Praying, Walking, Sharing

Intro: Good morning FE, we are glad you are with us this morning, for those of you online, we are glad you are watching and we hope we have the opportunity to meet you in person. I want to remind everyone to text your questions about sharing the Gospel with others to the phone number at the bottom of your bulletin and hopefully we will be able to answer some of your questions at our equipping night. If you were not here last week, we are taking a break from our Romans series to address the question “How will they know?” The question comes from our Romans series in Romans 10, when Paul asks “how will they know, unless someone is sent?” Last week Pastor Alfredo shared why we should share the Gospel with others. This week, we will focus somewhat on the “how” to share the Gospel with others.

Before we move on, we have been learning in Romans 9-11 some very important truths about salvation, and the sovereignty of God. One of the truths we have been learning is that

Salvation by Grace alone is the sovereign act of the love of God in the redeeming actions of Jesus

toward those who believe. We need God to sovereignly intervene and rescue us from our sin, to open our eyes and see the truths and the beauty about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done, and give us the faith to believe. We need God to bring life to our dead heart through what Jesus calls the new birth or being born again. Now,

If Salvation is a Sovereign Act of God, then we need God to intervene on behalf of those who do not believe.

We need God to sovereignly act on behalf of those who are lost and need saving, which is why Jesus came, “to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10). We know that God does intervene and saves, this room is a witness to the fact that God is still moving, saving, and changing lives. God is rescuing people from their sins, changing lives, rescuing sinners to create a people for his own possession, for his glory. No one becomes a follower of Jesus, a true disciple, with out the intervention of God and the invitation of the Spirit, to come and follow me.

John 6:44 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day

Nadie puede venir a mí si no lo trae el Padre que me envió, y yo lo resucitaré en el día final

.

Salvation is ordained by God and we need him to intervene in our lives so we can be saved, we need him to call us, give us life, to draw us and open our eyes to see the glory and the beauty of Jesus our Savior. But God also

has ordained for us to partner with him in the mission of God!

Most of us know the command of Matthew 28:18-20, MAKE DISCIPLES! Some of Jesus’ last words while he was on this earth was an invitation and a command to his followers to Make Disciples among all the ethnic groups of the world by going into the world, teaching everything Jesus commanded, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has ordained the way of Salvation, through Jesus and the means of Salvation, through us, his followers. God invites us to be a part of the mission of God, we have the privilege of leading others to Jesus by sharing the Good News of Jesus and watching God intervene in peoples lives as they begin to see the beauty and the glory of Jesus and are transformed. If you have never witnessed a life changed as you are sharing the Gospel with some one, then you need to go to the connection center and let them know you want to learn how to share the Gospel with someone. Maybe you are sitting here this morning and thinking but I can’t go to all ethnic groups, I can’t Go in to the world, can you cross the street and talk to a neighbor? Can you talk to a co-worker? Can you talk to a friend? You have been invited into the most important, most glorifying and most satisfying mission in the world, you are partnered with God who can do all things, who can make impossible things possible. We just need to be obedient and go and make disciples by sharing the Gospel and letting God do the rest.

How can I partner with God in the mission of God? By Praying, Walking and Sharing! Open your Bibles to Colossians 4:2-6

Colossians 4:2–4 ESV

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Colossians 4:2–4 ESV

2 Perseverad en[c] la oración, velando en ella con acción de gracias; 3 orando al mismo tiempo también por nosotros, para que Dios nos abra una puerta para la palabra, a fin de dar a conocer[d] el misterio de Cristo, por el cual también he sido encarcelado, 4 para manifestarlo como debo hacerlo[e].

The first command Paul gives in this passage is to “Continue steadfastly in prayer.” The word steadfast gives the idea of being consistent, persistent, faithful. In Luke 11, Jesus is teaching on prayer and he tells a short parable about a persistent neighbor who has received a visit at night but had no bread to share with his visitor. So this persistent neighbor went next door and asks for bread from his neighbor, Jesus said the persistent neighbor was going to get his bread, not because he was good friends with the neighbor but because of his persistence, his steadfastness to continue in prayer. The lesson in this parable is not that if you bug God enough he will give you what you want, the lesson in this parable is continue steadfastly in prayer. How can you partner with God in the mission of God? Be faithful in praying, pray for those who do not know Jesus, Pray for those who walk into Fellowship campuses who do not know Jesus, pray for your family members and friends who do not know Jesus, pray for missionaries who are spreading the Gosple among the nations, Pray Pray Pray!

Be watchful, this is interesting idea, Paul says pray, then he says be watchful, it is the idea of being awake, alert, being ready. The first person to link watchfulness and prayer together was Jesus in Matthew 26. When Jesus invited Peter, James and John to pray with him at Gethsemane, right before he was going to be arrested, Jesus was praying and he asked his disciples to “watch” with him. What were the disciples doing when Jesus wet to pray? Sleeping! What does Jesus say to them?

41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

41 Velad y orad para que no entréis en tentación; el espíritu está dispuesto, pero la carne es débil Mt 26:40–41.

Jesus says STAY AWAKE, BE ALERT AND PRAY, why? that you may not enter temptation. Church it is easy, to lose focus, to get so busy with life, we lose sight of our purpose, to live for his glory and we lose sight of the mission, to make disciples. Without notice we fall into the temptation and the trap of loving the things of this world more than loving God and his mission. Listen to what Peter says,

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 1 Pet 4:7

7 Mas el fin de todas las cosas se acerca; sed pues prudentes y de espíritu sobrio para la oración

Self controlled, sober minded, watchful all convey the same message. Be alert, awake, why? for the sake of your prayers! Just a few verses later in 1 Peter 5:8, Peter says Be watchful because your adversary the devil is like a lion seeking who he may devour.

Finally, Paul says be thankful. We must be thankful to God in all things. Thankful for where we live, thankful for what we have, thankful for being in Christ, thankful for being a partner with God in the mission of God. Thankful for everything

We must be a church that is faithful, watchful and thankful in prayer.

After Paul gives us the general principle of being faithful, watchful and thankful in our prayers, he ask the church in Colosse to be specific in their prayers, notice what he asks them to pray for

Pray for open doors to share the word of God - Which is opportunity

Pray that we can declare the Gospel - Which is boldness to preach and share the good news of the Gospel.

Pray that I can share the Gospel clearly - Clarity is the enemy of confusion, we do not want people confused about the Gospel and what it demands of them.

These are things we can pray for as we partner with God in the mission of God. As we pray, we need to make our prayer personal, God open a door so I can share the word of God, Lord help me declare the Gospel to others, God help me share the Gospel clearly and boldly. We also need to make our prayer corporate, Lord open the door to share the word of God as a church, for those on the mission field, Pray that we can declare the Gospel as a church and for the missionaries on the mission filed, Pray the we can share the Gospel clearly and boldly as a church and for the missionaries on the mission field.

After Paul gives us the command to pray, he moves on to the second command in this passage, starting in verse 5,

Colossians 4:5–6 ESV

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. 5 Andad sabiamentepara con los de afuera, aprovechando bien[f] el tiempo. 6 Que vuestra conversación sea siempre con gracia, sazonada como con sal, para que sepáis cómo debéis responder a cada persona.

We must be a church that walks in wisdom with those who do not believe.

Wisdom, is knowing how to apply the knowledge we have to the different areas of life. James says if you lack wisdom, ask the Lord who freely gives, which is another thing we can pray for daily, help me be wise. Lord help me apply the knowledge I have to the different areas of my life. Lord teach me where I lack and use the knowledge to make me wise and apply it to the different areas of my life.

This idea of walking in wisdom is not new, Paul has been teaching the church in Colossae the importance of walking in wisdom, I encourage you to go home to read Colossians, it is a very quick read. In chapter 1 Paul is praying for the church of Colossae and prays that God would grant the church be filled with knowledge of his will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding so they can walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing the Lord and bearing fruit and increasing in the knowledge of God. Walking in wisdom is knowing, understanding and applying what we know to our lives so that we can walk or live our lives in such a way that we bring glory to God, bearing fruit and increasing in knowledge.

Paul in Chapter 2, says as you received Christ, so walk in him. Again this idea of walking in Christ is used. When you think how you received Christ, how did we receive Christ? Repentance and Faith, we repented from our sins, we turned away from our sin and we ran in the opposite direction towards Jesus in faith. We trust what the word says about Jesus and we follow Him. Walking in Christ is a continual life of repentance and faith, your word says I need to stop lying, Lord help me tell the truth, I turn away from lying and I trust in you to change my life. Repentance and faith.

Now in chapter 4, Paul uses this idea of walking again, this time Paul says walk in wisdom with outsiders, an outsider is someone who is not a believer, someone out of fellowship with the Gospel and the church. When Paul says walk in wisdom with outsiders here, it is not disconnected from what he has previously said, but it is in addition to what he has said. Here is what I mean, one of the ways we walk in wisdom with outsiders is living our lives in such a way that is worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him. Here is why this is important, because when we declare the Gospel, we are declaring the power of God to change lives, to transform someone from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. If we declare the Gospel with those who do not believe but live like a child of darkness, what does that show those who do not believe? We must walk in wisdom by living a life that is pleasing to God and brings him glory. I am not talking about a life of sinless perfection, but living a life which sins less and grows in holy living.

The other way we walk in wisdom with outsiders is explained by Paul in the rest of the verse, making the best use of our time. The literal translation of the verse is purchasing our time, some translations use redeeming the time. It gives the idea not wasting time time but seizing every opportunity there is to share the Gospel. Have you ever encountered a situation when you were in a conversation with someone and there is an opportunity to share the Gospel, but you missed it because you were thinking or doing something else? This has happened to me several times, when I walk away from the conversation thinking I just wasted a perfect opportunity to share the Gospel. Paul is talking about seizing every moment possible to declare the Gospel with outsiders, in our actions and with our words.

Then Paul continues by talking about our speech, Let your speech always be gracious, underline always and put an exclamation point next to gracious. Again Paul is pointing to our speech, not just when we share the Gospel but our speech as a pattern of life. We need to be people who speak graciously, look what Paul tells the church at Ephesus,

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear Eph 4:29.

29 No salga de vuestra boca ninguna palabra mala, sino solo la que sea buena para edificación, según la necesidad del momento, para que imparta gracia a los que escuchan.

When it comes to our speech we need to model kindness, love, purity, honor, our speech should build up others, as opposed to tearing others down with the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is offensive to those who do not believe, the message of the Gospel is you are a sinner and stand condemned before a holy God. People do not want hear they are sinners in need of repentance, being gracious in our speech doesn’t mean we don’t share the truth, it means we do not add to the offense by how we communicate the Gospel to others. The good news is that even in our condemnation before a holy God, God loved us he sent his only son, Jesus to make a way for sinful people to become holy and into right relationship with God and that is through the life death and resurrection of Jesus.

Have you ever had unseasoned food? Carne asada with no seasoning? Frijoles sin sal? Food that is not seasoned properly does not taste good. The Gospel is good news of great joy and we should share the greatest message of the world with words and a life that displays the goodness of the Gospel. Peter does this in 1 Peter, when he says, “ like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that you may grow up in salvation, if indeed you have Tasted that Lord is good” or the Psalmist in Pslams 10

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Ps 19:7–11.

La ley del Señor es perfecta[g], que restaura el alma; el testimonio del Señor es seguro, que hace sabio al sencillo.8 Los preceptos del Señor son rectos, que alegran el corazón; el mandamiento del Señor es puro, que alumbra los ojos. 9 El temor del Señor es limpio, que permanece para siempre; los juicios del Señor son verdaderos, todos ellos justos; 10 deseables más que el oro; sí, más que mucho oro fino, más dulces que la miel y que el destilar[h] del panal. 11 Además, tu siervo es amonestado por ellos; en guardarlos hay gran recompensa.

Amaze people with how you live and speak about the Gospel of God, because the Gospel is amazing! It is better than anything this life can offer because it is all about Jesus.

Why does Paul tell us to pray and to walk wisely? “ so you may know how you ought to answer each person.” There are people who live in this world who do not know Jesus, no one is the same, everyone is different, they deal with different sin issues, they have their separate set of objections, they have their separate set of idols they deal with in their heart.… When you read the Gospels and Jesus’ conversations with people, we see Jesus’ approach with the self righteous Pharisees (Mark 12) was different than his approach with the skeptical Sadducees (Mark 12), and yet another approach with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:13-17).

We also see this with Paul in Acts 17, With people who knew the Scriptures, like the Jews and God fearers amongst the Gentiles in Thessalonica and Berea, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, but when he came to the Areopagus, among Greeks who knew nothing about the Gospel and God’s word, he took a different approach, even quoting from their own poets. Paul prayed and walked wisely so that he knew how to answer each person. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul says to the Jews I Became a Jew, to those under the law, i became one under the law, to those outside the law, I became one outside the law, to the weak I became one who was weak, why? To serve them and win them over for the sake of the Gospel.

Paul changed his approaches to give an answer to each person, but he never changed the message. We must pray, walk wisely, so that we can share the Gospel with people and know how to answer them as we are sharing. Being always ready to give an answer for the hope which is in us, which is Jesus!