Sunday, June 29, 2014
Fans of the movie Frozen remember how important
“Coronation Day” is in that story. In
the story of our church life, “Ordination Day” is a big day. If it is your ordination, you have to speak
in front of the congregation. The church
gathers around you and lays hands on you as your name is carried to God in
prayer. If it is not your ordination,
you may not remember as much about the day.
Like most Sundays, you come to church.
It is special, but may not stand out from other Sundays.
This morning three individuals are
recognized as uniquely set apart. Each
has answered the call to a servant-ministry role that is specific in the life
of HillSong Church.
As all of us participate in
recognizing the ordination of Jess, Tabitha, and Jeremy, we remember the word
of God from last week, Colossians 3. We
are God’s chosen, beloved and holy. Not
all are ordained, but all who are in Christ are God’s people. To be
his is to have his purpose as ours. God
chooses us and God defines us. If there
is something we all might remember from this ordination day – those being
ordained and those laying on hands and saying prayers – it might be the words
of wisdom Paul gives the church in the opening verses of Colossians 4.
He begins, “devote yourselves to
prayer.” Make prayer a marker in your
life, an activity, a ‘go-to’ coping response, and an automatic way of
processing information and emotions.
This cannot be overemphasized.
The disciple lives a praying life.
It would require a sermon series lasting a couple of months to think
through all the different ways that we pray.
I simply urge each of this morning to identify one way that we pray that
is most comfortable and to practice that method without fail daily for the next
30 days. It could be prayer with
journaling, it could be praying the scriptures, intercession, or something
else, but find your sweet spot in prayer and don’t miss a day for the next
30. Find a style of praying that works
for you and stick with it.
Also, pray in ways that are
challenging. You struggle with silent
prayer. You don’t like to get up early,
so sun rise prayers are tough. Praying
in public is difficult. Find that one
way that is most difficult for you. Practice
that for 30 days.
We meet God in our comfort zones and also way outside our comfort
zones. In both meetings with God, we are
blessed and we grow. Especially, newly
ordained leaders, you will want to discover new avenues of prayer. You will want to find out what it means to
live a praying life. Paul insisted here
and in other letters that we devote ourselves to prayer. He wanted every church under his influence to
be a praying church (Phil. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:17).
Devote yourselves to prayer.
“Pray for us … that God will open a
door for the word” (Col. 4:3). In asking
that they pray for him, Paul acknowledged his own dependence. He could not succeed without God’s constant
help. He also knew that if he did
succeed, it would advance the Kingdom of God.
Prayer by the church then and now plays a role in the advance of the
kingdom.
Colossians 4:3 is a summons to the
church to pray for that church’s pastors.
In our case, this is a call to prayer for our youth minister Emily, and
for Heather and me. We need your prayer
for us to be successful in helping our body of Christ-followers make sense of
the world according to the word of God.
We will be better pastors if you make prayer for us a part of your
lives. And the church will be closer to
who God is creating our church to be with pastors and ministers who are covered
in prayer. In addition to volunteering,
prayer is a way you participate in church life.
Colossians 4:3 also ties the prayers
of the church to the work of God in the world.
Paul’s intent is that God will open a door for the Word as Christ
followers spread the gospel around the world.
In living a praying life, we are called by God to pray for Christian
workers – evangelists, missionaries, and lay people who serve God on campus and
in the marketplace.
Choose one day a week your own prayer life and make that the day
you pray for pastors, missionaries, and Christian workers in the world. Make your prayer specific. Pray for our partnership in Ethiopia. Pray for members of our church going on
trips. Pray for persecuted Christians in
Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Nigeria. Pray
for our members – your friends; ask God to make them missionaries in their
jobs. Make this prayer for the
advancement of the word in our own community and worldwide something that
matters greatly in your life.
Devote yourselves to prayer.
Pray that God will open a door for the word.
A final instruction – “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders;
let your speech always be gracious.”
As we become praying people – we come to know God more and
more. As we invest our heart’s energies
in praying for the advancement of the Word, we become more connected to God’s
work in the world. Striving for wisdom and
gracious speech, we embody God’s loving, inviting character. Our faith comes to life as it is lived beyond
the walls of the church building. We see
what kind of Christ followers we truly are in how conduct ourselves with
non-Christians. Are we aloof or warm and
inviting? Are we judgmental or gracious? Everyone can be a Christian at church. There one is rewarded for singing well,
praying well, and speaking well. The God
who calls is a God who sends and we are sent to engage in relationships with
people who have not given themselves to Christ. We live out our lives within systems not in
step with the Kingdom.
Coronation day is a declaration of the state of affairs of the
kingdom. If the new ruler follows a
tyrant, the subjects in the kingdom have hope that life will be better under a
newer, gentler monarch. If the new king
replaces a beloved king, there’s anxiety.
Can he be as great as his father?
Can anyone? What will become of
our kingdom?
Similarly, the ordination is statement of the health of the life
of the church. I look at Jess, Tabitha,
and Jeremy and I have hope. God is at
work in the lives of the people of our church and they are answering his
call. And I have seen people in our
church live praying lives. I have heard
as HillSong people have prayed fervently for the advance of the Word of God in
the world. I have watched my brothers
and sisters in this place conduct themselves wisely in the world, sharing
grace, and acting as salt that preserves and seasons their environments with
the Gospel. I am impressed by how much
this church calls me to pray and live. I
know the three being ordained today will step into that role of encouraging
their fellow church family members just as they are being encouraged.
Colossians ends with Paul telling someone named Archippus to
complete the task he has received in the Lord (4:17). He had something specific in mind for
Archippus. His advice transcends and
speaks to us. We complete the task God
has given us by living prayerful lives as followers of Jesus. This is true for ordained deacons and elders
and it is true for all who read the word, hear the call of God, and decide to
give themselves to Him. All of us are
called to life and called for life.
AMEN
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