I wrote this sermon for Methods of Bible Exposition at Bob Jones University on March 13, 2002.
FCF – Christians need to be reminded and motivated to pursue Christian growth.
Proposition – Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a new walk.1
I. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a knowledge filled walk (9–10a).
A. A proper walk is based upon right knowledge (9).
1. Spiritual wisdom
2. Spiritual understanding
B. All right knowledge demands a proper walk (10a).
1. That is worthy of God
2. That pleases God
II. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a fruit-producing walk (10).
A. In every area (10a)
1. In actions
2. In attitudes
B. By the knowledge of God (10b)
III. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a grace empowered walk (11).
A. God’s infinite might is the source (11a).
1. It is according to His might
2. It is not according to our need
B. Your steadfastness and patience is the goal (11b).
1. Definition of steadfastness
2. Definition of patience
IV. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a joyously thankful walk (12–14).
A. You have been given an inheritance in light (12).
B. You have been rescued from darkness (13).
C. You have been ransomed and forgiven (14).
Scripture Introduction: Turn in your Bibles this evening to Colossians 1. We will be considering verses 1–11. This passage is a prayer of Paul for people who were recently converted. This prayer contains what the next steps need to be as they pursue to grow in their Christian lives. The Christian life is all about living in a manner worthy of God so that he is pleased. Even you who have been saved for years—this passage if for you, because no one in this life will ever attain to a flawless walk that pleases God in every area. Look into this passage with me at what God wants to change in your live tonight. Follow along closely in your Bible as we read our passage together, Colossians 1:9–14. “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued 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.” Let’s all pray now and ask for God’s help and blessing upon our time in His Word. Dear Father….
Sermon Introduction: Image with me a story about a guy named Tim. Tim was a high school senior, a good athlete, good looking, and did well in all of his classes. But Tim did not know the Lord. Fortunately Matt, an acquaintance from school, showed interest in Tim and invited him to a youth activity at his church. Tim was confronted with the gospel for the first time, and he was under intense conviction. He did not make a decision then, but was converted a few weeks later because of Matt’s continued witness and testimony. Tim began to have an interest in the things of God; he began to read his Bible and share his faith. But being as popular as he was, Tim had many friends who were not the right kind of influence in his life. He continued to hang out with those guys, but he did not feel as comfortable around them any more. His new friendship with Matt was a great joy to him, but he did not want to abandon all that he had before. He was being torn between two worlds. He knew that if he continued in the same type of relationship with his former unbelieving friends that he would not grow in his new relationship with Christ. But at the same time he did not want to give up his popularity. What should he do? What would you do in that circumstance? You see, the truth remains the same for you as it was for Tim—the same thing that was true of the Colossians—Christians need to be reminded and motivated to pursue Christian growth. In our text we will see explicit instruction as to how Christian are to live and grow, instructions for new and old Christians alike. The truth that God want you to learn today is that because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a new walk.
I. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a knowledge filled walk (9–10a).
Illustration: Imagine with me a newlywed couple, John and Sarah. They had just finished the ceremony and were now off on their way for their honeymoon. You can imagine the joy and excitement that they had, getting now to spend the rest of their lives together. Obviously the newly married John and Sarah long to please each other. And in their relationship came ample opportunities to show this. One happened just a few weeks later, as Valentines Day approached. John was seeking for a way to please Sarah. He wondered what would make her happy. But how will he know this? He must know her and her desires in order to please her. As he pondered what to get her, he boiled down his choices to a dozen long-stem red roses with chocolate and a night out at a special restaurant in town or a blender. What do you think he ended up going with? What would you have bought for her? Obviously, the choice wasn’t too difficult. Why, because he knew His wife and what she loved, and because of his desire to please her, he wanted to do that very thing. In the same way, in order for us to live in a way that pleases God, we must know His will, what it is that pleases him, and what does not. Do you know your God well enough to live in a way that pleases Him? (Made up)
Application: Since knowledge of God’s will is prerequisite to a walk that pleases Him, it is absolutely essential that the Christian life begin with a pursuit of the knowledge of God’s will. But where do you go to find this? There is many out there telling people to look all over the place for God’s will, but the Scripture claims to be God’s sole revelation of His will for His people. A commitment then to please God is a commitment to know the Scriptures. You are faced with this task every day. Tomorrow you will have the opportunity to gain more knowledge of God’s will. But as is often the case, your days are crowded with so many activities of less importance. You may have much to do at work, projects at home that need to be taken care of, sporting events that your children are involved in, and on and on the list could go. But will you seek to set your mind on the things of God so that you may better please Him by your live? Maybe for you it is not spending time daily in the Word, but very infrequent exposure to the preaching of the Word, or lack of ever sharing the Word with others. But God’s grace is sufficient to enable you to seek His will in His Word. Ask Him for His grace to help you live in a way pleasing to Him by knowing His will.
Transition: A right knowledge of God’s will is the means for walking worthy of God, but now let us see the nature of that kind of walk.
II. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a fruit-producing walk (10).
Illustration: Over 2,000 years ago a young Greek artist named Timanthes studied under a respected tutor. After several years the teacher’s efforts seemed to have paid off when Timanthes painted an exquisite work of art. It was quite apparent that he had produced a fine painting. But what would his response be to this success? What would you have done? Unfortunately, he became so enraptured with the painting that he spent days gazing at it. One morning when he arrived to admire his work, he was shocked to find it blotted out with paint. Angry, Timanthes ran to his teacher, who admitted that he had destroyed the painting. “I did it for your own good. That painting was retarding your progress. Start again and see if you can do better.” Timanthes took his teacher’s advice and produced Sacrifice of Iphigenia, which is regarded as one of the finest paintings of antiquity. In the same way that Timanthes had to continue to grow and progress in his life as a painter, so you as a Christian must grow and progress, not being impaired by distractions. (sermonillustrations.com)
Application: A characteristic of a Christian walk that pleases God is growth and progress and fruitfulness. In essence this means that you must be becoming more like Christ. Are you right now moving forward in your walk with God? Is it apparent to others that you are a Christian? Maybe you are giving into pressure from unbelievers at work. You have tried to show Christ through your life and speech but have gotten ridiculed and laughed at. You have spoken up a word for Christ, but the response has discouraged you. But you don’t have to respond this way. Christ can enable you to bear His reproach by His grace. Maybe you are not spending time with the one who creates the fruit, or maybe you are not spending time ministering to others. Whatever the area of your lack of fruitfulness, you can change by God’s grace.
Transition: This growing and fruit-bearing walk is what pleases God, but how can we have strength to live that way?
III. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a grace empowered walk (11).
Illustration: In a seminary class on missions, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years. Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life. For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work. This seems to be a foolish waste of what was available to this missionary, yet do you not do the same thing almost daily? The grace and empowering of God is available to you, yet how often you try to live without tapping into the power of His grace because you have not taken the time to check for loose cables (sermonillustrations.com).
Application: God wants us to live every day in the power of His grace. The fruitfulness that we talked about in the previous verse is a pointless discussion apart from the grace of God to produce it. You must see yourself as absolutely dependent upon the grace and empowering work of God. This coming week, as you are in the workplace and have opportunity to speak a Word of the grace of God in Christ—don’t attempt to do so in the power of your flesh. Call to God for His grace to enable you. Even though you may think they will not be interested or will criticize you for your faith, ask God for His power to be bold and unwavering, regardless of how your coworkers will respond. You can do right by the grace of God. Maybe you will be tempted to lose your temper with your children, or speak unkindly to your spouse, or respond to that bad driver on the way to work. But God’s grace is available and able to enable you to overcome all of these situations. Seek the grace of God to walk in a way that pleases Him.
Transition: Now that we have seen the means of our new walk, the quality of it, and the source of strength to do it, let us look finally as the manner in which we are to walk as children of Christ’s kingdom.
IV. Because you are in a new kingdom, you must pursue a joyously thankful walk (12–14).
Illustration: My Grandmother suffers from great physical ailments. She is in continual pain and suffering. And if I were to take the time to list them all out it would take the rest of the day. She has broken many bones and had hip replacements. She suffers from fibromyalgia—a decaying of the inside of the bone, which causes continual electrical sensations throughout her feet and legs. Just last summer she suffered a stroke and now cannot get around except with the help of her husband and a walker. What does she have to be thankful for? She has poor health and no wealth. How would you respond in this type of situation? Would you be complaining and bitter? Or would you be joyfully giving thanks to God? Most would expect a negative response to this kind of suffering, thinking, “What does someone like that have to be thankful for?” Yet my Grandmother is probably the most joyful and thankful person that I have ever met. She will acknowledge her pain, but always rejoicing that she has so much to be thankful for. How can she respond this way? She recognizes what she has been given that is supremely valuable—her deliverance from the domain of Satan and acceptance into the family of God. In the same way, your life needs to be a continual testimony of joy and thanksgiving, because you have everything to be thankful for. This is the kind of walk that is worthy of God (personal story).
Application: God is pleased by a life of joy and thanksgiving because of the salvation that he has given you. As you go through life, you must maintain joyfulness and thanksgiving to God in spite of the circumstances that you may experience. Let’s say that you get up tomorrow morning and feel very tired. You go out to the car and can’t get it to start. Your wife runs you to work, and you are “greeted” by an angry boss. You have more work to do than you can keep up with. At this point to you may be thinking, “What is there to be joyful and thankful about?” But this is when you must remember that God has saved you and forgiven all your sins. You have great cause to rejoice and be thankful. Maybe you will lose your job, your wealth, your home, your health, or your spouse. Maybe you will not even lose anything. In prosperity and in loss, God wants the believer to be joyful and thankful as he travels through life. Remember your salvation, and live the thankfulness of life that is worthy of God.
Conclusion: The Christian life is a life that demands a certain way of living. Because God has saved you and given you faith in Christ, making you a part of His Son’s kingdom, you must then pursue a new walk, a new way of life. You must pursue to know the will of God, to be ever growing and bearing fruit, to be relying upon God’s gracious enabling, and to be continually thankful and joyful in light of your salvation. We left Tim earlier at the decision of choosing make a break with his past and begin to get serious about pleasing God. Well, because of God’s grace and the spiritual encouragement of Matt, he chose to walk in a way that he knew would be worthy of God. Be broke close relationships that he had with those who mocked Christianity and lived for the lusts of their flesh. He realized that God had saved him and made him a member of a new kingdom and therefore he had a new way of life. Today you have the same choice. Will you go one to pursue a more vibrant spiritual life? Will you give up certain things that may be standing in your way to full obedience to God? Maybe it will be breaking relationships or removing sinful influences, but regardless of what it may require, make the decision to pursue the will of God so that you can live worthily of Him in a way that pleases Him, because he has given you a new life in His Son.
Notes
1. Even though I am using the terminology of vv. 12–14 for the truth statement, I am reflecting the universal truth found in v. 9 expressed by the phrase Διὰ τοῦτο. The apostle points back to the newfound faith of the Colossians as the basis for his present prayer for them that they would pursue sanctification. Because they have come to faith in Christ, Paul prays for them to know God’s will in order to walk worthy of God. Thus, by implication, because they have come to faith in Christ, they must pursue to walk worthy of God. ↩