A Pleasing Walk

[0:00] Take your Bibles tonight and open them once again to Colossians chapter 1.

[0:18] ! Colossians 1 and find verse 10. Well, actually, verse 9, we're going to read the entire text again. And this is an example, or rather an instance, of one of Paul's prayers that God saw fit to inspire him to write in one of his letters.

[0:39] And it's Colossians chapter 1, starting with verse 9. Let's go ahead and just read the text again. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, who has given birth from the Lord who has given birth from the Lord who has given birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from the birth from of sins. Now, last week I started this series of messages from this text, from this prayer, entitled From Wisdom to Worship. And so we're going to be progressing through the prayer.

[1:59] We'll start and did start where Paul started with the subject of wisdom, though I called it a practical wisdom. And that's what we studied there in verse 9 last Sunday night. But as we progress along and move through the prayer, we're going to end up with the subject of worship. And so prayer, prayer, or in Paul's prayer, he's going to cover all of these bases. Now, to do a little bit of a review, I mentioned last Sunday that Paul's deep spiritual desire, I pull all that out of the one little word, ask, that you find there in verse 9. Ask really doesn't do the Greek word justice. It really is more than just asking for something. It identifies a very deep spiritual desire or yearning in the heart of Paul for the Colossian believers. And his deep spiritual desire was, first off, that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. And that's what we discussed last Sunday night. And we saw that this knowledge for which Paul prayed that the Colossian believers would have is not a taught or learned knowledge. It's something different. Now, we do have a knowledge that is taught. We are to develop and thank God by his grace and through his word and through our participation through the study of his word. Knowledge does grow.

[3:36] Our knowledge, our knowledge, our wisdom, our understanding of God's word and God's person and God's plan and all of those things. And so there is that knowledge. But the knowledge of which Paul speaks here is something different. It is something not taught, not learned. It is not an experiential knowledge that Paul is praying for. And so therefore, it's not a human knowledge at all. It is a divine knowledge. It is a knowledge that one cannot go out and find, cannot go out and get. It is a lofty knowledge. It is a spiritual knowledge. It is a divinely revealed knowledge. Though, may I remind you, we're not talking about something mystical, something that only a few can have, but it is a divine knowledge. And this knowledge enables us to think like God thinks. To begin to see things the way God sees them.

[4:41] To identify things and to evaluate things in life the way that God identifies them and evaluates them. It is a divine knowledge. And that is the kind of knowledge I pray my kids would have. That's the kind of knowledge I pray you would have as God's church. It's the kind of knowledge that I would ask you to pray that I would have as your pastor. And so the idea is to be so filled with the knowledge of God's will that we just simply know what God wants.

[5:18] You see, there are going to be times in our lives, and especially in the context of our children's lives, there are going to be times when they're going to be confronted with decisions and they won't know what to do because we forgot to tell them.

[5:35] Or what we did tell them they've forgotten. There are going to be times when they've not yet progressed in their study of God's word to know the answer. And it's that kind of knowledge that we pray that they would have.

[5:49] And it's that kind of knowledge that Paul is praying for the Colossians. And I've called it a practical wisdom. A practical wisdom. Now, let's move on to verse 10 in our text.

[6:01] Paul's prayer, again, leading us ultimately to worship. But the next step, we could identify with the word walk. In fact, that's the word he uses.

[6:13] The next step is the word walk. And so not only is he praying that the Colossian believers would have a practical wisdom. But they would also have a pleasing walk.

[6:26] A pleasing walk. And so you might have noticed there in verse 10 that he begins by saying, So that. So that.

[6:37] Connecting what he's about to say in verse 10 with what has already been said in verse 9. Everything builds upon the reality of wisdom, the need for wisdom.

[6:49] Everything builds upon that. And so he says, So that you will walk. You will walk. And this is very important. That's what he's praying for here.

[7:00] Because you see, a lofty wisdom, a practical wisdom, or let's define it this way again, a spiritual discernment and insight into God's will is not an end in itself.

[7:16] Just having that is not enough. That's not the end game. That's not God's goal in granting that knowledge to us. Because, quite frankly, right thinking must always lead to right living.

[7:34] That's something that is rocket science. We certainly understand this. It's very logical. Right thinking is important. But right thinking will always lead us to right conduct.

[7:45] And so the consequence of a spiritual wisdom is the transformation of one's conduct in life.

[7:55] That's the whole idea here. And so quite naturally, Paul now begins to talk about the Christian's walk. Walk. Now, what about this word walk? It's a pretty common word in the Bible.

[8:08] It's a concept. This concept of walk or Christian walk is something that we're pretty familiar with. It's a favorite word, by the way, of the Apostle Paul. In fact, he used it at least 30 times in his writings, the word walk.

[8:23] But it's also a concept that's taught throughout Scripture. In fact, we could go all the way back to Genesis chapter 17. You don't have to turn to it. But we go all the way back to Genesis chapter 17.

[8:35] And we find that God is establishing his covenant with Abraham and his seed. And he is changing Abraham's name from Abram to Abraham.

[8:47] And I believe indicating that God is adding his name, his divine name to Abraham. That's another sermon altogether. But he commands Abraham now in covenant with God.

[9:01] He commands Abraham in chapter 17, verse 1. Now, when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty, walk before me.

[9:13] There's that word again. Walk before me and be blameless. And I will establish my covenant between me and you. And I will multiply you exceedingly.

[9:23] And so what is his command to Abraham? He's entering into a covenant with Abraham or bringing Abraham and his seed into his covenant. And he commands him, walk.

[9:36] Walk before me. And so from the beginning of the Bible, really, in the first book of the Bible, the concept of walk becomes synonymous then with obedience.

[9:49] And that's how we understand it, don't we? Walk is referring to our obedience, the way we conduct our lives, the way we live out our lives, the way we walk through life.

[10:01] And so the word walk refers to our conduct, our behavior. And throughout the New Testament, we could just kind of list these. In fact, I will.

[10:12] And you can jot them down if you want to. It's amazing when you start looking at the New Testament and find and discover how many times this idea of walking, our Christian walk, is repeated over and over again.

[10:26] And again, most of them by Paul, but some other writers did as well. For example, walk in newness of life. Romans chapter 6, verse 4. Walk after the Spirit.

[10:39] Romans 8, verse 4. Walk in honesty. Romans 13, verse 13. Walk by faith.

[10:52] 2 Corinthians 5, and verse 7. Walk in good works. Ephesians 2, 10. Walk in love. Ephesians 5, 2.

[11:05] Walk in wisdom. Colossians 4, 5. Walk in truth. I mean, it almost is becoming redundant, isn't it? Walk in truth. 2 John, verse 4.

[11:18] Walk after the commandments of the Lord. 2 John, and verse 6. And that's just simply a sampling of the use of the word walk in relation to how we're to live our lives before the Lord.

[11:31] And in some of the references in the Bible, it's put in the negative. In this sense, walk not after the flesh. Romans 8, 4. Walk not after the manner of men.

[11:43] 1 Corinthians 3, 3. Walk not in craftiness. 2 Corinthians 4, 2. Walk not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7.

[11:55] Walk not in the vanity, the uselessness of the mind. Ephesians 4, 17. Walk not disorderly. 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 6.

[12:08] So I'm just kind of listing those very quickly. And if you were trying to write them down, I'm sorry I went too fast. But just study. Just get out a concordance. And find the word walk as it's used throughout the New Testament.

[12:21] And not just the New Testament, but the Old Testament as well. And so, you see, the word walk refers then to the believer's lifestyle, behavior, way of conduct.

[12:32] Or, if we put it in the context here in 1 Peter, obedience or an obedient walk is the outcome of this spiritual knowledge that Paul is praying the Colossians would have.

[12:45] It is the expression of it. It is the response of that knowledge. Now, Paul describes four aspects of the Christian walk in verse 10.

[12:57] Four of them, all there in verse 10. The first one is walk worthily. Do you see that there in verse 10? Look at it again.

[13:09] He's already prayed for this knowledge. And then verse 10 says, So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. So, that's where I get it.

[13:22] Walk worthily. Now, what does he mean by that? I mean, what does he mean by walk worthy of the Lord? Surely, the Apostle Paul is not talking about personal worthiness before God, is he?

[13:35] I don't think so. You're not talking about some meritorious lifestyle that, you know, that we might somehow attain to in this life so that we will become personally worthy before the Lord.

[13:51] Surely not. Paul is not talking about that. Well, he's not. I mean, you might remember that Paul himself wrote in another place in Scripture that in me, he said, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.

[14:02] So, he's not talking about a worthiness that we can somehow have before God. And so, what does the word worthy mean? It's really a very interesting word. Technically speaking, that is, looking at just the bare word itself, the Greek word, the word itself refers to or describes two things being of equal weight.

[14:29] That's literally what the word means. Two things being of equal weight. That is, it speaks then of a balancing. All right? You might just picture one of the old-timey scales, you know, and you put one thing on one side and another thing on the other side or weights on one side and maybe grain or whatever they may be weighing.

[14:50] And just picture two things on each side of the scale and they are perfectly balanced. That's the idea behind the word that Paul used here that we have translated worthy or to walk worthy.

[15:04] And, you see, believers, Christians, that's you, that's me, are to walk in such a way that, that is, the conduct of our lives to be lived in such a way that, that our character and our conduct weighs the same as the character and conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[15:27] That's pretty tall order, isn't it? See, that's why I say that this is an incredible prayer. This is more than just bringing to God a laundry list of needs or, you know, now I lay me down to sleep and bless this and bless that.

[15:43] This is deep prayer. Now, imagine yourself praying for, say, your spouse. That your spouse would live his or her life in such a way that his or her character and conduct would match the character and conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[16:04] That's a tremendous prayer. And that's the idea here. He is then the standard. And we are to match that standard.

[16:16] That's what Paul is praying for. And, again, may I remind you that this is all predicated upon having this being filled with the knowledge of God's will.

[16:27] It's being filled with the knowledge of God's will. So full, by the way, if I might remind you that there's no room for anything else. It is being filled with his knowledge that produces in us a lifestyle that matches the Lord Jesus Christ.

[16:44] And that's the idea here. That is what it means to walk worthily. Let me give you another illustration. This illustration would highlight another nuance of the word.

[16:59] Not just balancing, but matching. Very similar in the concept. That is, that my life is to match the Lord's life.

[17:09] It would be like putting on an article of clothing that is consistent or coordinated, matches the rest of what you're wearing. You know, we sometimes spend, or at least some, spend a lot of time working at that.

[17:27] You know, just making sure that we match, that we coordinate, you know. My grandfather, who's been dead for a number of years now.

[17:38] But in the last few years of his life, he became, oh, how would I say it, creative in the way he dressed. You know, it just kind of happens that way with older men.

[17:52] For some reason, something just happens. And, you know, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to find Grandpa wearing a paisley tie with a striped shirt and plaid pants or something like that.

[18:05] You know, that might be an extreme. But he didn't coordinate very much unless somebody helped him. And I must admit to you that those jeans in my grandfather skipped his daughter, my mother, and plastered me, his grandson.

[18:23] And I just have no sense for it. I'll sit down in the bedroom and be putting on my socks. And my wife will look at me and she'll say, just for an example, she'll say, You're not going to wear those blue socks with those green pants, are you?

[18:37] And I'll say, well, of course not. What do you take me for? You know, I've... And actually, that's a very mild example, you know. And so I have learned over the years to grab that tie and shirt and say, Honey, do these two things go together?

[18:56] You know, I've just become very wise in that. I just have no knack for that, you know. And, you know, that recessive... There must be a recessive gene in my family.

[19:07] And my Uncle Sam, my grandpa's brother, had the same kind of problem. And, in fact, every time he would travel, his wife would pack for him, which is really a nice thing, I would think.

[19:19] But she would go to the extent of pinning on little pieces of paper on the articles of clothing that go together. And somehow she gave them a code so that, say, you know, the shirt had a one on it and it went with pants and it also had a one on it.

[19:36] And the tie, you know, would fit and it would be coordinated. So when he got to wherever he was going, he could open up his suitcase and he knew just what went with what, you know. Otherwise, he would get it wrong.

[19:47] All right. Now, before I get too lost in the illustration, maybe I've already done so. Let's bring it back to the idea here. To walk worthily of the Lord means we must always or seek to avoid anything that would clash with the character and conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[20:10] Anything in our life that would clash with him. In the idea of clothing, see, in that illustration. Anything that would clash, wouldn't go, wouldn't coordinate with him. Anything that shows poor taste.

[20:23] Like blue socks with green pants. We must avoid, see, anything that would be an obvious, glaring inconsistency in our walk as believers.

[20:37] Inconsistent with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we ought to avoid that. We ought to work toward that. So, everything that we can do in our own devotion to the Lord, in our own spiritual disciplines, we ought to participate with God's work in conforming us to the life of Christ.

[20:57] Certainly so. But now, again, bring you back to the prayer. The prayer is, this is what Paul's prayer is. That they, these Colossian Christians would be so full of the knowledge of God's will, so that they would walk in a way that was consistent with the character and conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[21:21] And what an incredible, what an important prayer. They, like, picture, if you would, a father and his son walking through the snow.

[21:33] Fresh snow. Walking across a field. You can kind of picture that. Hot as it's been, it would be real easy to picture a field just covered with snow. Fresh snow. And the father is walking across in his stride.

[21:46] And the son is trying to keep up with him. And jumping and stretching to place his feet exactly in the footprints of his father. And so when they finally make it to the other side of the field, they look back and there's just one set of footprints.

[22:03] And that's the idea here. In fact, we'll get to this text in our study of 1 Peter, preaching through Peter. But Jesus left us an example that we should follow in his steps.

[22:19] Now, not only does the knowledge of God's will enable us to walk worthily. But Paul also says that it will give us the tools that we need to walk pleasingly.

[22:34] That's the second thing that he mentions here in the text in verse 10. Look at it again. This is prayer.

[22:56] This is a real prayer. So that we would please him in all respects. That is to live our lives in such a way that we please God in all of our ways.

[23:13] That's the idea. In everything that we do, we please him. Is that your desire in your Christian walk? Is that something foremost in your mind each day, day in, day out, from morning till night?

[23:28] That everything I do, God, would please you. That is a prayer that I pray for myself almost without exception every day.

[23:40] That, God, everything I would do today would please you. Please, God. I want to walk worthy of you and to please you in everything. You know, there has been a lot of speculation over the years about just when Jesus was going to return, when Jesus is coming back.

[24:00] And I suppose, you know, we get, or at least theologians and Christians kind of get the fever or get the fixation on the second coming about the time we turn to a new millennium.

[24:15] Now, we've experienced that not too many years ago. And some of you might remember Y2K, you know, and I suppose that the speculation was never so intense as when we were about to turn over to the year 2000.

[24:31] And there were many who were pointing to and talking a lot about and creating a lot of fear about. Anybody, anybody remember?

[24:44] The millennial bug. Do you remember that way back there? Seems like it was forever. And some of the nonsense that came out about that. You know, that time when supposedly all the computers were going to shut down.

[24:56] And I guess there was a real concern about that. I'm not minimizing that, though it didn't happen necessarily. But I think some of it was quite absurd. You know, we were talking about even our microwave ovens not working anymore.

[25:09] And our VCRs, God forbid, that we couldn't watch a VCR because it would shut down. And everything would come to a screeching halt. Now, I mention that because there were many who were pointing to that as the kickoff or the starting point for the tribulation.

[25:26] You remember this? A lot of talk about that. And preachers preaching on that. And books being written on that. And articles being cranked out on this possibility that we may be very near to the coming of Christ.

[25:39] Because maybe this meltdown of all electronics and all computers would mark the beginning of the rise of the Antichrist. And the beginning of the tribulation and so forth.

[25:52] And because, you know, Jesus is going to come for his church before the tribulation. Then that means around the year 2000, Jesus is coming back. A lot of talk about that. And so, there was this great anticipation and great expectation of the second coming.

[26:08] And in a sense, that's a good thing to expect Jesus coming. I certainly advocate that we ought to look for and long for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[26:20] And that's great. And yet, I would quickly add, at the same time, we must keep things in perspective. Paul, in the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians.

[26:32] In fact, I would have you turn to that. In the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians, in verse 16. He wrote these words that are so exciting to us.

[26:46] And they are. And we have reason to be excited about them. And he said, for the Lord himself would descend from heaven with a shout. With the voice of the archangel. And with the trumpet of God.

[26:58] And the dead in Christ will rise first. And this is a marvelous text, isn't it? Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

[27:09] And so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. Tremendous words. I love this text. And I'd love to preach on it.

[27:21] Will one day. But listen. Listen. How exciting that is. To think that Jesus may come at any moment. And we may, you know, the trumpet of the Lord. And he may descend. And all of those things.

[27:33] Wonderful. And yet, before Paul wrote those exciting, exhilarating words about the second coming of Jesus. He wrote these words in the first verse of that same chapter.

[27:47] Look at it. Finally then, brethren. We request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus. That as you receive from us instruction as to how you ought to walk.

[28:00] And please God. Just as you actually do walk. That you excel still more. Forever. So, before he went off into the heavens.

[28:13] With the excitement of the second coming. Before that, he talked about our walk. That we ought to walk in a pleasing way. You see, Paul is saying, praise the Lord.

[28:25] Jesus is coming. And one of these days, we will meet him in the air. Fantastic. Look for him. And long for him. But for now, keep both feet on the ground.

[28:38] And walk. That is, always walk in a way that pleases the Lord. As a matter of fact, the word walk and the word please are nearly synonymous terms.

[28:52] Synonymous concepts in the Bible. As a matter of fact, there's a famous passage in the Old Testament book of Genesis. We'll not turn to it. But it's about a man by the name of Enoch. And you know the story about Enoch.

[29:03] And the Bible says of Enoch that he did what? He walked with God. He walked with God. And he just kept walking and walking. And one day, God said, you know, it's closer to heaven than it is to your house.

[29:18] Why don't you just come on home with me? Well, that's not how it says it in the text. But that's kind of a fanciful way that preachers like to describe it. We don't really know how it happened. But the Bible says he walked with God.

[29:29] And he was not. Because he was taken. God took him. That is, Enoch was translated out of this world right directly into heaven without even dying. He walked with God.

[29:41] That's why. Right? That's right. Well, in the middle of the third century before Christ, 70 Jewish scribes got together and translated the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament.

[29:54] And they translated it into the language of the day, the universal language of the day that happened to be Greek. And so they produced the Greek Old Testament, or we know it by the Septuagint.

[30:08] And when they came to the text in Genesis chapter 5 and verse 24, the one I just quoted a moment ago, instead of translating it with the Greek word for walk, they translated it using the word that means to please.

[30:23] To please. And I don't think there was any mistake about that. That's an interpretation, certainly. Right? And so why did God then take Enoch onto heaven without him dying first?

[30:37] Because Enoch pleased God with his walk. Pleased him. Now, that doesn't mean God is going to translate you out if you walk worthy of the Lord.

[30:49] The idea is that walking worthy and walking pleasingly are very close together. Paul is saying, I want to be, we put this all together, I want to be so filled.

[31:02] I want you, he's saying to the Colossian Christians, I want you to be so filled with spiritual knowledge and discernment and understanding of the will of God that there's no room for anything else.

[31:13] That's verse 9. So that, so that you might walk worthily. That is, that your lifestyle would match the conduct and character of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[31:26] And so that you might walk pleasingly in all your ways. Pleasing the Lord. And third, to walk fruitfully.

[31:37] Walk fruitfully. Paul says there in verse 10, being fruitful in every good work.

[31:53] See how this is building from knowledge, spiritual knowledge and discernment that would produce a walk that's pleasing, worthy and pleasing, and would produce fruit.

[32:13] To walk fruitfully. You know, sadly, what we say is our walk. Is sometimes nothing more than just talk.

[32:28] That is, when we get in this, these surroundings here and in the context of Christianity, we have quite a talk. But does our walk match that?

[32:42] Does it match that? Many times we're guilty, also, of talking further than our walk. One well-known man said this, and I'll quote him.

[32:53] Fame is a vapor, he said. Popularity is an accident. And money takes wings. The only thing that endures is character.

[33:07] Pretty wise statement, isn't it? I wonder, was that man's walk in line with that talk? Well, you tell me. The man who said that was O.J. Simpson.

[33:22] See, listen. Obedience to the knowledge of God's will will produce a fruitful life. It will.

[33:33] That is, the knowledge of God's will kind of lifts the fog and allows us to see God's plan. And how each step of our life is to fit in with that plan.

[33:44] And nothing inconsistent with that plan that we might effectively reach the goal that he has called us to. There was a man who approached a construction site.

[33:56] And he was observing some men laying bricks. And he noticed one of the men laying bricks was kind of doing it in a haphazardly way. And his work was not really all that good.

[34:10] And so he just asked the question. He said, what are you doing? And the man said, well, can't you see? I'm laying bricks. That's all I do all day. Brick after brick after brick after brick.

[34:20] He noticed another man not far from this other fellow. And he noticed that his work was quite different. And the outcome of his work was much better. And he seemed to be taking more time.

[34:33] And he was being very meticulous. And very crafty in his way of laying the bricks. And so he asked the man the same question. What are you doing? And he said, I'm building a cathedral.

[34:47] You see the difference in those two men? Now, basically, their jobs were the same. Doing the same work. But one was more productive than the other.

[34:58] Because the first man, the first laborer, was occupied with the task. His whole mind was occupied with the present task.

[35:09] The second laborer, his mind was occupied with the ultimate goal. And that's the idea here. Pray that your kids and your kids' kids would be filled with the knowledge of God's will.

[35:28] Pray that your spouse would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Pray that your pastor would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Pray for it for yourselves. the knowledge of God's will so that you will walk worthily pleasingly, fruitfully and one more walk knowledgeably walk knowledgeably back to Colossians chapter 9 put it all together so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God increasing in the knowledge of God last week I used an illustration the illustration of a cup that would be dipped in the ocean and the ocean water would fill the cup to the very brim and I made the statement that the cup is as full of ocean water as the ocean is full of ocean water not that they have the same quantity but they're both full and that's the idea of being filled with the knowledge of God the cup is full of knowledge not full ocean water but full of ocean water and so we need to have that kind of knowledge of God's will that there would be not that there would be no room for anything else not full knowledge but full of knowledge now notice what Paul is saying here when the cup is full not only will we get a walk that is worthy and pleasing and fruitful but we also get a bigger cup that's the idea increasing in the knowledge of God you know why a lot of believers have such a limited knowledge of God and his will and many of God's people do it's because the little knowledge that they have has not led them to obedience the little knowledge that they have has not led them to a worthy walk or pleasing walk or fruitful walk as they're not being obedient to the knowledge that God has already given them now this is a spiritual principle taught in scripture number of places that obedience to God brings increasing knowledge of God someone might say why do I have such a hard time understanding the Bible or why is it so hard for me to pray like other people pray that I know about why is it that there's very little joy and praise of the Lord in my life like other people that I know and why is God not real to me as he seems to be so real to other Christians what's the answer to that well other than the possibility that you're not saved the other answer is to answer these questions is there anything in your lifestyle that is inconsistent with the character and conduct of Jesus is there anything in your walk with God that cannot please him that does not honor him are you serving the Lord these are answers to that dilemma why you're having a hard time understanding God's word why a lot of it doesn't seem to make sense to you and why all these other things might be happening see obedience to the will and the work of God in your life brings further knowledge of God himself

[39:06] Jesus said in John 17 or John 7 verse 17 he said my doctrine is not mine but his that sent me if any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine there's promise there now Paul put it this way for this cause he said we also since the day we heard of it heard of your faith do not cease to pray for you and to ask or to desire that you would be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that you might walk worthily walk pleasingly walk fruitfully walk knowledgeably amen and amen what a tremendous prayer make that your prayer flesh it out any way you want any way that God guides you and add specifics as they apply to the context of your life and the circle in your life of family and friends but make it a part of your prayer life you'll not pray for anything deeper than these things that Paul prayed for the Colossian believers who