The Book of Colossians part 11 – Week 21 / May 21st

by admin

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk in Him…”
Colossians 2:17

A real vibrant Christian life is identified by a new way of living. This is why the early believers were called people of “the way. (Acts 9:2)” A way of living then should be different, it should “turn the world upside down” and be Christ like (Acts 17:6). The early Disciples were noted for the fact that “they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13) This was not always attractive to the world because it loves the darkness more than the light and will therefore rebel against the ways of Jesus. In our last study we noted what we called the Christian Way and so we examined what Christian relationships look like in the home and in the office.

In this study we turn our attention to: “The Work of the Ministry” Colossians 4:2-6

The Call to Prayer  V2-4
The work of God turns on the cog of prayer. We must not in any way delude ourselves about this. If we do not pray we will not see what we are believing and longing for. That is, there will be no revival, no harvest of souls, no outpouring of the Spirit and no blessing. Every great revival in history began with prayer and this prayer, according to Paul, must be earnest, watchful and filled with thanksgiving. “Earnest” has the thought of being sincere, urgent and dedicated. “Watchful” means that we must discern the enemy of God’s work and also look for God’s answers. The God we serve is a prayer answering God and when His children call upon Him earnestly and watchfully He always answers. Of this we can be sure!

Our prayers must also come to a place where they are no longer just about ourselves but rather about God’s work and others. So, Paul urges them to carry in their hearts the great burden of seeing doors opening for the proclamation of, what he calls, the mystery of Christ. This proclamation must be powerful and true even though it will be opposed and could lead to being placed “in chains.” Our message is very often not a welcome one but is the only way to eternal life. All this means that we must learn to pray and that prayer should and must take a more prominent place in the, life of every local church. (Acts 1:14)

Also, we need God’s help in preaching the message properly. It is not eloquence and knowledge, though both help, that will accomplish the will of God in preaching but God’s help by His Spirit. Paul needs this and asks for prayer in this regard. He was well educated, could speak well, as he proved before Festus and Agrippa (Acts 26:24-28), but he needed God to really make it what it should be and so all preaching must be bathed in prayer, much prayer. There is no doubt that the great sin of the modern church is that of prayerlessness.

The Call to Wisdom  V5
Christians have to show the ungodly or “those outside” the ways of God. This requires wisdom as we should endeavor to reach them with truth couched in love. The knowledge of truth alone will not enable us to reach the world. Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge and we need this in order to reach the world. Much of Christian witness is misguided and offensive because it lacks wisdom. Thankfully Jesus gives wisdom to those who ask Him for it! (James 1:5)

Wisdom also means that we use the time allotted to each one of us properly. Time is the most precious gift that we all have because time equals life! So many Christians have wasted this gift and so Paul calls upon us to “redeem the time.” That is, but it back and make sure that you are its master!

The Call to Communicate  V6
Our words are powerful, loving and hurtful. James reminds us that a forest fire can be set aflame by our words (James 3:1-6). We should thus be careful what we say and seek always to make our speech graceful and, as he puts it, “seasoned with salt.” That is, as much as possible, they should be a blessing and thus “tasteful” to those who hear us. This is a life-long learning process and we should always ask Jesus to help us. This is the work of the ministry and we must constantly “sharpen these tolls” if we wish to be effective Disciples of Jesus.

May God help us to desire these things with all our hearts.

Malcolm Hedding

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