 Yeah, welcome back from the break So before the break we were looking at Colossians chapter 3 Verses 1 to 4 where Paul says Because now you are raised with Christ seated with Christ Therefore stay hidden with Christ You know your life is now hidden with Christ. So keep your eyes on the heavenly things and We talk a lot about you know being seated in the heavenly realm with Christ and we place a lot of emphasis on that But then for you to enjoy your status of being seated with Christ to enjoy that status You would need to stay hidden in Christ because you know Peter later on brings out the same concept. He mentions something similar If you were to go to 2nd Peter 1 versus 3 to 4 Day he says you know through the divine power of Jesus Christ Everything we need for a godly life has been given to us He says that in Peter Peter says that in 2nd Peter chapter 1 versus 3 to 4 He says that everything we need for a godly life has already been Given to us and then he says in verse 4 over there for 2nd Peter 1 verse 4 Through these he has given us that is through his glory and his goodness He has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature So God has given us very great and precious promises so that we can participate in the divine nature and Having done that we escape the corruption in the world which is caused by Evil desires so a person who chooses to stay hidden with Christ Such a person will be able to participate in the divine nature They will be able to enjoy all the great and precious promises which have you know, which are promised to them in Christ so when we stay hidden in Christ and Our life is you know in tune with him then we are able to access this divine nature and participate in it We are able to access the great and precious promises and in that way We are able to escape from the destruction which is there in the world. So The evil forces try to tempt us with evil desires they want to draw us away from the protection and safety of Christ and So that we will be exposed to the destruction which is there in the world The word corruption over there talks about you know destruction in our second Peter. So here Paul is saying You have been raised with Christ. You're seated with him You are meant to be living in victory. You are meant to be hidden safe protected So if you choose to continue being hidden with him Then you will be able to participate in the divine nature You will be able to enjoy the precious promises of God and you will be able to escape The destruction which is there in the world on the other hand if you go outside the protection of Christ You know and try to try out these false teachings and get drawn away by these philosophies There is a danger that you will suffer the corruption which is there in the world is the point that he wants to bring out In fact in second Peter chapter 2 Versus 17 to 22 it talks about the very great danger of people who you know Get into all these false teachings second Peter 2 70 to 22 it talks about In verse 19 second Peter 2 19 it says they promise, you know the false teachers They promise freedom while they themselves are slaves of depravity For people are slaves to whatever has mastered them if they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and our overcome They are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning If you have known the Lord Jesus and you have escaped from the corruption of the world If you if you know don't stay hidden them him and you start trying out all these other things and you go away from him You will become entangled You will be overcome by those things and you know your future will be much worse than it would have been earlier If you had just you know been an unbeliever because now you have known God and you have tasted of the you know Divine nature which he has offered you and now if you turn your back on him, you know, you're the entangling will be deeper You are the evil forces will overcome you. So that is the danger which is there So here in this letter to the Colossians He's trying to guard Paul is trying to guard the believers from such things So he says let your mind stay on the things above because you are safely hidden with Christ and He goes on to talk about In what way we can stay hidden. So verse five onwards gives us an explanation So verses five to eleven if someone could read out Chapter three Colossians chapter three versus five to eleven Yeah, if anyone has returned back from the break if you're there Please if you could unmute and read out for us Colossians chapter three versus five to eleven Verse five therefore put to death your members which are on the earth for negation uncleanness passion evil desire and Covetousness of justness which is idolatry Because of these things the rod of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them But now you yourselves are to put off all these Anger Roth malice blasphemy fill the language out of your mouth Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds and Have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him Where there is neither Greek nor Jew circumcised nor uncircumcised Barbarian Spiky slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all Yes, so These are these are the things which you are supposed to put to death so that you can stay hidden in Christ He talks about immorality impurity lust evil desires So it's the people of the with the sons of disobedience It's the people of the world who will follow these things and so God's broth is going to come down upon such people So, you know, we who are the sons of God should not have to come under this kind of a broth So he says stay hidden in Christ It's this it's the sons of disobedience who are going to experience the wrath of God because of indulging in all these things You on the other hand stay hidden in Christ to not indulge in these things So because you don't need the wrath of God coming down upon you So he goes on to say also do not indulge in anger rage malice He says do not lie to each other and he says Take off the old self put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge So as a person chooses to Stay hidden in Christ by putting off the old and by putting on the new Even as they do that they are renewed in knowledge You know, it's very very similar to what we see in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 Where it says do not confirm to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind So the same thing over here. He's saying do not be no Paul is also saying over here to the Colossians. He says stay hidden in Christ Don't be confirmed to the pattern of this world Because if you're confirmed come confirm to the pattern of this world the wrath of God is coming On the other hand, you know, like just like it says in Romans here also to the Colossians He's basically telling them Allow yourself to be transformed by being renewed in knowledge Because in Romans 12 to you know, he says then you will be able to test and approve What God's will is when you start living in a new in this new hidden way Continuing to stay hidden in Christ when you live in that way Then you will be able to literally practically test and and discover that oh God's ways better You know because things work out for you better when you are Following him and obeying him when you're in line with him So you yourself will be able to test and approve and realize that his will is indeed good and pleasing and perfect. So When a person chooses to stay hidden by taking off the old self and It's practices and by putting on the new self when they live in that manner They are renewed in knowledge. They begin to discover that oh This way of life really works. This is really a better way of living So they are they are saved from the corruption of the world the destruction which they would have experienced You know if they had continued to hold on to their old ways and their old practices, they are saved from that They're spared from all of that. So This is the advantage of staying hidden in Christ Also, there's another advantage which he talks about in verse 11 He says here in no in this hidden state with Christ here. There is no gentile or Jew Circumcised or uncircumcised in the sense. There's no discrimination Nobody is going to be treated as a second-class citizen Nobody is going to be treated like a stepchild. You know, you're all gods loved adopted children Everyone has equal status. So he says in verse 12 Therefore as gods chosen people Holy and dearly loved That's the way God considers each believer Whether they are a gentile or whether they are a Jew Whether they are a Skytian or from some other region of the world Doesn't matter what their background is If they have come to the Lord, then they are chosen people They are holy people and it says that they are dearly loved people So because you are so dearly loved and God regards you as important as a Jewish person You know, so because you are dearly loved therefore Flow yourself with compassion, kindness, Humility, gentleness and patience in the same way the Lord is treating you As dearly loved You also must treat others as dearly loved So, uh, you know, so it says in verse 13 bear with each other and forgive one another If any of you has a grievance against someone Um, forgive as the Lord forgave you So if you have a grievance against someone if someone has hurt you in what way are you supposed to forgive them Forgive them as the in the same way that the Lord forgave you Um, so this is a rather high requirement that you know Paul is placing on the believers He says it's not just enough to say okay. I forgive you It has to be true forgiveness to the extent that Jesus has forgiven you So what would that mean when When we go to the Lord and we confess our sins The next time, you know, we have our interaction with him when he looks at us He does not remember what we did or what we said or the sinful thing, you know, which we were we we The choice which we made when he looks at us he looks at us as Perfect person a righteous person He no longer The picture of what you did of what you said the wrong choice that you made that picture does not come to his mind He so he doesn't identify you forever with that with that sin He has now separated you from that from that action from that sinful action, which you did On the other hand when we meet someone who has hurt us deeply what happens generally The minute you look at that person Immediately the you connect them in your mind with what they did Right, so that would not be true forgiveness as long as you still hold on to that mental picture You know of what that person did and the minute you see them If that thought comes back to your mind, then it means that you have not forgiven You're still holding on to what they did So that would not be the same as forgiving the way Christ forgave you So we would have to if this is something that is that is done divinely by God himself So we would have to go to the Lord humbly and say Lord, I am willing to forgive this person I'm willing to put it behind me to an extent where I'm not even reminded of it anymore When I when I know when I meet that person So the Lord works in us, you know healing us Helping us to forgive Helping us to get over the bitterness step by step He takes us through a process that finally when you the next time you when you meet that person You don't remember what what was done Now you see that person the way you used to see the person before before that particular, you know incident happened So that would be true forgiveness where God has divinely taken you through a process in your heart because you were willing to cooperate with him You were willing to let go of the grudge. You were willing to let go of the bitterness. So because you cooperated with him He took you through a stage by stage through a process where you experienced healing on the inside You you you saw the truth of God's word and what God says about forgiveness You learned that you renewed your mind with it. So step by step you began to overcome And you reached a stage where when you reach when you know the next time you meet that person You just say hi and you don't even think of what had happened earlier that's gone That is true forgiveness and it's a divine act It can only be done with full cooperation with the Lord and the Lord works it in us We will not be able to achieve it on our own So that should be the kind of forgiveness Anything less than that. It's not really forgiveness. It's just you holding your mouth, you know shut and not Saying out the things which are still there in your heart That is not true forgiveness Forgiveness is when there's nothing even left on the inside. You can't even remember it anymore You don't even think about it anymore. It's just it's just a you know memory of the past It's gone it it doesn't even affect the way you feel towards that person anymore That would be true forgiveness. So that is what the Lord requires of us So because we are chosen people Dearly loved people we choose to clothe ourselves with compassion The same way God clothed himself with compassion in his in his treatment of us We too choose to clothe ourselves with compassion kindness gentleness Patience and we bear with each other and forgive one another If even if we have a grievance against someone we forgive us the Lord forgive us And then in verse 14 he says over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity So once you have the virtue of love it basically binds all the other virtues together So a person who is walking in love choosing to you know Maintain a loving attitude and a forgiving attitude Automatically all the other virtues also tend to fall into place You know so He says hold on to love because once you have the love it will bind all the other virtues together in perfect unity So he says um yeah verse 15 onwards he gives some more instructions um So if we can read all the way from verse 15 up to verse 17 Yeah 15 to 17 if someone could read out for us colosians 3 15 to 17 please And let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body and be thankful Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom Teaching and admonishing one One another in psalms and hymns And spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord And whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Giving thanks to god the father through him Yes, uh, so uh, we had touched upon this I think when we were Doing I think probably john was it. I don't remember exactly where but you know, uh, um when it says here Teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms hymns and songs Uh, basically it's talking about The way they did church in those days, you know, um Most of the spiritual teachings they would convert it into a poem Into a song into something with a tune because that's because then it's easier to memorize it It's easier to remember it So when they would meet together in a church service That's basically what they would do, you know, they would be they would be singing the teachings They would be chanting the you know, the things which they have by hearted So in that way, they are teaching each other Encouraging one another. I mean we don't do it in our modern Setting we we we don't have that practice anymore. But this is basically how they used to compose Psalms and hymns and poems and songs All of all the things which they believe all the things which they should practice They would put them into this kind of a form and literally memorize it So then in the church, they would they would they would say this to each other to to encourage each other to continue walking in the Lord and Also, if you look at these verses There's a lot of emphasis on thankfulness In verse 15, he says and be thankful verse 16 He says singing to God with gratitude and then uh verse 17. It says, um, you know, whatever you do whether in word or bead Yeah, so he's saying everything that you're doing Let it all be with this Thankful attitude giving thanks to God the Father through him So there are in in these few verses three times this concept of giving thanks is brought out Uh, why because uh an an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude such an attitude is pleasing to the Lord It shows that we trust him We generally are only able to thank someone when we believe that what they are doing for us is good So it may not feel good the tight spot that we are in may not feel nice But if we really trust the person who has you know allowed us to be in that particular position and we say, thank you Lord, I know you'll come through for me in your time. You know, it shows an attitude of trust So, uh, it's pleasing to the Lord and we are urged to maintain that kind of a thankful attitude And uh, yeah, he says whatever you do whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus So we choose to Live in obedience in our thoughts and our words and our actions because we are grateful for what God has Done for us So these are all things that we can do to stay hidden in Christ Then he moves on to the instructions, which are very similar to whatever he had told the efficient believers So in verse 18 onwards, uh, he gives those instructions which are A kind of repetition of efficiency chapter Five so, uh, if we could maybe read all the way to verse 25 Yeah 18 to 25 Colossians chapter three if someone could read all the way from 18 up to 25 Why submit to your own Yeah, if one of you could read okay wives submit to your your own husbands As is fitting in the Lord Husbands love your wives and do not be bitter toward them Children obey your parents In all things for this is well pleasing to the Lord Fathers do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged Born servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh Not with eye service as men pleases But in sincerity of heart fearing God and whatever you do Do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance For you serve the Lord Jesus Christ But we who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done and there is no partiality amen Yes, thank you Yeah, so there are further instructions given specific instructions to different categories of people Just like we see in Before we go there if we can you know first cover the question which has been posted by jeffina She's asking regarding that term bond of perfection Uh, so I guess you're probably referring to the nkjv Is that the one because yeah, so niv you know kind of breaks it down and makes it sound simpler But that's basically what the bond of perfection is talking about so if you could you know jeffina if you could read out Verse 14 in the nkjv, then we we will see how that compares with the niv Yeah, I'll just read the verse color. She's chapter 3 verse 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection Okay, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Yeah, so um in the niv it says Put on love which binds all the other virtues together so, um Bond of perfection over here is just simply talking about how Love is able to bind all the other virtues together in the sense. We are supposed to have gentleness patience kindness You know, there are so many Virtues that we are supposed to have But if you have love then love automatically You know brings all these other virtues together in a perfect bond That's so that there's no deeper meaning to that. It's just that the nkjv is using older english And so the modern versions versions use simpler english to bring out the same thing All that they are saying is that once you have that virtue of love Automatically all the other virtues also will come come together Because you can't possibly be gentle without being loving You can't possibly be patient and bear with the other person's imperfections without being loving So it all comes back to love. So once you have that virtue of love It binds all the other virtues together and helps you to walk in all of them So that's what it just basically means that um so yes coming to this uh To this list of you know different In instructions given to the different categories of people So in verse 18 the wife is told that she must submit to her husband As is fitting in the lord. That's the term that is used over there. Uh, so that Word submit, you know, which is used that's actually a military term in greek where Uh, someone of lower rank, you know submits to the authority of the leader the commander I mean a chorus in charge of that particular army unit So you you as somebody of lower rank you have to submit And in the army, you can't say no today. I feel like it took it tomorrow. If I don't feel like it I'll not submit. No In the army, it's all about rules and regulations. You know, you've got to submit. So, um That kind of a word is used over here And why must she be doing this because it is fitting in the lord, uh, that Greek term that is used over there. It refers to the obligation which she has It is fitting in the lord. It is her obligation to the lord She's obliged to do is do it to the lord if she considers herself a follower of Christ and considers him her master, then she is obliged to submit to her husband So she's doing it out of honor out of reverence out of obedience to her heavenly commander So this is not a choice Um, she cannot say if the man is pleasant and kind then yes, I will submit to him So this is you see she's doing it as an obligation to her master to the heavenly master So even if he is tends to be on on a harsh She will do it out of Honor for her Commander for her divine commander And then this commander He will take care of her, you know her interests because you know, um in first Peter chapter five versus five to nine Uh over there. It's talking about uh, submission of Of people in the congregation to the elders of course the context is different But the concept of submission which is mentioned over there that principle of submission which is mentioned over there It beautifully applies even in you know here in this context So what is the main principle of submission which is you know, uh contained in first Peter five five to nine Uh, yeah, if someone could actually read out that portion for us Let's look at the main principle of submission which is you know contained in those verses first Peter chapter five Verses five to nine First Peter five five to nine if someone could read out Verse five in the same way you who are younger submit yourselves to your elders All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another Because god opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble Humble yourself therefore under god's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you Yeah, um so It says in this passage god opposes the proud But shows favor to the humble So in the context in the collusion context that we are talking about right now If the wife resists and says no, I will not submit to this Husband because he is not a kind person is harsh therefore. I refuse to submit. She's actually being proud She's rebelling against her heavenly master So You know god would not just see that as a kind of uh compromise. He would actually see it as a rebellion by her Because he is she is opposing something which he has you know laid down as a command So he opposes the proud but he shows favor to the humble So if she humbles herself and says lord in spite of the unfavorable circumstances that I'm in I choose to you know submit to my husband. So she's humbling herself before her heavenly master and uh, So, you know that that's the concept which is brought out in first Peter chapter five It says humble yourselves therefore under god's mighty hand So when this wife submits and humbles herself under the mighty hand of god this mighty hand of god will lift her up in due time So what she needs for her life her interests? He will take care of and his hand is mighty He can help her he can be there for her in a powerful way So so she chooses to take on this attitude You know trusting god, which is why over there in first Peter five in verse seven It says cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you so um in the going back to our collusion passage You know chapter three verse 18 the wife submits to her husband As is fitting in the lord as is her obligation in the lord the lord over acquires this of her and so when she fulfills this obligation in all humility The mighty hand of god will take care of her Where so because she's hum not just submitting to the human husband She is humbling herself under the mighty hand of god and his mighty hand will lift her up You know when the time comes so uh with that attitude of trust she chooses to submit um And husbands are instructed in verse 19 husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them um so When you know Paul is saying this these things to the Colossians How strange it must have sounded to their years At least in our modern times because of the influence of the church we have a better idea of marriage But back then you know in those times um When it comes to social activities I mean the wife was in no way involved in any of the activities of the husband No, she would just be there at home Running the home looking after the home looking after the children The husband on the other hand is fully actively involved in so many things outside the home But she has no connection with any of them And even when the when the husband would come back home, you know in the in the culture of those times It's not like they would all sit together and have a family meal When the husband would just eat, you know with the other men of the household Because women were not considered important at all So why not would he want to sit with a lady and with whom he has nothing to discuss On the other hand if he sits with her, you know, uh, because I mean they all lived in large joint families, right So if he sits with the other men, you know, they can discuss the work of the day and you know things that Decisions which need to be taken there's so much that can be talked about If he sits with his wife, there's nothing to talk about because they have nothing in common So it was that kind of a society to which Paul is writing and he's saying love your wives do not be harsh with them It would so christ was bringing in a concept which was so alien and so new to them So you see he was um god was Bringing in the importance of the marriage relationship. So for these new Early, you know Early church believers Some of these ideas would have been very new That they are supposed to love someone the way god forgives I know Forgive someone the way god forgives to be able to uh submit to their uh husbands As an obligation to the lord All these would have been very very new concepts And they would be able to do these things by the power of the holy spirit on their own Of course, they would not be able to fulfill it But by the power of the holy spirit, they would be able to do these things So the husbands are told not to be harsh towards their wives because if you remember Christ always Put the interests of the church first So that the church can be built up he sacrificed himself So that the church can be edified, you know, he chose to humble himself and become like a servant So he always put the church first For the sake of the church for the sake of the building of the church the edifying of the church He was willing to you know, uh put himself Second he was he was willing to serve. He was willing to sacrifice Now these husbands of that century of that time are being asked to do the same They're being told place your wife's interests before your own Learn to sacrifice learn to serve. So, uh, you know, uh, rather than being harsh with them They are supposed to put their interests first. Uh, so that's the Teaching which is being conveyed over here and then he of course speaks to the slaves and the masters So to the slave he says, you know, do your work Out of reverence for the lord So it says over here do it with sincerity of heart and reverence for the lord So the earthly master may be a harsh man Maybe he's someone who's not kind towards his slaves. Maybe he's not even a nice person Maybe he doesn't even have good moral values Doesn't matter what kind of a man he is You are doing your service out of reverence for the lord So just because your boss is a bad person You know, you don't compromise on your work because you're working out of reverence for the lord So in that way the slaves are supposed to do their work and then, um Yeah, he says in verse 23 Work at it with all your heart as working for the lord and not for human masters And in verse 24, these slaves are told that they will receive an inheritance from the lord as a reward Basically a slave doesn't have any kind of inheritance. I mean, he's just, you know, uh property that has been purchased So to these slaves Paul is saying You know the earthly master may not really ever appreciate your efforts But the heavenly lord will actually give you an inheritance as your reward You guys who never had any legal papers in your hands never had any inheritance never had anything Which you know, you can call your own You will be given an inheritance from the lord himself. You know, he says, um Why because it is the lord christ that you are serving So in our modern day, you know, um terminology, we can apply these things even to, you know, our employee, uh employee employer Relationships so whether the manager above you is kind or harsh whether he appreciates your efforts Whether or not he will promote you It is the lord christ that you are serving and he you will receive an inheritance from him There'll be a great reward for you from the lord. So the lord will take care of these things And so then he speaks to the masters and he tells them Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs and there is no favoritism So anyone who does wrong, you know, if the master is reckless in the way he treats his uh slaves There's no favoritism just because you're a master god will not overlook what you have done You would be repaid for your wrongs. So he says masters Provide your slaves with what is right and fair Because you know that you also have a master in heaven So the master in heaven, he will not show favoritism. He will repay you in case you do wrong So therefore he asks them to be careful and to treat their slaves in a right and fair manner Um, so yes, we will move into colossians chapter four In versus the first four verses um He pray uh paul talks about prayer He asks the colossian believers to pray for him and there are some Basic elements of prayer which we see over here So if someone could read out for us colossians chapter four versus one to four Masters Give your servants what is just and fair knowing that you also have a master in heaven continue in prayer Being vigilant In it with thanksgiving Meanwhile praying also for us that god would open to us a door For the word to speak the mystery of christ for which i am Also in chains that i may make That i may make it manifest as i ought to speak Amen Yeah Yeah, so it's actually from verse two. Sorry. Uh, so yeah in verse two it says devote yourselves to prayer being watchful and thankful So the first element of prayer which is mentioned over here is to be watchful In what way are we supposed to be watchful, you know that way We were told in matthew, right and in the gospels we see that matthew 2641 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak So we are watchful of the dangers which may come Like when you're walking down the road you are watchful You you you see whether there are any potholes in front of you you see whether there's any obstacle in front of you So in the same way even as you know, uh, even as you're going through your christian Life on a day-to-day basis you watch out for the temptations You watch out for the dangers the risks which can lead you away from your hiddenness So you watch out for those things and you pray that the lord will keep you strong So that when the time of temptation comes you will not fall So you keep yourself in prayer and you stay watchful You ask the lord to strengthen you you ask the lord to build you up on in your inner man So that when the temptation comes, you know, you will be ready So the to to pray once the temptation comes it's like a little too late So you should have been doing your praying before the temptation came yes, so That is why he says devote yourselves to prayer being watchful By the time the temptation comes it's a little too late. You're already getting enticed. You're already being distracted and led away So at that time you will not be in a position to pray On the other hand if you already prepared yourself in prayer and built yourself up When the temptation comes you're already strong. You're already ready on the inside So you'll be able to say no and resist. So this is not just a light command that he's giving He says devote yourselves to prayer It's something that we have to consciously do Spend time in prayer praying in tongues and also praying with our you know A with our mind we need to do this so that we can be Ready when temptation comes the second element of prayer is of course thankfulness thankfulness expresses to god that we trust him that we Are grateful for to him for all that he is providing the third element of prayer He says pray for us to That god may open a door for our message So we should be praying for open doors for ministry everywhere You know when When we meet people and this you know, we just ask them what do you do and they say oh, I work for so-and-so ministry And you know and they generally say you know, please pray for us. Keep us in prayer. They say So what exactly should we be praying for them? We should pray the lord would open many doors for them That they'll have many opportunities to go and reach out and share about About the the gospel and to be able to disciple people to be able to influence people So we should pray that there'll be many many open doors available to those who are you know involved in ministry and then The fourth element of prayer We pray for the people who are involved in the in the ministry work of sharing the gospel What exactly do we pray for them that they will be able to proclaim this gospel clearly You know like Paul says pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should A lot of people are not clear in the way. They are proclaiming the gospel you know They water it down just to make it sound more appealing to the people They will say come to the lord and you you know, he will bless you But they don't talk about the cross which they will have to take up to follow follow Jesus They dilute it so that poor person comes to Jesus thinking oh good. I'm just getting in something for free They don't realize that this commitment involved. They don't realize that they will have to take up their cross and follow him so That's a very wrong way or in fact deceiving people And that poor person thinks that now they are a believer But actually they're not a believer because you didn't even bother telling them the actual gospel So that's very very dangerous So we pray for the people who are sharing the gospel and working for God in ministry That they will whatever they proclaim that they will proclaim it clearly So that all the scriptural truths will be brought out so that the people who are hearing will follow the actual truth And not deceive themselves, you know um and go into wrong ways so He says in verse 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders Make the most of every opportunity Let your conversation be always full of grace Seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone So the those in ministry are going to encounter a lot of people So you should be very wise in the way you uh You know interact with them is what he says Make the most of every opportunity The way you approach them the way you interact with them will either put them off Or they will be willing to open their ears and listen So you have to make most of the opportunity which is given to you If you you know Sound over spiritual and as though you are superior and these are ignorant people who don't know the truth And you know you you you come across in that way, you know And as if you know as though you're saying to them, you don't know anything I know everything so please listen to me. Then you're even your life will be saved So if you come to them with that kind of an approach They will not even want to hear you so you would have in fact lost that opportunity So he says be wise in the way you act towards outsiders make the most of every opportunity Let your conversation be always full of grace When god came to us, you know and you know, um We received salvation. He came to us with full of grace He knew that we were ignorant But you know, he showed us all that he has to offer us he didn't criticize He didn't condemn. He didn't say are you're ignorant? You don't know anything You know, he he showed us what he has to offer rather than you know focusing on our on our weaknesses and our you know lack of qualifications. He said Doesn't matter what you are. I have something beautiful for you. Are you willing to take it? So we also should be wise in the way we do our interactions We should be full of grace seasoned with salt um, you know salt was something that was sprinkled Um, when they made a peace covenant with one another, you know back in biblical times if you're making some kind of a Pleity or agreement between two parties Salt would be sprinkled on that occasion because salt had for some reason become a symbol of peace Okay, so salt would actually be sprinkled when you have a peace covenant being established between two parties So here in he's saying let your conversation be always full of grace seasoned with salt You know, so uh, you you you're approaching the person with grace and with peace So that you may know how to answer everyone So when they raise their questions they raise their criticisms and their objections You you will be answering everything that you know that they are putting forward You'll be answering it with grace. You'll be seasoning it with salt with peace So that will be acceptable to them And you know, they may actually be willing to listen and even as they are listening The holy spirit will convict them of sin righteousness and judgment So you have managed to get their attention. You approach them in the right way Now It'll become possible for the holy spirit to do his part On the other hand if you have pushed the person away The holy spirit will not be able to do his part. So you're you're you're playing an important role in the partnership with him You need to do your side right Then that will enable the lord to do his part, you know, without any restrictions So it's important that we partner with the lord in the right manner um We have a little bit of this chapter left Uh, but yeah, I think maybe we'll just Finish it next week because there's a lot of um Good learning which can come out from the remaining portion It has greetings in it, but it also has some important principles in it So, yeah, maybe we can look into greater detail Next class We'll close with a word of prayer Lord, we thank you for all the things that we could learn today We pray that we will stay hidden in you Uh, so that we will escape the destruction and corruption which can come from the world And we will stay safe in you and we pray oh lord that Even as we live our hidden life with you, we will have a We will devote ourselves to prayer so that we can always be victorious so that we can always Be thankful and full of gratitude and so that we will uh approach people and treat people in the Right manner when we have an opportunity to minister to them. Thank you lord in jesus name. Amen. Amen. Thank you