TWO ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS TO A NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
Text: Col. 4:2-6
Introduction
1. Illustration: Canadian preacher, theologian, and founder of the Christian Missionary Allaince, A. B. Simpson, had this to say, "Prayer is the link that connects us with God. It is the bridge that spans every gulf and bears us over every abyss of danger or of need. How significant is this picture of the New Testament church: Peter in prison, the Jews triumphant, Herod supreme, the arena of martyrdom awaiting the dawning of the morning. 'But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.' And what is the sequel? The prison open, the apostle free, the Jews baffled, the wicked king divinely smitten, and the Word of God rolling on in greater victory. Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that commands as well as asks? God grant us holy audacity and divine confidence. He is not wanting great men, but He is wanting men that will dare to prove the greatness of their God.
2. Now to be clear there are several elements to being a NT church.
A. The study and proclamation of Scripture
B. Fellowship
C. Love
3. However, if we boiled it down to two essential elements of the NT church they would be...
A. Prayer
B. Personal Evangelism
4. Let's stand together out of respect for the Word of God as we read Col. 4:2-6.
Proposition: A New Testament is both a praying church and a witnessing church.
Transition: The most important element of a NT church is...
I. Prayer (2-4).
A. Devote Yourselves To Prayer
1. As Paul begins to bring his letter to the Colossian church to a close, he reminds them of two essentials when it comes to being the Church of Jesus Christ.
2. The first, and by far the most important, is prayer. In v. 2, Paul says, "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."
A. Devote: to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains, Under: "68.68).
B. Devote expresses one aspect of the power and vitality of early Christianity: "persevere with, persist in." While it primarily carries the meaning of remain strong, steadfast, persevere, it gives greater emphasis to the time element. Duration is the key element in persistence (The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary – Pi-Rho, Under: "4201).
C. The believers were responsible to pray; prayer was their lifeline to God. To devote themselves to prayer meant that they should be persistent and unwilling to give up even though their prayers may seem to go unanswered.
D. Paul's advice to "keep on praying" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) has the same meaning.
E. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT2)
17 Never stop praying.
F. Their devotion to prayer did not mean that they should spend all their time on their knees, but that they should have a prayerful attitude at all times.
G. This attitude would be built upon acknowledging their dependence on God, realizing his presence within them, and determining to obey him fully.
H. Then they would find it natural to pray frequent, spontaneous, short prayers.
I. A prayerful attitude is not a substitute for regular times of prayer but should be an outgrowth of those times (Barton, 887).
3. He also says that in our praying we should have an alert mind.
A. Alert: Be (or) stay awake, be alert, watch, be vigilant.
B. Having an alert mind may have been referring to not dozing off, to being alert in their devotion, or to being alert for God's answers and then thankful when they came.
C. More likely, he was focusing on the anticipation of the Lord's coming. The Lord could return at any time, so believers should be found alert and waiting (Barton 887).
D. The major reason to stay alert in our praying is the devil.
E. 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT2)
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
F. The area that the devil wishes to attack us in the most is in our prayers, and yet the best way to fight back against him is in prayer.
G. "Men and women of persistent prayer are those who are constantly on the alert, alive to the will of God and the need of the world, and ready to give an account of themselves and their stewardship" (Bruce, 172).
4. Furthermore, Paul tells us to pray with a thankful heart.
A. Something that can never be separated from prayer is thanksgiving.
B. As we remember what God has done for us it not only produces spontaneous praise and worship; it is also an incentive to devotion in prayer (Bruce, 172).
C. Thankfulness implies understanding all that God has done and anticipating what he promises (Barton, 887).
5. Then in vv. 3-4, Paul says, "Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.
4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should."
A. Just as he does in his parallel passage in his letter to the Ephesians (6:18), Paul moves from an encouragement to general prayer to a request for more specific prayer for him and his companions.
B. The plural pronoun, "pray for us too," refers primarily to himself and Timothy, but also probably included other friends and co-laborers mentioned later in this chapter.
C. Paul is very aware of his need for spiritual strength and wisdom. His mission to make known the Gospel among the Gentiles was still unfinished as long as there was still air in his lungs; and his current restrictions of being imprisoned continued to give him ample opportunities of fulfilling that mission (Bruce, 173).
D. Although Paul was in chains for preaching the gospel, the chains could not stop the message (Barton, 887).
E. He does not ask them to pray for anything that will bring personal advantage to him; his sights remain firmly fixed on his mission and calling.
F. He therefore asks them to pray that God will open a "door for our message." Such opportunities exist even in prison.
G. He tells the Philippians that his imprisonment has helped advance the gospel. The whole palace guard has learned that he is in chains for Christ, and his imprisonment has miraculously emboldened believers "to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly" (Phil. 1:12-14). (Garland, NIV Application Commentary, The Colossians and Philemon: From biblical text...to contemporary life, 271).
B. They Devoted Themselves To...
1. Illustration: Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray. Believing that prayer is the greatest contribution that our people can make in this critical hour, I humbly urge that we take time to pray--to really pray. Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight--all through the day. Let us all pray for our children, our youth, our aged, our pastors, our homes. Let us pray for our churches. Let us pray for ourselves, that we may not lose the word 'concern' out of our Christian vocabulary. Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ and redeeming love, for moral forces everywhere, for our national leaders. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice (Robert E. Lee).
2. If our church is to do anything at all it must first be a praying church!
A. Acts 2:42 (NLT2)
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
B. As a church we need to be devoted to the study of the Word.
C. As a church we need to be devoted to fellowship.
D. However, if we are not praying as a church then everything else we do is meaningless.
E. I'm not talking about a casual devotion to prayer, but rather about an all-consuming passion for prayer.
F. We will never be an impactful church if we are not first a praying church.
G. We will never be a soul winning church if we are not first a praying church.
H. We will never experience revival if we are not a praying church.
I. We will never be a growing church if we are not first a praying church.
J. As Martin Luther said, "As it is a cobbler's job to mend shoes, so it is a Christian's job to pray!"
K. Let's be a church devoted to prayer!
Transition: The second essential for a New Testament church is...
II. Personal Evangelism (5-6).
A. Make The Most Of Every Opportunity
1. In addition to prayer, a NT church is one that is devoted to personal evangelism.
A. One of the great misconceptions in the church is that personal evangelism is something done by the clergy, and that it was not something that with which the average Christian needs to concern themselves.
B. However, the Scriptures are very clear that this is the responsibility of EVERY Christian.
C. Acts 4:20 (NLT2)
20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
D. 1 Corinthians 9:16 (NLT2)
16 Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!
2. A part of doing personal evangelism is to be careful how we live around those who are not believers. That's why in v. 5, Paul says, "Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity."
A. Moving from the call to prayer, Paul now reminds the Colossians to live wisely among unbelievers.
B. Distorted accounts of Christian behavior and belief were making the rounds at this time, and it was important that Christians not give any reason to add more fuel to the fire, but rather they should refute these vicious rumors with godly living.
C. It's still true today that the reputation of the Gospel is wrapped up in the behavior of those who claim to have been transformed by it.
D. Those who do not read the Bible or listen to the accurate preaching of the Word have no choice but to judge for themselves of the lives of people who do.
E. Paul says that we should "make the most of every opportunity," in sharing the Gospel message.
F. We hinder those opportunities when we fail to live out the truth of the Gospel in our daily lives (Bruce, 174).
G. The believers were not to hide from the world in a secret organization; instead, they were to live in the world.
H. They were to make the most of every opportunity to share the gospel with unbelievers. Paul was communicating a sense of urgency (Barton, 887).
I. We too should communicate a sense of urgency, for we believe that the imminent return of Jesus is coming soon, and so we should act as if it could be today.
3. In addition to how we act, Paul also tells us to be careful how we speak. IN v. 6 he says, "Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone."
A. Paul encourages them to be careful in what they say, as well as in what they do. People are not only watching us, but they are also listening to us.
B. He tells to let our conversations be gracious and attractive. The spoken word would be the communication method; therefore, the believers should be wise in how they spoke.
C. Speech that is gracious is kind and courteous. Speech that is attractive is interesting (as opposed to dull), invites interaction (as opposed to refusing to listen and discuss), adds "spice" to a discussion (by penetrating to deeper levels), and is pure and wholesome (as opposed to "filthy language," 3:8).
D. Believers should always be ready to answer questions about their faith and be ready to share words of personal testimony (Barton, 887).
E. No Christian should have a dull, tiresome, know-it-all monologue of his faith.
F. Instead, Christians, who have the most exciting news in the world to share, should be able to share that message with excitement, ability to invoke interest, an understanding of the basics, a willingness to listen and discuss, and a desire to answer everyone's questions graciously.
B. Preach The Gospel
1. Illustration: Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it."
2. We must preach the Gospel with both our actions and our words.
A. 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT2)
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.
16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
B. It was St. Francis of Assisi who said, "Go out today and preach the Gospel...and if you have to use words."
C. We have to go out and preach the Gospel everywhere we go, but we have to preach the Gospel by our actions.
D. We have to show people about Jesus as well as tell them about Jesus!
E. We have to let people see Jesus in us, because they will judge Jesus by what they see in us...his people!
F. People who are watching what we do, how we treat people, how we treat each other, and how we live out our faith.
G. People are listening to what we say, and whether or not what we do matches what we say.
H. We can't just speak the Gospel; we have to live the Gospel!
Conclusion
1. However, if we boiled it down to two essential elements of the NT church they would be...
A. Prayer
B. Personal Evangelism
2. TWO THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. WHERE THERE IS MUCH ACTIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THERE IS MUCH PRAYER; WHERE THERE IS MUCH PRAYER THERE IS MUCH ACTIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
B. WE HAVE TO GO OUT AND SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH BOTH OUR ACTIONS AND OUR WORDS!
