Bible Text: Colossians 4 | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lou Saldiveri | Series: Sunday Morning Worship

— Pastor Lou’s Notes —
Intro:
We are currently in the time of year when baseball spring training is in progress. Many pro teams have learned over the years that a winning team cannot be based upon one or two superstars. The whole team needs to be contributing with their gifts and talents towards the common goal of winning. There needs to be athletes who are good fielders, pitchers, hitters, and who will encourage and stand by one another even through the losses and victories.

Likewise, the work of God’s kingdom is never the work of just one person. God designed Christ followers to be coworkers in the cooperative work of God’s kingdom. If you recall, the Bible teaches that a person becomes a Christ follower by faith, He receives, through the Holy Spirit, a spiritual gift or gift set which is to be used God’s kingdom work. Therefore, it takes a team of Christ followers to impact our world for the glory of Christ. The goal is to be a part of seeing people coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and then disciplining the person so that he/she may be released as a coworker in the Kingdom of God. It is and never should be the work of one person alone!

Therefore, what kinds of people do we need on the team? The answer is both simple and difficult. We need people who are willing to develop and use their gifts or gift sets to become part of something much bigger than themselves e.g. the kingdom work of God that lifts up and magnify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul give us several principles about being coworkers in the kingdom of God:

1. We Are Untied in Christ (See Slide Show)
1. Tychicus: ….”in the Lord”
2. Onesimus: …
3. Aristarchus: …
4. Mark: …
5. Jesus aka Justus…

2. We Serve on the Front Line of the Kingdom
1. Ministry may involve some risk
1. Some people may view the message of the gospel as offensive
2. We may be persecuted for our beliefs
3. It can be risky to associate with someone who is being persecuted because of preaching and teaching the gospel of Christ

2. Ministry requires hard work and sacrifice
1. Not to bring glory to ourselves, only to bring glory to God

3. We Serve Faithfully
1. With God’s help, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the encouragement of the Scriptures and one another, we need to stay the course and always keep God’s goal in front of us. See Matthew 28:18-20
2. Our overall goal is to make disciples and equip them for the work of the Kingdom and to finish well.

Closing:
Many of you remember soap operas. Many TV dramas are now in soap opera format. One of the reasons these can be popular is that we long to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Then we need to decide if we are going to be spectators or participants in the kingdom of God.