1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Well, words have power. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:04,080 Words have power. 3 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:08,480 When we were kids, there was a playground rhyme 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,280 that was used kind of as a defense against name calling 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,440 or against those playground bullies. 6 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:15,760 Any of you guys remember this one? 7 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:17,320 It went something like this. 8 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,880 Sticks and stones may break my bones, 9 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,120 but words will never hurt me. 10 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,320 Right, and then their angry words, 11 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,400 their name calling just fell right off of you, right? 12 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:31,480 And you were fine. 13 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:32,840 Yeah. 14 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:34,040 That was our defense, right? 15 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,280 Sticks and stones may break my bones, 16 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,000 but words will never hurt me. 17 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:42,000 This is probably a poor joke. 18 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:43,440 I made it in the first service. 19 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:44,800 It kind of fell flat. 20 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,840 But I said, well, that saying is actually 21 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,520 from the mid 1800s, around 1850. 22 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,200 So some of you were little kids when it was first said. 23 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:54,040 Oh. 24 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:59,040 Better the second service, 25 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:01,960 but I had to set it up a little bit. 26 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,160 And I didn't call out names like I usually do. 27 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,800 But how many of you guys have found out 28 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:09,640 over the course of your life 29 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,840 that the second part of that saying is absolute rubbish? 30 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:16,520 Rubbish, we're British today. 31 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:17,600 It's rubbish. 32 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:20,440 Sticks and stones may break my bones, 33 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,360 but words absolutely do hurt sometimes. 34 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:26,760 Words have power and they do hurt. 35 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:31,000 In fact, the book of James compares the power of the tongue 36 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,800 that each one of us has to speak. 37 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:37,400 Compares it to life or death. 38 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,320 Compares it to a small little rudder on a giant ship 39 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:45,920 that even in the middle of a storm, a windstorm, 40 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:46,800 battering the ship, 41 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,800 that small little rudder can still steer it. 42 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:50,960 That's like the tongue. 43 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,080 It also says that a small single spark, 44 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,600 talk about relevant for our day, right? 45 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:03,600 A small little spark can light a giant forest on fire. 46 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,520 And we really think about that where we live, 47 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:06,960 we're always concerned about fires, 48 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:09,200 we're always concerned about sparks 49 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:10,440 flying off into the woods. 50 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:12,320 And so you make sure to do everything you can 51 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,640 that your fires are put out, waters on it, dirt's on it. 52 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:18,560 But just think about that tiny little spark 53 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:20,880 and how it has set off massive forest fires, 54 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:25,880 100,000, 200,000 acres from a single spark. 55 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,760 Well, so too the words that we speak. 56 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:33,760 They have profound impact. 57 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,360 Words have the power to arrest time. 58 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:39,920 You guys experience this? 59 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:43,320 You wake up, you're having a great outlook on the day, 60 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,080 you're all smiles and giggles, 61 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,280 you're ready to tackle the day, 62 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,120 and then someone says an unsavory word to you 63 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,000 in a matter of seconds, 64 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:57,200 and it disrupts your mind, 65 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:58,840 it disrupts your heart for the rest of the day. 66 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,920 You can't get it out, it's stuck. 67 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:03,400 Maybe it's the rest of the day. 68 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,960 For some words, they stick for a week. 69 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:08,880 You can't get it out. 70 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,440 Some for a month and some, in some situations, 71 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,560 some words have the power 72 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,160 to chart the course of someone's life. 73 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:20,880 Words have power. 74 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,560 And last time we looked at Ephesians chapter five 75 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:27,480 in our series, Redeeming the Time, 76 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,240 we looked at Ephesians five and Paul's instruction to us 77 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,360 to redeem the time by living wisely 78 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,680 to be filled with life-giving words of God 79 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,840 and to be filled with the life-giving spirit of God 80 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:41,960 so that we can know what God's will is 81 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,560 and we can live it out in action every day. 82 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,400 And today we're gonna look at another passage 83 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,200 that Paul wrote, this time to the church in Colossae, 84 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:53,520 the book of Colossians, 85 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,080 which will have a lot of the same emphasis 86 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,000 that we saw in his address to the church in Ephesus. 87 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,000 And for Paul, you gotta know, Paul in his letters, 88 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,960 he oftentimes takes the beginning portion 89 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:06,480 of his letters to these churches, 90 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:11,360 and he unravels or reveals some mysterious, 91 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,640 theological truth and dives deep into it 92 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,400 and just says who we are or divides the word really well. 93 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,120 But then usually in the back half of his letters, 94 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,000 you'll find that he addresses Christian living. 95 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,520 Now in light of what you know or what you've learned 96 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:28,920 about who Christ is or the kingdom of God, 97 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:30,440 live a certain way. 98 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,080 It's supposed to change our life. 99 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,480 Paul is all about helping believers to understand 100 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:42,120 what it means to live the new life that we have in Christ. 101 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,880 And you can see that if you flip one chapter earlier 102 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,120 in Colossians, Colossians chapter three, 103 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,400 he uses the metaphor of putting on clothing 104 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:56,920 to say that we should put on the new self in Christ, 105 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,440 the new self in Christ made in Christ Jesus, 106 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:01,960 which should absolutely have an effect 107 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,720 on the way that we live. 108 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:06,760 Our scripture today is the next chapter over, 109 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,600 Colossians chapter four, beginning in verse two, 110 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,840 and it reads like this. 111 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:14,560 Devote yourselves to prayer. 112 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,640 Stay alert in it with thanksgiving. 113 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:20,560 And at the same time, pray also for us 114 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,800 that God may open a door to us for the word 115 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,960 to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains, 116 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,640 so that I may make it known as I should. 117 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:36,040 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time, 118 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,960 let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, 119 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:44,960 so that you may know how you should answer each person. 120 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:47,200 This is God's word. 121 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:53,040 And so we see that the new life in Christ chapter three, 122 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,760 put on the new self, put on the new man, 123 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:57,760 put on the new humanity in Christ, 124 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,680 actually is lived out in our actions. 125 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:02,120 And it's lived out in our actions 126 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,000 as we saw in Ephesians chapter five, 127 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,160 but it's also lived out the new life 128 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,960 in the way that we speak. 129 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,360 The new life has new actions, 130 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:16,120 and the new life has a new accent, the way that we speak. 131 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,520 Me and my wife had the opportunity to go to Ireland 132 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,520 for our anniversary a few years back, 133 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:24,120 and we did it on a shoestring budget, 134 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,840 so we flew into Dublin and basically spent 10 days driving, 135 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:30,920 and we drove everywhere. 136 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,840 We drove across and up and around and down and throughout, 137 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:35,000 and we drove, drove, drove, 138 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,600 and that's kind of the way that we spend our time driving. 139 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,480 We've seen the world through a car window. 140 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,080 But you go over to Ireland and you know 141 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,560 that the majority of the folks there speak Irish, 142 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:51,320 I mean speak English. 143 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,040 They speak English like you and I. 144 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:54,080 That's not an issue. 145 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:58,560 Some speak Gaelic that very few of the young people do. 146 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,480 But even if they speak English, 147 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,840 when you speak to someone with a heavy Irish accent, 148 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:06,520 I couldn't understand a thing. 149 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:08,640 I'm trying to order stuff, 150 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:10,480 I'm trying to have a conversation with someone, 151 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,360 learn about their life there in Ireland, 152 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:14,320 and they're just talking, talking in English, 153 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,400 and I'm going, and you have to pay so close attention 154 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,240 to their lips, and you're looking at them, 155 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,400 and then pretty soon you're, what was that, huh? 156 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:22,720 Could you say that again? 157 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:24,640 Could you turn upside down and say it in a different way? 158 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,480 Like, I'm not getting it, and I would look over at my wife, 159 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,280 and she'd be like, wow, something about the gas 160 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,920 and a radiator and a boot, and like, right? 161 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,040 Like, I don't know what they're saying. 162 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,320 Even though they're speaking English, 163 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,120 the accent, man, made it really difficult, 164 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,640 and you had to be super intentional about listening 165 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:46,320 and asking questions. 166 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:48,720 And in the same way, it's like the new life 167 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,720 that we have in Christ. 168 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,480 People should look around and go, well, you look human. 169 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:55,640 That was good, right? 170 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:56,720 You look human. 171 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,240 That's a start, yeah, let's start there. 172 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:01,960 But something about you is different. 173 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:03,120 I don't understand it. 174 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:05,600 Something about you doesn't compute 175 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,080 with the rest of the way that humanity runs or operates. 176 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,200 You act different, you do different things, 177 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,160 you speak differently, something about you is wrong. 178 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,240 Your accent's off, and I don't understand. 179 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:16,480 I need to ask questions. 180 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:18,960 I need to lean in, I need to pay attention to you 181 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:20,600 because you've caught my attention. 182 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,080 And so what does this new Christian speech look like? 183 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,880 What should be our priorities in the way that we speak? 184 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:30,880 Well, we're gonna look today under two points. 185 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:32,520 The first one, if you're taking notes, 186 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,360 speak to God about people. 187 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,720 The new Christian life, the new Christian speech 188 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,160 is about speaking to God about people. 189 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:45,840 Devote yourself to prayer. 190 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,120 Stay alert in it with thanksgiving. 191 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,720 At the same time, pray also for us 192 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,800 that God may open a door to us for the Word 193 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,160 to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, 194 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,600 so that I may make it known as I should. 195 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,360 Paul begins this passage in the same way he did 196 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,640 in Ephesians chapter five with this imperative. 197 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:09,800 It's a present imperative. 198 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,560 Devote yourself to prayer, or you might say, 199 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:15,400 keep persevering in prayer. 200 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:18,920 And Paul is not introducing anything new. 201 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,080 In fact, it's a pattern of the New Testament 202 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,240 and the new life that we have in Christ. 203 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,680 Right out the gate, Jesus ascends to heaven, 204 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:26,720 and what do the disciples do? 205 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,120 They gather together in an upper room, 206 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,680 and what do they devote themselves to? 207 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:32,920 Prayer. 208 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,200 And just a chapter later in chapter two of Acts, 209 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,600 we find out that they, then from that upper room, 210 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,560 Peter comes out and preaches the first massive gospel 211 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:44,560 message to all the people who've gathered in Jerusalem. 212 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:46,720 Thousands of them come to Christ. 213 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,480 And then what's the next thing that it says? 214 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,800 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, 215 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,120 to the breaking of bread, to fellowship, and to? 216 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,080 Prayer. 217 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,800 A life marked with prayer. 218 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:01,600 And then Romans chapter 12, verse 12, 219 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,560 Paul is writing to the church in Rome, 220 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:07,400 and he's saying, rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, 221 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,400 and be persistent in prayer. 222 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,160 Did you know that prayer is the highest form of speech 223 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:17,880 in the Christian life? 224 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,960 Prayer is the highest of Christian speech. 225 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:24,880 In fact, you may go, well, is it speech? 226 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,880 Because all my praying's done in my head. 227 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,400 It's all here, so is that really speech? 228 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,000 That's one of the oddities about prayer too, 229 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,960 that we're somewhat unfamiliar in our day and age. 230 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,240 In the first century, silent prayer was almost unheard of. 231 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,440 You and I probably have grown up with prayer 232 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,720 primarily taking place in here, 233 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:47,840 and occasionally taking place out of our mouth. 234 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,000 The first century Jew who would have read this, 235 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,840 or the first century, or any of the folks 236 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,760 from the antiquity age, regardless of religion, 237 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,000 would have understand prayer as something you verbalize, 238 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,240 something that comes out of your mouth. 239 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:02,400 It is speech. 240 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,160 And prayer isn't for emergency use only. 241 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,120 Prayer isn't only for when the car is flipped upside down 242 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:14,160 and you're hanging from the seatbelt. 243 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,520 That's not the only time, that's a good time to pray. 244 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,240 It's not the only time we should be praying, right? 245 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:21,920 Or when the fire is bearing down on your house, 246 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,040 that is a great time to be praying and leaving. 247 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,080 But it's not the only time we should be praying. 248 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,240 Prayer is not for emergency use only, 249 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:34,480 but many treat it that way. 250 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,440 In fact, there was somewhat of a stunning study done 251 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,200 by Barna, Barna is a group that studies Christians 252 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:45,160 in churches, and Barna did a study on the Christian life 253 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,480 and what it means to live out the Christian faith 254 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:48,320 a while back. 255 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,360 And the first thing that they found, A, 256 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,200 is that Christians believe that prayer is very important. 257 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,160 How many of you agree with other Christians who said, 258 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,760 prayer is very important? 259 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,440 Good, you're in the right place. 260 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,320 But here's the stunning part, that's not the stunning part. 261 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,440 The stunning part is that they also found 262 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:15,280 that Christians pray on average one minute a day. 263 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:20,280 On average, Christians pray, report praying, 264 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:21,880 on average one minute a day. 265 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,040 One minute a day for a very important activity 266 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:27,240 that we all agreed on. 267 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,800 And so I would say most of us or most believers 268 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:33,640 are in the habit of using prayer 269 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:35,400 only for emergency use only. 270 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:37,800 It's like you gotta break the glass 271 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,480 to get to the fire extinguisher, right? 272 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,840 And I need it now, and then I'm done. 273 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:44,400 And now I'm good. 274 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,920 Paul says, devote yourself to prayer. 275 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:52,920 Another way you might say that is busy yourself with prayer. 276 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:55,560 Busy yourself with prayer. 277 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:56,400 You're not doing anything? 278 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,040 You got some extra time? 279 00:12:58,040 --> 00:12:59,080 You sitting around? 280 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:00,400 Pray. 281 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:01,600 Busy yourself with prayer. 282 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,200 What kind of attitude should we have in our prayer? 283 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:08,720 Well it says to stay alert, to be vigilant in our prayer. 284 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,360 Prayer is so important because it's important 285 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,000 to be vigilant in our prayer. 286 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,720 Prayer is so important because it reminds us 287 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,600 that we are weak and that we are inadequate 288 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,320 to produce any sort of meaningful or lasting results 289 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,040 in and of ourselves, but Christ is able. 290 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,880 Our station isn't to be the most high 291 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:29,880 and to have the highest view on life. 292 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:34,880 Our station is as a humble, prayerful, and trusting child. 293 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,560 That's where you and I are supposed to live. 294 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:40,440 And we're supposed to let God be God most high 295 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,160 and to align our hearts and reshape our hearts 296 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:45,520 according to his will and purpose. 297 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,080 Devote yourself to prayer and let God be God. 298 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:52,440 And when you devote yourselves to prayer 299 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,360 and you're vigilant and you're alert, 300 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,720 Paul also says to do it with thanksgiving. 301 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,120 Why with thanksgiving? 302 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,080 And over and over again you'll see with thanksgiving 303 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,480 tied together with prayer. 304 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,680 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 305 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:10,280 through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, 306 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,200 present your requests to the Lord. 307 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:16,000 Thanksgiving is tied right to prayer over and over again 308 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,080 in Paul's writings. 309 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,160 And it is because ingratitude has no place 310 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:22,560 in the new humanity. 311 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:26,480 Ingratitude has no place. 312 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:28,560 Prayer and thanksgiving are inseparable 313 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,680 because ingratitude expresses at its root 314 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:35,040 a dissatisfaction with Christ's rule. 315 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:39,280 It's saying I'm not satisfied with you as King, Lord. 316 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,200 I'm not satisfied with what you bring me. 317 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,760 I'm not happy with my life. 318 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:45,760 I'm dissatisfied. 319 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,640 You are a bad ruler. 320 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:50,520 Ingratitude is just that. 321 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:53,720 So I'm not grateful or thankful. 322 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,600 And you can see how it is the opposite of what prayer is. 323 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,280 If prayer is humbly trusting the Lord 324 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,480 and aligning our will and our heart to his will, 325 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:07,600 then ingratitude is the exact opposite. 326 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:09,520 It's a lack of trust. 327 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:11,800 It's a dissatisfaction. 328 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,160 God, you got everything else right in all of creation, 329 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:16,040 but you screwed up in my life. 330 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,360 I'm ungrateful for it. 331 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:22,840 Paul says give thanks in everything. 332 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:25,920 Give thanks in everything. 333 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,760 Someone please tell me what is not covered by everything. 334 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:32,000 Something, is there anything that's not covered 335 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:32,840 by everything? 336 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:35,360 Give thanks. 337 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,480 Give thanks. 338 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:38,320 Pray. 339 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:42,680 Well, who do we pray for? 340 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:43,520 What do we pray for? 341 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,520 Well, Paul in talking to his son in the faith, Timothy, 342 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,280 he says pray for everyone. 343 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:52,640 Pray for everyone. 344 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,440 We should be praying for people. 345 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,360 Petitions and prayers and intercession with thanksgiving. 346 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,080 There it is again, with thanksgiving be made for everyone. 347 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:04,920 Why? 348 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,160 Because it pleases God our savior who wants everyone 349 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,760 to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. 350 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,200 Did you know that persistent prayer 351 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,280 is great commission work? 352 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:16,280 Persistent prayer is great commission work. 353 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:17,720 It's evangelism. 354 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:19,320 It's the starting point. 355 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,600 We begin with pray and some of us are called to preach, 356 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:25,240 all of us are called to pray. 357 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,200 Paul asks that they would pray for this open door 358 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:31,520 for the gospel of God. 359 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:34,240 For the gospel so that he could go and preach the word. 360 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:35,680 And that's a really interesting thing for Paul 361 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:37,640 because he's actually in prison right now 362 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,080 writing this letter. 363 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,640 And Paul is looking for any opportunity that he has 364 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:42,920 to preach the gospel. 365 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,120 And it's not just about open jail doors either. 366 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,200 He understands what it means to be content and grateful 367 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:49,760 in every circumstance. 368 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:51,080 We see that in the book of Acts, 369 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:53,640 Paul is actually taking the opportunity 370 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:55,920 while he's in prison to do a few things. 371 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:57,480 He's writing books to churches. 372 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:01,480 Did you know we wouldn't have most of the New Testament? 373 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,720 Writings, pass the gospel if Paul wasn't in prison? 374 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:06,800 Because you know what Paul would be doing? 375 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:07,880 He'd be traveling and preaching. 376 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,560 He wouldn't be writing. 377 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:10,840 But he had some time on his hands 378 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,560 and so he penned a bunch of letters that we have today. 379 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:15,400 God knew. 380 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,600 Did you know that when he was in prison in Rome 381 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,920 that he was evangelizing the guard, Caesar's guard, 382 00:17:25,120 --> 00:17:27,840 the troops, the people who were there to keep watch on him? 383 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,160 He's like, well, if you're gonna be here every day, 384 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,880 I'm gonna share with you the gospel of Jesus Christ. 385 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:34,720 You're gonna learn something about him. 386 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,800 I'm gonna minister to you because he was always looking 387 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,720 and he was asking the church in Colossae, 388 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,080 pray for open doors, pray for open windows, 389 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,120 pray for anything, any way that this mystery of Christ 390 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:47,520 might be revealed to people through my preaching. 391 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,960 Some are called to preach, but we are all called to pray. 392 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:54,920 And prayer is great commission work. 393 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:59,920 My son, my youngest son, they all have their own 394 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,120 little quirks, but of all of my sons, 395 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:10,560 my youngest is the most persistent. 396 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,080 And I remember there was a time, 397 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,520 my wife was reminding me about this earlier, 398 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,960 there was a time where he got fixated on turtles. 399 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:22,800 Yeah, young kid, turtles. 400 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:23,760 Everything was about turtles. 401 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,920 And pretty soon, he's only talking about turtles 402 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:27,920 and he's only talking about a particular kind of turtle. 403 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,720 I think it was called a slider or something like that. 404 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:33,200 Slider turtle or something like that. 405 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,040 And it's these small little turtles and he wanted one, 406 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:38,600 he loved them, he wanted to see them, 407 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:40,360 he wanted to buy one, and pretty soon, 408 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:42,000 every day it's about like, can you take me down? 409 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,400 Can we buy a turtle, buy a turtle, buy a turtle. 410 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:45,440 And in the beginning, it's like, 411 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,880 no, we don't want turtles around here. 412 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,800 Like, we don't want, what are you gonna do with it? 413 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:51,760 How are you gonna take care of it? 414 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:52,600 Where is it gonna be? 415 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,480 But every day, it was like turtle, turtle, turtle, turtle, 416 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:56,560 and pretty soon, it's like, all right, 417 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,120 let's go get a turtle, let's try this out. 418 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,160 And so we get him a little slider turtle, 419 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,160 whatever that is, little guy, 420 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,000 and then we stop hearing the persistence 421 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,080 and then the turtle does not live very long. 422 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:13,960 And that's the other thing with kids too, 423 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,840 is they fixate and then they move on pretty quickly 424 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,360 after experiencing the actual caretaking of things. 425 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:22,520 And so the turtle dies and disappears. 426 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,120 It disappears and moves on. 427 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:30,400 But through his persistence, he gained what he wanted. 428 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:31,640 He wore his parents down. 429 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,800 That's not very good parenting, by the way. 430 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:36,520 Sometimes it's helpful for sanity, 431 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:37,800 but it's not very good parenting 432 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,280 to let your child wear down. 433 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,120 And don't get any ideas either, guys. 434 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,120 But Paul says, hey, be devoted to it. 435 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,160 Give yourself to it. 436 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,360 Paul says, pray for the gospel. 437 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:56,280 And he believes that prayer actually can affect a change. 438 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,440 Prayer can do something, 439 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,520 and so I want you to be praying for it. 440 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,880 And it reminds me of another story that Jesus told 441 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,960 in Luke chapter 18, verse one, 442 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,400 that he begins this parable with these words. 443 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,840 He says, now he told them a parable 444 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:17,480 on the need for them to pray always and not give up. 445 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,080 Well, that's what Paul's talking about. 446 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:20,800 Pray always and don't give up. 447 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:21,720 And what's the parable? 448 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,960 Well, the parable is the persistent widow. 449 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,400 He says, there was a judge in a certain town 450 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:28,920 who didn't fear God or respect people. 451 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,120 And a widow in that town kept coming to him, 452 00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:36,680 saying, give me justice against my adversary. 453 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,600 And for a while, he was unwilling. 454 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,080 But later he said to himself, 455 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,720 even though I don't fear God or respect people, 456 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,760 yet because this widow keeps pestering me, 457 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,720 I will give her justice so that she doesn't wear me out 458 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:53,040 by her persistent coming. 459 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:56,400 This is a parable Jesus taught his disciples 460 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:57,480 on how to pray. 461 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,040 Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. 462 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:02,840 And basically the point of the parable is this, 463 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,840 if even a rotten judge who doesn't wanna do what's right 464 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,320 and doesn't fear God can be persuaded 465 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,800 through persistent inquiry to change their mind 466 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,400 and give justice, then even God, or of course God, 467 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,200 who is just, who is good and is right, 468 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:24,200 will respond to the persistent prayers of his children. 469 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:25,160 Amen? 470 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:27,480 So pester God. 471 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,720 Pester God, and more importantly, 472 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:36,160 pester him or be persistent on the things that he wants. 473 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,240 See, sometimes we read things that he wants in the Bible, 474 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,160 but we don't see them coming to be in reality. 475 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:45,880 But we forget to pray and pester him 476 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,840 about the things that he wants. 477 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:51,880 For instance, does God want that the world would know 478 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:53,680 who Christ is? 479 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,480 Yes, so God, if you want that to happen, 480 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,120 I'm willing and ready, make opportunities, 481 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:02,600 give me resources and give me the words to speak. 482 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,520 And if you're a coward, give me courage. 483 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:06,520 Give me courage. 484 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,240 You make good on what you want to happen. 485 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,600 It is said that God wants none to perish, 486 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:13,600 but that all would come to life, right? 487 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:15,960 Well, I'm gonna go be faithful. 488 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,320 God, you do your part. 489 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,680 You do what only you can do. 490 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,880 I'm gonna show up, but I'm gonna pray 491 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,320 that God would do what he has commanded us to do, 492 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,080 that he might provide the resources for us to do it. 493 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,800 You know, as a church, oftentimes you're faced with, 494 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:33,480 hey, we wanna bring the gospel to life, 495 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,160 that's our mission here at Village. 496 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,120 We wanna move forward, but there are actual limitations 497 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:40,240 in this world to what you can do, right? 498 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,720 You can only meet so often. 499 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,360 People have things to do. 500 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:46,640 You only have so much finances to do the things 501 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,040 that you need to do, right? 502 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:51,800 But oftentimes our prayer is, God, if you want us to do this, 503 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:53,200 then you have to make a way. 504 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:58,320 You own the cows on a thousand hills, right? 505 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,680 The cattle on a thousand hills. 506 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,880 What's it to you to make this happen? 507 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:04,760 What's it to you? 508 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:06,320 But we have to pray that. 509 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:10,520 He wants his children to come trusting him, 510 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,440 believing his promises and ask him to do it. 511 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:15,440 Do what you promised, Lord. 512 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,280 Be persistent. 513 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,000 When the widow went to the judge, 514 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,160 of course the judge is supposed to give her justice. 515 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:22,360 That's his job. 516 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:25,960 When a child goes to the father and says, 517 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:29,720 give me what you promised, it's the father's job 518 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:31,640 to follow through with what he promised. 519 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,360 It's the father's job to do good and right. 520 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:37,800 And so we go to him as trusting children, 521 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:39,840 believing that what he said is true, 522 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,240 believing that he actually wants what he said he wants. 523 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:44,800 And we may not know all the details 524 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,920 and it may not work out exactly how we strategize it 525 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,240 in our mind, but nonetheless, Jesus said, 526 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,120 hey, you wanna know how to pray? 527 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:55,920 Pray like that widow who keeps pestering the guy 528 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,040 to get what he's supposed to give her. 529 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,320 That's how we're supposed to pray. 530 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,120 Number two, if you're taking notes, 531 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:05,440 the first one is speak to God about people. 532 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,520 The second one is speak to people about God. 533 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,840 In Colossians four, verse five, it says, 534 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:16,840 act wisely towards out-writers, making the most of the time. 535 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,000 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, 536 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,960 so that you may know how you should answer each person. 537 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:27,440 If you were here last week, 538 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,840 verse five immediately reminds me of Ephesians. 539 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,640 A lot of the same language right here in verse five and six. 540 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:36,680 And so we hear in verse five, two, 541 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,760 act wisely toward out-siders. 542 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:40,600 Well, act is the same Greek word 543 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,480 that we saw in Ephesians for walk. 544 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,480 And it's a metaphor for live life in action. 545 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:51,000 Live life in action, wisely toward out-siders. 546 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,160 Our focus is to be, in this scripture, on out-siders 547 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,080 and how we live toward them. 548 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:58,880 Out-siders is just another way of saying, 549 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:00,720 those who are outside of the faith 550 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,680 or those who are outside of the church, 551 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:05,880 how are we supposed to live? 552 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,280 How are we supposed to reach them? 553 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,560 How is the gospel supposed to come to them through us? 554 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,640 We're supposed to act wisely toward out-siders. 555 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,760 We're supposed to act wisely, making the most of the time. 556 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:19,880 Making the most of the time is a phrase 557 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,560 that can mean redeeming the time 558 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,840 or purchasing or buying back the time. 559 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:25,680 For what? 560 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,360 For God's purposes. 561 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:29,560 For what he's called us to as the new humanity, 562 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:31,720 as the new people of God. 563 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:33,440 What has God called us to? 564 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,240 He's to make the most of the time, 565 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,160 to redeem the moments that God is sending our way 566 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,880 for the gospel advance and for the kingdom's advance. 567 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,960 Those kairos moments, opportune moments, 568 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,280 ripe, ready for harvest, ready for good. 569 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,240 Redeeming the time means looking for more 570 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:58,240 and more appropriate ways to show Christ in our lives 571 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,800 among those who don't know him. 572 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:02,880 Looking for more and more appropriate ways. 573 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,000 How many days do we wake up thinking, 574 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,520 okay, yesterday I did this, the day before I did that, 575 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,640 how can I look for a more appropriate way 576 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:13,200 to show Christ today? 577 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,320 How can I tweak the dial a little bit 578 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:20,480 so that today I can show the glory of who Christ is 579 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,320 a little bit more through my life? 580 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,680 Not everyone is called to preach. 581 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:28,840 That should be a real, 582 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:30,920 burden lifted off your shoulders. 583 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,320 For some of you, if I asked you to be on the second step 584 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:35,920 of the stage, you'd be sweating bullets. 585 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:38,320 Not all of us are called to preach. 586 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,280 In fact, very few are called to preach, 587 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,880 especially in the way that Paul did. 588 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:44,360 You know, Paul would pull up into town 589 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:45,640 and he'd just start talking to people 590 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,160 and pretty soon he'd have a crowd, 591 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,240 and he'd be yelling at the top of his lungs, 592 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,120 and then he'd be driven out of town and get stoned. 593 00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:54,560 Not many of us are called to do that. 594 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:56,040 When I was in youth group, you know, 595 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:57,640 and they're always trying to run around 596 00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:59,720 and they're always trying to rile up the youth 597 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:01,320 in youth group at church, 598 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,680 and you kind of got the sense that you had to get enough 599 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,480 boldness to be able to stand up in the middle 600 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,440 of a McDonald's and preach the gospel. 601 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:09,800 And the more I've matured 602 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,320 and the more I've understood the scripture, 603 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,400 the more I see that actually Paul lays out 604 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,440 a more strategic approach to how evangelism 605 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,560 is supposed to take in our lives. 606 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,360 That instead of going through the front door 607 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,680 and yelling boldly and getting shouted down 608 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:29,600 or escorted out, we're supposed to live lives 609 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:34,600 in such a way around people that they ask questions, 610 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:37,000 that it opens them up to go, 611 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:41,480 what is going on in your life? 612 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,640 Why do you have the hope that you have? 613 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,720 Why do you have the peace that you have? 614 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,760 What's with the patience you have? 615 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:51,760 Why do you talk to your children that way? 616 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:53,440 That's not normal. 617 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,840 It's good, it's not normal. 618 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,080 Why do you interact that way? 619 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,560 Why do you show that kindness or mercy? 620 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,280 Why aren't you mad at that person 621 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,600 in the way that most people would be? 622 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:06,760 What's going on? 623 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,840 And this form of evangelism is far more subversive 624 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,880 to culture and to the people around you 625 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:15,960 than coming direct. 626 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,680 You know what happens oftentimes when you preach direct 627 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,040 to someone who doesn't wanna hear it? 628 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,640 What happens? 629 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,600 Shut down, don't wanna hear it, right? 630 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,000 You shut down. 631 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:29,480 But this one comes along and says, 632 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,160 let's live life together, let's talk. 633 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,200 And there's lots of ways that this evangelism 634 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,240 can take place in our lives. 635 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:38,760 Each of us are different and we're wired different, 636 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:40,080 and this is not a bad thing. 637 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,560 It's not to say, like I said, everyone is supposed 638 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:47,040 to stand up in the middle of the town square unto death 639 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,320 to preach the gospel, but it is to say, 640 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,520 hey, every one of us is called to something different. 641 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:56,760 And in verse four, Paul says, hey, pray for the open door 642 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,760 for the gospel so that I can preach as I should. 643 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,680 Well, Paul should preach because he's called 644 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,720 and he's gifted to do that. 645 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,840 But then at the last verse of the passage 646 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:10,320 that we're reading today, the last verse says, 647 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,000 right here, any second now, there it is. 648 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,640 It says, at the same time, oh, that's his verse. 649 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,200 Let's do the second verse here. 650 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,280 Verse six, let your speech always be gracious, 651 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:26,660 seasoned with salt, so that you may know 652 00:29:26,660 --> 00:29:28,800 how you should answer each person. 653 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,160 He uses the same word, you should answer, 654 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,080 as he said, I should preach. 655 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,520 I should preach, you should be prepared to answer. 656 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,840 I should preach the gospel on the corners 657 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:43,400 and in the towns, even if it means my death. 658 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:47,140 You should go into this world and be prepared to answer. 659 00:29:47,140 --> 00:29:52,140 That's how you make the most of your time as you go about. 660 00:29:53,580 --> 00:29:57,000 Paul is going to actively proclaim and preach. 661 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:58,800 You need to be ready to answer people 662 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,820 who question your life, who question your peace, 663 00:30:01,820 --> 00:30:04,440 question your hope and your joy, 664 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:08,440 or maybe they just have questions about the faith. 665 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:10,600 A pastor out of Florida, his name's Joe B. Martin, 666 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:14,520 he's with a very large church, I think it's 1122, 667 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:18,560 Church of 1122, he talks about four ways 668 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:20,320 that this might look in our lives. 669 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,640 He says, for some of you, you're the coffee guy or gal. 670 00:30:25,900 --> 00:30:29,120 For you, evangelism looks like inviting someone out 671 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:31,840 to coffee and opening the door so that you can 672 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:33,960 just share stories about your life. 673 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,740 Who are you, what's important to you, what's significant? 674 00:30:37,740 --> 00:30:41,780 And in those, being prepared for opportune moments 675 00:30:41,780 --> 00:30:44,960 that God might open as you're having coffee. 676 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,320 And you're just attentive, you're watching, 677 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,680 you're listening, you're adjusting to try to be prepared 678 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:54,360 for whatever open doors may happen at coffee time. 679 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,740 Some of you may be the prayer guy or gal. 680 00:30:57,740 --> 00:31:00,540 And what you're gonna do is you're gonna go to your work 681 00:31:00,540 --> 00:31:03,240 or places where you have friends who are outsiders 682 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:05,600 or nonbelievers, and you're just gonna resolve 683 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,720 to be known as the person who wants to pray for everyone. 684 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:12,960 You know, I don't, I can't stand up and preach, 685 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:14,820 but if someone comes and shares a difficult thing 686 00:31:14,820 --> 00:31:16,480 that's going on in their life, I can say, 687 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,960 hey, would it be okay if I prayed for you really quick? 688 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:21,960 And pretty soon, that's gonna spread like infection 689 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:23,960 through my workplace, and they're gonna know me 690 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,720 as the guy they can go to to pray for them, 691 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,000 and I'm just gonna pray for them, 692 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:29,920 and then I'm gonna be watching to see 693 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,920 if the window cracks open for an opportunity for the gospel. 694 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:35,300 I'm gonna be the prayer guy, 695 00:31:35,300 --> 00:31:37,100 and everyone will just know me that. 696 00:31:37,100 --> 00:31:40,700 Some of you may be the invite guy or gal. 697 00:31:40,700 --> 00:31:43,140 I don't, I'm not really good with my words, 698 00:31:43,140 --> 00:31:44,900 and I don't really put it together, 699 00:31:44,900 --> 00:31:47,180 and I'm socially awkward, and it'd be really weird 700 00:31:47,180 --> 00:31:49,260 to go out to coffee because I would just sit there quiet, 701 00:31:49,260 --> 00:31:51,180 and it would just be weird. 702 00:31:51,180 --> 00:31:55,060 But I can invite people to come to church with me. 703 00:31:56,300 --> 00:31:58,860 And I can invite them to places where the gospel 704 00:31:58,860 --> 00:32:01,740 will be proclaimed or taught, and I can get them 705 00:32:01,740 --> 00:32:06,060 within earshot of the gospel, and that's my way 706 00:32:06,060 --> 00:32:09,140 of reaching people and looking for opportunities. 707 00:32:09,140 --> 00:32:11,460 And then after the gospel is shared with them, 708 00:32:11,460 --> 00:32:14,820 I can be prepared to answer questions that they might have. 709 00:32:16,660 --> 00:32:17,700 I'm the invite guy. 710 00:32:19,420 --> 00:32:23,300 Or some of you, you need to study the gospel. 711 00:32:23,300 --> 00:32:26,820 You need to get your elevator pitch together, 712 00:32:26,820 --> 00:32:29,460 and you need to be prepared to share it 713 00:32:29,460 --> 00:32:32,100 because that's what God's calling you to. 714 00:32:32,100 --> 00:32:34,860 How can you package the gospel together 715 00:32:34,860 --> 00:32:36,460 in a way, well in what way? 716 00:32:36,460 --> 00:32:39,540 This verse tells us in a salty way. 717 00:32:40,660 --> 00:32:44,340 The gospel needs to be packaged in a salty way. 718 00:32:44,340 --> 00:32:46,380 Well what's a salty way? 719 00:32:46,380 --> 00:32:49,900 It is only fitting that the gospel of grace 720 00:32:49,900 --> 00:32:53,540 should be shared with grace-filled speech. 721 00:32:54,540 --> 00:32:58,540 It is a travesty when people attack others with the gospel. 722 00:32:59,940 --> 00:33:03,420 This is not what the gospel is supposed to be used for. 723 00:33:03,420 --> 00:33:07,580 A gospel of grace should be filled with grace. 724 00:33:09,020 --> 00:33:12,260 A gospel of grace should be filled with grace speech. 725 00:33:13,340 --> 00:33:17,020 And it says to do it seasoned with salt. 726 00:33:17,020 --> 00:33:22,020 Salt adds flavor, and salt preserves food, right? 727 00:33:22,020 --> 00:33:26,380 And so in other words, it makes food tasty, 728 00:33:26,380 --> 00:33:28,020 and it makes food wholesome. 729 00:33:29,140 --> 00:33:32,460 And we redeem the time when we practice and prepare 730 00:33:32,460 --> 00:33:36,460 salty, grace-saturated gospel answers 731 00:33:36,460 --> 00:33:38,700 for those who are seeking hope. 732 00:33:41,660 --> 00:33:46,140 You never know when the opportune moments will come. 733 00:33:46,140 --> 00:33:47,700 You just don't. 734 00:33:47,700 --> 00:33:49,860 I remember as men, we would gather together 735 00:33:49,860 --> 00:33:53,380 for Bible study, and for a while we would gather here 736 00:33:53,380 --> 00:33:55,020 in the church, but then we started gathering 737 00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:57,860 at a Starbucks, and do you know, just gathering 738 00:33:57,860 --> 00:34:00,380 at a Starbucks around a table with five guys 739 00:34:00,380 --> 00:34:05,380 in their Bibles open creates countless opportune moments. 740 00:34:05,380 --> 00:34:07,300 I can't even tell you how many people would stop 741 00:34:07,300 --> 00:34:10,740 by the table and go, what are you guys studying? 742 00:34:10,740 --> 00:34:13,260 You know, and it was a bunch of big guys, right? 743 00:34:13,260 --> 00:34:17,260 You know, got beards and working men around this table, 744 00:34:17,260 --> 00:34:19,460 and someone would say, what's going on over here? 745 00:34:19,460 --> 00:34:20,540 What are you guys studying? 746 00:34:20,540 --> 00:34:22,220 And some would be like, oh, that's really cool, 747 00:34:22,220 --> 00:34:23,980 you're studying the Bible, and others would be like, 748 00:34:23,980 --> 00:34:26,540 okay, and then just leave, like as quick as possible. 749 00:34:26,540 --> 00:34:28,500 But all of them were curious, they wanted to know 750 00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:32,020 what's going on, this is odd. 751 00:34:32,020 --> 00:34:34,660 Why did they all bow their head and pray, right? 752 00:34:35,820 --> 00:34:38,060 I've been a part of other groups, not around here, 753 00:34:38,060 --> 00:34:41,980 but in the past, where we would go, and the one leading 754 00:34:41,980 --> 00:34:45,380 the group would be like, let's get our prayer requests, 755 00:34:45,380 --> 00:34:47,900 and we can just say the prayer silently in our heart, 756 00:34:47,900 --> 00:34:50,180 because we don't want to bow our heads here 757 00:34:50,180 --> 00:34:53,740 in the Starbucks and disrupt it. 758 00:34:53,740 --> 00:34:55,100 It's like, really? 759 00:34:55,100 --> 00:34:55,940 Yes, we do. 760 00:34:55,940 --> 00:34:58,020 We actually want to actively do that. 761 00:34:58,020 --> 00:35:01,140 We want to pray out loud, we don't want to pray loud, 762 00:35:01,140 --> 00:35:02,940 we want it gracious, right? 763 00:35:02,940 --> 00:35:06,980 We don't want to get kicked out, we want to season the room 764 00:35:06,980 --> 00:35:11,500 with the flavor of the gospel, and let it spread around, 765 00:35:12,340 --> 00:35:15,740 so that if someone tasted and goes, I'm interested, 766 00:35:15,740 --> 00:35:19,740 a door might open and we could share the good news. 767 00:35:19,740 --> 00:35:22,940 You never know those moments. 768 00:35:22,940 --> 00:35:26,140 Heard a story of someone praying, there was three beds 769 00:35:26,140 --> 00:35:29,260 in a hospital room, one of the patients had their curtain 770 00:35:29,260 --> 00:35:31,580 completely closed, the other two were open, 771 00:35:31,580 --> 00:35:34,740 and one lady said, hey, can I pray for you to the other bed? 772 00:35:35,780 --> 00:35:37,740 And got up and prayed for them, and that third person 773 00:35:37,740 --> 00:35:40,180 in that hospital room just listened. 774 00:35:41,260 --> 00:35:44,740 Said, day or two later, said, I didn't have the courage 775 00:35:44,740 --> 00:35:47,620 to open or ask for prayer, I'm not a believer, 776 00:35:47,620 --> 00:35:49,420 I've never been to the church, but I heard you praying 777 00:35:49,420 --> 00:35:52,380 for the other patient, would you please come 778 00:35:52,380 --> 00:35:54,580 to the church, would you pray for me? 779 00:35:55,620 --> 00:35:59,260 And they got to share their hope, not only in word, 780 00:35:59,260 --> 00:36:03,380 but in prayer, and just see what the Lord does with that. 781 00:36:03,380 --> 00:36:05,940 There's opportune moments all around, and it's just us 782 00:36:05,940 --> 00:36:10,060 being the light and new life of Christ wherever we're at. 783 00:36:10,060 --> 00:36:12,100 But being active and being prepared. 784 00:36:13,060 --> 00:36:14,980 Not thinking that if you're sitting at a table 785 00:36:14,980 --> 00:36:18,580 with another believer, that oh, this is just catch-up time 786 00:36:18,580 --> 00:36:21,700 for us, and I hope no one interrupts us, 787 00:36:21,700 --> 00:36:24,860 hey, this is catch-up time, and I'm aware of everyone 788 00:36:24,860 --> 00:36:28,380 around, and I hope someone sees something 789 00:36:28,380 --> 00:36:32,180 that draws them to me or to us, so that we can be prepared 790 00:36:32,180 --> 00:36:37,180 to answer for the hope that we have in Christ, amen? 791 00:36:37,500 --> 00:36:40,620 It's time to redeem the time and be those gospel people, 792 00:36:40,620 --> 00:36:42,340 live the gospel life. 793 00:36:42,340 --> 00:36:44,780 I'm gonna invite the worship team to come up. 794 00:36:44,780 --> 00:36:46,980 I just wanted to remind you as they come that words 795 00:36:46,980 --> 00:36:49,940 do matter, and they shape not only our own hearts, 796 00:36:49,940 --> 00:36:51,980 but they shape the hearts of those around, and Paul 797 00:36:51,980 --> 00:36:55,780 is simply saying here in Colossians, speak to other people. 798 00:36:56,780 --> 00:36:59,340 Speak to other people about God, and speak to God 799 00:36:59,340 --> 00:37:02,980 about people, and redeem the time that we have. 800 00:37:02,980 --> 00:37:05,460 And when we speak to God about people, we're acknowledging 801 00:37:05,460 --> 00:37:09,540 our dependence on him to open the doors that we can't. 802 00:37:09,540 --> 00:37:12,420 And we're also reminding our hearts that salvation 803 00:37:12,420 --> 00:37:14,580 isn't our work, but God's work. 804 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,060 That we're his instruments, and when we speak to people 805 00:37:18,060 --> 00:37:21,500 about God, our speech should reflect the very nature 806 00:37:21,500 --> 00:37:48,500 of the gospel, gracious, salty, and wise.