Everyone a Missionary
Colossians 4:2-6
[Mission Impossible Theme Song]
Mission: Impossible began as a television series in the late 60’s that chronicled the missions of a team of secret agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). A hallmark of the series shows the team leader receiving his instructions on a tape: “Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is... As usual, should you or any member of your I.M. Force be captured or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.”
We’re beginning a series today called “Mission Possible.” God has called each of us to join Him in mission. This mission, should we choose to accept it, is both clear and compelling. At the same time, it is challenging. With His help however, the achievement of this mission is possible.
This morning we’re going to camp in a passage that gives some practical ways that we can be involved in intercession and evangelism. Please turn in your Bibles to Colossians 4:2-6
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; 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.”
This text falls naturally into two parts.
* Personal Prayer: Speaking to God about others (verses 2-4)
* Public Proclamation: Speaking to others about God (verses 5-6)
Prayer: Speaking to God About Others
Let’s look first at how to speak to God about others. Verse 2 answers the question, “How do we pray?” We discover three helpful guidelines in this verse: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
1. Pray with faithfulness. The word, “devote” means to “adhere firmly to.” It implies unrelenting persistence and is the opposite of “hit and miss.” It brings back to mind how steadfast the early church was in Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” In Luke 18:1, The Parable of the Persistent Widow, Jesus told his “disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Paul is saying, “Always be ready to break into prayer, and do it instantaneously, at all times.” That’s precisely the admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 where we’re exhorted to “pray continually.”
2. Pray with watchfulness. Verse 2 continues by saying that we’re to be “watchful” or awake when we pray. Paul told the believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.
to not go asleep but to instead be “alert and self-controlled” as the time approaches for the Lord’s return.
There is a story about an individual who visited the gorgeous gardens of a villa in Italy: “I arrived at the villa on the banks of Lake Como…A gardener opened the gate and conducted me through the exquisite garden. ‘How long have you been here?’ I asked. The gardener replied, ‘Twenty-five years.’ ‘How often has the owner been to see the estate?’ ‘Four times.’ ‘When did he come last?’ ‘Twelve years ago.’ The visitor asked, ‘He writes you, I suppose.’ ‘Never,’ the gardener said. ‘Who comes to look after things?’ ‘I’m left pretty much alone.’ The visitor pressed on, ‘Yet you keep the garden so spick and span that one would think you were expecting the owner tomorrow.’ ‘Today, sir, today,” said the gardener.”
3. Pray with thankfulness. We should never pray without thinking of at least one thing to thank God for because gratitude is a stimulus to prayer. God’s given us so many things, hasn’t He? We can thank Him for His presence, His provision, His pardon, His promises, and for His purposes.
Verse 2 asks the question, “How do we pray?” Verses 3-4 pose another question, “What do we say when we pray?” Let’s take a look: “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” There are at least two things we should say when we pray.
* Ask for opportunities. It’s amazing that while Paul is under house arrest he doesn’t ask for prayers for his release, or for better food, or anything else like that. He simply wants an open door for the gospel message. In Scripture, a door is an opportunity, or ability. In 1 Corinthians 16:9 Paul says, “a great door for effective work has opened to me.” God has given us some open doors right now in this community. We’re having a float in the parade and handing out water to thirsty people – what a practical way to love and serve our community. Let’s pray that Jesus opens some more doors!
* Ask for understanding. Once God opens a door, it’s essential that we have the ability to proclaim the mystery of Christ with clarity so that people can understand. Would you please pray for me? I know that I will not have open doors or be able to communicate with clarity unless you pray for me. Actually, if you don’t pray and I preach a confusing sermon, it’s really your fault! Seriously, I can’t think of anything more comforting than to know that many of you are praying for your pastors every day.
Proclamation: Speaking to Others About God
In verses 5-6 we’re going to learn how prayer dovetails with proclamation as we discover that our ability to connect people to Christ is directly related to the intensity of our intercession. Actually, most of us don’t need to hear about the importance of evangelism; we just need to do it. We don’t need more preaching, we need more practice. In light of that, we’ve arranged for the church vans to take each of us to different locations around town so that we can do some evangelism. Some of you will be talking to people in the Foodtown parking lot and others of you will be going downtown. The rest will go knock on people’s doors and tell them about Jesus. Don’t forget your sunscreen!
I’m only kidding. You can relax. We just need to be normal. Verse 5 focuses on how we walk. In verse 6 the emphasis is on how we talk. We must balance our life and our lips. Let’s look first at verse 5: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”
1. Be wise. To be wise in the way we walk means that we’re careful not to say or do anything that would make it difficult to share the gospel. Those who don’t yet know Christ are watching us. 1 Peter 2:12 “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” How are you doing in this regard? Would people be surprised to find out that you’re a Christ-follower? How would you like an unbeliever to come up to you and say, “Excuse me, but what you’re doing speaks so loudly that I can’t hear anything you’re saying.”
When Jesus sent his disciples out to spread the good news, he told them in Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
We need to be careful about the way we act because people are making decisions about the validity of Christianity based upon how we’re living. When we pray, God will give us open doors. Let’s not shut them by our behavior. Don’t put people off; instead, let’s pull them in. Our walk with Christ enables us to talk of Christ.
2. Be ready. Making the most of every opportunity is a commercial term and means to “buy up.” It’s the picture of finding something on sale and buying all you can afford because the price is so good. We are to urgently buy up every opportunity to speak for Christ when we see one. It’s the idea of snapping up every opportunity to have a spiritual conversation. Are you snapping up the opportunities you have every day? Missionaries on mission connect others to Christ.
3. Be gracious. Verse 6 challenges us to guard what comes out of our mouths. Our wise walk should lead to wise words: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” It’s important that we communicate with words of grace when we speak with those who don’t yet know Christ. We must be pointed and pleasant; charming and yet uncompromising. Unfortunately, many times believers go off on people who are living in sin. Or, we let loose about a moral issue in our culture, forgetting that there may be someone listening who is caught in that particular sin. When we’re filled with anger and rage people feel judgment and are not attracted to Jesus.
We need to be more like Jesus, who was the perfect embodiment of both truth and grace. Even when He dealt with sin, He spoke words of grace. In Luke 4:22 after listening to Jesus teach, the people “spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” Remember, we are witnesses, not judges or prosecuting attorneys.
This acrostic is really helpful. God, help me to T.H.I.N.K. before I speak. My words must be…
T - True (Psalm 34:13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.)
H - Helpful (Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.)
I - Inspiring (1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.)
N - Necessary (Ephesians 5:4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.)
K - Kind (Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.)
4. Be appetizing. Our conversations need to be seasoned with salt. Salt enhances flavor and makes food appetizing. It penetrates, permeates, and preserves. “Salty speech” in Paul’s day referred to witty and clever discussion. It was the opposite of being boring or monotone. When we talk about our faith how can we not be interesting? Our proclamation is to be pungent, adding flavor to those we talk with. Salty speech makes people thirsty for more. We should be talking about Christ in a way that makes someone’s mouth water!
5. Be ready. When we choose to mix it up with people who don’t yet know Christ we need to be ready to give them an answer when they ask us some questions. Another way to say it is that when we are gracious and appetizing, people will want an explanation. Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 3:15
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
We must be ready to answer everyone. You can do that any number of ways. Begin by simply telling your story. Talk about how you became a Christian. Then tell His story. Focus on Jesus, explaining why He had to die on the cross and the need for us to respond to what He has done. Next, invite your searching friends to our services. I can think of one more way to be ready. Some of you are believers but you’ve not yet been baptized. Our next baptism service is coming up July 19. If you’re ready to take the plunge, call the church office. Baptism is a great opportunity to explain what you believe and how Jesus has changed your life.
Missionaries on mission connect others to Christ.
Missional Missionaries
In a book called “The Missional Renaissance” by Reggie McNeal he picks up on some things. This book is suggesting that we need a paradigm shift as well as a new scorecard for measuring effectiveness. The first shift that churches must make is to move from an internal to an external focus.
“Moving to an external focus pushes the church from doing missions…into being on mission as a way of life. Missional followers…are the church. Wherever they are, the church is present…The missional church believes it is God who is on mission and that we are to join Him in it…This means that wherever missional followers of Jesus are, the church is there – at home, at work, at school, in the neighborhood, at the ballpark, in the dance studio – wherever followers of Jesus are taking seriously their identity as the people of God.”
One pastor and his leadership team went to different places in their community and just watched people as they prayed this prayer: “God, help us to see people like you do.” We tried to imagine that we had just moved here as missionaries. Here are some of our observations…
* People seemed to be enjoying the nice weather
* We all saw young couples or singles with babies
* Some people looked very burdened
* A lot of people were wearing green and one man had his hair dyed green
* Saw a lot of motorcycles and pick-up trucks
* Watched a man who looked very lonely
* Not a lot people seemed to be smiling
It’s good to bring people to church; but we must also bring the church to people.
McNeal uses the illustration of an airport as a place of connection, not a destination. The church exists to connect people to Jesus and then equips them to live out the Christ-life in relationships, in neighborhoods, in jobs, and in families.
When you leave here today, you are taking Jesus with you. The idea is that we use our life assignments as missionary posts to connect people to Jesus. Let’s think through where Jesus is going…
* Your neighborhood
* Your job
* Your club or organization
* Stores and gas stations you frequent
* The Fitness Center
* To your yard as you’re raking, mowing, etc.
* Your school –* Sports teams
* On Facebook –
It’s time for us to live our lives with the idea that we are on a mission trip. On mission trips, people focus on the work of God around them, staying sensitive to the Spirit as they sacrifice and serve those around them. This is all done with the express purpose of connecting people to Christ.
In the old Mission Impossible show, the Impossible Missions Force was often sent on covert missions. Your mission, should you decide to accept it is this: Be a missionary on mission so you can connect others to Christ. Is this an impossible mission? It will be…if we refuse to accept it.
Adapted from Rev. Brian Bill, 3/22/09, sermoncentral.com
