Title: Saints with a Holy Purpose
Contents
Title: Saints with a Holy Purpose
Bible: Colossians 1:9-12
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This time, we would like to share the sermon with the title of “Saints with a holy purpose” through the words of the text.
Today's text is one of Paul's letters from prison to the church in Colossae.
Although Paul himself was not a church planted by himself, when he preached the gospel at the church in Ephesus, a young man named Epaph who came from the Colossae region and heard the gospel heard the gospel and was very interested in the church in Colossae, a church that was born again and planted. .
When Paul went to Rome and was imprisoned in a Roman prison, Epaphros, the leader of the Colossian church, visited the apostle Paul and reported in detail the condition of the Colossian church.
Hearing the report, Paul's heart was so happy and thankful that he constantly gave thanks and prayed before God.
And after hearing the story, Paul decided, "I have prayed many times for the church in Colossae, but now I will pray without ceasing."
If we look at the words of verse 9,
“From the day I heard this, I have not ceased to pray for you, I beg you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of the will of God in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
I did.
In other words, we will pray earnestly for the church in Colossae, but it will not end after praying once or twice, but will continue to pray continuously.
This is verse 10 of the text.
“Walking worthy of the Lord, pleasing in all things, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God”
Said.
In this way, when we pray for a holy purpose, we can please God, and we can also experience the Lord's holy grace.
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So, how can you please God as a saint who fulfills a holy purpose?
We can see three things to please God through the words of verse 10.
First, knowing God requires continuous growth.
The knowledge of God must continue to abound.
Second, we must become a person who can walk worthy of God.
That is, you must be a person of obedience.
You cannot please God if you do not obey.
Third, we must lead a life that bears fruit in all good works.
Regarding these three things, Paul is now saying, “For this work that pleases God, let the saints gradually grow in the knowledge of God, and live a life of obedience worthy of the Lord’s sight every day. I decided not to stop praying until the end.
Why?
Because pleasing God is so very important.
At that time, most of the Colossians who believed in Jesus and returned to the Father were poor and despised by the world.
Therefore, if we have to pray for them without ceasing in prison, we should first pray, “Lord, please take away their poverty and change their status so that they can be treated as people in the world.”
Still, Paul put this prayer ahead of them, "Lord, make them pleasing to God."
In addition, the saints at that time were bullied by society because they believed in Jesus, and it was difficult to carry their faces anywhere.
Under these circumstances, the saints at that time followed the Lord by living a life of faith.
Therefore, if Paul really prayed hard for them in prison, he would have to say, "Lord, give these people true freedom. Give them freedom of faith, so that they can be treated as people, and there will be no difficult trials or persecution."
Nevertheless, Paul turned all those prayers back.
Looking at the contents of the Apostle Paul's prayer, he prayed, "Lord, it is okay to be poor. It is okay to be disrespected. It is okay to be persecuted. Help the Colossians to become holy children of God who live their lives with the holy purpose to please God in everything."
This is God's vision, not our own vision.
And those who have the vision of God do not lead a self-centered life of faith.
One of the serious spiritual ailments many churches have today is being too egocentric.
Rather than please God, I think that we should be pleased with ourselves, and our own glory should be revealed rather than God's glory.
In the end, it can be said that this is the result of not finding the way of our faith right out of ignorance of not knowing God.
Therefore, we must keep developing our knowledge of God.
When Paul prayed for the church in Colossae, he said, “Grow in the knowledge of God.”
The word "make it grow" is important here.
No one can and cannot know God all at once.
Therefore, while living your life of faith, learning the Word, and continuing to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you are getting to know God little by little.
Just as water fills up, the knowledge of God fills up.
If you are filled like this, you will be able to discern God's will more clearly when you know God more than when you know God a little.
And the more he can discern what God's will is, the sooner he can find out what pleases him.
Therefore, the Apostle Paul prayed that the knowledge of God would increase in order to become the Colossians who please God in all things.
How many holy purposes do we have today to please God?
How much do you long to know God for that?
We must also live a life of obedience in order to please God.
In other words, obedience that is worthy of the Lord must follow.
How can a disobedient person please God?
Therefore, even if you hear or learn a word, it must be a faith that struggles to obey it. A person of this kind of faith is called a living Christian.
When you hear a sermon, you seem to hear it, but when you go out of the church, it all goes into your ears, and if you know that you just need to repent in moderation after living according to your old habits, you are mocking God.
Such a person only makes God sad, but cannot please God.
Therefore, our prayer topic is to pray, "Lord, how can I become a worthy obedience in your sight?"
However, if these prayers have disappeared from your prayers to such an extent that it is difficult to come out even once a month, it is a sign that your desires are already elsewhere.
Don't be this degenerate believer.
Every time God sees us, He is sad.
Paul prays that the Colossians will become fruit-bearers that please God.
I pray that you will bear fruit in good works.
When a person lives one life, he leaves fruit.
If we were all going to die right now, what kind of fruits do you think will bear fruit in our lives?
Would you like to spend "money money" for yourself every day without the purpose of pleasing God, leaving only your wealth as a fruit?
What will be left as fruits that will please God?
This is a question that we should seriously consider as we ponder.
We have a clear and holy purpose.
It is to please God in all things.
At the end of the speech>>
God who saved us, God who loves us, because you loved us so much that you forgive us all our sins in Jesus today, God the Father who sees us with big dreams and rejoices over us. What holy purpose should we have?
If we do not have such a holy purpose in our hearts, and if we do not pray for that holy purpose, no one is more ungrateful than we are.
Therefore, as saints with a holy purpose, we can live a life worthy to please the Lord, become saints who do not stop praying like the apostle Paul, and have a beautiful influence on the world. I bless you in the name of the Lord to become saints.