COLOSSIANS 4:1-62007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Colossians 4:1-6

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2007. It's been a couple of weeks since we've been in the book of Colossians, and so I want to do a quick recap of the book of Colossians to remind us where we've been. Colossians chapter 1 says,

Paul gives his greeting as he usually does, introducing himself and talking to those that he's writing to. He lets the Colossians know that he is praying for them continually without ceasing, and

And then he goes into the depth of the subject of this book, and that is the subject of Jesus Christ. And he begins to tell the Colossians who Jesus is, explaining that it was Jesus that has delivered us. He also explained to us that Jesus is preeminent. That is, he is first and foremost above all creation, above all angels, above all that should be worshipped. He is first and foremost. He is preeminent.

He also explained that Jesus is the one who has reconciled us. That is, that he has brought us back into right relationship with God. It was the work of Jesus Christ that we have right relationship with God.

Then going on into chapter two, he deals more with who we are in Christ. He tells us that we are complete in him in chapter two, verses nine and 10, telling us that we need nothing else. There's no additional laws that must be completed. There's nothing else that can be added to it. There's no other philosophy or religion that we need. We simply need Jesus Christ. We're complete in him. He

He also goes on to share with us in chapter 2 that we are circumcised in him. That is that the old nature, the flesh, is put to death. It's cut off in Jesus Christ. And we've been set free from the bondage to our sinful nature.

He also went on to explain that Jesus wiped out the requirements of the law. So not only are we released from the bondage to our sinful nature, but we're released from the bondage that we had to the law, that we had to keep the law in order to be righteous before God. He set us free from that by becoming righteousness for us when he died upon the cross.

He also tells us that Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers. The demonic forces and Satan himself has been disarmed in our lives, has no power in our lives because of the work of Jesus Christ. And so our flesh, the world, the enemy, it's all been taken care of, completed at the cross of Jesus Christ.

Well, Colossians chapters 1 and 2 dealt with the doctrine, who Jesus is, what he's done, and what that means as far as who we are in Jesus Christ. And then in chapter 3 and going on into chapter 4 this morning, he deals then with the application. Since you know these things about Jesus Christ, since this is the truth of Jesus and who he is and what he's done, this is how you ought to live. This is how you respond to

To the truth of Jesus Christ. And so in chapter three, he tells us, hey, if you were raised with him, if all this is true, then the first thing that you should do is seek the things which are above. Keep your eyes and your heart focused, not on this life, but on the things of eternity where Jesus is looking forward to that day when you will spend forever and ever with him.

And so he tells us the next thing we're to do is to put to death our earthly members. The sinful nature which has been cut off still needs to be put to death, Paul explains. There's still those things that want to creep back up into our lives and want to take over and bring us into bondage to the flesh again. And Paul says you need to put off the earthly nature. You need to put to death the earthly members.

And then in its place, replace that with the new nature that we have in Christ Jesus. Replace those old habits, those bad attitudes, with the new attitudes of Jesus Christ and the habits that Christ gives to us, the mentality and the heart that he desires us to have, which replace our old nature with the new nature. Then going on in chapter 3, he dealt with our roles here.

Maybe domestically or with husbands and wives, children and parents, employees and employers. He dealt with, okay, this is how you ought to behave and relate to one another as you walk in the knowledge of who Jesus is and what he has done for you. Now, as we look at chapter 4, verses 2 through 6, we see that Jesus is talking about the

We have Paul's final words of encouragement. He's beginning now to wrap up the book. It's almost done. We're almost through. We'll be finishing it up next Sunday. And here in verses 2 through 6, it's his final exhortation, his last few thoughts of this is what I encourage you to do. This is what I want you to be doing. This is what God would speak to you as I'm closing this book that you need to be involved in. It's more application for us to put into practice in our life.

And then next week as we close the book, verses 7 through 18, we'll have Paul's greetings. As he greets those who are there and lets them know who he's sending to them, we'll find great encouragement from those that Paul is ministering to in his final greetings. But this morning...

As Paul is wrapping up the book, his final words of encouragement, we'll be looking at two areas this morning. Number one, we'll be looking at the area of prayer. We'll be encouraged to pray in verses 2 through 4. And then the second thing, the second area that Paul will be dealing with is ministering to the lost in verses 5 and 6. And how that needs to be upon our heart. The desire, the urgency, the fervency to reach out to those who

who do not have the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But first we're looking at verses 2 through 4, the area of prayer. Now I think we can learn quite a bit from prayer, or about prayer, from these verses that Paul gives to us. Keep in mind as we go through this that the enemy would like to use these verses and beat you up with them.

I think every one of us could say that we wish we prayed more. You know, 1 Thessalonians 5.17 tells us to pray without ceasing. And we all understand that. We all know that as believers in Jesus Christ. And we...

We understand that we probably don't pray as much as we should. It's something that is kind of known in the Christian realm. I think it was J. Oswald Sanders in his book on spiritual leadership that said there's no quicker way to make a Christian hang their head than to ask them about their prayer life. It's

Something that we know, well, I stumble. I could pray more. I don't pray that much. Sometimes I pray. Sometimes I don't pray. But the enemy wants to use these verses and Paul's encouragement here to beat us up as he tells us to continue earnestly in prayer.

But this morning, don't let that take place. Understand that God's not mad at you. He loves you. He wants to draw close to you. And he wants to encourage you to pray and to draw closer to him in prayer. Not to beat you over the head and make you feel like a loser and give up because you haven't been praying as you ought. None of us have. And we never will. It's a continual growth that we continue to learn to walk in fellowship with Jesus Christ.

And so let's grow this morning together, not be beaten up, but grow together as we learn about prayer. Verse 2, Paul tells us, And there's going to be five things about prayer that I want to share with you from these two verses, or three verses rather, 2, 3, and 4.

The first thing about prayer this morning, Paul encourages us to pray for our own needs. Number one, pray for your needs. Now, you might ask, well, where does it say that? Well, it's kind of by implication, but allow me just to expound on it for a second. In verse three, Paul says, meanwhile, praying also for us.

So the implication is in verse 2 when he says, continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving, that that's prayer not about Paul. That's prayer not about what Paul's going through and the things that he's asking them about, but that's prayer for other things.

which I would suggest to you, would be the things that are concerning the Colossians, the things that they're involved in and going through. As Christians, we need to be praying for the things that we are going through. And I point this out because sometimes we can be a little bit silly as Christians. We fall into silly traps. We fall prey to false spiritual pride.

You know, saying that I don't need to pray for myself. I'm supposed to be focused on others. And so it's better if I pray for others and not pray for myself and lift up my own needs. Now, that sounds noble and spiritual, but it's not biblical. God wants you to present your request to him. He wants you to present your needs and your concerns and your cares to him.

Just to illustrate that, remember Matthew chapter 6, verses 9 through 13. You might recognize that portion of scripture. It's what's known as the Lord's Prayer or the model prayer. The disciples come to Jesus and they say, hey, can you teach us to pray now?

John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray. Would you do the same for us? Can you teach us to pray? And so in verse 9, Jesus says, in this manner, therefore pray. Or in other words, this is how you're supposed to pray. This is the model to follow. This is the idea. When you pray, you want to include these elements and follow this type of pattern.

First, we know the beginning, our Father in heaven, and we recognize who that we're praying to. In verse 10 of Matthew chapter 6, he says, you know, not my will, but your will be done. Recognizing who is Lord. Okay, you're Lord. You're in heaven. I want your will to be done. But then look at verse 11, or you don't have to look at it, but let me tell you about verse 11. Verse 11, he says, give us this day our daily bread.

We talked about this a couple weeks ago as we looked at the things we're to do on a daily basis. And how we're to be in prayer on a daily basis. But looking for personal provision. It's a need. Lord, I have a need. I need this day my daily bread. And so I'm presenting my need, my request to you. Lord, will you provide for me today? Will you meet my needs today? Be it financial or financial.

or whatever it may be. Lord, will you provide for me my need? This thing that I'm presenting to you today. The next thing as it goes on in verse 12 is forgive us our debts as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. The second thing that Jesus tells us to pray for is for forgiveness. But it's personal forgiveness. Lord, forgive me. It's a matter with my heart and my conscience today.

It's a matter with my spirit. Lord, forgive me. Then going on in verse 13 of Matthew chapter 6, he says, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Talking about guidance and protection.

Lord, will you guide me this day? Will you guide me today? Will you protect me today from the attacks of the enemy? See, Jesus gives us in the model prayer just a quick example. We could look at much more, but he gives us a quick snapshot that God desires you to present your request, to present your needs, to come before him with what's upon your heart and what's a burden upon your shoulders. He requests that you come to him with

for guidance, for protection, that you look to him and rely upon him and bring those things to him. Even to point out, not to make too big of a case of this, but he doesn't at this time in the model prayer say, make sure that you pray for the missionaries or make sure that you pray for other people. Now, should we do that? Well, yes, of course, but

He's telling us, here's the thing. The most important thing to God is your relationship with Him. That's what He's most concerned about. And so in giving us the model prayer, He says, come to Me and present your requests, present your needs, present the things that you have upon your heart because you have a relationship with Me and we continue to relate day by day. You have needs. You need provision. You need forgiveness. You need guidance and protection.

So bring them to God. Jesus told you to do so. You know, we shouldn't feel guilty over praying for the things that we struggle with. We shouldn't feel guilty about praying for the things that we have concerns about or the things that we need. God wants us to rely upon him. Remember 1 Peter 5, 7, casting all your care upon him for he cares for you. He tells us to do so.

Now, we can trick ourselves and be deceived that it's more spiritual not to pray for ourselves, but it's not true. God desires us to come to him with our hearts, with our burdens, with our cares, and to present them to him, to cast them upon him, to lift everything up. As Paul said in Philippians 4, 6, not to be worried and concerned about anything, not to be anxious about anything.

But with everything, present our requests to God. Or to do it by prayer. To spend time in prayer for our own needs, for our own hearts. Because we need to have that time in communion, in relationship with God. The second point about prayer this morning is,

Paul tells us to continue earnestly in prayer. Continue earnestly in prayer. Now, this word continue, it's a word that refers to those who insist on something or those who insist on staying close to someone.

Maybe we could also describe it as persistence or perhaps stubbornness. Not stubbornness in the sense that you have to have it your way, but stubborn in the sense that you do not give up. And that's the idea here that Paul is saying. Continue earnestly in prayer. Don't give up in prayer. Keep on praying. Insist on staying close to God. Insist on presenting your requests. Insist on bringing your heart and the things of your life to God.

Now, again, this is not to be an opportunity to be hard on ourselves that, you know, I don't do that very much or I haven't been praying very much. If you have walked with God for any length of time, you can agree, right? Can't you? Can you agree that to continue earnestly in prayer is difficult?

It's not something that comes naturally for us that we're necessarily good at as believers. To continue earnestly in prayer is a command because we need to be told and reminded to be praying and keep on praying. And Paul, throughout his letters, we'll see it time and time again as we continue on through the New Testament. He encourages the disciples, the churches, the people to be in prayer.

It's a continual thing that we need to be reminded about because our hearts are quick to grow cold. And we're quick to run from or to relax in our prayer to God. Now, it's not so hard to be earnest in prayer when there's an urgent need.

You're familiar with that, right? When mom's in the hospital, when the rent's due, when you're out of a job and you really need work. The hard thing to do is to continue earnestly in prayer even after that urgent need has been met. We saw a clear dramatic picture of that back six years ago or five years ago now, September 11, 2001. The country...

Came together and prayed earnestly. The general cry of the media, the politicians, was be in prayer, be praying. It's a time to come before God. But it wasn't very long after that that the urgency was lost. People went back to their normal schedules and prayer is not emphasized any longer.

It's the way that our hearts are. And we need to be careful. And that's why Paul says, continue earnestly in prayer. When there's a need, oh yes, we pray earnestly. But afterwards, the earnestness seems to fade.

And so Paul here is encouraging you to keep on praying. Even if you don't see any results, keep on praying. Even if it looks bleak or grim, keep on praying. Don't give up. God has not abandoned you. He's not given up on you. He loves you. He has a great plan for your life. He wants to use you. Keep on praying.

Those that you're praying for, oftentimes we have non-believers in our family and friends, people that are close to us that we pray for for long periods of time. Keep on praying. God's still working on their hearts. He's doing everything he can, everything possible short of forcing them. So keep on praying. They have everything that they need. He's giving them everything that they need.

To receive him as their Savior and Lord. So keep on praying. Hold fast. Be persistent. Be stubborn in prayer. Insist on staying close to God on those issues. Jesus illustrated this in Luke chapter 18. Luke 18.1 says that he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

Men always ought to pray and don't lose heart. Don't be discouraged about it. And he goes on to tell the parable of a widow and an unjust judge. And the point of the parable is how the judge responded to the widow, not because he was a good judge or because he feared God. On the contrary, he was an unjust judge. But because of her perseverance, her persistence, her continual coming before him, he granted her request. He judged her case.

And so Jesus gave that parable to remind us, hey, be persistent. Keep coming. Don't give up. God is not an unjust judge. And so you can count on him to be faithful. You can count on him to respond. You can count on him to do what's best. And his will will be accomplished. Have you been praying for something for a long time? Keep on praying. Don't give up. Be persistent. Be stubborn in prayer.

Have you just come through a difficult time? Now's the time to keep on praying. Continue earnestly in prayer. Be persistent. The third thing we find about prayer, still here in verse 2, he also says being vigilant in it. And so we find number three, to be vigilant in prayer. This word vigilant means to watch or to refrain from sleep in order to watch.

It's to keep yourself from falling asleep in order to watch. It's the idea of a watchman who would be in charge of watching over the city to make sure the enemy doesn't approach so that the alarm is sounded if he does approach and so on and so forth. It's the idea of someone who's standing guard. Now, just by a show of hands, can I ask, have any of you ever fallen asleep in a time of prayer? I just wanted a big confession session right there.

You know, you get to, if you're carnal like I've been in my life, you know, you get a good pose. So you can kind of rest your head and look like you're praying, you know, but you're really sleeping. You kind of support yourself, but, you know, everybody thinks you're praying and you're just kind of, you know, just catching a quick extra second of snoozing there to catch up on some lost sleep or, you know, you're tired and things are difficult. That's not necessarily what this is talking about, but

He says, be watchful in the sense that you refrain from sleep. Now, I find it interesting that Paul couples this word with prayer because Jesus did the same in the Garden of Gethsemane. You remember, he was there. It was the night before his crucifixion. And he takes Peter, James, and John, and he tells them, hey, wait here, guys, and be watching and be praying. And he goes off and he prays. And he comes back, and what does he find him doing? He finds him sleeping.

And he wakes them up. Hey, guys, can't you watch and pray with me for one hour? Watch and pray.

And then he goes off and prays again. He comes back, finds them sleeping again, wakes them up again, encourages them to watch and pray. Then he goes back again and prays. He comes back a third time, finds them sleeping, and then the time is at hand. He's led away to be crucified. But there, Jesus tells Peter specifically, Matthew 26, 41, Watch and pray, same word, watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

He's telling them, specifically Peter, you need to watch and pray. The point here is that especially in times of need, be praying. Especially when there's an urgency. Especially when things are about to come to pass or you're going through the midst of the fire. When there's serious situations, make sure that you are praying.

Make sure that you take it before God. Make sure that you go before God in those times. Maybe when God places something upon your heart, make sure that when he does so, you take it to him, that you be praying about it. When you see the state of our country, make sure that you go before the Lord and be praying about it.

Now, again, we can play mind games with ourselves here and condemn ourselves and think, well, since I don't pray normally, I can't pray when I have an urgent need, when that difficult situation comes up. I mean, I can't go before God now. I mean, that's just horrible. I only come to God when I need him. And we can beat ourselves up and discourage ourselves from praying when God is saying, no, if you have an urgent need, pray.

Come to me. I understand you haven't been faithful in prayer. You haven't been walking very right. You haven't been very good as a Christian. But regardless, nonetheless, my son died for all that. Come to me. You have an urgent need. You have a difficulty. You have a problem. Come to God in prayer. See, because God's not like us.

He doesn't play the games that we play. You know, we would tell people, "You can't just be my friend when you need something." Right? Those people drive us nuts. You know, the people who come and go, "Hey, best friend, best buddy, how you doing?" And it's like immediately, you know, "Okay, what's he gonna ask for? What's he gonna want? What's he trying to get out of me?" And we feel like we're being manipulated, right?

And so we carry that over to God sometimes in our hearts and we think, I can't come to God now. I haven't been very faithful. I've barely been to church. I hardly read the Bible. I can't come to God with my requests, with my urgent need. But God says, no, I'm not like you. Don't worry about that. Just repent and come and

Present your requests. Present your needs. Whenever there's an urgency, whenever there's a need, come and pray and be spending time with God. If you have a need, pray and pray earnestly. Jesus told Peter, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He told Peter, watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. We, of course, know that Peter slept instead and found himself then in

In a situation where he denies the Lord. Walks away from God. He weeps bitterly about it. It tears him up inside. But he feels like it's over. I rejected the Lord. Of course God returns when he rises from the dead. And receives Peter back. But again the point is. Sometimes God is going to put things upon your heart.

He's going to remind you you need to pray because there's times around the corner that maybe you don't know about. There's a situation that he's trying to prepare you for that you're not even aware of the possibility of it yet. Peter, just a few moments before, said, Hey, even if all these guys deny you, I will never deny you. It was the furthest thing from his mind. He couldn't ever possibly imagine it. But God says, I want you to be in prayer. You need to watch and pray. Don't sleep in prayer, but be watchful in prayer.

Because there's a situation coming that you need to be aware of. So if God has been speaking to your heart about an area, he's been putting something and pressing something upon your heart, be in prayer over that. Be watching and praying because God wants to prepare you for what's around the corner. The point is not do not bother praying unless you pray all the time.

The point is, hey, when you have a need, pray. Come to God in prayer. And then continue earnestly in it. Even when the need is met, when the situation is done, then continue earnestly to draw close to God, to walk with Him, to develop your relationship with Him in prayer. The fourth thing, the final thing for verse 2 says,

About prayer, we find that we need to be thankful in prayer. Be thankful in prayer. Now, this is more than just giving God a polite thank you when he meets our needs or answers our prayer. It really deals with the attitudes of our heart in prayer. In our prayers, we need to have an attitude of gratitude.

We need to be grateful and thankful to God for what he has done for us. This word Thanksgiving, it's an interesting word. It's based on the word in the Greek charis, which you might be familiar with. It's the word for grace. It means to receive something as an expression of grace by someone and accept it as if one does not deserve it.

Grace, as you know, is unearned, undeserved favor and kindness. It's receiving from God blessings and wonderful things that we do not deserve. It's what God gives us continually. Salvation, it's by God's grace. Anything else that we have that's good, it's

It's by God's grace. As James tells us, every good and perfect gift is from God. Everything that we have that is good, everything that we're blessed with, it's by the grace of God. It's from God. We do not deserve anything good. We don't. We deserve eternal judgment. But because of the grace of God, we can receive salvation. Because of the grace of God, He blesses us. Because He is a gracious God.

So to be thankful is to receive what God has for us, but recognize that we do not deserve it. Now, this is why to continue earnestly in prayer is not stubbornness in the sense of that we must have our way and we insist that God does it our way and answers our prayer and does what we tell him to do. No, we continue earnestly in prayer, being watchful and not sleeping, but not because we deserve anything, but because God is gracious.

Because he loves to respond to those who are trusting in his mercy. Those who are relying upon his grace. Those who are hoping and relying upon him. Understanding this keeps us humble. Not that prayer is something to be used to try to accomplish our will. But as Jesus said in the model prayer, your will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven. Not my will, God, but your will be done. Lord, this is my desire. This is my heart. This is what I want. But your will be done. Because I don't deserve anything. I deserve judgment. So, Lord, whatever you want to do, your will, that's what's going to be best for me. And that's what I'm going to enjoy. I'm going to receive it knowing that I don't deserve it. Because you're a good and gracious God.

It keeps us humble. It keeps us from demanding our way. And reminds us to recognize that he is God and that he will do what is best. Number five, we find in verses three and four.

And that is to pray for others. Not only are we to pray for our own needs, but we're also to pray for others. Verses 3 and 4 say this. Meanwhile, praying also for us that God would open to us a door for the word to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am also in chains that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak. See, sometimes we need to be reminded it's OK.

Pray for your own needs. Look to God for provision and direction and forgiveness. But there's also other times that we need to be reminded, hey, life is not only about you. So be faithful to lift up the needs of others. Don't just be consumed about you. It's important. It's an important element of prayer, but it's not the only element of prayer. You also need to be in prayer for others.

Now, it's also important to notice what Paul seeks prayer for. Do you remember where Paul is while he's writing this letter? Anybody remember? Just shout it out. It's all right. He's in jail. He's in prison. He's been in prison for a few years. He is looking at a bleak future of probably being killed, martyred for the faith as he waits to appear before Caesar. He's in prison. Now, if I was Paul, I would have told the Colossians, hey, Colossians, what's going on?

Real important. You need to be in prayer. And I would point them back to Acts chapter 12. And remember in Acts chapter 12, Colossians, where Peter was in jail, but the church was gathered together and praying constantly. And God sent an angel and delivered Peter and brought him out. Even the people who were there praying didn't believe it, but God did it. And so this is what I want to tell you guys, Colossians. Here's what you need to know. Man, just do the same thing. Get me out of here.

Just spend time constantly in prayer. Have a 24-hour prayer and fasting session and pray for God to set me free, to send his angel, to unlock the chains and open the doors and I'll walk out of here. But you know, Paul didn't pray for that because he was convinced that he was there by the will of God. Look again at verse 3. He says, "...to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains."

Meaning, I am here because of my obedience to God. The issue is not disobedience. God's not out to try to punish me because I've been running away from him. No, I am here because I did exactly what God told me to do. So the issue is not help me get out of here, but help me do what God has called me to do since I am here.

What is it that Paul seeks prayer for? He seeks prayer for an open door and for boldness. For an open door and for boldness. In verse 4 he says that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak. Guys, I want you to pray that I would make it manifest, that I would make it known, that I would speak forth as I'm supposed to, as God called me to, that I would be bold as God has called me to be bold and share the gospel message.

Now this is great because these two things are what we can pray for any believer in Jesus Christ. It's not just the apostles or the missionaries or the pastors that we can pray this for, but all believers are called to fulfill the great commission and share the good news of Jesus Christ with others, making disciples of all nations.

And so here Paul gives us a wonderful prayer to pray for other believers in our life. We can pray for each other for an open door, for the opportunity to share the gospel, for the opportunity to minister to someone in need, for the opportunity to lead someone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And we can pray for someone or pray for them to have the boldness to share the truth in those moments of opportunity.

We can pray that for any believer and it's definitely, we know it's the will of God for them. Now, someone may come to you for prayer and they may be out of a job. They may be facing hard times. And we don't know if that is God's will and plan for them or not. We don't know if, or we don't know what God wants to do in that situation. As I've often shared, God's

God's concern is not necessarily for, or his primary concern is not for your immediate happiness. He's looking for the eternal good. What's best for you eternally. And sometimes that means that we have to go to the dentist. We have to go to the doctor. We have to go through tough times and hard situations where we learn to rely upon him and trust in him. Where we are taught valuable lessons from

that will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Sometimes it means difficulties, the loss of a job or the loss of a loved one. Sometimes it means those reality checks and difficult times in our hearts. And we don't know. Perhaps, like Paul, God's will for you is to be in prison. It's possible. God isn't limited by trials. He uses them to further his kingdom.

And so we don't know if it's God's plan to heal a person. We can pray for it. We know that God is capable. James chapter 4 verse 2 says, Hey, yet you do not have because you do not ask. The reason why you don't have some things is because you haven't asked for them. God has them there for you. He wants to give them to you, but he's waiting for you to ask.

And so we ask in prayer, Lord, heal this person. Lord, provide the job. Lord, open the doors or establish them or whatever it is that's upon their heart. But there's an element of, Lord, your will be done, though. We don't know if this is your will, God. This is what we think is best, what we desire. And so we're asking for it, knowing that you're capable, believing you to do what's best.

But to pray for an open door and for boldness to speak is definitely according to God's will. So you can pray that for any believer with absolute confidence that God will hear that prayer and God will answer that prayer. I think it's also important to notice that it's Paul who is asking for this prayer. Paul was one of the greatest men of the faith, and yet he's asking for prayer. He's not ashamed.

but writing it for even all of us thousands of years later to read. And I noticed that he asks for boldness. Again, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak. Guys, I need prayer so that when the opportunity is there, I would speak as I'm supposed to speak, as I ought to speak.

Guys, I need prayer because there's the possibility, and we wouldn't think this of the Apostle Paul from our readings and our studies. We have a tendency to think of him as this great guy, which he was. He was a great believer in the Lord, but he was just like you and I. There was an element of fear, of doubt.

There is an element that said, when I'm faced with the situation, I don't know if I will be faithful to what God has called me to do. Because it's scary. It's hard. It's difficult. People don't like it and so on and so forth. He experienced the emotions. He experienced the feelings, the things that we go through in endeavoring to share with others and minister to others. There's an element of fear there, of doubt, of I don't know if I will be able to, so please pray.

That when the opportunity is there, I will be bold and speak as I ought to speak. If Paul needed prayer for boldness, to speak as he ought to do, then so do I. So does Pastor Tom. So does Pastor Rick and Dylan and Dion. So do the missionaries that we pray for on a continual basis. So does the person next to you. We're not above the need for prayer.

We're not above the possibility of not fulfilling what God has called us to do. It's always difficult. You know, we look at Greg Laurie, for example. We don't need to pray for him for boldness. I mean, he stands before and does the Harvest Crusades. No, he needs prayer that he would speak boldly as he ought to speak. Billy Graham, same thing. Because for all of us, there is that struggle. There's that need for prayer.

So that we would be faithful to do what God has called us to do. Pray for other believers in your life. Pray for the missionaries. Pray for the pastors and teachers. We need prayer for an open door and for boldness to share. So this morning in the subject of prayer, Paul has encouraged us in five areas.

Number one, pray for your own needs. Number two, continue earnestly in prayer. Number three, be vigilant and watchful in prayer. Number four, be thankful in prayer. And number five, pray for others for an open door and boldness to speak as God gives opportunity. Now, as we move on in verses five and six, we are looking at the second area that Paul is encouraging the Colossians and you and I this morning.

And it's in the area of ministering to the lost. And we'll see that just a second as we read verse 5. It's kind of as if Paul was praying for boldness to share. And then he remembers, hey, but wait a second. Don't forget. It's not just a matter of ministering to the lost.

It's not just us who are called to share. It's not just my calling, Paul says. It's your calling too. You need to be ready to share the gospel, to minister to the lost. Pray for us for an open door and for boldness, but then remember that you also are called to the same ministry. Remember that you also are called to make disciples and share the gospel, the good news with those around you. And

In verse 5 he says, walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

Now, this is specifically dealing with how we relate to those who are outside, those who are not born again, those who are not part of the church. Now, that is not this church, living water, but the church, those who are not a part of the body of Christ, those who are not believers in Jesus Christ. And he says you're to walk in wisdom toward them. It's not just for the apostles and pastors to be concerned about faith.

But for the entire church, for the entire body, for you as a believer in Jesus Christ, you need to pay attention. As Paul tells the Colossians, walk in wisdom towards those who are outside. And so in regarding to our ministry to the lost, this is the first thing where Paul encourages us. He says, number one, walk in wisdom. There is a great need for wisdom in the way that we conduct ourselves today.

It's a great need. And with the way that things are, we have the illusion of so much privacy. I was joking with the youth group a couple months back, talking about how, you know, cars give us a false sense of privacy. And you know that when you pull up next to someone and they've got their finger, you know, way up in their nose looking for some good treasure, you

Because they feel like they're alone in the world. Nobody could ever possibly be watching them or noticing. Because they don't do that in the grocery store while they're waiting in line, right? It's only in the car. It's like, I'm in my bathroom, you know what? These are mirrors. These aren't windows, you know? We have this great sense of privacy when we're on our phones. Not even thinking about who might be around us or what might be going on around us. It's just me and the person on the other line and me in this conversation.

We have great sense of privacy in our lives in the sense that we don't always take into account that others are around us, watching us, listening to us, hearing what is going on, seeing what we're involved in. Paul says, walk in wisdom. To walk in wisdom is to take into consideration that our primary objective here is to be a witness and to reach out to the lost. That's why God has us here, because there's still a work to be done.

There's still others he wants us to minister to. There's still others he wants us to reach out to. When our work here is done, we're home with him. As long as we're here, he has us here to preach the gospel, to share the good news, to make disciples.

And so we need to walk in wisdom. We need to take into consideration that my primary objective is to lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, to be a witness for him, to be a testimony to all those around me that Christ died on the cross for sins and he loves you with all of his heart. Do you consider that in the decisions that you make? Do you consider that in the way that you work, in the job that you do, in the way that you accomplish it, in the ethics that

That you portray. That decide how you function as an employee or as a business person. Do you consider that in the way that you drive? Do you consider that the way that you shop? The way that you talk on the phone, especially when others are around you? Walk in wisdom. Think about how you conduct yourself and how that affects your testimony of Jesus Christ to others. The second thing we find here also in verse 5 says,

Word to do, or he encourages us in, in regards to ministering to the lost. Number one, walk in wisdom. Number two, redeem the time. Redeem the time. At the end, he says they're redeeming the time. This word redeem, it means to buy up all available. Everything that's available, to buy it all up. And so it has the idea of not allowing a suitable moment to pass by unheeded.

The New International Version puts it this way, make the most of every opportunity. Make the most of every opportunity. Another version kind of words it this way, it's my paraphrase, but take advantage to the maximum of every moment.

Take the maximum that you can out of every moment of opportunity. Paul's point is this. Take advantage of every opportunity that you have to share the gospel message, the truth of Jesus Christ, the word of God. Do it as effectively as you can, as much as you possibly can, every opportunity that you have. I was listening to a teaching by David Hawking this last week, and

Kind of funny, it reminded me of this portion that Paul is encouraging us to take advantage of every opportunity. He was talking about, he was with a group of pastors out to lunch and it was a busy place and there was lots of noise and it was a big group of the pastors. And so, you know, one of the guys of the group said, hey, you know, it's really loud in here. We're not going to be able to really pray all together. So, you know, maybe each of us should just pray quietly, you know, to ourselves, to the Lord and thank him for the food.

And David Hawking, if you know him, he's a little bit bold and boisterous, has an extremely loud voice. He taught here once, rattled the windows, and we didn't even have the microphone on. He's just a very, very loud voice. And so David says, well, a friend kind of prompted him and encouraged him, but he stood up in the middle of that busy restaurant, and he said...

you know, shouted out, hey, could I have your attention, please? And so everybody quieted down and said, hey, we want to pray, but you guys are all being really loud. And so we're not able to pray. And so if you would just bow your heads for a moment, we're going to pray and thank God for the food. And so he said, you know, I wish I had a camera. He said, because everybody just pulled their heads, bowed their head, bowed their head and they were ready for prayer. And so he said at that point, I knew I had a captive audience. So

So then I began to pray and I prayed for the whole, I mean, I prayed the whole gospel message so that everybody there would hear the gospel as I prayed and thanked God for the food that we were about to receive. He said, actually, I think I got so excited at the end, I forgot to actually pray for the food, but I just preached the gospel in the midst of my prayer.

And that's kind of the idea that we have here that Paul is giving to us. Take advantage. You have that opportunity. You have the captive audience. Preach the gospel. Share the good news. Be an example of Jesus Christ. Redeem the time. Take advantage of every opportunity. The person behind you in the grocery store talking about, you know, wondering if there's a heaven or hell or the person next to you at work going through a difficult time, whatever the case may be,

Look for the opportunities and take advantage of them. Make the most out of them. Turn the conversation to Jesus Christ. Turn people's hearts and their minds, their thoughts towards him. Just as we pray for others for an open door, God will give us open doors to share the gospel. Those who are in need, those who are asking questions, maybe someone who just, God just places upon your heart and you don't even know why. Someone maybe,

This happened to me the other day. I was walking out of the post office with Pastor Rick, and there was just this guy, and I don't know why, but the Lord put him on my heart. And so we went and shared with him and talked with him, and not much came out of it, but it's just being obedient to those things. As God puts those people upon your heart, reach out, minister, look for those opportunities and take advantage of them. Now, of course, if we're going to do that, then we need to be prepared.

Like Paul told Timothy, we need to be instant, in season and out of season, ready to share at a moment's notice, ready to share the gospel message and the love of God so that when we have the open door, we can take advantage of it. Going on in verse 6, we find the third thing about ministering to the lost. He says,

The third thing Paul says, I've labeled it, watch your mouth. In ministering to the lost, watch your mouth. Since we're to be ready to share at any moment, Paul hits one of the biggest struggles of any believer, and that is our speech. In fact, it is the biggest struggle of any believer, because James tells us that if we don't stumble in our speech, we're perfect.

So if we can keep hold of our tongue, if we've got our tongue down, if we're able to watch our language, to watch our speech, we've already got enough self-control to control everything else. It's the biggest issue that we face. And so Paul says, let your speech always be with grace. Again, this word grace is undeserved favor and kindness. It's receiving from God grace.

What we don't deserve. Blessings and great good things that we don't deserve. And so in our speech, we're to include grace. That is, I put it this way, when you talk to people or when you talk about people, let it always be with favor and kindness that they do not deserve. Let it always be with blessings and goodness that they do not deserve.

So that even when they're condescending or they're provoking or when they're swearing and cussing, that your speech is with grace and favor and kindness that they don't deserve. That's how God has called us to speak. He says, let your speech always be with grace. Now, the purpose for this type of speech, he says at the end of the verse, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Here's the point.

You see, if we're to be prepared to take advantage of any moment, then we need to watch our language and the way that we speak. Because if we're at a restaurant talking bad about our boss or our co-workers, how are we going then to witness and be an example to the waiter? How are we going to take advantage of an opportunity as he's just heard us spill out everything, spewing hideous things or comments or difficulties or situations about those that we're around?

And then we turn around and say, hey, you ever know that Jesus loves you? He planned for you. He died on the cross for you. And our witness is shot. It's ruined. Again, like James said, blessings and cursings come out of the same mouth and it should not be. We need to let our speech always be with grace, with favor and kindness. That the people that we're talking to don't deserve. The people we're talking about don't deserve. So that we're prepared.

To answer each one. What about the person behind you at the booth? Who can hear the conversation? How can you have an opportunity then to minister to them? To share the gospel? See our lives are to revolve around this concept.

God wants to use us to reach the lost. And we need to be looking for the opportunities. It might be the person behind you at Denny's, or it might be the waiter that's seating you or helping you or serving your table. It might be the person across from you that you're at the table with. But God wants to give you opportunities to share the good news, to make disciples, because it's what he's called all of us to do. And so if we're grumbling and complaining, how can we share with someone next to us

at the restaurant, on the train, in the grocery store, if our speech is not with grace, if it's not with undeserved favor and kindness, if we've forgotten the grace of God, it will affect our speech. And our speech will not be with grace. But if we continually have upon our hearts the grace of God, how much he has given to us that we do not deserve, how well he has loved us and lavished his love upon us, our speech will continually be with grace.

That will be ready. Will know how to answer each one. Will be prepared to share with them at a moment's notice. Always. No matter where you are at. Let your speech be with grace. Even if they don't deserve it. Speak nice and wonderful things that they do not deserve. Use a pleasant tone that they do not deserve. Let your speech be with grace. The question when he says that we're prepared to answer them. The question that we're asked should not be. I thought you were a Christian.

The question should be, how do you have so much love? What is this hope that you have? As Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3, verses 15 and 16, he says, "...sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you, with meekness and in fear, having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed."

Peter is saying the same thing in other words, walk in wisdom, redeeming the time with your speech, with grace and salt so that you can answer each one. And Peter says it the same way. He says, hey, sanctify the Lord in your heart. Walk with him. Live the holy life that God has called you to live. That when people ask you for a hope, you'll be ready to give a defense. And even if they defame you as an evildoer, they can't. They'll be ashamed because you've walked wisely.

Because you've walked with God and been obedient to him. Walk in wisdom to those who are outside. Redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace. But also, he says, with salt. Let your speech be seasoned with salt. What is salt? What does that mean in regards to our speech? Three things immediately come to my mind about salt. What it does. It preserves. It brings out the flavor inside.

In food. And it heals. Now there's probably many more. There's great uses for salt. But just thinking about those things very briefly. This is how our speech should be. It should be healing. Not hurting. Restoring. Mending. Repairing. Not destroying. Not destructive. Not tearing down. It should be preserving. Not reducing the life expectancy of those who hear. But increasing.

Not reducing the goodness. Not reducing the things of eternity. But expanding. Preserving. Keeping things from going corrupt. Keeping things from being twisted. Keeping things from being disgusting. Untasteful. Maybe untasteful falls into the last one. Brings out the flavor. Not making bitter. But making savory. We're called to be salt in our speech.

To heal, to preserve, to restore, to mend, to protect. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 29, a verse I quote to you very often. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. That's our speech. Not corrupt words.

But what is good that builds up and edifies, notice that it may impart grace, undeserved favor and kindness to those who hear. Paul says, you're called to minister to the lost. Pray for me for an open door. Pray for me that I would be bold to share. But don't forget that you are called to that same ministry. And so minister to the lost, walking in wisdom, redeeming the time and watching your mouth.

Because there's a great work in your life. God wants to use you to reach out to others. And so Paul's concluding remarks, concluding exhortations here in Colossians 4. In the area of prayer, pray for your needs. You have hurts, you have concerns, pray for them. Continue earnestly in prayer. Be vigilant in prayer. Be thankful and grateful to God in prayer. Pray for others.

That the door would be opened and that they would speak boldly. And you too remember the ministry to the lost. So that you are careful about the way that you walk. That you conduct yourself in wisdom. That you take advantage and make the most out of each opportunity. And that you be careful about what comes out of your mouth. So that you're always ready to share as God gives you opportunity. Let's pray. Heavenly Father.

Lord, challenging words you've given to us this morning from Paul, Lord, in the area of prayer and ministering to others. And of course, God, we fall short. But Lord, I pray that you would not allow that to be something that causes us to stumble. Lord, that we would remember your grace and your mercy. Lord, we do fall short, but we thank you for your love and grace and mercy that allows us to keep on going on.

And so we ask, Lord, that you would help us now to walk with you. Lord, in prayer that we would be bringing our request to you, that we would be faithful in prayer, continuing earnestly in it, being watchful and not sleeping as you put things upon our hearts as we're going through situations. God, may we be fervent in prayer. Help us, Lord, to draw close to you. Lord, I pray that you would also put upon our hearts those around us

the missionaries, the pastors and teachers that you bring into our lives, Lord, that they would have an open door and boldness to share as they have opportunity. God, help us strengthen our prayer life. Draw us closer to you as we spend time with you, lifting up the needs of ourselves and others as we lift up the situations and struggles that we have. And God, may our times of prayer prepare us to minister to the lost. Lord, reminding us that

We're to walk wisely. God, if there's areas where we're not conducting ourselves wisely, where we're misrepresenting you, Lord, we ask that you would speak it to our hearts. Open our eyes to those things that we may repent. Lord, because we want to redeem the time. Lord, we find it incredible that you desire to use us to share your good news with others. We don't deserve it, God. We fall short. We're bad witnesses. We stumble. But Lord, thank you for the opportunity.

Help us to be faithful to it, to take every moment that you give to us and to be faithful, to speak as we ought to speak. Help us, God, to be bold. And so, Lord, we ask that you would put a guard over the door of our lips as David prayed. Lord, that you would not allow anything out that is not of grace and of salt. You would allow no corrupt word to proceed from our mouths. Lord, help us to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Help us, Lord, to be submitted to you so that we only speak those things which are good for necessary edification, that they may impart grace to the hearers. God, because we want to be used by you to minister to the lost. Thank you, God. And Lord, if there's any who are hearing this that have not received you as their Savior and Lord, God, I pray that this day they would be born again.

Lord, that you would show them how much you love them, how you proved that by dying on the cross for us. I pray that you would bring people into their lives who would be able to share with them and encourage that they might respond to your free gift of salvation, your offer of forgiveness and of eternity with you. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.