ for all of life s trials and triumphs. Mature Christians know how to feed on God s Word and live by His promises. 6

7 But ultimately this goal is to be always striving to be like Christ, which is a goal that is repeated throughout the NT. With Christ as the goal, it makes sense again why Paul summed up the whole of his work as proclaiming Christ. To grow more like Christ, we must proclaim Christ to know Him more fully so we can follow after Him. Obviously there are levels of maturity that we progress toward as we grow spiritually in this life, but we will never reach perfect Christlikeness until we reach heaven. So this goal can be pursued until the real completion and finish when we as believers see Christ and are made like Him. And reaching that end highlights the need for persevering in the faith until we die or Christ returns. Faithful church leaders labor for people to finish the race of the Christian life and enter eternity evidencing Christlikeness. As Paul mentioned, he and other leaders wanted to present every Colossian believer complete in Christ. For church leaders there is responsibility in this goal that we would be training and discipling people so we can present them to the Lord. And that is the sense of our 2 nd point today that every-manministry goes after a goal. That goal is Christlikeness and leaders especially strive for that in each member of the church. Can I tell you something about that? That goal seems overwhelming at times for me and for us as elders. I d love to spend so much more time personally with each of you so we could grow and learn from each other and I could share various concerns and encouragements with you. That longing of spiritual leaders for Christian maturity & perseverance in others is like the desire of parents for our kids to turn out alright. Many times in the NT with both Paul and the Apostle John the analogy of a spiritual parent is used for leaders. Remember that Hebrews 13:17 shares how you can be blessing to your spiritual leaders as we strive for such lofty and overwhelming goals. Hebrews 13:17 says, Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. We as elders appreciate the encouragement and responsiveness we receive from you and let me assure you that we are praying for you and want to be more faithful in this every-man-ministry philosophy. So pray for us and seek out the elders and other teachers or leaders in your ZipFlock or other ministries. Seek these relationships with each other and strive together for the goal of growing in Christlikeness. And if this all sounds overwhelming to you like it does to me, then we both need the reminder of verse 29 for our 3 rd point. We ve seen 1 st that every man ministry requires relationships. Then 2 nd ly we saw that every man ministry goes after a goal. Now 3 rd ly: see that every man ministry demands divine energy. 7

8 As church leaders and church members strive for this goal, it takes a lot of effort and that is the 3 rd point we see today. Verse 29 teaches us that every-man-ministry demands divine energy. Read verse 29 to see that. [READ] Paul s words here describe the continual, consistent seeking of spiritual growth in people as intense work to the point of exhaustion. Paul described seeking the purpose of Christlikeness in others as a work to the point of total fatigue. According to Paul, every-man-ministry is a labor that wears you out and it is a striving fight and earnest struggle. It is not easy and comfortable coasting. The bottom line is that it is impossible work. It is impossible for me or Paul or any pastor or church leader to bring about spiritual maturity and Christlikeness in anyone. But what is impossible with man is possible with God, right? God can do the work in others that I can t do. And further, God can do the work through me that I can t do. A lot of people think that pastors are simply good speakers that gather some thoughts and winsomely talk to people. But that is far from the truth. Not only does studying the Bible to prepare to preach and teach and counsel people and answer questions take hard work. But none of that is effective if it is not accompanied by fervent, focused prayer for God s grace and help. And with the weight of eternity and the direction of people s lives always hanging in the balance, ministry is intense and taxing. It s no wonder Paul compared it to the work of a nursing mother and a faithful father in 1 st Thessalonians 2. He even spoke of his ministry in Galatians 4:19 as being in labor pains like childbirth. Such intense ministry can only happen fruitfully if it s in total and desperate dependence on God to make it happen. And that s what Paul described about his experience. He labored and was striving, but he did so not according to his own strength or abilities. He was not complete in himself, but in Christ. So his striving was according to Christ s divine power. That is how the Apostle could press on in shepherding others toward Christlikeness and not totally lose it or give up. He did it all according to Christ s power mightily working within him. You might translate this literally as Christ s energy was energizing Paul in dynamic power. Paul was striving according to the operative power of Christ working in strength in him. So Paul s example teaches us as a 3 rd point that every-manministry demands divine energy. 8

9 It requires God s powerful energizing help to be continually working within us who labor to lead others to Christlikeness. Such ministry is emotionally, spiritually and physically draining, but it can be done by God s power through us. And that s one of the thrills of serving God, isn t it we get to enjoy being used by God in ways that we never would ve expected? We get to be a powerful tool in God s hand even though we could never begin to drum such blessing up on our own. We enjoy that privilege as we step out in faith to obey God by loving others and meeting their needs and serving them in ways that lead them to Christ and His transforming work. That may mean getting mixed up in people s issues and getting mistreated or misunderstood or offended or unappreciated. But if we want God s power effective through us, then we go for it. When we see a need or opportunity, we reach out to meet it and God reaches out to empower us for it. And that s why prayer is so vital to real ministry. To experience God s power, we must pray for God to supernaturally energize us beyond our meager abilities. That s what it takes to engage in the exhaustive fight to lead others to faithfulness and fruitfulness in following Christ. But it is worth all the effort. And you know that you know the pleasures God gives in the good relationships you ve had at times in life or throughout life or maybe simply from what you ve observed in others. We can motivate ourselves by recalling those rewards in relationships to move us to invest more deeply in what matters. We were created for this kind of soul-pleasing fellowship & purpose. Every-man-ministry is not always the sinking feeling in our stomachs where we know we have to confront someone. Often it is sharing gratitude for grace in others lives or encouraging the right pursuits or reminding others of truth we all hold dear. Maybe it s just praying for people and telling them you are praying for them and asking how you can pray better. All of that is the body life that many of you are living in this church. It is the blessings of a loving church family that you and I experience in our relationships with each other. In the measure that you are living this, keep it up and excel still more. At the level you lack this, then go pursue it go invest in others and show love and God will meet you with grace to grow and bear fruit. For some, this may mean getting more involved in others lives; & for others, it may mean getting plugged into Sunday School and ZipFlocks or committing to membership or the priority of being here. But whatever it is, if you know Christ, then seek Him for all the fullness He promises in His local church. This glorious Christ, the One who grants believers all we need now and forever, says His precious bride is the church and that our fullest experience of His design on earth will be in His church. And we celebrate that together now in the ceremony that we call communion or the Lord s Supper or Lord s Table. 9

10 We do this because we share in common our gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done for us in His life, death, and resurrection. And we do this together because we are committed to common love for each other that pursues Christlikeness. As members of His body, we remember Christ until He comes again. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then we welcome you to join us in remembering Him now. But if you do not have a right relationship with God through Christ, then we welcome you only to watch with an open heart asking God to show the beauty of the truth in this ceremony. Bow with me and let s take some time for you to pray silently as we prepare our hearts to remember Jesus in a fitting way. The men can come to prepare the table to serve us and then I ll pray. 10