Make Your Move
Part 4: Let the Church Move Out
Key Scripture: Colossians 4:7-18
Icebreaker: Today we’re wrapping up our series, Make Your Move. We’ve talked about how before God can use you for anything, you’ve got to let His Spirit move in and have control. We’ve talked about how God wants all of His people to do the work of the ministry, so as a church we have to let the pastor move over and equip the people to do the work. Last week, we talked about how the greatest sin in the church today is the lack of lay leadership and lay involvement in ministry. We’ve all go to step up and use our gifts. All of us. 100%. And today I want to talk to you about letting the church move out.
-Here’s an easy question for you this morning: Do you want our church to grow? All right. Then the church has got to move out.
Intro: “Between the years 1787 and 1795, Baptists became the largest group of Christians in America. They did it without a while mission board or society or national convention or state convention or seminary. They did it with small missionary associations and lay preachers, most of them not paid a salary. They were without formal theological training. Most of them had been licensed to exercise their gifts by little Baptist churches. The Presbyterians, Episcopalians and the Congregationalists insisted that they were not clergy at all, but untrained, undisciplined laymen, who should have been at home working instead of out preaching. Between 1795 and 1820, the Methodists overtook and surpassed the Baptists in total members. They did it with lay preachers going everywhere, sharing their faith, forming disciplined small groups and gathering those small groups into churches.” There never has been, and there never will be, multiplication of disciples and churches apart from the mobilization of laity to do the ministry.
-There are basically 2 ways we can go:
Church addition – The pastor is the only minister.
Church multiplication – Everyone ministers.
-Now, which one do you think would help grow our church more? You see, when you look at church history down through the ages, methods of ministry have changed, methods of evangelism have changed, but one thing that has remained constant is that the church has grown when everybody has found their gifts and utilized them for the glory of God.
-The Scripture we’re going to look at this morning is a passage I have never preached on before. But that really doesn’t matter. As we look into it this morning, I pray that the Holy Spirit would impress upon your heart that any leader in Gods church, whether the Apostle Paul, or Peter, or even guys like me in leadership today, need a large group of people around them for that work to be successful. So let’s take a look at some of the members of Paul’s ministry team, this morning:
Scripture: Colossians 4:7-18
“7Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here. 10My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. 17Tell Archippus: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord." 18I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”
What a Church Must Do To Move From “Good” to “Great”
1. We must be willing to help the ministry of the church.
-The people around Paul might not have been well-known people, but they were willing to willing to help in whatever ways they could to help Paul’s ministry.
-Remember when we talked about equipping the saints the saints a couple of Sundays ago? We talked about how that word, “equip” comes from the Greek word that means, “to mend.” Do you remember that? I talked to you about how the nets became an extension of the fishermen’s work, because those nets could go where the fishermen could not. All kinds of ordinary people extended Paul’s ministry like those nets. They became extensions of him.
2. We must love one another and be committed to the ministry of our church.
-There was a mutual love and commitment that they gave to Paul and Paul gave to them. Remember, Paul had been in prison. And to be a friend of a prisoner in Paul’s day meant that you were probably a prisoner, too. So by staying friends with Paul, even while he was a prisoner, their care and commitment to him and God’s ministry were obvious.
-Many of us need to hear this loud and clear this morning. Without commitment, a church can never move from, “good” to “great.” Paul’s friends stayed committed to his ministry even when he was thrown into jail. Wow! And some of you would threaten to leave this church if the music didn’t suit you right. And some of you would be packing your bags if I didn’t call you after you missed a few Sundays. Some of you would go to the church down the street just because the sermon’s 20 minutes shorter.
-Whatever happened to old-fashioned commitment? We live in such a throw-away society today. Don’t like something about your car? Get a new one. Don’t like something about your spouse? Get a new one. Don’t like something about your church? Get a new one.
-Listen church: As your pastor, I’d rather have 50 of you who are on fire and committed to this ministry of this church than 100 of you who are lukewarm. And we young people can rag on the “old folks” all we want, but you have to give them this: they understand commitment.
-Too many Christians today are becoming experts in “church-hopping.” You know, we go to this church for a while, don’t like something, go to another church, don’t like something there, go to another church, etc. And you say, “Oh, I just haven’t found the right church, yet.” Have you ever stopped to really consider what the common denominator in all those “wrong church” was? What was the common denominator? You.
-Christian, it’s time for you to stop dating the church. Some of you treat churches like you treated ex-girlfriends in the past. You love them for a little while, and then you leave them. Stop dating the church. It’s time for a generation of Christ-followers to rise up and commit themselves the ministry of God right where they are.
-How many of you would like go to a great church? Raise your hands. Okay. Then make the one you’re at great. I was listening to a sermon a while back from my friend Tom Planck, pastor of Journey Church in West Chester. They’re still a fairly young church plant, only about 5 years old. And during this message Tom mentioned that one of the greatest experiences he had had in leading that church happened when a married couple in the church came to him one Sunday after service and just said to him, “Tom, we just want you to know that we bleed Journey Church.” He said that it just floored him. It made his year.
-What I wouldn’t I give for some people here to just be so on board with what we are doing, to be so fired up for the present and the future of this church, to be so committed to seeing this church become great, that they would say, “We bleed Millville Avenue.” Commitment.
3. We must embrace our unique backgrounds and gifts.
-Some were prayers and come were givers and some were servants and some were sufferers and some were messengers. Different backgrounds, different gifts, different temperaments. It’s a lot like the church, today. Even in a group like ours, I guarantee you that we are drastically different. Just watch this: Okay, raise you hand: how many of you had both a mother and father who were Christians when you were growing up? Okay, how many of you didn’t?
-All right, how many of you have attended only Church of God (Anderson) congregations your entire life? And how many haven’t?
-If you guys have taken the spiritual gifts test on our website and know your spiritual gifts, then you know how many different spiritual gifts there are. And all the different spiritual gifts are represented in this room this morning. How many of you know that you have the gift of mercy? How many of you have the gift of hospitality? How many of you have the gift of helps? How about encouragement? You see, I could go through every one of the different spiritual gifts and there would be somebody for every one of them. Now, that makes some people nervous. That doesn’t make me nervous at all. In fact, it’s really a very healthy thing. Healthy churches are made of up of people using their gifts. Diversity is a wonderful thing. God hasn’t made us all the same, amen?
-And people who are secure in their faith like diversity. They’re not afraid of it. Insecure people want everybody to look alike, talk alike, walk alike, act alike, etc. They want everybody to be made of the same cookie-cutter. But the Apostle Paul had all kinds of people around him, with different gifts, different temperaments, different backgrounds and different nationalities. They were very different. But that’s what makes a good church a great church.
4. We must encourage one another in ministry.
-You see, Paul encouraged those who helped him. In this letter he wrote, he wanted to make sure the people around him got credit. In fact, he wanted to make sure of it so much that in verse 16 he asked hat it be read to everyone, even in another church. He had listed all the names of the people who were helping with his ministry. The Apostle Paul wanted to make sure that these “little people” were being encouraged. He wanted to make sure that everybody realized that his ministry was great not because of who he was, but because of all the people that were willing to come around him and make it happen.
5. We must realize we are all part of the ministry of this church.
-I don’t think there was ever a day in Paul’s life that he saw the people around him as unimportant or insignificant, or felt that he could make it thought them. In fact, if you look at Paul throughout the New Testament, much of the time he’s in prison. And so I would imagine that pretty early on, Paul realized that ministry wasn’t going to happen without the people around him.
-You see, ministry is not a solo act. It’s not about me. If real ministry is going to happen, if people’s needs are going to be met, if the poor or our community are going to be reached, if our church is going to be healthy and vibrant and move from being a good church to being a great church, it’s going to happen not because I have done it, but because you have.
-Legendary basketball coach John Wooden knew the importance of teamwork. His UCLA Bruins won more NCAA titles than any other team in college history. And He had this saying that I love when he talked about his team: “The man who puts the ball through the hoop has ten hands.”
-Think about that for a moment. The man who scores the basket doesn’t have just 2 hands. There are 5 players on his team, so he has 10 hands. Somebody set the pick, somebody passed the ball, and everybody had a part to make the team successful. Somebody asked Yogi Berra one time what makes a good manager and he said, “good players.” I believe that. What makes a great church? Great people. People like the ones Paul had on his team, who understood how to use their gifts and were able to highlight those gifts for the glory of God.
6. We must remember that perfection is not a prerequisite for serving in God’s ministry.
-Oh boy, is this a big one. But it is such a beautiful truth to realize once you come to believe it. Perfection is not a prerequisite for serving in God’s ministry. Some of you need to get over your feelings of inferiority and do something big for God. You want to sit there and mope around and say, “Oh, I don’t have the charisma of Pastor Stephen to get in front of people and teach a Sunday School or lead a small group,” or “Oh, I don’t have the talent to put together a service project like Karla Bennett,” or “Oh, I haven’t been a Christian long enough to really get involved in the life of the church.”
-Well, guess what? Some of the people who were part of Paul’s team would never be able to be part of your social circle. You know why? Some of them were ministry rejects. Some of them were runaway slaves. Some of them “just didn’t fit” the ministry.
-I hear people say sometimes, “Well, I just don’t think I’m qualified.” Let me read Colossians 4 to you from the Living Bible:
“God does not use me because I am flawless, nor does he reject me because I am flawed. As I willingly obey him and allow myself to be used, God accomplishes His work through me.”
-Some of you need to write that verse down and tape it up on your mirror. Perfection is not a prerequisite. If it were, none of us would be doing what we’re doing.
What kind of people did Paul choose to minister with him?
1. Tychicus – A trustworthy man (vs. 7-8)
-Now, trust is the emotional glue that has to happen between followers and leaders, and Tychicus was a trustworthy person. In fact, if you study Paul’s missionary journeys, you’ll find out that Tychicus was almost always with him. Wherever Paul was, Tychicus was very close. He delivered all of Paul’s letters and was basically Paul’s right hand man. He was a person that Paul could count on.
2. Onesimus – A man with a bad background. (vs. 9)
-Onesimus was a runaway slave. In fact, he stole his master’s money before he left. Under Paul, Onesimus became a Christian. And listen to how Paul talks about him in verses 9. He says the Onesimus is “our faithful and beloved brother.” Paul was saying that this guy with a bad background? We love him and he is faithful to the ministry we are doing.
-You see, Paul knew that God could use lowly people because Paul remembered where he had come from. Paul was a murderer and a persecutor of Christians. I bet you that when Onesimus cam to Paul as a runaway slave, Paul said, “Man, you think you’ve got a bad background? Let me tell you about mine.”
-You know, when you read through the Bible you come across all kinds of lowly people that God used. Gideon – he lived in Israel when they were being attacked by the Philistines. And not only was Israel the lowest on the totem poll when compared to the other nations, the tribe that Gideon came from the lowest family of the lowest tribe of Israel. But God found him and used him and raised him to be a great warrior. He became so great in Israel that the people wanted to make him king.
-Then there is Samson. Probably no one in the entire Bible squandered their gifts and talents worse than Samson. But in his final moments, God heard Samson’s prayer and used him to free his people from the Philistines.
-There’s Mary Magdalene. A woman who had been possessed with 7 demons. And yet she was so faithful to Jesus after He saved her that she was the first person at the tomb on Easter morning.
-You know, I bet you there are some Gideons here this morning. You think you’re too lowly to do anything great for God. I bet there are some Samsons. You’ve gotten so far away from God that you just know that there’s no way He could use you again. I bet you that there are some Mary Magdalenes here, today. You’ve got so many skeletons in your closet that you’re convinced that you’re not worthy to be used by God.
-I don’t know what’s holding you back. I don’t know your life story. But I do know this: The enemy will try to tell you that your sin is so great that it disqualifies for service. He’ll try to insist that God may forgive you, but he can never use you. But I also know this: God is bigger than all of that. And He has the power to take you right where you are, change you through His grace, give you a 2nd or a 3rd or a 4th or a 100th chance, and cause you to be effective for His Kingdom.
3. Aristarchus – A burden bearer. (vs. 10)
-Aristarchus is another man who was always with Paul. In fact, if you read through the New Testament, you’ll find out that there was a mob in Ephesus that tried to seize Paul, but they got Aristarchus instead. He went to prison in Paul’s place. He went through shipwrecks with Paul, imprisonment with Paul, and through all of Paul’s trials and tribulations, Aristarchus was there right beside of him. He was willing to go to death with Paul, if that’s what needed to happen. Listen church: every pastor and every leader in the church needs someone like Aristarchus. Someone who says, “Pastor, I’m with you and I will be with you come what may.” Every pastor needs a burden-bearer.
4. Mark – A man with a second chance. (vs. 10b)
-Mark’s story is remarkable. If you remember, during Paul’s first missionary journey, he took Barnabas and John Mark with him. And something happened. We don’t know what it was, but Paul and Mark had a falling out. They got into some kind of disagreement and Mark just packed his bags and left. And Paul didn’t like that. In fact, Paul was so disgusted with what Mark had done and the way he had just left that when Barnabas wanted to bring Mark on their 2nd missionary journey, Paul said no.
-But now, if you look in Colossians 4:11, Paul says, “Mark is helpful to me and my ministry.” Mark is a perfect example of a person who failed once, came back and was used mightily by God. Some of you are like Mark. And for you today, I want you to know that failure is not falling down, but staying down. And with God’s help you can get up today.
5. Jesus Justus – A man with a name for greatness. (vs. 11)
-Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name, “Joshua.” A lot of kids in the New Testament days were named Jesus. (Which is, by the way, the reason why when someone over in the Middle East says that they’ve found the tomb of Jesus, it’s not the big of a deal. It would be like someone over here saying they’ve found the grave of Tom.)
-Now you know, Jesus Justus could have said, “My mother named me Jesus and I was born for greatness, and I’m not sure I want to do the little, small, behind the scenes work in Paul’s ministry. I should be up front.” But he didn’t have that attitude. Here was guy who said, “Greatness for me means serving the greatest apostle that will ever live.” You see, Jesus Justus put the team he was on ahead of himself. The church needs more people like that.
6. Epaphras – A man of prayer. (vs. 12-13)
-Paul says that, “Epaphras labored earnestly for you in prayer.” He was Paul’s prayer partner. And he wasn’t only Paul’s prayer partner; he was many other people’s prayer partner. You know, one of the best things I hear around here from time to time? It’s not, “Great sermon today, Pastor.” It’s not, “You’re doing an awesome job.” It’s not, “I think you’re the most handsome pastor I’ve ever seen.” (Okay, I made that one up.)
-You know the thing that thrills my heart more than anything when I hear it? “I’ve been praying for you, Pastor.” Every church needs men and women who will devote themselves to prayer for their pastor and their church.
7. Luke – A gifted man. (vs. 14)
-Luke was another guy with Paul. He was doctor. I’ve always wondered about Luke. Why was he with Paul so much? After their 1st missionary journey, Luke is with Paul all the time. Luke was the last one with Paul. When Paul wrote his last letter and was getting ready to die, he wrote, “Only Luke is with me.”
-You know what? I think Luke could have probably gone out with his education and his skills and made a lot of money for himself. And maybe he did have money, I don’t know. But here was guy who was willing to take all of these tremendous gifts that he had as a doctor and say, “I’m going to use these gifts to minister to Paul so that He can minister to others.”
-Paul wrote that for a long time that he had a, “thorn in his flesh.” Most people think that it was some kind of physical illness that Paul had. I have a feeling that Luke was probably with Paul all those years to attend to him as his personal physician. Somebody said once, “Make sure the things you are living for are worth dying for.” Luke did. Are you?
8. Demas – A man who gave up. (vs. 14b)
-It’s interesting when you come to Demas’ name in the passage, here. Demas is the only one for whom there is no praise or affirmation. Paul just says, “and also Demas.” Isn’t that strange? Would you like to know why Paul gave him such little acknowledgement?
-Demas was a guy who was with Paul early on in his ministry. In the book of Philemon, Paul calls him, “a fellow laborer.” So he did a lot of early work with Paul. But then there’s this interesting transition that happens in Demas’ life. He gives up. He quits. If you go over to Timothy, you know what Paul says about Demas? He says, “Demas has forsaken me.”
-Demas was still there with Paul physically, but in his heart, he had given up. He had spiritually checked out. Something happened and Demas said, “I’m not going to support Paul any longer.” Yet for some reason, He stuck around. He’s like the person who has something against the church’s pastor or leadership, but instead of doing the righteous thing and quietly leaving, they stick around just to let everyone know that they’re not happy. Demas is like the one who feels it’s their mission in life to police things and stir up opposition to the church’s pastor and elders.
-So I want to challenge you, this morning. Don’t make the same mistake that Demas did. Don’t let your heart become so hard that you just spiritually quit on this ministry. Quitting is always a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Yield control of your heart and your life to the Holy Spirit and let God use you in the ministry of this church.
Conclusion/Invitation
-Now listen. I want to encourage you, this morning. We have a good church here. Did you know that? We are a good church. But Millville, I want to tell you something: We could be a great church. You have greatness in you. I believe in you. I believe in this church. And I hope you will take your place and fulfill your role in making this little church on the corner the Great Millville Avenue Church of God.
-And here’s how I’m going to ask you to respond, this morning: we’re having a potluck dinner in the gym immediately following service today. And down there we have some tables set up with some of the different ministries that I know need volunteers right now to step up and help. Some of them require just a little time; some of them require a lot more time. Hopefully you’ve taken the spiritual gifts test on the church website or you know what your gifts are. I’m going to ask all of you to step up today and make our church great. It can only happen when all of God’s people let God’s Spirit move in, let the pastor move over, let the laity move up, and let the church move out.
-We’re going to sing a song of response today, and I want you to prepare your heart for where God would have to serve in the ministry of this church.
-“Lord, we submit ourselves to you today. We consecrate our gifts to you. We surrender our lives to be used however you see fit.”
