I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Colossians, continue to consider this book, a study which I began a couple of weeks in the evening service. We'll pick up at verse 9 and read down through verse 14 of Colossians chapter 1. Colossians 1, 9-14. Hear now the very word of God. And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption. the forgiveness of sins. Well, Paul, after announcing why he is writing this letter, moves to report on how he is praying for these Christians in Colossae. And this is a word of encouragement to these Christians. Paul basically says, I've been praying for you. I've been praying for you. And this is what and how I've been praying. I've been praying that God may make known to you His will. What is God's will for His people? What is God's will for you in your life? Many today think happiness is God's will for them. And why not? Doesn't every parent want their child to be happy? I was recently in a barber shop here in Escondido, And as it goes in a barbershop, the conversation goes every which direction. Well, after they found out that I was a minister, you can imagine where that conversation went. Well, one man says, I think life is about being happy. And I think God wants most of all for all of us to be happy. Now think about this for a moment. It's not too difficult to understand why people think life is about being happy. They want to be happy. We all want to be happy, right? And if God is our Father in heaven, why wouldn't He want us to be happy? And so people might even quote passages of Scripture that seem to go right in line with this, right? Isn't it Jesus who said, what kind of a father would give his son or his child a rock when he asked for a fish? Isn't it Jesus who said, if you who are sinners know how to give good gifts, how much more your father in heaven? So what is God's will for our lives? We have God's will expressed for us here in this text, in this prayer of Paul for these Christians at Colossae. Now, because this passage presents us with God's will and not our will, this passage can be something of a turnoff for people, really. God's will, according to Scripture, can be something of a turnoff for people. You see, God's will for us may not always be health, wealth, and prosperity. That may be our wills for our lives, but it may not be God's. And so as I said, this and this subject, this passage and this subject can be something of an offense to us. I've even heard people say, I can't believe in a God who would not want me to be happy. What kind of God would not want people to be happy? Now the truth is God does want us to be happy. But He wants us to be happy with Him. He wants us to be satisfied with Him. And so Paul here presents us with God's will for us. And again, he tells us by what he prays for this church. And so I want to consider with you three things from this prayer of Paul. What Paul prays for generally, what Paul prays for specifically, and what Paul prays for redemptively. Those are our three points this morning. First, Paul prays generally for these Christians at Colossae. Paul begins this text by saying, from the day that we heard, there's that word that we heard a couple of weeks ago, heard. What was it that he heard about these Christians? He heard about their faith in Christ. And so from the day that he heard about their faith, he says, we have not ceased to pray for you. Paul has not ceased to pray for these Christians. The word seize here means to stop, to restrain, to quit, to desist, or come to an end. Paul is saying here that the prayer that he prays for these Christians, he doesn't stop praying for. That's interesting, don't you think? A never-ending prayer. Have you ever prayed for something like that? Have you ever prayed for something without stopping? A prayer that you constantly brought before the Lord. A prayer request that was always on your mind. That's Paul here. And now when we pray for things like that, they're pretty serious things, aren't they? We don't constantly pray for things that are unimportant or insignificant. I'd assume neither does Paul. Paul's praying for something that requires him to constantly lift up these saints at Colossae. But what is it? What is so significant that Paul can't stop praying for them? Well, he says in verse 9, From the day we heard, we've not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will. There it is. This is what Paul can't stop praying for. This is what Paul prays generally for these Christians, that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. That word filled there is a word that refers to God filling a person. It is God who fills a person with the knowledge of His will. And that's why some translations as the NIV add God to express here explicitly what can be understood implicitly. It's God who Paul is appealing to here. He's requesting God to fill these people with the knowledge of his will. Now this is an important point for us to grab onto. Because you see the idea of being filled with the will of God here is not separate. It's not separate from Jesus Christ our Lord. It's actually directly connected. in fact paul uses some form of the term filled here at significant parts in this letter look down at verse 19 with me of chapter 1 for in him the fullness of god was pleased to dwell that word fullness there's the same root word that paul uses here when speaking of being filled with the will of god look also at chapter 2 verses 9 through 10 paul says there for in him christ the whole fullness that there's that same root word the fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority again what paul is praying here is not separate from christ being filled with the knowledge of the will of god is being filled with one the one who in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found That's what Paul says in chapter 2, verses 2 to 3, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So Paul here is praying that these Christians would be filled, filled with the knowledge of God's will, filled with Christ. We might say here that Paul is praying that these Christians at Colossae would be Christ-centered in every area of their lives. And that sounds very good to us, right? We're familiar with that language of being Christ-centered. We have Christ-centered preaching, Christ-centered churches, Christ-centered parenting, Christ-centered marriages, Christ-centered education, and hopefully Christ-centered lives. But what does that really mean when you think about it? What does it mean to be Christ-centered in all areas of our lives? You see, I think what often happens for us as people is we tack on these little phrases to things that we understand and we begin to use little phrases like Christ-centered. And we use them so much that they begin to lose their meaning because we begin to become so familiar with them. And then we don't stop and think, what do we even mean by that? What does it mean to be Christ-centered in every area of our lives? You see, something was going on here in the church at Colossae. These were Christians who knew the gospel. These were Christians who knew Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But even though they understood the elementary principles of the Christian life, They were struggling, struggling to know and understand God's will for them in light of Jesus Christ. And this relates to the false teachings that were circulating and that this church was being challenged with. Just as Paul says in chapter 2, verse 8, See, the false teachings that this church was challenged with was reinterpreting the gospel, Christ, and what they were called to as Christians, what the will of God was for them now in light of Christ. Now the phrase, the will of God, too, can be a kind of catchy phrase for us as Christians, can't it? What is God's will for our lives? We too, like the church at Colossae, can lose sight of what that means. What comes to mind for you when someone says, God's will, God's will? I think oftentimes when we think of that phrase, God's will, we think of anything that we are or should decide at any moment in our life, right? Like where to move, to move or not to move, what kind of job to take, who should we marry or not marry. But that's not exactly what Paul is praying for for these Christians. He's praying for something entirely different. He's praying that they would understand what God's will is for them in light of Jesus Christ. And we see that in verse 10 when he gives us really the reason for being filled with the knowledge of God. He says, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. The will of God for us, as Paul refers to it here, relates to the manner in which we walk as Christians. the way that we live, worthy before the Lord. Or as Paul says in Ephesians, walk worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Or in 1 Thessalonians, where we are exalted to walk in a manner worthy of God who has called you into his own kingdom and glory. What Paul is speaking of in each of these passages here which use similar language is really our sanctification. He's referring to us being set apart to God and his purposes. Walk in a manner worthy of God means being set apart to Christ and in Christ. This is God's will for us. Our sanctification. Christ in us. We in Him. Abiding in Him continually. Now Paul has much more to say about that. And he does so as he specifically prays for this church. We see what Paul prays generally for these Christians, that they would be filled with the knowledge of his will. And that has to do with our sanctification. But again, what is specifically Paul praying for here? Now, like I said, many people think God's will for us is happiness. And when we think about that today as Americans, we can get caught up in the happy life, the good old life, the pursuit of the American dream. But you see, brothers and sisters, God wants so much more for us as his children. Listen to how J.I. Packer puts it in his book, Knowing God. He says, People think God intends a trouble-free life for all, irrespective of their moral or spiritual state. And hence they conclude that anything painful or upsetting, illness, accident, injury, loss of job, the suffering of a loved one, all of this indicates either that God's wisdom or power or both have broken down or that God, after all, doesn't even exist. I'd say that's the dominant thought today in America, even among Christians. I've even heard Christians say things like, I cannot believe in a God who doesn't want me to be happy. And then with this Christian or this happy life before us, with this American dream and this desire before us, we put a thin Christian veneer over top of it. And we call it the happy life, the good life. And it looks good, it looks happy. Until the Lord comes along and He shakes up that life. One of you recently described sanctification as a snow globe. We're all familiar with snow globes, right? We have them on our tables right now with the Christmas season. You know, the snow globe that you shake up and everything that is laying, settled down, it now is thrown up and it looks like snow. Now imagine if that was your life. Nice, easy, settled. And then the Lord comes along and He shakes up that so-called globe. And everything that is at ease is now thrown up, scattered. And the Lord does that why? To sanctify us. To draw us closer to Him. To lead us away from those things that would lead us away from Him. because as i said the lord wants so much more for us he wants his will his will he wants us to be happy with him satisfied with him listen to how j.i packer puts it he says what is god's aim after then what is his goal when he is when he made us his purpose was that we should love and honor him praising Him for the wonderfully ordered complexity and variety of His world, using it according to His will, and so enjoying both it and Him. And although we have fallen, God has not abandoned His first purpose. And so that's God's will for us. Sanctification, being satisfied in Him, satisfied with Him. This is what Paul calls for us to be filled with. Satisfaction in Christ. So that we would use all things in our lives to accomplish the goals that he has before us. Satisfaction. See, that's what it means to be sanctified. To be set apart. To have Christ as your all and all. the sole and primary treasure of your life. Remember Psalm 73? Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Can we say that this morning? Can we say with the psalmist in Psalm 73, who do I have in heaven but you? And all the earth has nothing that I desire besides you. You, Lord, are who I want. You, Lord, are my treasured possession. Not the good old life, not the happy life, not the American dream. My happiness is found in you, in Christ, and in Christ alone. If we can't say that this morning, then that's something that we should be praying for, right? That's something so significant that we, like Paul, should be constantly praying for. Because this isn't just significant. This is the single greatest significant thing that we could pray for. As Christians, we ought to want to find our delight in the Lord. We ought to want to desire Him above all else. And that's why Paul prays in the second half of verse 9, being filled with the knowledge of His will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. It pleases the Lord when we live that way. It pleases the Lord when we delight in Him. Children, do you delight in your mother and father? If you delight in them, then you will delight in pleasing them, won't you? You'll delight to bring them delight by obeying them, by considering their will for you. Well, how do we do that? How do we fully please the Lord, as Paul says here? Well, to answer that, Paul prays even more specifically in this text. He uses four participles here to describe what he is praying for. He speaks of bearing fruit in every good work. He speaks of increasing in knowledge. He speaks of being strengthened with all power. And finally, giving thanks. Giving thanks. He says in verse 10, So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work. When Paul speaks of bearing fruit here, he's speaking of maturing in Christ, maturing in the gospel message. Again, none of this is separated from Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. This can only happen as we are rooted in and built up in Christ. Paul's already said in the intro to this letter, in verse 6, when speaking of the gospel, it is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world just as it has been doing among you since the day that you have heard it. The gospel, the gospel bears fruit in our lives when we live out of the abundance of what we have in Christ. See, Christianity isn't just about good works. Christianity isn't just about traditional values or good morals. Christianity is about Jesus Christ. We live with Christ and what He has done for us collectively and individually on our minds, on our hearts, shaping everything that we do as His people. That's what it means to bear fruit in every good work. It means to live out of that abundance. To live Christ-centered lives. Gospel-centered lives. And so with Christ on our minds, on our hearts, can we as a people suffer? Yes, we can. Why? Because we know that we follow a Lord and Savior who suffered for us. And we know that we trust and believe in a God who can work all things out for our good and for His glory. And so we continue. We continue, even in the midst of suffering. And can we stand for truth and righteousness as His people? Yes, we can. Why? Because Christ is the truth. And Christ is our righteousness, and he lived and died so that we would no longer live for ourselves, but for him who lived and died for us. And this practice of abiding in Christ and bearing fruit in every good work is not separate from our understanding, as Paul says, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Now, we might think to ourselves, we're reformed people. We do the knowledge thing pretty good, don't we? Right? We have Calvin's Institutes. We have our confessional standards. We can quote Bible passages. We may even read and consider the Puritans. Well, to all of that I say, wonderful, great. Continue to grow in knowledge. But let me ask you something. How is that knowledge connected to the fruit that you bear in every good work? How does your knowledge bear fruit in your lives? You see, we don't just grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ. We grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. If our knowledge is not growing hand in hand with our fruitful good works, then something is deficient in us. Maybe we simply just want to be the most well-read in the room. Maybe we're doing it for the sake of pride, what we think people think about us. But if we're not growing in knowledge and bearing fruit with that knowledge, again, something is wrong. We're not connected to Christ. We're not abiding in Christ. And that knowledge that we are growing in is really for nothing. See, everything we do must be connected to Christ, connected to Him. And therefore, when we increase in knowledge, that knowledge of Christ should humble us. It should humble us, shouldn't it? When we think about what Jesus Christ has done for us as His people, His life, His death, His suffering for sinners such as us, ch spurgeon says no subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind than thoughts of god do your thoughts of god humble you your thoughts of christ and redemption humble you how do you feel when you think of christ when you study when you read scripture is there any hint of pride is there any hint of you deserving what christ has done if that's the case then we need to confess that we need to pray that the lord would convict us of that that he would lead us to a greater knowledge of him who he is that he would graciously grant to us humility now the lord knows that we struggle with pride and so paul rightly prays here further in verse 11. He prays for strength with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy. Paul prays for strength for these Christians. God's strength for them so that they can endure patiently and with joy. Now this past year may have been a difficult year for you. I imagine the past two years have been difficult. We all know that the christian life isn't easy it's a trying life it's a life where we need strength we need strength where do we find such strength we find it from our lord our god as we continue to pray for that strength as we continue to abide in christ as we continue to trust in him hope in him walk in him remember james 1 james 1 says count it all joy when you meet trials of various kind why because we know that the lord is sanctifying us to himself through such trials and so we pray pray for strength the last thing that paul prays here specifically is that of thankfulness he says in verse 12 giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in life are we a thankful people are we a people who are characterized by thankfulness now of course we just had thanksgiving and so we all probably talked about being thankful and rightly so but does that thanksgiving does that thankfulness feel every day of our year does it fill every moment of our lives? Are we people who are so thankful for what we have in Jesus Christ that when people meet us, they characterize us as thankful people, people who appreciate what has been done for us? Are we thankful for what we have in Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins, for the new life that we have in Christ, for the inheritance that we have awaiting for us in heaven. Does that fill us at all times? See, in a sense, we could say that this book is about being satisfied in Jesus Christ. This book of Colossians is about being satisfied in Christ, acknowledging who he is, what we have in him and being filled with that so that yeah we bear fruit in good works we grow and increase in knowledge of god strengthened and thankful well the last thing that paul prays for here he prays redemptively have you ever been asked what is the gospel what is the gospel of jesus christ let's say you were on an elevator going up to the 10th floor and someone in that elevator asked you, what is the gospel? What is your 30-second answer to that question? I was asked that by a stewardess while I was on a plane waiting to use the restroom. She asked me, what is the gospel? I heard you were a minister. What is the gospel? How would you answer that? Have you considered that? The typical way I answer that question is the gospel is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. What we have here in verses 13 and 14 is a summary of the gospel. Look down at the last two verses of this passage. They say he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. I love how one commentator puts it. He says these two passages are about rescue by transfer. Rescue by transfer. Christians have been rescued. They've been delivered by being transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of life. These words here that Paul writes are similar to what he writes to the Ephesians in chapter 2 where he says, You were dead in trespasses and sin in which you once walked following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were sinners, dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. We've been delivered, transferred. Now, where me and my family are staying right now, we're staying on a hill in Escondido. There's a lot of hills in Escondido. I love that about Escondido. The valley is so flat. There's hills here. Now, with the hills, you can, on those hills, look down and you can see the town. And you can see cars going and coming. You can see people walking the streets. And when we look down at a town like Escondido, we see that life just goes on and on and on. And it's sad. Because that life that is going on down there, the Bible characterizes as a life of darkness. And it's as if the Lord has taken us, He has plucked us from that life and has transferred us into His kingdom. He's done that graciously for each of us who trust in Jesus Christ. That is the good news of Christ, that we've been delivered from that kingdom of darkness. He has taken us out of that darkened state. Our life is not just a life that goes on and on and on. Our lives now are to be about the will of God. To be characterized as lives that are abiding in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Trusting in Him. Resting in Him. Considering Him in everything that we think. Everything that we do. We are His. People who have been bought by the price of the blood of Jesus Christ. This is God's will for us. That we live in light of Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you this morning for this great, great news that there is redemption in Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness of sins. Lord, we thank you that you have saved a people unto yourself, a people who did not seek you, a people who did not ask for you, and yet you graciously pursued us, Lord, and you have transferred us out of darkness and into your marvelous light. In light of that, Lord, we pray, Father, that you would make us your very own people, a people peculiar to you, a people who live peculiar lives, lives that are Christ-centered, lives that abound with thankfulness, lives that express that thankfulness through living according to your will. Fill us with your Spirit, Lord, Continue to work in each of us. We thank you for your word to us this morning. We pray this all in Christ's name. Amen.