Sermon Notes - Colossians 1:9-14 - Praying for growth - Littleby Baptist Church - May 1, 2022

1.     Paul starts the letter of Colossians with thanksgiving.

a.      Thankful for the Colossian church.

b.     Thankful for their faithfulness and love for others.

c.      Thankful that the Gospel is spreading around the world.

d.     Thankful that what they had been taught was true.

2.     The start of the letter was a good reminder for us.

a.      We need to remember to lift up people in prayer who have been a blessing to us.

b.     We need to let the Holy Spirit guide us to Love others.

c.      Pray that the Gospel continues to be spread around the globe.

d.     Pray for those being used to make Jesus known.

e.      Pray that God uses us to make Him known.

3.     Like Paul we have a lot to be thankful for.

a.      We also have a lot to pray for.

4.     Colossians 1:9

a.      For this reason, because of the good report Paul had received.

b.     Because they had put their hope in Jesus.

c.      Because they have been faithful.

d.     Because they loved in the Spirit and cared for others.

5.     He prayed for them to be ‘filled with…’

a.      Paul did not want them to be lukewarm Christians.

b.     He did not want them to be choked out by the struggles of this life.

c.      He wanted nothing for them but for them to grow into mature followers of Christ.

d.     The prayer was specifically for knowledge of God’s will.

e.      So, what does this mean?

                                                    i.     Ephesians 1:9-10

1.     That we understand God’s will as a Plan to bring everything, everyone… to Christ.

2.     To bring about wisdom and understanding that Christ came and died to grant us an eternal Hope.

3.     To help us understand that this life, this side of eternity is fleeting.

4.     To help us see that all things point to our Lord’s return and His forever kingdom.

5.     To bring for an understanding that He wishes that none shall perish.

f.      Paul’s prayer for the church is that they grow in the wisdom and understanding of God’s plan for them.

g.     That prayer is valid for each of us in hope that we will grow in our wisdom and understanding of our Lord’s plan and how we fit into it.  

6.     Colossians 1:10

a.      The prayers were for them to have Godly knowledge and wisdom so that they can be who God wanted them to be.

b.     Worthy is tricky word here… we can never be worthy of the gift we have been given.

                                                    i.     What was meant here is that our lives would be transformed.

                                                  ii.     The Sanctification process that is a life long journey from the day of Salvation to the day we stand before our Lord.

                                                iii.     Being transformed from purely sinful people to those who are aiming to live by loving God with all that we are and loving others as ourselves.

c.      Fully pleasing to him…

d.     Another thing that is tricky in this prayer.

                                                    i.     We cannot please God on our own, we will falter and fall. We have and will sin.

e.      This builds off the previous point, we are only worthy through the sacrifice of our Lord.

f.      We can only please God by allowing our heart to follow Him.

                                                    i.     1 Thessalonians 2:4

                                                  ii.     We will make a mess of things.

                                                iii.     But if our heart is right with our Lord, that is what matters.

                                                iv.     Our sins will stack up, but they will be wiped away if our heart is His, if Jesus is our Lord and Savior.

g.     Bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God…

h.     Matthew 7:15-20

                                                    i.     As we draw closer to our God, the impact on who we are will be known.

                                                  ii.     The fruit will make it obvious.

                                                iii.     Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will grow.

                                                iv.     Over time this fruit will become apparent to others.

                                                  v.     As we grow in our faith, our knowledge of God grows.

i.       It all stems from having faith in Jesus and letting the Holy Spirit change who we are.

7.     Colossians 1:11

a.      Strength, power, and glorious might… giving us great endurance and patience.

b.     The more we grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our God.

c.      The more we learn about His will and plan for our lives and what the future hold.

d.     The more we know and understand…

e.      The easier it is to have endurance for the long haul.

f.      The more likely we will have patience to wait for God’s plan to unfold.

g.     Knowing that our Hope in an eternity with Jesus is secure, can help us to endure a lot of things.

h.     Having faith that God answers prayers, can give us the patience we need as we pray and pray for lives to be changed.

8.     Colossians 1:12 (start with joyfully)

a.      The knowledge and wisdom of God and His plan helps us to have the strength and patience we need.

b.     If we understand that the future is beyond this side of eternity.

c.      We can see that the future is amazing.

d.     Which helps us to joyfully give thanks to our God.

9.     I can tell you this is much harder than it sounds.

a.      I thank God for things every day, but I don’t sound joyful all the time.

b.     I am thankful for all that God is doing, but the days are not always easy.

c.      That is our situations, our struggles, our doubts, impacting our Joy.

d.     The Joy we get from our God is not based on what is going on, it is based on our relationship with our Lord.

e.      John 15:9-11

                                                    i.     The joy comes from our Jesus.

                                                  ii.     Not our situation, but from the fact that He is with us always.

10.  Colossians 1:13

a.      Transferred us from the darkness to our Lord’s kingdom.

b.     We talk about how our Lord has wiped away our sins, that He paid the price that we owe.

c.      Sometimes we struggle with how that can be possible when we are still tempted.

d.     This verse states, that we were transferred from the domain of darkness… the place that we are responsible for our sins.

                                                    i.     The place that our sin still has a hold of us.

e.      We have been taken from there and moved to the kingdom of our Lord.

                                                    i.     We are no longer in the same place.

                                                  ii.     We are no longer where that sin has a hold of us.

                                                iii.     We are no longer trapped with the evil one.

                                                iv.     We have been transferred, we have been taken out of sin, and placed on the road to glory.

11.  Colossians 1:14

a.      We have been transferred away from the darkness.

b.     We have been redeemed… our ransom has been paid.

c.      Jesus paid the price for us.

d.     We have been set free.

e.      Through His sacrifice we are no longer slaves to our sin.

f.      Instead, we are forgiven as our sin is wiped away.

g.     We have been reconciled, reunited, with our King and our God.

12.  Jesus did it all for Colossians and He did it all for us.

a.      He paid the price to save us.

b.     He redeemed us.

13.  Following these verses:

a.      We are to pray for the Lord’s wisdom and understanding.

b.     In hopes of faithfully walking in His will for our lives.

c.      Bearing the fruit of Him living in and working through us.

d.     Having the endurance, we need to hold onto the promised eternity He has given us.

e.      In hopes of sharing the Joy we have of knowing that we have been Redeemed!