March 3, 2017: This week we talked about how the spiritual seeds which are planted we sometimes see start to show results sometimes after years of watering.
evangelism
Table Talk – Episode 81 – Discipleship
February 24, 2017: This week we looked at the importance of discipleship and how it should be the logical follow through to evangelism.
Table Talk – Episode 80 – Revival
February 17, 2017: This week we talked about revival and how it starts with God working in us as individuals.
Table Talk – Episode 79 – Evangelism and Blessings
February 10, 2017: This week we got to hear from a ministry that focuses on helping to equip Christians to share the Gospel with people.
Table Talk – Episode 78 – What’s Your Inheritance And What’s Your Legacy
February 3, 2017: This week we talked about what sort of inheritance we have gained whether good or bad and what legacy we are leaving for our children by being willing to be used by God when and where He calls us.
Table Talk – Episode 63 – Commitment and Identity
September 30, 2016: This week we talked about how Christianity involves a commitment and how as we progress to the third stage we find our identity in Christ.
Table Talk is a weekly gathering of men in the Pinellas Park area from different denominations and backgrounds. We meet every Friday morning from around 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter restaurant. It is located at 6767 US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park. If you happen to be in the area feel free to come out and join us for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
Who Is Paul? – Evangelist
In looking at Colossians we have seen how Paul presents the centrality of Christ. The only issue is that here Paul is writing to a group of believers that all they know is that he led their pastor to faith and that he is now a Roman prisoner. The false teachers in Colossae tried to use this one fact to discredit Paul and lead the Colossian believers astray. So what Paul does next is to take a break from building up who Christ is and to explain his situation, who he is, and what his ministry is. The first aspect of who he is that he mentions is his ministry to share the Gospel; he is an evangelist. We see this in Colossians 1:21-23, “Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him—if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.” Again while Paul did not personally evangelize to those in Colossae, he points out that a large part of his ministry is through the spreading of the Gospel, as he states “I, Paul, have become a servant of it.” In explaining evangelism as being a major part of his ministry, he essentially shares the Gospel with the Colossian church right there by explaining their spiritual state past, present, and future.
Past
Paul starts out by pointing out a person’s spiritual state before they come to faith in Christ. He states that we were alienated and hostile, our actions were evil. You see before we come to faith in Christ we all have an issue with pride. We view ourselves as being the most important and all our actions tend to revolve around what will best suit us. If others benefit from our actions it is because we were to also benefit from it. Essentially before Christ we are trying to be our own god, the unbeliever will do whatever they can to make themselves look good, or to better their situations. This is even seen in works based religions; no matter who they claim to worship they are basically worshiping themselves, because according to their religion they are the ones to bring about their own entrance into their concept of heaven. What I am getting at here is that you can’t live in such a way that views yourself as god and not be on hostile terms with God. This is why humility is a major part in a believer’s life, they recognize who God is and repent of the previous behavior and thoughts.
Present
The past spiritual state leads right into the present spiritual state of the believer, that being we are reconciled to God. The thing is it is not anything that the believer does that reconciles them with God, but it was God who took the initiative. This was done through the work of Christ on the cross, this was all done while we were still considered to be enemies with God. To refute the false teachers that denied Christ having a human body, Paul stresses that reconciliation came by “His physical body through His death.” Paul then mentions the purpose of the reconciliation is to make the believer holy, faultless, and blameless before God. You see it is not how we look to ourselves or others, but it is all about how God sees us, which once we accept His grace and salvation we have a perfect standing in Christ.
Future
Finally Paul points out the believer’s future spiritual condition, in that of our glorification. Paul refers to this as the “hope of the gospel.” Before Christ the Colossians were without hope, but once they came to faith in Christ they were given the promise of eternity in the presence of God. The imagery Paul uses here was to illustrate that if one’s faith is built on the solid foundation of Christ, then nothing will cause you to move away from that faith. We are not saved by continuing in our faith, but we continue in our faith because we are saved.
Table Talk – Episode 53 – Encouragement
July 08, 2016: This week we heard from Pastor Sam a testimony from when he was on vacation and how God used him to encourage others in their time of need.
Table Talk is a weekly gathering of men in the Pinellas Park area from different denominations and backgrounds. We meet every Friday morning from around 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter restaurant. It is located at 6767 US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park. If you happen to be in the area feel free to come out and join us for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
A Friend of a Friend – What Must Be Done
In looking at Colossians 1:3-8 we have seen that Paul has heard about this young church that came out of the fruit of his ministry in Ephesus, and reminds them of the source of their hope. Today we will see what Paul points out as what should be done with that hope. In Colossians 1:6-8 we see, “It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth. You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.” Paul now goes and starts telling the Colossian church the purpose of the Gospel.
Bearing Fruit
He starts out with telling them that the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. Essentially Paul is stating that the Gospel is to continue to be spread, they heard the Gospel from someone and in turn they should be sharing the Gospel with others. Paul does this by telling the Colossians that it was not just them that found their hope through the Gospel but that the Gospel is for all people in all places. He was essentially stating that it was not just them that will find salvation in the message of the Gospel, but that they should be willing to spread it so that it would continue to bear its fruit.
Seed Planted
This point was driven home by Paul indicating that the seed that bore the spiritual fruit found in the Colossian church was planted by Epaphras. This was not one of the apostles, a missionary, or even some full time minister; this was just a fellow Colossian that heard the message and came to faith while he was probably visiting Ephasus. God used an ordinary man for His extraordinary purpose. As mentioned in the Great Commission we may not all be evangelists, but as Christians we are all to go and spread the Gospel around the world.
What’s The Fruit
So what is the fruit that is growing all over the world that Paul is talking about. It is those that have given their life to Christ. As mentioned they recognized God’s grace in the Gospel and gave their hearts over to it. On exposure to the Gospel message they had a stirring in their hearts as a result of the Holy Spirit drawing them to God that let them see this great gift that is offered to them, which they did not deserve. That is exactly what grace is, receiving something which you do not deserve; on the other side of the same coin is mercy, which is not receiving something you do deserve. You see through mercy we do not receive the punishment of death that we deserve due to sin and through God’s grace we receive life; not because of anything we did but because of Christ and what He did for us in His love. This is what Paul is doing right off the bat, he is reminding the Colossian church of the Gospel message, the message that led them to faith. He is reminding them of God’s grace and mercy as this needs to be first and foremost in their minds, especially when he starts to counter the false teachings that the church is dealing with.
A Friend of a Friend – What We Have Heard
In looking at the book of Colossians, after Paul gives his customary greeting he goes into praising God about what he has learned regarding this young church. He starts off in Colossians 1:3-8 with saying, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth. You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.” You see as I mentioned last week this church was not one that Paul had directly founded, his relationship would be similar to developing a close friendship after being introduced through a mutual friendship.
Fruit of Discipleship
The first thing to take notice of is Paul states that he is thankful to God when he is praying for the Colossian church. Why is that you may ask? Well it shows Paul understands what it means to be a true disciple, to truly be growing in one’s faith. Paul may not have started the church in Colossae but it was started most likely due to his ministry. Paul understood that while not every believer may be an evangelist, it is the duty of all believers to spread the Gospel. So hearing about how some who came to faith after hearing the Gospel through him have led others to faith, which eventually led to the founding of other churches in other cities and villages, Paul cannot help but to be thankful that they get it. Paul is thankful not only because of the church and it being founded, but that the believers realize it is not just the job of the pastor, elders, or even a missionary to spread the Gospel; but that it is the job of all believers. Paul is thankful that seeing his three years in Ephesus did not just result in one church being founded but many churches through the region being founded through the fruit of discipleship.
Why We Heard
Paul goes on to tell the church what he has been told about them, “for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.” In 1 Corinthians 13:13 Paul mentions three characteristics of a Christian that will never disappear, those three characteristics he has heard of being found in the Colossian church, faith, hope, and love. The first thing Paul mentions that he heard about them was their faith in Christ. This was the common ground that they held and is one that all believers share, we may have different views regarding doctrine, but we all agree on the major issues. Paul isn’t saying that they just heard about Christ or have incorporated aspects of the Christian faith into their belief system, but that they have whole heartedly left their old ways behind and are placing their sole focus on God.
The next thing Paul expresses thankfulness regarding the Colossian church is their love, which is a progression from their faith. You see one of the evidences of our faith is our love for others, which it is through this love that we are compelled to do good works. This is counter to what false teachers were telling the Colossian church, they were claiming that obedience to rules, obtaining a secret knowledge, or having special experiences were the evidence. The love the Colossian church was not just shown to those that they agreed with, it was to all the saints. This meant that even if their beliefs were slightly different on minor issues, those that do not affect one’s salvation, they still showed them love as fellow believers in Christ. There are too many examples of Christian brothers fighting over small issues rather than being in fellowship due to their common beliefs.
Paul then goes on to state his thankfulness due to their hope. Today we have cheapened the definition of many words such as love and faith; but what the Bible refers to as hope and how we view hope today are completely different. We see hope as often wishful thinking, “I hope I get a new car,” or “I hope I can make my rent this month.” Hope in the Bible is something more concrete than that, it is a looking forward to the assured promises that will be fulfilled. The Colossian church loved their fellow believer because of their hope in the life to come. They realized that even if they have different opinions on certain things they will all be together in heaven with God and that is all that matters.