Don't let your life be meaningless.
Next Sunday we begin a new series called,"Rockstar: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of King Solomon." King Solomon was a remarkable man who spent his life searching for significance. He sought political power, he sought fame, and he denied himself nothing in his pursuit of pleasure. He was intelligent, charismatic, privileged, connected, and significant.
Solomon was the kind of man everyone envied. He had all the things men spend their entire lives chasing. Yet in Ecclesiastes when Solomon begins taking inventory of his life, he summarizes everything he’d devoted his life to with one word:meaningless!In Ecclesiastes 1:2 (NIV) Solomon says, " 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.' "
I wonder how many of you on this Father’s Day feel a little bit like Solomon? A lot of men (most men) are searching for significance andfor meaning. Most men feel dissatisfied, discontented, and restless. I cannot tell you how many men have said to me, "I feel like I was created for something greater than what I’ve spent my life doing up to this point, but I can’t put my finger on it. There’s something missing."
This past week at the suggestion of a friend I watched a movie called "Henry Poole Was Here." In the movie Henry Poole is a middle aged man who discovers that he has about a week to live. Deeply saddened, he returns to his old neighborhood and unsuccessfully attempts to buy his childhood home from a family living there. So he buys a house down the block. All day long he sits in the house drinking liquor, eating pizza, and waiting to die.
At one point he takes a long walk and climbs up under a railroad trestle that he used to hide under as a young boy. By now, the railroad trestle is covered with rust and graffiti. Yet he manages to find the words he had written decades earlier as a child, "Henry Poole was here". Returning to the empty house he bought, he attached a thumb-sized picture of himself and his parents on a plaster wall and writes the same four words,"Henry Poole was here". Will these four words matter to the next person who buys the house, or who sees them under the train trestle? Who was Henry Poole?
Colossians lists the names of many people who led meaningful lives.
The closing chapter of Colossians reads like that old train trestleon which Henry Poole etched his name. There are lots of unfamiliar names, names of men who have come and gone. These are men unknown to us,men who would have been forgotten by history except that their lives were filled with meaning.
While other men sought significance in education, politics, amassing wealth, pursuing pleasure, becoming famous, being charming, and building empires,these men chose a different path.
In Colossians 4:7-18 (NIV) Paul writes, "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."
"My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 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. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in herhouse."
"After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. Tell Archippus: 'See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.' I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you."
How many of these names do you know?
Let’s take a quick survey. We’re going to need some audience participation to make this work. Raise your hand high if you have ever heard of the apostle Paul. Great! Okay, what about Luke and Mark? Luke was a doctor who wrote Luke andActs in your Bible. Mark wrote the gospel of Mark.
How about Epaphras? Epaphras started the church at Colosse. How about Barnabas? Aristarchus? Jesus who is called Justus (not the real Jesus)? How about Demas? The brothers at Laodicea? Nympha? Archippus?
We usually think of the apostle Paul as a lone missionary who boldly preached where no man had preached before.And yes, the apostle Paul was the one who’d often make the headlines and become a lightning rod for religious and political persecutors. But the truth is that Paul was surrounded by a whole entourage of men who followed him, and supported him, and encouraged him, and prayed for him, and assisted him in his ministry.
We often romanticize the notion of following men like Jesus or the apostle Paul. How warm and fuzzy people must have felt, basking in the glory of these great men! Following the apostle Paul would have been like comedian Will Ferrell hanging out with Bear Grylls (from "Man Versus Wild"). Did you see that on the Discovery Channel? Will Ferrell had to jump out of an airplane, battle frostbite, eat meat from a dead animal, and sleep in a snow cave.Can youimagine a grown man crying for his mommy! It was hilarious.
The apostle Paul had a team of men who ministered with him.
On his journeys the apostle Paul found himself beaten, flogged, stoned, persecuted, attacked by wild animals, lost at sea, shipwrecked, imprisoned, naked, hungry, thirsty, sleepless, cold, frostbitten, and exposed to death time and time again. But guess who was standing there right alongside him during all these trials?
That’s right! Luke, Mark, Epaphras, Barnabas, Aristarchus, Justus, Demas, the brothers at Laodicea, Nympha, andArchippus. Superstars like Paul unwittingly steal the limelight, but without such men they’d be nobodies. You don’t have to be the superstar to find meaning and lasting significance. You just have be faithful.
Significance is rarely a solo effort.
Allow me a few words concerning our quest for significance. First, significance is rarely,if ever, a solo effort. Our culture always wants to worship the hero— the next Kobe Bryant orthe next Michael Jordan. But television rarely depicts reality. Behind every great man is a team of even greater men and women. The greatest accomplishments are accomplished by dedicated teams who sacrifice their egos, sacrifice their pride, and who set aside greed to advance a common cause.
Our lives have very little significance when we go it alone. This is the genius of the Church. Together we can find lasting meaning and significance in service to God’s eternal kingdom. Together, as members of one another, as the interdependent, sacrificing body of Christ, we can fill the earth with God’s glory. But alone, and isolated, and independent, and in competition with one another, our soul dries up and withers away.
Do you ever grow frustrated? Do you ever feel empty, trying to prove yourself? Trying to get people to notice? Trying to become something great alone? Significance is always found in relationship to God and with other people. It’s a team effort. Over 100 different Christians are associated with Paul in book of Acts. Twenty-six are mentioned in Romans 16 alone.
Significance is the fruit of deep sacrifice.
Second, significance is the fruit of deep sacrifice. You will never be significant if you refuse to sacrifice. The comfortable, the lazy, the unmotivated, the disciplined, the selfish, and the self-serving neverbecome great. No one ever became great sitting and watching television, sitting and playing video games, or spending all day twittering. No oneever became great drinking it up, running with the crowd, living for pleasure, pampering her body. Significance is born of sacrifice, hard work, pain, blood, sweat, and toil. Easy street never leads to greatness. It didn’t for the Son of God, and it certainly will not for us.
Shackled to other prisoners in a dark, disease-infested dungeon, the apostle Paul labored in prayer for the churches. Imagine him there with bruised wrists, writing his letters to the churches, lifting his heavy chains with every God-inspired stroke of his pen.
Details about Paul's team.
Tychicus was right there with them. He was a dear brother, a faithful minister, a fellow servant in the Lord, and atremendous encourager. He was willing to stay with Paul when all the odds were against him. He was a finisher, a dependable man, and someone who always fulfilled his obligations. Paul repeatedly turned to him to carry out critical tasks. Tychicus was a man of loving action, ready on a moment’s notice to do whatever it would take to advance God’s kingdom.
Onesimus was a faithful and dear brother. Onesmius, however, was a fugitive of sorts. He wasa runaway slave who belonged to a man named Philemon. As a new convert, Onesimus proved himself rather quickly to Paul. And in the end was willing to do the right thing, rectify his wrongs, and return to his master.
Aristarchus is described as Paul’s,"fellow prisoner." This was a man who willing risked his life with Paul during the Ephesian riot described inActs 19:28-41. He sailed with Paul to Rome, experiencing a storm and becoming shipwrecked as told inActs 27. He was the kind of man who stayed no matter what the circumstances— riots, storms, prison, or danger. In Rome he became a voluntary prisoner with Paul in order to provide comfort and support for the sake of the gospel. He did not look for the easy way. He did not run when the going got tough. He willingly suffered.
Of interest are two men in the list, Mark and Demas. Both of these men accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys, and both men abandoned Paul when the going got tough. They struggled with their fear and the danger. Be careful not to judge them! Despite his failure, Mark returned to Jerusalem where he started a house church and wrote the gospel of Mark. Through the encouragement of Barnabas, he was restored to service and regained the apostle Paul’s confidence. Demas, however, fell away and back in love with the things of the world.
Jesus (Justus) was a,"fellow worker" for the kingdom of God, and a constant comfort.
Luke was a doctor, adept in medicine and technical detail. He was a professional man of high reputation. Think how personally profitable his skills would have been, yet he used them in service to God’s kingdom. Luke remained with Paul until the very end of his ministry. He showed amazing devotion and loyalty.
Nympha (scholars debate whether this is a man or woman) established a church in her home, when Christianity was still an underground movement and it was risky to be a Christian.
Achrippus was a man in the church at Colosse who received a special work from the Lord— a discouraging, thankless work no oneelse was willing to do.And I don’t even have time to talk about Epaphras, the man who founded churches at Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. He prayed constantly with great fervor that everyone stand firm in the will of God and become mature, and become fully assured in their faith.
All of these men were men who stayed, who persevered, who demonstrated consistency, who were dependable, responsible, and steady. Courageous men, who banded together and made deep sacrifices of eternal significance.
We all have worth before God, but not all aspire to greatness in God's work.
It is true that we all have worth before God. God loves all of us, and his love isn’t conditioned by our performance, by our accomplishments, or by our notions of success. Yet feeling loved and being significant are two different things entirely. God loved both Demas and Mark.Yet only one or them aspired to greatness.
For those of you looking for your mission, if you are on a quest for lasting significance, it's to be found in community with God's people. It'sto be found in a life of sacrifice and service. And it's to be found in service to God’s eternal kingdom.
"On the ship of the church there are no passengers; all are members of the crew. The church is not a trumpet corps, but an orchestra; each member a different instrument playing a unique sound. Added to the sounds of others, the symphony of the gospel is lived and shared with the world." —Maxie Dunnam