Sermon for 1/25—On Colossians 4:2-20

Remember My Chains

Colossians 4

2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
7 Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he^[a] may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9 with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete^[b] in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal^[c] for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. 15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his^[d] house.
16 Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it."
18 This salutation by my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

 

Last words. History records a lot of people's final words before they died. Beethoven is reputed to have said, "Friends applaud, the comedy is finished!" The famous preacher and evangelist Henry Ward Beecher is believed to have said, "Now…the mystery." PT Barnum asked what ticket sales were like at Madison Square Garden. Joan Crawford said, "Darn it, don't you dare ask God to help me" to her housekeeper. Thomas Edison said, "It is very beautiful over there." Poet Dylan Thomas, "I have had 18 straight whiskeys…I think that's a record." Edgar Allen Poe said, "Lord help my poor soul."

 

The Baptist preacher Tony Campolo tells the story of his father-in law on his death bed. He has been bedfast for days. He sat up, quoting I Corinthians 15 and said "O Death, where is thy victory. O Death, where is thy sting." He repeated this three times, and then died immediately after.

 

My great-grandmother passed away in August of 2005. My birthday is in August. Imagine my surprise when I received a birthday card from my Grandma Pearl postmarked the day after her death. It seems, the last day she lived she sent me a birthday card on an old card meant for another occasion that she had laying around the house. She told me how much she loved me, and how much she was thinking of me on my birthday, and remembering watching me grow up. Then she spent a lot of time giving me the update on the flowers in the garden and the deer in the back yard. Though her health was getting more and more frail, she was taking care of the flowers that her health would allow her to care for. That night they told her she had colon cancer and she was going to have to go to the nursing home after surgery. She had a massive heart attack and died a few hours later.

 

And now we come to the end of the book of Colossians. The apostle Paul is there in his prison cell. And he senses that he senses that is most likely that he will be the last time he gets to communicate with the people in Colosse. In many ways these are like his last words, and at least his last words to the Colossians. So he grabs the pen from the man that was writing down his words, with manacles around his hands and feet. He draws attention to say that he is writing these last words, in many ways these final words, in his own handwriting And what does he say? He says, "Remember my chains".

 

Last week we talked about remembering our baptism. We talked about how a baptism is a chance to recommit to our relationship with Jesus. To refocus on what Jesus had done. And to recommit to what he has called us to.

 

Remembering is a big part of our lives as people. We are hardly able to function without our memory. Our memories help us tie our shoes and drive to work, they help us be able to know and love our friends and neighbors. A life without memory would be very painful and very difficult. We only have to look at those we know with Alzheimer's to know this. Remembering is important.

 

It is not only important to remember our pasts. It is important that we remember them rightly. It is important that we remember the important things. It is important that we remember with grace and truth and love, and not in petty and childish ways. It is important that we let our memories be guided by the Word of God and be energized by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no telling WHAT we remember and what we do not. But it is important that we let Jesus guide HOW we remember.

 

God, through Paul, is challenging us to remember in Christ-centered way. He is asking us to remember his chains. Through asking us to remember his chains, he is asking us to remember certain things about who he is, and who God calls all of us to be. When the apostle Paul says "Remember my chains" he is saying us to remember our purpose as a church. So let us dig a little deeper into what this passage says to see what that means.

 

When the apostle Paul says to remember his chains he is urging us to remember him in a way that causes us to act. To live out our faith. And to live it out in four key ways.

 

1. Remember to pray.
   

   My friends, I am convinced we do not pray enough. I am convinced that I am not as committed to prayer as I should be. I am convinced that many of you are not feeling as connected to God through prayer as you should be. I admit I could be wrong. But I do not think I am.
   

   
    

   We need to take time to pray with one another. Not just at the beginning and at the end of meetings, but we need to move prayer to a more central place in our life together. We need to devote ourselves to prayer so that we can bring our needs and our prayer requests before God. Of course we need to do that. But we also need to learn to pray prayers of praise and thanksgiving together. As our book club book suggests, we need to practice God's presence with us in all we do. As we whittle wood in our backyards, and do our churches business, we need to invite and be aware of the presence of God in our midst. And invite him to guide us, lead us, direct us, forgive us, and love us.
   

   
    

   Everything we try and do, everything we do as a church should be soaked in prayer, and led by God's Holy Spirit. It is easy to try and do things on our own power. And when we do that the church becomes not much more than a religious Lions Club. We need to be passionate about having a relationship with Jesus, and growing in our knowledge and relationship with Jesus. Even if that causes us to make major changes in our lives. We must remember to pray.
   

 

1. Remember the mission
   

   My friends, it is so easy to come to church and focus on how it meets my needs, and focus on what I get out of church for me. Let us avoid that pitfall. Let us remember that following Jesus, first and foremost, is about carrying out the mission of Jesus.
   

   
    

   Verse 3 says we need to pray for open doors for sharing the gospel. Verse 5 says to pray that we will have the right words to speak at the right time. Even as Paul is suffering and about to die, he is passionate and wholeheartedly committed to sharing the gospel.
   

   
    

   
    

   Church, this church does not exist first and foremost for those that are a part of this body. First and foremost, this church exists for those that need to hear the life-changing message of the Word of God. Our church does not exist for us. It is exists for God. And it exists to reach others with the love of God.
   

   
    

   A couple of weeks ago we discussed an outreach project for our church where our church would be a center of mission for other churches around Southern Colorado through hosting a weekend of hands-on ministry in our community. We are still in the process of discerning whether this is something God might lead us to do.
   

   
    

   I am not going to push you either way on this decision, but I will tell you this. Even if this is not what God is calling us to do, we darned well better be seeking something else that pushes us as a congregation to have an intentional outreach in our community.
   

   
    

   Joining together with civic organizations like meals on wheels is a good thing. It is something Jesus would want us to do. Doing nursing home chapels once every few months is a good thing to do. We should be proud of our membership in the Ministerial Alliance. But our gospel ministry should go beyond our community partnerships. We cannot outsource all our outreach to mission giving and the ministerial alliance.
   

   
    

   We need to intentionally, as members of First Baptist, and as our congregation, to go into our community and to share about the saving love of Jesus with our words and with our actions. First Baptist, you are a GOOD CHURCH. I love you. I love pastoring you. But if we just keep doing the same old stuff the same way we are going to be closing our doors in the next 10 years.
   

   
    

   We must reach out. Passionately. Now. That is what we are all about.
   

   
    

2. Remember your brothers and sisters in Christ
   

   As Paul continues on, he shares about a number of people, and asks the church in Colosse to remember and care for the people he mentions. Many of them are a part of Paul's ministry team. Interestingly enough, many of them where failures at some point in their ministry. Onesimus was fugitive from the law, and an escaped slave. Paul asks the Colossians to forgive him and accept him as a brother in Christ. (The book of Philemon which is an attachment to this letter for a man named Philemon asks Philemon as onesimus' former slave owner to grant him his freedom). Paul mentions John Mark, who flaked out on the first missionary journey he went on, and was the source of Barnabus and Paul going their separate ways in their missionary endeavors. Each of the people he mentions has ministry gifts, but also big time failures
   

   
    

   Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul urges the Colossians to accept these men and support their ministry among them. In the process he reminds us about something we often forget.
   

   
    

   This church is a place where we not only offer grace to the world, but we offer grace to one another. We need to forgive each other. Bear with one another. We put up with one another. Even more, we choose to love one another.
   

   
    

   
    

   That doesn't mean we cannot speak our mind. That does not mean we cannot keep one another accountable. Loving one another is not always easy and it is not always nice. But we need to look out for each other, and bring out the best in one another. We need to seek to see how God is working in each of us, and encourage one another to grow in that way.
   

 

1. Remember the cross
   

   This is implied, but it is important. Probably the most important point. When Paul says to remember his chains what he is saying is to remember his suffering, and as you remember the suffering of Jesus.
   

   
    

   There are a lot of TV preachers and popular authors that will tell you that following Jesus is something that you do so your life will be happier and easier. So that you will have more money and success. Most of these preachers do not preach the gospel. They preach idol worship. They want you to bow the knee to success, power, control or wealth. Following Jesus means something different.
   

   
    

   Following Jesus means that we are willing to sacrifice everything to follow him. We are willing to lose friends for the sake of the gospel. We are willing to sacrifice physical comfort. We are willing to follow Jesus even if it means pain. Even if it means failure. Even if it means heartbreak. Even if it means death.
   

   
    

   Why? Because we believe in the cross. We believe that Jesus is more than a self-help guru. He is the way. The truth. The life. And we cannot find true hope without him. We cannot find truth without him. Without him all our life is a mirage. And in a relationship with Christ all our life, our pain, and our heartache makes sense. Because even if we have to suffer and hurt, be in chains or take up our cross, we can somehow have that heartache and pain mean something if we have Jesus. Our live can be bigger than wood, and metal. It can be about truly knowing God, and truly doing God's eternal mission in our small part of the world. In small little ways our lives can have eternal influence. And if we truly believe, we should be able to sacrifice and use all we have to serve the one who has made all, and created all, is all around us, and who hold the whole world in his hands.
   

   
    

   Will you have the courage to trust him. With your whole life. Will you remember Paul's chains? Will you remember Christ's cross? Will you remember your mission? Your eternal call?
   

   
    

   Please do so. Today. And then…continue to remember.