Sermon Tone Analysis

What do you think of when you hear the word evangelism?

Some people get nervous because they think that the pastor is going to ask them to tell someone about their faith.

Some people think of the tele-evangelists on the Christian stations.

You know those people with perfect in place big hair.

Some people get the image of people going door to door spreading the gospel message.

One question I want to ask you is: Should faith-sharing really be anxiety producing?

For the next few weeks I want to give you some insight into ways that you can share your faith without having an anxious feeling.

I truly believe that all of us are not gifted evangelists that can give a gospel presentation and thousands get saved.

But I do believe that God has given each of us abilities to use to win the world for Jesus.

We just have to find what works for each of us.

All of us are different.

All of us have different abilities.

All of us have talents that God has given us and we have to use what God has given us to reach those around us.

This series is called Surprise the World.

I want to give you ways that you can surprise your world.

If you have your Bible with you, go with me to the book of Colossians chapter 4. I want to begin reading at verse 2.

As we read this passage, did you notice that Paul gives instructions pointing out two types of people.

The first group of people are the evangelists like Paul and Christian Workers that he had around him.

The other group of people that Paul refers to is the everyday believers that were there in Colosse.

He tells the everyday believer to devote themselves to prayer and he asks them to pray for Paul and his companions that God may open a door for them.

Paul understands that there are two types of people that God uses.

There are those that are Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists and so on and there are those that are everyday believers that God has gifted with other abilities.

Today I want to focus on the second group.

I want to look at many of you.

Probably most of you would say that you are an everyday believer.

You don’t plan on preaching behind a pulpit.

You don’t plan on going from church to church and preaching the gospel message.

But God has called you here at Cliff Terrace to help build this church to be the church that God has called us to be.

If that is you, then that is who I want to talk to for the next several weeks.

In this passage of scripture, Paul is giving you instructions and he gives you two things that you should do.

1. Devote Yourselves to Prayer

If you look up the phrase “Devote Yourselves” in the Greek it is the word proskartereo which means “continue steadily” or persevere.

Implying strong determination and passion for prayer.

Then there is another phrase in this same verse, “being watchful.”

That phrase in the Greek is the word gregoreo which means being spiritually awake or alert.

Prayer was an important part of the life of a New Testament believer.

This was a part of their DNA as believers, as the church.

In order for you to devote yourself to serious prayer, you must be alert to the many things that would distract you from God’s purpose.

There are many things in this world that can distract us from being what God wants us to be.

How many of you have tried to pray and then all these distractions came your way?

That’s what the enemy wants to do.

The enemy wants to put distractions in our way to keep us from going to God for the answers.

That’s why Paul is telling the everyday Christian of his day in Colosse to devote themselves to prayer and be watchful.

Don’t get distracted, don’t fall asleep, don’t let your mind wonder.

How do we keep from getting distracted?

The answer is this: Practice.

Haven’t you ever heard the saying, “Practice makes perfect.”

You see, preachers like me and Pastor Bill and Pastor Duke and Pastor Mailey and all the other teachers and evangelists that we have in this church and outside this church need the everyday Christians to pray for us.

Like Paul said in verse 3, “Pray for us that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.”

And verse 4, “pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

Those of you that God hasn’t called to be teachers or evangelists or preachers should be on your knees in prayer for those that are called by God to teach and preach and be evangelists.

And that is not all you are to do.

2. Be Wise in the Way You Act Toward Outsiders

What does that mean?

Look at the rest of verse 5 and 6.

It says, “Make the most of every opportunity.

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

The everyday Christian is one who is a good interesting conversationalist.

Then, interesting conversation leads to relationship, and within that relationship questions of lifestyle come up.

Do you see where I am going with this.

Your Christian life isn’t only lived in the prayer closet.

At some point you have to get out of the closet and start living the life that God wants you to live.

This passage shows us that God is concerned both about your personal prayer life and your interaction with the world.

He cares about our prayer closet and the public street, and he wants us to care about bother as well.

You can’t spend all your time in the closet praying, that is the asking and receiving phase of the Christian life.

At some point you have to go and make the most of every opportunity, that is the going phase of the Christian life.

As you develop relationships with your neighbors and you become neighborly and you have these interesting conversations, people are going to start to question why you do what you do.

They are going to want to know why you act differently than the unbeliever.

And you are going to need to be able to answer them.

While the evangelists are making the most of every opportunity, the primary contribution the rest of us make to the work of evangelism is to answer questions.

Our job is to surprise the world.

It is only when people are surprised or intrigued that they start to ask questions.

If no one ever asks us any questions about our lives, then we are doing it wrong.

If our lives look pretty much like any other respectable law-abiding citizen, what’s so intriguing about that?

Michael Frost says it this way.

“Gifted evangelistic leaders should be training their congregations to speak about Jesus conversationally when questioned about how they deal with suffering, or why they spend their vacation serving the poor, or why they’ve opened their home to refugees, or why they’re fasting during Lent, or why they’ve made career choices that allow them to contribute to the greater social good.”

My question to you today is how questionable is your life?

Does it look just like your neighbors’ lives?

Is there anything intriguing or surprising about it at all?

It not, then I as your leader haven’t done a good job in helping you.

So, how can you be wise in the way you act toward outsiders and How can you be more questionable?

We will look at several ways, but today I want to begin with one.

Blessing Others.

Blessing Others

For years, if you have been in the church at all, you have heard the word “bless” many times.

You have probably heard it in public settings outside the church as well.

Like, when someone sneezes, someone might say, “bless you.”

In church, you will hear people say things like, “I’m blessed” or “God is blessing me.”

So, we hear the word bless or versions of the word bless often.

But, have you ever considered what it really means?

Way back in Old English, it comes from the term, “to add strength to another’s arm.”

So, to bless another is to build them up, to fill them with the encouragement for them to increase in strength and prosperity.

When we bless others we surprise them.

If I didn’t owe you anything and I walked up to you and gave you a $20 bill you would probably ask, “what’s this for?”

Then I would tell you, “No particular reason.”

And you would be surprised.

Because I gave you something for no reason and I might could help you with either gas or groceries.

Many of you are generous at different times to me and my family.

You give me gifts for no particular reason, you bless us and we are grateful.

So, what are some ways that we can bless our unbelieving friends and neighbors and fellow believers.