The Church In The World
As we worked through Colossians chapter 3 - we were given very specific information about how Christians are to live out the Christian faith -- at home - as husbands - wives - parents - children - slaves and master -- its all about how we are to related to those who are closest to us -- how we express our Christian faith in the context of our closest relationships
Now as we come to the last chapter in Colossians -- we are going to take a look at how we are to relate to those who are out side of our faith
How do we relate to the people in our world who are not believers.
When we start thinking about sharing our faith with outsiders -- we might start thinking about things like:
- going down the street trying to convince people to become believers
- passing out gospel tracks or Bibles
- inviting people to church
But the Apostle Paul doesn’t suggest any of those things.
When it comes to relating to non-believers in our world the very first thing the Bible tells us to do is sometimes the very LAST thing we think of doing.
Lets look at it together:
Colossians 4:2-6
2Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. 5Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
When it comes to the unsaved people in our world:
Prayer Must Be Our Top Priority
"devote yourselves" (nkjv = "continue earnestly") lit="to be courageously persistent"
"to hold fast and not let go"
GOD WORKS THROUGH PRAYER
Jesus taught his disciples the connection between prayer and their ministry to the world of non-believers
Matthew 9:36-38
36Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then He said* to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38“Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Prayer always seems to preceed great movements of God -
In Acts 2 is probably the greatest spiritual awakening ever seen--
in one day 3000 people believed in Jesus Christ as Lord God and Savior
But if we look at what was happening before that incredible day we find them in prayer
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication
Acts 2 says that the Lord was adding to their number daily
Over and over in Acts we read the report that the church was devoted to prayer- it was clearly a priority.
Acts 6
The church had grown to such extent that there we complications - and there was a need for more leaders to help with all the needs of 5 or 6 thousand people
Apostles had them select people to serve -- deacons SO the Apostles could devote themselves to the ministry of the Word and to Prayer -- WHy? It was a priority.
So when we come to the very practical instructions given here in Colossians its no surprise that the Apostle Paul instructs them to be diligent about prayer as a church
(APP) New Life - will not grow - until we pray (goes for any church)
(Spurgeon - took some guests downstairs early one Sunday morning - there were hundreds of people gathered for prayer
"Nothing gets done upstairs until it firstly gets done down here."
(VBS - bragging on New Life because you really rise to the occasion - and do what churches 3 or 4 times bigger can’t do -- There is a pressing need - to rise to the occasion and pray as a church --)
NOTE:
"keeping alert" (nkjv= "being vigilant") Keep a sharp on out - looking for and responding to specific needs about which to pray --- rather than vague - unfocused -- be specific
-- people to be saved
-- finances
-- renovations
-- missionaries
- Ginger/Dave and Christian Challenge
- Aaron/Kim and The Bridge
- Fernando/Donna - Ethnic ministry
- Brother Oscar and Hosanna
-- church members - business owners - job issues
-- church members - health issues - family issues
now also note the phrase " attitude of thanksgiving"
That is the opposite of bitter -- also it is the attitude of someone who trusts and believes in the goodness of God and His willingness to hear - to answer prayer
Prayer Opens Doors
3praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word,
Paul knew that he existed to share the gospel of Jesus Christ -- and although he was a prisoner -- he was looking for an open door to share the Word - the gospel
He also knew that it was the prayer of the church that would open that door -
Now we do need to pray for the door to be open in the world - muslim countries like Iraq and Iran - Siria -- so on
BUT we must pray for the door to be open here:
How do we as a church share the message of the gospel with the residents of Greeley - Evans - Eaton - Ault? How can we share the gospel with the thousands of new students that will come to UNC next month?
How can we share the gospel with thousands of people in Greeley that speak a different language than we do?
Tomorrow - you collectively will touch hundreds of lives - how will you share the gospel will all of the lost people -- especially in todays work climate where you could face serious issues if you talk to certain people about Christ?
How will you share with your lost family member - who has slammed the door of opportunity in your face - once and for all?
GOD has to open the door of opportunity to us. AND God works through prayer.
Prayer Makes The Gospel Clear
3praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak
"Brother Ken - I don’t get anything out of church...
Pray for me that I can make it clear.
This also speaks to relevance -- it is the constant struggle and the constant duty of the church to present the message of the gospel -- in relevant terms -
The message never changes - salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ - He is God - He died for our sins and rose again - He will save every one who believes in Him as Lord God and Savior -
There is always the need to say that in a way that a lost person can understand it - think about it - give it due consideration
God has to help us know how to make the Word clear - the mystery of the gospel clear
AND God works through prayer.
