Sermon Notes: Learning about the Christian life from Paul's Prayers: Part 1--Colossians

Scripture Readings:

Psalm: 25

Gospel: Matthew 6.5-13

Epistle: Colossians 1.9-14

Introduction

1.      Last week I mentioned that we can learn a lot about who we think God really is by looking at what we pray for and what we expect of God. We can also learn a lot about what we think the aim of the Christian life is by looking at what we pray for.

a.       Sometimes prayer reveals that we view the Christian life as a means to a greater end. God is the means by which I get what I want; the means by which I live out my story, my dreams, and my will.

b.      Moralistic Therapeutic Deism—the aim of the Christian life is to be happy, achieve your goals,  to be fair and nice,  and to do good.

c.       And yet, when we read prayers recorded for us in Scripture, we do not find that sentiment at all. Instead, we get another picture of what life, and God, is all about.

2.      The next two weeks we are going to learn about the life God has for us, the aims of the Christian life, by looking at the kinds of things that Paul prayed for. My hope is that in looking at Paul’s prayers we will be reminded of our calling, that we will be energized and encouraged to be evermore faithful to our Lord Jesus. And my hope is that in looking at Paul’s prayers we will focus in on the particular elements and activities that God has called us to.

Analysis—the structure of the prayer

1.      Colossians 1.9-10: The aim of Christianity: Divine knowledge which enables us to do the will of God.

A.      The Petition: Knowledge of HIs will; spiritual wisdom and understanding

a.       To know what God’s will is

b.      To understand how to live faithfully in light of what God wants for our lives

c.       This knowledge is a gift from God

                                                                           i.      Passive construction “to be filled”

                                                                         ii.      Spiritual in nature—given from God.

B.      The Purpose: Knowledge for the sake of right living, discerning, adjusting course, remaining faithful to God’s call.

                                                                           i.      To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord

1.      Life is not primarily right thinking, it is right living--walking

                                                                         ii.      “A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about Him” (Packer, Knowing God, 21)

                                                                       iii.      Jesus reveals this in The Lord ’s Prayer: “Your will be done”…is the first petition…

                                                                       iv.      The example of Psalm 25: show my your ways, path, etc.

2.      Colossians 1.11-14: What accompanies us as we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord?

a.       Bearing fruit in every good work; mediating God to others; leading others to a relationship with God

b.      Growing in/by means of the knowledge of God

c.       Empowered by His strength—God empowers us as we set out on this journey to live for Him

d.      Giving thanks with joy

                                                               i.      Col 1.13-14 is the basis for our thanksgiving and joy.

C.      

Exhortations

1.      The goal of the Christian life is not just to know more, but rather to become more faithful to Jesus; to become better at doing God’s will; to become better at walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.

a.       Here we see Paul cut the legs off of the two most prominent distortions of the Christian life.

                                                               i.      Both Liberal and as well malformed evangelical traditions characterize Christianity as being essentially about works of social justice and morality. (That is not to say that social justice and morality are not key elements in the Christian faith!)

1.      MTD: “basically God wants us to be good people, nice, fair, and caring to others.

                                                             ii.      Well-intentioned Reformed traditions often implicitly characterize the aim of Christianity as getting the doctrine right: the aim is correct theological assertions.

                                                           iii.      Paul, on the other hand, reveals that the aim of the Christian life is right knowledge of God for the sake of living out God’s will and pleasing Him.

b.      True knowledge requires participation.

                                                               i.      “all right knowledge of God is borne out of obedience to God” (Calvin, Institutes, 1.6.2)

                                                             ii.      Example: Tying fishing knots…

                                                           iii.      The most important question we ask of a text is not just, What does it mean, but also, What must can I obey”. Peterson, Eat This Book, 71

                                                           iv.      “We must learn to measure ourselves, not by our knowledge about God, nor by our gifts and responsibilities in the church, but by how we pray and who goes on in our hearts” Packer, Knowing God, 27)

2.      Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord is a gift from God!

a.       He gives us the knowledge and wisdom we need in order to please Him (1.9-10).

                                                               i.      1 Cor 2.6-16

                                                             ii.      But this knowledge comes through prayer, active dependence, obedience, being refined by difficult situations.

b.      He gives us the strength (1.11)

                                                               i.      Phil 2.13—it is God who works in You to will and to work for His good pleasure!

                                                             ii.      John 15.5—apart from Him we can do nothing

                                                           iii.      Psalm 23—He chases us with His goodness and covenant love

3.      Endurance and patience are key attributes that we must develop for living the Christian life. (Col 1.11)

a.       The strength God gives us is for enduring and for being patient!

b.      Henry Nouwen: “patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full…Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere…But patient people dare to stay where they are.” (“A Spirituality of Waiting” Weavings 1 [1986], 9)

c.       “The one who shows patience prefers to endure evil so as not to commit it rather than to commit evil so as not to endure it”. Augustine, On Patience, 2.

d.      The Book of Revelation: The one who overcomes/wins, is the one who endures, that is, the one who remains faithful to Jesus and to His people in spite of all the backlash!

e.       It is a process, a struggle: “A Prayer to God”

4.      Gratitude or Thanksgiving is an essential component of faithful Christian living (Col 1.11-14

a.       Chesterton: “When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.

b.      Our life is a gift, not a right!

c.       Which brings us full circle—we were redeemed, not so that we can live out our own dreams and agenda, but rather so that we can do God’s will, which is the best thing for us.