Two Brothers, One Bible
Two Brothers, One Bible
Episode 305 - National Ballpoint Pen Day
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After discussing another obscure holiday, the brothers continue their study in the book of Colossians. Chapter 1:6-9
And welcome to Two Brothers One Bible Podcast. We are so glad that you're listening today. We are in the book of Colossians. We're having a great time. Peter, how are you? I'm good. How are you, Robert? I'm doing really good. It is now time for the thing that you love a lot. And that is today's obscure holiday. Oh, what is it? Yeah. It's an obscure one. Okay. It's very, very excited. And I'll introduce this after we talk. We'll do that in just a second. All right. Today is June the 10th. Uh-huh. And it is National Ballpoint Pin Day. Oh, wow. Now, where were you when you first used the ballpoint pen? Man, I don't know. I don't know either. But there was a it's it's an actual day. Wow. Yeah, because you know what? On this day, in 1943, the ballpoint pen was introduced to the world. Wow. Yeah. And it's uh it's it says it's among amongst the greatest inventions of the 20th century. Well, of course they would say that. Of course they would, because they need a day for it. Yeah. That's exactly right. Uh the the brothers Laszlo and George Biro of Argentina filed a patent for it. Okay. And and for ballpoint pens, uh other people were working on that, but here are ways to celebrate. Oh, I'd like to know. Yeah, but these are very important. When you pick up a ballpoint pen today, think about how convenient that tool is. All right. Give give thanks for a pen. Okay. The next way is uh put away the pencils for the day. Oh boy. And use a ballpoint pen. Take a chance. Live life on the edge. Columbus did. Put it, put it in permanent ink. Permanent ink. Okay. Yeah, okay. And uh here's something that we don't do anymore. Write a letter to someone. Oh. There's an idea. Okay. Uh another way to celebrate is you can back it, uh buy a package of them. Oh. Go to the store. Hey, honey. Yeah, I was thinking of you. Uh today is National Ballpoint Pen Day, and uh you can order them uh personalized with your name or business on them. So there are some ways to celebrate National Ballpoint Pin Day. So enjoy the day. I I've given you a pen in honor of that. All right, well, I appreciate it. I'm going to use it. Okay. Well, I'm Robert Wakefield. I'm Peter Sears. And welcome to the show. We're glad that you're here. We are in Colossians and we are blazing through chapter one. We are, aren't we?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00We had the lofty goal to get to the first eight verses, we got to five. Yeah, well, that's all right. So pick up right there.
SPEAKER_02Let's uh we'll attempt to go through 14. All right. So I'm starting in verse six. That has come to you in the same way the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace. You learned it from Ephras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful member of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and the understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may also live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, so that you may have the great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so that is the word of the Lord, and that is a lot going on. Yeah. It's a very nice run-on sense. It is. Now there was a quite comment you wanted to make about verse five that we didn't get in the last five years.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, when I'm thinking about those treasures in heaven, so you know, Jesus talks about laying up the where your heart is, there your treasures will be also in the layups things. And and so we talked about how you know we're gonna be kind of, I think, always disappointed. I don't think anyone's gonna go and say, Wow, that's too much. You know, right. No, I don't think it's too much. I think I think especially if we're serving Christ, it was like, I wish I could have done more. Right. But the thing I thought about is is we currently live in a in a world where we we're looking at our investments. My father-in-law stuff some some stocks when he passed away. I bought a few things of silver years ago. And and so I I don't watch it a lot, but from time to time I want to know where's it at? Exactly. And then you watch the news and it's like, well, it took a big hit today, and it's like, oh, I wonder what that did. When we have treasures in heaven, there's no depreciation.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's good.
SPEAKER_02There's no fear of of the market collapsing. Right. You know, that is something that is secured for all eternity because we did it unto the Lord.
SPEAKER_00Right. And you're using this retirement analogy when we're full of hope. Yeah, uh, you don't have to worry about it this if it goes up or down. Right. It's already stored up, it's already there. Yeah. Oh, I like that. Yeah. I like that. I'm glad that you brought that up. Oh, thanks. Okay, so we're now we got caught up there. Let's go to verse five. I mean, verse six, and in verse six, it says this. It says that has come to you in the same way the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world, just as it's been doing among you since the day you heard it, and it truly understood God's grace. Wow. Let's break that one down. Yeah, there's a lot there. So, what is the first thing that jumps off the uh page when you uh look at verse six?
SPEAKER_02Well, I you know, the way he's seeing the the the gospel growing. So he says, you know, not only is it growing throughout the whole world, you know, part of that was because of persecution. Right. But it's also bearing fruit. And so I think, you know, if if our reasoning is true that that this guy, Araphus, uh became a believer in Ephesus, and then he goes back to his home in Colossae and he starts a church there. Right. That's bearing fruit. And and then he also encounters another person from this area who is Onesismas, who's a runaway slave of Philemon. And so it all ties together. So he's seeing how the gospel is growing, and and you're having a first generation, a second generation, maybe even the indication of a third generation. Right. And so there should always be a spider web of the gospel permeating the lives of others. Right. It radiates because this person talked to that person and that person talked to that person, and it's like you know, it it's a marvelous thing to see how because someone was faithful and and had the hard conversation, they came to faith. Yeah. Or you or you challenge them in their Christian walk, and as a result of that, there's fruit that's being born.
SPEAKER_00I love that. Now listen, this this is a Greek word that's the longest Greek word I've ever seen. Oh, good, okay. And so I'm just going to, you know, as as as well as I do Greek. Absolutely. It just flows off the tongue. Yeah. Okay, here we go. Uh the Greek word for continually bearing fruit is carpoforomenon. Wow. Carpoforomenon. Carpiforomenon. Okay. And it's uh for continually bearing fruit. And the the idea behind this, it's ongoing bearing fruit. It's not seasonal. Yeah. And I like that because I think this is what he's describing here in this bearing fruit. It's it never ends. Yeah. It doesn't have to be in season or out of season. Uh, it's always bearing fruit. It's continuous.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. What I'm struck by that is, you know, we're we we're we understand, especially if you've been a Christian for a long time, uh there's seasons of your spirituality. There certainly is. I think there's those mountain times where man, God's just close and you're growing and you're excited. And then there's times where you feel like I'm in the valley. I'm um it's it's not as fresh, it's not as vibrant, but I still think we need to be bearing fruit. Even then. Even in the times where we're struggling, where we're having a more difficult time. And maybe that's the time where we're most fruitful, Robert.
SPEAKER_00I I I was just gonna say that. We may be the most fruitful in our struggles than we are when we're on top of the mountain. Because things don't grow on top of mountains.
SPEAKER_02No, they don't. They really don't. I mean, that's where you know everything gets smaller because it's up there. But also I think that's when people are looking at your life where you're in the valley. They know you're in the valley. You're not you're having a hard time, and and so they're looking at how you handle those times, and and that can be very productive.
SPEAKER_00Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. So he talks about uh in verse uh six there, uh bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world, just as it's been doing among you since the day you heard it. That is such a great compliment for this church. Yes, it really is. You know, if since the day you heard it, you have not stopped growing. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Uh I've been in churches that have stopped growing. Oh, yeah, me too. And you know, and I don't know what the actual reason was or whatever, but I did notice that there was a stop. Yeah. And uh it reminds me of the story of the preacher who was his li he was being fired from the congregation, and he uh he preached his last sermon, and he got up there and he says, uh, I they rolled in a casket. Oh and you know the story. They rolled in the casket and he says, I want you to see at the end of his lesson, I want you to see who is dead in this casket. And they opened up the casket and he said, Every one of you walk by here and look in. Yeah. And it had a mirror in it. And so, you know, that that's that that's a he never got another job after that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I would say you know, if we're gonna blame where why churches are not being uh bearing fruit and growing, it's missional drift. They they've lost sight of what the purpose is, they've they've become petty, they've become introspective, it's all about their comforts rather than trying to reach a lost world. Uh they they want certain kind of people that look like them, that think like them. Exactly. And and so when you lose that diversity, when you lose that love for all God's people that we saw earlier, I think that's when a church starts imploding. Right. All right. Anything else on verse six that you want to hear? Yeah, it says, and truly understood God's grace. So I wanted to know what that word understood. Because what what does it mean to understand something? I there's things I think I know, and then there's some things I would say, oh, I know that. Exactly. It's our good friend Ganosko. Oh, gonosco, yeah. And so gonosco is knowledge that is learned through experience, right? So, you know, the the there's there's oyada and there's gonosco in Greek, and oyada is I read a book, uh a biography about someone, and so I know this guy. Ganosko is, yeah, he's been my friend for 40 years.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. You know him better.
SPEAKER_02And so when Paul is saying you gonosco is God's grace, you've walked in it, you've lived it, you experienced it, it's fresh, it's vibrant in your life. Right. That's gnosko. That's understanding. It's not some head knowledge. No. This is something that you really know.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that is so good. Ganosco, there you go. Great, great Greek word. And I use it three times a day, whether I need to or not. I know you do. Yeah. All right. Verse 7 it says you learned it from uh Epiphhr. How do you say that? Epiphhrus? Yeah, just like that. Okay, that's well. Okay. You're our dear fellow servant who is faithful minister of Christ on our behalf. Uh that that's our introduction on who is speaking. He was the guy that went there and probably established that church. Yeah. Or was an important member of it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. He he may have been the pastor. So so there's there's we know a little bit about this guy. So we we know that most likely Ephoras was was in Ephesus, is where he met Paul. We know that he is now physically with Paul in Rome. Um, and and we learn in Philemon verse 23, he Paul calls Ephraus my fellow prisoner. Right. So perhaps Ephorus was arrested for being in the ministry because under this Roman emperor, they were persecuting Christians. And so maybe he was incarcerated in Rome for being a pastor in Colossae. Okay. And that's where this encounter is happening between Paul and Ephorus, and he's learning about the church because it's 1300 miles from Rome to Colossae. Okay. So it's not like, you know, I was in the neighborhood, just wanted to pop in and see how you're doing. It was nothing like that. No, so you know, and and you know, so thirteen hundred miles in this context is a dangerous trip. It's a costly trip. It's a trip that could cost your life. How do you get there? Right. And so I think that's a logical conclusion that he was a a fellow prisoner, and and they, you know, maybe they knew each other from Ephesus, but I think that's the context we have here.
SPEAKER_00Right. And you know, uh, this commentary says that um that they think he may have uh planted the church, and Paul wanted to uh do the same thing he did with Timothy, yeah, and give him credibility. Yes. So that was what that guy said. All right, so uh in verse eight we have this. It says, Who also told us of your love in the spirit. Yeah. That's an important little nugget. I love that line. I do too. Yeah. Told us of your love in the spirit. Talk about that for a second.
SPEAKER_02Well, this is this is really uh, you know, it happens as as a pastor, you get with other pastors. And so most of the time, you know, uh pastors want to get a little bragdocious, you know. And so, you know, we this happened or that happened, and some pastors don't have a whole lot to say because you know, things aren't that great. This is a pastor saying, I just love these people.
SPEAKER_00That's so good.
SPEAKER_02It's not about the pastor, it's not about, you know, well, you should have heard my message, and you know, or or boy, we we had a high attention. This is I just love these people.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_02Because I see them in the spirit, I see what God's doing in their lives. Uh, you know, they're bringing people to Christ, we're baptizing, and it's not me, right? It it's God working in these people's lives, and so he's just bragging on his people. I just love it.
SPEAKER_00I do too. It's spirit-filled love. And I think that's what he's you know bragging about. Yeah. It's not that he's done anything, it's it's all done by the spirit. So that's that's really, really good. And then we get to a verse eight, which says, oh no, that was eight. Uh then verse nine says, For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you again. He says that again. Yes. He says, Ever since we've heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. And I think it's just a great testament to the prayer life of Paul.
SPEAKER_02And what also what what we're what Paul's not saying, but we're seeing in verses seven and eight, something was shared. Eperessis has said, look, Paul, I'm glad we had this conversation. Let me tell you about how great my people are. They're doing marvelous things. They're they're, you know, I just I want to just praise them for what they're doing in the Lord. But then he says, But we got this thing. Right. And so that's the transition in verse 9. He says, you know, so we've heard. And because of what we heard, we haven't stopped praying. Right. Every time we think about it, every time we talk about it, we just stop and pray. Because they realize that whatever's going on in that church, the only way, I mean, he he's in handcuffs 1300 miles away. Right. What's he going to do? You know. He's not going there.
SPEAKER_00But prayer can make the difference. Oh, that's so good. That's so good. And it's the continuing there in verse 9, he says, you know, we continually, or we haven't stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the spirit gives. So he is actually not just saying we'll be with brother so-and-so and be with sister so-and-so. Right. He is praying for their knowledge and their wisdom to grow in the spirit. Yes. Now that is a different prayer. Yes. And it's a powerful prayer.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, what he gives us in verse 9 is actually a formula or recipe for what we should be praying for for other people. I mean, you look at the words first. I I like that, you know, we I've said it this before, and I'm going to say it again. We need to look at every single word Paul says. So he says, again, he uses two different words to say the same thing. He's saying, he's praying, and then he says, I'm asking. Right. You know, he he didn't have to do it twice. No, he didn't. But see, he's he's just saying, look, I'm I'm talking to the Father a lot about this, and this is what I am, this is exactly the what I'm praying. And the key word here is filled. I want you to be saturated. I want you to be overflowing. I want, and he's he the tenses might be filled, and it's and it's it's just, I just want you to, your cup to overflow.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_02I want you to have an abundance of this. And what he wants them to have is knowledge and wisdom and understanding that he says only the Spirit can give.
SPEAKER_00Isn't that good? I mean, that is really, really good. Um, okay, I don't think we're gonna get to the rest of it. No, probably not. But that got us all the way through verse 9. But uh, yeah, it's just amazing how he is not just because we're guilty of this, Peter. We're guilty of just saying, well, we need to pray for brothers so-and-so today and such and such. And and we don't pray for our churches to be spirit-filled. Right. That we have the knowledge that we understand what we're what we need to know. Yeah. And I think we need to change our prayer life to reflect that.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Yeah, I think we need to be very intentional. You know, when we come to the Father asking, we need to say, what the Father wants to know, what are we what are we asking for? You know, we we pray these weak prayers. Right. Uh, you know, heal the people that are sick and bless those who are afflicted.
SPEAKER_01Guard God and direct them. I don't even know what an afflicted person looks like.
unknownAll right.
SPEAKER_02But I can say, may Robert Wakefield be filled with the Spirit of God in a mighty way so that he knows who you are and has the wisdom and that he would have have a fruitful life.
SPEAKER_00Oh, see, and that that changes it. Yes, it really does. That changes it. Wow, what a what a great way we've gotten started in the Colossians here. And uh let me just uh once as we're winding this now, um, happy national ballpoint. Click that. Click click. I was expecting that. I'm Robert Wakeman.
SPEAKER_01I'm Peter Tim.
SPEAKER_00And click click and go enjoy your write yourself a letter today. Thanks so much for listening and God bless. Oh, that was great.