Honor God
Help People
SALVATION
July 21, 2023Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ.
Colossians 4:2-3a
1. SALVATION IS FOR EVERYONE. God desires no one to perish but all to come to eternal life (2 Peter 3:9). Before I was saved, I was lost and in darkness. But God, in His mercy and grace, was knocking on the door of my heart. At five years old, I remember reaching out, wanting God, trying to figure Him out. I yearned for truth. I hardened when I became a teenager, and I began to follow the patterns of my peer group and go further and further into lostness. But then, as God was drawing me, I began again to seek. And the Bible says, if you seek, you’ll find; if you knock, the door will be open (Matthew 7:7).
2. SALVATION IS FOR THOSE BOTH NEAR AND FAR OFF. Some people are open to God – like the man Jesus looked at and said, “You’re not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). This person was seeking truth and was hungry for what Jesus had to offer him. Other people dismiss and ignore the message; Psalms says, “Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes” (Psalm 119:155). Indifference and apathy are dangerous. That’s why we’ve got to take the message to the lost and introduce it to them in a non-threatening and effective way – in our conversation, in our interactions with people, and in our performance at our jobs – people are observing us.
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Colossians 4:5-6
3. PRAY FOR OPEN HEARTS AND OPEN DOORS. As you talk to different people, you’ll find that they will have different degrees of interest, and sometimes their hearts will have been prepared beforehand – someone might have been praying for them before you even crossed paths. That’s why it’s so important that we pray for the hearts of people who need Jesus – pray that God would send laborers to cross their paths and that they would be receptive to the gospel. We are called to be evangelistic – not obnoxious or annoying – but available to minister to someone else in the way God wants to use us. Spend time in the Word every day so that the Word is what comes out of you; spend time praying; ask God to use you in your daily life and interactions. He will!
PRAY THIS PRAYER:
God, You said in the Bible that he who is wise wins souls (Proverbs 11:30). I pray that You would give me wisdom and fill me with the content of the Scriptures so I am ready with a good word. Help me with this. I pray that there will be a breakthrough in my interaction with the lost and that they come to know Jesus by the hundreds of millions in my lifetime. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.
sal·va·tion, noun
Deliverance from the power and effects of sin.
The agent or means that effects salvation.
Preservation from destruction or failure.
Deliverance from danger or difficulty.
Press on!
Pastor Jeff
Copyright © 2023 St. Louis Family Church, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. “Salvation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salvation. Accessed 20 Jul. 2023.
