Sermon Tone Analysis

Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

What an incredible delight to see Christ’s work and that we are in Christ, then to see that Christian living isn’t about our effrot alone, but about you and I partiipacting WITH Christ - dying and risin gwith himin dialy life.

Chapter 3 moves us from Christ transforming our character, parituclar.y

unifying His body on earth, but then moves to the dialy life of the roles we play in our home t work - participaitng with Christ - understanding how He’s Lord of creeation and of the new humanity the new way of doing things - what we do and say is all Service to our Lord.

I don’t know about you - but rebuke, dying away of old ways of doing family friendship, doing churh, doing work - selfishly without Christ.

And so before Paul gets tothe clsoing of this incredible letter, he moves from the inididual and specific roles that we are each to fulfillwith Christ onw, to what can emopower you to do those oridnary roles and regular character living WITH Christ.

How can you live with Christ in your character and in your speecific roles?

It’s a bit like being asked to fix a cement blow out in a tank , but they give you a tooth brush, just rub it down, eventually grind it off?

No, you not only need the right tools, but the craft of knwoing how to use them.

And Paul is saying to these Christains, who had become undertandably inwardly focused - what ahppenes when problems in a church, denomination, we just talk among ourselves, get defenseive and protective and round the wagons - but Paul by the end of this letter is hardly talking about the problem these false teachers.

He ha painted such a magificeint and accurate landcape of the new kingdom of God with Christ on the throne and what that means for your souk, your life, your family, your work - all the false a nd distorted ways of doinng Church and doing the Christian life fade away when instead your focus is doing it WITH Christ.

And as Paul closes his instruction on how to live as a Christain, how to have maturity not just in what you know as a Christs (someitmes that’s allthat’s addedover the years), buthow to have mature Christain serving, loving - in ordr to have that you need a very special gospel tool.

And it is this little poiwerful spiritual spring!

That’s the tool - Paul is saying you need to know how touse this spiritual spring in your.

life.

There is a way to compress it so that it fills you with such energy, purpose and potential, and there is a way to release the spring soit launches you out into your neighbours coworker, your family members lives in a way that they will be touched by the gospel of Christ too.

So Paul says here\’s your spring Christain, learn how to use it WITH Christ in a twofold way - a compression that filsl you and a relase that launches you into others lives with Christ’s wisdom and grace!

The first actio of this tool happens in privacy you by yourself with the Lord in prayer, the second happens in the noisy hubbub of our daily relationships.

Key Truth: The spring that empowers Christian maturity is a life compressed in prayer, but released in out-reach.

Let’s learn how the spring of your soul is to be compressed in a gospel-way, in a way that the lving in Christ fills you.

To whom and what do you pray?

A. Gospel-Prayer is to a Reconciled God and for His Work of Reconciliation in your World

Now it is no surprise that Paul calls religious people to pray.

In fact I think very very very few people never ever pray.

Even among ahteistis very few maintina that belief there whole life, and when they end up in a jam, God i you are there hlep.

In fact, a lot of people who take the Lord’s Name in vain, even expressions like By JOve, - even if withoutknowledge, calling on a hgher power.

But the way that Pual describes how our soul’s spring is compressed through a very partiuclar form of prayer - has nothing to do with - a siple cry of help - even though that is pure prayer too.

Gospel prayer has nothing to do with ritual prayers - like a Muslim with set words re3cite, even prayer ssaid as if mere reptietion does something.

Prof Carl Turman draws attention to too weird news stories, the first of a mwoman in Dakota who after suffering divorce, rather than dating, decided to save herself the trouble and she married herself.

I rembmer the story takes herself on dates, enterd into a conveant withherself.

Absurd because mariage by definition requires another party- union of two lives.

Well alot of generic prayer that really doens’t even thinkof or adress God, that’s just fulll of ourselves and magically getting what we want or need - is like being mearriedto yourself.

It just doens’t work.

The other story he mentions is the lunacy comong over from Britanin to AMerica, an atheist pastor, of an ahteist church - teaching the attitude of gratitude.

And this philospical lly minded professor, exposes that an atheist - though thankful to ceratin people, when it coes to life itself - and that deep down desire that you want to thak a Big Someone for life, that thoguh there is wrongs, still so much that is right and good - the athiest ultiatmely has no one to thank.

Like prayer that doesn’t attend to God that’s a reall prpblem.

Well, Christian prayer has someone to thank and really asks a real person for help.

But it is so much more than that: Listen to how the beginning of the WSC puts it:

WSC 98 What is prayer?

A: Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.

Do you get that?

Risen with Christ, him having reconciled you to God, your prayer is actually a real encounter of your spirit with God’s spirit , with Christ purifying you and your prayers - real open access.

Now if that is true - that through Christ, you can spend time and talk with and ask and just be heard by God as your heavenly Father, - if it’s true that reconciled by Christ to God your prayer isn’t earning anything, nor is it only that bare and blind cry for help, well then what should mature Christian prayer be like?

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

This is why the wrod that gets all the stress as Paul writes isn’t prayer - but teh word “continue steadfastly” That’s the heart of the command - be devoted to prayer.

Now what other things you are devoted to in your life.

Any dedicated watchers of teh Amazing Race - you don’t watch taht show like the evening news hohum ok … mostly in one ear out the other, - you’re tuned in and cheering and agnizing as theose contestat - deoviton means two things and one of them is intenstity.

But it also means duraction, I bet you can watch the whole thing, and I bet you do it often.

if you are watching a show and its streamed from like Netflix - your dedication can be measured by how many epsidoses in a row you watch - binge aatch.

Intenstity and Duration.

For me in highschool it was basketball, before school at home until Mr. Mayes said - if I here that before 7:00am I put a hole in it!

Every cahnce aIgot, and when we played brtother and I - play all out \until so dark coudn’t see.

Well, prayer coming into God’s presense through jesus Christ, - it’s not an optional for a few “more spiritual Christain”s Paulsays all of us are called to this kind of prayer life.

There is first of all a gerneal type of prayer that’s Onoig conversaton with God - delightful medieval monk Brother Lawrence wrote in the classic The Practice of the Presence of God:

The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees.

Full devotion to prayer is possible in a busy life.

But there is also a concentrated type, in addition to the daily confession, thanksgiving - there is a peitionary tyope of prayer that Paul is asking all ofthem to engage in.

DO you have that kind of prayer in your day?

Do you pray?

When?

At sleepy night?

Listen to C.S. Lewis: No one in his senses, if he has any power of ordering his own day, would reserve his chief prayers for bedtime—obviously the worst possible hour for any action which needs concentration.…

My own plan, when hard pressed, is to seize any time, and place, however unsuitable, in preference to the last waking moment.…

The body ought to pray as well as the head” (The Joyful Christian)

Really some Jesus’ the last intruction from jesus - Watch and Pray - don’t woory about when Christ comes back, can’t know day or hour, but you are to be ready, so watch.

The Intruction is less about watching for Christ’ return and more about watching yourself and that you arel iving your life in the light of Christ’s grace.

Do you live a “watchful life”?

Paul says this is what our prayers shoudl be doing day by day.

Taking stock of the spiritual situation around.

Do you see the brokenness of spirit , the opporuntiy for good, do you see the attack of evil, In our prayer life we are to take stock , bring our heart to God for these istuation, plead for His wisdom to undertand them, and seek answer solution in prayer for them.

But notice first in 2b the manner in which this prayer should be launched in our lives: being watchful in it Really some Jesus’ the last intruction from jesus - Watch and Pray - don’t woory about when Christ comes back, can’t know day or hour, but you are to be ready, so watch.

The Intruction is less about watching for Christ’ return and more about watching yourself and that you arel iving your life in the light of Christ’s grace.

Do you live a “watchful life”?

Paul says this is what our prayers shoudl be doing day by day.

Taking stock of the spiritual situation around.

Do you see the brokenness of spirit , the opporuntiy for good, do you see the attack of evil, In our prayer life we are to take stock , bring our heart to God for these istuation, plead for His wisdom to undertand them, and seek answer solution in prayer for them.

dO Outreach - timeint he uiverse we livein right now is God filing the universe with Christ’s glory - , his reign - our relationship s WITH Christ, for CHRIST - …

Outreach - timeint he uiverse we livein right now is God filing the universe with Christ’s glory - , his reign - our relationship s WITH Christ, for CHRIST - …

Corrie Ten Boom said: “The most important question is not how much work is being done but how much Jesus is doing through you.

Look up; God’s ceiling is unlimited.

Learn to look on Jesus, and more and more you will find that Jesus is directing your wandering look toward the Holy Spirit.”-

take those isutation s and bring them to the LORD< filled with peace, filled with a power to follow God’s will in them, filled with and endurance.

ISn’t that what ahppened to Christ, - temptations, begninignand end of minsitry, , Spiritual coil too, and it was seaonss of prayer - focused and recharged and opened his soul to possiiblities \before Him.

“The most important question is not how much work is being done but how much Jesus is doing through you.

Look up; God’s ceiling is unlimited.

Learn to look on Jesus, and more and more you will find that Jesus is directing your wandering look toward the Holy Spirit.”

olman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 342.While this would be true of the Colossians sorting through their church friendships and the danger of false teacher; even more for maturity in Christ, take those isutation s and bring them to the LORD< filled with peace, filled with a power to follow God’s will in them, filled with and endurance.

ISn’t that what ahppened to Christ, - temptations, begninignand end of minsitry, , Spiritual coil too, and it was seaonss of prayer - focused and recharged and opened his soul to possiiblities \before Him.

Corrie Ten Boom

Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol.

8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 342.While this would be true of the Colossians sorting through their church friendships and the danger of false teacher; even more for maturity in Christ, take those isutation s and bring them to the LORD< filled with peace, filled with a power to follow God’s will in them, filled with and endurance.

ISn’t that what ahppened to Christ, - temptations, begninignand end of minsitry, , Spiritual coil too, and it was seaonss of prayer - focused and recharged and opened his soul to possiiblities \before Him.

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

Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol.

8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 344–345.

Look at

Mature Christain prayer fill you and change you and equip you , but at the same time when we pray as Paul instructs us, you are not the only thing prayer changes.

God has socveriegnly include the mature Christian’s prayer in teh working out of his good plan of salvaito in people’s live in this world!

You and I before the LORD in prayer are to pray about the gospel misnitry we partner together in.

Do you?