Well, good morning everyone, and great to see you.
If you've got a Bible, then please turn back to those verses that Violet read for us in Colossians chapter 1.
It says 1 to 8, actually we're going to be 9 to 14 this morning, that's where we're going to be.
Hopefully as you came in you received a little bookmark, which is going to act as a sermon outline this morning,
and also give us something really practical that we're going to do with this passage at the end of our time together.
So grab your Bibles, grab the bookmark, and let's pray together.
Colossians chapter 1, 9 to 14.
Heavenly Father, we ask that you would help us now as we turn to your precious word,
to know the leading of your Holy Spirit as he helps us to see something more of the greatness of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Father, would you instill in us that utter conviction that there is simply none like him.
And so we pray in his powerful name. Amen.
I don't know if you're a fan of The Apprentice.
How many fans of The Apprentice?
A few of us? Yeah?
Yeah. So one of Alex and I's favourite programmes to watch on television.
We love it so much that we actually watch it, and then we watch the...
We watch the You're Fired programme afterwards, and I even caught Alex the other night watching the outtakes on his subtitles.
So we are big fans of The Apprentice.
So much so that this is the 14th series, and I think we've watched maybe about half of them.
So I think we can count ourselves as pretty strong fans.
As usual, this is the 14th series of the programme, and as usual there are some pretty confident, I think it's fair to say, characters who are on the show.
And we were watching it the other night, and one of the people that caught my attention on it was this chap whose name is Coyote.
Which is a great name, isn't it? Coyote.
So after the programme finished, I went onto The Apprentice website, which is on the BBC, and I looked at his short biography on the BBC website.
So this is what he says about himself, and why he thinks he's going to win.
And as I read it to you, I want to ask you, whose glory is he on The Apprentice for?
You ready for this quote? It's pretty special.
And I know it's TV, okay, but still, you've come out with this.
Look at this.
I'm not here to razzle-dazzle and hit you with the buzzwords, like, I'm so motivated and I'm so passionate.
Anyone can say those things.
But I'm not anyone.
I'm Coyote Damali.
If you're not your own biggest fan, then who do you expect to be it for you?
I thought that would have got at least a kind of laugh or something like that.
I don't know.
It's a funny thing to say about yourself.
It's so strange, isn't it?
And yet here it is in our world, a mindset.
Now, here's the question I want to ask you this morning.
Whoever you are here today, whatever's going on in your life, think about your life.
Think about the things that you do.
Whose glory are you in it for?
Whose smile do you crave?
Whose opinion do you rate?
Whose applause do you seek?
Whose pleasure do you live for?
So I think that's the question we're going to be confronted with this morning as we look at Paul's prayer.
As we get back into this little letter that Paul wrote to this church in Colossae,
what we're going to see is Paul prayed that these Christians would be marked by a radically different mindset.
And the headline of Paul's prayer, the thing that he wants more than anything else for them,
you'll see it at verse 10,
that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.
That's what he wants for these Christians.
That you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.
That's his heart for this church.
He prays that their lives would be underpinned by an all-out commitment,
not to live for themselves, but to please their Master and King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
That they would have a desire stemming from a transformed heart,
stemming from a deep love for him,
that means in the everyday things of their lives,
they're going to live for the glory and the praise, not of themselves, but for Jesus Christ.
That's what he's praying.
That's what he wants for this church.
And so as we eavesdrop in on this prayer today,
it's going to challenge us to ask ourselves if this is our mindset as we live our lives in this world.
And it's going to equip us as to how we can live a life for God's glory
and also how we can best pray for each other
that we would be marked by a life that is praiseworthy of Jesus Christ.
And I really hope it encourages us as well to love the Lord Jesus more
and like we said last week, if you can remember last week,
to grasp that we have a big Jesus who is worthy of all praise.
So when it comes to prayer, verse 9,
Paul wants them to know,
remember writing to these Christians that he's probably, most likely never met,
he wants them to know that he's praying for them.
And do you see it in the text?
Not just occasionally,
not just when they happen to pop into his head when he's out at the shops,
he's praying for them continually
from house arrest in Rome.
In fact, he's not stopped praying for them.
Do you see it there?
Remember, they're always on his mind,
they're always in his heart,
they're always in his prayers.
You see, there's an incredible persistence
and a relentlessness to Paul in his prayer life.
Think about it, how encouraging do you find it
when you hear somebody tell you that they are praying for you?
I find that one of the most encouraging things in my life.
How encouraging must this have been
for these Colossian Christians to read?
Paul, Paul, he's praying for us all the time.
And he's praying that our lives would please the Lord.
And how are they going to do that, verse 9?
By being filled.
Do you see?
Verse 9, Paul prays that God would fill them.
Popular, isn't it, in our society today
to hear people talk about how emptying your mind
is the key to spiritual progress in life?
I read a quote by Bruce Lee recently,
who writes in his book, Wisdom for Daily Living,
giving advice on how an individual can grow.
He says this,
Empty your mind,
Be formless,
Be shapeless,
Like water.
Be water, my friends.
Be water.
Now I've read that about a hundred times
since I read it on Tuesday,
and I still cannot understand what he's saying.
Be water, my friends.
Be water.
What?
But he's a pretty decent martial arts,
from what I gather,
so I'll probably keep up to myself.
But do you see how Paul is saying
the exact opposite of what Bruce Lee is saying?
The key to these Christians growing
and developing and maturing
is not by the emptying of their minds,
but rather, on the contrary,
it's by the filling of their minds.
That's how they're going to grow.
That's what Paul prays.
More particularly,
that God would fill their minds,
you see in the text,
with the knowledge of his will.
That the Spirit,
as he lives in them,
as God's chosen and holy people,
set apart for him,
as they encounter God and his word,
as they get a deeper grasp of the Lord Jesus,
that they would know something
of the sheer enormity
of what God has done for them,
and what he calls them to live like
is his people.
That's what he prays.
And in so doing,
that they would come to understand
what a life that is pleasing to him
looks like.
It was Charles Spurgeon
who famously said,
we hope to understand the truth better,
but mark this,
we shall never discover better truth.
So let me ask you this morning,
are you growing in your knowledge
of the Lord?
Are you getting to know him better
as he has revealed himself in his word?
And is that knowledge,
is it leading to the transformation
of your mind?
That's why I love to sing
the chorus that we sometimes sing
before we come to God's word.
We sing,
Speak, O Lord,
and renew our minds.
Help us grasp the heights
of your plans for us.
truths unchanged
since the dawn of time
that will echo down
through eternity.
That's what Paul is praying for,
that they would be transformed
by the renewing of their minds,
that they would be filled,
that God would fill them.
And I think he tells them that
for their encouragement, yes,
but also he wants them
to give them a template
as to how they can pray
for themselves,
but also how they can pray
for one another.
The brothers and sisters,
that they too
would live a life
worthy of the Lord
and please him
in every way.
Do you begin to see
how this is so relevant for us
today as a church family?
And what Paul does next
is he doesn't leave them
to guess what a life-pleasing
to the Lord looks like.
He shows them
and he tells them
specifically what he's praying for.
And you'll notice in the text
from halfway through verse 10,
there's four verbs,
four doing words.
And so all I want to do
in the time that we have left
this morning
is I want to look at these
four doing words together.
That's how I remember
what a verb is.
I don't know about you, right?
I'm looking at it.
I'm a teacher here.
That's how I remember.
It's a doing word.
It's an active word.
He uses four verbs.
But we're going to look
at these together
and then I've got something
really practical for us
to do this week
as we seek to put this
into practice in our lives.
You ready for the first verb?
The first doing word?
Here's the first doing word.
First, verse 10,
he prays that they would be bearing.
He's praying that in their lives
they would be producing fruit.
They would be bearing fruit.
Because that is how
the watching world
is going to know
that Jesus has truly
taken hold of their lives
and that they live in him
and he lives in them
and they know it
because they can see
the fruit of a transformed life.
Because beforehand,
their lives,
they were just like
our friend and the apprentice.
They lived for their own glory.
But God has transformed
their lives by his grace
and now that they live
for his glory.
Because that's what God
has done, isn't it?
In the lives of every believer.
Given us new hearts.
That's what we read
in Jeremiah earlier.
He's given us new hearts.
We can know him.
And the Holy Spirit
as he lives inside of us,
he makes us hungry
for good works
that are going to put
the glory of our Father
on full display
to the watching world.
I don't know if you watched
the BBC documentary
this week.
I realize I've quoted
the BBC twice here.
There are other channels
available, but BBC.
And they highlighted
the work of Christians
against poverty.
Did anyone see
that documentary?
No?
So it's on iPlayer.
It's a wonderful watch.
And they just went around
with a camera crew
and they followed
the work of Christians
against poverty
up and down the UK.
Fascinating documentary
into the work.
Did you know
that according to
a study that was done
at the London School
of Economics,
Christians Against Poverty,
their work,
it contributes
31.5 million pounds
to our economy
each year.
They have 6,000
Christian volunteers,
people who bought
into the vision
and are motivated
to share the love
and the message
of Jesus Christ
with people
in word and in deed.
6,000 volunteers
they've got.
And it's estimated
that CAP helped
10 people out of debt
every day.
On their website,
Sharon,
one of their clients,
says this,
CAP has given me
back my husband,
my family,
my life,
and my faith,
which my debt
had taken hostage.
This is Christians
Against Poverty
that we saw this week
in the news.
What a wonderful example
of what it means
to bear fruit
for the glory
of the Lord Jesus.
And I was with
some students
from Heriot-Watsey
on Thursday night
and we were looking
at that passage
in 1 Peter 2
that though the world
accuses you
of doing wrong,
they will see
your good deeds
and they will glorify
God on the day
he visits us.
That's what their
prayer as a CU
was for them.
And it's my prayer
for us as a church
that we would be
marked by good works.
That's what he's praying
for this Colossian community,
that they would be
on the front foot
when it comes
to good works
that bring glory
to the Lord Jesus Christ
in the eyes
of the watching world.
And it's not
an encouraging thought
today, friends,
that God is pleased
with good works
that his people
do for his glory
as they live
for an audience
of one.
Isn't it not
a tremendously
wonderful thought
that I can please
the Lord Jesus
in my everyday,
mundane,
nothing spectacular,
going through the mill,
everything ordinary life?
I can bring him
glory through that.
Isn't it?
And when you begin
to see life like that,
as Paul prays here,
do you see how
our whole lives
become worship to him?
Paul prays
that these Colossians
would be bearing
in their lives.
Here's the second verb,
the second thing
that he prays for,
verse 10,
they're growing.
Paul prays
that they would grow,
that they would mature,
that they would develop,
that they would increase
in what?
The knowledge of God.
Not,
not the right
of the super spiritual
as the false teachers
behind this letter
are probably teaching,
but the privilege
of every single Christian
that we can grow
in our knowledge
of our Father.
He prays
and asks that God,
asks God
that these believers
would come to know him better.
Who he is,
what he's like,
what he's done,
what he's doing.
Isn't that a wonderful thought?
That God has made himself
knowable?
The God who created
all things
has made himself
knowable.
He's done so
most fully
in the person
of his son Jesus Christ
who we'll see next week
is the image
of the invisible God
and he's done so
through his words.
That's how we can know God.
Let me ask you,
what role does God's word
play in your daily life?
Have you got a hunger
to know him?
A hunger for his words?
J.I. Parker,
theologian,
says this,
if I were the devil,
which always gets your attention
in a quote,
doesn't it?
If I were the devil,
one of my first aims
would be to stop Christians
from reading the Bible.
Evangelist Vance Herver,
a Bible that is falling apart
usually belongs
to someone who isn't.
Paul prays
that these Christians
would be growing,
but not simply
just in facts
about God.
He prays
that they would grow
in a personal
and intimate knowledge
of their father.
You know,
the late Anglican minister
and lecturer,
John Stott,
he was once asked
what his biggest fear
for his students was.
So the students
that would come
to study under him.
And he always said
that his biggest fear
was that many
of his students
would leave
with a doctorate
in Jesus Christ,
but they wouldn't leave
as disciples
of Jesus Christ.
In other words,
they would go
from talking about God
in the second person
to the third person.
Paul is praying here
that these Christians
would grow
in their knowledge,
intimate,
relational knowledge
of God.
Let me ask you,
just growing,
does it describe
your Christian walk today?
Or would you pick a word
more like static
or comfortable
or lukewarm?
It would be a wonderful thing
to pray this morning,
wouldn't it,
that today
we would be marked
by this growing.
Grab someone today
and pray with them
that that would be
true for you.
Ask them to pray
for you this week.
Here's the third verb,
the third thing
that Paul prays for,
verse 11,
that they would be being,
being strengthened.
Do you see?
That they would know
the power of God
in their lives,
the same power
that we were just
singing about
that raised Jesus
from the grave
would be at work
in their lives,
giving them strength.
And what is that power
going to enable them
to do?
Well,
somewhat surprisingly,
Paul tells them
that the power of God
at work in their lives
won't manifest itself
in spectacular signs,
which I'm sure some
in the background
of this letter
are saying.
The power of God
at work in their lives
is going to manifest itself
in those wonderful
two words,
endurance
and patience.
Endurance
and patience.
That God
would give them
the power
in the Christian life
to just keep on going,
keep on enduring,
keep on persevering,
keep on running
the Christian race.
That he would give them
the power
to stay the course,
to go the distance
and have their eyes
fixed on
everything that Jesus
has accomplished
for them
and have their eyes
and their hearts
fixed on the glory
that is ahead of them
because of Jesus Christ.
No matter how hard
life gets in the presence,
that's what he's praying for.
Endurance
patience
and patience.
I was reading this week
about one of America's
greatest ever hymn writers
whose name was
Annie J. Flint.
I don't know if you've ever
heard of Annie J. Flint.
Her life story
was one of great suffering.
She was orphaned
and adopted
at a very young age.
She suffered from
rheumatoid arthritis
which plagued her
most of her life.
She had cancer
that was eating
inside of her,
eating away
and as she grew older,
blindness was beginning
to set in
and she spent
the last few
years of her life
in bed covered
in sores.
But she was a woman
of deep faith
and a saint
whose life
was marked
by great endurance.
And one of the most
beautiful hymns
she ever wrote
went like this.
When we have exhausted
our store of endurance,
when our strength
has failed
and the day
is half done,
when we reach
the end
of our hoarded
resources,
our Father's
full giving
has only begun.
Fear not
that your needs
will exceed
his provision.
Our God
ever yearns
his resources
to share,
so lean hard
on his arm
everlasting
availing.
The Father,
both you
and your load
will up bear.
It's not a
wonderful hymn
considering the
woman who penned
it and who
loved it
and who lived
it and who
believed it,
that God's
provision
will never,
we will never
out,
our needs
will never
exceed his
provision.
That's what she's
saying in our
life.
And on Thursday
we celebrated the
life of our dear
sister Elma
at our funeral.
At the beginning
of the day I went
to Derek's house
and with the rest
of the family
together we read
Psalm 46.
That our God
is a refuge
and a strength
and he's an
ever-present help
in times of
trouble.
And we spent
the day celebrating
that Elma knew
the truth of that
psalm and that
despite her
suffering,
her faith was
resolute and she
was a saint who
was marked by,
and this came
across so clearly,
by great endurance
and great patience.
And for her
it's now far
better.
You see,
that's what he's
praying that
Christians would
be marked by.
Endurance
and patience.
That God
wouldn't take them
around hard times,
but rather they
would know their
father more as
he gives them
the power and
as he takes them
through hard times.
See,
Paul prays that
they would be
marked by endurance
and a patience,
one that puts on
display to the
world that there's
something far
bigger that we're
living for in life
than just material
stuff.
Paul prays that
they would be
being,
finally he prays
that,
verse 12,
that they would
be giving.
He prays that
their lives would
be marked by
thanksgiving,
and that their
joy would be
derived not from
the changing up
and down
circumstances of
their lives,
but a joy that
is steadfast because
it's derived from
the God that
they worship and
the God who
will never change.
God has
qualified them.
Do you see that
language in the
text?
He's qualified
them.
Let me ask you,
when was the
last time you
qualified for
something?
Think about it
in your life,
when was the
last time you
qualified for
something?
I had my
mom on the
phone the other
day and she
was thrilled that
my dad now
qualifies for a
free bus pass.
That's what he
qualified for.
It's amazing,
isn't it,
how excited Scots
get about free
things.
That was my
mom.
But God has
qualified you,
says Paul.
It's kind of
what the kids
talk was about,
wasn't it?
God's qualified
you, not for
the final of
the egg and
spoon race.
He's qualified
you for him.
For him.
The holy and
righteous God.
Think about
that.
How can I
qualify for him?
The only thing
that I've
qualified myself
for is his
wrath, his
righteous anger
against my
sin against
him.
That's the
only thing
that I've
qualified myself
for.
Only one
person deserved
to qualify for
him.
And that was
Jesus.
But Jesus
dealt with my
sin on the
cross.
He took the
punishment that
I deserved
upon myself.
And I'm
accredited with
his righteousness.
Righteousness
just being his
perfect, God-
glorifying,
obedient life.
And when
God looks at
me now, he
sees my
life as
being hidden
in Christ.
That's just
what God has
done for us.
He's qualified
us.
Do you see
that?
They didn't
qualify
themselves.
God has
qualified them
for a race
that they had
absolutely no
interest in
running.
And God has
won for them
through Christ
a prize that
they had no
interest in
getting.
And a
prize that on
their own,
they had no
chance of
winning.
He's qualified
them for
himself.
That's the
gift of the
gospel, isn't
it?
Not stuff.
It's God.
And the hope
of being with
him in heaven
where with the
rest of God's
ransomed people,
we have an
inheritance before
us that is far
greater than we
will ever begin
to comprehend
down here.
What incredible
grace.
And later in
chapter 2,
speaking about the
false teachers,
Paul will say,
do not let them
disqualify you
for something
that God has
qualified you
for.
Do not let
them disqualify
you.
God's qualified
you and he's
rescued you
from the domain
of darkness.
That's where
they were before.
Living like
everyone else in
the world,
chasing the same
dreams,
thinking the
same thoughts,
captive to
their sin,
but Jesus
broke in.
He broke
into their
lives.
He smashed
in and he
brought them.
Do you see
the language?
He brought
them.
Think about
it.
It's like
a firefighter
rescuing
a child
from a
burning
building
and taking
them to
safety.
That's the
imagery here.
God has
brought them
out of the
darkness
and he's
placed them
with sins
forgiven and
freedom
purchased
into the
kingdom of
light of
the son
that he
loves.
That's what
God has
done for
his people.
What an
incredible
thing that
God has
done for
his people
in the
gospel.
Paul prays
that these
Christians would
be bearing,
growing,
being,
and giving.
These are the
things that
will please
their master
Jesus Christ.
So let me ask
you as we work
towards a close
this morning,
I wonder as
you, as you
read Paul's
prayer here,
how it
challenges
your prayer
life.
not just
your prayer
life, but
our prayer
life.
Because this
has greatly
challenged me
as I studied
it this week.
As I thought
about how
often my
prayers are
simply requests
to God
for things
in my life
and things
in others'
lives to
get easier
and to get
better.
Now friends,
there is
nothing wrong
with praying
those things,
and because we
love each other,
we should be
praying those
things.
But if
that's all
we're praying,
then I think
we might be
missing it.
So here's my
challenge as we
work, as we
come to a close
this morning.
Hopefully you
got a prayer
sheet on your
way in as you
came in this
morning.
And you'll see
at the bottom
of it, if you
have it there,
it just says,
I'm praying
for.
I'm praying
for, it's all
it says.
So here's what
I want you to
do before you
go this morning.
I want you to
write down the
names of three
people down there
that you're going
to pray for
this week.
And I want you
to find them
this morning.
I want you to
let them know
that you're
praying for
them, and
you're going
to commit to
praying for
them, and
you're going
to pray, this
is how my
mind works,
okay, you're
going to pray
the BGs for
them.
Yeah?
You're going
to pray that
they would be
bearing fruit
this week.
I'm going to
pray that you
would be growing
in your knowledge
of God this
week, that he
would give you
wisdom to know
how to act in
every single
situation.
I'm going to
pray that you
will be strengthened
by God in your
life so that when
tough times come,
and they will
come, you will
have the endurance
and the patience
by God's power to
keep on going, and
I'm going to pray
that your life would
be marked by
thanksgiving, and
the Holy Spirit as
he works in your
life would make
what Jesus has
done for you a
source of constant
joy.
and overall, I'm
going to pray for
you, that your
life this week, you
would know and
live a life that is
fully pleasing to
God.
Are you up for
that?
Yeah?
A few of you
nodded.
Yeah, let's do it
this week.
How counter-cultural
would that be for
us?
How, do you not
think that would
change things if we
began to pray for
each other like that?
That we would be
bearing and growing
and being and giving
as a community
together this
morning.
There's your BG's
challenge, okay?
Take it up.
We'll all take it up
this week.
Find three people
this morning and
say, I'm going to
commit to praying for
you this week.
As we close, here's
another quote from
The Apprentice that
I read this week, and
it's just as good.
I have the beauty and
the brains.
Typically, people only
have one, but I was
blessed with both in
abundance.
Friends, Paul is
saying to these
Christians and
Colossians, he's
praying that they
would be marked by a
completely different
mindset, and that
they would be a
people who live not
for their own glory,
that they would be a
people who are marked
by a passion and a
love to live their
lives for the glory of
the Savior and King
Jesus Christ who has
saved them.
Paul prays that they
would be marked by a
life that is worthy
of the Lord and a
life that pleases Him
in every way.
Valley of Vision, let
me close with this
prayer from the Valley
of Vision.
It's also a song that
we sing sometimes
here.
Help me now to live a
life that's dependent
on your grace.
Keep my heart and
guard my soul from the
evils that I face.
You are worthy to be
praised with my every
thought and deed.
O great God of
highest heaven, glorify
your name through me.
Let's make that our
prayer this week.
Let me pray as we
close.
Heavenly Father, we
thank you so much for
today.
And we ask this week
that you would, in our
lives, help us to be
people that glorify you
and who live for your
pleasure alone.
That we would be your
people who are marked by
an overflowing love for
you.
And Father God, by your
spirit and through your
son, would you help us
to get to know you
better?
Father, thank you for
the great love which you
have shown us.
And so we praise you and
we pray to you knowing
that you hear us because
we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.