Rev. David Holwick Y
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 4, 2002
Colossians 4:7-18
|
I. Are you lonely tonight?
A. A lonely heart placed a personal ad in a Yorkshire, England,
newspaper.
He was looking to meet a lady for outings and friendship.
This poor soul received one reply - FROM HIS MOTHER.
#4782
B. Everybody needs friends.
1) Unfortunately, in a state that is packed with people,
many are lonely.
2) The apostle Paul was never lonely.
3) Even in prison, he knew there were hundreds praying for him.
C. Close personal bonds were a mark of the early Church.
1) They should be a mark of our church, too.
II. People Paul commends.
A. Commended because they carried this letter.
1) Paul put a lot of trust in them for this important task.
2) However, they were unknown to many Colossians.
B. Tychicus, a committed leader.
1) He was from Greece and traveled widely with Paul.
a) Went with him to Jerusalem with special offering.
b) Later, Paul sent him to Ephesus to replace Timothy.
2) Three descriptions:
a) Dear brother.
1> A term of endearment.
2> Paul was close to him.
b) Faithful minister.
1> An assessment of the quality of his work.
2> The Bible holds up faithfulness as a great goal.
c) Fellow servant.
1> He is a quality worker, but all workers are equal.
2> Early church did not have a pecking order in
leadership.
C. Onesimus, a bad slave who turned out good.
1) Letter of Philemon written about him.
2) Free to travel now.
a) No mention of his past.
b) He is one of you now. (Jesus trumps our past)
III. Greetings from the gallery.
A. Aristarchus, a cellmate.
1) Arrested with Paul in riot in Ephesus. Acts 19:29
2) Now in jail with Paul in Rome. "fellow prisoner"
B. Mark, the prodigal nephew.
1) Actually, he was Barnabas's nephew.
2) In Acts 13, he joins Paul and Barnabas on first missionary
journey.
a) Not long after start, Mark decided to quit.
b) Barnabas stuck by him but Paul gave him the boot.
3) In a sign of reconciliation, he is back with Paul.
a) Around this time he wrote the gospel that bears his
name.
b) He is proof that God gives second chances, and we
should as well.
C. Jesus-Justus.
1) A great name - same as Joshua - but may have sounded too
"Jewish" in Rome so he modified it.
2) One of three Jewish believers with Paul.
3) Paul was proud of his heritage, but cut off from most of
his own countrymen due to his faith.
D. Epaphras, prayer-warrior.
1) He is mentioned in Col. 1:7 as the founder of the Colossian
church.
2) Called a fellow prisoner in letter to Philemon so he may
be in a cell near Paul, too.
a) Since he cannot come to them, he prays for them.
1> He prays they will stand firm.
2> He prays they will grow as Christians.
b) Cut off from loved ones? Take your concerns to God.
3) Hard worker for them, and others.
E. Luke, the dear physician.
1) This brief comment tells us one special thing about Luke,
that he was a doctor.
a) He also wrote a good chunk of the NT: Luke and Acts.
2) Luke was especially dear to Paul.
a) They shared many journeys together.
b) In 2 Timothy, the apostle's last letter, Paul writes,
"Only Luke is with me."
All the others had left, but Luke remained faithful to
the end.
F. Demas, a future traitor.
1) By contrast with Luke, the name Demas is mentioned here
without comment in a kind of eloquent silence.
He too was from Greece and probably was part of that
original band of men who traveled with Paul.
2) But now, when Paul is in prison and all his associates are
in danger of being arrested themselves, it is apparent
that Demas is beginning to drift.
Paul says nothing good or bad about him at this point, but
later, in his letter to Timothy, he writes, "Demas has
forsaken me having loved this present age, and has
gone back to Thessalonica."
3) Demas left because he loved the attractions of the world
and abandoned his faith as a result.
IV. Greeters in Colossae itself.
A. Buddies in Laodicea.
1) A sister church to Colossae.
a) Castigated in book of Revelation as a rich church
that was spiritually impoverished.
b) Paul does not write them off, but encourages the
churches to keep communication open.
2) A letter to Laodicea.
a) No longer exists.
b) Since letters were shared, may have been Ephesians.
B. Nympha's house church.
1) Nympha have been a woman. (manuscripts differ)
2) Several rich widows are prominent in New Testament.
C. Archippus, a potential shirker.
1) He was probably son of Philemon.
2) He is only one Paul doesn't greet.
a) His words sound like a rebuke - finish your job!
V. The final touch.
A. Write in own hand.
B. Remember my chains.
C. Grace be with you.
VI. We are surrounded by friends.
A. Missionary friends I have around the world.
B. Keep in contact with Christian friends.
1) Cherish them.
2) Challenge them.
C. We are friends for a purpose.
1) Complete the work - build up God's kingdom.
=========================================================================
SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
#4782 "The Last Person You Want To Answer Your Ad," originally in
The Chesterfield & Dronfield Gazette [United Kingdom],
May 20, 1988, compiled in Rev. Brett Blair's Illustrations By
Email, www.sermonillustrations.com, August 31, 1999.
This and 20,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Commentaries:
R.C. Lucas
==========
I. Paul had a great capacity for people.
II. He had a great capacity for sharing his ministry.
III. He had a great capacity for supporting his lieutenants.
IV. He had a great capacity for singlemindedness.
William Barclay
===============
I. Faithful companions.
A. Tychicus.
B. Onesimus.
C. Aristarchus.
D. Mark.
E. Jesus-Justus.
F. Epaphras.
G. Luke.
II. The letter to the Laodicaeans.
III. The closing blessing.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Easily create PDF Help documents