Word of Salvation – Vol.45 No.13 – April 2000
Being People Of Prayer And Grace
Sermon by Rev P. Smit on Colossians 4:2-6
Scripture Readings: Nehemiah 2:1-8
Suggested Hymns: BoW 92; 444; 153; Rej 281; 458; 342; 419
Beloved in the Lord.
You’ve probably all witnessed it. In the work place or on a street corner. A Christian with a holier-than-thou manner. They stalk the least likely suspect and pounce on them, waving a Bible around, like they might hit them with it. In their zeal for Christ, they get into someone’s face, taking a truckload of Scripture and reversing up to them dumping it on them, whether they wanted it or not.
It’s probably the worst nightmare of any non-Christian person. Often new Christians, in their zeal for Christ can be insensitive to the needs of others and do more harm to their gospel witness than good.
Today in the very practical, final chapters of this letter, God gives us important instructions for living as People of Prayer and Grace when it comes to sharing our faith.
Paul begins by saying:
- Persevere in prayer
In verse 2 he says, Devote yourselves to prayer.
The word devote means, persist in this. Be busily engaged in this. Unflinchingly persevere.
What an example Paul was for the Colossians and us. Turn back to Chapter 1:3. See what he says: “We always thank God when we pray for you.” Verse 9: “We have not stopped praying for you.”
Paul was a man of prayer. He followed in the footsteps of Jesus. Jesus was a person of prayer. Are you? Am I?
Are we busily engaged in prayer? Are we unflinchingly persevering, watching those around us, praying for them in their need. Are we being watchful in prayer?
When we are alert to people’s needs, we can pray for them. And God often calls us to be the answer to our prayers. To pray for someone, yes, but then to go to them to encourage them, support them, help them. Not only did Paul pray for these Colossians, he wrote to them to build them up in their faith. God will call us to do the same, when we pray.
Are we praying with thankfulness for what God is doing in our lives?
Prayer is like breathing. If we stop, we die. So, too, in our spiritual life, prayer is the breath of faith. God wants us to talk to him, and as we do we will see his power at work in his church and his people, and us.
In our prayers let’s be thankful. Let’s thank God for his faithfulness, for his love, for the blessings we receive daily. Let’s remember to see the roses among the thorns, the blessings among the difficulties.
But Paul urges the Colossians to pray that God would give him an opportunity to speak about Jesus Christ. Paul said: “Pray for an opportunity to speak of the mystery of Christ.”
What is this mystery? Paul spoke of it in chapter 1 verses 26 and 27. The mystery is that Jesus Christ can live in you. That you, a non-Jew, can know the one true God and his Son Jesus Christ. The mystery is that you can have the hope of glory in your life. That you can have your sins forgiven, by trusting Jesus as your Saviour and Master. This mystery is that the love of God can be at work in your life.
Paul says, “Pray that I have the opportunity to proclaim that truth. Pray that I will present it clearly.” You see, people in this world don’t know about this. They need to know. This community in which we live needs to know. Just as much as Paul’s community needed to know.
Dear friends, will you commit to pray this for your pastor. Will you commit to pray this for yourselves. Pray that God will open up a door for his message, each Sunday. Pray during the week, pray on Sunday morning, that God will help your pastor to proclaim the message of Christ faithfully and clearly. Pray that the doors to people’s lives will be opened to receive it. That the door to your life will be open to receive it.
I ask you, please, commit to pray this for your pastor. We won’t see an abundance of spiritual fruit in this church until we are pleading with God to grow it in our lives and others.
Will you commit to pray this for yourself? Begin each week, saying, “Lord give me an opportunity to share Christ’s Word and love meaningfully with non-churched people this week.” Maybe there is someone you’re close to, with whom you’d love to share the mystery of God’s love. Pray daily for an opportunity.
You know, when I visit with un-churched friends, I pray in my heart, “Lord make me sensitive to take up an opportunity to share something of you and your Word to this person.” As you pray that, it is liberating. Because you don’t have to make an opportunity happen. You are waiting for a natural way to share your faith in Christ as issues come up. When God gives you an opportunity, you’ll see it if you’ve prayed. And you will need to seize that opportunity. But if no opportunity presents itself, you don’t have to worry, this wasn’t God’s timing.
That’s why God says to us, “Pray for these opportunities. Depend on me. Trust me, wait on me.” Not only should we be praying for opportunities, but also that we will be able to present it clearly as we should. Pray that God will give you the words. And think about how best to share what God has done in your life.
Not only does God call us to persevere in prayer, he says: …
- Live wisely in the world.
In verse 5 it says: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders” You and I, if we believe in Jesus, are Christ’s ambassadors in this world. When people want to see what Christianity is about, they are going to look at you. What’s different about your life? How do you deal with your anger? How are you living morally? What gives you hope? How is God’s love real in your life? They will be looking to see Christ in you and in me.
Jesus was and is someone of integrity, and we must be people of integrity, too. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.” Jesus didn’t condemn sinners, he condemned the religious hypocrites. Jesus didn’t condemn sinners, he offered them God’s forgiveness and called them to follow God’s will. He was wise in the way he acted toward outsiders. He was sensitive to the need of the moment, he was compassionate, he was gracious, he offered hope, and he spoke God’s truth wisely.
That’s what God calls us to do. A high calling isn’t it? That’s why we need to pray for his help and strength. Be wise with your non-Christian friends. Strive to live an authentic Christian life. Don’t Bible bash. Don’t be harsh and brash with people. Be wise and loving.
That doesn’t mean you can sit on the fence and never say anything. In verse 5 it goes on to say: “Make the most of every opportunity.”
The original language means: “seek to rescue every moment from being lost.” You’ve done it, I’m sure. Because I can’t be the only person who’s missed a opportunity to share about Jesus. You’ve been enjoying a conversation with someone and an opportunity comes up to share of your faith, it’s right there, you’ve got a couple of seconds to grab it, and as you’re fumbling around for something to say, it’s gone as quick as it came.
Paul says, “You rescue that moment. Don’t let it slip through your fingers.” Time is short. Make the most of those opportunities.
As I said earlier, if you are praying for opportunities, then you’ll be more ready to take them when they appear. And God will give you the words. Step out in faith. Share your love for the Lord. People may not come to church, but they haven’t stopped asking questions about God.
Remember, every opportunity and moment is one to shine the love of Jesus Christ.
- Persevere in prayer.
- Live wisely in the world.
And lastly:
- Speak graciously. [Read verse 6]
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Let your words be gracious, seasoned with salt. Recently I made a curry. It took me half the day, but I did it anyway. Got all the ingredients, garlic, garlic, garlic. Cummin, corriander, meat, onions, the works. The recipe said, add salt and pepper to taste. I didn’t put any in. I thought I’d do it later when we needed to eat it. When we ate it, I was disappointed. You could taste the salt wasn’t there. It was flat, without spark. It had all the other ingredients but it lacked taste, vitality.
You can know all the doctrine of the Christian faith, you can have all the ingredients to the Christian life, like church going, Bible studies — but if there is no grace in your life, no deep love for God and your neighbour, then your conversation will be flat, tasteless, and lacking the vitality of Christian salt.
When your life is seasoned with Christ’s love, and filled with God’s grace, then they will see it. They will hear it. When you speak of your love for God, your unchurched friends will want to hear your testimony. God himself says to you and me, make your conversation gracious. Don’t curse, don’t swear, don’t allow your tongue to speak unwholesome things.
God is reminding us to put that behind us. Speak wholesome words, upbuilding words, words that are appropriate to the needs of the person, words that point them to Jesus Christ. Let us speak words that adorn the gospel, that show we are authentic about serving Christ, filled with the spice of God’s Word.
And remember we need to be ready to answer everyone. We don’t need to corner people waving a great big Bible around. We don’t need to pounce on them when they’re least expecting it.
We need to:
1. Persevere in prayer. Praying for opportunities to share God’s love.
We need to:
2. Live wisely in the world. Being an authentic godly Christian, as ambassadors for Christ.
And we need to:
3. Speak graciously. With gentleness and respect. For God will give us the opportunities to share his love, we need to be ready to answer them with Christ’s love and with grace.
That’s how we can be God’s people of prayer and grace.
Amen.