An Open Door

You'll often hear people say in the media, it's a regular thing in response to some kind of a tragedy.

Our thoughts and our prayers are with their loved ones.

I've heard it even from the mouths of avowed atheists tweeted.

Our prayers are with you. Our thoughts and our prayers are with you.

And I'm kind of thinking in that moment, what does that mean for you?

The word prayer in that moment.

You see, most people on this planet pray at least some time in their lives.

It is true, I think, that prayer is practically a worldwide activity.

But what prayer actually means is vastly different from individual to individual.

The difference in what prayer means or what it is or how you go about it is determined by what we think the God or the being is that we're praying to.

What we think that relationship is with our God will determine what prayer is like for us.

So, in other words, when a Buddhist spins his prayer wheel or the Hindu sits in mystic silence or the Muslim with his prayer mat faces Mecca five times a day,

all are reflecting the character of the God or the gods to whom they're praying to and what that relationship with that God or that being is like.

And it's exactly the same for the Christian.

Our prayer is shaped and defined by the being to whom we pray.

And what the Bible reveals about God shapes our prayer life in two major kind of ways.

First of all, for instance, Jeremiah 32 is a great little passage, 32 verse 17, which says,

That verse alone shapes the way you pray and your expectations when you pray.

Or take it from that and go to, for instance, Romans 8.

And you get this stunning picture in Romans 8 of the Christian life where it says that we were once slaves to sin.

We were slaves to death and fear.

We were hostile to God.

We were unable to please God in any kind of way.

And now we are free sons of the Father and co-heirs of his kingdom in Christ.

That is, through being united with Jesus, who died to free us,

we now live a new life in which God himself dwells with us by his Holy Spirit.

It's because of the saving work of God that we are raised up from our low position of being cut off from God

and being granted free access to the almighty, true and living God,

which Jeremiah says nothing is too hard for him.

He's the one who creates everything and sustains everything.

And according to Romans 8, there's no barrier between us and this God because of Jesus.

It's been torn down.

It's like Jesus, through his life and death and resurrection, has reconnected the phone lines.

And we can start communicating with God again.

What that means is that prayer is not an addition.

It's not an appendix to the Christian life.

It's not sort of sitting over here, one of these things that we get to do when we get around to it.

But our prayer life is, in fact, at the very heart of who we are as Christians.

It's the very heart of who we are as Christians and how we relate to our heavenly Father.

It is phenomenal that the most famous of prayers, the Lord's Prayer,

simply starts with our Father or quite literally, my Dad.

It's phenomenal.

And our prayer life is, therefore, one of the greatest indicators of our spiritual health,

individually and corporately.

It shines light on whether we know about God through theological concepts

or actually in communion with our Father, our Dad.

That relationship is operating, working, communion with God.

So what an incredible privilege that we have as Christians.

One of the photos I love is JFK in the Oval Office

with a bunch of the heads of the United States at that time,

having obviously a very important meeting,

and little John Jr. coming into the Oval Office,

having direct access to the Commander-in-Chief,

unquestioned, not stopped by anyone.

Everyone else in that room needs to make an appointment,

except the son.

At any time, he wanders in.

What a privilege we have in prayer.

And so it is one of the greatest indicators of our spiritual health.

Not your Bible knowledge.

How well are you communing with God?

And so as we kick off this new year of ministry,

as we do for, and have been doing for a number of years,

we begin the ministry year in a week of prayer.

And it's just a week, and a week of 52 weeks is one thing,

but I think what I want to do every year

is at very least symbolically

to start the ministry year on our knees

and to independence upon God,

seeking His agenda, His will for our church,

His enabling for Him to do His work,

and to continue the year on our knees.

So we do this every year to make a statement as a church.

It's a statement to God.

It's a statement to this world in which we live.

It's a statement to our own consciences

that we exist as a church

to do things that we cannot do

without the supernatural grace of God.

Everything good, everything worthwhile,

everything eternal,

and God-glorifying that we seek to do as a church,

we cannot do without the supernatural grace of God.

And so this prayer week, as it does every year,

proclaims that we exist as a church here at St. Paul's

mainly to do the humanly impossible.

The humanly impossible.

I love what Jacob said just a moment ago

and how that shapes the organisation of IJM.

I communicated at our heartbeat night in November

that for the next three years,

we're going to make a concerted effort

into breaking what is known as the 200 Barrier.

It's details that I'm going to talk about a lot

and have talked about a lot,

breaking this 200 Barrier.

We've hovered around as a church

for at least a couple of decades,

and so we're going to put energy and focus

into taking steps, deliberate steps,

to move beyond that.

And the intention and the vision

behind this concerted effort

is to see people know and treasure

the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time

through the ministry of,

and the people of this church.

And our vision statement says

that we are desperate

for people to encounter the Lord Jesus.

And the word desperate

just implies for me sweat,

labouring, sacrifice,

change for God to be glorified.

Our Lord has not called us

to an impossible mission.

He's called us to a demanding mission.

And I chose Colossians 4, 2-4,

for the beginning of prayer week

for this very reason.

Because we cannot be comfortable

sitting the size of the church we are

and not making desperate moves

for more people to see Jesus.

If God chooses not to grow,

that's His business.

But it's another thing

where there's moral and spiritual apathy

not to want to change.

That's reprehensible

as far as I'm concerned.

And so we're making deliberate changes.

Nick's alluded to them.

They're going to start next week

of moving forward as a church.

But I want us to know

that we're moving forward,

seeking God to do

what we cannot do

as we work forward.

Yes, there is sacrifice,

there is sweat,

and there is thoughtful strategy,

there is risk on our behalf.

But it is a deeply spiritual

and God-dependent activity

that we are doing.

And so if I understand Colossians 4,

which hopefully got in front of you right now,

open that is,

if I understand this text correctly,

the human key

that might unlock

the blessing of God's power and grace

in our mission to Chatswood

is devoted,

watchful,

and thankful prayer.

You see, this text here

gives me a strong hope

that God will open a door

to His word in Chatswood

and that faith will come to many people

if we pray desperately

for Him to do that.

In Colossians 4, 2-4,

Paul is urging the Colossians

to pray

just like I am urging us today

to pray.

In fact,

to pray for something quite specific.

And I see two things here

in these verses

that he wants them to pray for.

We'll look at those first,

those two things first

before I will then turn our attention

to how it is

that we pray

for those two things.

The two things

are for an open door

and for a powerful word.

An open door

and a powerful word.

Paul here

wants God

to work both

in the recipients

of the message

and him,

the preacher

of the message.

So in verse 3,

he says,

Now there are

at least

three other times

in the New Testament

that Paul uses

this same image

that he does here

of an open door.

He uses it

in Acts 14, 27,

in 1 Corinthians 16, 8, 9

and in 2 Corinthians 2, 12.

And each time

this open door

means,

seems to be

a remarkable set

of circumstances

that would have been

very effective

for the gospel.

That's what he's praying for.

Remarkable circumstances

for the gospel,

reception of the gospel.

And so when Paul says

in verse 3,

Pray for us too

that I may,

that God may open a door

for our message

so that we may reclaim

the mystery of Christ,

I take him to mean

that God

changes

things

and changes

people's hearts

and changes

circumstances

and does a remarkable work

when people pray.

When Christians pray.

Circumstances

and attitude

and receptivity

of the gospel

change

so that instead of

hitting a brick wall

again and again

and again,

the gospel

finds an open door

and becomes

inexplicably

effective.

Give you some,

one example

of this

was a case

of Duncan Campbell.

He's a minister

last century

in the United Free Church

of Scotland.

And on the Monday

of Easter

1952,

Campbell

was seated

on the platform

of Hamilton Road

Presbyterian Church

in Bangor,

Northern Ireland

and it's a church

that Nat and I

have visited twice

and I've spoken at

and he had just

finished speaking.

He's sitting on the platform,

just finished speaking

to the Faith Mission

Convention

when he

sensed

an inner voice

say to him,

Bernare.

Now Bernare

is a small

island

in the Hebrides

and

in that moment

Duncan bowed

his head

and he prayed

silently

and again

came the name

Bernare.

He prayed on

and it came again

Bernare.

And so

in that moment

sitting on the

platform

Campbell turned

to the chairman

of the convention

and whispered

in his ear

brother

you'll need

to excuse me

the Holy Spirit

has just told me

that I've got to

go to Bernare.

Chairman

objected

mildly

you're the

speaker for

tomorrow.

What are we

going to do?

But nothing

would stop

Campbell.

He'd never

been to Bernare

before.

He had never

known anyone

from Bernare

before.

He had

never received

any correspondence

from anyone

from there.

He went

straight back

walked off

the platform

went straight

back to his

hotel

packed his

two suitcases

and contacted

the airport.

The airport

said

we don't have

any connections

with that

island.

It's too

small.

It's too

far out of

the way.

No one

flies there.

So he said

fly me to

the nearest

island.

So he flew

him to

the nearest

island and

when he got

to the

nearest

island he

went down

to the

coast and

asked how

do I get

to Bernare?

And the

answer from

fishermen was

there's no

commercial route

between here

and Bernare

but as it

happens I'm

going that

way and I'll

take you there

on my

fishing boat

for a

certain amount

of money

and the

certain amount

of money

was exactly

what he had

in his pocket

in that

moment.

Got to

Bernare

fishermen

dumped him

on the

beach

he climbed

up a hill

on the

beach

found himself

alone

sitting up

there

except he's

on the

edge of a

ploughed field

where the

farmer's doing

some work

he called

the farmer

over and

said can

you go and

tell your

pastor of

this island

that Duncan

Campbell has

arrived

and the

farmer said

we don't

have a

minister

do you

have elders

Campbell

asked

yes

well then

go and get

the nearest

elder and

tell him

Duncan

Campbell's

arrived

so the

farmer

somewhat

puzzled

as you

would be

headed off

across the

field

and Campbell

sat there

on his

suitcases

and waited

for him

to come

back

the farmer

comes back

after some

time and

says

he's expecting

you

he's been

waiting for

you to

arrive

he has a

place ready

for you

and he's

already

announced

the meetings

are beginning

at nine

o'clock

tonight

you see

while Campbell

had been

speaking at

that convention

in northern

Ireland

three days

earlier this

elder had

spent his

day praying

in his

shed

for God

to send

revival to

this island

and his

wife heard

him from

the house

praying in

the shed

and his

wife heard

him say

Lord I

don't know

where he

is but

you know

where he

is and

everything is

possible for

you according

to Jeremiah

32 so you

send Uncle

Campbell to

this island

and he

knew that

God was

going to

do it

he was

so sure

of it

that he

would be

there in

three days

that he

made all

the arrangements

to use the

local church

and announced

all the

services

and from

nine o'clock

that night

great revival

came to the

island of

Bernare

great door

had opened

to the

word

that no

man could

shut

because God

had opened

it beyond

expectations

do you pray

like that

desperate

for people

to know

Christ

desperate

for revival

to come

to Chatswood

so the

first thing

we should

pray for

this year

is that

God

would work

in all the

circumstances

surrounding

our people

and our

ministry

including

the hearts

of everyone

who hears

the gospel

to open

wide

and effective

the door

of the gospel

let this

sink into

your minds

and your

hearts today

the key

to opening

the door

of God's

blessing

on our

vision

is in

seeing people

come to

Christ

is that

kind of

prayer

prayer

but it's

risky

isn't

it

it is

risky

trustful

hopeful

prayer

and that's

the first

thing

that Paul

mentions

for prayer

and the

second

thing

for prayer

is for

clarity

of the

message

and boldness

of the

messenger

have a look

there in

verses 3

and 4

pray for us

2

that God

may open

a door

to our

message

so that

we may

proclaim

the mystery

of Christ

for which

I'm in

chains

and pray

that I

may

proclaim

it

clearly

as I

should

so Paul

exhorts

the

Colossians

here

to persevere

in prayer

and follows

it immediately

with a request

for them

to pray

for himself

and his

co-workers

and the

content of

his prayer

is not

for personal

benefit

for Paul

it's not

about his

retirement plans

it's not

about his

superannuation

it's not

about his

family

it's not

about

you know

his

work

scenario

it's

it's for

Paul

and his

companions

to preach

the word

of God

clearly

and he

mentions

specifically

here

that he

is in

chains

for his

preaching

but he

doesn't

ask

for prayer

to be

released

from the

chains

in order

to go

on

preaching

he's not

asking for

that

he's not

asking God

you know

guys pray

for me

that God

will solve

all these

issues

so that I'm

now set

free to

proclaim

his gospel

doesn't

pray for

personal

benefit

he prays

for the

effectiveness

of the

message

going

out

and we

see

at a

number

of

points

in the

New

Testament

that Paul

places

a great

importance

on his

converts

and other

Christians

partnering

with him

through

prayer

as he

seeks to

win the

Gentile

world

for

Christ

see that

in Romans

15

Ephesians

6

1

he

earnestly

desired

their help

and support

as he

labored to

see the

gospel

spread to

the ends

of the

earth

and I

want to

suggest

there is

no

better

way

to

express

this

partnership

than

intercessory

prayer

no better

way to

express

this

partnership

we

exist

in a

materialistic

world

that is

so

obsessed

with

doing

partnership

is me

doing

stuff

I

want to

suggest

to you

if you

cannot

fill a

roster

here

that

in

no

way

is

prayer

at

all

a

secondary

activity

when

he

calls

these

Christians

to pray

for him

and his

colleagues

he's

calling

them

to an

ongoing

activity

this

is a

prayer

for the

preacher

for the

evangelist

for the

community

group

leader

for the

music

director

for everyone

every

Christian

who has

the word

of God

on their

lips

can I

say

that as

your senior

pastor here

at St.

Paul's

that I

am aware

constantly

every day

that I

need your

prayers

the

the

the

longer

I

have

been

in

pastoral

ministry

which is

over

20

years

now

I

am

becoming

more

and more

aware

that the

work

that God

has called

me to

do

is

very

demanding

and I

can't do

it

I

barely

know my

own

heart

let alone

yours

and God

is in the

business of

shifting

people's

hearts

and minds

to align

themselves

to Jesus

that's a

work that

he does

and so

Paul needed

their prayers

because he

could imagine

himself

speaking the

gospel in a

way that was

not clear

that was not

bold

that was

not

powerful

I

got to

say how

much

more

can I

imagine

that for

myself

of needing

that prayer

the greatest

preacher

and

missionary

who ever

lived

said that

the

effectiveness

of his

preaching

depended on

the prayers

of the

church

so if

you're

sitting

here

and you're

going

I'm not

being gripped

by this

preaching

it might

be your

fault

I'll

just put

that as

a

side

if it's

true for

Paul it's

true a

hundred times

over for

me

I put

that

aside

slightly

as a

humorous

thing

but it's

actually

true

I sort

of

emphasize

that

it

actually

is

true

preaching

is a

two-way

activity

I'll

preach

on this

one day

once upon a

time

one day

sometime in

the future

it's a

two-way

activity

if you've

not

prepared

your

heart

don't

expect me

to be

able to

prepare

it for

you

we're

gathered

for

worship

your

heart

needs

to be

prepared

so what

what happens

right now

even as we

have the

word of

God

open in

front of

us

in

Colossians

4

2

4

depends

in great

measure

on how

you have

prayed

for me

or us

as we

gather

have you

ever thought

about that

these are

Paul's

two prayer

requests

for a

door to

be open

in the

lives of

unbelievers

and secondly

for a

clear and

powerful

gospel message

to go

through that

door

and it is

with a

real sense

of urgency

that I

call you

to devote

yourselves

to those

prayers

in 2018

so this

brings me

to how

we are

to pray

and Paul

mentions three

things in

verse 2

devote

yourselves

to prayer

being watchful

and thankful

pray with

devotion

with watchfulness

and with

thanksgiving

the call

of God's

word here

is to

devote

yourselves

to prayer

it should

not come

as a

surprise

given what

Paul has

requested

we pray

for in

verses 3

and 4

if prayer

is so

great

and central

to unlocking

God's purpose

for the

universe

and for

your life

and for

my life

it's not

surprising

that God

would command

us to

devote

ourselves

to

prayer

and to

this prayer

specifically

the word

be devoted

to

or persevere

in

or continue

in

occurs

six times

in the

New Testament

in relation

to prayer

Acts 1

14

they all

join together

constantly

in prayer

Acts 2

42

they

that's the

early church

devoted

themselves

to the

apostles

teaching

and to

the fellowship

and to

the breaking

of bread

and to

prayer

Acts 6

4

the apostles

said that

they would

devote

themselves

to

prayer

and to

the ministry

of the

word

Romans 12

12

be joyful

in hope

patient

in affliction

faithful

in prayer

they go

all together

those three

things

can't have

one without

the other

joyful in

hope

patient

in affliction

faithful

in prayer

Ephesians

6

18

pray in

the spirit

on all

occasions

it means

to pray

often

it means

to pray

regularly

prayer

prayer

is not

infrequent

and prayer

is not

hit

and miss

being devoted

to prayer

means that

you are not

haphazard

you're not

forgetful

it means

that you

take steps

to see

that it

is part

of your

regular

life

in the

same way

that eating

and sleeping

and going

to the toilet

are part

of your

regular

life

and I

think

this is

also

implied

in the

word

watchfulness

to describe

the sort

of prayer

life

that we

are called

to

watchfulness

is often

used

in reference

to the

second coming

of Christ

and the

final judgment

in the

New Testament

the vision

of the future

God's plan

his purposes

the coming

of the Lord

Jesus

and the

final

ushering

in of the

kingdom

of God

is to

govern

not just

the content

of our

prayer life

but the

devotion to

our prayer

life

God

is working

out his

purposes

and he

will bring

it all

to

completion

so don't

go to

sleep

at the

wheel

direct

your mind

to Christ

and his

coming

and the

fulfillment

of all

our hope

and joy

labor

against

the

distractions

labor

against

the

hindrances

and the

temptations

towards

prayerless

praying

prayerless

praying

is when

we go

through

the motions

we're not

actually

communing

with God

we're

ticking off

a list

but we're

not actually

communing

with God

that's

prayerless

praying

and you

may as

well not

pray

be vigilant

my friends

like a

sentry on

duty outside

the camp

at night

knowing that

if you go

to sleep

in this

job

the enemy

will overthrow

the mission

this is

the tempo

of prayer

that is

often

missing

when the

church

has settled

into the

world

and is

just

using

prayer

as a

domestic

intercom

system

instead of

a battlefield

walkie-talkie

and is

so

serious

the battle

is

heaven

and hell

hang

in the

balance

for

potentially

people

sitting

in this

room

right now

but a whole bunch of people who are not sitting in this room right now

and it's hanging the balance for those people this year.

This year, it's hanging the balance for them.

So be watchful, awake, vigilant and pray.

Pray the way you would if you knew that two of your unbelieving friends

would hear the gospel for the very last time next Sunday.

Pray that way.

And finally, Paul calls us to pray with thanksgiving.

It doesn't seem right to pray for God, to open a door of faith for others

without remembering that that's the very thing he has done for you if you're a Christian.

Through remarkable circumstances,

someone has prayed that you would receive the gospel,

and God has done it.

And you didn't do it.

You didn't know about it.

God did it.

When we pray for the salvation of others,

isn't the fervency of our prayer a mirror of how thankful that we are of our own salvation?

That is, if there's not fervency in prayer

for the gospel to go out to others,

then maybe the issue is not my prayer schedule or the devotional book I'm using,

but in actual fact, my grasp of the gospel itself.

My own gratitude for it.

I suspect that as we grow in thankfulness for our own rescue, for our own salvation,

we will pray with a new zeal for others.

Now, I wrote a core value of devotion to prayer based on this passage in Colossians 4.

It's a core value for us as a church written on board just outside the door there.

But I want to be honest.

I need this core value to further penetrate my heart and shape my life in 2018.

I've always, in my 20-something years as a Christian,

always found prayer to be hard work.

It's partly because of my sin,

and it's probably mostly because of my sin,

but it's also partly the way God has wired me,

although I'm not blaming him for wiring me in a particular way.

I'm not doing the Eve, Adam and Eve issue there.

You gave me that woman.

It's your problem.

I'm an activist,

which means that when my feet hit the ground first thing in the morning,

they generally don't stop.

I get busy on stuff.

And so what I've got to do is I have to take steps

to ensure it is incorporated into my daily life.

And I do this in a number of ways in terms of meetings with staff

and other things like that.

But for me personally,

there's a window of quietness in my household and in my life

at the beginning of every day,

somewhere between 5.30 and 6,

but definitely by 6.30 when I get up

and the first thing I do is I put the kettle on and get a cup of coffee.

And then I sit in a quiet spot

and I immediately engage with God

through his word and prayer in that moment.

I need it before everything starts happening for me.

And I've got a scheduling.

And because it's so crucial,

it's in my diary and alarm goes off.

Bing, bing, bing, bing.

To make sure that it's happening every day.

Our core value says that as a church,

we are committed to consistently bringing all things to God in prayer,

intentionally building prayer into the center of our life together,

developing a culture of natural and instructed prayerfulness

when interacting with each other,

encouraging and equipping for prayer on a personal and family level,

and incorporating prayer into every church activity.

So let us join together in seeing this core value,

which is written on the wall,

be written, in fact, into our hearts in such a way

that it shapes our actions and our attitudes,

which is what values actually are meant to do

and do, in fact, do.

But in the immediate,

will you join me in this prayer week

and throughout this year

in being devoted to praying

that a door would open to the gospel

among many, many precious unbelievers

and that we would proclaim the gospel

with clarity and with power.

So two very simple things to do this week,

this coming week.

Come to Heartbeat on Wednesday night

and be reminded of our vision

and some of the strategies and risks

that we're taking to reach people

and then we're going to pray for those things.

So come to Heartbeat this Wednesday night here.

And this week, as Nick has already said,

in this coming week,

we're sending out prayer points via email.

The staff are going to be gathering

for prayer at 10 o'clock each day

and if you are here on site,

then please come and join us.

But if you're not,

which I suspect majority are not,

then set an alarm,

put in your diary,

do whatever it is that you need to do,

wrap string around your finger

and wherever you are,

wherever God has placed you,

stop and pray in that moment

at 10 o'clock each day.

Another thing you could do

is join the team here,

nine o'clock every Sunday morning

and we pray not that the music will go well

or people would come.

We pray for the proclamation of the gospel.

Hearts will be open

in all of our corporate gatherings each Sunday.

And so, brothers and sisters,

pray for a door to be opened to the gospel

as we labour,

take risks,

sacrifice

to make the gospel known

with clarity and boldness

in our mission field in 2018.

Amen.

Amen.