God’s Will – Made Simple
Col. 1: 9-14
Col 1:9-14 9 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,[e] 10 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, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NIV)
Have you ever struggled with knowing the will of God for your life?
. . . does God want me to do a or b
. . . does he want me to take this job
. . . does he want me to move
We make God’s will way too complicated.
I hope by the end of this message you will see that God’s will for us is very simple.
We sometimes view the will of God as something mystical; hard to find – never quite sure if we have it right. Some people get absolutely neurotic over finding God’s will; afraid they will miss it. They become paralyzed over self doubt – did I do the right thing; marry the right person; take the right job?
Certainly God wants us to seek Him; ask His advice; follow His plan but we have to be careful we are really seeking God’s will and not our own.
How do I know what God wants me to do?
Paul deals with that question in verses 9-14
This is a prayer.
Paul is not praying this for himself but for others. This is what is called intercessory prayer. We are praying not for our benefit or our enlightenment but for the benefit of others. Not only did Paul do this, he tells us to do the same: in one of many verses on this issue in I Tim. 2:1 he says: “I urge you then first of all that requests prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.”
Lets read this prayer.
Col 1:9-14 9 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,[e] 10 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, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NIV)
Paul’s main concern for these people and our main concern for those in our circle of influence:
God would fill you with the knowledge of His will
Have you ever prayed like that? I pray that Carole would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Why would you pray like that?
You will act in accordance with what fills you. Filled with fear you will act on that; filled with jealousy; filled with greed; filled with lust – what ever fills you internally will result in the way you live your life.
Eph. 5:18 do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the spirit. What fills your life?
If you really want to know God’s will for your life, it requires you to be filled with the knowledge of his will.
We live in an age of sound bites; instant gratification; instant information – we live microwave lives.
I don’t want to study – give me the answer – I don’t want to wrestle with the issues – give me the bottom line. We want the knowledge; we just don’t want to go through the discipline of learning the knowledge.
So how do we find the knowledge of God’s will for our life? Not a sound bite – not a pill – not one sermon or bible study – it is a consistent communion with God.
God’s will is not a secret; He has revealed it in His word.
We want a shortcut – just tell me what to do – I don’t want to spend time in prayer, meditation, receiving the word. Knowledge of His will comes as we consistently apply the principle of faith to our personal situations.
We often get bogged down in minutae and miss the big picture God says if you will be filled with the knowledge of my will; you can have all kinds of choices – you gain glorify be by being a plumber or pastor; live in Florida or Alaska; doesn’t matter if you drive a blue/white car.
God is saying to us: As long as it is not immoral, illegal or unethical I don’t care what kind of job you have; you choose; care where you live – you choose; I don’t care what your leisure activities are – you choose but in everything you do - honor me – remember the principles of the faith and you will be in the center of my will.
We have made far too much of the specifics of God’s will and forgotten the foundation of his will – which is the knowledge of His word. Through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. I pray that you may understand the principles of Godly behavior. When you have that foundation, you will discover how to apply those principles to the individual situations in life.
Paul says if you will do this there will be great rewards;
One: worthy life vs. 10
Wouldn’t you hate to get near the end of your life and find out you have accomplished nothing – been here for 50 years and you didn’t impact anyone but yourself – you skated through life clutching for all the pleasure you could find only to discover that all is vanity and you missed the real reason why you were here. The beauty is faded; the pleasures are gone and the emptiness is overwhelming.
Two: bear fruit vs. 10
Dealt with this in the previous sermon but to bear fruit is both internal – fruit of the spirit and external – reaching out to those around us with the good news.
Three: spiritual growth vs. 10
When we come to Christ, he comes to live within us but that is not the end; that is the beginning of a learning process that will continue all of our lives.
I Peter 2:2 he says: “like newborn babes long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”
As we grow in our knowledge of the will of God; it results in a more perfect obedience to Him; it results in a greater love for God and others; it results in an enlarger faith in God and what he does; it results in an increased awareness of the spiritual needs of people around us.
Spiritual growth is not just for our benefit so we can be known as super Christians; it is so we may understand more clearly the will of God for our lives that we might be a witness for Christ in everything we do.
Four: spiritual strength vs. 11
How are we strengthened with power. The power to live a Christian life comes as we depend on the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
Acts 1:8 you shall receive power – be my witnesses
Trying to walk worthy in our own strength is impossible. Listen the words of Martin Luther who wrote ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’.
We are not meant to have adequate resources on our own to do God’s will – we are meant to seek Him and His power to accomplish what we can’t do on our own.
Five; patient endurance vs. 11
Wouldn’t you like to be able to change a lot of things in the world – change people so they were always honest, loving, compassionate – wouldn’t you like to provide food the hungry; companionship for the lonely; help for the hurting.
Wouldn’t you love a world where everyone got along, had enough to eat, a place to live, and a burning desire to worship Jesus. There is such a place – it’s called heaven. We aren’t there yet – in the meantime, we will have both personal, family, and societal problems.
We have to patiently endure those trials knowing that one day they will be gone. I don’t think Paul wanted to nor enjoyed being beaten, run out of town, thrown in prison, mocked or the thorn in his flesh. Life is not perfect – lots of pitfalls, pain, and problems.
Verses 12-14 tells us why we can endure such things and not give up. In midst of life we can give thanks:
One qualified us vs. 12
Like to play in the Masters next month – not qualified.
Bayside Open.
Before our salvation, God was our judge; but when we placed our trust in Christ as our Savior, God becomes our father – a new relationship – we are now qualified to be part of his family.
II Cor. 1: 20 says: for no matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ.
. . . inherit the promise he wont leave us
. . . inherit the promise of guidance
. . . inherit the promise of forgiveness
. . . inherit the promise of light (truth)
We can now claim our inheritance based upon our faith in the death and resurrection of Christ.
Two; rescued us vs. 13
Before Christ we were living in a kingdom of darkness – not physical but spiritual darkness – we didn’t know the will of God – went our own way – did our own thing. Under the grip and contol of Satanic influence.
Brought us out to a new kingdom – the kingdom of his son
In the ancient world, when a people were conquered it was not unusual to move them to a new location.
Three: redeemed us vs. 14
The word for redeemed means “to deliver by payment of a ransom” its most common usage was used of slaves. Paid the penalty for ours sins and redeemed us by transferring us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His son.
When we contemplate all he had done for us, should we not seek to be filled with the knowledge of His will?
Do you need a transfer?
To know God’s will for our lives is to center our lives in Jesus Christ. Matt. 6: 33 seek first righteousness
All these things added unto you.