 Colossians chapter 4. We're going to conclude our series here in the book of Colossians by looking at verses 12 through 18, so allow me to begin reading to you at verse 12. I'll read to verse 18 and we'll begin our study. Colossians chapter 4 verse 12. Epiphras, who is one of you, a bond-servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you and those who are in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician and Demas, greet you, greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and Nymphus and the church that is in his house. 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 and say to Archipas, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it, the salutation by my own hand, Paul. Remember my chains, grace be with you. Amen. So as we begin, we just have gone through the passage preceding this and in that passage Paul referred to three Jewish converts who had ministered alongside of him. We saw them, Aristarchus, a man named Mark, and he also mentioned one referred to as Jesus, also called justice. And so I'm going to start with that. Jesus also called justice because he's identified by two names. You see, during this time it was common to be known by more than one name. When you begin to look at the list of the names of the apostles, for example, some of them have more than one name. You have Simon, who's also known as Peter as well as Cephas. You have Lebeus, whose surname was Thaddeus, also known as Judas, the son of James. You have John and James called Blanergis, which means sons of thunder. You have Simon, the Canaanite, but he's also referred to as Simon, the zealot. You have Thomas, who is referred to as Didymus. The word Didymus means twin, so he was a twin, but he was known as Thomas, also called Didymus. You have John, whose surname is Mark. We saw that in Acts 12, verse 12, and you know Saul, who is better known as Paul. In this passage, we have someone by the name of Jesus, who is also called Justice. As we begin, once again, this is the only place that Justice has ever spoken of, and that is found here in the book of Colossians. We note that his name was Jesus. Well, the name Jesus is the name that is translated Savior, and so he could never live up to the name Savior. That's a name he could never live up to, but on the other hand, the name Justice speaks of righteousness, and that's a name that is describing this man, and that's because with God's help, he was known for a righteous life. You see, to live righteously speaks of a life that is conformed to the Word of God. To live righteously speaks of living in relationship with God, and because of this, it means that you are just, and that means that you are living right. And he can be called this name Justice because he'd been saved, and he'd been empowered by God to live righteously. In Titus, chapter 2, verses 11 and 12, it reads, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness in worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. And so you'll never be able to be perfect, you'll never be able to be like, Jesus, Savior, but you can live like a man named Justice. You can live a life that's righteous, you can live a life that is known for its godliness, by its holiness, by its purity, the fact that you're set apart by God. And that happens because you've gotten right with God. You can live soberly, and you can live righteously, and you can live justly in this present age. Why? Because the power of the Holy Spirit is now within you, because when you gave your heart to Christ, you became the temple of God. And when you said, God, empower me, I want to be used by you, God answers prayers like that. And so, no, we're never going to be perfect this side of heaven, but we can be just. We can live righteously. And that's what we have here. Even as we're looking at a man by the name of Jesus, Jesus also referred to as Justice. And so with that, we move into verse 12 in chapter 4 of Colossians, and he speaks of Epaphrys. He says, Epaphrys, who is one of you, a bond-servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. So we'll look at Epaphrys or Epaphrys. Now, according to Colossians chapter 1, verse 7, Paul referred to him as, in this way, he said, he's our dear fellow-servant who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. So Epaphrys went to Rome and had told Paul about the error that was creeping into the churches. And he also let Paul know that the Colossians were remaining strong in the Lord. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 8, Paul said that he had declared to us your love in the Spirit. So Epaphrys is away from the church, so Paul is sending his greetings to them on his behalf. You see, as their pastor, he would not want them to be overly concerned for his welfare. And because of this, Paul makes mention of his greetings to the church. Notice with me that Paul refers to him as a bond-servant. Now, in his writings, Paul only referred to himself in Timothy as bond-servants. But here he speaks of Epaphrys as a bond-servant. So that highlights his character as well as the way he lives. And Paul is advising them of his great love for them and also of his constant prayer for them. He said he's laboring fervently. Do you notice that? Epaphrys, who is one of you, a bond-servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers. Laboring fervently he speaks of wrestling, wrestling in agony in prayer. So it gives to us an insight into his desire, his affection for them. And it gives to us an insight into this man's desire for them to walk according to the ways of the Lord. And he's praying. He's praying that they would stand perfect and complete. Well, when it says that he would, that you will stand, that word stand speaks of having your feet planted, you're immovable. He's praying that you'll be immovable, that you'll be perfect. The word perfect speaks of being mature. He wants you to grow in your spiritual maturity. When he speaks of being complete, that simply means lacking nothing. So his prayer for you, and I'd say that this would be a prayer for us, to be honest with you, is that we would stand perfect and complete, that we would be immovable in our faith, that we would have a mature faith, and that we would walk in in such a way that we obviously are not lacking a single thing. You see, this is the desire of every minister that the church grows in maturity and faith. A genuine pastor desires the members of the church to live for Jesus Christ, to have him as first and foremost in their life. That's a genuine desire. It's not for the church pews to be filled. Thank God when people show up. Thank God. But beyond that, it's not just to have people in the church building. It's that the church understands who the church is and is equipped for works of service and takes what they learn and lives it out in the world, as the salt and the light. And that's a pastor's desire, not just to have full buildings because we can have full buildings and empty people. What the Lord wants us to have is people who are full of him and his spirit. And that's the heart of a pastor. That's what we want. We want people in the church to understand that the church is just a meeting place, that it's a feeding place. It's a place where people get equipped for works of service and go out and live for Christ. Paul, when he was writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 15, said this to them. He said, though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. You may have a lot of people, 10,000 instructors. You always have somebody whispering in your ear to tell you what God is all about. Every person in this room who's a believer has others in your life who will tell you what God is all about. They're instructors to you. They will share with you. But Paul is saying, listen Corinthians, though you may have 10,000 people whispering to you, you need to remember who your daddy is. I'm your daddy. Who's your daddy? Paul. That's what he's saying. You need to understand I've begotten you in the gospel. And a father has a father's love for the body of Christ. I don't know if you noticed that perhaps you did. I'll bring it up. It just happened. You were here. My son dedicates his baby with my beautiful daughter-in-law, beautiful baby. And I know I'm biased. That's okay. But I'm right. But anyway, so he kisses me. Did you notice that? Some of you did. He's not ashamed of showing affection, but he shows it to his father. And I begot him and I love him with all of my heart. And you can see the real affection that a father has for a son. And Paul had that real affection for the body of Christ. Paul loved the church. He said, you may have 10,000 people whispering in your ears all about Jesus Christ, but you need to remember I begot you in the gospel. I have a father's love for you. And a father's love is a powerful protective love. That's a father's love. I will lay my life down for my child. A father's love. Mothers do too. A father's love. Very fierce. And Paul had that. Paul had that. And he loved them deeply. And he wanted these people to walk properly. That's what happens. That's your desire. In Galatians, when he was writing the church in Galatians chapter 4 verse 19, he said this to them. He said, my little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you. Now you mamas understand laboring in birth. And Paul was saying, I travail. It's my great agony to see you mature in Jesus Christ. You see, pastors teach the word so that the church grows in maturity and gains in spiritual discernment. There are so many false teachers, so many false messages. So Paul writes to Ephesians in chapter 4 verse 13. And to them, he said that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. So this is what Epiphras was praying for them, that they would mature in their faith. Notice verse 13, how he says, for I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you and those who are in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. And so not only did Epiphras care about his own church, he cared about the body of Christ in general. These churches that he refers to are close by, and he may have had something to do with their conversions and could very well have actually been pastoring those churches. In Colossians 2 verse 1, he had said, I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. So he could have pastored those churches, may have simply loved the body of Christ, but he has a great zeal for them, and he desires fervently to promote their welfare. Now notice verse 13, he mentions Hierapolis. This is the city north of the city of Colossia. It had believers there, but now there are no recorded Christians in that area. And so he speaks of him having this zeal. In verse 14, we'll spend a few moments in verse 14, we see Luke, the beloved physician, and Deimos. Now notice Luke, the beloved physician, and Deimos greet you. I want to spend some time with you looking at this. Luke, we know Luke. Luke wrote a Gospel. He wrote the book of Acts. When you read your Bible, you see that Luke was a Gentile, but he was also a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul and was very dear friend of his. We know that when you read your Bible that Luke finished well. Ultimately, he received a commendation from the Apostle Paul. You see, in Paul's last letter, he makes mention of his dear friend Luke. In 2 Timothy 4.16, he says it like this. He says, at my first defense, no one stood with me, all forsook me, but his last words concerning Luke are found in 2 Timothy 4.11 when he said, only Luke is with me. So he held fast. This is one who held fast to the end. He finished the race. He obtained the prize. He's the one who was abiding in the word like Jesus in John 8.31. He said, if you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And that's what he was. He's somebody who held fast through all things thick and thin, pain and tribulation. Luke remained with Paul. He was a dear friend and follower of Jesus Christ, a companion, and a man God used in a mighty way. But he held fast. In 2 Timothy 4.7 and 8, Paul said, I have fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. So Luke was somebody who loved his appearing. Luke had his eyes on heaven and Luke ends up hearing Jesus' welcoming commendation. Matthew 25, 21, well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. That's something Luke will hear. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Why, you've been faithful in many things. That was Luke. But in contrast, we have a man named Demas. In the book of Philemon verse 24, Philemon 24 refers to Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke as Paul's fellow laborers. From the book of Colossians and the book of Philemon, we see that Paul considered Demas a faithful believer. And what you have here is something like a photograph, if you will. You have Ticacus, these are the men that he's been naming, Ticacus, Anesimus, Aristarchus, you have Mark, you have Justice, Epiphrus, Luke, and Demas. You can almost see them posing with their arms around one another, smiling. I have a photo I'd like to show you if you guys can put it on the screen. There's a little photo, that's one of my favorite photos. Let me tell you a little bit about this so I can enhance this illustration. That plane behind us there is a DC-3. This plane, this trip was taking place in the country of Colombia. And we were about to fly to over a jungle landing in an abandoned airstrip. And we were going to get in trucks and we were traveling to a location to minister to the church in Colombia. And so when we went to board the plane to leave, the guy who owned the plane actually owned like several of them. So before we left, it was with Raul and there's 11 of us there, Raul Reese. The guy says to us, before you leave, will you do me a favor? And so we're all there. Yes. He says, will you pray for my company? And we said, of course. He says, because they've been shooting my planes out of the sky. So we prayed. He had already lost two or three. They'd been firing. The gorillas had been firing at his planes and taking them out of the sky. So we got on this DC-3 and we flew from this small city we're in. We flew into a jungle area into an abandoned airfield. And we landed. And when we landed, the members of the church had sent a truck over to pick us up. And Raul told me, he said, you need to sit down real low because when they see you, they'll know you're not from Colombia. He says, and they will kidnap you. So I was low-riding with my hat pulled over my head. And so were a couple of the other guys because we all, obviously, are not from Colombia. And so we traveled into the city, the village, really, that we were ministering in. And we ministered there. The next day, we returned to the abandoned airfield. And we're waiting. Now, the plane was supposed to arrive at a certain time, but it was late. And so we sat there on the field for over two hours. And you can't be doing that. You can't be there exposed like that for so long. But there we were. We're there for two hours, just kind of waiting. And finally, one of the guys who was with us, his name is Hector Martinez, Hector received a radio transmission. And he said, okay, okay. And then he turns it off. And he turns to us. He says, the plane is about to arrive. He said, it's going to hit and turn around and come. When it comes back, he's not going to turn the engines off. He's going to drop the ladder. You guys, you need to run and get on the plane. Now, we're thinking we're in a hurry, because, you know, there's just hourly wage for the, I don't know. So there we go with our bags and we throw them on the plane. And we all clamber up the ladder and get in. And off we go. And we didn't know what had happened. This is what had happened. It's a pilot, as he was coming in, had intercepted a broadcast. And what we didn't know. And you'd have to picture this in your mind's eye for a moment. We're on an abandoned field, but there's a tree, tree line. It's forest. They have cut this out of the forest. So the forest is right in front of us, maybe 300 yards off to our, my left. And there were Colombian guerrillas in there with weapons. And they were talking to one another. And they thought we were DEA or CIA. And so they were making plans on how they were going to take us. And all we are are some goofy pastors just waiting there ready to get on a plane. That's all we are. And so when we climbed on that plane and flew away, you know, we actually, God was protecting us from being kidnapped in a pretty, pretty war torn country at that time. Why am I telling you that? Because of this picture here. That picture there, there are 11 of us there, friends, dear friends. And you can, you can remove that now. So I'll make the point in, in this book here in the closing, you have a group of friends who are posing for a photo and you can almost see them with their arms around one another, smiling. You look at the photo and you see Ticacus, you see Onesimus, you see Aristarchus, Mark Justus, Epipharus, Luke and Demus. And you can almost see Demus, this man, Demus, who is in, we'll say he's in the center. And he's got his arm around one of the guys and he's got his other arm around one of the guys and there's this group photo that is taking place. And you can see only the outside, but you don't see the inside. You don't see their hearts. All you see is their smiles. And that's what you have in this book here. You have his name mentioned, Luke, the beloved physician, and Demus greet you. As far as Paul knew, Demus was one of them. But you see only the outside. You don't see his heart at one time. Paul believed that he was a fellow worker at one time. This man cared for Paul. When Paul was imprisoned, he paid a price to come and visit him. As with Aristarchus and Epipharus, he took great personal risks by coming to see Paul. It would seem that he had at one time a great love for Paul. A love that might have driven him to come and see him, to be identified with him, to travel with him. But something happened because in the end, Demus abandoned Paul. Once again, we learn much from the last word someone speaks of someone else. And in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 10, this is what Paul said of Demus. He said, Demus has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica. A man that I took photo with. A man that I traveled with. A man that I was on my face before God with. A man that I was in prison. He came and ministered to me. A fellow worker, a brother. I love this guy with all my heart. I'm sorry, but I put myself in that. I've had that. I've had that as a pastor. Guys that I traveled with. Guys that I ministered with. Guys that I was on my face weeping with. Guys that I poured my life into. I pictures with. And he forsook me, having loved this present age. And took off. I've seen it. I've endured. I've experienced it. And I can feel the pain of Paul when he says that. Demus, my friend, my fellow laborer, my companion, my fellow servant. Demus has forsaken me. Having loved this present world. Yeah, he's part of the group photo. Yeah, he's got his arms around other guys. Big smile in his face. Doing ministry. And that's what you're seeing here. He hasn't yet betrayed Paul. So he says Demus greets you. And everybody knew Demus just recently being involved in the pastor's conference and the international pastor's conference. We had probably 16, 1700 guys and ladies with us for the conference. Demus was the guy who would walk into the conference. A room like this. When he would walk in that back room before service would start, people would see him and they'd turn and they'd say to their friend, Hey, there's Demus. Let's go say hi to him, man. He's been with Paul. There's Demus. I hope he has something to share with us. I bet the Lord has put something on Demus' heart. And he can tell us things that he's gone through. And Demus, I'm sure, was the guy who said, Oh yeah, we were here and we did this and we saw this and now we traveled here. He saw a lot. He went to a lot of places. Went into Rome where Paul was. And you walk into Rome. The grandeur of Rome. The amazing city and so much going on. So many things. And that grabbed hold of his heart. And he said, I want this. This is what I want. I want what the world has to offer me. I want that. Whatever it may have been at that time. We have a tendency of lowering it to think that it was probably nothing. No, that's simply because we haven't really traveled enough to see what the beauty of some of the ancient ruins, when you see what they would have looked like in their time with actual marble pillars 20, 30 feet high and marble throughout the streets. An incredible beauty. It was beyond, especially for people who might have come from a country background and have never seen anything like this. And you got a guy like Demus. And he goes into Rome and he sees it. And he's seen Salonica in Greece. And it's just an amazing place in Athens. And he's seen these places. And the more he saw them, the more he wanted them. And what happened in him is he finally said, I'd rather have this than anything else. I don't need pie in the sky, buy and buy when I can enjoy myself in this time, in this age with these things. That was Demus. That was Demus. You see, Jesus made a clear following crisis in an easy road. It requires a sincere, complete commitment to him. It seems that initially Demus was willing to physically make the sacrifices to serve. But when he no longer derived satisfaction from ministry, he went right back to the world. Paul said he loved this present world more than he desired Jesus in heaven. The longing for this world that he was drawn by took him captive. He remained a slave to his longing for the things of this age. And the draw was so strong that when it came down to it, he abandoned Jesus. His longing for the things of this present world overpowered him. Demus loved this age more than he ever desired the coming one. He was like Lot's wife when God judged Sodom and Gomorrah. And she was instructed, along with the others, flee this place and don't look back. Well, she was warned not to look back, but she did. She turned and she looked back and the scripture says that she looked back. And Hebrew language is strong in that point. It says with a longing, her body had left, but her soul remained. And she looked back with longing, I'm leaving this. And she became a pillar of salt. In contrast, you have Moses. Moses was in line to become ruler over the most powerful nation on earth. Pharaoh's daughter had raised him. He could have ascended to the throne of Egypt. The writer of the book of Hebrews gives us insight into this. In Hebrews 11, verses 24 through 27, the writer says, by faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Moses chose to suffer affliction with the children of Israel. He died at the age of 120. He could have ruled many years, but would have spent eternity separated from God. Demas chose to enjoy a few years, but chose to spend eternity without God. In Hebrews 13.5 it reads, keep your lives free from the love of money. Be content with what you have, because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. There's nothing greater than having a relationship with God. Paul knew that. He said, I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. I have been in little, and I've had times of being in plenty. I've had both. I've gone in the spectrum of nothing, in the spectrum to an overabundance. He says, but I've discovered this. I've discovered the secret of contentness, because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can be abased, and I can abound. I can have it all, but what matters most to me is Jesus Christ. That's who I want, and that's what satisfies my soul. I have considered all things, but refuse for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord, for whom I have given up everything. That's your possible. And Demis would not do that. And so that stands as a warning to us. In verse 15, greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphus, and the church that is in his house. So Nymphus was a Christian man who lived in the city of Laodicea. He was wealthy, because his house was large enough for the church to meet in it. From the beginning, the church met in various locations, but often met in homes. Remember on the day of Pentecost, there were about 3,000 people who came to faith through the preaching of the Apostle Peter. In Acts 246, it reads, Continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. And so it became fairly common for the church to meet in in homes. It wasn't always possible to have a location available for them to meet in, and so they would meet in homes, because the homes were available. So you see it in Scripture. You see greetings to house churches. First Corinthians 1619, Paul says, Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord with the church that is in their house. When we look at Philemon, verse 2, it refers to the church that met in his home. Now our church began in a home. We met in Pomona, then in Ontario, in homes. In the case of Nymphus, the church of Laodicea met at his home. The fact that the church met there reveals that he was a person of character as well as well. Nymphus was wealthy and hospitable, which is a gift necessary for the church to grow. If he and his wife were not hospitable, people would not come to church. I remember we had, when our church was young, we had home Bible studies, and I remember how valuable and important it was for the people who hosted the study to have a hospitable heart, because not all people do. I remember one study in particular, Marie and I went to just to see how it was going, and if you get a glass and I put it on the table that was next to me, and the wife, the hostess, came and lifted the glass and took a rag and wiped off, and then put it back down. And how was the pastor? I mean, this is a study from my church, and the hostess made me feel unwelcome in the Bible study. So I asked, is that typical? Is this how it is? Oh, yeah, she has this thing about that, and makes people feel like they have to leave. Hospitality is a good thing, and so I kicked her out of the church. No, you know the Bible says in 1 Peter 4 9, be hospitable to one another without grumbling, and that's what you had over there. You had a church meeting in the house that all people were welcome. Now in verse 16, 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. Now a letter was being circulated from Laodicea. They were to read that letter, and there are those who believe that the letter spoken of as the letter coming from Laodicea would have been Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Now we really do not know that much about the church of Laodicea, but let me share a few things about you. It would seem that the church was planted by Epiphras. It is mentioned four times in the book of Colossians. We know that Colossians was written around the year 60 to 62, and that the church there was already in existence. But this is something else we know about Laodicea. Laodicea is one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation chapters two and three. The book of Revelation was written between 90 and 96 AD, so the church there in Laodicea would have been in existence for over 30 years. The church ended up having a very high estimate of its own importance. In Revelation 3.17 Jesus said, you say I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing. So these are all indicators of a large powerful, influential congregation. But the fact is it is not what you say of yourself, but what God says of you that matters. They thought themselves influential and powerful, but Jesus did not think that of them. In Revelation, Jesus tells him, you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot. I will spew you out of my mouth. When he says you are lukewarm, neither cold or hot, either you want something to be hot, or you want it to be cold. But when it's just tasteless and lukewarm, it causes you to not want it. But when he says I will spew you, he's speaking of the fact that his gag reflex is being activated by them, and he's saying I literally want to vomit you out of my mouth. That's how much displeasure I have in you. He says in Revelation 3.17 to them you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. And then in Revelation 3.19 and 20 he goes on to say, as many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. Very often evangelists will use that, and I in the past have done so. Revelation 3.20, behold I stand at the door and knock. There's a very famous picture of somebody had drawn of Jesus standing at a door knocking, and that there's the door handle, it's not from the outside, it's on the inside, and people have used that as a picture of opening the door of your heart to receive Christ. Well the context here is one of judgment. Jesus is actually warning the laodicean church. Behold I stand at the door and knock, meaning I'm coming and I'm approaching to bring judgment to you. He's not saying open up so I can come in and we can hang around. He's saying I'm coming in to judge you because you are lukewarm, because you are causing me to want to puke, and I want to come and have some time with you and deal with you. That's what the picture is, but that's the laodiceans. They received a warning from Jesus himself later on. And then finally, verse 17, say to Archibus, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it. There are questions concerning Archibus and the ministry that he received. It may be that he was a pastor in the church of Colossae working alongside of Epiphras. As mentioned, Epiphras may have pastored Colossae as well as Laodicean Herapolis. But Paul specifically commanded Archibus. He said take heed to the ministry which you've received in the Lord that you may fulfill it. Archibus, as a minister of the gospel, is commanded to take heed to the ministry. He must not take lightly or neglect the responsibilities he's been entrusted with. You see, being a shepherd is a noble calling. It must be carefully and faithfully performed. Hirelings do not care for sheep and neglect and use them for their own interests. In John 10, 11 through 13 Jesus said it like this. He said, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he's a hireling, doesn't care about the sheep. True shepherds sincerely care for the sheep. So Paul commands Archibus to take heed to the ministry which he received. Archibus, you're a pastor-teacher, carefully safeguard the ministry. And that begins by safeguarding his own manner of life. Paul in 1st Timothy 416 said take heed to yourself and doctrine, continuing them for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. He's to take heed to himself, but he's to take heed to the ministry he received. He's to understand that he received the ministry. It's not the result of his natural talents. That's why Paul in 1st Timothy 112 said I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who enabled me. He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Fulfill it. You see, many don't. Demas wouldn't. Keep yourself in the love of God. Maintain your love for others as you serve Him. It's not the way you begin, it's the way you end that reveals your ministry. And be aware that there are things that you will put up with that people may not understand. For some people being a minister seems to be kind of an easy thing and in some ways I guess it is when the Holy Spirit is moving things flow beautifully but sometimes when the Holy Spirit is moving the enemy wants to move in opposition and that's what causes people to begin to question their calling or even remaining close to the Lord. There's the pressures that they go through. Just the other day here in this fellowship a couple of weeks ago now I was walking into the Wednesday night I saw Jared was speaking to somebody and Jared was sitting in the seat that I usually sit in on Wednesday nights up in the front and so I walked past and walked up into the platform and I I put my my notes and things down and and I just felt something a just a there was just a sense something's wrong and I walked down I went and spoke to some of the guys for a little while when sat down and as I ministered you know worshiped then I got up to minister the word and as I was teaching I could sense something's wrong something's wrong finished the bible city I'm walking out and Dave Busamante my administrator walks with me and he says we just had we had a problem before church so really and he said somebody guy who was sitting next to me really just threatened Jared and told Jared that he could jump up on the stage if he wanted to and he could beat him up and nobody would stop him I said really and he said he told Jared he needs to leave the ministry because he's having an affair with you that Jared is having an affair with you I said really I said Jared's not even my type no I said I said really and he goes yeah I said deal with it so they went to speak to him immediately afterwards there was a little bit of a problem he huffed off the left the church and then he started posting things and he posted about me he said pastor David was all this is having affairs with women and men and just made a bunch of bad statements about me and things and went on went so far as to say that he was going to take over the church and he was going to be teaching on Sunday so he was inviting everybody come to church because I'm the new pastor at Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley I've been given the church because pastor David has disqualified himself now anything you print people believe that's what it is today right you know that if you're on social media somebody says something it must be true and so he wrote some other things and so we were aware and this may give you some security right now that whenever I teach there are people praying for me but there are also people around that are watching out for me and you might find it interesting I'll tell you that people say how can we change the stage because there are people who have sent things you know that they they want to harm me and so rather than getting beat up in front of you I just put these we did it this way and that's why you have to go up there that doesn't mean that somebody can't jump up in all of that but that's just one of the security things we were told by the police department in the city that that when there was a period that when I was driving my car through the city whenever chino PD saw me they would come behind me not to give me a ticket but actually were providing security escort because of things that have been said and they were concerned because they believe that I'm a hate speech pastor because I preached the gospel here see so I'm aware that you guys don't know that so I'm letting you know and so the guy came and the guy was here and he was ready to preach and so my security team is aware of it and one of them approaches him he's standing while everybody's seated because that's when I usually come out so I'm gonna assume he thought it was his cue to come up and give a study and one of my security guys said to him sir you'll need to be seated and he says I don't want to and he says well you're gonna need to he says you can't make me and he says well you're gonna need to what if what if I don't he says well you'll just have to go outside so the guy thinks that he's challenging him and so they walk out and then two of my security guys follow him out and off they go this is stuff that happens all the time and and you you don't know that and I'm just telling you that so you're aware it's not that it's not that that we are afraid I'm not I'm not afraid listen if somebody did something to me to be honest with you you know for me it's my ticket to heaven I get to see Jesus Christ I don't live in fear I'm not I don't do that that's not me you know I go to heaven you know that's not why I'm telling you I'm just telling you that that ministry isn't what you think it is and it's not always just that guy standing up there and saying things and making you laugh or whatever no there's a lot of things under the surface that people aren't aware of demons couldn't put up with it demons couldn't handle it demons said you know what I love this present age I would rather get involved in the things that are going on than to put up with this any longer to go and visit Paul in prison and to be marked as somebody like Paul no I'd rather go to Thessalonica and join myself I only have a few years to live I'm going to make the best of them Luke said no I'm willing to follow God all the way Paul said I'm willing to be in chains for God because there's a difference when you have your eyes set on the Lord you will do whatever God calls you to do at Archipus he's saying you make full proof of your ministry you hold fast to the end you hold on and be the man of God you're supposed to be you receive ministry in the Lord fulfill it and that's what God calls us all to do to hold fast maintain your love for God maintain your love for other people maintain your enjoyment of serving him because there's nothing better than that and then finally this salutation by my own hand Paul remember my chains grace be with you amen and so this is a way of identifying himself as the author there were people during that day who were writing and circulating letters as if from Paul and they were undermining the faith of some so Paul said you know this is the genuine article because I have written this my signature he would normally have somebody that was ascribed he would dictate the letter to they would write but here he said I'm signing this myself Paul this salutation by my own hand Paul you know this is the real deal and then he closes by saying remember my chains grace be with you what a touching way to close the letter I'm in prison I'm chained to a guard but I'm writing this letter to you I've paid a very costly price for remaining faithful to Jesus and his message don't forget me don't reduce the cost of discipleship remain true to the gospel it's a message that calls us to lay down our lives and pursue God Paul spent time in prison he suffered in ways others didn't experience but he maintained an eternal perspective he said to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 4 17 and 18 our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporary but the things which are not seen are eternal so in light of this remember my chains and make God's grace be with you all love Paul