His will, Living worthy, strengthened, giving thanks

Colossians chapter 1 please. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 9. For this cause we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God strengthened with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet or as qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins. Now there may be some people here today that haven't been saved for all that long and you're glad to be saved but maybe the question is what does God want from me? You know that was the attitude of the Apostle Paul when he was saved on the Damascus Road.

Lord what do you want me to do? Now there may be many answers to that question but here in Colossus here in this first chapter of Colossians the Apostle Paul writing to believers he's never met he's praying for them and he says this is my desire and there are four things basically here that we read that he's looking for in their life and brother I sister brother sister I believe it's four things that God is looking for in your life and mine whether you've been just been saved a few weeks or months or like some of us maybe many decades. Lord what do you want from me? First of all in verse 9 we read that you might be filled that's filled full with the knowledge the full knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Is it possible to know the will of God? Is there any of us here today that don't have some issues and we're wondering Lord what do you want me to do here? Maybe some big things maybe little things.

You know I was reminded just this past week when I had some minor thing to do and it came to my mind a lot of times that hadn't gone too well something I'd done you know just a manual thing and I said Lord help me with this I was probably in a hurry and to my surprise it worked the first time. My conscience was smitten and I thought Lord why don't I depend on you more why don't I look to you more for help in the little things you know sometimes the big things yes we pray about those Lord what do you want me to do but the little things we forget. Mervyn Paul once wrote nothing matters nothing whatever except the will of God.

Does the will of God matter to you? You wouldn't be here today if it didn't. You know we may not know God's will for us ten months down the road but I believe God wants us to know his will for today. What Paul is praying for them I mean it's under the inspiration of the Spirit of God that they might be filled full with the full knowledge of his will.

Is it possible? I believe it's possible and notice it's be filled this isn't something we have to conjure up ourselves. This is what God wants to do. He wants us to know his will little by little.

Now again you know maybe there's things I'm you know I'm 15 years old and I'm wondering who am I going to marry when I'm 25 well you may not know you're 25 but today brother sister this is something God has for us this is he wants us to know his will. Now notice that it comes through all spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding. Now apparently that word spiritual goes with both those words spiritual wisdom as well as understanding.

It's not man's wisdom. It's not the wisdom of the world. It's God's wisdom.

It's spiritual wisdom. But what is it? What is spiritual wisdom? Somebody told me recently their definition of it. I thought it was good.

It's looking at things the way God does. You know there's a time in my life and if you didn't get saved a later maybe you're in the same boat that I looked at a lot of things the wrong way because I never read the Bible. I didn't know how God thought or did things.

I just went by my own instincts and by the world the influence. But thank God we have his word and spiritual wisdom might be said to it's looking at things God's way. How do we do that? By reading his word and taking in his truth his principles and then spiritual understanding might be said to be the applying of these truths the applying of these principles into daily living.

Now there's been a lot of emphasis on the Word of God this conference rightly so. Can I just encourage you whoever you are old or young brother sister this isn't just some duty that you know we have to sloot every morning and you know shine our shoes and everything. You and I we can't get by without it.

I can't get by without the Word of God. I need it so I can look at things more and more the way God does. Spiritual wisdom.

You know God's will is never contrary to his word. Like there's some things I don't have to worry if it's God's will or not because he makes it very clear. But there's something else I just want to mention before I leave this.

If I knew God's will would I be willing to bow to it? You know George Mueller said 90% of the difficulty in knowing the will of God is right here. You know I can wonder if it's God's will for me to do this or that and yet I've got my mind made up. I've got you know this is what I want to do.

It's gonna be hard for me to say or to understand if God doesn't want me to do that. Are we willing to leave the choice with him? And I've said this before there's few things more exciting than taking your hands off the wheel of your life and letting God steer it. He's able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think.

But the trouble is we want to hold on with a death grip sometimes. We want to do it our way. He wants you and I to be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Are we reading the Word of God day by day so that he can convey that to us? Secondly verse 10 that you might walk worthy of the Lord. What does that mean walk worthy of the Lord? Living in a way that honors the Lord Jesus. You know this word worthy has the thought of having weight having an equal weight.

So it's living in a way that has equal weight to the Lord Jesus or being living in a that's consistent with his character. Does your life have weight spiritual weight? Does mine? You know it's easy to do things that might look good in men's eyes and be just a lot of fluff. And I know people and you likely do too that maybe they don't have a prominent place as far as Christian service is concerned but their life has weight to the real deal.

A life that's lived that honors the Lord Jesus that's worthy of the Lord. Now where we've we've been given here some additional information what what's it mean to walk worthy of the Lord? Well he says unto all pleasing. That is pleasing him in every way.

And isn't this the desire of our hearts to please him the one who's done so much for us? To please him in every way. In every way. Not just Sunday mornings.

In every way. Not just when others are around all the time. Pleasing him.

So is he just live to please ourselves? Live for the praise of man to please others? Pleasing him. Isn't this what it's all about? Because one day as we've been here we're gonna see him. The one whom having not seen the one we love.

We're gonna see him. And the older I get the more I long for that. Just think we're gonna see him face to face.

Pleasing him. It's the only thing that's going to count then. It should be the only thing that counts now.

You know we've been hearing about Enoch yesterday and today as well. That Enoch walked with God. What a thing.

You know it's possible for you and me to walk with God. He's made provision for us. To walk with God and we read that Enoch pleased God.

But there's something else here. Being fruitful in every good work. Bearing fruit.

Now we know that fruit like an apple or a peach doesn't produce itself. It's something that is produced. And you and I can't bear fruit.

Something for God in our lives. It doesn't come from here. The Lord Jesus said the person that abides in me and I in them brings forth much fruit.

Herein is my father glorified that you bear much fruit. And really fruitfulness is it not Christ likeness. We get the fruit of the Spirit here in Galatians 5. Love, joy, peace and so on.

It's Christ likeness. It's character first and foremost. But it says being fruitful in every or all good works.

Not just on the platform preaching the gospel Sunday night. Not just standing up on a Sunday morning and worshiping. Being fruitful in every good work.

Changing diapers, working in the kitchen, working on your car, whatever. At work, at school. This is what God wants.

Not only to know his will, knowing, but living. He wants us to know so we can live a life that brings honor to the Lord Jesus. Pleasing him, fruitful.

And then at the end of verse 10 he says increasing in the knowledge of God. And to me that's just not knowing about God, but that's getting to know God. You know the Apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote this.

When he wrote the letter to the assembly in Philippi as well. And you remember there's a chapter 3 in Philippi. His desire to me is so touching that I may know him.

A lot of things Paul couldn't do in prison, but he had this desire that I may know him. And you know that's wonderful, but to me it's even more wonderful that the Lord wants to get to know us. He wants to reveal himself to us.

What is it? John chapter 14 where the Lord says, he that has my commandments and keeps them is the one that loves me. And he says, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. The Lord wants to reveal himself to you and to me.

Increasing in the knowledge of God. So what does God want from us? A knowledge of his will. He might walk worthy of him.

And some might say, well, I'd like to. I remember when I was first saved, had so many habits and you know, I thought there's no way I could ever live the Christian life. It just seemed 180 degrees.

No way I'm going to make it. And of course Satan's right there all the time trying to get you to give up. So how can you? Well, verse 11, here's the third thing that God is looking for.

For us to be strengthened with all might. Literally it's empowered with all power. And it's obviously not our power.

Brother, sister, this is real. This isn't just some, you know, algebraic equation that we try to learn in math class. God wants you and me to be strengthened, to be, to let him empower us so we can live for him.

The little while that we have here in this world. Notice strengthened with all might. It's according to his glorious power.

And somebody says that it's in proportion to his power, not just our need, but his, the might of his glory. And I can't get my head around that. Now it doesn't stop there.

You know, sometimes we might think, well, the Lord's going to give me power to do some great thing. And you know, notice what he says. Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness.

You know, this patience, the persevering, the enduring when going's rough. It's enduring without complaining in the midst of difficult circumstances. It's not giving up.

You know, we all face this. We all face this. And God wants to give us the power, the strength, the spiritual strength to keep on, to persevere.

It's often been said that Christian life isn't a sprint. It isn't a hundred yard dash. It's a marathon.

And again, I know Christians, and you likely do too, that their circumstances are very difficult and yet they persevere. And I'll tell you one example. I can think of one brother, has a lot of physical limitations, never complains, never complains.

But not just enduring circumstances, but it's enduring people as well. He says, strengthened with all might unto all patience and there's the long suffering. And I know some of this you realize very well, and I'm just underlining it for us.

Long suffering, enduring without retaliating, without giving back. What do we do when somebody steps on our toes? You know, we can be all fine when things are going well. But when somebody steps on our toes, somebody says something or doesn't say something.

You know, Christianity is very practical, isn't it? Long suffering with joyfulness. Now, it's one thing to be patient. It's one thing to be long-suffering, but with the joyfulness, I don't know about you, but I got a way to go on this one.

But this is what the Lord is looking for, and this is what the Lord is equipping us for if we let Him. But there's a fourth one, verse 12, giving thanks. Such a simple thing, yet the Lord wants you and me to be thankful.

Anything to be thankful about? You know, it's so easy to be occupied with difficult circumstances or our own weaknesses, and sometimes it's so easy for these things to eclipse the many blessings that God has brought us into. Now, He names just a few in these last few verses, giving thanks unto the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. An inheritance.

You know, if you heard that maybe some distant relative that maybe you never heard of before or never met had left you several hundred thousand dollars, I think our joy meter would respond, and we could spend so much of our life. Now, I know we need things to exist here in this world, but just living for the here and now. But, brother, the Lord Jesus is the heir of all things, is He not? And we're joint heirs with Him.

What an inheritance is ours. Peter spoke about an inheritance that's incorruptible, undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you. Are we thankful for what lies ahead? When this life is over, all the things we can't take with us, thank God we're linked with Him and all the things we have there.

And then in verse 13, we can be thankful for our deliverance. You know, our portion should be with the ungodly in darkness forever. But he says, delivered from the power, the dominion of darkness.

Do you remember when you were in that realm? The cruel taskmaster we had, Satan? The dominion of darkness. There was a time when we were saved that God took us out of there, and He transferred us, He placed us in the kingdom of our dear Son. You know, when I was first saved, I didn't go anywhere for about a year, and then I was with the Pentecostals for a number of years.

It was four years after I was saved before I heard of eternal security. And this verse was a big help to me, because I could see positional truth here that I never saw before. You know, back then it was, you know, my life was all mixed up with my position, and you know, if you didn't do well someday, well, maybe your salvation's in doubt.

I'll tell you, one of the greatest truths that God has ever revealed to me, apart from salvation, is the truth of eternal security. You know, we can be thankful because there's many God's people out there that know nothing of this. They don't know the peace delivered from the realm of darkness, translated into the kingdom of His dear Son.

We're in the kingdom. And then verse 14, read about who has done it all. The price that was paid.

In Christ we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Anything to be thankful for today? Lord, what do you want for me? Paul said, what do you want me to do? Later on he wrote to these Colossian believers four things. That they might know, that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will.

Secondly, that they might live worthy of the Lord. Thirdly, that they might be empowered, that they might be strengthened with all might. And finally, that they might give thanks.

You know, there may be a lot of things we can't do for the Lord, but these are some things we can do.