Introduction
Soon we’ll be hearing about nominations for Sports Personality of the Year. I suspect that many of us have our sporting heroes, people who inspire us by their achievements in whatever game they play. To my mind, none compares with one athlete who was born in June 1940, the 20th of 22 children in her family! Her birth was premature and she weighed in at only 4.5 pounds. She was often poorly in her first year, due in part to being so tiny, so her mother nursed her through measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox and double pneumonia.
She was from Tennessee and this was the era of segregation in the southern states. So she and her mother were not permitted to be cared for at the whites only local hospital. Then it was discovered that her left leg and foot were becoming weak and deformed. She was told she had polio. The doctor said that she would never walk. Even though it was 50 miles away, her mother took her to a special hospital in Memphis twice a week for two years, until she was able to walk with the aid of a metal leg brace and an orthopaedic shoe.
Her name was Wilma, and she was blessed with parents who were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When she was 8, she watched her older sister Yolanda play basketball and, even though her legs were in braces, she said to her mum, “One day I want to do that.” And her mum said to her, “Honey, if you believe, you will.” And she said “I believe, mamma.” On her twelfth birthday, Wilma said to her parents, “Momma, daddy, I have a birthday surprise for you.” And she slowly took her calliper off and walked unaided for the first time in her life.
Soon after, when the basketball club selected youngsters for the new season, Yolanda was picked for the team but Wilma was not. She was heartbroken. But her dad refused to accept it. He looked the coach in the eye and said, “You take one of my daughters, you take ‘em both. I am not leaving until you take Wilma as well.” So he took them both but at first he kept Wilma on the bench and she was the only member of the squad to suffer the indignity of having a vest with no number on it.
Wilma kept praying, kept believing and finally, she got a few games. It was then, running around on that court, that she was spotted by a man called Ed Temple, who coached the women's track team at Tennessee State University. His trained eye saw immediately that Wilma was not built for basketball, but for the running track, and he invited her to a summer sports camp. Wilma rapidly got better and better.
She even started to win races, first in her town, then in her state, and then nationally, even going on to the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 at the tender age of 16, where she won a bronze medal in the 4x400 relay. “Honey, if you believe, you will.” “I believe, mamma.”
Four years later in 1960, Wilma Rudolph went to the Olympic Games again, this time in Rome, where she won the 100 meters, the 200 meters, and the 4x400 meters relay, becoming the first female American athlete to win three Olympic gold medals, and breaking three world records.
When she returned from Rome, she was honoured with ticker tape parades and a White House reception with President Kennedy. But back in her hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee they planned two hero’s welcome parties; one for whites and one for blacks. Wilma said, “No. You organise one event for everyone or I’m not going.” They backed down. Her victory reception was the first fully integrated municipal event in the town’s history.
Never mind Sports Personality of the Year, Wilma will forever be my sports personality of all time.
And I tell her beautiful story today because she is the perfect modern example of someone who had a bad start (through no fault of her own) but, by the grace of God, ended well.
This is what I want to talk about from the last verses of Colossians as we bring to an end this series today.
Let’s read what it says; we’re in chapter 4, starting at v7.
Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here. My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.” I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
At first sight, that is barely more than a list of names of mostly minor Bible characters. Most of us I suspect know a little bit about Mark, Luke, Barnabas and perhaps Onesimus who’s the converted runaway slave we read about in the Letter to Philemon. And of course, Paul is in the top three most prominent people in the New Testament. I’m sure we all know who he is. But who on earth are Tychicus, Aristarchus, Justus, Epaphras, Demas, Nympha, and Archippus?
And yet look at the words used to describe what these mostly bit-part people do; being co-workers, telling news, encouraging hearts, wrestling in prayer, comforting others, opening their homes, working hard, completing tasks…
This is a snapshot of a church in which different people, each with a unique contribution, each with their mix of spiritual gifts are coming and going, and all pulling together to advance the kingdom of God. This is what I want King’s to be, don’t you?
But I want to single out just two of these names because I feel God wants to speak into our situation here at King’s, and maybe to you as an individual, through their lives.
1) Mark
The first character I want to look at this morning is Mark. Mark, like Wilma Rudolph started badly but he finished well.
We know a little bit about Mark from the Book of Acts. He was Barnabas’ cousin. Barnabas, known as a great encourager you might remember, accompanied Paul on his first church planting tour. And he said to Paul, “I think my cousin Mark would be good team member too. Let’s take him with us.” So Paul agreed and off they went. But not long later, Mark turned back. Before the going got really tough he was out of there. He let the team down.
We’re not told why. Some speculate that he simply got travel sick or homesick. Maybe it was Paul’s demanding personality and leadership style that he couldn’t live with. Others wonder if perhaps, as a Jew, he was uncomfortable with the gospel going to the gentiles. It could have been any of these or all of them. Or some other reason. All we know is that he said, “I’m out.” Paul got annoyed about it. He felt let down and he refused point blank to take him again on a subsequent trip.
Mark was a quitter and he’d blown it. There was a huge blot on his C.V. He was damaged goods. And he was off Paul’s team.
Some of you might wonder if you have made such a huge mistake earlier in your life that it has put an end to your usefulness to God. You might have let someone down. You might have fallen morally. You might have made a catastrophic error of judgement. You might carry a sense of failure and regret. You might think “God can never use me now.” If that is you, you need to think again.
I’m not saying past mistakes don’t carry consequences; they do. But they do not define you. They are not a life sentence. With God, as long as you’re still breathing, there’s always time for another chance.
The leader of Passion Church in Atlanta, Louie Giglio, says “If you’re thinking that you don’t deserve a second chance from God, it’s important to remember that you didn’t deserve the first one either.”
Karma is an idea from other religions. We believe in grace.
15 years after that painful bust up; Paul says here (v10), “if Mark comes to you welcome him.” He doesn’t say, “Avoid him, he’ll always let you down, he did it to me once.”
Tellingly (in v11) he calls Mark “a co-worker (not a former co-worker) for the kingdom of God”, so he must by this time have been restored to the apostolic team and he even says that he has proved himself. He was a comfort to Paul in his imprisonment.
In his very last letter, 2nd Timothy, written shortly before his death, Paul says, “get Mark and bring him with you because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” By the grace of God, Mark turned it round.
Afterwards, piecing together evidence from the New Testament and other first documents from that time, it seems certain that Mark later teamed up with Peter in Rome and it was there he wrote Mark’s Gospel, based on his notes from Peter’s preaching.
Unpromising beginnings. Failure and disappointment. Rejection and exclusion. But that did not define him - and he finished well.
When I was at school, I was pretty average academically and invariably bottom of the class at maths, but I was a pretty good cross-country runner. In fact, I used to run for my school in Essex County races and I was no Wilma Rudolph, but I did OK. I loved middle-distance running.
The one race I remember best was a 1,500 metres, the whole class of 30 boys – 4 times round a stadium size running track. The race started and I was tucked in to a group of about six or seven, setting a decent but comfortable pace. Then, after about a lap and a half, out of nowhere, a skinny kid called John Gattrell kicked hard and opened up a sizeable lead. He accelerated away from the pack and as we took the bell, which signals the start of the last lap, he was already half way round the track and closing in on victory.
But pace setters usually burn out. And I said to myself, “if you make a move now, and give it everything you’ve got, you might catch him.” You could see from 200m back he was beginning to struggle, his legs were full of lactic acid, he was spent. I started to kick into a good stride. The gap closed. He was so far ahead but I was travelling much faster. I could see it was going to be close. As I turned into the last bend I began to sprint. Gattrell was virtually at walking pace and gasping for breath. And I pipped him on the line, winning by a fraction of a second. I’ll never forget it. Sports Personality of the Year eh!?
But I learned that day that no matter how badly, or how well, you start, the only thing that actually counts is how you finish.
2) Demas
Which brings me to the second character we’re going to zoom in on in this list of names; Demas in v14. He is the opposite to Mark. Demas began really well.
Here we find him (in v14) sending his greetings along with Luke. This is the company he keeps; Luke is a solid, dependable travelling companion who also of course goes on to write a Gospel as well as Acts.
In the Letter to Philemon, Paul describes Demas as a fellow worker. Paul doesn’t consider him a faceless lackey. He is not a minion running around doing unglamorous errands but he’s actually on Paul’s team!
Demas is seeing hundreds of conversions, churches planted, signs and wonders; his travelling band is talk of the town… What a life! Working with this brilliant and passionate guy Paul who has driven out demons, raised the dead, broken out of jails and speaks in tongues more than all the Corinthians. Demas got that gig! He is a trusted partner.
But in 2nd Timothy 4.10 we hear about Demas again. Tragically, we read about a guy who started so well, but finished badly.
“Demas,” writes Paul, “because he loved this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.”
Why did his passionate heart for God cool and grow cold? It says “because he loved this world.” Was he discouraged by all that hardship and rejection? Was he embarrassed about Paul’s chains? What was it about Thessalonica? Was there a woman there? Was it just the creature comforts?
Demas walks away. He throws in the towel. And he leaves the purposes of God for his life behind. He’s never heard of again in the New Testament.
Jesus warned that this would sometimes happen in his Parable of the Sower.
“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants… The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” (Luke 8.7 and 14).
In theAsk Pastor John podcast recently John Piper said that Paul, Peter and the writer to the Hebrews also describe people who make a seemingly good start in the Christian life only to then deny what they once claimed to believe.
And what’s striking in all these descriptions of shipwrecking the faith in the New Testament is that the rocks on which faith shatters are not intellectual problems with Christianity, problems of reason like the historical truthfulness of the Bible or science or the problem of suffering. In every case, walking away from faith is summed up as the heart’s preference for sin.
Not that God ever loses one of his children or any of his chosen ones. In fact, Romans 8.30 says: “Those whom [God] predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Not one of those that God makes a son or daughter will ever be lost. And you can have absolute assurance of your salvation today as long as you are walking with the Lord today.
I don’t want to hear about an experience you had 20 or 30 years ago, however amazing it may have been, if it’s not still real now! If your testimony about being saved is genuine, your faith will still be alive to this very day.
People can – and do – walk away from professing faith. You can make a seemingly good start in the Christian life and then prefer the world to treasuring Christ and lose everything.
Ending
Mark started badly and finished well. As a result, we’ve got Mark’s Gospel in our Bibles. There’s a Saint Mark’s church in our town. There’s a Saint Mark’s square in Venice. We all know people called Mark, named after this man.
Demas started well but finished badly. Consequently, none of us know anyone called Demas. There’s no Saint Demas’ Cathedral or Saint Demas anything. We never hear anything about him again; he’s just a tragic footnote in the pages of our Bibles listing names that we are tempted to skim read.
Some of us maybe don’t know the Lord yet. Is today the day you decide to give your heart to Christ? You might think, “What will my friends and family think? What will this cost me?”
C.S. Lewis put it this way, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” Don’t put it off any longer. Put your faith in Christ today.
Some us have known the Lord only a short time. Don’t be like Demas. Stay on track. Keep the faith. Don’t let your heart grow cold.
Some of us started walking with the Lord a long time ago. Have you drifted lately? Do you need, like Mark did, to come right back into the heart of his purposes for you? Do it today.
Let’s stand to pray…
Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 20 November 2022
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