Colossians 4:17 - "Say to
Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that
you may fulfill it.”"
At the end of his letter to the Colossians believers, the apostle Paul passes on the greetings of his fellow workers and sends greetings to certain individuals, and the last name in this list is this fellow by the name of Archippus. And Paul, writing under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has a special message for this believer. He says to tell Archippus to "take heed to the ministry you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it." Paul tells this man to recognize the ministry that the Lord has given him, and then do it. I suggest that this message that the Lord had for Archippus is the same message He has for you and I. Take it personally, God is saying to you and I "take heed to the ministry you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it.
Paul had the same message for Timothy as he had for Archippus. In Second Timothy chapter four verse five the apostle Paul says to Timothy - "But you, be watchful in all things, endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." A man I know was once asked the question "are you a minister?" To which he replied "All believers are ministers. The word minister simply means servant." All believers, at whatever age and whatever stage in their walk with the Lord have a special, unique ministry from the Lord. Whether we're fulfilling it or not the Lord has given each of us, individually, a work to do. He hasn't placed us where we are right now and given us the gifts and abilities that He has given us for no reason. He wants you to fulfill the ministry that He has given you. And fulfilling a ministry isn't about us. It's not about whether we feel like it or enjoy doing it or not. It's about doing what God has called us to do and pleasing Him by being obedient. Like I quoted before, the word minister simply means servant. A servant isn't taken up in meeting his own needs or fulfilling his own desires, but he is, if he's a good servant, completely consumed with pleasing his master and making him look good. We are the Lords servants, His ministers. Our focus shouldn't be on fulfilling our own desires, but rather on pleasing Him and making Him look good. Doing the work that He has called us to do.
Paul emphasizes this point earlier on in his second letter to Timothy. Paul was writing this letter to Timothy inviting him to join him in suffering for the gospel, and encouraging him to fulfill his ministry. And he says in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 - "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." When inviting Timothy to join him in suffering for the gospel, Paul uses the illustration of a soldier. A soldier doesn't live for himself. His focus is on pleasing his commanding officer and accomplishing the mission that he gives him. It is essential for us to understand the Lordship of Christ and what that truly means if we're going to fulfill our ministry. If Christ is our personal Lord, that means that He is our Master, He is our Commanding Officer. He has charge over everything we are and everything we have. We're told in Romans 14:7-9 - "For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living."
Paul goes on in 2 Timothy chapter 2 to give another illustration in verses 20-21 - "Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." Again, it's not about us. The purpose of the vessel is to be useful to the Master. And God doesn't use dirty dishes. We weren't created to serve ourselves. We were created for His glory, to serve His purpose. Our vessels, our bodies belong to the Lord and we need to allow Him to use us according to His will. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says - "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
The purpose of a soldier is to please the one who enlisted him. The purpose of a vessel is to serve the purpose for which it was created, to be useful to the master. We need to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ and clean vessels. We need to fulfill the ministry that He has given us right now, at this point in our lives. It's no accident that we are where we are in life right now. And rather than being influenced by our surroundings we need to be having an influence on those around us. Rather than being pressed into the worlds mold, being conformed to this world, we need to stand apart and be different. Have an impact on those that God has put in your life. The ministry that God has for us to do isn't something that we need to wait for. We shouldn't be always looking off into the future and saying that when I get to a certain age or a certain level of maturity in my Christian life, then I will serve the Lord, then I will reach out to those around me, or then I'll make a difference for Christ. We need to do it right now. Life is short. James 4:14 says - "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." Who knows how much time they have left on this earth? We need to be living every day seeking to fulfill the ministry that God has for us right now. And the longer we put it off the more of our lives we are wasting. It's not about self, it's about pleasing Him.
Paul ends his letter to Timothy in chapter four by saying in verses 1-5 - "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." And then he tells how his life was not wasted. 2 Timothy 4:6-7 - "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."
If I were to die right now could I look back over my life and say with Paul "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith"? If not then I am not fulfilling my ministry. If I cannot say that I have been doing the work that God has for me to do then my life has been wasted.
What is the ministry that the Lord has for you to do right now? If you don't know then you need to be before the Lord in prayer seeking to know what He would have you to do, seeking to know how He desires to use you to impact those that He has put around you. And once you know what the ministry is that He has given you, do it!
Colossians 4:17 - "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it."
At the end of his letter to the Colossians believers, the apostle Paul passes on the greetings of his fellow workers and sends greetings to certain individuals, and the last name in this list is this fellow by the name of Archippus. And Paul, writing under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has a special message for this believer. He says to tell Archippus to "take heed to the ministry you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it." Paul tells this man to recognize the ministry that the Lord has given him, and then do it. I suggest that this message that the Lord had for Archippus is the same message He has for you and I. Take it personally, God is saying to you and I "take heed to the ministry you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it.
Paul had the same message for Timothy as he had for Archippus. In Second Timothy chapter four verse five the apostle Paul says to Timothy - "But you, be watchful in all things, endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." A man I know was once asked the question "are you a minister?" To which he replied "All believers are ministers. The word minister simply means servant." All believers, at whatever age and whatever stage in their walk with the Lord have a special, unique ministry from the Lord. Whether we're fulfilling it or not the Lord has given each of us, individually, a work to do. He hasn't placed us where we are right now and given us the gifts and abilities that He has given us for no reason. He wants you to fulfill the ministry that He has given you. And fulfilling a ministry isn't about us. It's not about whether we feel like it or enjoy doing it or not. It's about doing what God has called us to do and pleasing Him by being obedient. Like I quoted before, the word minister simply means servant. A servant isn't taken up in meeting his own needs or fulfilling his own desires, but he is, if he's a good servant, completely consumed with pleasing his master and making him look good. We are the Lords servants, His ministers. Our focus shouldn't be on fulfilling our own desires, but rather on pleasing Him and making Him look good. Doing the work that He has called us to do.
Paul emphasizes this point earlier on in his second letter to Timothy. Paul was writing this letter to Timothy inviting him to join him in suffering for the gospel, and encouraging him to fulfill his ministry. And he says in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 - "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." When inviting Timothy to join him in suffering for the gospel, Paul uses the illustration of a soldier. A soldier doesn't live for himself. His focus is on pleasing his commanding officer and accomplishing the mission that he gives him. It is essential for us to understand the Lordship of Christ and what that truly means if we're going to fulfill our ministry. If Christ is our personal Lord, that means that He is our Master, He is our Commanding Officer. He has charge over everything we are and everything we have. We're told in Romans 14:7-9 - "For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living."
Paul goes on in 2 Timothy chapter 2 to give another illustration in verses 20-21 - "Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." Again, it's not about us. The purpose of the vessel is to be useful to the Master. And God doesn't use dirty dishes. We weren't created to serve ourselves. We were created for His glory, to serve His purpose. Our vessels, our bodies belong to the Lord and we need to allow Him to use us according to His will. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says - "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
The purpose of a soldier is to please the one who enlisted him. The purpose of a vessel is to serve the purpose for which it was created, to be useful to the master. We need to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ and clean vessels. We need to fulfill the ministry that He has given us right now, at this point in our lives. It's no accident that we are where we are in life right now. And rather than being influenced by our surroundings we need to be having an influence on those around us. Rather than being pressed into the worlds mold, being conformed to this world, we need to stand apart and be different. Have an impact on those that God has put in your life. The ministry that God has for us to do isn't something that we need to wait for. We shouldn't be always looking off into the future and saying that when I get to a certain age or a certain level of maturity in my Christian life, then I will serve the Lord, then I will reach out to those around me, or then I'll make a difference for Christ. We need to do it right now. Life is short. James 4:14 says - "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." Who knows how much time they have left on this earth? We need to be living every day seeking to fulfill the ministry that God has for us right now. And the longer we put it off the more of our lives we are wasting. It's not about self, it's about pleasing Him.
Paul ends his letter to Timothy in chapter four by saying in verses 1-5 - "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." And then he tells how his life was not wasted. 2 Timothy 4:6-7 - "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."
If I were to die right now could I look back over my life and say with Paul "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith"? If not then I am not fulfilling my ministry. If I cannot say that I have been doing the work that God has for me to do then my life has been wasted.
What is the ministry that the Lord has for you to do right now? If you don't know then you need to be before the Lord in prayer seeking to know what He would have you to do, seeking to know how He desires to use you to impact those that He has put around you. And once you know what the ministry is that He has given you, do it!
Colossians 4:17 - "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it."
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