Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. Written from Rome to Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus. Colossians 4:1-18 KJV
And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. Colossians 4:17
The ministry was received from The Lord. Pay attention to it. Fulfil it. Work to complete it. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity for God does all things well! Paul also reminded young Timothy: But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 2 Timothy 4:5
Take heed...be aware, pay attention, be careful. The same word is used elsewhere by the Lord and others.
Paul knew Archippus personally and referred to him as a fellow soldier:
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: Philemon 1:1-2 KJV
He directed an individual, particular message to him. What prompted that message? We can speculate and theorize but regardless of what we conclude, there are some essential pieces of information encapsulated here that may very well apply to our lives as well.
It's a special word to an individual, for God always has special individual words to each of His children! God said not to cast pearls before swine and He performs His own Words! So since we know we are not swine, but His children, therefore we have received something precious from Him… a ministry specifically made and particularly tailored to fit our special persons before Him!
Therefore
1. Take heed to the Ministry
3. You have received it in the Lord
4. Fulfill that ministry!
The church at Colosse was directed to encourage Archippus in the ministry so that he could fulfill it.
You've probably heard it before but I say it again...preachers and pastors can get discouraged in a big way. Discouragement may result in various reactions in addition to the drastic decision to drop out! Some preachers and pastors not liking the idea of "dropping out" may approach discouragement by adopting various innocuous seeming divergent activities. Many have given up the message they have been called to deliver, being instead, content with people pleasing addresses that often leaves a congregation feeling good about itself, but deprived of the actual living, life giving message from God. Many have fallen into the habit of preaching people empowering messages to a congregation, that knows not the conviction of sin produced by the Holy Ghost, working in lives to effect eternal transformation.
1. Pay attention to what you are doing for the Lord.
We can easily become sidetracked in a very good way, by seeking to enhance our ministry until it becomes so different from what we originally received from the Lord.
We can also become sidetracked or be distracted by the wear, tear and toils of life that results in a minimizing of the call of God.
We can interpret what this call really means in light of the world's definitions and descriptions, then try to emulate others because of the success they appear to be enjoying. By all worldly standards and measurement the Laodicean church was successful…enormously successful. It is sobering to hear what the LORD had to say about such success!
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:14-20 KJV
Why do we mention Laodicea here? Because this was probably the church where Archippus was ministering! Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. Colossians 4:15-17 KJV What an tragic testimony of a church that was no longer Spirit led, just driven by worldly purpose, thinking it had its best life now!
We should bear in mind at all times that God's way of measuring success is vastly different from the ways of the world as far as the heaven is from the earth. In fact the paradoxes of God astounds us!
"Richard B. Hansenis said, “Paradox is the wild territory within which most ministers live and work. We see unseen things. We conquer by yielding. We find rest under a yoke. We reign by serving. We are made great by becoming small. We are exalted when we are humble. We become wise by being fools for Christ's sake. We are made free by becoming bondservants. We gain strength when we are weak. We triumph through defeat. We find victory by glorying in our infirmities. We live by dying.” Tony Cooke
"Notice the many paradoxes of the kingdom contained in Jesus' beatitudes. In the beatitudes, Jesus speaks of "wealthy paupers, happy mourners, unaggressive conquerors, lusting saints, self-enriching benefactors, realistic visionaries, militant pacifists, and winning losers." Vic Grounds
Paul said:
By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 2 Corinthians 6:8-10 KJV
2. We each have a ministry for God has not left us wanting. He has given to every man according to his ability and faith. As we apply ourselves diligently to our ministry and execute our responsibility we remain faithful to the One Who gave it to us! We are to diligently fulfill our calling before God!
Our prayer should be as the song says "Please don't let me leave behind an unfinished task!" and our declaration should be like Paul …I've finished the course!
We do not decide what we want to do and then proceed to do it. We are given what He knows is best for us. When we can see as He sees, we are able to appreciate what He did, and are therefore able to work according to His will. Many times we "duck away" from what we've been called to do, and really seem to do at excellent job at what we turn our hands to in the earnest belief that the "ends justifies the means" (sort of!)
Do not seek another ministry than that which was given to you by the Lord.
Do not compare what you have been given with others…for selfish dissatisfaction and professional jealousy brings no glory to God.
Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. 1 Corinthians 7:23-24 KJV
We should not seek to please men but the Lord. You may not be recognized by men but remain faithful to your calling
There are lots of unknown soldiers of the cross...unknown on earth but known in heaven. They are unnamed here to us, but their names are known in heaven. Then there are the little known to us, among whom is Paul's fellow soldier Archippus.
Paul at times referred to coworkers and companions as fellowprisoners, fellowhelpers, fellowcitizens, fellowheirs, fellowlaborers, workfellow and twice as fellowsoldiers. One of his fellowsoldiers was Archippus and he had a special message for him, Pay full attention to, and fulfill the ministry you have received in the Lord.
Perhaps you are saying that you have worked a lot and done enough, maybe for an ungrateful and unappreciative people, but we need to remind ourselves who we are really working for! When the realization of Who we work for settles in, then our desire is to please Him and not men. We will move from the survival mode, into that for which we were made, and are destined for...more than a conqueror in Christ!
Being lukewarm is like having a form of religion but denying the power thereof. The church at Laodicea is defined by Christ as being neither hot nor cold but lukewarm. They do not want to be accused of outright coldness to the Lord but at the same time they are not displaying any sort of enthusiasm towards the Lord or His Calling.
3. Fulfill that ministry!
Take the saddle off your back and stop giving the enemy a free ride.
Put on the shoes of the gospel of peace and put the enemy where he belongs...right under your feet!
Dead fish can only float along with the tide and you're not dead yet!
Some of us prefer to wait until we have the perfect sermon, the perfect poem, the perfect song, the perfect book or essay; and so we waste our whole life, never getting anything done that will last, simply because we never got anything started. We're stuck right where we should have started, while we keep telling ourselves that what we are doing we do for God; yet we get pretty upset when someone criticizes us or condemn us or cautions us. You know why? Because we are not really doing it for God but for ourselves, because we want the praise. We want someone to give us the accolades. We keep waiting for that one elusive opportunity to display our star quality, forgetting that He said "Occupy till I come!"
God is not looking for self perfection but for your willingness and your effort to be in His will. All our efforts and results outside of God's will, no matter how excellent and praiseworthy they may seem to men, are just a vain exercise in mediocrity and non profitable before Him.
God knows you will make mistakes! For heaven's sake you were…we all were…huge mistakes, unable to dig ourselves out from the miry clay that was sucking us in! It took the Divine Dynamics of the Sovereign Saviour to jack us up out of our miserable wallowing, into a position of joyful acceptance before Him. We are accepted just as we are through His Blood! We cannot EVER be unloved by Him. So, like the children as we really are before our Father, let us do what pleases Him best…in childlike faith and trust take His hand, and allow ourselves to be led, wherever He wants to take us! It's a guaranteed happy ending!
Someone said triumph means you simply TRY, but put a little UMPH behind it!
Obstacles can be a stumbling block to us or a stepping stone to greater things! Your Choice!
Stop seeing yourself as a victim and become a victor instead!
The difference between David and the quitters in Saul's army was that while they all saw the giant, the quitters only saw the end of their personal dreams and ran away from the giant, into their holes and shells. David saw the power and glory of the LORD beyond it all and ran towards the giant. Self vs. the Glory of the LORD! We all know how that ended!!!
Finish what you Started! It's worth it all to hear Him say Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21 KJV
DON'T QUIT!
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
Anon.
