A Pastor's Prayer
Text: Col. 1:9-14
Introduction
1. Illustration: What do we know about the shepherd's life? It's a full time commitment. Sheep are helpless to defend themselves against attack from their natural enemies: lions, bears, wolves, hyenas and foxes which can come in both the day and night so there is never a moment a shepherd can relax. Sheep must be led to green grass and cool water, groomed when they get parasites in their nose and eyes and leeches in their throats from the water. Sheep must always be on the move because if not, they will overgraze the hill. Water is critical for sheep. In Israel's semi arid land, shepherds must dig cisterns in the soft limestone by dry riverbeds called wadis to catch the water from flash floods during the rainy season. These are usually 15 x 10 foot wide and need to be plastered to be able to hold water. A small rock dam must be built to direct some of the floodwaters into the cistern, which will hold water for several months until the summer heat evaporates it. Shepherds will use the water in ponds and lagoons first to save the water in the cisterns for later in the year. And here's the thing about sheep: they have no idea how much work the shepherd does to keep them safe.
2. As your Pastor I'm your spiritual Shepherd. As such I am called to...
A. Feed you
B. Guide you
C. Protect you
D. Care for you
E. But most importantly, to pray for you.
3. When Paul prayed for the Colossian church he prayed for two things...
A. Knowledge
B. Strength
4. Let's stand together as we read Col. 1:9-14.
Proposition: As your Pastor I pray that you would know God more, and be strengthened in your faith.
Transition: First Paul prayed...
I. A Prayer For Knowledge (9-10).
A. Complete Knowledge
1. PAUL CONTINUES THE thanksgiving section by informing the Colossians how he and Timothy specifically intercede for them in prayer.
A. The initial success of the gospel in Colosse does not lull them into slackening their prayer efforts for the Colossians.
B. Quite the reverse, it leads to even more intense prayer. They have continued to pray for them because of what God has already done for them and because of their faith and love ("for this reason," 1:9).
C. By sharing his petition on their behalf, Paul reacquaints them with their blessings, their obligations, and their potential in Christ.
2. Paul begins with, "So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding."
A. Paul prays that they be filled with complete knowledge.
B. Paul wants the Colossians to be totally controlled by knowledge. Knowledge consists of the normal Greek word for knowledge (gnosis) with an added preposition (epi), which intensifies the meaning.
C. The knowledge Paul wants the Colossians to have is a deep and thorough knowledge (MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary Colossians and Philemon, 28).
D. The knowledge that Paul has in view has nothing to do with some secret myth reserved only for the elite or some hidden key that unlocks the mysteries of the universe or of the inner person.
E. What Paul wants them to have a knowledge of is God's will.
F. For Paul, understanding God's will involves recognizing how Christ is the fulfillment of God's redemptive purposes, how God's salvation is open to all people, and how God intends for Christians to live in whatever situation they find themselves.
G. For Paul, Christ is the end of the law, and God's will is embodied in the person of Christ.
H. Full knowledge comes only through the Spirit and our complete commitment to Jesus Christ.
I. In addition to knowledge Paul prays that they receive spiritual wisdom and understanding.
J. Though the terms wisdom and understanding may be synonymous, wisdom may be the broader of the two terms.
K. It refers to the ability to collect and concisely organize principles from Scripture. Understanding could be a more specialized term, referring to the application of those principles to everyday life.
L. Both wisdom and understanding are spiritual; they deal in the non-physical realm and have the Holy Spirit as their source (MacArthur, 29).
3. Paul continues in v. 10 with, "Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better."
A. True understanding and wisdom of God's will is inseparable from living in harmony with it.
B. True knowledge leads to obedience; complete obedience cannot occur without the knowledge of God's will given by the Holy Spirit.
C. The Colossian believers should live always to honor and please the Lord. By so doing, they will continually do good, kind things for others.
D. Their behavior should match their status as God's holy people. They ought to be following God closely their lives being transformed to Christlikeness.
E. A Christian must be active in order to grow spiritually and to live worthy of the Lord.
F. Is it possible for Christians to please God? Apparently so, for Paul prayed exactly that for the Colossian believers.
G. Perfection will not be achieved in this life, yet believers press on toward the goal of God's high calling.
H. In the meantime, believers can be fully pleasing to God by virtue of their relationship with him and their attempts to live in order to please him in all areas of life (Barton, Life Application New Testament Commentary, 872).
B. The Will Of God
1. Illustration: Billy Graham said, "Millions of people today are searching for a reliable voice of authority. The Word of God is the only real authority we have. His Word sheds light on human nature, world problems and human suffering. But beyond that, it clearly reveals the way to God. The message of the Bible is the message of Jesus Christ who said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life' (John 14:6). It is the story of salvation; the story of your redemption and mine through Christ; the story of life, of peace, of eternity. Our faith is not dependent upon human knowledge and scientific advance, but upon the unmistakable message of the Word of God."
2. The knowledge of God's will can be found in two imperative resources: Prayer and the Word of God.
A. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
B. Paul tells us that the Word of God teaches us what is right and shows us what is wrong in our lives.
C. He also tells us the Word corrects us when we mess up and teaches us how to correct it.
D. In addition, he tells us the Word is used by God to equip us to His work.
E. The reason for this is ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED BY GOD. That world inspired literally means, "God-Breathed." It comes from God himself.
F. What better way to know the will of God for your life then from His book of instruction?
G. But here's the issue too many of us have, it can't teach us, correct us, and equip us if we don't read it!
H. Let me say again, don't leave your Bible in church your chair can't read!!! And if you are a regular attender at New Life and you didn't bring your Bible with you today start!
I. The only way you are going to know the will of God is by daily reading the Word of God.
3. The second resource for knowing the will of God is prayer.
A. Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
B. Do you want to know the will of God for your life? Then ask him!
C. Reading the Word everyday is great and necessary, but you won't be able to understand it and be able to apply it without prayer.
D. A Christian without a balanced amount of prayer and the Word is like an eagle with one wing; it won't get you where you need to go!
E. And prayer should be more than your spiritual grocery list...God give me this and God give me that!
F. You need to occasionally stop yakking and start listening. Prayer is a two way street and it requires listening as well as talking.
Transition: Secondly, Paul prays...
II. A Prayer For Strength (11-14).
A. Strengthened With His Glorious Power
1. Paul continues his prayers for the Colossians by praying for strength.
A. Now I don't know about you, but I'll take all of the strength that I can get.
B. There are days when there just isn't enough to go around.
2. Paul says in vv. 11-12, "We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
A. The Colossians' growth in the knowledge of God and the resultant fruit would help to strengthen them.
B. Paul continued his prayer for the believers, asking God that they be strengthened with his glorious power. One can hardly pray a more wonderful prayer. To be made strong with God's power is to be given incredible strength, ”it was God's glorious power that created the universe and that brought Jesus back to life. One can hardly imagine more power.
C. In fact, Paul's words here show the inadequacy of describing God's power ”it is beyond our words or our human minds to comprehend.
D. Yet that power is available to believers and to the church so they can fulfill their mission in the world.
E. Paul wanted the Colossian believers to be strengthened with God's power so they would not be pulled away from their faith and their witness to the world.
F. This power would give them all the patience and endurance they would need. Patience is the ability to stand firm against opposition without giving up; it is often used in describing one's dealings with difficult people.
G. Endurance is the ability to continue toward a goal regardless of the obstacles; it is often used in relation to difficult circumstances. Both would be needed by the believers in Colosse, and both come from the empowerment of God's glorious strength.
H. Paul reminded the Colossians that even when they were surrounded by persecution and false teaching, they had the strength to continue toward the goal of their faith and to stand firm against the opposition.
I. It is God's power that helps believers endure and be patient even as they are filled with joy that overflows in always thanking the Father. Why? Because Jesus Christ made it possible for the believers to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people.
J. By using the word inheritance, Paul was alluding to the inheritance of the Promised Land, first promised to Abram for his faithfulness to God.
K. God's people, the Old Testament saints, inherited a portion of a bountiful land.
L. God's people in the New Testament are the very sons of God, and as such they have the right to inherit Christ and a glorious eternity in the light.
M. The promise of land is broadened to include the whole creation.
N. Paul was most likely setting up the contrast between the state of "light" that the believers have been transferred to from their previous state of "darkness" as described in 13 (Barton, 872).
3. Paul concludes his thought by reminding the Colossians what Christ has done for them. In vv. 13-14 he says, "For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins."
A. These verses continues the thought from 1:12; Paul still had in mind the analogy of Israel inheriting the Promised Land.
B. The book of Exodus tells the story of how God rescued (or delivered) his people from Egypt (typifying Satan's kingdom of darkness) and took them to the Promised Land (typifying the Kingdom of his dear Son).
C. Jesus referred to the kingdom of darkness at his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, describing the forces of evil that he had to combat in his final hours.
D. Kingdom could be translated "power," "jurisdiction," or "authority."
E. Our Lord used the phrase kingdom of darkness to refer to the supernatural forces of Satan gathered against Him at His arrest.
F. The triumph of the kingdom of darkness was short-lived, however. A few hours later, Jesus forever shattered Satan's power by His death on the cross.
G. You need not fear that power, for "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
H. Through His death, Jesus crushed Satan and delivered us from his dark kingdom (MacArthur, 40).
I. In Scripture, darkness is a metaphor for evil; it is the dominion of those who are without God.
J. True believers, however, have been transferred from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom, from guilt to forgiveness, and from the power of Satan to the power of God.
K. We have been rescued from a rebel kingdom to serve the true King (Barton, 872).
L. Paul continues the litany of blessings that draw out his gratitude by describing our new domain.
M. Transferred means to remove or change. It is used in Acts 13:22 to speak of God's removing Saul from being king.
N. It was used in the ancient world to speak of the displacement of a conquered people to another land.
O. The verb speaks here of our total removal from the domain of satanic darkness to the glorious light of the kingdom of Christ (MacArthur, 41).
B. The Power Of God
1. Illustration: Pentecostalism did not begin at the turn of the century on Azusa, but 2,000 years ago in an upper room.
A.W. Tozer said, "The Great Commission is not the first call to the church." Tozer reminds us that Jesus first told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait there until they were clothed with power from on high.
Jesus had no desire for them to do the work of God until they had a powerful encounter with Him. (Luke 24:49).
2. If you want to be strengthened in your walk with Christ then you need to tap into His power source...the Holy Spirit!
A. Luke 24:49 (NLT)
49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
B. Acts 1:8 (NLT)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
C. We are a Pentecostal church...it says so right on our sign! We are an Assemblies of God church which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
D. But let me ask you, where's the proof? Is it just a word on a sign? When was the last time any of you spoke in tongues? When was the last time any of you spoke a word of prophecy or a word of wisdom?
E. If you have not received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues, why aren't you coming to the altar to ask for it?
F. How many of you today lifted your hands during worship? There are Baptist churches more Pentecostal than we are!
G. How many of you have shouted, "Amen!," during this message today?
H. Let me tell you something church, without the filling of the Holy Spirit's power we are going nowhere and we will accomplish nothing!
I. However, if we live, walk and more in the Spirit's power we will turn this village upside down, we will turn the county upside down, and we will turn this world upside down!
Transition: Oh God, wake us up and set us on fire today!
Conclusion
1. As your Pastor I'm your spiritual Shepherd. As such I am called to...
A. Feed you
B. Guide you
C. Protect you
D. Care for you
E. But most importantly, to pray for you.
2. When Paul prayed for the Colossian church he prayed for two things...
A. Knowledge
B. Strength
3. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. WHERE THERE IS NO PRAYER THERE IS NO POWER!
B. WE CANNOT KNOW THE WILL OF GOD IF WE ARE NOT DAILY IN THE WORD OF GOD!
C. CONTINUALLY ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO FILL YOU WITH HIS POWER!
