Friday, December 31, 2004
‘Fulfill.”
This is the second imperative in the verse. “Archippus, fulfill your ministry.” This exhortation is echoed in Paul’s fatherly command to Timothy.
2 Timothy 4:5c ... fulfill your ministry.
This is part of the confirmation process. Will “Archippus” fulfill his ministry? After all, he received it in the Lord. Surely he’ll take it seriously.
Not many do.
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This is the second imperative in the verse. “Archippus, fulfill your ministry.” This exhortation is echoed in Paul’s fatherly command to Timothy.
2 Timothy 4:5c ... fulfill your ministry.
This is part of the confirmation process. Will “Archippus” fulfill his ministry? After all, he received it in the Lord. Surely he’ll take it seriously.
Not many do.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
“Archippus, take heed to the ministry … that you may fulfill it.”
“Take heed”
This is an imperative, not a suggestion. The Greek implies “look at it, concentrate upon it.”
“Archippus, do you know what you’ve received?
"Pay attention to it.”
Sometimes we receive tasks from the Lord and don’t know the value of the ministry we've received. He is watching the smallest effort. He rejoices in faithfulness. Our attitudes can bless or grieve Him.
He has strategic reasons for these assignments.
Our hearts may say, “But it is so insignificant…”
I have to ask, “How do you know?”
Suppose you were the lad with the few fish and loaves.
The Lord could be saying,
“Bring that to the meeting.”
“Bring that to a friend’s house.”
“Bring that to the world”
But it’s so insignificant.
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“Take heed”
This is an imperative, not a suggestion. The Greek implies “look at it, concentrate upon it.”
“Archippus, do you know what you’ve received?
"Pay attention to it.”
Sometimes we receive tasks from the Lord and don’t know the value of the ministry we've received. He is watching the smallest effort. He rejoices in faithfulness. Our attitudes can bless or grieve Him.
He has strategic reasons for these assignments.
Our hearts may say, “But it is so insignificant…”
I have to ask, “How do you know?”
Suppose you were the lad with the few fish and loaves.
The Lord could be saying,
“Bring that to the meeting.”
“Bring that to a friend’s house.”
“Bring that to the world”
But it’s so insignificant.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Archippus
Faithfulness is required
Colossians 4:17 Say to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it."
Archippus “received” his “ministry” “in the Lord”.
In the spiritual realm there is a stark contrast between those who are serving in what they have “received in the Lord” and those who have manufactured their own ministries.
From the top down – because the church is also a human institution (a human, culturally defined phenomena) - there are often merely-human leaders in the church. They are posers. They have the t-shirt but never made the trip.
They have positions and titles but are made up of something which is of a fundamentally different nature.
This is different from immaturity.
A person who is in training or actually functioning in their calling can have the internal spiritual reality and lack the type of loving humility and relational integrity that should be the norm for those who have received their ministry in the Lord.
Here’s an illustration of immaturity from the life of “The Twelve.”
Luke 9:46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.
In that brief sentence we see the disciples giving an amazing illustration of the wisdom that is from beneath.
James 3:15-16 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
It can be argued, “Wait, this is before they were sent out. They were not yet apostles.” (That happened, however, in the very next chapter!) With this type of track record, would you have sent them out on an apostolic journey? Apart from the Lord’s intervention, I wouldn’t have… Jesus did!
For the sake of being reasonable, let’s agree with this perspective and say: “Good illustration, but they weren’t sent out, yet.”
Yet, we have a repeat of this same stupid argument mentioned in Luke, chapter 22.
Luke 22:24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.
The context of this argument is right after the Lord Jesus instituted communion.
The disciples were immature, but they were still apostles. They were not the type of people I would want to follow, would you? Yet, if you wanted to hear the true testimony of Jesus, you would have to listen to them. Despite their character and relational weaknesses, they had the substance of the office working within them. Their calling was genuine.
The record of their embarrassing time of training and character development is in the Gospels, Acts and some narratives in the epistles.
It is possible to receive a heavenly calling to serve in the Body, to function in that calling, to progress in that calling and not be perfect.
Those of us who are ‘older’ in the Body need to remember where we came from.
Those of us who are working out our callings within the context of the community of believers should not get discouraged by the weakness of our sanctity. The apostles’ focus was often off the goal, but they were genuine.
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Faithfulness is required
Colossians 4:17 Say to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it."
Archippus “received” his “ministry” “in the Lord”.
In the spiritual realm there is a stark contrast between those who are serving in what they have “received in the Lord” and those who have manufactured their own ministries.
From the top down – because the church is also a human institution (a human, culturally defined phenomena) - there are often merely-human leaders in the church. They are posers. They have the t-shirt but never made the trip.
They have positions and titles but are made up of something which is of a fundamentally different nature.
This is different from immaturity.
A person who is in training or actually functioning in their calling can have the internal spiritual reality and lack the type of loving humility and relational integrity that should be the norm for those who have received their ministry in the Lord.
Here’s an illustration of immaturity from the life of “The Twelve.”
Luke 9:46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.
In that brief sentence we see the disciples giving an amazing illustration of the wisdom that is from beneath.
James 3:15-16 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
It can be argued, “Wait, this is before they were sent out. They were not yet apostles.” (That happened, however, in the very next chapter!) With this type of track record, would you have sent them out on an apostolic journey? Apart from the Lord’s intervention, I wouldn’t have… Jesus did!
For the sake of being reasonable, let’s agree with this perspective and say: “Good illustration, but they weren’t sent out, yet.”
Yet, we have a repeat of this same stupid argument mentioned in Luke, chapter 22.
Luke 22:24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.
The context of this argument is right after the Lord Jesus instituted communion.
The disciples were immature, but they were still apostles. They were not the type of people I would want to follow, would you? Yet, if you wanted to hear the true testimony of Jesus, you would have to listen to them. Despite their character and relational weaknesses, they had the substance of the office working within them. Their calling was genuine.
The record of their embarrassing time of training and character development is in the Gospels, Acts and some narratives in the epistles.
It is possible to receive a heavenly calling to serve in the Body, to function in that calling, to progress in that calling and not be perfect.
Those of us who are ‘older’ in the Body need to remember where we came from.
Those of us who are working out our callings within the context of the community of believers should not get discouraged by the weakness of our sanctity. The apostles’ focus was often off the goal, but they were genuine.
Friday, December 24, 2004
An Exception, An Exceptional Example
Although what I wrote yesterday is basically true, there are exceptions.
John the Baptist never went through a proving process within a community of believers.
However, John recognized Jesus’ divine ordination at the Jordan. He was the witness who proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah.
Even Jesus was confirmed by someone else.
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Although what I wrote yesterday is basically true, there are exceptions.
John the Baptist never went through a proving process within a community of believers.
However, John recognized Jesus’ divine ordination at the Jordan. He was the witness who proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah.
Even Jesus was confirmed by someone else.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
2. Has it been confirmed?
It is possible to believe you’re called to function in a specific way and yet not be received.
However, if the calling is genuine there will usually be a corresponding open door accompanied by others seeing that the calling is complemented by natural capacities and spiritual gifts.
Jesus saw rudimentary skills of fishing as the seeds of apostolic evangelism.
A couple of decades ago I was approached by a believer who informed that “he” was called to lead worship in our congregation.
This is how the dialogue went:
“I am called to lead worship, here.”
Can you sing?
“No.”
Can you play any musical instrument?
“No.”
Have you ever done this before?
“No.”
Why are you ordering me to receive you as a worship leader?
“God told me.”
I’m sorry, but I disagree.
At this point, the person’s face became astonished, sullen, resentful, offended and accusatory.
Now, it is always possible that I missed God. It is feasible that if I had allowed this person to lead the worship team that God would have miraculously given that person a voice and musical aptitude.
What if the exchange had gone like this?
“Pastor, I have something I’d like you to consider. I can’t sing, or play a musical instrument, therefore this seems highly unlikely, but I believe that God has called me to lead worship here. Perhaps, despite my natural inabilities we could experiment and see if God confirms it.”
Maybe… maybe the interchange would have gone like this:
It does seem highly unlikely. However, you really believe God has spoken to you?
“Yes.”
You realize that it may not work?
“Yes.”
You’re willing to suffer possible humiliation if it doesn’t work?
“Yes.”
Would you be willing to try this in a couple of months, not right away?
“Yes.”
Well, in that case, what do we have to lose? Let’s give it a try. In a few weeks, come to a musician's meeting and we'll see what happens.
Arrogant unrealistic hyper-spirituality is seldom looked upon favorably by leaders.
If a person is called to a specific function, they will begin a confirmation process that begins with humility.
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It is possible to believe you’re called to function in a specific way and yet not be received.
However, if the calling is genuine there will usually be a corresponding open door accompanied by others seeing that the calling is complemented by natural capacities and spiritual gifts.
Jesus saw rudimentary skills of fishing as the seeds of apostolic evangelism.
A couple of decades ago I was approached by a believer who informed that “he” was called to lead worship in our congregation.
This is how the dialogue went:
“I am called to lead worship, here.”
Can you sing?
“No.”
Can you play any musical instrument?
“No.”
Have you ever done this before?
“No.”
Why are you ordering me to receive you as a worship leader?
“God told me.”
I’m sorry, but I disagree.
At this point, the person’s face became astonished, sullen, resentful, offended and accusatory.
Now, it is always possible that I missed God. It is feasible that if I had allowed this person to lead the worship team that God would have miraculously given that person a voice and musical aptitude.
What if the exchange had gone like this?
“Pastor, I have something I’d like you to consider. I can’t sing, or play a musical instrument, therefore this seems highly unlikely, but I believe that God has called me to lead worship here. Perhaps, despite my natural inabilities we could experiment and see if God confirms it.”
Maybe… maybe the interchange would have gone like this:
It does seem highly unlikely. However, you really believe God has spoken to you?
“Yes.”
You realize that it may not work?
“Yes.”
You’re willing to suffer possible humiliation if it doesn’t work?
“Yes.”
Would you be willing to try this in a couple of months, not right away?
“Yes.”
Well, in that case, what do we have to lose? Let’s give it a try. In a few weeks, come to a musician's meeting and we'll see what happens.
Arrogant unrealistic hyper-spirituality is seldom looked upon favorably by leaders.
If a person is called to a specific function, they will begin a confirmation process that begins with humility.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Just who are you, exactly?
Every believer has the potential of these three words being spoken over their lives: called, chosen, faithful.
Revelation 17:14b … He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
Called: God places a call upon the believer’s life.
Chosen: Should the believer respond appropriately to the calling, following Jesus into the life of service, they qualify for the realization of the calling – they are chosen to serve within a specific sphere.
Faithful: It is up to the disciple to serve the Lord in their spheres of service by the power He provides.
The call can be to any of the ministries mentioned in Romans 12 or 1 Corinthians 12. Have you responded to your call enough so that through the development of an obedient life you are fit to be chosen?
The calling must be pursued by faith. This faith must be exercised through responding in obedience.
Some have a hard time obeying the calling, they are not ‘mixing the word with faith.’
Hebrews 4:2b … the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
Why not? They don’t believe enough to act. To this, Jesus asks:
John 5:44 "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
Why should the desire for glory from one another cut down on belief? Biblical belief involves obedience to God. Following Jesus is not popular.
Romans 16:26c ... obedience of faith;
Hebrews 11:8a By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed ...
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Every believer has the potential of these three words being spoken over their lives: called, chosen, faithful.
Revelation 17:14b … He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
Called: God places a call upon the believer’s life.
Chosen: Should the believer respond appropriately to the calling, following Jesus into the life of service, they qualify for the realization of the calling – they are chosen to serve within a specific sphere.
Faithful: It is up to the disciple to serve the Lord in their spheres of service by the power He provides.
The call can be to any of the ministries mentioned in Romans 12 or 1 Corinthians 12. Have you responded to your call enough so that through the development of an obedient life you are fit to be chosen?
The calling must be pursued by faith. This faith must be exercised through responding in obedience.
Some have a hard time obeying the calling, they are not ‘mixing the word with faith.’
Hebrews 4:2b … the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
Why not? They don’t believe enough to act. To this, Jesus asks:
John 5:44 "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
Why should the desire for glory from one another cut down on belief? Biblical belief involves obedience to God. Following Jesus is not popular.
Romans 16:26c ... obedience of faith;
Hebrews 11:8a By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed ...
Who are you called to be?
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Breaking Free of the Need for Man’s Approval
How do we relate to people in the light of this?
By faith.
There are always going to be leadership and follower-ship issues in the Body.
Leaders are always going to be tempted to please people.
People are always going to be tempted to please leaders.
Try dealing with the fear of man, or the fear of people through these questions:
1. Who has God called you to be in the Body?
2. Has it been confirmed?
3. Are you walking in it?
4. Is it enough for you?
God willing, tomorrow we’ll begin to break this down.
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How do we relate to people in the light of this?
By faith.
There are always going to be leadership and follower-ship issues in the Body.
Leaders are always going to be tempted to please people.
People are always going to be tempted to please leaders.
Try dealing with the fear of man, or the fear of people through these questions:
1. Who has God called you to be in the Body?
2. Has it been confirmed?
3. Are you walking in it?
4. Is it enough for you?
God willing, tomorrow we’ll begin to break this down.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Living in such a way as to gain God’s …
Approval
2
It is amazing that those of us who believe in God continually fear men. I see this in me and am astonished… A symptom of this can be seen as we seek peoples’ approval. Often, the approval of people is opposed to God’s way.
John 12:43 43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
Nobody walks around advertising that they make decisions based upon other peoples’ approbation. In this way, it’s similar to pride. No one I know interacts with people consciously knowing they are conceited. It’s a hidden motivation.
But God knows.
1 Corinthians 4:5 5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.
Hebrews 4:12-13 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
We can seek the approval of constituencies of people we should be serving and leading. We often seek the approval of people who are leading us… What a convolution. No wonder there’s confusion.
Proverbs 29:25 25 The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.
We’re not to fear man when we render judgment in a situation.
Deuteronomy 1:17b … You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God's…
This is true not only when we’re judging a situation, but when we’re making decisions about our direction.
We’re not to fear man as if our justice comes from a mere human.
Proverbs 29:25-26 25 The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted. 26 Many seek the ruler's favor, but justice for man comes from the LORD.
If we do fear man, the prophetic word strongly admonishes us to stop it.
Isaiah 2:22 22 Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?
This is important to us if we are seeking the Lord’s approval. It is part of the besetting sins that need to be put aside.
Hebrews 12:1b-2a ... let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus …
Cry out for mercy.
Paul wrote:
2 Cor. 5:14 For the Messiah's love controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
We are constrained by the love of God.
There is precedent for this.
Our Creator's love for us constrained Him to act redemptively.
Any constraint to love by the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, is merely a restoration into the image of God.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Living in such a way as to gain God’s …
Approval
Ultimately, our significance is not determined by winning God’s approval. Our significance is determined by what He has done in creating us to be so valuable to Him. Only the ransom price of Calvary sufficiently demonstrated this worth.
So, we are justified, in good standing, on our way to heaven or the resurrection of the just. In that sphere of wellbeing is it possible to still long for God’s approval? Yes.
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
It seems as if all of life is going to be reviewed. No wonder we long for this approval.
I’ve a friend who doesn’t want to hear this: Matthew 25:21 21 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
He believes that it is too ‘low level’ for a ‘son.’
On the other hand, I long to hear those types of words from Jesus.
Even THE Son sought to do the things which were pleasing to the One who sent Him.
John 8:29 29 "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."
We are called to learn to live the same fashion.
Ephesians 5:10 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
We have a Master to please. He inspects the quality of our work.
2 Timothy 2:15 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
On the other hand, I long to hear those types of words from Jesus.
Even THE Son sought to do the things which were pleasing to the One who sent Him.
John 8:29 29 "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."
We are called to learn to live the same fashion.
Ephesians 5:10 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
We have a Master to please. He inspects the quality of our work.
2 Timothy 2:15 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Don't be surprised if you find within you a motive to gain God's approval. Don't confuse it with your desire to be 'saved.'
Every believer has this motive.
