Faithful Behind The Scenes

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Good morning and welcome to Starting Right.
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I am Danny Mack, and I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great start to your day.
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So grab your cup of coffee, sit back and relax for the next five minutes as I help you start your day by starting right.
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Well, good morning everyone.
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I was watching a movie the other night, and I did something that I rarely do.
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At the end of the movie, I actually watched all of the credits.
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And I was astounded to see the number of people that were involved in making this film that were doing so many different things behind the scenes that helped to put it together.
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It just sort of blew my mind to think that it took that many people to create the film that I just watched.
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And it wasn't because it was a bad movie, no, it was it was a good movie.
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But there were so many people involved behind the scenes that it was just absolutely astounding.
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It wasn't long after that, I pulled out my Bible and was reading through the book of Colossians.
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And I came to chapter four.
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And in that last part of chapter four, Paul brings what my Bible calls the final greeting.
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And in these greetings he mentions three characters.
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Let me just read it to you.
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It's chapter four, starting in verse seven of the book of Colossians.
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He says, Tychicus will tell you all the news about me.
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He is a dear brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.
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I'm sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances, and that he may encourage your hearts.
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He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.
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They will tell you everything that is happening here.
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My fellow prisoner, Aristocus, sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.
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So I want to talk to you this morning just about those first three guys, Tychicus, Onesimus, and Aristocus.
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Paul lists these guys because they are important to him in his ministry, yet we know very little about them.
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They are the guys who are behind the scenes in a lot of cases.
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They didn't get to stand in the spotlight like Paul or Peter or James or John.
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They were not part of the spotlight crowd.
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No, these were the guys who were working behind the scenes, and yet they are important to Paul, and they're important to the ministry of the gospel.
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Let's look at how these men impacted Paul's ministry.
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First there was Tychicus.
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Tychicus was doing a very specific and important job.
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He was going to deliver personal news about Paul as well as Paul's letter to the church in Colossa.
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The gospel was continuing to be spread because of the faithfulness of Tychicus.
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Then there's Onesimus.
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His name actually means useful.
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But as a slave, his master Philemon thought he was useless.
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And yet Paul commended Onesimus as a faithful and dearly loved brother, saying to the church that he is one of you.
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And by doing so, Paul was declaring the universality of the gospel message, that there is no one who is ineligible to receive the forgiveness and grace of Christ.
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And when they receive that, they automatically become our brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter where they're from, or what they look like, or the color of their skin, or their background.
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None of that matters.
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We are all part of the body of Christ.
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Then there was Aristicus.
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Aristicus was a prisoner along with Paul.
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So he was Paul's companion in the suffering in his ministry.
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When we're going through suffering in our lives, we need people around us who will be there for us.
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Aristicus may have had to be there, but he didn't have to be an encouragement to Paul.
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But in the middle of his suffering, he chose to be an encourager and gave Paul strength in what he was doing.
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We often talk about fulfilling God's call in our lives, and sometimes we think that means that we're going to be upfront doing all the upfront things and making the big decisions and drawing the big crowds for evangelism, or teaching great congregations.
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That's not what it is.
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Just as in the movies, there are far more people behind the scenes who are necessary in order to be able to make it come together.
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We know that within the body of Christ it works much the same way.
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The number of people behind the scenes, supporting, encouraging, and praying for those who are in the spotlight, who are the leaders.
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That's what really is important.
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And right now it's really important that we pray for our Christian leaders.
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They need strength to continue to declare God's word.
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They need strength and wisdom to know how to live right and declare what is only truth.
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They need God's hand on them to protect them and shield them from attacks.
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And God has called each one of us to be a part of that.
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Maybe we're just one of those behind the scenes guys.
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Maybe we're simply the ones that are helping to carry the message.
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Maybe we are the ones who are feeling sort of left out that we really don't belong, but we do belong.
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Maybe we are prepared to be with our Christian brothers and sisters as they are suffering.
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They're going through difficult times, and we are here to encourage and hold them up and to bless them and be with them.
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You may not know what your role is, but God does, and he will help you find your place so that you know what part you have to play in God's great and beautiful plan for the building of his kingdom.
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God's got exciting stuff for each one of us, and I'm so grateful that when we look at what he is leading us into, we never have to doubt that he will produce something good if we are faithful to him.
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Have a great day, my friends.
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Remember that you are an important part of God's plan.
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And we will talk again tomorrow.
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Thank you for listening today.
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And I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.