Intro: A farmer one planted two fruit trees on opposite sides of his property. The one he planted to provide a hedge hide the unsightly view of an old landfill; the other to provide shade to rest under near a cool mountain stream which ran down beside his fields. As the two trees grew, both produced began to flower and bear fruit.
One day the farmer decided to gather the fruit from the tree nearest his house – the one used to provide a hedge from the landfill. As he brought the fruit inside the house, he noticed that it was a little deformed – the symmetry of the fruit was not very good, but still the fruit looked edible. Later that evening, while sitting on his porch the farmer took one of the pieces of fruit for a snack. Biting into the fruit, he found it to be extremely bitter, and completely inedible. Casting the fruit aside he looked across the field to the other tree over by the mountain stream. After walking across the field, the farmer took a piece of the fruit from the other tree and bit into it. Find the fruit to be sweet and delicious he gathered several more pieces of fruit and took them to the house.
The fruit was greatly affected by the nutrition of the root. Just as the tree grew by the landfill to be bitter, and the tree by the stream produced sweet fruit, so the Christian has a choice. He can either put down his roots into the soil of the landfill of fleshly pursuits, or into the cool refreshing stream of the person of Jesus Christ. We must understand that the root bears the fruit. The fruit of the Christian is the outward evidence of the inward motivation.
When you walk with the Lord you can be sure that you will receive the nourishment needed to produce healthy, growing fruit. This morning we will look at 5 benefits of Walking with the Lord.
First we need to learn how to walk with the Lord.
I. How to Walk with the Lord. We pick up this letter where we concluded last Sunday [read vs. 9a]. We find here Paul making the statement that they, both Paul and Timothy have not stopped praying for the faithful saints at Colosse. They heard of their growing faith in Jesus Christ – their growing faith is the “it” in the verse if you read the NASB, KJV, or NKJV.
Paul writes that they have not ceased to pray for them. Some may read this and ask “How is that possible – to pray without ceasing?” This statement should not be taken as though they were constantly verbalizing a prayer – we know they could not have because Paul was busy preaching the Gospel to lost people. Instead, we read this realizing that Paul viewed everything in life in relation to God.
As Paul went thru life encountering everything in life – good and bad, what he saw prompted him to prayer in some way. When we hear of bad news our reaction is to pray for God to act in that situation because we know that God cares. When we hear of good news, our response is praise to God because we know that He was glorified. When Paul thought or heard of one of the beloved churches, it moved him towards prayer with God. We could say that a person who prays without ceasing is constantly aware that God is constantly working.
The other side of praying without ceasing is being aware of the needs of those around us. We need to be aware of the needs of others. We need to be able and look at others surroundings and understand what they are going thru.
Illustration: There is a ministry in Waco that will take a group of teenagers and take their money away and any other possessions they may be carrying. They will then give them some rules such as stay in a group together and then they will drop them off for the evening – overnight on the streets of Waco. In order to teach them what the homeless goes thru. They have to find their way back to the shelter where they separate them into 2 groups. One group is given a meager meal such as oatmeal and bread while the other group gets a 4 course meal including steak. They are teaching the kids what we do in society. Those well-to-do eat filling, healthy meals and we might support a shelter to give basics. Here is the purpose: They help the kids understand how the homeless live – they are people-conscious.
These 2 elements (Aware of God working, and aware of people’s situation) together help us to constantly pray. And then notice what and how Paul prayed for these faithful saints [read vs. 9b]. It has been said “a persons prayers are the mirror of his inner life. They reflect the depth of his emotions, the tenderness of his affection, the breadth of his sympathies, and the sincerity of his devotion… an index to his sense of values. ” (Curtis Vaughan; Ephesians, pg 310).
A. I Walk With the Lord By Knowing God’s Will (vs. 9). This verse tells us that the knowledge of God’s will comes thru spiritual wisdom and understanding. Paul’s request is not merely having some knowledge of God’s will, but to be filled with God’s Spirit. This Greek word leaves no room for interpretation of a partial filling. The word filled means to be completely filled, or totally controlled.
Illustration: Hold up an empty glass. Ask, “Do you know how to get the air out of this glass?” We cannot suck the air out. The answer is simple. Take a pitcher of water and fill the glass.
Explain: Now the air is gone. The victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
I Walk With the Lord By Knowing God’s Will.
How do I know God’s will? You Know God’s will by being filled with the knowledge of His will.
You cannot know what God’s will is if you never know God. That is the first thing. Those who are lost do not know God and they cannot know His will. For the believer, you learn God’s will by reading your Bible. You need to learn God’s character, His commands, His ways, and His love. As you learn about the Lord He begins to fill you with understanding.
B. I Walk With the Lord By Being Filled with His Understanding (vs. 9). To give you wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all that he has done for you God gives you the ability to be filled with His understanding. God wants you to know who He is. God wants you to seek wisdom and understanding.
Prov 2:2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding;
Prov 2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
Prov 3:19 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding.
Prov 4:5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
There are numerous verses telling us to seek His wisdom and it is Paul’s prayer that they will find it. As you seek God wisdom, He will give it to you, but it is a process of a daily walk with God. As you walk with the Lord during your time on earth, if you also focus on wisdom and knowledge He is going to give it to you.
C. To walk with the Lord I must be Filled with His Spirit.
Illustration: Moody was to have a campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested, "Why do we need this ’Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?" A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, "No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody." The Holy Spirit needs to have a monopoly on every Christian.
To walk a worthy walk with the Lord I need to be filled with His will and I learn that the more time I spend with Him and His Word. I also need to be filled with His understanding – we need to seek His understanding.
II. The 5 Benefits of Walking with the Lord (vs. 10b-12).
So to walk with the Lord we must be filled with His Spirit and in the process He will give wisdom and knowledge. Now, there are 5 direct benefits of walking with the Lord.
If I walk in a manner worthy of the Lord: Before we look at this list it is important to know and understand that life is not about merely getting by. The Bible tells us that our life is to be worthy of the Lord. God gives the Christian the power to make his/her walk worthy. These are the benefits.
1. I will Bear Fruit. This is in every good work. Good works does not buy your way to heaven - salvation. Good works are a result of being saved. Faith in Christ gets you to heaven; good works is a fruit of the faithful. Faith is the root; Works is the fruit. Rom 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. When you are walking with the Lord, fruit will be evident in your life. If you are not bearing fruit in every good work, you are either not a Christian or you are walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.
2. I will Increase in Godly Knowledge. The more you learn about God’s ways and His character, and His expectations the better we will be able to conform to what pleases Him. This next one is one that we don’t think about very often…
3. I will Be Strengthened in Power. The words power and strengthened come from a Greek word that we get our English word, dynamite [vs. 11]. There is a lot of power in a stick of dynamite. This is written as a present participle and what that tells us that it is a continuous action. In this way it is not like a stick of dynamite that once the powder is ignited, it blows up it is gone. I like the way John Mac Arthur said it, “God is not like a booster rocket giving believers an initial boost of power and then leaving them to fly on their own.” This is because God is alive and we have available to us a continuous filling of the Spirit therefore we can live with this on-going power.
The measure of power available it says is according to His glorious might. I don’t think I need to tell you that God’s power is limitless. He is the mighty creator. Only God is able to create something from nothing.
Illustration: There have been times when we have gone to a high school football/basketball game and the kids asked for some money to buy candy. I gave them $5 and they returned with some candy. I ask for a piece and their answer is “no.” Here is what they don’t realize. First – I could take the candy away and eat it all my self. Because I am bigger and stronger I could do that. Second – I gave them the money in the first place, I paid for the candy so really it is mine. Third – I could have bought so much candy that they couldn’t have possibly eaten all of it.
Now look at this from God’s view when He blesses us with His power and everything else for that matter.
1st – He has the power to take it all away if/when He wants. 2nd – He gives us everything. 3rd – He can supply endlessly. This goes for our finances, health, and His power. He supplies power to the believer endlessly if we seek Him.
Next we are told the purpose these are given to the believer.
4. I will Be Steadfast. Perhaps a better, more modern word to use is Endurance. When we live within God’s power we are able to endure all hardships, problems, and everything life and Satan throws our way. You can have that endurance as God gives you the power from His unlimited supply.
5. I will Be Patient. Patience is the partner of endurance. Endurance is needed to handle adversity in live, but patience is needed when dealing primarily with people. We need patience to keep us from retaliating when others have hurt us.
When we put these two together, endurance and patience and see the last word in this verse joyously, it helps us understand how Paul learned to be content in every situation. In fact, Paul considered it all joy for the Lord thru a assortment of circumstances.
“It was Paul’s constant prayer for the Colossians that they be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. He knew that only when believers are controlled by that knowledge can they walk worthy of the Lord and please Him. Paul knew further that such knowledge was required for a fruitful life, spiritual growth, strength, and joyful endurance of trials.” (John Mac Arthur).
We all know that life is tuff stuff and it is often beyond our own ability to endure patiently. The good news is that God is the one who supplies our power to get thru it all; you are not left alone. It is ok for you to ask God for His help. It is ok for you to call upon God and ask for that power to make it thru what ever you are going thru. God is faithful to answer; sometimes it is immediate and a lot while other times it is gradual. Christian rest assured that as you yield yourself to God in trust and obedience you will be strengthened to do His will.
III. Christians have been Qualified to Share in the Inheritance (vs. 12). Finally you make God happy when you joyously give thanks to the Lord because He has qualified you – he has given you, Christian, salvation. As a result of salvation, you share in the inheritance. [vs. 12]
What is this inheritance? The Bible says a lot about it. It begins with eternal life (Matt 19:29). And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
It also includes the earth. In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord said that believers would inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5). “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
When we know that our inheritance is the restored earth, this should free us from the pursuit of material possessions today. There is going to be a day when we will receive more than we will ever gain in this life. We also inherit the promises of God. (2Pete 1:4) He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.
Conclusion. Let me close with this question. When do we receive our inheritance? You are already qualified – you’ve been approved for it. Let me illustrate with this…
Illustration: When you buy a home they look at your credit history. When you become a Christian, Christ stamps his name all over your credit report. He says, this one is ok, I’ve paid all the debt he/she had and I’m going to pay any future debt. At that moment you are approved for the house.
Friends, there is a mansion waiting for every believer. In a sense, you already have it, when you put your faith in Christ you received it. It is an already/not yet state. Now, you are on the drive from the bank to your new home. When you pass from this life into the next, you will move in.
What produces fruit in believers’ lives? How can I have this fruit? First, union with Christ. Jesus said in John 15:4-5, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
