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You are listening to Radical with

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David Platt, a weekly podcast with

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sermons and messages from pastor, author,

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and teacher David Platt. If

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you have a Bible, and I hope

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you or somebody around you does that

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you can look on with, let me

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invite you to open with me to

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Colossians chapter 4. I want to put

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a picture in your mind today. I

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have in my hand a walkie -talkie from

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World War II. So...

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That's when walkie -talkies were

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invented. This mechanism,

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obviously technology has come a long way.

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You're not putting, you're not fitting this in your

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pocket. But

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invented for the first time

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for troops on the ground

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to be able to communicate

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with their commander,

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general's headquarters. And

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it was revolutionary when it came to

0:54

battle to be able to communicate

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in that way. Now, I want to

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be super careful from the very

1:00

beginning when using wartime imagery. I

1:03

in no way want to communicate

1:05

that we as Christians are supposed to

1:07

be militant in a physical way or

1:09

even in terms of a culture war. But

1:12

the Bible clearly teaches

1:15

that we are all engaged

1:17

in our lives in

1:19

spiritual battle. And

1:21

this applies whether you're a Christian or not.

1:23

There is an adversary, the devil, who

1:26

is actively

1:28

working to destroy

1:31

your life and

1:33

your family and

1:35

your future. The

1:37

Bible teaches we have all turned from

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God and his ways to ourselves

1:42

and our own ways. The Bible

1:44

calls that sin and describes

1:46

all of us as held captive

1:48

to sin. that leads

1:50

to death. And if we

1:52

die in this state

1:54

of captivity to sin, apart

1:57

from God, we will

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experience eternal death and suffering. And

2:02

Satan, the devil, wants

2:04

all of us

2:06

to experience everlasting suffering.

2:09

But the good news of the

2:12

Bible is that God loves us. And

2:14

it's made a way for us

2:16

to be forgiven of our sin

2:18

and freed from captivity to experience

2:20

eternal life in Jesus now

2:23

and forever. What

2:25

this all means is that

2:27

we live every day on

2:29

the front lines of spiritual

2:31

battle. And this plays

2:33

out in all of our lives, even

2:35

as followers of Jesus, with temptations

2:37

to sin, with battles to believe that

2:39

which is true and not lies

2:41

or deceptions from the enemy. And

2:44

it also plays out in spiritual

2:46

battles that involve others' lives. People

2:50

who are at

2:52

this moment still separated

2:54

from God and don't

2:56

know Jesus and are on a

2:58

road that leads to everlasting suffering.

3:00

So obviously not in a militant

3:03

way, but with love and compassion

3:05

and with the gospel, the greatest

3:07

news in the world of freedom

3:09

from sin to experience eternal life,

3:11

we give our lives on

3:14

the front lines of battle to making

3:16

this gospel known. And

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God has given us a

3:20

method of communication. So

3:22

now make the connection, a method

3:24

of communication on the ground to be

3:26

in contact with him at all

3:28

times as our commander. And that method

3:31

of communication is called what? Prayer.

3:34

So John Piper is the first

3:36

person I ever heard use this

3:38

illustration of prayer as a wartime walkie

3:40

-talkie. So I'm going to

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quote here from his book, Let

3:45

the Nations Be Glad, I would

3:47

highly recommend it, on mission in

3:49

the Christian life. And he writes,

3:51

Probably the number one reason prayer

3:53

malfunctions in the hands of believers

3:55

is that we try to turn

3:57

a wartime walkie -talkie into a

3:59

domestic intercom. Prayer,

4:02

he writes, is for the accomplishment of

4:04

a wartime mission. It's as

4:06

though the field commander, Jesus, called in the

4:08

troops. gave them a crucial mission, go

4:10

and make disciples of all the nations, handed

4:13

each of them a personal

4:15

transmitter, coded to the frequency

4:17

of the general's headquarters, and

4:19

said, comrades, the general has a

4:21

mission for you. He aims

4:23

to see it accomplished. And to that

4:25

end, he's authorized me to give

4:28

to each of you personal access to

4:30

him through these transmitters. If you

4:32

stay true to his mission and seek

4:34

his victory first, he will always

4:36

be as close as your transmitter to

4:38

give tactical advice and to send

4:40

air cover when you need it. And

4:43

then he writes, but

4:45

what have millions of Christians done? We've

4:49

stopped believing that we are in a war. No

4:52

urgency, no watching, no

4:54

vigilance, no strategic planning,

4:56

just easy peace and

4:58

prosperity. And what did we

5:00

do with the walkie -talkie? We

5:03

tried to rig it up as an

5:05

intercom in our houses and cabins

5:07

and boats and cars, not to call

5:09

in firepower for conflict with a

5:11

mortal enemy, but to ask for more

5:13

comforts in the den. And

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today I want to show you

5:20

in God's word that this is

5:22

what prayer is for in a

5:24

way that I hope will

5:26

totally transform your understanding of

5:29

prayer. And that

5:32

this week we're going to put it

5:34

into practice with love for people

5:36

around us realizing we are

5:39

in a spiritual battle

5:41

and the stakes are infinitely

5:43

high. So one

5:45

more quote from

5:47

Piper. Most people show

5:49

by their priorities and their casual

5:51

approach to spiritual things that

5:53

they believe we are in peacetime,

5:56

not wartime. Very

5:58

few people think that we're in a war that is

6:00

greater than World War II or than

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any imaginable nuclear war. Few

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reckon that Satan is a much worse

6:06

enemy than any earthly foe or

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realize that the conflict is not restricted

6:11

to any one global theater but

6:13

is in every town and city in

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the world. Who considers that

6:17

the casualties of this war do

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not merely lose an arm or

6:21

an eye or an earthly life,

6:23

but lose everything, even their own

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souls, and enter a hell of

6:27

everlasting torment? Until

6:29

we feel the force of this, we

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will not pray as we ought. We

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will not even know what prayer

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is. Is that true?

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That we won't even know what

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prayer is if we're not using

6:43

it like a wartime walkie -talkie. Well,

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let's look at God's word. Colossians

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chapter four, verse two.

6:53

Continue steadfastly in

6:55

prayer, being

6:58

watchful in it with thanksgiving. At

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the same time, pray also for

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us that God may open to us

7:05

a door for the word to declare

7:07

the mystery of Christ on account of

7:09

which I am in prison, that

7:12

I may make it clear which is how

7:14

I ought to speak. Walk

7:17

in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best

7:19

use of the time. Let

7:22

your speech always be gracious, seasoned

7:24

with salt, so that you may

7:26

know how you ought to answer each person. So

7:29

did you see that? There are

7:31

two imperative verbs in the verses

7:33

we just read, two commands

7:35

that God gives us here through

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Paul, who is writing, by the

7:39

way, from prison where he has

7:41

been chained for spreading the gospel. And

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he gives two commands. Continue

7:47

steadfastly in prayer. Pray.

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So that's the first

7:51

command. And then

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the second one is

7:56

walk in wisdom toward outsiders

7:58

as you speak to them. So

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pray as

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you walk. Walk

8:07

and talk. Walkie

8:10

-talkie. Colossians chapter

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4. So here's how

8:14

I would put it. If you're taking

8:16

notes, hear what God's word

8:18

is saying to us today. Two

8:20

commands. So one is this.

8:23

Just to make it simple. Talk

8:26

to God

8:28

about people.

8:33

Constantly. That's

8:36

the picture here. Continue.

8:40

Conversation with God all the time. You don't

8:42

turn off a walkie -talkie. You

8:44

don't say, Captain, not going to be talking

8:46

to you anymore. It's always,

8:49

always there. You're always in

8:51

communication. Being

8:53

watchful. What a great description of

8:55

prayer. Looking around you, talking with God about

8:57

it. God, I see this. I'm praying. I

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see that. I'm praying. I see this person.

9:01

Praying for them. See that person. Praying for

9:03

them. That person doesn't know Jesus. Praying for

9:05

them. That person's walking through this. I'm praying

9:07

for them. It's continual calling out to God. God,

9:10

I don't understand what's happening around me right now. Help

9:12

me to see through your eyes, not my own

9:14

eyes. Being watchful with

9:16

thanksgiving. I love it. Always

9:20

looking for evidences of God's grace around

9:22

you. Oh, Lord,

9:24

God, General, I see your goodness there. Praise

9:27

you for that. Thank you for

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being near to me, not leaving me alone

9:31

in that battle. Thank you,

9:33

Paul's writing, even in prison, helping me in

9:35

every way I need. Which then leads

9:37

into the next two verses. At the same

9:39

time, pray also for us, Paul says,

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me and those who are with me, that

9:44

God may open to us a door for

9:46

the word to declare the mystery of Christ,

9:48

on account of which I am in prison,

9:50

that I may make it clear which is

9:52

how I ought to speak. This is amazing.

9:54

Make sure you understand, see

9:57

what is happening here. Paul

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is saying, pray

10:01

that God will open a

10:03

door. So this is language

10:05

the Bible uses elsewhere to

10:07

describe God. making a way

10:09

in particular places or people's

10:11

hearts for the Word of

10:13

God to go. So he

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says, pray for an open

10:17

door for the Word to spread,

10:19

specifically the mystery of Christ.

10:21

What does that mean, mystery

10:23

of Christ? Well, many

10:26

of you have memorized this over the course of this series.

10:29

This is the final exam. Colossians chapter

10:31

one, verses 15 through 20. I'm gonna

10:33

put it up here on the screen.

10:36

I wanna invite everybody to read it

10:38

out loud together. And if you've memorized

10:40

it over the course of this series,

10:42

then keep your eyes closed, all right?

10:44

Here we go, talking about Jesus. This

10:46

is the mystery of Christ, who he

10:48

is. What does the Bible say? Let's

10:50

read it out loud together. He is

10:52

the image of the invisible God, the

10:54

firstborn of all creation. For

10:56

by him all things

10:58

were created in heaven

11:01

and on earth, visible

11:03

and invisible, whether thrones

11:05

or dominions or rulers

11:07

or authorities. All things

11:09

were created through him

11:11

and for him. And

11:14

he is before all

11:16

things. And in him

11:18

all things hold together.

11:20

And he is the

11:22

head of the body,

11:24

the church. He is the

11:27

beginning, the firstborn from

11:29

the dead, that in

11:31

everything he might be

11:33

preeminent. For in him

11:35

all the fullness of

11:37

God was pleased to

11:39

dwell and through him

11:41

to reconcile to himself

11:43

all things, whether on

11:45

earth or in heaven,

11:48

making peace by the blood

11:50

of his cross. Well done. Get

11:53

the mystery. Jesus is God

11:55

in the flesh who's

11:57

come to this world at

11:59

war to bring what? Peace

12:03

with God

12:05

through his death on the

12:07

cross for sin. And spoiler

12:09

alert from next week, his

12:12

resurrection from the grave. Jesus

12:14

has... the cosmic powers of

12:16

sin and darkness and death

12:18

so that captives to sin

12:20

anywhere, everywhere, no matter who

12:22

you are, no matter what

12:24

you've done, you can be

12:26

reconciled to God. So

12:28

then what is prayer

12:30

for? Prayer is a

12:32

wartime walkie -talkie for

12:35

God to open doors

12:37

for that word, that

12:39

mystery to spread. And

12:41

Paul is here in prison in

12:43

enemy territory. He sneaks out a

12:45

letter to some of his fellow

12:47

troops and he says, I need

12:49

you over in Colossae to ask

12:51

God to blow open the doors

12:53

for the good news of Jesus to

12:56

be clear here. This is incredible.

12:59

Don't miss it. An open

13:01

door. That the word

13:03

about Jesus is spreading through

13:05

in a Roman prison was

13:07

dependent on people in Colossae

13:10

praying for that. Do

13:12

you see that? The

13:15

spread of the gospel through Paul

13:17

in a Roman prison was

13:19

dependent on brothers and sisters in

13:21

Christ praying in Colossae. Do

13:24

you realize the implications of this? What

13:26

this means? Just think in

13:29

this gathering right now. Think

13:31

about brothers and sisters who used to sit in this room

13:33

or other rooms where we're gathered right now, who

13:36

have been sent out from among us

13:38

to go to places like Turkey or India

13:40

or Thailand. They're

13:43

on the front lines of spreading

13:45

the gospel in hard places,

13:47

and they need us continually calling

13:49

out to God for his

13:51

grace, his power, open doors for

13:53

them to spread the gospel

13:55

clearly in Turkey and India and

13:57

Thailand. The spread of the gospel

13:59

in Turkey and India and Thailand through

14:02

our brothers and sisters is dependent

14:04

on our wartime walkie -talkie praying

14:06

in Metro DC. That's

14:08

the clear implication of this text. And then,

14:10

now think closer to home. So this

14:12

next week, think next Sunday. All

14:15

five of our locations, five different

14:17

pastors are gonna preach Jesus. So,

14:20

what do we need to be doing this week? All

14:22

of us, get on the walkie -talkie. Pray

14:25

for open doors to... people. Spread

14:27

the gospel to people. Pray for

14:29

people's hearts to be open to

14:31

hear the gospel. Pray for every

14:33

single pastor who's going to be

14:35

preaching Jesus. Pray that we will

14:37

make it clear and do all of

14:39

this knowing that the mystery

14:41

of Jesus spreading this week is

14:44

actually dependent on you using

14:46

this walkie -talkie this week. Prayer

14:48

actually matters. Now let

14:50

me tell you a story. Some

14:53

of you may have heard me share this.

14:55

One of my favorite stories from one

14:57

of my favorite preachers in church history, D

14:59

.L. Moody. So God used D .L. Moody,

15:01

his proclamation of the gospel to lead countless

15:03

people to faith in Jesus. When he

15:05

had been traveling, preaching at a variety of

15:07

different places in the United States, and

15:10

God was just blessing his proclamation of the

15:12

gospel to lead many people to Christ.

15:14

He had just started preaching over in England,

15:16

and he was preaching this one church

15:18

on a Sunday morning. He

15:20

preached the gospel, invited people to respond, and

15:22

the way he described it later, it was

15:24

like nobody was listening and nobody

15:26

responded. And it's just, to speak

15:29

from experience, it is not an

15:31

awesome feeling when you're standing up

15:33

in front of, and it's just

15:35

like, ah, is this thing on? Like,

15:37

I don't even know if anybody's here. And

15:39

so it was one of those Sunday mornings

15:41

for him. He

15:43

came back that night to preach to the same group of

15:45

people, and he was not looking forward to it. But

15:48

when he got back that night, he said the atmosphere, spirit

15:50

in the room was totally different. It was like people

15:52

were sitting on the edge of their seats. And

15:54

he got to the end, and he invited people to put their faith

15:56

in Jesus. And he said, if you want to trust in Jesus, I

15:58

want to invite you to stand up. And nobody responded

16:00

the morning. This time, people stood up all

16:02

over the room. And he

16:04

was so confused. He was like, what

16:06

happened? So then he thought, well, maybe

16:08

they didn't understand. Maybe they're confused. So

16:11

he said, why don't you sit back down? And

16:13

he shares the gospel one more time. He

16:15

says, now, if you really want to trust in

16:17

Jesus, now stand up. Well, more

16:19

people stood up the second time than did the first time. But

16:21

he still was not convinced. So true story, Moody

16:23

told them to sit back down. He said,

16:25

I want to share you the gospel one more

16:27

time, like the cost of following Jesus. And if

16:29

you really want to follow Jesus, we're going

16:31

to dismiss. And the pastor and I are going

16:33

to meet in a side room for anybody who

16:36

wants to come and talk more there. And

16:38

so he dismisses the service, goes into the side

16:40

room. He and the pastor, well, before long,

16:42

that room is standing room only. It's packed with

16:44

people. Moody, still not convinced, said,

16:46

I'm going to share it one more time. And

16:48

if you really want to trust in Jesus, I

16:50

want to invite you to come back tomorrow night

16:52

and meet with the pastor here. He's going to

16:54

dismiss them. Moody was headed out of town the

16:56

next morning. He was like, I'm just to leave

16:58

this with the pastor to figure out. So he

17:00

shares the gospel one more time, says, come back

17:02

tomorrow night if you really want to trust in

17:05

Jesus. They dismiss. He leaves the next

17:07

morning. A few days later, he gets a

17:09

telegram, that's how they communicated back then, from

17:11

this pastor saying, you need to get back

17:13

here. More people showed up on Monday night

17:15

than were here on Sunday night. God's doing

17:17

something here. He comes back, he preaches for

17:19

weeks. It was one of those stories where

17:21

just revival breaks out and spiritual awakening and

17:23

all these people coming to know Jesus all

17:25

across this city. So Moody was

17:27

super inquisitive, wanted to find out

17:30

what was the difference between Sunday morning

17:32

and Sunday night. So he starts

17:34

doing some research and he finds out

17:36

about this bedridden woman who was not

17:38

at church that morning because of her

17:40

illness. And her sister, who

17:42

was at church, came that afternoon,

17:44

brought her lunch and... her

17:46

sister brought her lunch, she asked, hey, how

17:48

did church go this morning? Her sister said, ah,

17:50

it wasn't that great. There was a guy

17:53

named D .L. Moody who preached. Immediately, the breadwinner

17:55

woman's eyes lit up. She said, I have heard

17:57

about how God has been using that man

17:59

in the United States. I've actually prayed that God

18:01

would bring him to England. Set my food

18:03

aside. I'm gonna fast and pray the rest of

18:05

this afternoon that many people would come to

18:07

know Christ in our town through his preaching of

18:09

the gospel. Amen.

18:13

Same group of people. Same

18:15

preacher, same word,

18:18

totally different power. Why?

18:22

Because people got on, one woman

18:24

got on the walkie -talkie, said,

18:26

God, do what only you

18:28

can do. And it happened. So

18:30

don't miss the point of what

18:32

God's saying in this text. Prayer is

18:34

the human key that unlocks the power

18:36

of God and the spread of gospel

18:38

in the world. Are you

18:41

hearing this? Prayer

18:43

is the human key that

18:45

you have in your hand

18:47

to unlock the power of

18:49

God and the spread of

18:51

the gospel in the world.

18:54

So let's use it like that. Let's

18:58

steward this gift we've been given.

19:00

Prayer is not just for more comforts

19:02

in our lives. Prayer is for the accomplishment

19:04

of a mission in the world and

19:06

the saving of people's lives for all of

19:08

eternity. Talk

19:10

to God about people

19:12

constantly. And

19:15

then, so walkie, talkie,

19:17

talk, walk. Then walk

19:20

in wisdom. So the way I'm going to

19:22

put it here is to, then

19:24

talk to

19:27

people about

19:30

God wisely.

19:33

That's the second command here.

19:35

Walk in wisdom. Toward

19:38

outsiders, so that's a reference to people who

19:40

don't know Jesus. And

19:42

then the language here, look at this,

19:44

making the best use of the time. This

19:46

is so good. The word that Paul

19:48

uses for time there isn't just time in

19:50

general. That would be chronos, which

19:52

we might get like chronology.

19:54

Instead, Paul uses this

19:56

word kairos, which

19:58

you might be familiar with. Like

20:01

a kairos moment, a particular

20:03

moment that's set aside

20:05

for a particular purpose. And

20:07

basically this verse is

20:09

saying the time you have

20:11

with people who don't

20:13

know Jesus isn't just accidental.

20:16

It's purposeful. God

20:18

ordains moments, time

20:20

with you and

20:22

people who don't know Jesus for a reason. And

20:25

I want you just to think about

20:27

how this infuses meaning into your every

20:29

interaction. with someone who doesn't know Jesus. It

20:32

is not an accident that

20:34

they are in your family

20:36

or that they're your

20:38

friend or that you work

20:40

with them, that

20:43

you're in the cubicle next to them

20:45

or you walk the halls of school

20:47

with them, sit next to them in

20:49

that class or that you play on that

20:51

team with them or live next to

20:53

them or will just so

20:55

happen to meet them, run

20:57

into them this week or being

21:00

an Uber with them. And

21:02

all these things make the

21:04

most of the moments, the

21:06

time that God has purposely

21:08

given you for

21:10

people who are on a road that

21:12

leads to eternal suffering that he loves and desires

21:14

to have eternal life. And

21:17

here's what you do. God says,

21:19

let your speech always, always,

21:22

and whether you're in a good mood or a bad mood,

21:24

always, your speech always

21:26

be gracious. Just

21:28

dripping with the love and the

21:30

grace of God in everything

21:32

you say to others

21:35

and everything you say about others. Let

21:38

your speech be gracious and seasoned with

21:40

salt. We talked about this in Matthew

21:42

chapter 5. Salt and

21:44

light in a decaying world.

21:46

Let your speech be different in

21:50

a way that is beneficial and helpful

21:52

to others. So that

21:54

purpose So you may know

21:56

how you ought to

21:58

answer each person. And

22:01

the picture here is clearly focused

22:03

on sharing the gospel with each

22:05

person you interact with, which obviously

22:07

doesn't mean it's the only thing

22:09

you talk about, but it is

22:11

the one thing you inevitably talk

22:13

about with everyone. So

22:16

just think based on this text

22:18

about your interactions with people who

22:20

don't know Jesus and ask, is

22:23

your speech gracious? in

22:27

a way that draws people to God's grace through the

22:29

way you talk? Is

22:31

it seasoned with salt

22:33

in a beneficial,

22:35

helpful way that's different

22:38

from this world? And

22:40

have you at any point shared

22:42

the gospel with each person that

22:44

you normally interact with? And

22:47

if the answer to that question is

22:49

no, I would

22:51

just encourage you to consider, why

22:54

not? And

22:57

why if Jesus

22:59

is your life

23:01

and you know Jesus is the only way

23:03

for them to have life, why

23:06

have you not shared him with them?

23:10

And I ask the same question.

23:12

People I interact with. And

23:16

if we're not careful, we can talk all

23:18

day long with people about work. and

23:20

school, and the weather, and food, and sports,

23:22

and politics, and current events, and circumstances.

23:24

And obviously, it's not wrong to talk about

23:26

these things. But none of

23:28

those things are going to last forever. At

23:32

some point, let's speak about

23:34

what lasts forever. Let's

23:37

make the most of the little

23:39

bit of time we have

23:41

here to speak to each person

23:43

about what matters for all

23:45

of eternity. And

23:48

I know one of the reasons

23:50

that many of us don't talk this

23:52

way, and I say this from

23:54

personal experience, why we don't talk about

23:56

God or the gospel with each

23:58

person is because we're afraid or

24:01

we feel like it might

24:03

be awkward. We're just

24:05

not sure what to say. This

24:08

is where I want to encourage you in a couple

24:10

of ways. Very practically, we

24:12

could dive into a ton here, but

24:14

I wrote a little... book that

24:16

you can download for free online called

24:18

gospel threads. That's the overflow

24:21

of me processing this in my own

24:23

life. Like how do I share

24:25

the gospel in the fabric of everyday interactions,

24:27

just weaving threads of the gospel into

24:29

the fabric of my interactions with others. So

24:31

you can, that's just a practical resource

24:33

that I wrote to try to be helpful

24:35

along these lines. Just search gospel threads. And

24:38

then two, this

24:40

text is telling us, this

24:43

is what the walkie talkie is for. It's

24:46

what prayer is for, to ask the

24:49

commander for help. We all need

24:51

help. This is Paul. This

24:53

is the greatest missionary in the history of

24:55

Christianity. He said, I need somebody to pray

24:57

for me to make the gospel clear. If

25:00

he needed help, you need help,

25:02

and I need help. We all

25:04

need help, and the whole point of

25:06

the passage is God wants to give

25:08

the help, and prayer is the means

25:10

by which we get the help. So

25:12

pray for this in our lives and pray

25:15

for this in each other's lives. This

25:17

is how we help each other in the

25:19

church. We've all got walkie -talkies to ask

25:21

our commander to help us and help

25:23

each other. It's what

25:25

the church does together. Not

25:27

just get together and pray requests for more

25:29

comforts in the den. We

25:32

get together and we call out

25:34

for God's help for each other to spread this

25:36

good news in this city. God opened

25:38

doors and helped us to clearly speak

25:40

the mystery of Christ as we ought

25:42

to speak. Which

25:44

then leads to this list of

25:46

all these names at the

25:48

end of Colossians, which when you read

25:50

a list like this and you're doing your Bible reading, oftentimes

25:53

you're just kind of like, read

25:55

through this and I'm not really sure what

25:57

this has to do with my life. Oh, these

25:59

verses are so good with so many takeaways

26:01

for our lives. Let's read them

26:03

and let's think about it. So verse

26:05

7, Paul writes, Tychicus will tell you all

26:07

about my activities. He's a beloved brother

26:09

and faithful minister and fellow servant in the

26:11

Lord. I've sent him to you for

26:13

this very purpose, that you may know how we are,

26:16

that he may encourage your hearts. And

26:18

with him, I'm just gonna circle the different people. Onesimus,

26:20

our faithful and beloved brother, who's

26:23

one of you, they will tell

26:25

you of everything that's taken place here. Aristarchus,

26:27

my fellow prisoner, greets you. And

26:30

Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning

26:32

whom you have received instructions. If

26:34

he comes to you, welcome him.

26:36

And Jesus, who is called Justice. These

26:40

are the only men of the circumcision, Jewish men, among

26:42

my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they've

26:44

been a comfort to me. Epaphras,

26:46

who is one of you, a servant of Christ

26:48

Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in

26:50

his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully

26:52

assured in all the will of God. For

26:55

I bear him witness that he has worked hard

26:57

for you and for those in Laodicea and

26:59

in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved

27:01

physician, greets you, as does

27:03

Demas. Give

27:05

my greetings to the brothers of Laodicea

27:07

and to Nympha and the church

27:10

in her house. And when this

27:12

letter has been read among you, have it

27:14

also read in the church of the

27:16

Laodiceans. And see that you also read from

27:18

the letter of Laodicea. And say to

27:20

Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that

27:22

you have received in the Lord. Oh,

27:24

there's so much here. So many different takeaways

27:26

for our lives just flowing from this

27:28

list of names. I'll just mention a few

27:30

of them here. One, Jesus removes barriers

27:33

between us. This list. includes

27:35

Jews, Greeks, men, women,

27:37

slave, and free. And

27:39

it's all a reminder of the beauty

27:42

of the body of Christ. It's one

27:44

of the things I love most whenever

27:46

I'm in another setting around the world,

27:48

like in Bangladesh a few weeks ago,

27:50

or this group of 518 to 30 -year

27:52

-olds just crammed into this room, and

27:54

we don't speak the same language. We

27:56

have so many differences in our background

27:58

and just so many different things.

28:00

And yet, instantly, I'm

28:02

with family. These are

28:04

brothers and sisters in

28:07

Christ. And then I

28:09

think about that just in this

28:11

room and all the rooms where

28:13

we're gathered right now as a

28:15

church family. So many of us

28:17

from different ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, perspectives,

28:19

and yet we are closer than

28:21

even physical family, like spiritual family.

28:23

We have the same bloodline forever. Jesus

28:27

removes barriers between us

28:29

and Follow this. Jesus

28:31

heals brokenness between us. Did you

28:33

see Mark mentioned in verses 10

28:35

and 11? That's the

28:37

same Mark who Acts 15 tells

28:40

us. Paul, who's writing this, and

28:42

Barnabas had a sharp disagreement over Mark

28:44

because of something Mark had done

28:46

to Paul. And Paul

28:48

said, I don't want Mark to go

28:50

along with us. And they ended

28:52

up splitting and going different ways. And

28:55

yet by this time in Colossians

28:57

4, God has reconciled

28:59

that relationship to the point

29:01

where Mark, he says, welcome

29:03

him because he has been

29:05

a comfort to me. Do

29:09

you believe that? That God has

29:11

power to heal brokenness between

29:13

brothers and sisters in Christ. Ask

29:16

God our Father to do

29:18

that in any relationship where

29:20

there's brokenness with a brother or sister in

29:22

Christ. And the third takeaway, we

29:25

all need brothers and sisters like this

29:27

in our lives. You just look at

29:29

the description. These are beloved people.

29:31

They love Paul. They're servants of

29:33

Jesus alongside Paul. They're the

29:35

kind of people who encourage your heart.

29:38

Don't we all want and need people

29:40

in our lives who encourage our

29:42

hearts? They're fellow

29:44

workers for the kingdom alongside Paul.

29:46

Like none of us can follow Jesus and

29:48

make him known in the world on our

29:51

own. And I love

29:53

the phrase, they've literally proved a

29:55

comfort to me. Aren't you

29:57

thankful for people? Don't you need people in

29:59

your life who prove to be a comfort

30:01

to you? And then, check

30:03

this out. Look at Epaphras.

30:06

He is always struggling on

30:08

your behalf in his prayers.

30:11

Don't you want people

30:13

like that in your

30:15

life? Who are struggling

30:17

for you in their prayers? What

30:20

a phrase. So that you may stand

30:22

mature and fully assured in the

30:24

will of God. Then look at this.

30:26

He has worked hard for you.

30:29

Oh, we want, we need people who

30:31

work hard for our good. This

30:34

is where I just, I want to encourage you.

30:36

If you're not a part of a church

30:38

group where you have brothers and sisters who are

30:40

caring for you in these ways. struggling

30:42

in prayer for you in these ways,

30:44

encouraging your heart in these ways, get connected

30:46

to a church group, and at the

30:49

same time, realize, okay, we need brothers and

30:51

sisters like this in our lives, and

30:53

we all need to be brothers and sisters

30:55

like this in others' lives. And

30:57

who are you comforting, encouraging,

31:01

loving? Working alongside in

31:03

the kingdom. Who you're struggling in prayer

31:05

for. Who you're working hard for. And

31:07

to the extent you're doing those things,

31:09

hear God's affirmation. Keep doing it. He's

31:11

pleased in your struggles in prayer for

31:13

that person. And you're working hard for

31:15

their good. We

31:17

all need to be brothers and sisters like

31:20

this in others' lives. Knowing that. So

31:22

here's two more takeaways. Knowing that

31:24

every person matters in God's kingdom. I

31:27

love this. We talk about Paul. We

31:29

even name our kids after him. This

31:31

incredible missionary, church leader,

31:33

who wrote this

31:35

letter. But nobody

31:38

talks about, and very

31:40

few people, if any,

31:43

name their kids Tychicus. Is

31:46

there anybody named Tychicus today?

31:49

I didn't think so. Okay. But

31:52

let's just point out

31:54

the obvious. So Tychicus is the one

31:56

who took the letter to the church

31:59

at Colossae. Paul wrote it.

32:01

But if Tychicus didn't get

32:03

the letter to them, dropped

32:05

it along the way, there's

32:07

no chance we're reading it 2 ,000 years later. Everybody

32:11

matters. And we

32:13

can miss this because this

32:15

world trains us to see

32:17

the prominent people, which is not

32:19

how God sees. Let me

32:21

do a little test, a little audience

32:23

participation. So, trivia.

32:26

What is the name? of

32:28

the current commander's quarterback who was

32:30

recently named NFL Rookie of

32:32

the Year and almost led Washington

32:34

to the Super Bowl? What's

32:36

his name? Okay, say

32:38

it loud if you know it. All

32:41

right, Jaden Daniels. Okay, that's a lot

32:43

of people. Now let

32:45

me ask this question. What

32:48

is the name of the

32:50

center who snapped the ball to

32:52

Jaden Daniels 941 times this

32:54

last year? All

33:00

right, in this room, I'm not hearing anybody. So

33:03

the answer is Tyler

33:05

Biotish. I

33:09

think that's how you say his name. We can

33:11

hardly pronounce his name when we see it,

33:13

much less remember it. But if

33:15

I could just point out the obvious, if

33:17

he did not get the ball to

33:19

Jaden Daniels, there was no chance

33:21

Jaden Daniels was winning rookie of the

33:24

year and no chance the commanders

33:26

were going to the NFC championship. I

33:29

don't miss this. In the

33:31

end of Colossians here, God

33:33

is reminding us, my kingdom

33:35

is not just about people on

33:37

a stage or in this

33:39

or that position. My kingdom is

33:41

about the bedridden woman praying

33:43

and fasting. That's where the power

33:45

is. And every single person

33:47

in between, every single student, teenager,

33:49

young adult, up to every

33:51

single senior adult, every single person

33:53

in the body of Christ

33:55

matters for the kingdom of Christ.

33:58

Like, don't sell

34:00

God short of what

34:02

God's made you to do. Don't think, well,

34:05

I'm not this person or that person. No.

34:09

Do not sell God short of

34:11

the Holy Spirit of God

34:13

in you to give you a part

34:15

to play in his kingdom. I love

34:17

this. I love what we read about with

34:19

Archippus there at the end of verse

34:21

17. Say to Archippus, see that you fulfill

34:23

the ministry you have received in the

34:26

Lord. Notice, not the ministry

34:28

that somebody else received in the Lord, you. So

34:31

it's not about comparing yourself with this

34:33

or that person. Think, well, they do

34:35

that or they do that. No, you

34:37

do the ministry that you've received from

34:39

the Lord. And do it with joy

34:41

and contentment with all your heart

34:44

and trust. As you play your part,

34:46

this person plays their part. We're

34:48

all playing a part in his kingdom.

34:50

I think about today on this

34:52

stage with palm branches, with a bunch of kids. And

34:55

children with special needs. And

34:57

I was just looking in the

34:59

faces of the buddies who every single

35:02

Sunday come serve alongside. One

35:04

child with special needs. That

35:06

is glorious in the kingdom

35:08

of God. And it is

35:10

just as important as standing

35:12

here proclaiming the word. Everybody

35:15

plan our parts. Every single

35:17

person matters in the kingdom.

35:19

And then, so follow this

35:21

one more takeaway. Every

35:23

single moment. has the

35:26

potential to bring about

35:28

everlasting fruit. So think about

35:30

the Kairos moment we talked about earlier. You

35:33

look at this different list of people, like one

35:35

carrying a letter, sending greetings, providing

35:37

comfort, fulfilling a ministry. I just

35:39

think this infuses meaning into every

35:41

moment. You just think about, think

35:43

about this week, okay?

35:46

You could have a

35:48

conversation with a coworker or

35:51

a classmate. Or somebody

35:53

you just happened to meet at the grocery

35:55

store in line. That

35:57

leads you to invite them

35:59

to church next Sunday. That

36:02

leads them to hear the good

36:04

news of God's love for them. That

36:06

leads them to believe and

36:08

experience eternal life in Jesus.

36:11

And your conversation at the

36:13

water cooler or in

36:15

the hall of your school

36:18

or at the grocery

36:20

line this week may lead...

36:22

to someone praising and

36:24

enjoying Jesus 10 trillion years

36:26

from now. That's

36:28

amazing. Like what anticipation should

36:30

we have going into this week and

36:32

every day with the moments that anyone can

36:35

lead to everlasting fruit. So what do

36:37

you do with that? Here's what you do

36:39

with that. You get on the walkie -talkie

36:41

at the very beginning of the day.

36:43

And you say, God, I want to live

36:45

today for what's going to matter forever.

36:47

I want to talk today in a way

36:49

that's going to matter forever. To you

36:51

about people and to people about you. So

36:54

you talk to God about

36:56

people constantly, watchfully, thankfully. Open

36:59

a door there. Open hearts

37:01

to hear. God, I pray for this

37:03

person, that person. They're held captive to

37:05

sin and pray for their freedom from

37:07

sin. You get wounded

37:10

along the way. God

37:12

brings you through. You say, God,

37:14

thank you for bringing me through. Thank

37:16

you for helping me get through

37:18

that, just like you always do. As

37:20

you talk to God, God about

37:22

people constantly, then you talk to people

37:24

about God wisely. I guarantee you,

37:26

you do both those things and your

37:28

moments in prayer and in walking,

37:31

walking and talking will bear fruit forever.

37:34

So Paul closes all this

37:36

by saying, I, Paul,

37:38

write this greeting with my own

37:40

hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with

37:42

you. Oh, that's so good. Dramatic

37:44

even. Like Paul has

37:46

likely dictated this letter through

37:48

a scribe. But now, with

37:50

chains around his wrists, he

37:52

takes the papyrus in his

37:54

hands, holds the brush between

37:57

his fingers, and he writes,

37:59

I'm writing this with my

38:01

own hand. And

38:03

he looks down at those hands with

38:05

chains around them because he's given his

38:07

life to this battle. And

38:09

he says what many brothers

38:12

and sisters of ours would

38:14

say today from North Korean

38:16

labor camps. to Iranian prisons.

38:18

Remember my chains. Don't

38:21

forget, we got brothers and sisters

38:23

who this week will have opportunities

38:25

to point people to Jesus and

38:27

it could cost them their lives.

38:30

We live in a land where we're

38:32

free to do that. All the

38:34

more so we should be bold. He

38:36

says, remember my chains. Pray that

38:38

I'll speak it clearly. Implication,

38:41

I'll pray that you'll speak it clearly. And

38:43

then he says the exact same thing he started

38:45

at the beginning of the letter. He says, grace

38:47

be with you. Oh, grace.

38:51

I don't, don't live to spread

38:53

this gospel, spiritual battle because of

38:55

guilt, because you feel bad. I

38:57

guess I'm supposed to do this

38:59

obligation. No. Because you're so overwhelmed

39:01

by the grace and love of

39:03

God. What, if you read Psalm

39:05

103 this morning, the benefits of

39:07

God, the steadfast love, the grace,

39:10

the Lord is gracious and merciful,

39:12

slow to anger and abounding in

39:14

steadfast love. His love in your

39:16

heart. So live to spread it. And

39:19

he sets it down, rolls it

39:21

up. He says, Tychicus, it's all

39:23

yours now. So church,

39:26

let's do this together. Every one

39:28

of us, playing our... Parts. Let's

39:30

get on. Let's stay on the

39:32

walkie -talkie. All the time. I

39:34

hope you view prayer totally different

39:36

as a result of Colossians chapter

39:38

4. And especially this week.

39:40

Let's pray for each other. Let's pray

39:42

for open doors to invite people. Knowing you're

39:44

going to have opportunities to invite people

39:46

that I won't have. I'll have opportunities to

39:49

invite people that you won't have. And

39:51

maybe nobody else will have. Let's

39:53

pray for open doors. Let's walk through

39:55

them and let's pray. Could I invite

39:58

you even to fast at some point

40:00

this week from a meal, for a

40:02

day, more, just for

40:04

power next Sunday for every one of

40:06

our pastors who are preaching the

40:08

gospel. They need, we need you praying

40:10

and fasting for power to make

40:12

the gospel clear. And don't

40:14

stop there. Pray for pastors all across

40:16

our city who are preaching the gospel

40:18

and pray for our brothers and sisters

40:20

who are spreading the gospel all over

40:23

the world. Let's press in and pray

40:25

that God would bring countless people over

40:27

the next week from bondage to sin

40:29

and death to everlasting life in him.

40:31

Pray that God would liberate captives this

40:33

week. So I want to lead us

40:35

into a moment of prayer and reflection

40:37

before God. You

40:39

in the walkie -talkie. And if

40:41

If you're not a follower

40:44

of Jesus, I know, I hope

40:46

that you've not gotten too

40:48

lost in this wartime imagery, but

40:50

the picture is in sin,

40:52

all of us, in sin, separated

40:54

from God, God has made

40:56

a way for us to be

40:58

forgiven of sin, restored a

41:00

relationship with him. If you've never

41:02

put your faith in Jesus,

41:04

to be forgiven of sin and

41:06

freed from captivity to it.

41:08

to experience relationship with god i

41:10

invite you to trust in

41:12

jesus today and when you do

41:14

and for all who have

41:16

look at a world where so

41:18

many people around us are

41:20

separated from god on a road

41:22

that leads to everlasting suffering

41:24

get on the walkie -talkie and

41:27

let's ask so here's what i

41:29

want you to reflect on

41:31

specifically over the next couple months

41:33

one who can you invite

41:35

to come next sunday who doesn't

41:37

know jesus We

41:39

hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of

41:41

Radical with David Platt. For more resources

41:43

from David Platt, we invite you to

41:45

visit