Christocentric 4 – The Agony of Victory

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with us. We beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat—the human drama of athletic competition—was the opening narration to ABC's Wide World of Sports for nearly 40 years. Those were the words that started every episode of the show, which lasted until the advent of 24-hour cable sports channels in the late 90s. After that, Wide World of Sports went away, but still, those words linger in our national consciousness like a catchphrase: the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

When I think of those words, I can't help but remember a sporting event I watched when I was a freshman in high school in 1995, right about this time of year. It was the televised championship of the Ironman competition, which combines swimming, cycling, and running. This event takes between eight and nine hours for the winner, but it can go on for much longer than that. I don't know if it is still televised, but I remember in 1995, they showed the final moments of the champions as they came in.

Finishing the race can be a little boring to watch, as it often involves just athletes running the entire time. To make it more engaging, they would intersperse segments about the top-notch athletes of that year. One athlete highlighted in the women's competition was a lady by the name of Paula Newby-Fraser. She was the anticipated winner of the race that year, the one that everybody expected would cross the finish line first for the ladies.

The reason they thought this was that she was called the "Queen of Kona," where this event takes place in Oahu. Paula had already won this event several times; of the 26 Ironman competitions she entered in her career, she won 21 of them. Therefore, she was expected to be the winner of this race. She led for the entire nine hours of the event until she reached the last 400 yards of the competition.

With just four football fields left to run, she hit the wall, becoming dehydrated and disoriented. Paula Newby-Fraser fell to the ground. Camera crews surrounded her, and people gathered around, trying to find a cellular telephone, which in 1995 was not easy to locate, to call for an ambulance. As she lay on the ground, they dumped water on her while she cried for 20 minutes, saying, "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die," all while being nationally televised.

During this time, the woman who would have taken second place, an American runner, passed her by to take first. The woman who would have taken third place also passed her by to take second. Finally, after nearly 20 minutes on the ground, Paula was able to get up. She had taken off her shoes and, barefoot, walked the last four football fields. When she was just 20 feet from the finish line, the woman who would have been fourth passed her and took third.

Of the 21 Ironman competitions that Paula Newby-Fraser won, now, 20 years later, the one that everybody remembers is the agony of defeat there in Oahu. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat are themes we often see in sports. We are a sports-oriented culture, and we love to watch people endeavor in games, whether it's the Olympic Games, football games, or basketball games.

Things we love to tune in and watch include the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. That word "agony" originates from the Greek word "agon," which means to enter a contest, to contend with adversaries, to fight, to struggle, and to strive to obtain something. We love to watch athletes agonize, strive, and struggle to attain something, whether it's a place at the top of the podium with a gold medal, a trophy, or their name engraved on some plaque somewhere. We enjoy watching people endeavor and compete in the games to try and win, to agonize.

When we tune in as spectators, we are witnessing the very last agony of their endeavor. Every time I watch, especially the Olympics, as people push themselves to win in Beijing, London, or wherever they are, I sometimes wonder if it would be better to say the "agony of victory." What we see on TV in those brief moments of competition is just the smallest fragment of all the work they have put in, sometimes for months, years, or even a lifetime, to reach that point. The agony for them has not just been the competition; it has been the agony of everything they have had to do to prepare for it.

In the passage before us today in the book of Colossians, we are given a peek, if you will, into the Apostle Paul's agonizing struggle in Christ. You can open your Bibles to the book of Colossians; we'll be there in just a minute. It's about 90 percent of the way through your Bible. If you don't have a Bible, raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one.

Here in this passage, we are given a glimpse into the life and practice, the agony, if you will, of the Apostle Paul. It's interesting that he, in various places in the New Testament, speaks of the life that a Christian lives—the life that a follower of Jesus experiences. He speaks of it as a race, like a competition.

We're given some insight into the agonizing preparation for that race in Colossians chapter 1, beginning at verse 28. Stand with me, if you would. Colossians 1:28, Paul writing of Jesus, says this: "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end, I also labor, striving according to His working, which works in me mightily."

For I want you to know what great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Father, as we look at this short passage today, I pray that You would give us insight and understanding. Teach us, Lord. Continue to use Your Word and the work of Your Holy Spirit to transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would be able to better run this race and glorify You in our lives. Do a work in us; make us more like You. Make us shine brightly in a dark world. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

Point number one on your outline in your bulletin: The Christocentric life demands agonizing determination. The Christocentric life demands agonizing determination. Now, I understand that the word "Christocentric" is not really a word that you've probably seen before, other than in this series that we've been going through in the book of Colossians. It simply means "Christ-focused." The Christ-focused life demands agonizing determination, as I said a moment ago.

Paul the Apostle, the author of this letter, speaks in other places in the New Testament about the Christian walk, the life of a follower of Jesus, as being like a race. Another author of the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, describes it this way: if you are a follower of Jesus today, we Christians need to run this race with endurance. We are not in a sprint; we are in a marathon, an Ironman competition, if you will. As followers of Jesus, we need to run this race with patient, consistent endurance.

In that same passage in Hebrews chapter 12, the author says we are to run this race with endurance, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. You see, if you are a follower of Jesus today, you are engaged in a race, and you are called upon by God to run that race with endurance. The focal point of that race is Christ Jesus. That is why we are talking about being Christocentric; our focus as followers of Jesus needs to be on Christ.

Being Christocentric demands agonizing determination, the same kind of determination it takes to run in an actual race or to compete in physical competitions. We need to maintain this struggle. Paul says, "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end, I also labor, striving according to His working, which works in me mightily."

I want you to know what great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for all those who have not seen my face. As I was reading through this passage this weekend, I started to think about this question: What do you agonize over? What in your life are you struggling to accomplish?

Do you agonize over finishing this class that you're in with a good grade? Do you agonize over getting that job or that promotion? Do you agonize over raising your kids to be good citizens? What do you lose sleep over? What do you struggle through? Are you agonizing to try and stop smoking? Many people will, as we get ready to come into the end of the year and through the holidays, as you start December 31st into January 1st.

You're probably going to be agonizing, like millions of Americans, over losing the holiday weight. What do you agonize over? If I'm honest, I think that nine times out of ten, the things I agonize over in this life are completely self-focused endeavors. They're primarily about me. Those are the things that I struggle with for myself.

Yet here, Paul the Apostle agonized over the spread of the gospel and the faithfulness of other Christians. That's what those words mean in this passage. When we read in Colossians chapter 1, verse 29, "To this end, I also strive," the Greek verb "agonizomai" is used. To this end, I agonize. Then, in Colossians chapter 2, verse 1, when he says, "For I want you to know what great conflict I have for you," the word "conflict" refers to the Greek word "agon," meaning agony. I want you to realize that I agonize on behalf of you.

The interesting thing is that these words were penned while Paul the Apostle was in prison in the city of Rome, awaiting an uncertain future. It was uncertain for him, but for us, living now 2,000 years later, we know that ultimately he would stand trial before the Roman Emperor of the day, a man by the name of Caesar Nero. Ultimately, Paul would be condemned to die, not for any terrible act that he committed, but for merely being a preacher of the gospel. He became a martyr of the church and was beheaded for his faith in Christ.

At the moment this letter was written, Paul sat there with an uncertain future in prison, not knowing what was going to happen to him. His agony was over the faith and faithfulness of other Christians. If I put myself in the situation that Paul was in at that moment, I think I would be agonizing over what was going to happen to me. My agony would be about my present circumstances. Yet, here Paul is, and the focus of his agony, his grand conflict, was over the faith and faithfulness of a group of followers of Jesus—Christians who were in a city a thousand miles away, whom he had never met and would probably never meet.

This is striking to me: Paul's great conflict internally in his soul and in his mind. The thing that kept him up late at night was not that he was in prison facing possible execution; it was that there were people in a city a thousand miles away that he had never met before, who he wanted to grow in Christ Jesus. That’s convicting to me because I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are no Christians in Lubbock, Texas, a thousand miles away, that I'm losing any sleep over.

Here, Paul says, "My agony, my great conflict is for you," even though he had never met them. He speaks of the people in the city of Colossae and the city of Laodicea, a thousand miles away. For all of you who have never met me, Paul says, "I have a great conflict for you. I agonize on your behalf."

For what purpose? Why spend the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual effort to agonize over these other people? What was the whole point of this? The goal of his agonizing is found in Colossians chapter 1, verse 28. He says, "My goal is that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."

Any person who is agonizing to be victorious in some sporting event has a specific goal. Those guys who get up every day of the week to prepare for Sunday morning, putting on the pads to play football, have the Super Bowl as their ultimate goal. They are competing for something; there is a focal point in the future.

Here, Paul is going through this agony, and you wonder what the goal is, what the purpose is for putting himself through all of this. He states that the goal is this: that we may present every man perfect or complete in Christ Jesus. Paul's goal was to see all humanity come to a place where they found their completeness in Christ.

In this, I can identify with him. As I go around this area here in North County, as I drive to and from the church and home, or as I take my kids to school in the morning, or when I'm out running errands, I look at all the people around this area. I realize that within five miles of this building, there are more than a quarter of a million people living here.

Just five miles from this building, more than a quarter of a million people live here. A few years ago, the Southern Baptist Convention conducted a research study on this area, San Diego County. They found that of the 3.2 million people who call San Diego County home, less than ten percent are engaged with a Bible-teaching, gospel-preaching church. This means that on any given Sunday, as we gather in this place, there are 250,000 people within five miles of this building who have not yet heard the gospel.

There is a part of me that agonizes over that, and I wonder how we can reach them. How can we share the gospel with them? How can we get them to a place where they are complete in Christ? To be complete in Christ means to be saved. I would suggest that if you are a follower of Jesus today, you have that similar conflict. Maybe not on the same level as the 250,000 people within five miles of this building, but there is someone you work with, someone in your family, a neighbor, or a friend whom you agonize over in your heart. You wish that they would know Jesus.

If you are a follower of Jesus, there is no possible way that you can't have at least one person come to mind when I say that. A name or a face likely comes to your mind. Yes, that person—perhaps a child of yours that you have been praying for for years, or a brother, sister, father, or mother whom you have invited to church, but to this point, they have said no, they are not interested. You agonize to a certain extent over their future and whether or not they know Christ.

For Paul, he could say, "My great conflict, the agony in my soul, is not the fact that I am facing an uncertain future here in prison. It is the fact that there are people who may die today who will never know God." He agonized over this. He did not agonize over his own possible death as much as he did over the death of those who may not know Christ. He said to the church at Colossae, "I want you to know what great conflict I have for you. I want you to know the agony I have within my soul, the thing that pushes me to continue to do what I do."

What did he do? Well, we saw previously, back in verses 28 and 29, "Him we preach, warning..."

Every man teaching every man in all wisdom, what was his practice? What was his way of life? He agonized over preaching and teaching the gospel, going from this place to that to bring the gospel to people who had never heard of it. Even if it meant a struggle for him at various times, he would travel from one city to the next. The Scriptures tell us that he would be robbed by people who tried to take the things he had. In some of the places he visited, people didn't like what he had to say, so they would drag him outside of the street or outside of the city, beat him with rocks, and try to kill him. As he traveled, he risked his life in shipwrecks, going from place to place to try and bring the gospel. He agonized over all these things so that he might bring the gospel to people.

For what purpose? To what end? Look at Colossians chapter 2, verse 2. The end is that their hearts—the hearts of the Christians in the city of Colossi, the hearts of the Christians in the city of Laodicea, or any other place where Christians existed—may be encouraged. Paul says, "I agonize in preaching and teaching and doing all these things for your sake, that your hearts may be encouraged."

What does that mean? The word "encouraged" in the original Greek language is connected with the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Paul says, "I agonize so that you might come into the experience of the fullness of the power and presence of God in your life." He works and agonizes so that you would know the fullness of the power and presence of God in your life. Not only that, but their hearts would be encouraged; they would also be knit together in love. He desires that those in the Church of Colossi and those in the Church of Laodicea would experience the unity of God in their church.

Now, how many of you know that unity is hard work? It doesn't just happen. I can prove this by talking to all the married couples in the room. Unity doesn't just happen; it takes work. Unity within a marriage, unity within a church—this is why the Apostle Paul, in another one of his letters to the church at Ephesus, says in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 3, that we need to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Unity.

Unity doesn't happen on its own; it takes work. We need to endeavor to keep unity. Why? Well, married couples, raise your hand. Married couples? Lucy, alright, represent! Cool. How many married couples have a spouse that does things that make you crazy? All the ladies' hands just went up way too quickly. Goodness! He leaves things where he's not supposed to leave them. He sometimes smells and does things that you just kind of go, "That was disgusting."

Don't worry, ladies; you do some things that make your husband crazy too. Unity takes work because your spouse does things that make you crazy, and you married them. Why? Why did you marry them? Well, she thought she could change you guys, but ladies, I'm sorry, it ain't gonna happen. You're not going to make him perfect; only God can make him perfect, and that's going to come when he dies.

Why did you marry her? Why did you marry him if they're going to make you crazy? Notice what it says: being knit together in love. Unity is only maintained where there is love. Why? Because the Bible says love covers a multitude of sins. Listen, your spouse has probably done a multitude of things that make you crazy, and by the end of the day, they're going to add to that number. Love covers a multitude of sins.

When you met your spouse and started to get to know them, you fell in love. You fell in love because he did loving things. He tried to get you to love him so that you would cover all his wicked multitude of sins. You had to work to get her to fall in love with you. You had to work to maybe get him to fall in love with you.

In the early stages of that relationship, the work was not that much work, and you just did it out of joy because it was exciting and enticing. Then you said, "I do," and you stopped working. Then you come into my office or Pastor Mark's office or Pastor Jason's office, and we go, "What's going on? This isn't working. He does this, she says that, I can't stand..."

This makes me crazy, and there's a breakdown of love. Why? Because you stopped working to love that other person. But you know what? The same is true in a church. The fact is, there are people in the audience, this big in our three services, that make you crazy. It's probably why you switched to the third service when you winced at the thought of going to the second service, because that person who goes to the second service makes you crazy. I have to go to all three!

Goodness, that's why we need to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. What is the glue that holds the unity of marriage and the unity of the church together? Love, which covers a multitude of sins. This is why, constantly in the Scriptures, we are told that we are to love one another. Love one another, love one another. Why? Because you're going to make that person sitting next to you mad, and the easiest thing to do is to break unity and walk away.

I see it every single week. There’s rarely a month that goes by that I don’t have someone contact me here at the church during the week and say, "Can I meet with you, Pastor?" All right, let's get together. They come in and say, "I'm leaving. I'm going to a different church." Why? "I'm upset. This person upset me; they hurt me." Well, we're told to love one another. Love covers a multitude of sins.

Yeah, but they hurt me. Okay, but can you love them with Christ's love? Paul says, "Why do I agonize at this? Why do I do this?" Number one, so that you would experience the fullness of the power and presence of God in your life. Number two, that you'd be united in love. Number three, that you would attain to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ.

Wait, what is that? Simply this: that you would come into a place where you would fully comprehend all that you have from God in Christ. Paul says, "I agonize for you that you would experience the fullness of the power and presence of God in your life, that you would be united together in love within the body of Christ, and that you would come to fully grasp all that God has given to you in Christ."

That you would know these things completely. What sort of things? Well, a few months back, we studied another book of the Bible called the Book of Ephesians. There, in Ephesians chapter 1, beginning at verse 3, Paul lists a number of things that we receive from God in Christ. He tells us that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing.

God has chosen us, predestined us, accepted us, redeemed us, and forgiven us. He has revealed to us the mystery of His will and given us an inheritance that is in heaven for eternity. He has granted us eternal life. All these things God has given to us in Christ.

Paul says he agonizes and labors with great conflict and striving so that we would know the fullness of the presence of God in our lives. He desires that we would experience the unity of the love of Christ within the church and that we would grasp completely all that we have from God in Jesus Christ. Paul labored to know Christ; he labored to have a Christ-centered, Christ-focused life for himself. He agonized that others—those right around him and those far away, even a thousand miles in another city whom he had never met—would also know Christ.

This teaches us point number two in our outlines: we must agonize to see others know Christ as we know Him. If you are a follower of Jesus, a Christian today, we must struggle to see others know Christ as we know Him. Why should we struggle with this? Because if you are a Christian today, you have found something so awesome and true that it is a reality. Paul states at the end of verse 3 that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In a few verses later, in verses 9 and 10, he says all the fullness of God is found in Jesus, and you are complete in Him.

If you are a follower of Jesus, this is your experience today. You have found in Jesus all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You have discovered that He has everything you need for life and godliness, and you are complete in Him. If you stumble upon a mine that has unbeatable wealth, you will want to share that with other people. Therefore, we must agonize; we must struggle to see others know Christ as we know Him.

As I was thinking about this, Paul is laying out for us his agonizing struggle for the people of the city of Colossae, the people of the city of Laodicea, and the people he had never met before in churches all around the world at that time.

For us, his agonizing struggle, I started to wonder what exactly could Paul do a thousand miles away from a group of people he'd never met before that could help them. What agony could he be engaged in that could assist them in experiencing these things that he's talking about? I suggest to you that the agonizing thing which Paul could do and did do was pray.

The agonizing thing that Paul could do and did do was pray, and I believe that there's a hint to this point found just a couple of chapters later in Colossians chapter 4. If you are in Colossians chapter 2, turn a couple of pages over to Colossians chapter 4. Look at verse 12.

In Colossians 4 verse 12, Paul writes about Epaphras, who is one of you. He is from the city of Colossae, a bondservant or servant of Jesus. He greets you. Paul says, "Listen, guys in Colossae, you know Epaphras. He's from your town; he's one of the leaders in your church. He's a servant of Jesus, and he's with me right now in Rome."

Then he adds that Epaphras is always laboring fervently for you in prayers. He is always laboring for you fervently in prayers so that you may stand complete, perfect in all the will of God. What do you suppose those words "laboring fervently" mean? It's the Greek word "agonize."

So, follow the logic here. Paul was laboring fervently in the text that we're looking at in Colossians chapter 1. He was laboring fervently to see the Christians in the city of Colossae come to a place where they were complete in Christ Jesus. Epaphras, as mentioned in Colossians 4 verse 12, was laboring fervently in prayers for the Christians in Colossae that they would be complete in Christ Jesus.

How was Epaphras laboring fervently in prayers? How do you suppose Paul was laboring fervently in prayer? Paul says that prayer is an agonizing labor.

Is it now? When I say "agonizing labor," there are a lot of moms in the room who can relate. All of us guys are completely ignorant of it, thankfully. However, Paul here alludes to the fact that prayer is an agonizing labor. Is it really? I suggest to you that yes, one of the most agonizing things that Jesus ever did while He was here on earth was pray in a garden called Gethsemane.

It was on the night that He would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot. He and His disciples had just had a meal together and were leaving the city of Jerusalem, headed to the east. As they came out of the city, they went down through a valley called the Kidron Valley. There, at the base of the valley, was a little garden called the Garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane means "the olive press."

In this olive tree grove, Jesus assembled with eleven of His disciples. As He brought them there, He said, "Would you stay here and pray with me for a time?" He then went a few feet away from them. In Luke 22:44, it says, "And being in agony, He prayed." He was so constrained with agony in that moment that Luke 22:44 continues, "Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Being in agony, Jesus prayed there in the garden. His disciples, however, were not up to the task. After Jesus had prayed for a time, He came back to find all of His disciples—Peter, James, John, Bartholomew, Thomas—all of them asleep. Matthew 26:40 records Jesus saying to them, "What, could you not pray with me one hour?"

Have you ever tried to pray for an hour—consistent, intentional, focused private prayer for an hour? I think a lot of times we are a lot like Peter. Many times, we fail. Alistair Begg, a great Bible teacher, said that the greatest struggle in all of ministry is the struggle of personal private devotional prayer. Beyond that, there is the challenge of praying with others, and then beyond that, praying corporately.

Point number three on your outline: prayer is an agonizing struggle. But why is prayer an agonizing struggle? I can think of three reasons. There may be more, but I can think of these.

Three reasons why prayer is an agonizing struggle.

Number one: we don't like to pray. I know someone will send me an email or come talk to me and say, "No, no, I like to pray." But the truth is, not in your flesh. Maybe spiritually you enjoy the connection with God, but in your carnal, natural nature, you don't like to pray. The reason you don't like to pray is that it's hard work.

I think of it like this: perhaps you can identify with me. Three to four times a week, I try to go to the gym and run. Every single time I am driving to the gym, I have to talk myself into actually getting out of the car and going in. I go there for about 40 minutes, I run on the treadmill, and I run four or five miles. You know what? I hate running until I'm done, and then I love it. The only time I like it is when I'm finished. I don't want to do it while I'm lacing up my shoes and driving to the gym. I have to talk myself into it. I suggest to you that prayer is very similar. We love prayer when we're done, but we don't like it while we're doing it.

Why is prayer an agonizing struggle? Because, number one, we don't like it.

Number two: prayer feels to us to be powerless. Now, it's not. A.W. Tozer, a great Christian writer, once wrote, "Where prayer is focused, power falls," and that is true. Throughout the Bible, we find evidence of this fact that prayer is powerful. But when we pray, we feel powerless. We feel like we're doing something weak and ineffectual. We wonder, "What will this really ever do?"

I remember it was about 15 years ago now. I was house-sitting for a guy who used to attend the church. He and his family have since moved away. He was a San Diego SWAT team officer, and he had at his house two former police dogs, German Shepherds, and a Rottweiler. I was going to be taking care of these dogs for a week. He lived right next door to a friend of his who was also a SWAT team officer for the San Diego Police Department.

One night, on a Wednesday night, I came back. I had been at church all night long. I walked into their house, emptied my pockets, which is my habit, and walked outside to feed their dogs, closing the door behind me. When I reached to open the door, it was locked. Now I found myself in this strange predicament: I was going to break into a police officer's house. He had a police officer neighbor and two German Shepherds and a Rottweiler. For the next 20 minutes, I walked around that house trying to find a way in. Have you ever tried to break into a police officer's house?

The officer's house was impossible to enter. The whole time I was trying to figure out how to get into this house, I had this little nagging voice in my head saying I should pray. I came home and thought, "That's the dumbest thing in the world." I tried to talk myself out of it, telling myself I wasn't going to pray because that wouldn't help. How was that going to help? That just seemed stupid.

After about twenty minutes, I finally heard that voice again: "You should pray." Fine. "Lord, please help me open the door." I reached for the door, and it opened as if it had never even been locked.

We often feel like prayer is powerless. That's why, when people share their problems and the trials they are going through, we say, "Gosh, I really wish I could help you. The only thing I can do is pray for you." Why is prayer agonizing? Why is it a struggle? First, we don't like to do it. Second, it feels powerless. Third, the devil fights to keep us from prayer.

Understand that prayer is a spiritual endeavor. The Bible describes that we have a spiritual enemy, an adversary who comes against us and wants to keep us from doing those things that are spiritually good. He does not want you to pray, so he will try to keep you from it.

The enemy is far more subtle than to come in and say, "Don't pray," because you would immediately recognize that as the enemy's voice. Instead, he comes in and says, "Don't pray now." We've all experienced that. We feel this inward stirring to pray, and then we think, "Oh no, I'll do that later, when my mind is clearer, when I have more time, when there aren't as many things coming against me." But later never comes.

We tell ourselves, "December 31st is almost here. January 1st will be here in no time. In 2016, I'm going to make a New Year's resolution to become a more praying person." Yet by January 4th, we find ourselves saying, "Well, I'm going to become a more praying person in 2017."

Prayer is an agonizing struggle because we don't like to do it, because it feels powerless, and because the devil tries to keep us from it. In all of this, we come to a very important truth: there is nothing more Christocentric, nothing more Christ-focused, and nothing more Christ-like than agonizing in prayer.

Being Christ-like means agonizing in prayer. If you want to be like Jesus, you need to focus on Him and pray. There is nothing more Christ-focused than this act of prayer.

Point number two is that we must struggle to see others come to know Christ as we know Him. This greater part of agonizing to see others come to know Jesus happens in prayer. A few minutes ago, I asked if you had someone in your life— and I know that we all do— whom you wish would come to faith in Christ. You probably had a person come to mind. How many of you would like to see them come to Christ victoriously this next year? If so, you have to agonize in prayer.

Here’s what I’d like you to do. You may have already filled one of these out, but in the seat back in front of you is a little card that looks like this prayer card. Everyone, take one of these out and hold it up. Wave it in the air like you just don’t care! There are also pens in the seat back in front of you, so take one out if you don’t already have one.

Now, I want you to take a moment to look at the back of this card. Is there anyone in your life that you wish would come to faith in Christ? I want you to pick one name and write it down.

Point number five is that prayer is the first agonizing step in evangelism. Although prayer is hard and we don’t always like to do it, and even though we may feel powerless in doing it, the enemy would like to say, "Just hang on to that and pray about it tomorrow."

I want everyone to take this card, and right now, we are going to take one minute to quietly pray for the person you wrote down. Pray that they would come to faith in Christ, that they would find completeness in Him, that they would be united to the body of Christ, and that they would come to understand the fullness of all that they have in Christ.

One minute starting now.

Father, we don't like silence. We live in a culture where we try to fill silence with noise all the time. It's hard for us to set aside time, even just a minute sometimes, to pray. Especially since praying right now for the names on these cards feels, to many of us, like what good will it do? I've shared my faith, I've invited them to church, and they just said no.

Lord, where prayer is focused, power falls. We pray that you would powerfully move in the lives of these individuals—maybe more than 150 people whose names are written down right now. We ask God that you would move in a powerful way in their lives this week. Maybe some of these people are going to sit across from a table on Thursday at a Thanksgiving dinner, and we're going to have interaction with them. Lord, may it be that by the end of this week, we're giving thanks for their salvation.

We pray, God, that you would draw people to yourself. There are more than 250,000 people within five miles of this building who don't know you in Jesus. We want them to know you. Would you stir our hearts so that we would agonize in some way in prayer for them, even if it's just a minute here or there? But God, we ask you to move in a powerful way.

Lord, we know that this life focused on you requires agonizing determination. We know that we must struggle to see others come to know you as we know you. And God, we know that this endeavor of prayer is an agonizing struggle. But God, we're never more like you and more focused on you than when we're in an attitude of prayer.

Evangelistic things that we might do over the next year are important, and I pray that prayer would be number one. God, work in our lives and in the lives of these people whose names are on this card. We ask, God, that you would break chains of addiction and break down walls of anger, bitterness, malice, and hatred—everything that might keep them from you.

Break down the walls of hurt feelings, missed expectations, or whatever it may be, and draw these people to yourself. You said, Jesus, that no one will come to you unless you, by your Spirit, draw him. So we pray for the names on these cards and ask that you draw these people to yourself, that they may know you. In Jesus' name, and all those agreed said, "Amen."