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Really count on one hand the 
number of times I've missed 

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church growing up and really 
since then. 

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And, and a lot of that had to do
with my parents because there 

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probably would have been a whole
lot more times that I missed. 

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But they drug me to church. 
They made me go. 

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And I'm glad they did. 
I'm glad they did. 

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I don't know what I would do on 
Wednesday night if I wasn't in 

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church. 
I really don't. 

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It would feel very weird to not 
be at church. 

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And so I'm, I'm glad you're here
tonight. 

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It's always great to be able to 
get together First off for the 

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prayer meeting and, and we had a
lot of people here this evening 

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and, and they just listen to 
everybody praying at the same 

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time. 
It's just, it's encouragement. 

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It's an encouragement to me. 
I know it's a blessing to God's 

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heart because that's what he 
wants us to do. 

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He expects us to pray and he and
he commands us to pray. 

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And, and so just the fact that 
you're here for that and then to

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be here for the service tonight 
as an encouragement, not not 

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just to me, but to everybody 
else around you. 

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And it's, it's great to have you
here. 

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So Colossians chapter 4, we're 
just going to read here a few 

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verses as Paul comes to a close.
You remember that Paul is, is 

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writing this from a prison cell.
And essentially what Paul is 

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doing is, is, is concluding his 
letter with some things that 

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that are going to help them 
mature in Christ. 

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He talked about a lot of 
different things throughout the 

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book, obviously, but he says 
this in verse #2 of Colossians 

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chapter 4. 
Continue in prayer, and watch in

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the same with Thanksgiving with 
all, praying also for us, that 

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God would open unto us a door of
utterance to speak the mystery 

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of Christ, for which I am also 
in bonds, that I may make it 

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manifest as I ought to speak 
that word. 

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Manifest means plain, that I 
would make it plain for people 

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to understand it as I should, or
as I ought to speak. 

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Walk in wisdom toward them that 
are without redeeming the time. 

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Let your speech be all way with 
grace, seasoned with salt, that 

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you may know how you ought to 
answer every man. 

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Maturity. 
That's what Paul and and that's 

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one of the things we talked 
about just even on Sunday when 

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the Bible says that Job was a 
man who was perfect, That word 

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perfect means complete. 
It means mature. 

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What is maturity? 
You know, is it is it? 

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Can you live a long life and 
still be immature? 

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Absolutely. 
You can just just physically, 

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but also spiritually. 
And there's many, many, many 

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Christians who are spiritually 
immature. 

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There's also a lot of people who
are physically immature. 

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But I, I think maybe one of the 
best definitions of, of maturity

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is that maturity has the ability
within itself to postpone 

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pleasure. 
And if you think about that, it 

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really applies to kind of every 
aspect of, of what maturity is, 

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right? 
Spiritual maturity. 

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I don't have to have the 
pleasures of the world to be 

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happy. 
I don't have to indulge in that 

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sin. 
I can postpone that pleasure, 

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right? 
And the same thing is true when 

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it comes to somebody physically,
when it comes to maturity. 

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You know, a kid that's immature 
is going to do the first thing 

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that comes to his mind because 
all watch this, this is going to

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be funny, you know, or listen to
this, this is going to be funny.

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And it's just, it's just 
immature because you got to have

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that instant gratification. 
You got that. 

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You have to have that instant 
pleasure. 

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Maturity really is the ability 
to postpone pleasure. 

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And there's a lot of people 
physically, but even more 

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spiritually who have never 
gotten to that level of 

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spiritual maturity. 
Your judgments and your 

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decisions take into 
consideration the long haul. 

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Do they? 
Do they take into account 

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eternity? 
So tonight what I want to talk 

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to you about straight from this 
passage, we'll have a couple 

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other verses that we're going to
look at. 

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But really I'm going to stay 
mostly in this passage tonight 

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on the marks of of a mature 
Christian, The marks of a mature

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Christian. 
What are some things that Paul 

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lists here in these verses that 
characterize a Christian who is 

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mature in Jesus Christ? 
We have we have a whole gamut of

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people here tonight, some that 
are newly saved, some that have 

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been saved for decades. 
And I fall into that category. 

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And I think sometimes what 
happens is we forget some of the

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things that make a Christian 
mature and we need to be 

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reminded of those things 
sometimes. 

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And I think that's what this is 
tonight. 

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So let's talk about those things
for a few minutes after we have 

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a word of prayer. 
Father, again, we thank you so 

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much for your goodness to us. 
Thank you for an opportunity we 

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have to be here together 
tonight. 

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And thank you for all those that
that made it a priority and and 

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came to church. 
God, I pray that you just give 

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us something from your word 
through this passage that will 

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be a help to us tonight. 
God, I pray that you'd help 

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every one of us to be working 
toward being a mature Christian 

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and having a mature spiritual 
life so that we can be pleasing 

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to you. 
Thank you again for all you do 

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for us in Jesus name, Amen. 
The first thing that I think is 

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a mark of a mature question is 
that you will be consistent in 

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prayer. 
Somebody said your spiritual 

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maturity will never rise above 
your prayer life. 

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A man is what he is on his knees
before God and that is all he 

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is. 
I think it's a great way to say 

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it. 
That's one of the things where 

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we lack the most. 
I believe it when it comes to 

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spiritual maturity and that is 
in our prayer lives. 

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I hope that, that, that the 30 
minutes that you took over the 

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last 24 hours and we had so many
of you that were willing to, to 

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jump in and become a part of 
that. 

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I thank you for that. 
It's just, it's, it's, it's as 

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much for you as it is for the 
church. 

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You know, we need that exercise.
We need to take the time. 

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And for, for some of you, maybe 
that's the first time you've 

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ever prayed for 30 minutes in a 
row. 

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If that's the case, then make it
a habit more often because first

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of all, prayer is the great 
habit of our lives. 

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Chapter 4 and verse #2 says 
continue in prayer. 

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Continue in prayer. 
That's something that's a habit.

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Continue in brushing your teeth,
continue in making your bed, 

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continue in washing your 
clothes. 

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Continue in doing those things. 
Those are habits. 

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And he says continue in prayer. 
Now, if you notice in verse 5, 

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he says walk in wisdom toward 
them that are without. 

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He uses that phrase several 
times, not just really 

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throughout the throughout the 
letters that he wrote toward 

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them that are without. 
That's the key to I believe to 

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what Paul has to say in these 
closing part this closing part 

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of the the section of his 
epistle, the Bible. 

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Paul uses that phrase several 
times to talk about those that 

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don't know Jesus Christ as their
savior, them that are without 

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and the believer, the Christian 
is to have those outsiders in 

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mind, them that are without in 
in all of his secular context. 

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Every time we meet with 
somebody, you ought to have the 

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fact that this is somebody that 
doesn't know Jesus Christ as 

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their savior. 
And it's my job to tell them how

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to be saved. 
If we have that in our mind, 

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then it'll be something that 
will constantly come out in the 

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way that we speak and and so 
we're to live so that somebody 

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on the outside might get saved 
and become part of the inside. 

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The great resource available to 
all of us in that is prayer. 

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Every one of us can pray and we 
should be praying. 

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A few years ago we had a theme. 
Each one reached 1 and I gave 

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everybody a card and told you to
write 5 names on the on that 

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card. 
I still have mine in the front 

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of my Bible because I still pray
for those people every single 

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day. 
One of them has gotten saved. 

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There's four more that are not 
saved. 

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And I believe that that before I
die, those four people will be 

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saved because God promises us 
those things. 

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But the only thing we can do, of
course we can tell them. 

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And every one of those four I 
have given the gospel 2, Every 

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one of the five but one, one 
that did get saved, but four of 

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them that still are not, I've 
given the gospel to them. 

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All I can do now is pray and 
wait for opportunities to give 

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them the gospel again and then 
and then take those 

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opportunities when we have them.
But you know, the, the, the 

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important part about that is we 
should be bringing those names 

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before God. 
I've heard many stories. 

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In fact, I believe one of them 
was even George Mueller prayed 

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for somebody for over 50 years, 
50 years. 

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He prayed for somebody that he 
was in school with that he would

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get saved. 
We gave him the gospel many 

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times over the years. 
And this man did not get saved 

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until George Mueller's funeral, 
but he got saved. 

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And I believe those are things 
that God wants us to do is 

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bring, bring those requests to 
him, bring those people to him 

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constantly and consistently. 
And it's not that God is going 

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to force them to get saved, but,
but, but God will give you those

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opportunities if he knows that 
you're looking for them, If he 

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knows you'll use those 
opportunities, I believe God 

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will put more of those 
opportunities in your path. 

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But you know, the, the, the, the
responsibility to us is not just

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to invite people to church, It's
to invite people to Christ. 

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And I've said that many, many 
times. 

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I think so often we, we give 
ourselves an out. 

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We, we, we take the easy road 
and just give them a track and 

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invite them to church. 
Come to church with us sometime.

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I, you'll, I think you'll enjoy 
it. 

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I think you'll really like our 
church. 

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I think you'll really like our 
people. 

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You'll feel like you've known us
your whole life. 

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And we, and, and we think that 
I've done my job. 

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I've invited them to church. 
Now it's up to them to come. 

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No, unless we've given them the 
gospel, we have not done our 

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job. 
Yes, if they come to church, 

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hopefully they will hear the 
gospel. 

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Yes, if they come, they might 
feel that that that that warmth 

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and that friendship and want to 
come back. 

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But our job is not finished 
until they accept Jesus Christ 

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as their Savior. 
Our job is not just to bring 

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them to church, it's to bring 
them to Christ. 

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And we should be and can be 
using prayer. 

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Paul was a great believer in 
prayer. 

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Prayer is what links us to God's
throne. 

193
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It's it's by prayer that we do 
business in heaven. 

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It's the most, I believe that 
prayer is the is the most purely

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spiritual of all the things that
we can do as Christians. 

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Prayer is hard to do. 
And maybe if this is the first 

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time that you've taken 30 
minutes to sit down and pray, 

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you realize that it's not easy. 
Prayer is not necessarily an 

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easy thing to do, but it's a 
necessary thing to do. 

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And there's, there's nothing I 
think as Christians that we 

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neglect more than prayer. 
And maybe you do take time every

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00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,560
day and pray. 
Maybe you do have a set time 

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where you take five, 1015 
minutes. 

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00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,880
But if we really could 
understand the power that we 

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have through prayer, I think we 
would take a lot more of our 

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00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:08,320
time in our days doing that. 
And not just, you know, in your 

207
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:10,160
prayer time, but all the way 
throughout the day. 

208
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That's what the Bible says when 
it says pray without ceasing. 

209
00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,040
That's what the Bible means when
it says pray without ceasing. 

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You ought to be constantly 
having a conversation with God. 

211
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Every single thing that comes 
up, every conversation you have,

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you ought to be having a 
conversation with God. 

213
00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,760
Before, during, and after that 
conversation. 

214
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Before, during, and after that 
decision, you ought to be having

215
00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,520
a conversation with God. 
The idea here when Paul says 

216
00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,520
continue in prayer is that it is
to be a great habit of our 

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00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,240
lives, be strong toward prayer, 
persist in prayer. 

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We're up against the might of 
Satan's army every single time 

219
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we pray. 
Do you think Satan, Satan 

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understands the value of prayer?
He knows. 

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He knows that we're talking to 
God. 

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00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,400
He knows that we're coming 
before the throne of grace. 

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And there's nothing that he 
tries to fight more, I believe, 

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than a praying Christian. 
Satan lines up everything he has

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against us. 
We need the full armor of God 

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when we pray. 
We need the Holy Spirit's help 

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when we pray. 
We have to fight that that 

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00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:13,080
drowsiness. 
And we have to fight the 

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distractions and we have to 
fight the discouragement when we

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00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,640
pray. 
But those are things that that 

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00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,840
you need to have in place. 
You know, when, when I pray, I 

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00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,000
mean, my mind is constantly 
going and I've got a ton of 

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things going on always at, at 
one time and, and I'll, I'll 

234
00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,120
kneel down to start praying and 
instantly something comes to my 

235
00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:33,320
mind. 
Well, the thing that I've 

236
00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,800
started doing, I've been doing 
this for a long time now. 

237
00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,800
I always have a piece of paper 
and a pen sitting on my desk. 

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I jump up, I write it down and I
go back to praying. 

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00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,240
I don't have to think about it 
anymore because I know I'm not 

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going to forget. 
That's what always, you know, 

241
00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,080
before I started doing that. 
And that's what I say, it's been

242
00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,400
years ago that I started doing 
that now, But I always just 

243
00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,000
think, oh man, I got to do that 
right now or I'm going to 

244
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:54,960
forget. 
So I get up and I start doing 

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00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:56,400
it. 
And then the prayer is just gone

246
00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:58,280
because you're never getting 
back to it after that. 

247
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Write it down, go back to your 
prayer. 

248
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,600
You've got to do something to 
eliminate the distractions. 

249
00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,160
But if we're to live the way 
that God wants us to live, and 

250
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,960
we're, if we're to follow the, 
the things that we've been given

251
00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,360
here in Colossians, then we must
pray. 

252
00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:16,240
Continue means to take all of 
your strength and focus it on 

253
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,080
prayer. 
So it is the, the great habit of

254
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,080
our lives. 
But also in verse #2 he says and

255
00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,160
watch in the same. 
It's the guarded habit of our 

256
00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:28,280
lives. 
Watch in the same. 

257
00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,600
Jesus told the disciples in the 
Garden of Gethsemane. 

258
00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,680
Watch and pray. 
We, we should, when, when we 

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00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:36,560
pray, we should bring all of our
faculties and all of our 

260
00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:40,000
attention to that prayer. 
It's very easy, as I've said, 

261
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,200
and, and as you already know, 
it's very easy to get 

262
00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,600
distracted. 
It's why you got to find a quiet

263
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,200
place. 
It's why you, it's why you have 

264
00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,320
to have a prayer closet. 
It's why you have to be able to,

265
00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,680
to get aside and pray. 
We're so distracted so many 

266
00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:54,440
times. 
Prayer is a great habit, but we 

267
00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,200
have to guard against being 
distracted from it. 

268
00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,160
The third thing about prayer 
that Paul mentions here is that 

269
00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,480
it should be the grateful habit 
of our lives. 

270
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,280
Continue in prayer. 
Watch in the same and he says 

271
00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:10,120
with Thanksgiving, there's so 
many things that we should be 

272
00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:11,840
grateful for. 
And first of all, we should be 

273
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,280
so grateful for the fact that 
Jesus Christ came and he tore 

274
00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,200
that temple veil and made it 
possible for us to not have to 

275
00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,040
go through a priest and not have
to go through the the temple or 

276
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,640
go go through any of those 
rituals to get to God. 

277
00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:26,560
We can go directly to God in 
prayer. 

278
00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:28,720
We can come to him whatever we 
like. 

279
00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,200
We can stay as long as we like. 
We can talk to Him about 

280
00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,280
whatever we want to talk about 
when we're there. 

281
00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,480
No matter who we are, no matter 
where we live or what we do, The

282
00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,440
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Bible says, cleanses us from

283
00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,160
all sin. 
And we have the opportunity and 

284
00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,600
we have the access into the 
throne room of the universe. 

285
00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:49,280
There's not a man on earth who 
will give us the time or the 

286
00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:53,080
access or the understanding or 
the help that Jesus will give us

287
00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,600
when we meet him in prayer. 
But we ought to be grateful when

288
00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:59,720
we when we come to him. 
We should come to him very 

289
00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:03,800
gratefully think about if if the
privilege of prayer was was 

290
00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,360
taken away from us. 
In fact, turn over to first 

291
00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,440
Samuel. 
I believe it's first Samuel 

292
00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,120
chapter 28. 
What if what if we could no 

293
00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,720
longer come before God? 
What if we could no longer pray 

294
00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,760
to him. 
Imagine if that privilege was 

295
00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:27,200
taken away from us. 
It's the same thing that, you 

296
00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,600
know, with our freedoms in 
America, imagine if those 

297
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,160
freedoms were gone, how we wish 
that we could have those back 

298
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,520
and how we should take advantage
of those freedoms today because 

299
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,280
we may not have them tomorrow. 
We can give the gospel out 

300
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:39,920
freely now. 
What if that's what if that's 

301
00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,480
gone in 10 years? 
We can read and preach the Bible

302
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,040
freely. 
What if that's gone in 10 years?

303
00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,200
You know how much we're going to
wish we had done it while we had

304
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,800
the opportunity to do it. 
What if prayer was just suddenly

305
00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:51,840
taken away from us? 
What if, what if all the sudden 

306
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:53,920
we couldn't get a hold of God 
anymore? 

307
00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:57,480
That happened to Saul. 
First Samuel chapter 28 and 

308
00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,560
verse #7 I'm sorry, verse number
six. 

309
00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:07,960
And when Saul inquired of the 
Lord, the Lord answered him not 

310
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,560
neither by dreams, nor by Urim, 
nor by prophets. 

311
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,360
He knocked on heaven's door and 
he didn't get an answer. 

312
00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,040
So he went down to hell and got 
a witch to get what he wanted. 

313
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,240
And could you imagine if the if 
the if the ability to pray was 

314
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:31,200
just gone, could you imagine if 
God's door was just closed and 

315
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,040
you couldn't go to him anymore? 
What would you do? 

316
00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:38,160
Prayer should be something that 
we are grateful for in our 

317
00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,200
lives, but we should thank every
day God every day that we can 

318
00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,880
come before his throne, but we 
should come before his throne 

319
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,680
with Thanksgiving. 
So the Bible says in Psalm 100, 

320
00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,760
come before His presence with 
Thanksgiving and into His courts

321
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:52,960
with praise. 
You know, one of the things that

322
00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,800
I made sure that we did last 
night, made sure that I did when

323
00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:00,640
I prayed during my 30 minute 
session today, is to thank God 

324
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,720
for what He's already given us. 
I don't want God to think that 

325
00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:05,840
we're not grateful for this. 
And I tell Him all the time that

326
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:07,680
I'm so thankful that He's given 
us this building. 

327
00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:10,640
I couldn't imagine most of you 
don't know what it was like to 

328
00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:14,960
be in the hotel setting up and 
taking down and, and only having

329
00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,880
it for Sundays and not not being
able to have it for ministries 

330
00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:19,360
and everything else. 
I mean, you don't know what it 

331
00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:21,960
was like to be in a hotel. 
This, this building is a 

332
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,600
blessing. 
And the way that God provided it

333
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,640
for us in the way that he did so
many things to help us get into 

334
00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,680
this building was a blessing. 
And I want God to know that I 

335
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,360
appreciate very much the fact 
that he allowed us to have this 

336
00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,800
place and it's still allowing us
to have this place. 

337
00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:37,120
You realize what a blessing it 
is. 

338
00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,680
We could be out in the, we could
be out on the street right now. 

339
00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:41,960
We should be. 
When, when they told us that 

340
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,520
they sold the building 4 years 
ago, they said, yeah, you got a 

341
00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:49,320
year, maybe 2 before we tear it 
down and and start developing 

342
00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:51,720
this whole area. 
We're four years into that right

343
00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:53,440
now. 
And it's not that. 

344
00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,120
It's not that we don't have a 
place because we just have been,

345
00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,320
you know, sitting on our heels 
and not doing anything. 

346
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,960
We've been trying and nothing is
just coming available. 

347
00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:02,960
So what would we do for these 
last two years? 

348
00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,839
I mean, I guess we could go back
to the hotel and if we had to, 

349
00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:08,680
we will. 
But I'm thankful for this, for 

350
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:10,359
this place. 
I'm thankful for what God has 

351
00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:12,440
allowed us to have here. 
I'm thankful for what God has 

352
00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,720
done in this place and the souls
that have been saved and the 

353
00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,160
lives that have been changed and
the, and the, the folks that 

354
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:21,119
have been disciple. 
And I hope you're one of those. 

355
00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,839
I hope you've grown in Christ in
this place. 

356
00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,000
I'm thankful for it. 
You know, I think if we would 

357
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,920
thank God as much as we asked 
Him, then he'd be a whole lot 

358
00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,120
more willing to give us the 
things that we're asking Him 

359
00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:35,200
for. 
He says all over the place that 

360
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,640
we should come to Him with 
Thanksgiving. 

361
00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,200
And that's exactly what Paul 
says. 

362
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,880
Again, continue in prayer and 
watch in prayer. 

363
00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,160
Watch in the same with 
Thanksgiving. 

364
00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,720
But then the last thing that we 
have about prayer here that Paul

365
00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:54,320
says in verse #3 says with all 
praying also for us, that God 

366
00:17:54,320 --> 00:18:00,000
would open unto us a door of 
utterance to speak the mystery 

367
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,160
of Christ, for which I am also 
in bonds, that I may make it 

368
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:08,080
manifest as I ought to speak. 
Prayer is the grandest habit of 

369
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,240
our lives. 
We have such power in prayer. 

370
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,680
Man, you look at you look 
throughout the New Testament and

371
00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,000
see what prayer did. 
Prayer opened prison doors. 

372
00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:21,000
Prayer opens a sinner's heart. 
Prayer opens the apostles mouth.

373
00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:22,960
That's what Paul is praying for 
here. 

374
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,280
He wanted the boldness to speak 
the way that he should speak 

375
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:28,760
about the gospel. 
And as great as the apostle Paul

376
00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,280
was at sharing the gospel, even 
he struggled sometimes with 

377
00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:34,480
boldness. 
He's one of those guys that you 

378
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,320
just, you read a story and you 
think you hear what he said 

379
00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:39,960
about who he talked to and how 
he went before these people and 

380
00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:42,560
gave the gospel, and you think, 
well, that's easy for him. 

381
00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:44,000
He was probably just one of 
those guys. 

382
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:48,200
No more than once Paul said pray
for me that I'll have boldness. 

383
00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:51,880
I think even the apostle Paul 
was sitting there in the prison 

384
00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,400
shaking ever at times wondering 
what's going to happen, man, Do 

385
00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:59,320
I tell this person or don't I? 
Do I share the gospel with with 

386
00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,160
the king or don't I? 
He gave the gospel to Felix, to 

387
00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,720
Festus, to Agrippa, probably to 
Nero. 

388
00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,480
He gave it to countless guards. 
People within within the the 

389
00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:10,960
emperor's court were getting 
saved because of Paul's 

390
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,720
boldness. 
But even Paul said, pray for me 

391
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,080
that I'll have boldness. 
I'll tell you what happens many 

392
00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:18,560
times. 
And I know most of you don't, 

393
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,160
don't get the opportunity to do 
this, but I've, I've, I've had 

394
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:24,840
the opportunity to preach a lot 
of different funerals and some 

395
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,560
of them very big funerals. 
And always before I go into it, 

396
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,240
I know that I'm going to preach 
the gospel. 

397
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,800
But always before I go into it, 
I say, man, should I do that or 

398
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,760
not? 
If I, if I preach the gospel and

399
00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,680
I'm very plain about the gospel 
and I give it as clearly as they

400
00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,080
as I can, they may not ask me to
do this again. 

401
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,080
And then I'll never have another
opportunity. 

402
00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:50,040
And always, always it comes back
to the fact that God says use 

403
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,760
the opportunities that you're 
given to preach the gospel. 

404
00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:54,600
And there's people that don't 
like it. 

405
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,080
There's people that have told 
me, I don't think that's the 

406
00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:58,880
right place for that. 
You shouldn't be doing that at a

407
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,400
funeral. 
I'm sure the family didn't want 

408
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:01,480
you doing that, blah, blah, 
blah. 

409
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,600
But you know what, I don't care 
what they think. 

410
00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,320
I care what he thinks. 
And there's plenty of other 

411
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:07,560
people who are saying that was 
great. 

412
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,040
I really appreciated the 
message. 

413
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,840
I've been saved for however long
and whatever else you know. 

414
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,680
It goes both ways, but at the 
same time, we need to pray for 

415
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,920
boldness because every time 
we're given the opportunity, 

416
00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:20,600
man, how many times you think 
about it? 

417
00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,920
If you sat there and thought 
about it, how many times have 

418
00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:28,360
you chickened out and not given 
the gospel when you had an 

419
00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:31,800
opportunity to do it? 
I should give them a track but 

420
00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:35,960
missed it. 
Oh well, I'll give them one next

421
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,280
time, right? 
We make excuses for ourselves to

422
00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,080
ourselves when we're the only 
one in the car, right? 

423
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,040
We chicken out. 
That's all it is. 

424
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:47,040
We just, we, we lost the 
boldness to give out the message

425
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,400
of the gospel. 
And that's why we got to pray 

426
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,840
for that boldness. 
That's why Paul said, pray for 

427
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,520
me that I'll have boldness. 
And then when I do have the 

428
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,000
boldness, pray that I'll have 
the words to speak that I'll 

429
00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,480
that I'll say the right thing, 
that I'll give the gospel as 

430
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,840
clearly as I can get it, as I 
can give it. 

431
00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,880
That's what he's saying. 
Open a door of utterance that I 

432
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,880
may make it manifest, that I 
should make it plain, that I 

433
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,440
could give it clearly, that they
would understand it and that 

434
00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,080
they would accept it. 
There's a wonderful privilege we

435
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,680
have to take advantage of it. 
So the mark of a mature 

436
00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:22,760
Christian according to Paul, and
obviously God and His word is 

437
00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,240
first of all, that we would be 
consistent in prayer, but 

438
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:29,840
secondly, that you, we would be 
gracious in our performance. 

439
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:34,640
Consistent in prayer, but grace,
sorry, conscious in your 

440
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,000
performance. 
I think I said that wrong. 

441
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:41,560
Conscious in your performance. 
He said this in verse #5 walk in

442
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,160
wisdom toward them that are 
without. 

443
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,960
So first of all, we must guard 
our testimony. 

444
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,520
We must guard our testimony. 
There's that phrase again toward

445
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,720
them that are without everything
that we do ought to be with the 

446
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,280
thought of winning somebody to 
Jesus Christ. 

447
00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,720
What's that word winning souls? 
Well, the Bible, the Bible uses 

448
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,080
that in in Proverbs Chapter 11 
and verse 30. 

449
00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:09,080
He that winneth souls is wise. 
So we use that phrase winning 

450
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,160
souls. 
But winning a soul to Jesus 

451
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,720
Christ is telling somebody about
the gospel and seeing them 

452
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,920
accept Christ and get saved. 
And so often our behavior as 

453
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:21,240
Christians does not commend the 
gospel to the unsaved and all. 

454
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,560
We have so many opportunities 
and so many different things. 

455
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,520
But how far do you think Peter 
would have gotten if he had 

456
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:30,600
tried to give a word of 
testimony to Malchus after he 

457
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,400
cut off his ear in the garden? 
Oh, Jesus restored his ear. 

458
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,040
But do you think Malchus would 
have been sitting there 

459
00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,120
listening to everything that 
Peter had to say about who Jesus

460
00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:42,200
Christ was after he cut his ear 
off because he lost his temper, 

461
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,960
pulled out his sword? 
Doubt it. 

462
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,800
Think about us. 
How about a woman who wants to 

463
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,000
see her husband saved? 
Well, what does she do about it?

464
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,280
She just nags him constantly 
about why he's not being in 

465
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,280
church and why he's not doing 
this right and why he's not 

466
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,040
doing that right. 
And they can't figure out why he

467
00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,240
won't sit down there and listen 
what she has to say about the 

468
00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,000
gospel. 
Or how about how about at work, 

469
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,760
an employee that wants to see 
his boss get saved and I've 

470
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,960
given him the gospel. 
But you're lazy. 

471
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:14,640
You don't show up on time for 
work. 

472
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,000
You don't work hard when you're 
there. 

473
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,720
You're stealing company time. 
You're stealing things from the,

474
00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,920
you know, from the company. 
And then I don't know why I've 

475
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,560
tried to give my my boss the 
gospel, but he just won't 

476
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:28,360
listen. 
He doesn't want to hear it. 

477
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:34,560
And we wonder why, Hey, what is 
our testimony toward them that 

478
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,320
are without walk in wisdom 
toward them that are without a 

479
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,720
neighbor, maybe that wishes for 
their neighbor next door to get 

480
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:43,680
saved. 
But you borrow something from 

481
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,120
them. 
You return it all beat up, 

482
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,040
borrow a piece of equipment and 
turn it back in with empty gas. 

483
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,280
Don't even give it back to them 
at all. 

484
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,040
Or you have a big dispute over 
the tree limb that fell in your 

485
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:58,600
yard. 
All you got to do is go clean it

486
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,160
up. 
You know, we're, we're trying to

487
00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,840
win a lost world to Christ and 
we have to constantly remember 

488
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:07,880
our testimony. 
And if that means that every so 

489
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,120
often you have to get stepped 
on, then let yourself get 

490
00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:13,040
stepped on for the sake of the 
gospel. 

491
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:15,600
People notice those kind of 
things. 

492
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:20,040
And I know many times it seems 
like it goes unnoticed, but they

493
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:24,720
notice it, especially if they 
know that you're a Christian and

494
00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:26,760
they will have them. 
You have a much better chance of

495
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:28,960
having them listen to you when 
you're trying to give them the 

496
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,160
gospel. 
And so when it comes to being 

497
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,960
conscious in your performance, 
we must guard our testimony. 

498
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:37,000
Put yourself on that other 
person's shoes. 

499
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,600
Be wise specifically in your 
dealings with the unsaved. 

500
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,600
Walk in wisdom. 
That's going to help us make a 

501
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:47,280
conscious decision to share the 
gospel with the lost. 

502
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,840
It's going to it's going to help
us make a conscious decision 

503
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,400
about how we live around the 
lost and the type of influence 

504
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,080
that we can have on them. 
And everything that we do is 

505
00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,480
going to be with that in mind. 
I'm trying to win these people 

506
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,920
to Christ, trying to have an 
opportunity to share the gospel.

507
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:06,200
What if I say this? 
What if I do this? 

508
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,640
Is that going to give me an 
opportunity to do it? 

509
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,200
Now, that doesn't mean don't be 
bold when it's time to be bold. 

510
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,480
But at the same time, we have to
remember our testimony. 

511
00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,880
We have to guard that testimony.
But then also, he says at the 

512
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,000
end of verse #5 redeeming the 
time. 

513
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,560
So we're not only we must guard 
our testimony, but we must guard

514
00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:27,720
our time. 
We are to be stewards of our 

515
00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:29,880
time. 
You know, time is one of those 

516
00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:32,600
non renewable resources. 
Once it's gone, it's gone. 

517
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,560
You don't get it back. 
And some of you who are older 

518
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,720
might be able to testify to that
more than some who are younger. 

519
00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:43,840
Time goes fast and when it's 
gone, it's gone. 

520
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,400
And you wish you could go back 
and change things. 

521
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:48,560
You can't go back and change 
something that's already been 

522
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:50,880
done. 
Can't go back and you you can't 

523
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,600
go back and and do things over. 
You can't go back and make 

524
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,480
memories, can't go back and 
share the gospel with somebody 

525
00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:01,120
who's already gone. 
So we have to make use of that 

526
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:03,840
time. 
And you probably heard an 

527
00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,320
illustration similar to this 
before, but you think about 

528
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,360
some, some wealthy man who was 
who would agreed to give you 

529
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:14,040
$14140 a day that you could use 
however you wanted to. 

530
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,960
But when that 14140 dollars is 
gone, that's it. 

531
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,440
I mean, well, when the day is 
gone, that $14140 you don't get 

532
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:21,520
back. 
You can't bank it. 

533
00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,040
You can't put it in the bank. 
Only what you do with the money 

534
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,960
that day is what you can use. 
Are you going to use it for 

535
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:28,280
other people? 
Are you going to use it for 

536
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:29,600
yourself? 
Are you going to waste it? 

537
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,160
That's that's the decision that 
you have to make if you're given

538
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:34,880
that kind of money. 
But the same thing is true for 

539
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:36,200
us. 
We have that amount of time 

540
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,400
every single day. 
We have 14140 minutes in a day 

541
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:44,600
that we can use to be spent 
however we want to spend it. 

542
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:50,600
Can't save it, can't bank time, 
can't use that time for 

543
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,240
something else. 
You can't save up some of 

544
00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:55,960
today's time for tomorrow. 
We don't have any of yesterday's

545
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,600
time leftover for today. 
All those minutes today, though,

546
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,400
are ours. 
And if we're going to use those 

547
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,880
for the Lord's service, then we 
better get busy. 

548
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,960
Spends again for his service. 
So many people will take that 

549
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,920
and use it for themselves And, 
and listen, we're all going to 

550
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,040
stand before God and we're going
to give an account of the things

551
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:14,720
that we've done with the minutes
that we're given. 

552
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:17,600
What are you doing with those 
minutes? 

553
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:19,960
Because once they're gone, 
they're gone. 

554
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,560
Can't get them back. 
Can't do something else with 

555
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,480
them. 
You got to use them while you 

556
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:28,920
can for the Lord. 
Paul might have wasted his time 

557
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:31,720
moping over the restrictions 
that were placed on his liberty,

558
00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:35,360
but Paul didn't do that at all. 
Paul used that time to write 

559
00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:38,240
scripture. 
He used that time to share the 

560
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,200
message of the gospel with his 
guards. 

561
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,240
He used that time to encourage 
the churches. 

562
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,800
Paul used the time that he had 
and that's why he can easily say

563
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,480
redeeming the time, walking 
wisdom toward them that are 

564
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,400
without redeeming the time. 
So the marks of a mature 

565
00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,080
Christian first of all is that 
we will be consistent in prayer.

566
00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:58,920
Secondly, that we'll be 
conscious in our performance. 

567
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:03,080
But lastly #3 charitable in your
pronouncements. 

568
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,400
And I had to put it that way so 
that it would that it would be 

569
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:08,640
alliterated because I had the 
1st 2. 

570
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,360
So you have to do this the the 
last one. 

571
00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:13,120
You can't have the third one be 
dangling out there by itself, 

572
00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:15,200
but charitable in your 
pronouncements. 

573
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,080
Look what he says. 
Let your speech be always 

574
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:24,080
seasoned, sorry, be always with 
grace, seasoned with salt, that 

575
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,000
you may know how you ought to 
answer every man. 

576
00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,840
The first thing that Paul gives 
us here in that verse is that we

577
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:33,880
should be adding sweetness to 
our conversation. 

578
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,960
Let your speech be always with 
grace toward them that are 

579
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,760
without. 
Paul has that always in mind 

580
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,760
toward them that are without. 
I think all too often we 

581
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,360
alienate people with our 
tongues. 

582
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:48,280
Paul has a recipe for changing 
that. 

583
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,520
Let your speech be all way with 
grace. 

584
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,400
That rules out all the 
harshness, all the criticism, 

585
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,200
all the gossip, all the unkind 
ungracious talk. 

586
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:03,120
You know the people the Bible 
says in Luke chapter 4 verse 22 

587
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:04,960
about Jesus Christ that they 
marvelled. 

588
00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,160
They marvelled at the gracious 
words that proceeded out of his 

589
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,240
mouth that that ought to 
characterize us. 

590
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,880
Jesus Christ is our model. 
That ought to be who we follow 

591
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:18,240
in our speech. 
How often we've spoken something

592
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:20,720
hastily that we wish we could 
take back. 

593
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,040
But you can't take it back. 
You wish you could go back and 

594
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:29,640
and pull those words. 
I read the story about a a man 

595
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,120
who was traveling on a train. 
This is back in the days when 

596
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,760
train travel was pretty much the
main mode of transportation. 

597
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:37,640
And so they didn't really have a
choice. 

598
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:41,320
They had to be in the car with a
bunch of other people and a baby

599
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,360
was crying. 
And this was an overnight train 

600
00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,920
and the baby just cried 
constantly through most of the 

601
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,840
night. 
And there was several people, 

602
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:51,160
several of those other 
passengers that were on the car 

603
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,120
that were that were that were 
obviously kept awake by this 

604
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,840
crying baby. 
And finally one of them had had 

605
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,760
enough. 
And he got up and he said, can't

606
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:01,560
somebody make that baby stop 
crying? 

607
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,040
Surely his mother can make him 
stop crying. 

608
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:05,720
That baby's been crying all 
night. 

609
00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:07,560
He's been keeping us awake all 
night. 

610
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:10,880
And as he was saying that, he 
noticed that it was a father 

611
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,280
actually sitting there holding 
the baby in his arms. 

612
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:15,800
And he locked the eyes with the 
father. 

613
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,400
And the father said, well, 
that's impossible for the mother

614
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,680
to keep the baby from crying 
because she's in a coffin in the

615
00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,440
back of this train. 
And the man apologized. 

616
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,880
I'm so sorry. 
I you know, I wish, wish you 

617
00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:30,240
could take it back, but he 
couldn't. 

618
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,240
Once the words are out, they're 
out. 

619
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,200
The Bible says that we ought not
to let any of our words fall to 

620
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:39,680
the ground. 
Everything that we say ought to 

621
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:41,680
be with intentionality. 
Everything that we say ought to 

622
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:46,520
be for reason. 
Paul says that our speech ought 

623
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,960
to be alway with grace. 
Jesus speech was always seasoned

624
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,560
with grace. 
Everything that he said, I mean,

625
00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,360
there was times when he had to 
come come out and name names and

626
00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,320
call people out, but they were, 
they were amazed, the Bible 

627
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,640
says, at the gracious words that
proceeded out of his mouth. 

628
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,560
And Paul insists to us that we 
had the same sweetness to our 

629
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:12,200
conversation. 
I heard four preachers were in a

630
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,520
conversation and they were, they
were being very open with each 

631
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,720
other and they were sharing 
their, their struggles with the 

632
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:21,400
way that they, with the way that
they spoke and, you know, the 

633
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,400
words that come out of their 
mouth because it's, it's, it's a

634
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:24,800
struggle for everybody, 
honestly. 

635
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,160
And the first one admitted, you 
know, you know, for a while now 

636
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:30,320
and, and it's gotten a lot 
better, but I've, I've got a 

637
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,360
problem with lying. 
And the other, the other 

638
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,320
preacher, he said, well, it's 
interesting you say that. 

639
00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:37,520
He said, I actually have a 
problem with anger. 

640
00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:41,040
I, I explode in anger all the 
time at home and I wish I didn't

641
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:42,760
do it. 
I say things I wish I didn't 

642
00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,680
say, but have a problem with 
that sometimes. 

643
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:47,720
The third one said that, you 
know, he didn't, he didn't 

644
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,240
really like his people or his 
job and he struggled with that 

645
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:52,040
often. 
So he would say things at work, 

646
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,280
you know, that he wished he 
hadn't said and, and I wish he 

647
00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:57,440
could take back. 
And the 4th preacher said, well,

648
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,840
the problem that I have is that 
I have a really bad problem with

649
00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:05,240
gossip. 
Our speech should be seasoned 

650
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,760
with grace because we are 
ambassadors for Jesus Christ. 

651
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,000
The last thing that Paul says 
here is not only that we should 

652
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,320
be adding sweetness to our 
conversation, but that we should

653
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,720
be adding seasoning to our 
conversation, He says. 

654
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,520
Seasoned with salt. 
So much of our conversation, 

655
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,360
when it's spiced up is seasoned 
with anger. 

656
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:29,080
A lot of people use profanity to
season their speech. 

657
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:32,200
A Christian is supposed to add 
salt to his conversation. 

658
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,520
Salt does three things and I'll 
go through these quickly. 

659
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:37,800
You've probably heard a lot of 
these things before, but salt 

660
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:42,400
adds Tang, if you will, or, or 
something that's tasteless. 

661
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,160
You add salt to it and it and it
adds, it adds some flavoring to 

662
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:47,680
it. 
There's people and I've, I've 

663
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,680
seen them and maybe some of you 
I've seen do it too actually, 

664
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,120
but you get your plate and 
without even tasting anything, 

665
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:57,320
don't salt all over everything. 
Like everything tastes like 

666
00:32:57,320 --> 00:32:59,080
salt. 
Then you don't even get a chance

667
00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,760
to taste the eggs or the bacon 
or anything else. 

668
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,600
It all tastes like salt. 
There's people that do that. 

669
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,680
But I've also had things that 
were very, very bland that 

670
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:09,840
didn't have much of A taste. 
And when you add a little bit of

671
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,480
salt to it, it actually makes it
taste good, right? 

672
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:14,960
It tastes like whatever it was 
supposed to be just by adding a 

673
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:18,280
little bit of salt to it. 
And we're, we're to aim at, I 

674
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:21,560
think at being interesting, 
conversationalist, interesting 

675
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,480
communicators. 
We should draw on our 

676
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,640
experience. 
We should draw on our reading. 

677
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,200
That's why we should be people 
who study and who who try to 

678
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,400
constantly learn. 
Our Bibles should spice up our 

679
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,080
speech. 
The Lord's conversations and his

680
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:38,080
conversations and his teachings 
were thoroughly laced with the 

681
00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,440
Old Testament truth. 
How many times did Jesus quote 

682
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:43,160
the Old Testament? 
How many times did he use 

683
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:47,120
illustrations that were drawn 
from from all walks of life? 

684
00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:50,960
Right? 
Jesus was was a good teacher 

685
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:55,160
because he used things that they
were very familiar with and he 

686
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,800
added things into those 
conversations to help give them 

687
00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,200
the gospel because he was 
interesting as a 

688
00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,880
conversationalist. 
And I think we ought to be that 

689
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:04,560
way too. 
One of the things that we can 

690
00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:06,360
use is the word of God. 
And if you think about it, 

691
00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,280
there's a lot of phrases in our 
language, you know, a lot of 

692
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:13,600
phrases that have been coined 
that we use from the from the 

693
00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:17,440
from the Bible, talk about the 
salt of the earth or the signs 

694
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,520
of the times or the powers that 
be, a thorn in the flesh, the 

695
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:23,320
handwriting on the wall, the fat
of the land. 

696
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,760
And we use all these phrases in 
our speech. 

697
00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:27,440
A lot of times they all come 
from the word of God. 

698
00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:30,480
All things to all men fly in the
ointment, right? 

699
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:31,920
We talked about a lot of those 
things. 

700
00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:35,480
And actually a pastor was 
telling this story and he said 

701
00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:38,080
my father thought life was 
saturated. 

702
00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,080
I'm sorry. 
My father's thought life was 

703
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,920
saturated with the Scriptures, 
and it came out constantly in 

704
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,719
his everyday conversation. 
When I visited him in Chicago 

705
00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,400
after I left a small 
congregation in far off northern

706
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,639
British Columbia, he said, with 
whom hast thou left those few 

707
00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:55,239
sheep in the wilderness? 
When he was introduced to a 

708
00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:58,240
popular preacher, he said, Ah, 
the man whose praise is in all 

709
00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:00,920
the churches. 
When he introduced me to a well 

710
00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:03,640
known soloist, he said, meet the
sweet singer of Israel. 

711
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,360
When he met a doctor friend, he 
said, here comes the beloved 

712
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,640
physician. 
It was not an artificial or 

713
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:12,080
forced or obtrusive speech. 
It was as natural as daylight. 

714
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,440
He dwelt in the scriptures day 
and night, and it was reflected 

715
00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:21,160
in his speech. 
It's all as we should have our 

716
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:25,840
speech seasoned with the Bible 
says adds that Tang to it. 

717
00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:29,120
It adds that it adds that that 
that interest to it. 

718
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:33,120
It makes it palatable for 
somebody, but it also arrests 

719
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,360
corruption and the Christians 
conversation should be constant 

720
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,880
rebuke to those who are speaking
things that they should not 

721
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:40,880
speak. 
And I don't mean that we have to

722
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,040
constantly be in everybody's 
face, but I'll tell you this. 

723
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,200
People ought to feel 
uncomfortable cursing around you

724
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:51,520
as a Christian, as uncomfortable
as you are around them when they

725
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:53,760
curse, they ought to be that 
uncomfortable around you when 

726
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,920
they do it. 
And they ought to, they ought to

727
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,160
clean up their language when you
come around. 

728
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,240
And it's not that you have to be
constantly preaching to them, 

729
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:07,800
but I tell you what, when, when.
And, and you know, police, Kevin

730
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,000
can tell you this and maybe some
of the others that have been 

731
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,680
involved in it, police are very,
very colorful in their language 

732
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:19,960
and they, they don't have any 
problem showing it. 

733
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,320
But I'll tell you this, I've 
been around for a while now and 

734
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:27,400
most of the time, not always. 
And, and the sad thing is it's 

735
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,600
usually the ones who claim to be
Christians and claim to go to 

736
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:32,040
church that, that, that continue
to speak the way that they 

737
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,040
shouldn't. 
But most of them when I come 

738
00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:37,080
around, clean up their language,
which proves 2 things. 

739
00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:40,520
Number one, you can have an 
impact and #2 you cannot talk 

740
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,720
like that if you don't want to, 
right? 

741
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:45,360
Oh, it's just who I am. 
I'm, I'm sorry, I was just, I 

742
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:47,840
know I speak colorfully and 
whatever else, just who I am. 

743
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,760
No, you can stop it. 
You do it, you do it all the 

744
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:53,040
time. 
You just don't want to because 

745
00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:55,240
of who you're around. 
And that's what I mean. 

746
00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:57,640
You can have an impact on 
people, right? 

747
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,160
Oh, sorry, sorry, Chaplain, I 
didn't, I didn't mean to say 

748
00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:02,120
that. 
I hear that all the time, you 

749
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,640
know, and, and, and in fact, I 
just had a conversation probably

750
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:09,400
2 weeks ago with an officer and,
and somebody pointed it out to 

751
00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:11,320
him. 
They were like they said, they 

752
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,960
said something along the lines 
of, oh, I noticed you cleaned up

753
00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:15,320
your language around the 
chaplain. 

754
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:19,480
He said, well, you know, sorry 
chaplain, I am pretty colorful 

755
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:21,800
in my language, but I do try to 
clean it up when you're around. 

756
00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:24,520
And and that's the impact that 
you can have, right? 

757
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:28,440
That's what salt ought to do. 
Their conversation ought to 

758
00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:31,480
change when you come up. 
And again, you're going to have 

759
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,560
some people who are who are 
doing it on purpose because they

760
00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,440
know you're a Christian. 
But the majority of people ought

761
00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:38,840
to, ought to know that you just 
don't appreciate it. 

762
00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:40,840
You know, you know how you can 
do that without even saying a 

763
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:42,480
word. 
They start talking about things 

764
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:44,800
that are inappropriate or they 
start using that language a lot.

765
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:48,480
Just walk away, walk away. 
They know what you're walking 

766
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,880
away for, especially if you've 
ever told them that you're a 

767
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,920
Christian, especially if you've 
ever told them that, that, that 

768
00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:56,960
you, that you go to church and 
that you're there on Sundays and

769
00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:58,480
you're there on Wednesdays and 
all those things. 

770
00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:00,400
Walk away. 
They know why you walked away. 

771
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:02,600
They know exactly why you walked
away. 

772
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,640
And you don't have to say 
anything about it, but we ought 

773
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,640
to have an impact. 
The third thing that salt does 

774
00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:11,920
is creates thirst. 
Our talk ought to make people 

775
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:15,400
thirsty for the gospel. 
Our talk ought to make people 

776
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:19,520
thirsty for what we have. 
Boy, if all you ever do is mope 

777
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:22,640
about how difficult life is, why
do you think anybody will want 

778
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,960
to become a Christian? 
All right, I know life is not 

779
00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:29,040
always easy. 
There are difficulties in life 

780
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:33,680
that we face. 
But life as a Christian is 

781
00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:37,080
great. 
And if you would focus on those 

782
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,440
things and let people around you
know about it, you're going to 

783
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:42,440
make them thirsty for what you 
have. 

784
00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:46,040
And how many times you've heard 
testimonies of somebody saying, 

785
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,040
what is it that's different 
about you? 

786
00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:51,560
You're always happy. 
You always, you know, you always

787
00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:53,760
seem like you're in a good mood.
You always got this. 

788
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,200
You always got something to say 
that's that's positive or 

789
00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:58,080
uplifting. 
What is it about you that's 

790
00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:00,800
different that I don't have 
right? 

791
00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:03,280
That's that's what the Lord's 
conversation did for the woman 

792
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,240
at the well. 
So she said, Sir, give me this 

793
00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:10,840
water that I thirst not right 
his his speech made her thirsty 

794
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:14,960
for that living water. 
The last thing that Paul says. 

795
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,800
I think I already said that 
once, but let your speech be 

796
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:22,880
always with grace, seasoned with
salt that you may know how you 

797
00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:26,400
ought to answer every man. 
So not only when it comes to our

798
00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:29,120
conversations would be adding 
sweetness to our conversation, 

799
00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:32,120
adding seasoning to our 
conversation, but lastly, for 

800
00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:35,160
real, adding spirit to our 
conversation. 

801
00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:37,080
Lowercase S. 
I'm not talking about the Holy 

802
00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:39,480
Spirit, although it sure would 
help if we'd have the Holy 

803
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:40,920
Spirit as part of our speech as 
well. 

804
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:45,520
But the vast majority of the 
people around us are lost here. 

805
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:46,760
It's great. 
You can come. 

806
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:47,880
You don't have to worry about 
language. 

807
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:49,640
You don't have to worry about 
people talking about things 

808
00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:51,800
inappropriate because 
everybody's a Christian. 

809
00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:54,960
But as soon as you get out in 
the world, go to Wawa and take 

810
00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:57,280
long just standing there for 
listening to somebody talk. 

811
00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,040
You're going to hear cussing, 
you're going to hear somebody 

812
00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:01,560
saying something inappropriate. 
Doesn't take long at all at 

813
00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:03,920
work. 
Most of the people around us are

814
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:08,880
lost, and that's to our shame. 
By the way, Christians in 

815
00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,360
general, the church in general, 
most of the people around us are

816
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,160
lost. 
They might be kind, they might 

817
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:16,600
be thoughtful, they might be 
religious, they might be 

818
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:19,880
friendly, but they need Christ. 
They need Christ. 

819
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,520
Our conversation should get them
asking questions, and when they 

820
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,600
do, you ought to be able to give
them an answer. 

821
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:29,600
You ought to be able to give 
them an answer. 

822
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,600
Most Christians don't want to 
get into conversations with the 

823
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:35,360
lost because they don't know how
to answer the questions that the

824
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:39,800
lost have. 
And why is that not the Bible? 

825
00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:42,840
They're not. 
They don't take it seriously 

826
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,400
when they sit in church and 
listen to the messages. 

827
00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:48,040
You're not writing anything 
down. 

828
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:50,400
You walk out and by tomorrow you
forget it. 

829
00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,760
How do you think you're going to
answer every man that asketh a 

830
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:59,000
reason of us of the hope that is
in Jesus Christ right? 

831
00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:02,800
We we need the Holy Spirit to 
help us, but some people are 

832
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:04,760
looking for an argument. 
Some people are looking for 

833
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:07,680
their hearts needs. 
Some people are curious, some 

834
00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:10,000
are are are victims of wrong 
teaching. 

835
00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:12,920
But we have to be able to defend
what we believe. 

836
00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:14,600
We have to know why we believe 
it. 

837
00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:18,600
We have to be able to share the 
gospel with somebody that asks 

838
00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:23,000
us how to be saved, asks us 
what's different. 

839
00:41:23,240 --> 00:41:27,120
Ask the question about, you 
know, evolution versus creation,

840
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:30,880
or ask the question about 
science, or ask the question 

841
00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:33,240
about any of those things. 
You ought to be able to give 

842
00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:36,200
them an answer from God's word 
because you're studying it and 

843
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:39,440
you're reading it. 
God will give you the answer, 

844
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:41,120
right? 
He even tells us, don't worry 

845
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:42,640
about what you're going to say 
before you get there. 

846
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:44,640
I'll give you the words to say 
when you go stand in front of 

847
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,680
important people, right? 
But how is he going to give you 

848
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:48,760
the words? 
You've never read them. 

849
00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:52,640
You got to know them. 
You got to study them, you got 

850
00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:54,440
to, you got to seek these things
out. 

851
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:55,920
You got to take the time to do 
it. 

852
00:41:56,680 --> 00:41:58,320
It's so important that we do 
those things. 

853
00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:01,120
The Holy Spirit knows the hearts
of the people that we're coming 

854
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:04,360
to. 
He knows what they're thinking. 

855
00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:09,480
And if and if we are relying on 
his power, we're relying on him 

856
00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:14,600
to help us, then He can give us 
the exact words to say because 

857
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:16,920
He knows exactly what that 
person is thinking. 

858
00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:21,400
And he will do that if you're 
asking him to lead you. 

859
00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:28,080
So we're to be ready. 
I heard a story in closing here 

860
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:31,760
is an Irishman. 
He said somebody, somebody came 

861
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:32,800
and asked him, what do you 
believe? 

862
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:35,160
And he said, well, I believe the
same thing the church believes. 

863
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:38,080
And the guy said, well, what 
does the church believe? 

864
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:39,440
He said same thing. 
I believe. 

865
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:42,920
They said, well, what are you in
the church believe? 

866
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:45,440
He said, well, definitely we 
both believe the same thing. 

867
00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:48,680
That's not being able to give an
answer to every man. 

868
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:50,800
That doesn't help anything, 
right? 

869
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:54,720
If your only reason for 
believing something is this is 

870
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:59,920
what my pastor preached or this 
is what my pastor says, then 

871
00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:03,080
you're doing it wrong. 
You need to know what the Bible 

872
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,520
says. 
Now, obviously, I'm doing the 

873
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:08,160
best that I can to give you the 
Bible, so I'll give you a place 

874
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:09,960
to start. 
I'll help you with that. 

875
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:13,200
But if that's your only answer, 
that's not a very strong 

876
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:18,080
argument. 
It's not and you need to know we

877
00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:19,880
should know how to give an 
answer to every man. 

878
00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:21,960
That's that is part of being a 
Christian. 

879
00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:25,320
And and to that end, the Bible 
says in first Timothy chapter 4 

880
00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:31,600
and verse 13, give thyself to 
reading. 

881
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:35,600
Give thyself to reading. 
Oh, I don't like to read. 

882
00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:38,280
I don't like to study. 
I'm the I got out of school and 

883
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:41,360
I've never looked back. 
Well, then you're disobeying a 

884
00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:44,600
command in the Bible because he 
says give thyself to reading. 

885
00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:46,600
I believe that 100% is the word 
of God. 

886
00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:48,800
I believe it's a lot of other 
things too. 

887
00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:49,920
You ought to know what's going 
on. 

888
00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:52,560
You ought to know what's going 
on in the, in the, in the 

889
00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:54,440
spiritual world. 
You ought to know things that 

890
00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:58,440
are happening in our government.
You ought to know those kind of 

891
00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:00,040
things. 
And that only comes by study. 

892
00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:02,000
That's how you're able to give 
an answer to every man. 

893
00:44:04,240 --> 00:44:06,520
And we should study the great 
doctrines of the faith so that 

894
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:10,080
we can be ready to minister the 
Word to somebody, that we can be

895
00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:13,120
instruments that are available 
for the Holy Spirit to use. 

896
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:15,240
That's what Paul tells us we 
ought to be. 

897
00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:18,400
Let your speech be all way with 
grace, season with salt that you

898
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:23,840
may know how you ought to answer
every man according to the marks

899
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:29,560
of maturity, consistent in 
prayer, conscious in your 

900
00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:32,120
performance, charitable in your 
pronouncements. 

901
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:34,960
Are you a mature believer in 
Jesus Christ? 

902
00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:42,200
Do you fit into the category of 
somebody who is mature, or are 

903
00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:44,800
there things that you need to 
shore up a little bit? 

904
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:47,640
Because he tells us that we 
ought to be mature as 

905
00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:49,200
Christians. 
He tells us that we ought to be 

906
00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:50,600
complete. 
He tells us that we ought to be 

907
00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:52,720
perfect. 
That's what that means. 

908
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:56,840
If we're not, then we ought to 
be striving to get to that 

909
00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:59,440
point. 
We should be moving toward 

910
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:01,160
maturity. 
We should be striving to get 

911
00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:04,120
more and more grounded in 
Christ. 

912
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:07,640
So let's make sure that we're 
moving forward for the cause of 

913
00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:09,160
Christ. 
Let's make sure that we're not 

914
00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,040
one of these spiritually 
immature Christians. 

915
00:45:12,480 --> 00:45:15,600
Let's be spiritually mature 
Christians that God can use 

916
00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:17,320
because of it. 
Let's pray. 

917
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:19,800
Father, again, we thank you for 
the lesson that we find here in 

918
00:45:20,240 --> 00:45:24,440
Colossians from the Apostle Paul
and obviously he being the 

919
00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:29,200
mouthpiece of Jesus, of God and 
given us your words. 

920
00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:31,200
God, I pray that you would just 
help us to follow them. 

921
00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:34,400
I pray that you'd help us to to 
look at our own selves, examine 

922
00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:36,600
our own selves, see where we 
fall short, and that you'd help 

923
00:45:36,600 --> 00:45:39,960
us to be mature Christians, that
you can use God where we fall 

924
00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:41,480
short. 
I pray that you'd help us to 

925
00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:48,560
find the strength, find the 
courage to make those changes, 

926
00:45:48,640 --> 00:45:51,800
that we'd get into God's word, 
we'd study it for ourselves, 

927
00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:55,200
that we'd know how to be able to
answer those that are asking a 

928
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,320
reason of the hope that's in us 
through Jesus Christ. 

929
00:45:58,720 --> 00:46:00,200
Thank you again for all that you
do for us. 

930
00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:01,600
In Jesus name, Amen.