Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.tron.church/sermons/81386/all-of-christ-for-all-of-life/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] And so we're now going to turn to our Bible reading. Fraser Nicholson, one of our ministers in training, is preaching to us again this morning and finishing off our time in Colossians.

[0:13] ! So do turn up to Colossians. If you don't have a Bible with you, we have visitors' Bibles spread around the auditorium. And do grab one of those. If you're not sure where they are, wave your hand.

[0:23] And Dave Gilmore is on hand to bring one to you. And do open up and follow along as we read together from God's Word. Colossians chapter 3, from verse 16 through to the end of the book.

[0:40] It's page 984 if you are using a visitor's Bible. Colossians 3, 16. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

[1:05] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

[1:23] Husbands, love your wives. Do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

[1:37] Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. bond servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service, as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

[1:58] Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.

[2:08] Lord, you are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

[2:21] So masters, treat your bond servants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, and at the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

[2:52] Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

[3:06] Tychicus will tell you about all my activities. He is a beloved brother, faithful minister, 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, and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.

[3:30] They will tell you of everything that has taken place. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions.

[3:42] If he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called Justice. 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.

[3:56] Epaphras, who is one of you, servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

[4:08] For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you, and for those in Laodicea, and in Hierapolis. Look, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas.

[4:20] Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha, and the church 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.

[4:34] And say to Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.

[4:48] Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Well, amen. This is God's word, and we'll return to it shortly. Well, good morning, everybody.

[5:04] And please do pick up your Bibles again, and turn again to that passage in Colossians, chapter 3 and 4. Again, that's on page 984 of our church Bibles, if you have one of them.

[5:16] There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, mine.

[5:42] This is a quote from Abraham Kuyper, a former Dutch prime minister, as well as a pastor and theologian. And it's quite an incredible thought, isn't it?

[5:54] Christ's lordship extends over the entire domain of human existence. But it's not just a broad, overall sort of lordship, which is only interested in the big picture of how things are going to pan out.

[6:11] Though his reign does extend over the farthest reaches of the cosmos, Christ is lord too of every tiny square inch of our lives.

[6:24] He's not only lord in our church buildings, not only lord in our homes, no, every square inch of the whole of human existence, Christ is lord over it, and he cries, mine.

[6:42] Paul covered some of this ground back in chapter one of his letter. Look back quickly to chapter one, verse 15. Christ is the image of the invisible gods, the firstborn of all creation.

[6:55] For by him, all things were created in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him.

[7:07] And he is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. But look also at chapter two, verse nine. In him, the fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

[7:30] As Christians, we have been filled with the fullness of Christ, who is the Lord of all the universe. We are in Christ. He is all and in all.

[7:41] And if that doesn't blow your mind on a Sunday morning, then I don't know what will. But all of this has implications for our lives as Christians. It has implications for every person on the planet, whether they know it or like it or not.

[7:56] Because everything in our lives is therefore under Christ's lordship and his rule. Last week in Colossians, we were looking at how as Christians, we need to put on our new clothing, which is fitting with our new life in Christ.

[8:11] We need to put sin to death and put on Christ-likeness in its place. We finished last week in verse 17, but Paul's teaching in this section, which we're looking at today, really flows right through from what he's been saying.

[8:25] That's why we read in this morning from verse 16. Because in verse 18 onwards, Paul just isn't just giving us an out of nowhere series of thoughts on marriage, family, and work, which he wants to get off his chest.

[8:38] No, rather his teaching on marriage, family, and work flow out of everything that he's been teaching so far in this letter. In verse 17, he says, everything we do in the Christian life in word or deed should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus.

[8:57] Because that's where our identity as Christians lie. So that's where Paul's teaching comes from this morning. He is showing us how these big truths work out in the everyday lives of Christians.

[9:11] For those who have been raised with Christ, who have put on the new self, which is being renewed after his likeness, what does submission to Christ and his lordship look like in all areas of our lives?

[9:25] How does Christ's lordship transform our relationships, our priorities, and our partnership with other believers? So firstly, let's look at the section from verse 18 of chapter 3 to verse 1 of chapter 4.

[9:41] And Paul outlines here how our relationships should be transformed by virtue of our new identity in Christ. Notice that all the instructions Paul gives here are shaped by the reality of the fact that we are in the Lord.

[9:57] Verse 17, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Verse 18, as is fitting in the Lord. Verse 20, this pleases the Lord. Verse 22, obey in everything fearing the Lord.

[10:10] 23, work heartily as for the Lord. Verse 24, you are serving the Lord Christ. And chapter 4, verse 1, you also have a master in heaven.

[10:21] the way that we think and act in our human relationships is entirely shaped by our relationship to the Lord. We are in him and so we relate to everyone as those who are in him.

[10:40] Now there's no getting away from the fact that these verses are unpopular verses in today's world. They would have been unpopular in Paul's day too, though for different reasons. But our society today is uncomfortable with this language of submission.

[10:55] It's thought of as being oppressive or demeaning in some way. But that's not the case at all. The Bible uses this language in a number of places in a variety of ways and there's nothing demeaning about it.

[11:08] The church, all Christians, are called to submit to Christ's lordship. And did Christ himself, though equal with the Father, submit to the Father's will? This is not a question of value.

[11:20] And so in all of these relationships which Paul speaks about, the one who submits is not of any less value than the other because, as Paul said back in verse 11, Christ is all and in all.

[11:32] There's equality within the body of Christ. And so whatever other identifiers might apply to you, Jew or Greek, barbarian, Scythian, slave-free, husband-wife, parent-child, your true identity is not in these things but in Christ.

[11:51] And notice too that this, in all these cases, is not submission to some sort of harsh rule or tyranny. In every relationship there is an ordering of relationships. There is a submission or obedience required.

[12:05] But on the other side of them, there's a requirement for husbands to love and not to be harsh, for fathers not to provoke or discourage, and for masters to be just and fair.

[12:19] See, what Paul is giving us here is a vision for the flourishing of households and this ordering is required for that flourishing. It is reflective of God's good design for his new humanity who are being remade after their fall into sin.

[12:39] Now, these fundamental relationships which Paul mentions here are the very same as those which were mentioned back in Genesis 3 when God outlines the curse after the first Adam and Eve rebelled.

[12:51] There he said there would be enmity between man and wife, there would be pain and childbearing, and there would be struggle and difficulty in the realm of work. And so it has followed for thousands of years since.

[13:04] The effects of that departure from God's goods, creation, design, and order which came about when Adam and Eve sinned, well, they've been felt down through the ages. Marital strife, pain in bringing up children, struggle and difficulty in work.

[13:23] But for those who are made new now in Christ, the order of things must be restored. There's a new submission to the lordship of Christ, and households are therefore reordered to enable their flourishing.

[13:38] And this is what Paul's setting out here. So where once there may have been enmity, verse 18, wives are to submit to their husbands. This means there should be an acknowledgement of different roles within a marriage, and wives are to support their husbands as the head of the household.

[13:59] Now again, this doesn't mean the wife is of lesser value than her husband. It doesn't mean that she is less gifted or mature or competent. In fact, in many marriages it could be the other way around.

[14:10] And so, submission doesn't mean that there's no place for disagreement. At a healthy marriage there will be discussion. Things will be talked through. A couple will talk together, pray together, and all of this should help both of them to serve and glorify the lord better.

[14:28] The husband's leadership will allow his wife to flourish, and the wife's submission to her husband will help him to flourish as he takes up the responsibility of leadership. And that is a weighty responsibility.

[14:42] And Paul is clear in verse 19 that this responsibility, this leadership, is to be exercised with love and not with harshness. Husbands are to love their wives, love with the same self-giving, sacrificial love with which Christ loved his bride, the church.

[15:01] And that's a high bar. Christ laid down his life for the church. And so husbands are called to love their wives with this same love.

[15:13] And so he must exercise love and humility, perhaps recognizing the places where his wife is more gifted than he is, and utilizing those gifts for the good of the household.

[15:26] See, there's great challenge on both sides from this teaching. Wisdom and Christ-like maturity is required on both sides as these things are worked through in a marriage.

[15:37] All of the patience and kindness and forbearance that we looked at last week will be required. But this is part of how Christians should be living out their faith, living out under the lordship of Christ, their life in Christ.

[15:52] This is God's design for flourishing families. It's not designed to suppress, to stifle people's gifts, but to maximize them. And Paul continues his instructions for flourishing families as he addresses children.

[16:08] And the goal here, as with all members of the household of faith, is that the children would grow up into maturity in Christ, whatever stage they might be at now, whether toddlers or teenagers.

[16:21] And Paul says if children are to grow in maturity, well, they need to obey their parents and everything for this pleases the Lord. Now there might be a lot of areas in life where children feel like a little more autonomy might be for their good.

[16:37] The dinnertime menu might be one area for revolution, less vegetables, more ice cream. But we can probably all look back and think of examples, times in our lives when as children we thought we knew what was best for us.

[16:52] But in actual fact, with hindsight, an experience and the wisdom of years, we can see that actually maybe our parents were right all along. See, having guidelines and rules which are put in place by those who love us is good for us.

[17:08] Even if we can't see it at the time. And so, children here this morning, you should obey your parents. Maybe you find that difficult, but if Jesus is your Lord, then part of what it looks like to be one of his people is to say, yes, okay, dad, even when you don't understand why he's saying that.

[17:29] Lots of parents now rubbing their hands looking forward to getting home, but wait, there's a word for you too. There's balance here. Fathers are not to provoke their children. They're not to discourage them.

[17:42] See, rules and guidelines and leadership in the home are all good things, but they mustn't be stifling or overbearing such that children become frustrated or discouraged.

[17:54] And so, there's a place to give children responsibility for things in the home. There's a place to give them freedom. Giving them this will help them actually to grow, to mature in their life and in their faith.

[18:08] But often, isn't it the case that our culture seems to have the opposite problem? Parents feel like they don't have any authority over children and there's a fear of asserting that authority.

[18:21] And so, instead, children will assert what's best for them, whatever feels right for them, whether in trivial matters or serious matters, whether the dinner menu or their gender identity.

[18:34] Because there is so much confusion in this area in the world today. But the Bible is clear. Paul is clear here. It's not good for children to grow up without discipline and leadership in the home.

[18:53] So again, there's a call for wisdom. There's a need to do, as Paul instructed in verse 16 of chapter 3, to let the word of Christ dwell on us richly such that it's God's word which is directing our households and informing how we work these things out in our own individual lives.

[19:12] Now the third area Paul addresses here is the relationship between bond servants and masters. And in first century Colossae, this also would have been a working relationship as part of the household.

[19:27] It was common to have large households made up of family members, extended family members of multiple generations, but also those who were in bonded labor, who lived within the house.

[19:38] Now again, there's no getting away from the fact that these verses are difficult and controversial to modern eyes. We're rightly horrified when we hear of modern day examples of slavery.

[19:52] Now perhaps, particularly, thoughts of the transatlantic slave trade come to our mind when we read verses like this and we bring all that into this. But the context that Paul is addressing is quite different from that.

[20:04] That sort of practice of man-stealing, enslavement, is forbidden by the Bible. Paul mentions it in his letter to Timothy. And it's perhaps worth mentioning too, even in the passing, that the reason we feel uncomfortable about this is that we've grown up in a culture which, although increasingly anti-Christian or post-Christian, has known the fruits, the goodness of Christian teaching in this realm.

[20:29] Before the Christian revolution swept across Europe and the world, this sort of practice would have been commonplace. Indeed, it was Christians such as William Wilberforce who applied Christian teaching to this area and were instrumental in the movement to abolish slavery as we knew it in the West.

[20:47] But with that said, Paul's concern here is not to address the rights and wrongs of slavery in the world, however much we might want him to do that because he's writing to a particular context.

[20:58] He's writing to the church in Colossae. And he's addressing those who are in the position of being bond servants and masters who have come to new life in Christ.

[21:10] And he's already said back in chapter 3, verse 11, that within the body of Christ, it doesn't matter whether you're slave or free. Christ is all and in all and we're all equal in him. We're all under his lordship, our master in heaven, as he says in verse 1 of chapter 4.

[21:25] And so the question he's really addressing here is, how should bond servants and masters who have come to Christ now live in light of this fact?

[21:37] What difference does their new life in Christ make to their work? And Paul's answer is that bond servants should be diligent, hardworking, and obedient to their masters in everything because their obedience and service of their earthly masters is reflective of their diligence and service of their heavenly master.

[22:03] Our work is tied up with our worship. So as Paul says in verse 23, we are to work heartily as for the Lord. Now this is an incredibly challenging thing, I think.

[22:16] Far more so for someone in the context to which Paul was writing than for our working context today. To have restrictions on your liberty, perhaps to be the victim of harsh treatment, and yet to go on working hard for the person who's imposing that upon you.

[22:34] It's incredibly difficult. But the ability to do it comes from the new perspective which the Christian has. Look at verse 24 and 5 again.

[22:47] From the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward, and the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done and there is no partiality. See, harsh masters will be paid back but it is not for the servant to pay them back.

[23:06] Ultimately, it will be their master in heaven who will pay them back and there will be no partiality. Their wealth and status in this life will not spare them from judgment then.

[23:18] And that too is why Paul gives this injunction to masters in verse 1 of chapter 4. Now that you've come to Christ you must treat your servants justly and fairly.

[23:30] If you used to overwork them or beat them or demean them in any way at all that has to stop. You must treat them justly and fairly knowing that you have a master in heaven who is perfectly just and will one day punish evil.

[23:48] I heard a story once of someone who was a missionary in China and they were reading this passage with a new Christian and when they got to the end of the passage the guy that they were reading with said, well, I guess everyone should hope that their boss becomes a Christian and I think that's a great thing to take from this passage.

[24:12] Workers should hope that their bosses become Christians. Bosses should hope that their workers become Christians because this will transform their working relationship. As their heart is changed their conduct too will be changed.

[24:29] Now Paul says this sort of conduct is not to be done by way of eye service. They're not doing it as people pleasers but it will no doubt have an impact on people nonetheless. You can imagine the scene.

[24:42] The master of the house goes off to Ephesus on his summer holiday taking the family with him and most of the servants think great, time to kick back, get a bottle of wine up from the wine cellar, kick back in the big house, put the feet up.

[24:55] But the worker has just become a Christian. He keeps working diligently just as hard as before, maybe even harder or at least more joyfully. Or on the flip side perhaps there's a master who's come to faith in Christ and suddenly his workers notice a difference.

[25:15] He no longer flies off the handle when things aren't done quite precisely to his liking. The servants are invited to dine with the rest of the family. The workload they're giving is much more reasonable and so they start to ask questions.

[25:29] What's come over him? What's behind this change? Now our context today is very different clearly. Our workplaces look very different but these same principles apply, don't they?

[25:46] Because people notice the way we act and they notice changes to the way that we act. It would be a terrible thing if people at work knew that you were a Christian but the way that you acted at work was entirely at odds with what you said you believed.

[26:06] If you only worked hard when your boss was in the room or if as a boss you treat your staff harshly and with contempt that would paint a terrible picture of what it is to be a Christian what it means to be one who calls Christ Lord.

[26:24] So Christ's lordship over our lives should transform our relationship transform our marriage our family and our workplace relationships.

[26:34] but secondly as Paul goes on in verse two to six of chapter four he details how anyone who calls Christ lord should also have transformed priorities.

[26:47] With Christ as our lord we cannot have selfish priorities and instead we must have kingdom priorities. The things we do the things we say the things we live for are shaped not by our own selfish aims and desires but by a desire to see God glorified to see his kingdom growing and the way we live our lives the things we say and the things we pray are telling in this aren't they?

[27:15] They show what's really going on in our hearts and it's our speech and prayer which are really in focus here. Dick Lucas returned a hundred this week he divides this section in two with these little helpful headings.

[27:29] Verse two to four talk to God for people and verse five to six talk to people for God and Paul's opening instruction in verse two is to continue steadfastly in prayer but it's noteworthy what he asked them to pray for.

[27:44] Paul is writing to them from prison but he doesn't ask them to pray that God might open the doors of the prison but instead that he might open a door for the word so that they might declare the mystery of Christ clearly.

[28:02] Paul's concern is not for his own comfort not for his own freedom but his primary concern is that the word of God would go forth that he would be able to make the mystery of Christ clear so that others like the Colossians had done might hear and believe and that's a challenging thing again isn't it?

[28:24] Are our priorities in the same place as Paul here? Would you share this sentiment if you were landed in prison for sharing the gospel?

[28:37] But this is a great prayer request to have. I remember being challenged once with the question if someone was to listen into your prayers would they learn more about you or about God?

[28:50] and it challenged me because probably if someone was to hear everything that I was praying they'd learn much more about me they'd learn loads about the things that were going on in my life the things that I was worried about the things I wanted from God but they probably wouldn't learn much at all about God about his kingdom about opportunities that I might have to share the gospel that's not wrong for us to ask God for things to pray for things that are worrying us in our personal lives of course not but if all of our prayers are taken up with that then it might just be an indication that our priority is in the wrong place so as we talk to God in prayer we should have kingdom priorities in mind and perhaps one particular thing in this area to pray for would be to pray for our pastors that they might be clear and bold in declaring the mystery of

[29:54] Christ revealed in his word maybe they aren't seeing this quite yet in our society but it might not be long before we do see pastors who are imprisoned for preaching the word of Christ for preaching the gospel just like Paul was and that's a scary thought it would be easy to carry to the pressure and just to avoid teaching on difficult topics controversial passages to avoid the potential backlash if I had a completely free choice this morning I maybe wouldn't have picked this passage as my first choice but because we're committed to preaching through the whole Bible and through Bible books then when you get to an unpopular passage you've got to do it so let's pray that the Lord would embolden ministers of the word across the country to go on teaching faithfully and he would continue to raise up men who are able to do this and the same is true in the second little section in verse five to six all of us as Christians need to make sharing the gospel sharing the word of

[30:59] Christ a priority in our life Paul says in verse five we need to make the best use of time that's true isn't it there's an urgency to our needs to share the gospel because we won't be here forever the friends and the family members who you want to share the gospel with they won't be here forever and one day Christ is going to come again and bring an end to this age of gospel proclamation and so we need to take what opportunity we have to speak to people for God as well as walking in wisdom we need to let our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt as we speak to people now we understand what gracious speech is perhaps this salty speech is a slightly elusive metaphor but whatever exactly it means I think it's fair to say that salty speech needs to go beyond bland and mundane small talk just as salt adds depth and interest to the flavor of food speech which is seasoned with salt should have a depth to it as Christians we should be intentional about having conversations which go beyond the weather and the weekend and we should ask good questions what's your number one priority in life have you read the bible before as an adult what do you think about

[32:25] Jesus now this doesn't mean you have to become a bible basher and vomit all the bible verses you've memorized over the poor granny next to the bus stop it also doesn't mean we need to have all the answers I think that's a fear which can often put us off we worry people will ask us questions we don't know the answer to but Jesus doesn't ask us to do more than we're able to not every conversation needs to become a full-blown debate in fact if you are asked the question that you don't know the answer to then one thing you can always say is look I don't know the answer to that question but why don't you come to church hear more about the bible you can ask your question to one of the ministers and hopefully that day it won't be me preaching but someone else you can ask willie but we do need to make the best use of time we have to speak to people for god christ is lord over everything and our priority should be to see him glorified to see his kingdom growing as more and more people come to hear and believe in the glorious gospel and then finally paul goes on in verses 7 to 18 to speak of our transformed partnership as those who call christ lord we are part of a body a body that's bigger than just the individual church that we are part of and so our life in christ will also transform our partnership with other believers paul's moving to the end of his letter here and it's often tempting i think as we read these new testament letters to skip over these sections because we don't really know who tichicus is and we don't care who says hi to who but paul's not wasting ink when he writes these things and there's a reason he doesn't just sign off you're sincerely paul as we read these verses carefully we get a picture of the partnership that exists between different churches and different gospel workers in first century asia minor partnerships which have been formed and transformed by the gospel they have all come to believe and in the lord that they've come to serve and two themes really emerge from these verses things which are repeated time and again if you look through these things paul's firstly the struggle of gospel ministry the struggles of gospel ministry paul's been clear from the outset that real gospel ministry involves struggle and toil he spoke about that at the end of chapter one in the beginning of chapter two but we see here that paul's not the only one who's struggling for the gospel verse seven titchicus is described as a servant in the lord that's the same word by the way as translated bond servant earlier in the passage his life has been taken up in the servant the service of christ he is bound to him in service aristarchus is in prison also with paul verse 12 epaphras is also a bond servant struggling on behalf of the colossians working hard for them and for other churches in the area and verse 18 paul signs off just so they don't forget remember my chains real gospel ministry involves real struggle it did in the first century and it does in the 21st century there's no escaping that we're never going to get away from that a servant is not greater than his master and calling christ lord and serving him is not a popular thing to do in a world that hates christ but the second thing which becomes clear from these verses is that these burdens these struggles are shared they're shared between partners in the gospel titchicus is described as a beloved brother and he's sent for the purpose that he might encourage their hearts and sms too is faithful and beloved brother who will update them with news of what's happened aristarchus sends greetings mark is to be welcomed epaphras greets them look the beloved physician greets

[36:26] them as does demas and there are clearly partnerships between neighboring churches as paul passes his own greetings to the church in laodicea and in the house of ninfa and this is a wonderful picture isn't it you can just imagine back at that time as the gospel began to spread and these networks of little house churches sprang up partnerships began to grow and strengthen as they prayed for one another supported one another visited one another and so friends as those who serve the lord jesus christ as those who submit joyfully to his lordship we do need to be ready to struggle we need to be clear with ourselves that it's not going to be easy it's not a walk in the park and we also need to be ready to support one another in many ways the church in scotland is in a mess churches which have turned their back on the bible are dying left right and center but there are churches out there who are committed to preaching the word faithfully to proclaiming the mystery of christ the week before last i was at the pastor's training course residential and it was so encouraging there to hear about new churches which were being planted to hear about revitalization projects with churches taking on pastor for the first time in years and to hear of established churches who are committed to raising up and training up more gospel workers for the future when our list of allies seems to be thin and our list of enemies seems fat we need more and more to be committed to partnering with those who are on site we need to be devoted to prayer for other churches in our presbytery in our gospel partnership we need to continue to support the work of corn hill as they seek to train up gospel workers for the present and for years to come we need to pray for and support our gospel partners across the world for many of these churches for many of these gospel workers it is a lonely business slogging away day after day for the cause of christ even in a relatively big city center church like ours it's hard isn't it it can feel like a slog i bet it felt like a slog for the faithful christians in colossi too they're being belittled by false teachers telling them that their christian experience isn't enough they need more they need to top it up in light of that how encouraging do you think it would be to read these verses to read these greetings that paul sends to hear and be reminded of the partnership of the people who are praying for you week after week struggling in the same cause and this is why our partnerships are so important we are united with others across the world who like us have been brought to new life in christ they and we have been given the fullness of christ that are now laboring in the same cause serving the same lord it's not always easy to call christ lord there are many challenges many struggles but we need to remember there are also many privileges our joys of seeing the gospel bearing fruit jesus is not a hard master he loves his people he loves all of those who come to him and he calls us all of us each and every day to name him as lord over our lives to turn away from our old life and send day after day after day whether it's for

[40:27]  the first time in your life or whether you've been doing it every day as long as you can remember so friends as we finish hear the words of our lord jesus he says come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i am gentle and slowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light amen let's pray oh god you are the light of the minds that know you the life of the souls that love you and the strength of the wills that serve you help us to know you that we may truly love you and so to love you that we may fully serve you whom to serve is perfect freedom through jesus christ our lord amen