We consistently invite everyone to become involved in the life of our fellowship. We encourage you to plug-in, be part of our mission and ministry opportunities. I suppose a good question might be, “Why do we do this?” There are several answers to this question…but—one would be to help us all live out the command of our Lord to serve (Eph 4:12).

As we examine our Scripture passage this morning I believe we’ll see how the Lord’s command for service impacted the life of Paul. Like us—Paul was saved (1:13-14), trained (Gal 1:12) and then sent by the Lord as a servant of the gospel (1:23). Someone might be thinking, “I’m not Paul and I don’t think I’ll ever be the servant that he was.” The good news for us this morning is this…God is not asking you to be Paul…Amen. Now—He will ask us to follow Paul’s example (I Cor 11:1). So—what can we learn from Paul’s example here in this passage today? There are three things for us to consider.

1. It’s possible to rejoice in the midst of hardship. [1:24]

Paul reminds us that serving the Lord will involve various kinds of suffering. Yet—I believe we can say…the work is worth it. The apostle Paul was sent to share the gospel in a world that had just recently put the Sender on a cross. Perhaps it would help us if we remembered what Jesus said in John 15:18-20a.

What’s interesting here in verse 24 is this—Paul is saying that even in the midst of hardship…the work of God offers joy to His people—the church. Paul was beaten, put in prison, shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead all because of the Lord’s command to serve. But—we read in verse 24 that he’s rejoicing…not complaining.

In Phil 3:10 Paul says that he wants to share in the fellowship of suffering with Christ. This doesn’t mean that he’s lost his mind or he’s a masochist. He’s simply saying that he expects to be treated no different than the Lord. Christ suffered…he expected to suffer. Can we say that this morning? Jesus suffered for my salvation—therefore I expect to suffer for Him. Are we willing to say to Christ—count me in Lord? Even if it means…having to change my priorities, give up a few of my hobbies, take some criticism from family, friends, and co-workers.

If our life becomes a little harder because of our faith in Jesus---will we rejoice in the midst of it in order to be more like Him? Surely—if Paul could do this…we can too.

2. We’re responsible for revealing the truth. [1:25-28]

Paul says that he was to present the Word of God in verse 25 and to proclaim and teach the Word of God in verse 28. Does this mean that everyone has been commissioned by God to preach and teach just like Paul? No! (Eph 4:11) But—the Bible does say to those that have ‘set apart Christ as Lord’ to ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (I Pet 3:15). The hope we have is the essence of the ‘mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints (v26)….Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (v27).

I believe that all of us are responsible for at least 2 things when it comes to revealing the truth about Christ:

A. We’re responsible for knowing the way of salvation. That’s through faith in Christ alone (Eph 2:8, John 14:6).  

B. We’re responsible for doing the work of salvation.    

That's teaching and preaching for those called by God. That’s testifying about Christ by everyone else. Now, it’s at this point that someone always says, “I don’t think I can do this.” I don’t have the ability, I’m not qualified, I don’t have the courage, or I’m not strong enough in my faith. Perhaps the Lord knew some of us would feel this way and that’s why he had Paul write things like “He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us” (Eph 3:20), “We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us” (Phil 4:13), and here in verse 29…”I labor with all His energy, which so powerfully works in us.” 

Paul tells us there’s a store house full of “wisdom and knowledge” in Christ (2:3)…and that message needs to be revealed to the world. You and I were saved to serve the Lord, we’ve been given His strength to serve…and when we do, notice what happens in verse 2. Hearts will be encouraged, people will become united in love and we’ll also mature in our faith.

The amazing thing here is—when we’re fulfilling our responsibility as a servant…everyone is blessed. You for obedience, and others for having the opportunity to either come to faith in Christ or grow in their walk with Christ.

3. We must be ready to refute false teaching. [2:1-4]

In verse 4 Paul says, “I’m telling you this so that no one may deceive you with fine-sounding arguments.” One of the main reasons we need to be involved in a Bible believing and Bible teaching church is to help keep us from getting caught-up in false teaching. False teaching was affecting the church that Paul is writing to here in Colossians…and its plagued the church ever since.

Within the past few weeks we’ve heard about yet another mainstream denomination here in America endorse ordaining homosexuals for ministry positions. Friends false teaching is alive and well in the 21^st century.

So—what can we do in order to be better prepared for when false teaching comes our way? Focus on being a servant. Christ faced false teaching when He was here and so will we. He answered it with the Word of God. We must remain focused on being the servant that God has saved us to be. It always starts with taking our eyes off the world and then keeping them focused squarely on Christ (3:2). Am I more focused on serving Christ or me?