Sermon Nuggets week of Oct 12 Col 1:3-15
Sermon Nuggets Mon Oct 12
Theme- Prayer Requests
Verses- Col 1:3-8 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.
You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Prayer for Sowing of God's Word
Last week I started a series from the book of Colossians. As Paul heard about the stories of what was happening among a new church plant that he had never been to, he wanted to compliment them and also caution them. We will get to his word of caution as we go to another chapter, but the compliments are seeing the Christian essentials demonstration. In his prayers Paul offers his thanks to God for the way HE is working in their church. He prays for their growing faith, their real love, their enduring hope, and their abiding witness.
I am surprised that the prayers I read in the Bible such this apostle are so different than my prayers. If I was in Paul's shoes I would begin my letter to them by giving them a culturally appropriate compliment. "Dear friends in Christ" I am so happy to hear things are going well and God is blessing you."
Then I would say something like this, "As you know I have been put in jail because of my faith. Would you start your prayer chain and pray specifically that I can be released. Pray for me that I not be discouraged since this is taking so long and I can have strength for endurance."
Well I am in elementary school of prayer. Paul is on the college level. His experiences and walk with God have matured him to understand things I don't quite get yet. Paul has for us a great illustration of heartfelt prayer with depth that comes from an intimacy with the Lord.
Paul joy is greater than his personal circumstances. He is truly excited that so many people are becoming Christians, so instead of crossing them off his prayer list, he is prompted to pray unceasingly for them. This is what God desires of us all as well.
As we begin verse nine he says, "For this reason we have not stopped praying for you." What is the reason he prays for them? It is because they have responded to the truth of the Word of God as it was preached to them. This word is changing peoples’ lives. This word is giving to people understanding of who they might have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, Because of this word they have exhibited love, because of this word they have a hope and peace that they never had before. This is powerful.
Paul prays that this word be sown all over the world and that is done as people share it. That through our efforts together God's name is honored in our church and in our community.
The Word of God seems less important, less obvious and less central to many churches these days because the Bible offends people. But friends this truth is the good news of the love of God. It confronts us of sin, corrects us in wisdom, guides us in spiritual things, and my prayer is that it is central to the truth we preach and teach and follow. Pray for the sowing of God's Word that it will produce of harvest of righteousness.
I reflected over a prayer letter we received from Dr. Pat who ministers to Christians in persecuted areas of the world. She wrote how Christians in the Gaza Strip in Israel were in great need of Bibles. It is very difficult to get Bibles into that area. Through the efforts of Open Door ministries and Dr. Pat money such as we helped provide, purchased 500 bibles. Br Andrew himself the author of God Smuggler carried some of the Bibles. He said he almost broke his back carrying heavy plastic bags filled with Bibles that she provided. Two weeks later the Muslims burned the Baptist Library destroying 1,000 of books and many of the Bibles that were stored there ready to be given away.
She wrote “In the hands of our Palestinian Christian brothers, the Bible will reach the terrorist. Bring a terrorist to Christ, and he won't be a terrorist any more. We can make a difference by praying for them and by providing Bibles they need in order to bring others to Christ.”
Pray for these people and the people of the world that His word is sown and produces eternal fruit.
Pastor Dale
Sermon nuggets Tues Oct 13
Verses- Col 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Prayer for Knowing of God's Will
Paul is not praying that that God does the will of the petitioner but that the petitioner might know God’s will and do it. His prayer request is that God will fill them with the knowledge of God’s wisdom and God’s will. His prayer request is that they not just get a little knowledge in a small measure but saturated, and overflowing. We cannot achieve what it is God wants unless we first know about it.
I got a part time job I had as a 10th grader one summer. I was hired along with two other students to work in the music department of the high school to go through a whole stack of music and get them in order alphabetically. Well, we took the music and first divided them so according to the song. Then we saw the sheet music according to instruments and sorted it so all trumpets were together and all the flute music together of the same musical number and so forth. We noticed the conductors copy had the instruments in alphabetical order so we continued to categorize this big pile of unsorted music.
Every so often the director would stop in and see us working. Mr Arnoldi was surprised it was taking us so long. Finally one day he came in our room all upset and accused us of loafing and turning in hours not worked. I was feeling pretty low, accused of loafing and not doing a good job. We defended ourselves by showing him what we were doing.
Then he surprised us by telling us he didn't want that. All he wanted was for us to put the stacks of songs together and put each of the different song stacks in alphabetical order. The next day we were done.
The whole problem was a lack of communication and understanding. We were working diligently at something that was not his will. We didn't understand what he wanted us to do. Since he went over his budget we did not accomplish what he hoped to get done that summer in other areas.
So often we don't even ask what God's will is. Often we assume what we should do and forget to pray for direction and guidance. John 14:26 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all thing and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Do we wait to listen for the leading of God’s Spirit?
We begin knowing the will of God by reading the Bible and putting what we know into practice. It was Mark Twain who said, "it isn't he passage of the Bible that I don't understand that bother, me, it is the passages I do understand."
I get lots of requests from people who want me to pray for a loved one going through surgery or marital problem or financial difficult. I got an urgent call one week from a girl whose boyfriend wanted to break up with her. After spending a long time listening I shared, "You are looking for the longing of your heart in the wrong places and with the wrong people. You will not find in other people what only God can provide. The emptiness you have cannot be filled with the men you've had, but can only be filled with the one who loves you the most.”
Do you want to be filled with the knowledge of God's will for your life? Jn 6:40 tell us it is God's will that you be saved. Have you asked Christ into your life? Don't pray for all requests unless you are willing to give Jesus your life and decide that you will obey His teachings.
I Thes 4 tells us it is God's will that you be sanctified. What does that mean? Being saved brings us as close to God as we will ever get. We are made complete by the goodness of God's gift and nothing we can do to earn salvation. That's justification. Sanctification is the process that changes us to be more like Jesus. That is the work of God also that shows us his love doesn't want us to stay the way we are, but grow in being more like the character of love and joy and peach and patience and goodness and self control. We do that by getting rid of sinful practices and trusting in the power from above.
I Thes 5:18 tells us it is Gods' will to be thankful people, not negative full of complaints all the time. I Peter 2:15 tells us it in God's will that we do good works.
Our prayer is that you will know the will of God and then put it into practice. Staring with these basics opens the door for further listening and then moving on what we know to be true.
Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added as well.” Matt 6:33
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds Oct 14
Verses- Col 1:9-10 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Prayer for Growing in God's Ways(10)
Paul prays that they might live a life worthy of the Lord. How in the world can anyone live a life worthy of the Lord? Isn’t that impossible? But fortunately he gives us some thoughts to illustrate the prayer he has for the church. I will look at some of these in the next couple of days, but what does it mean to please the Lord in every way?
I feel a bit like John the Baptist when he said, “"After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.” John the Baptist was a worthy man in that he lived out his calling and spoke the words of God to bring repentance to men’s hearts. But if we look at one’s character we realize next to the Holiness of our Lord, all have sinned and are not worthy of his grace. There is nothing in ourselves to brag. So we begin with His worth who comes to receive us just as we are. We are made worthy by the sacrifice of Jesus and by his grace.
Knowing who we are in Jesus Christ and the freedom that is ours as children of God is a remarkable truth that many Christians never learn to understand and use. We need not be defeated, plagued people. Although there is an onslaught of temptations and discouragements, there is power to take it on that is available if we use it. For many they are like the man who bought a chain saw and returned it and said it actually slowed up his work in sawing trees and saved no time from using his old hand saw. The salesman was perplexed and pulled the chain and started it up. The startled customer asked, "What's that noise?" He had it. He didn't' know it, and was hindered from using it.
Oh we have resurrection power of God almighty but are content in our lives to work the old handsaw methods instead of continually growing in God's ways.
Fortunately there are other passages that help us understand how to live worthy of the Lord and please him in every way. King Solomon taught that our words are worthy when they are true and right. (Prov 8:8-9). Jesus points out faith in Him involves a love for Jesus which is greater than even family. Obeying means taking up one’s cross and following Him. It is dying to self and being filled with new purpose.(Matt 10:37-38)
Paul illustrates worthy living in his letters to other churches by identifying qualities where in Eph 4:2,3 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
He tells Timothy in chapter 3 and Titus to find worthy leaders who are respected, sincere, sober, honest workers. Someone worthy to lead seeks to live a life that says no to the temptations of sin. They will not participate in malicious talk but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
How often does Satan remind us that we do not live up to those standards? How often when we fail or fall are we discourage realizing we are not worthy? Yet the Bible is full of “faithful followers” who got up again and continued the path laid out before them. That was true with David when he committed adultery. It was true of Peter when he lied and denied knowing Jesus. Both become humbled and the grace of God picked them up and used them in more mightily ways.
I heard the story of a man who fell down in the snow and stayed there. "why don't you get up?" someone asked? He replied, "Because I might fall down again."
How many Christians need to get up again to continue after their fall to grow in the ways of God.
I pray that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way. In the life the church I pray that all the events, clubs, programs, services were not be busy work, but well pleasing to God, honoring him, and helping others, and seeking to bring honor to our Lord. Live as Jesus would have us live in thought, speech, and action.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs Oct 15
Verses- Col 1:10-12 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Prayer for Showing God's Works
The works of God produce spiritual fruit in our lives. It should show. Doing God's work is not easy and living God's ways can be very difficult. It is hard to face hardships, persecutions, disease, death and how might we be strengthened to do so?
We grow by having the relationship of Jesus who produces fruit through us. As one teacher said, “We need God to do something TO us, so that He can do something IN us, so that He can do something THROUGH us. We need God to save us, to cleanse us to fill us and to use us.
He wants us to grow in knowledge, but strengthened by His power. He wants us to have great endurance and patience and joy in our service. God wants to work with our God given gifts and abilities, in the circumstances, and situations in which He places us.
I was reading this Steve Sjogren’s book, “The Conspiracy of Kindness”. He tells of being at an evangelistic seminar where the instructor challenged the youth workers to take their young people out witnessing. Some went to the malls and passed out tracts, some went to the park and starting preaching. Some went door to door and asked if people were churched. All of these methods are and can be used of God.
But Steve Sjogren got his kids together and they went to the mall and started doing acts of kindness to others who were strangers. Carrying their bags, opening doors, washing dirty car windows. Some even went to businesses and asked permission to clean their toilets all for free because God’s love is free.
People who were turned off with someone trying to sell them the message were moved when they saw kindnesses done to them. They were the ones that asked about their reasons. There were more positive spiritual discussions than anticipated. They were impressed with the youth who were kind, respectful and bout a God who prompts young people to be giving, and kind and respectful.
Willing servants become God's tools to accomplish great things. Do you feel like you can't do anything, no giftedness, no qualifications, no strong faith? Sharing the works by God are not just for those who are extroverted. You are just the person God is looking for. It is not you doing the work but God working in you. It is not your power but Gods'; Not your wisdom but wisdom from above.
Look at how God demonstrates this in so many of God's workers: Fishermen, who changed the world, not politicians. Shepherd boys to demonstrated faith, not powerful generals, Farmers, like Gideon, who under God's direction had 300 take on the multitude forces of the Midianites only to show that God gets the glory, Moses who stammered and stuttered used to led millions to the Promised Land; Namaan's slave girl told her master of a man of God in Israel who was used by God to bring healing to his leprosy.
Pray that you may receive God’s power to share in God's work. He will accomplish his will in ways that are unique to us.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Oct 16
Verses - Col 1:11-14… being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Prayer for Glowing in God's World
Paul prays for the Colossians. His prayer request is that they stay on the move in their faith walk. Might the Word of God affect their daily lives; might they know and walk in the will of God; mighty they live a life worthy of the Lord in all they do and say; might the works of God’s grace be evidence in the fruit of the Spirit as they work and live together. Paul knows first hand that we are God's children by God's grace. We do not deserve it. We belong not to this world, but to God's world because He gave us the right to become His children by faith.
A wealthy English family once invited a friend to spend time at an estate. The happy gathering was almost plunged into terrible tragedy on the first day, when the children went swimming in the pool. One of them got into deep water and was drowning. Fortunately, the gardener heard the other children screaming and plunged into the pool to rescue the helpless child. That youngster was Winston Churchill. His parents, deeply grateful to this gardener, asked what they could do to reward him. He hesitated and then said "I wish my son could go to college someday and become a doctor, but we have no means."
"We'll pay his way." replied the Churchills. And they did.
Later when Sir Winston was prime minister of England, he was stricken with pneumonia. Greatly concerned, king George summoned the best physician who could be found to his bedside. Doctor Alexander Fleming, the developer of penicillin, was summoned. Fleming was the son of that gardener who had saved Churchill from drowning as a boy. Rarely has one man owed his life twice to the same person.
The Heavenly Father has given us the gift of physical life, and then through His Son, the Great Physician He has imparted to us eternal life.
Paul realized his great indebtedness to a great God who made him part of his world by qualifying him to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Paul lived in darkness. So did we. He lived in ignorance of spiritual power- so did we. He lived in sin- So did we. He lived in Satan's domain- So did we. But Jesus found us and gave us light to find our way and live in freedom from all the bondage this world has. He emancipated us as slaved to Satan and sin and literally bought us with his blood
The concept of redemption is one used for salvation. It means he bought our freedom by dying for us- even the forgiveness of sins. WE receive forgiveness for all we wished we had not done, all we are ashamed of, all we look at with embarrassment through God's holy eyes. All of the unrighteous actions and thought and speech and desires and lust are completely wiped clean and forgiven and forgotten. We don't deserve that, but that is what makes Christian glow. We are to joyfully exhibit our new life and love for God because God has done all for us.
Paul prays that our lives make a difference in a dark world that people might see the light in us.
We sing the song, “Awesome God”. It was written by a man who was tragically killed seeking to serve his awesome God by giving of his life in missionary work with the Navaho children. He wanted the glow of his love for Jesus to shine also through his musical skills not only to praise his Lord, but teach and connect with others to whom he witnessed in his concerts and on the Indian reservation. While he and his friend where driving there was an accident and he was thrown from the vehicle and left unconscious. A semi-truck seeing the vehicle swerved to miss it and unknowingly ran over Rich lying in the road.
Why tragedies occur that prematurely take the lives of God’s servants is beyond my understanding. I am too often reminded that it isn’t the quantity of days on this earth that matter but the quality that whatever days God allows we give to Him to let his light shine. Rich Mullins lived and sang of the hope he had.
The reason Paul prays with such fervency is that he knew the time was short. He wanted to live it for the Lord and prayed that request for the believers at Colossae. It is our prayer for our lives today.
Pastor Dale
