Ready willing and enabled

On Sunday night we looked at Colossians 4:2-6, i found it both a great encouragement and a great challenge.

Why is evangelism so difficult in Britain? I was recently asked that question, I wonder what answer you would give? Just think about it for a minute. So what do you think? Maybe you would say that it is because we live in a secular society, where you religious beliefs your faith are meant to be kept private. Or maybe it’s the rise of aggressive atheism, bad experiences people have had of church, perhaps it’s the relentless pressure of the new so that people reject anything they perceive as old. Or maybe you think its multiculturalism, or materialism or the rejection of the idea of truth. The truth is it is probably a combination of all of those factors and some others which makes sharing the gospel with people so hard.

There is a danger as we come to look at these verses that we just write them off. ‘Oh that’s OK for Paul he was gifted in evangelism that was his job. Or it’s OK for the Colossians but they don’t face the pressures and difficulties that we have today.’

In fact I think there are lots of parallels between Colossae in the 1st Century and Britain now. Colossae was a multicultural and multi-faith society, it was driven by commerce, people were keen to be spiritual, and little was known about the Bible and Christianity, and what was known was often based on wrong assumption, and the idea of one God and one faith would have been as odd then as it seems to many now.

As we look at these words this evening don’t turn off, don’t take the easy way out and excuse yourself. As Paul writes to the Colossians one of his concerns has been that the church reaches maturity in Christ. A maturity found in the gospel and that is shown in living in the light of what Jesus has done, that impacts family, work and everything that goes on around it. And here as he begins to wrap up his letter to this church he gives them some final instructions about how they are to make Jesus Christ known.

1. Rely on God
What would it look like to be devoted to your dog? Or to your family? Or to your team? It would mean that they are first and foremost in your thoughts and actions. So the dog would get walked, played with, etc… They would be a constant companion whenever opportunity permitted, you would spend time with them, communicate with them...

Paul begins by calling the Colossians to be devoted to prayer, he wants them to pray consistently and frequently, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Why pray? Because it is a sign of dependence on God. Notice that Paul adds that as well as being devoted we are to be watchful – in Colossae this was important as there were false teachers trying to twist the gospel, and thankful – that God has freed them from their sin through Jesus by faith and brought them into his kingdom.

So we are to give thanks to God and stay alert as we pray, but what are we to pray for? Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him and his companions and I think this is a model prayer for the believers there to use for themselves. They are meant to pray this for Paul and recognise it is what they are to pray for themselves.

Pray for opportunities
That is the first thing Paul says they should pray for. He doesn’t assume that these will just happen, he wants them to pray for them also that God will provide opportunities. Paul knows that you can’t force people to hear the gospel, God has to open up doors for the gospel, so that he can reveal the mystery that God sent his Son to die to pay for our rebellion.

That is a great prayer for us to pray for one another as churches isn’t it? That God would open up doors for the message of the gospel. In fact that is one of the things we have prayed for one another and God graciously has done just that for us as schools have invited us in, as individuals have asked questions, as people have come to faith. It’s a great thing for us to pray for one another as individuals too, and to pray for ourselves. Can you think of someone tonight that you will pray for God to open a door for you to share the gospel with?

But notice that Paul doesn’t just ask for prayer for opportunity. Paul asks for prayer for:

Clarity of proclamation
I don’t know about you I find that a bit of an odd thing for Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles to pray for. I guess we tend to think that Paul had it all sorted, an evangelistic talk for every occasion. But he asks for prayer that as he should he will make the gospel clear, isn’t that an encouragement?

That is a prayer again that we should echo for one another as churches – that the gospel would be preached faithfully but also clearly, both from the front and when God opens opportunities for us with friend, family, work colleagues, and neighbours. We need to pray that our explanations of the gospel aren’t fuzzy, long winded, jargon filled or superior. But pray that we would be clear so that the gospel and its implications are obvious and are accepted or rejected on its content alone.

Will we pray that for our churches, for each other, and for ourselves?

2. Ready to live for God
Having asked for prayer for gospel opportunities and clarity and modelled what the Colossians are to pray for themselves Paul now exhorts them to live like Jesus.

“Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Notice here that Paul assumes they will be involved with outsiders – those outside the church. And his concern is for how they live, his teaching here links in with the previous chapter where he has been explaining what a gospel lifestyle looks like, the changes that believing in Jesus Christ brings, and with what he just said on prayer – if you pray for opportunities you will be living aware of such opportunities.

Why are they, are we, to be wise in the way we act? Because we are a walking advert for the love of God and the transformation that the gospel brings. What does such wise action look like? It means you follow the model that has been given you.

Look at 3:5-14. **What does wise living look like? Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…

We have been working through Luke on Sunday mornings and what you see there is Jesus actions towards outsiders. At the start of chapter 4 Jesus is alone in the desert, then he is rejected at Nazareth but by the end of ch6 there are two groups the disciples – those who follow him - and the crowd – those who come to see and listen.

In chapters 4 and 5 I think Jesus gives us a great model of being wise towards outsiders. Take Peter, Jesus practically cares for him in healing his mother-in-law and then engages with him and when Peter realises his sin - once the mystery of who Jesus is, is revealed to him – he calls him not to fear but to follow and join Jesus mission.

Take Levi, whilst the Pharisees judged, quarantined and isolated the tax collectors Jesus rather than walking past deliberately goes and engages with Levi, he cuts through all the social conventions, all the worries about what others may think, calling him to follow as a response to his message. What you see next is, I think, even more amazing Jesus isn’t just after one spiritual write-off the next thing you see is he is at Levi’s house engaging with a whole house full of spiritual write-offs.

Jesus is wise towards the outsider, he shows compassion for them, he engages with them where they are and he calls them to stop living for themselves and start living for him. Jesus lived differently – people were his concern, not laws or traditions.

Live wisely Paul says – engage with the outsider, let them see you are different, that you have been changed by following Jesus and make the most of every opportunity – be ready when the questions come.

He then addresses there words, as part of living wisely “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Your words should be grace filled, they should be winsome and loving. We live in a world where words are cheap, where promises don’t matter, where words are weapons used to knock others down. But not for you, says Paul to the Colossians, your words are to reflect what is in your heart – they are to full of the grace that overflows from there.

But Paul doesn’t stop there, he isn’t saying we are just to be nice. Our words are also to be seasoned with salt. Impure salt was worthless and tasteless. Paul is saying being gracious but also let your words be worth something, don’t duck the issue, answer with integrity and honest, let your words mean something. It means we don’t downplay the significance of the gospel, we don’t accept it as one way among many to get to God or a truth, we tell people of the significance of the gospel and the decision they must mark regarding it.

Having prayed for God given opportunities and clarity, having lived and spoken to provoke questions about the gospel be ready Paul is saying.

Can I ask you are you ready? If we have prayed for opportunities we need to be ready to be clear when God gives us them, to have thought through how to graciously and saltily answer the question that is asked of us about suffering, or other religions, or what we really believe, or what difference it makes to us to be a Christian.

When you walk into the office tomorrow morning have you thought about how you will answer when someone says “How was the weekend?” Or “What did you do yesterday?” How do I answer that question in a way that is full of grace?

What about if someone shares with you this week about a family illness or death? Have you thought through your answer? Does our response model the grace that is overflowing from our heart?

Paul writes to the Colossians and urges them to pray because gospel opportunities and clarity depend on God preparing others and enabling us. That is a real encouragement isn’t it. Depend on God and with both lip and hip tell others about the gospel – the great news that Jesus came down and took our place and we can know peace and relationship with God.