Read: Colossians 4:17
O Archippus, what a task you have received! More than that is Whom you have received it from!! The Lord Jesus has given you a wonderful task: the ministry. To understand this passage, we must understand the One who has commissioned you, Archippus. He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, The Alpha and the Omega, the First and Last, God Almighty! The very One who scooped out the oceans and piled up the mountains has entrusted you with the ministry of his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How beautiful is the Son to the Father; we remember the words of the Father as His Son was raised from the baptismal waters by John the Baptist when he echoed, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17).
Shall those words be attributed to you, Archippus? That same One has called you to perform His ministry. As Jesus said to the disciples, "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16). You He has chosen, Archippus. I ask you, "Why did He do that?" Do you not wonder, Archippus? Do you see the sin in your life that has separated you from a Holy God? Do you feel as if your righteousness is as filthy rags? When you look into the Law of God do you see a man who is truly evil? Do your knees ache from the hours of repentance you have spent on them? Is your sight blurred from the tears of sorrow you have cried? Does your heart mourn for the unbeliever?
If these are true of you, then it is no secret to why God has chosen you, Archippus. You had not one thing to do with it, Archippus. You had not even the ability to come to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. "No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me to draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44). The God of Abraham has had mercy on your soul. He has heard your cry. He has delivered you from the pit. He has set you aside that you may not burn in the abyssal pit for eternity and has set your feet on a solid rock!!! Rejoice, Archippus, rejoice!!!
He called you Archippus, but he called you for a reason. All of the talents you possess, all of your character was bestowed upon you by Him. Not that they would be wasted on temporary things, but that they might contribute to the eternal Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts.
What will you do, Archippus? You have been called. You have been chosen. You have been equipped. You have been commissioned. For this is not an earthly king who has given you this task. This is not a governor or even the President. It is God Almighty who has sent you! You have now received His ministry. The One who flooded the earth sparing only eight souls, the One who destroyed that perverted city of Sodom and Gomorrah, the One who will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, the Holy One of Israel who shall shake the heavens and the earth, the One who says "Vengeance is mine, I shall repay" (Romans 12:19).
O pitiful Archippus, what shall you say to this King who has chosen you? What shall your reply be? It shall be, "Here am I, send me." For He holds you in the palm of His hand. For if you try to resist you shall be miserable and full of sorrow. There is no use to run, Archippus, Yahweh has chosen you.
Look around you, Archippus, at all the others He could have chosen. See the doctor who knows much. Listen to the philosopher as he ponders the mysteries of the universe. Note the astrologer who reads the stars as though they were a book. Listen to those who have a rich vocabulary and find favor with men. See those who are fair to look upon and you may even wonder why the more He has chosen you. "For you see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty" (I Cor. 1:26-27). O Archippus, do you not remember that the donkey rebuked the prophet Baalam? So it is with you, Archippus. Though you do not seem to be wise, God will use you to warn those who are wise in their own eyes. And just as Balaam smote the donkey for his rebuke they may also smite thee. Do not fear, Archippus, because just as Balaam�s donkey, you have seen the truth. You know what trouble lies on the road ahead. The Lord has opened your eyes and you are now accountable. Take heed.
Take the wise advice of the apostle Paul, Archippus, and TAKE HEED to the ministry the Lord Jesus has given you. Take "blepo" as the original Greek says. Look at it, behold it, beware it, perceive it, regard it. Have you seen a sunset on the shores of Galilee? Do you remember how it captivated you? As you gazed into the horizon did you not feel a sense of awe? At times like this, one only hopes that no one even breaks the silence with a whisper. For this sight needs no words to compliment its beauty; it speaks for itself. The ocean is calm and is a painted picture in the recesses of your mind. You dare not take your eyes off such beauty, and you only hope that the sun will cease to go down that you may behold this beauty only a minute longer. But soon it is gone. It slowly passes away just as all other worldly beauty will soon do.
There is something intriguing of beauty. Something in it that seems to mesmerize even the hardest of men. It is something we are not accustomed to. It is pure, honest, and true. Not like you and I, Archippus. Have you not looked into the innocent eyes of a child? Have you heard the saying, "All babies are beautiful"? There is truth in that, Archippus. Though they are depraved just as all of humanity, they have not seen the wickedness that you and I have. They have not given their members over to the devices of this world as we have. They have not willingly transgressed against their Creator. That captivates us. We covet the state of their being. Everyone longs to be beautiful, pure, innocent, but none are. The mountains, although, they are, the heavens declare the glory of God, the stars radiate His awesomeness because they have obeyed the Holy One of Israel. So men travel thousands of miles to take their families to behold such beauty. But Archippus, you will do well to listen to this: there is nothing more beautiful than the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, save God himself. The mountains bow down to Him, the waves clap for Him in adoration, and the winds sing praises to Him. There is nothing more beautiful than He. He is the only perfection. Yet we search in other places for beauty which will eventually pass away, and will not look to Him for beauty that is everlasting.
So look at Him Archippus! Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Fall in love with Him, Archippus. Take Him to the caverns of your heart and embrace His Word as your own flesh and blood. May all the beauty you see be only a reflection of Him. Bathe your soul in the Living Water, quench your hunger with the Bread of Life, secure your soul with the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
But beware, O Archippus, beware lest anything compete with His beauty. I warn you of this because many are jealous of His beauty and will compete with it. These competitors may come from the depths of Hell, the false teachers, or from your own being. Yes, O Archippus, do not forget that although you are a child of God, you have the flesh to war against also. How dangerous the flesh is!! "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members warring against against the law in my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:22-24). Do not underestimate your own evil, Archippus. For you are still carnally minded, and that is more dangerous than ten thousand demons and a school of false teachers. Take heed that you do not become proud of yourself; proud of your knowledge, proud of your success. Do not take your eyes off of the cross of Calvary and put them on yourself. You have nothing to boast of. You memorize the whole of the inspired Scriptures, reside in the largest of all sanctuaries, and speak swelling words to the most noble of men and still be a child of the Devil. We are saved merely by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, [and not by works] lest any man should boast. Do not fall in love with yourself, Archippus. Pride is a devil that has deceived many a man. He is a devil that resides within your own body. He awaits the opportunity to come out of hibernation and destroy you. Never exalt yourself above any man, for all have come short of the glory of God. "For if a man thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself" (Gal. 6:3). Do you possess the Gospel which is able to save the world, or does it possess you? Did you seek God or did He seek you? Is it you who speaks to the crowds on Sunday? I ask you then, Archippus, what do you have to boast over? Why do you look so high-minded? Why do you pass by the poor? Why do you leave the sick in their afflictions? Are you afraid you will seem foolish if you share the Gospel with a stranger? Are you too good to minister to the lowly? Are you too busy satisfying your own lustful appetites rather than ministering to the lost? Do not fall into this trap, Archippus! I urge you my brother, the consequences are tragic. Pride is a bullet that will fill the barrel of any man�s gun. Do not let him pull the trigger and destroy you, Archippus.
If only those ministers who fell by the wayside in their own pride could deliver a message to you from the pit of Hell, Archippus! They might tell how their intentions in the beginning seemed to be true, how they preached great sermons Sunday after Sunday. But slowly their unanchored hearts were drawn away and they became more interested in books than souls. They would rather debate with believers for the sake of being theologically correct than debate the lost for the eternal state of their soul. They would rather [have] other preachers pat their backs than store up rewards in Heaven. They sought to be seen of men rather than to please God. O Archippus, hear their cry, they were deceived of their own selves. Take heed, take heed, take heed, Archippus!
[Take heed] that thou fulfill it. These words are an encouragement to you Archippus. Listen to what the apostle Paul is challenging you to do. Fulfill the ministry that you have begun in Christ Jesus. Remember who is encouraging you Archippus. It is that infamous apostle Paul. He knows that it is no bed of roses to fulfill this ministry. You alone could never do it. Paul would not have you ignorant of this, either, Archippus. He himself has been persecuted time and time again as Satan attempts to convince him to forsake this ministry. Hear his words Archippus: "For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel" (I Cor. 9:16). The original word for "necessity" speaks of a compelling force that drives the man of God to preach His Gospel. This force is nothing new under the sun, Archippus; remember the days of your fathers, how they spoke of the weeping prophet Jeremiah. See in his recordings his humanity and know that you are not alone. "O Lord, thou hast deceived me and I was deceived, thou art stronger than I and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, everyone mocketh me. For since I spake I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the Word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of Him nor speak anymore in His name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forebearing, and I could not stay" (Jer. 20:7-9).
O Archippus have you received this same unction whereby you cannot cease to speak of those things which God has done, if so then prepare yourself for an ongoing battle in which shall be fought in the very members of your own self. Remember the prophet Jeremiah as he said, "Cursed be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein my mother bared me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying "A man child is born unto thee;� making him very glad" (Jer. 20:14-15). Oh, the rejection that prophet felt! We think of such a man of God to be happy and content all of his days. We picture him as a saint whom had a life free from sorrow, but not so, Archippus, not so. He too bore the shame and disgrace that you and I shall bare if we are to preach this Gospel. Just as the apostle Paul told us, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our body" (II Cor. 4:8-10).
O Archippus, though we suffer, we must know that it is an honor to do so. Know ye not how our Lord has suffered for us? Do you not remember the nails that hung His body upon a wooden cross? Do you not feel the lashes He received upon his back? Can you not hear the roar of the crowd as they hurl the vilest of insults at Him? O Archippus, if He so suffered for us, how much more should we suffer for Him? Do we think ourselves to be higher than He? Shout for joy at the persecutions, Archippus, shout for joy! "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
You may say, Archippus, "No need to worry, I am able to withstand all the wiles of the Devil, I shall endure to the end." O Archippus, do not be consumed of your own strength, [for in the end it will consume you, and] many have fallen away and turned from the ministry of the Lord Jesus. All that appears to be grace is not always grace. You may walk with the Lord today and with Satan tomorrow. Remember that disciple of our blessed Saviour that answered by the name of Judas Iscariot? Do not turn your lip up so soon at the mention of his name, Archippus. Remember that the eleven whom walked with this devil of a man never knew he would betray our Lord. Yes, Archippus, he sat quietly as the Lord taught the crowds, he was an eyewitness of many of the miracles of our Lord. He himself had his feet washed by the Creator Himself. He gazed into the eyes of the Lamb of God, and kissed the very cheek of the door to Heaven. O yes, Archippus, it is possible to get so close to glory that you can kiss the door by which you must enter and still stand outside the gate. Judas sold our Lord for silver and paid the price for his apostacy with his very soul. O Archippus, stay humble and pray that God will grant you the grace that you may endure to the end [for the end is only the beginning of the wonderful, eternal life].
Have you seen those men, Archippus, who started so well? Did you see the fire in their eyes and feel their zeal as they spoke of the things of God? Did they not seem sincere to you? They would preach the Gospel with boldness and visit the sick, [and] they lived a life full of morality. But soon something odd seemed to happen. As time progressed, their fires smoldered into gray coals. They began to forsake righteousness and fall back into the ways of the world. They were doing so well but something hindered them. Oh yes, Archippus, time will reveal true grace. True grace is grounded and rooted [in the solid foundation of Jesus Christ], it produces fruit season after season. Remember those that followed our Lord until His words were difficult to understand and His commandments harsh? "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him" (John 6:66). These are they whom were scorched by the sun and because they had no root they withered away. They were followers for a time, but were drawn away by the lusts of this world and exchanged their eternal soul for the pleasure of sin for a season. O Archippus, be diligent that you be not one of those who fall away and no longer follow the Master!!
For John warned us when he said, "Little children, it is the last time and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us, they would no doubt continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (I John 2:18-19).
Be diligent, Archippus, to make your calling and election sure. For it is easy to follow for a while but it is quite another thing to endure until the end. [But] You shall endure by God�s grace and only by His grace. For our Lord Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me: and I will give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" (John 10:27-28). Rest assured, Archippus, in thy salvation if thou art in the Father�s hand. For if you are your future is bright, but the question you must ponder upon is, "Am I in the Father�s hand?"
