Praying For Missions
Colossians 4:2-4
January 31, 2016
Well we come to our final Sunday of this year’s missions month.
I pray God has used it to perhaps rekindle a
Fire for our purpose here as a church body in the world.
This morning we are going to talk about the issue of PRAYER in missions.
Commonly when people talk about missions they talk about 3 roles.
• You hear about GIVING
• You hear about GOING
• And you hear about PRAYING
Incidentally, most of the time when given the three options prayer is the option that most people pick because it appears to be the least costly.
“I don’t want to give…”
“I don’t want to go…”
“I’ll just pray”
Unfortunately people with that type of attitude
Make the worst prayer warriors.
What the church really needs are people who
Understand the purpose and necessity of prayer
And who will commit themselves to that calling.
THIS MORNING I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHY.
Over the years we have talked many times about
“The Doctrines of Grace” or “Reformed Theology”
Basically the understanding that God is sovereign over all things,
Even salvation.
• We are those who believe that God foreknows, chooses, predestines, and elects those whom He will save.
• We believe that of all whom God elects, He will lose none, but will raise them all up on the last day.
• We believe that such work is absolutely necessary because salvation is a supernatural work, absolutely beyond the ability of man to produce.
Now, this isn’t a sermon committed to rehashing the doctrines of grace;
That is for another time.
However, one of the key criticisms of the reformed theology
Is that it totally nullifies the point and purpose of prayer.
Those who detract from God’s sovereignty over salvation would argue:
If God is sovereign and has already decreed His will, and will certainly bring it to pass, then what’s the point?
Carried into the realm of evangelism they would ask:
If God has chosen His elect and has promised to bring them to glory, then why bother with things like prayer and evangelism?
And some of this criticism is warranted because throughout history
There have been people who have used reformed theology
As an excuse to stop praying and stop evangelizing.
WHAT I HOPE TO SHOW YOU is why God’s sovereignty
Does not nullify the need for evangelism and prayer
And why those who criticize it as such, are wrong.
IT IS TRUE THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN.
• God will save His elect.
• The end (if you will) is determined.
However, THE MEANS through which God will draw out His elect
Is through the preaching of the gospel.
A quick example:
Acts 18:9-11 “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
God knew who His people where, and through Paul’s preaching,
God would draw them out.
Similar to what Peter preached at Pentecost:
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
God is in the process of saving His elect,
The means by which God does that
Is the church which preaches the gospel.
And we really talked about that quite a bit a couple of weeks ago.
• We talked about how the gospel is so essential, because only it produces the genuine conversion that God demands.
THIS MORNING I want to show you why prayer is also important
Regarding the preaching of the gospel.
(here it is)
MISSIONS IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE
THAT CAN ONLY BE WON WITH SPIRITUAL WEAPONS
Paul said:
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
You cannot win the battle with physical tactics.
Those who think the process of making disciples
Is about how enthusiastic, or persuasive, or emotional you can be
Are absolutely deluded regarding what genuine salvation is.
LET ME HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE MISSION.
Let me help you understand what we have been asked to do.
And I can give you a real easy physical illustration.
• Today, when you leave church, get in your car and drive down to the cemetery.
• Pick out a grave, it doesn’t matter who.
• Then you stand at that grave and you convince the person buried there to
come to church with you tonight.
How enthusiastic are you going to have to be to pull that off?
How emotional are you going to have to get to pull that off?
How persuasive are you going to have to be to pull that off?
You can’t, and you know you can’t, because it is impossible.
Remember when the Rich Young Ruler walked away sad, and Jesus said it was easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Peter said, “Then who can be saved?”
And Jesus responded:
Matthew 19:26 “And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
You might as well try to talk a dead man out of the ground.
Rest assured those we are arguing with…
Those we are pleading with…
Those we are talking to…
THEY ARE DEAD
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
The best illustration of this occurs in John 11.
You know it as the resurrection of Lazarus.
• 4 days Lazarus had been dead.
• 4 days his sisters had grieved.
• Then Jesus has the audacity to approach the tomb and command them to
remove the stone.
And then Jesus did something that is
Absolutely beyond the realm of human ability.
John 11:43 “When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
JESUS SPOKE TO THE DEAD.
• I’ve been to a lot of funerals…I’ve preached a lot of funerals.
• I’ve stood at the head of the casket and listened to loved ones say all sorts of
things to the deceased.
But I’ve never seen the dead person hear it.
But Jesus did.
And you know the story, Lazarus heard, and Lazarus came forth.
This is precisely what we are seeking to accomplish
When we volunteer for the mission of the church.
We are saying, that we will go and preach to the dead
And call them to life.
Do you agree that this mission will require supernatural assistance?
John 6:43-44 “Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:64-65 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
We have been commissioned to call the spiritually dead into life.
Certainly we need supernatural assistance.
IF THAT WERE NOT BAD ENOUGH…
While we speak to the dead and seek to call them out, there is one who guards their tomb.
THAT IS THE ENEMY.
• He surrounds his captives with deception and lies.
• He fights against those who seek to call them out.
• He has incarcerated them behind his gates.
• And he wars against all who seek to release his prisoners.
Paul said:
1 Thessalonians 2:18 “For we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, more than once — and yet Satan hindered us.”
SO THE QUESTION IS THIS.
LET’S SAY that you have agreed that you are willing to volunteer for the mission to preach the gospel to the lost so that they may be saved.
Well let me ask you.
• How were you planning on getting to them?
• How were you planning on getting through to them when you get there?
Can I now talk to you about the importance of prayer?
The call to pray does not replace our mandate to preach.
Rather it is prayer that makes preaching possible.
Paul fully understood that.
• He knew what he was up against.
• He knew the enemy he faced.
• He knew the condition of those he sought to reach.
And he understood that if there was any hope of victory in this mission
Then someone had better go to war in prayer.
Ephesians 6:18-20 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
1 Timothy 2:1-8 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”
And this morning we look at another example: Colossians 4:2-4
And through this text I’m going to ask you to take prayer seriously
And to commit yourself to it like maybe you never have before.
I have been learning this over the past few years.
That’s why we’ve shifted especially what we do on Wednesday nights.
• I don’t care how loving we are…
• I don’t care how bold we are…
• I don’t care how accurate we are…
• I don’t care how faithful few are…
IF WE AREN’T PRAYING WE WILL NOT SUCCEED
It must happen.
Let’s look at our text.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”
This is a letter that Paul wrote from prison to a church he had never met.
But after helping to correct their issues he then made a request.
Two main points.
#1 A REQUIREMENT FOR PRAYER
Colossians 4:2
If you’ll notice Paul gives three specifics about prayer.
He speaks of ATTENTIVENESS
“Devote yourselves to prayer”
He speaks of ALERTNESS
“keeping alert in it”
He speaks of ATTITUDE
“with an attitude of thanksgiving”
These are the basics of prayer
And I have to tell you they are quite challenging.
Let’s look at the ATTENTIVENESS to prayer Paul calls for.
“Devote yourselves to prayer”
The word “devote” there is a word
That means “to hold fast and not let go”
The simple command is to never stop praying.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing;”
Paul told Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:3 “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day,”
Of the apostles:
Acts 1:14 “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
Of the first converts:
Acts 2:42 “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Acts 6:4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Jesus said:
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
He would say on another occasion:
Luke 11:5-10 “Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”
YOU GET THE IDEA.
Prayer is understood.
Prayer is required.
And this man Paul who was on the front lines of ministry,
Even currently in prison,
Did not want some half-hearted commitment to prayer.
The person who prays is like the person who holds the rope for the man who goes down into the well. He’d better be devoted.
IS IT ASKING A LOT? (absolutely)
• But Paul was in prison for preaching the gospel.
• He had no reprieve, he had no rest, he had no comfort,
• He had no moment when he could drop his guard.
Are we to suppose that those who commit to pray
Should expect any less of a commitment?
Certainly not. Paul said, “devote yourselves to prayer”
He also mentioned our ALERTNESS
He said, “keeping alert in it”
Now, in a simple sense this would be, “don’t fall asleep when you pray”
Obviously you can’t pray while you’re sleeping.
Jesus told His disciples to wake up so they could pray for Him in the garden.
But being “alert” is MUCH MORE than that.
• It carries the connotation of being aware of the need.
• It carries the idea of being specific about the request.
Many of you have children, and I’m fairly certain that you pray with your children, and that you teach your children to pray.
You are aware of the prayer of a child.
“God help everybody, God be with everybody, God give everybody a good day, God be with them, God help them”
There is nothing in the world wrong with a child praying like that.
After all, they are simply expressing all they know of the situation.
But that is NOT how the church has been called to pray.
WE ARE AT WAR.
And suppose the commanding officer spoke to the army and said,
“Go to such and such a country and win”
There needs to be a little more detail than that.
Much of the time Christians pray prayers
That are really impossible to answer,
Or at least impossible to ever see if they were answered.
“God be with them, and help them,
and watch over them, and protect them”
It’s not that those things are bad, but Paul is asking for much more.
You say, “Well, I don’t know what more to pray for.”
Then open your eyes, be “alert” and see what the real need is.
1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”
In other words, pay attention so you can pray effectively.
When the Corinthians were enamored with praying in tongues, Paul said:
1 Corinthians 14:15 “What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.”
The idea is, open your eyes, use your mind, be alert,
And pray for God to do specific things.
WE AREN’T LOOKING FOR GENERICS HERE.
You are in a battle, you are in a war.
Pick a specific target, a specific obstacle, a specific goal, and pray!
And at the same time let me remind you that
Those in the N.T. DIDN’T focus their prayers on human comfort.
I’ve been in a lot of churches and I’ve seen a lot of PRAYER LISTS,
And you know as well as I do that 99% of those prayer lists are filled with kidneys and livers and tumors and hearts and colonoscopies, and so on and so on.
Look, when I’m hurting you bet I pray.
When I’m sick, or my kids are sick or you are sick, yes I pray.
But please understand the prayer ministry of the church
Was never primarily about making this life better.
WE ARE CALLED TO PRAY TO WIN SPIRITUAL BATTLES.
Listen to some of Paul’s prayers for the churches.
Ephesians 1:18-19 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Philippians 1:9-11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
He wasn’t praying about their doctor’s visits.
He was praying for effectiveness in their ministry.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it”
And then Paul deals with the ATTITUDE:
“with an attitude of thanksgiving.”
Look we can be honest.
I know that there are a lot of Christians
Who see prayer meeting as a bit of a drag.
We are good at having Bible studies.
I mean it fills the hour quite well, and we can go and sit and enjoy and leave.
But prayer meetings aren’t that way.
(it requires you to invest)
I am so proud of those of you who have committed yourselves
To coming and praying on Wednesday nights.
Because it isn’t easy, it is a burden, it is a battle.
But listen:
THANK GOD HE HAS MADE PRAYER POSSIBLE
• Could you imagine if God did not hear prayer?
• Could you imagine if God did not answer prayer?
• Could you imagine if that veil remained and we had no access?
The point?
Don’t see prayer as a drag,
See it is our only means of obtaining the goal,
Be grateful that we have it at our disposal,
And by all means be devoted to it.
That’s what Paul is saying.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”
That is the requirement for prayer.
#2 A REQUEST FOR PRAYER
Colossians 4:3-4
Paul wasn’t going to push them to pray without telling them his requests.
There are two and they are NOT WHAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT
From a man sitting in prison.
He doesn’t ask for deliverance from prison.
He seemed to understand that God had sent him to that jail as part of the mission.
His prayer is for OPPORTUNITY
“praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;”
• Paul knew he was speaking to dead men.
• Paul knew no one could come to Jesus unless the Father drew them.
• Paul knew that he’d never get past Satan’s guard on his own.
Paul needed God to push Satan aside, and fling open the door,
And grant that the dead would be able to hear
The message of the gospel from his lips.
And so Paul said – PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY
People don’t get saved if God doesn’t open the door.
That’s why when Paul returned from a missionary journey he would share about his successes like this:
Acts 14:27 “When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”
Perhaps you remember this convert:
Acts 16:14 “A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”
• We know men will not be saved without hearing the gospel.
• But we also know that those men are dead and they can’t hear the gospel if God doesn’t grant that ability.
We’ll never get to them and we’ll never get through to them
If God doesn’t open the door.
That’s why we meet on a Wednesday night
• And we pray for those teachers,
• And we pray for those kids,
• And we pray for the parents of those kids who never come to church.
Many of you like me have a burden for the youth of our church.
I would tell you that I see a mission field there as clear as I’ve ever seen a mission to Africa or China or anywhere else we’ve been.
But do you understand what we’re up against there?
These young people might (if they are real faithful)
Spend 4 hours a week up hear listening to us.
That is compared to the 40 hours a week they are spending
Surrounded by the temptations and defilements of this world.
And if they don’t have Christians parents (which most don’t)
Then that number only increases.
Do you understand then why our 4 hours is so critical?
• Do you understand then why someone must be praying that God is opening the door to their heart?
• Do you understand why prayer is so essential?
4 hours isn’t nearly enough, unless God puts the enemy at bay,
And gives ears to the spiritually dead,
That our gospel might just make it through.
To try to preach the gospel to the dead without prayer
Is a losing effort every time.
Paul wanted them to pray for an opportunity.
He also wanted CLARITY
(4) “That I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”
• Anyone else in here ever afraid they won’t make sense to the lost when they preach the gospel?
• Anyone else in here ever afraid they won’t know what to say?
Picture it like a field goal kicker.
• His first hope is that the team is able to get within range.
• Then he hopes for a snap the holder can handle.
• Then he hopes the holder gets the ball down and in place.
From the time that the ball hits the ground until the defense gets there,
There is an open window of about half a second.
In that half second the kicker has to jump into action,
And what do you think he’s hoping for?
ACCURACY
That is what it is like when preaching the gospel.
• Pray that in that moment when the enemy is placed at bay,
• And for that split second when the heart of the dead is made to hear,
• Please pray that at that moment I’ll speak the gospel with a clarity they can understand.
It is such an intense responsibility.
• What if the door isn’t opened?
• What if I miss the opportunity?
• What if I say something confusing?
OH HOW WE NEED A CHURCH FILLED WITH PRAYER WARRIORS.
We don’t just need people who pick prayer
Because it looks easier than giving or going.
We need people who will be alert and devoted.
So…
• If we believe that the lost will perish…
• If we believe that their only hope of salvation is to hear the gospel…
• If we believe that they can’t hear it apart from God granting that opportunity…
THEN WE MUST PRAY
And when the opportunity presents itself we must preach the gospel
AND WE MUST BE FAITHFUL TO IT.
• If not, why are we here?
• If not, what are we doing?
THE MISSION NEEDS YOU CHURCH.
• We need you to give to fund those who go.
• We need you to go to preach the gospel to those who are lost.
• We need you to pray so that those who preach can have an open door.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”
