If you would open up your Bibles to Colossians chapter 4, it's on page 1170 of your pew Bible.
And you need to know something that the Apostle Paul has been writing Colossians and up to
this point he's been writing primarily to Christians and how to relate to other Christians.
And here in 4.2, 2 through 6, he does a pivot and he starts talking about, writing about
how we are to relate with non-Christians.
Hear God's Word.
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the Word to declare
the mystery of Christ, on account of which I'm in prison, that I may make it clear which
is how I ought, even must, speak.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought
or must answer each person.
May God bless the reading and now the preaching of His Word.
If you've lived long enough, you've begun to accumulate missed opportunities.
Missed opportunities in love, the one that got away.
Missed opportunities in career.
Maybe I should have taken that job with so-and-so.
Missed opportunities of enrichment.
One of my regrets is I was a jock in high school and I thought everybody in theater were a bunch
of nerds and I so regret it.
I wish I was in theater in high school.
Missed opportunities.
Have you noticed that with missed opportunities, oftentimes they're accompanied by regret?
Regret.
There is a regularly missed opportunity unique to Christians.
Missed witnessing opportunities.
When you hear witness, you may think court of law.
A witness takes the stand.
A bailiff says something to the extent of, put your hand on the Bible.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God.
And the witness says, I do.
I do.
A witness when it comes to the Christian faith is someone who is telling the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth about Jesus and what he has done in your life.
We bear witness.
But many Christians, you're going to have to give me an amen on this one.
But many Christians would rather have a root canal than bear witness to Christ to people they know.
Do I have an amen?
Why don't we witness?
Why are we missing witnessing opportunities?
Not everyone, but many of us.
God is giving us witnessing opportunities.
There's a number of reasons why we don't witness.
But I think it boils down to one thing.
We witness to Christ little because we treasure Christ little.
And so the solution to witnessing more is to treasure Christ more.
Jesus himself said, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Did you know you talk about what you treasure?
It's an overflow.
You talk about what you treasure.
And when Christ is the controlling center of your life,
when he is the treasured center of your life,
you're going to want to talk about him.
You must talk about him.
Brothers and sisters, here's what I want to convince you of.
Let's not just ask God for opportunities to witness.
Let's take them.
Let's ask God for opportunities to witness,
and let's take them.
So three points to the sermon.
To help you take the opportunities that God will surely give us,
three points.
Treasure.
Pray.
Show and tell.
Let's take the witnessing opportunities God gives us this summer
because we get to talk about treasure.
First point.
The treasure of our witness.
How do we overcome the reasons why we don't witness?
Here are some reasons.
We're distracted by the world.
We're distracted by the temporary trinkets of the world.
How do you overcome that?
Or, I think with many of us in the room,
we're afraid.
We're afraid what people will think about us,
Jesus freak,
or we're afraid of what it will do to a relationship.
We think that if I share,
talk about Jesus to this person,
it will forever change our relationship.
And so you're unwilling to talk about the greatest treasure ever
out of fear of what someone will think
and how that will affect your relationship.
Sometimes we don't share the gospel because we don't know what to say.
One of the things in our membership interviews
that the elders have started doing is asking this question,
what is the gospel?
And one of the things that we have found is a lack of clarity
in what the gospel is and how people can communicate it.
And so I just want you to know up front
that we've made this book available,
What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert.
We've got ten copies outside either of the doors.
Grab one per family.
This will bring clarity in how to communicate the gospel.
He does that in four words.
God, man, Christ, response.
Very helpful.
But again, I think that's more symptomatic
of why we don't witness.
The cause, I believe, is that we treasure Jesus little.
So we overcome these things by treasuring Jesus more.
And out of the abundance of your heart,
your mouth will speak.
You'll actually say the name Jesus to people.
Amen.
So how do you do that?
The best thing for our evangelism,
brothers and sisters,
is to treasure Jesus above all else.
We get to talk about treasure.
So let me just remind you of this treasure
to stir your hearts
and maybe stir your want
to tell someone about this Jesus.
Remember his person.
Do you remember this from chapter 1, verse 15?
That this Jesus,
he is the image of the invisible God.
If you flip to Colossians 2, verse 9,
you read this,
for in him,
Jesus,
the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
In this person of Jesus,
he's totally God
and totally man,
one person.
Treasure.
That's whom we proclaim.
That's whom we get to talk about.
If you look at Colossians 1, verse 15,
even closer,
you see this.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
Verse 17,
and he's before all things
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the church,
the body of the church.
He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead.
Firstborn.
Firstborn of creation.
Firstborn from the dead.
And that firstborn language
is talking about kingship.
Psalm 89, 27.
He's the king of all creation
and he's the king of the new creation.
Firstborn from the dead.
That's who we get to talk about.
He reigns over all things.
Because of who Jesus is,
totally God,
totally man,
king of creation,
king of the new creation,
he reigns over all.
You know what that means?
He is the controlling center
of all things.
That's the reality of it.
And we get to tell people about that.
But it's just not his person
that is just of incomparable worth.
It's what he does.
It's his work.
The person and work of Jesus Christ.
Our treasure.
You know, in 3, 4,
we are told,
when Christ, who is your life,
appears,
he's going to appear.
He's going to come back.
He's going to return.
And when he comes back and returns,
he's going to judge everyone.
Matthew 25 talks about it
as the separation from the sheep,
from the goats,
Christians from non-Christians.
Matthew 13 uses a parable
to talk about it
as a harvest that separates
the wheat from the weeds.
But he's also reigning right now.
Look at 3, 1.
If then you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above.
Where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
He is seated at the right hand of God,
reigning on high.
And do you know what he's doing?
One of the things he's doing,
he's expanding his new creation kingdom
across the world.
Right now.
Today.
All around the globe.
He's gathering for himself
a people from every tribe,
tongue, and nation
who will worship him
and live for him
and follow him.
Boast in him.
But the work,
the work,
the central work of Jesus
that we get to talk about
as the greatest of all treasures
is his death and resurrection.
Totally God, totally man,
died on a Roman cross
in the place of sinners
and then was raised from the dead.
Do you know what that accomplished?
Salvation.
Listen to how the Apostle Paul
talks about it
in Colossians 2, 13 and 14.
And you,
speaking to Christian saints,
you who were dead in your trespasses
in the uncircumcision of your flesh,
God made alive together with him,
having forgiven us
all our trespasses
by canceling the record of debt
that stood against us
with its legal demands.
This he set aside,
nailing it to the cross.
His death and resurrection
resulted in the forgiveness of our sin
which gives us new life,
new creations.
It's the new creation kingdom.
This is treasure.
And this is whom we proclaim.
The person and work of Jesus Christ.
For a long time, it was a mystery.
The Old Testament pointed to it
that there's this king coming
in Isaiah 53.
He would die in the place of sinners
and he'd be raised,
but nobody knew who it was.
And then Jesus showed up.
And the apostle Paul says,
he's the one.
Him we proclaim.
He's the Christ.
Mystery made known.
There's this little parable.
It's one of my favorite parables
in Matthew 13, 13, 44.
Jesus tells this parable
of a guy who is out in a field digging.
Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig.
And his shovel hits something.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Pulls it out.
It's treasure.
Buried treasure.
And so what Jesus says
is what this guy did.
He covered it back up
and then in his joy,
he sells all that he has
and obtains the field
and makes the treasure his own.
It's a concealed treasure
that's made known.
Do you know who that is?
Jesus is the treasure.
We get to speak of treasure, gang.
Think of witnessing,
not as root canal,
and it's treasure talking.
Brothers and sisters,
when we pray for opportunities
for God to open doors
to proclaim Christ,
we're asking for opportunities
to speak about treasure.
Now that brings me
to this passage in particular
where Paul pivots.
He takes a turn.
He's been talking to Christians
about relating to other Christians
and now he starts talking
to these Christians in Colossae.
Remember, Paul's in Rome.
He's in prison.
He's shackled to a Roman Praetorian guard
1,300 miles away from Colossae.
And he says to them,
continue steadfastly in prayer,
being watchful in it
with thanksgiving.
The prayers of our witness.
What we pray.
Prayer, if you're wondering,
is simply just talking to God.
And there's a variety of prayers
you can pray.
You can pray prayers of thanksgiving.
You can pray prayers of lament.
You can pray prayers of confession.
You can pray prayers of supplication
where you make a petition
on behalf of other people.
There's all sorts of different
kinds of prayers.
And what prayer does
is it expresses our ongoing dependency
on our Christ.
He's the vine.
We're the branches.
Apart from him,
we can do nothing.
It aligns us with the will of God.
And so Paul is saying,
hey, church, pray.
And when he calls us to pray,
he does two things.
He tells us how to pray,
and then he tells us what to pray.
So let's look at the how.
In verse 2,
continue steadfastly in prayer,
being watchful in it
with thanksgiving.
Continue steadfastly
is just a way of talking about
praying without ceasing.
Maybe you know that
from 1 Thessalonians 5.17.
It's persevering prayer.
It's devoted prayer.
Do you know why we're to be
without ceasing,
continually steadfast in our prayer?
It's because we're in constant
need of Jesus.
He's the vine where the branch is.
Apart from him,
we can do nothing.
He's the controlling center
of our life.
You can even say
he's the enlivening center
of our lives.
But did you notice
the word watchful?
Continue steadfastly in prayer.
Don't stop.
Keep trusting in Jesus.
Being watchful in it,
in prayer.
What is this watchfulness?
Well, it means to be alert.
It's like DEFCON 4.
Be aware.
And that word watchful
is used a variety
of different places
in the New Testament.
Jesus talks about
his disciples in Gethsemane.
He says,
hey, watch and pray
lest you fall into temptation.
In Ephesians chapter 6,
the apostle Paul
is writing to the Ephesians
about spiritual warfare.
And he tells them
to be alert in verse 18,
making supplication
for all the saints.
In 1 Peter 5.18,
Peter says,
be sober-minded.
Be alert.
Pay attention.
Watch out for lion attack
because the devil prowls around
like a lion
seeking someone to devour.
There is spiritual warfare
all around us
and we are praying
watchfully.
Even from Colossians chapter 2,
we saw that there is
this false teaching
infecting the Colossian church
and we are to be watchful
of false teaching
because it is demonic.
It takes our attention
off of Christ.
But I think,
given the context of this,
there is more
to this watchfulness.
I mean,
Paul is just about
to tell them
to pray for him
that God would open doors
to share the gospel
with people in Rome.
And then he says
in verse 5,
walk in wisdom
toward outsiders.
There seems to be
a watchfulness
of whom you are living around.
It is part of this
being on alert,
being aware of,
even praying for.
It is this next word
that,
you know how foodies
talk about pairings
of things
like this beverage
and this food?
I am really interested
in this pairing
between watchfulness
and prayer
and being thankful
in prayer.
Isn't that interesting?
What kind of pairing
is that?
All throughout Colossians,
you see the word
thanksgiving show up.
It's 1, 10, 2, 6, 3, 15,
16, and 17
and here in chapter 4.
And usually,
it's a cluster.
This thanksgiving
is clustered around
what Christ has done
for us.
This gratitude
given voice
over being delivered
from the domain
of darkness
and transferred
into the kingdom
of the beloved son.
We are to be thankful
always
in what God
in Christ
has done
for us.
Which makes
for an interesting
pairing
with watchfulness.
Do you know
what it does?
It creates
tension in us.
Because when we're aware
of the non-Christians
in our midst
and we're aware
that they are
in darkness,
that they're under
God's wrath
because of their sin,
they're trying
to make sense
of this world
apart from God's word,
it grieves us
and then we are thinking
we're so,
God, thank you
for saving me
from that.
It creates
tension in us.
It's good tension.
It's burden
for the non-Christians
in our midst.
this first aspect
of praying
of continually
steadfast.
We are constantly
trusting in Jesus.
We're watchful
for a number
of things
but particularly
towards non-Christians
in our life
and we're also
thankful
for what God
has done
in our life
and it results
in us
wanting the same
for those people
around us
who are presently
living in darkness.
But it's not
just that.
just not the how
we pray.
By the way,
are you praying?
Are you praying
watchfully?
Are you praying
regularly
giving thanks
to God
for what he's
done in your life?
But now we move
to the what.
In verses 3 and 4
Paul makes this
two-fold request.
It's not really
a request.
It's more of
an urging.
He says this,
in light
of their praying
he says,
hey at the same
time,
well you're
praying for
all of that
around you guys
pray also
for us
that
God may open
to us
a door
for the word
to declare
the mystery
of Christ
on account
of which
I am in
prison.
He's saying
open it,
pray for us
1300 miles
away that God
would open
a door
for us.
the open
door language
is we see
it showing
up in
1 and 2
Corinthians
Acts 14
and what
that is
talking about
is God
sovereignly
and clearly
orchestrating
events to
give non-Christians
an opportunity
to hear about
Jesus Christ.
That's an
open door.
When you're
like, oh boy,
thank you Lord
for this.
I was in
festival the
other day.
I was just
in a bike
crash,
so I was
moving slow.
I was picking
Sprecher root beer
out.
This lady
comes up to
me and says,
oh, you look
like you're in
pain.
And then she
went into
talking about
how she
wants to
dance with
her daughter
at her
daughter's
wedding.
And she
was like
just sad
because she
probably wouldn't
because she's
had all these
surgeries.
And I said,
ma'am,
do you know
I'm a
pastor?
She goes,
oh, that's
nice.
And I'm
like, do you
know what I
tell people
in my
church when
they're
having body
problems?
That Jesus
is alive.
That he's
been raised
from the dead.
And he
promises
resurrection
bodies to
all who
believe.
In the
aisle of
festival.
Open
door.
It's
clear.
It's
apparent.
And it's
an open
door for
the gospel.
The word.
The mystery
of Christ.
It's
actually the
mystery about
Christ.
It's
actually the
mystery made
known in
Christ.
Him we
proclaim.
Paul's
saying,
hey,
would you
pray for us?
I'm holding
my hand up
because he's
probably chained
to a Roman
praetorian.
would you
pray for us
that God
would open
up doors
to the
gospel?
Of
everything
Paul could
have asked
for.
Of
anything he
could have
urged the
Colossians to
pray for.
He
prays that
God would
prays
that he
asked them
to pray
for God
to open
doors.
It is
extraordinary.
Do you
know what
that means?
It shows
something of
Paul's
priorities,
right?
And it
points to
what Paul
treasures.
He treasures
Jesus and he
wants other
people to
treasure Jesus
too, even
praetorian
guards.
So the
first urging,
the first of
this two-fold
request is pray
that God would
open doors for
us, that we
would proclaim
Christ even
in prison.
second, he
says that I
may make it
clear which
is how I
ought to
speak.
That's in
verse 4,
that I
may make
it clear.
That he
can make
clear to
those he
gets to
share the
gospel with.
God opens
the door and
that he
walks through
it and he's
saying, would
you pray that
God would
give me clarity
of speech with
those non-Christians
I get to talk
to the gospel?
Share the
gospel with.
If the
apostle Paul
needed God's
help in being
clear to preach
the gospel,
what does that
mean for us?
We need it
too.
Paul wanted
to be simple
and clear in
communicating the
person and work
of Jesus Christ
to anyone that
God opened the
door to share
the gospel with.
God
again, I want
to recommend
to you that
book by Greg
Gilbert.
It makes the
gospel really
clear.
God, man,
Christ, response.
God is the
creator.
Man sins
against him.
God in his
love for these
sinners sends
his son, Jesus
Christ, to die
in their place.
And the way to
respond is by
repentance and
faith.
simple and
clear.
There's an
interesting word
here that I
may make it
clear, which is
how I ought to
speak.
And that word
ought, it's
actually in the
original language,
it's a little bit
more muscular.
It's a little bit
more forceful.
It's more like
must.
Which is how I
must speak.
clearly
proclaiming Christ
when given an
opportunity.
I must.
Woe is me if I
do not preach the
gospel, says
Paul.
Well, what does
this mean for
us?
What does all
this mean for
us?
Well, we need to
be praying,
right?
Steadfast,
watchful,
thankfully.
And we too
should be asking
God to open
doors.
Not for the
apostle Paul,
he's dead, he's in
the presence of
Jesus, he doesn't
need that now.
But we have
mission partners.
We're mission
partners,
Kenosha Christian
Academy.
We can pray that
God would open
doors for the
staff at Kenosha
Christian Academy
to give doors,
open doors into
families in our
community.
And that God
would also give
the staff of
KCA clarity and
courage in
proclaiming Christ.
Alliance,
Crisis Pregnancy
Center, we're
partners, mission
partners with them.
They preach Christ
to people who are
in crisis.
We pray for open
doors, that they
would proclaim Christ
clearly,
courageously.
the Titmans with
their weekends to
remember.
Paul Bondi in
Kenya, reaching
Indians Ministries
International,
Sajay Lukos.
I have a Zoom
call set up for
this Thursday
morning.
It's a Zoom
call with Sajay
and a number of
their leaders from
a state in India
called Uttar
Pradesh.
And we're going to
learn about what
God is doing in
Uttar Pradesh.
It's a northern
state.
And we get to
pray that God
would open doors
for our brothers
and sisters there
to preach the
gospel.
Make it clear.
Be courageous.
But even more
so, it's for us.
We pray these
things for us, that
God would open
doors to the
gospel for us,
Christ the King
Church, corporately
and individually,
that we can share
the treasure of
Christ.
Christ, of who
he is and what
he's done.
Think about it
this way.
I don't think
this is irreverent.
Imagine Jesus
seated at the
right hand of God
in glory, looking
at our church.
Ask me.
I'll open doors
for you.
Ask me.
I'm sovereign
over all.
All things are
under my feet.
You ask me, I
will open doors
for you.
Make me known.
Ask me.
Do you know
why?
He wants people
to worship him
more than any of
us in the room.
He wants to be
treasured.
He wants people
living in darkness
to treasure him.
He wants to use
us to that
end.
Ask me.
Brothers and
sisters, let's
not miss the
opportunities this
summer.
Let's be asking
for them and
taking them.
One more point.
Show and tell.
Now, we see
this in verse
five and six.
The show and
tell of our
treasure.
Showing and
telling of our
treasure.
You may be
like, oh, how
does that happen?
We're praying for
open doors.
Then what?
Show and tell.
Walk and talk.
It's right there
in five and six.
When I was in
second grade, I
went to Roaring
Brook Elementary
School in Avon,
Connecticut, and my
second grade teacher
was a woman named
Mrs. Ball.
I was in love
with her.
She had this
thing.
I was in love
with a lot of
my teachers.
Well, she did
this thing called
show and tell.
And so my
classmates brought
in things and
showed and
tell.
I brought in
our family dog,
a German shepherd
named Jody.
I love the dog.
And I could just
talk about her.
This is my dog.
Talk, talk, talk,
talk, talk.
Show and tell.
It wasn't hard.
Because I love
my dog.
Jesus is greater
than a dog.
We get to show
and tell the
treasure of
Jesus.
How do you do
that?
Well, the show is
verse five.
Walk in wisdom
toward outsiders,
making the best
use of the time.
Of course, that
word walk is the
Hebrew way of
talking about living
your life.
Walking in a manner
worthy of the
Lord, 110.
And just as we
received Christ
Jesus as Lord,
so walk in him
to six.
We are to live
our lives with
Jesus as the
controlling center
of our lives.
To please him,
which brings us
to wisdom.
Walk wisely.
Look at
2.3.
Chapter 2,
verse 3 of
Colossians.
In whom,
Jesus,
are hidden all
the treasures of
wisdom and
knowledge.
1 Corinthians
1.30.
Paul says that
Christ Jesus is
our wisdom.
In the Old
Testament,
wisdom was the
art of godly
living.
It was you
fear the Lord
and you live
your life in
light of who
God is.
Applied to
this, it's
Jesus Christ is
the controlling,
treasured center
of your life.
Right?
And we are to
live with Christ
as the controlling
center of our
life around
outsiders,
non-Christians,
those who are
still living in
the domain of
darkness.
We don't live
one way when
we're gathered
together and
another way when
we're apart.
We're always
living for Jesus.
And that
requires a
change of
clothes.
It's
love.
Remember back
in 3.5, we
are to put to
death what is
earthly in you,
sexual immorality,
impurity, passion,
evil desire,
and covetousness.
It's all sexual
sin.
And then verse
8 and 9, but
now you must put
them all away,
anger, wrath,
malice, slander,
and obscene talk
from your mouth.
Do not lie to
one another.
You've put on
the new self,
which is being
renewed in the
knowledge after the
image of its
creator, who is
Jesus.
These are the
grave clothes of
the old self, and
we don't wear
them anymore.
We don't wear
them in
relationship with
non-Christians.
We don't engage
in sexual
immorality, period.
We don't engage
in sexual
immorality with
non-Christians.
We don't speak,
carry ourselves
hatefully anymore.
Inga, rest,
math, malice,
math, slander.
We don't do
that anymore.
That's not how we
interact with
non-Christians.
Because we've got
grave clothes,
those are off.
It's not who we
are, but we're
going to put
Christ wear on.
312, how are we
to walk in the
midst of non-Christians?
Put on then as
God's chosen ones,
holy, saints,
and beloved,
compassionate hearts,
meekness,
humility, meekness,
and patience,
bearing with one
another, putting on
love, the love.
What Paul is
getting at here,
walk in wisdom
toward outsiders,
in the midst of
outsiders, is he
assumes that we're
in close proximity
to non-Christians.
It is this
intersection between
kingdoms.
kings.
You are a saint
of the kingdom
of God,
transferred into
the kingdom of
the beloved son,
and you are
regularly crossing
paths with people
living in the domain
of darkness.
And we are to be
wearing Christ-like
clothing.
That's making the
best use of the
time.
That's redeeming
the time.
Think about it
this way.
If you're within
eyeshot of a
non-Christian,
the way you live
in your life,
that non-Christian
will likely think
two things about
you, if they know
you're a Christian.
He's not perfect,
but he's also
different.
not perfect,
but different.
And you know
what God is doing
when that happens?
He's opening
a door.
He's using
your grace
transformed
life
to open
a door.
That's what
he's doing.
People wonder
why you don't
look at porn
anymore.
Because of
something he
has done.
Why I don't
cuss anymore?
Why I don't
lie anymore?
Why I don't
misrepresent
myself?
It's something
he has done.
It's making
the best use
of the time.
It's doing
what we would
normally do
anyway.
Just live
for Jesus.
peace.
And when
he gives
you those
open doors,
do you know
what you do?
You tell.
Show and
tell.
The show
is a life
transformed
by the grace
of God
in Christ
Jesus.
And the
tell
is Christ
Jesus.
Verse 6,
let your
speech
always be
gracious,
seasoned with
salt so
that you
may know
how you
ought to
answer each
person.
You know,
you put salt
on stuff
to give it
flavor,
right?
And so in
our conversation
with other
people,
we're putting
a little
Jesus salt
on things.
We're talking
about Jesus.
You know
what?
Brothers and
sisters,
drop his
name.
Drop his
name in a
conversation.
put a stake
in the
ground,
drop his
name,
that you're
a follower
of Jesus.
Make it
known.
Season
your speech
with grace
and the
greatest
demonstration
of God's
grace is
Jesus.
God's
riches at
Christ's
expense.
You can
do it,
especially
when he's
your greatest
treasure.
You've
heard of
something
that's
savory
before.
Think of
your speech
as
savory,
Jesus-y,
Christ-y
speech.
Someone
asks you,
hey,
why don't
you be
a jerk
like everybody
else to
this fellow
coworker?
Like,
I don't do
that anymore
because I'm
a follower
of Jesus.
Done.
God will
do with it
as he
pleases.
Name
drop Jesus,
brothers and
sisters.
Name
drop him.
Make your
speech
savory.
So that
you may
know how
you ought
to answer
each person.
That ought
is the same
word that we
saw in
verse 4.
It's a
must.
It's like
this.
Someone sees
your life,
it's changing,
and they're
like,
why are you
like that?
And you're
like,
well,
that's how
I was
raised.
It's not
true.
Give credit
to where
credit's due.
That it's the
grace of
Jesus Christ
changing you.
Give credit
to where
credit's due.
That's the
must.
I can't
let you
think that
this life
is something
that I've
done.
it's
something
that he's
doing.
Give credit
to where
credit's due.
Name
drop them.
And did
you notice
this is
word and
deed?
Check it
out.
317.
And whatever
you do,
in word or
deed,
do everything
in the name
of the Lord
Jesus Christ,
giving thanks
to God the
Father through
him,
even in
your
relationships
with non-Christians.
do everything
in the name
of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Name drop
them.
Show and
tell.
Okay,
gang.
I think
we've missed
enough witnessing
opportunities.
What do you
think?
Let's
change
course.
Let's
treasure
Jesus
above all
else.
Let's
pray for
open doors
so that
we can
speak of
our
treasure
and let's
show and
tell our
treasure.
With
life
transformed,
being
transformed by
the grace
of Jesus,
we just
give credit
to where
credit's due.
This
summer,
let's
take the
witnessing
opportunity
God gives
us.
And
wouldn't
it be
wonderful?
And
wouldn't
it be
wonderful?
Wouldn't
it be just
a great
cause of
thanksgiving
and rejoicing
that come
September and
October,
Lord willing,
if he should
tarry,
there are
more people
in the
sanctuary.
That in
June,
they were
in the
domain of
darkness,
and come
September,
they've been
transferred into
the kingdom
of the
beloved
son,
because
God opened
doors for
us,
and we
took
them.
Not to
us,
O Lord,
not to
us,
but to
your name
give glory
because of
your steadfast
love and
faithfulness.
Brothers and
sisters,
we get to
join in
what Jesus
is doing
in our
city.
Let's pray
together.
Father,
would you
pour out
your
spirit
upon
us,
Christ the
King
Church,
and not
just a
little bit,
a lot,
full pouring
out of your
spirit upon
us,
that you
would embolden
us,
that we
would preach
Christ clearly
and courageously.
Father,
would you
open doors
for the
gospel in
our lives,
both individually
and corporately,
and would you
add to our
number through
conversion?
Would you
bring about
more
worshipers
for those
people that
we so long
to worship
you?
Father,
we look to
you for
this.
We confess
our distractions,
we confess
our fears,
we confess
our lack of
being able
to articulate
the gospel
in helpful
ways.
God,
but above
all,
we confess,
we treasure
Jesus little.
Would you
stir our
hearts,
and would
you cause
us to see
him for
who he is
and what
he's done,
and that,
God,
you would
burden us,
and that we
would speak of
treasure,
Jesus' treasure,
all summer
long.
It's your name
we pray.
Amen.