Communication With God

COMMUNICATION With GOD—Colossians 4:2

Attention:

A Cowboy Named Fred

A cowboy lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh Amarillo Theater.

When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the cowboy, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat."

The cowboy groaned but didn't budge.

The usher became more impatient: "Sir, if you don't get up from there I'm going to have to call the manager."

Once again, the cowboy just groaned. The usher, realizing he’s dealing with an ‘impaired’ individual, marched briskly back up the aisle, and in a moment he returned with the manager.

Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move the cowboy, but with no success.

Finally they summoned the police. The Texas Ranger surveyed the situation briefly, then asked, "All right buddy, what's your name?"

"Fred," the cowboy moaned.

"Where ya from, Fred?" asked the Ranger.

With terrible pain in his voice, & slowly pointing one finger painfully toward the ceiling, Fred replied, "...The Balcony..."

Effective Communication is essential in some circumstances, but communication with God is essential in every circumstance.

Need:

Paul & Timothy exposed the Colossian church to the necessity of maintaining effective communication with God.

Christians are called to maintain effective communication with God.

Christians are charged with maintaining effective communication with God.

How can we maintain effective communication with God?

3 essentials for effective communication with God.

Thankfulness is tied to personal appreciation...for that which affects our lives & for the way our lives effect others....

Personal Appreciation comes from the way we value &/or devalue things(Possessions/Events/Relationships).

1—Effective communication with God is maintained in...

CONTINUANCE(:2a)

Explanation:(:2a)

:2—“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;”[NKJV]

:2—“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”[NASB]

:2—“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful & thankful.”[NIV]

:2—“Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.[HCSB]

“Continue earnestly/Continue/Devote”—proskarterew—Pres. Active Imperative—1) To adhere to one, be his adherent, to be devoted or constant to one; 2) To be steadfastly attentive unto, to give unremitting care to a thing; 3) To continue all the time in a place; 4) To persevere & not to faint; 5) To show one's self courageous for; 6) To be in constant readiness for one, wait on constantly. Strong—To be earnest towards, i.e. (to a thing) To persevere, be constantly diligent, or (in a place) To attend assiduously all the exercises, or (to a person) To adhere closely to (as a servitor). Used 10X.

From—prov—a preposition of direction; Forward to, i.e. Toward (with the genitive case the side of, i.e. pertaining to; with the dative case by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the accusative case the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is predicated).—&—karterew—To be strong, i.e. (figuratively--Steadfast(patient).

“Prayer”—proseuch—N. f.—1) Prayer addressed to God; 2) A place set apart or suited for the offering of prayer. A word of sacred character, being limited to prayer to God & giving prominence to the element of devotion. dehsiv ...refers chiefly to prayer for particular benefits, while proseuch is more general.

Argumentation:

Don’t ever give up on God! He will not fail you:

1Chron. 28:11, 20—“Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, & the place of the mercy seat;”.....“And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong & of good courage, & do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God--my God--will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.”

*2Tim. 1:8-12—“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose & grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death & brought life & immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, & a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed & am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”

1Sam. 12:20-22—“Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. “And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. “For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.”