 Your voice was very faint But yeah, thank you so much for praying for us the Lord did hear and so the Lord will answer. Thank you so much Yes, so we have covered Pre-chapters of Colossians we entered Colossians chapter 4 We did up to a six Looking at some basic things that Paul wanted to you know instruct And then verse 7 onwards Colossians 4 verse 7 onwards we have the concluding instructions being given So I wanted us to you know Focus a little bit on that because there are a few things there which can be of use to us so We will begin with verse 7. So if we could have someone you know read out for us Colossians 4 verses 7 to 11 Colossians 4 7 to 11 if someone could read out for us, please Colossians chapter 4 verse 7 to 11 righteous beloved brother faithful Minister and fellow servant in the Lord will tell you all the news about me I'm sending him to you for this very purpose that he may know your circumstances and comfort your heart With on on this mess a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you They will make known to you all things that are happening there I restruct Because my fellow prisoner greet you greets you with mark the cousin of Barnabas about whom you are received Instructions if he comes to you welcome him and Jesus who is justice does these are my Only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision they have Proof to be a comfort to me Thank you, so we just see some concluding remarks over here Tychicus and Onesimus the two persons who are mentioned in verses 7 to 9 They are the people who actually carry this letter to the Colossians so Tychicus we Get to know he's being sent specifically to give information about Paul To the Colossian believers because right now Paul is in imprisonment so the Believers in Colossae are concerned about him. They probably want to know, you know, how things are with him so Paul doesn't want them to stay worried and concerned So he's sending Tychicus to carry news about him to the people Back in Colossae as for Onesimus Onesimus is being sent back To Philemon because he had run away from Philemon He was the slave of Philemon and he had chosen to run away And in we don't really know the details of how he made his way all the way to Rome but when he went over there, he probably you know met Paul at some point of time and Became a believer. So Onesimus is now a believer So here in verse 9 we see Paul addressing him as our faithful and dear brother Who is one of you? He doesn't say that slave on Onesimus. That's not how he addresses him He says about Onesimus our faithful and dear brother Who is one of you, you know? So in Christ, you don't have slave and free in Christ. You don't have Jew and barbarian, you know in Christ We don't have these Differentiations when it comes to our status We all are of equal status and we all are equally loved by God So we're all part of one family. So Here he addresses Onesimus as someone who is one of you, you know So he gives him that respect in the way he addresses him We also have mention of Aristarchus here Who it looks like has also been imprisoned along with Paul So he refers to Aristarchus as a fellow prisoner Aristarchus is the person Who had accompanied Paul and the other and the rest of the team to Ephesus So in acts 1928 to 29 When when we read about the riot which took place in Ephesus, you know when the people were very very concerned The local people were very concerned that everyone is turning away from, you know, the worship of their pagan gods And so they all They come and they attack these Paul and esteem So at that point in the acts 1928 to 29 We are told that the people seized Gaius and Aristarchus Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia and all of them rushed into the theater together Just what it says over there in acts 1929 So Aristarchus is someone who had been serving along with Paul for a long time and Was very faithful and then we have mention of mark the cousin of Barnabas So when mark had abandoned Paul and during the first missionary journey and gone away His cousin Barnabas spoke on his behalf and you know said that he should be given a second chance But Paul was not for that Paul felt that someone who had abandoned them should not be given a second chance And Barnabas, you know spoke for mark so strongly And in fact it led to a you know a strong disagreement between these two ministers of god Until finally Barnabas decided that he would take mark and go separately on a on a separate missionary journey So because of the effort that Barnabas put in and invested in mark's life, it looks like mark, you know Came back to that earlier commitment which he which he had made and so he became a very strong missionary and was of great help to Paul later So we see over here that even Paul was not perfect He took a strict stand and felt that mark should not be given any second chances But because of the kindness of Barnabas because Barnabas was willing to give mark a second chance He was willing to pursue him talk to him counsel him and you know get him back into ministry You know mark His entire future ministry was blessed So The reason that we are going through these concluding remarks is because there are things I know contained over here Which can be beneficial to us in our own ministries So if we know any marks in our own ministry circles, you know Like Barnabas, it is worth it to put in that little bit of extra investment That little bit of extra effort because who knows that person may genuinely in their heart still love the lord and want to serve It's just that maybe they were scared away by circumstances or the toughness of the situation And all they needed was a little bit of encouragement and support from a fellow believer You know, so if there are such marks in our ministries rather than just taking a very strict stand and saying I'm done with this person If we invest in them, who knows, you know, they may they may be they may actually break out of that Whatever it is that is holding them back and they may be willing to pursue the lord in serving and You know, their their entire future ministry will be blessed So many people will be blessed through them and in heaven one day, you know We would be rewarded for making that extra investment and effort in helping that person get back on their feet So we see that about mark over here. Here paul says When he comes to you, you know, welcome him. So, uh, he He now respects mark, uh, and he, you know, loves him and appreciates all that he has contributed towards the ministry another thing that we Yeah, maybe this Verse 11. Yeah verse 11 is where it talks about a person named jesus justice Um, who is also one of the team in Rome And he says these are the only jews among my co-workers Uh, so aristocracy mark and this jesus justice are the only jewish um Missionaries who are willing to identify with paul and you know visit him spend time with him talk to him All the other jewish missionaries seem to have distanced themselves. They are scared, you know, how um, how paul's Arrest will turn out whether he will be given a death sentence or not. And so they want to avoid any problems So they all distance themselves From paul paul had a much larger team earlier But now the all the other jews are kind of scared. So they have backed off But these three jews, you see Even now even though he's in prison and his court cases going on they have chosen to stand by him So this again is a beautiful practical, you know Point that we see regarding ministry Where even when there's a position and uh persecution Some believers will choose to stay You know with those who are in jail, they will choose to is to Attend the court appearances even though it may draw negative attention to them They are willing to take a stand for this believer Who is getting persecuted in jail or being you know being pursued by the police? um, so When we do that, you know, uh, there's a special blessing I think for such people because it says here, you know paul says here They have proved a comfort to me So these three jewish Missionaries who chose to stick with paul They were such a comfort to him. They they were a blessing to paul you know, so A reward would really be given to them for what they therefore the stand which they took So this is another you know principle that we can keep in mind Uh, a third beautiful thing that we see is regarding epa fraz who founded this church in colosseum And if you remember it was not paul who planted this church It was epa fraz who had been trained under paul in emphasis So he comes over here and he starts this church over here and it says about him um, he's always wrestling in prayer for you That you may stand firm in all the will of god I mean the word that is used over there It's not just saying that he's interceding or that he's praying or that he's just putting requests before god It says that that man is literally wrestling in prayer for you You know, because he epa fraz is aware of the weaknesses of the congregations that he's ministering to He knows, uh, you know, what are the temptations that they are facing and he's concerned for them He doesn't want any of them to slip away and go back, you know into their old ways So he literally wrestles for them in prayer Just the way jesus wrestled for peter in prayer earlier if you remember, you know, um Jesus speaks to peter and he says, uh, satan has asked to sift you like wheat So yes, you will be tempted and the temptation will be very strong. In fact, uh, jesus says to peter you will fall You know, you will not be able to successfully withstand the temptation But I have prayed for you. So you will come back. You will get back on your feet You will have a future ministry. You will have a future hope in me So in the same way jesus wrestled for peter and you know secured his future Epaphras was doing that for his people. He it looks like he was in charge of Three to four churches in that, you know region where I mean in in in all those places where he had planted churches and he was spending time in prayer Wrestling for all of those believers so that they would all stand firm in all the will of god it says um And in verse 13 paul again repeats he says he's working hard for you And for those at la odisha and hero police So it looks like he had planted the churches in these three places And he didn't just simply plant those churches and sit back and say oh, I have done my task No He continued to pray for them. He continued to intercede for them. So church planting is a good thing to do Appointing leaders in those churches, you know, which have been planted. That's also good But the opposed to the church planter His job is not done after just appointing local leaders in those churches He continues to um Supervised those churches continues to visit them to encourage the leadership over there And he wrestles in prayer for them so that all the believers over there will continue to stand firm So when we look at these, um these Early church missionaries and leaders They had a very different view of ministry Now, you know, it's more about um Um statistics how many people were you able to save? How many numbers have been added to the church? And then if the numbers are right, then we are satisfied and we sit back But you see these early Ministers and leaders It was not about statistics. It was about Serving these people who have been added to the church and bringing them to a level where they have really been Discipled because the great commission was not, you know to build up statistics. The great commission was to make people disciples So discipling will involve a lot more than just simply adding to the numbers it will involve Literally spending time with those numbers with each of those numbers so that they're no longer numbers But they're actually people where you know about the issues that they are facing You know about uh where they are weak and where they are strong so that you can Council them, you know in in the right manner So there's a lot more involved in ministry than just simply, you know adding to the numbers in our congregations so On judgment day when the lord judges us and you know Rewards us for all the things that we have done. He will see what kind of ministry has been done So it's not just enough if I have built up a mega church God will also see In what way I have invested in the lives of the people in that mega church So it's just not enough that I have you know established a mega church God will want to know in what way I discipled the people in that mega church how actively I was involved in their lives So what god expects from ministry is something far greater so um To an extent maybe it is good that we all have you know a smaller numbers of people to Disciple it kind of makes it easier not all of us, you know run mega churches Thankfully, you know Most of us are maybe just in charge of a bible study group or you know We we just maybe teach a small group of people So it it's easier to establish contact with them and you know keep in touch with them Bring them up pray for them encourage them So when we do that that would be considered through ministry um And then verse 14 he next talks about luke and dimus He says our dear friend luke the doctor and dimus send greetings So it's very sad. Here's dimus is sending his greetings to the church in kolose And then later we see that he drifts back into the world That's that we would see that in second timothy where uh paul very sadly writes that dimus has gone back into the world so It's a warning, you know for us, uh, it's in fact in second timothy 4 10 This is what paul says he says for dimus because he loved this world Has deserted me and has gone to the salonica so, uh He was drawn back into material things I mean that's quite a fall for someone who was in full-time ministry Because full-time ministry back then didn't really have any You know money or popularity or anything attached to it It was something very tough at that time to be in ministry So this man dimus along with paul and the rest of the team made a lot of sacrifices to to serve the lord and in work full-time and do all of that But a man like that Got drawn back into the world Because he felt that you know the ways of the world are easier Simpler doesn't involve that much sacrifice and he was drawn back into the world So that should serve as a warning to us That no today while we are busy sending greetings to the people that we know we are ministering to Tomorrow we should not have drifted away And gone back looking for an easier way of life So following christ and carrying our cross every day will sometimes prove quite painful It will involve a lot of sacrifice But carrying that cross on a daily basis is worth it because Jesus said that such people are my true disciples And so it is good for us to stick with the lord until the end and remain his disciples So that you know, we will enjoy the eternal reward that he has for us Um, so that's regarding dimus And then we come to this very, you know sad versus in 1516 um Where paul says give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at laodicia And to nympha and the church in her house After this letter has been read to you see that it is also read in the church of the laodicians And that you in turn read the letter from laodicia So paul has sent a letter to kolossi And he has also sent a letter to the laodicians and he wants them to exchange the letters and read it out You know so that both the congregations will be familiar with all the instructions and all the encouragement that has been given in these letters So it's very very sad, you know that we get to know later that the laodicians Didn't really follow What was written in these letters now? We don't really know what the contents of the laodician letter was But you know what was read out from the kolossian letter To the laodician people they failed to keep it So you know even as we were covering all these previous chapters of of kolossians and you know Did we take those learnings to heart? Or are we in the in the same condition as these laodicians who took those teachings lightly? You know it went in through one year and went out through the other year It didn't stay it didn't take root and so they They they ended up in a very bad condition If you remember, you know when we were doing kolossians chapter three We talked about how because now we have been raised with christ You know we are our mind should be on the things above we are supposed to be seated with christ So we should our mind should be where our spiritual status is Where our spiritual positioning is if we are seated with christ Our mind should also be on the things which are in the heavenlies rather than in the earthly realm And in fact paul says you know in kolossians three he says for you died And your life is now hidden with christ in god So he urges the you know throughout chapter three He gives a lot of instructions saying you know what are the things that they can do to continue to remain hidden in christ The laodicians did not take that seriously And so in revelation chapter three when jesus is talking to them He uses very very strong words in revelation chapter three Verse 17 jesus says to them you say i am rich I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing So jesus says that's what you people are saying about yourselves And then jesus says in verse 17 revelation 3 17 But you do not realize that you are wretched pitiful poor blind and naked I mean this was a church Which thought that they were in a very secure beautiful comfortable position Maybe they even said to themselves look at the amount of wealth we have it's because we are seated in the heavenlies with christ But jesus who was looking at them Could see the pathetic condition that they were in He says you are wretched pitiful poor Blind and naked very strong terms So it is good for us to be doing you know These books you know these epistels one by one But if we don't take to heart the teachings which are there in these epistels and actually practice them Then we will be like the laodicians You know we may in fact have a lot of head knowledge about each of these epistels We may even be able to write an essay You know on maybe one of these epistels But where's the point if we have not practiced it and we have not stayed hidden in christ Then jesus who is looking at us you know will not look at our you know mark's certificate Rather he would look at the Condition that we are in spiritually and he may have end up saying to us you are yes, you have an you know apc Certificate, but you are wretched pitiful and what a tragedy that would be So in that revelation three, um, you know he uh, you know when I was Reading that I was just kind of thinking in my mind. How would epaphras have felt? you know when he when he um Read this letter from john, you know with john would have you know sent this letter to the laodician church At that time I wonder what epaphras would have felt because he had wrestled in prayer for the laodician church But these people had chosen to not follow the teachings and uh, so in revelation three in fact Jesus gives them one more chance. He says you know, um Buy from me gold refined in the fire He says, you know, uh, that he will give them white clothes to wear so that they can cover their shameful nakedness. He says and um, so at the at the at the end of that, uh, you know, um Exhortation was that popular? You know verse which we all know Jesus speaks that in verse 20 revelation three 20 and he says here I am I stand at the door and knock If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with that person and they with me So jesus again coming back to them and saying i'm giving you one more chance to to live a life hidden in me Because you have died with me. You have died to the world Don't go back to the things of the world and he gives them one more chance to come in and you know He says I will come into you and you have give you one more chance to hide your life in mind And keep your mind focused on heavenly things rather than earthly things And he says that if anyone chooses to respond to his voice and take this step I will give the right to sit with me on my throne So it's not enough that we are seated in the heavenlies with christ today. What about in the future? Jesus is very very plain. He says to the one who is victorious. I will give the right to sit with me on my throne Those who do not choose to stay hidden in christ those who act as if though they have not died to the world And know who are still focusing on the things of the world They will not live victorious lives and jesus will not give them the right to sit with him on the throne So where's the point in being seated in the heavenlies? You know in In our spirit today if we can't physically sit with him that day on the throne, you know So it really would be such a tragedy So these are all things that we need to take very seriously These epistels and the instructions given in them are meant even for us in the church today If these are not things which were just written for a church long ago These things apply even to us today and in the same way jesus was closely watching the colossian church the lauditian church Is closely watching our churches today And I wonder what he is thinking in his mind about us and our churches So we need to be very careful about these things Because what he says that that counts his judgment regarding us counts the praise which people are heaping upon our church That secondary You know, they may just look at the uh look at us outwardly and say oh, what a wealthy church or what a what a very pious church But what is god's ruling? What is jesus ruling regarding our us and our churches? This is something that we need to keep in mind So the colossian letter was read out to the lauditians, but they did not take it seriously Uh, we do not know about the colossians themselves Maybe they you know really applied those teachings to their lives and maybe they went on to really Um attain the glory which jesus had reserved for them So uh with that, uh, we kind of come to a conclusion, you know with the colossian epistle Um, I'll switch off the recording and then you know, we will get into the next epistle So we'll switch on the recording again