Gospel Growth Around Us (21 Days of Prayer #3)

This past Thursday I was in the office working on my sermon.

Our administrative assistant, who also volunteers on our clean team, came in to get the lobby and bathrooms ready for Sunday, and she brought her two youngest daughters along to help.

I’d been in my office for well over an hour — reading through today’s passage, consulting a couple of commentaries, putting things together — when one of the girls came in to grab the trash can and recycling bin.

When she brought them back, she started talking to me. I started talking back. And the next thing I knew, she had taken over my Spotify, was playing Parry Gripp songs at full volume, and had typed onto my otherwise blank sermon notes:

moo love

I have screenshot evidence, in case you don’t believe me.

I was teasing the girls, pretending it was horrible and such an interruption. But honestly, it was a fantastic moment — because I genuinely did not know how I was going to start this sermon, and they handed it to me.

And no, it isn’t because she typed “moo.”

They Couldn’t Help but Share What They Loved

When those girls came into my office, they couldn’t help but share what they love. They love Parry Gripp songs.

I’ve been out of the preschool and elementary stage for a long time, and I’m not in the grandparent stage yet, so I was entirely unfamiliar with Parry Gripp. I got quite an education.

If you don’t know, he writes these very silly — some might say annoying — songs that thoroughly rocked my office for a solid ten minutes. I had also temporarily forgotten the sheer hilarity of words like “moo” and “toot.” Again: quite an education.

But here’s the thing. These two knew what they loved, and out of their joy they wanted to share it with me.

Many of you have things you love like that. So let me ask: what do you enjoy that you just can’t help sharing with people?

Some might call it your guilty pleasure. That thing you like to do. That food you love to eat. Those songs you like to listen to. You do these things because they bring you pleasure — and out of that joy you want to share them.

Some people keep their favorites private. But for most of us, when we really enjoy something, we can’t help telling someone else about it — even if it’s a campy B-level movie or something genuinely strange like drinking dill pickle juice.

Turn to someone near you — preferably not someone in your family — and share your guilty, or maybe not-so-guilty, pleasure. Whatever you enjoy, no matter what anyone else thinks. Go ahead. And make sure the other person gets a turn.

All right. Some of you just heard something deeply weird and we may have introduced disunity into the church. And some of you may have just discovered your new guilty pleasure.

Paul’s Was Not a Guilty Pleasure

Today we’re going to hear Paul talk about something he loved — and he did not care what anyone thought of it, or of him.

He was so passionate about it that he couldn’t help talking about it. Or writing about it.

What was it? The gospel.

In Romans 1:16 he says he is not ashamed of the gospel. He wasn’t ashamed of this seemingly crazy story — that a triune God would send the second member of the Trinity to take on human flesh, live a sinless life, and then die in the sinner’s place.

This story had changed his life, and out of his joy he wanted to share it with everyone. He did not care what they thought of it, or of him.

And what we’re going to see today is that if you’re a follower of Jesus — if you’re a Christian, a “little Christ” — you too should love Jesus, and out of that love it should naturally spill out of you. Because it’s something you think about, it becomes something you talk about. And as you speak about it, it naturally moves toward the people around you, and you begin to see gospel growth around you.

Open your Bible to Colossians 4.

I’ll admit we were in Colossians last week, and we’re returning to Colossians in two weeks as we continue our Centered series. So I tried really hard to find a different passage, because what we’re seeing today isn’t only in Colossians and I wanted you to see that. But after talking it through with our team, I realized this really is the clearest description and the best passage for today. So if this sermon stinks, it’s on me — except for the introduction, which is on a fourth grader.

Heavenly Father, be our teacher today. No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, may we hear something that helps us take the next step with You. Some of us here don’t know You, and I pray today might be their spiritual birthday. For those new in their faith, may they hear what You want for them and what should naturally spill out of them. For those who have followed You a long time but for whom it’s become a side thing, a rote thing, a duty — may something be sparked in them, and may joy and love return. And for the person who is on fire for You right now, may this be exactly what You have for them, a breath of oxygen to make it burn hotter and brighter than ever.

God, I recognize it’s absolutely ridiculous to think that I, as one person, can say exactly what needs to be said to all those people. That’s why I give this to You. I submit it to You, and I ask that in the power of Your Holy Spirit You would turn these words into what each person needs to hear so they can follow You. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Where We’ve Been

We started January 1st with 21 Days of Prayer. Week one, we asked God to do gospel growth in us individually. Week two, we prayed for God to grow us as a church family in the gospel.

And what we’ll see today is that when the gospel is growing in you, and in us as a church, it naturally begins to spill out — and we see gospel growth happening around us.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5–6)

On the surface, that sounds like Paul encouraging us to be really nice people. In other words: be more Iowan. Let your words be gracious. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Be nice to everybody.

That is not what Paul is saying. He’s not asking us to be rude, obviously. But something deeper is happening here than “go be nice.”

To understand the depth, we have to back up to what comes right before.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison — that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (Colossians 4:2–4)

Writing From Prison

Notice Paul is writing from prison. From Acts we learn it wasn’t behind bars — it was more like house arrest. He could receive visitors and messages, and he could get messages out, such as this very letter. He simply didn’t have the freedom to go wherever he wanted, with Roman soldiers posted right there.

And did you catch why he’s in prison? Verse 3: because he’d been declaring the mystery of Christ. “The mystery of Christ” is simply a poetic way of saying the gospel.

Paul’s life had been turned upside down by this idea that God sent His one and only Son to earth, that Jesus lived a sinless life and died in the sinner’s place on a cross, and that to show He had authority over all things — even death itself — He rose again.

Paul had once been violently opposed to this message. He thought it was ruining his Jewish faith, so he traveled around persecuting any Jew who proclaimed Jesus as Messiah. Until he met Jesus and had his life completely changed. And then, instead of arresting Jesus followers, he began making them.

His message was such a threat that the Jewish leaders had him arrested and tried to put him on trial, even though he’d done nothing wrong. Eventually, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar — which is how he ended up imprisoned in Rome.

What He Asked Them to Pray

Here’s what’s remarkable. Even though preaching the gospel is what landed him in prison, he still wants to preach the gospel. At the end of verse 4 he asks them to pray that he’d make it clear, “which is how I ought to speak.”

And back in verse 3, he asks them to pray that God would “open to us a door for the word.”

Paul is far more selfless than I am. If I were in his position, I’d be praying, God, please open a door for me to get out of prison.

That’s not what he prays. He prays that God would open a door for the word — for this mystery of Christ, this gospel, to keep going forth.

I’m sure if Paul had a chance to walk out of prison he’d take it. But if he thought God could use his imprisonment to spread the gospel faster — great. Because it wasn’t about him. What he loved was God and God’s gospel, and he wanted anything and everything possible to help it spread.

He wanted to see the gospel grow outward. If that meant staying in prison, he’d stay in prison.

Which is why when we get to verses 5 and 6, we can’t read it as merely “be nice to outsiders and watch your language.” The context is evangelism. It’s this longing in him to share what he loves, regardless of what people think of it or of him.

So: because of the gospel, walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Because of the gospel, let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. Because of the gospel, know how you ought to answer each person.

Some Things Should Happen Naturally

There are many things in life that should simply happen naturally.

When a baby is born, she should naturally begin to breathe air. When that baby eats healthy food, she should naturally grow over the following days and weeks and months. When an oak tree is healthy, it naturally produces acorns.

Paul is saying that if you’re a follower of Jesus, you should love Jesus in such a way that gospel growth naturally begins to happen — not only in you, but around you.

And he gives us three ways to help this happen. All three come down to saturation.

1. Let the Gospel Saturate Your Mind

Look at the second half of verse 6: “so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

That means you cannot have a merely casual grasp of the gospel. You can’t just have a vague sense of it — oh, that thing they talk about every Easter at church. You need to actually know this.

When those girls crashed into my office and hijacked my Spotify, they knew those songs. They knew the words. They were dancing. Before one song ended they were already calling out the title of the next one they wanted.

All I can tell you is “Parry Gripp” and something about tacos. That’s the entirety of what I retained. I don’t know Parry Gripp. They do.

You have to know this. And to know it, you have to let it saturate your mind.

That means getting into the Scriptures. It’s through the Bible that we know this gospel, so you need to be in it regularly.

I’d also encourage you to read books about the gospel so you understand its implications — that this isn’t merely a historical event in the past, but something that resonates into our time and changes our lives. Listen to sermons and podcasts. Get into a growth group. Meet with other believers who will help you understand it.

Do anything and everything necessary to let it saturate your mind — because as it does, you can begin to do the next thing.

2. Let the Gospel Saturate Your Words

The first half of verse 6: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.”

Some of you have heard the famous quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.

I used to love that quote. I used it constantly — until about fifteen years ago, when I discovered two significant problems with it.

First, St. Francis of Assisi didn’t say it. We have zero record of him ever saying or writing it.

Second, it is impossible to fully share the gospel without using words.

We’re going to talk next about letting the gospel saturate your life, and your actions are absolutely part of this. But if you live in such a way that people notice — guess what? Paul says you need to know how to answer someone. They’re going to ask you questions.

So let your speech be gracious, seasoned with salt.

In Paul’s day, salt was a preservative. They had no refrigeration. They couldn’t toss meat in the freezer and pull it out later for the crock pot. They had to work salt into it. That was the only way to preserve it.

So: are your words preserving relationships? Are your words preserving people’s lives? Are your words making a difference? Are they building up or tearing down?

If the gospel has been saturating your mind, do you realize how much God loves you? And doesn’t that make you want it coming out in what you say?

This doesn’t mean quitting your job, buying a bullhorn, and yelling at people on a street corner. It means letting the gospel become part of everything — what you say and what you do — and letting it make a difference. And as people notice that life in you and start asking, you’re going to need words. Which is exactly why your mind needs to be saturated in the gospel, so you’ll know how to answer.

3. Let the Gospel Saturate Your Life

Verse 5: “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.”

This past Wednesday my wife and I were leading our middle school and high school youth group, and in the course of the conversation I told the students that one of my longings for them is that they wouldn’t be Wednesday-night Christians.

I wasn’t accusing them of anything — I was telling them what I want for them.

Because I’ve known a great many people who can talk a great talk on Sunday morning but aren’t walking the walk on Monday night.

And I don’t say that to guilt-trip anybody. All of us sin. All of us make royal mistakes. The question is: when you sin, which direction do you fall?

Do you fall toward the grace of God? Or do you retreat into yourself and tell yourself it’s not that big a deal — putting on a front to impress everyone while being someone entirely different in the privacy of your own heart and home?

God sees that. And God wants to rescue you from that duplicitous life, because it creates a chasm inside you. You won’t be able to enjoy the life God wants to give you and call you to. He wants to use you to be a blessing to others, and that isn’t going to happen while you’re wearing one face in public and living another in private.

But when the gospel has saturated your mind — when you understand the intense love God has for you and the incredible grace He’s shown you — it comes out in your words and in your actions.

One of the most powerful witnesses to the gospel is letting your life and your words be in sync.

That doesn’t mean you’ll do it perfectly. You’ll stumble. You’ll make mistakes. You’ll say it wrong. You’ll be selfish in a moment. You’ll say something cruel. But in that moment — which way do you fall? Onto God’s grace? Do you go and apologize? Do you humble yourself? Or do you withdraw, hold back, and pretend you’re fine?

Where Should You Expect This Growth?

Jesus tells us in Acts 1:8 where He expects gospel growth to happen: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

Your Jerusalem is your immediate context — the people right around you. Work. Your neighborhood. School. Your classes, clubs, sports teams.

A little beyond that is your Judea — people who are probably a lot like you, just farther out.

Then Samaria — people who are noticeably different from you.

And then the ends of the earth.

At Riverwood, we’ve intentionally structured our ministry and our giving around this Acts 1:8 model.

Our Jerusalem

We’re trying to reach our Jerusalem through Sunday morning worship gatherings. Anyone can walk through those doors. We don’t ask you to check any boxes or affirm any statements. Everyone is invited — especially if you don’t know this gospel message.

If that’s you, know we started this church for you. We didn’t start it to pull Christians out of other churches. We started it specifically to help people who feel spiritually disconnected from God find Jesus and follow Him. So you belong here. We welcome your spiritual questions. We’d love to be part of whatever God is doing in you.

It’s also why our growth groups are open to anyone. You don’t take an exam to attend. So if you’re in a growth group, invite anyone. Let them come. Let them study the Scriptures with you. Let them ask their questions. We’ve had teenagers come to youth group and ask fantastic questions. It’s a joy.

It’s also why we get out into our Jerusalem. We serve at the food pantry once a month. Some of you are volunteering in schools. Some of you have signed up as mentors through the local mentoring program.

Personally, God has opened some doors at the college. Every other Monday night I get to help lead a Bible study through a campus ministry there, and every Thursday I have some wrestlers in my home — they chose to study the book of James, so we’re working through James and considering this gospel together.

And I know a number of you are intentionally asking God to use you at work, at school, in your neighborhood, with your extended family. As the gospel saturates you, you should see it spreading into your Jerusalem.

Our Judea

We’ve also intentionally tried to see the gospel spread into our Judea. We can’t personally reach people an hour or two hours away, so we’ve partnered with other groups. Right now that includes a ministry working in middle schools, high schools, and colleges all across northeast Iowa — reaching people we can’t reach, encouraging believers to grow in the gospel, and welcoming anyone with questions to consider the whole story of Jesus.

Our Samaria

For the last five years we’ve supported a couple planting a church in North Minneapolis.

That neighborhood could not be more different from Waverly and Shell Rock and Janesville and Denver. It’s multicultural, with a wide range of incomes and family situations — and it’s also a very violent neighborhood. Families don’t let their kids go to the park in the summer, because they want their kids to live. The pastor there writes about how tired he is of going to funerals.

And they’re bringing the gospel right there. It’s an honor for us to be part of it through prayer and finances. Some of you have even gone to help. We want to keep helping them reach our Samaria, which is their Jerusalem.

The Ends of the Earth

It took far too long, but last year Riverwood finally got missionaries into our budget.

We began supporting a worker doing deaf ministry in West Africa. We were intentionally looking for people groups who might otherwise get overlooked — and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more overlooked group. Forty thousand deaf people, and no sign language existed for them to communicate with. So the work involves adapting American Sign Language so people there can learn it, and then teaching it, so the gospel can finally be communicated to them. We’re praying that over the coming years churches will form among those forty thousand people who cannot hear — but who can hear the gospel.

We also began supporting a couple doing evangelism, discipleship, and church planting among the poor in Southeast Asia. They are genuinely out there on their own, and it’s an honor for us as a church in America to partner with them financially and prayerfully.

If you’re doing the 21 Days with us, you’ll be praying for all of them this week. Thank you for being part of that. And in the devotional you have their email addresses — would you send a quick note just to say you’re praying? I’d love for us to flood their inboxes and overwhelm them. I think it would encourage them tremendously, because they’re reaching people we can’t.

A Story to Settle Two Fears

As we’ve talked about the gospel moving out from us, there are probably all sorts of emotions in the room.

Some of you are nervous. Some of you are scared. Is he serious? He expects me to actually use words? Isn’t it enough to just be a nice person?

And some of you, if you aren’t followers of Christ, may find some of this sounds manipulative or even dangerous — like proselytizing.

Let me close with a story that I hope addresses both fears.

It comes from 2 Kings. In the early chapters, Israel has split into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom kept the name Israel; the southern kingdom became known as Judah. Because Judah kept Jerusalem as its capital, Israel had to find a new one — and they made Samaria their capital.

As Israel is going about its life, Syria gets angry and decides to invade. They come to Samaria and lay siege — camping outside, letting no one in or out. The plan is to starve the city into surrender.

And it’s working. By the end of chapter 6 there’s a story of a woman approaching the king in tears, saying that she and another woman had agreed to kill and boil their children so they could survive.

Then in chapter 7 we meet four lepers.

These men would normally live outside the city in a camp. The people of the city would carry food out and set it at the edge of camp, and the lepers would come get it. Because of their skin disease they couldn’t live inside — but they depended on the city for food.

And now the city is in lockdown, so no food is coming. They’re starving.

So the four of them leave camp and come to the city, hoping somebody will throw something over the wall. But the people inside have nothing.

They’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Syrian army is right out there, and they aren’t allowed into the city — and even if they got in, there’d be no food.

So one of them looks at the others and says: let’s defect. Let’s go over to the Syrian army. If they kill us, honestly, that’s mercy — they’d only be doing sooner what’s inevitably going to happen. But if they show us mercy and give us food, maybe our suffering ends.

The sun has started to set by now. So the four of them get up and make their way toward the camp as it grows dark.

And when they arrive, they realize it’s empty.

Not empty as in nothing there. The tents were there. The armor was there. The food was there. There were simply no people.

It turns out that right as the sun set, God had sent the sound of an enormous army. There was no army. But the Syrians heard the noise and became convinced the Israelites had somehow gotten word to a neighboring nation and reinforcements were arriving. And the Syrians weren’t prepared for a fight — they were prepared to sit and wait. So they panicked and fled, leaving everything behind.

That was the greatest day those four men had ever experienced.

Suddenly they have all the food they could want. All the gold. New clothing. Armor. Weapons. They’re set for life. They’re about to be the four richest lepers the world has ever seen. In fact, the text says they start digging holes to bury some of it, because they can’t carry it all and want to come back for the rest.

Until one of them gets a guilty conscience. He looks over at the others. They catch his eye. And they start realizing what he’s thinking.

Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.” (2 Kings 7:9)

These men had found something good — I’d say something great. And they realized how wrong it would be to keep it to themselves. They had to share it.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you have good news. Actually, you have the greatest news.

How wrong it would be for us to dig a hole, drop it in, and keep our faith a private thing — when this message has the power to change life for others.

So Share It

To share it, let it saturate your mind. Because as it saturates your mind, it will come out through your speech. And it will come out through how you live. And you’ll begin to see it happen in your Jerusalem, your Judea, your Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

For some of you, this is a baby step.

Who’s the person you need to do something kind for? Who’s the person you need to go ask a question and simply listen to? Who’s the person you’ve built real trust with, where it’s time to share your faith at a deeper level?

What is God calling you to do — not just to see this gospel grow in you, and not just to see us grow as a church, but to see the gospel grow around us?

A Prayer

Heavenly Father, that is what I pray for right now — that in 2023 You would continue the work You’ve begun through this church, and that we’d see it go further and deeper than we ever dreamed possible.

Lord, we long to see revival — but not so we have something to tell our grandkids about, and not to make a name for Riverwood. We want it so people will know You and meet You. You love them. You are passionate for people. Your image is in them. That image was distorted through sin, and You want to restore them through Jesus.

And God, I don’t fully know why, but Your chosen vehicle is people. You want to use Your followers to make this message known. So help us surrender ourselves — first to let You change us, and then, as You change us, to let this gospel flow through us and begin changing others.

God, some of us are chicken Christians. Chicken evangelists. We’re afraid to share this. Would You lovingly kick us out of our chicken coop? Would You let us share this gospel? Would You have people ask us questions? Would You create the opportunities, would Your Holy Spirit speak, and would You then help us be obedient?

Lord, I pray for the person listening who has never surrendered their life to You. Maybe they’ve used the word Christian, maybe they haven’t — but as they’ve listened, they’re realizing this gospel isn’t just something about Jesus dying on a cross back in history. It makes a difference today. Father, if Your Spirit is drawing them, may they right now confess their sin and give their life to You — because You, Jesus, gave Your life for them.

And for the person who knows the stories, who grew up in church but hasn’t been pursuing You — may they decide today to let Your gospel saturate their mind and their whole being. Grow them in Your gospel.

But Father, ultimately I pray this wouldn’t stay with us as individuals. May we not bury this and come back to admire it. May it become part of us, and may we go and share this bounty. Because I believe Your greatest glory is found when people put their faith in You — and our greatest joy will be found in that same moment.

So bring our hearts in sync with Yours. Give us Your attitude toward other people — that we wouldn’t see outsiders as enemies or rejects or “different,” but simply as people You love, people You are for, people Jesus died for, and people we want to welcome in.

God, do in us what You need to, so that Your gospel might continue to go forth for Your glory. In Jesus’s name we pray, amen.