back to index2019-4-24: Wed Bible Study Lesson 13
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Okay, so let me pray for us and we'll jump right in. 00:00:09.000 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for allowing us to have a place to come and worship you 00:00:16.120 |
We pray, Father, that you would give us insight into your Word, and more than just a simple 00:00:21.120 |
understanding, a greater conviction, a deepening of appreciation of what it is that we have 00:00:27.240 |
in you, that our desire to spread the gospel, Lord God, would be deeply rooted in understanding 00:00:39.880 |
Help us, Lord God, to dig deeper and to know your heart, Lord, through this text. 00:00:47.920 |
So just as a reminder, again, Colossians is divided into two major parts. 00:00:54.000 |
Remember, the first two chapters is doxology, right? 00:00:57.840 |
Basically the doctrine of Christ, it basically goes over what the gospel is, and then chapter 00:01:07.120 |
So chapter three and four, we've been in the exhortation of what we ought to do. 00:01:10.960 |
So chapter three, a large division of chapter three basically is because of what Christ 00:01:15.720 |
has done, put off your old self and to put on what? 00:01:23.880 |
The immediate application of the gospel is to put off your old self and put on Christ. 00:01:28.920 |
And then chapter four, the text that we're in today, specifically goes into prayer, but 00:01:34.640 |
more specifically, not just general prayer, but prayer specifically engaged in what? 00:01:45.680 |
So if you look at all the majority of the writings in the New Testament, there is some 00:01:55.400 |
Again, and it's, I don't know if that's something that needs to be pushed, but I think generally 00:02:01.800 |
speaking, I don't know about you, but the first day I became a Christian, the first 00:02:05.960 |
thing that came to my mind is who I was going to tell, right? 00:02:11.560 |
Maybe some of you guys kind of gradually became a Christian, so maybe you don't remember, 00:02:15.680 |
but maybe some of you guys remember when you first became a Christian, right? 00:02:22.780 |
I think that's a natural response of any human being. 00:02:25.320 |
I don't think that's anything unique to me, right? 00:02:29.040 |
If you've come to realize that God is real, heaven and hell is real, that the Bible is 00:02:35.500 |
real, then what else would you be thinking of other than who can I tell, right? 00:02:42.880 |
So Apostle Paul, all the letters that he writes, it's in the context of evangelism. 00:02:50.280 |
Churches that he's planted, he's following up on them, and then it ends in exhortation, 00:02:57.180 |
Whether you are like Apostle Paul going out to foreign lands as a missionary, or whether 00:03:01.500 |
you're in your home, whether it's toward your family, whatever it may be, that the immediate 00:03:06.500 |
response to every Christian is to go tell, right? 00:03:09.640 |
That's why he says we are the light of the world. 00:03:11.340 |
You don't hide a light underneath the table, you put it on the top so all can see. 00:03:15.500 |
So that's kind of like how he's summing up the book of Colossians, right? 00:03:20.240 |
After every exhortation, at the end, he says to pray and to pray deliberately. 00:03:24.780 |
So if we look at it, remember one of the first things that we want to do in everything that 00:03:36.960 |
If you're texting me now, I'm not going to be able to get to it. 00:03:39.380 |
I feel my phone buzzing in my back pocket, I'm not going to take it out, okay? 00:03:45.740 |
Hopefully we'll be able to answer it without me looking at it, okay? 00:03:56.260 |
Yeah verse two would be kind of like the first thought. 00:04:47.500 |
Maybe I'm milking it, but I labeled it what to do after you pray, okay? 00:04:53.500 |
It's not necessarily telling you to pray, but it is connected, right? 00:05:10.060 |
He doesn't just say to pray, but he says to be devoted to prayer, right? 00:05:17.020 |
In fact, if you look at the New Testament, every time there is a calling to prayer, it 00:05:23.420 |
He says to be committed to prayer, to be deliberate about prayer, to be devoted to prayer. 00:05:29.540 |
Like why does he tell us to be devoted, right? 00:05:38.380 |
Those of you who have different translations. 00:05:42.980 |
That's the same word that's used when Jesus is at Gethsemane and he's telling his disciples, 00:05:49.900 |
And he used that word three separate times to refer to the disciples praying, right? 00:05:54.540 |
And when somebody tells you to keep watch, what are they asking you to do? 00:06:34.620 |
So all of these ideas, when it says to pray, to guard something, to guard something, it's 00:06:59.620 |
Spiritually, we're supposed to guard the gospel. 00:07:00.620 |
We're supposed to guard the church, guard the truth. 00:07:03.620 |
We're supposed to, when Jesus says to watch, he's basically telling his disciples to do 00:07:14.380 |
He calls the watchman, and he says that God has called Ezekiel to be the watchman of Israel. 00:07:19.860 |
And as he is watching, if God tells Ezekiel that judgment is coming, and he doesn't do 00:07:28.820 |
So his calling was to be the mouthpiece of whatever was coming to Israel. 00:07:33.100 |
He's supposed to stand at the gate and watch to see the danger coming. 00:07:36.400 |
And if God says danger is coming and he does nothing, or he's falling asleep, he says the 00:07:46.340 |
So the idea of watching in the New Testament, in particular when Paul's talking about here, 00:07:51.580 |
is a reminder to us that there's a spiritual battle. 00:07:55.660 |
Again, when we are, and this is why evangelism is so important in keeping us sober. 00:08:01.300 |
When you are not engaged in getting the gospel out, you are constantly forgetting that we 00:08:10.820 |
There's no spiritual battle in doing quiet time. 00:08:13.540 |
There's no spiritual battle in coming to church and hanging out with friends. 00:08:17.180 |
There's no spiritual battle in getting the theology correct in your small group Bible 00:08:31.980 |
So when you are not engaged in some context, I'm not saying that you have to go out to 00:08:36.780 |
China or you have to be sharing the gospel with non-believers out in the street every 00:08:40.860 |
single day, but if there isn't some kind of engagement and deliberate attempt to get the 00:08:45.260 |
gospel out, your prayers are going to be affected. 00:08:51.620 |
It's hard to remain sober when you're not engaged in the battle. 00:08:56.620 |
So the call to prayer is really a call to battle when he says to watch. 00:09:02.380 |
I mean, when do you feel the urgency to pray? 00:09:07.940 |
So typically what happens is you pray when something emergency happens in your life that 00:09:16.900 |
Even we Christians will pray when you're sick or something disastrous happens or you've 00:09:22.820 |
gone to the mission field, you're engaged in some kind of work. 00:09:26.460 |
I'll bet you if you've ever been to short term missions that you probably prayed more 00:09:29.660 |
than you did when you didn't go because you have a work to be done and you want to make 00:09:40.540 |
So when you are engaged in God's work, it causes you to be sober to be more prayerful. 00:09:45.620 |
But when you're not engaged in it, what are you praying for? 00:09:51.420 |
You may be praying for safety, but it's not it's not prayer for battle. 00:09:55.320 |
It's pray that God would protect what's important to you. 00:10:00.180 |
And so typically those type of prayers are still prayers, but it's not powerful prayer. 00:10:07.940 |
Because we're not necessarily engaged in what God desires for us. 00:10:10.580 |
So he says to devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it, being watchful and with 00:10:19.740 |
Why is thanksgiving always attached to prayer? 00:10:24.620 |
Philippians 4, 6, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with 00:10:33.620 |
thanksgiving that you request be known to God. 00:10:36.100 |
Colossians 3, 15, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were 00:10:42.460 |
And over and over again, prayer and thankfulness go hand in hand. 00:10:47.060 |
Why is thankfulness important in effectiveness in prayer? 00:11:10.020 |
He who comes to God must first believe that he is. 00:11:14.220 |
So he, one, thankfulness is related to prayer because we believe that he's going to answer. 00:11:21.980 |
So you already come believing that God's going to answer. 00:11:26.140 |
But another part of thankfulness in prayer is the fact that you're able to pray, you 00:11:33.220 |
The fact that you have access to God should automatically, even before you pray, you know 00:11:38.740 |
what I mean, the fact that you are able to enter into his throne with confidence is because 00:11:48.740 |
So even before we even engage in prayer, he says to devote yourselves in prayer, being 00:11:53.140 |
sober, being watchful, engaging in the spiritual battle with an attitude of thanksgiving. 00:11:58.660 |
Now let me make this as crystal clear as possible. 00:12:05.540 |
Prayer without prayer, right, you can do as much Bible study as you want, you can do as 00:12:10.540 |
much fellowship as you want, you can do as much exegesis and serving the church as you 00:12:14.340 |
want, you cannot engage in the spiritual battle because we do not fight against flesh and 00:12:24.500 |
The devil is not afraid of theologically minded people. 00:12:29.260 |
The devil does not draw back from people who are organized. 00:12:34.860 |
Devil is not afraid of a church filled with people who are very gifted, have a lot of 00:12:52.140 |
There's nothing more powerful than him than God. 00:12:59.580 |
So there's nothing that the devil is afraid of other than God himself. 00:13:03.840 |
So it is only when we are directly engaged with the things of God, right, all of these 00:13:08.940 |
things are important, but prayer is the most direct thing that we can connect with God. 00:13:14.420 |
And that's why Jesus says when he sees the multitudes, first thing he says is what? 00:13:22.260 |
He doesn't say, "Go train more people for leadership." 00:13:27.380 |
"Beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers." 00:13:31.820 |
Because ultimately only God can cause us to bear fruit. 00:13:37.900 |
So he says to pray, pray with Thanksgiving, praying at the same time for us. 00:13:41.420 |
And again, so he calls us to pray and then what he asks us to pray for is directly related. 00:14:06.300 |
He gives all these lists of people that he's traveling with. 00:14:11.340 |
Paul's not a lone ranger walking around doing his work. 00:14:17.860 |
And he says, "Pray for us that God will open to us a door for the Word." 00:14:26.020 |
I know that there's this tension whenever we do church or evangelism or mission work, 00:14:30.460 |
there's this tension between strategy and dependence on God. 00:14:36.180 |
The Western church has a tendency to strategize everything. 00:14:41.900 |
If you're strategic enough and you use this kind of organization and if you have these 00:14:46.180 |
gifted people doing this, we would be more successful. 00:14:52.860 |
And so what's lacking in the Western church is not more how-to books on how to do things 00:15:03.020 |
That, I mean, all the books on how to do church, how to disciple, how to teach, how to this, 00:15:10.740 |
What we are weak in is connecting to the Holy Spirit. 00:15:15.580 |
The Western church is because they don't have the strategy, they have a tendency to be more 00:15:18.980 |
reliant on prayer and fasting and coming to God. 00:15:30.300 |
Think about the big picture of how Paul did ministry. 00:15:46.980 |
It's clear that Paul's intention was to go to the synagogue. 00:16:02.260 |
Because they had the gospel in the Old Testament. 00:16:06.140 |
Even though the Holy Spirit made it very clear, "You are an apostle sent to the Gentiles," 00:16:13.100 |
We can't read his mind, but it seems like Apostle Paul was so stuck on the Jews that 00:16:18.780 |
It wasn't until he got rejected by the Jews, he started going to the Gentiles. 00:16:24.340 |
Even in Corinth and Athens, he went to the synagogues and then he got kicked out and 00:16:31.140 |
And then, not only did he go to the synagogues, the cities that he went into, were they strategic? 00:16:58.380 |
Have you ever, do you remember any city that we studied or, there might be one or two, 00:17:03.380 |
but majority of the cities, it says it was a major city. 00:17:09.540 |
Every single one of the cities that Paul targeted were major cities. 00:17:20.140 |
There's a reason why people are going to Beijing to preach the gospel. 00:17:26.140 |
So, they would strategically target these big places. 00:17:28.700 |
So, I can go on and on, but did Paul have a strategy? 00:17:31.460 |
At least, when you read it, it seems like Paul had strategies. 00:17:36.420 |
But, even though Paul had strategies and he was working, ultimately Paul knew that it 00:17:41.380 |
wasn't the strategy that was causing him to bear fruit. 00:17:45.900 |
It wasn't like, "Oh, we did this and then," you know, there are times when the Holy Spirit 00:17:52.100 |
And then he has a, somebody has a dream and then he crosses over to Macedonia. 00:17:55.580 |
And so, Paul, in the midst of having plans, right, he didn't sit there and wait. 00:18:11.020 |
He was in the context of moving and being obedient. 00:18:13.640 |
And within the context of his working, the Holy Spirit would guide him and lead him. 00:18:17.460 |
Certain doors would shut and then he would end up going somewhere else. 00:18:19.780 |
So, you can see his ministry was very fluid, but it was happening in the context of him 00:18:26.940 |
It was in the context of him sharing the gospel. 00:18:29.940 |
You know, one of the most frustrating things that I hear from people are people who are 00:18:33.740 |
very critical about the way someone else is doing evangelism while they're sitting at 00:18:46.100 |
They're so critical about how other people are doing ministry while they're sitting home 00:18:51.820 |
So, even if you disagree, disagree in the context of you doing it. 00:18:56.580 |
While you're doing it, show people how you think it ought to be done, but don't sit there 00:19:00.860 |
with your arms crossed and then criticize people who are actively going out there because 00:19:08.180 |
Apostle Paul was actively engaged in ministry. 00:19:22.100 |
How we organize our small group is very strategic. 00:19:27.020 |
Like how, you know, where we plant, what people come, the age organization, all of these things 00:19:34.300 |
But in the end, what bears fruit is not the strategy. 00:19:39.840 |
He says, "Pray that the doors may be open to us, that the word may spread." 00:19:47.500 |
Paul's not saying so that we may spread, our brand of Christianity may spread, but 00:19:51.540 |
he's eager to get the word out, that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ. 00:19:55.460 |
So Paul is, Paul knows very clearly, right, what the heart of his message is, is to get 00:20:01.740 |
the gospel out, to which I have been imprisoned. 00:20:08.660 |
Did he go to prison because he was a Christian? 00:20:15.340 |
Now, there are periods in church history, and there are places in the world even now, 00:20:21.060 |
that there is persecution just by being a Christian. 00:20:27.300 |
I mean, we heard about the bombing that took place in Sri Lanka. 00:20:30.740 |
They got bombed because they were Christians. 00:20:34.860 |
But for majority of church history and majority of the places around the world, they're being 00:20:39.020 |
persecuted and risking their lives, not because they're Christians, but because they're proselytizing. 00:20:45.300 |
The Indian pastors in India can live a very peaceful life if they didn't proselytize, 00:20:51.260 |
if they didn't go to the villages and try to preach the gospel. 00:20:54.700 |
Paul was sitting in prison not because he claimed faith in Jesus Christ, but because 00:20:58.100 |
he was trying to get other people to believe. 00:21:00.900 |
He was risking his life going place to place. 00:21:03.820 |
And then when he was very successful, he would actually turn even the economy upside down 00:21:12.540 |
And so they couldn't make a living because of Paul was so successful in certain cities, 00:21:23.500 |
So oftentimes when people think, "Oh, how come we don't experience persecution here?" 00:21:29.860 |
Well, persecution happens when we're engaged in the spiritual battle. 00:21:36.540 |
You may not be imprisoned or get rocks thrown at, but there will definitely be a pushback 00:21:43.660 |
But if you're not pushing toward the darkness, there's nothing to push back. 00:21:49.160 |
If you're sitting comfortably where you are, there's no need for them to push you back. 00:21:55.660 |
Paul's sitting in prison because he's actively engaged in the gospel ministry. 00:21:59.140 |
And then he says his prayer is that not only that the doors may be open, when the doors 00:22:05.940 |
So in order to make the gospel clear, two things need to happen. 00:22:16.300 |
You can't be clear about the gospel if you're not clear about the gospel. 00:22:20.420 |
If you're kind of nonchalantly just going through. 00:22:22.860 |
You know, I've met so many Christians who can't explain why Jesus had to die. 00:22:31.940 |
And if you can't answer my question, it's a challenge. 00:22:35.980 |
Is it important for Christians to be able to explain why Jesus had to die? 00:22:42.060 |
Why couldn't he just say you're forgiven just like normal people? 00:22:47.060 |
If somebody wronged me and you want my forgiveness, all I have to do is say, okay, I'm not gonna 00:23:00.540 |
Why does all this drama of crucifying his son and sin being upon him? 00:23:07.300 |
I remember early on as a Christian, yeah, I couldn't understand that. 00:23:10.680 |
Even though I accepted it and I prayed and it's back in my mind, I didn't fully understand 00:23:16.900 |
I just kind of like, oh, you know, let the theologians take care of it. 00:23:22.800 |
But the more, the longer I became a Christian, the more it bothered me that I couldn't give 00:23:27.260 |
it a precise answer for that or a satisfactory answer for that. 00:23:30.820 |
And I realized like, hmm, I don't really know the gospel that well. 00:23:37.700 |
How important is it that you understand the concept of Colossians and what Paul says, 00:23:45.740 |
How he created, what caused man to fall, what happened after the fall, what was the reason 00:23:49.740 |
why we got saved, what happened after we got saved, what is coming because we got saved. 00:24:02.380 |
If you own a home, you better learn how to pay your mortgage. 00:24:08.020 |
If you own a home, there's, I mean, if you bought a house and you say, well, how'd you 00:24:20.980 |
You can't, you can't own a home and not know about the mortgage. 00:24:28.000 |
You can't profess to have faith in Christ and then live the rest of your life and not 00:24:35.460 |
So if you want to make it clear first, you have to be, you have to be clear about the 00:24:38.880 |
gospel and that's why we study the word of God. 00:24:41.640 |
We're trying to understand what we've already professed. 00:24:45.940 |
So somebody who is not evangelizing and sharing the gospel, you may feel comfortable being 00:24:51.700 |
where you are because no one's ever challenging you. 00:24:56.180 |
A non-Christian isn't going to be like, "Wow, why, if God's so good, why did he do that?" 00:25:00.040 |
No one is ever asking you because you're not ever engaged with non-Christians. 00:25:03.700 |
In fact, you don't even know what kind of holes exist in your understanding of the gospel 00:25:10.820 |
You're always surrounded by people who are trying to encourage you. 00:25:19.100 |
I mean, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but if that's all you have around 00:25:24.720 |
you all the time, right, constantly telling you that everything is okay no matter what 00:25:30.020 |
it is, then 10, 20, 30 years go by, you still have no idea what you profess to believe. 00:25:37.300 |
And all of a sudden, you get an aggressive atheist at work who's coming at you. 00:25:42.140 |
20 years later, you realize, "Hmm, I don't know what I believe." 00:25:47.260 |
And then because you don't know what you believe, you begin to think that maybe this isn't real. 00:25:58.600 |
So, in order to make the gospel clear, you need to know what the gospel is in detail. 00:26:03.800 |
You need to be growing in understanding of what he did, why he did it, what did he accomplish 00:26:10.560 |
at the cross, why was the shedding of blood, right? 00:26:20.800 |
What is the second part to make the gospel clear? 00:26:40.820 |
You may know the gospel well, but if you don't open your mouth, it means nothing. 00:26:55.840 |
So, you need to know, you need to know, and that's what we're doing here, right, in the 00:27:00.760 |
end to really understand the depth of the gospel. 00:27:03.240 |
Every part of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation, is a revelation of the gospel about the mystery 00:27:09.300 |
And that's why we need to know every part of the Bible. 00:27:11.240 |
Because it gives different aspects, right, of the gospel. 00:27:16.000 |
But the second part of it, if you may know it and you may appreciate it, you may worship 00:27:19.360 |
God and be a great Christian in church, but if you never open your mouth, how will they 00:27:25.120 |
So, Paul says, "Pray for us that the door may be opened for the word, that the mystery 00:27:33.380 |
And then, thirdly, he says, "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders." 00:27:39.520 |
Now, this is not disconnected with what he just said about prayer, because his prayer 00:27:47.460 |
Now he's talking about how you ought to live in order to set up for the gospel, right? 00:27:55.240 |
So all his prayer is, you need to pray to keep watch, to be thankful, right? 00:28:01.220 |
And pray specifically for us that the door may be opened for us, that the gospel may 00:28:09.180 |
But the way that you need to live where you are, right, toward outsiders, conduct yourselves 00:28:13.720 |
with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity. 00:28:18.020 |
So what does he mean by making the most of every opportunity? 00:28:23.080 |
Look for opportunities to get the gospel out, right? 00:28:26.480 |
If you're going to make the gospel clear, you know the gospel, and you're ready, you're 00:28:30.240 |
praying and you're ready to open your mouth, right? 00:28:46.880 |
To be effective in preaching the gospel, right? 00:28:49.300 |
He's not saying live wisely so that you can make good investments and make sure you pick 00:28:52.980 |
the right stock so that they can go up and buy the house at the right time when it dips, 00:28:58.760 |
Know which industry to go into that's booming and different. 00:29:04.920 |
In the context he's talking about, live with wisdom to make the most of every opportunity. 00:29:10.000 |
If God opens the door, right, but you're not sober, what happens? 00:29:19.320 |
You'd be surprised when you are prayerful and you are spiritually sober, just how many 00:29:26.640 |
opportunities that are around you every single day for you to share the gospel that you just 00:29:35.600 |
It's sometimes like, "Oh, you know, like Orange County, everybody knows, you know, like if 00:29:39.280 |
I go to China where people don't know the gospel, I could," but you'd be surprised if 00:29:43.880 |
you stayed alert, right, how often you run into, like when you go out to missions, right? 00:29:48.760 |
Let's say you go to Japan and you prayed in the morning, "Hey, let's stay sober." 00:29:53.040 |
You get into the subway and then say, "Hey, when you're in the subway, sit next to me," 00:29:57.200 |
assuming everybody speaks English, which they don't, but I'm just giving you an example, 00:30:02.120 |
Every time you enter into the subway, that's a possibility to share the gospel, right? 00:30:08.320 |
Everybody is lost and asking a question, that's an opportunity to share the gospel. 00:30:13.120 |
You're a student and you have other students sitting around and you're doing projects together, 00:30:20.080 |
You have non-Christian family members coming over, that's an opportunity to share the gospel, 00:30:25.040 |
I mean, if you are sober and you are actively looking and praying, you'd be surprised just 00:30:31.520 |
how often that opportunity actually happens, right? 00:30:36.680 |
Hey, I have so many stories of me missing opportunities and I would only think about 00:30:44.360 |
It's like, "Oh, shoot, I should have said something." 00:30:47.280 |
Yeah, there's one time I was just so burnt out from ministry. 00:30:56.160 |
And I told the story before, but yeah, I was a weirdo. 00:30:59.160 |
I got on a cruise to Ensenada by myself and I didn't want to talk to anybody, you know, 00:31:04.160 |
and then I would go to dinner by myself and they would say, "What are you doing here?" 00:31:12.840 |
And I remember there was another older man who was there sitting and eating and I must 00:31:19.600 |
have looked pretty pathetic and he was engaging with me. 00:31:22.000 |
And then for some reason, there was a lot of fires going on at that time. 00:31:25.320 |
There was a Malibu fire, there was a lot of earthquakes. 00:31:27.400 |
And then he wasn't a Christian and he asked me, he said, "Wow, you know, like something 00:31:36.520 |
It's like all my years, he said 70-some years he lived, he said, "I've never seen this. 00:31:43.400 |
And I was just sitting there, it's like, "Yeah, there's a lot of fires." 00:31:49.920 |
In the back of my mind, I knew like, okay, you know, like I could have just said, "You 00:31:53.240 |
know what the Bible says about the end times?" 00:31:58.800 |
I live all my life trying to engage people and he was engaging me, but I was just so 00:32:04.760 |
And I remember coming back to the room and even to this day, I think about that situation. 00:32:11.680 |
Because I pray for that kind of stuff to happen. 00:32:13.960 |
And then when the guy came to me, like trying to help me and I didn't want to talk to him 00:32:24.880 |
And again, to this day, I think about that because that kind of stuff just doesn't happen. 00:32:30.320 |
I mean, I traveled to India and remotest parts of the world to try to engage people about 00:32:37.560 |
But because I wasn't sober, I just didn't have the energy. 00:32:41.520 |
And so if we were, again, if we're engaged in prayer and we're remaining sober, you'd 00:32:47.080 |
be surprised how often opportunities are around us. 00:32:52.600 |
So he prays that we would conduct ourselves to outsiders with wisdom, making the most 00:32:58.280 |
And his speech, "Always be with grace as seasoned with salt." 00:33:04.080 |
Jesus himself says that we are the salt of the earth. 00:33:07.480 |
Salt is used, one for flavor and the other was for what? 00:33:12.400 |
So could Paul be saying, "Be salty, be flavorful." 00:33:21.960 |
Make their dull food more flavorful by being around. 00:33:24.760 |
Like they have more fun when you're there, possibly. 00:33:29.000 |
Maybe you could milk an illustration out of that, but it seems to fit more with the preservation. 00:33:34.760 |
That we are the salt of the earth, that God put us to be a light and he's using us as 00:33:43.120 |
So he says, when he says, "To let your speech always be with grace as though seasoned with 00:33:48.680 |
salt in preservation, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." 00:33:53.800 |
In other words, the way you speak, right, in the context with the outsiders will either 00:34:00.840 |
cause you to have an opportunity to share the gospel or may shut the door. 00:34:07.000 |
As an example, if, and again, this is, you know, most of you guys are in the workforce, 00:34:16.560 |
I've worked enough in the secular world to know that the common attitude most people 00:34:26.840 |
In fact, it's almost weird if you went to a workplace and everybody was happy. 00:34:34.040 |
Find a new job and go there and don't do it the first week so you don't get fired. 00:34:39.720 |
After a while, you get, you know, you get tenured and you feel comfortable there. 00:34:48.760 |
Typically, most people are disgruntled at work and they spend an enormous amount of 00:34:54.120 |
time complaining about who's doing what wrong. 00:34:59.000 |
How many of you are in that kind of environment right now? 00:35:01.440 |
Like, if you can be honest, maybe you're the one causing this. 00:35:07.280 |
How many of you are in that kind of environment right now where it's very toxic because people 00:35:35.400 |
I'm not saying every worker is like that, but that's the general attitude most people 00:35:42.040 |
Whether they blame the boss, whether they blame other people, there's always some kind 00:35:46.520 |
If you jump into that and you're no different than them, and then all of a sudden they say, 00:35:56.880 |
See how serious they take you if that's what you're known for. 00:36:01.800 |
You're known for your disgruntle, your slandering, you're always saying this, you're always grumbling, 00:36:06.280 |
and all of a sudden it's like, "But Jesus died for me." 00:36:10.960 |
So when he says, "Make your speech seasoned with salt," right, so that you will know how 00:36:15.240 |
you should respond to each person, again, it's to establish an opportunity, again, with 00:36:20.560 |
your speech, when the opportunity comes, when God opens the door, that you can share the 00:36:25.120 |
gospel with people and be wise about how you go about doing that. 00:36:29.800 |
You know, one of the best things that I learned about sharing the gospel is that you don't 00:36:35.960 |
Because people want to be heard, most people, especially if they're hurting. 00:36:40.640 |
If they're hurting people, they don't want to hear a monologue from you, you know, because 00:36:46.600 |
You don't want somebody sitting in front of you saying, "Hey, you don't know, I know, 00:36:49.240 |
you know, I know, I know, I know, you don't know, I know, I know." 00:36:56.640 |
So one of the biggest things that I learned in evangelism is to hear them so that they 00:37:03.960 |
If they think you care, they become far better listeners, right? 00:37:08.720 |
If they don't think you care, they don't care what you say. 00:37:15.080 |
And so a lot of times like when we're evangelists and I'll sit there and he doesn't give me 00:37:22.240 |
And I used to feel like, "Oh, I got to get the gospel out, you know? 00:37:27.560 |
And I would force it in them and then I said it and they're like, "Oh, I shared the gospel 00:37:31.920 |
But I realized that a lot of times like I don't have to share, you know, because that's 00:37:35.920 |
why it's like we're praying for opportunity to be wise. 00:37:38.640 |
If I go out there and engage and I'll tell them I'm a Christian, they know why I'm there. 00:37:42.320 |
And even the one sentence I say in the context of them listening, there's far more, there's 00:37:47.680 |
far more fruit than trying to shove the whole gospel into somebody who's not listening, 00:37:52.800 |
So oftentimes you'll be sitting there talking to a non-Christian and he doesn't give you 00:38:02.840 |
But maybe, maybe in the context of talking, he's like, "Man, I've talked for two hours 00:38:11.800 |
That 10 minute or five minute window he gives you will be far more effective than the hour 00:38:22.600 |
Be wise, be prayerful, be watchful, look for the opportunities that are coming your way. 00:38:27.120 |
Again, if you're not sober, even in the opportunities come, you're not even going to, you're not 00:38:32.720 |
But if you're sober and you're aware, you'd be surprised. 00:38:36.480 |
Every question they ask you, every interest that they have in you can easily turn into 00:38:48.000 |
I usually go out with my friends after Bible study. 00:38:51.720 |
Every question could turn into a connection to something that you do related to Christ, 00:38:59.000 |
But if you're not sober, it's like, what's the most important thing to you? 00:39:07.200 |
Now you're having a whole conversation about what's going on in NBA playoff because you're 00:39:13.760 |
And then way later, you're thinking like, oh shoot, he asked me what was most important 00:39:23.400 |
So the whole thing that he's saying here, again, it's in the context of planting churches 00:39:27.680 |
and spreading the gospel, to be prayerful, to be watchful, with thanksgiving, pray for 00:39:34.640 |
the doors to open, pray that when the doors do open that he may be able to preach it clearly. 00:39:41.280 |
In order to do that, make sure that you're staying sober. 00:39:44.280 |
You're living in such a way that you're being wise among non-Christians so that when that 00:39:51.760 |
So along with that, at the end, some of the questions. 00:40:01.880 |
In what way can you be more deliberate in your prayer life this week? 00:40:06.720 |
No matter where you are in your walk with God, in your prayer life, this is asking for 00:40:11.520 |
specific application and you don't have to be like, oh I'm going to pray an hour a day, 00:40:15.480 |
I'm going to pray in the morning, I'm going to pray at night. 00:40:17.400 |
But wherever you are, to be a bit more deliberate. 00:40:22.160 |
Prayer is one of those things that if you don't make an appointment, it's probably not 00:40:27.960 |
If you don't make an appointment, it's like, oh when I get up I'm going to do it. 00:40:30.280 |
I don't know about you, but when I get up I'm not in the mood to pray. 00:40:37.880 |
Because I'm tired, I'm thinking about getting dressed, I'm thinking about all the appointments 00:40:43.160 |
So if I don't tell myself I'm going to come to the office and I'm going to sit there and 00:40:46.640 |
I'm going to pray for these things, it just doesn't happen. 00:40:50.440 |
Or it kind of happens sometimes, it kind of doesn't happen. 00:40:53.900 |
So how can you be more deliberate about praying? 00:40:56.560 |
So if your prayer life kind of looks like this, when it happens, it happens, doesn't 00:41:03.920 |
Just even if it's ten minutes, when you get in the car in the morning, or when you get 00:41:07.320 |
into the work a little bit earlier, you're going to pray. 00:41:09.120 |
Or before you leave and get in your car, I'm going to pray a little bit and I'm going to 00:41:13.280 |
So if you're going to make an appointment to pray, prepare for prayer. 00:41:17.800 |
Don't just get in there and I'm going to pray. 00:41:19.880 |
Already think in your mind or even write down, this is what I'm going to pray for. 00:41:23.880 |
I'm going to pray for these people, I'm going to pray for this situation, and write down 00:41:29.360 |
two or three things that you're going to pray for that day. 00:41:34.520 |
Because if you don't do that, you're going to say, well, you know, I'm going to pray, 00:41:38.520 |
Like at what point in your life, especially if you're busy, if you're a young parent with 00:41:42.920 |
children, at what point do you get thirty minute or ten minute, twenty minute break 00:41:50.160 |
If you have young children at home, there is no such thing as break. 00:41:55.200 |
Break is when you close your eyes and go to sleep. 00:41:58.640 |
So if you're not deliberate about appointing that time, it's probably not going to happen. 00:42:04.520 |
So that's that question, how can you be more deliberate? 00:42:07.040 |
What aspect of the gospel do you need more clarity in? 00:42:10.360 |
I told you in the beginning, I had a hard time understanding why the cross itself had 00:42:15.520 |
Because what part of the gospel is kind of vague that you should kind of really dig and 00:42:26.120 |
If there is anything like that, which I know everybody does. 00:42:29.240 |
Who are the non-Christians in your life that you have been praying for? 00:42:33.400 |
And even if you haven't been praying for, that you should be praying for. 00:42:36.180 |
So take some time to share that with your group. 00:42:37.680 |
And in what way can you be more deliberate in sharing the gospel with them? 00:42:41.400 |
Don't say Tuesday, I'm going to lay out the Romans road. 00:42:53.280 |
If you haven't talked to this guy ever, and the first conversation is, if you don't believe 00:43:01.380 |
So maybe if you haven't connected with him, just take him out to lunch. 00:43:11.080 |
But how can you be more deliberate about reaching out to them? 00:43:15.280 |
You know, I was really thankful this Easter Sunday. 00:43:19.920 |
I think we had more non-Christians come to church this Sunday than we've ever. 00:43:26.400 |
I don't know the exact number, but off the top of my head, we probably had 30 or more. 00:43:33.720 |
30 is the number that I kind of like off the top of my head. 00:43:36.400 |
But that's not including the people that I don't know, that I haven't talked to. 00:43:40.160 |
So that's really encouraging, because a lot of people made an effort to reach out to their 00:43:46.320 |
So whether that leads to further conversations, or them accepting Christ or not, but at least 00:43:50.440 |
it shows me that a good number of our church people are being deliberate about being intentional 00:43:56.680 |
So if that's something that, again, that you are already engaged in, take some time to 00:44:01.240 |
If not, maybe this can be a catalyst for you to be mindful of them and pray for them. 00:44:06.600 |
So I'll close, and I'll have you guys get into your small room. 00:44:13.600 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your living word. 00:44:17.200 |
We thank you that you are gracious with us, that you use weak vessels like us to spread 00:44:26.640 |
We thank you that you didn't leave it up to us, that ultimately, Lord, that salvation 00:44:34.460 |
Help us, Lord, to share, pray with confidence that, as you called us to be faithful, that 00:44:43.200 |
So we pray for your blessing over our small group time.