Colossians 1:9-14

Well, good morning everyone, and great to see you.

If you've got a Bible, then please turn back to those verses that Violet read for us in Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

It says 1 to 8, actually we're going to be 9 to 14 this morning, that's where we're going to be.

Hopefully as you came in you received a little bookmark, which is going to act as a sermon outline this morning,

and also give us something really practical that we're going to do with this passage at the end of our time together.

So grab your Bibles, grab the bookmark, and let's pray together.

Colossians chapter 1, 9 to 14.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Heavenly Father, we ask that you would help us now as we turn to your precious word,

to know the leading of your Holy Spirit as he helps us to see something more of the greatness of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, would you instill in us that utter conviction that there is simply none like him.

And so we pray in his powerful name. Amen.

I don't know if you're a fan of The Apprentice.

How many fans of The Apprentice?

A few of us? Yeah?

Yeah. So one of Alex and I's favourite programmes to watch on television.

We love it so much that we actually watch it, and then we watch the...

We watch the You're Fired programme afterwards, and I even caught Alex the other night watching the outtakes on his subtitles.

So we are big fans of The Apprentice.

So much so that this is the 14th series, and I think we've watched maybe about half of them.

So I think we can count ourselves as pretty strong fans.

As usual, this is the 14th series of the programme, and as usual there are some pretty confident, I think it's fair to say, characters who are on the show.

And we were watching it the other night, and one of the people that caught my attention on it was this chap whose name is Coyote.

Which is a great name, isn't it? Coyote.

So after the programme finished, I went onto The Apprentice website, which is on the BBC, and I looked at his short biography on the BBC website.

So this is what he says about himself, and why he thinks he's going to win.

And as I read it to you, I want to ask you, whose glory is he on The Apprentice for?

You ready for this quote? It's pretty special.

And I know it's TV, okay, but still, you've come out with this.

Look at this.

I'm not here to razzle-dazzle and hit you with the buzzwords, like, I'm so motivated and I'm so passionate.

Anyone can say those things.

But I'm not anyone.

I'm Coyote Damali.

If you're not your own biggest fan, then who do you expect to be it for you?

I thought that would have got at least a kind of laugh or something like that.

I don't know.

It's a funny thing to say about yourself.

It's so strange, isn't it?

And yet here it is in our world, a mindset.

Now, here's the question I want to ask you this morning.

Whoever you are here today, whatever's going on in your life, think about your life.

Think about the things that you do.

Whose glory are you in it for?

Whose glory are you in it for?

Whose smile do you crave?

Whose opinion do you rate?

Whose applause do you seek?

Whose pleasure do you live for?

So I think that's the question we're going to be confronted with this morning as we look at Paul's prayer.

As we get back into this little letter that Paul wrote to this church in Colossae,

what we're going to see is Paul prayed that these Christians would be marked by a radically different mindset.

And the headline of Paul's prayer, the thing that he wants more than anything else for them,

you'll see it at verse 10,

that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.

That's what he wants for these Christians.

That you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.

That's his heart for this church.

He prays that their lives would be underpinned by an all-out commitment,

not to live for themselves, but to please their Master and King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That they would have a desire stemming from a transformed heart,

stemming from a deep love for him,

that means in the everyday things of their lives,

they're going to live for the glory and the praise, not of themselves, but for Jesus Christ.

That's what he's praying.

That's what he wants for this church.

And so as we eavesdrop in on this prayer today,

it's going to challenge us to ask ourselves if this is our mindset as we live our lives in this world.

And it's going to equip us as to how we can live a life for God's glory

and also how we can best pray for each other

that we would be marked by a life that is praiseworthy of Jesus Christ.

And I really hope it encourages us as well to love the Lord Jesus more

and like we said last week, if you can remember last week,

to grasp that we have a big Jesus who is worthy of all praise.

So when it comes to prayer, verse 9,

Paul wants them to know,

remember writing to these Christians that he's probably, most likely never met,

he wants them to know that he's praying for them.

And do you see it in the text?

Not just occasionally,

not just when they happen to pop into his head when he's out at the shops,

he's praying for them continually

from house arrest in Rome.

In fact, he's not stopped praying for them.

Do you see it there?

Remember, they're always on his mind,

they're always in his heart,

they're always in his prayers.

You see, there's an incredible persistence

and a relentlessness to Paul in his prayer life.

Think about it, how encouraging do you find it

when you hear somebody tell you that they are praying for you?

I find that one of the most encouraging things in my life.

How encouraging must this have been

for these Colossian Christians to read?

Paul, Paul, he's praying for us all the time.

And he's praying that our lives would please the Lord.

And how are they going to do that, verse 9?

By being filled.

Do you see?

Verse 9, Paul prays that God would fill them.

Popular, isn't it, in our society today

to hear people talk about how emptying your mind

is the key to spiritual progress in life?

I read a quote by Bruce Lee recently,

who writes in his book, Wisdom for Daily Living,

giving advice on how an individual can grow.

He says this,

Empty your mind,

Be formless,

Be shapeless,

Like water.

Be water, my friends.

Be water.

Now I've read that about a hundred times

since I read it on Tuesday,

and I still cannot understand what he's saying.

Be water, my friends.

Be water.

What?

But he's a pretty decent martial arts,

from what I gather,

so I'll probably keep up to myself.

But do you see how Paul is saying

the exact opposite of what Bruce Lee is saying?

The key to these Christians growing

and developing and maturing

is not by the emptying of their minds,

but rather, on the contrary,

it's by the filling of their minds.

That's how they're going to grow.

That's what Paul prays.

More particularly,

that God would fill their minds,

you see in the text,

with the knowledge of his will.

That the Spirit,

as he lives in them,

as God's chosen and holy people,

set apart for him,

as they encounter God and his word,

as they get a deeper grasp of the Lord Jesus,

that they would know something

of the sheer enormity

of what God has done for them,

and what he calls them to live like

is his people.

That's what he prays.

And in so doing,

that they would come to understand

what a life that is pleasing to him

looks like.

It was Charles Spurgeon

who famously said,

we hope to understand the truth better,

but mark this,

we shall never discover better truth.

So let me ask you this morning,

are you growing in your knowledge

of the Lord?

Are you getting to know him better

as he has revealed himself in his word?

And is that knowledge,

is it leading to the transformation

of your mind?

That's why I love to sing

the chorus that we sometimes sing

before we come to God's word.

We sing,

Speak, O Lord,

and renew our minds.

Help us grasp the heights

of your plans for us.

truths unchanged

since the dawn of time

that will echo down

through eternity.

That's what Paul is praying for,

that they would be transformed

by the renewing of their minds,

that they would be filled,

that God would fill them.

And I think he tells them that

for their encouragement, yes,

but also he wants them

to give them a template

as to how they can pray

for themselves,

but also how they can pray

for one another.

The brothers and sisters,

that they too

would live a life

worthy of the Lord

and please him

in every way.

Do you begin to see

how this is so relevant for us

today as a church family?

And what Paul does next

is he doesn't leave them

to guess what a life-pleasing

to the Lord looks like.

He shows them

and he tells them

specifically what he's praying for.

And you'll notice in the text

from halfway through verse 10,

there's four verbs,

four doing words.

And so all I want to do

in the time that we have left

this morning

is I want to look at these

four doing words together.

That's how I remember

what a verb is.

I don't know about you, right?

I'm looking at it.

I'm a teacher here.

That's how I remember.

It's a doing word.

It's an active word.

He uses four verbs.

But we're going to look

at these together

and then I've got something

really practical for us

to do this week

as we seek to put this

into practice in our lives.

You ready for the first verb?

The first doing word?

Here's the first doing word.

First, verse 10,

he prays that they would be bearing.

He's praying that in their lives

they would be producing fruit.

They would be bearing fruit.

Because that is how

the watching world

is going to know

that Jesus has truly

taken hold of their lives

and that they live in him

and he lives in them

and they know it

because they can see

the fruit of a transformed life.

Because beforehand,

their lives,

they were just like

our friend and the apprentice.

They lived for their own glory.

But God has transformed

their lives by his grace

and now that they live

for his glory.

Because that's what God

has done, isn't it?

In the lives of every believer.

Given us new hearts.

That's what we read

in Jeremiah earlier.

He's given us new hearts.

We can know him.

And the Holy Spirit

as he lives inside of us,

he makes us hungry

for good works

that are going to put

the glory of our Father

on full display

to the watching world.

I don't know if you watched

the BBC documentary

this week.

I realize I've quoted

the BBC twice here.

There are other channels

available, but BBC.

And they highlighted

the work of Christians

against poverty.

Did anyone see

that documentary?

No?

So it's on iPlayer.

It's a wonderful watch.

And they just went around

with a camera crew

and they followed

the work of Christians

against poverty

up and down the UK.

Fascinating documentary

into the work.

Did you know

that according to

a study that was done

at the London School

of Economics,

Christians Against Poverty,

their work,

it contributes

31.5 million pounds

to our economy

each year.

They have 6,000

Christian volunteers,

people who bought

into the vision

and are motivated

to share the love

and the message

of Jesus Christ

with people

in word and in deed.

6,000 volunteers

they've got.

And it's estimated

that CAP helped

10 people out of debt

every day.

On their website,

Sharon,

Sharon,

one of their clients,

says this,

CAP has given me

back my husband,

my family,

my life,

and my faith,

which my debt

had taken hostage.

This is Christians

Against Poverty

that we saw this week

in the news.

What a wonderful example

of what it means

to bear fruit

for the glory

of the Lord Jesus.

And I was with

some students

from Heriot-Watsey

on Thursday night

and we were looking

at that passage

in 1 Peter 2

that though the world

accuses you

of doing wrong,

they will see

your good deeds

and they will glorify

God on the day

he visits us.

That's what their

prayer as a CU

was for them.

And it's my prayer

for us as a church

that we would be

marked by good works.

That's what he's praying

for this Colossian community,

that they would be

on the front foot

when it comes

to good works

that bring glory

to the Lord Jesus Christ

in the eyes

of the watching world.

And it's not

an encouraging thought

today, friends,

that God is pleased

with good works

that his people

do for his glory

as they live

for an audience

of one.

Isn't it not

a tremendously

wonderful thought

that I can please

the Lord Jesus

in my everyday,

mundane,

nothing spectacular,

going through the mill,

everything ordinary life?

I can bring him

glory through that.

Isn't it?

And when you begin

to see life like that,

as Paul prays here,

do you see how

our whole lives

become worship to him?

Paul prays

that these Colossians

would be bearing

in their lives.

Here's the second verb,

the second thing

that he prays for,

verse 10,

they're growing.

Paul prays

that they would grow,

that they would mature,

that they would develop,

that they would increase

in what?

The knowledge of God.

Not,

not the right

of the super spiritual

as the false teachers

behind this letter

are probably teaching,

but the privilege

of every single Christian

that we can grow

in our knowledge

of our Father.

He prays

and asks that God,

asks God

that these believers

would come to know him better.

Who he is,

what he's like,

what he's done,

what he's doing.

Isn't that a wonderful thought?

That God has made himself

knowable?

The God who created

all things

has made himself

knowable.

He's done so

most fully

in the person

of his son Jesus Christ

who we'll see next week

is the image

of the invisible God

and he's done so

through his words.

That's how we can know God.

Let me ask you,

what role does God's word

play in your daily life?

Have you got a hunger

to know him?

A hunger for his words?

J.I. Parker,

theologian,

says this,

if I were the devil,

which always gets your attention

in a quote,

doesn't it?

If I were the devil,

one of my first aims

would be to stop Christians

from reading the Bible.

Evangelist Vance Herver,

a Bible that is falling apart

usually belongs

to someone who isn't.

Paul prays

that these Christians

would be growing,

but not simply

just in facts

about God.

He prays

that they would grow

in a personal

and intimate knowledge

of their father.

You know,

the late Anglican minister

and lecturer,

John Stott,

he was once asked

what his biggest fear

for his students was.

So the students

that would come

to study under him.

And he always said

that his biggest fear

was that many

of his students

would leave

with a doctorate

in Jesus Christ,

but they wouldn't leave

as disciples

of Jesus Christ.

In other words,

they would go

from talking about God

in the second person

to the third person.

Paul is praying here

that these Christians

would grow

in their knowledge,

intimate,

relational knowledge

of God.

Let me ask you,

just growing,

does it describe

your Christian walk today?

Or would you pick a word

more like static

or comfortable

or lukewarm?

It would be a wonderful thing

to pray this morning,

wouldn't it,

that today

we would be marked

by this growing.

Grab someone today

and pray with them

that that would be

true for you.

Ask them to pray

for you this week.

Here's the third verb,

the third thing

that Paul prays for,

verse 11,

that they would be being,

being strengthened.

Do you see?

That they would know

the power of God

in their lives,

the same power

that we were just

singing about

that raised Jesus

from the grave

would be at work

in their lives,

giving them strength.

And what is that power

going to enable them

to do?

Well,

somewhat surprisingly,

Paul tells them

that the power of God

at work in their lives

won't manifest itself

in spectacular signs,

which I'm sure some

in the background

of this letter

are saying.

The power of God

at work in their lives

is going to manifest itself

in those wonderful

two words,

endurance

and patience.

Endurance

and patience.

That God

would give them

the power

in the Christian life

to just keep on going,

keep on enduring,

keep on persevering,

keep on running

the Christian race.

That he would give them

the power

to stay the course,

to go the distance

and have their eyes

fixed on

everything that Jesus

has accomplished

for them

and have their eyes

and their hearts

fixed on the glory

that is ahead of them

because of Jesus Christ.

No matter how hard

life gets in the presence,

that's what he's praying for.

Endurance

patience

and patience.

I was reading this week

about one of America's

greatest ever hymn writers

whose name was

Annie J. Flint.

I don't know if you've ever

heard of Annie J. Flint.

Her life story

was one of great suffering.

She was orphaned

and adopted

at a very young age.

She suffered from

rheumatoid arthritis

which plagued her

most of her life.

She had cancer

that was eating

inside of her,

eating away

and as she grew older,

blindness was beginning

to set in

and she spent

the last few

years of her life

in bed covered

in sores.

But she was a woman

of deep faith

and a saint

whose life

was marked

by great endurance.

And one of the most

beautiful hymns

she ever wrote

went like this.

When we have exhausted

our store of endurance,

when our strength

has failed

and the day

is half done,

when we reach

the end

of our hoarded

resources,

our Father's

full giving

has only begun.

Fear not

that your needs

will exceed

his provision.

Our God

ever yearns

his resources

to share,

so lean hard

on his arm

everlasting

availing.

The Father,

both you

and your load

will up bear.

It's not a

wonderful hymn

considering the

woman who penned

it and who

loved it

and who lived

it and who

believed it,

that God's

provision

will never,

we will never

out,

our needs

will never

exceed his

provision.

That's what she's

saying in our

life.

And on Thursday

we celebrated the

life of our dear

sister Elma

at our funeral.

At the beginning

of the day I went

to Derek's house

and with the rest

of the family

together we read

Psalm 46.

That our God

is a refuge

and a strength

and he's an

ever-present help

in times of

trouble.

And we spent

the day celebrating

that Elma knew

the truth of that

psalm and that

despite her

suffering,

her faith was

resolute and she

was a saint who

was marked by,

and this came

across so clearly,

by great endurance

and great patience.

And for her

it's now far

better.

You see,

that's what he's

praying that

Christians would

be marked by.

Endurance

and patience.

That God

wouldn't take them

around hard times,

but rather they

would know their

father more as

he gives them

the power and

as he takes them

through hard times.

See,

Paul prays that

they would be

marked by endurance

and a patience,

one that puts on

display to the

world that there's

something far

bigger that we're

living for in life

than just material

stuff.

Paul prays that

they would be

being,

finally he prays

that,

verse 12,

that they would

be giving.

He prays that

their lives would

be marked by

thanksgiving,

and that their

joy would be

derived not from

the changing up

and down

circumstances of

their lives,

but a joy that

is steadfast because

it's derived from

the God that

they worship and

the God who

will never change.

God has

qualified them.

Do you see that

language in the

text?

He's qualified

them.

Let me ask you,

when was the

last time you

qualified for

something?

Think about it

in your life,

when was the

last time you

qualified for

something?

I had my

mom on the

phone the other

day and she

was thrilled that

my dad now

qualifies for a

free bus pass.

That's what he

qualified for.

It's amazing,

isn't it,

how excited Scots

get about free

things.

That was my

mom.

But God has

qualified you,

says Paul.

It's kind of

what the kids

talk was about,

wasn't it?

God's qualified

you, not for

the final of

the egg and

spoon race.

He's qualified

you for him.

For him.

The holy and

righteous God.

Think about

that.

How can I

qualify for him?

The only thing

that I've

qualified myself

for is his

wrath, his

righteous anger

against my

sin against

him.

That's the

only thing

that I've

qualified myself

for.

Only one

person deserved

to qualify for

him.

And that was

Jesus.

But Jesus

dealt with my

sin on the

cross.

He took the

punishment that

I deserved

upon myself.

And I'm

accredited with

his righteousness.

Righteousness

just being his

perfect, God-

glorifying,

obedient life.

And when

God looks at

me now, he

sees my

life as

being hidden

in Christ.

That's just

what God has

done for us.

He's qualified

us.

Do you see

that?

They didn't

qualify

themselves.

God has

qualified them

for a race

that they had

absolutely no

interest in

running.

And God has

won for them

through Christ

a prize that

they had no

interest in

getting.

And a

prize that on

their own,

they had no

chance of

winning.

He's qualified

them for

himself.

That's the

gift of the

gospel, isn't

it?

Not stuff.

It's God.

And the hope

of being with

him in heaven

where with the

rest of God's

ransomed people,

we have an

inheritance before

us that is far

greater than we

will ever begin

to comprehend

down here.

What incredible

grace.

And later in

chapter 2,

speaking about the

false teachers,

Paul will say,

do not let them

disqualify you

for something

that God has

qualified you

for.

Do not let

them disqualify

you.

God's qualified

you and he's

rescued you

from the domain

of darkness.

That's where

they were before.

Living like

everyone else in

the world,

chasing the same

dreams,

thinking the

same thoughts,

captive to

their sin,

but Jesus

broke in.

He broke

into their

lives.

He smashed

in and he

brought them.

Do you see

the language?

He brought

them.

Think about

it.

It's like

a firefighter

rescuing

a child

from a

burning

building

and taking

them to

safety.

That's the

imagery here.

God has

brought them

out of the

darkness

and he's

placed them

with sins

forgiven and

freedom

purchased

into the

kingdom of

light of

the son

that he

loves.

That's what

God has

done for

his people.

What an

incredible

thing that

God has

done for

his people

in the

gospel.

Paul prays

that these

Christians would

be bearing,

growing,

being,

and giving.

These are the

things that

will please

their master

Jesus Christ.

So let me ask

you as we work

towards a close

this morning,

I wonder as

you, as you

read Paul's

prayer here,

how it

challenges

your prayer

life.

not just

your prayer

life, but

our prayer

life.

Because this

has greatly

challenged me

as I studied

it this week.

As I thought

about how

often my

prayers are

simply requests

to God

for things

in my life

and things

in others'

lives to

get easier

and to get

better.

Now friends,

there is

nothing wrong

with praying

those things,

and because we

love each other,

we should be

praying those

things.

But if

that's all

we're praying,

then I think

we might be

missing it.

So here's my

challenge as we

work, as we

come to a close

this morning.

Hopefully you

got a prayer

sheet on your

way in as you

came in this

morning.

And you'll see

at the bottom

of it, if you

have it there,

it just says,

I'm praying

for.

I'm praying

for, it's all

it says.

So here's what

I want you to

do before you

go this morning.

I want you to

write down the

names of three

people down there

that you're going

to pray for

this week.

And I want you

to find them

this morning.

I want you to

let them know

that you're

praying for

them, and

you're going

to commit to

praying for

them, and

you're going

to pray, this

is how my

mind works,

okay, you're

going to pray

the BGs for

them.

Yeah?

You're going

to pray that

they would be

bearing fruit

this week.

I'm going to

pray that you

would be growing

in your knowledge

of God this

week, that he

would give you

wisdom to know

how to act in

every single

situation.

I'm going to

pray that you

will be strengthened

by God in your

life so that when

tough times come,

and they will

come, you will

have the endurance

and the patience

by God's power to

keep on going, and

I'm going to pray

that your life would

be marked by

thanksgiving, and

the Holy Spirit as

he works in your

life would make

what Jesus has

done for you a

source of constant

joy.

and overall, I'm

going to pray for

you, that your

life this week, you

would know and

live a life that is

fully pleasing to

God.

Are you up for

that?

Yeah?

A few of you

nodded.

Yeah, let's do it

this week.

How counter-cultural

would that be for

us?

How, do you not

think that would

change things if we

began to pray for

each other like that?

That we would be

bearing and growing

and being and giving

as a community

together this

morning.

There's your BG's

challenge, okay?

Take it up.

We'll all take it up

this week.

Find three people

this morning and

say, I'm going to

commit to praying for

you this week.

As we close, here's

another quote from

The Apprentice that

I read this week, and

it's just as good.

I have the beauty and

the brains.

Typically, people only

have one, but I was

blessed with both in

abundance.

Friends, Paul is

saying to these

Christians and

Colossians, he's

praying that they

would be marked by a

completely different

mindset, and that

they would be a

people who live not

for their own glory,

that they would be a

people who are marked

by a passion and a

love to live their

lives for the glory of

the Savior and King

Jesus Christ who has

saved them.

Paul prays that they

would be marked by a

life that is worthy

of the Lord and a

life that pleases Him

in every way.

Valley of Vision, let

me close with this

prayer from the Valley

of Vision.

It's also a song that

we sing sometimes

here.

Help me now to live a

life that's dependent

on your grace.

Keep my heart and

guard my soul from the

evils that I face.

You are worthy to be

praised with my every

thought and deed.

O great God of

highest heaven, glorify

your name through me.

Let's make that our

prayer this week.

Let me pray as we

close.

Heavenly Father, we

thank you so much for

today.

And we ask this week

that you would, in our

lives, help us to be

people that glorify you

and who live for your

pleasure alone.

That we would be your

people who are marked by

an overflowing love for

you.

And Father God, by your

spirit and through your

son, would you help us

to get to know you

better?

Father, thank you for

the great love which you

have shown us.

And so we praise you and

we pray to you knowing

that you hear us because

we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.