“Six Disciples: Epaphras, The Power of Prayer” Colossians 1:1-8; 4:12-13 A Sermon by Rev. Bob Kells A 6 year-old girl who was asked to return thanks before the family reunion dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. She began to pray, thanking God for all her friends, naming them one by one. Then she thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all her aunts and uncles. After that, she began to thank God for the food. She gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip. Then she paused, and everyone waited--and waited. After a long silence, the young girl looked up at her mother and asked, "If I thank God for the broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?" (SLIDE 1, TITLE) We’ve been looking at the lives of some lesser-known disciples in this sermon series, examining their lives in Christ and what their experiences of Christ can teach us about being faithful disciples today. In previous weeks, we learned about obedience, self-giving love and leading with your gifts from people with strange names: Ananias, Epaphroditus and Phoebe. These disciples became part of the story of the Jesus movement—part of God’s story—because they yielded their lives to God. They allowed God to use them to accomplish important tasks that gave witness to God’s love. This week, we meet another unknown disciple whose name also is strange to us: Epaphras. (SLIDE 2, WHO IS EPAPHRAS?) So who is Epaphras, and why should we pay attention to his story? Once again, all we know about him is what we learn from a few brief passages of scripture: 1 - (SLIDE 3, MAP) Epaphras was from a town called Colossae, which was located in what today is southwestern Turkey. - It was about 120 miles from the much larger city of Ephesus where the Apostle Paul lived and preached for three years. - Epaphras was a prominent Christian who worked hard for the Lord so hard, in fact, that Paul calls him a “fellow servant” and “faithful minister of Christ.” Epaphras was probably the leader of the church in Colossae and a missionary to other towns in the area. - When Paul was in prison, probably in Rome, Epaphras was with him—probably on the outside to help Paul. It was Epaphras who told Paul about the faith of the Colossians, and when Paul heard about them, he thanked God for their faith. Paul wrote this letter to the Colossian church because he was concerned that some strange ideas about the Gospel were leading the Christians of Colossae astray. Paul told them they were being deceived and taken captive by human philosophies, not the Gospel they were taught by Epaphras. We don’t know exactly what these strange ideas were. - (SLIDE 4, STRANGE TEACHINGS) Some probably had to with observing the Jewish food laws. Many of the first Christians were Jews before they believed in Jesus. But some of them thought they still had to obey the dietary restrictions they had grown up with. They wanted everyone else who became a Christian to obey them too, even if they weren’t Jewish first. Or maybe these strange teachings were like some of the strange ideas people have about Jesus today, ideas like: - Jesus was really a spirit-being, so he didn’t actually suffer on the Cross. If he didn’t suffer on the cross, how can he save us? - Jesus was just a man with some really great moral lessons for how we should live. If he was just a man, then the Resurrection wasn’t real. (SLIDE 5, TOOK AWAY FROM) All of these strange ideas took away from the Gospel Paul and Epaphras taught: that Jesus died to set us free from 2 slavery to sin and death. And that what God did for Jesus by raising him from death, God would do for us too. The other thing Paul did was to pray. And so did Epaphras. This is really the heart of the matter for this unsung disciple of Jesus. (SLIDE 6, QUOTE) If we listen to Paul’s description, we hear that Epahras was a giant in prayer: Epaphras…is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured” (Col 4:12) This tells us a lot about how Epaphras prayed. And it sets an example for us to follow. So what was so important about the way Epaphras prayed? - (SLIDE 7, PRAYER OF EPAPHRAS) His prayer was persistent. Epaphras was “always” praying. Prayer needs to be persistent. In another letter, the Apostle Paul urged disciples of Jesus to “pray without ceasing, pray” (1 Thes 5:17). In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a judge who didn’t fear God, and a widow, who kept coming to him seeking justice. After a while, the judge gives in, not because he wants to do the right thing and grant her justice; he gives her justice because he’s tired of hearing the widow’s complaints. Jesus concludes the story with this question: “and will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly” (Luke 18:7-8). If you want to pray effectively, keep at it. Be persistent. - (SLIDE 8, AGONIZING) His prayer was agonizing. Epaphras wrestled or struggled in prayer. Wrestling in prayer means to pray with an intensity of effort that can be draining mentally, spiritually and physically. o In the Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestled all night long with an angel of God until he received a blessing from the angel. 3 o Jesus prayed an agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane—“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). o And Epaphras prayed for his congregation at Colossae with intense prayers for their wellbeing. Chances are, most of us have wrestled with God in prayer like this at some point in our lives. Sometimes our anguished prayers are answered as we would like them to be—Jacob and the angel. Sometimes they are not—Jesus and the Cross. Yet it is God’s will for us to spend time praying, sometimes strenuously, prayers for God’s world—prayers that are in the spirit of God’s love and grace and mercy and justice. - (SLIDE 9, UP-BUILDING) His prayer was up-building. Epaphras prayed for the Colossians “that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills” (Col 4:12). He was praying for them to grow in their relationship with God; to gain knowledge and love of God; to become spiritually wise; and to be assured of the love of God in Jesus Christ. Those are things they needed to face the teachings of those who were trying to lead them astray. They were also what they needed to be empowered by God for worship and for service in the world. The prayers of Epaphras were meant to build up the individuals and the community of faith in Colossae. To make them strong. He wanted only the best for them, and the best is Jesus Christ. (SLIDE 10, BLANK) It’s this last piece of Epaphras’ prayer life—the up- building prayer—that speaks to me the most. I think that’s because his prayers had the goal of seeing the Colossians grow into the likeness of Christ. Because that’s what he was really talking about: Epaphras wanted the Christians of Collosae to grow in their faith and become more like Jesus. These are prayers we don't pray often enough. 4 (SLIDE 11, RICK WARREN QUOTE) Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church in California, made a similar observation: “We usually pray for peoples’ needs—health and financial and relational—but we don’t spend nearly as much time praying for their spiritual growth. We don’t pray that God would change our character to be more like him.”1 I think we neglect an important part of our prayer life, for ourselves and others, if we don’t pray like Epaphras prayed: for us to grow spiritually, to grow deeper in love with God every day, and to become mature disciples by becoming more like Christ. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t pray for spiritual growth in myself and others as often as I should. So let me add this uplifting prayer to our prayer vocabulary. Make this kind of prayer a regular part of your time with God, every day. - Pray for God to help you to grow in spiritual wisdom and knowledge; - Pray to know the love of God more deeply; - Pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen you with power for living each day the way God wants us to live. Not just so we can survive the trials and tribulations of everyday life, but that you will flourish and grow to the point that your life looks more and more like the life of the One we call Master, Savior and Friend. Closing prayer, in the manner of Paul and Epaphras, based on Colossians 1:9-13: - Be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. - Have spiritual understanding - Lead lives worthy of the Lord - Bear fruit in every good work.