As you know, we've been studying together the book of Colossians, and we have just finished yesterday the chapter number three, where we have been considering for a number of sermons how to live the risen life. But now in chapter number four, Paul transitions, and he begins to close his letter to the church at Colossae. And he closes it with these final words. And throughout this entire letter, he has taught them He has instructed them, He has encouraged them, and He has given them exhortation after exhortation. Well, chapter number 4 and verse number 2, He gives them yet another exhortation. But this exhortation is perhaps the simplest yet. This exhortation is perhaps summarized down to the simplest word that there could be. Continue. That's what he exhorts the church to do. He says it there in verse number two, the opening word, continue. And you can almost hear Paul say that word. Having expressed his love for the church, having expressed his heart for the church, he speaks to them and he says, listen, I want you to continue in the faith. There's a sense in which he says it with love and tenderness and a real sincere compassion and desire within his heart. He loves this church and he wants it to keep going. It's as if Paul is saying to them, keep on going on, don't stop and don't quit. And I believe Paul realizes and understands the natural attitude of every individual. And that is that it can be so easy to start something but the difficulty is continuing in something. I'm sure all of us can think about a project, a group that was formed, some sort of task that had to be completed, and there was many people who volunteered at the start to start something. But as the weeks progressed, as the work really began, as the hard times came, people began to stop, and people began to cease. You see, it's very easy to start something. The hardest part is continuing in something. And there are those that can start and they don't finish. There are those then that will not be consistent and they'll start and stop and start and stop. But this is not the way that God wants us to be when it comes to our spiritual walk with Him. God wants us to continue. God wants us to keep on going on. It's upon that subject that I want to speak to you today, the subject very simply of continue, continue. And Paul outlines here very simply what he wants the church to continue in. He wants them, in verse number 2, to continue in prayer. Then in verses number 4 and 5, he wants them to continue in their walk. And then in verse number 6, he wants them to continue in their speaking. And they're praying, and they're walking, and then they're speaking. This is what the Apostle Paul, as led by the Holy Spirit, wants the church to continue in. And those with me, first of all, in the verse number two, down to the verse number four, Paul wants the church to continue praying. Now, Paul is exhorting them here to continue in prayer. That must mean that they were already a church that were in prayer. The Colossian church was a praying church, and Paul didn't want this to cease, even though they were in a very turbulent season, even though this very controversial letter was being read out to the church. He didn't want this to affect the church's prayer life. He wanted the church to go on and to continue in their prayer life together. Notice a couple of things here concerning their prayer. Notice, first of all, in verse number 2, the characteristics of their praying. Notice the characteristics of their praying. Paul says, continue in prayer and watch the same with thanksgiving. Paul wanted them, in their praying, to be watchful. Now this word watchful, it speaks about keeping awake. It speaks about a spiritual alertness. And the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Apostle Paul, was exhorting the church here not to go or not to drift into a spiritual slumber. He was exhorting the church not to drift into a state where they would simply relax in prayer and eventually give up in prayer. The Lord Jesus Christ wants us to watch and he wants us to pray. He wants us to be alert and always interceding before the throne of Greece. We find this example, we see an example in Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26 in verse number 41, the Lord Jesus Christ has entered into the garden at Gethsemane and he is there and he is praying, his disciples are with him. And notice what he exhorts him in verse 41, watch. And pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Now, I don't believe he's speaking there about a physical watching. The Lord Jesus Christ knew who was coming for him. He knew Judas had betrayed him. He knew the soldiers were going to come, and he knew he would have to go to the cross. So I don't believe this is speaking about an actual watching with the eyes. I believe this is speaking about a watching in prayer. an alertness in our soul, an awakening within our hearts and our minds to pray because we realize the circumstances that we are in and the situations that we're going to have to face. And Paul is really given the same exhortation that Jesus Christ gave to his disciples. Be alert, be awake, and pray. Continue in that, continue in that alerted state, praying before the throne of grace. Notice as well, the second characteristic, watching the same with thanksgiving. Their prayer life was to be a prayer life that was characterized by thanksgiving. And this is really what keeps us active in prayer. When we perhaps have exhausted all our petitions, we perhaps have come to an end of what we in our minds think that we need from the Lord and we're praying before the Lord, My friend, there is always things to thank the Lord for. There are always things to thank the Lord for. And even whenever we think we've come to an end of praying, we've prayed ourselves out, and there's nothing more that we can pray, my friend, we ought to continue in thanksgiving, thanking the Lord for what He has done. Because my friend, there is no end in thanking the Lord for what He has done for your soul and for my soul. This keeps us active because there's always something to be thankful for. And secondly, notice the content of their praying. The content of their praying, their characteristics, they were to watch and they were to be thankful. But notice the content of their praying in verse number three. With all praying also for us, that God would open onto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ. for which I am also in bonds, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak." They were to pray here for God-given opportunities. Verse number three, praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance. Now here, Paul employs an analogy. It's an analogy used quite often, that of a door. And the analogy behind that is that the door is a new opportunity. And Paul would go to that door, he would open up the door, and he would seize the new opportunity. And you see this throughout the New Testament, God's people praying for open doors. God's people were praying for divine opportunities to be given for the spreading and for the preaching of the gospel. Notice it says that I may speak the mystery of Christ. We have learned throughout Colossians that that term mystery is not speaking about something that we cannot understand or something that we have to try and solve. Rather it is speaking about something that was previously hidden but now has been revealed. And Paul is saying, I want you to pray that God gives me another opportunity, that God opens up another door, that I may go through that door and seize that opportunity to make Christ known, to declare Him, to reveal Him, to preach Him. Paul wanted, he wanted divine opportunities to make Christ known. My friend, we ought always to have that in the forefront of our mind. God is always advancing. I remember the missionary that said it, it may have been William Carey, but he said, God is always advancing. And my friend, we ought to have this always in the forefront of our prayer life, praying that God will open up new doors, praying that God will open up new opportunities. that we can go and speak the mystery of Christ and reveal Him to those who are in their sin. But not just that they pray for opportunities, but they're also told to pray for boldness. In verse number four, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak. That word manifest, it means to make known. It means to proclaim. And notice what it says, as I ought to speak. That's a very interesting term. I don't just believe it is speaking about how that Paul feels the responsibility to speak. I believe that's speaking about the manner in which he ought to speak. I believe that's talking about the presentation of the gospel. And Paul is saying, I need boldness. I need help that I will be able to make Christ manifest in the appropriate manner, that I won't go into the marketplace of ideas and whisper the message of Christ, but I'll go in with boldness, and I'll proclaim Him, and I'll declare Him loudly, proudly, and boldly before the lost. My friend, I believe he's praying here for a boldness. to help him speak and present the gospel in the way that it ought to be presented. And that is something we also need to be praying for as well, that God will give us the boldness to preach the gospel and to present the gospel in the way that the gospel ought to be preached, in the way that the gospel ought to be presented. We live in a day when many churches have tried to take the gospel message and wrap it, pack it, and present it in a way that will be more palatable to the unbeliever. And so they take Christian music and they make it sound more like worldly music. And they use that as a hook to try and lure the unbeliever into the worship service. Or perhaps they go out first with entertainment. They go out first with entertaining ideas and entertaining events and the pastor just becomes a community organizer and he tries to bring the community together for all these events. And then he tries to lure them into the church. My friend, we have not been told to present the gospel in any other manner than what we have been told to in Scripture. We have been exhorted to boldly proclaim and to preach the gospel, to herald it forth in the way that we ought to speak. And so we need to pray for God-given opportunities but also for a God-given boldness to take and seize those opportunities and use them for Christ. But secondly, notice they are to continue walking. They are to continue praying, but they're also to continue walking. There in verse number five, walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. walking wisdom toward them that are without redeeming the time. Now this was a church that was currently and definitely in the near future going to face some very difficult days. Days that when to profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ would cost you your life. So Paul instructs them here on how they are to continue walking the narrow way. Notice he says they are to walk in wisdom toward them that are without. Now, whenever it speaks about walking in wisdom, It speaks there to be wise in your conduct in front of the world, to them that are without. We are to be wise in the way we conduct ourselves and in the way that we live our lives, and we're to be wise in the way that we go about and present Jesus Christ. Now, why would this be so? Why did they need wisdom? Why did these Colossian believers need wisdom in how they were to walk about their community and live in their society? Well, let me give you two reasons. First of all, as history has outlined for us and recorded for us, it wouldn't be too far in the near future that Christians in that part of the world at that time would be soon accused of false activity. And the false activity that they would be accused of was that they were cannibals. and that they were actually involved in cannibalism. Now, where would somebody make or even have any grounds to make that accusation? Well, it really come down to the understanding of the Lord's Supper. You see, the ungodly, the unbeliever, the worldly heard that the believers in Christ took the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. And they said, well, is that literal blood? Well, they understood it to be literal blood and literal flesh. And so they accused the Christians of being cannibals. We know that the body and the bread are not the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ. For that very reason, we have been exhorted in the Old Testament and right through the Scriptures not to be involved in cannibalism. But this was the false accusation that they made. And the Lord's people were ostracized because of that. They were persecuted because of that. And these lies were spread about them. But the second reason why they needed wisdom in the way they walked wasn't just because of the false accusations, but also because they would face difficult situations. They were living in a pagan society. They were living in a society that was hostile to the Christian worldview and to the Christian way of living. And there was gonna be times when they were gonna face difficult circumstances. Were they to eat the meat offered to idols? How could they keep their testimony? How could they be a witness in society but keep themselves from being too involved in the wicked practices of society? There was no clear line. They needed wisdom in order that they might keep their testimony to those without in the world. But secondly, notice, They are to also walk, not just in wisdom, but they are to walk redeeming the time. Now that phrase, redeeming the time, there in verse number 5, it's an economy term. It's a term of business. And it speaks about to buy up or to completely buy up. And what this phrase is, it's saying you're to live in such a way. You're to walk the narrow way in such a way that you're buying up every moment, that you're buying up every second, that you're not wasting any single moment or any single time that God has given to you to use. You're to be wise in how you use your time. My friend, there are many that go through their lives and they simply waste their time. You think about the common idea today surrounding retirement. And people work and work and work and work and work to retire. And then what do they dream about in retirement? Putting my feet up and relaxing. And there's millions, millions and millions of pounds are spent in advertising every year to appeal to people and say, well, this is where you want to move to retirement. This is the type of place you want to live. Just somewhere where you can put up your feet and relax. You don't have to work. You don't have to do anything. Just take your ease, eat, drink, be merry. My friend, that is not the Christian attitude to life. We are not simply just to recline upon a chair or lie upon a sofa and let the time drift by. Yes, there is appropriate time for rest and for health and for recharging the batteries. My friend, we're not simply just to live our lives wasting it. We're to work for God. We're to live for God. We're to use up every moment of time that God has given to us for His glory and for His honor. the sake of his gospel and his kingdom. But notice with me thirdly and finally, they were to continue in prayer, they were to continue in their walk, but they're also now to continue speaking. In verse number six, let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how to answer every man. Now, I believe this is immediately connected with what has come in the preceding verses. I believe this speech here is not just random words or random talk or short talk or short conversations. I believe it's speaking here. It's speaking about being a witness. It's speaking about those who will go out and who will spread the gospel through verbal communication, witnessing to people words that they used. You see, they prayed for open doors. They prayed to be a witness. They prayed for boldness. They prayed that God would give them wisdom in how they are to live in front of those and how they're to redeem the time. But now they were to speak and to present the gospel. Notice how their speech is to be before the world. It is to be always with grace. They are to go about spreading the gospel. They are to live in society as a witness for Christ with grace. There is always to be grace proceeding from their minds. That grace, it speaks about a pleasantness. It speaks about an attractiveness to their speech and to their attitude, to their demeanor. It contradicts the idea of being blunt or rude or condescending. And my friend, whenever we go to share the gospel, we must not do it with a bluntness. We must not do it with a rudeness or with an arrogance or with a condescending tone. We must do it with grace. People will realize there's a pleasantness to that man. There's a pleasantness to the way that he speaks and the way that he shares the Word of God. But also notice about their speech. It was to be seasoned with salt. It was to be filled with grace, but their speech was also to be seasoned with salt. Now, salt serves two purposes. Salt, first of all, brings out a flavor in the food, but salt can also be used as a preservative. And there's a couple of ways to understand this, what it means that whenever we're witnessing that our speech is to be seasoned with salt. The first way is that our speech is to be flavorful. Our speech is to be flavorful. Again, speaking about the way and the method that we present the gospel. The way we speak about the gospel is to be tasteful. It's not to be flavorless. It's not to be a bland, boring presentation of the gospel. It's to be lively. My friend, whenever somebody hears it, they'll realize there's an energy to this, there's a taste to this, there's a life to this gospel presentation. Not to be bland and boring. But then also as well, with the idea of salt being a preservative, our speech and the message that we preach is to be in society as a preservative. To keep society from going and entering on a moral decline. Now, you and I can realize that our society here in BC is on a moral decline. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or somebody who spent very long studying the culture to realize that. We are on a moral decline, and we see all the effects of that. As we steer away from God's word, as we steer away from God's law, and we exalt and we make man's laws, it leads to the corruption and to the breaking down of a civilized society. Yet, my friend, the only answer to that is to be the salt of the earth. The answer to that moral decline is that our speech and the message that we preach will be seasoned with salt. You and I, with the message of the gospel, will be a preservative in this world to stop it from going on a downward spiral. Why is our speech to be filled with grace? Why is it to be seasoned with salt that ye may know how to answer every man? That whenever you go out to the world and the world is hurling its objections, when the world is hurling at you all its questions, that you'll be prepared, you'll be ready, and you'll be willing to answer the objections and the questions that are put to you. My friend, we are to live in this world. So often it is said we're not to be off the world, and yet we are in the world. My friend, so often the emphasis there is putting and not being off the world, and that is true. But my friend, we still have to live in the world, don't we? We still have to conduct our business here to be low. And as we do that as Christians, we must continue with a steady going on with God, continuing in prayer, continuing in our walk, and continuing in our speaking, in our presentation of the gospel, knowing how to answer every man. When closing, this really was Paul's shortest exhortation. All he says to them is continue. He wants them to continue. My friend, this church was a church that was in the middle of difficulty. Again, we think about the letter being read publicly to that church, the false teachers being called out, God's people being exhorted to go on to reject the false teachers, the tension that that would have caused, perhaps the trouble that that would have caused, perhaps the split that that would have caused. Paul realizes he doesn't want these things to stunt the growth of the true believers in that church. He wants them collectively as a whole, as a body of saints, to keep on going on, to continue in the faith, to continue praying, to continue walking, and to continue speaking the gospel. My friend, there's a message for us today. God doesn't want you to stop. God doesn't want you to quit. God doesn't want you to throw in the towel halfway through. He wants you to continue. He wants you to go on. My friend, I pray that's exactly what you will do today. That although you might be perhaps be in a time of difficulty, Perhaps you're going through a time of difficulty in your church. Perhaps you're facing difficulties in your home and your family, or those around you are persecuting you. My friend, remember this exhortation today. Continue. Keep on going on.