#314 Colossians Series# 7, Exchanging Wishes

#314 Colossians Series# 7, Exchanging Wishes
By Guest Speaker: Zach Sloane

Colossians 4:2-6 (NKJV)

 2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

“So many of us cavalierly gloss over what He has done and zero in on what weʼre to do, and that shift, though it might seem slight, makes all the difference in the world. Our obedience has its origin in God’s prior action, and …   “…forgetting that truth results in self- righteousness, pride, and despair. As you study Scripture, remember that the imperatives are always rooted in the indicatives. God calls you to become who you already are in Christ.” E. M. Fitzpatrick  

Whatever God commands or instructs us to do, is not without our being rooted in the finished work of the cross, our share in Jesus Resurrection, and as people who have already received the Holy Spirit.

The command, or the imperative, is not one demanding conformity to a standard or else, it’s not a threat! It’s about aligning with who we already are because of what He has already done.

Sometimes there is a tendency to skip to the instruction and read them as though we were not already saved, redeemed and forgiven, like we are un-empowered and our lives and relationship with God depend upon our ability to perform them. Because of the knowledge of good and evil, we link instruction and commands to our performance of them, and thus see threat attached to them. A renewed mind sees the instructions of God not as threats, but as opportunities.

Alternatively, we might say, “Nope, I am not into that instruction. Don’t tell me what to do, Jesus has already done it all.” And again, for those so inclined, they miss out of the opportunity and empowerment that the instruction of God offers them. If we label anything that asks something of us as religious or legalistic, instead of seeing them as an opportunity to partner with God, we will miss out on most of the adventures in life. He has given us a big job to do, in payer and sharing our faith, and if we don’t embrace these things, yes, we have been saved by grace through faith from sin and death, but we have failed to enter into what we were saved, qualified and equipped for – an exciting partnership with Jesus.

Colossians 4:2-6 (NKJV) SOME OF THE IMPERATIVES

 2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

In Colossians 3 Paul makes the turn away from the indicatives, the positional truths about what God has done in and for the Colossians, to giving imperatives and commands. The letter switched form Good News to Good Advice. And that’s a great way to talk about it.

Some of what we have in the New Testament that comes across as commands are actually culturally sensitive instructions, and should not be read as instructions to us. Some examples: slaves obey your masters, or, women should have heads covered.

What about all Scripture being God breathed? It is! And it is useful. It shows us that God is aware of our situations, that he speaks to us uniquely, and is able to help us navigate our culture and times.  That’s a powerful message.

HOWEVER, what Paul instructs the Colossians to do in these verses is relevant to us all, throughout all times and places.

HOW TO PRAY

He says, continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving, Or, as other translations say, being watchful in it.

There are lots of ways to pray, occasions to pray, and things to pray about.

Eg’s
“…whatever things you as when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24
The Lord’s Prayer
“…pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” Philippians 4:8
“Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior…” 1 Timothy 2:1-3
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

But today, we are going to talk about prayer in the context that the letter of Colossians has provided for us, as a behaviour rooted in right belief, and then with a view to seeing the Gospel spread, and people getting saved.

In Colossians, we have already seen that:

• We are qualified to receive an inheritance Col.1:12
• We have been delivered from the power of darkness Col. 1:13
• We have been translated, conveyed into, placed within, the kingdom of the Son of His Love. Col. 1:13
• We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Col. 1:14
• We have been reconciled to God Col. 1:21
• We are presented before God (now), as holy, blameless, and above reproach. Col. 1:22
• The mystery kept hidden has been revealed, Col. 1:26
• We are complete in Him. Col. 2:10
• We have been circumcised with Christ, the flesh cut off of our lives through our union with Him in our lives. Col. 2:11.
• We have been made alive together with Him. Col. 2:13
• We have had the list of things against us destroyed. Col. 2:14
• Principalities and powers have been disarmed by the cross Col. 2:15
• We have been set free from all “isms” and additions to the finished work of the cross. Col. 2:18-23.
• We have already died, and our life is already hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3:3.

The instruction to “continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving,” is to be done in light of all of these things that are true about us, about God, and about what He has done in Christ Jesus.

Prayer informed by the finished work of the cross, informed by resurrection power of Jesus, when His victory is seen, when we see Him for Who He now is, where He now sits, prayer becomes something much bigger than even just asking for what we want.

We do not spend our time in prayer, when informed by the finished work of the cross trying to beg with God and plead for Him to give us what He has already made available. Prayer is where we align with the will of God as demonstrated in Jesus, and speak and agree with Him about that thing.

WHAT IS PRAYER
Now sometimes, when we talk about prayer, in an effort to really demonstrate the love in God’s heart toward us, we are can be tempted to reduce prayer down to something like “prayer is just communication with God. I pray every day, I always talk to God.” But what if talking with God is talking with God, and prayer, that thing that we are to be vigilant in and engage in earnestly, is something more than an ongoing conversation. What if prayer, informed and shaped by the reality that the death resurrection and Ascension of Jesus inaugurated for us, is more than just a conversation with God.

Proseuché Strong’s #4335- has within its root etymology, the idea of exchange, an exchange of wishes.

Prayer is where we exchange wishes with God. It’s a dynamic event in which He pours His interests and wishes into our hearts, we pour out ours to Him. In this exchange, we speak back to Him His intention to answer our prayers and our confidence in Him to do so, and we speak out the things that He wants to do in the Earth.

Vigilant and Watchful, with thanksgiving
This relational aspect is one reason why I think that Paul says, be vigilant in prayer, be watchful, with thanksgiving. Sometimes prayer is warfare and we need to watch. But I for one learned a while ago if you want to succeed at spiritual warfare you’ve got put your eyes on Jesus and not the warfare or what you are “fighting.”

I think being watchful is linked to the idea that praying with God is an interactive exchange. When you pray you begin to take on and experience the mind of God flying through you. You pray things and your mind is renewed, you see differently because you experience the mind and will, the wishes of God, and these through the Holy Spirit, flow through your conscious and subconscious self. You start to see things God’s way, you start to take on his desire, and all of a sudden with Paul you are praying for an opportunity, for any opportunity in our life to share the Gospel because in your communion with God, by praying with Him as the one you are in union with, His desire for an open door is manifested in you.

Prayer is not just something we do to God, but informed by the cross, by the very present Holy Spirit, it is something we do with God. It is speaking and calling this those things that are not as though they were.

It is by faith knowing that not only was the whole world initially framed by the word of God, but that this principle prevails, and as we pray with God, as we put voice to His wishes and ours, the word of God on our lips, in our prayers and declarations also frames our world. Hebrews 11:3.

What if instead of praying to God for Him to do something, we shifted and prayed with Him, allowing an expression of His wishes to manifest through us as we give voice to HIs will in the earth and we start to reframe the world through His words on our lips. We can’t control people but we have authority over the invisible unseen forces that are moving them, that are influencing them, binding and blinding them.

The world needs some of this right now – to put down some stuff that is rearing its ugly head. His house is a house of prayer for all nations. No person is the object of control or our enemy, but prayer can shift what is “speaking” to them.

WHY PRAY
The “highest heavens belong to God, but the Earth He has given into the hands of the sons of Men.” Psalms 115:16.

Humanity had authority, lost it to the devil, Jesus took it back from devil. Now He alone possess it, and wields it through His body on the Earth.

“All authority in heaven and Earth has been given to Me” Matthew 28:18.

“And he put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Eph. 1:22-23

God has so ordered this world that He will not force His will upon anyone. This is helpful in prayer too. Praying “God, please make so and so do this,’ or even, “please make so and so a Christian,” is asking God to violate that person’s will. And he won’t do it. He will influence people, do everything in His power to make sure people get to make an informed decision, remove every obstacle hindering their ability to choose, but the choice remains theirs.

An Open Door…Partnership
We can see this principle of partnering with God at work in the very next verse. Paul says, “meanwhile, praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word.” Col. 4:3. Don’t you think that God already wants an open door for the word? Is this a prayer asking God to change His mind and just open a door, as if He is the one who has closed it, as if prayer is meant to change His mind about keeping the door shut. Of course not, God wants the door for the word open, even more than Paul does.

But, having chosen to partner with us as humans, we need to engage in prayer, speaking God’s desire, speaking His will in prayer to see that which He wants to happen. The point here is that God alone can open the door, He wants it to open more than Paul. But He needs us to give voice to His will in the earth through prayer. Jesus has all authority in heaven and Earth, and He wields it through His body in the Earth. We His body must engage, must speak, not asking for authority but recognizing it in Jesus our Head, and releasing it. When His will to open the door is exchanged and breathed into us, we speak it back, heaven and earth collide, the will and power of God is released in the Earth by the Children of God in prayer, and boom, things shift.

When we pray from Authority, in His Authority, and we pray in faith, the simple recognition of who He is and what He has done, we begin the shift from asking for stuff to happen to make them happen through prayer with God and not just to God. When we know who He now is, and see ourselves rooted in Him, His promises are already Yes In Him, in our prayers we are just giving the necessary Amen. 2 Corinthians 1:20

Prayer is not a struggle to get God to do what He has already done at the cross, and by placing us in Christ and Christ in us. And it is not about getting Him to do stuff as much as it is partnering with Him to see the obstacles to our seeing what he has done removed.
E.g. Eph. 1:18 … the eyes of your understand being enlightened.”
Eph. 3:19 that we might “know the love of Christ that passes knowledge.”
Col. 1:9 that they might be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and understanding.”

You see this again and again, the burden of Paul’s prayer push was not so much that God would do something, but that people, believers and unbelievers alike, would see and know and believe what He has already done.  And you see this again in Paul’s request that He might make known or manifest the mystery of Christ as he ought to. And that’s a message in itself. God won’t violate our will but he will move heaven and Earth to make sure we get to make an informed choice. That He is seen as He ought to be.

Here you see prayer bleeding over into action!

Manifesting Him as we ought to. Colossians 1:28 “Him we preach.”
What else can be preached?
Galatians 1:8 if even we or an angel from heaven were to preach another Gospel, let Him be accursed.
Hebrews 1:1-3 God wanted exact representation. That looks like Jesus.

Romans 15:19 “… in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 2:4 – A demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”  Why differentiate Spirit and power? Signs and wonders confirm, but the message is also to be shared in the nature of the One whom it points to – God is love. Gifts are tangible expressions not that God is all powerful, but that He is loving.

Manifesting the mystery of Christ – it’s not complicated, life’s biggest questions are answered and unveiled in the Person of God – Jesus is the answer and the message. And I love Paul’s boldness and confidence in wanting to tell people about Jesus. Can you hear him, chomping at the bit, “man, just gave me an opportunity.” He was actively looking for one, asking others to pray for one for himself, and then I can almost see Him writing and thinking, yea I want them to pray for me for open doors, but hang on, they need to look for them too. And so he writes:

Walk in Wisdom and Redeem the Time
“Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside, redeeming the time.” Col. 4:5. (NKJV)

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Col. 4:5 (NIV)

Redeeming the time- Kairos nor chronos. Not a call to manage your life or feel bad about watching TV and maybe not praying. It’s a call to recognize and realize the time you live in, the opportune moment in which salvation, a living, life-changing relationship is available to all. The death, resurrection and Ascension of Jesus inaugurated for us a  kairos moment called now, called today.

I took this to the extreme – literally had break down one day walking to school because I thought man, I am not making the most of my time, I just walked by so many people who need the Gospel. That is crazy – I was crazy religious! Don’t think the point is to be obnoxious and make every relationship contact one where we preach to people. But we do need to recognize the time we live in – its harvest time.

There is a lot of theology around harvest. Here is mine, and it is one I am actively right now seeking to live out. John 4:35. Jesus said “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, they are already white for the harvest.”

As long as God is wanting people to know Him and be saved, to know His love, it is perpetually harvest time. Jesus didn’t say wait till the season is right, or in charismatic speak, wait for the move of the Holy Spirit – it is already that kairos time to share NOW, TODAY. Ask for open doors, ask for opportunities, fully embrace the ones that he is giving you by being vigilant, watchful in prayer, seeing in prayer, exchanging in prayer His will and desire, is rubbing off on you and you develop a love and a passion to see the people you encounter know Jesus.

So, all that leads us to this. What should I do.? When we pray informed and settled in the finished work of the cross, and with Christ as our life, our prayer shifts from asking God for stuff, to being thankful for what He has provided, and being a partner with Him in seeing it manifest.

We can still pray for our wants and needs, but prayer becomes a time of partnership, of legislating and framing the worlds around us, and not begging and asking for what is already promised. It becomes a partnership through faith filled prayer of speaking it into manifestation.

Prayer shifts to making known what He has already done, in both our own lives and also for those who don’t yet know Him. We exchange wishes with God and in our interactions His burden if you will for people to know Him is experienced by us. Paul’s praying for an open door is not to be seen as Paul wrestling with God, but a manifestation of God’s victory in Paul. He had given Paul a new nature and God was expressing Himself and His desire in Paul. That was God’s success, that He had a human in in His image carrying His desire for souls to be saved, not Paul’s struggle.

Like Paul we find ourselves wanting, looking for opportunities to share Jesus, not because we have to but because we want to. We are moved by the very passion of God. We begin to not only pray for opportunities, but you, realizing the time you live in, harvest time, you are looking to share at every opportunity. And how do you do that?

Col. 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

Colossians 4:6 (NLT)
6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive[a] so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Conversation is a two-way thing. Interact, meet people, engage with people. If I can do it,100% INTJ, you can too. Love manifests through any personality.
Gracious and attractive conversation. Salt makes you thirsty and wanting more.

“…that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
Psalms 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Engaging others with Gospel might be as simple as inviting people to church, to experience God like we have.  Give them a taste of God, be gracious, give something to people in conversation that empowers them, that makes them feel added to and blessed. That is God’s heart – to give Himself, to empower others.

Need Help? Sunday Mornings and Small Groups. Church Events like the Picnic.

SMALL GROUP SHOUT OUT.  Let people taste and see God in us, and His love in our relationship and connections together. Let people experience our relationships. Jesus said world would know we are His disciples by our love for each other. INVITE!

Evangelism and outreach, it’s a two-pronged attack. We need to be ready share with others. God has chosen the foolishness of preaching, and how can people believe in less they are told? There is a speaking. AND there is a come and see, a taste and see, an evangelism by encounter, and God would encounter people through you. Look at Jesus, always out and about, meeting people, eating with people, connecting with others and sharing His Father. This was a priority for Him – and it still is.

Hear an invitation from Jesus to partner with Him in prayer, and in wielding His authority in the Earth.
Let his passion for people knowing Him be exchanged, rub off on you, and let it affect how you pray and then how you act towards others who don’t yet know Him.

314 Colossians Series# 7, Exchanging Wishes, PowerPoint Slides

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