What We REALLY Need

What We Need More Than Money: Colossians 4:2-4

When it comes to sermons, there is one thing Christians and non-Christians typically agree on: they don't want to hear one about money. A common complaint is that the church talks too much about money. A survey was taken 25 years ago asking unchurched people why they don't attend church. One of the top four responses was: The church is always asking for money. As a boy, my family would visit a camp in the summer time. Every Sunday the person leading the service would take 20-30 minutes asking for the offering.

Churches do talk a lot about money because churches need money. Expenses must be met, and the way they're met is through the sacrificial giving of the members of the congregation. Today, however, I have good news. I am not speaking about money. Instead, I am speaking about something this church needs much more!

The Apostle Paul wrote Holy Spirit breathed letters to many of the early churches as recorded for us in the pages of Holy Scriptures. One letter in particular Paul wrote while in prison in Rome to a church in the city of Colossae. He makes a special request. Today I want to use the words of Paul to make a special request … in fact, what I am going to ask for is so important that if you are not willing to help in this area, we as a local Church will dry up and die. The very thing Paul needed in his ministry, we need at BAC.

What's the challenge? Let’s turn to Colossians 4:2-6. Did you catch the message? Verse 2 says, “Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” This is what our church needs more than money: We need a congregation of believers committed to the ministry of prayer. Paul challenges us to do three things regarding prayer.

Make prayer a priority. "Devote yourselves to prayer."
Look for things to pray about. "being watchful..."
Do it with a good attitude. "...and thankful."

Next, Paul makes a request of the Colossian Christians. He says in verse 3

And pray for us...

Today, I am doing the very same thing. I am asking you to make prayer more of a priority in your life, and I am asking you specifically to pray for the ministry of this church. As we begin this fall will many activities and ministries and as we begin to think about what God might accomplish in our church, we need to develop a solid foundation of prayer. We need the members of this congregation to pray for each other and for the ministry of this church. As Paul asked the Colossian Christians to pray for him, I am asking you to pray for us.

So, the question is: What are we supposed to pray about? Paul tells us in these first few verses of Colossians 4. In order for this church to be the church God wants us to be, we need you to pray these three things. First of all...

Pray that we will have opportunities for ministry

Paul says in verse 3: “… pray for us, that God may open a door for our message …”

I don't know everything God has in store for BAC, but I do know that he wants our involvement in this community (and in this world) to be more than just opening our doors to the public a few times a week. He has called us not only to gather together for worship, but to reach out to others in ministry as well

When Jesus first introduced the idea of the church to his disciples he said, “On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18)

For some reason I always interpreted this verse to mean that the church would be strong enough to endure the attacks of the devil, until I realized one day that an army doesn't bring its gates into battle with it. It leaves its gates at home. Jesus is saying that the church isn't supposed to be on the defensive in the spiritual battles of life, we are to be on the offensive. We are to attack. We are to storm the gates of hell … and the gates of hell can not stand against the Church!

Right here in Bradford, there are places where the presence of Christ is desperately needed. In our schools there are thousands of students who need to hear about the God who loves them and has big plans for their life. In all kinds of homes there are families who need to hear about the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. Just up the street here there are business owners who need to hear that Jesus can fill their life with meaning. In the bars and restaurants there are people who need to experience how Jesus can fill the emptiness that haunts them. There are people whose lives have been wrecked by sin and they need to know that God can put things back together for them. There are those who are overcome with despair, people who need hope

Bradford is filled with thousands of people who need to know that there is a God who loves them so much that He would send His only Son into the world to save them ~ and in order to communicate this message to the world we must do more than open our doors on Sundays

We need to go into Bradford and take the life-changing message of Jesus Christ with us

Of course, we know this already. The question is: Where do we go and when? That's what we need you to pray about. Pray that God will open doors of ministry for this church. We can't do everything that needs to be done, but we can go where God leads. We want to join Him in what He is doing right here in Bradford. When a door opens, we need the wisdom to go through that door

Pray that God will show us opportunities for ministry here

Pray that we will proclaim the message of Christ

Paul says in verse 4: “Pray that I may proclaim it clearly”

One problem the church faces is that the world doesn't know what our message is. Because of the way preachers and churches are portrayed on TV, some people think we're just against everything. Some think the heart of our message is "Don't do this, don't do that." That's not the heart of our message at all—the gospel isn't a set of do's and don'ts. Other people think our message is … "In order to be a Christian you have to clean up your life and start doing good works and if you become good enough God will let you into heaven." That's not our message—it's not even close. Maybe they think our message is, "All you have to do is join our church and you are a Christian." Again, that's not our message

Our neighbours don’t understand the Good News. It doesn't make sense to them. Paul said to some people it is a stumbling block and to others it is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23). People outside the church don't understand that Jesus has come to set them free from the chains that are enslaving them. It is our responsibility to proclaim the gospel clearly, in a way they will understand

Pray for us … pray that we would proclaim the message freedom clearly. Pray that we would have an open door to teach that Jesus Christ is Lord and has the power to turn your life around. He can remove your guilt and your shame, and replace it with joy and purpose

As doors of opportunity open for us, we need to make sure that we proclaim the message of Jesus clearly. We don't want to be defined by what we are against; we want to be defined according to who we are for: JESUS. Pray that we will proclaim this message faithfully to our world … This is His message … Luke 4: 18-19 says …

Pray that we will not let setbacks stand in our way

Paul continues in verse 3 to ask the Colossians to pray … so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains

Paul spent a significant part of his ministry behind bars, but he never stopped preaching, he never stopped writing, he never stopped encouraging churches. In fact, prison was not the only setback Paul experienced. Listen to how Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28

All I can say is: Wow! Can you imagine facing those kinds of setbacks and still pressing on? Paul refused to allow any obstacle to stand in his way. He simply would not give up

It kind of makes you feel wimpy to cancel church activities when the weather is bad doesn’t it!

The fact is we will experience setbacks as we serve Jesus here through. There will be times when it will become difficult. There will be times when quitting seems like the easiest (and the most logical) thing to do. No matter how attractive the option of giving up may seem, we must remain faithful. We must stay in the battle. We must continue to pursue the ministry to which God has called us

We cannot expect that life will always be easy. There will be obstacles. There will be setbacks. If we are to be the church God has called us to be, we must press on even during hard times

Before we can begin to think about what we want to accomplish as a church,

we need to develop a solid foundation of prayer

You know what … we do need money to pay bills here at BAC. But it is not money that will cause us to continue in ministry. We need a core group of people committed to prayer. This year I'm challenging you to make prayer a greater priority in your life than it ever has been before. And I'm asking you, when you pray, remember this church. Pray for me and my family. Pray for our elders and their families. Pray for the workers. Pray for the people that serve on sound and coffee and in the kitchen. And pray for each other here at BAC who live right here in our neighbourhoods. Pray that we will have an open door for ministry to this community. Pray that we will proclaim clearly the message of Christ, and pray that we will obey Jesus regardless of what stands in our way. Pray that we would preach the Good News to the poor … that we would proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind.

With your prayers and with God's help, we cannot fail