Join Triumphant Saints in Prayer!

3rd Sunday of End Time, Saints Triumphant, Stewardship Sunday #2, 11/14/10
Colossians 4:2-6


Join Triumphant Saints in Prayer!
I. For others
II. For yourself


If this year’s Ohio State University football team reaches its goal and wins the national championship this coming January, can you imagine not hearing about? Can you imagine any scenario in which the university would decide to keep that information to itself? Of course not. Every media outlet in the state would make it headline news for day after day.

If some cancer research doctor somewhere in the world discovered an amazing cure for cancer, do you think he or she would keep that information under wraps? Can you imagine a person so evil who would hold that information hostage for any reason? Of course not. That’s the kind of information that is instantly shared and applied.

Now take that a step further. If some medical researcher after years of intense work discovered a cure for death itself, as impossible as that may seem, do you think that researcher would keep that news to himself? Of course not. It would easily be the only subject of news and conversation for days on end. And we’d want to see proof that this cure actually works.

Well, Christianity has possessed that “cure” for nearly 2,000 years. Our last great enemy is death. It often comes slamming into our lives as we deal with the deaths of loved ones. And eventually, it will claim us as well. For all our medical advances the death toll remains the same: one for each person. But Christianity has the cure. It’s what we confess in the Apostles’ Creed with the words, “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” On this Sunday of the church year we’re celebrating the truth that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead gives us the victory over death. He has promised to raise our bodies and glorify them on the Last Day. And the proof that this “cure” for death works rests on the solid foundation of Christ’s own resurrection. We have the cure. We have victory.

So what should we do with that astounding news? We can’t keep it to ourselves. That would be the lowest, most vile form of evil ever. Instead, let’s share it. In fact, that’s the great commission that Jesus gave to his church on earth—to share the good news of Jesus, the crucified and risen Savior.

But sharing that good news isn’t easy. Not only does our world wage war against it, so does our timid sinful nature. So what should we do about that? Do what the Apostle Paul encouraged in these words from Colossians 4 (read text).

As we’re celebrating our victory over death as saints triumphant, one issue that comes to mind is how to share that victory with our neighbors and there’s the connection with today’s stewardship theme: seeking time for my neighbor. So let’s pray about it. Join triumphant saints in prayer. Let’s see for what to pray as Paul shares his answers with us this morning.

Part I.

Sometimes people ask for the most unexpected things. When it’s a child, the situation is often comical to say the least. For instance, last Christmas I heard the story of a little lad who climbed up onto Santa’s lap and when Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he replied, “Green beans and chicken and a fork.” Why would you ask Santa for that? What he asked for was surprising.

Paul wrote these words of our text while in prison in Rome. The fact that he encourages the Colossians to devote themselves to prayer and specifically to “pray for us” meaning Paul and his companions, doesn’t surprise us. If I were in prison for proclaiming the gospel and asked you to pray for me, you wouldn’t be surprised, would you? But what Paul asks them to pray for is surprising. He says, “Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message.” He prays for an open door, but he’s not talking about the door to his prison cell, as the Lord had done previously for his apostles. He doesn’t even ask them to pray for the legal system to open that door for him.

Instead, he asks them to pray that the Lord would open a door for his message. He’s talking about the message of Jesus as the world’s Savior from sin, crucified and risen from the dead. Paul desires to use his imprisonment as a means to share the gospel. Perhaps that was with his neighbor there in that prison. Perhaps that was with the prison guards or with the judges Paul would later face.

And he gets rather specific about the content of those prayers. He writes, “Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” Paul was in prison for proclaiming that message so clearly. No doubt the temptation was great for him to pull back a little bit on that message, to soften it so that it wouldn’t bring him further trouble. He wanted these Christians to pray that he would declare the whole counsel of God, as difficult as that may be.

Furthermore, he wanted them to pray that he would share that message as he should. Paul was called by Jesus to be an apostle. Jesus asked his apostles to suffer the loss of everything, even life itself, for the truth of Christianity. Paul wanted the Colossians to pray for him to fight the temptation to love his own life more than his Lord Jesus.

Jesus gives us that same encouragement. Join your fellow Christian, the triumphant saints, in prayer. First, pray for others.

As a congregation we’re concerned about opening the doors of our congregation to others so that they can hear the message of Christ. In fact, we spend a considerable amount of time talking about it. But how much time do we spend praying about it? Through his apostle, Jesus here shares with you and me what should be one of the first things we do in order to reach out to others—to seek time with our neighbors—and that’s to pray. Pray for others to reach them with the gospel. Instead of taking the approach of “that’s someone else’s job” or “that‘s not my thing,” here’s something we all can do—to pray for others as they share the gospel. Certainly that includes our missionaries, but today we’re emphasizing sharing that message right here, with our neighbors. Please pray for me that the Lord opens doors for me and that I speak clearly as I should. Pray for our newly formed Outreach Team. Pray for the Lord to use our church website to open doors for our neighbors. We have the message of forgiveness of sins through Jesus who was crucified for the sins of all people. We have the message of a risen Savior who gives us victory over death. Join triumphant saints in prayer for others!

Part II.

While we’re on the subject of prayer this morning, do you ever wonder what other people pray about? A study by Barna Research from a decade ago on that very topic revealed that 95% of adults use prayer to thank God for what he has done in their lives. 76% pray for forgiveness for specific sins. 61% use prayer to ask for help for specific needs. I don’t think any of those responses startle us.

But they might disappoint us in light of Paul’s words to us this morning. After the general encouragement to devote yourself to prayer, Paul writes, “Be wise in the way that you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” After asking for prayers for opportunities for himself to share the gospel, Paul urges that triumphant saints pray for opportunities for themselves to share the gospel. He says, “Be wise.” Why? Because we tend to act in ways that aren’t wise. We often fail to grab opportunities that are right in front of us, or we fail to use our Christian wisdom to construct opportunities to share the gospel with others.

And when he tells us to “make the most of every opportunity,” he’s telling us to use it to the fullest to share God’s truth as we’ve come to know it. Don’t think that Paul means you need to share every truth of the Bible when you get the opportunity. What he’s saying is, “Don’t shy away.” Instead, boldly proclaim God’s truth as it fits the situation.

But that implies you know what to say when the situation arises. Who feels confident doing that? That’s where prayer comes in once again. Paul writes, “Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” What does it mean to let your conversation be full of grace? It means that you focus on what your loving God has done for you, not because you’ve earned or deserved it, but because he’s gracious. He gives us earthly blessings even though we don’t deserve them. Chiefly, he gives us forgiveness and eternal life even though we don’t deserve them. That’s his grace to you. That’s his grace to all people. Let others know it.

But what does it mean to have conversation seasoned with salt? It’s probably best to understand these words in the way that Jesus often used the word “salt”—to indicate something that is pure and wholesome. Salt was used to preserve food in Bible times. Paul encourages us to have conversations that are wholesome and preserve the life of others. Well, what kind of conversation is that? It’s a conversation about Jesus as the way to eternal life. There’s no more important conversation to have with someone else. Join triumphant saints in prayer—prayer for yourself to have that kind of conversation with others.

Someone once said, “A good beginning is half-way done.” A good beginning to seeking time with our neighbors is to pray that God would give us the opportunity to share our faith with them and to give us the words to say when that opportunity arises. And that’s not some pious wish. Your God promises to do so in his word. He wants to use you to reach others. He promises to be with you and to give you the words to say. Certainly the Savior who has the power to make us triumphant over death can do what we ask of him in sharing our faith with others. May he bless us as we share his message of victory with others. Amen.