I Pray For You

Well, it's good to see all of you this morning.

Open up, if you would, with me please, to Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

This is the second week of our series working through this letter to the Colossian church.

If you're using the Pew Bible in front of you, it's on page 983.

Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

We're going to begin in verse 9 this morning.

Those of you who've been here for any length of time will know that I tend not to address contemporary things that are happening.

I just want to make it about the Lord and about His Word.

But it's filling up the news cycle.

I'm sure you've been bombarded with it this week.

Wherever you turn on the media and the news and the radio, wherever you go, you're hearing about this.

Maybe there's a response in your own heart to this.

And I just want to address the Charlie Kirk assassination.

And I want to help us to see how the passage this morning that we're going to be dealing with helps to inform our hearts on how we, as believers, should respond.

Those of you who may be like, ah, who is Charlie Kirk?

I don't even know who Charlie Kirk is.

Let me just give you a quick introduction.

Well, he's the founder of ministry called Turning Point USA.

It was his goal to empower young people to be able to think conservatively and understand Christian values.

He had a daily radio show and podcast.

And he was able to deal with contemporary issues from a Christian standpoint.

He would go to often target universities and colleges.

And he would go to those campuses.

And he would have little forums where somebody could come to the mic and either ask a question or debate him on a contemporary issue.

And Charlie Kirk would enter into that and provide some answers from the scripture and even from culture to help address those questions about contemporary issues.

He was, however, a committed Christian.

And I know what the media wants to draw a lot of attention to is that he was a political activist.

And that may be true in some respect.

But he was a committed Christian.

Just a couple of months ago, there was an interview that took place where he answered this question.

The interviewer said, Charlie, how do you want to be remembered?

And Charlie answered that question saying, I want to be remembered for my courage and my faith.

But that would be the most important thing.

The most important thing, he says, and this is in quotes, is my faith.

He said he gave his life to Christ when he was in fifth grade.

He said that while he didn't really understand all that that meant,

that God continued to develop this understanding of the gospel in his own heart.

And he came to a place of recognizing that he was a, and these are his words, quote,

a total, absolute sinner who fell short of God's grace, end quote.

In addressing sin, he said it's actually a great comfort to know in total depravity.

It's a great comfort to me that there is nothing in my heart that is worthy of salvation.

And it's only due, only owing to God's grace in my life.

He believed that Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for his sin.

He believed that it was not about personal merit, these are his words,

but about being rescued by God's grace.

He believed that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh,

who taught us to live and how to offer himself as a gift of salvation.

Those who accept him as Lord and Savior can have eternal life, end quote.

Those are his words.

And by the way, in this moment right now,

if you do not know Jesus as your Savior,

and you have come to a place of recognizing that there are things in your life

that are out of sync, out of step,

that the Bible calls that sin,

and by the way, you're in good company

because everybody in this room has fallen short of the glory of God.

We have all not met God's standard,

but there is a way of salvation,

an offer of salvation that comes through faith in Jesus

in asking forgiveness for our sins,

believing that he is the only way that we can enjoy forgiveness

and cleansing is what we're going to look in our passage today,

that he is the means of redemption,

the forgiveness of sins because of his grace and his grace alone.

That's how salvation happens.

And that's what Charlie wanted the world to know.

Now you can imagine there are a number of responses

that have happened because of the events of this past week.

On one side there is glee.

They're giddy.

You might say they're even dancing in the streets.

A sense of relief that Charlie is dead.

A sense of joy that finally the voice has been silenced.

On the other side there's a range of responses

from those who are simply devastated and confused

to those who are full of rage.

You are seething.

Maybe even some of you in this room,

and by the way, I've had to check my heart this week

because, man, I'm angry.

I want to be angry.

And maybe we feel like in some way

this is the inevitable conclusion

for a society that's moving in the direction of rejecting God.

And so, in large degree, you're right.

But it causes us to answer the question,

what are we to do?

How are we to respond?

What is to be the reaction

of those who call themselves followers of Jesus,

who have given their life to God?

What are we to do?

Well, we need to start by remembering five truths, okay?

And this, by the way, is going to be our message in a nutshell,

and then we'll get to the passage, okay?

We'll talk about the passage.

We'll generalize these things,

and then we'll talk about the specifics

as we get into our message this morning.

The first thing that we need to understand

is that as bad as things are,

as hostile as our world seems to be,

as aggressive and as wicked

as our world tends to be,

and we see it, we feel the darkness,

we feel like our world is crashing in on us,

we have to remember,

as bad as it is right now,

it isn't even close,

not even close to as bad as it was

when the Apostle Paul wrote this letter.

Not even close.

You remember where Paul is?

Where is Paul when he writes this letter

to the church of Colossae?

He's in prison.

He's in prison.

In Rome.

And wherever the Apostle Paul goes,

he gets run out of town.

He's either beaten with rods,

he's stoned,

and to the point of death,

they think he's dead,

the mobs are riled up,

and injustice is being done,

and we're going to see this in our passage today.

What is the heart of the Apostle Paul?

What do we see?

It's incredible.

His perspective was not anchored to culture.

His perspective was tethered to God.

That gave him stability.

And by the way,

it can give all of us in this room stability.

It's not as bad today as it was then.

But even if it were,

it doesn't matter.

Second truth.

What stabilized Paul

was not winning arguments.

What stabilized Paul

was not winning arguments.

Not fighting for justice.

Not bringing the force

of human power

to bear on the situation.

But in depending on something

much greater,

by the way,

uncontested power.

That's what we're going to see

in our passage today.

Unrivaled,

uncontested,

unstoppable power

of God

that we have access to.

And if you are a believer today,

is living within you

through the Spirit.

Paul says this

in 2 Corinthians 10,

3-4.

He says this,

For though we walk

in the flesh,

we are not waging war

according to the flesh.

Can we show that verse,

please, Larry?

If we walk in the flesh,

we are not waging war

according to the flesh.

For the weapons

of our warfare

are not of the flesh,

but have divine power

to destroy strongholds.

Did you get that?

There is divine power

that you have access to.

So what are we doing?

Chasing the weak,

ineffective

strategies of the world.

Stop playing their games.

Stop dipping in

to fleshly,

carnal weapons

and strategies.

Access divine strength.

Stop using their tactics.

There is no wonder

why we keep losing ground.

Because strength

comes from God.

Not from your ability

to win an argument.

Not in your ability

to be able to put somebody

in their place.

Not in your ability

to outdazzle somebody

with your intellectual capability.

It comes in the power of God

to change a mind

and change a heart.

Stop depending

on human,

carnal tactics.

Number three.

Third.

The opposition that we face

is not primarily physical,

but spiritual.

We're not fighting

against people

or shooters

or assassinators

or people in government

who we don't agree with.

Lawmakers.

You fill in the blank.

That is not our fight.

Our fight is not

in the flesh.

Our fight

is a spiritual one.

That's what Paul says

in Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

He says,

Be strong in the Lord

and in the strength

of his might.

For we do not wrestle

against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers,

against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers

over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces

of evil

in the heavenly places.

There is no wonder

why we keep losing

because the target

of our battle

tends to be physical

rather than spiritual.

So there's no wonder

why we fight

with physical weapons

because we think

we're fighting

a physical battle.

We are in a war,

but it has nothing

to do with physicality.

It has everything

to do with God.

And so we fight

the spiritual battle

not by doing it

in our own strength,

but by calling attention

to God

and inviting God,

asking God,

pleading with God

to work in a situation.

Fourth,

God's rescue plan

for transforming the world

is not political activism.

It's not winning arguments.

God's plan

for changing the world

is God's church.

God's church

that takes God's word

to the people

of this world.

And it starts with us,

by the way,

and us being transformed

by that very word

and so that we can begin

to do what Christ

calls us to do

in Matthew chapter 5

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

when he says this,

you are the salt

of the earth.

But if the salt

of the earth

loses its saltiness,

how can it be made

salty again?

It is no longer

good for anything.

You might say,

it is good for nothing

except to be thrown out

and trampled by men.

You are the light

of the world.

A city on a hill

cannot be hidden.

In the same way,

let your light

shine before men

that they may see

your good deeds

and praise your Father

in heaven.

God has called

the church

to an incredible

mission

of transforming

the world

not with power

of us

but with a message.

A message of the gospel

that has transformed

us first.

Unfortunately,

we tend to be

as much of the problem

as our world is.

Our words

do not reflect

the heart of God

that what we learn

about Jesus,

he was full of truth

and grace

that when people

hear us

and when we speak

there might be

a lot of truth there

but there's not

a whole lot of grace

and so they can't

see Jesus

in our life

because we're not

reflecting Jesus' heart.

And then in our

private lives,

we tend to be

just as bound

by lust,

just as bound

by impurity,

just as bound

by bitterness,

just as bound

by anger

and unforgiveness.

We,

we haven't risen

above the world.

We are living

in it

and there's

almost no difference

except for the fact

that we come to church

on Sunday

and maybe

some of the words

we use

don't use profanity

but

other than that,

our tactics at work

and our lifestyle

and deep down inside,

we have the same,

we're bound

in the same way

our world is bound.

so it essentially

takes away

any opportunity

for us to speak

into a world

when our own lives

are just as broken.

So,

what can we do?

And that's why

we come to this passage today.

We come to this passage

because Paul is offering

to us

a strategy,

a way for us

to begin this process

personally

and corporately

to begin to change

ourselves

or allow change,

I should say,

to be very careful,

to allow God

to change us first

and allow that word

to transform

the people around us

and then

as that word

begins to grow

in us,

then transformation

will begin to happen.

So,

what stabilized

the Apostle Paul?

Well,

let me just read

a couple of these verses

and I want you to see

what seems to stabilize

the Apostle Paul.

What is the mark

of his language

throughout these

first several verses?

Notice,

Colossians 1, 3,

he says,

we always thank God

for you.

God the Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ

when we pray

for you.

And then in verse 9

he says,

and so from the day

we heard,

we have not ceased

to pray for you

asking that you may be

filled with the knowledge

of his will

and all spiritual wisdom

and understanding.

Now,

verse 12,

giving thanks

to the Father

who has qualified you

to share

in the inheritance

of the saints

in light.

What do you hear

from him?

What do you hear

coming from the Apostle Paul?

I'll tell you

what you don't hear.

What you don't hear is,

oh,

woe is me.

Huh.

I'm in prison again.

I'm all alone.

I'm just scraping by.

Nobody cares about me.

I can't earn a living.

Nights are cold.

These shackles

keep chafing

at my hands

and feet.

I didn't do anything

to deserve this.

There is no justice

in this world.

If we could just change

the government

then everything

would be fine.

No,

you don't hear that

because that's not

Paul's perspective.

Instead,

you hear this.

We are so grateful

for you.

We're so grateful

for you.

We pray for you

all the time.

I want to commend

your faith

in Christ Jesus.

I want to commend

your love

for all the saints.

I want to commend

that your hope

is not in this world

and the situation,

the circumstances

of this life.

Your hope is in heaven.

It's removed.

It's outside.

And so,

we're asking,

my team,

myself,

we're praying for you.

We're praying

that as the word

of God is spreading

that you would

pay attention

to that.

Let the power

of the ineffectiveness

of the word of God,

the perspective

that God is working,

let that settle

your heart.

That it is bearing fruit.

That it is increasing.

When you see

what God is doing

in spite of the culture,

Lord,

that that should

lift your spirits

and help you

to grow in faith,

we ask that you

would bear fruit

as well.

That God's power

would capture you

and energize you

and strengthen you.

And that all this

would lead

to your own hearts

being overcome

by God's abundant goodness.

That it would

gush forth

like rivers,

like geysers,

exploding.

This thanksgiving

is erupting

from within you

because you see

what God is doing.

And that gratitude

and joy

and endurance

would mark your life.

Oh,

that you would grow

in knowledge

and intimacy

with the creator

of the universe.

And that the experience

would stabilize you

in this life.

In spite of darkness,

and when you would reflect

your hope in heaven,

in your current position

of having been transferred

into the kingdom

of light.

Oh,

that you would live

in the light,

dear ones.

That's this passage

in my words.

That's his prayer.

That's what we hear.

And that so often

is not reflective

or representative

of what's in our own hearts.

But that's how Paul

inspires faith.

That's how Paul's message

is reinforced

by personal conviction.

What makes his words convincing

is that he's not bogged down.

He's not discouraged.

He's not in despair.

He's not throwing up his arms.

Like,

what in the world

do we do now?

He has come to terms

with the fact

that God is over this,

that God is working

in spite of this,

and God's plan

is going to move forward

regardless of all

of the seeming obstacles

and tragedies

that are taking place

in Paul's life.

Instead of being bogged down

and cranky

and frustrated,

he's free.

Paul is free.

Don't you want to be free?

Don't you want to enjoy

the freedom of faith

and trusting in God?

See,

he's positive

because his outlook

is propelled

by a perspective

that is not anchored

to circumstances.

He's doing what we find

in the middle of this letter

in Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

where he sets his mind

on things above.

If Christ is above all

and over all,

and in verse 15

through the remainder

of the chapter,

we're going to get there

next week,

Christ is above all.

Whether it's thrones

or dominions

or principalities

or powers,

that God is over it.

He's over the physical.

He's over the spiritual.

He's over heaven.

He's over earth.

He's over it all.

He's in control.

You can trust him.

He's not letting go.

His plans are not failing.

No wonder why

the Apostle Paul

is so free.

And I think

everyone in this room

wants that.

I think you want that.

I sure do.

I want that.

Well, guess what?

You can have it.

It's not elusive.

It's not out of your reach.

And what we're going to see

in this passage this morning

is that God will offer that

to us through his son,

through faith in Jesus.

It's available.

And so I just want to,

I want to pray that God

will do that work for us.

We'll begin our time

in prayer.

It'll be brief.

I want to pray through

this passage for us

so that God will do this

for us too.

and then we'll dig in

and try to bring

these truths out

in a little bit

fuller measure.

Okay?

Let's pray.

Lord, we need you

because

as we evaluate our week,

and I say this personally,

it is so easy

to get bogged down.

It's so easy

to be discouraged.

It's so easy

to allow

the circumstances

of life

to just cloud

my perspective.

Lord, thank you.

It doesn't have to be that way.

And so, Lord,

I pray that you would do

for us a work.

That you would

allow us

to be filled

with the knowledge

of your will.

So that we can walk

in a manner

that's worthy of the Lord.

That we can be

fully pleasing to you.

That we can bear fruit

in every good work.

That we can increase

in our knowledge of you.

Oh, Lord,

would you strengthen us

with that divine power?

That power

that is resident

in the life

of every believer.

May we access that.

May we turn it loose.

May we yield ourselves

to it

and allow it

to have its way

instead of pushing it down

and trying to do things

our own way.

Lord, I pray that our hearts

would be full of thanks.

That gratitude

would erupt from us.

That enduring joy

and patience

in hard things

would mark us

as those

who are people of faith.

And Lord,

I pray that

all of this

would flow

to the glory of God.

That as you work

this change in us

and you work

this change

in our church

and you work

this change

in our families

and in our communities,

wherever that change

will happen,

Lord, may you get

the glory for it.

And we praise you

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So here we are again.

Here we are again.

We're looking at Paul's prayer.

Look at this.

Verse 9.

And so,

from the day we heard,

we have not ceased

to pray for you,

asking that you may be filled

with the knowledge

of his will

and all spiritual wisdom

and understanding,

so as to walk

in a manner

worthy of the Lord,

fully pleasing

to him,

bearing fruit

in every good work

and increasing

in the knowledge

of God,

being strengthened

with all might

according to his

glorious might

for all endurance

and patience

with joy.

Here Paul is again

praying for the church.

Remember,

he did that in verse 3.

He says,

we pray for you.

We thank God,

the Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

when we pray for you.

This prayer

permeated his life.

It was a consistent theme

of what the Apostle Paul

believed

would change the situation.

He says,

from the day we heard

of your faith in Christ,

your love for the saints,

your hope in heaven,

he kind of pushes back

to verses 3 to 5.

Those things

that we've seen in you,

that evidence,

by the way,

not of you pulling yourself

up by the bootstraps

and putting on

this gospel life.

This is a work

of the Word.

It's the Word

that's bearing fruit.

It's the Word

that's increasing.

You have opened

your heart

and your life

to what the Word says

and you've followed it

and you've let it lead you

and that's why

you're experiencing

the evidence

of a gospel life.

So from the day

we heard

of this,

we have not stopped

praying for you.

Now,

Paul's ministry

in Ephesus

took about three years.

It began

probably in A.D. 52,

went to A.D. 55 or so

and the Apostle Paul

would go to Macedonia

and then he would make

his way back

to Jerusalem

and sometime

in that period,

Epaphras likely

was in Ephesus

with the Apostle Paul,

learned at the

school of Tyrannus,

which happened

for three years

and then Epaphras

went to Colossae,

his hometown.

He shared the Word.

People responded.

A church was born.

And then Paul

made his way

from Jerusalem.

Then he was put

into captivity

with Felix.

Remember that?

That was a two-year process.

And then he was

transferred to Rome.

And there's somewhere

between five,

six,

seven years

that have kind of

gone by,

that have transpired

and the Apostle Paul

was like,

I want you to know

from the day

that I heard

that you had a

sincere

and authentic

love for Jesus

and faith in Him,

I've started praying

for you

and I've kept praying

for you

until this day.

Five,

six,

seven years.

This consistent

life of prayer.

The Apostle Paul

in his life

of prayer.

This consistency

of Paul's prayer.

We see this.

And notice that

it's not just

the Apostle Paul

who's praying.

What does it say?

It says,

we pray for you.

We pray.

It's part of

the understanding

of our entire team.

We know as a team

we can't be effective.

We can't have

any vitality.

We can't help you

have any endurance

or strength

or joy.

We can't do that.

But God can.

So we're praying

that He will do that

for you.

It wasn't something

that Paul could do.

It wasn't something

he could offer.

He was in a prison.

And even if he was

with the people,

it was something

that comes from God,

not from Paul.

He knew that God

could provide.

And this is why

the Apostle Paul

is so dependent

on God.

Pray.

And Paul's dependence

on prayer is clear.

We see that twice

in the last several verses.

We see that in almost

every single letter

the Apostle Paul writes,

prayer is the stuff

that makes Paul effective.

It's the stuff.

And we know

that it's the stuff.

And we believe

that God answers prayer.

We believe

that God works

through prayer.

We believe

that God

is listening

to prayer.

So why don't we pray?

Why don't we pray

like this?

What's the problem?

What seems to be

the disconnect

in our hearts?

We know the truth.

And by the way,

I'm just

as guilty

as the rest of you.

Okay?

And this is

one of those areas.

By God's grace,

He will help me

do better in.

We,

we can't

do it.

But God can.

So we need to pray.

And Paul is,

is driven.

He's driven

by this life

of prayer.

I love how

Charles Spurgeon says,

he says this,

I would rather teach

one man to pray

than ten men

to preach.

The reason for that

is because God

works through prayer.

And everybody

in this room

who has a relationship

with Jesus

can pray.

You can do it.

So why don't we pray?

And there are

at least three reasons

I see in this passage.

And so I'm gonna,

I'm gonna bend

this a bit,

so forgive me.

But I wanna apply

this specifically

to what is our problem?

What's going on?

And so,

boy,

I've got ten minutes

to try to do this quick.

Okay?

Have I gotten through

one point yet?

I think I have.

Phew.

Here we go.

What,

what propelled

the Apostle Paul

for his

love for this church

is he was driven

by the knowledge

of God's will.

He was driven

by the knowledge

of God's will.

So what's our problem?

Well,

our problem is

rather than praying

like Jesus

and the model

that we see

from Jesus

to his disciples,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done.

Instead,

we say,

our kingdom come,

our will be done.

We don't wanna know

God's will,

really.

We just want God

to bend himself

to our will.

We approach prayer

and I know

that we've all done this

and it's a tendency

for every single one of us.

Our tendency

is to say,

Lord,

here's what's happening today,

please help me.

Lord,

here's my problem today,

please fix it.

Lord,

here's an issue

in my life,

resolve it.

Lord,

here's a person

in my life

I don't really like,

please get them

out of the way.

And so we're praying

that God's will,

excuse me,

we're praying

our will

is gonna be done

and that God

will do our business

for us.

That's not how it works.

It's just not how it works.

That his will

would be done.

And by the way,

here's the beauty.

That Paul,

in praying

that God's will

would be known

means that God's will

is accessible to you.

God's will

is absolute.

God's will

is revealed.

God's will

is available.

We don't have to

wonder

what his will is

because he's

carried it.

He's shared it

to us

in his word.

And I love

the superlatives

in this passage.

Just look

at them

with me briefly.

Look,

verse 9,

filled,

filled

with the knowledge

of his will.

And that's a word

that is to

is to fill it up

so much

we're bursting.

Like if he gives us

any more,

there's going to be

an explosion

that takes place.

That's the kind

of filling

that God wants to do.

Filled with the knowledge

of his will.

He's done that

through his word.

He's given us

access to his will

through his word.

And notice

verse 9.

All

spiritual

wisdom

and understanding.

That God

will give us

his will.

He's not

going to hold it back.

All of it

is there.

Every

single bit.

Not just

a minuscule

measure.

And it reminds us

of what we know

from James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

That if we lack

wisdom,

we ask from God.

It says,

and he gives to us

in super abundance

without holding back.

He just kind of

boom!

Lays it on us.

His will.

All the will

that we need to know

in God's word.

We can find it

through his

power and help.

Notice verse 10.

Fully

pleasing to him.

This is another

superlative.

This is another

one of those

words that

Paul is trying

to describe

the breadth

of what God

will do

through prayer.

He's going to

allow us

and help us

to be fully

pleasing to him.

Notice verse 10.

Bearing fruit

in how many

good works?

Every good work.

Notice verse 11.

Strengthen with

how much power?

All power.

Notice verse 11.

According to his

glorious might.

Uncontested

present power

that God allows

every believer

to have.

And so

we

don't enjoy

the blessing

of this

because we

really don't

care about

God's will.

We want ours.

we have

so many

inferior

loves.

We call

them by the

way

distractions.

We call

them

things we

got to

do.

We call

them

you know

I'm

busy.

I've got

stuff to

do.

And the

truth is

that what

that means

is those

things are

more important

than God.

And when

I do

that

and

I do

that more

than I'd

like to

admit.

When I

talk about

distractions

or I say

I'm way

too busy

what I'm

saying is

God is

not as

important

as my

things.

So no

wonder why

God won't

answer

prayer.

Knowledge

of his

will.

God wants

to unleash

that knowledge

to us.

Second

the apostle

Paul

he wants

that knowledge

to be

applied

to the

way in

which we

live.

That's

the goal.

So knowledge

that relates

to life.

And that's

my second

problem

by the

way.

So often

my knowledge

makes me

feel better

about myself

and what I

know and

what I can

defend and

how I can

articulate

truth but

that knowledge

at times

has little

compatibility

with my

life.

I'm not

walking

worthy

of the

gospel.

That's the

point here

so as

to walk

in a

manner

worthy.

That's the

point of

having

knowledge.

Knowledge

that helps

us to

walk.

Walk in a

way that

pleases the

Lord.

And that

knowledge of

God's will

is meant to

produce

something.

It's meant

to produce

in my

heart and

life

something

tangible.

You see

so often

when we

might know

God's will

but our

problem is

this.

We might

know what

God says

but we

don't do

anything about

it.

How many

of us feel

very comfortable

with the

sin in our

life?

How many

of us

have been

struggling

with certain

besetting

sins

for weeks

months

years?

Those

besetting

sins

they're

private

they're

inside

no one

knows

about

them

but

in your

heart

it's

just

okay

because

God

will

forgive

me.

And so

the

knowledge

of

God's

will

not

applied

is

not

going

to

do

anything

for

you.

And

by

the

way

God

cares

about

you

enough

he's

gracious

enough

to

you

that

he's

not

going

to

reveal

more

knowledge

until

you

act

on

the

knowledge

you

have.

And so

we

give

ourselves

a pass

we say

it's

okay

it's

okay

for me

to have

besetting

sins

it's

okay

for me

to

be

angry

anger

is

justified

it's

okay

for me

not

to

forgive

have

you

seen

what

they

did

to

me

it's

okay

for

me

to

be

angry

with

somebody

for

an

injustice

it's

okay

for

me

to

tell

somebody

off

well

you

fill

in

the

blank

!

And so

there's

no wonder

why

God

doesn't

answer

our

prayer

it's

not

having

the

work

that

it's

meant

to

do

and

finally

here

Paul

wants

this

church

to

experience

God's

presence

in

everyday

life

he

wants

them

to

experience

God's

presence

in

everyday

life

and

he

uses

four

participles

and

a

participle

is

just

something

that

is

an

action

that

continues

and

normally

in

the

English

language

you

can

identify

it

with

the

ending

ing

okay

so

let me

just

read

this

what

is

it

meant

to

produce

notice

we're

in

verse

10

so

as

to

walk

in

a

manner

worthy

of

Lord

fully

pleasing

to

him

and

here's

the

first

one

bearing

fruit

in

every

good

work

and

second

one

is

increasing

in

the

knowledge

of

God

the

next

one

is

being

strengthened

with

all

joy

the

next

one

last

one

here

giving

thanks

to

the

father

who

has

qualified

you

to

share

in

the

inheritance

!

God

wants

us

to

be

people

who

demonstrate

and

illustrate

this

work

of

the

gospel

in

living

color

you

might

say

HD

high

definition

color

contrast

your

life

on

display

not

because

of

the

way

you're

living

because

what

Paul

will

say

Christ

who

lives

in

you

he

says

that

in

Galatians

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2

20

he

says

I

am

crucified

with

Christ

it

is

not

I

who

live

it

is

not

me

but

Christ

who

lives

in

me

in

the

life

which

I

live

in

the

flesh

I

live

by

faith

in

the

Son

of

God

who

loves

me

and

gave

himself

for

me

and

so

when

your

life

shows

these

qualities

people

will

say

ha

God

is

at

work

God

is

doing

something

in

that

and

our

problem

our

problem

is

often

how do

I put

this

as

great

as

that

sounds

it's

too

much

work

you

know

what I'm

saying

like

I'm

feeling

feeling

okay

life

is

good

I

got

what

I

need

you

know

things

are

generally

working

for

my

favor

and

so

yeah

I

can

see

that

bearing

fruit

and

increasing

in

knowledge

and

and

all

of

these

things

and

giving

thanks

that's

important

but

but you

know

my

life

is

kind

of

okay

there's

no

wonder

then

why

we

as

a

person

and

we

as

a

church

will

never

change

this

world

because

it's

about

us

and

not

about

God

it's

about

our

glory

and

our

will

and

our

comforts

and

not

about

God's

glory

and

God's

kingdom

and

God's

purpose

and

God's

good

name

in