Thank you, Clara and Mark for that great number.
Holy, holy, holy. As a young boy, I grew up understanding
that I had responsibility around the farm. Most
farm kids do grow up that way. Whether it be
flopping the hogs or feeding the cows or milking
them. or if it be shoveling some grain or sweeping
the house, kids need to know that there are jobs
to do around home. I recall as a young boy my
mother giving me an assignment of doing some
sleeping with a broom. She had to show me that
there is a way to sweep that works and then there's
a way that doesn't work. There's a way to sweep
that... raises some dust, and then there's a
way to sweep that gets the place clean. And it
illustrated to me something that she often said,
and that is that there is a right way and a wrong
way to get a job done. She also said if there's
a job worth doing, it's worth doing. Oh, your
parents had the same thing. I want to know this
morning that our Heavenly Father has a work for
us to do on earth. It is exciting that He does.
It is satisfying that He does, because it gives
this earthly life purpose and direction to know
that God has a reason for our being here. This
work that God gives us provides an overarching
sense of meaning in our years in the world. How
then do we do heaven's work on earth? I invite
you to open your Bible to Colossians chapter
4 for our text verses 2, 3, and 4, and we'll
get some insight into how to do heaven's work
on earth. The apostle says, devote yourselves
to prayer. keeping alert in it with an attitude
of thanksgiving, praying at the same time for
us as well, that God may open up to us a door
for the Word, so that we may speak forth the
mystery of Christ for which I have also been
imprisoned, in order that I may make it clear
in the way I ought to speak. So the first question
I want to ask as we look at this text this morning
is, what is Heaven's work? What is God's work
that He has given us to do? Now in the broader
context of this text and of that question, we
can say that whatever we do is God's work for
us. Look back in verse 17 of chapter 3. He says,
and whatever, or literally He says, and everything,
whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in
the name of the Lord Jesus. Whatever you do is
heaven's work. And it's to be done in the name
of the Lord Jesus. That is, it's to be done recognizing
that He has delegated to you the opportunity
to be His representative there. Do it in His
name. You are His ambassador to that situation,
to that place. You're His diplomat in your circle
of influence. And so whether it be in your neighborhood
or your workplace, in your home, wherever you
are, you are the Lord's diplomat. And so whatever
you do, do it in His name as His ambassador.
But then again he uses the same phrase in verse
23 when he says, whatever you do, do your work
heartily as for the Lord rather than for men.
And so again he says, whatever you're doing,
it's heaven's work and therefore it should be
done for the Lord. You know what this does? It
makes everything sacred. If you work on an assembly
line where things are being punched out in metal,
that is sacred work for you as a Christian. Because
you're doing that for the Lord. If you're typing
letters on a computer or entering data on a computer,
that's sacred work. Because whatever you do,
you're doing it for the Lord, not for men. text
we're looking at, we find the heart and the core
of what Heaven's work is. It seems to me that
the Apostle shares that with us as he talks about
his own responsibility, and he says it is to
speak forth the mystery of Christ. In the broadest
sense, whatever we do is Heaven's work because
God has given that to us as an assignment to
be His representative. and we do it as unto the
Lord. But in the narrowest sense, in the heart
sense, in the focus of it all, we can say that
God's work on earth is advancing the knowledge
of Jesus to everybody. Paul puts it, speaking
forth the mystery of Christ. That is what God
has done for us in Christ. That God has brought
redemption for us through the work of His cross.
That is the mystery of Christ that you and I
are to speak for. And so we should see every
circumstance of life, including our limitations,
as opportunities to do this work of God. The
apostle was imprisoned. Remember? He wrote the
book of Colossians while he was under house arrest
in the city of Rome, and he refers to that by
saying, for which I have also been imprisoned.
Now there is a parallel text to Colossians 4,
and that is found in Ephesians 6. Look back there
for just a moment. In verse 19 he says, Pray
on my behalf that utterance may be given to me
in the opening of my mouth To make known with
boldness the mystery of the gospel You notice
the similar word? For which I am an ambassador
in change That in proclaiming it I may speak
boldly as I ought to speak The apostle saw his
current circumstances as an assignment. He calls
himself an ambassador who is in chains. And maybe
you see yourself today in chains of some sort.
Chains physically that limit you so that you
cannot do what you would like to do. Or chains
financially. Or chains emotionally. Whatever
your change may be, whatever your limitations
may be, today, see those chains, even that limitation,
as an opportunity. Heaven's work on earth is
to make Jesus known to others. How many of you
received the grace link in the mail this week
that talked about the survey? Yes, most of you.
When we don't send it out first class, we're
rather dependent upon when the post office wants
to get it there. And they usually do a pretty
good job. It was sobering to me that only 36
% of our congregation desires to see our church
grow numerically. Does that bother you? That
disturbs me greatly. Now I realize some may have
answered that question with nuances in their
minds that weren't on the page. But you know
what that really says when you dig down underneath
the question? It says, I like our church the
way it is. I don't want new people coming in
and disturbing it. Or it says, I'm saved. I don't
care if other people get saved or not. Or can
say other things. But somehow, some of us have
lost sight of what heaven's work is. Heaven's
work is not that we'd be comfortable in our church.
Heaven's work is that we tell others about Jesus.
And if we tell others about Jesus, we ought to
expect, ought we not, that some of them are going
to be saved? And as a part of that, be baptized
and become a part of our church? How then can
we say we don't want to grow numerically? There's
some fundamental thing missing. in the equation
here. Heaven's work is that others be saved and
brought into the Kingdom of God. And so what
may seem like a very natural thing for the preacher
to say on a Sunday morning ought to be rather
shocking to some of us. That what God really
wants from us, whatever our vocation, What God
really wants from us is to tell others about
Jesus. And whether we're farmers or fishermen.
Whether we are missionaries or marketing executives.
Whether we are Sunday school teachers or surgeons
or pastors or policemen. For farmers or freight
haulers, whatever we are, God's work for us is
to tell others about Jesus. Even when we're in
change of some sort. That's Heaven's work. But
my real question this morning goes beyond, what
is Heaven's work? It is, how do we do Heaven's
work on Earth? And the answer to that ought to
be very clear from our text. It is that we do
it with prayer. The apostle says, devote yourselves
to prayer. We live in a generation that finds
it much more easily to be devoted to oneself
than to devote oneself to prayer. To devote oneself
to prayer is sacrificial. This idea of devoting
oneself is used ten times in the New Testament
frequently with respect to prayer. in Acts 1
-14, Acts 2 -42, Acts 6 verse 4, Romans 12 verse
12. This word devote is used in reference to
prayer. The word devote comes from a root word
that means to be strong. And so it means to be
strong in prayer or to be faithful in prayer,
to be steadfast in prayer. And as he tells us
how to do heaven's work, He gives us some insight
into prayer, at least four of them. The first
is the prayer requires discipline. Notice that
he says, and I'm going back to our text now,
so I can get my Bible open to that spot, in Colossians
4, he says, devote yourselves to prayer, keeping
alert in it. This idea of keeping alert means
staying awake, and maybe the apostle has in mind
what is recorded in Matthew as well as in Mark,
that the disciples were asleep with Jesus when
Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
When He has said, go apart and pray, they fell
asleep. And so He says to all of us, don't get
sleepy in prayer. Don't allow prayer to become
stale and mechanical and dull. Don't let your
prayers become uninspired. But keep your heart's
diligence and on guard and be alert in prayer.
Ian Bounds writes, desire is not merely a simple
wish. He's talking about desire in prayer. Desire
is not merely a simple wish. It is a deep craving,
an intense longing. absolute essential in prayer.
He says, perfunctory formal praying with no heart
and no feeling and no real desire is to be shunned
like a pestilence. That is a pestilence that
too easily comes upon us, isn't it? To go through
the motions of praying without praying. And so
he says, devote yourselves to prayer, and remember
that prayer requires discipline. Not only are
we to stay awake, but we're to give thanks. Several
times in this whole text, starting back in chapter
3 and verse 15, he says, be thankful. With thanksgiving,
be thankful. And prayer is to be offered up that
way. Too easily our prayers... are caught up
in the asking, aren't they, without thanking
God for these answers. And so we're to discipline
ourselves. Secondly, he tells us that prayer
builds team. Notice he says, in verse 3, praying
at the same time for us. That phrase, at the
same time, means praying in close association
with us. Prayer builds team. The apostle here
is calling upon the Colossians to join his prayer
team. It is good for you and me to remember we're
not doing God's work alone. We're not sharing
Jesus with others alone. We're part of a big
team. It is a worldwide operation. It spans the
generations. It's a big thing. And as we undertake
this work and our part in it, there needs to
be prayer support. All of us need team. Some
of you are at that point in life when you're
making big decisions. You're in college. Just
starting a career. Looking to be married. Decisions
that will influence the rest of your life. I
want to urge you, in particular, to build around
yourselves a team of two or three or five people
who will pray for you in these crucial years.
I thank God for those who came around me, not
at my request actually, but out of God's goodness,
who came around me in my formation years and
said, I'm going to pray for you, pray for you
every day. I've told you about one or two of
those people. I believe they made a difference
in my life. Let me encourage you to build around
yourself people who will pray for you. Prayer
builds team and then you be a team member for
somebody else or some several others and be a
part of their prayer team and then we network
together their strength and depth. The third
insight I get about prayer is that prayer opens
doors. He says, pray this, that God may open
up to us a door for the Word that is for the
message, so that we may speak forth the mystery
of Christ. He's looking here for a door of opportunity.
Where do you put a door? In a wall, right? And
so the apostle is suggesting that there are walls
before him. There are hindrances before him.
He says, pray that God will put a door there.
Have you ever heard of Windy Bagwell and the
Sunlighters? It's a southern gospel group. I
suppose they're still going out there somewhere
in these all -night things. Wendy Bagwell was
well -named. He got his nickname, I assume Wendy
is a nickname, because he was a great storyteller.
He told one of the funniest stories I've ever
heard in my life. I wish I had the whole script
to share it with you this morning, but the story
basically is about a time when he and the Sunlighters,
his music team, were in a southern Kentucky church.
And it was a small one -room structure with a
light bulb hanging down, bare light bulb hanging
down. And they had trouble getting their amps
hooked up and they finally did, got their amplifiers
in place and they got into the service and everybody
kind of got happy. It was one of those churches.
And as people got happy they began to kind of
dance and jump around and some of them went around
behind where they were playing. And pretty soon
they came out bringing rattlesnakes. There was
a snake handle in church, and they didn't even
know it. And their eyes got big as they're singing
and playing their guitars. And they watched these
people carrying rattlesnakes around, kissing
them. And he backed up to his wife. And she says,
honey, what are we going to do? And Wendy says,
I don't know. He leaned over to her and said,
where's the door? He said, I don't see one. He
said, pray tell, where do they want one? Where
do they want one? Oh, that's just one line now
of the story. But here's the point. There was
a wall there. He needed the door. Paul's saying,
there's walls all around me. I need doors. Pray
that God will open doors. Where do you need doors?
Doors of opportunity. What are the walls up in
your witness where you want to share Christ and
it doesn't seem like there's any opening? Prayer
opens doors. And then finally prayer emboldens
us. The Apostle says, in order that I may make
it clear, that is that I may uncover it, that
I may make visible. make known the Gospel in
the way that I ought to speak, the way that I
must speak. And we'll not take time to look at
it again, but in Ephesians 6 and what I read
to you, he says that I may speak it boldly. The
apostle was suggesting here that prayer emboldens
us, and if you go back to the book of Acts, you
find that prayer was that which gave boldness
and freedom of speech to the early church. Prayer
provided for them a courage and a confidence
in the work of God. It took away the fear of
those who were persecuting them. And so the apostle
is saying here, prayer emboldens us. Someone
has said, Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks
at our wisdom, but trembles when he sees the
weakest saint upon his knees. How then are we
to do God's work? by prayer. We're going to devote
our summer to prayer around this place for a
number of reasons. We're going to be looking
in Sunday morning at one of the most significant
prayers of the Old Testament, in my opinion,
in the book of Jeremiah. On Sunday evenings,
we are going to have prayer meetings every Sunday
night, if there's not something like the Billy
Graham crusade going on. Because we need prayer
in our church like we've never needed it before.
And the 36 % that I just talked about is one
indication of that. We need God to do something
in our hearts, folks, so that we will understand
the work of God and get it done on earth, because
it's done with prayer. Prayer is the heart and
the soul of getting God's work done on earth.
Paul begins this book with prayer, chapter 1.
He tells us how he prays, what he prays for,
and now he ends it with a plea for prayer. God's
work is seeking forth the mystery of Christ.
That requires boldness, it requires opportunities,
it requires teamwork, and prayer is the secret
to all of that. Prayer is the way to do heaven's
work on earth. E. M. Bounds also said, He who
does not pray robs himself of God's help. And
so today I lay before you this text and this
challenge from God's Word. God has a work for
you and for me to do. It is telling others about
Jesus. And the way to get that work done is through
prayer. Lord, I pray that you will create in
our hearts a deep desire to pray. Deliver us
from the dullness, the sleepiness that has overtaken
too many regarding this important, important
truth. And I pray that as a result of your awakening
our hearts to prayer, your work will get done
in our lives and through us in our world. As
we come to this table this morning, Lord, help
us to remember that our Savior, before He went
to the cross and shed His blood and offered up
His body, spent a night in prayer. And through
that prayer, we strengthen in His humanness that
He might lay His life down on our behalf. And
so as we partake of this cup and this bread,
may we this morning give ourselves wholeheartedly
to Him and the glorious, privileged work of sharing
the truth of the Gospel with others. I'm going
to ask those who are serving with me to come.
Father, as we prepare our hearts now, we want
to confess our sins. And for some of us, the
first thing on the list needs to be prayerlessness.
For some of us it needs to be forgetting what
our work here is. Whatever our sins, we thank
you that through the Lord Jesus you've provided
a propitiation. And as we partake of this bread,
we're mindful that our Lord, by His sacrifice,
became the propitiation for our sins and not
for ours only, but for those of the whole world.
Lift our eyes on the world that needs Jesus,
Father. And help us to remember the lost as we
comfortably eat the bread this morning.