The front door of the church has moved. Part of our mission at OCC is to lead people to Jesus, but have you ever found yourself asking, "How do I do that?" That's what this series is all about - helping each of us pray, identify, and respond to the open doors in our lives.
An Open Door
Living Wisely
Colossians 4:2-6
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Living Wisely
Colossians 4:2-6
OCC, 03/21/2021
John Mulpas
INTRODUCTION
If you could ask God for ONE thing and you knew he would give it to you, what would you ask for?
Back in the Old Testament of the Bible, this actually happened.
In fact, God himself appeared to a king named Solomon in a dream.
And here’s what God said: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (1 Kings 3:5)
Now, if God appeared to you and said that, what would you ask for?
Or, maybe a…
That would definitely take an act of God.
Reminds of a woman who was walking along a California beach; she was deep in prayer when suddenly she cried out: “Lord, grant me one wish!”
God replied, “Because you’ve tried to be faithful, I will grant you one wish.”
The woman didn’t hesitate; she said, “Lord, build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I want.”
The Lord answered, “Your request is quite materialistic. I mean, think of the logistics of that kind of undertaking; the supports, the concrete, the steel it would take. I can do it, but it’s hard for me to justify. Why don’t you take more time to think of another wish.”
The woman thought for a long time and finally said, “Lord, I’ve never been able to find the ‘perfect man’. You know, one that’s considerate and fun, likes to cook and does house cleaning, gets along with my family, doesn’t watch sports all the time and will make me feel like I’m the center of his universe. That’s all I want, Lord, a good man!”
After a few minutes God said, “How many lanes you want on that bridge?”
Unfortunately, for you and our staff, I’ll be here all week.
But God says to Solomon: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
And what did Solomon ask for?
No, Solomon didn’t ask for any of these things.
Instead, he asked for something far more significant.
In fact, it’s what all of us must have as we continue our series, An Open Door.
Over the last two Sunday’s, we’ve learned that: Evangelism [or sharing Jesus with others] is a process.
And it starts with prayer.
I so much appreciated Jesse’s message last Sunday.
Relentless prayer opens doors.
As we spend more time praying, we see more doors open.
There was a lady in the last church I served that was a prayer warrior.
And she was one of our best evangelists.
I asked her one time what her secret was.
She told me that all she did was pray; that’s it.
Now, I know she did more than just pray, but that’s where her focus was.
She was relentless in praying for those in her circle who were far from God.
And when God opened a door, she would step through that door and serve them or have a spiritual conversation or share an invite to attend one of our worship services.
In fact, there was a couple that started coming to the church in response to her invitation, and she just continued to pray.
Eventually, after many months, this couple accepted Christ!
Friends, that’s how it works, and prayer is where the real work is done because as we pray, God opens doors.
Now, I know some of you have been praying for years for a loved one or friend to come to the Lord, but they haven’t yet.
And the door seems to be closed.
I want to encourage you to keep praying, keep knocking, keep trusting.
Today might be the day the door opens.
And when it does, we need to make the most of the opportunity.
EXPLANATION
The apostle Paul talks about this in the Bible passage we’ve been looking at over the last couple weeks.
It’s found in Colossians, chapter 4.
I want us to read it together.
The Scripture is going to be up on the screen.
I’ll read what is in white letters and I’d like you to read what is in yellow.
Make sense?
OK, let’s stand for the reading of God’s word.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (vv. 2-6)
Great job; you can be seated.
In this passage there are two commands:
We’ve talked about that; we must keep prayer front and center.
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.”
I kind of left you hanging a few minutes ago, but this is the one thing Solomon asked God for - wisdom.
Wisdom as King of Israel to lead the people well.
And if there’s one thing we need to lead the people in our circle to Jesus, it’s wisdom.
The word translated “wise” here is the Greek word, sophia.
Anybody have that name?
It means wisdom.
I like the King James Version of this verse; it says, “Walk in wisdom…”
Those INSIDE the church are to conduct themselves with wisdom as they live with those OUTSIDE the church - people who do not know Christ yet.
Because here’s the danger if you’re a Christian: you can become resentful and cantankerous in a world that’s hostile toward Christianity.
For instance, how should we respond when we disagree with something like a president’s agenda or civil unrest?
Should we take to social media and post an angry rant?
What does “wise living” look like when there’s a political party we do not agree with or someone’s lifestyle we do not affirm?
These are not easy issues to navigate.
Not only can they divide Christians, but if we’re not careful, they can also damage our relationships and rapport with a world that needs Jesus.
That’s why we need to “Walk in wisdom…”
This word “wisdom” is an interesting word.
It not only has to do with knowledge, it’s also about practice.
Wisdom is not just what we know; it’s what we know put into action.
To put it another way: Wisdom is the SKILL of living.
Do you know people that are just good at life?
Well, here in Colossians 4, the apostle Paul is urging the church to interact with the unbelieving world around them in a God-honoring, skillful way that shows up in the way they act and in the way they talk.
There’s a wisdom, some skills we need when it comes to our actions and our conversations.
I remember when I was in high school, I wanted to learn how to juggle.
I just thought it was cool and I wanted to learn how to do it.
Now, this was before YouTube where you could just watch a video on how to juggle.
I probably could’ve gone to the local library and gotten a book or a VHS tape that could’ve taught me.
But I remember spending hours trying to figure it out on my own.
I started by juggling two balls with one hand. [Demonstrate]
I felt if I could do that, I could add a third ball with two hands. [Demonstrate]
So that’s what I started to do and eventually I did it; I learned how to juggle.
Now, it takes some hand-eye coordination, I realize.
But: It’s amazing what you can TRAIN yourself to do.
And if there’s one skill we should be chasing after, it’s the skill of leading someone to Jesus.
Now, you may feel like there’s NO WAY you could ever do that, but I want you to hear something today.
By God’s grace:
Turn to the person next to you right now and say, “YOU can do this!”
“YOU can do this!”
Now, turn to them again and say, “Yes, even YOU!”
“Yes, even YOU!”
But we’ve got to “Walk in wisdom…”
APPLICATION
So, how do we do that?
Well, first, Paul says:
1. Wisdom makes the most of every OPPORTUNITY.
This is the idea of “buying up time”; some translations say, “redeeming the time.” (KJV)
The word for time here is kairos.
Kairos refers to a strategic point of time, not just time in general.
It’s a specific period of opportunity which when it passes is gone forever.
The word “opportunity” comes from the Latin and means “toward the port.”
It suggests a ship taking advantage or making the most of the wind and tide to arrive safely in the harbor.
Likewise, Paul tells followers of Jesus to buy up, take advantage, make the most of every opportunity God gives us to share Christ.
Because those opportunities may not come again.
David Garland in his commentary on Colossians writes: “[We] must blend wisdom with a sense of reckless urgency that exhausts every opportunity to reach unbelievers.”
One of my mentors, John Caldwell, wrote a book on evangelism and he has a whole page of different life events that cause people to be more receptive to the gospel.
The number one life event is the Death of a spouse.
Some of you have experienced that in the last year.
What an extremely difficult time.
Last year as a part of our Pastoral Care ministry led by our Associate Minister, Tom Ledford, we started a ministry called Grief Share.
One of the reasons we started this ministry is because we see it as an opportunity to care for people that have lost loved ones, and also in the midst of that, to show and share the message of Christ.
Some of you live out in the country where you really don’t have next-door neighbors - at least that are close to your home, but others of us live in neighborhoods where our homes are close to others.
With the weather changing outside, a great way to “redeem the time” is to spend it outdoors.
Now, this happens naturally this time of year, right?
There are many things to do outside like picking up umpteen sticks!
But guess what?
Many of your neighbors are doing the same thing.
What an opportunity to connect with our neighbors this time of year - to have conversations, to listen to their stories, to even serve them.
Love Week [image] is coming up the week after Easter.
Maybe you and your family could do something for one of your neighbors.
Maybe you could go and pick up sticks in their yard.
Maybe you could deliver some spring flowers to brighten up their day.
Maybe you could wash their windows.
You get the idea!
But it’s as if God created this season for us to be outside and interacting with our neighbors as we pray for open doors.
And then, Easter [image] is just 2 weeks from today.
What a kairos moment every year.
If there’s one time, besides Christmas, that provides an open door, this is it!
“Walk in wisdom…”
Now, there are two other words in Colossians 4 [underline words in verse] I want to highlight: the word “act” and the word “conversation”.
Do you see those?
And so, number two:
2. Wisdom lives a consistent GODLY life.
It can’t be something that is here one day and gone the next.
Sure, all of us mess up at times, but our faith needs to be lived out in such a way that people go, “There’s something different about them.”
Dr. William Henry Houghton was a pastor and then served as president of Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute until his death in 1946.
But when Dr. Houghton became a pastor in Atlanta, a man in that city hired a private detective to follow Dr. Houghton and report on his conduct.
After a few weeks, the detective was able to report to the man that Dr. Houghton’s life matched his preaching.
And as a result, that man became a Christian.
Friends, how we live our lives in front of a watching world is huge!
“Walk in wisdom…”
But let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that we can just live this incredibly godly and holy life, and because of that, people are going to fall on their knees in repentance and accept Christ.
The word “proclaim” appears twice in our text.
Paul’s ultimate goal was to proclaim the message of Jesus.
The Bible says in Romans 10:17 - “Consequently, faith comes from [what?] hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
The good news of Jesus - the gospel - must be shared.
But it’s important that we share it in a wise manner because if we’re not careful, we can make a mess of things with our tongue.
We need to pray like the Psalmist: “Set a guard over my mouth, LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)
Not only must we “Walk in wisdom…” but we must TALK in wisdom.
And so, third:
3. Wisdom shares the GOSPEL in a winsome way.
Paul talks about this in verse 6; he says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
First, he says:
The gospel is all about grace, right?
And so, if someone is living a certain way that we disagree with - that is opposed to the Bible, you might be tempted to set them straight.
But wisdom doesn't speak in a condescending or condemning way.
It’s kind and humble.
Because at the end of the day, we’re ALL sinners in need of God’s grace.
Next:
Let your speech always be “seasoned with salt.”
Of course, Paul doesn’t mean to use “salty” language, okay?
No, salt had two main uses in Paul’s day.
It was used as a preservative to keep things from spoiling, so our speech should be pure and free from corruption.
But, also, salt was used as a spice, like today, to make food more tasty.
And so our speech, particularly when it comes to sharing Jesus, should stimulate people’s taste to want more and to keep the conversation going.
And then, third, Paul says:
Know how to respond to each person’s unique needs and questions.
Since we live in an ever-increasing hostile context, we need to have answers ready for those who challenge or are curious about our faith.
(Keyboard Player Returns to Stage)
The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15 - “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to [what?] give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But [this is so important] do this with gentleness and respect…”
Now, no one knows ALL the answers, but we need to do all we can to be ready; to tell people not only WHAT we believe, but WHY we believe it.
AND, this is SUPER important - we need to be able to handle the Word of God in such a way that we can point people to Scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in their hearts.
One of the Bible verses I like to share when I have an opportunity to talk with someone is Romans 6:23.
Say it with me from the screen: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That right there, in one verse, is the gospel.
ALL of us have sinned; we’ve ALL disobeyed God in some way.
And the result of that is death - separation from God.
That’s what we deserve.
But fortunately, the verse doesn’t end there.
The good news is, God gave us a gift - something we could never earn or deserve - and that gift is eternal life in heaven.
You see, Jesus paid the penalty of death that we deserved; he did it on the cross, and through his sacrifice, we can be forgiven and have a relationship with God forever.
If you’re here in-person or watching online and you’ve never accepted this gift of salvation that God offers, you can do that today.
Text the word “Chat” to the number on the screen, or you can drop by our Next Step area on your way out today.
We would love to visit with you.
“Walk in wisdom…”
Learn to live in such a way that as you pray for An Open Door and walk through the doors God opens, you’ll do it at just the right TIME and in the just right WAY - the way of wisdom.
Let's pray. [blank slide]
(Band Returns to Stage)
Sermon Summary for Tuesday recap video: