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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Colossians 1. Colossians 1, just to remind 
you, we're looking at Paul's intercessory prayer for the Colossians. He indicates his thankfulness 
in prayer for the church in Colossae in verses 3 to 8. And then in 
verses 9 to 14, he highlights what it is He prays on their 
behalf. He tells us, or tells them specifically, 
those things which matter most at the throne of grace. We saw 
the occasion of His prayer. Verse 9, For this reason we also, 
since the day we heard it, Do not cease to pray for you. Paul 
had never been to Colossae. The church had been planted by 
Epaphras. While Paul is in prison, Epaphras 
comes and visits him and gives him an encouraging word about 
the church in Colossae and the fact that they had faith in Jesus 
Christ, they had love for all the brethren, and they had a 
hope laid up for them in Heaven. Paul says, for this reason, we 
don't cease to pray for you." He indicates the content of his 
prayer specifically in verse 9b. This is the petition. He says, we do not cease to pray 
for you, and then notice in verse 9, and to ask that you may be 
filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual 
understanding. Theology mattered to the Apostle 
Paul. Theology mattered so much that 
when he prayed for this church, he asked that they would be filled 
with the knowledge of God's will. And that not only being filled 
with that knowledge, they would have the wisdom and the spiritual 
understanding necessary to put that doctrine into practice. And the purpose for this prayer, 
the reason why Paul asks this, is found in verse 10. that you 
may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him." So doctrine, 
or what we understand about God, affects how we live for God. If we don't know Him, we won't 
walk worthy of Him. The idea, however, is that we, 
being filled with that knowledge, will walk consistently with it. We remember that the prophets 
of old indicted the nation of Israel so often for their lack 
of knowledge with reference to God. Well, I'll just read beginning 
in verse 9 to verse 14, and then we'll pick up in our exposition. 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, being strengthened with 
all might according to His glorious power for all patience and longsuffering 
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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
the Holy Scripture. We thank You that all Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God. and is profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. And our desire, Lord God, is 
that You would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work. We pray, 
Lord Most High, that You would help us to have that knowledge 
of God that produces a worthy walk fully pleasing to You. And 
our God, we pray that You would forgive us for all of our sins 
and transgressions. Cleanse us afresh in the blood 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fill us with Your Spirit and 
guide us and direct us into all truth so that we may indeed live 
as You would have us to do, Lord God. And we ask through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, remember last week 
we considered what if Paul was staying at our house and some 
morning we got up in the morning and we wanted to go to the bathroom 
and on the way to the bathroom we overheard the Apostle Paul 
praying. I don't doubt that most of us 
would be tempted to stop and put our ear to the door and listen 
to what our brother was praying for. Well, we would have heard 
him pray that God would fill us with the knowledge of His 
will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We would have 
heard Paul say, I want them to be filled with that knowledge 
so that they may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. And then we would have heard 
Paul describing what that worthy walk looks like. Hopefully we 
would then say, well, is that characteristic of my life? Is 
that how I walk with reference to the Lord? Because you see, 
that's what Paul does in the remaining section of this prayer. He goes on in verse 10, having 
said that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, 
to describe what that walk looks like. He gives four words. They're called participles. We 
know them as I-N-G words. Four of them to describe what 
this worthy walk looks like. Notice he says, one, being fruitful 
in every good work. Two, increasing in the knowledge 
of God. Three, being strengthened with 
all might. And four, giving thanks to the 
Father. So those four things are characteristic 
of a worthy walk. Those four things are what we 
ought to be displaying or demonstrating if our profession of faith is 
real, if it is legitimate, if it is genuine. In other words, 
these four things identify a biblical Christian walk. A walk that is 
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. And then Paul, in verse 
12, begins to make a transition from his prayer life to theology. He goes from telling them about 
how he prays on their behalf to getting in specifically to 
Christian theology. Because remember, Papyrus told 
Paul that the church was succumbing or falling prey to some false 
teaching. And so Paul realizes the best 
defense is a good offense. And so what he wants to do is 
enthrone Christ afresh to these Colossians so that they will 
be inoculated from the error and heresy that is being propagated 
there in Colossae. So we'll see something of that 
transition in verses 12-14. But first of all, the characteristics 
of a walk worthy of the Lord. Remember, we considered this. 
This is a very high calling. We have been saved by God's grace 
through faith in Jesus Christ so that we may walk worthy of 
the Lord. We are not saved simply so we 
can go sit down and we can just enjoy those benefits as private 
persons, never having any effect upon anyone else. No, we are 
saved to serve. We are saved to manifest the 
glory of God. He has called us out of darkness 
into His marvelous light so that we may proclaim His excellencies. So that we may testify to others 
who God is and what He's all about. Philippians 1.27, Paul 
says that we are to let our conduct be worthy of the Gospel. So we have a very high calling. We ought not to take these things 
lightly. We ought to count the costs. 
We ought to consider the implications of salvation by grace through 
faith. And that first mark of a worthy 
walk is fruitfulness in good works. That's what Paul says. 
He says, I want you to be fruitful in every good work. We're not saved by good works. 
We need to say this over and over and over again. Because 
the religion of man, the doctrine of Satan teaches this, that if 
you do enough good, you can secure a place in heaven. In other words, 
if your good works outweigh your bad works, then on that Day of 
Judgment, you'll hear, well done, good and faithful servant. That 
religion of man, that doctrine of Satan, is absolutely contrary 
to the Holy Bible. Grace alone, through faith alone 
in Jesus Christ alone, is the only way any of us will ever 
hear, well done, good and faithful servant. The Bible teaches the 
doctrine of total depravity, that man is completely and utterly 
sinful, that man's heart, according to the prophet Jeremiah, is deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked. The Bible teaches us 
that man has gone astray. All we light sheep have gone 
astray. Paul, when he summarizes human 
depravity, tells us in Romans 3, there is none righteous, no, 
not one. There is none who understands. 
There is none who seeks after God. There is none who has the 
fear of God before his eyes. The Bible is clear that we are 
not saved by good works. In fact, the capstone on Paul's 
teaching in Romans 3 concerning the universal problem of sin 
and condemnation is revealed this way. He says, therefore, 
by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. Now, I understand, brethren, 
that when we do the deeds of the law, we can look good to 
others. When we do the deeds of the law, 
we can impress friends and family. When we give an outward show 
of piety and religion, there will no doubt be people that 
say, what a good man, what a godly soul. But you see, Paul says, 
therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified 
in His sight. It is God with whom we have to 
do. And by our law keeping, by our 
good works, by our deeds of righteousness, there will be no flesh justified 
in His sight. God, through the prophet Isaiah, 
indicted the nation of Israel. He says, for your righteousnesses 
are like filthy rags. The very best that they had were 
like menstrual cloths, soiled and filthy before a thrice holy 
God. Paul tells us in Romans 3, one 
of the purposes for the law is so that we'll know sin. The law 
defines for us what is sinful conduct so that hopefully the 
sinner will then flee unto the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're not 
saved by works. We're not saved by our law-keeping, 
by our good works. Turn to Ephesians 2 to see this 
very clearly and very evidently. Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9. Ephesians 2 at verse 8, For by 
grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, 
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. We're not saved by works. We're 
not saved by good deeds. We're not saved by merit. We're 
saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Now, notice verse 10. We are 
not saved by good works, but we are saved unto good works. In other words, God saves us 
so that we'll then go out and let our light so shine before 
men that they may see our good works and give glory to God. Notice in verse 10 of Ephesians 
2. He says, For we are His workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand 
that we should walk in them. So even these good words, were 
prepared beforehand by our God so that we would walk in them. 
So you see, when Paul comes to pray, and Paul begins to define 
what a worthy walk looks like, he says, I want you to be increasing, 
or being fruitful rather, in every good work. We're not blobs. We're not spiritual slugs. We're not sloths. We're not saved 
just so we can lay on the couch and say, isn't it great to be 
saved? We're saved so that we'll work. Not for salvation, but 
because we're saved. It is natural. It is consistent. It is the fleshing out of what 
God has done in us. It is that desire to bring Him 
glory. It is that desire to manifest 
His praise. It is that desire to do what 
we do so that the spotlight may be shone upon our great God. 
So that when people say, wow, that's a good thing you've done, 
you deflect it and you give the glory to God. You don't say, 
well, it's because I'm a really good guy. I'm just a legitimately 
awesome dude. You ought to get to know me. 
You'll see even more stuff about me. No! The Christian mindset 
and ethic is to deflect all praise and glory unto God. John Calvin 
commenting says, what is here said to the Colossians, let all 
believers take as said to themselves and draw from this a common exhortation 
that we must always make progress in the doctrine of piety until 
death. This is what Paul says. This 
is what a worthy walk looks like, being fruitful in every good 
work. And when we ask the Bible, what 
is every good work, very often as Christians or religious types, 
we say, well, it's those things we do that are religious in nature. 
But that's not how the Bible identifies it. The Bible tells 
us that all things lawful, done for the glory of God, are indeed 
good works. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. Paul sets forth the inspiration, 
the profitability, the instructability of the Scriptures, and then he 
gives us this purpose, that the man of God may be thoroughly 
furnished unto every good work. In this very book of Colossians, 
we see a contrast between the good works that they're now supposed 
to practice and the wicked things that they used to practice. Notice 
in Colossians 1, at verse 21, "...and you who once were alienated 
and enemies in your mind by wicked works." In Colossians 3, as he 
tells them, they are to avoid vice, they are to put off those 
things that used to characterize their lives. He says in Colossians 
3, 7, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in 
them. Now you are to be fruitful in 
every good work. You have been saved by grace 
alone through faith alone so that you can put off those wicked 
works, so that you no longer walk in that conduct, and so 
that you now may honor the Lord God Most High who has saved you. Even the act of employment, us 
working for secular employers, is a good work. And the Bible 
recognizes this. Notice in Colossians 3, 22-24, 
bond servants obey in all things your masters according to the 
flesh, not with eye services, men pleasers, but in sincerity 
of heart, fearing God. You're working in that factory 
and you're slapping rivets on that door panel. You do it for 
the glory of God. It was Roman Catholicism and 
a lot of bad theology that made this secular, sacred distinction 
that only the priests and those in full-time Christian service 
can really honor God in every good work. Everything else is 
just a necessary evil. That is hogwash according to 
the Scripture. The preacher tells us in Ecclesiastes, 
whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. Do all 
things for the glory of God, whether you eat or whether you 
drink or whatever you do. Again, lawfully. I'm not saying 
when you visit prostitutes or when you take drugs. That's not 
the case. The only qualifier is that it's 
a lawful activity. That it's not something sinful 
in and of itself. Paul says, I want you being fruitful 
in every good work. Verse 23 of Colossians 3, And 
whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the 
inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ. When you take that time card 
and you punch in, it's Christ you serve. That's why in your 
workplace you ought to be the best. Not because you're working 
for the man, but because you're working for the God-man. You're 
rendering service unto the Lord Jesus. Women, tending to little 
children, tending to the home. These are good works. They are 
to be done for the glory of God Most High. They are done as a 
sacred act of worship unto the Lord. Paul characterizes Epaphroditus' 
visit to him in Philippians as an act of religious service. Epaphroditus was sent by the 
church in Philippi to take supplies and gifts to Paul, who was in 
prison. Paul calls that religious worship. 
Paul says this is sacrificial. This is an offering unto the 
Lord. You see, it's not just when you 
come in here, when you give a tithe or an offering, or you sing a 
hymn, or you bow in prayer, that you have somehow now gone into 
the realm of service to God. No, you are serving God 24-7 
as a Christian. God looks upon us. God is well 
pleased with us. Not in and of ourselves, but 
as we are in Jesus Christ. I love the summary statement 
concerning King Josiah of Israel in the account in 2 Chronicles 
35. 2 Chronicles 35, I believe it does give us a wonderful illustration 
of this principle. 2 Chronicles 35, verse 26, Now 
the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness according to 
what was written in the law of the Lord. Our goodness is defined 
according to what is written in the law of the Lord. Our goodness, 
first and foremost, to our God, the first table of the law. Our 
goodness, secondly, toward man, the second table of the law. 
Upon these two commandments, love to God, love to our brother. Upon those two hang all the law 
and the prophets. This is what defines a good work. And Paul prays that they would 
walk worthy of the Lord. engaging in fruitfulness, being 
fruitful in every good work. Secondly, he says, I want you 
to grow in the knowledge of God. It's that theology thing again 
with Paul. He's a stubborn preacher, isn't he? He's just not going 
to let you forget what he wants from you. He wants you to use 
your head. Not just to put a hat on. Not 
just to keep the water off. He wants you to use your head 
to study God. He wants you to imitate the Psalter 
where it says, Great are the words of the Lord. They are sought 
out. They are studied by all who have 
pleasure in them. Paul wants them to be filled 
with all of the knowledge of God so that they may walk worthy 
of the Lord. That worthy walk looks like this. 
Being fruitful in every good work. Growing in the knowledge 
of God. He's right back at that theology 
thing. This is what he says. Increasing 
in the knowledge of God. Increasing in the knowledge of 
God. You see, moral uprightness isn't 
just in terms of, I haven't committed adultery, I haven't committed 
theft, I haven't dishonored the Lord in blasphemy, but it also 
means that I have studied Him. I am learning about Him. I am 
increasing in the knowledge of God. I know more about the Trinity 
than when I first got saved. The beauty in the person of the 
Lord Jesus is more attractive to me now. And I'm able to understand 
it better than when I first got saved. Do you notice with Paul, 
he does not accept a static Christianity? He does not want you to be a 
kindergartner for the rest of your life. He doesn't want you 
to just be able to say, I love you, God, for the entirety of 
your life. He wants you to say, I love you, 
God, and here are the reasons why. Hymns and singing often 
reflect this. Sometimes these smaller, these 
choruses that are repeated ad infinitum are demonstrative of 
the little child who has just come to faith in the Savior. 
That little child needs to move on. to Luther's hymn. That little child needs to move 
on to the psalms and the hymns with their rich doctrinal content 
so that there's maturation, there's growth. He's not just continually 
singing, Jesus, I love You. Jesus, I love You. As good as 
that may be, when your child is two and he says, Daddy, I 
love You, when he's 22 and you're on your deathbed, hopefully he 
can string together a few more reasons as to why he loves You. There must be maturation. There 
must be growth. There must be an increasing in 
the knowledge of God. See, I have this zany idea that 
those who have been saved by grace want to learn more about 
their Savior. And I think Paul had that zany 
idea too. I don't think Paul would have 
accepted the thought, well, you mean you don't study your Bible? You just listen to everything 
you're told by the preacher? We know Paul didn't have that 
mindset because when he was in Berea, the Jews in the synagogue 
searched and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things 
were true. Paul didn't say, don't do that, 
just believe me. I think if we got Paul to the 
side, in fact, this text verifies, Paul, does it bother you when 
people are flipping their Bibles? No! They better be flipping their 
Bibles. The Bibles better have some mileage 
on them. You see, God is so great. God 
is so glorious and wondrous. And the knowledge of God is the 
best possible acquisition a man, a woman, a boy or a girl can 
have. That my prayer is, is that not only would they be fruitful 
in every good work, but they'd be increasing. They would be 
growing. They would be saying in their 
own hearts, let me have at the Scriptures. They wouldn't be 
making excuses that I'm so busy, or my days are so short. No, 
they'd get up early or they'd stay up late, because the knowledge 
of God is that vital. It's that important. They wouldn't 
take the paper over the Bible. They wouldn't take the Canucks 
over the Bible. They wouldn't take the motocross 
over the Bible, or the guns, or the hunting. They would take 
God first. They would seek first the kingdom 
of God and His righteousness, knowing then that all other things 
will be added unto them. Being static in the Christian 
life is not an option. If you are not increasing in 
the knowledge of God, you're not walking worthy of Him. It 
really is that simple. We ask the question, what is 
a worthy walk? And one of the ingredients is 
increasing in the knowledge of God. If you don't read your Bible, 
if you don't come to preaching, if you don't listen to Bible 
study, if you don't fill your head with the Scriptures, you're 
not walking worthy of Him. See, we want to try to coddle 
and pet and help everybody to accept themselves and feel good. 
I'm sorry. If you're not increasing in the 
knowledge of God, you're not walking worthy of Him. I don't 
care how old you are. I don't care how young you are. 
If you profess faith in Christ, a worthy walk looks like this. It doesn't do any good to say, 
well, that person doesn't read their Bible, that person doesn't 
go to church, that person never comes to Wednesday night, that 
person doesn't have sermonaudio.com on their favorite links. You 
know what? Let God deal with that person. 
Let you deal with you. Isn't it amazing when it comes 
to things spiritual? We want to make sure everybody 
else is doing so well. Oh boy, so-and-so should be here 
listening to this. Oh boy, so-and-so needs to read 
this book. How often in your heart of hearts 
do you say, Lord, thank You. Thank You for speaking this Word 
to me, because I have been lazy. I have been a spiritual slug. 
I have been slothful. I've got moss growing on my spiritual 
body. Thankfully, no one but you sees, 
God, because you're merciful and kind, and I can trust in 
your forgiveness, and I pray that you'll give me grace to 
go from here, to get rid of the moss, and to begin to increase 
in the knowledge of God. We want to take care of everything 
else. Solomon was right on in Proverbs 4. Keep your own heart 
with all diligence. For out of it spring the issues 
of life. What's our temptation? To keep everybody else's heart. Well, what about so-and-so? What 
about whoever? What about them? What about that? What about you? Are you increasing in the knowledge 
of God today? If you're not, go do it. You see, we have a God of grace 
and mercy. We have a God who forgives us 
through the blood of Jesus. We have a God that when we come 
to Him and say, Lord, I have not been increasing in the knowledge 
of you. Please forgive me. He'll forgive 
you. That's our God. Isn't that great? That's why 
it's so great to be a gospel preacher. It's all about God 
and His grace and His mercy and His kindness and His love. That's 
truly good news. See, it's not about a bunch of 
people saying, well, you haven't increased to this measure. We're throwing 
you out of the church. Kick you right out because you 
haven't grown. You haven't expanded in your 
units of knowledge. God's gracious. God's good. God's 
kind. Notice the third thing Paul prays, 
or Paul defines as a characteristic of this walk worthy of the Lord. 
Verse 11, literally, being strengthened with all might according to His 
glorious power for all patience and long-suffering with joy. 
Some versions attach with joy to the giving of thanks in verse 
12. If I'm not mistaken, I believe 
the NIV does that. It's a joyful thanksgiving. I 
think that's a tautology. That means saying the same thing 
twice. Of course thanksgiving is to 
be with joy. That's a no-brainer. This joy 
attaches itself to the patience and long-suffering, which is 
an expression of Paul's characteristic, being strengthened with all might 
according to his glorious power for all patience and long-suffering 
with joy. You see, Paul knows that in local 
churches there are problems. Just ask him. He wrote the letters 
to the Corinthians. Paul knows that in family life, 
sometimes there's a bit of abrasiveness that may occur. Paul knows that 
there may be a Christian husband out there who may be embittered 
against his wife. Paul knows that there's Christian 
wives out there that may struggle with submitting to their own 
husbands as to the Lord. Paul knows that there's Christian 
children out there that don't always want to obey and honor 
their parents in the Lord. Paul knows that there are some 
fathers in the church, even, that will exasperate their children. They'll provoke them to wrath. 
They'll do mean things. Maybe not physical torture and 
physical abuse and pain. They'll play with their minds 
in such a way that the kid doesn't know whether he's coming or going. 
Paul knows that there are troubles in the Christian life. So when 
he prays that he wants them to be fruitful in every good work, 
he wants them increasing in the knowledge of God, he wants them 
to be strong so that they can do it. In other words, he wants 
them to have the resources necessary so that they may carry out this 
worthy walk. I mean, face it, walking worthy 
of the Lord is no easy task, is it? You might say, well, I 
don't know, I've never done it. Not as we describe it the way 
Paul says, I don't know anything about that kind of a worthy walk. 
Well, I'm guessing if these four things are true of us with reference 
to a worthy walk, there will be times, there will be seasons 
in our life where we'll just cry out to God, Lord, please 
help me. So you see, Paul is saying that 
in this worthy walk, that strength is necessary. We need resources. We need vitality. Jesus said, 
apart from Me, you can do nothing. How does the branch derive its 
strength? Through the sap that comes from 
the main branch, from the true vine. We've got to have that 
sap. We've got to have those nutrients. 
We've got to have those resources so that we may thrive and flourish 
and grow. This is Jesus' whole analogy 
in John 15. He says, My Father will prune 
away the bad growth, Because that will sap the strength. When 
you prune it away, all of the necessary nutrients go to the 
place that most desperately needs it. Well, Paul is praying the 
same thing, or Paul is saying the same thing here. He is saying 
essentially what the Bible tells us over and over again. What 
God demands, He supplies. What God demands, He supplies. You need strength. And see, it 
can't be just some Send in your $39.95 for four equal payments, 
and we'll give you some strength." No, that strength ain't going 
to get it for the long haul. This strength isn't something 
that you're going to get at a Bible conference where you get sort 
of whizzed into a frenzy for a weekend, and then a few days 
later you're back to being a spiritual slug. No, you need strength, 
baby. You need divine strength. You 
need resources that are fit for the task. You see, a worthy walk 
requires real men. I don't mean to exclude women. 
I'm including men and women. Paul does this, by the way, in 
1 Corinthians 16. He says, Be brave like men, even 
to the women. The idea is being masculine in 
your faith. Being strong and earnest in your 
faith. Men can be very feminine when 
it comes to faith. Those ten spies that came back 
from the reconnaissance mission, they were spiritual women. Oh, 
it's a good land, but there's big, big, big men there and we 
can't do it. Those are wimps. It's not being 
a real man. In the same token, a jail taking 
that tent peg and driving... What's her name? It's through 
jail's hat. It was jail. Jail takes the tent 
peg and drives it through the head of Cicero. He wants to lay 
down for a little rest after battling. And she says, lay right 
here, my master. Have some warm milk before you 
lie down. Just excuse me for a moment because 
I'm going to fetch the tent peg. Wham! Spiritual manhood. You see, the Christian faith 
is not, you know, those signs, no wince. That's really how we 
can define Christianity. And you know, in order to do 
this, you need strength from on high. Look at how Paul describes 
this strength. Strengthened with all might, 
according to his glorious power. You know, one of the implications 
we can derive from this statement is that you can never say, I 
can't. I can't do it. Oh yes, you can. You may not want to. You may 
be a little unwilling right now to do what it takes, but do not 
say you can't. Because God has glorious power. God owns the cattle on a thousand 
hills. God has saved you by His grace. He can certainly enable you to 
deal with that particular sin that you still struggle with. 
There is no such thing as an I can't attitude when we're dealing 
with power according to His glorious might. What does that even mean? It means He's got an armory full 
of resources. He has everything that you or 
I could possibly need. And notice, with Paul, this strength 
is particularly necessary for patience and long-suffering with 
joy. I love this because Paul's a 
realist. Give them this extra endowment of strength, Lord God, 
so that they'll all go to China and North Korea and Maldives 
so that they can be gospel preachers. No. Give them this strength so 
that they can deal with each other. Basically what he's saying. Isn't that amazing? We need strength to deal with 
each other. We need strength to deal with each other. Why? Because the temptation is to 
not deal. Something happens between a husband 
and a wife, and instead of dealing with it, they both run to the 
corner, and they hide, and they brood, and they complain, and 
they cry, and they mumble, and they grumble, and all those sorts 
of things. You need strength from on high so that you'll deal 
with it. Something happens in the church. Two brothers, two 
sisters that love each other have a falling out. What are 
they going to do? They're going to pray to God, strengthen me 
so that I can deal with this. There's too much whimpery in 
the Christian church to just run. Let's go start a new church. 
Let's take our marbles and go home. Let's just pray and fix 
it. We actually have this idea. Well, 
how could anybody ever sin against me? Get over yourself. Paul tells us the ethic we are 
to imbibe. We are to forgive one another 
even as God in Christ forgave us. How could we hold a grudge 
in light of Calvary? That's something that I just 
can't get. I cannot get it. I mean, I can get a lot of things. 
I can't get that. I can't get how we could hold 
a grudge to someone when Jesus has forgiven us everything. Jesus 
paid it all! That's some. All of our adultery, 
all of our sin, all of our drugs, all of our alcohol, all of our 
blasphemy, all of our Sabbath breaking, all of our dishonoring 
the parents, all of our murder, and our lying, and our covetousness, 
and our thieving hearts, all of that covered under the blood 
of Christ. Taken by God and cast, as the 
prophet says, into the depths of the sea. And then we're going 
to get our noses bent out of shape and not forgive? Paul says, 
I want you to be strengthened with might according to His glorious 
power for all patience and long-suffering with joy. This patience, if there 
is a difference, some say these two words are synonymous. I actually 
think the patience is first and foremost God-word. It is a resolute 
endurance under difficult circumstances. There are trials in the Christian 
life. There are troubles. There are difficulties. We have 
woes. How are we supposed to bear up? 
We're supposed to be patient toward God. It doesn't mean we 
can't pray. It doesn't mean we can't cry 
out. We're going to see tonight Habakkuk 
the prophet. He cries out. He asks God, why? That's a legitimate expression 
of Christian faith. Robertson says it's not a lack 
of faith, but a perplexed faith that troubles Habakkuk, and sends 
him to the throne of grace. We need patience for the Christian 
life. In fact, after Habakkuk offers up his second question, 
his second round of questioning to the Lord, he says, now I'm 
going to go sit on the watchtower, I'm going to wait for the Lord 
to respond, and then I'm going to figure out how to answer. 
He lays it before him, and then he patiently waits for his answer. We need patience. We need endurance 
in the Christian life. The long-suffering, I believe, 
is man-word. It is a patient endurance that 
does not retaliate against others. Long-suffering. Oh, they did 
this to me. I'm going to get them back. Oh, 
she said this to me, I'm going to say this back." Sometimes 
this happens between professing Christian couples, even real 
Christian couples. Somebody will say something and 
the other has to retaliate. We need this strength from on 
high so that we won't retaliate. And you notice Paul says, with 
joy. Because see, there's a patience and an endurance and a long-suffering 
that is based on brute strength. That is based on power. No, it's 
to be with joy. You're not just saying, I'm going 
to be patient and I'm going to be long-suffering to you because 
the Bible says it. You're going to do it with a 
smile on your face. You're going to do it with love 
in your heart. You're going to do it with a genuine expression 
of joy for that person. They've said something vicious. 
They've said something cruel. They've said something unkind. 
Not only are you not going to retaliate, you're going to bless 
them. You're going to pray for them. You're going to love them. 
You're going to care for them. You're going to give them a hug. 
You're going to show them that Jesus Christ is really at work 
in your heart. And that the strength that raised 
Jesus from the dead is at work in your heart. That's what it's 
about, brethren. That's what Christianity is about. 
And when we sin, we confess it. There's going to be sins and 
offenses. I mean, that's something I always 
counsel people when they're going to get married. It's not a matter 
of if you sin against each other. Because there's this sort of 
glow that comes over two people when they first meet each other. 
This glow of the sun. They can't see any blemishes 
or spots. Oh, they're just perfect. I love 
that. Well, you know, in your married life, you may have a 
time where you don't always see eye to eye. What? Are you kidding 
me? What? I don't want to be the bearer 
of bad news here, but you know, generally speaking, when you 
take two sinners, even redeemed sinners, and you put them together 
and they bounce off of each other once in a while, there's a bit 
of an abrasiveness. Oh, come on, you can't. Listen, 
it's not a matter of if you sin, it's when you sin. Here's how 
you need to deal with it. You know, the church needs a 
great big dose of this as well. I mentioned one of my favorite 
authors is an Old Testament scholar by the name of Ralph Davis. I 
looked at his website, the pastor of a Presbyterian church in Mississippi. 
And one of the things on the front of the website I really 
appreciate, he says, if you're looking for a perfect church, 
let me just tell you to go somewhere else. We're not perfect. We're 
not perfect. In other words, if we had a brochure, 
we have a brochure we ought to put in there. Look, when you 
come here, you'll be sinned against. It's inevitable. I will offend 
you. I will hurt you. And I may not 
even know it. You may be hurt, put out, offended, 
affected, and I may smile and sing and hum zippity-doo-dah 
without any clue whatsoever. It's going to happen. It has 
happened. Some of you are going, yeah, 
it has happened many times. Very frequently, too. See, this 
is what Christianity is about. Endurance. The joy. It's the guy running in the race 
and he's got the smile on his face. Everybody else is like 
they want to die. There's that one guy and he's 
smiling. You're like, what's up with that? He ain't running 
the fastest. He's not at the front of the 
pack. He may be in the last. He's got a smile on his face. 
What's up? I love running. I just want to 
be in this race. Just happy to be here. That's the attitude that Paul 
says is characteristic of a Christian. And then notice fourthly, the 
fourth characteristic is a thankfulness to God. Giving thanks to the 
Father. A walk worthy of the Lord will 
be marked by thankfulness to God. And as we looked at last 
Sunday night, Acts 26, which does appear to be in the Apostle's 
mind, The same thoughts or the same things that come out in 
Paul's speech before Agrippa are, interestingly, things that 
he prays for the Colossian church here. But this giving of thanks 
to the Father is important for two reasons. The first is because 
it's right. Our existential, me-oriented, 
hypersensitive age wants to do things because it first and foremost 
benefits me. We're to do things first and 
foremost because it's right before God. We ought to be thankful 
because it's right. When we give something to someone 
and they don't thank us, we think they're wretches. Okay, you might 
be saying, well, no, that's not... Yes, you do. When somebody is 
given something by you and they don't thank you, you think, at 
least in your mind, well, that's odd. They didn't even say thank 
you. Why? Because it's right to say thank 
you. But not only because it's right, 
but because gratitude is a proper response to God's grace. Gratitude is a characteristic 
of God's grace-based way of dealing with sinners. In other words, 
as we are full of thankfulness to God, we are continually setting 
forth the truth that we're saved by grace. We're not patting ourselves 
on the back. We're not congratulating ourselves. We're not saying that we made 
a better choice than others. No, we're going to be more like, 
Watts, why was I made to enter in when thousands starve and 
rather come? Gratitude, thankfulness, giving 
thanks to the Father is a legitimate expression of God's grace to 
us in the Scriptures, in salvation, in redemption, in His saving 
dealings with us. When we are grumbling, whining, 
complaining babies, there is not a soul in this world who 
would hear us and say, wow, you're really full of gratitude toward 
God for His gracious salvation, aren't you? What does thankfulness 
do? It puts the spotlight on the 
giver, not the recipient. I'm thankful to you, God. It's 
not like, oh, wow, you're a great guy. No, God's a great God. He gave. He has poured out. Interestingly enough, Paul gives 
us four reasons why we are thankful in this particular passage. The 
first is because he has qualified us for an inheritance. We didn't 
qualify ourselves. This wasn't like a bank loan 
where we brought in our collateral and we said, I've got this to 
put up against the loan. And then the loan officer says, 
well, I've qualified you. No. Not in the realm of salvation. God has qualified us because 
He's God. And He's gracious. And we had 
no collateral. We had nothing to put up. We 
had no good thing to lay on the table and say, well, Lord, because 
of this, can I have something of this inheritance? No. God 
has qualified us. And notice the language. He has 
qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
in the light. We saw last week, inheritance 
is a very large biblical theme. God made a promise to Abraham 
that there would be an inheritance of land. The Israelites went 
in and dispossessed the land. They then divvied up the land. They inherited this because of 
God's blessing. Well, we have become inheritors 
of a land that far exceeds Palestine. We have become inheritors of 
Emmanuel's land, that new heavens, that new earth, that new Jerusalem, 
that place where moth and rust cannot destroy. God has qualified 
us, and we are to be thankful for this. Notice, secondly, God 
has delivered us from the power of darkness. No, it's all God 
here. You see why we're thankful? Because 
of God. He qualified us. He delivered 
us. What did He deliver us from? 
The power of darkness. The tyranny of Satan. The dominion 
of godlessness. That's what He has delivered 
us from. Write in your margin or on your 
notes, Exodus 6 to 8. Exodus 6, 6-8, background for 
what's going on in this particular passage in terms of a qualification 
for an inheritance, in terms of a deliverance from the power 
of darkness. It's the language God used when 
He delivered Israel out of the power of darkness in Egypt. And then notice thirdly, He not 
only delivered us from the power of darkness, but He has conveyed 
us, or He has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of 
His love. John Edy says, plainly that kingdom 
which has Christ for its head and founder, which is partially 
developed on earth and shall be finally perfected in heaven. The word here used by Paul was 
often used to signify deportation of a body of men or the removal 
of them to form a colony. Isn't that a great idea, a great 
thought? He's delivered us from the power 
of darkness and he has deported us. He has deported us. Deportation usually takes a negative 
connotation today, doesn't it? I've been deported. You know, 
I was enjoying shopping at Walmart and all the good things. I got 
deported. I got sent back. Well, this is 
a gracious deportation. This is a glorious deportation. It is from the kingdom of darkness 
into the kingdom of the Son of His love. It is a deportation 
upward, heavenward, Godward. And then the last thing he says, 
he moves from three redemptive acts of the Father, qualifying, 
delivering and conveying or transferring us to a redemptive act of the 
Son. In verse 14, in whom? the Son of His love, in whom 
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." 
A lot to be thankful for, isn't it? A lot to be thankful for. In fact, we could probably all 
just bow our heads right now and say, God, forgive me that 
I am not more thankful in light of Colossians 1. Forgive me that 
I don't consider this qualifying the qualification you've done 
for me to make me a recipient for this inheritance. God, I 
don't think about the fact that you've delivered me from the 
power of darkness. I mean, the power of darkness, 
the tyranny and dominion of sin. It's the language of Paul in 
Romans 3. We're all under sin. It means like a slave master, 
a slave driver, someone whose resources are connected to the 
master himself. Do you thank God for that? You've 
delivered me? You have taken me out of? The 
language of redemption is beautiful. It means to buy back unto oneself. That's what Jesus has done. He 
has redeemed us out of the slave market of sin. You know, there's 
common misconception that we're in the slave market of sin saying, 
please take me, take me, take me. No. We're in there loving 
Him. We're in there delighting in 
it. We're in there affected by it 
and we are enthralled. Christ comes and He grabs us 
and He pulls us out of there. I had to laugh at the church 
sign across the street from my house. God's love is persistent 
but not pushy. I need a pushy God. To be quite 
honest with you, I need the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ who has sovereign power. who rips out my old stony heart 
and puts in a new fleshly heart. We need a God who is sovereign 
in His dealings with man, because no one can come to the Father 
unless the Father who sent me draws him. Same word, by the 
way, in our studies in Acts 16, Paul and Silas were dragged. Same word. Only He doesn't drag 
us kicking and screaming and saying no. He, according to Psalm 
110, makes us willing in the day of His power. He changes 
our heart. He changes our affections. He 
changes our will. So that what was once aversion 
to us is now glory. What once was offensive is now 
beautiful, even the kingdom of the Son of His love. Well, brethren, 
as you look through this passage, and I urge you to do this, ask 
yourself, are you being fruitful in every good work? Are you growing 
in your knowledge of God? Are you being strengthened and 
knowing something of a joyful patience and longsuffering? And 
are you a thankful person? Are you? Because those are the 
characteristics of a genuine Christian. How can I know I'm 
saved? Well, this is a good place to 
start. You're trusting in Christ, you love the brethren, you've 
got a hope laid up for you in heaven. Do you walk like this? 
Does this identify you? Does this characterize you? Yeah, 
not perfectly. I'm trying by the grace of God. 
Praise the Lord! Praise God! From whom all blessings 
flow, because pagans don't want anything to do with this. Unbelievers 
don't like these things. They don't want to be fruitful 
in every good work. They certainly don't want to increase in the 
knowledge of God. They couldn't care less about a joyful endurance 
and patience through adversity. Giving thanks to the Father, 
that does not identify the non-Christian. If these things are true, even 
if they're in seed form or small, praise God from whom all blessings 
flow. And then please consider these 
reasons for thanksgiving and praise. It should never be the 
case where a Christian says, well, I really don't know what 
to thank God for. We have these meetings, hey, anybody want to 
share what they're thankful for? I'm always amazed that everybody 
doesn't stand up at once. That's what surprises me. Because 
we should always say, I'm thankful to God who's qualified me for 
this inheritance. I'm thankful to God because He 
delivered me from the power of darkness. I'm thankful to God 
because He's conveyed me. He has transferred me into the 
kingdom of the Son of His love. I'm thankful to God because through 
the blood of Jesus, I have redemption. I have the forgiveness of sins. See, the issue isn't, does anyone 
want to thank God? The issue ought to be, we all 
want to thank God all the time for the things that Paul specifies 
in this passage. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we give You thanks for the Lord Jesus Christ. We give You thanks 
that He is the surety of a new covenant, of the new covenant 
that He made in His blood for the remission of sins. We just 
pray that You would identify each and every one of us with 
these characteristics, that You would cause them to flourish 
in our lives, and that we would always be a thankful people, 
giving all praise and all glory and all honor to You for what 
You have done in our lives. We just ask that you would go 
with each one of us now. We pray that you would protect 
us and watch over us and cause us to worship you in spirit and 
in truth. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.