Join Team Jesus – Colossians Part 3

Good Morning! What an amazing time of worship. I absolutely love the last song available.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to continue on in our series in Colossians while Chris is gone.

My prayer is that everyone here would take a next step in their relationship with God as a result of the teaching today.

Today we are going to be looking at one of the most influential people in Scripture named Paul and his heart for ministry in Colossians 1:24-29.

In this passage, we are going to see that Paul had a part to play in his role on team Jesus.

How many of you are sports fans? Like all things sports?

Right now my eyes are glued to the TV for the NBA Finals. Milwaukee Bucks vs. Phoenix Suns.

I grew up watching basketball and have always been passionate about it.

For those who like sports, you know how intense the finals are in any sport. It’s what players dream of.

• In 2011 we had our very own Cardinals win the world series.
• In 2019 we had the blues win the Stanley cup.
• And in 2020 we had the chiefs win a super bowl.

Whatever team sport you like watching (I just hope it’s not tennis), you have to admire the teamwork and chemistry that goes into making teams great.

One person alone cannot lead a team to a championship, it requires everyone.

Everyone must play their role, and work at perfecting that role.

And if one person decided to not play their role in the game, things wouldn’t go well.

• The coach can’t play point guard.
• The quarterback can’t play defensive end.
• The catcher cant play pitcher.

Everyone has to fulfill their role in order to be successful!

What I love about the Bible and the church, is that we are like a team.

• We are playing for team Jesus, and on team Jesus, everyone has a position.

We are given the power to fulfill the position and our purpose behind our position is to glorify God.

• Paul knew what his position and purpose were, which we are going to be looking at today.

1. The mission given to Paul.

Colossians 1:24-25

24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.

One thing to know about Paul was that he was a man that was familiar with suffering.

• In fact, when he wrote this letter to Collosae he was in prison for sharing the truth of Jesus with others.

Nothing was going to stop Paul from letting the truth of Jesus be known.

• This led to some major turmoil for Paul.
• Paul suffered for Jesus to be known to the point of not only being imprisoned, but shipwrecked and beaten, and even stoned..

You see, suffering is tied with mission.

• Our mission as a church is to help people meet, know, and follow Jesus.
• If we are going to play our part on team Jesus, it’s not always going to be easy.

There will be times where we may be judged for our faith. We may even suffer for our faith.

When we stand up for our faith at the workplace or at a family dinner it may lead to some judgement and suffering.

But what is our response to suffering?

Through Paul’s suffering, it says that he is glad. Some versions of the Bible say that he rejoices.

• But why would Paul rejoice in his suffering?

He rejoices in his suffering

1. Because of who he is in Jesus
2. And because people are coming to Jesus as a result of the turmoil going on in his life.

For Paul the suffering is worth it because what is gained is better than what is given up.

This is why we work out and eat healthy. Working out and eating right is suffering. For the past week I have eaten chicken, rice, and broccoli and woke up early to work out. Trust me, it’s not fun. As a matter of fact, I would rather be sitting on the couch drinking Dr. Pepper Cream soda and eating Andy’s.

• But what is gained is better than what is given up.
• We gain our health but it means we give up sugary foods. It means that we give up overeating for portion control.

For Paul, what was gained, which is seeing people meet, know, and follow Jesus, was worth the suffering that he endured.

Then in the second half of verse 24 he says something really confusing. He says, “for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.”

If we remember back to Jesus’ death on the cross, his final words were, it is finished.

So what does Paul mean when he says that?

• He wasn’t talking about anything lacking in the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross.
• He was saying that there is still suffering to be done. We lack because there is still pain to endure if we are going to embrace the mission of God.

Verse 25 says, 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.

You may be sitting here watching this thinking oh, this doesn’t relate to me. I don’t work at a church, so I’m not responsible for serving the church by sharing Jesus with others.

Well, Paul wasn’t a full-time pastor or minister and he was still called by God to be a messenger and the same is for you.

• He actually had a full-time job as a tentmaker. What a bad job!
• If you have ever set up a tent, you understand the frustration that goes into that. I can’t imagine doing that for a full time job.

But what I love about Paul is the transformation in his life. Paul didn’t always love Jesus. As a matter of fact he hated Jesus and anybody that associated with Him.

• He was known as someone named Saul, and Saul was a Jewish leader.
• Just like everyone wanted to be like Mike growing up, all the Jewish kids would’ve wanted to be like Saul.
• Saul was the example for everyone to follow in the Jewish culture. Jews did not like Gentiles or anyone that associated themselves with Jesus.

Then something changes. Saul had an encounter with God

In Acts 26, God shows up through the image of a very bright light brighter than the Sun and Saul on his knees asks,

15 “‘Who are you, lord?’ “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. 16 Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future. 17 And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles 18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

In this moment Saul had an encounter with God and became someone who he used to persecute.

• We went from playing against team Jesus to playing for team Jesus.

This led to radical life change in Paul’s life.

Again, each of us has a specific role to play on team Jesus.

• Paul’s role was to preach to Gentiles and help them enter into a relationship with Jesus.

But before we understand our role, we need to understand our mission.

So what is our mission?

• Our mission is to help people meet, know, and follow Jesus.

We have a role to introduce people to Jesus, help them know what He has done for them, and help them become devoted followers of Jesus.

We all have the same mission, just different roles in the mission.

Romans 12 says, 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Christ is the head of the body and we all have different roles.

Not everyone can be a hand, because if that were the case, we wouldn’t be able to walk.

When we look at the human body, I am amazed at the intricacies that make up our bodies.

• That is why I love the imagery that Paul uses here. We are many parts of one body, and we all have a role.

So what is yours?

The second thing we see in this passage is the:

2. Mystery of the Gospel

26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Notice how this verse says the mystery is that Christ lives in you.

• Not Christ and you, although that’s true.
• Not Christ with me, although that’s true.
• Not Christ before me, although that’s true too.
• It says Christ IN ME

If you have entered into a personal relationship with Jesus, he lives in you!

The sad reality is that sometimes we want to live a Christ AND me lifestyle, like a tandem bike.

• I pettle as hard as I can until life gets tough, then I give it over to Jesus. We say Jesus take the wheel and when life seems better we want to take control of the bike again.

We are meant to live a Christ in us lifestyle.

Galatians 2 talks about how it’s no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives inside of me.

How all of this works, I’m not sure. That’s why I’m glad it’s a mystery.

Aren’t you so thankful that you don’t have to do this life on your own though. We have Christ, who lives in us.

The third thing we see in this passage

3. The message we proclaim

Colossians 1:28-29: 28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

Some versions say “Him we proclaim” to start verse 28. I love that. On team Jesus we proclaim His name.

In a world of indifference, we can bind together as a team, and proclaim Jesus. Not red, not blue, not vax or anti vax. The message of the church, team Jesus will be Jesus.

We proclaim Jesus then what are we to do?

We are to warn everyone and teach everyone with the wisdom that God gives us.

• We are to warn everyone that it is important that we nail down what we are going to do with the person of Jesus.
• This is so important.
• We are to warn everyone that our sins separate us from God.

Scripture says that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

• Paul’s motivation was to tell everyone the truth of Jesus so that they may enter into a personal relationship with him!

We are supposed to warn, but we are to teach others as well! We teach them the truth of Jesus and how we can enter into a personal relationship with Him because of His sacrifice on the cross.

But teaching doesn’t stop at the point of conversion.

• We are to continue to teach others about him. That we would grow in our understanding of who Jesus is to become more like him.

The last verse talks about how Paul works and struggles so hard, depending on Christ’s power in his life.

• He’s not talking about the hardship of building tents here, which is hardship.
• He’s talking about the hardship that he faces in his faith, but that he doesn’t depend on himself to give strength but to God.

My prayer is that we would look at the life of Paul and something would change in our lives. That we would focus on what God wants and work as if he lives in us.

Next Steps:

Join Team Jesus– Maybe you are here today and you know that you haven’t entered into a relationship with Jesus. I would encourage you to make today the day that you do so.

Maybe you aren’t sure if you have or not. Your decision is hinging on a maybe. Something we always say at Grace River is that you can’t let eternity hinge on a maybe. Nail that down today, and join team Jesus.

He invites you with open arms today.

Determine your role– Maybe you’re here and you have given your life to Jesus, but you just don’t know your role on team Jesus.

Pray, asking for God to make it clear in your life.

And get plugged into Grace River by serving so that you can exercise your role.

I started serving at a church at a young age by helping with anything that needed to be done. Greeting people or cleaning up after service. I had no idea it would get me to the point where I am today.

We all have to start somewhere. Get plugged in and exercise your role. And if you need help finding your role, let us as a leadership team help you take that next step!

Something that we always say in student ministry is “you can’t learn to be more like Jesus until you learn to become a servant.”

So what is your role!

Determine your proclamation– Determine what your proclamation is today. Is the main proclamation sports, politics, work, or is it Jesus?

As team Jesus, we need to bind together and make sure that we proclaim his name above everything.

It’s easy to get caught up in the weeds and to lose focus on what really matters, but I can promise you this, Jesus is the most important proclamation that we can decide to make.

So what is your next step? Ask for courage to take it. I’m going to pray and then the band is going to lead us in song.