Dealing With Unbelievers - [Colossians 4:2-6]

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for this is the day we celebrate your resurrection and your

Ascension It is a privilege to gather with others who profess to be your followers

And to love you and to love the resurrection and to encourage one another in Christ and in the word

I pray that you would bless our ministry today that in all that we say and do whether it's in different Sunday schools and children's ministries

Whether it's in in the back where no one's seeing us. I pray that Lord you would be glorified and I pray that you would be honored help us to to listen to pay attention even as we listen to Pastor Eric preach later today that you prepare our hearts to Submit to you and to obey what you say in light of who you are in light of what you have done

In light of our union with Jesus Christ in your holy name. I pray. Amen The the title of my

Sunday school is talking to unbelievers. Although it could be dealing with unbelievers

It could be conversing with unbelievers. It could even be living with unbelievers. So how do we

Talk to unbelievers, let me ask you this question. Have you been ever been offended before by anyone a

Lot of giggles have you ever been offended by someone when you were sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them?

Maybe their tone was not very good. Maybe they were condescending Have you approached someone in the last five years and tried to share the gospel with them

What was their response? What was your response? Anybody bold enough to say when they offended you or when they lashed out at you that You did not want to lash back at them.

Amen So so we're not surprised when people lash out at us in one way and they do yes

Yes Yes, excellent. So anybody else who people have lashed out at when you've shared the gospel.

They've called you insane They've said that the gospel you believe in cannot be true. The God you believe in is angry and wrathful

Anybody else heard that or had had such a response Gary? Yeah, that's exactly

What we would we expect although are we surprised at the lashing out?

Are we surprised at the lashing out? Are we shocked when people complain against us and when they lash out at the gospel of Jesus Christ and at Christ himself

I Am at times I am at times when they when they are so angry

Well the Apostle Paul from the Colossian from Colossians chapter 4 verses 2 to 6. He's going to give us two very helpful

Admonitions I can say but before we get to that turn with me to John chapter 15 verse 18

To chapter 16 verse 4a. Could somebody read that?

This is the passage Where Jesus Christ is speaking directly to his Apostles this is a this is the passage about the world's hatred towards the powerful work of Jesus Christ and the work of the

Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and The light is specifically he's talking to the disciples

Can someone read John chapter 15 verse 18 to chapter 16 verse 4a just to get us?

Just to remind us of what the response of the world is supposed to be Towards us when we preach the gospel

Thank you mark So contextually Christ is speaking to his disciples here

Did what Christ Say come true Did it come true?

What happened to the disciples after Christ's death and resurrection? Gary They were thrown out of synagogues.

They were persecuted and each and every one of them were martyred Each and every one of them died

Proclaiming the supremacy of Jesus Christ. They died proclaiming the sufficiency of Christ each and every one of them

So contextually as Christ spoke it did happen They were all persecuted. They all died

This text is a reminder to us those of us who profess to be slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ What did we expect when we share the gospel that that everybody listens to us with a smile on their face?

That they that when we call them and that when we tell them God is holy That you are sinful and you're separated from God and that the only way to be reconciled to him is through the substitutionary work of Christ What did we expect that they were going to give us a hug and they were going to embrace us and in today's world?

We are today's culture not just in America, but around the world We are very discouraged every time we speak about Christ Aren't we because of the reaction the responses that we get whether it's sharing the gospel to Transgender man or woman or whether it's homosexual whether it's

The thief whether it's any person in the culture today when we preach the gospel

There is animosity that we have perhaps not experienced before now

We are in the middle of both a moral revolution and a sexual revolution We have the privilege of being in that situation right now in our culture.

So truth is relative Morality is Depending on who the who you talk to morality changes truth changes as you speak to a person

When you share the gospel today if here in West Boylston and in Boston and wherever The first response is okay.

It's good that you believe this. It's true for you but here's what's true for me and therefore

I'm going to believe it and Sadly and more difficult The LGBTQ community is ever more violent and loud and fierce than they have ever been before Those who want sexual freedom will stop at nothing

Absolutely nothing to get to Christians and to attack what we believe especially about the

Lord Jesus Christ But it's not just them anybody and everybody who hates Christ who hates the truth about sin and salvation are loud

They're fierce and they're violent But the church doesn't just have to deal with unbelievers

Outside the church we have to deal with people within the church too, don't we? Did you guys see the billboard on 190?

Anybody knows what billboard I'm talking about? billboard 190 She's coming

Wait, yes, Joyce Meyer is coming to Worcester. My wife also noted something there about free admission wonderful She is a false teacher somebody who spews heresy and blasphemies right and left

But I bet her audiences are at least going to be twenty to thirty thousand people there at least Do you think she or her followers are going to evangelize?

Do you think there's any hostility as she teaches what she teaches? Anybody if you're in the audience, do you think anybody's going to?

Correct her attack her Do you think maybe one the

Thank you was saying if you Disagree with her you'll be escorted out of the building. Probably true.

Why don't people have a problem with her message? Yes, so I would first think about Charlie's Charlie's calm

Tim. She's a pastor in Toronto He has a series on false teachers. That's very good

John MacArthur has spoken about Joyce Meyer From the pulpit

Are there specific books written about her against her? I don't I don't know But the way

I look at false teachers I know what the Word of God says and I listen to what they have to say and it's pretty it's pretty quick Because they're not preaching

Christ and if you've listened to her and you've read the Bible It's it's very straightforward that she's preaching

Righteousness by works. She's preaching about happiness rather than holiness She's preaching about how we all belong together

There's equality and that we're all equal and there's no need for him There's no differences in any way and therefore the gospel should be we should you know, we should change the gospel depending on circumstances and situations

Unfortunately, I have listened to her. I did think she was good 15 years ago But when you study the word you can see it

Yes, she's very therapeutic yes Like Vicks or vapor up Okay So not only do we have to worry about things that are outside the church now

We have to worry about things within the church. So how do we deal with all this? Question for you should our message change based on who we're talking to Based on whether it's somebody within the church based on somebody outside the church.

We should our message change. Yes. No Any supporting arguments very good, so What she was saying was it what your message shouldn't change but depending on the circumstance of the person you could change it a little not not the message, but you could address the situation a little differently and Paul gets to that Paul gets that and I'll get to that as well the short answer is no a message doesn't change based on who our audience is or Based on the amount of hostility that is spewed against us

But we are we seem to be threatened. We seem to feel threatened And the constant barrage against Christ and the gospel seems to be relentless

So what do we do? The Apostle Paul gives us two pivotal ways to deal with unbelievers not just to talk to them

But maybe living with them conversing with them. How do we do that turn with me to Colossians chapter 4 verses 2 to 6?

Colossians chapter 4 verse 2 to 6 Can someone read this please?

Thank you. Does anybody know the primary theme of the book of Colossians? Sorry Excellent.

Excellent the pre -eminence of Christ the sufficiency of Christ That's the primary theme of the book of Colossians.

And when you look at it, look at this This is a perfect ending to a Christological book. It's an amazing ending

Okay, he's he's not coming to give us a suggestion both all of these verses 4 2 to 6 is

Military command to pray and to watch your speech particularly towards outsiders

It's it's not a suggestion. It's a command Unfortunately when most people get to this part of Colossians chapter 3 and 4 chapter 3 and 4 they forget

Christ They forget chapters 1 and 2 and they pull out just this section.

So what's wrong if you do that? What's what's wrong if you get to this particular section and just deal with prayer and talking to outsiders?

Forgetting all that Paul told us about the pre -eminence of Christ in chapters 1 and 2 about the sufficiency of Christ about the greatness of Christ What happens if you're reading this text here in chapter 4 and you forget who

Christ is? Mark Yes, it becomes about you.

How well you pray look at me I'm praying better or I'm loving my wife better in chapter 3 verse 18, or I'm speaking to outsiders better It becomes about you.

But do you think that's what Paul had in mind? Especially when you get to chapter 4 the time you get to chapter 4

No, that's not what Paul had in mind he hasn't forgotten Christ or his supremacy He wants the

Colossians and us to keep the sufficiency of Christ and the greatness of Christ in mind as We get to dealing with outsiders as we get to dealing with prayer now

What is? What is Paul talking about here when he says prayer? What is he?

What is what are some of the things you get? About Paul's desire for prayer here.

It's right there in the text Colossians chapter 4 2 3 & 4

What do what do you learn about prayer from this very short? Passage. Yes, very good.

He says pray steadfastly it continues steadfastly in prayer. It's not just something that you do

Intensely, but it's something that you do habitually It's something that you do because you're a Christian It's not something that you do just because you're in trouble, but it's something that you do every day

Because of who Christ is because he is sovereign He is able to answer requests according to his will and because he is mighty

So it's not something that you do just intensely. It's something that you do Every day as a part of being a

Christian. That's the kind of Command that Paul is giving us today and Then he what else do you see it's very important as we're thinking about unbelievers in this context

Gary Very good, very good and very important He's making a prayer request here for himself and for other ministers if you notice in chapter in verse 7 to 18, he's given a list of names of Specifically who those ministers may be who should you be praying for and as Gary said he's praying for an open door

Now when you go to a when you hear this analogy all the time in Christianity God opened the door for me.

God closed the door for me. God opened it halfway for me What does that mean when we use it like that in evangelism or not evangelism?

Sorry in Christianity? This is where that word comes from but we completely misunderstand it.

How do we use it in culture today? What was Paul's intention? Amen How does the culture use it though?

It's extra biblical Whenever I've heard it used whenever you're trying to get a job and you don't get a job

Oh God closed the door for me instead of perhaps going and see why didn't you get the job? Like what part of my career can

I grow in you were saying? Okay, God closed the door for me So let's just leave it at that. That's Something you you know, you're looking

To buy a car and you didn't get $10 ,000 off So God closed that door or God didn't open the door for me

Do you see how different it is from what the Apostle Paul is trying to say in Colossians chapter 4 as as Charlie said

This is an open door not an easy path an open door so that the gospel can be proclaimed by him and by the ministers of the gospel and by Us and preachers and pastors as well as by by us who are who are to share the gospel

But he doesn't just say open the door. He he says he doesn't he's not asking for an easy path he's asking for an opportunity and opportunities for the propagation of divine truth and That the hearers and listeners would be able to understand the truth.

So the prayer is very focused on Evangelism on the propagation of truth now, is that the way we see?

most most pastors Looking at the open the door, right? When when you when you look at a few weeks ago

You saw one of the TBN preachers saying give me 45 million dollars so that I can go and buy a plane so that I can

Go around the world and and preach the gospel anything wrong with that wrong with that He wants to proclaim the gospel.

So he wants a 45 million dollar plane. What's wrong with that? Nothing all of that.

Isn't that isn't that insane? Everybody wants an easy life.

Everybody wants an easy way, especially when it comes to proclaiming the truth I want the perfect car the perfect church the perfect salary.

That's the only way I can preach the perfect truth Paul is in prison He's in prison.

He's struggling. He's suffering. He doesn't ask that his chains be removed He all he asked his

Lord. I'm he's in Colossians pray for me pray for these brothers and then verses 7 to 18

Pray that I despite my circumstances would preach the truth would preach the gospel in clarity and in simple

Plain truth. He prays that there would be open doors.

There would be opportunities and Then he goes on to say in in verse 4 that I may make it clear, which is how

I ought to speak How can a preacher or a pastor not be clear and Secondarily, how can we not be clear in our presentation of the gospel?

How can we be unclear? too many words

We don't need to point what's important sorry, can you repeat that? Getting to the point good. I'm getting to that.

I'm actually good. That's the next verse. No, no, no, no No, I'm getting to that so too many words

Okay, we can we can confuse the message and I will confuse what we're saying But we'll get to that but the way that we can be unclear is if we're dominated by our circumstances

We're dominated by our financial issue our health issue. We're human beings those things affect us

But when you look at the context here Paul is saying Lord. He's asking for pray help me to preach the truth despite where I am despite my circumstances

Despite the issues that these men in 7 to 18 of Colossians chapter 4 are probably going through So pastors are we are called to preach the gospel

Clearly no matter what our emotional state of mind is no matter what our circumstances may be

We ought to preach and teach the gospel very clearly So if you're a pastor here, you're a preacher here

You're in the pulpit supply ministry here at BBC preach the truth and preach clearly no matter what your circumstances are

And you can't do that without the Word of God and you can't do that without prayer. So the first thing in evangelism is prayer

Prayer praying specifically that God would help us to be clear and praying that whoever we share the gospel with whether it's in the grocery store whether it's in the

Church, whether it's in on the golf course in our classrooms that God would open the hearts and the ears of those

Who are listening to the gospel? Something so simple, isn't it? But something so essential in evangelism that we pray and that we pray fully leaning on the

Lord Jesus Christ So by the time you get to Colossians chapter 4 remember the mindset of the

Colossians they're in awe of Christ They can't get enough of him. Paul has laid down this

Christological book for them He has explained the greatness of Christ that Christ has saved them that Christ is sufficient that you don't need circumcision or mysticism that you that Christ is all and in all that you can be a

Scythian a Jew a Greek a barbarian a man a woman no matter what

Christ is greater and Christ is sufficient for salvation Therefore look to him therefore believe in him

So by the time you get here, remember the Colossians are in awe of Christ. They read they're resting in him.

They're praising him They're trusting in him. So when we are praying what what Paul is trying to say is pray to this

Almighty God Who is in complete control? pray to him Especially when we look outside and we're afraid of talking to people in what looks like an extremely charged culture

We need God's grace We need his word in our minds and we need to be focused on the

Lord Jesus Christ more than ever before So that we can share the truth So that we can share the truth we are not to belittle them or undermine the truth of belittle the

Word of God or undermine the Word of God because of Whatever the reactions we're getting from the culture is

Agreed or disagreed is it something that you guys do often when you pray those of you are in the

Worcester evangelism Ministry, is it something that you guys do? I'd like to do

Gary good Okay, that that's very good

So that prayer does that prayer even encourage that prayer to encourage you kind of set your mind straight as to why you're doing this

No matter what happens to stay. Does that help? Very good.

So what about you guys when you're sharing the gospel with somebody at work or maybe in the grocery store?

Or even the most difficult thing sharing the gospel with somebody who's you related to right?

That's the hardest thing to do Do you do you pray? Do you think you should pray?

Amen. So there was an intention here to To preach and to at least share the gospel and to pray with them

That's very important that when you look at Paul's heart here as he leaves as he's about to close the book of Colossians That's what he's leaving them with he's saying now what now that I've told you all about this great

Christ pray to him Pray to him specifically that ministers and and preaches the gospel including him and and us

We that we have an open door not an easy life not an easy path But opportunities to preach the gospel clearly and continuously very different from what we see from pulpits today

So that's the first point in evangelism praying praying number two is

The speech the way we speak and that's pretty important. That's Colossians chapter 4 verses 5 and 6

Walk in wisdom towards outsiders make the making the best use of time. Let your speech always be gracious Seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person who are outsiders

Who are outsiders? People outside the faith, right?

You look at it contextually. It's those outside the Colossian Church. So it's unbelievers, right?

It's those who are false teachers those who deny the supremacy of Christ those who deny the greatness of the

Lord Jesus Christ These are outsiders Now one commentator says this now remember this is the end of the book

He's about to wrap it up in the next few verses. He goes into Specific names about men and women who need prayer prayer to propagate the truth prayer for grace prayer to be sustained

So one commentator said this about the way we walk towards outsiders

Paul's concern at this point verses 5 and 6 Makes very good sense in a letter that focuses so much on the need for Christians to distance themselves from certain kinds of outsiders namely the false teachers

While resisting the wrong kind of outside influence the Colossian Christians never the lens nevertheless

Need to stay engaged with their fellow citizens and seek to win them to Christ I'm going to repeat that While resisting the wrong kind of outside influence the

Colossian Christians nevertheless need to stay Engaged with their fellow citizens and seek to win them to Christ If you look at why

Colossians was even written it was because of the accusations against Christ the false teachers were attacking the sufficiency of Christ and the preeminence of Christ the salvage salvific work of Christ They were saying that you need to do more to grow spiritually

So what's the natural what do we do when we hear false teaching? What do we hear when we hear when we hear people talk about Christ?

From the inside the church. What do you do when a when you hear bad teaching and false teaching?

What's your immediate reaction? Considering if remembering or thinking that you know the truth, you know who

Christ is. What is your reaction? Okay You're you're you're you're sitting in the church you understand that Jesus Christ is sufficient for your salvation that he has appeased the wrath of God by his life death and resurrection and you hear somebody from the

Pope and saying it's a good place to start, but then after that you need to go and sit in a

It's a bad analogy, but I'll say this because I've heard it You need to sit you need to make a goat stand on you and have goat yoga to be fully saved

How do you say graciously you're a heretic? Yes Yes, I think my my point was

Thank you for that. By the way, my point was when we hear false teaching and we hear false teachers

I don't know about you, but I want to run away. Okay, I don't even want to converse with that person I Sorry you object

Objections are not allowed here. Sorry. Yes Yes Yes, I agree.

I'm not saying that we I'm not saying agree a few years ago. I would have run away I don't run away anymore I'll wait till the sermon is over and then go and talk to him and then call him a heretic but my point is

I think our natural instinct a natural reaction when we What Paul is saying here is?

We want to run away Because he's been saying be careful of false teachers and we ought to be if you don't know enough about the text and you don't

Know enough about Christ Which the Colossians were struggling with? Okay, they were struggling with the truth about Christ So Paul was writing this so that he they could he could get their minds straight about who

Christ is and what he has done Okay. Now if you're confused about that, the false teaching is dangerous for you

So you need to tell those people to run away You need to do you need to protect the flock if you're a father and you're and you're going to a church where they're and you understand the word you're going to a church where The Gospels not preaching

Christ's authorities undermined you want to teach them you want to lift up your wife and turn and run away

Okay, there's that's that's that's the context So when you're reading this whole book

Paul has been saying in the book of Colossians been saying watch out for these false teachers Be careful of them beware of them.

But now that he's given them the truth. He's telling them Speak to them engage with them

Converse with them bringing giving them the truth and He says do it with urgency.

He says making the best use of the time. What does he mean by that? Making the best use of the time

Yes, that's that's good Well when you've been he uses things like time and earlier in verse 2 of chapter 4

He says being watchful in it with Thanksgiving if you put being watchful in it and then

Verse 5 as well making the best use of the time if you put those two together If you put those two together, how do you what do you glean from that?

so I think it's I think Paul argues against that in the text and In running away in one way, but let me answer my own question just to be clear.

I'm not saying you're wrong We do we are careful about the opportunities But in context when he when he's saying be watchful in prayer and Thanksgiving in verse 2 and then make the best use of time in Verse 5 and he uses that similar language in other

New Testament books, he's talking about Make the best use of time because these are the last days

Because these are the because the Lord is coming anytime soon So there's he's essentially saying pray with urgency in verse 2 and then talk towards outsiders with the urgency

Because these are the last days because time is running out Okay, so we put those together and we understand that we don't just take it lightly that every opportunity is important But it's important because these are the last days so preach clearly and preach because these are the last days

Yes, I agree. We have to be especially when you teach from Titus chapter 3. I can't disagree with the word

So and I completely agree with that. We do pick but sometimes we don't even stay and converse

We're so disgusted with some somebody's theology I know I'm in that I can be in that position sometimes that you're so Disgusted with their low view of Christ or their low theology.

You might not even get to the Titus 3 9, right? Conversing with them and trying to show them the truth and that's my concern, right?

That that's what Paul's trying to get to here because he's been telling people still way be careful of false teachers

But then he's saying you need to be engaged with the citizens so that you can win them to Christ Of course, you need to be wise about how long you deal with that kind of hostility and we all have

Don't ignore them completely Yes, right. Yes, which I agree Erickson yes

Amen, I completely agree with that. There's an urgency there, right? There's an urgency no matter what you have that opportunity to preach the whole gospel

I want to get to the next point because three of you have addressed it, but I want to get to that He goes on to say in verse 6, which is my last point

Let your speech always be gracious seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person

In 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 14 and 16 Peter makes a very similar content comment

But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, this is 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 14 to 16

But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed have no fear of them nor be troubled but in your hearts

Honor Christ the Lord as holy Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you yet Do it with gentleness and respect having a good conscience so that when you are slandered

Those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame in both

Colossians chapter 4 6 and 1st Peter chapter 3 Paul and Peter have are making similar statements under the of course under the divine inspiration of the

Holy Spirit and They're saying the same thing Essentially, so when unbelievers question your faith and I wanted

I want to be clear unbelievers Meaning those outside the church and those inside the church

When they are coming to you and when they are questioning your faith, it could be in a neutral tone

Or it could be in a hostile tone the Christian must respond by by preaching the whole gospel or by sharing the whole gospel and By making it look attractive now it feeds into the points of both

Erickson and Charlie made now What do I mean by getting to the whole gospel? What do

I mean by that? We see that in Colossians chapter 4 6 as well as in 1st Peter chapter 3

Get to the whole gospel. What do I mean by the whole gospel? Yes, so you tell them about sin and Necessary for salvation

Charlie Right. Excellent. Excellent. Sorry. Did you have a point to very good?

Praise God? It is not my works, but when you preach the gospel when you share the gospel Have you noticed that unbelievers want to get into creation?

gender roles societal issues Animal rights Baby diapers,

I don't know. There's so many things they want to get into. Have you noticed that what happens if you go down that rabbit hole?

What happens if you go down the path of let's pick up the big one creation for instance I mean right now the hot topic is gender and roles.

Okay, I get it. But what if you get into that rabbit hole? You may never get to the gospel of Jesus Christ You may never get to it

The gospel comprises of the holiness of God and the wrath of God our utter separation from God because of our sin the work of Jesus Christ as a

Substitute his life his death his resurrection on behalf of lost sinners

So that they could be reconciled to a holy God and lastly by grace Repentance and saving faith if you're busy talking about gender roles and creation and What animal rights you're never going to get to the gospel of Jesus Christ Paul's point?

Here and Peter's point in first Peter 3 get to the whole gospel. You got those two minutes That's more than sufficient to get to the whole gospel of Jesus Christ, whether it's family members outsiders

Whoever it is get to the whole gospel Cory Excellent point the woman at the well

So that's that's the meaning of the whole gospel and we can get sidetracked and not give it The next one is making it attractive.

How do you make the gospel unattractive? How do you make the gospel unattractive?

Come on guys, we can do this. We've done this before How do you make it? Yes, that's what

I meant. How do you make it unattractive? Excellent our tone our anger and response

Here's somebody who's attacking us because of what we believe in Christ and we're giving it back to them by words

By our tone, we're lashing out at them. I don't think that makes the gospel attractive. We're not saving them because of our work

I don't know why God chooses frail men and women to preach his word but we are called to preach his word and it's not going to be attractive if we are lashing out at them because of their

Tone and we're throwing things at their head because they're doing the same at us That doesn't make the gospel attractive and certainly going back to my original point

You can make it unattractive by not being clear By being ambiguous by causing confusion by using too many words

You could make it very unattractive and and very unclear Erickson Yes, probably by not living it although I would say a lot of people in evangelism evangelicalism

Stress living more than teaching the truth. They say follow my example. That's sufficient.

Why do I need to teach the truth? Why do we need to share the gospel? But so I just just I'm not saying you're wrong

I'm saying yes living the truth does matter but teaching using the words is very important.

Yes If we're not gracious, that's one of the things he says right that you're you're filled with grace

You're speaking in love and in favor love and favor that God showed us by saving us the favor that we never

Deserved the grace that we never deserved we to some extent are still showing that same love and favor

We're we're doing everything we can to seek those To come seek those who are in the world to come to the

Lord Jesus Christ And and those are my those are my two exhortations today as we run out of time

Whether we're in the grocery store at the golf course whether we're Perhaps outside in the streets and it's charged and there seems to be all kinds of changes in people's thinking about culture right as we as we look at gender and look at roles and and I know

I can get really Really strong when I see what people are teaching in schools today,

I Think we forget easily who Christ is and the simple thing that we need to pray

And we need to share the gospel in love and in truth and just because everybody else is hostile towards us

We shouldn't respond in such a manner We should preach the truth no matter what the situation is

Because of who Christ is don't forget the theme of the book Because of the greatness of Christ because the sufficiency of Christ He is the only one who saves so please pray regularly as you evangelize and pray that here in BBC and in other churches that the gospel would continue to be preached that people would continue to be saved and then

To please watch what you say to unbelievers. Don't be disgusted with them.

Don't think you're better than them We have been saved by grace alone. Let's preach the truth the whole gospel and with an attractive tone

Amen, and let me close in prayer because we're out of time. No, we thank you for our salvation we thank you for the privilege to proclaim

Jesus Christ the honor to talk about the resurrection of Christ and The exclusivity of Jesus Christ that you should use frail men and women to do this sharing

To influence the culture around us is a sheer joy and Lord it is indeed

What we see from with our eyes and what we see through the word It is truly the Word of God that has the power to save and the

Word of God that has the power to transform lives And no matter what we see in society We know you will grow your church and that you choose to use men and women like us to do that help us to be clear in our proclamation of the gospel help us to be humble as we proclaim the gospel and Help us a lot to make it attractive with our tone and even with our lives

We pray that you would be pleased with the proclamation of the gospel today in Jesus name.