11/21/21 • Prayer Saturated Gospel Witness • Colossian 4:2-6

For we're going to look at versus 2 through 6.

I know this is a short scripture. I want to do something real quick. So I'm going to instruct you. You don't have to right at this moment. But if you would when I begin to read scripture or right before, would you would you stand? And then we're going to be like a, I'm going to say something at the end and then I'll have you say something back. So I'm going to read the scripture. And then this is like, we're practicing something right now. They read the scripture and then I must say, this is the word of the Lord. And then I would ask you to respond back by saying they don't know what I'm going to say. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God, okay? For just going to try it. Okay. I know it's strange. But so if you would stand, if you can, if you're physically able.

Colossians 4:2 through 6 Paul. Says discontinued 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. Walk in wisdom, toward Outsiders, making the best use of the time that your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. So that you may know how you ought to answer each person. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Okay. So you just practice Thanksgiving with something that God has given you. The Paul at the beginning of every one of his letter says Grace and peace to you. Recognizing that the words, he writes the scriptures that you and I receive come from God as a good gift. So there's your first, maybe exercises. We can Thanksgiving less. You did it this morning. So if you would pray with me, you can you can go and be seated if you'd like. Father, we thank you for your word, which directs our hearts and our minds towards you. We thank you that you are a God who doesn't stand far from us. But that you come and reveal yourself to us and something as simple and accessible as words on a page. How extraordinary and yet so ordinary that you would choose to use this to reveal yourself to us. Forgot. I think you did. You didn't just stay even content with that Lord, but that you. Jesus left the throne. You put on flash. You became the embodied revelation of God to us. I think you was we've seen this letter that you both our creator and sustainer. You've redeemed us into your kingdom. And now we are your people meant to live to show you in your goodness. I pray. You would help us as we receive some of the final instructions that Paul gives in this letter. That this would shape us for Mass as a people. That real change would happen in every one of our Lives as we leave this place. Not because we just did our teeth and determine that we're going to do something God, but because we see your goodness in your glory and your spirit Works, in us through the reading and proclamation of your word right now. Reorient us to your goodness and your love and your power in our lives through prayer. I pray this in your name and then

So giving you that the top idea here at the beginning. It's pretty simple. Christ reorient, Our Lives through prayer so that we can be faithful gospel Witnesses. Jesus reorient. Our lives through prayer so that we can be faithful gospel Witnesses. How many of you are? It's all right. I'm admitting to this right now. How many of you are tired this morning? And he one of you like being a little bit tired, like physically, fatigue is just normal for you. This is this is me. Okay, I don't have any reason for it, really that, you know, we don't have a newborn baby anything now. So yeah, I can remember those Seasons that kind of tired was a different kind of tired than even right now, but it seems to be at my ordinary way of going through life at this moment is I'm a little fatigued and a little bit tired, most of the time. And so like I know, Chris and I are we joke before we see each other here, you know, passing the hall cuz he were never together in a class cuz he's always teaching the young kids and everything. But when we do, can I make a little quick check on each other? The normal thing is, how you doing. I'm a little bit tired, you know. And we even joked Paul. He's not in here, but who was in the nursery earlier when she was sitting in the comfy chair rocking back and forth. We talked about it would, if we had some comfortable chairs in here, what would happen, maybe, nice and comfortable for some people. But then the Joker's Madewell, you know, then more people would fall there, someone to fall asleep. And I hope, you know, this and this isn't, it shouldn't be a shock to you, but most Sundays, I look out in. Someone's eyes are closed. Not in like deep contemplatively prayer, maybe, but because fatigue get you specially, when you said you listen to someone and on and on for 40 minutes, right? Hey, man, yeah. And it doesn't come as a shock to me. The recognized that every single one of us in this room. Is a limited. Finite human being. Who runs out of energy, and many of us are kind of on the low end of the tank. Most of the time.

And that we're coming into Thanksgiving. And I know that for me my tendency to Justin life is kind of just to go through, I just do life as best. I can get through the day, lay my head down on the pillow and get back up the next morning. And Thanksgiving is a good time for us to slow down, right? Or this is how we should use it, and whether we use it like this or not. It's Thanksgiving should be time for us to slow down. And consider. The things that we have that were thankful for that. Most of the time we take for granted, right? All of us do that. Right? We all take many things for granted in life, right? Because we're so just focused on getting through the day, these things Escape bus and then being able to slow down and say, what am I actually thankful for? And to consider maybe I would, I would encourage you to do this. You know that you probably maybe somebody in the string. This is so foreign to you to do any kind of practice like this. But this week sometime to sit down, say, I'm going to get myself 30 minutes and that might sound like a long time somewhere. I'll find it. I'll find 30 minutes and I'm going to sit down. I'm going to get a physical piece of paper in front of me. I'm going to get some kind of writing instrument and I'm going to for 30 minutes rides, everything. I can think of that, I am thankful for and make that time and exercise of worship to the Lord. And if you sit there and five minutes go by and you have free things on the paper, like I'm not sure, then maybe you need to pause and say Lord right now. Give me eyes to see and then continue riding. I don't know. I haven't done it yet. But I wonder how this just that was random. I wasn't plan on saying I wonder what the Lord might how the Lord might use a practice like that. If you just said right now that little thing that you and I could do is not just some little sentimental things you and I could do. But it could be something that we would salad do this and it sounds a little weird. Might be a little cheesy, but I might do it. Anyway might be a thing that the spirit would use to awaken our hearts. Just maybe possibly I don't know. DePaul here at the end of his letter.

Give them some final instructions.

Before he gives the final greeting. So next week is all just going to be for reading it to the final greeting. This typical of Paul's letters and an even just inching Greco-Roman letters that would end with kind of greeting to these different people. And so it's kind of a list of names at first glance, but before we get there next week, He gives these final instructions. They are they come at the end of like the household commands. We saw last week and before that, there's commands towards how to live within the Christian Community and how to live as the new people of Jesus, right? And so this is in some sense, kind of a further Ring. The Next Step of you go from living in the church. Then you kind of job, bigger, Circle it with your family. And then now we're going to step out a little bit further and take us to know how do we live towards Outsiders? So you could put that over the section to say these instructions are really around. How do we live towards those who are not Believers, right? And this set of commands to Falls underneath the, the command, the main command, really? I think it in the whole letter, the Central Command of the beginning of chapter three races. If you have been raised with Christ, if you're in Christ, this is what you do. You seek. The things that are above seated at the right hand of where Christ is seated, at the right hand of God. You set your mind on the things that are above not on the things that are on earth in. So it's an unpacking more of. How do I do this in life? How do I seek the things that are above? How do I seek Christ rule Christ Kingdom in my life today? How do I set my mind on the things that are Bobby's already, given many commands towards that? And I think certainly these commands fall underneath it.

There are two main. Commands here in the verses that we're looking at. The first one is inverse 2 and the second one is in verse five. The first one is a command towards prayer and the second one is a command towards witness. Okay. So if you wanted to kind of divided your text up or kind of, see how does this text breakdown? What's the structure going on here in these commands? Two main commands, like a man towards prayer and a command towards witness specifically, witness of Jesus. Okay to the first one user connected. They're not two separate commands, which is why I'll read it again, Christ reorient, Our Lives. Through prayer. Tubi. Faithful witnesses. To these things are connected. Puffer says, continue set fastly in prayer. Continue steadfastly in prayer.

The word that Paul used for continued steadfastly. It's one word in the original language. And I was doing some study on the, we're just trying to figure out. Okay, what does it really mean? And does anyone have a translation? That's not the ESV. This is interaction time. Okay, and you be willing to read out loud, what the command is?

Anybody.

Yeah, just the beginning of verse 2.

In LT.

Devote yourselves to prayer. Okay, so you can see you can hear those two things might sound so different, right? And some cents, continue steadfastly, or devote yourselves to go this way, studying that word was a little difficult this week to see all the different ways. It was used. I wrote this illustration for for children's church, cuz I the word devoted kept coming up and that's really what he's talking about is that we need to be as Believers. We need to be devoted to prayer and not worth the other places that shows up on, it talks about Believers like in Acts is it says the end they devoted themselves to prayer and the apostles teaching the early church. Did it comes back up in Acts 6 when the when the apostles who are leading the church and issue comes up within the church that widow's that church is serving these widows with food and a group of widows aren't getting served. Well and the apostles not to say will that work is we're just that's beneath us. But they say we cannot adequately. Do it gots called us to do and fix this. So we need other people to step in and fix this, right? And that's where you begin to get deacons the servants within the church and the Apostle say, so we're going to continue to devote ourselves to teaching and to prayer Because that's our lane. We're going to stay in our will Lane and we're going to empower other. People did them run in this Lane which is an extension of what we're doing. But, but we can't do both. And so this might just work comes up with the idea of devotion devotion and it shows up and also in acts with kind of a strange story that we don't need to get into, but somebody kind of tags along in loyalty to someone else and they end up being kind of a bad person. But they tagged along with one of the Apostles after they hear the gospel and seemingly come to face and they're like a puppy, dog following the Apostle around. Okay, and that's what I thought of for the. For the illustration for children's church is I thought of a dog, cuz when you think of the word devoted or loyal for me, that's the first thing that comes to my mind devoted and loyal. It's the first thing that comes to my mind, my dog, when we do let her inside, She will either well, sometimes you find a corner and goes hides and sometimes he goes to the litter box. You don't need to know that. Why did it say that? And a lot time she hangs right around Ava little three-year-old and now it's like they're best friends and I get worried because I don't want to leave my mom instructed me. Well, shoes, a dog trainer that you don't eat no matter how good a dog as you never know. What might happen if a child does something to it, right? The doctor turn attack Ava, but all evidence that we see is just that. She just lets her hang all over her and she's devoted. She's loyal to her. And then other times, she'll come and chill curl up and try to get underneath my desk, where my feet need to go. And then I also have a cat and you probably don't think I'm loyal to your Devotion to the cat, but just cats weird. And he's like imprinted on me and need things like I'm his mom or something, and it doesn't matter if I sit down somewhere. He's like up in my business, no matter what. So, when we think of this idea of continued, steadfastly in Prayer or be devoted to prayer, put that kind of picture in your mind. What does this mean for us? If this is the way, Paul commands us to pray?

You know. Certain certain dogs, get very neurotic. They're so attached to an owner that if the owner leaves them in a place where things can be damaged. There's going to be a major destruction that happens. I don't know if any of you had ever had a dog like that. It's not very fun. What's happening? Is that dog is so missing. Something that it is so vital to its existence that it just goes crazy when it doesn't have it. Turn off, think about that. And then think about how Paul. Cause these people to pray. Be devoted to prayer.

I could not help but be convicted when I began to really dig into what he saying.

Why? Do I struggle to devote myself to prayer?

Paul continues that instruction by saying, here's how you're going to be devoted to prayer hears. I think in some sense. Here's what prayer even does for you as a believer. He said this how you going to be devoted to pair. This is the kind of prayer that I want you to be devoted to your going to be devoted to Prayer by being watchful in it, with Thanksgiving. So devoted prayer is a watchful, thankful prayer. If you and I are going to devote ourselves to anything, then we must have should be at the top, like top, three in our list, as Believers in Jesus devoted to watchful thankful prayer. And I didn't plan for this to fall on the week of Thanksgiving. But but really all throughout Colossians, it's something I haven't really one of the major threats. I haven't really pulled on much, but he mentions Thanksgiving over and over and over again. In this letter. So, really any week that we would have been here, would have been, he would have talked to somewhere about Thanksgiving. Be watchful in it with Thanksgiving. Those you in Sunday school. There's major connections here to what we were seeing even in Romans 1, So here's what I would say. Just on this first main point. Paul connects prayer to our alertness. And our gratitude, he connects prayer to our alertness or our gratitude, which is why, you know, this probably not the best way to do illustrations, but I'm just going to connect it for a while. I talk about being tired of the beginning. Okay. And many of us in life goes through life, with physical fatigue and it creeps in mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Am I? My physical fatigue has crept into emotional emotional things in my life, especially like, with my daughter and the frustration that just Rises up,

Towards her.

How do I guard myself from that kind of?

Fatigued. Sleepy way of going through life. Will prayer seems to be the way that you and I can begin to wake up? So, I think that's part of what Paul saying here. That prayer. So I'll just say this. Cuz I can spend the rest of our time on this end. We all want to get through the rest of the witness part, a Christian. Dupre's occasionally.

Is a sleepy Christian? And that's dangerous. It's not as it sounds kind of cute, right? I should have used a different word than Sleepy Eye sleepy. When I look at my daughter and she's sleeping sleeping, child, cute until you have one and then you realized this is going to be really bad. Okay?

A Christian whose prayer practice a prayer. It could be said to be occasionally. Is a sleepy Christian? A prayerless Christian. Is a Christian who's asleep?

And again that doesn't seem very dangerous. But if you go back and you think about what we read. From. I don't have it up here. I pull it down there from the fusions. Actually. Do I have right here in the section in Ephesians chapter 6, where Paul talks about spiritual warfare, and he talks about putting on these different armors of God. It's all within the context of spiritual warfare. And he says, here's what you must do. You must be praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication. That means requests and ask asking God to that and keep alert with all perseverance. Christian, your perseverance in the faith is directly connected to your practice of Prayer. Your perseverance and your strength as a believer in Jesus is directly connected. To your practice of Prayer. This is convicting to me. I'm not standing up here or someone who's got this and now I'm condemning you because you don't have this.

The Christian Dupre's occasionally is a Christian, who's falling asleep? A Christian who never praise? Is an octave and a sleep? A prayerless Christian is also an ungrateful, Christian. So, here's what we see prayer, both wakes us up.

And creates Thanksgiving in our hearts. Just think about the Lord's Prayer. And the way that Jesus taught his followers to pray. Our Father, Who Art in Heaven prayer. Wakes us up to God's good fatherly heart towards us. And the fact that he is seated in control right now.

Guards us from the lie that got his distant and that God cannot fix this. Hallowed Be Your Name, prayer. Directs wakes, my heart up to the fact that God and God Alone deserve Glory and Honor. And not me.

It kills the self exalting nature of my sinful heart. When I pray, it's battle. Spiritual warfare.

Your kingdom come your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Prayer awakens us to the real need in the world. The world is filled with needs and you and I can be so aware of those needs in one sense that we kind of just shrink back and we feel so inadequate. We get so focused on the temporary needs in front of us with sickness and other things, we missed, the greater need for God's kingdom, rule to come in. The world is, Will to be done.

Give us this day. Our daily bread prayer. Awakens us to our continual. Need from God for everything. And it also wakes us up to gratitude that all that we receive for daily life comes from the hand of the Lord. There is nothing that you or I for take out during the day that sustains our physical life that does not come from God's hand, that makes sense. I was kind of a weird way to say everything that you and I need for Life comes from God's hand.

Lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil for a Believer prayer. Wakes us up to our great need for God to act and guard us and help us to stand firm. In the face of the assault of Temptation for my own Hearts, within from the sinful man that still dwells in us. And from the attacks of the evil, one outside of us, the enemy of our souls.

And it also shows us, God is good and big enough and Sovereign enough to reach in and guard me from Temptation when it comes. The many times when you and I cave under Temptations cuz we're trying to stand in our own strength, not relying that God can work here right now. I don't want to resist this but God help me if you can and he will act. No, temptation is uncommon, but the God will always provide a way.

Deliver Us from Evil. Prayer awakens us to the fact that there is a real spiritual. Enemy. I left one out. Prayer awakens us to the fact that God has forgiven us, right? Forgive us, our debts as we forgive. Our debtors prayer, awakens us to gratitude. That God has lavished his grace upon us. See prayer for Paul is vital for the Christian Life. But he then begins to connect prayer to witness of the Gospel, right? Cuz now he gives them a specific prayer request for him. He says, I want you to continue be devoted to prayer. Open your eyes, wake up by praying, be thankful to God by praying. And now, he says, here's one thing, I'm asking you to pray for me, pray that God may open the door for the word, not open the door of my prison. He's in prison right now. He says that, right? So that I make declare the mystery of Christ on the count of which I am in prison. I was not praying. Pray that God would open the door so that I can get out of here. Paul says, pray that God would open the doors in here. So that the gospel will come here where I am awaken us to the fact that wherever we find ourself in life is the place that God has put us so that we would witness the gospel in power and boldness.

It awakens us. The fact that God can do that and he will. NFL says, so that I may make clear, which is how I ought to speak up. Paul wants to say the right thing. So we trust that God can do that. Any price for that. And now he turns, he's already transitioned to the witness. Right? But now, he turns fully to then instruct them on how to be witnesses to the world about that. Around me says, walk in wisdom toward Outsiders. I think what you just requested for prayer for himself, should then kind of instruct or fill in kind of the general thing. That Paul says right here for these Believers as he says, pray for me is I'm in prison that I would boldly proclaim. The gospel that I have the right words to speak that the doors would open. Then he says, now you also need to walk in wisdom toward Outsiders. So what Paul has previously said, it said then fills all that in right to then say, okay. So as Paul examples is an example of this for us. We now live this way as well. What is wisdom towards Outsiders. It is a heart that's leaning in Desiring. God to move an act to make me a faithful Witness. Who are The Outsiders that's in the unbeliever. Anyone who does not believe in Christ and he tells them to buy back the time to redeem. The time is literally what that means. They're what he says, making the best use of the time, because your time is valuable, not for you to spend it on. Just whatever you want entertainment or whatever. Hobbies. I'm not against those things, but but they can put us in a stupor so that we don't actually live for what were meant to live for. Your time is valuable to be redeemed for your King, Jesus who redeemed you from the Dominion of darkness and transferred you to the kingdom, to his kingdom that's earlier in Colossians. So we need to walk in wisdom towards Outsiders seeking to make the best use of the time. I can't think of anything more timely for you to pray this week leading up to Thursday or Friday. Whatever it is, that you're going to eat with others that you don't normally see, maybe. What better way for you to focus your life this week? Then to say, God help me. Have wisdom. In the midst of this. Season. Help me to see the opportunities in front of me in to redeem the time that I have with others. Especially those who are Outsiders and this witness this wisdom that we should walk in involves our speech. That's why I said, let your speech always be gracious. Which should really let me radically change the way you. And I talked about non-believers. It should talk about them and talk to them. It should radically change the way that we talk about them. What what he says for most about their speech as Witnesses of the Gospel is that it would always be gracious. Always be gracious, always be gracious. There's never an instance where Grace shouldn't enter into in your words towards unbelievers. Christian. Always that he says, always be gracious in your speech. This doesn't mean pull the punches. This doesn't mean don't call sent out for what it really is. But when you do that, as a witness of Jesus, the grace of Jesus should throat flow through your words in a real way, like, if a non-believer walks away, from a conversation that I had with you. Were you talked to them about their sin? They should, if they were honest they shouldn't they should be able to walk away and say, well, even if it's that, I don't believe any of that. They should be able to walk away and say and they were, I mean, they said some harsh things to me that I didn't like. But they said that with great, like so weird that they said it that way with Grace.

I just wonder how often do non-believers, actually walk away from Anna counters with Christians, who boldly, proclaim the gospel.

And say that. I don't know, but Paul seems to think that's what should happen.

But your speech always be gracious. Season with salt. That's that's a figure of speech writing. And I think it's meant to mean. Wisdom right, that you would say at. I don't just think that that's what a lot of biblical Scholars, commentators these guys who know how this would have been used in The Duchess everyday Greek language as well, this seasoning with salt. It's one of the ways that that would be used as a hate. You just need to make sure that your your words that you speak or wise at the at The Punchy. But not like, I'm going to not confrontational my punch you in the face, but that your words have a punch to him. Like that. You're not holding back in a sense, right? That you make your words count, even. So our speech towards others, as we seek to walk in wisdom as faithful Witnesses of Jesus as we saturate our lives in prayer. Are speech, shipper claim, but the glory of Jesus, and his grace towards the outsider in a way that when they taste, they can taste and see that the Lord is good. That's ultimately work. The spirit does a sister that you know, how you ought to answer each person. He's assuming is nothing. Paul's assuming that these Believers Believers are living in such a way that a non-believer is asking them questions.

The Peter assumes that too when you read his letter. Okay, that's quite interesting. That this rarely happens to me. If ever that I can recall where I'm in conversations with non-believers, where they're asking me questions about my faith. We're having an attempt to answer them. So I just need to consider it. What, what does it mean about how I'm living? Am I living within wisdom towards Outsiders. Am I seeking to take the opportunities to redeem the time?

Believer it. Here's just the main thing and I've already said it but Paul is instructing these people to do. This is what a faithful gospel witness. Looks like. and you are, I will not say fully witness Jesus to the world around us like we were meant to If we do not devote ourselves to prayer. So that practice that I asked you to do this week. I'm going to grab on to it, even though I didn't plan on saying that I'm a grab on to it here at the end as well. So just trust maybe that was the spirit making a very clear General application for every one of us this week. You sit down, 30 minutes, find it this afternoon tomorrow whenever it is 30 minutes. And spend 15 minutes writing down everything that you have to be thankful for. And then spend the next 15 minutes writing down specific people. You're going to encounter within the next week, who are as Paul says Outsiders. And then spend time in prayer, both thanking God for all that. He's done for you and asking God to open the door and give you a gracious. Bold speech about Jesus. We I don't know how else I could like, tied up in an application for you. If you want to be a doer of the word and not just to hear of the word. Here's the opportunity. God has given you this week. And maybe, maybe, you know, I'm, I'm aware. There might be some of you in this room who for whatever circumstance you're not really going to. You don't have a special dinner with non-believers with with family members or that kind of thing to me what you would do, your not sure that that's going to happen or, you know, it's not going to happen this week. You just pray, God. Give me. Give me the somebody this week that I can encounter and Faithfully witness the gospel to he's fake. I know, he'll do it. If you ask Let me pray for us.

Jesus, I thank you. Be your king over our lives. I think you that you threw your Apostles. Give us very clears. Clear instructions for how we ought to live under your rule, in your rain. I think you for the gift on in the invitation of Prayer.

And how you actually.

Supplied us with one of the main things that we need to be living for you. This practice of Prayer. I pray that you would make it plain and clear how we ought to walk towards Outsiders. And that you would help us to saturate our lives and our witness and prayer that we would devote ourselves to prayer so that we would be awake and alert and thankful for all that you've done for us. Thank you, Jesus, that you have shined your glory in your light into our hearts, that you've brought us out of Darkness into light. So that now we walk under your grace. I pray now that as we go and we seek to live wise lives that your goodness your Holiness would shine through and all that we say. And all that we do, I pray this in your name.