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We can turn in your Bibles to 
the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter one. As we continue the 
theme we began this morning with reference to thankfulness to 
God. The apostle in his prayer expresses 
the need to express thankfulness to God. So we'll read chapter 
one, and then our focus will be specifically on verses 10 
to 14. So beginning in chapter one, 
verse one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, 
and Timothy, our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren 
in Christ who are in Colossae, grace to you and peace from God 
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to the 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love 
for all the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for 
you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth 
of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all 
the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you 
since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. As 
you also learn from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who 
is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared 
to us your love in the Spirit. For this reason, we also, since 
the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that 
you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and 
spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, 
fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing 
in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His 
glorious power for all patience and long suffering with joy. 
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers 
of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered 
us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom 
of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His 
blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible 
God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created 
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 
All things were created through him and for him. And he is before 
all things, and in him all things consist. And he is the head of 
the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn 
from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. 
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should 
dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, 
whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace 
through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated 
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 
in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and 
blameless and above reproach in His sight. If indeed you continue 
in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the 
hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to 
every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. 
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh 
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his 
body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according 
to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you 
to fulfill the word of God. the mystery which has been hidden 
from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to 
his saints. To them, God willed to make known what are the riches 
of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is 
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every 
man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present 
every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end, I also labor, striving 
according to his working, which works in me mightily. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you again for the written word of the living and the true 
God. We know it's profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, 
and instruction in righteousness. And God, as we consider your 
word tonight, may your Holy Spirit guide us and lead us and direct 
us into all truth. May we see the glory of Jesus 
Christ in the gospel of our salvation, the blessedness of God the Father, 
the power of the Holy Spirit. May our hearts be thrilled at 
what the triune God has done for us, and may we respond with 
gratitude, with thankfulness, knowing that your goodness is 
so profuse. We ask again for the forgiveness 
of all of our sin, and we pray now through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, when you read the epistles 
of the Apostle Paul, you'll notice at times that he shares what 
he prays for with reference to the churches that he writes to. 
And that can be very instructive for us as the people of God. 
Sometimes people say, I'm not really sure how I ought to pray. 
Well, take up Scripture and follow the Apostle's example. Take up 
Scripture and see how Paul prays and what things Paul prays for. 
And I think we have a specimen sample here in the passage before 
us, specifically in verses 9 to 14. We notice in the first place, 
just by way of an overview, the occasion of his prayer in verse 
9a. Notice, for this reason we also, 
since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you. In 
other words, since he had heard of their reception of the gospel, 
since he had known of their walking in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
they made it onto his prayer list. In other words, he saw 
that work of God in the church here in Colossae, and as a result, 
he goes to God on their behalf. And again, notice the emphasis. 
We do not cease to pray for you. So he commences when he hears 
of the Colossians, and then he engages in this frequently. He 
doesn't cease. Notice then the content of his 
prayer, and we see that in verses 9b to 14. So after saying, we 
do not cease to pray for you, he goes on to say, and to ask 
that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all 
wisdom and spiritual understanding. In other words, we want you to 
have that reception of the power and the presence of the Holy 
Spirit. We want you to have that knowledge 
of His will. We want you to have all wisdom 
and we want you to have all spiritual understanding so that you're 
fit and equipped and ready and able to live the Christian life 
in a manner that is consistent with the God who called you out 
of darkness into marvelous light. We have seen this emphasis in 
our study through Ephesians. The Apostle Paul tells us to 
let our conduct be worthy of the gospel. Walk in such a way 
as is fitting to him who called you to himself by grace through 
faith. And then notice specifically 
what he says in verse 10, that you may walk worthy of the Lord. 
Now remember, brethren, we are not saved because of our worthy 
walk. We engage in a worthy walk because we have been saved. This 
isn't the cause of our salvation. It is rather the consequence 
or the effect of our salvation. We are justified freely by God's 
grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ so that we may now 
walk in a manner that is consistent with His calling. so that you 
may walk worthy of the Lord." Then he goes on to say in verse 
10, fully pleasing Him. Now the substance of the sermon 
is on what follows here in verses 10b to 14. I think that what 
Paul does in verses 10b to 14 is explain for us or flesh out 
for us what this walk looks like. What does it look like that you 
may walk worthy of the Lord? What does it look like that you 
may fully please Him? Again, he doesn't leave us to 
wonder. He doesn't leave us to sort of figure it out. He doesn't 
leave us to try and understand what the mind and the will of 
God is apart from special revelation. No, the apostle fleshes it out 
by means of four participles. Four sort of action nouns that 
function as verbs. And he does that in four ways. 
Notice he speaks concerning the place of good works in verse 
10b. Second, the knowledge of God 
in verse 10c. The provision of God's strength 
or strength in verse 11. And then finally, the importance 
of thankfulness in verses 12 to 14. So let's look first at 
the place of good work. So that you may walk worthy of 
the Lord, fully pleasing Him. Then notice, being fruitful in 
every good work. Being fruitful in every good 
work. Again, we're justified by faith 
alone. We're not justified by a mixture 
of our faith plus works. We're not Roman Catholics. We're 
not New Perspective on Paul. We're not Federal Vision. We 
don't collapse the distinction of justification and sanctification. 
We're justified freely by God's grace through faith in Christ 
Jesus. Now, once that obtains, by God's 
grace, we then enter into the life of sanctification. And in 
this life of sanctification, we engage in good works, or at 
least we seek to engage in good works. 2nd London Confession, 
chapter 11, paragraph 2, says, faith thus receiving and resting 
on Christ and His righteousness is the alone instrument of justification. Yet it is not alone in the person 
justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, 
and is no dead faith, but worketh by love. So that emphasis that 
we find in the Bible, we are His workmanship created in Christ 
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should 
walk in them. So we're not saved by works, 
but we are saved unto works. Look at one other passage. Notice 
in Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1, specifically at 
verse 4. It says, just as He chose us 
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame. He didn't choose us because we 
were holy and without blame, but He chose us in order that 
we may become holy and without blame. So the apostle highlights 
or underscores justification by faith alone, but on the heels 
of that, or in connection with that, there is good works. And 
so this is a contrast with their former conduct. This is a contrast 
with their former ways. Drop down to verse 21. Notice, 
"...and you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked 
works." So he's dealing with a people that understood all 
too well bad works. They understood all too well 
wickedness and evil and godlessness. So now that they're justified 
freely by God's grace, now that he has called upon or called 
upon God in terms of prayer, that they may walk worthy of 
the Lord, fully pleasing Him, it goes on to say, being fruitful 
in every good work. And again, notice in chapter 
3 at verse 7, what they had been and what they, by God's grace, 
are now. We'll look at 3.5, Therefore 
put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, 
uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath 
of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you 
yourselves once walked when you lived in them. So they had this 
former conduct, and Paul now calls upon them to engage in 
a present conduct, one that is consistent with their calling 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice, secondly, he wants 
them to increase in the knowledge of God. He wants them to grow 
in their understanding of the Christian system of truth. He 
wants them to understand justification by faith alone, but in the life 
of sanctification, He wants them to achieve more knowledge. He 
wants them to have more understanding. The Apostle knows that it's the 
knowledge of God that steadies the saint. It's the knowledge 
of God that encourages the saint. It's the knowledge of God that 
comforts the saint. If you are in the doldrums, or 
you are down and depressed and melancholic, or you've got many 
challenges, what is it that lifts you out of the pit? Is it a view 
of yourself? Is it a view of how good you 
are? No, it's a view of how good Christ is, and what a gracious 
God is. And when you start to conduct 
yourself the way David does in Psalm 103, bless the Lord, O 
my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. When 
you talk to yourself about the goodness of God, and you increase 
in the knowledge of God, that's what Paul says is involved in 
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. In 
other words, God wants you, in the language of 2 Peter 3.18, 
to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, 
Jesus Christ. He wants you to experience what 
Jesus says in John 17 3, and this is eternal life, that they 
may know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
sent. When you look at the Old Testament prophets, oftentimes 
they were upbraided because they were stagnant, because they didn't 
increase. because they didn't know God, 
or they had some sort of an external confession of God, there was 
no experiential enjoyment of Him. By experiential enjoyment, 
I'm not suggesting apart from the Word. I'm not suggesting 
apart from Revelation. I'm not suggesting we tune out 
and tune in with God. No, it's through Scripture study. 
It's through meditation and contemplation upon the Word. It's through increasing 
in the knowledge of God that we walk pleasing to the Lord. In other words, it's love the 
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Our 
minds are to be engaged in the pursuit of theology, and Paul 
commends that in this particular area. Now notice thirdly, he 
wants us to be strengthened. So again, this is prayer, that 
you may walk worthy of the Lord. fully pleasing Him, being fruitful 
in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. And 
then notice in verse 11, strengthened with all might, according to 
His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy. Before 
we proceed, does Paul's prayers look like our prayers? Or better 
yet, do our prayers look like Paul's prayers? Is this the kind 
of stuff that you and I are praying for relative to our children, 
relative to our spouses? Yeah, bless them with good health. 
That's a perfectly good petition. But it's a perfectly good petition 
that they would indeed increase in the knowledge of God, that 
they would increase in the production of good works. that they would 
have the strength of God Almighty to enable them to deal with the 
various afflictions and hardships and trials that prevail upon 
us in this world. In other words, are we praying 
for one another in such a way that we sound like the Apostle 
Paul? Have we ever prayed for another church in this particular 
manner? It's a good thing for us to follow 
these examples and to pray relative to the Apostle's methodology 
here. But notice this provision of 
strength. He says, strengthened with all might, according to 
His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy. So 
this is the divine provision. He's not praying, you know, I 
just want you guys to get stronger. No, I want God to strengthen 
you. I want God, who has this power, 
this exceeding great power, to meet it out to you. I want Him 
to fill you. I want Him to enable you. I want 
Him to help you in terms of compliance. Notice the specific focus with 
reference to this power. According to His glorious power 
for all patience and long-suffering, Huh, we need power in order to 
be patient and long-suffering? Try to be patient and long-suffering 
without divine aid. How does that work? Brethren, 
we need God's aid. We need His assistance. We need 
His provision in order to live in a manner that is consistent 
with this worthy walk, pleasing Him. If we don't have divine 
power, if we don't have that strength, if we don't have that 
ability, we're not gonna be patient with one another. We're not going 
to have long-suffering, and it's certainly not going to be attended 
by joy. We're going to be short-fused. 
We're going to be irritated and irritable. And notice, the specific 
strength and view is to aid in the twin graces of patience and 
long-suffering. What's the difference here? I 
think one has well explained it. Patience is resolute endurance 
under difficult circumstances. Resolute endurance under difficult 
circumstances. In other words, don't necessarily 
pray for the removal of the burden. Pray that God would strengthen 
your shoulders so that you can carry the burden. I think that's 
the patience that is in view. Resolute endurance under difficult 
circumstances. I think this is God word. There 
are things that happen in the believer's life. There are trials 
that come to the people of God. There are afflictions associated 
with life in a present evil age. So what do we need in terms of 
that? We need the patience that doesn't call God into question, 
the patience that doesn't murmur against Him, the patience that 
doesn't grumble against Him, the patience that is content 
with His divine government and that strength that He affords 
to us as we traverse this lower world. But then the long-suffering 
is patient endurance that does not retaliate against others. 
So in other words, this is the man-word effect. God-word, we 
have patience, we don't murmur or grumble under His government. 
But in terms of this long-suffering, we're gracious in the context 
of the Church. We don't have that spirit of 
vengeance. We don't have that spirit of 
intolerance. We don't have that spirit of 
trying to get back at everybody. So the apostle knows that these 
things are not native to the hearts of people. They're not 
even native to the hearts of God's people post-regeneration. So he prays specifically that 
they would have this strength from on high, that they would 
be able to engage in life with all patience and long-suffering, 
and to do so with joy. to do so with joy. Psalm attached 
the with joy to the thanksgiving mentioned in verse 12. I think 
that the with joy goes with the strength and should characterize 
the patience and longsuffering that strength is to aid with. 
In other words, this patience and long-suffering isn't just 
a grin and bear it. It's not just a stoic approach 
to things, but there's a joy involved. Run with endurance 
the race that is set before you in a joyful manner. You're not 
supposed to just do it, but you're supposed to do it as the blood-bought 
children of God, with joy and with happiness and with a contentedness. And again, brethren, these aren't 
lessons learned in one sermon or in one brief read over Colossians 
chapter 1. We need, by God's grace, to cultivate 
these things, to be able to deal with the various hardships that 
we face, and to do so in a manner that is consistent with this 
calling upon us. Remember, Paul is praying for 
the Colossians that they would achieve a degree of what he is 
specifying here. Verse 10, that you may walk worthy 
of the Lord, fully pleasing him. And what does that look like? 
Being fruitful in every good work. What does that look like? 
Increasing in the knowledge of God. What does that look like? 
Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power for all 
patients and long suffering with joy. And what does that look 
like? Fourthly, giving thanks to the Father. giving thanks 
to the Father. So you see, joy will be expressed 
in a thankful attitude. Joy will be expressed in this 
attitude of gratitude that expresses its delight in the God of heaven 
and earth. And when Paul gives us this particular 
emphasis, again, this is not something that is unique to Colossians 
1, verse 12. Look back at Colossians 1, verse 
3. We give thanks to the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. Paul 
thanked God for the Colossian church. Here, verse 12, but then 
notice in chapter 2 at verse 7. Well, verse 6, as you therefore 
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted 
and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been 
taught, abounding in it with Thanksgiving. Notice in chapter 
3, specifically at verse 15. And let the peace of God rule 
in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, 
and be thankful. Notice, let the word of Christ 
dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one 
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or 
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to 
God the Father through Him. Notice chapter 4, verse 2, continue 
earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Go back to Ephesians chapter 
5, you'll see that emphasis in verse 20. We'll just back up 
for a moment. Notice in verse 17, this is the 
passage we're coming to in our studies in Ephesians. The parallel 
in Colossians says, let the word of Christ dwell richly in you. 
What does it mean to have the word of Christ dwelling richly 
in you? Well, it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be filled 
with the Holy Spirit? It means to let the Word of Christ dwell 
in you. Because in both instances, when 
they're filled with the Holy Spirit, according to Ephesians 
5, and when they let the Word of Christ dwell in their hearts, 
according to Colossians 3, what then takes place? teaching and 
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." 
In other words, the filling of the Spirit is the understanding 
of Christ's Word. The understanding of Christ's 
Word is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the response 
is speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving 
thanks always for all things to God the Father, in the name 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of 
God. So Paul does a similar thing in chapter 5 of Ephesians. What does it look like to be 
filled with the Spirit? It looks like this. You'll speak to one 
another this way, you'll sing and make melody in your hearts 
this way, you'll give thanks to God this way, and you'll submit 
to one another in the fear of the Lord. In other words, you 
can quantify the various things that the apostle is saying. We 
ought to appreciate that in terms of the Bible. God doesn't say, 
I want you to just figure out sanctification. I just want you 
to, you know, do it the best you know. Do the best you can. 
No, He specifies for us what these worthy walks look like. 
He specifies for us what engagement in terms of growth in grace looks 
like. Now, back to Philippians. If 
we were to ask the question, what are we thankful for? I hope 
we don't have to ask that question, but let's just assume for the 
sake of argument that we did or we had to. Paul doesn't leave 
us wondering. Paul specifies specifically what 
he wants us to be thankful for in verses 12b to 14. In the first 
place, he wants us to be thankful that God the Father has qualified 
us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Why 
do you think he says, in the light? Because we've been called 
out of darkness. The Psalm that we read tonight, 
it says, those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound 
in affliction and irons, because they rebelled against the words 
of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. Therefore He 
brought down their heart with labor. They fell down. There 
was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord 
in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. 
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke 
their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks 
to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to 
the children of men, for He has broken the gates of bronze and 
cut the bars of iron in two. Paul picks up on an old motif 
as he communicates these truths to the people of God. He wants 
us to be thankful to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers 
of the inheritance of the saints in light. You know what that 
means? Briefly, it means we're going to heaven. He has qualified 
us by His grace so that when this veil of tears gives way, 
we enter into Emmanuel's land. He has qualified us for this 
inheritance. We didn't qualify ourselves. 
We didn't put us in that place of inheritor. It is God's grace 
that did this. It is God's grace in adoption, 
bringing us into the family of God. And as adoptees, as those 
blessed, as those joint or co-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ, we 
receive what He has received. He received exaltation in the 
right hand of God. We're not going to get that in 
terms of the right hand of God and that position of majesty 
and prestige, but we go to be in heaven where our blessed God, 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are. That's what Paul says we 
ought to be thankful for. I wonder, and I'm not indicting 
you, I know for me, I don't always think about heaven. I think I 
should think about heaven more. If I'm at least a little bit 
representative of the people of God, do we think about heaven 
a lot? Do we think about this qualification 
for this inheritance, that one day we're gonna enter into Emmanuel's 
land, that one day there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, 
no more death, no more hunger, no more thirst, no more bad things 
that affect us in this lower world. Brethren, we have a glorious 
future in our future. We have a glorious being or belonging 
with God the Lord. We are to be thankful for the 
qualification by God's grace for this inheritance. But then 
notice secondly, he says, we are to be thankful for the deliverance 
by God's grace from the kingdom of darkness. And this language 
again is suggestive of bondage. Go back to the book of Exodus, 
specifically Exodus chapter six, where I think we see some background 
to Paul's language here. Notice in Exodus chapter six, 
specifically at verse six, Therefore say to the children of Israel, 
I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under 
the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rescue you from their 
bondage and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and 
with great judgments. I will take you as my people 
and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am 
the Lord, your God, who brings you out from under the burdens 
of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land, which 
I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I will give it 
to you as a heritage. I am the Lord. He qualified the 
children of Israel to be inheritance for this inheritance in the promised 
land. How does he make good on that? 
He brings them out of bondage. He brings them out of darkness. 
He brings them out of that which enslaved them. And the apostle 
picks up the same theme here. We give thanks to the father 
who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
and the light, not earthly Canaan. Not earthly promised land, but 
the New Jerusalem. That's our inheritance. So how 
does God make good on this? Well, He does it according to 
verse 13. He has delivered us from the 
power of darkness. What we once were entrenched 
in, what we once were in bondage in. He broke the back of the 
captor. He broke the back of our bondage. He brought us out of that darkness. Turn to the book of Acts, Acts 
chapter 26. Acts 26, Paul has this language owing to our blessed 
Savior. Notice specifically Acts 26 at 
verse 11, I'm sorry, verse 17, I will deliver you from the Jewish 
people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you to open 
their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from 
the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness 
of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith 
in me. These two things go hand in hand 
where we're brought out of darkness, we're now qualified for this 
inheritance by God's grace, by God's kindness, by God's mercy. And then thirdly, because that's 
not the only part of the story, We're qualified for the inheritance, 
we are, because God delivered us from the power of darkness, 
but the rest of the story goes on in verse 13. He has delivered 
us from the power of darkness and conveyed us, or transferred 
us, into the kingdom of the Son of His love. This is how we're 
qualified for the inheritance. He's brought us out of darkness. 
He has put us in the kingdom of the son of his love. He has 
delivered us in such a way that what we once loved, we no longer 
love. What we once hated, we now love. 
There is this breach with sin. There is this breach in terms 
of the power of sin. There is this breach with reference 
to what has been our desire. God, in saving us from our sins, 
transfers us from one state to another. And in this transfer 
into the state of the kingdom of the Son of His love, We have 
blessedness, and we have cause for thankfulness. Remember, this 
is the context. You're to be thankful for the 
inheritance. You're to be thankful for the deliverance. You're to 
be thankful for this conveyance into the kingdom of the Son of 
God's love. John Eady makes the observation plainly, that kingdom 
which has Christ for its head and founder, which is partially 
developed on earth and shall be finally perfected in heaven. 
It's already done. We're out of darkness into the 
kingdom of the son of his love. but it isn't fully yet what it's 
going to be. Theologians talk about the already 
and the not yet. We've already received great 
blessing, but we've not yet entered into the fullness of that inheritance. 
We already have tasted the powers of the age to come, but we haven't 
fully entered into that glorious state. So there's that tension 
in the Christian life. We know where we're going, We 
know where we've been, and in all of this, we are to be thankful 
and express that gratitude to our blessed God that He does 
this through His power, through His grace, through the work of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Edie goes on to say, the word 
used here by Paul was often used to signify deportation of a body 
of men or the removal of them to form a colony. You've been 
conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Our citizenship, 
Paul will say in Philippians chapter 3, is in heaven, right? We are passing through this lower 
world. We are sojourners. Now, on the one hand, we're citizens 
of Canada and we should be responsible citizens and all that sort of 
thing, but in terms of our actual blessed citizenship, it's in 
heaven. Another man says, the imagery 
of verses 12 and 13 suggests that believers have been rescued 
from the gloomy domain and tyrannical rule of Satan by being transplanted 
as free colonists into the kingdom and peaceable sovereignty of 
Christ, to become citizens in the realm of light. We need to 
be thankful for this. We need to be thankful that He 
has transferred us. He has taken us from the kingdom 
of darkness and put us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. 
And again, notice the emphasis. We didn't do this. We didn't 
one day stumble onto the fact, well, we've been in this kingdom 
of darkness. I'm gonna choose for this kingdom of light. I'm 
gonna choose for this kingdom of the Son of His love. We don't 
do that. It's God. It is God's grace. It is God's 
will. It is God's purpose in our lives and in our hearts to 
convey us into this present possession. And then notice finally, this 
is all predicated upon the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, 
"...after having said, He has delivered us from the power of 
darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His 
love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness 
of sins." This comes as a result of the Son of God. This comes 
as a result of the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among 
us. The Word of God who lived a life 
of perfect obedience. The Word of God who died a sacrificial 
death as our substitute on Calvary. The Word of God who was raised 
again the third day. It is the reality that what Christ 
has accomplished secures for us this inheritance. secures 
for us this having been delivered from the power of darkness, secures 
for us this conveyance into the Kingdom, the Son of God's love. 
It is all predicated upon the glorious work of the Savior, 
and in that, the Apostle says, give thanks. When you ponder 
this, when you contemplate this, when you consider this, the right 
response is gratitude. The right response is, bless 
the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His 
holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and 
forget not all His benefits. Go to Psalm 103 and rehearse 
the benefits of God. Go to Colossians 1, verses 12 
to 14, and rehearse the benefits of God. And then this last statement 
in verse 14 is somewhat of a transition statement. He moves from prayer 
to theology or Christology. He moves from prayer to an explanation 
of the glory of the God-man who lived and died and raised again. 
Notice verse 15, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn 
over all creation. Firstborn there does not mean 
creature. Firstborn there means preeminent. 
Firstborn there means the regal, the royal, the glorious one. But notice, for by Him, by this 
Christ, all things were created that are in heaven and that are 
on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions 
or principalities or powers. All things were created through 
Him and for Him. And He is before all things, 
and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, 
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 
that in all things He may have the preeminence. So for Paul, 
prayer lends itself to this theology, this theology of who Jesus is 
and what he's accomplished on behalf of his people. And the 
high point, or rather the sort of main point, is there in verse 
14, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
of sins. Brethren, there is matter here 
for constant praise and adoration and thankfulness and gratitude. 
May God most high move our hearts in such a way that it's not one 
Monday in the calendar year that we take time to thank God. Hopefully 
our prayer closets hear us. If we could talk to the walls. 
What do you hear? Well, I hear this brother. I 
don't know that they'd call us brother, but I hear him thanking 
God. I hear thanking God. That's a 
good pattern for the believer. Psalm 103 and David's emphasis 
on blessing the Lord. Colossians 1 and Paul's emphasis 
on giving thanks. This is what it looks like to 
walk in a pleasing manner to the Lord Most High. We're not 
supposed to be grumbling. and murmuring and whining and 
complaining all the time. That's not supposed to characterize 
the children of God. We were in darkness. We now belong 
in the kingdom of the son of his love. Whatever may come our 
way, whatever hardship we may face, whatever affliction this 
world may throw at us, We have an inheritance with the saints 
in the light. We have heaven in our future. May that encourage us to walk 
in a manner that is consistent with our high calling in the 
Lord God most high. Well, brethren, hopefully this 
will stir us up to a gratitude and a thankfulness to the Lord, 
and may He indeed bless us and help us to be a faithful people 
that look something like what Paul prayed for in terms of the 
churches in his day. Well, let us pray. Our gracious 
God and Holy Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you 
for the clarity here in Colossians 1 and what we find the apostle 
praying for the saints in Colossae. God, I pray that you would help 
us as the church or as a church here in Chilliwack to manifest 
such characteristics. Help us, Lord God, to be fruitful 
in good works. Help us to be increasing in the 
knowledge of our blessed God. Help us to be strengthened with 
might for patience and long-suffering with joy. And God, may it be 
the case that we are characterized by a thankful heart, a thankful 
disposition, a disposition filled with gratitude as you have been 
gracious to us. We pray that you would be glorified 
in our lives as individuals, as families, and as the Church 
of Jesus Christ. And may it be the case all over 
this world, may it be that the people of God manifest that thankfulness 
to God. And we rejoice that you have 
qualified us for this inheritance. We rejoice that in the future 
we will be where Jesus Christ is. These eyes will lay hold 
of that blessed one who loved us and who gave himself for us. 
And we pray in his most wonderful name, amen. Well, you can turn 
with me to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26, as we transition 
into the Lord's Supper, I just want to remind us of a few things