Prayer and Christian Witness (Col 4:2-6)

Welcome and Announcement

We can continue to pray for Charlie and Lynne as the serve Christ’s church in China.

Get the Handout in the back for Psalm 119C

Youth Fellowship will be at the Edburg home this evening.

Lastly, we are honored to welcome Bentley Crawford to the pulpit this morning. He is a graduate of RTS-Jackson and was called to be the RUF campus Minister at Belhaven University. However, this morning, we look forward to his ministry to us. Thank you for joining us this Lord’s Day.

If there are no other announcements, let us prepare to worship God.

Preparation for Worship and Prelude

Call To Worship:

English Standard Version Chapter 14

27  For the LORD of hosts has purposed,

and who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out,

and who will turn it back?

English Standard Version Chapter 14

27  For the LORD of hosts has purposed,

and who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out,

and who will turn it back?

English Standard Version Chapter 4

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

Invocation

You are Holy, Holy, Holy our God and our King. As the Seraphim and Cherubim sing praises to you name for all eternity, we join them in calling to one another the awesome holiness of our God. For you are set apart and above all things. You stand alone as God over all creation.

You are merciful and mighty and the saints around the world gather to worship and adore your great name. For you have bought us with a price and by the work of Christ call us your own. therefore, as we worship you this evening, we are your sons and daughters. We are grafted in your kingdom by the sanctifying work of Christ.

Therefore, we humbly confess your perfection in the midst of our failings. On our own accord, we fail with the first Adam that was tempted and deceived by sin. However, in the second Adam, we are made alive again. As we conclude this Lord’s day, may it be a pleasing aroma to you. Prepare us for the week ahead to live as you have called us to live. We are your people. Much has been given to us and much is expect from us. It is all for your glory, Amen.

Hymn 100 Holy, Holy, Holy

Invocation and Lord’s Prayer

Old Testament Lesson: Job 11:7-12

Evening Prayer (Jimmy Sullivan)

Psalm 119C set to Germany

sda

Sermon Text Introduction

We are nearing the end of the book of Colossians. Like much of the writing in the New Testament, Paul and the Apostles are worried about false teaching. Paul in this letter is specifically worried about the believers at Collosae syncretism or the combining of religions. For these Christians they added pagan philosophies to the True Faith and created false teaching. Therefore, over the past year, we saw Paul address this Identity Crisis and remedy it with the promise of christ in all of our relationships. This week, we will see the final instruction given by Paul to the believers. Hear now

English Standard Version Chapter 4

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 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— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Here ends are our New Testament Reading and this is the Word of the Lord.

Sermon Introduction

Persistence is a great gift in the Christian Tradition Persistence in prayer. Persistence in pursuing God. Persistence is our walk with God. Persistence is pursing outsiders and sharing the Gospel. Persistence separates the mature from the the immature. This reminds we of the testimony of one of my professors at Moody Bible Institute. This professor grew up in a Christian household, but never embraced Christ. In his twenties, he embraced a homosexual lifestyle and became a drug dealer. He eventually ended up in prison and then later gave his life to Christ. The most striking thing about his conversion was not his rebellious lifestyle, rather it was the faithfulness and persistence of his mother. Every morning she went to her prayer closet and prayer for her son. That he would turn from his wickedness and to Jesus Christ. She did this for years before the fruits of that labor would realized.

This is the same command that Paul gives to you today as he concludes his letter to the Colossians. We are to be persistent in the faith. A mature believer is marked by persistence in the faith. Persistence in prayer and persistence in wisdom. Therefore, as Paul transitions to the conclusion of his letter, he gives us one final teaching. Even more then that he actually a final command. We are to be devoted to prayer and to walk in wisdom. So the Question that we seek to answer this evening is this, “What are we called to do for those outside of the church?” or put even more simply, “what does the evangelistic work of the church look like?” The Answer is simple:

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans Talk Less and Pray More

If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be better than they are in the world; at least, we should be better enabled to bear them, and undergo our portion in them with the more satisfaction.

If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be better than they are in the world; at least, we should be better enabled to bear them, and undergo our portion in them with the more satisfaction.

Proposition: Devote yourself to being a Christian Witness. HOW?

Elliot Ritzema and Elizabeth Vince, eds., 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans, Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).

Be Steadfast in Prayer (4:2-4)

First, we are called to be steadfast in prayer. Look at verse two with me,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 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— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Each verse gives us an idea for the content of evangelistic prayer. Verse two tells us to how much to pray, Verse 3 tells us to pray for Gospel opportunity, and verse 4 tells us to pray for clarity.

A call to prayer (2)

As we open is verse 2, we see that the believer is called to “continue in steadfast prayer.” To put is more simply we can translate this as “Devote yourself to prayer.” I want you to notice that this is a Paul’s command to the believer. It is not optional or a gift that only some possess. Rather, it is standard feature of the Christian faith. Every Christian must pray and it must be a regular habit in the Christian life. It naturally outflows from the Christian’s life. What do Christians do? They pray to their God for intercession and relief. We find this principle throughout Scripture, we “should always pray and not give up” () and “pray continually” ().

Paul, tells us that we must pray, but he also elaborates on the manner or atitude in which we must pray. We are to pray by “being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” What Paul means is that we are to be “awake” as we pray. Our prayers to God are done in a manner that is alert and aware. You may ask aware of what? My Hebrews to Revelation class last week taught me what we need to be aware of. And that is the imminent return of Jesus Christ. We live and pray for the Kingdom of God has arrived and now we wait for the return of our Savior. This is striking at the urgency of the issue. We say we believe in the resurrection, but do not live as if we believe. We grow tired and lazy. The exhortation here is a simple one, be watchful and ready for the return of Christ at all times.

being watchful in it with thanksgiving

The other that should mark the believer’s prayer life is thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for all that God has done for you. For you were once sinners dead in your sin, but now you are alive in Jesus Christ. Every Sunday this is present in our first prayer together. We declare the holiness of God. Then we confess our unworthiness as sinners and thankfulness for God’s work in our lives. We ought to hunger for prayer like we hunger for food. If you’re like me, you get hungry for food every few hours, so should we hunger to pray to our God.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Pray for Gospel opportunity (3)

After Paul calls these believers to pray and gives them a manner in which to pray. He gives them a prayer request. As you pray with an alert and thankful attitude, Paul ask for a prayer for the ministry. We see “open a door for the word.” We know this metaphor quite well, Paul is asking for the Colossians to pray for an opportunity to share the gospel. Paul desires an evangelistic opportunity.

Instead he desires an opportunity “to declare the mystery of Christ.” Paul regularly uses mystery in his writing. He simply means the gospel. The revelation of Jesus Christ in the New Testament was a mystery in the Old Testament. It is now revealed that Christ is the savior man. The Entire Old Testament system pointed to the coming messiah.

The irony in Paul’s writing is that Paul is not asking that they pray for his freedom from imprisonment. It seems that Paul is content with his imprisonment, as long as he has the opportunity to further spread the Gospel. He even reminds his reader that he is in chains, but asks for no deliverance from his present bondage. This is radical. I have never prayed for the persecuted church in this way.

Paul further clarifies the

Pray for Gospel clarity (4)

Paul doesn’t only desire the opportunity to share the gospel. He desires that they pray for clarity of speech. Paul had a call by God to spread the Gospel to all the nations. It was his only job. To go out and preach to all that might hear him. Paul’s understanding of clarity here is tied to the mystery that we briefly just heard. For those who have not heard the gospel is remain a mystery. It like driving during a Mississippi Morning Fog. God uses Paul as the means to clear the fog of unbelief.

This section on prayer is remarkable

To show the gospel to be true to those that God opens the door for. To make clear what was once muddy and confusing. When God opens the door of someone’s hearts the gospel brings absolute clarity to the entirety of the person. Therefore, we must pray, for God uses prayer to the end of Glorifying his name in the conversion of those who were once unbelievers. This shows us some great importance to the habitual prayer life of the believer.

The best illustration is like that of a slow maturity to prayer. Young believers are often lost in at sea when it comes to the content of prayers. They have not prayed much and do not know what to pray. Their prayers are short, simple, and often times repetitive. It’s not a bad thing, but as a believer continues to devote themselves to prayer. The life of prayer begins to expand from generalization to exact issues. Prayers become longer and more habitual. This is almost like a craft or a skill. If I were a carpenter, my first project may be as simple as a shelving unit or bench. These are good and useful. As the carpenter perfects his trade, he learns to build kitchen cabinets and picnic tables. He learns more intricate designs and develops more skill. The same is true for prayer. Sometimes we expect to be like masters, but we have only put in enough time to be beginners. God uses the prayer and as Presbyterians we cannot forget that.

Application:

The application is simple. Devote, devote, devote much time to prayer! If we are thanking God for his gracious work in our lives. Should we not also be praying that other experience the full effects of what we experience. A response for God’s grace in our lives is habitual prayer for our friends and family, and even the whole world. That all might be won by Christ.

The difficulty arrises when we lack a sense of urgenc

There needs to be a sense of urgency here. I have heard it often in Christian circles that we often volunteer to pray for others, but rarely pray for others. The best thing we can do for the unbelievers around us is to start praying for them daily.

For those that pray for unbelievers daily. For family or for friends. Take this encouragements, your devotion and persistence does not fall upon deaf ears. God will satisfy you and he hears you. Do not grow weary, rather continue in your faithfulness.

Proposition: Devote yourself to being a Christian Witness

Be Steadfast in Wisdom (4:5-6)

First we saw that we are to be steadfast in prayer for the salvation of the unbeliever. Now we see that we need to be steadfast in wisdom. Let’s look at verse 5,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

What is Wisdom in this context. If you asked your children what wisdom is, they would likely say that it is a fear of God or the ability to discern the truth. They may even say it is the Gospel itself. For God is the beginning of all wisdom. I think you child would be right! Think of the pattern in this text that we already heard: Mystery, Clarity, and Wisdom. Each of these work together. Therefore, Paul commands us to “walk in wisdom towards outsiders.” Or “conduct yourself wisely with the outsider.” Paul is simply calling the believer to live out the gospel in their life. God has been gracious to you by extending salvation to sinners. One commentator puts it like this, “While resisting the wrong kind of outside influence, the Colossian Christians nevertheless need to stay engaged with their fellow citizens and seek to win them to Christ” (Moo 327).

While resisting the wrong kind of outside influence, the Colossian Christians nevertheless need to stay engaged with their fellow citizens and seek to win them to Christ.

Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008), 327.”

The desire of the believer is now like Paul. They pray for opportunities to share the gospel and to remove the fog of those around them. So, if we follow the logic of Paul here. We are to pray for the door to be open or the opportunity to share the gospel. Then, we are to actually do it! We are to use the opportunities that God gives us!

Make the best use of Time (5)

Using time well (5)

Paul argues that the opportunities that God presents to us must not be wasted. Instead, we are to “make the best use of time.” We are to make the best use of our time with outsiders or those that are not members of Christ’s body. A rather simple, but also familiar interpretation of this text is “time is in short supply.” It’s like shopping at dirt cheap. You see a ridiculous deal and you snatch it quickly. That is how we ought to view time. We are to snatch every opportunity to share the gospel in the world like a hot deal on Black Friday. For all things in the past will remain in the past but the the works done for Christ will remain forever. As we have already alluded, we believe that Jesus Christ’s return is imminent. It is coming. This understanding that Christ will have a second coming to redeem his people and judge the world. This has an effect on our prayer life, but also effects the life that we live every day. So we see that biblical wisdom shapes our behavior.

A Holy Response to Outsiders (6)

Paul closes this section with that manner in which we are to evangelize. So we now see that grace shapes our speech. Our youth group talks about grace a lot. Grace is unmerited favor. To tease this out, it means that Christians do not earth their favor before their holy God. Grace is free gift of God. It is not by works, so that no one can boast. It is always good to remind ourselves of these simple Gospel truths. Evangelistically, Christians are to extend that same grace that they receive from God to the unbelieving outsider. Paul uses a metaphor to explain this, “seasoned with salt.” In other words, our speech is flavored with the knowledge of God grace. It will be preserved like salted meat.

We see then having a knowledge of the Grace of God enable the believer to answer the outsider correctly. This closing statement will provide many of us with a sigh of relief, “so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” The key word of relief is “answer.” It seems that Paul recognizes that not everyone is gifted to be an evangelist. Since the term “answer” is a response. It teaches us that the most normative call for evangelism in the church is “responsive evangelism.” Your conduct and your speech in all of life have a purpose to evangelize the outsider.

so that you may know how you ought to answer each person

Your conduct and your speech in all of life have a purpose to evangelize the outsider.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .”

I have often thought that evangelism meant street preaching or going door-to-door. We have a professor at RTS that pretty much breathes evangelism. I often feel evangelized in his classroom! He evangelizes at the store, at the air port, in the street, with a strangers. Evangelism flows in his veins. He is by definition is an evangelist. Often times I wish i possessed the zeal and skill to do what that man does. However, most of us fall short in the evangelism category. Paul understands that not all are by trade evangelists. Therefore, he tasks the church to evangelize as opportunity arrises.

Paul uses a metaphor to explain this, “seasoned with salt”

In other words, you are to accept the opens that God gives you and no seek to make openings. You may wonder how such opportunity arise. That is the application.

Application

Application

So how does this work in the Christian life? It seems to be like this, live your life in a way that flows with the Grace of God. Graciously praying for the outsider and graciously living life with the outsider. A life so gracious that even the wicked among us feel comfortable and love enough to ask about the faith. Living in a way the promotes gospel opportunity. With that understanding, this becomes an all of life commitment. Your commitment to Christ is not only in the church and with your church friends, but it is also a commitment in your households, friend groups, and professional life. When Christ touches every aspect of your life. This normal every day evangelism becomes a simple reality. No longer, do you focus on your abilities, but rest assured in the God that will word through you.

Start with your children or even your parents. Pray that God opens the door for belief in their lives, then use ever opportunity that you get to instill the faith in them. As odd as it sounds, children can do the same things with there parents. Or what about a best friend? Let us work the the commands of this text out in our most comfortable spaces. Then let us start to branch out in our other spheres of life. Pray regularly for you friends and coworkers. Sometimes we tie evangelism to those that we do not know. We say, “i cannot be an evangelist, because I am too introverted or not prepared.” How about we ground the work of the evangelist to the spheres of life that you already have investment in.

Let us work the the commands of this text out in our most comfortable spaces. Then let us start to branch out in our other spheres of life. Pray regularly for you friends and coworkers. Sometimes we tie evangelism to those that we do not know. We say, “i cannot be an evangelist, because I am too introverted or not prepared.” How about we ground the work of the evangelist to the spheres of life that you already have investment in.

Proposition: Devote yourself to being a Christian Witness

Conclusion

My professor at Moody was grateful for his mom’s gracious prayer life and her gracious speech to him as he was rebellious against God. This story is not out of the ordinary. God used the normal people in our every day lives to evangelize to us. God used the weak to glorify his name in your conversion. It may have been your parents or your friends, or even your pastor. The beauty of this is the same. Devoting yourself to being a faithful Christian witness is characterized by believers the persistently pray and have gracious wisdom for the outsider to meet Christ. So "what does the evangelistic work of the church look like?” It is living out the faith instill in your heart everyday with all those that you come in contact with. Does this mean you bash everyone you know over the head with the gospel. No, but it does mean that you are praying for that person that they will offer you an opportunity to share the faith.

Let us close in prayer!

Hymn 305 Arise, My Soul, Arise

Benediction and Postlude

Go in his grace and in his Peace, Amen