The Gracious Delivery

Good morning, church.

We are now in the fourth week of our series "Ambassadors," and we are getting to the point where the rubber truly meets the road.

In week one, we received our commission. We looked at Matthew 28 and established that we are official representatives of King Jesus, sent out with His absolute authority and sustained by His constant presence. In week two, we examined the character of the ambassador. We saw from Galatians 5 that our mission is only authenticated when our lives are being transformed by the Holy Spirit, producing the beautiful fruit of His character in us. And last week, we clarified our message. We dove into 1 Corinthians 15 and defined the unshakeable, four-pillared gospel that is of first importance: the death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of Jesus Christ.

So, we know who sent us. We know who we are supposed to be. And we know what we are supposed to say. But that leaves one huge, and for many of us, intimidating question: How, exactly, do we say it? What does it look like to deliver this message in our everyday lives—with our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, and our families?

Many of us get very nervous at this point. The idea of "evangelism" or "sharing our faith" can conjure up some uncomfortable images. We might picture a street preacher yelling at people, or an awkward, forced conversation that ends in a slammed door. We have a great product—the gospel is the best news in the world—but we're terrified of having a bad delivery. We’re afraid of being pushy, of being weird, of being rejected, of not having the right answers. And so, paralyzed by this fear, we often end up saying nothing at all.

The Apostle Paul understood this. He knew that even with the greatest message in the world, the delivery matters. He knew that our approach could either open a person's heart or slam it shut. So, in his letter to the church at Colossae, he gives them—and us—a short but incredibly profound guide to being an effective ambassador. If you have your Bible, turn to Colossians chapter 4, verses 2 through 6.

In these five verses, Paul lays out a three-part strategy for the ambassador's delivery. But it probably doesn't start where you think it would. He doesn't begin with a clever opening line or a five-step conversational technique. He begins in the one place where all effective ministry is born: the place of prayer. From this foundation of prayer, he moves to the credibility of our public lives, and finally to the specific nature of our speech. He shows us that

A wise ambassador cultivates a life of prayer, preparing for opportunities to share the gospel with grace and clarity.

The Foundation of Our Delivery: Persistent Prayer (v. 2-4)

Before Paul says a single word about talking to people about God, he commands us to talk to God about people. Our witness to the world is born in the quiet moments of communion with our King. Look at how he begins in verse 2:

Colossians 4:2 KJV 1900

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

This is the engine room of our ambassadorship. Notice the three components of this prayer life. First, it is to be steadfast. The Greek word here, proskartereō, means to be devoted, to be constant, to persevere. This isn't about occasional, sporadic prayers when we're in a jam. This is a call to a consistent, disciplined, persevering life of prayer. It’s a habit, a rhythm. It’s the spiritual equivalent of breathing. An ambassador who is not in constant communication with their home government will quickly become ineffective.

Second, our prayer is to be watchful. This means being alert. It's the opposite of reciting a sleepy, memorized list of requests. It's an engaged, wide-awake communion with God. It means being watchful for His answers. It means being alert to the movements of His Spirit in the world around you. A watchful ambassador is constantly scanning the horizon, looking for the opportunities that their King is creating.

Third, our prayer is to be filled with thanksgiving. Gratitude is the fuel for steadfast prayer. A prayer life that is only a list of complaints and requests will quickly become a joyless duty. But a prayer life that is grounded in thanksgiving—thanking God for who He is, for our salvation, for His faithfulness—protects our hearts from cynicism and keeps us joyfully engaged with our good and gracious God.

After laying this general foundation, Paul then asks the Colossians to pray for him and his mission team with two very specific requests. And these two requests should become the model for how we pray for our own opportunities to be ambassadors. Verse 3:

Colossians 4:3 KJV 1900

Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Pray for an Open Door

Paul’s first request is for an open door. Notice what he does not say. He doesn't say, "Pray that I can be a good salesman and kick down some doors for the gospel." He says, "Pray that God may open to us a door."

This is a profound theological statement. We do not create opportunities to share the gospel in our own strength. We do not manufacture conversions through clever strategies. The sovereign God of the universe is the one who prepares hearts and opens doors. Our job is to pray for them, watch for them, and be ready to walk through them when they appear.

This should take an enormous amount of pressure off of us. You don't have to carry the burden of forcing a spiritual conversation. Your primary task is to pray, "God, would you please open a door for the word with my neighbor? Would you create an opportunity in my workplace this week?" And then you go about your day, watchful and alert, trusting that God has heard your prayer and is at work.

Pray for a Clear Word

Paul’s second request is in verse 4: "...that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak."

Colossians 4:4 KJV 1900

That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

This is astounding. The Apostle Paul—the greatest theologian and missionary in the history of the church, the man who preached on Mars Hill—is asking a small church to pray that he would be clear. If Paul felt his need for prayer to make the gospel clear, how much more should we?

The goal of our delivery is not to be impressive. It’s not to sound super-spiritual or to win a theological debate. The goal is clarity. To "make it clear" means to take the profound mystery of Christ—His death for our sins, His resurrection—and communicate it in a way that an unbeliever can understand. It’s a prayer that God would give us the right words, the right analogies, the simple, powerful language that connects with the person we're talking to.

So this is the foundation. A steadfast, watchful, thankful prayer life, where we consistently ask God for two things: an open door of opportunity, and a clear word to speak when that door opens.

The Wisdom of Our Delivery: A Godly Walk (v. 5)

From the private world of prayer, Paul moves to the public world of our daily lives. The greatest prayer for an open door can be nullified by a foolish life that slams it shut. Look at verse 5:

Colossians 4:5 KJV 1900

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

To "walk in wisdom toward outsiders" means that our daily conduct, our character, our lifestyle, is the first and loudest part of our message. The "them that are without"—those who are not yet citizens of Christ's kingdom—are watching us. They are our primary audience. And the way we live our lives is either making the gospel attractive or repulsive to them.

What does this wisdom look like? It looks like the Fruit of the Spirit we talked about two weeks ago. It's a life of love, patience, and kindness. It's the integrity we saw in Daniel. It's a life that is so different, so marked by a quiet peace and a steady joy, that it makes people curious. An inconsistent life—a life where we claim to be an ambassador for the King of peace but we are known for our anger, gossip, or dishonesty—is the ultimate credibility killer. Our walk must match our talk. As Dr. Ironside would surely remind us, a holy life is the most powerful sermon we can ever preach.

Flowing out of this wise walk is the second command in this verse: "...making the best use of the time." The Greek here is a powerful phrase: exagorazomenoi ton kairon. It literally means "redeeming the time" or "buying up the opportunity." The word for time here is not chronos, which just means the ticking of the clock. It's kairos, which means a specific, opportune, strategic moment.

Do you see the connection? Our watchful prayer life (v. 2) prepares us to recognize the kairos moments that God provides in response to our prayers for an open door (v. 3). A wise walk then gives us the credibility to step into that moment. It's about being spiritually alert and ready to seize those fleeting opportunities for a meaningful conversation.

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”

[ILLUSTRATION PROMPT: Share a story about how a consistent, "wise walk" over a long period of time (at work, in a neighborhood, within a family) slowly earned credibility and eventually led to a natural, God-ordained "kairos" moment to share the gospel. The point is to show that it's often the long game of faithful living, not a one-time evangelistic event, that God uses to open doors.]

The Tone of Our Delivery: Gracious Speech (v. 6)

So, we’ve prayed for a door, and our wise walk has given us credibility as God opens one. Now what? What actually comes out of our mouths? Paul gives us the final piece of the strategy in verse 6:

Colossians 4:6 KJV 1900

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

This is the practical guide for our conversations. Notice first, this is to be our default setting: "Let your speech always be..." This isn't just a special mode we switch into when we're "sharing our faith." This is the character of all our communication.

Speech that is Gracious

Our speech is to be "gracious." It should be characterized by grace. This means it is kind, winsome, patient, and humble. It’s the opposite of the angry, argumentative, judgmental, and condescending tone that so often marks Christian engagement with the culture, especially online. Gracious speech seeks to build bridges, not burn them. It listens more than it talks. It assumes the best in the other person. It remembers that we ourselves were saved by grace, so we have no room for arrogance. A gracious ambassador makes their King seem beautiful and approachable.

Speech that is Seasoned with Salt

But grace is not the only ingredient. Our speech must also be "seasoned with salt." What does salt do? In the ancient world, it had three primary functions.

First, salt adds flavor. It makes things interesting and palatable. Salty speech is the opposite of bland, boring, religious jargon. It’s engaging. It connects with people’s real lives. It speaks the truth in a way that is thoughtful and compelling.

Second, salt preserves. It acts as an antiseptic, holding back decay and corruption. Our speech should be a preserving agent in a decaying world. It should be pure. It should stand against the corruption of gossip, slander, crude joking, and cynical talk. When an ambassador speaks, their words should bring life and purity into a conversation, not more of the world's decay.

Third, salt creates thirst. Have you ever eaten a salty pretzel? What’s the first thing you want? A drink. Salty speech should make people thirsty for the living water that only Jesus can give. It is speech that is distinctively Christian. It has a "godward" flavor. It hints at a different reality, a bigger story, a truer hope. It leaves people wondering, "There's something different about the way you see the world. I want to know more."

Paul calls us to a beautiful balance. Grace without salt can become spineless compromise, afraid to speak any truth that might offend. Salt without grace becomes harsh, abrasive, and self-righteous, clubbing people with the truth but winning no one. A wise ambassador learns from the Holy Spirit how to blend both grace and salt in every conversation.

And the result of this? "...so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." This is the goal. It's not about having a memorized, one-size-fits-all evangelistic script. It's about having Spirit-led wisdom to tailor our response to the individual. We answer the hurting person differently than the arrogant person. We answer the honest skeptic differently than the cynical scoffer. This requires us to listen deeply, depend on the Spirit, and respond with a custom-made word of grace and salt.

Conclusion

So there it is. Paul's simple, profound strategy for being an effective ambassador. It's not a complicated program. It's a holistic way of life.

It begins in private, with a steadfast, watchful, and thankful life of prayer, where we constantly ask God to open doors and give us clarity.

It continues in public, with a wise and consistent life that builds credibility with the watching world and prepares us to seize the opportunities God provides.

And it culminates in our conversations, where our speech is always characterized by grace and seasoned with the distinctive, truth-filled flavor of salt.

This model should free us from the fear and pressure we so often feel. Our job is not to be a slick salesperson. Our job is to cultivate a life that is so in tune with God's Spirit that we are ready and able to be used by Him whenever and wherever He chooses to open a door.

Let me leave you with three questions to guide you this week.

1. Is my prayer life a true foundation for my witness?

Am I steadfastly and watchfully praying for God to open doors of opportunity among the "outsiders" in my life? Or is my prayer life disconnected from my mission as an ambassador?

2. Is my "walk" opening doors or closing them?

If my neighbors and coworkers were to judge the validity of the gospel based only on my daily life and character, what conclusion would they draw? Am I living with wisdom toward them?

3. How would others describe my speech: Gracious? Salty? Both? Neither?

Think about your conversations this past week. Was your tone characterized by grace? Was your content seasoned with the salt of God's truth and perspective? What is one specific conversation you anticipate having this week where you can intentionally pray for grace and salt?

Church, we have the greatest message in the universe. Let’s commit ourselves to being the kind of ambassadors who deliver it well—on our knees in prayer, with our lives in wisdom, and with our words in grace.

Let's pray.