INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• If you ever watch many sporting events after a while you start to hear the term, IMPACT PLAYER. A team will say they are one impact player away from winning a championship.
• On a team, obviously you have players, but an impact player is someone special. While the others on the team are going about doing their job, an impact player is a difference maker.
• An impact player is an important part of a winning team.
• You usually will not win with a bunch of below average players, but an impact player can make everyone else in the line up better.
• At FCC our mission, our mission statement is “Connecting People with Christ.”
• In order to do that each one of us has to make an impact in the world that we live in.
• At FCC we realize that Connecting People With Christ is more than just getting someone baptized, it also entails helping the new convert to grow in Christ.
• BUT before we connect someone with Christ, SOMEONE has to make in impact in their life, that someone is YOU!
• I want you to think about this for a moment. DO YOU HAVE PEOPLE YOU CARE FOR THAT DO NOT BELONG TO JESUS? A friend or family member maybe a co-worker?
• There are so many people in our lives who are hurting, living life with no direction, along with people who are dying every day without Jesus.
• I want you to think about those in your world who are without Jesus, now ask yourself, are they valuable to you and to God?
• If we really believe that people will not go to heaven without Jesus, then we will do everything we can to try to get them to Jesus.
• I know how easily intimidated by the thought of actually telling someone about Jesus.
• We are intimidated by what to say, how to say it, and by the potential reaction from the one we are trying to share our faith with.
• I want to help you take some of the intimidation factor out of the equation by helping you to see that you can be an impact player on God’s team.
• You can be a person who makes the difference in the lives of those who are lost.
• Impact players are not afraid to step up to the plate.
• When I was young, they called the Yankee’s Reggie Jackson Mr. October because of the impact Reggie would make on the biggest stage, the post season. He always wanted to be at bat with the game on the line.
• Folks for our friends and loved ones who do not know Jesus, the game of eternity is on the line, someone needs to step up to the plate and help them to get to Jesus.
• Will you be the one who is willing to step up? If you can grasp the concepts of today’s message, you will be able to impact your world for Jesus!
• Let us begin in verses 2-4
• SLIDE #2
• Colossians 4:2–4 (ESV) 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.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. You can impact your world for Jesus with your prayers.
• This is such an important aspect to the success of anything we do in life, but it is maybe one of the most neglected.
• How many times have we tried to say something to another person about our faith without any prayer preparation?
• Do you have a list of people you are praying will be open to receiving and accepting Jesus as their Lord?
• One of the ways you can make an impact in the world you live in is to pray for people in your world.
• After all the doctrine and practice Paul shares with us in the closing section of Colossians we are told to Continue steadfastly in prayer.
• Prayer is something that I cannot stress enough. I know if we would take prayer more seriously, we would see results we never before could imagine.
• How are we to pray? As you look at verse two again you will see a couple of things.
• First we are to be DEVOTED to prayer. Continue steadfastly
• This is an issue of perseverance. It means to be courageously persistent.
• We need to all have a list of people we are persistently praying for.
• In Luke 18, Jesus told a parable on prayer that was designed to show us that God loves persistent prayers.
• How many times have we prayed once or twice and then given up.
• Let me ask you a question. Are you glad that someone did not give up on praying for you after one or two times?
• I bet if you ask the person who helped lead you to Jesus how often they prayed for your salvation, it was more than once or twice.
• In our prayers is we are to stay alert. being watchful in it
• This is kind of funny but the phrase literally means that we are to stay awake. No sleeping while you pray.
• Jesus uses the same phrasing in Matthew 26:41
• SLIDE #4
• Matthew 26:41 (ESV) Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
• In the context what it means is that we are to be aware of what is going on around us in our world that would require prayer help from God.
• We need to be aware of our weaknesses and motives also as we pray.
• Christians cannot so isolate themselves that they have no clue as to what is going on around them.
• We are also told to be thankful in our prayers. with thanksgiving
• Our hearts should overflow with thanksgiving.
• We should be thankful that God will hear and answer our prayers!
• Now when you look at verses 3-4 again you can see part of what our prayers should focus on.
• If we focus our prayers concerning making an impact our the world we live in, it takes a lot of the pressure off us!
• 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.
• We are to ask God to open the door for the gospel.
• We must resist the temptation of kicking in the door ourselves.
• How many times have we failed because WE tried to force the issue? PARENTS WITH CHILDREN.
• If we try to force the seed the gospel into unprepared soil, it most likely will not produce a harvest.
• Farmers do not just throw there seeds indiscriminately; they prepare the soil before they plant.
• We must prepare the soil of the heart with plenty of prayer, prayer that God will open doors for us.
• The second focus of our prayers is that God will guide us as to what to say.
• How many times have we shot off our mouths only to have it drive a person away from God instead of drawing them closer?
• I have done that before, and it was because I said what I said with no prayer, thought or compassion toward the person to which I was speaking to.
• Let God guide you, pray for the words to say and pray for the correct timing.
• Let us turn to verse 5.
• SLIDE #5
• Colossians 4:5 (ESV) Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
• SLIDE #6
II. You can impact your world for Jesus with your conduct.
• How we conduct ourselves has a HUGE impact on our ability to reach people. Our conduct shows people what is really important to us.
• If I have nothing good to say about the church I am attending, then it will be hard for me to convince another person to come to the church.
• If I am trying to win a lost husband, wife, or children to Christ and my attitude is negative or if my life has very little semblance to what I profess, it will be hard to win them over to a God who makes no difference in my life.
• If I do not have a heart of compassion toward brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those who are lost, well, good luck.
• We do not have to be perfect to be effective, but our life should some kind of reflection of who we serve.
• PARENTS MODEL FAITH AND CONSISTENCY. IF YOU DO NOT DO NOT EXPECT YOUR CHILDREN TO DO SO.
• Your family knows you better than anyone.
• Verse five tells us to Walk in wisdom toward outsiders.
• Living with wisdom is understanding that people are watching us. It is understanding that for many people we are the only bible they will read, we are the Jesus they will see.
• This is why it is so important for those in the church to love one another and get along. If I go home to my unsaved wife and tell her how much I hate people and how I cannot stand someone and then display anger and hatred toward them, do I really think I will have a chance to win her to Christ?
• If I go out and act just like everyone else in the world, do you think I will have much of a chance to win them?
• Be aware that your conduct will affect your ability to reach people. If you stumble, be ready to say you are sorry and ask for forgiveness. It will impress people.
• I know a lot of people in ministry who have been mistreated, never to hear I am sorry or will you forgive me. This is from other Christians.
• Our conduct should enhance our outreach! making the best use of the time.
• The way we act should be something that attracts people to Jesus. What we do should bring glory to Jesus. WE are to make the most of our opportunities!
• How we deal with people should help them see we have something they need.
• I really believe that the largest obstacle between the lost and a relationship with Jesus is Christians. We can be our own worst enemies or we can be a real blessing.
• God calls us to live in such a way as to bring glory to God. I have seen what a positive role model can do in way of reaching people for Jesus.
• Let’s turn to verse 6 as we finish up our series from Colossians.
• SLIDE #7
• Colossians 4:6 (ESV) Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
• SLIDE #8
III. You can impact your world for Jesus with your speech.
• The way we speak, what we say and how we say it can be either a blessing to our efforts or a roadblock.
• There are two things I want us to consider concerning our speech.
• Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt
• Our speech is to be something that seasons as salt. Too much salt ruins a good dish. Not enough has no effect on the taste of the dish.
• We are to add flavor to the lives of those around us by our speech.
• WE should look for ways to build up instead of just being negative and tearing down people. COACHING.
• We need to know who we are speaking to. so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
• Have you ever got your food and out of habit poured a bunch of salt on the food before you tasted it?
• How many meals have you ruined because you did not know your food?
• I needed to get to know the food by tasting it before I season I so tat I know how to make it taste better.
• We need to know as much about the people we are dealing with as we can so that we will know how to respond to each person.
• Our effectiveness increases as we know more about the people we are trying to reach. We MUST see things through their eyes.
• We need to know those we are trying to reach so we can better reach them.
• This is what folks in MARKETING do. Know who you are selling.
CONCLUSION
• God has called ALL of us to be impact players on His team.
• Each one of us in a sense lives in our own world.
• Do you want to impact your world?
• Focusing on prayer, our conduct and our speech can enhance our ability to make an impact in our world.
• Do you have a list of lost souls you are praying for? Are you trying to reflect Jesus in your conduct and is your speech filled with grace as a person who has received the grace of Jesus in your life?
• It is the bottom of the 9th, bases are loaded and you are behind by 3, walk up to the plate and knock it out of the park!
• My plea to you now is simple. GO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! BE AN IMPACT PLAYER IN YOUR WORLD!
