Live Ready To Make Jesus Known

Good morning.

Our passage today is Colossians chapter 4, verses 2 through 6.

Colossians 4:2–6

My name is Christine Oswald.

I serve in the Harbor Youth that just got started.

And it's my privilege and pleasure to read God's Word in our gathering today.

Again, our passage is Colossians chapter 4, verses 2 through 6.

Colossians 4:2–6

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 am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to 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 to answer each person.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks, Christine.

Well, good morning, church.

Happy to be with you this morning.

I love this crisp, cool weather.

We're continuing on in the book of Colossians in chapter four, as you heard, read.

We've got a few weeks left, and then we're gonna actually uh flip back in your Bible a few pages and we're gonna preach to the book of Ruth.

So I'm excited to do that, but I'm also excited to be finishing this book with you over the next couple weeks.

Um before we jump in, I just want to invite you.

Uh, would you just uh seek the Lord's help with me as we pray together?

I'll ask that you pray for me and I'll pray for you.

Good and gracious Heavenly Father.

Thanks that we get another opportunity to come as your people under your word to sing, uh, but also to learn and to actually listen, not just hear, but to put your words into practice.

And so we also trust, uh, as the psalmist says, that we need help.

We need help from uh you.

We look to the hills from where does our help come from?

And so I pray that you just help us to know you more, to actually encounter you, and then actually to be able to share our love with you more.

And so restrain my flesh, uh, allow me to listen and to um submit to your spirit, and would your spirit uh get all the glory, and would your spirit give all the power today?

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, if you know me, uh you know I love the outdoors.

And particularly this time of year, I love to be deer hunting.

And uh man, the interesting thing about deer hunting uh is that one thing I've learned over the years is there's a difference between wanting an opportunity and actually being ready for one.

Uh because hunting takes preparation.

Uh particularly deer hunting, it takes scouting.

You gotta find the right tree, you gotta find the right ground, you gotta play the wind, you gotta know the right time of day and weather, and then uh not only that, you're like sneaking into the outdoors, God knows what time, in the middle of the morning, uh, not to make a sound.

And after all of that preparation, honestly, do you know how many opportunities I've actually missed?

Like sometimes I'm actually just looking in the completely wrong direction, sometimes I'm staring at my phone, sometimes I'm distracted.

I don't want to even admit this, but sometimes I've actually like fallen asleep in my deer stand.

Uh and you put in all that work, and then when the opportunity comes, you're not even ready.

But here's the other thing I've learned.

Like, I can do everything particularly right.

Like I can scout the property, it can have the perfect tree, the perfect wind, all the right gear, but I can't make the stinking deer walk underneath my tree.

Like, I can prepare for the opportunity, but I can't manufacture the opportunity.

And church, while hunting and sharing our faith are very different, I know that.

I do wonder if there's something actually really important for us to consider here this morning.

Because I think most of us genuinely long for others in our life to know and follow Jesus, like our coworkers, our friends, our family.

We want them to get in on this glorious grace that we've experienced.

But there's a difference between wanting people to know Jesus and actually being ready to make him known.

And I think this is particularly significant for us as a young church because as we grow, so do our demands.

We're establishing ministries, we're serving partnerships in the city, uh, we're developing leaders and forming community, and we're figuring out facilities, even.

And all of those are really good and necessary things.

But if we're not careful, we can actually start to lose sight of what's actually most important.

And we can keep focused on like building and maintaining the church rather than losing sight of and doing what's most important, and that's actually like reaching people who don't yet know Jesus.

And I was reminded of this recently.

Uh I've been able to grab some intentional time with several pastors in the Omaha and the Sarpee County kind of area over the last few weeks and got to sit and listen and hear what's kind of going in and on and through their churches and ministries.

And I heard them talk about all the meetings.

I talked about, I heard them talk about like new ministries and buildings and parking lots and daycares.

And some of them were actually just like lamenting and longing for like this season that we're in as a young church where like we were just so focused on the mission and we didn't have all this other stuff clouding out our hearts and memories.

And if I'm honest, I was really humbled by that.

I I found myself in this last season actually longing for some of those things.

Not the meetings, okay?

Uh but the sense of like permanence and the stability of like having a building.

And again, those things aren't necessarily bad desires, but I was reminded how easily my attention can actually just be drifted to like securing our future meeting space rather than like praying for people that yet do not know Jesus.

Like toward thinking about where our church will actually gather rather than like who will actually become not just a part of this church, but like the church globally.

And I wonder if that temptation is true for you as well.

Like more than we'd like to admit.

Like, we get comfortable, we get busy, we get consumed with our own lives, and without ever intending to, we actually become so focused on what's happening inside the church or inside our own little family circles that we actually forget about those outside the church or those even outside of those knowing Jesus.

And that's why I think these final instructions that Paul is gonna give the Colossians are so important.

Because remember, throughout Colossians, Paul's been hitting home on a really big theme that Jesus Christ is first.

He is first among creation, he is first among the church, and because he's first, that actually means we should put him first in all things.

And these are some of his like last words.

And you know, many say that like the first and the last things you say are what people most remember.

And I think Paul knowing this actually doubles down on this that actually like we need to like put Jesus first by actually thinking about others that don't know Jesus, but then putting Jesus first in our conversations and in our lives and our interactions with those who don't know them, know him.

And so here's our big idea this morning.

Here's where we're going.

We need to live ready to make Jesus known.

We need to live ready to make Jesus known.

And Paul's gonna just give us three particular ways to do that.

The first is like we just need to pray expectantly.

The second is we need to live wisely, and then the third is that we need to speak winsomely.

So if you got your Bibles, or you want to follow along on the screen or your app, we're gonna be in verse two to start as we look at pray expectantly.

Chapter 4, verse 2.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Uh the NIV says, stay devoted to prayer, but persevere, don't give up.

And I think there's a reason Paul is actually starting this way, because uh prayer is one of those things we all know we should do, but we don't necessarily do.

Anybody else?

Uh we struggle to do it consistently, right?

Like, and sharing our faith is probably right up there with it as well.

It's kind of like healthy eating.

We all know the good foods and the bad foods.

That's not the problem.

It's not the knowing, it's the the doing.

And as your life grows and as the church grows, there are more responsibility, more decisions, more things to actually manage.

And if we're not careful, important things can actually start to crowd out the essential things.

Now, when when Paul actually says continue steadfastly in prayer here, I don't want you to imagine like that just means like you're like always burning a candle on your knees, reading your prayer journal for hours on end.

Don't get me wrong, we actually absolutely need intentional, unhurried time with our Father.

But prayer is actually meant to become like an ongoing awareness of God's presence in your life through the ordinary of life.

Brother Lawrence, uh kind of this old uh monkish dude, wrote this really helpful little practical guide called Practicing the Presence of God.

And he understood this beautifully.

He talked about cultivating communion with God was like just in the midst of everyday responsibilities.

So that it's not actually like you're constantly speaking words to God, but rather you're actually just becoming more conscious of like living with God.

And I think that's part of what Paul is doing here when he says being watchful in it.

It's like a spiritually awake and attentive posture of your heart.

So you're working, you're parenting, you're having conversations, you're making decisions, but underneath it all, you're actually like learning to live with this growing awareness and dependence on Jesus.

And when he says watchful, it's the same language of Jesus when he's talking to his disciples like in the Garden of Gethsemane, and he's like, hey, be watchful, be alert, and pray.

And what do the disciples do?

They fall asleep.

I mean, I find that somewhat comforting, right?

Like, uh, because a spiritually, like, because apparently spiritual sleepiness is not a new problem.

He he's calling us to spiritually alert prayer.

Prayer that actually pays attention, prayer that actually starts to expect God is doing things around you with people around you.

It's prayer that actually starts to ask, like, God, who's hurting around me?

God, who's spiritually curious around me?

God, where are you opening doors for me?

Who are you drawing to yourself?

Because when we actually start praying that way, we actually start to begin noticing people differently.

Like we become more attentive to the people in our lives that God has already just placed there.

And then Paul's gonna double down on what he just keeps hitting home on uh in Colossians.

He says, do it with thanksgiving.

Man, if you've been with us for the last few weeks, you've probably just been almost like blue in the face of how much he just talks about this attitude of gratitude.

He continually reminds people to just be thankful to what actually they've experienced in Christ.

And here's why that matters.

Because mission is not meant to be driven by guilt, it's meant to be driven by gratitude.

Like when you start to grasp what God has actually done in your life through the saving power of Jesus, like your focus starts to turn just outward.

You want others around you to actually just start to experience the same grace that you've actually experienced.

Now watch this.

What watch what he does in verses three and four.

Verses three and four say this.

At the same time, pray also for us that God may open up to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

So Paul doesn't just tell them to pray, he actually tells them what to pray for.

And did you catch what he asks?

He asks that God would actually open a door for the word.

Remember where Paul is.

He's not in a bougie, like, prayer, like glamping like unit.

He's actually in prison.

He's behind a closed prison door, but he's not primarily asking or praying that the prison door would open.

He's praying that a gospel door would open.

He's not asking simply that God would change his circumstances.

He is asking that God would use his circumstances to put Jesus more on display.

That's remarkable.

That's humbling.

I find myself reading this, I'm like, am I even a Christian this week?

I was humbled, but also invited to start praying this.

And he's asking God to use his circumstances just to put God's glorious gospel on display.

And notice how he uses the word mystery here.

He says the mystery of Christ.

Now he's not talking about what my wife loves to do, like puzzles or sodoku.

He's talking about God's like mysterious plan of salvation that's now being revealed to all men and women, to Jews and Gentiles, the religious and the irreligious, that they can be reconciled to God through him, through Jesus.

That's the message that Paul wants to actually be made known.

Now, I want to point out something that I think we can learn from Paul's prayers here.

Paul is praying with expectancy.

Like, you can actually start to pray more persistently if you actually would just start to pray with more expectancy.

That's the pattern that actually scripture just outlines for us.

Here's what I mean.

I think many of us in good nature mostly pray with what Jack Miller, a pastor, actually coins maintenance prayers.

Like maintenance prayers, rather than what he called as like frontline or like kingdom-minded or kingdom prayers.

Let me explain.

Maintenance prayers are those prayers that are like prayers for like ordinary needs of life, like a job, food on the table, um, health, our circumstances.

And those are good prayers.

Hear me out.

Like you have a good father in heaven who loves to hear from you and to hear the everyday needs.

But if we're not careful, those prayers can actually just become dominant in the entirety of our prayers.

And so what Miller actually helps us start to see is that actually like scripture paints a whole different picture of what prayer life should be.

We're not just asking God to maintain our lives, we're asking God to advance his kingdom through our lives.

We're praying for people to come to know Jesus, for the gospel to go forth and to spread, to the kingdom to actually bear fruit, to saturate Sarpee County, for God's name to be glorified.

And isn't that what Paul's doing here?

Like he's sitting in a prison cell and he's asking God to just open doors for the gospel.

That's a good subtle rebuke for us.

Like, God's kingdom doesn't grow through who he has in office.

God's kingdom doesn't grow through churches just buying more real estate or land, or maybe even just more like political or institutional organizational power.

It advances through one person at a time being surrendered to the authority of Jesus in their life.

And see, I think the reason we don't persist in prayer is because we're actually just stuck praying maintenance prayers.

We're stuck in maintenance mode.

They become routine, and may I even say like they become boring.

If you ever pray with kids, they'll just be honest about it.

This is boring.

Well, like, your kids don't say that?

Okay, well.

But here's the thing kingdom prayers, they're expectant, they're exciting, they're invigorating.

And what you'll find is when the more you pray kingdom-minded prayers, your expectations grow.

Therefore, your anticipation grows, therefore, your steadfastness will grow.

And because you start beginning to look what God's gonna do.

And then you actually see him make do on his promises.

And you know what it does?

It pours gasoline on the fire, fuel into your prayer lives.

And then you're gonna be more ready to actually make Jesus known because you're praying more expectantly.

Now, some of you might even just be thinking, like reading these words of this section of scripture, and you're like, okay, if God is sovereign, pastor, and God is the one who saves people, why do I even need to pray?

Great question.

I remember like wrestling through this question years ago back in seminary, and by God's grace, I had a great mentor and pastor kind of walking alongside me, uh, Dr.

Gary Nebaker, and just one of those sages that never tells you the exact answer, but just kind of asks thoughtful questions.

And I remember him kind of saying, like, I think you've got it backward, Ryan.

God's sovereignty isn't meant to like cause you to pray less, it's actually meant to cause you to pray more.

Because if God is the one who actually opens up doors, then who better to actually ask?

Think about it this way.

Like, guys, we're in harvest season.

A farmer can't make a seed come to life, can he?

No, he he can plant the seed, he can water the ground, he can actually uh do everything else that goes with farming, but he can't manufacture life.

And yet he doesn't conclude, like, I can't make it grow, so therefore I'm not gonna plant.

No, he he knows precisely what he needs to do is participate in the means to actually make it grow, which is planting.

Your prayer is planting.

See, prayer is similar, and God is sovereign over the harvest, and in his kindness, he invites you to participate in his prayer and faithful witness.

And the beautiful thing is like prayer doesn't just change your circumstances, it actually starts to change you.

Like it reorients our hearts towards what God desires and wants.

It helps you start to see people around you the way God sees people.

And in his kindness, man, you get the joy of being in on actually getting to harvest this kind of gospel fruit with him.

And so, Harbor, what would it look like for us to just start to pray with that kind of expectancy?

A few applications, just a few minutes in.

I want to encourage you, like start praying for three people by name who don't know Jesus.

Right when I said that I know a few names just flush to the top of your head.

That means actually like write them down, put them on the bathroom mirror, put them in the notes app, put them in your journal, and then go as far to I want you to tell somebody.

Tell somebody those three names.

Maybe not the person, you know, like maybe a great uh lead-in.

But then also, like, I need you to pray for Harbor Kids.

I need you to pray for the the discipleship workers that just went back there to like lead them in a class.

I need you guys, as Paul is even longing for his church, like in that church, like I need you to like pray for your pastors.

Man, if you want to hear better sermons, if you want to get better care for us to be better shepherds, pray for us.

Some of you are like, I am, it's not working.

It's a slow work, all right?

But like, seriously, like we need it.

And some of you are probably just being honest, like, man, like Ryan, I don't even know how to start to pray for those prayers.

That's a great place to start.

I love what C.S.

Lewis used to say.

He'd be like, we need to stop praying how we ought to pray and just pray what's actually in us.

Like, actually just pray where we are.

Be honest and aware, like aware of who you are and what you need.

God, I don't know what to pray.

Help me.

Help me pray, help me pray more mission-minded prayers.

I don't even know what that is, but my pastor told me to do that.

Help me.

Who's the people around me that need Jesus?

Father, show me.

Open doors up for me.

That's just a wonderful place to start.

Church, we can't manufacture gospel opportunities, but we can ask God to open the doors.

And we begin praying this way, uh, we become more present and attentive to actually the ways in which uh we're living and the people around us, which is just gonna lead us to Paul's second point.

Live wisely.

Look at verse five.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of time.

Paul says walk.

He's talking about the way we live, our everyday conduct, our decisions, our relationships, the way we spend our time.

He's saying, church, your individual life matters.

People out there are watching you in here, like the way you work, the way you treat your spouse, the way you make decisions, the way you suffer, the way you handle disappointment, the way you treat people that maybe share a difference with you.

All of those things communicate something.

And then Paul says to walk in wisdom.

And throughout Colossians, uh Paul's gonna actually tell us what true wisdom looks like.

It's actually found in presence with Christ.

So living wisely actually means just to like learn and bring every part of our life under the lordship of Jesus.

But I want you to see something here.

I want you to notice the direction of this verse.

See what he says here?

He says, walk in wisdom towards outsiders.

He's simply referring to those outside the Christian community, those who don't yet know Jesus.

And the direction here matters.

Paul isn't calling us to like isolation, like where we just would withdraw from people that don't share the same beliefs as us.

He's not calling us to also assimilation or where we just compromise us, compromise every conviction to actually fit in.

And he's not calling us to hostility either, which is like treating the world like an enemy to us or a threat.

He's calling us to what theologians actually call a faithful presence.

It's living distinctly without living in distance from it.

It's it's living distinctly.

Distinctly from the world, but not living from distance from it.

And check out how Paul actually like justifies this wisdom in this context here.

He says, making the best use of time.

And what's fascinating here when you study this, you know, there's kind of two different Greek words here.

There's chronos and kronos.

Like chronos, think chronologically, like minutes on a clock.

And then he uses chronos, he primarily uses that, but like here he uses chronos.

Why do you care about that?

This is why it matters.

That's more referring to like a season of life or a season or a pattern of life, like the season you're in.

He's saying this language actually carries up the idea of like buying up the time or making the most of the opportunity or the season you're in.

Think about it this way.

Like when you rent a piece of equipment, like a skid steer or a trencher, you're not gonna like rent that thing for 24 hours, is what they always charge you for, right?

Or 12 hours, and do one little job and then let it sit there all afternoon.

No, you you try and like think of every possible project or neighbors or buddies and how much you can melt the use out of it.

You're making the most out of the opportunity.

And Paul is saying, do the same thing here.

This generation of Christians is responsible for the souls of this generation.

For us to live wisely is actually to realize our time is precious.

And God has placed us in particular relationships, particular neighborhoods, particular workplaces at a particular moment in this time in history.

And those opportunities aren't always gonna be there.

Your neighbors are eventually gonna move, or you will.

Your coworkers are eventually gonna retire.

Man, like your circles of influence will change.

Your kid won't play on that team any longer.

They're gonna expire like milk in the fridge.

And so you gotta make the most of every opportunity.

Like, Harvey, you get one shot at this life.

Don't spend your life or spend this season on things of no eternal significance.

Spend it in making the best use of time.

Now, church, don't also misunderstand this.

This doesn't mean that like every conversation you have like has to bring up Yahweh or the name of Jesus or like a Bible verse, or you like have to have the pocket Bible right here, okay?

What he's saying is like, that's not wisdom.

He's also saying what Ecclesiastes says, which is like sometimes you actually just need to slow down and enjoy the wife of your youth.

Enjoy a good meal, share a good laugh, enjoy rest, enjoy a good walk.

But here's the question he does leave you with.

Are you being intentional with the time you have, with the people you have?

Think about your ordinary week.

Like maybe you're standing on the sidelines of your kids' sporting events, and week after week you see the same parents.

You could sit in the end zone and you could scroll on your phone, or you could actually put your phone down and actually like ask the spirit for grace and courage to go start an awkward conversation and build continued rapport with those people.

Maybe it's your coworkers, maybe it's your neighbors, maybe it's the parents you see at school pickup, or the same barista or the same clerk at the store.

You don't necessarily need to like fix your schedule.

Sometimes you actually just need to more be present in your schedule, more attentive.

Now, that doesn't mean some of us actually might just be over busy, over-scheduled.

If you don't have relational energy or even just time on your calendar to make much of that time or those relationships, you probably got too much going on and you need to eliminate some of those things.

But for others, it's primarily not a scheduling problem, it's an attentive, attentiveness problem.

Where like you're physically present, but you're mentally somewhere else.

So just don't overlook what Paul is saying here.

Prayer teaches us to pay attention.

This also is humbling because it reminds us that like people in your lives they're not interruptions.

They're not obstacles, they're opportunities.

They're people, they're not projects, they're made in the image of God.

And that means also wisdom requires discernment.

Not every person you talk to or in your life is going to be receptive.

Not every conversation is like the right conversation to like ask a gospel like question or even just a lead-in.

We need to have discernment here.

Sometimes that means asking another question, sometimes it means listening.

Sometimes it means you need to stop forcing a conversation and go to somebody else and stop trying to pour in spiritually to somebody that just has a closed container.

But here's what this requires: it requires a spiritual attentiveness.

And here's why this matters.

You have relationships I don't have.

I don't have street credit with your coworkers.

I don't have relational history or baggage with your family.

I don't have the neighbor you have, but you do.

And God in his providence and kindness has actually placed you in that place for this particular time.

Living ready to make Jesus known means like praying expectantly.

That God would open doors for those gospel opportunities.

And when you do that, you'd actually make the best use of your time, living wisely.

But eventually, guys, we gotta open our mouths.

And that's Paul's final instruction.

Look with me at speak winsomely in verse 6.

He says, Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.

Notice always, not just when you're having a good day or when that person is receptive or not disagreeing with you.

Always gracious.

And that also just means like, here's where I was convicted this week.

That's not just your words, that's your eye contact.

That's your facial expressions, that's your body language, showing genuine interest in people just sitting around you.

See, grace means unmerited favor or kindness.

It actually practically means being charitable towards people rather than being combative.

That doesn't mean, though, everybody's gonna agree with you.

Or that gospel truths aren't going to be offensive.

But here's what we need to hear: they should not be offended by you.

They should be offended by the truths that maybe you share.

We have to go out of our way to actually make sure that they're not like offended by our impatience or our arrogance or our lack of love.

Because you can actually disagree with people without disrespecting.

And you can speak truth to people without being cruel.

People should encounter something of the grace of Jesus when they actually relate to us and they speak to us.

And then I love this.

Paul says your speech should be seasoned with salt.

I love that imagery.

He's not saying what our culture loves to say, like, permission for you to be salty, okay?

Like, you don't get to be grumpy or sarcastic or abrasive or just get perpetually offended.

Salt brings flavor, it makes food and it like have an enhanced taste, appealing.

He's calling you to be thoughtful and engaging.

People should want to talk to you.

Like Christians ought to be interested in you.

Christians should be some of the people that people most enjoy being around.

You've probably heard the old saying, like, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

I used to work with an old farmer, but he would often say, like, but you can give him salt.

Some of you that just hit, okay?

It took me a while, too.

I was with him a long time.

That's certainly true, though, when it comes to sharing our faith.

We can't make anybody believe.

But shouldn't the way we speak about Jesus leave people with a thirst in their mouth to know more about Jesus?

Like, we ought to be some of the most fun and delightful and joyful people to be around.

Like to have a sense of humor, to enjoy conversations about like sports and theater and work and ordinary things of life.

Like, not every conversation's got to have a Bible verse or like have a spiritual uh tagline.

And man, we gotta do away with what like they call like uh Christianese, like a like a spiritual vocabulary like no one else knows how to enter into.

Charles Spurgeon, a 19th-century uh preacher, was known for communicating like really profound truths in like common men language.

I look up to him in so many ways, and he was often uh quoted saying, like, hey, Jesus told Peter to feed sheep, not giraffes.

Uh like, meaning, like, his point is that preachers should actually put God's word on the bottom shelf.

We should be able to actually, like, this is what Paul means to be able to like speak clearly.

And church, the same principle applies to just like how you and I just talk about Jesus in our everyday lives.

We don't need to make the gospel complicated to make it profound.

We also don't need to make it like boring to actually make it sound serious.

Proverbs 16, 21, it's one of my favorite verses, it says this.

It says, the sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

That's not flattery, but I wonder sometimes whether the way we talk about Jesus actually reflects the way we believe he is or who he is.

Like, is Jesus somebody you just merely call when life goes wrong?

Like a service provider?

Like something breaks, call the cable guy.

Or otherwise, you don't really think about him.

Or is Jesus the greatest treasure in your life?

Your savior, your hope, your friend, your advocate.

Because the way you talk about somebody often reveals how you feel about them, how you experience them.

And church, just like think about Colossians.

Think about how we've been studying Jesus through the book of Colossians.

Like he is said to be the image of the invisible God.

He's first among creation, he is first in the church, he's the one through whom all treasures of wisdom are made manifest, the one who reconciles sinners back to relationship with God through his blood.

So hear this.

You don't have to make Jesus interesting.

He's already like worth and worthy of our attention.

You just need to learn to speak about him that actually just gives credit to who he actually is.

Look at how verse 6 kind of concludes.

He says, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

I think this gets wrongly interpreted here.

This shouldn't intimidate you.

This should actually free you.

This is an apologetics course.

He says, pay attention to how and each.

So Paul isn't just concerned with what we say, he's concerned about how we say it and who we're saying it to.

So Paul doesn't want you just to know the right information.

He wants you to have like emotional IQ and social awareness to actually have wisdom to know how to communicate it.

He says, each person.

There is a point and a place for gospel presentation and gospel tracts, but there is a way in which they fall so short because communicating the gospel to every person and conversation is so unique.

Because people aren't projects.

Like they're made in the image of God.

They have all got unique stories, fears, and longings and hurts and wounds.

And that means you gotta approach every single conversation differently.

Just think about Jesus with me for a second.

Think about the different types of people he approached and conversed with.

Think about the rich young ruler.

Jesus lovingly confronts this dude when like he's got an attachment to wealth, doesn't he?

But then he also, he's gracious and compassionate to the woman at the well.

He begins with a simple request just for a drink, and the conversation kind of just unfolds from there.

Two different people, two different types of conversations.

Same savior, same truth, but there's winsome wisdom in how he engages each person.

See, Jesus knew when to ask questions, he knew when to kind of prod, he knew when to comfort, and he knew when to listen.

And that's what I just want to prompt for you this morning.

Like, we actually need to start to develop common ground with outsiders.

Like, you need to be able to find things you can genuinely like just chat about and celebrate and enjoy together.

You need to ask good questions, you need to be curious, you need to be thoughtful, and you actually need to listen.

That means to get your eyes up from your phone and like onto that person.

But here's the beauty: you don't have to be an extrovert to do this.

Some of the most thoughtful and engaging people I know in this are actually introverts.

Because rather than like at a group or at church, rather than working in the room, they have one or two really meaningful and impactful conversations.

That's wonderful.

See, see, you don't have to know every answer.

It's okay to actually say, I think it's really humbling to non-Christians to actually just say, like, that's a really good question.

I don't know.

Can I think about that and get back to you?

See, you're not called to be an expert.

Here's what you're called to be: a witness.

Like you're not called to know every single detail about Jesus, but but you do need to state what you actually know.

You may not be an expert in theology, but you can tell somebody who Jesus is and what he's done on the cross and what it looks like to surrender to him.

Just tell them about your own story.

So, church, speak winsomely, with grace, with truth, with humility and enthusiasm and with genuine love.

But, church, uh, before we finish, I want us to remember something.

Paul tells us in verse 5 to walk wisely toward outsiders.

And sometimes, if we're not careful, I think we can actually uh start to pit this idea of like us and them, or like those inside the church and those outside the church.

But here's what we have to remember: you and I weren't always insiders.

At some point we were outsiders.

Earlier in Colossians, Paul told us like we were once alienated from God, doing hostile deeds, doing evil deeds.

We were separated from Christ and without hope and without God in this life and in this world.

That was us.

But here's the beauty of the gospel: Jesus didn't wait for us, he walked toward us.

The eternal Son of God humbled himself.

He took on flesh, he entered humanity, he prayed, he lived the perfect life that you and I could not live.

He died the one and only death that you actually deserve.

But then he didn't stay dead.

He rose victoriously, defeating sin, death, and hell.

And you know what he did?

He spoke with grace, with winsome, wisdom.

But here's what he also didn't do.

He didn't just come to give you an immoral example to follow in the line of.

He actually came so that actually you could become an insider.

He came to save outsiders.

He lived the righteous life that we couldn't live, and he died the death that you and I, again, deserve.

Did you hear that?

You used to be an outsider, but God reconciled you back into the family.

You were alienated and he brought you close.

You were an outsider, and by his grace, he welcomed you.

And that's why we move towards people who don't know Jesus.

Not because you have all the answers, not because you or I are better than them.

We're not.

But because we've received an extraordinary grace.

We move first towards outsiders because God first moved towards us in Christ.

And church, like here's what starts to happen.

When you genuinely start to understand that, when you genuinely and like for the first time, like authentically start to like marinate in that, or you've kind of grown dull in it and you actually just ref are refreshed in that reality, it starts to well up in you and it becomes an overflow of grace and like like oozing out onto people around you.

When you've experienced that glorious grace, you want other people to get in on this news.

Because Jesus is simply too wonderful for you to just keep to yourself, isn't he?

But maybe you're sitting there this morning and you're like, dude, that's not true of me yet.

Maybe you're here this morning and you're like, I'm an outsider.

You're looking out maybe from the outside, being like, I'm still figuring out like uh if I'm in or if I want to get in on this Jesus thing.

Trying to decide if this is credible or if these people are authentic.

And here's what I need to tell you this morning: Jesus isn't waiting for you to come to him.

He already came to you in the cross.

See, it's not by accident or coincidence that you're actually even in this room this morning or you're listening to this online.

It's actually by God's providence, and this is actually God's door to you.

God has actually opened up the door to you as well through the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said he's the way, the truth, and the life.

He is the key.

He's opened up the door.

But there is a responsibility and agency that says, Come to me.

And so the invitation is like, man, if that's where you're at this morning, like even when we pray here in a few moments, I want to encourage you, stop hanging around the lobby.

Walk through the door.

Surrender your life to Jesus.

Admit that you need his presence because you actually won't be ready to share Jesus until you've experienced and encountered and surrendered to Jesus.

And if you've got questions, man, grab somebody in a chair next to you.

I almost said a pew.

We don't got a pew, okay?

Grab somebody or grab Trevor and I afterwards.

We'd love to talk with you.

Church, I also just want to encourage you.

Uh, man, I'm genuinely grateful to be your pastor because of the ways in which I've already seen us exceedingly just growing in this.

Some of you are actually in this room because people are actually like using wince and wisdom.

They've invited you.

You were a you were a neighbor.

So some of you are in this room because like you were an uncle or a friend.

And I just want to encourage you, like, God is inviting you to walk through the door.

I also want to encourage you, friends, like keep going.

Like, we got plenty of room in here.

Not just to build a crowd or gather a crowd, but for more and more in people to experience the love of Jesus, but also to be ready to share the love of Jesus.

Church, our mission is not simply to gather a crowd, secure a building or establish like a comfortable church.

We want to see people come and know and experience Jesus.

And God, in his kindness, in his providence, has placed you in a network, in a neighborhood, in a circle of influence to actually be ready to share Jesus with Him.

What a privilege, not a burden.

What a privilege that we actually get to be used in this gospel ministry.

So here's my encouragement to you this week.

Man, just pray expectantly.

Would you start praying for a few people by name, asking God to open up another gospel door for them?

Live wisely, like pay attention to the people around you.

Evaluate your schedule, evaluate your time and like who God has actually put before you and make the best use of those opportunities.

And then like develop some like the ability to speak winsomely.

Be fully present in conversations with your eyes with humility and honor and even humor.

Like Christians should actually use the gifts that God has actually given them to not just enjoy them, but also to deploy them for God's people and for others to become God's people.

You can't change anybody's heart, but you can be ready to open up a door for them.

The same God who actually brought you to life wants to bring others to life through your readiness to make Jesus known.

So, Harbor, let's live ready to make Jesus known.

Father, we are humbled.

Some of us are probably uh convicted by this text, and I hope many of us are influenced and empowered by this text.

We're thankful that uh you actually choose us to actually be instruments in your Redeemer's hands, to actually open up doors for people.

Uh but Father, we we just recognize too that we don't live ready in all of our parts of our life.

We often just live on our heels rather than on our toes.

And so, Spirit of God, I pray that you would quicken us.

You would quicken our hearts, you would quicken our attention, you would quicken our loves and affections to be more centered around you.

And I pray that you would grace Harbor Church with winsome wisdom.

I pray that you would season our words with grace and salt.

Some of us need to actually uh not have sharp words, but actually to have to be softened this morning.

Some of us need encourage, and some of us actually need to walk through the door the first time, encouraged to actually surrender to you.

So, Father, I ask expectantly, I pray expectantly, that not only you're gonna save people, that you're gonna refresh people, you're gonna reorient people, and then you're gonna send people.

I'm also thankful that you send your spirit with us.

You don't call us and then cause us to do this in our own strength, but rather you equip us with your Holy Spirit, the one who convicts and comforts and also speaks on our behalf.

So, Holy Spirit, would you enable us and empower us and free us to walk forward in this grace and help us to live ready to make your son known.

Amen.