CONTENTS
1. Come to Jesus Daily devotional
Good team-players:
- Monday – …Invest in loving friendships (4:7-9)
- Tuesday – …Finish things and behave like family (4:7-9)
- Wednesday – …Know who and what they are serving (4:7-9)
- Thursday – …Pray hard and work hard (4:12-13)
- Friday – …Guard their heart (4:14)
- Saturday – …Are generous with hospitality (4:15)
You can listen to the message at: Link for audio content
For more information visit: www.communitychurchputney.com
1. COME TO JESUS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
One of our goals as a church is to spend at least 20 minutes every day in prayer and worship out of the bible. I hope you find this devotional helpful toward that end.
MONDAY – GOOD TEAMS PLAYERS… INVEST IN LOVING FRIENDSHIPS
God knows us through and through, better even than we know ourselves. However, without good Christian friends, we will be lonely. God is a trinity - He is three persons whilst remaining one God; and We, as those made in His image, are designed for loving community.
Paul, the great apostle, needed the support of his friends. throughout his writings, we are struck by the importance that they played in his life. This last section in this letter is devoted to highlighting his friends. For example,
Colossians 3:7-9 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
Friends know us
Many of us have superficial relationships. Paul, however, had people who were close enough and caring enough to be able to ‘…tell all the news about me…about our circumstances…tell you everything that is happening here…’ It’s of huge encouragement to be known by others and for our inner and outer struggles to be in the light and yet still be loved, accepted, supported and, on occasion, challenged!
RESPONSE
How did Paul and how can we build relationships of depth?
Firstly, depth is more important than breadth. It’s vastly more helpful to be loyal to a few friendships than to, maybe out of guilt, try to keep up with everyone - this is a particular danger in this social media age.
Secondly, lead yourself and don’t be a victim. We all, I’m sure, feel that people are not concerned about us and we can be tempted to become embittered, which, really doesn’t improve things! Get investing in people; love people; take an interest in others through asking questions…you get the idea.
A great place to know and be known is through investing is in your Community Group. So, if you’re not in one, now’s the time to get stuck in.
TUESDAY – GOOD TEAM PLAYERS…FINISH THINGS AND BEHAVE LIKE FAMILY
Colossians 4:7-9 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
Good team players finish things
Paul trusted Tychicus and Onesimus to go and do their assignment of travelling the nearly 2000 miles to Colossae to encourage them on his behalf. If you and I are to be good team players, we must be better at doing than talking! It’s easy to have ideas, it’s vastly more difficult to make things happen. The church is a body that will become amazingly fruitful if each of us would follow through on what God tells us, or the actions we agree on in our teams or as a church etc. I’m sure that we all, on occasion, need to hear a similar encouragement that Paul gave to Archippus,
‘Tell Archippus: See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.’ (Colossians 4:17)
What have you been asked to do by God or others that you need to complete? And, if you are not being asked to do things, it could be a sign that you are not giving off the vibes that you’re someone who will take responsibility! (Just a thought!)
Good teams are family
Paul calls Tychicus and Onesimus ‘dear brothers’ (NIV). The words are actually ‘Loved’ (agapétos) ‘Brother’ (adelphos). The church’s identity is that of a family in which God is our Father. This has radical implications for those who will live in this truth. It means that we serve one-another like a loving family. Just imagine the health of a church where people treated one another like family!
RESPONSE
Do you do what you say or what you agree to do? Do you take responsibility or do you take the path of least resistance? Do you know our church goals and are you applying yourself? What is God speaking to you about and what will you do in response?
In his book ‘developing the leaders around you’ John Maxwell looks for, ‘Follow-through: The determination to get the job done completely and with consistency’, when looking for leaders, and it’s a trait we should all look to cultivate in ourselves.
Secondly, do you treat the church as your family, or is she more like a hobby or, even, an inconvenience - I know that I can feel this sometimes…sorry! Let’s remember that without love all our actions are worthless, so we had better try and get this right!
WEDNESDAY – GOOD TEAM PLAYERS…KNOW WHO AND WHAT THEY ARE SERVING
In a sport, it’s easy to see that we are serving the team for the cause of winning the game, and it’s often easy to see when we have lost focus. Christians and churches, likewise need to remember who and what they are serving: together they are serving Jesus for the aim of spreading and building on the gospel. Paul writes,
Colossians 4:7-9 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
Good team members know who and what they are serving
He calls Tychicus, ‘a faithful minister’ (‘Pistos Diakonos’). To be ‘faithful’ is to be reliable, but, more importantly, it is also to be full of the faith. To be a ‘minister’ is to serve actively; to serve the church, but, ultimately, to serve Jesus in helping the church to build upon the gospel - the faith.
Paul also calls Tychicus a ‘fellow servant’ (‘Sundoulos’). Paul is saying of these men that Jesus is their master and His mission is their mission. We are, in effect, slaves of God, purchased by the blood of Christ. This speaks of a deep shared loyalty.
Encourager
The mission of Tychicus and Onesimus had the aim to ‘encourage your hearts’. To encourage the heart means to help to centre people on Jesus – to build their lives on Jesus alone. We read something similar in chapter 2,
‘My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ…’ (Colossians 2:20)
RESPONSE
Good team-players know who and what they are serving. It’s not good enough to be busy, we have to be busy doing the right things for the right person. We serve Jesus in helping to share Jesus’ teachings. We can make our lives about so many things, but, at the core, are we serving Jesus and the gospel?
THURSDAY – GOOD TEAM PLAYERS…PRAY HARD AND WORK HARD
Epaphras had planted this church (1:7) some ten-years before this letter was written in A.D.62. Even after a decade, we read that Epaphras has not lost any of his initial love and concern for his town or for the glory of Jesus. Paul writes of his exemplary love and zeal,
‘Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.’ (Colossians 4:12-13).
In 2011, the British boxer, Frank Bruno led the London Marathon for about 200 metres! He, for fun, wanted to see how long he could lead…and it was not for long! Likewise, some Christians make a good sprint start only to become tired, discouraged and shiftless.
Not Epaphras! He ran with perseverance. He continued to pray hard and work hard for Jesus.
He wrestled in prayer
We are all tempted to stop praying. Prayer, however, is the key to personal and church continuance and progress. Any person or church that prays will ‘stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.’
He worked hard
Epaphras not only prayed hard, but he also worked hard. Hard work comes out of faith, which is birthed out of prayer. It’s as one encounters God, or as a church encounters God that zeal for good works is inspired.
RESPONSE
Encountering God in personal and corporate prayer and worship is the key to progress. How are you doing in your prayer life? Could it be said of you,
‘(insert your name) is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.’ (Colossians 4:12-13).
Without the struggle of prayer we will never see the victory that, I’m sure, we all desire to see.
FRIDAY – GOOD TEAM PLAYERS…GUARD THEIR HEART
‘Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings’ (Colossians 4:14).
These two members of his team are side-by-side in this letter. Both, at this point, are ‘dear friends’ to Paul and the church. However, a few years later we see that Demas and Luke have chosen different paths. In the letter of 2 Timothy, Paul’s last letter before his martyrdom, written around 3 years after Colossians, during Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome, we read,
‘Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry’ (2 Timothy 4:9-11).
Demas because he loved this world
Make no mistake, if we ‘love this world’ it will impact upon our ability to remain faithful to God, His people and His purposes. To love the world can mean lots of things; we are all prone to putting the things of ‘this present world’ above serving Jesus, His people and His mission. Ultimately, we must search our hearts and ensure that all the decisions of our lives – jobs, relationships, housing, where to live… are an act of worship and serving Jesus.
RESPONSE
Are you guarding your heart? Loving God by staying close to God is the antidote to loving the world. We will all become a Demas if we don’t guard our heart and pray - spending time with God - is a key, as J.C.Ryle wrote,
‘Neglect of prayer is one great cause of backsliding. There is such a thing as going back in religion, after making a good profession. Men may run well for a season, like the Galatians, and then turn aside after false teachers. Men may profess loudly, while their feelings are warm, as Peter did; and then, in the hour of trial, deny their Lord. Men may lose their first love, as the Ephesians did. Men may cool down in their zeal to do good, like Mark, the companion of Paul. Men may follow an apostle for a season, and then, like Demas, go back to the world--Men may do all these things…Now, what is the cause of most backsliding? I believe, as a general rule, one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer. Of course, the secret history of backsliding will not be known until the last day. I can only give my opinion as a minister of Christ and a student of the heart. That opinion is, that backsliding, generally first begins with "neglect of private prayer.’
SATURDAY – GOOD TEAM PLAYER…ARE GENEROUS WITH HOSPITALITY
Colossians 4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
The church in Laodicea met in Nympha’s home. For a church to function requires generosity and sacrifice. We don’t know anything about Nympha except that she must have had a sizeable property that she used for hospitality. This would have entailed time and cost; we read of the church in Jerusalem,
‘Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah’ (Acts 5:42).
Without the temple courts in this region, one must assume that they met in Nympha’s home perhaps every day?
We read of the same attribute in Priscilla and Aquila,
‘Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house’ (Romans 16:3-5).
Hospitality is one of the attributes of a church leader, and so is a trait that we should all aspire to, according to our personal circumstances. We read,
'Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach…’ (1 Timothy 3:2)
RESPONSE
How will you aim to be generous in hospitality? How will you welcome your church family into your life and home?
Developing the Leaders Around You
I’ve included the following extract from the book ‘Developing the Leaders Around You’ by John Maxwell. I’ve found it helpful and challenging and I hope that you also find it inspiring.
Look for the leader within the person
‘There is no future in any job. The future lies in the person who holds the job. It takes a leader with vision to see the future leader within the person. Michelangelo, when questioned about his masterpiece David, answered that the sculpture had always existed within the stone. He had simply chiselled away the rock around it. Leaders must have the same kind of vision when viewing potential leaders. Some of the qualities to look for in a person include the
following:
- Positiveness: The ability to work with and see people and situations in a positive way.
- Servanthood: The willingness to submit, play team ball, and follow the leader.
- Growth Potential: A hunger for personal growth and development; the ability to keep growing as the job expands.
- Follow-through: The determination to get the job done completely and with consistency.
- Loyalty: The willingness to always put the leader and the organization above personal desires.
- Resiliency: The ability to bounce back when problems arise.
- Integrity: Trustworthiness and solid character; consistent words and walk.
- ‘Big-picture’ mindset: The ability to see the whole organisation and all of its needs.
- Discipline: The willingness to do what is required regardless of personal mood.
- Gratitude: An attitude of thankfulness that becomes a way of life.
When searching for these traits within a person, the leader should emulate gold prospectors. They are always on the lookout for potential gold mines. Every mountain is a possible opportunity to strike it rich. When they find traces of ore, they assume there is a vein and begin digging. The same is true in every organisation. If you as a leader look for and find traces of gold in your people, start digging. You will uncover the mother lode!’
(John. C. Maxwell. Developing the Leaders Around You. Page 22-24)
2. COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY
ARE YOU ON THE TEAM?
Opener - it’s not possible to be as good as you could be in any walk of life without a team of encouraging friends. Discuss.
Read Colossians 4:7-18
Introduction
Paul, the great apostle, needed the support of his friends. throughout his writings, we are struck by the importance that they played in his life. This last section in this letter is devoted to highlighting his friends, and, in turn, we can learn some of the attributes that make for becoming the kind of friend and team-player that others need us to be.
Discuss together
- Good team-players Invest in loving friendships (4:7-9) – How deep are the friendships within your Community Group (or family if you are using this study in your family) and how could you invest further in this?
- Good team-players Pray hard and work hard (4:12-13) – How does prayer keep us loving and working hard for God, His people and mission?
- How are you doing at ‘wrestling in prayer’ for your church?
- Good team-players Guard their heart (Colossians 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:9-11) – Why are a healthy relationship with Jesus and close friendships vital if we are not to become like Demas?
- Good team-players are generous with hospitality (4:15) – We are all called to be hospitable. This means to welcome strangers and friends into our lives. Why is this the natural outworking of anyone who understands the gospel of the love of God?
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