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Tonight, Colossians chapter 4 
verses 2 to 6. If you remember, last summer 
we looked at Colossians chapter 3, under the general heading 
of the Christian's conduct, based on the fact that God has saved 
us by His grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are to live 
in a specific way. So we went from chapter 3, verse 
1, all the way to chapter 4, verse 1, but we never went through 
verses 2 to 6. I always kind of knew I'd need 
a message for a night like this. I did something wise. So Colossians 
chapter 4, verses 2 to 6, basically the elements of effective prayer 
and the elements of faithful witness. That's what the apostle 
is dealing with in that brief section. But I'll pick up reading 
in chapter 3, verse 1, just to remind us of the larger context. 
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which 
are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set 
your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you 
died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, 
who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him 
in glory. Therefore put to death your members 
which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, 
and covetousness which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath 
of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you 
yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves 
are to put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy 
language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another since 
you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on 
the new man who is renewed in knowledge According to the image 
of him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, 
circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor 
free, the Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect 
of God, holy and beloved, Put on tender mercies, kindness, 
humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, and 
forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against 
another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put 
on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace 
of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in 
one body. And be thankful. Let the Word 
of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing 
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing 
with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do 
in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving 
thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, submit to your own 
husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives 
and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in 
all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not 
provoke your children lest they become discouraged. Bond-servants, 
obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with 
eye service as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart. fearing 
God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, 
as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you 
will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the 
Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be 
repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, 
give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you 
also have a master in heaven. continue earnestly in prayer, 
being vigilant in it, with thanksgiving. Meanwhile, praying also for us 
that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery 
of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it 
manifest as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who 
are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with 
grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to 
answer each one. Amen. So the main doctrinal section 
in the Book of Colossians is in chapters 1 and 2. Specifically, 
there is a caution in chapter 2 given by Paul to the saints 
in Colossae that they are to avoid heresy. They are to be 
on their guard. they are to watch out for false 
doctrine or false teaching. And then after stating gospel 
truth and principles necessary to combat heresy, having dealt 
with the place of the cross, with reference to our salvation 
by God's grace through faith in Jesus, as you see chapters 
3 and 4 take up very practical concerns. And what we find is 
that the new man in Christ Jesus, that's the Christian, the old 
man is dead, the new man is to set his mind on things above. Chapter 3, verses 1 to 4. In 
other words, you're to focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. You 
are to think on him, you are to meditate on him, you are to 
contemplate him. That means ultimately you are 
to be a student of His Word. How do we focus on Christ? We 
know the Scriptures, we know Genesis to Revelation, we are 
in the Bible, we know the Bible, and that is the way or primary 
means by which we are to set our mind upon the things of Christ. Secondly, the new man is to put 
off vice, verses 5 to 11. He is to put to death those wicked 
deeds that are unholy and unrighteous and ungodly. Not only is he to 
put off vice, he is to put on virtue, verses 12 to 17. As Christians, 
we are to live in a very specific way. And then we are to conduct 
ourselves biblically in relationships according to chapter 3, verse 
18, all the way to chapter 4, verse 1. He deals with husband-wife 
relationship, he deals with parent-child relationship, he deals with employer-employee 
relationship. So having said all that, he then 
ends this section in terms of conduct in the Christian life 
with an emphasis upon prayer and witness. In other words, 
how we ought to talk to God in prayer and how we ought to talk 
to one another or those outside of the local church. He's already 
dealt with the way we ought to conduct ourselves toward one 
another in the local church. He has that there in verses 12 
to 17. But here, when he's dealing with 
this idea of walking in wisdom toward those who are outside, 
The Christian has a responsibility to live in such a way as to bear 
an effective testimony and witness to our Lord Jesus. Now, that 
doesn't necessarily mean he stands on the street and he yells to 
people that they need to repent or perish. It just means that 
he has to conduct himself as a Christian man or woman in the 
manner that Paul sets forth here. So the elements of effective 
prayer and the elements of faithful witness is what verses 2 to 6 
deal with. First of all, look at the elements 
of effective prayer. And by effective, I don't mean 
if you pray this, you get what you want. I mean biblical, the 
way God sanctions prayer. the way God wants us to pray. 
It's very intriguing to me that the way God says to pray is very 
oftentimes not the way we think we ought to pray, and we ought 
oftentimes measure successful or effective prayer in ways that 
are not given here. In other words, we just simply 
need to obey what God says and pray the way He says to and leave 
the results and leave all the other things to Him. We have 
this idea that if we don't get what we want in the space that 
we say it, or in the space that we demand, then God hasn't answered, 
or God isn't hearing our prayers, or God isn't concerned about 
my particular needs. No, our task is to pray to God, 
which is a means of worship, a means of showing our dependence 
upon Him, and realize that He will answer in his timing and 
in the manner that he sees fit, not according to our desires 
necessarily, not according to our wants necessarily, but as 
God has determined. In Romans 8, we know that God 
purposes all things to work for good to those who love him to 
the called according to his purpose. So the first element or the first 
thing that we see here is persistence in prayer. Persistence. He says, continue earnestly in 
prayer. And the word means to adhere 
to, to persist in, to busy oneself with, to busily engage in, to 
be devoted to. Now again, that doesn't mean 
that every waking hour you're repeating the same thing. God, 
save my daughter, save my son. and you just sort of rehearse 
this all day long. The idea is that you keep to 
it, you keep with it, you be faithful over the long haul. 
If God sees fit to delay a response in a particular area, what we 
find is that earnestness or vigilance or rather persistence in prayer 
for the long haul is a blessing. Just a couple of illustrations 
of this in Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11, we'll be looking 
at these things as we look at these elements, we'll look at 
other portions of Scripture to shed some light on what we mean 
by persistence. After the giving of the Lord's 
Prayer in Luke chapter 11, in verses 2 to 4, Jesus then deals 
with this element of persistence. In other words, we have this 
model prayer, now what? Well, you use it and you keep 
using it and you don't stop using it. And that's what he says in 
verse 5. He said to them, which of you 
shall have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him, 
friend, lend me three loaves. For a friend of mine has come 
to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him. And 
he will answer from within and say, Do not trouble me. The door 
is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot 
rise and give to you. I say to you, though he will 
not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because 
of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs." 
Isn't that beautiful? Persistence. Again, the idea isn't that that's 
all you do. You quit your job. You don't 
go shopping. You don't do yard work. All you 
do is pray for this same thing. That's what persistence means. 
No, not necessarily. But it means to be continuing 
in it. To be that persistent widow that 
we find in chapter 18 of Luke's Gospel. You may have heard her 
referred to as the importunate widow. In Luke 18, beginning 
in verse 1, then Jesus spoke a parable to them that men always 
ought to pray and not lose heart. Now, you need to understand, 
the opposite of losing heart is praying, right? Look at the antidote to not losing 
heart. It is prayer. Be anxious for 
nothing, Paul says, in Philippians, but in everything with prayer 
and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Now, notice 
this particular emphasis on persistence or being an importunate widow. Jesus said there was in a certain 
city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there 
was a widow in that city and she came to him saying, get justice 
for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while, 
but afterward he said within himself, though I do not fear 
God nor regard man, Don't you wish judges were that honest? 
Though I do not fear God nor regard man. At least we've got 
to give this guy a big A in terms of understanding his place in 
life. Though I do not fear God nor 
regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge 
her, lest by her continual coming, She weary me. You see this woman 
wanted a specific verdict and she wasn't going to stop until 
the judge rendered that verdict. That's importunate prayer. God 
have mercy on our children. Don't stop. Be a gyrus. come 
to the Lord Jesus Christ, exercise faith, lay hold of him, and say 
to him, Lord, please render this verdict. Jesus draws this implication 
off that parable in verse 6. Then the Lord said, hear what 
the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His 
own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears 
wrong with them? Look at that blessed implication. If this unjust judge who doesn't 
regard man, or who doesn't fear God and doesn't regard man, gives 
the proper verdict, shall not God avenge His own elect who 
cry to Him day and night? Of course He will. In other words, 
keep on in your prayer life. Very often as Christians we have 
that consumer mindset, you know, I tried praying for that and 
nothing happened. It's not waving a holy horseshoe. It's not a rabbit's foot on your 
keychain. It's not a four-leaf clover. You keep coming to the Lord as 
a means of worship, as an act of dependence upon Him, and as 
the realization that God is our Father, that He knows what's 
best for us, and He will provide those things in His timing, according 
to His good pleasure for our well-being. Persistence. This is commanded by Paul in 
his epistles. In Romans chapter 12. Romans 
chapter 12. He says, rejoicing in hope in 
verse 12, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. You ever met a Christian who 
said, yeah, I did try praying about that, but nothing happened? 
That is the magical view of prayer. That's like putting your quarter 
in the slot machine and pulling back the arm, and nothing came 
out, so you moved on. Christians treat prayer that 
way. It isn't a magical rite. It isn't 
hocus pocus. It is a means by which we humble 
ourselves before the living and the true God. So I think you 
see, Paul repeats this in Ephesians 6.18 and in 1 Thessalonians 5.17 
in terms of persistence in prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5.17, he says, 
pray without ceasing. Again, I don't think Paul wants 
you to quit your job or not go to college or not mow your lawn 
because he wants you on your knees at your bed. The idea is 
that there's this persistence, there's this importunate nature, 
there is within the life of the Christian constancy in prayer. It isn't a tack-on, it isn't 
an additional element, it isn't something that, oh yeah, I forgot, 
I should pray this week. It is part of the fabric of the 
Christian life. Just like your child talks to 
the parent, just like the parent talks to the child. So you assume 
there's going to be conversation within the parent-child relationship 
in terms of our relationship with God. So Paul says, continue 
earnestly in prayer. The second element in Colossians 
4, is vigilance. He says being vigilant in it. And the idea here is to be awake, 
to stay awake, to be watchful, and to be vigilant. I don't know 
that that means just, you know, you get down on your knees next 
to your bed at night, So you've got to pinch yourself to stay 
awake to finish your prayer. Certainly that's an application 
of it. But again, the idea seems to 
be that as part of your Christian life, vigilance in prayer is 
something that you need to be about. You need to be like the 
sons of Issachar. You know how they were described? 
They knew the day in which they lived. They understood the various 
issues and the trials of their day. And probably they prayed 
accordingly. We need to be vigilant in prayer. Gordon Clark says this. Verse 
2 urges the Colossians to pray persistently. They are to keep 
awake. This latter verb does not require 
midnight vigils in monasteries. That's nonsense to take this 
verse and say we're going to stay up all night because God 
will hear our prayers then. That's not the emphasis. Jesus 
told us not to engage in vain repetition or an abundance of 
words like the heathen do who think that they'll be heard as 
a result of that. Clark says it does not even mean 
don't fall asleep on your knees, but rather, so it appears, it 
urges alertness to the needs of the time. Alertness to the 
situation that you face. Alertness to the reality of the 
day in which we live. We ought to be thinking about 
what's going on in terms of abortion, or terrorist bombings, or those 
sorts of things. We ought to have a mindset as 
to where people are in our generation. We ought to be prayerful. We 
ought to continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in prayer. The church will often engage 
in general prayers, but there are times when there are specific 
prayers as well. The verb used is one that in 
many contexts is a call for Christians to be alert or watchful in light 
of the coming of Jesus Christ. So it's this alertness. It is 
what he says there. Be vigilant in it. I know Mr. Proctor understands that verb 
because he served in the forces. You don't serve in the military 
and not be vigilant. You don't fall asleep on your 
post. If you sit there and you fall 
asleep with an M16 in your lap, you're going to get disciplined. 
You have to be vigilant. Your job is to maintain observation 
of a fence line or of a resource or whatever it is. You need to 
be on your alert. Whether nothing may happen or 
not, you need to be vigilant in it. And that's the emphasis 
here. As Christians in the spiritual warfare, in the combat zone, 
we can't just wander around acting like everything is hunky-dory. We need to be people who pray. 
We need to be people who understand the things that are going on 
around us. So he says persistence, vigilance. Thirdly, he says being vigilant 
in it with thanksgiving. Paul emphasizes thanksgiving 
in Colossians several times. Notice in Colossians 1.12. Well, let's just back up for 
a moment to verse 9. For this reason we also, since 
the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you. Now does that 
mean that Paul never did anything but pray for the Colossians? 
No. That's not what it means. It 
means that Paul prayed for the Colossians. Continuously. Persistently. Does that mean 
he did it every single day? Does that mean he did it every 
single Thursday? We don't know. But this much 
we know that they continued in prayer for the church in Colossae. And then he says, we do not cease 
to pray for you. And here's the specific requests 
and to ask. What? That you may be filled 
with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. You want to pray for this church? 
This is a great prayer. Pray that this church would be 
filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and 
spiritual understanding. You want to know what else to 
pray for this church? Verse 10. That you may walk worthy of the 
Lord. God bless this church so that 
we'll know your will and we'll walk worthy of the Lord. See, 
it's not rocket science, is it? You go through the prayers of 
Paul as a model, and you'll learn how to pray for the church, and 
you'll learn how to pray for people. And notice what this 
worthy walk looks like in verse 10. Not only says that you may 
walk worthy of the Lord, but he's going to illustrate what 
that looks like. Fully pleasing Him, being fruitful 
in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. There's 
the argument that theology matters. You see, today we hear that doctrine 
divides, and let's just love Jesus, and that study of theology 
will only lead you to this sort of cold and heartless approach 
to the Bible and to the Church. No! The Christian is to be increasing 
in the knowledge of God. That's the emphasis that Paul 
says in how he prays. Notice what he goes on to say 
in verse 11. giving thanks to the Father who 
has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
in the light. So as he prays these things for 
the Colossians, he then says, thank you, Lord, that you have 
made us partakers in this inheritance. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing 
of being kingdom citizens. Notice in Colossians chapter 
2, verse 6, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the 
Lord, so walk in Him. Rooted and built up in Him and 
established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in 
it with what? Thanksgiving. You see, the Christian 
isn't supposed to observe Thanksgiving one day out of the year. In America, 
it's in November. In Canada, it's in October. For 
the Christian ought to be every day. Thank you, Lord. Thank you 
that I'm not in hell. Thank you, Lord, that I've got 
pardon for sin. Thank you, Lord, that I've got 
food on my plate. We ought to be a thankful people. Colossians 3, verse 15, conduct 
of the new man. And let the peace of God rule 
in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body. 
and be thankful. Colossians 3.17. And whatever you do in word or 
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to 
God the Father through Him. You see how many times he emphasizes 
thankfulness in this particular letter. So that when he comes 
to calling on us on prayer, giving us elements of prayer, it ought 
not to surprise us that thankfulness is one of the means or one of 
the elements by which we pray. Philippians chapter 4 verse 6, 
be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer 
and supplication, here it is, with thanksgiving, let your requests 
be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses 
all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through 
Christ Jesus. Wrap your prayers with the bow 
and the ribbon of thanksgiving and present that unto your heavenly 
Father. So going back to Colossians, 
he says we ought to be persistent, we ought to be vigilant, we ought 
to be thankful. And then fourthly, in terms of 
elements of effective prayer, he says we ought to ask for things, 
petition. petition. That means to call 
upon God and ask Him for something. In other words, when we pray, 
we adore, we praise, we worship, we glorify. That's the first 
statement in the Lord's Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, 
hallowed be thy name." We ponder for a moment who it is we're 
praying to. We ponder for a moment His glory, 
His sovereignty, His majesty. We ponder Revelation 19.6. That's 
the verse I mentioned to you today. The Lord God Omnipotent 
reigns. You think through that. And then 
we confess our sins, then we thank the Lord for whatever blessings 
He's given us, and then we ask Him for things. It's not wrong 
to ask God for things. We ought to ask God for things. 
Now, not, you know... Restored 1964, four galaxies. I mean, not a summer home or 
something like that. I'm not saying that's always 
a wicked thing, but prayer with reference to God's will. Now 
notice specifically the two things that Paul highlights in terms 
of petition here in Colossians 4. He says, pray. that we would 
have opportunities to preach the gospel. Notice in verse 3, 
meanwhile praying also for us. Here's petition. Yes, pray for 
you. What's that? Oh, OK. Pray for the needs in the church 
in Colossae. Now he says, pray for us. This 
is intercession, by the way. You don't intercede for people. 
You're probably very selfish. In other words, your prayer life 
ought to be marked not just by my needs, not just by what I 
want. You ought to pray for others. 
How many times in the Bible do you see that emphasis? Pray for 
others. It's a great way to wean oneself 
from selfishness. To look out at the needs of others. And here he says, praying also 
for us, that God would open to us a door for the Word. Gospel opportunities. the opportunity to go and preach 
the truth as it is in Jesus. Again, Gordon Clark says the 
phrase, open a door for the word is usually taken metaphorically, 
an opportunity to preach. That's true. He says, but there 
may be here a latent literal sense, the opening of the door 
of the prison so that Paul could walk out. He's in prison at this 
particular time. Pray that I'll get out of the 
pokey so that I can go preach the gospel. Pray for those particular 
needs to further advance the cause of Jesus Christ in this 
world. So pray for us that God would 
open to us a door for the word to speak the mystery of Christ. 
Mystery there means something that has been revealed or let 
me just get the specifics here. Mystery refers to something rather 
that was hidden before but is now revealed. It's not like the 
mystery religions. It's something that in the progress 
of revelation comes to full bloom. And that's what he is speaking 
about here specifically. The mystery of God or the mystery 
of Christ for which I am also in chains that I may make it 
manifest as I ought to speak." So Paul prays for opportunities 
to preach the gospel, and he prays for boldness and clarity 
in preaching the gospel. This is crucial. You know, if 
you're like me, you read about Paul and you say, what a great 
man, and I hope we all do. Paul said, pray for me that I'll 
speak the gospel with boldness. What does that indicate? that 
it didn't come naturally, right? You see this in the book of Acts, 
in Acts chapter 4, an apostolic prayer meeting. In fact, let's 
look at that. If you don't pray for people who preach, you really 
should start. If you don't pray for evangelists 
and missionaries, let me encourage you, please start. In the book 
of Acts, in chapter 4, we see an apostolic prayer meeting. 
Verse 23, and being let go, they went to their own companions 
and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to 
them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God 
with one accord and said, Lord, you are God, who made heaven 
and earth and the sea and all that is in them, who by the mouth 
of your servant David have said, why did the nations rage and 
the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their 
stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and 
against his Christ. For truly against your holy servant 
Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with 
the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 
to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before 
to be done. That's an amazing passage in 
and of itself. But notice their request. Verse 
29. Now, Lord, look on their threats 
and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak 
your word. What does that indicate? This 
was not natural for them. It was not the case that these 
untrained men, these non-seminarians, these fishermen, this motley 
crew that the Lord Jesus assembled, the early disciples that were 
being added to them, it was not intrinsic. They weren't orators. They weren't gifted speakers. 
They didn't go to the schools of their day. So they call upon 
God and say, Lord, please look on their threats and grant to 
your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word. And 
then notice in verse 31, And when they had prayed, the place 
where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all 
filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God 
with boldness. Now our dear Charismatic and 
Pentecostal brothers will read that and say, Lord, shake this 
place. No, grant us the grace to speak 
boldly. I'd much rather have a gospel 
preacher who boldly speaks than a shaking building. Right? It is not natural to stand before 
fellow sinners and tell them about their iniquity and about 
the wrath and fury of God and their need to flee to Jesus. 
I mean, this is not the way that we come out of the womb, right? So if people aren't praying and 
saying, Lord God, send the Spirit upon those who preach, on those 
who serve in the mission field, what are we supposed to expect? 
We ought to be an earnest people. praying specifically for open 
doors and that boldness and clarity be given to men so that they 
may speak the truth. In Ephesians 6, a parallel to 
what we find here in Colossians chapter 4, notice the way Paul 
puts it in Ephesians 6.18. He says, praying always with 
all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to 
this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the 
saints and for me, he says. Paul says, don't forget to pray 
for me. Now, Paul is in prison at the time. Notice that he doesn't 
say, pray for me that I'll get food. Pray for me that I'll get 
comfort. Pray for me that they'll turn 
the heat on. Pray for me that somebody will write me. Pray 
for me that somebody will bring me a coat. No, that's not what 
was primary with Paul. Not that he was against those 
things. If you look at the book of Philippians, another prison 
epistle, Paul thanks the church there for their gift. They sent a gift to the Apostle 
via Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus goes from Philippi 
to the Apostle and brings him a gift. Probably not a gold watch, 
probably not a new iPod, but probably food. Maybe a cloak. Maybe something to alleviate 
the suffering that he would have in a prison. Now, in that imprisonment, 
it wasn't as severe as his second. But the idea being is that Paul 
would receive it. Paul commended the church in 
Philippi for having sent him that gift. But when he asked 
specifically, what can you pray for me? Verse 19, pray for me 
that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth 
boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am 
an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I 
ought to speak. I wonder if Paul was one of those 
types of men that could stand before a great number of people 
and preach and yet struggle with somebody standing right next 
to him. I'm not sure that was the case. No matter what the 
issue was, he says, pray for me that I would have boldness. 
You've got to realize some people are gifted in one-on-one settings. Other people are gifted in public 
settings. That doesn't necessarily mean 
the two transpose, right? You might have the ability to 
witness privately to someone and they say, hey, you've got 
an opportunity to address 5,000 people. Well, are you kidding 
me? You get somebody else who could address 5,000 people but 
gets scared to talk to one. It's the way it is. So what do 
we do? We pray for boldness, for the 
person who can speak to the one and not the 5,000. Pray, God 
help them if they get that opportunity. I hope anybody with any sense, 
if they had opportunity to share the gospel with 5,000 sinners, 
would find the grit and determination in that. but pray for boldness. That's what the Apostle is saying. 
This petition is not unique. This petition is similar to how 
Paul prays for them. Notice in Colossians 1, verse 
3. We give thanks to the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since 
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all 
the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, 
of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the 
gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world 
and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since 
the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. as you 
also learn from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a 
faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared 
to us your love in the Spirit." And then in 9 to 14, that's where 
he prays specifically, that they would increase, that they would 
be fruitful, that they would get these things out to others. 
Paul prayed for the Colossians, not only to be faithful within 
the context of the local church, but to get the gospel out to 
others. That is a means by which we all 
participate in evangelism, in the missionary enterprise, in 
the getting of the gospel going forth. Calvin says, consider 
to, at the same time, Paul's amazing ardor of zeal. He is 
not solicitous as to his own safety. This is back in Colossians. 
Colossians 4, he says, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which 
I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest as I ought to 
speak. Calvin says he is not solicitous as to his own safety. He does not ask that prayers 
may be poured forth by the churches on his behalf, that he may be 
delivered from danger of death. He is contented with this one 
thing, that he may, unconquered and undaunted, persevere in a 
confession of the gospel. No more, he fearlessly makes 
his own life a secondary matter, as compared with the glory of 
Christ and the spread of the gospel. That's what was important. 
Pray persistently. Pray with vigilance. Pray with 
thanksgiving. And pray specifically. Yes, pray 
for the needs, the physical trials and challenges in the church. 
Those are legit. That's the petition. Give us 
this day, our daily bread. That is the petition for things 
temporal. See, we do err. Some people say, 
well, we should only emphasize the spiritual, only pray for 
the advancement of the gospel. Well, what do you do with that 
petition, give us this day our daily bread? It's real. Aunt Bessie broke her toe. It's 
not sin to pray for her, right? It's not sin to pray for healthy 
births of healthy children. But if all we do is pray for 
that, we don't pray for the advancement of the gospel. We don't pray 
for the glory of God's name. We don't pray for the advancement 
of His kingdom. We don't pray for the coming 
of His will, or of His kingdom, rather. You see, we can get off 
kilter. This is what happens. We so emphasize 
God, and we should always emphasize God, I'm not suggesting otherwise, 
that we never pray for Aunt Betsy. Or we only pray for Aunt Bessie, 
and we never pray for the gospel and its increase and its advancement. You see, we're a people that 
oftentimes get imbalanced. That's why the Lord's Prayer 
serves as such a wonderful model. It wasn't just to be recited 
holding beads like the papist thing. Rather, those headings 
and those points and that outline, God comes first. And then comes 
our needs. Keep that in your head and in 
your heart, and it will serve you well in all the days of your 
life with reference to prayer. You should never wonder, what 
is there to pray for? Has anybody ever said that? I 
don't know what to pray for. Really? You don't know what to 
pray for? I mean, come on, there's plenty 
to pray for. Pray for your own holiness. That'll 
keep you busy for the rest of your life. Pray for your own 
wisdom. So that's some elements of effective 
prayer. And again, by effective, I don't 
mean drop the quarter in the slot and out come your blessings. 
Persistence, vigilance, thanksgiving, petition. That's the way we are 
to talk to God. Now notice he goes on with reference 
to our witness toward those outside, verses 5 and 6. He's already 
dealt with the way we conduct ourselves within the context 
of the local church. Going back, say, to verse 14 
in chapter 3. But above all these things put 
on love, which is the bond of perfection. Let the peace of 
God rule in your hearts, to which you also were called, here it 
is, in one body. This is church ethics. This is 
conduct within the covenant community. This is the way we are to express 
ourselves. We're to be thankful. Verse 16, 
let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. 
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and 
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 
You see, what we do in the context of the local church, there is 
an ethic for the new man for the way that he lives among his 
brethren. But there is an ethic for the 
new man in the way that he conducts himself outside of the church. 
We are outside of the church probably a lot more than we are 
inside of the church. At least all of you are. If we're 
talking buildings, I'm here. I'm here more than I am out there. 
Much to the chagrin of my wife. No, I'm kidding. I do balance 
things. I'd probably make it sound like I'm a terrible man. I am a terrible man, so let's 
just keep going here. That's why Jesus came. Jesus 
loves me, and this I know for the Bible tells me so. But notice 
two primary emphases here. He deals with conduct. He deals 
with conversation. Conduct and conversation. Notice in terms of conduct. He 
says, walk in wisdom toward those who are outside. Douglas Moo has a good observation 
here. Paul does not want his warnings 
about avoiding false teachers to lead the Colossian Christians 
to distance themselves from non-Christians generally. In other words, in 
Colossians 2, he says, beware of false teachers, beware of 
false prophets. What do some well-intentioned 
Christians do? They remove themselves from everybody, 
except for people that think just like they do. They oftentimes 
cite that passage in 2 Corinthians 6, where Warfield makes the beautiful 
observation. It is not association with the 
world. It is compromise with the worldly 
that God is at war with. We are in the world. We're not 
of it, but we're in it. And if we conduct ourselves the 
way that Jesus Christ calls us to, we are doing His will. You see, we can't go hide in 
a monastery. We can't go hide on the top of 
Mount Shem. So what Moose says here is appropriate. Paul does not want his warnings 
about avoiding false teachers to lead the Colossian Christians 
to distance themselves from non-Christians generally. He says they must 
resist the false teachers, but they must also continue to reach 
out to their fellow citizens. Right? We all know this. John Eady says, but they were 
not to go out of the world because it was bad, they were to remain 
in it for the purpose of making it better. It's a very good statement 
there. And the specific duty in the 
context of conduct, walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, 
redeeming the time. Redeeming the time. Make the 
most of every opportunity. There's a parallel in Ephesians 
5. Ephesians 5.16. We'll look at verse 15. See then, 
that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. You 
see, as Christians, we need to be wise men and women. We need 
to understand. We need to be long-suffering. 
We need to be forebearing. We need to be those who seize 
opportunities and who do things in a God-honoring way. And then 
he says in verse 16, redeeming the time because the days are 
evil. So I think there is the twin 
concept, redeem the time because the days are evil. Redeem the 
time because you live in an evil age, go out, sow the truth, promote 
the gospel, and seek by the grace of God to win sinners to the 
Lord Jesus. But redeem the time because the 
days are evil and you need to guard your own heart. If you're 
not redeeming the time, buying up the opportunities, using your 
time in a wise way, the way God would call you to, you're going 
to get sucked into this world system and you're going to end 
up compromised. So the idea here is to use our 
time wisely, to walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, 
to make the most of every opportunity that we have with people. And 
again, that doesn't mean Every single moment of every single 
day we're harping on our fellow worker about his sin and about 
the hell that awaits him. No, be his friend. You know, 
that oftentimes is the best means. I'm sure you've all heard me 
refer to the gospel blimp. Some of you are new, you've not 
heard of that. The Gospel Blimp is a DVD. Somebody gave it to 
me. It's loaned out. I don't know 
where it is. But it starts off with this group of people that 
want to witness for Jesus. And they're sitting in their 
backyard and next backyard they look over the wall and they say, 
hey, there's Herm. He's not a Christian. Herman 
over there. How do we reach a guy like Herman? So they think and 
they strategize and they figure out they'll buy a blimp. Okay? Well, buy a blimp. So they buy 
a blimp and they've got the banner streaming off it, repent or you're 
going to hell. And then they're dropping tracks 
all over the city. You know, guys mowing his lawn 
and tracks fall right in his path. And, you know, he raises 
his fist at the blimp driver and the blimp driver just waves 
like this. And all this stuff. And then one of the guys in this 
operation goes over to Herm's house and says, hey, you want 
to go bowling? The point of the story is you 
don't need to buy a blimp and drop tracks on people and make 
them angry. Be their friend. Go fishing. 
You know, oh, that'll compromise. No, it won't. Be a friend to 
someone. Don't compromise if they're going 
to go bowling and look at porn. Don't do that, obviously. She can be a friend in order 
to shine as a light in a crooked and perverse generation and hold 
forth the word of truth. That is Paul's twofold strategy 
with reference to evangelism. You are to shine as lights in 
a crooked and perverse generation. You're to be upright. Not perfect, 
because we're not. But be godly. Pursue those things 
which are above. And when given opportunity, hold 
forth that word of truth. Tell them about the Lord of glory. So conduct is crucial. And then 
with reference to witness, conversation. Verse 6, let your speech always 
be with grace. The new man is to speak graciously 
with people. The new man should not be caustic, 
rude, abrasive, and angry. And if he is, repent. Sometimes 
there's evangelism in that. Please forgive me, neighbor. 
I was a jerk. Please forgive me for my sin. 
Most of the times they'll go, what? What are you talking about? 
I'm a Christian. I shouldn't have said what I 
said. I was wrong. Please forgive me. Clark says 
the sentence of explanation must be given with grace. not graceful 
or elegant literary style, but with a godly spirit appropriate 
to the total situation. Let your speech always be with 
grace. Notice he then says, seasoned 
with salt. Outside of the New Testament, 
in the Greco-Roman literature, this meant to be winsome or witty. It's also used in Matthew 5 and 
in Mark. The use of salt does not correspond 
to the modern salty language that is marked by cynicism, rudeness, 
and sharpness. You've heard of that. Oh, he's 
just an old salty guy. He's abrasive. He's cynical. 
He's got issues. The idea is that Paul is calling 
on Christians to speak with their unbelieving neighbors and friends 
with gracious, warm, and winsome words, all with the purpose of 
being able to answer unbelievers. It's really not rocket science. 
You just be faithful to your Lord, and you do what He says, 
and God gives opportunities. People will come into your life. 
You'll get to talk to them. You'll get to know them. They 
might say, oh wow, I've got this issue going on. My kid this. 
Well, I'll pray for your kid. A lot of unbelievers don't ever 
hear that sort of thing. They come into contact with a 
Christian who says, I'll pray for you on that. What? Nobody's 
ever said that to me before. Right? That's the day and age 
we're living in. We're increasingly more in a 
post-evangelical world. Right? People don't know the 
gospel. We think we've got to send missionaries 
to China. And I'm not saying we don't. 
We've got to send missionaries. We've got to send missionaries 
right downtown into Chilliwack. People don't have a clue what 
the Christian message is anymore. And then the last element that 
Paul says, season with salt that you may know how you ought to 
answer each one. This idea, again, of wisdom. The ability to answer various 
people on matters concerning Christianity and the gospel requires 
wisdom, requires a body of knowledge. You need to know the scripture. 
You need to have wisdom on how to put that into practice. You 
know, sometimes bad things happen to people. You know, my son died. Well, that was the eternal decree 
of God. He was predestined to die at three. Your unbelieving 
workmate may not be ready for that blast of Calvinism. He may 
not have a clue what you're talking about. I'll pray for your family 
at this time. Is there a meal we can bring 
over to you? How can we help you? That might be the first 
leg, the first level. You need wisdom on how to approach 
that. Somebody's about to do something 
horrible. Yeah, give them both barrels of the gospel. Pray to 
God for the wisdom, how to speak the truth. I'm not suggesting 
I have all this down. But I think this is what the 
track is, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. The way that you're going to 
talk to the God-hating, atheistic PhD may differ a little bit from 
Sophie the Wash Woman. You're going to say the same 
things to both of them. You're going to say the same 
content to both of them. But the way that you address 
the God-hating PhD might differ from the way that you address 
Sophie. That isn't the contextualizing 
or the sorts of things that were being told in the modern church. It is simply an application of 
this principle of wisdom. Let your speech always be with 
grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to 
answer each one. And I can stand here or sit here 
before you as one who has blown this many, many, many times. I remember when I first got converted. Boy, it was like I found, I was 
that pearl merchant, found the pearl at greatest price. What 
do I do? I drive 90 miles to my mother and I blow her away. 
It took so long for me to get any degree of relationship back 
with her. She didn't need to hear that 
the Pope was the Antichrist. I mean, she is, and I'm not going 
to deny that. But she needed to hear something 
other than that. You see in our zeal sometimes, 
we get a bee in our bonnet, and we think that's everything. The 
gospel is not the Pope is the Antichrist. The gospel is about 
Jesus who lived, who died, and who rose again. That is what 
we as believers want to present to the unbeliever. So brethren, 
those are some thoughts with reference to prayer, with reference 
to witness, that does seem a fitting conclusion, or is a fitting conclusion, 
to this particular context in Colossians 3, conduct of the 
new man. He puts off, he puts on, he is 
subject to others, and he is watchful and prayerful and faithfully 
witnesses to the world around him. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you for its 
clarity and for all of the great illustrations that we find in 
the Gospels. We thank you for our Lord's teaching. We thank you for this emphasis 
on persistence and being importunate at the throne of grace. God, 
help us to see these things, help us to put them into practice, 
and do grant us great wisdom and grace as we go about our 
days in this world. Help us to let our speech be 
gracious and be salted in the right sense and to have wisdom 
so that we may know how to present the truth of your gospel to sinners 
that we come into contact with. We just pray now that you would 
watch over us, grant us grace and help, And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.