Alright, let's take our Bibles
and turn to Colossians chapter 4. The lesson this morning primarily
is about the believer's speech. What we say. When to say it. Things of that nature. And then
keep in mind that Paul is still talking about prayer here. He's
talked about several things concerning prayer. We're to pray for our
own attitude and spirit. to pray for all these different
things. And then, let's look here in Colossians 4, verse 3. Withal, praying also for us,
that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery
of Christ for which I am also in bonds. Now let's just take
these verses one at a time point out each one, point out some
things as we go. And I don't know if we'll have
time for all of them, but there's five things here this morning
that he talks about concerning believers, whether they're preachers
or not preachers, or whether they're preachers and those they
preach to, and what effects that preaching should have. There's
five things that he talks about in these next several verses,
between verses 3 and 6. First of all, he begins with
himself as God's messenger. And he uses the word us, which
is inclusive not only of himself, but of all those called to preach
the gospel. And he asked them to pray for
us. He said, pray for us. Pray for
us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance. Now what in the world is he talking
about? A door of utterance. He talking about speaking in
tongues? I looked up the concordance in my Bible, and that's what
these idiots who wrote this thing said that that meant. That he was praying for an opportunity
to preach in tongues, or to speak in tongues. That's not what he's talking
about here. What is this door of utterance? And why would they
ask God for it? Why wouldn't they just go out
and make an opportunity, if indeed that's what he's talking about,
is an opportunity to preach, why wouldn't he just go out and
make his own opportunity? Why wouldn't he go buy a tent
and set it up down on town square somewhere and just start preaching?
Why wouldn't he just go out to the square somewhere and stand
there in the middle of people, the traffic going all directions,
just stand right there where it's handy? Why would he ask
God for an opportunity? What's he talking about here?
Well, let's look at some Scriptures and let me show you from the
Word of God what this utterance is. Turn with me first of all
to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. What is this door of utterance?
And why must God be sought to open it? Now watch this here. I Corinthians 1 beginning with
verse 4. I thank my God always on your
behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ,
that in everything you are enriched by Him in all utterance. and in all knowledge, even as
the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come behind
in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall also confirm you unto the end, that you may be blameless
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. This open door of utterance
is the means of God's effectual call to his elect. He said, by
this door of utterance, by this utterance He said, these spiritual
gifts were imparted to you so that you did not fall behind
in any good thing. These things were imparted to
you. You were taught this way. Verse 5 tells us that we are
enriched by Him in all utterance and knowledge. Confirming His
testimony in us. imparting His spiritual gifts
to us and thereby confirming us unto the end. This is how believers are confirmed. They hear the gospel of God's
grace and they are enriched by it. They are helped by it. God gives to them. He transforms
them. He does a work in them. This
thing become profitable to them where it wasn't profitable to
those who don't believe. And it's through this means that
they're enriched in these spiritual gifts. What's he talking about?
Faith. That's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Love. He that loveth not knoweth
not God. We're enriched. in love through
the hearing of the Gospel. And then we're confirmed as children
of God. Paul said, I know your election
of God because my Gospel came not unto you in word only, but
it came unto you in power and the Holy Ghost. So you see what, first of all,
this utterance is God's means. that he uses for his effectual
call to his believers, and then from that point on, it becomes
that source of bread, that source of food that they have to have. What is this utterance? It is
the arranging of God's providence to cross paths with both the
preacher and them who shall be called to everlasting life. Now let me tell you something,
and I want you to think about this. It is not called here a
door of revelation. Although it is true enough, God
the Holy Spirit must reveal these things to us. Hath not seen or
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, Those
things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God
hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. That is true enough.
But this is not called here a door of revelation. It is not called
here a door of reading. Although it is true enough. We
are to read the Scriptures. We are exhorted to read the Scriptures.
To prove all things and hold fast that which is good. We're
exhorted to do those things, but this open door is not called
a door of reading. It's not called here a door of
experience. Though it's true enough, we do
experience these things in the heart. True knowledge is experiential. We experience those things. We're
affected by those things. But it's called here a door of
utterance, of utterance. We know that God has a people
He chose from the beginning unto salvation, and that preaching
is the means whereby they are called and given the gifts of
repentance and faith. Listen to this scripture, Titus
chapter 1. I've read to you a lot of scriptures
on this subject, but here's one I haven't read to you. Over in
Titus chapter 1, beginning here in verse 2. Paul is introducing himself to
these people, and he said that he was one in hope of eternal
life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began,
but hath in due times manifested His Word, the Word of His promise,
through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment
of God our Savior. And every time a gospel preacher
stands to speak, it's a door of utterance opened by the God
of glory. Every single time. We need to
think about that. We get so much... What's the
word I'm hunting for? We get in a... Where things just... You know, it just happens. Here's
a schedule. Here's a... You know, and we
go through the motions. We go through the motions and
we don't take time to stop and think about what these things
are. And that's the real value of
doing what we're doing here this morning. Going through the Scriptures
verse by verse and pointing out some of these little things that
we just overlook. We just take them for granted.
They become routine. That's the word I was trying
to find. by way of the preaching and teaching
of the gospel that God's people are called, fed, matured, confirmed
to the end. But also through this door of
utterance, men and women are warned to flee from the wrath
to come. They are exhorted to look to
Christ and they are exhorted to believe on Christ. All men.
All men. Even though that preaching is
not effectual in their hearts. And sometimes that warning and
exhorting can be taken away. I go over a couple of times a
week on Sunday afternoons and preach to a little group over
in Mississippi. That candlestick's been removed.
It's gone. They don't have a pastor. They
don't have God's preacher. And the only way they do is for
God to open that door and make it possible for them to hear.
God removes His candlestick sometimes. Let me be quick to say that we're
just men. We're just men. There were some
comments made. I'm not going to get into them,
but somebody got the idea that preachers are infallible when
they get behind the pulpit. That's not true. That's not true. Preachers are not infallible.
The writers of Scripture were infallible because the Holy Spirit
of God breathed on them as they wrote those Scriptures. But God
confirmed their calling by miracles and wonders and signs, which
I can't do. And no other preacher can do
them in this day. We're not infallible, but we
do carry with us God's infallible Word. I don't need to be infallible. I have God's infallible Word. We're not perfect, but we do
preach a perfect Christ. So here's the first thing concerning
the believer's speech, that an open door of utterance be given
by the only one who can give it. Brother Mahan said this,
he said, there is not only an open door of opportunity, but
God has to open these lips. He has to open these lips. He
has to work in my heart. He has to reveal things to me
and say things to me and give me an understanding of things,
or I can never preach them to you. Never can. You can't teach. Luke, you're a teacher. You can't
teach what you don't understand. And your kids will know it. They'll
know it. And then here's the second thing
Paul deals with, is the message and the manner of the preacher.
Look here in Colossians 4 verse 4. Not only did he want an open
door of opportunity, but he said, if I give it, that I may make
it manifest as I ought to speak. Pray for me, he said, that God
would open a door, an effectual door to me that I can preach
and teach and do what God has called me to do. But while you
are praying, you pray this, if that door is open, You pray that
God will give me a heart and the words and the expressions
and the illustrations and whatever else it takes to make this thing
known as it ought to be known. To say this thing as it ought
to be said. We can say things wrong. We can
say things wrong. And we can say things in a bad
attitude. And we can leave men with the
wrong impression of the gospel that we preach. Turn a few pages
over there to 1 Thessalonians 1. Let me show you something
over here. 1 Thessalonians 1 verse
4, Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God, for our gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. Now watch this. As you know what
manner of men we were among you for your sake, and you become
followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much
affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost." The very first time I
went to 13th Street Baptist Church and I met Henry Mahan, I perceived
that he was well taught. I could tell that by listening
to him. He was well taught. He was sincere. He didn't preach
like any other preacher I'd ever heard. This man wanted you to
believe. He was sincere with what he was
teaching. And he believed it. He believed
it. And also, I perceived that he
was a kind and loving man. First time I met him. Who seemed
to be a lover of men's souls. He was concerned The people who
gathered to hear him, he was concerned about every one of
them. He was concerned. He cared whether or not his audience
believed what he said. And the pastoral epistles have
much to say about a pastor's conduct and a pastor's attitude.
It has a lot to say about it. And those who learn the lessons
of grace, they learn them in their hearts. And their attitude
and conduct ought to reflect it. And I've known men in my
lifetime who were well-schooled in the doctrines of grace, but
because of their attitude and conduct, could never effectively
minister to men. Could not do it. Could not do
it. What am I saying? I'm saying this, that this effectual
door that God opens, when He opens it, He uses your mannerisms. He uses the mannerisms. He uses
these spiritual gifts that He's imparted to these men who preach
the gospel. He uses those things along with
the gospel they preach. And you can see that in the Scripture.
You read those pastoral epistles and see if what I'm telling you
is not. He stresses this. He stresses this. To young Timothy,
he stressed these things. And Titus and so on. And Paul
would not only have them to pray for his doctrine to be right,
but also his attitude and conduct. You want to minister to men?
We know that there's no sin in a drink of alcohol. There's no
sin in that. We know that. But I'm not going
to sit out in my backyard over in Taylor and pop a top on a
beer or uncork a bottle of wine and sit there and drink it out
in the public in a place that I'm trying to minister to just
to prove that I have liberty. I'm not going to do it. And this
is what he's talking about. Maybe not to that extreme, but
in all these things, in their attitude and conduct, all these
things that we do are important. It's important how you deal with
other people and conduct your business in this world. It's
important. We're ambassadors for Christ. And then thirdly, Paul would
have those who have been occasioned by God to hear his gospel to
be affected by it. Colossians 4, verse 5. Walk in
wisdom, He tells them, toward them that are without,
redeeming the time. Believers need to be taught and
matured by the preaching of the Gospel to know how to walk in
a crooked and perverse world. There is a way. There is a way
for believers to conduct themselves in a crooked and perverse world.
I tell you this all the time and some of you believe it and
some of you just ignore it. But men and women cannot hear
what you're saying apart from the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
They cannot hear what you say. And we get frustrated at them
and our voice begins to go up and we just get... I just want
them to... Why won't you believe this? This
ought to be so clear to you and you get aggravated at them. Don't
get aggravated. When did you believe? Huh? You read the Scriptures, but
you didn't believe. When did you believe? You believed
when God the Holy Spirit enabled you to see these things. And
that's when they'll believe. So be kind with them. We need to know this in our dealings
with them. Men and women can't hear what
you believe. But I tell you, they can see how you act. Now
they can that. They can perceive how you act.
Natural men and women can perceive that. So be aware of it. Be cautious of it. And be on
your guard. Be on your guard. That old blind beggar, he could
give no greater testimony than to use his God-given sight to
bless the name of his God who gave him eyes to see. And how
has God forgiven you of your sins? Oh, He was kind to you. Isn't that what this says over
in Ephesians 2? That in the days to come, He
might show you His kindness. Did He forgive you of your sins?
Then be forgiving to others. Be forgiving. Has God shown you
mercy? Then be merciful. Be merciful. If God manifested His grace to
you, then be gracious to others. Listen to this Scripture. I know
that you all know this Scripture by heart. But listen to it one
more time. Be ye kind one to another. Tenderhearted. Tenderhearted. Forgiving one
another even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you." That's
what Paul's talking about. Walk in wisdom toward them that
are without. And brethren, we know why men
and women are the way they are, don't we? We know why. We know why they get upset. We
know why they rebel against these things. The Scriptures have already
told us. And we ought to know it by experience.
And we know their potential. And we know something of the
of their danger toward us and the power of the one who influences
them. Walk. Walk among them. Walk among
them. We have the wisdom of Christ.
So prepare for your conversations. Prepare for their reactions.
You know what men and women are going to say. Prepare for it.
Prepare a soft answer, but a true answer. And prepare it simply. Prepare it in simple words. You
know, screaming at them is not walking in wisdom. And shoving
the truth down their neck is not walking in wisdom. Walk in
wisdom toward these people. Paul said, listen to this. This
is 1 Thessalonians 2. He said, we were gentle among
you. He said, when I came and ministered
to you, we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth
her children. Now, it's not talking about RN
dealing with a baby at the hospital. It's talking about a mother nursing
that little baby. And that little baby's crying,
and it's hungry, and something's wrong with it, and you don't
know what's wrong with it, and you don't grab that baby and shake
it. I said, eat. No, that's not how that works.
That's not how that works. That mother tenderly takes that
baby and pulls it to her breast. Huh? That's what Paul said. That's how gentle we were among
you. And then fourthly, verse 6, Colossians
chapter 4. Let your speech be always with
grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to
answer every man. Grace is to speech what salt
is to meat. That's what he's saying here.
Boy, you just take an old piece of roast beef and cook it. Don't
put anything on it. It don't taste very good, does
it? Somebody asked me one time. They
came over and we had steaks at the house. Cooked them out on
the grill. And they said, what? What do you put on that? That
is so good. I said, it's a long list. Do you think you can remember
it? And they said, oh yeah, yeah, we'll remember it. You tell us
what you put on there. I said, salt and pepper. That's it. Salt and pepper. That salt, boy, it makes a difference
when you put it on that meat. And so does grace in your speech. So does grace. Let me give you a few things
to think about on this point right here. First of all, be
sure that everything we say has as its basis the grace of God. The grace of God. By grace, we
were quickened together with Christ in an eternal union and
made one with Him. Represented under the law by
Him, put to death in Him, buried with Him, raised with Him, seated
with Him in the heavenlies. And then secondly, by grace ye
are saved through faith. By grace are you saved, through
faith. And that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. God's election
was an election of grace. God's purpose is the purpose
of grace. God's faith is a gift of His
grace. And even the Holy Spirit of God
is called the Spirit of grace. Let your speech be always with
grace. Make grace your subject. And
then secondly, be gracious. Be gracious. Speak in sincerity
and truth without any kind of lying, flattery. Speak in love,
avoiding gossip, whispering, or anything that might injure
the character of another. Speak pleasantly and kindly.
Brother Mahan said, a hard heart. I mean, a hard speech reveals
a hard heart. Grace in the heart will teach
us how to answer those that are without. And then lastly, our
answer to every man, speaking of them outside the church of
the living God. An answer to every man. First
of all, I want you to see here that Paul is not talking here
about an occasion or a declaration here. He is talking about an
answer. He is talking about an answer. Not talking about us
declaring something to them. Not talking about us button-holing
them and trying to shove something down their throat. He's talking
about an answer. An answer. How to answer every man. Somebody's asked a question.
Somebody's made an accusation or someone has said something
that requires an answer. We might just say to somebody
who came here to visit, we hope you come back. And they might
say, well, why? That requires an answer, don't
it? Or you might say to them, boy, I really enjoyed that message.
And they'll ignore you totally sometimes. Or sometimes they
might say something that requires an answer. Perhaps you have invited somebody
to come and hear the Gospel, and they want to know why. Or
maybe they have invited you to go hear their preacher, and you
told them no, and they said why. There are lots of things that
require an answer. Over in 1 Peter 3, verse 15,
the Apostle said, Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, And
be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you
a reason of the hope that's in you with meekness and fear. How
does one prepare for these moments? Well, when God opens the door
for His preacher to speak, make it a point to hear Him. That's
the first way you can prepare. Paul told the Ephesians that
pastors were given to the churches for the perfecting of the saints,
the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body
of Christ. If we want to participate in
this thing of the ministry, then come and hear somebody preach
the gospel and learn. And learn. We are specifically commanded
to forsake not the assembling of ourselves together. And then
secondly, study the Word of God. Study the Word of God. You know,
people like to pull little bits and pieces out of Scriptures
because those false prophets who have taught them do that.
And instead of going and opening up this book and seeing what
that thing said above it and below it and seeing what it said
all together, they just take that man at his word that that
is the Scripture. And I've had people, boy, they
were ready to fight over... Well, I'll give you one example.
They said, God's not willing for anyone to perish. Says that
in the Bible. I said, no it don't. Oh yes it
does. I said, I know exactly where
the Scripture is. Let's go look at it. And we went
over there and that's not what it said. What it said is, God
is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. And that's why He's maintaining
this evil world. That's why this world is not
being burnt to a cinder. Because God has a people, an
elect people, and He's long-suffering toward them, not willing that
any should perish. If God weren't willing for any
man to perish, nobody would. Nobody would. So, you see what
I'm saying? Study the Scriptures. Study the
Scriptures. Well, election just pertains
to the Jew. Well, if you'd read the book
of Ephesians, you'd know that that's not so, because Paul was
writing to Jindal. and talks to them about this
election of grace. Study the Word of God. Make it
a part of your daily schedule to read this book. And you'd
be better off, I'm telling you the truth, you'd be better off
to be silent or say, I don't know, than to babble on in ignorance
about things you don't know anything about. Just don't say nothing. Just say, I don't know. It's
OK. You can say that. I don't know. Henry gave us a study one time. He called it Home Court Advantage.
We like Kentucky basketball up there. And so he gave us this
little study on home court advantage. And he said, when these men approach
you with these subjects that you don't know anything about,
just simply say, I don't know. But I do know this. And get them
over in your court. Get them over here where you
can talk about your Savior. Get them over here where you
can talk about the death of Christ. Get them over here where you're
familiar. Now you got your home court advantage and you can talk
to them. God teach us how to walk in wisdom toward them that
are without. Thank you.