Pray, Act, Watch

Today on Summit life with JD Greer. Wisdom is leveraging what God gave you for the purposes of this brief window, which is what Jesus talk about sin, wisdom so John not work well today, only one life to live, be passed only what's done for Christ will last only two things in your life will actually be around forever. One of them is the word of God.

The other is the soul right after dating your church in Raleigh, North Carolina. As always, I'm your host Molly bit of edge you're joining us as we come to the conclusion of our short teaching series titled first the preeminence of Jesus in Colossians today. Pastor Jenny encourages us to pray fervently act wisely and stay alert, as he follows Paul's conclusion to the book of Colossians. Good plan of action for all of us as we seek to follow Christ everyday so let's not waste any time and let's dive right in and as we walked away. Great little letter to the Colossians from the apostle Paul trying to press in on what it means for Jesus to be first in our lives. The theme of Colossians as I've tried to explain you each weekend. Is that because Jesus is first in creation and because he went first for us in salvation.

Therefore, he should be first in our lives in prioritization you listen.

The good news of the gospel is not that you and I are accepted by God because we are generous and offer because we managed to put Jesus first in enough places in our lives.

And that's why God accepts us the good news of the gospel is that God accepts us because of the free love gift that was given to us in Jesus Christ.

We paid for our sins and purchase her way to heaven. I met all who receive. That will be accepted by God. That's what we mean when we say that Jesus went first for us in salvation what Paul tells us in Colossians.

The logic Colossians is because Jesus went first in salvation because it was a free gift because we do have to earn it. Therefore, he ought to be first, he ought to be preeminent in our lives. Colossians chapter 4 Paul begins his conclusion to the book of Colossians. By the way, it's very encouraging to me that when Paul begins his conclusions he still got another chapter to go nuts encourages me as a pastor to sometimes a say in conclusion, I thought for another half hour so that's what Paul does here on both Colossians 4 begins his conclusion by saying this, hate you. Colossians devote yourselves to prayer. Stay alert in it with thanksgiving at the same time. Pray also for us, that God may open a door to us for the word to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in change so that I may make the gospel known as I should act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. I see three primary commands that Paul gives to the Colossians as a call for commitment as a way of wrapping this letter up number one. He says, pray for us specifically in these three or four verses, Paul is going to ask them to pray for three things which are three things that I would suggest you pray for yourself and others in your small group or in your life as well. We say people to pray for me to pray for you.

These three things are to be what you're praying for hyper personal given to using a BSC the person is in verse 4A.

Paul prays for wisdom to fulfill gospel obligations. You can see that in this phrase so that I may make the gospel known as I should.

As I ought to. As I'm obligated to.

Paul is asking for wisdom to know how he might fulfill the particular ministry assignments, the obligations they got given to him as we have seen throughout this letter Paul believed that he had been given a particular personal assignment in the kingdom of God. In chapter 1 he calls this a commission from God.

Some your translation said stewardship, which meant something given only to Paul, something that if Paul did not do it.

Paul believed would not get done. We see that throughout Paul's letter, Paul believes that not only he is an apostle, but every follower of Jesus has been given a commission as well. Sometimes we like to say around here. Not everything that comes from heaven, has your name on it. Not every ministry assignment that comes from heaven is assigned to you, but something has your name on it and something is been assigned to you and you need to figure out what that is and fulfill it. You are responsible obligated even to fulfill that ministry commission and back. We saw that God considers it stealing from him and stealing from the world and wicked in his eyes when you don't fulfill that commission. There are certain people in your life that you are supposed to share Christ with and if you don't share Christ with them. They're not going to hear you've been given certain gifts certain talents certain opportunities certain resources certain experiences that you were supposed to steward for the great commission.

That is your commission and the great commission that the first thing Paul prays for his wisdom to perceive and wisdom to be able to fulfill his gospel obligations.

By the way you find it encouraging that at this point in Paul's life for the end of his life have premenopausal for a long time.

He is still looking for clarity about what his obligations are. I find that encouraging her. Sometimes I feel like a still no man, no big things on call to sometimes my boys got one for me.

The situation is gobble me to give this this guy will me to get involved in this ministry assignment is gobble me to pursue that relationship is gobble me to share Christ with that person in the moments of told you I turned the two major sources of comfort. The first major source of comfort is the understanding that in God's eyes. I am a sheet of told you before that that the bad news about is that cheaper helpless idiots that if you leave a sheet to his own devices, without exception, every single time you will get lost and die sheet need a shepherd shepherd to guide them a shepherd to show them where they should be what they should be doing in the good news is that you and I have a very capable Shepherd who is promised to guide us in paths of righteousness for his namesake and I can say God give me clarity and guide me in the past. My second source of comfort in this is that throughout the Bible God repeatedly demonstrates that he can use whatever instruments that he wants to accomplish his purposes. Whether they are even aware of it or not even once spoke to a profit through an unwitting donkey and is my friend Joby Martin says ever since then he has continued to use donkey to speak to people, which is good news for you. Here the summit certain men all got people sitting meant that… Enthusiastically is okay, God had a purpose for Paul and Paul pray for wisdom to perceive what that purpose was and that God would guide him in it and that he would have the courage to fulfill it. Second thing Paul prayed verse three as Paul prayed for ability to pursue new gospel opportunities. You can see that in this phrase God may open a new door to us for the word about this point in Paul's life he done a lot right. Been on several missionary journeys. He plans a lot of churches he'd written two thirds of the New Testament written a bunch of books, each a lot of time in prison. He had testified before, bunches and bunches of Roman rulers if there was ever anybody ever anybody.

You could probably say you know what I've done my part.

I've done my part. It would've been the apostle Paul and I did that get your turn now here we have Paul laid in his life after all those accomplishments still asking God to open up new amazing incredible doors for the gospel that I told you Jesus instead of more joy in heaven over one a revamped number 99 that already is both a Gabby of 99 things under my belt, but I'm still looking for the one that still disconnected and praised her for the growth of this church, but there are still so many people outside of the walls of this church to be on the ministries of the church that are still lost it without Jesus. Paul was not done he never could be. I hope you understand that our goal this church. We are not trying to grow an empire. We do not care one whit about the name of the summa church we don't care about being the biggest church in the triangle where not just grow once we can have a bigger budget, more facilities and more stuff to do with with that we will with all the stuff we just believe y'all that eternity is real and we believe that lost people matter to God and we believe that still in our day.

Jesus has more joy in heaven over one person that repents that he does 99 of us awarded Columbia was long as we got opportunity as long as there is breath in her body. We gotta keep serving in striving. That's all Paul sought is I look at all of their people out there disconnected from God. For as long as I got opportunity and breath of my body to keep going. That's what we've got to be.

Finally, Paul prays C for strength not to waste gospel circumstances, you can see that the phrase verse three, for which I am in chains. Also his circumstances is divinely arranged for the sake of the gospel, so we asked for the Colossians to pray for strength not to waste those chains know most of you listening to me right now are not in chains. The point is, in whatever circumstance you are Paul says I see this as divinely arranged for gospel purposes. My question is, what if you salt your present situation.

Under the linens within the lens of that same promise that it was divinely arranged just like Paul's unfortunate circumstance was divinely arranged for a gospel purpose. Maybe your sick maybe you prayed multiple times to get better and maybe you haven't gotten better minutes because God wants you to demonstrate the family members and friends and maybe even your doctor that you got a hope that goes beyond what most people hope in better health. You gotta hope that it is eternal and the only way you're going to be able to really to demonstrate that to your doctor and your family and your friends is by showing that you can have joy even when your body is in pain and your sick maybe you didn't make the team or get the job and maybe that was so you can show your friends at your identity. Unlike, there's your identity is not wrapped up and how much you succeed and achieve is not wrapped up and how many people know your name or whether or not you're on the team or maybe job you got an identity that goes beyond those identities and that is you are a child of servant of God, maybe you didn't get the raise because God wants to teach you to value the things that really matter in life to learn to be content with what you have. Paul was in chains, yet he was still looking upward to God to say what is your purpose in these chains, Paul Saul, every setback has a set up from God for gospel purposes. What if you sold your circumstances in the same way you see when it comes to generosity you got asked God why he is put you in the circumstances. That is what you went. Maybe God is prospered. You and maybe God is giving you access to extraordinary wealth and privilege. If that's true, you will praise God for that. You feel guilty about that. God is divinely arranged that my question is have you ever asked yourself why why did God give me this kind of opportunity. Why did he give me this kind of success of this kind of privilege and access to wealth. When my favorite unknown stories in Christian history is the story of a guy that you probably never heard his name but your life is radically different. Because of this man, because what he did. His name is Humphrey Monmouth Friday like tough name yes indeed tells me Humphrey Monmouth you never heard of him but you might've heard of a guy that was connected to him then William Tyndale wins in a liberal 1530 or so and that William Tyndale was a priest who started read the Bible on his own in Latin and he basically became a Christian he realized that what will nobody in England to read the Bible to buy what an English was only in Latin and church leaders would not want the people to have the Bible because they were interested in the eternal salvation of people they registered in controlling people and so little. He chained the Bible to the pulpit in the church and was only in Latin chain, but we Tyndale so that's wrong. Everybody needs to know this message to William Tyndale translated the Bible into English is him and try to get this in the hands of every person English empire. Ultimately William Tyndale would pay for that with his life to be burned at the stake. And the Bible that you hold in your hands. If it is in English has a connection of all the way back William Tyndale's translation of 15/3 okay but you would never have the translation of the work.

This other dude Humphrey Monmouth Humphrey Monmouth is not priest is not a ministry on the gist of my that that William Tyndale had led to faith in Christ, and he believed in what we intend was saying and he said you know what, I'm a wealthy merchant and I've got first of all, I can fund your translation project to be funded.

William Tyndale's old work that had to go into translated and many had this big fleet of merchant ships and he used that fleet to smuggle these English Bibles that Tyndale translated to get them and all the different parts of the English empire so that when the English king at the time decided he wanted to get rid of all the translations he couldn't trackable down because were just too many of them spread too far apart and so he wasn't able to succeed in that led to the Bible that you hold in your hands right you never heard of this guy, but because he realized the gotta put him in William Tyndale's life at just the right time for this the right moment was something he was supposed to use mine in your life looks different know it's not a stretch to realize God does the exact same thing today God puts vision effort for for ministry puts vision for how he wants to see the gospel go to around the world and the answer. Some people because were a body you should give all the vision all the resources of the same person. What he does. He put people together.

He brings people into one body of people at the same time as this is the vision I have been here is what God's given you, and first asked yourself why did God give me this and did God give me this, because I'm supposed to be a part of what God wants to do in this generation. You understand that this generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls all over the world and God has given different ones of us a commission or role to play in that metal bowl is bringing about how what I want wisdom to know what my role is, but elaborate some of the other day in a book that I thought was a great perspective that I think some of you might find helpful. It was written by really wealthy believer who said that for most of his life. He assumed that everything that he turned when they passed was kids like I kind of thought of it is, you know like they belong to them. The swim obligations were that and so ceases to my question was how much of what belongs to them. My kids how much should I give to God, he said.

Now I want to be generous to my children and I plan to be a plan to leave them want to make sure that they're taking care of, he said, but the question is no longer. It belongs to them how much I get to God. The question is belong to God how much I get to them. He said I believe this is a much more biblical gospel centered way of looking at it because Jesus comes first in my life. Not second. That's what were talking about with this as you begin to look at everything in your life in the exact same way. This generation of Christians.

This meant set is responsible for this generation of people all over the world. So yes, I plan to take care my kids and apply to be generous, but also realize that God entrusted something to me so that I could see the gospel glide in my generation that I could see the gospel spread to the ends of the earth, and that's why God is sovereignly arranged my success was for gospel purposes. Today, am I using it that way. There's your second and third commands are there a lot shorter there, just applications of the first with your ears so you command bulk tells them in verse five, act wisely after you pray for clarity, acting wisely means being aware of how precious time is and how brief the moment you are to have you have to accomplish what God wants you to accomplish. You pray I know it is now I can realize this short.

I got a little window here is the kind of wisdom it's almost a frame for Psalm 90 verse 12 he says or teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts learn wisdom. In other words, God help me to grasp how short life is so that I'll have the right priorities make the right choices is the wisdom that Paul says that David lived where Paul was describing David's life. The book of acts.

Mrs. Emma Davis are God's purposes in his own generation, fell sleep. I love that once it was okay when they set about my life. Jenny Mercer got purposes. Many died because it either will God told him there. Many died and went to sleep, and miles came along. That is what success in life looks like. Are you living with that kind of wisdom that you perceive how brief life is in the God is giving you a window to leverage what is given you for the great commission to listen, especially if you're young. I know it seems like life goes on forever.

I'm here to tell you it does not only One Life to live will soon be passed only what's done for Christ will last the death rate in America is still one-for-one.

Okay. And I'm tell you, especially if you're young you don't get this, but it goes by so fast Veronica and I'm a wife, and I look at each other the other night I was as I how how did both of us get to be in her mid-30s already never said what you laugh so much at that works. We have two teenagers in our house already.

We want to miss it come to the night from the from the early 80s. The both of us have watched when we were teenagers in high school shelter/it struck me know this thing was like in all these actors were watching.

We were in high school. They were young and beautiful and I was like Minnesota article but when these people the other day.

They young and beautiful and hot anymore, and then it occurred to me in the middle, not competition with her that the same amount years has passed for us as habitat for them as actors will know one day I'm not going to be young and beautiful anymore you like you I do that ship has sailed a long time ago. Whatever. But when is it just goes by so fast. I will get you so you can we tell them I'm not really on the mom move around much of here because I'm very like sore I got yesterday morning could barely move and final pray for miracle to many essential oils okay but I'm here on the five flights I was like I was like, what did I do and I was like I can't think of anything I just slept. I'm out of time I'm at a place in my life now were going from like this in the bed to this is enough to mess me up and make me so what's happening to my body.

It just goes by so fast. Isaiah says it's like something written in the sand of the seashore. The dot-coms always washes away and I remembers it is your life is like the grass he says grass rings at one season it's luscious is beautiful. And then the next season is totally gone. It's replaced by new grass. Wisdom is perceiving that and leveraging what God gave you for the purposes he gave it for you in his brief window, which is why Jesus talked about the same kind of wisdom, said John not for you better work while today Meg as we can see that sunsetting is already setting in your life. The night is coming when nobody can work only One Life to live will soon be passed faster than you think.

Only what's done for Christ will last only two things in your life will actually be around forever. One of them is the word of God. The other is the souls of people in the wise person is going to build and invest his or her life primarily on those two things.

That's what Paul means when he says act wisely. By the way, the admonition that wisely means, of course, is possible to act foolishly acting foolishly means not taking eternity into account not investing in things it last forever spinning your life. I said, the ladder of success on a finite's lien against the wrong building providing a comfortable life for yourself only to enter into eternity with nothing or acting foolishly means filling your life focused on keeping your family close knit it together and providing them with every advantage in making sure they experience everything that that that kid should experience in family with them a big pile of money. One day, but not imparting to them the one thing that actually matters and that is the wisdom to know that life is not about accumulating stuff. Life is a very brief moment in which you were given opportunity to invest in eternity. So Paul tells the Colossians you got act wisely. Number three says, last voice, you stay alert stay alert as much of Paul's accomplish. She's always on the lookout for what God wants to do next. Again it is tragic to put a period in your life a goblet only agenda, just go, there I got something else. It was not over sentences not done. Paul knew God wouldn't done, but Jesus still cared about the wine, some in church God has done some amazing things of this church, but I believe not because I'm kind of a you know real rock and a leader because I believe the promises of Jesus.

I believe that he's get started. Great conclusion to a powerful teaching series. It's been a blessing to you and has brought lasting change to your perspective of the gospel you're listening to some it, life with JD Greer and as always if you missed any part of this series, you can listen again free of charge@jdgreer.com yesterday. We talk a lot about gospel partners here on the program, letting our listeners know how important they are to the health of our ministry to share a little bit more about what Summit life gospel partner is first I want to thank all of you who became gospel partners in 2021.

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This is the last day to reserve your copy so don't delay gives us a call right now just didn't want to send fire they can indicate what is going wrong in our hearts before we can articulate it in this latest resource we talk about how the aim of the Bible's teaching on a motion to suppress and even to manage the terrine accurately express them honestly and allow the gospel to reshape them completely. Call 866-339-2866 335-5220 or you can donate and replace this devotional workbook online Greer.com JD G. R. R. I'm only tying you to join us tomorrow any teaching theory never before aired on your going to be working our way through the Old Testament book of Daniel running a lot more than this is about how to sign my hostile will see right here tomorrow on my rear