Living to please the Lord Jesus

Now, can you turn with me in your Bibles back to the book of Colossians, Paul's letter to the Colossians,

and we're going to read his prayer, verse 9 to verse 14, as we think together about living to please the Lord.

So Colossians chapter 1 and at verse 9.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

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

bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might,

so that you may have great endurance and patience,

and giving joyful thanks to the Father,

who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness

and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

So if you have your Bible, keep it open there as we continue to think through Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Let me begin with an observation,

and it's this,

how we think about Jesus shapes how we live for Jesus.

I want to begin with a letter I read this week,

written by a chap at the age of 66,

and he wrote this,

as he spoke about the work of God in his life.

Did he not redeem and deliver me from being a slave in Africa?

Take me up from the dunghill of sin and misery?

Put me among the princes, even his own children?

Tame the fierce tiger in my heart,

and give me a name, a place, and service in his house.

The author of that letter,

the author of many hundreds of wonderful gospel-rich letters,

was John Newton,

the author of the famous hymn Amazing Grace,

which we'll sing at the end.

John Newton, the former slave owner,

who actually himself became a slave in Africa

before being converted,

becoming a pastor,

working to end slavery in the UK.

And what I find so lovely about this letter,

written by him in those days,

the late 1700s,

fairly elderly man,

he still had that sense of joy in knowing Jesus.

That song of amazing grace

was one that he still sung in his heart.

He was somebody who was joyfully serving Jesus decades later.

It's always a wonderful thing to see.

We know in our own church

the wonderful privilege of seeing

older, mature Christians

who have walked with Jesus for many years

and continue to do so joyfully.

In many ways, I think he matches,

John Newton matches,

the sentiments of Paul, the apostle.

Paul, who would talk about himself

as the chief of sinners,

described himself as a blasphemer

and a persecutor and a violent man.

And yet God showed him grace and mercy

so that he would say,

for me to live is Christ

and to die is gain.

How we think about Jesus

shapes how we live for Jesus.

And that takes us to Paul's prayer here.

Because what we'll see

is that Paul is praying

that the believers here

would know God's will

so that they would do God's will.

And God's will is here expressed

as walking worthy of Jesus

and living to please Jesus

and to do that because of God's saving grace.

So let's see this together.

Let's think, first of all,

about living to please Jesus.

Verses 9 to 12,

we focus on Paul's prayer.

But before we do that,

almost as a by-the-by,

let's just think for a minute

about training in language.

So think about parents

perhaps training their children

in a language

or you're perhaps trying to encourage someone

to learn another language.

How does that process happen?

Well, there is a listening in

and there's attempts at repeating,

copying words and phrases

and then adapting them

for their own use.

And I think that process

of language learning

is helpful whenever we come

to the prayers

that we find in the Bible

because I guess as Christians,

if we're Christians,

many of us will have found ourselves

thinking, asking, saying,

I wish I had a better prayer life.

I wish I had a way

to pray for myself

and for others

and the church.

I don't feel particularly good

at prayer.

I'm sure we can probably

all resonate with that

at some point in our lives.

Jesus' disciples, of course,

turned to Jesus

recognizing his unique relationship

with the Father

and they said,

Lord, teach us to pray.

And perhaps it's always been the case

that in the church

there's that desire

to want to grow in prayer

and for centuries

what the church has done

is we have learned

from the language of prayer

that we find in the Bible.

That's why Jesus gave

the Lord's Prayer.

Christians down

through the centuries

have used the Psalms

to form their own

prayer language.

And then we have

the models of prayer

that we find in the Bible.

For example,

Paul's one here.

So even as we're thinking

about what he prays,

perhaps we can also be conscious

of here is a way

that I can learn

to develop

in my own prayers.

One of the things

that we recognize,

verse 9,

if you look at the way

Paul begins there,

he says,

For this reason,

since the day we heard about you,

we have not stopped

praying for you.

And again,

it's significant.

Paul is praying

for a church

that he's never met.

He knows Epaphras,

but he doesn't know the church.

And so here's a connection

for us.

You know,

we have the privilege,

I'm saying this to someone

this week,

and in Beclu,

we have the privilege

of welcoming

for different times

people involved

in ministry and mission

all over the world.

And we may not know

their congregations

or their ministries,

but we know the leaders

so we can pray

for those that they serve.

So this can help us

as we think about mission

and connecting it

to our prayer.

But we also see

that he says,

We have not stopped

praying for you.

There's a consistency.

These things

that are important

to Paul

are things

that he's going

to commit

to praying

for regularly.

Here are some principles

that he wants

to see established

in God's people,

so he's going

to bring them

to God regularly.

So even there,

before we even get

to what Paul's praying

for,

there are lessons

for us

in how we ourselves

pray for others.

And again,

just before we get

into how Paul prays,

let's just frame this

in the context

of another form

of training.

So we train people

in language,

but we were those

who were trained

in politeness,

and as parents,

again,

we train our children

towards politeness,

don't we?

From a very early age,

we want our children

to appreciate

if someone does

something for you,

if somebody gives

something,

the polite response

is to say,

thank you.

Now,

apply that to

what we have here,

and we can say

that when we understand

that God has given

his one and only

son for us

to qualify us

for an eternal

inheritance,

when he has rescued

and redeemed us

at the cost

of his son Jesus,

then our lives

as the people of God

ought to become

one big thank you.

Worship as thankfulness,

obedience as thankfulness.

Now,

having said all that,

let's look at

what Paul prays,

and let's think about

what it looks like

when Paul says

to aim to walk

worthy of Jesus

as Lord

because of

what he's done

for us

in the gospel.

So,

what does Paul pray?

Verse 9,

we find his request.

The second sentence there,

or the beginning

of sentence 2,

we continually

ask God

to fill you

with the knowledge

of his will

through all the wisdom

and understanding

that the Spirit gives.

What's he praying?

He's praying for believers

to know

God's will,

to have that wisdom

that comes from

God,

the Holy Spirit,

so that they might,

as it were,

think God's thoughts

after him.

Now,

it may be the case

when we hear

that phrase,

you know,

God's will,

what's God's will

for my life,

we might think

of something

that's very personal,

we might think

of choices

that we have to make,

it might be about

our future,

career,

relationship,

that can be

where our mind goes,

but the emphasis

typically in

God's word

is that we would

know God's word,

that's God's will,

that we would know

him in his word,

and that we would

have the wisdom

to apply God's word

to our lives,

that the Holy Spirit

would help us to know

how to live wisely,

applying God's word

in everyday life.

Three things we can say

about the Spirit,

the Spirit inspired

the writing of God's word,

and that same Spirit

then in the life

of a believer

illuminates God's word,

lights it up for us,

so we can see it come alive,

and we can understand

how it applies to us,

and the Spirit also

instructs us

in wisdom

so that we can

in very practical ways

show love

and obedience

to God

in our day-to-day life.

So that's what Paul

is praying for.

We need to ask the question,

why does he pray that?

Why does that matter?

Well, look with me

at verse 10.

He explains it.

We've not stopped

praying for you

so that

you may live a life

worthy of the Lord

and please him

in every way.

To know God's will

so that believers

in the Lord Jesus

would then do

God's will.

Specifically,

that we would walk

worthy of the Lord Jesus.

That we would live

to please him

always.

praise.

Perhaps we can think

of it this way.

Think about

the setting

of a family.

Christians are called

into the family

of God.

God is our Father,

Jesus,

our Savior,

our elder brother.

Paul is praying

that we wouldn't,

as Christians,

drag the name of Jesus

through the mud,

but positively

we would bring glory

to him.

That we wouldn't bring

shame on our God

and Father,

but rather we would

honor him

in our everyday lives.

Paul prays for Christians

to know and do

what pleases Jesus

in every way,

in all of life.

So,

not just the religious part,

how do I live for Jesus

on Sunday?

Disconnect that

from Monday to Friday.

Not just how do I

please Jesus

when it's convenient

and comfortable.

How do I please Jesus

in every way,

in every setting?

It made me think

of that famous phrase

from the Dutch

theologian Kuiper.

I don't think that's

how you say it,

but anyway,

that's how I'm going

for it.

He said,

there is no square inch

over all of creation

in which Jesus

does not say,

mine.

The lordship of Jesus

is absolute.

And if that's the case,

then we can say,

and Paul,

in effect,

is saying to us,

remember

that there is no square inch

of our lives

over which Jesus

does not say,

mine.

And so wisdom

looks like,

how do I live

to please Jesus

in this particular situation,

in this relationship?

Paul's prayer,

in a sense,

is that as Christians

and as a church,

there would be

this guiding principle.

What would please Jesus?

Perhaps we remember

those wristbands.

What would Jesus do?

What would please Jesus

as guiding principle?

What does walking

worthy of Jesus

look like here,

in my workplace,

in my family situation,

as I face this experience?

So, we pray,

and we ask the Spirit

to lead us,

in a sense,

to ask that question

in the first place,

because if we're honest,

there are times

when living to please Jesus

falls down

our priority list.

So, we ask for the Spirit

to remind us,

that's our calling,

and then we ask

for the Spirit

to help us

to have the wisdom

to answer the question well,

so that we might

represent Jesus

well in the world.

And to think about

what that looks like,

Paul draws attention

to four particular

aspects.

So, continuing in verse 10,

we see four elements

mentioned

about what it looks like

to live worthy of a Lord

and please Him

in every way.

The first of those,

in verse 10,

is bearing fruit

in every good work.

That if we are wanting

to live to please Jesus,

we will want to do good

to bless others.

Really, to follow

the pattern of Jesus.

Perhaps it's helpful

here to think about

the image that Jesus

uses in John 15,

I am the vine

and you are

the branches

that we will bear fruit

when we are abiding

in Christ

by the Spirit.

That's a prayer point

for this church

in Colossae.

That's a prayer point

for our church also.

That we as Christians,

we as a church,

may bear the fruit

of good work.

So that's one way

that we can live

to please Jesus.

Then he goes on

to say,

at the end of verse 10,

to pray that they would be

growing

in the knowledge

of God.

Growing

in knowledge.

It's a reminder

that our Christian faith

is not about

a static relationship.

I came to faith

at this point

and I know God

to this extent

and that's me done.

Rather,

because God is infinite

and eternal,

there's always more

to know

and he invites us

to know more

and to delight

in that knowledge

and to grow

in that knowledge

of him.

Not for knowledge's sake,

that we'd know him better

so we'd know

how to please him.

When we think about,

I guess,

any friendship

or a family relationship

where we know someone

or we're getting

to know somebody well,

we will find ourselves

instinctively

studying.

Studying to know

what pleases

the other person.

Likes, dislikes,

what pleases

another person,

what makes them

happy.

We grow

in the knowledge

of God

and his word

so that we might

know how to live

to please him.

So there's another

prayer point

that Paul has

that we can

wisely introduce

to our own prayers

that our church

might grow

to know

and love

God

more.

The third

way

in which

as Christians

we can live

to please Jesus

we find

in verse 11.

Being strengthened

with all power

according to his

glorious might

so that you may

have great endurance

and patience.

Living with

endurance

and patience.

Faith

to stand

in the face

of opposition

or persecution.

A faith

that continues

to hope

in Jesus

through the trials

that come

into our lives.

A faith

that clings

to our solid

future hope

when we suffer.

faith

that trusts

our good shepherd

to care for us

to provide for us

to walk

with us.

And so Paul

prays

that the church

would be

strengthened

with God's

power and grace

so that they

might continue

to run the race

with patience

recognizing that

faith is a marathon

and not a sprint.

That

as

they

begun

the race

of faith

that they

would finish

it

with the

help

that God

provides.

And again

what a wonderful

prayer

for ourselves

to pray

for one another

in our church

that we would

stand firm

in faith

that we'd be

strengthened

by the grace

of God

to endure

to hold on

and not to fold.

The fourth way

that Paul

gives

or Paul

prays for

as he seeks

for God's

people to live

worthy of

Jesus.

Verse 12

giving joyful

thanks

to the

Father.

A heart

that's full

of love

and gratitude

and thankfulness

worship

and deep

joy

rooted

in their

relationship

with

God.

A life

lived out

of God's

love

for them

in and

through

the Lord

Jesus

leading to

thankfulness

and joy.

Should be a

mark of

God's people.

Should be a

mark of

a church

that we

have a joy

that runs

deeper than

happiness

rooted in

circumstance.

A joy

because we

know that we

know our

God and

he knows

us

and that

our future

is secure

and that we

have the love

of God

and we have

peace with

God.

And so

again we

can pray

for our

church to

be a

place of

gospel driven

joy and

thankfulness.

Living to

please

Jesus

is something

that clearly

mattered to

Paul and it

matters to

God and so

he prays.

And now let's

notice how he

frames it.

he asks that

they would

live to

please

Jesus

in light

of the

gospel.

That's where

he shifts in

verses 12

to 14.

Why would

we live to

please Jesus

in every way?

Why make

the effort?

Why commit

for the long

haul?

Why have

loyalty and

love to

Jesus?

Paul says

because of

the gospel.

Because of

what God

has done

for us

in Jesus.

Because

specifically

here

verse 12

God has

qualified us

to share

in his

eternal

inheritance

through Jesus.

Verse 13

because he

has rescued

us from

the dominion

of darkness.

And verse

14 because

in Jesus

we have

redemption.

So let's

think about

these.

Recognizing

that they

transform

life in

the present

and life

in the

future.

Verse 12

the Father

through Jesus

has qualified

us.

He has

qualified you

to share

in the

inheritance

of his

holy people

in the

kingdom

of light.

Qualified

for that

inheritance

as part

of God's

family,

his holy

people.

There is a

treasure

stored up

for us

in heaven

who ultimately

is Jesus

himself.

that

inheritance

of living

in the

kingdom

of light

looking

forward

to that

future

kingdom,

God's

kingdom,

life with

him and

with his

son Jesus

forever.

That's

our

inheritance.

And he's

going to make

clear that that

comes to us

because of what

God has done

for us in

Jesus in

rescuing us.

But he

reminds the

church that

the gospel

speaks good

news and

says to us

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ we

are

children of

God.

There is a

treasure in

heaven stored

up for us

and the

basis for

that

inheritance

claim has

nothing to do

with us and

everything to

do with

Jesus and

his saving

work that

we have

applied to

us by

faith.

It's a

remarkable

truth when

we stop

and think

about it.

We think

about our

God who

is our

God.

God is

holy.

God is

sinless.

He is

perfect.

He cannot

bear sin.

We think

about our

own lives

and we

know that

we are

sinful by

nature.

We are

disqualified

by nature.

We have

no claim

to this

eternal

inheritance.

So how

does it

come to

us?

And that's

where he

goes next.

He reminds

us that

God has

rescued us.

Verse

13.

He has

rescued us

from the

dominion of

darkness

and brought

us into

the kingdom

of the

Son he

loves.

Rescued

from dominion,

rescued from

being in

the grip of

a hostile

power,

brought into

the kingdom

of light,

the kingdom

of the

Son he

loves.

There's

been a

transfer of

kingdoms that

takes place

in the

gospel.

perhaps we

might think

of a

prisoner of

war camp,

a soldier

who becomes

a prisoner

or a slave

in another

country with

no way of

escape,

locked in

darkness

until the

forces of

liberation

come.

The Bible

would say

that by

nature we

are prisoners

of war.

We live

in the

kingdom of

darkness,

ruled by

the devil,

slaves to

sin.

Not just

the things

we do,

but our

sin nature.

Because of

that, by

nature we

are enemies

of God,

we are

opposed to

God and

his rule

and his

word,

and because

of that we

find ourselves

under the

just judgment

of God

and heading

for death

and eternal

separation

from God.

The dominion

of darkness

is real

and it's

serious.

But then we

have the good

news of

God's

action.

What has

God done?

Verse 13,

he's rescued

us through

his son

Jesus.

We've been

delivered by

faith out

of the

prison camp

into a

kingdom of

perfect

freedom.

God's

kingdom of

light and

love.

How does

this rescue

happen?

Verse 14

tells us.

In whom,

in the

son,

we have

redemption,

the

forgiveness

of sins.

The Bible

speaks a

fair bit

about

redemption

and we

still speak

about it

today.

The price

paid to

buy

something

back,

the price

paid to

buy

someone

back,

thinking

about the

Old

Testament.

A person

could find

themselves

falling into

hard times

when he

had to

sell

their

land,

but they

or someone

else could

save up

money and

pay the

redemption

price to

buy the

land back.

Or they

might find

themselves

falling into

debt so

great that

they had to

sell themselves

into slavery

to work for

another person.

Well,

again,

they could,

or a

family member

could pay a

redemption

price to

be set

free.

And what

Paul does

is he takes

this idea

of redemption

and he makes

clear that the

debt we owe

is the debt

of our

sin.

Jesus said

the great

commandment

is love

the Lord

your God

with all

your heart

and with

all your

soul and

all your

mind and

all your

strength.

And our

failure to

do that

is that

debt

that we

pile up.

Jesus said

the second

great

commandment

is to

love our

neighbor as

ourselves.

With the

same amount

of energy

and effort

that we

apply to

caring for

ourselves,

we are to

care for

our neighbor.

And our

failure to

do that,

again,

is building

up a

debt of

sin.

And that's

a debt

that we

could never

repay

ourselves.

The

gospel says

there is a

redemption price

that has

been paid,

and it's

been paid

in and

through the

blood of

Jesus on

the cross.

In chapter

2 of

Colossians,

Paul takes

us there in

picture language.

If you look

with me,

chapter 2,

halfway through

verse 13,

we find

there,

God made

you alive

with Christ.

He forgave

us all

our sins,

having

canceled the

charge of

our legal

indebtedness.

So there's

the gospel,

forgiveness,

and a debt

canceled,

that debt

which stood

against us

and condemned

us.

So there's

that honesty.

Because of

our sin,

we stand

justly

condemned

because of

that debt.

But what

has God

done?

He has

taken it

away,

nailing it

to the

cross.

And having

disarmed

the powers

and authorities,

he made

a public

spectacle of

them,

triumphing

over them

by the

cross.

Sometimes

when in

the Roman

Empire,

when they

were executing

a prisoner

on the

cross,

they would

nail above

that person's

head the

charges.

This is the

reason why

this person

is being

condemned

to death.

A warning,

don't find

yourself doing

likewise.

Well,

what does

Paul do?

To help

us understand

the gospel,

he says,

at the

cross,

that record

of debt

that should

be over

our heads

is pinned

over the

head of

Jesus,

the sinless

one,

the perfect

one.

He takes

that record

of debt.

He dies

in our

place for

our sins

so that

God can

justly write

paid in

fool

when our

faith

is in

Jesus.

The

just

anger

of God

falls

on

Jesus

and not

on

those

who

trust

in

him.

With

the

result

of the

power

of sin

is broken,

the power

of darkness

is broken,

we're made

alive with

Christ,

we enjoy

victory

with

him.

And what

Paul says

in this

prayer is

that in

light of

how wonderful

the gospel

is,

in light of

that transformation

that God

in Jesus

has worked

for us,

we should

live to

please

Jesus.

We should

live to

walk worthy

of him

in light

of the

gospel.

Just as

we close

some

random

visitor

stats,

and a

question,

what is

it that

makes

35,000

people a

year

climb

Mount

Everest?

What is

it that

draws

650,000

people a

year to

visit the

Isle of

Sky?

What is

it that

draws

30 million

people to

stand at

the edge

of

Niagara

Falls?

doesn't

it speak

to the

fact that

as people

we are

looking for

a sense

of awe

and wonder,

something

bigger than

ourselves,

that we are

drawn to it,

we long

for that

sense of

awe and

wonder,

and when

we find

it,

you might

do yourself

at the

top of a

mountain

range,

you might

imagine

yourself

in a

really

dark

night

looking up

at the

stars,

what does

it do

for us?

Doesn't

it fix

our

perspective

so often?

Doesn't

it helpfully

cut us

down to

size and

help us

to remember

our God

who is

infinitely

bigger?

Paul in

his prayer

speaks to

our hearts

and our

minds.

He says

to us,

remember the

gospel is

powerful,

the gospel

is beautiful,

as we

long for

awe and

wonder,

we're

invited to

find it

in the

gospel.

And as

we reflect

on that,

that it

sorts our

perspective,

as we

understand that

God in

Christ has

done everything

for us,

then that

should motivate

us to

live for

him.

Because how

we think

about Jesus

shapes how

we live

for Jesus.

So let's

pray for

ourselves,

for our

church,

for our

churches,

that we

would be

transformed

by the

gospel

constantly,

so that

we would

want to

live to

please

Jesus.

Let's

do that

this

night.

Lord,

our God,

we thank

you for

how wonderful

the gospel

is.

Thank you

for the

many pictures

that we

find through

your word

that speak

of the

life-transforming

power of

power of

the work of

Jesus for

us in

his perfect

life,

death,

and

resurrection.

Thank you

that by

faith in

Jesus,

we are

qualified for

that eternal

inheritance that

is laid up

for us,

that treasure

in heaven

that can never

be lost or

taken from

us.

We thank you

that you

have rescued

us,

taken us from

darkness into

your wonderful

light,

that you

have set

us free

from slavery,

giving us

true freedom

in Jesus.

We thank you

that he came

to pay that

redemption price

to forgive

our sins,

to bring us

peace with

you,

our God.

Lord,

we pray

that you

would help

our hearts

to be drawn

to the gospel,

our minds

to be drawn

to the wonderful

truth of

the gospel,

so that it

would change

how we live,

that it

would influence

how we

approach each

day and

each situation.

Lord,

may you give

to us as a

church and

as families

and as

individuals that

guiding principle

that we would

want to live

to please

Jesus,

who lived

and died

and rose

for us.

We pray

that you

would give

the spirit

to us,

so that we

would have

wisdom

to know

what that

looks like

in our

lives and

in our

situations.

We know

that we're

all different

and our

lives are

different.

The opportunities

and challenges

we face

will differ

from person

to person,

but Lord,

you know us

and your spirit

can help us

and equip us.

And so we

pray that he

would do

just that,

that he would

cause us to

be asking

ourselves,

how can we

walk worthy

of the Lord

today?

And that by

the spirit

you would

help us

so that we

would give

glory to

you,

our great

God and

Saviour.

Amen.

Now we

will close

our time

singing the

great hymn

from John

Newton,

Amazing Grace,

and we'll

stand together

to sing.