I hope this morning that we will come to the end of our studies over the months. We've been looking at the letter of Paul to the Colossians and we come down to what seems to be just a list of names. The Bible has many lists of names. You will discover if you dig deeply that these are rich for us. While the Apostle Paul, his central argument in the letter of Paul to the Colossians, this little church about a hundred miles east of Ephesus. You can go there. It's a real place with two other nearby churches in Laodicea and Heraclius. And so he comes with his final greetings to the church there. He's going to be very personal. Remember that the Apostle Paul, he writes as an Apostle, but he also writes as a person. And he makes these verses very real, by mentioning 11 names. And we get a little insight into these names. Why does he mention so many people? Well, let's go back to the purpose that he has in this letter. The purpose was to emphasize that Christ is sufficient for all our needs. The great problem of sin has been dealt with by Christ. Every other religion in the world says you've got to do, do, do. You've got to Come with a ritual, with a ceremony. You've got to say special prayers. You've got to touch the beads. You've got to go to the shrine. But Christ is all sufficient, is Paul's argument. He says that we don't need rituals, ceremonies, man's philosophy. We don't need the latest thinking. We don't need critical race theory. We don't need this new invention. No. These, it says, are not after Christ. That's what Paul says. For in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Just pause. Do you understand that? God. Infinite. Eternal. unlimited, Jesus Christ. And in Him resides, dwells, all the fullness of character, the power, the knowledge, the wisdom in one man, bodily. And Paul is saying that in Jesus Christ, If you found Him, if you know Him, if you've come to Him turning from your sin in repentance and faith, you don't need to add anything else. You don't need to have special clothing. You don't need to come with an offering and a sacrifice. You just come with your heart and life and you say, only to His cross I cling. Gently you fall onto His kind arms, the arms of Christ, who has done everything for salvation. And that's Paul's argument. throughout the whole of this book. So why does he finish these four chapters mentioning these eleven people? Well, do you know, the Word of God is a real book. It's written about real people and these are largely the lives of people who were changed and saved out of all sorts of backgrounds and they're recorded as a testimony for why and how God's word is real and its power, saving power is efficacious in the lives of individuals. And we're going to look at them. You might say, what's in a name? If I was to mention your name to half a dozen other people, I won't do this. If I was to say John or Jane, What would people say about you if they were to be limited to six words about your name, about my name? I don't mean my actual name, Oliver. What would they say about me, your reputation, your name? If I say Winston Churchill, those who are older in the room, probably it stirs up a memory of the man. What do you think of? Courageous, bold, difficult to live with. That's what his wife said about him. Forthright, willing to take tough decisions. That's Winston Churchill. Well we've got 11 names before us this morning and I'm not going to look at all of them but I want to pick out some of the themes. Why does the Word of God mention lists of names? Sometimes it's to trace the genealogy of Christ right back to Adam and Seth and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and so on. It's to give authenticity. This is a real book. These people were real people. You can mention their names and you can see what they stood for. They were real, real people. Well, secondly, the lists of names here in this passage, they are littered throughout the New Testament. You see, they're cross-referenced. You can take a name that we're going to look at shortly in verse 7, Tychicus. Do you know anything about him? He's mentioned in four other books. in the New Testament. He's a real person. These names, they tie the books of the New Testament together. They show that God breathed through His Holy Spirit disparate letters to different churches and God did this. This is God's Word. And the mention of the name Tychicus shows that it was the Holy Spirit that wove these things together. And we remember that God's word, every single word, is pure, and it's profitable, and it's helpful to us. So when we read of Tychicus, it's not just history. There are lessons. There are insights. We notice as well this list of names. Predominantly, Paul is saying most of these, not all, and we'll come to the exceptions, most of these names were people that Paul dearly loved. He had great affection for them. That's a hallmark of the church. When we have other believers that pray for us, care for us, They would do almost anything for us. We have great love and affection for them. And Paul is going to mention some. He has great esteem. Our title this morning is Fellow Gospel Labourers. Paul's co-workers. The people that he particularly valued. He doesn't mention the celebrities of the day. He mentions ordinary people. people that he gave great confidence in. So let's look at the first this morning. The one that I want to pick out is Tychicus to start with. He's a model of mutual sympathy. When you think of Tychicus and he's mentioned in 1 Timothy, he's mentioned in Acts, he's mentioned in Ephesians, he's mentioned in Titus. He was a man who it seems Paul, when he had a choice, who will travel with me on my next missionary journey. Tychicus was a go-to man. It says in Acts 20 verse 4, and Tychicus and Trophimus and Sopater and other names, they were chosen by Paul to travel with him. So there's lots of lessons that come from this dear man. Let's just read this verse. Colossians 4 verse 7. All my state, my affairs, my conditions. Remember he's a prisoner. He's in Rome. He's writing this letter to the church at Colossae. And it's to be circulated to the other churches, a circular letter. He's writing it from prison and he says, Tychicus, he knows all about me. And when he comes to speak to you, he's a trustworthy person. He's somebody that knows about me, knows my condition, my difficulties, my trials, the problems I've had. As I've had to stand before kings and emperors, he will give you an accurate account of the problems that I have and the opportunities that I have. Tychicus. He will be trusted. In fact, he's going to bring the letter to the Ephesians, the Ephesian church, and the letter to Colossae with him. That's quite a task, isn't it? Just think about it. If he hadn't done his task well, we wouldn't have part of the Word of God. If he'd been negligent, if he'd been lazy, if he'd not been trustworthy, we wouldn't have this letter today. Well, of course, that wasn't possible because this was God-breathed and it was going to be in the canon of scripture. So he's an evidently trustworthy person. Is that true of you and me? Are you dependable? Are you always there? We've got people here in this church. They say they're going to do something, you know it's done. It's as good as done. You know that you'll see them on a snowy November evening, maybe January. You'll see them at the meeting midweek, because they're always there, trustworthy, dependent. If somebody says, I'll go and get you a pint of milk because you can't get out, they'll do it. Tychicus, a trustworthy person. He will represent me faithfully. Paul knew that what he said was true. Do you know there are those people? When you hear them say, so and so told me, you take it with a pinch of salt. are a little bit prone to exaggeration. Or maybe they spin, to use the modern term. Are your words faithful and trustworthy? If you say, so-and-so told me, is that accurate? Is it true? Tychicus, he will declare unto you, Everything that you need to know. He'll distill down the important things and what he says you can rely upon it because I know Tychicus. I know his name, his reputation. He's faithful. He can represent me before the churches. Just turn back to Ephesians 6 and 21 and you'll see almost identical verses. Here is Paul, he's in prison, and he's also writing at about the same time the letter to Ephesus. Ephesians 6, 21, for which, read verse 20, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, I'm in prison, I'm chained, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak, but that ye also may know my affairs. and how I do, how I'm getting on. Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things whom I have sent unto you. for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. Tychicus. Again and again he's commended by Paul. Here's a man. He is a fellow labourer in the Gospel. He's an accurate communicator. Am I? Do I represent the truth accurately, faithfully? When you tell somebody about a conversation you've had, sometimes it's difficult to be accurate. You can't quite remember what was said. Christians should be known by their integrity, not telling a half-truth, not exaggerating. Do we have people here who when you hear their account and their testimony, or you need to hear it from someone else, because quite often they've developed a reputation of not being that faithful and that trustworthy to the truth. Well, Paul describes him as a beloved brother. Why is he beloved? Because he brings encouragement and comfort. Good words, kind words. Tychicus. He comes and sees a way to encourage and be an encouragement. He's described as a faithful minister. He's just a servant. The word here is servant, even deacon. Somebody that prepared to be practical. He's faithful, a fellow minister, a fellow servant, a faithful minister in the law. That's Tychicus. He's also described as a bond servant. And he's given another responsibility. A second person that we can look at is Onesimus. You know him. He was a slave. He was probably from Colossae. He was living in Philemon's house. And he ran away. And he came and he was converted. He was told by Paul, go back home. Go to where you should be, Anasimus. And he went home. And now Paul says to Tychicus, when Anasimus goes home, they may remember him from the olden days. They may have heard of his bad reputation. You go and give an accurate account. He's a new person. He's a new creature. He's changed. Look at the description of him. Not a runaway slave anymore. A faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. Probably meaning he was from Colossae. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. So Tychicus is going to encourage, he's going to be trustworthy, he's going to be faithful. Just one more reference, this is not certain but I think it's probable. If you turn to 2 Corinthians 8, We won't turn to many other verses this morning. 2 Corinthians 8 and verses 22 and 23. It doesn't mention his name, but the commentators think very clearly that this is a reference to Tychicus as well. 2 Corinthians 8, 22. And we have sent with them our brother, probably Tychicus. whom we have oftentimes proved to be diligent in many things, but now much more diligent upon the great confidence which I have in you. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he's my partner and fellow helper concerning you, or our brethren be inquired of, they are messengers of the churches. And the glory of Christ. Probably another reference to Tychicus. Well let's move on. Verse 10. Here's a second person to dwell upon. Aristarchus. Another real person. Another friend of Paul. He was a person known by the fact that he suffered with Paul, a fellow prisoner. Verse 10. Again, we can read about Aristarchus, don't turn to it. Acts 19, 29. He was a man who was caught up in that mob violence in Ephesus. Do you remember? They worshipped there the goddess Diana, the goddess of the Ephesians. And there was a big business going on. They made statues. There was one that made the statues called Demetrius. He was a silversmith. And they made these goddesses, Diana of the Ephesians, And so many people were converted to Christ. So many people put their confidence in the Word of God. And they turned from idolatry to the one true living God. That the trade and the business went down, down, down. And so those people that made these statues said, we've got to do something. Let's cause a riot. And Paul was accused of being the cause of the riot. And Aristarchus was one of his friends. And he was put into prison. He was threatened. He's mentioned again in Acts 27 verse 2. And Philemon 1 verse 24. He's a fellow labourer. And he's there in prison with Paul now in Rome. as this letter is written. Another man with a reputation. He's dependable. He didn't run away when there was trouble in Ephesus. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner. That's all that's said. But what a story it tells. He was willing to stand with Paul. He was willing to be punished. He was willing to stand for the Gospel. He was willing to be accused of something he hadn't done, causing a riot in Ephesus. He salutes you, he's by me in prison. Probably, he had the opportunity of not being there. But I tend to think that Aristarchus wanted to be with Paul. to encourage him, my fellow prisoner there in prison, to encourage. You see the themes, the insights, trustworthy, willing to suffer, sympathetic to the needs of others. Is that true of us? Is that the sort of person that I am? I'm not interested in Winston Churchill for a few minutes. Am I like Tychicus? Am I like Aristarchus? Well let's come on to two disappointments. You see, we don't just have a rose-tinted view of Paul's life, we get warts and all. Here's two people who were a disappointment. I'm going to jump over Luke, and I'm going to come right down to John Mark. In verse 10, his name is put as Marcus, but we're pretty sure This is a reference to John Mark who is referred to elsewhere. Just one more verse and I will limit myself to this. Acts 13 and verse 13. Acts 13 and verse 13. It says here, now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Panfilia, and John, John Mark, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. Look down to Acts 15, it's not really another reference, it's the same book, and verse 37, and we see here a reference to Barnabas. and Acts 15 37 and Barnabas determined to take with them John, John Mark, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them. Verse 39. Why? The contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder. They were broken in pieces. Their relationship was ruined. We don't really know what it was about. I think that's the kindness of God. Not to need to know the details. What we know was there was some contention and controversy and it was so sharp they probably couldn't bear to be together. Paul thought one thing and Barnabas thought another and John Mark was on Barnabas' side. And so Barnabas went with John Mark. And Paul couldn't agree to that. Well, we don't know what it was. We know it must have been serious because believers were told to overlook each other's sins that are minor. But when it's something significant, a disagreement of some sort, there are times where we have to go a different path. But the wonderful thing is that here in Colossae, Mark is mentioned as giving greetings. Elsewhere, don't turn to it, to Timothy 4, verse 11, Paul asks Timothy to take Mark, bring him with thee for he is profitable for the ministry. We know that letter was written after. They separated in Acts 15. The contention was so sharp. By the time of the letter to the Colossians, John Mark is giving a greeting. in the pen name of Paul. By the time it gets to 2 Timothy, Mark is encouraged to be a helper. He's now reconciled, it's clear. And he's profitable to the Apostle Paul for the ministry. What a change! Friends, we have to ask this question. Are the friends who are no longer friends Have you reconciled with them, especially those believers in the Lord? Have you reconciled? There was a division for a time. As far as it lies within you, live at peace with all men. Maybe it's not possible, or it wasn't possible, but now it could be possible. Evidently Paul And John Mark became one together again. They became fellow labourers of the Gospel once more. But go down to verse 14. That was a disappointment and it was an encouragement once the reconciliation had occurred. Verse 14. And Demas. Demas. Oh, Demas. Here he's giving a greeting. There's a distance between the time when 1 Timothy was written and 2 Timothy, but in 2 Timothy 4, 10, take down the reference if you're taking notes, this is what it says of Demas. He, says Paul to Timothy, has forsaken me. Having loved this present world, Demas was part of the apostolic band. He was one of those that was working alongside Paul. But he went into the world. He went back to where he came from. He'd probably never really left it. The world. You see, there is two kingdoms. There's Satan's kingdom. It's a kingdom of darkness. It's a kingdom driven by lust and desire, where men and women and children are spiritually dead. There's the kingdom of light. And to move from one kingdom to the other, you've got to leave behind all that Satan loves. What did Demas do? He went back to the world. He loved this present world. If you're a Christian this morning, you are told to love not the things of the world for their darkness. The two worlds are not to be synchronized. They're not one. They are two. Demas loved the world. What great sadness that must have caused to the Apostle Paul. Here he's giving greetings. He's with them. He's one of their band. I look back in life. I can think of pastors who have renounced the faith. They've gone to the world again. I can think of one man that went into the music industry. He started singing things which were anti-God. He stood in pulpits in this land. He was a Demas, for he once stood with or appeared to, but he went back to the world. He loved this present world. Notice that word present. This world which is all about now, now, now. My thrill, my experience, my pleasure, now. And Demas found that too big a pull. The next holiday, the next experience was what Demas was all about. But if you've come into the kingdom of heaven, Your life isn't about now. Your life is actually about eternity. It's about the life to come. And you're storing up riches in heaven that moth and rust will not deteriorate. So that was Demas. Well, as we close, let's just look at a more positive example. And we have to go to the pastor of the church at Colossae. Verse 12. Epaphras, who again is one of you. He's from Colossae. He's a Colossian. And he's described as a servant of Christ. That's a lovely description. We shouldn't want anything else after our name, should we? Not great, not good. A servant of Christ. That's all I need to be. That's all I want to be. A servant of Christ. He greets you because he's come to Rome. He is always laboring. That's a challenge for a minister, isn't it? Always, always on duty. Always available. Always laboring. Half-heartedly? No. Fervently. With energy. with passion. What in? In prayer. Preaching, yes, but prayer. He's always got them on his heart. He's thinking every hour, every day, day and night. He's leading them to the Lord in prayer. He's a prayer warrior. He may not be able to change their hearts on his own. Pastors can't do that. They can preach, They can teach, but what they can do more than everything is always labour fervently in prayer for their people, for their people that don't know the Lord, for their people that do, that have trials, for those that go through deep waters, through the valley, the valley of the shadow of death. We can pray for people. What a comfort to know we have people like Epaphras, a servant of Christ, not mentioned for anything else than his qualities before Christ. He laboured fervently in prayer. Why? That the people in his church would stand Stand up. Stand firm. Stand perfect. That means complete. In all the will of God, a Christian is the only complete person in the world. The world has got something missing. They're not satisfied. The world is keeping searching. But the Christian is complete in Christ. That's the whole message of Colossians. We are complete in Christ. And that's what their pastor was praying for them. That they wouldn't go after rituals, ceremonies, the latest philosophy, but that they would be in Christ Jesus. Complete. Perfect. which is the will of God. May the Lord help us in all that we've learned, that we would remember, and most of all that we would apply the lessons today of these characters whose trustworthiness, whose faithfulness, Make them stand up and above all the people of their age. May we follow their example this morning.