Christ Central Witnessing

If you would open up your Bibles to Colossians chapter 4, it's on page 1170 of your pew Bible.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

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,

Colossians 2:9

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,

Colossians 1:15

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.

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,

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

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,

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.