Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20070909.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Colossians: Maturing Over False Beliefs By Christ's Supreme All-Sufficiency
Part IX: Applying Christ's Supreme All-Sufficiency To Godly Living
G. Using Christ's Supreme All-Sufficiency For Effective Evangelism
(Colossians 4:3-4)
  1. Introduction
    1. Many Christians have noted that their best efforts to "win" certain people to the Lord have failed!
    2. Actually, evangelism involves forces far greater than we mortals can handle, so we must adjust accordingly to be effective, and Colossians 4:3-4 with the wide Scripture context reveals how this is done:
  2. Using Christ's Supreme All-Sufficiency For Effective Evangelism, Colossians 4:3-4.
    1. Huge forces exist in the realm of evangelistic outreach that no Christian can possibly humanly affect:
      1. On the one hand, Satan in his enormous spiritual might works to blind the minds of the billions of unsaved over whom he has great control lest they understand and believe Christ's salvation Gospel:
        1. 1 John 5:19 reveals the whole world is under Satan's control, indicating he has massive power.
        2. Matthew 4:8-10 reveals Satan controls the world's kingdoms, an added insight into his great power.
        3. Additionally, we know from 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 that Satan as god of this world has blinded the minds of all the billions of lost men lest they understand and believe the Gospel to be saved.
        4. We also know from Ephesians 6:10-12, 18-19 that Satan has an extensive organization of demonic spirits under his command that wrestle against the believer particularly in his evangelistic efforts.
      2. Yet, Almighty God has a great spiritual influence that counters this satanic opposition to evangelism:
        1. Jesus revealed that the Holy Spirit Who is fully God (cf. Acts 5:3-4) convicts the lost of sin, righteousness and judgment toward preparing them to heed Christ's Gospel, cf. John 16:7-11.
        2. The Holy Spirit thus Himself urges the lost to believe the Gospel to be saved, Revelation 22:17.
        3. The Holy Spirit residing in the believer can use him as an effective witness, Acts 1:8; 2:1-13; 4:13.
    2. Accordingly, it is absolutely imperative that the believer heed Paul's instruction in Colossians 4:3-4 relative to prayerful intercession for the evangelism process that he be effectively used of God in it:
      1. If the lost are under the great power and dominion of Satan, if the believer's evangelistic efforts are continually countered by Satan and his entrenched spiritual forces, and if God must be involved to convict and woo the world to heed the Gospel, the believer needs to be properly aligned to God and fully depend on His power to be effective in evangelism!
      2. Accordingly, Paul wrote that we should pray that God would open up the door of opportunity just for him to be able to speak the Gospel effectively, Colossians 4:3. Recalling that Paul was Church History's greatest missionary, and the greatest witness among the Apostles (1 Corinthians 15:10-11), if he of all evangelizers needed God to open up doors of effective witnessing opportunities so he could witness effectively, each of the rest of us believers need God to do at least the same for us!
      3. In concert with his request that prayerful intercession be made for his opportunity from God to witness, Paul in the companion epistle of Ephesians (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., p. 1690, "Place of Writing") wrote that he needed boldness to witness when the opportunity came his way, Eph. 6:18-19.
      4. Paul noted that his current imprisonment was God's assignment for witnessing, that he was God's ambassador in bonds, cf. Col. 4:3b; Eph. 6:20. Thus, he knew God had aligned his circumstances for him to address this ministry, and so sought prayer to be able to fulfill the task God had for him in it!
      5. Also, as we have seen throughout Colossians, our Supreme, All-Sufficient Savior Who is over all spirits, good and evil, empowers and equips us to excel here, cf. Colossians 1:15-20!
Lesson: Due to the great, entrenched forces of evil that oppose us and our need to be aligned to God the Holy Spirit to witness well, we must (1) fellowship with God, (2) depend upon Him and (3) PRAY for witnessing (a) opportunities and (b) boldness when they arise to give the Gospel, (4) realizing God has assigned us the ministry circumstances we HAVE as the VEHICLE by which He wills that we witness. (5) In the end, our Supreme, All-Sufficient Savior, Jesus Christ, makes the whole process successful!

Application: May we abandon all self-help efforts in witnessing and Biblically RELY upon CHRIST!