Make It Clear

Colossians 4:2-6

Immanuel - 10/2/22

We are all shaped by things we cannot control, and these things shape us more than we can possibly imagine. After my mom died, they said I was a very angry 3 year old. That anger followed me through childhood, and in my teen years it translated into empty rebellion. I caused heartache and I knew heartache.

In countless ways I attempted to fix this yawning emptiness - girls, status, attention, adventure. Nothing worked. Nothing even came close. I knew it to the core of my being, I am a broken sinner. And I knew that my sinfulness is in conflict with my Creator.

And yet, God was using all of this to shape me in a way I could not possibly imagine.

For, running parallel to the emptiness and rebellion in my life, there was hope. I was raised in a home with wonderful Christian parents - my dad remarried. From my earliest memories I knew Jesus as Lord and Savior, even during all the anger of my childhood and dissonance of my teens.

From 15 to 20, God used a series of unrelated events - some born out of my own stupidity, some beyond my control, all by God’s grace - to drive truth from my head and down into my heart.

The weight of God's love began changing me, love that He demonstrated when He sent His Son to die my death. I deserved the judgment that Jesus took. And because Jesus took my condemnation, I am forgiven. No longer does God look on me with judgment, He only looks on me with favor. He loves me like a son because, by grace, Jesus’ righteousness has been applied to me.

The cross of Christ conquered my rebellious heart, and His love filled the emptiness that I could not. This is the testimony of how God transformed my life; and honestly, it is a transformation that is still underway. By faith, I know I have been reconciled unto God.

I am a new creation in Christ, and as His ambassador, this is my testimony.

Purpose

1. I want to know the power of your testimony.

2. I want to give you two ways to think about your testimony.

Read Colossians 4:2-6

Everything in this passage orbits around that phrase, “declare the mystery of Christ.” To be sure, Paul is using the phrase “mystery of Christ” interchangeably with the word, “gospel.”

The Gospel

In fact, Paul uses very similar language when he writes to the Ephesians, and I think you can see how he inextricably links mystery and gospel.

[Pray] for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. -Ephesians 6:19-20

Here Paul says he wants to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. It was a mystery because it is hidden from men until it is revealed from heaven. In the old covenant world, the gospel was a mystery until the new covenant was revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. In our world, the power of the gospel is a mystery until God opens our eyes to it and radically transforms us with it.

Read vs 3

The gospel is the mystery of Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we are called to speak the gospel in order to make the mystery of Jesus known. Paul went so far as to take the chains of prison for the sake of the gospel. Eventually he gave his life, all to make the mystery of Jesus known to the world.

I wonder, how far are we willing to go for the gospel?

As we saw last week, the gospel is easily broken up into 4 parts: God, Man, Christ, Response. Here it is: God created mankind for relationship with Him, but by our sin we treated that relationship like garbage. The penalty for sin is eternal separation from Him - eternal death. But because of God’s great love, He offers reconciliation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus took our sins upon Himself, even while He was sinless, and died in our place. But three days later He rose from the grave, ascended to the throne of heaven and earth, and from there gives His pure righteousness and eternal life to everyone who repents and believes. This is the mystery revealed in Jesus Christ. This is the gospel: God, Man, Christ, Response.

Whether people know it or not, this gospel is the yearning of every heart and the hope of every soul. It is the only healing for the greatest of humanities’ diseases: separation from God because of sin. The gospel reconciles sinners with their Creator. We must repent and believe!

The singular focus of Paul’s life was to declare this gospel. He wanted people to pray for his ability to clearly communicate the gospel. He wanted people to pray that God would open gospel opportunities. He wants to continue doing the very thing for which he was in prison.

How amazing that even from prison, he did not forsake his identity as an ambassador. In fact, in his letter to the Ephesians, he calls himself an ambassador in chains. Despite the chains, he wanted opportunities to share the gospel. Paul was dauntless.

Read vs 4-6

Clarity

Even though Paul was dauntless, He was not reckless. He wanted his words to be gracious. He wanted his words to be filled with wisdom. And in verses 5 and 6, Paul is exhorting every other Christian to do likewise. It should be a comfort to us that Paul, this incredibly powerful Apostle of Jesus Christ, is concerned that he would clearly communicate the gospel. It’s why he asks for prayer.

What an encouragement Paul’s appeal should be to us! Likely, we feel similarly. Perhaps you are worried that you won't say it right, that you’ll miss something important, that you’ll just come across as offensive. Pray that God would help you to be clear. Imagine, if everyone in this church was praying for everyone else, that we would all be able to speak the gospel clearly and lovingly to those around us.

Do you know that you already have in your possession, one of the clearest ways of offering the gospel to others? Your testimony is the clearest expression of gospel power in your life. Your testimony is the story of how God has changed your life, of how you received the gospel and were transformed, or how it currently is transforming you. And if God has changed your life, then He can change anyone’s life!

But let me be clear, a long winded, over-detailed story about your life, is not a helpful way of sharing your testimony. You don’t want to lose people’s interest. You want them to be gripped by what God has done in your life. Has it not gripped you? Indeed! It gripped your heart and changed you. Therefore, seasoned with grace and love, let your story be clear enough to grip someone’s heart.

At the beginning of this message I took some time to share my testimony. I testified of how God showed me my great need for Him and how He met that need. And I wove the gospel message into that testimony.

When the gospel is woven into our testimony, it makes the gospel so much more relatable.

But perhaps you will not always have that kind of time to share your testimony. I mean, you are all compelled to sit there and listen to me. So think of a couple ways of packaging your testimony. Sometimes you’ll be able to go into more detail, and weave the gospel into it, as I have done today. Other times, you might only have a few minutes to share your story.

What I spoke in longer form can be boiled down to a few sentences. I can speak it in 30 seconds. For example: when I was younger my life was marked by rebellion and emptiness, but a time came when I understood the forgiveness and love of Jesus, and He transformed my life. Now I have peace and I know purpose because of Christ. Have you ever experienced anything like that?

Notice how that brief testimony is followed by a question. I want the person I am talking to, to think about their own life. I want them to think, “Can what happened to him, happen to me?” You’ll be amazed at the gospel opportunities that come from a 30 second testimony followed by a question, “Have you ever experienced anything like that?”

I highly encourage you, figure out how to share your testimony in two versions.

Version 1: Give yourself 5 minutes to share your testimony while weaving the gospel into it.

Version 2: Give yourself 30 seconds to share how life was, how you encountered Christ, and then how life is different now. End with a question that will lead to gospel conversations.

In either version, the purpose is the same, to share the gospel!

You want to have these two versions of your testimony ready because different circumstances will provide different opportunities. And whatever the opportunity, you want to be prepared. Practice each version a few times, even practice it with a friend. When the moment comes, you want to be comfortable and confident in the things you are saying.

Remember, part of your identity in Christ is that you are His ambassador. You need to know what to say! What kind of ambassador faces a foreign entity and has no idea what to say? It is your job to know what to say, and it is your job to say it well. Practice truly does help. God has not given you your testimony so you can be reckless with it. Be wise. Make the best use of your time.

Yes, let us pray for one another, that we would all speak the gospel clearly. But let us also prepare ourselves. God doesn’t call us to sit around and wait for magical words from heaven. Christ does encourage us not to become anxious about what we will say, and to not try to strategize every possible scenario we might face. Even still, we need to prepare ourselves, because wisdom prepares, and Paul exhorts us to walk with wisdom.

Sometimes it is helpful if we see this modeled. Vin and Ben

Notice how Vin and Ben brought together the last few sermons. Everyone knows God, but that knowledge is suppressed with lies. Even still, those lies are built upon something true. That truth was identified, and the gospel was applied to that place of truth. And then, when we can apply the gospel with our testimony, it makes the gospel so much more relatable.

And do you know, there are over 1,100 people in our community that should be easy for you all to relate to. In fact, this was the purpose of Fall Fest. Fall Fest was not a time to proclaim the gospel. It was not an evangelistic effort. It was a bridge building event. We were, very gently, sharing the love of Jesus. When people left our lawn, we want them to feel a sense of warmth and happiness when they think of Immanuel.

That way, when you are talking to someone in an aisle at Hannaford, or speaking with another parent at a soccer game, and you say that you go to Immanuel, that person might just say, “Oh, I know that church. I’ve been to their Fall Fest. What a great group of people!” Immediately, you have a way of relating to them.

It will then be your job, ambassadors of Christ, to turn a superficial conversation into a spiritual conversation. Ask questions. Listen to them. Is there a moment to share your testimony? Is there a gospel opportunity? Pray that the Spirit would give you words of wisdom and clarity when you are in that moment. It is my firm conviction that He will. He absolutely will!

You know, everyone knows God, even if they suppress that truth.

You know the message of the gospel: God, Man, Christ, Response.

You know the power of your testimony.

Take it home and practice.

You are ambassadors of Jesus Christ, you must tell people how to be reconciled unto God!

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

-2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Next week we will look at what happens after we have shared the gospel with someone. What happens next?