WEBVTT 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:04.820 We're going to open our Bibles together to Colossians 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:12.320 chapter 1. Prayer is a vital force behind any 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:16.940 ministry. Prayer is not a device for getting 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:24.100 our wills done through heaven, but a desire that 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:31.850 heaven's will might be done through us. Work 00:00:31.850 --> 00:00:35.609 for God that is not energized by prayer to God 00:00:35.609 --> 00:00:41.869 will only be, ultimately, the work of man. Prayer 00:00:41.869 --> 00:00:45.670 is the vital force then behind any ministry that 00:00:45.670 --> 00:00:50.109 is the work of God. I thank the Lord for those 00:00:50.109 --> 00:00:54.049 who pray for this ministry. I know that many 00:00:54.049 --> 00:00:57.929 of you do in your own quiet time. There are those 00:00:57.929 --> 00:01:00.490 who meet on Sundays to pray for this ministry. 00:01:01.390 --> 00:01:05.430 At 7 .30 downstairs in room 7, there are those 00:01:05.430 --> 00:01:08.730 who gather for prayer for Sunday mornings. At 00:01:08.730 --> 00:01:12.569 8 .45 downstairs again in room 1, there are those 00:01:12.569 --> 00:01:17.530 who gather for prayer for our service. At 9 .15 00:01:17.530 --> 00:01:20.109 during this hour, there are those who are praying 00:01:20.109 --> 00:01:24.670 for this day's ministry over in our church office. 00:01:25.430 --> 00:01:28.049 I thank God for those who are praying for our 00:01:28.049 --> 00:01:32.469 ministry. All of us will be called upon to be 00:01:32.469 --> 00:01:36.109 involved in prayer in a deeper way this fall 00:01:36.109 --> 00:01:39.310 as we get into the Foundation for the Future 00:01:39.310 --> 00:01:45.829 Phase 1 campaign. We'll be involved in a number 00:01:45.829 --> 00:01:50.250 of ways, but one particular way will be a challenge 00:01:50.250 --> 00:01:54.150 to all of us, and that is a 24 -hour prayer vigil. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:58.180 When we'll have the opportunity to sign up to 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:00.620 be a part of a group praying around the clock 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:06.299 For that particular emphasis in our church That 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:08.879 ministry like any other ministry must be energized 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:12.699 by the faithful and fervent prayer of God's people 00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:19.060 the Apostle Paul taught churches to pray and 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:24.180 God's people prayed In fact, it's not possible 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:27.139 to think of a New Testament congregation, really, 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:32.419 apart from prayer. Every letter that Paul wrote, 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:37.439 except perhaps two of them, dealt with prayer, 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:43.240 or in them he actually prayed. The text that 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:47.719 we have before us today in Colossians is an introduction 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:51.020 to the whole epistle. In that introduction there 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:54.879 is a recounting of Paul's personal prayer life. 00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:58.419 When was the last time you wrote a letter to 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:02.599 someone and described to them your prayer life? 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:09.780 How you were praying for them. What you were 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:14.479 saying before God you wanted him to do in their 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:18.560 lives. That's what Paul does as he begins the 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:23.759 letter. He introduces himself in a more or less 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:27.819 customary way. He says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:31.400 Christ, that is, one who has been commissioned 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:35.939 and sent by Jesus Christ by the will of God, 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:42.460 and Timothy our brother. Timothy was not an apostle. 00:03:44.540 --> 00:03:48.020 Timothy was a brother. He was a fellow worker 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:50.900 of the Apostle Paul. He was not himself an apostle. 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:55.199 But he joined with Paul in writing this letter 00:03:55.199 --> 00:04:00.020 to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ. 00:04:01.939 --> 00:04:07.360 Paul describes these brothers as saints. The 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:09.900 idea in the word saints is that they were dedicated. 00:04:11.150 --> 00:04:15.129 They have been set apart for God's divine use, 00:04:15.310 --> 00:04:18.689 His purpose in the world. It is wonderful when 00:04:18.689 --> 00:04:21.449 we understand that that's what our life is about. 00:04:22.889 --> 00:04:25.250 That God has set us apart, that we are saints, 00:04:25.310 --> 00:04:28.889 that we are dedicated to Him. And because He 00:04:28.889 --> 00:04:31.889 has dedicated us, we are to dedicate ourselves 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:37.129 to His work. And He calls them, secondly, faithful. 00:04:38.790 --> 00:04:43.389 Faithful, loyal. Christians in the city of Colossae. 00:04:43.470 --> 00:04:46.449 There are many today who call themselves Christians 00:04:46.449 --> 00:04:50.449 who are not faithful and who are not loyal to 00:04:50.449 --> 00:04:55.649 Jesus Christ. But these were in contrast to the 00:04:55.649 --> 00:04:59.829 20th century Christians because they were loyal, 00:05:00.029 --> 00:05:04.810 it says. Loyal brethren in Christ. There we have 00:05:04.810 --> 00:05:08.399 that phrase that Paul uses many times. and other 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:11.620 writers as well, but especially Paul. At least 00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:14.459 160 times in the New Testament we come across 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:18.079 this phrase, in Christ or in Jesus Christ, something 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:21.459 like that, describing our position in Christ. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.540 He describes them not only as in Christ, but 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:28.180 also in Colossae, which is the city where they 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:31.620 live. Paul had never visited Colossae. It was 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:35.220 some distance to the east of Ephesus, where he 00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:38.879 spent a good deal of time. It is conjectured 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:44.259 that during the time Paul was in Ephesus, or 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:48.980 shortly thereafter, a missionary team, headed 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:52.939 by Epiphras, of whom we read in this paragraph, 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:56.540 was sent to the city of Colossae, and not only 00:05:56.540 --> 00:05:59.139 there, but to Hierapolis as well, another nearby 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:03.319 town, and they are the ones, not Paul, who preached 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:05.819 in Colossae. Paul had never been there. He had 00:06:05.819 --> 00:06:08.920 never seen these people face to face. And yet 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.360 he is concerned for them. He addresses them. 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:16.819 He knows them through Epiphras. And then he greets 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:20.699 them again in a customary way when he says, grace 00:06:20.699 --> 00:06:28.639 to you in peace from God our Father. Grace was 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:33.560 a customary way in which Gentile people addressed 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:36.399 themselves, greeted one another in that day. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:39.399 Of course, Paul brings a whole meaning to it 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.060 in the idea of grace. It literally means favor, 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:45.399 and he is saying, God's favor be upon you. And 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:48.300 when he says peace, he is reminding them of the 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:51.319 Hebrew greeting, which was shalom, still is, 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:54.899 which means peace. It's not just the absence 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:58.439 of conflict, but shalom refers to bounty, to 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.810 abundance, to prosperity. And so Paul is writing 00:07:01.810 --> 00:07:05.250 to this church, which is composed of Gentile 00:07:05.250 --> 00:07:08.790 and Jew, and he is greeting them in a customary 00:07:08.790 --> 00:07:12.189 way, to the Gentile's grace, to the Jew's peace, 00:07:13.009 --> 00:07:17.990 from God our Father. God is the Father of all 00:07:17.990 --> 00:07:20.329 believers, whether Jew or Gentile or whatever 00:07:20.329 --> 00:07:22.930 ethnic background they may be from or what social 00:07:22.930 --> 00:07:27.829 class. He is God our Father. He does not belong 00:07:27.829 --> 00:07:31.519 to a single group. He is the Father of all of 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:36.279 those who are in Christ because they have trusted 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:41.019 in Christ, believed on Him for the salvation 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:47.060 of their souls. He goes on to say, we give thanks 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:52.800 to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:57.160 always for you since we heard of your faith in 00:07:57.160 --> 00:08:01.240 Christ Jesus. and the love which you have for 00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:05.600 all the saints, because of the hope laid up for 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:08.800 you in heaven, of which you previously heard 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:14.199 in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:18.100 to you just as in all the world also it is constantly 00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:22.759 bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:26.439 been doing in you also since the day you heard 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:31.040 of it and understood the grace of God in truth. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:36.399 Just as you learned it from Epiphas, our beloved 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:40.080 fellow bond servant who is a faithful servant 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:44.620 of Christ on our behalf. And he also informed 00:08:44.620 --> 00:08:48.700 us of your love in the Spirit. We're going to 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:50.879 stop reading at that point for this morning. 00:08:51.059 --> 00:08:54.419 We'll continue the introduction next week. But 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:56.679 you can begin to get a flavor of the Apostle 00:08:56.679 --> 00:09:01.149 Paul's words as he writes about prayer and actually 00:09:01.149 --> 00:09:08.090 in a few lines will pray for them. What we have 00:09:08.090 --> 00:09:10.610 here is Paul's disclosure of his prayer life 00:09:10.610 --> 00:09:13.269 and he talks about what I'm calling for my purposes 00:09:13.269 --> 00:09:18.769 his prayer circle. We talk about being in prayer 00:09:18.769 --> 00:09:21.710 circles. Well Paul here talks about his prayer 00:09:21.710 --> 00:09:26.529 circle. Notice he says we give thanks to God. 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:30.259 And so he is including not only himself in his 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:34.100 prayer circle, but Timothy, certainly, who also 00:09:34.100 --> 00:09:37.259 addresses this epistle to them. But if you go 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:39.480 to chapter four, which we'll not do this morning, 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:42.500 you'll find that there are at least eight others 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:46.720 who are named who are with Paul at the present 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.059 time when he writes this letter. So there were 00:09:50.059 --> 00:09:53.399 eight, nine, ten people in Paul's prayer circle 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:57.230 who prayed for the Colossians. Remember that 00:09:57.230 --> 00:09:59.289 as Paul writes this letter, he is writing from 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:03.750 prison. This is during his first imprisonment 00:10:03.750 --> 00:10:07.070 in Rome. He is not in a dungeon. He is under 00:10:07.070 --> 00:10:11.669 house arrest, waiting there for a trial before 00:10:11.669 --> 00:10:16.289 Caesar. That's where the book of Acts leaves 00:10:16.289 --> 00:10:20.529 off the record. And we have after that only tradition 00:10:20.529 --> 00:10:24.330 to understand what may have happened to Paul. 00:10:24.970 --> 00:10:29.669 We believe that Paul was at some point released 00:10:29.669 --> 00:10:32.230 from his house arrest. Perhaps had a hearing 00:10:32.230 --> 00:10:35.549 before Caesar. Perhaps was released without the 00:10:35.549 --> 00:10:39.830 hearing being necessary. That he continued his 00:10:39.830 --> 00:10:42.889 journeys as an apostle and as a missionary for 00:10:42.889 --> 00:10:46.909 several years. Perhaps going as far as Spain. 00:10:47.409 --> 00:10:49.889 Some would even say into other parts of Europe 00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:53.929 that are unnamed in the scriptures. And then 00:10:53.929 --> 00:10:57.830 Paul was imprisoned a second time. The second 00:10:57.830 --> 00:11:00.169 time he was imprisoned, he was put into the Mamertine 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:03.950 prison, which was a hole in the ground, literally. 00:11:05.210 --> 00:11:13.350 It was a filthy, stinky, dark, damp prison. And 00:11:13.350 --> 00:11:16.049 it was there that he wrote his last letter, which 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:22.029 was 2 Timothy, as we count them, 2 Timothy. And 00:11:22.029 --> 00:11:25.730 he was then at some point shortly thereafter 00:11:25.730 --> 00:11:30.929 beheaded according to tradition. So Paul is writing 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:33.769 here several years before his life. He is incarcerated 00:11:33.769 --> 00:11:36.750 at this point under house arrest. These others 00:11:36.750 --> 00:11:38.889 are able to come and go freely and they are part 00:11:38.889 --> 00:11:41.950 of his prayer circle. Now I call it a prayer 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:43.830 circle not only because of who was in it but 00:11:43.830 --> 00:11:47.450 because of what they prayed for. The language 00:11:47.450 --> 00:11:50.350 that Paul uses here seems to come full circle. 00:11:50.529 --> 00:11:54.049 You notice he begins by addressing them as saints, 00:11:55.049 --> 00:11:57.570 a word that he uses again in verse 4, this word 00:11:57.570 --> 00:11:59.669 again, meaning that they were people dedicated 00:11:59.669 --> 00:12:02.950 to Christ. They were saints set apart to the 00:12:02.950 --> 00:12:06.730 Lord. But then in verse 12, as he brings his 00:12:06.730 --> 00:12:10.090 prayerful thoughts to a close, he again addresses 00:12:10.090 --> 00:12:13.389 them as saints, and so he comes full circle in 00:12:13.389 --> 00:12:18.000 this idea of being dedicated to Christ. In verse 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:23.779 6, you notice the phrase, bearing fruit and increasing. 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:26.740 That's going to be the heart of what I want to 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:30.200 talk about this morning. But again, he uses that 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.679 same phrase in verse 10 as he begins to wind 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:38.720 down. And there he is praying for them to please 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:42.639 the Lord in all respects, bearing fruit in every 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:46.480 good work and increasing. in the knowledge of 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:49.320 God. And so you see the language again folds 00:12:49.320 --> 00:12:54.259 upon itself. In verse 3, he gives thanks to God, 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:58.559 the Father. In verse 12, he says, giving thanks 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:01.080 to the Father. And so once again, we see the 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:06.559 language coming full circle. And then he uses 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:11.980 the word understood in verse 6, a word that refers 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:17.610 to having a deep personal knowledge. A knowledge 00:13:17.610 --> 00:13:20.250 that is more than intellectual. It participates 00:13:20.250 --> 00:13:24.049 in what it knows. It gets a handle on what it 00:13:24.049 --> 00:13:28.210 knows. And that special Greek word is used again 00:13:28.210 --> 00:13:32.309 in verse 9, where he talks about that you may 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:36.190 be filled with this personal, experiential knowledge 00:13:36.190 --> 00:13:40.669 of God. And so the language in this prayer just 00:13:40.669 --> 00:13:43.909 keeps coming full circle. It folds upon itself 00:13:43.909 --> 00:13:48.529 time and time again. It's a prayer circle. It 00:13:48.529 --> 00:13:50.750 is a prayer circle that really embraces three 00:13:50.750 --> 00:13:56.169 ideas. One, giving thanks to God. Two, knowing 00:13:56.169 --> 00:14:01.490 God. Knowing God fully. And third, experiencing 00:14:01.490 --> 00:14:07.210 God. Experiencing God's power in one's life. 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:10.220 That's what Paul is praying about with his friends 00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:13.500 on behalf of the Colossians. Now, we want to 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:15.679 talk to this morning about the fact that Paul's 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:20.519 prayer is permeated with thanksgiving. Now, why 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:25.779 is that? Why does Paul begin with thanksgiving 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:29.200 and end with thanksgiving in his prayer? In fact, 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:31.460 it is a theme that runs through this epistle. 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:34.480 We've pointed out two places in chapter 1. Look 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:40.629 in chapter 3. and verse 15. He concludes this 00:14:40.629 --> 00:14:46.309 exhortation by saying, and be thankful. Again, 00:14:46.409 --> 00:14:50.570 in verse 16, he says, singing with thankfulness 00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:55.570 in your hearts to God. Verse 17, giving thanks 00:14:55.570 --> 00:15:00.289 through Him to God the Father. Chapter 4, verse 00:15:00.289 --> 00:15:03.649 2, devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert 00:15:03.649 --> 00:15:08.960 in it. with an attitude of thanksgiving. Why 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:14.960 is Paul emphasizing thanksgiving? It is because 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:18.399 Paul was willing to acknowledge something that 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:22.860 many of us have forgotten. And that is that he 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:28.220 acknowledged he was not self -sufficient. That 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:30.519 sounds very un -American because Americans are 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:34.830 supposed to be very sufficient. We learned from 00:15:34.830 --> 00:15:36.909 the beginning of our lives that to be a real 00:15:36.909 --> 00:15:40.850 American, to be a real person, is to accomplish 00:15:40.850 --> 00:15:44.330 the American dream. To be a self -sufficient 00:15:44.330 --> 00:15:48.809 person, not to have to depend upon anybody. And 00:15:48.809 --> 00:15:53.429 a lot of us have bought into that. Now if you 00:15:53.429 --> 00:15:55.330 make it yourself, you don't have to be thankful 00:15:55.330 --> 00:16:01.860 to anybody else. You can thank yourself. If you've 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:03.759 accomplished what you have because of yourself, 00:16:03.779 --> 00:16:08.320 then you can praise self, not praise God. But 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:10.200 you see Paul, a man of great accomplishment, 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:13.000 recognized that all of his accomplishments were 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.460 not of himself. In fact, those things that he 00:16:16.460 --> 00:16:18.200 had accomplished in himself, he said, account 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:25.679 the manure. Dung. They're nothing. Paul recognized 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:28.019 that the most important things in life are those 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:32.370 that God accomplishes in us and through us. and 00:16:32.370 --> 00:16:38.909 that we are in fact a dependent people. We are 00:16:38.909 --> 00:16:41.509 dependent upon God and the sooner we write that 00:16:41.509 --> 00:16:43.610 in our hearts the happier our lives will be and 00:16:43.610 --> 00:16:46.610 the more fruitful they'll be. That's why Paul 00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:50.370 is grateful because he recognizes he didn't do 00:16:50.370 --> 00:16:54.529 it. He's dependent upon God and so over and over 00:16:54.529 --> 00:16:58.190 again he is thankful. There's no giving that 00:16:58.190 --> 00:17:05.250 is more important than thanks. giving. We need 00:17:05.250 --> 00:17:07.769 to be careful to give God thanks. We are the 00:17:07.769 --> 00:17:11.950 objects of His grace. He therefore needs to be 00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:17.589 the object of our thanks. Someone has said Thanksgiving 00:17:17.589 --> 00:17:24.170 is the memory of the heart. Thanksgiving is the 00:17:24.170 --> 00:17:30.289 memory of the heart. God forbid that we should 00:17:30.289 --> 00:17:36.630 suffer from Alzheimer's of the soul and Forget 00:17:36.630 --> 00:17:41.630 God and forget his goodness For Thanksgiving 00:17:41.630 --> 00:17:43.789 is the memory of the heart as we remember what 00:17:43.789 --> 00:17:46.849 God has done now Paul in this paragraph gives 00:17:46.849 --> 00:17:52.130 thanks to God for what the gospel Had accomplished 00:17:52.130 --> 00:17:55.450 Now remember Paul had never been there so he 00:17:55.450 --> 00:17:58.740 can't give thanks to himself And he certainly 00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:01.160 mentions Epiphas and gives him honor, but he 00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:05.259 doesn't even thank Epiphas for it. He gives thanks 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:09.920 to God for what the Gospel had done. The Gospel 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.859 is the power of God unto salvation for everyone 00:18:13.859 --> 00:18:17.140 who believes, whether they be in Colossae or 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:21.519 Roseville. It is the Gospel that does the work. 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.220 Now he sums up the work of the Gospel in that 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:28.990 phrase that I pointed out earlier. in verse 6, 00:18:29.809 --> 00:18:38.509 that it bears fruit and increases. Now in pointing 00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:40.869 out the work of the gospel this way, the apostle 00:18:40.869 --> 00:18:44.450 is telling us that there is an inward work of 00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:49.329 the gospel and there is an outward work of the 00:18:49.329 --> 00:18:54.609 gospel. The inward work of the gospel is the 00:18:54.609 --> 00:18:59.579 propagation of fruit. It has transformed lives. 00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:03.720 We'll talk about that. That's the inward work. 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:08.119 The outward work of the gospel, for which Paul 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:12.299 gives thanks, is the progression of the truth 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:18.859 and how it advances. It's like dropping a stone 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:22.519 in water and watching the ripple effect. He says 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:27.440 the gospel progresses. It goes out. it advances. 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:31.579 He thanks God for that. Let's talk for a moment 00:19:31.579 --> 00:19:34.380 about the inward work of the gospel, the propagation 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:37.319 of fruit. Paul is here picturing a tree, a fruit 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:41.599 tree, that bears fruit. It reproduces itself 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:44.059 through the seed that it produces. He says that 00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:47.640 the gospel is like a tree that bears fruit and 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:51.400 that fruit is the changed lives of those who 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:58.769 believe it. The fruit of transformation in the 00:19:58.769 --> 00:20:03.049 life is the evidence of the genuineness of the 00:20:03.049 --> 00:20:08.210 work of the gospel in a person's life. Now what 00:20:08.210 --> 00:20:13.869 did that change look like? Why was Paul so excited 00:20:13.869 --> 00:20:17.869 about the Colossians? It was because of what 00:20:17.869 --> 00:20:21.349 that change looked like as he viewed it, what 00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:25.700 the gospel had done in them internally. And he 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:30.480 brings our attention to three words that he often 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:35.660 used. The triad of Christian graces as he talks 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:41.640 about faith, love, and hope, verses four and 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:44.519 five. You may want to underline those words. 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:47.400 They're key words to Paul's theology, to what 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:51.480 Paul was looking for. He thanks God that there 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:56.009 was faith, love, and hope. in these people because 00:20:56.009 --> 00:20:58.289 to him that meant that the gospel had really 00:20:58.289 --> 00:21:03.250 done its work. There hadn't been a short circuit, 00:21:03.509 --> 00:21:07.029 there hadn't been an early frost, the fruit had 00:21:07.029 --> 00:21:13.630 been fully born. I want to talk about them in 00:21:13.630 --> 00:21:17.109 the order that Paul seems to use them logically. 00:21:19.009 --> 00:21:23.230 He seems in this context to point to hope. as 00:21:23.230 --> 00:21:26.930 being the core of it. Hope is the forward -looking 00:21:26.930 --> 00:21:33.430 fruit. Hope is that which anticipates. Hope is 00:21:33.430 --> 00:21:36.210 the assurance, it is the confidence of what God 00:21:36.210 --> 00:21:41.589 is going to do in the future. Hope is subjective 00:21:41.589 --> 00:21:46.210 in the sense that we have hope, and our hope 00:21:46.210 --> 00:21:48.950 may be strong or may be weak, but we have an 00:21:48.950 --> 00:21:52.750 anticipation of the future. But hope is also 00:21:52.750 --> 00:21:55.609 objective in the sense of what it is that we're 00:21:55.609 --> 00:21:59.869 hoping for What that thing is that we're looking 00:21:59.869 --> 00:22:03.230 forward to and Paul really is emphasizing the 00:22:03.230 --> 00:22:08.829 latter here He sees this hope as being laid up 00:22:08.829 --> 00:22:15.089 for them in heaven That is it is stored it is 00:22:15.089 --> 00:22:21.210 kept in reserve in heaven for you What is the 00:22:21.210 --> 00:22:25.930 hope that he's talking about? Well, I think we 00:22:25.930 --> 00:22:29.930 find out in verse 27 of the same chapter where 00:22:29.930 --> 00:22:33.910 he says, to whom God willed to make known what 00:22:33.910 --> 00:22:36.349 is the riches of the glory of this mystery among 00:22:36.349 --> 00:22:40.890 the Gentiles. Now he's going to define that mystery, 00:22:41.130 --> 00:22:45.970 which is Christ in you, the hope of what? Of 00:22:45.970 --> 00:22:50.359 glory. The hope of glory. I think this is confirmed 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:54.859 by what he says in chapter 3 and verses 3 and 00:22:54.859 --> 00:22:57.960 4 where he says, for you have died and your life 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:02.299 is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:06.859 is our life is revealed, then you also will be 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:10.279 revealed with him in glory. So what is he saying 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:13.740 that they're looking forward to? It is the glory 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:19.130 that they will have when Christ comes. It is 00:23:19.130 --> 00:23:22.150 that which will consummate their salvation, their 00:23:22.150 --> 00:23:26.329 being like Christ and being with Christ. That's 00:23:26.329 --> 00:23:29.450 the hope that he has in mind. Now, the heretics 00:23:29.450 --> 00:23:34.809 of Colossae offered no hope. I have not mentioned 00:23:34.809 --> 00:23:37.890 the heresy yet, but one of the reasons that Paul 00:23:37.890 --> 00:23:41.490 wrote this book is because there were heretics 00:23:41.490 --> 00:23:47.789 in Colossae, false teachers. He doesn't really 00:23:47.789 --> 00:23:50.769 define that false teaching for us, but because 00:23:50.769 --> 00:23:53.549 he writes about it, we have an idea of what it 00:23:53.549 --> 00:23:58.529 was like. And we're going to be studying that 00:23:58.529 --> 00:24:03.250 in the weeks ahead. But whatever it was they 00:24:03.250 --> 00:24:05.349 were teaching, these people were offering no 00:24:05.349 --> 00:24:09.410 hope. Paul said, you have in the gospel a hope. 00:24:10.650 --> 00:24:12.809 So don't listen to those who are not offering 00:24:12.809 --> 00:24:19.690 hope. They offer only speculation. Nor did these 00:24:19.690 --> 00:24:22.529 people have hope from their background their 00:24:22.529 --> 00:24:25.569 paganism for those who were Gentiles it offered 00:24:25.569 --> 00:24:30.069 no hope But the gospel did offer hope hope was 00:24:30.069 --> 00:24:33.769 born in their hearts Because of the gospel and 00:24:33.769 --> 00:24:35.869 I want to present to you this morning this fact 00:24:35.869 --> 00:24:40.289 that The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only message 00:24:40.289 --> 00:24:45.990 of hope that there is in the world It's the only 00:24:45.990 --> 00:24:49.180 message by which people can have some Confidence 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:51.799 about the future. Everything else is speculation. 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:56.960 But the gospel is an assurance. It's a confidence 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:02.720 of what's going to come in this world. Stephen 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:08.380 Curtis Chapman has a CD on which there is a song 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:11.299 entitled, Heaven in the Real World. Maybe some 00:25:11.299 --> 00:25:15.799 of you have heard it. And before the song begins, 00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:20.569 he has a recording of Billy Graham, who basically 00:25:20.569 --> 00:25:25.089 is asking the question, where is the hope? Our 00:25:25.089 --> 00:25:28.890 hope isn't in this world. It isn't in who's controlling 00:25:28.890 --> 00:25:31.730 the White House. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. 00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:36.630 And then the song begins, and the words go something 00:25:36.630 --> 00:25:40.549 like this. I saw it again today in the face of 00:25:40.549 --> 00:25:44.750 a little child looking through eyes of fear and 00:25:44.750 --> 00:25:49.680 uncertainty. It echoed in a cry for freedom across 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:53.660 the streets and across the miles, cries from 00:25:53.660 --> 00:26:00.079 the heart to find the missing part. Where is 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:04.500 the hope? Where is the peace that will make this 00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:09.380 life complete for every man, woman, boy and girl 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:17.359 looking for heaven in the real world? And then 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:19.759 Chapman writes, to stand in the pouring rain 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:24.720 and believe the sun will shine again, to know 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:29.579 that the grave is not the end, to feel the embrace 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:34.559 of grace and cross the line where real life begins 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:37.980 and know in your heart you've found the missing 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:43.319 part. He is the hope. He is the peace. that will 00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:45.900 make this life complete for every man, woman, 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:50.799 boy, and girl. Jesus is heaven in the real world. 00:26:53.099 --> 00:26:58.059 It is the gospel of Jesus, the good news of his 00:26:58.059 --> 00:27:00.460 death, burial, and resurrection for our sins, 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:05.359 and of his coming again to correct the wrong, 00:27:06.259 --> 00:27:08.940 to judge the evil, to establish righteousness, 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:13.900 to reward those who are faithful, That is our 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:19.039 hope. And out of that hope, says the apostle, 00:27:19.140 --> 00:27:22.680 there springs faith and love. If hope is the 00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:27.380 forward -looking fruit, faith is the upward -looking 00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:30.339 fruit because it directs the heart toward God 00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:35.579 in trust and reliance. The pagans in Colossae 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:40.019 trusted their fickle gods. The Jews trusted their 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:44.319 own self -righteousness and rule -keeping. But 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:47.359 the Christians believed a gospel that pointed 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:52.799 them toward the one true God, the God of heaven 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:56.059 and earth, the God who he's going to describe 00:27:56.059 --> 00:28:00.019 here in just a few verses. Out of this hope that 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:04.180 the gospel gave to them, there was faith and 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:07.019 reliance on God. And with that upward -looking 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:11.220 fruit, there was an outward -looking fruit, love. 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:14.859 that caused them to see others with different 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:20.079 eyes. Before they were Christians, they saw others 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:25.099 as something to be used or despised. Certainly 00:28:25.099 --> 00:28:28.200 nothing to care about. But now, as believers, 00:28:28.380 --> 00:28:32.039 there is love in their life. And out of that 00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:34.700 love, there is concern for the welfare of others. 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:37.599 They are willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:41.960 for the good of others. A new ethic! was born. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:47.940 And it was quite in contrast to the former. This 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:52.039 love is said to be to all the saints. It certainly 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:54.640 was also to Paul and to his team, and for that 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:59.519 Paul gave thanks to God. And so he thanks God 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:04.819 for the work of the Gospel in them. The internal, 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:10.740 inward work. It is the fruit that he saw of hope. 00:29:11.810 --> 00:29:14.769 Their lives look forward to something. There 00:29:14.769 --> 00:29:19.910 was faith in God. There was loyalty in their 00:29:19.910 --> 00:29:23.630 lives because they believed God. And there was 00:29:23.630 --> 00:29:26.210 love. There was concern for others. The arrows 00:29:26.210 --> 00:29:29.009 of their lives didn't all point inward. They 00:29:29.009 --> 00:29:35.470 pointed outward. Thank God for the inward work 00:29:35.470 --> 00:29:39.740 of the Gospel. that is being propagated in your 00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:43.380 life. The fruit that is there. Because Jesus 00:29:43.380 --> 00:29:45.599 Christ has made a difference. And wherever He 00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:50.619 goes, He makes a difference. And Paul gives thanks, 00:29:50.660 --> 00:29:53.900 secondly, for the outward work of the Gospel. 00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:57.920 Because he says not only was the Gospel bearing 00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:02.500 fruit, but he says it's increasing. Here we see 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:05.140 the idea of its progression. The progression 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:08.609 of the truth of the Gospel. He calls the Gospel 00:30:08.609 --> 00:30:12.990 in verse 5 the Word of Truth. Now these dear 00:30:12.990 --> 00:30:18.690 people, like by far the majority of people who 00:30:18.690 --> 00:30:22.369 are alive today on the earth, had believed a 00:30:22.369 --> 00:30:27.109 lie. They were worshipping false gods thinking 00:30:27.109 --> 00:30:30.970 they could get to God through their self -righteousness 00:30:30.970 --> 00:30:36.890 or what they did, their works. But the word of 00:30:36.890 --> 00:30:41.269 truth came to them. And they realized the emptiness 00:30:41.269 --> 00:30:44.849 of that sort of faith that depends upon self 00:30:44.849 --> 00:30:49.349 and one's own works to be made right with God. 00:30:51.150 --> 00:30:55.329 He calls it also in verse 6, the grace of God 00:30:55.329 --> 00:30:59.789 in truth. In other words, they had recognized 00:30:59.789 --> 00:31:07.019 that God's true grace gives. eternal life. That 00:31:07.019 --> 00:31:10.059 the gospel is the message of God's free gift 00:31:10.059 --> 00:31:12.900 to man through what Christ did at the cross. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:15.980 That's not something we work for, it's something 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:19.160 God gives to us and all we have to do is receive 00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:24.259 it as an act of faith. Now this gospel had progressed 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:27.339 and Paul reminds them here of the route that 00:31:27.339 --> 00:31:32.500 the gospel had taken in getting to them. He reminds 00:31:32.500 --> 00:31:35.839 them of how they had learned it. See that word 00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:41.299 down in verse 7? It was from Epiphras. The word 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:47.599 learned here is the verb form of the noun disciple. 00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:51.900 So Paul says let me remind you how you became 00:31:51.900 --> 00:31:57.200 learners, disciples of this gospel of truth. 00:31:57.559 --> 00:31:59.960 Let me remind you of the route that it took. 00:32:00.910 --> 00:32:04.009 He reminds them first of all that the gospel 00:32:04.009 --> 00:32:07.309 comes to the unregenerate. You notice that in 00:32:07.309 --> 00:32:12.230 verse 6? The gospel which has come to you. It 00:32:12.230 --> 00:32:16.250 had come through Epiphras, who by the way is 00:32:16.250 --> 00:32:19.190 now imprisoned with Paul, it seems, according 00:32:19.190 --> 00:32:21.509 to Philemon, another letter he wrote at this 00:32:21.509 --> 00:32:25.549 time. But the gospel had come to them through 00:32:25.549 --> 00:32:29.839 Epiphras. Notice the way he describes this sterling 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:32.299 man, about whom we know very, very little. He 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:38.299 says he is a fellow bond servant. That is, Epaphras 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:41.480 saw himself as one who was a slave of Jesus Christ. 00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:46.539 That's all. To him, life wasn't about doing your 00:32:46.539 --> 00:32:49.700 own thing. Life was about being a slave to the 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:52.119 will of God, to what Jesus wanted in his life. 00:32:53.179 --> 00:32:55.559 And as far as Epiphany was concerned, that was 00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:58.400 the only thing that counted. What is Jesus? What 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:02.460 need to do? And the second way he describes him 00:33:02.460 --> 00:33:07.119 is as a faithful servant of Christ. The word 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:09.880 servant is our word deacon. It doesn't mean he 00:33:09.880 --> 00:33:12.799 was literally a deacon as we think of that term 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:14.880 necessarily, but it means that he saw himself 00:33:14.880 --> 00:33:19.299 again as a servant, as one who was there to help 00:33:19.299 --> 00:33:23.920 others, and faithful in doing that. Dear God, 00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:26.000 what we need today is faithfulness in the Church 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:28.579 of Jesus Christ. It has gone out the window. 00:33:30.380 --> 00:33:32.839 People will only serve if it's convenient for 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:37.000 them. They only want to serve if it's good for 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:42.480 them. God, help us. We are so far from the spirit 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:47.200 of this man who brought the gospel to the city 00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:52.079 of Colossae. So far from that spirit that says 00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:54.819 I am a servant of Jesus Christ and I will be 00:33:54.819 --> 00:34:02.019 loyal and faithful to him Now let me ask you 00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:06.799 a question If the work of the gospel involves 00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:11.179 advancement and where it's going Where is it 00:34:11.179 --> 00:34:17.920 going through you? Through epiphras it went a 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:23.739 hundred miles over to the city of Colossi, and 00:34:23.739 --> 00:34:25.960 then eventually onto the city of Hierapolis. 00:34:26.840 --> 00:34:30.179 Where's it going through you? You see, the route 00:34:30.179 --> 00:34:32.820 of the gospel begins by it coming somewhere. 00:34:34.380 --> 00:34:37.360 To that office, to that building where you are, 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:40.519 to that classroom, to that neighborhood. The 00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:42.619 gospel has to come there. That's the first step 00:34:42.619 --> 00:34:48.599 in the route. Then he describes the gospel Not 00:34:48.599 --> 00:34:51.019 only coming to them, but the fact that they heard 00:34:51.019 --> 00:34:54.739 it, that they're at the end of verse 6. So that 00:34:54.739 --> 00:34:57.900 second part of the route is that the gospel has 00:34:57.900 --> 00:35:01.679 to be heard. And of course that implies some 00:35:01.679 --> 00:35:09.500 proclamation of it. The ear and the mind have 00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:13.199 to grasp what the gospel is. You know, there 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:14.860 are a lot of people in our world today that have 00:35:14.860 --> 00:35:18.079 not a clue. what the gospel is. They think they 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:20.900 know, but they don't understand what the gospel 00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:23.820 really is. They've never heard it. And it may 00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:26.519 be because they have never had it come to them. 00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:31.099 It has to come first into their sphere, into 00:35:31.099 --> 00:35:37.679 their life realm. And then when someone proclaims 00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:40.780 it, they can hear it. But that's not conversion. 00:35:42.700 --> 00:35:45.079 Conversion is the third step where the gospel 00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:47.559 is understood. Notice he says you heard it and 00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:51.159 you understood it. So the route of the gospel 00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:55.800 is that first of all it comes through the life 00:35:55.800 --> 00:36:00.420 of someone and then it is heard as that message 00:36:00.420 --> 00:36:04.340 is shared and then by God's grace there will 00:36:04.340 --> 00:36:08.000 be those who understand it, who will know it 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:12.500 in the deepest sense. Now it requires God's intervention 00:36:12.500 --> 00:36:16.300 for that to happen. Turn back to Ephesians for 00:36:16.300 --> 00:36:19.440 just a moment. Let me remind you of the condition 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:25.320 of the natural human heart. Chapter 4. By the 00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:28.920 way, Ephesians is a twin epistle of Colossians. 00:36:29.059 --> 00:36:35.420 The two of them share a lot of commonality. Verse 00:36:35.420 --> 00:36:38.420 17, Ephesians 4, this I say therefore and affirm 00:36:38.420 --> 00:36:40.519 together with the Lord that you walk no longer 00:36:40.519 --> 00:36:43.760 as the Gentiles also walk. That is the unsaved, 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:48.639 the pagans. How do they walk? In the futility 00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:53.039 of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, 00:36:53.920 --> 00:36:56.260 excluded from the life of God because of the 00:36:56.260 --> 00:36:58.829 ignorance that is in them. because of the hardness 00:36:58.829 --> 00:37:01.690 of their heart. Notice how Paul just piles up 00:37:01.690 --> 00:37:07.250 these words showing how desperately wicked is 00:37:07.250 --> 00:37:11.789 the natural human heart. How impossible it is 00:37:11.789 --> 00:37:16.670 for someone to really understand what he hears 00:37:16.670 --> 00:37:22.670 unless the Spirit of God drives it home. Unless 00:37:22.670 --> 00:37:26.090 God opens the understanding so that there can 00:37:26.090 --> 00:37:30.730 be faith. If our gospel is hid, it is hid to 00:37:30.730 --> 00:37:32.969 those who are lost, and whom the God of this 00:37:32.969 --> 00:37:35.789 world has blinded the minds of those who believe 00:37:35.789 --> 00:37:39.389 not. Lest the light of the glorious gospel of 00:37:39.389 --> 00:37:42.269 Christ should shine to them. So it's not only 00:37:42.269 --> 00:37:44.809 the hardness of the human heart, it is satanic 00:37:44.809 --> 00:37:50.230 blindness that we're dealing with. But Paul thanks 00:37:50.230 --> 00:37:53.869 God, because you see the gospel is the power 00:37:53.869 --> 00:37:59.340 of God unto salvation. So it will progress even 00:37:59.340 --> 00:38:01.639 though there are many obstacles even though the 00:38:01.639 --> 00:38:06.760 human heart is hardened The gospel will proceed 00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:09.739 it will advance and it will accomplish what God 00:38:09.739 --> 00:38:14.780 wants it to accomplish Paul writes with gratitude 00:38:14.780 --> 00:38:19.559 for the work of the gospel Inside and outside 00:38:19.559 --> 00:38:23.260 Inside it was changing their lives. There was 00:38:23.260 --> 00:38:28.679 the fruit of hope and faith and love, and on 00:38:28.679 --> 00:38:31.559 the outside the gospel was progressing, it was 00:38:31.559 --> 00:38:37.099 advancing. What's the gospel doing in your life? 00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:43.139 How's the gospel bringing about change in your 00:38:43.139 --> 00:38:50.480 outlook? In your up look? In your forward look? 00:38:52.860 --> 00:38:56.869 What's the gospel doing outside? How is it progressing 00:38:56.869 --> 00:38:59.170 through you? You know, if it's going to progress 00:38:59.170 --> 00:39:01.909 through us, we have to be people like Epiphras. 00:39:03.789 --> 00:39:06.570 Epiphras was with Paul. He's part of the prayer 00:39:06.570 --> 00:39:10.150 circle. And so if the gospel is going to progress 00:39:10.150 --> 00:39:12.630 through us, first of all, we have to be people 00:39:12.630 --> 00:39:17.409 of prayer. We have to be people who know what 00:39:17.409 --> 00:39:21.349 it is to pray. Secondly, like Epiphras, we have 00:39:21.349 --> 00:39:24.989 to have an attitude of service. And say, Lord, 00:39:25.210 --> 00:39:28.530 I'm yours. You have redeemed me. You have purchased 00:39:28.530 --> 00:39:31.809 me with your own blood. I am your servant. I 00:39:31.809 --> 00:39:35.269 am your slave. You tell me what you want me to 00:39:35.269 --> 00:39:41.530 do. And third, we have to be faithful to our 00:39:41.530 --> 00:39:45.809 calling. We have to be loyal. We have to be there. 00:39:46.050 --> 00:39:48.949 What is faithfulness? We've even lost sight of 00:39:48.949 --> 00:39:53.320 the definition of that word. Faithfulness is 00:39:53.320 --> 00:39:56.820 not doing something occasionally. Faithfulness 00:39:56.820 --> 00:40:00.739 is not doing something when you feel like it. 00:40:01.099 --> 00:40:03.619 Faithfulness is doing it. It's making a commitment 00:40:03.619 --> 00:40:07.880 and sticking with it. Thank God Jesus is not 00:40:07.880 --> 00:40:10.460 our faithful high priest just when he feels like 00:40:10.460 --> 00:40:14.159 it. Thank God he's not our faithful high priest 00:40:14.159 --> 00:40:18.639 every other week. Thank God he's not our high 00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:24.630 priest who's faithful a year at a time. But he 00:40:24.630 --> 00:40:27.630 is our high priest, faithful in service, and 00:40:27.630 --> 00:40:30.650 he is there constantly on our behalf. And that's 00:40:30.650 --> 00:40:35.469 what faithfulness is. It means to understand 00:40:35.469 --> 00:40:38.610 what our service is for Jesus Christ and to stick 00:40:38.610 --> 00:40:41.449 with it. When it's easy, when it's tough, when 00:40:41.449 --> 00:40:44.730 it's fun, when it's work, we stick with it because 00:40:44.730 --> 00:40:47.210 it's the right thing to do. And when you and 00:40:47.210 --> 00:40:53.380 I become a people of prayer. When we have an 00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:58.960 attitude of service, when we are faithful to 00:40:58.960 --> 00:41:01.780 the work God's called us to do, then the gospel 00:41:01.780 --> 00:41:06.239 is going to progress through us where God wants 00:41:06.239 --> 00:41:15.019 it to go. John Knox was the founder of the Presbyterian 00:41:15.019 --> 00:41:20.219 Church in Scotland. Very near the end of his 00:41:20.219 --> 00:41:25.420 life he was quite ill and said to his wife, read 00:41:25.420 --> 00:41:28.980 me that scripture where I first cast my anchor. 00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:36.219 She read to him the 17th chapter of John. This 00:41:36.219 --> 00:41:41.539 seemed to revive him. He began to pray. He prayed 00:41:41.539 --> 00:41:44.619 for his fellow men. He prayed for the ungodly 00:41:44.619 --> 00:41:47.519 who had rejected the gospel in his preaching. 00:41:48.789 --> 00:41:51.949 He pleaded on behalf of people who had been recently 00:41:51.949 --> 00:41:57.389 converted. It was a dangerous time to be a real 00:41:57.389 --> 00:42:00.489 Christian, and so he prayed for God's protection 00:42:00.489 --> 00:42:04.690 upon those who were facing persecution. And while 00:42:04.690 --> 00:42:11.130 he was praying, he died and his spirit went to 00:42:11.130 --> 00:42:17.150 be with the Lord. That's why the gospel advanced 00:42:17.150 --> 00:42:20.489 in Scotland. That's why Mary the Queen of Scots 00:42:20.489 --> 00:42:24.750 said, I fear his prayers more than I do the armies 00:42:24.750 --> 00:42:30.690 of my enemies. That's quite a statement. And 00:42:30.690 --> 00:42:34.869 that's what it takes to get the work done. We 00:42:34.869 --> 00:42:37.170 can thank God for the gospel, for what it's doing 00:42:37.170 --> 00:42:40.969 in us, and I trust what it's doing through us, 00:42:41.230 --> 00:42:54.780 for the glory of God. Let's pray together. I'd 00:42:54.780 --> 00:42:58.340 like for us to sing that chorus again, Lord prepare 00:42:58.340 --> 00:43:02.440 me to be a sanctuary. Perhaps we can get the 00:43:02.440 --> 00:43:04.519 words back up on the slide, perhaps you know 00:43:04.519 --> 00:43:08.079 the words, but you know that's what we are, a 00:43:08.079 --> 00:43:12.980 vessel, a sanctuary, a place for God to be doing 00:43:12.980 --> 00:43:17.559 his work in us and through us. So as we close 00:43:17.559 --> 00:43:20.059 this service, let's close with this spirit of 00:43:20.059 --> 00:43:24.780 prayer. Let it be with thanksgiving that God 00:43:24.780 --> 00:43:29.559 has even in grace called us out of our sin and 00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:33.519 wickedness, out of our hardness and ignorance. 00:43:34.460 --> 00:43:40.480 He's called us to the gospel. And out of thankful 00:43:40.480 --> 00:43:44.019 hearts, let's say to him, Lord, prepare me. When 00:43:44.019 --> 00:43:48.719 you've prepared me, Lord, use me. Father, I pray 00:43:48.719 --> 00:43:52.239 that you will use this closing chorus to seal 00:43:52.239 --> 00:43:56.800 in our hearts the work of your Spirit through 00:43:56.800 --> 00:44:04.400 your Word in this hour. In Jesus' name, amen. 00:44:06.619 --> 00:44:21.190 Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary Pure and holy, 00:44:21.809 --> 00:44:32.650 bright and true. With thanksgiving I'll be a 00:44:32.650 --> 00:44:43.539 living sanctuary. Let's stand together please 00:44:43.539 --> 00:44:45.980 and sing it once more with bowed heads to the 00:44:45.980 --> 00:44:57.159 Lord. Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure 00:44:57.159 --> 00:45:07.940 and holy, tried and true, with thanksgiving. 00:45:24.470 --> 00:45:32.369 Lord, be at home in our lives. Be the Lord of 00:45:32.369 --> 00:45:36.730 our lives. We give ourselves to you as servants. 00:45:38.599 --> 00:45:42.900 And we say to you that we will faithfully carry 00:45:42.900 --> 00:45:45.840 out our duties until that day that we see you 00:45:45.840 --> 00:45:50.760 face to face. Let that hope motivate the faith 00:45:50.760 --> 00:45:56.599 and the love in our lives this day. In Jesus' 00:45:56.940 --> 00:46:00.639 name, amen. We're dismissed.