Scripture referenced 15 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Colossians 4:2-4 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, and praying for an open door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving;
3 praying together for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds;
4 that I may reveal it as I ought to speak.
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Keep this verse
Colossians 4:5
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
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Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious and seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person
6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
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Colossians 4:7-9
Tychicus and Onesimus introduced as beloved brother and faithful minister sent to encourage the church
7 All my affairs will be made known to you by Tychicus, the beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow bondservant in the Lord.
8 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts,
9 together with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you everything that is going on here.
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Colossians 4:10-11
Greetings from Aristarchus, Mark cousin of Barnabas, and Jesus called Justice, fellow workers for the kingdom
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received commandments, “if he comes to you, receive him”),
11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for God’s Kingdom who are of the circumcision, men who have been a comfort to me.
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Colossians 4:12-13
Epaphras always struggling in prayer that the church may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
13 For I testify about him, that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.
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Colossians 4:14
Luke the beloved physician and Demas send greetings
14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.
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Colossians 4:15-16
Greetings to Laodicea and Nympha, and instructions to exchange letters between churches
15 Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the assembly that is in his house.
16 When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the assembly of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the letter from Laodicea.
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Colossians 4:17
Tell Archippus to fulfill the ministry he has received in the Lord
17 Tell Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it.”
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Colossians 4:18
Paul writes greeting with his own hand, asks them to remember his chains, and closes with grace
18 The salutation of me, Paul, with my own hand: remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
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Titus 3:3
We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, slaves to passions, hating one another, used to show outsiders were once insiders too
3 For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
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Ephesians 2:12
Remember you were separated from Christ, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world
12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
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Exodus 22:21
You shall not wrong or oppress a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt
21 “You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
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Romans 3:21-24
Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, all have sinned and are justified by his grace as a gift
21 But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets;
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction,
23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;
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Ephesians 2:8-9
By grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourself, it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast
8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, that no one would boast.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Mark preached the closing chapter of Colossians, working through Paul's final instructions and personal greetings as a way of talking about what actually matters in the life of a church. The sermon moved between the ancient church at Colossae and the daily life of First B, with communion at the close.
What was said
Paul opens his closing remarks by calling the church to steadfast, watchful, thankful prayer. Pastor Mark noted that Paul is in a Roman prison while writing this, praying not for the physical door to open but for a door for the word to go out. He pointed to the irony that Paul's imprisonment is precisely why we have Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians. The call is to declare the mystery of Christ, and to declare it plainly, not with the kind of eloquence that leaves people wondering what was said.
From there the sermon turned to outsiders. Colossians 4:5 says to walk in wisdom toward those outside the faith and make the most of every opportunity. Pastor Mark was direct: most Sundays the people in the room are insiders, people who love Jesus and show up week after week. Outsiders, whether across the street or arriving in town for the summer, need to be met with wisdom and with gracious, salt-seasoned speech, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Paul's list of personal greetings gave Pastor Mark a way to put faces to the principle. Tychicus, who carried the letter, became Carl, the person left behind to keep the congregation informed when Pastor Mark had to leave suddenly for Chad's funeral. Onesimus, a returning slave described as faithful and beloved and one of you, became Francis Solomon Ferry, who moves chairs and sets up tables week after week at First B without pay and told Pastor Mark plainly not to glorify him for it.
The list also has a shadow in it. Demas sends greetings here, but in another letter he has walked away from the faith entirely. Pastor Mark said that is heartbreaking, and he acknowledged praying for people he knows who were once fervent and then drifted. The contrast between Demas and Epaphras, who is always struggling on behalf of the churches in prayer, was not missed.
The update to verse 17, addressed to Archippus about fulfilling his ministry, became an appeal on behalf of Bailey, the nursery coordinator. Pastor Mark's point was that insiders matter too. The church is heading into a summer that is expected to be busier than any before it, and walking in wisdom toward outsiders means practically that someone needs to be willing to step into the nursery on short notice so a family eight hours into a road trip can have forty-five minutes of peace.
Paul closes with grace, and Pastor Mark stayed with that. He said if you start with grace before you even know someone, it is hard for the interaction to take you somewhere where grace stops working. And if someone has to leave this church for whatever reason, they should leave with a blessing. The sermon ended at the communion table, with the bread and cup as the ground of everything that had been said about grace extended and passed on.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- The pastor talked about Paul praying for an open door to declare the mystery of Christ while he was already in prison, and pointed out that Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians came out of that imprisonment. When has a situation where you felt stuck actually turned out to open a door you did not expect?
- The pastor brought up the idea of making the mystery of Christ clear rather than overly complicated, and quoted Gypsy Smith saying that most people will never read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John but they will read the Christian. What does your life currently communicate to the people around you who do not believe?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 8,499 words
0:00
Speaker 2Good morning. Hey, everyone. How
0:03
Speaker 1we
0:04
Speaker 3doing? Remember that song, this is the day that the Lord has made, we'll rejoice and be glad in it. You remember that song? We're not gonna sing that song, but I just I thought I thought of that song. It really is.
0:15
This is the day that God has given. Let's rejoice and be glad in it. And let's stand up together. We'll sing What a Friend.
0:30
Speaker 2What a friend. What a friend we have in Jesus. All sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry and we thank you God in prayer. Oh, peace we often forfeit Oh, needless pain we bear, all because we do not care.
1:09
Everything to God in prayer. Happy trials and temptations. Happy trials and temptations. Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged.
1:36
Take it to the Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer. And are we weak? And are we weak and heavily laden, cumbered with a load of care? Will find a soul listing
3:03
Speaker 1Good morning. Y'all can have a seat. I've got a couple of announcements to start off with here. Were there were there words on the screen a minute ago? Okay.
3:15
Just making sure. Good. Here we go. Connect hour is still happening. It's happening between services, so about ten ish.
3:22
When we finish up in here, there will be coffee and things down there. We are in the process of kitchen remodeling and construction, So if the breakers were off this morning when the coffee tried to fire up, we might be making coffee in a different room. But that's just part of construction stuff. So pardon the dust and the and the progress. But connect hours still on between services.
3:46
Vacation Bible School volunteers are needed and nursery volunteers are needed. And so that's coming up soon. More to come on that. But, Krista, would you stand up for just a second? And Liz Owings, would you stand up for just a second?
4:00
These two are teaming up on this. Krista has been our children's ministry person for a long time and Liz is transitioning into the role and they're sharing the responsibility for an abbreviated Vacation Bible School, right? Yes, I get two nods for that. Good. Alright.
4:17
So, Vacation Bible School, we still do need volunteers though. So, please talk to either Krista or Liz. Liz, would you stand up again? There you go. I think that most of y'all probably recognize Christa.
4:28
Some of you may not yet recognize Liz. Though Liz and Glenn have been with us for quite some time now.
4:35
Speaker 3That's Monday nights.
4:36
Speaker 1Monday nights at first B. Alright. Fantastic. What's happening this Monday?
4:40
Speaker 3We're on tomorrow. That was on the beach in Hawaii. That was Blake's. But tomorrow, we're talking about the sovereignty of God and and our response being faith. But anyway, know that the door is always open.
4:54
Neil, music,
4:55
Speaker 1message tomorrow. Music and a message tomorrow night at 06:00. Awana is happening the same time in this room. So pouring scripture into the hearts and minds of kids because kids matter to God. And I think for everything else, you can check your bulletins and if you didn't grab one on the way in, you can get one on the way out.
5:12
Is there something I'm forgetting, Nick? Okay. Good. Great. Well, then, why don't y'all stand up and greet one another and we'll bring you back together with a song.
7:11
Speaker 2The God I love. Here's my heart, Take your seat, see it for thy courts above the throne. Prone to wonder, Lord, I
7:48
Speaker 3Would you pray with me? God, I know that you desire more than just lip service, that you desire our heart. And, Lord, I pray that as we, draw near to you, that you would draw near to us, that you'd fill us with your spirit, that you would give us your peace, but also, Lord, that we can be carrying that around with us from day to day so that others may know you as well. Amen.
8:27
Speaker 2It's far from the clouds, a strange and low sound. I can hear it in the thunder and the rain. It's ringing in the skies. A cannon's in the night. The musical universe
8:48
Speaker 3plays and we sing.
8:50
Speaker 2He is holy, singing you our holy great and mighty. The moon and the stars declare who you are. I'm so unworthy, but still you love me forever my heart will sing of how great you are. Beautiful, the song of galaxies is reaching far beyond the Milky Way. Let's join in with the sound.
9:42
Come on, mighty. The moon and stars declare who you are. And I'm so honor worthy, but still you love honor, power is yours, all men. All glory, honor, power is yours forever, all men. He is holy because he is singing you a holy, great in my healing.
10:46
The moon and stars declare who you are. I'm so unworthy and still you love me forever my heart. Sing of how great you are. You. Of deliverance from my enemies.
11:40
Till long my fears are gone, no longer. I'm no longer a to fear. I am a child of God. I'm no longer a saint to fear. I am a child of God.
12:15
From my mother's womb, you have chosen me. Love has called my name, and I've been born again. And to your family, your blood flows through my veins. I'm no longer a to fear. I am a child of God.
12:53
I'm no longer a stay to fear. I am a child of God, and you split the sea so we could walk through. You spread the sea so I could walk right through it. My fears are drowned in perfect love. You rescued me so I could stand and sing.
13:25
I hear home a child of God.
13:29
Speaker 3I sing you spit the sea.
13:31
Speaker 2And you spit the sea so I could walk right through it. My fears are drowned in perfect love. You rescued me so I would stand
14:23
Speaker 3God, what a beautiful reminder. We can get lost along the way, and you are telling us that we are children through faith. We're children of God through faith in Christ. And would you remind us of that often? Because we we we tend to forget.
14:44
We're we're leaky people. And I thank you that true hope, true life, true salvation is found in you and you along. And I I pray for us as a church, Lord, that we would be empowered to live in faith, not fear. Faith, not fear. When we're tempted to live in fear of whatever it is, the things that that can often bog us down, that we would live instead by faith in your son.
15:18
Amen.
17:02
Speaker 1Right. There they go. Alright. So we're getting back to Colossians. So, last week was Easter.
17:22
I had been absent for three weeks in the pulpit and come back and it's no pressure because it's Easter. Both of those back doors are open. People are standing all the way to the back walls and I hadn't been up here in a while, and I was nervous. I was really, really nervous last week. I was a little nervous partially because of part of this text.
17:41
Because I had prepared a message for three weeks ago, and then I wasn't able to preach that message. We were on a plane on the way to Georgia. Y'all heard about Chad. Most of y'all heard about Chad, my buddy who passed away suddenly at the very beginning of spring break. And so I was there, not planning to be there but all of a sudden, I'm not here.
18:02
I'm there. So, this is a message. The passage at least is what I have prepared to preach about a month ago now. Four two through 13. Actually, we're going to go just through the end of this chapter.
18:16
I feel like we can make the whole thing and get communion into this time frame. So, Colossians four, if you want to look for it in your Bible, if you brought your Bible, that's great. I'm always going to put the words up on the screen and you can see em up there but if you want to scribble something down, it's easier to lose a bullet than it is to lose your Bible. So, you can bring along your Bible and fill in if you want to. David Platt down in Birmingham, Alabama is famous for saying that if you brought your Bibles with you and I hope you did.
18:43
Ain't that something like that? Pretty close to that. A lot of my former pastors always said, you know, have that thing with you. Have it with you. It's your sword.
18:52
Keep it sharp, you know? So, I I am always going to put them up here for those of you who don't bring em but it's kinda nice when you do. You can make a note, you know, some squiggly Greek word. You can print in there if you want to. So here we go.
19:06
I hope. Blake, this thing's not acting like it's supposed to, so maybe there's a dead battery. Try now. Okay. Hey, stuff that matters Batteries matter.
19:20
No. There we go. Perfect. Stuff that matters. This is this is the end of the book of Colossians.
19:26
So, it's everything that Paul has to say in the last chapter. I think it's you remember the last time I I had verse one, I I kept I kept it with chapter three but the rest of this is kind of the closing of the book of Colossians. The next book we're going to is Ephesians and Colossians and Ephesians are kind of twin books but this is about stuff that matters. I love when he signs off that he gets down to it and it's very very practical in how things work. So, he says, in Colossians four two through four, Paul is speaking to the church at Colossi where he had never been before.
20:02
He he knew a bunch of people there. We'll see that in just a minute but he had not founded this church. His buddy, Epaphras, had founded the church and he has some closing words from jail. He's in jail in Rome or under arrest in Rome. Continue steadfastly in prayer.
20:21
Being watchful in it with Thanksgiving. Stuff that matters. Steadfast prayer matters. He says in another place that you should pray without ceasing, be praying continually. How are you going to know what God is saying to you if you're not talking to him?
20:37
So, steadfast prayer really does matter, and that's what Paul says. And then he says, at the same time that you're steadfastly praying, and you can do that, even the worst multitasker, which I am the worst multitasker, I don't do things. I can still pray and do things at the same time. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with Thanksgiving. I remember a friend of mine that said that the best praying he ever did was at the bottom of a well.
21:06
You get that? He was trying to get out of that well but the best praying he ever did was getting out of that well At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word You know, open doors matter I think of street preachers in Las Vegas or in Piccadilly in London, somewhere like that, where they're standing on a soapbox and they're preaching the truth and preaching the word, but there's not an open door right there, always. Now, if that's their calling, I encourage them to carry on and do it but open doors matter and if they stand up before thousands and thousands walking by, they're ignoring em and then there's one person that comes by with an open door, Vale la Pena. It's worth it. It's worth it to be there.
21:54
Open doors matter though because if the door is closed, you can't walk through that door, right? Not yet anyway. Open doors matter. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for what? For the word.
22:11
Open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ. Declaring mystery. Don't you don't you feel like declaring facts? Declare it is a fact, but it's still a mystery. I love how Paul, the great apostle, holds on to the mystery that's in Christ.
22:31
He has not figured everything out to the point that he has to say, this is the way it is. Exactly like this. Declare the mystery of Christ. If Christ has saved you, you can declare that mystery. Right?
22:44
I did not deserve it. I don't know why he did it, but I felt his tug on my heart, and I accepted that, and it's changed my life. You can tell that story if you're a believer. Can you not? Okay.
22:57
So, declare the mystery of Christ. On account of which, Paul says, I'm in prison that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. Now, declaring mystery and making it clear seems like, how am I gonna do that? Like I said, your personal testimony, there's no argument theologically. No argument against a changed and transformed life.
23:22
If you once were lost and now you're found, you can tell that story and make it clear that it was Jesus that did it. That I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Have you all heard anybody that spoke and spoke and spoke and spoke and wow, what eloquence they had. But when they got through, you said, what did he say? Keep it simple.
23:46
Make it clear. Declare the mystery of Christ. I don't know exactly how he did it, but I know he did it. The Bible says that he lived a perfect life, that he died a perfect sacrificial death, and that anybody who believes can know him that way. Make it clear.
24:03
That's as clear as we can make it. Why he loved us? I don't know. Because God is good. That's clear.
24:13
Which is how I ought to speak. Now, what you say matters. It's about saying it, declaring the mystery, and making it clear how ought to speak. There's no doubt that words matter. Y'all heard the old saw.
24:27
I think it's Saint Francis that said it. Preach the gospel all the time when necessary use words. Like you can do it with your walk and I think that that's great but you need to do it with your words too. Be ready to give a defense for the faith that's within you. People are asking, why is it you're so nice?
24:45
Why is it you're so friendly? Why do you care about these people that seem to care nothing about you? Well, defend that because God is good. He loved me. I don't deserve it.
24:58
And I wanna be like him. Teach me Lord to be more like you. But I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. What you say matters. Declaring the mystery of Christ and speaking it is about that.
25:14
Declaring and speaking. I think this is this is kind of funny too that God may open to us a door and then he says, on account of which I'm on I'm in prison. So, he's in prison and he's praying for an open door and it's not the physical door that's holding him in prison. He's praying for an open door for the word to go forth. If Paul had not been stuck in that prison, we wouldn't have Colossians, Ephesians, or Philippians.
25:38
That's a big chunk of the New Testament. Maybe maybe a few more but definitely those three. He's praying for an open door to declare and to speak. Now, how many of y'all ever listened to a Martin Luther King speech? I know we've heard the speech on the Washington Mall.
25:56
Everybody's probably heard the I Have a Dream speech, but have any of you ever listened to his sermons? They were so good. They came out on record. This is a record cover. And he spoke at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, you know, 65, 70 miles from where I grew up.
26:11
And he had a guy back then that I would call his hype man. You know what a hype man is in a rap group? He's the guy like Flavor Flav that wanders around. He goes, yeah, boy, that sort of stuff. You know what I'm talking about?
26:26
There's like a hype man. He's always building them up. BB Kings had one for years and years. There's a guy in BB Kings entourage that just rides around with him, and he says, worldwide. BB King, king of the blues.
26:38
I've never heard him say anything else. I've seen him play a couple of times. That guy doesn't play an instrument. He doesn't do anything but sit there and say, worldwide, BB King, king of the blues. Okay.
26:47
Martin Luther King had a guy. I don't know who he was. I've tried. I've tried to find out who he was. But he is kinda like, he's the, he's kinda Martin Luther King's hype man at Ebenezer Baptist.
26:58
And so when he's preaching, he has, this guy is vocal and he must either be really loud or sit near a microphone. Because when you're listening to these recordings, you can't help but hear him. So, when he says, the only unhappy people about pray, the only unhappy people about praise is when that praise is going too much towards somebody else. See, y'all don't do anything when I say that, alright? So, let me read just a sec.
27:30
Now, the presence of this instinct, he's talking about the the name of this sermon is the drum major instinct. He said, all of us have a drum major instinct. We want to lead. Want to be in the front. We want to be the ones calling the shots and so he says, everybody's got this and Jesus turns it around on his disciples, his two, you know, James and John.
27:47
Let's one of us sit on your right, another on your left. That's the drum major instinct. They want to do that but Jesus doesn't say, no. That's proud. That's awful.
27:54
Turn it around on him and and blast him for it. He said, alright, but the one who is going to be on the right and left are the ones who serve. It's about service and so this is what the sermon's about. So, he says, now, the presence of his instinct explains why we're so often taken by advertisers. You know, those gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion and they have a way of saying things to you that gets you kind of into buying and in order to be a man of distinction, you must drink this whiskey.
28:22
In order to make your neighbors envious, you must drive this type of car. Thank very much. That's what I'm looking for. Not every day. Please, don't do it every day.
28:38
He carries on. Further into the sermon, he says, you know, I've seen people riding around in Cadillacs and Chrysler's who don't even earn enough to have a good model t Ford. Make it plain. Exactly. Make it plain.
28:51
That's the guy's main line. He says, yes and amen but most of the time, in fact, 11 times during this summer, 11 times during this sermon, he said, thank you very much Blake listens to those sermons too. I I love Martin Luther King's sermon. So, make it plain Paul says that. He says, make it clear.
29:10
Make it plain Don't try to make it too out there. Make it plain Amen. What you say matters and so does how you say it. Make it plain. Don't go off the deep end with things that are not scriptural.
29:28
Alright, make it plain. I don't think he could make it any more plain than this for church folk especially. Now, I would not have preached this sermon last week because Easter brings in people who hadn't been in church in years. And there are a lot of folks here who don't really believe, but they do love their mama, and so they come in with them on Easter. That's true.
29:51
I'm not blasting anybody. Please understand. But I would say that typically we have every day, all the time people, every day is the same type people are the ones who are showing up Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. We're here. Love Jesus and this is one of the ways we express that.
30:10
We might miss here and there but it's generally the insiders who are here in church. And most of the time I preach to insiders, and I know that. When the passage is evangelistic, I lay it out there just as it is. Colossians four:five says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Realize that they do not know everything that you know.
30:33
They don't understand scripturally if it's A, B, C, and you just say A and you jump all the way to L or MNOP. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Do you all remember the commercials from the Mormon Church in the seventies? Some of y'all aren't old enough to remember this, but they kind of used this. I mean, the New Testament is one of their text that they pay attention to but they were saying that we gotta be friendlier to people outside of the walls of this little community and so they started putting up these tear jerking commercials that were so heartwarming and so friendly and you just thought, man, that's great and at the very end of it, it would say, brought to you by the Church of Latter Day Saints.
31:23
Do y'all remember that? You do remember those. That's right. They were not stating any doctrine whatsoever. They were not stating any theology whatsoever.
31:34
They were not pointing people towards the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price. They were showing somebody pick up a person that fell off of their bicycle and be nice to them. And then they said at the very end, Latter day Saints. Walk in wisdom toward outsider. That's a good strategy I do not believe that their theology is good.
31:55
I do not believe but I tell you what, the growth of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints started with that. Now seeker friendly is something that starts a lot of fights in churches. It starts a lot of fights when, oh, the music doesn't have to be that. We need to stick with the hymns and the organ and we have to stick with these things exactly. Well, you know what?
32:20
There's not any place other than that that they're maybe a baseball game. They're here in Oregon. Okay? But if you want to communicate to people who are not drinking beer and eating hot dogs, you probably could have a band that's a real band of real people that are really playing music. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders.
32:38
If they come in, it would be nice for them to be surprised and go, you know what? The music was actually good. You know what? That guy's friendly. He seemed to care because we do care.
32:50
Do we not? Yeah. When you're with people at work and they're not believers, if you love them, you'll meet them where they are, right? So walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time, realizing let me just do this. I'm going to share all the translations that I thought see, these are the different ways to take that verse right there.
33:17
Be wise in the way that you act toward outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. When I preached Chad's funeral, really, just told a bunch of stories about Chad because everybody in the room knew him. And then I read this, and I said, did Chad live that way? And everybody's like, yeah.
33:33
Do you live that way? Sometimes. That's the truth is Chad lived that way sometimes too, but he was a guy that really cared about everybody and outsiders matter to God and they matter to him. Should matter to us. Live, love.
33:48
Live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every opportunity. Don't stand on the verse that we're supposed to be peculiar people and just be peculiar. Okay? I've heard that a lot of times. There's just super weird, crazy people, and they go, well, Jesus says we're supposed to be a peculiar people.
34:07
We're supposed to be called out and be different. If you care about other people, you will be different from the world. Okay? That's peculiar. That is particular to Christianity.
34:15
Loving your enemies is particular to Christianity. Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time. Walk in wisdom toward those outside, redeeming the time. Conduct yourself with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
34:37
Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Behave wisely toward outsiders making the best use of your time. If you get down in the muck with them and you join in everything that they're doing, sinful or otherwise, then you're not really making the best use of the time. You're meeting them where they are, but you're keeping them there. You're staying with them there.
34:59
Conduct yourself with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. Be wise in the way that you act toward those who are outside of the Christian faith, and make the most of your opportunities. Could we improve on that? Yeah, I think I could improve on that. Colossians four:six says, let your speech always be gracious and seasoned with salt.
35:22
Gracious, giving and showing unmerited favor. Kindness, gracious, seasoned with salt because outsiders matter. Now, Titus three, we haven't gotten there in our New Testament study yet, but Titus three is a great one. It says, for we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, and hated by others and hating one another. He's saying we were all in a similar state Ephesians, like I said, twin book of Colossians says, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ and alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world and if you think it's just a New Testament thing, Exodus twenty two twenty one says, you shall not wrong or a sojourner, a traveler, or oppress him for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
36:20
Everybody's going somewhere. Everybody's been somewhere else, right? And in this community, we have more outsiders Well, I can take that either way. Spiritually, we have more outsiders than anywhere else that I've ever lived before, and geographically, we have more outsider. How many of y'all were born here?
36:37
There you go. That's more than I thought it would be. But this is a 106 year old church in the middle of downtown. Right? So there are more outsiders, around us all the time.
36:49
And the way we treat them matters. It makes a difference. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them? Take the bumper sticker off of your car or take the fish off of your car, one or the other.
37:07
Alright. Let your speech always be gracious, season with salt, so that, I love a so that, so that you may know how to answer each person. Every person you meet is an individual and they need to be dealt with individually. And if you just have a way that you treat everybody the same, I'm equal rights for everybody, then you're not gonna reach a lot of people. If you've got a one size fits all mentality, then you're probably not gonna reach a whole lot of people.
37:36
Paul said, to the Jew, become like you know, he's he's becoming like others so that he may win some. So that's the way that that works. Alright. People matter. You know, Iwana's slogan is kids matter to God and they do and it's great to get the foundation but people matter whether they're outsiders or not.
38:00
So, then Paul goes into what I call concluding personal remarks and he says that because there are lots of persons involved, okay? He knows lots of folks from this church. He's sending some others to it. So, Colossians four seven says, Tichicus will tell you all about my activities because Tichicus is there with him. He's delivering this letter.
38:17
Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He's a beloved brother and a faithful minister and a fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. Amen. That's Tychicus.
38:32
And if you look him up on the Wikipedia, you find Saint Tychicus. He's not mentioned often. It's usually in the context of carrying a letter somewhere or bringing it back, but Tychicus is one of the saints. This is the Greek Orthodox representation of him. So beloved brother, faithful minister, sent out so that y'all would all know how Paul and the team are doing.
38:52
He may encourage your hearts. That's a minister. Tychicus was one of his running buddies. So I can update it and say, Carl will tell you all about my activities. When I left to go to Georgia a couple weeks ago, I did not communicate with every one of you.
39:04
I did communicate with Carl, telling him where I was on the journey so he could tell you all about it. He is a beloved brother and a faithful minister and a fellow servant in the Lord and I left him behind but sent him with the purpose to spread that. So, there's Carl. Alright? And with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother who is one of you.
39:26
They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Now, Onesimus, remember in the book of Philemon, Onesimus was a slave. He was an unpaid guy that Philemon had been taken care of. Apparently, a situation arose and Paul was sending Onesimus and Tychicus back together to deliver the letter to Philemon and the letter to the church at Colossae, and Onesimus was a slave who was going back. And Paul said everything covertly that Philemon you should really release him of this responsibility Onesimus, that's the way and if you look him up on the Wikipedia, you'll find he's a saint in the Roman Catholic and in the Greek Orthodox Church.
40:14
Faithful and beloved brother, one of you, he and Tichicus can tell you all the news here. So y'all know Francis Solomon Ferry? Ferry does not get paid for what he does. These these chairs are moved every week, like three or four times a week. Tables are set up, stuff knocked down.
40:30
He never gets paid. We tried paying him for a while and he just said, this is my service. And when I told him that I was gonna use this picture for this this day, he goes, do not glorify me. I am I am a sinner, say by grace in Jesus Christ, my lord, this is what he give me to do. That's what he said.
40:47
So, that's fair. He's a faithful and beloved brother. He's one of you and he serves all the time. He has two other jobs that keep him busy all the time from three to eleven He's at the school cleaning up at Coulter and he loves it. He has a job at Wyoming Mechanical where he sweeps the parking lot, gets the snow out of it, he cleans up around there, and then when he has time between those two, he comes in and does all the stuff we need around here.
41:11
Never heard him complain yet. Faithful and beloved brother, one of you and he'll tell you all the news if you ask him, alright? He may mention Margaret Thatcher. He may mention Ronald Reagan more than you are comfortable with but he'll tell you all about it. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you.
41:30
Now, Aristarchus is in jail with Paul. So, he is still there in Rome. He's just sending greetings from Aristarchus. I do not have anybody that I know of that's currently in jail, so we will skip that one. Alright?
41:39
My fellow prisoner, there are several other ministers in this who are in the same position that I'm in who are fellow prisoners of God. And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have to receive you have received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. Now, do y'all remember who Mark is? We know him as Mark.
42:02
Well, Paul says, the cousin of Barnabas. Remember when they split on their missionary journeys and Paul went one way and Barnabas went the other? It was over Mark who Paul felt like had abandoned them early on and I'm sure that that gossip was growing over these seventeen, eighteen years, whatever it's been since that split. And so Paul puts in there a very gracious concern in whom you have received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him.
42:29
Don't take it that well, Paul was ticked off because you're a deserter. Don't treat him like that. Welcome him. Paul goes on to say about Mark later, I want I want him back. I want him back.
42:40
I love him. Okay. So Mark, we would know Mark not as the cousin of Barnabas but we'd know him as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John as Mark, the one who wrote the gospel of Mark, the earliest of the gospels. Peter's right hand man. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
42:59
So, there's a quick digression right here. I think about outsiders and this is the thing that has been pursuing me this whole time. While I was studying this and then at Chad's funeral to see so many people outside of the church filling up the church at his visitation. He had like 2,000 people show up for a visitation. 800 for a funeral.
43:15
That's crazy, you know? Well, he was really good to outsiders. Quick digression. Outsiders matter. This guy is named Gypsy Smith.
43:25
He was one of the original Salvation Army guys or early on Salvation Army guys, and he said this. So Rodney Gypsy Smith said there are five gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian. Most people will never read the first four, but they will be reading you. Yeah. Gypsy Smith.
43:43
Gypsy Smith. The Christian. So walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, season with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. I said that with all love in my heart.
44:00
I promise you about Mormon people. A few minutes ago, I think the theology is errant. I think they've added to the word. I do think that there are problems with Mormonism, but I still love the people. And so if you make fun of Mormons, they are taught from very, very early on to have nothing to do with you.
44:24
Someone with a spirit of contention, ignore, shun someone who has a spirit of contention. So if you think that they're wrong and you can kind of just make fun of their theology or their practice either way, If you make fun of it, you probably will never be able to help anybody when the time comes. Does that make sense? Alright. Each person, every individual is different.
44:50
And every person that has come out of the Mormon church and into first B, River Crossing, Cornerstone, wherever, every single one of them still has a mama, still has a daddy, still has people that are in the church and it is heartbreaking. And so realize that please. Let your words be gracious and seasoned with salt. Jesus who is called justice is the next guy in these personal remarks. Jesus who is called justice is not pictured.
45:18
He's this is the only time I think we ever hear of it. He's, he is still considered to be a saint. I couldn't find his saint picture, you know, his high school yearbook picture. I couldn't find it online, but he's not pictured. And there are a lot of y'all, I should say right here, that are not getting me mentioning you from the stage right now that I know do a lot of service in this church and do a lot for a lot of people Jesus who called Justice, I'm sure was a great guy but that's the only mention that we hear of him.
45:47
I can I can look out right now and see 50 people that I could say something about Then, Paul goes into a description? These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God and they have been a comfort to me here in prison. So, there they are, Aristarchus, Mark, Justice, or Jewish background, Tichicus, Onesimus, Epaphras, Luke, Demus, Nymphon, Archippus, our Gentile background folks. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, he greets you. Now, he was the one who founded the church in Colossus.
46:17
He's always struggling on your behalf in his prayers because he's constantly praying because constant prayer matters, right? That you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God for I bear witness, I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and he has worked hard for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. So Laodicea is about the same distance away from Colossae as Wilson is from here. And Hierapolis is about the same distance away as Moose is from here. And they're about the same distance from each other.
46:46
So this is a triangle. Laodicea, I'll start to say Jackson Colossi and Hieropolis, alright? Epaphras He pray steadfastly that y'all would stay mature and fully assured in all the will of God and he also works hard for you and your neighbor in towns. Do you all know any pan church people who are not just this church person but they work for the church, capital C, all over the place? My mind goes to Mike Demetrius.
47:11
I didn't have a picture up here of him but he's a guy who works out on the mountain at the village out there and he is somebody who is constantly in prayer. A lot of times when we're here, he's in Cuba right now actually. Mike got married a couple of Fridays ago. Yeah. Amen.
47:27
You can clap for that. That's so Mike and JJ got married and he comes in while we're playing music and he walks among the rows of these pews and he'd be upset if I was telling you this. And he just wanders back around and he prays steadfastly. He believes in it and he loves outsiders. He knows when somebody's lost as a goose, he knows it and he is there being kind and gracious to him and loving him into the kingdom.
47:54
So working hard for you and for your neighbor in towns, the village is a village. Colossians four fourteen says, Luke, the beloved physician greets you. So that's Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke. Two of them get a mention from Paul in this closing remarks, as does Now who is Demus? If you look up all these other guys, they're Saint Luke, Saint this, Saint that.
48:19
You look up Demus, you don't see a saint. You see San Demus from Keanu Reeves the whole, what was the movie? Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Yes, San Dimas High School. Yeah.
48:32
But that's not it's a different Dimas. That's with an I. That's San Dimas. This is Dimas and Dimas is mentioned in one other letter and he's mentioned that he walked away from the faith and it broke Paul's heart. Right now, Demus was with him and he sent greetings for him and he was a part of what was going on but then Demus wandered away.
48:49
It's heartbreaking to me that he tasted and saw and then he was drawn away by something else. So, I'm praying for a few demises in my life that I've known that were fervent in the faith and then kind of wandered away. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha at the, in the church in her house. Do me a favor. Do not seek Nympha on a Google search.
49:18
Okay? Just mark that off of your list. Don't be tempted to do it just because I mentioned it, alright? Nympha is a name that was fairly common in the Greek world. It has come to mean something different than it is right here.
49:31
Nympha, well, it's a female name. She is the patron saint of Palermo or Palermo, Italy and a church met in her house. That's all that we know about her, but she was a gracious hostess that opened for a church to meet in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. Amen.
49:55
And say to Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. Now, you remember Archippus was very early on in Philemon. So, Philemon, the letter to Philemon about Onesimus to release him as a slave, but Arkippus was there to kind of ease that transition and help. It was a ministry from the Lord to help Philemon who could have been righteously angry because his slave ran away. Paul is saying, when you see Archippus, all of y'all who hear this being spoken out in church, see that you fulfill the ministry that you've received in the Lord.
50:28
It's kind of non specific but Archippus knows what it means, okay? Archippus, he's a saint. This is the Greek Orthodox representation for him and see that you fulfill the ministry that you've received in the Lord. I think that'd actually be a really good greeting for all of us. It's the whole holy hug and then, hey, man, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.
50:55
I think that's good advice for anybody. I'm gonna change it just a little bit on our update because insiders matter too. So all of those that he listed, those were all people who Paul considered to be insiders. But there was Demas that walked away. God knows the heart.
51:13
Man judges the outward appearance. Insiders matter too though. So Colossians four seventeen updated, and say to Bailey Morley, how can I help you to fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord? Okay. Not just see that you fulfill it because Bailey's actually been fulfilling it.
51:32
It's almost like we pay Bailey not to come to church. Do y'all know Bailey is the nursery coordinator, and so y'all's kids are down there in either children's church or in the nursery right now. And for the last like six or seven weeks, I I can see Bailey when she she's back there today. I didn't if I'd known you were gonna be back there, probably wouldn't have used this picture. No, I'm just kidding.
51:56
I that's the most thankless job in the church, nursery coordinator. Because if somebody doesn't show up or somebody has to reschedule or whatever, Bailey will fill in that role if she can't find somebody else to do it. So we have been paying Bailey for like almost two months not to come to church. That's great. It is appreciated, Bailey.
52:24
Thank you very much. But I do want for for all of y'all, when you see Bailey, just like when you see Arkippus. If you see Arkippus, tell him to fulfill his ministry. If you see Bailey, ask her, how can I help you fulfill that ministry? To be open to that last minute thing.
52:38
Bailey's not forceful and she's not going to twist your arm and make you do it, but if you would help her, I'd appreciate it. So that one is updated. And we get to because the other thing is this. If we have tons of outsiders coming in, and they're coming in folks, this summer is scheduled to be bigger than last summer. Last summer was bigger than anyone we've ever seen.
52:59
And so if we are walking in wisdom toward outsiders, we have to accommodate and help. And if you've been on the road for 4,500 miles and you stop into a church and you think, all I want to do is just drop these young'uns off for a little while, right, That screaming baby can be someone else's problem for forty five minutes. Can you stand up for forty five minutes so that they have a little peace on the road? Walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Make the best use of the time that we have here.
53:26
So, to me, that's the way to update this sermon and we have one more line from Paul and we'll finish off here. Colossians four eighteen says this, I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, Remember my chains. He's in prison writing this letter encouraging them. He cannot do all that he would like to do because he's stuck, but he can do this and he's doing it. I can't do everything that I would like to be able to do for everybody but among us, we can spread that task out.
54:00
Grace be with you. So, Paul ends with grace like he always does. Grace matters. Always start and end with God's grace. If you start off with grace, unmerited favor before you get to know somebody, it's highly unlikely that in the time that you interact with them, they're gonna get you to a place where grace is not still working.
54:19
Okay? And then end with grace. When someone leaves, if someone has to leave from this church or if someone has to leave for whatever reason, I want them always to go with a blessing. May the may God bless and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace as you go. If you gotta go to a different church, praise God.
54:38
I don't want you walking away like Demus, but my style is not for everybody. I got that. Right? Make it plain. Come on, Blake.
54:48
Alright. Sorry. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. That's the difference.
55:02
You once were estranged in aliens but yet now you believe and you are into the family of God. There's no distinction. All have sinned, fall short of the glory of God no matter how on it you are and holy you are right now. You're only God's grace away from being that outsider. All of sin fall short of the glory God and we're justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
55:30
For by grace, you have been saved through faith and that not of yourself. It's the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast. Amen. When I prepared this sermon, we did not have communion that Sunday but we do have it here right now and so, I'm going invite the frontline team to come forward, the elders to come forward perfectly. Elders and would you play something pretty?
55:56
Lorraine? Thank you. Fulfill the ministry that God has called you to for Lorraine. Thank you, sir. Lord God, as we gather here in your name, lord, those of us who believe Lord, I thank you for holding us accountable to the grace that you have extended.
56:16
I thank you that you have extended it to be passed on to others. And God, pray that, as we take this time and we consider your perfect life well lived and your blood given as a ransom for all who believe. Lord, I pray that you would bless each heart here that we would receive a new filling of your spirit that would spill over onto all of those around. God, would you keep us gracious and humble before our friends and our coworkers In Jesus name, lord, would you bless this bread as we distribute it? Amen.
1:00:24
Took this bread after supper and after he gave thanks, he said, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat and do it in remembrance of me. Lord Jesus, thinking of you and the perfect life well lived. Lord, father, forgive them for they know not what they do as a response to a nail in your hands and feet. God, would you give us that kind of grace as we remember the shed blood, Lord?
1:01:07
Would you bless this cup and everyone who would partake in any that must let it pass because they just don't believe, Lord? Would you draw them through the lives of those of us who do take it seriously. In Jesus name, amen. The cup after supper and he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. Take this and drink and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me.
1:05:33
Amen. Would you stand and sing with me the doxology to close? Praise God from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below praise him above you heavenly host praise father son and holy ghost and now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Amen.
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