 Okay, here we are. Colossians 1. This is a very heavy portion of Scripture. You know, sometimes people talk about wanting the meat of the word and this and that, and that is what we're going to be looking at in the book of Colossians chapter 1. And so I'm going to develop it with you, try and give you some information, lay a foundation. It will take me several minutes to lay that foundation. I'm going to remind you of verse 23. I'm going to actually use verse 23 to deliver a few things in my introduction. And then we're going to move into verses 24 through 29 as we continue our journey through the book of Colossians. So let's begin reading together here in Colossians chapter 1 at verse 24. I'll read verses 24 through 29. And again, go back to verse 23, lay a foundation and then move into our study. That will be taken from verses 24 to the conclusion of the chapter. So beginning at verse 24, reading to verse 29, Colossians chapter 1, Paul writes, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to his saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end, I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me, mightily. So in verse 23, let me read that to you. Paul had said, if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded instead fast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven of which I, Paul became a minister. So in verse 23, Paul spoke of the gospel, which he preached, he says, as a minister of the Lord. So in saying this, he's exalting the gospel and he's reinforcing his apostolic authority. First T actually exalts the gospel because it's within the gospel that we discover how we can be transformed. It's the gospel that makes it clear that we can be saved and it's in the gospel that we are taught that we can be radically changed. If any man be in Christ, Paul says, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. So the gospel teaches us how we can be in Christ. The gospel teaches us how we can be transformed. And so it's in the gospel that we actually understand that we can be saved and we can be changed. It's in the gospel that we discover that we can be completely new. And because of this, as Paul is saying in verse 23, we have hope, hope of the gospel. Now they could, they could have hope because they heard the message of salvation. The Colossians had heard the message because it had been brought to them. That's what you refer to when you speak of the Great Commission. You see, the gospel was first presented in Israel. But Jesus in Acts chapter one, verse eight, had said, you shall receive power. After that, the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then he went on to say to the uttermost parts of the earth. Now, so Jesus had commanded the believers to take and share the gospel throughout the world in what is referred to as the Great Commission. And so he gave to them the message, which is the gospel, the message of salvation, the message that God took upon himself human flesh, dwelt amongst men, and that people could behold him. The message that God took upon himself the sin of the world as the Lamb of God died on a cross, was buried, but was resurrected. And so the gospel contains that, that message of salvation where God took upon himself my sin so he could give to me his righteousness. That's found in the gospel. So they were given the message of the gospel. And that message of the gospel was first and foremost the message from God. But secondly, he also gave to them the power through the Holy Spirit, because you might have the message, but you need God's power. And so you have the message of the gospel and on Pentecost, he supplied them with the power in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So armed with the gospel and armed with God's power, the message is faithfully proclaimed. It was preached in Jerusalem, as proclaimed in Judea, Samaria. It began to go throughout the world. The gospel had made its way to this place called Colossae. That's what the book of Colossians is spoken of. It's, the place is called Colossae. It's there in, in modern Turkey. And the gospel was embraced by a man named Epaphorus who gave that message to the people there in Colossae. And many came to faith in Christ. So upon receiving Christ, the Colossians now had faith in Jesus Christ. Not only did they have faith in Christ, but when you have faith in Christ, you have other things. You also have love. You have love for God and you'll have love for other people. And you also have something called hope. And this hope that he's been speaking about, he said, is laid up for you in heaven. And so these Colossians, because they've received Christ and have been transformed, are now living with faith, hope and love. And the hope that they have is one day they're going to be with Jesus Christ. One day they're going to receive their heavenly rewards. And they're growing to understand the reality of the fact that heaven is their home. And so they especially look forward to being with Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is their blessed hope. It's even like what Jesus said in John 14 verses two and three, when he said, in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. And so this is a promise that Christ gave, that heaven is our home, that he would one day come and take us to be with him where he is. In 2 Corinthians 5 verse 8, Paul said it like this. He said, we're confident, yes, well, please, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. To the Philippians in chapter one, verse 23, Paul said, I am hard pressed between the two having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So their hope was made possible because of the gospel, God's message of salvation. It's the message of the gospel, the power of salvation, resident in that message when we apply faith and receive that message for ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 1 18, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it's the power of God. In 1 Corinthians 2, 4, and 5, Paul said, my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. So the gospel has the power to transform anybody who receives it in faith. We can be new creations in Christ Jesus. So Paul is a minister of that gospel. So he establishes credentials. Why is he doing that? Well, Paul is establishing his ministry credentials because false teachers are challenging his authority, mysticism. And we'll see this as we go through Colossians. Jewish legalism, Greek philosophy has begun to seep in and is polluting the church. They had taken the gospel and these false teachers were changing it for their own profit. And that's something that when you read your Bible, when you read your New Testament, you're going to see is very common. There are letters that are written by Paul, especially to combat the false doctrine, the false teaching concerning Christ that was entering into the early church. And it's a very serious matter because eternity rests on the truth of the gospel. A lot of people don't understand that today. They think, well, if somebody says he believes in God, isn't that enough? Aren't all religions really the same? Don't all roads really lead to God? In any one sense, all roads lead to God, but it depends on how you want to be led to him because ultimately all men will stand before God, all people will stand before God. Everyone gives an account of themselves. So in one way, yeah, I guess roads will lead to him. But the road that we took is through Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life. And we have relationship with him. And so not all faith is the same and not all so called gods are the same. And these false teachers were entering in bringing false teaching, the mysticism, the legalism and things of that nature. And as they were doing that, they were undermining the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so when this happened, Paul would respond to it. He did so in the case of the church in Galatians. When you in Galatia, the book of Galatians, when you read the book of Galatians and you just open it up and you start reading from chapter one, verse one, you'll get to verse six. And Paul is already dealing in Galatians chapter one at verse six. He's already dealing with false teaching that's entered into the church there in Galatia. And he says in Galatians one, six through nine, he said to them, I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. You are already following a different way that pretends to be the good news, but is not the good news at all. You are being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ. Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed. I will say it again, if anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God's curse fall upon that person. That's a very serious charge. Let him be anathema that God's wrath be upon him. He said if an angel of God or even if I change this, may God's curse be on me. That's how serious this is, and that's how serious Christians ought to think about the message of the gospel. We need to understand it is truth that sets you free. Paul had a deal with that in the church of Galatia. He also had to deal with that in the church of Corinth. Now when you read 2 Corinthians, but you can see it in both 1 and 2. When you read 2 Corinthians, you'll see that infiltrators had entered the church and were presenting themselves as the most eminent apostles or super apostles. And their so-called teachings were intended to undermine the ministry of the apostle Paul. Challenging the minister's authority is a common tactic of false teachers. And in 2 Corinthians, Paul actually defended himself from no less than 24 charges that were lodged against him by false teachers. You need to know that when you're reading through 2 Corinthians because many of the things he's saying are actually in response to the things that people were saying about him. And if you look and you read the Bible and read the New Testament and read 2 Corinthians in that way, you'll understand that. You'll see that because they were making accusations and 24 different times he has to defend himself against those accusations. For example, the false teachers said that he was self-appointed. Paul made it clear this wasn't true, but God granted him spiritual authority. How do we know that? 2 Corinthians 1.21, he says it. He says, he who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God. In other words, I didn't appoint myself, but the false teachers are saying, oh, he's self-appointed. He said, that's not true. God is the one who anointed us. His detractors also said that he wasn't equal to them because they were super apostles. They said he was a boring speaker. He was intellectually inferior to them. So in 2 Corinthians 11, verses 5 and 6, he said, I consider that I'm not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles, these super apostles. Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. They were saying he can't speak. He's boring to listen to, which is interesting because we have that take place in the church today. People will very often, not all people, but some and many, I have to be honest with you. We'll choose the place that they attend church if they're entertained. There are more desirous of having their ears tickled and to be entertained than to hear the truth. And that took place in the early church. That took place with the apostle Paul because they were saying, he's untrained in speech. What does that mean? Well, during that day, they had schools of eloquence. They had places they'd train you how to speak. Today we have those, by the way, we still have them. They're in seminaries. They're called homiletics. They teach you how to preach. And they'll say, speak this way. Don't speak that way. Use this illustration. Don't say that. They will teach you. Well, he was untrained. And so they say he's untrained in speech. And he said, well, I may be untrained in speech. I'm not like one of these people who've been trained how to speak. He says, but I'm not untrained in knowledge. I know what God's word says. But one of the other things that I didn't note, but they said he's also ugly. So he's an ugly, he's not an attractive man. He was an ugly, boring, intellectual, is what they were saying about him. They'll never say that about me, but they, well, Paul rejoiced. Paul rejoiced in the fact that he had been saved. And Paul rejoiced that he was called by God to ministry. Yet being a minister was not easy. It wasn't an easy life. And being in ministry was not what it might appear to others to be. In his life, ministry came at a great cost. He had deep trials. He had much suffering. And he knew that this is what he would endure for the gospel. Say, God had made it plain when he was first saved. Remember, in the book of Acts in chapter nine, God spoke to a prophet by the name of Ananias. And he said to him, Paul is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Paul did suffer. Paul suffered, but he didn't lose hope. And he didn't grow frustrated with God. Instead of bitterness, Paul had an attitude of joy because he knew who was in charge. In the book of Romans in chapter eight, verse 28, Paul wrote to them and said, we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. He said, we know this. We know that all things work together for good. We have absolute certainty of this one thing. God is in control of everything. Now, this is something that we can know, but not something all are willing to know. You see, sometimes we get caught up with the moment and we forget the future. We can begin to question how things occur in our lives. And as we're going through pressure, we cease trusting the Lord. But God causes everything we experience to produce good results in our lives. He says all things work together. God would not permit evil if he could not bring good results in spite of the evil. And whatever we encounter, God is able to redeem. No matter the situation, no matter the failure, the pain, or even our lack of faith, God is at work for our good. So we as believers need to learn to trust him to hold fast to his word. That's why we read his word daily. That's why we get ourselves immersed in it so that we might know his promises and guarantees because he loves us. And Psalm 46, 1 and 2, the Bible says it like this, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help and trouble. Therefore, we will not fear even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. We won't be moved because God is in control. All things work together. All things combine to produce good. This is not good produced by the events, but the Lord uses these things to produce good. It's like what Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5, 18, and everything give thanks in everything, not for everything, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. You see the things that Paul went through and the things that we go through are actually refining us. They're helping us to go in our understanding about who God is because we have this idea of God, but we may not have a full idea of him. We have some, but not all knowledge. And so we grow slowly to see the grace of God and how refined it really is and the power of God and how he actually is working on our behalf because God's behind and works through the things that we endure very often shaping us into his image. It reminds me of what takes place in Genesis chapter 37 through 50. In those chapters, we have the story of a young man. We all know his name. His name was Joseph. Joseph was a son of Jacob and Rebecca. And when you read his story, you see that he went through many troubles. When you read about him, you see that Joseph was 17 years old, and he was sold into slavery by his brothers. He became a slave in the house of a man by the name of Potiphar. And through a line accusation, Potiphar's wife said that Joseph attempted to rape her. So under a line accusation, he went to prison and he ended up spending years in confinement in an unfair way. In spite of all that went on, he ultimately was given great power. He had greater power in Egypt, the greatest power outside of Pharaoh. When he was 39, he was reunited with his brothers and they thought he would kill him. After all, they had sold him into slavery out of personal jealousy. And so we read how he finally disclosed himself to his brothers and when he said, I am Joseph, they were terrified. But in Genesis 45 verse 5, he says, now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. In chapter 50 of Genesis, verse 20, after his father died, Joseph told his brothers, as for you, you meant evil against me. But God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. You intended it for evil. God intended it for good. All things work out for good to those who love God. And those who love God will go through physical and mental and emotional pain. There's no guarantee that we won't. And sometimes it seems it's harder for us to endure. It can be terrible. But instead of bitterness, we learn to respond to suffering with faith and humility. Why? Because the things that work together produce the lasting fruit of faith. The suffering results in humility and attested and refined faith in God. The suffering gives us a platform enabling us to comfort those in need of comfort, to share with credibility God's love and power to those who don't know him yet. And Paul has given us this insight as he's given to us these verses before us. And that's why he says in verse 24, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church. Serving God and others did not cause Paul to lose heart to give up. He didn't allow his walk with Jesus to be broken. He stayed in fellowship with him. See, Jesus taught his followers that following him was often a path of pain. He taught his leaders that true leadership is born of brokenness that's produced in pain and forged in the fire of suffering. So he didn't fall into the trap of thinking that God somehow owed him something. And sometimes we do. Sometimes we'll say to the Lord, I've been faithful. I've done so much. How did you allow this to go into my life? I don't understand it. We complain against God and we're angry with God. We even go so far as to say that I thought you were a good God. But how did you allow this? You knew how I would react and you allowed this anyway. And we can blame God, but Paul never did. You see, to emphasize the joy of serving, Paul speaks of the sufferings he's enduring. He's in prison, but he's enduring it because he's a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He's not a prisoner of Rome. In Ephesians 4, 1, he says, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord. In Philemon, verse 1, he started his letter by saying Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Rome had imprisoned his body, but could not take away his freedom. Paul was free in Christ, even though jailed in Rome. But that gave him opportunity to write to believers. In 2 Timothy 2, verse 9, he said, I suffered trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains, but the word of God is not chained. So he says in verse 24, I rejoice in my sufferings for you. Well, when you read that, what is he saying? I better phrase it this way. What is he not saying? He's not saying that Jesus' suffering was insufficient, so he's adding his to Jesus' suffering. You see, when you read your Bible, you'll see that Jesus paid the price and none of us can add to what he's already done for us. In Hebrews chapter 10, verses 11 through 14, the writer says, day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties. Again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest, speaking of Jesus, had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his foot stool, because by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Jesus doesn't have to be recrucified in that one sacrifice. It was sufficient. And so Jesus' suffering alone provides salvation for us. So if Paul's not referring to Christ suffering on the cross, what is he saying? He's saying, I'm enduring suffering, but I rejoice in it because I'm suffering for the sake of Jesus. Again, his attitude is suffering as part of the privilege of following Christ. It's interesting how he wrote to the Philippians in chapter one, verse 29, and listened to what he said. He said to them, to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. It's been privilege, you've been granted. It's been gifted to you not only to go to heaven, but to suffer here on earth. Think about that for a minute. Say, Lord, I appreciate all your blessings, but that's one of them that I'd prefer you giving that to my wife because she really does. She wants to do that as for myself. No. No. He said, it's been privilege. It's been granted to you not only to believe, but to go through tough times, to actually suffer. Somebody once said, men will never become great in theology until they become great in suffering. Martin Luther once said, affliction is the best book in my library. Suffering has a way of getting our attention, refining our faith, and purifying our hearts. C.S. Lewis said, pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Through suffering and afflictions, important life lessons are learned. We can draw closer to Jesus. We can be deepened by the fellowship of his sufferings. Our salvation is evidenced as those who reject Jesus begin to reject us. Suffering prepares us for heaven and the reward for faithful service to him, and it undermines Satan's attempt to destroy the work of God in our lives. And so he's speaking about, in verse 24, something that is lacking, he says, in the afflictions. The word afflictions speaks of distress, pressure, or trouble. It often refers to the trials that come to believers, the ordinary pressures of life. You see, Jesus died, but the world still pours out hate towards him by hurting his followers. On Easter Sunday, we see hundreds of people who died in terrorist activities towards Christians who are worshiping Jesus Christ. It's been said that there is more persecution in the world today against believers than almost anytime in history. And you will see this over and over and over again as you watch the news or read your newspapers. You will be reading about it through news feeds that there is a lot of persecution taking place right now. And the world hates the message of the gospel, guys, and don't forget that. In John 15, verse 18, Jesus said it like this, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. So the world has rejected the message of the gospel from beginning. Afflictions deepen us, though, in the Lord. Afflictions will give us the experiences to draw from. Paul, when he was writing to the Romans in chapter five, said it like this in verses three through five. He said, not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character and character, hope. And he goes on to say, now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And so he says in verse 24, I rejoice in my sufferings for you, fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church, verse 25, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. So he says according to the stewardship, a steward is someone who cares for somebody else's goods. So Paul knew that God had given him stewardship over the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was to faithfully carry out his duties, properly communicating the gospel to them. But false teachers were infiltrating the church. They were bringing in error clothed as Christian doctrine. So as a minister, Paul gave the word of God accurately without personal gain. But these people were actually taking them captive by their false teaching. And again, we have people today who think that whenever you present the gospel that it doesn't really matter. But the fact is that gospel does matter and the message needs to be presented accurately. We don't add to it or take from it. It has to be given to others as we receive it ourselves. It has to come in a pure form. And so teachers need to be careful as they prepare messages and as they communicate these messages because God has said that the teacher is going to suffer a stricter judgment. And we have to be careful like that. And Paul gave the word of God accurately and he did so without any kind of ego attached to it, without any personal gain financially. Again, in 2 Corinthians 2 verse 17, he said to them, we are not as so many peddling the word of God but as of sincerity. But as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ because they were saying he was changing the message in order to have personal gain. Again, this is one of the charges he dealt with. In verse 2 of chapter 4 in 2 Corinthians, this is another charge. He says, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use deception nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Again, they were saying he's transforming the message and again, he defended himself. And so he says, I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. I've been honorable as I've presented this to you. He says in verse 26, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations but now has been revealed to his saints to them, God will to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. This mystery, the word mystery in Greek means a secret that was once concealed but is now revealed. We use the word differently. We speak about mysteries as if it's, you know, these programs you can watch on TV or buy a book that is called a mystery. The mystery in the Greek mysterious speaks concerning something that was once hidden but is now revealed. And he's speaking in that way. And this mystery he's speaking about in verse 27 is that the Gentiles would be fellow heirs with believing Jews. Now the Jews didn't know that Gentiles would be given an equal place in God's kingdom. So the birth of the church reveals God's plan and the depth of his love not just for the Jewish nation but now for the entire world. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. You see in Ephesians 3 verse 6 Paul said the mystery was that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body, partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel. In Galatians 3 28 he said there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free, there's neither male nor female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. This was a great mystery. And he's presenting this to them because as believers and some of them being young believers when the false teachers were coming in and were disrupting the teaching that they were receiving they could be moved away from the hope that was found in the gospel that was intended to keep them solid because new believers and immature believers have a tendency of swallowing anything if it's clothed in Bible references. And you know that that before you were saved and before you began to learn the Bible and all that it was easy for you to to be deceived. It was not that difficult for you to be confused. I know when I first got saved people began to speak to me and give to me things that weren't found in Scripture and and I can still remember thinking well it says it that seems like they're quoting right but I don't I remember the confusion and over the years I began to want to know what the word actually says because young people have a tendency of believing something because it's presented to them it's kind of like like small children were like small children and small children will will swallow anything. They pick things up you know I've got four kids I've got nine grandchildren and I've seen it with my kids. I've seen that when they were small you had to take care you had to make sure that they didn't pick something up and just put it in their mouth. I've seen it with my my grandchildren and when they're learning to crawl that they might reach down to pick up a rock or something and you know any parent in here knows what I'm talking about. I can still remember my my nephew Patrick when he was between one and two that he was in the backyard with his with his mom my sister Madeline and and he was one of these kids who would put things in his mouth. My Patrick would do that and and Madeline was telling me how that she was in the back she was doing some work and and Patrick was next to her and he's a couple years old or so and and you know how their their little cheek gets real fat you know some things in their mouth it's just a little and she's looking at his little swollen cheek and she says Patrick Patrick what do you have in your mouth and he just kept his mouth closed he wouldn't open his mouth and she said show me what you have in your mouth and he wouldn't do it so like any good mom she stuck her finger in there and pulled out what it was it it was a snail he had she yeah we didn't know we were French but that's how we found out you know yeah he had put a snail in his mouth and she pulled she said Dave it was a snail a gross slimy snail babies will put anything in their mouths and guess what we're like babies sometimes and we'll get upset because we're hearing something said about what we have so surely believed was true and we can get upset because we've been swallowing snails from Satan's garden and we don't even realize it his truth important Jesus said it is he said it sets the captive free but what does the lie do it ensnares you and why does Paul get so upset that he says if someone comes to you and brings a different gospel other than the one you've received let him be anathema let he be cursed forever including myself that ought to tell the church something there is something called truth and we have been appointed by the Lord to hold fast to it and to present it to others and that's what Paul is doing why because the Jewish mystics the legalists are coming in they're bringing in things about Christ ensnaring and trapping the young believer's minds undermining what God's work is all about and Paul is very defensive for him because he says you need to understand that though you're going through affliction and you may be thinking that a good and just God wouldn't allow it and you definitely must have people there who are sharing with you that this isn't the way of God God is a blessing God you need to understand that all things work together for the good of those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose you need to understand that because part of the way that God refines your faith and strengthens you and purifies your heart is by allowing these things into your life because it purifies you until it's just you and God and that by the way is what every believing Christian really wants isn't it to be like him but we need to remember that he was a suffering savior he died on a cross for us what makes me think that my life is going to be if a lane that is just covered with roses it can be tough it can be hard but the end is great because I have a great hope in Jesus because this world is not my home I'm just passing through and that's what we need to understand you see he says it in verse 27 to them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory and him we preach warning every man teaching every man you know wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus and to this end I also labor striving according to his mighty to his working which works in me meddling mightily we have not only present hope we have a future hope and a hope of glory with him and as difficult as life can be with such suffering and affliction we have something waiting for us much better we have Jesus with us now and our future is to be with him forever and that makes whatever we endure worth the struggle though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me and you lead me beside the still waters you take me to the pastures I'm willing to go through it as long as you're with me I walk through the valley but I'm not alone you are with me I will never be forsaken I will never be left on my own and these things that I go through are refining my faith and strengthening me and purifying my heart I said God make me like you and this is the process and seeing that it is I am willing to go through it if the end result is that I will see you face to face and when I see you face to face I will never regret what I went through because it was worth it every step of the way and that's Paul's teaching us that the afflictions that we go through is light he says in 2nd Corinthians 4 17 our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory I live 60 years 70 years 80 years by reason of strength but I die we all do that's all right you know it's appointed unto men to die once but I close my eyes here and I open my eyes there you think I'm going to whine and cry to him about how hard life was you will not be thinking of that you will just look at him and you will behold that one who wept for you in that garden you will see that one who laid his life down for you and all you're going to do is say God thank you you opened up your arms to me that's what you're good let's see if you're a believer that's what you're going to do you're not going to say you know I have a list that I've been how come I didn't get that job I wanted that raise how come I wanted to go to Israel they never let me you're not going to do anything like that you're not the oldest passed away he wipes away our tears behold I make everything new in eternity you have a chance to see your mama who knew Jesus your dad who knew Jesus your grandma grandpa who knew Jesus your uncle your aunt a brother a sister a baby you lost and you'll see them and you'll join with them and you'll rejoice before the throne of god forever and ever and no matter what you go through it was worth it because if I'm with you doesn't matter it was worth it and Paul said be careful because you're going through afflictions yes but is a light affliction especially in comparison to that eternal weight of glory because Jesus Christ well he is the hope of our glory our hope is not in better things that are grounded in worldly systems our ultimate hope is found in christ and what you prepared for us and again in the world we have tribulation it's fallen it's filled with sin it's filled with filled with pain and and though this is true we still have hope because this world isn't our home in john 16 33 these things I've spoken to you that in me you have peace in the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world is what he says to us so he says him we preach in verse 28 warning every man teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man mature perfect in christ jesus we warn the word warning speaks of admonishing or exhorting we attempt to awaken people to their need for him we teach the word teaching speaks of new converts as well as maturing believers solid teaching prepares people to live for jesus and to one day see him that's what I do and to this end he said in verse 29 I labor striving according to his working which works in me mightily all my labor would be without fruit if god did not empower me to preach and to warn and false teachers labor in human effort and ability but paul labored in god's power and he says to this end I labor striving according to his working which works in me mightily he said I am relying on the strength of god to do the work of god and as an anointed minister paul was saying I rejoice in my sufferings I fill up in my flesh what it's lacking because it's all worth it I want you to be grounded in the things of god I want you to enter into the kingdom of god I want you to be warned against the false teachers that are creeping in and I want your hope to be settled in the glory that will be revealed when you see jesus face to face and that's the heart of a true minister of god not just blessings here on earth but eternity with jesus christ that's what matters to every true preacher of the gospel that you one day will be in heaven with jesus christ that's what I strive for for us and that's what I desire for me