H.B. Charles Jr - "Walking Worthy" TGC Atlantic 2019: Session 1

let me begin by reading into your hearing the Word of God Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother to the Saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae grace to you and peace from God our Father we always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of this you have heard before in the word of truth the gospel which is come to you as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing as it also does among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth just as you learned it from me pass for us our beloved fellow servant he is a faithful minister on of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit and so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and our spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy giving thanks to the Father was qualified you to share in the inheritance of the Saints and light he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son and whom we have Redemption the forgiveness of sins amen want to label the message walk worthy walk worthy William Randolph Hearst the famous newspaper mogul of years ago was also an avid art collector and on one occasion he read about some valuable pieces of art and determined that he must add it to his collection he sent one of his employees to search out this work of art he did not care how long it took where this employee had to go or how much it was going to cost he wanted this work of art added to his collection sometime later the employee returned to Hearst with a report the report was bad news and good news the good news was that he finally found the elusive piece of art the bad news is that he found it in a storehouse of his bosses possessions he had been out searching for a work of art that his employer already owned in the real sense this is a sad parable of many professing Christians run about looking for things that are already ours in Jesus Christ too many churches are preoccupied with signs and wonders extra-biblical revelation health and wealth and a host of other things when God has already provided everything needed for life and godliness in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ in the 16th century Protestant Reformation faithful Christians fought to defend the essential doctrines of Sola scriptura scripture alone in Sola fit a faith alone in our generation we must take a stand for Solus Christus Christ alone as a result we desperately need to hear and he the message of Paul's epistle to the Colossians aberrant teaching false doctrine and in some regards outright heresy had invaded the church at Colossae we don't know what these teachings were specifically we can only make educated guesses on the basis of the content of Colossians and the culture of Colossae the city of Colossae was a melting pot of ideas a mixture of pagan and Greek and Jewish thought which infiltrated the church scholars tell us that this quote-unquote Colossians heresy as it is called is probably a compilation of legalism and asceticism mysticism docetism and Gnosticism the danger of all of these isms it's not that any one of them was presented to replace the Lord Jesus Christ the greater danger is that all of them were being promoted alongside of Christ it was Christ plus something else Randeep a phrase reported these things to Paul Paul who was under house arrest in Rome was moved to write this letter to the church about the supremacy of Christ Colossians chapter 1 verse 18 maybe the golden verse of the entire letter Paul declares and he is the head of the body the church he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead so that in everything he might be preeminent Christ alone is to have first and full and final authority in the church why Colossians chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 Paul declares for in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority really in simple terms the message of Colossians is if you have Jesus you already have enough and we get a sense of this in the opening passage of this letter to the Colossians Colossians chapter 1 verses 1 through 14 is the introduction of the letter verses 1 and 2 record Paul's opening greetings he identifies himself paul and apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother to the Saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae grace to you and peace from God our Father then in verses 3 through 8 we find his Thanksgiving to God for the Saints and then in verses 9 through 14 we find Paul's intercessory prayer for this young church I want to focus on Paul's Thanksgiving verses 3 through 8 and Paul's prayer verses 9 through 14 these verses teach us that walking worthy requires spiritual resources that are only found in Christ therefore we should constantly give thanks and pray for the church to be Christ centered so just consider this Thanksgiving in this prayer there is a thanks for Christ centered church and then a prayer for the Christ centered church first consider with me thanks for a Christ centered Church Christian life as a whole should be characterized by Thanksgiving in 1st Thessalonians 5 verse 18 Paul says give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God concerning you in Christ Jesus we should constantly be giving thanks to God and one of the things that we should constantly thank God for is the church we should follow the example of Paul here who writes in verse three we always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you according to chapter 2 verse 1 Paul and the Colossians had not met face to face he only knew them by the report that he Paris had given him and that report indeed included some disturbing news that prompted Paul to write this letter and yet he begins with Thanksgiving to God for the church verses 3 through 8 he gives thanks for the marks and the message and the ministry of this church consider those with me give thanks for the marks of the church the text says we think we always think God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven notice these three spiritual marks of an authentic church Faith Hope Love faith is mentioned first verse 4 Paul says we give thanks for the church since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus this is where Christianity starts you cannot have love for the saints our hope for heaven without first having faith in Christ remember when the Philippian jailer axed Paul and Silas serves what must I do to be saved and in acts 16 verse 31 Paul and Silas answer believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved you and your whole household the wonderful thing about that answer is that it's a line not a list right just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved note that that one-line answer points to belief not behavior we are not saved by what we do for God we are by what God has done for us in Christ Romans 4 verses 4 and 5 says now to the one who works his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due and to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly his faith is counted as righteousness salvation is not a reward that we earn it's a gift we receive through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so Paul declares his affirmation for this church because first of all of their faith in Christ Jesus and then secondly he says the second mark spiritual mark of a true churches their love for all of the saints he placed this love alongside with faith as an essential mark of their salvation it was reported to him both that they had faith and love and both of these convinced Paul that these were true Christians in Colossae when writer has said it well faith and love are inseparable companions there is a necessary connection between them faith without love is no living grace and love without faith is no saving grace Paul was convinced these were true Christians in Colossae whatever they needed to get right because of their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for all the saints john 13 verses 34 and 35 jesus has a new commandment i give to you that you love one another as i have loved you so you should love one another and by this will all people know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another jesus says Christians are not primarily identified by Bible knowledge moral standards ministry participation good works and spiritual gifts as important as all those who are saved people are identified as saved people by their love for other saved people true Christian love he says this far note the phrase all the Saints true Christians love all the saints regardless of age race gender status or any other thing that would separate us there is faith and there is love and then there is hope verse five say it's the reason why the Colossians possess Christian faith and practice Christian love because of the hope laid up for you in heaven Christian Hope is true assurance its patient waiting it's confident expectation Christian hope is more than wishing it is strength for today rooted in assurance for tomorrow Romans 8 verses 24 and 25 Paul writes for in this hope we are saved now hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he sees but if we hope for what we do not see we wait for it with patience Paul affirms these believers as true Christians because of their hope hope that was not based in are fickle people or temporal possessions or changing circumstances he says that Christian Hope is laid up for you in heaven this is a statement about the assurance of salvation that is ours in Christ on one hand it's it tells us the source of true assurance it comes from heaven real Christian hope is from above assurance comes from God who puts heaven in the hearts of his children this statement is also a statement about the security of our assurance it is from heaven laid up in heaven stored up in heaven first Peter chapter 1 verses 3 through 4 says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a Living Hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you Paul first then thanks God for the marks of a true church with him he thanks God for the message of the true church the message of the true church according to verses five and six the foundation of our hope is what God has done for us in Christ not what we do for God that is our hope is based on the gospel verses five and six notice what Paul teaches us about the gospel that should cause us to constantly give thanks to God no matter what the circumstances are first thing Paul says is that the gospel is truth the gospel is the truth in verses 4 and 5 Paul commends the Saints for their Christian faith hope and love now at the end of verse 5 Paul tells how the Colossians received these Christian virtues of this you have heard before in the word of truth the gospel notice how Paul speaks of the word of truth and the gospel simultaneously the word of truth is the gospel the gospel is the word of truth in John chapter 5 verses 39 and 40 Jesus declares you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you will have life but these are they that testify of me but you will not come to me that you may have life you will not find friends life in the scriptures until you meet the life giver in the scriptures the gospel is the message of the Bible the gospel of Jesus Christ is the word of truth but not only is the gospel the truth he says the gospel is powerful the gospel had come to colossi a and Paul was sure that it was the true gospel because it was doing the same thing it was doing all over the world the language here is not meant to indicate that the whole world had heard the gospel but he's saying that every everywhere in the world the true gospel shows up it does the same thing it demonstrates power but note that the power of the gospel is not military power or political power or economic power it is spiritual power Romans 1:16 for I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is no not it has or possesses or demonstrates it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek this power of the gospel is described in verse 6 with to agricultural pictures notice them he says the gospel is bearing fruit and growing the gospel bears fruit on went him this metaphor describes the work of the gospel among unbelievers and then he says the gospel is growing this describes the work of the gospel among believers this is interesting because trees don't bear fruit and grow at the same time they grow until they reach the maturity of fruit bearing but the gospel is so powerful it grows and bears fruit at the same time the gospel is the truth the gospel is powerful the gospel is God's sinner the gospel is God sinner notice this last call's in verse 6 Paul tells us how long the gospel had been bearing fruit and growing Colossae since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth this knows the affirmation we are saved by the grace of God grace is unmerited favor unearned kindness undeserved benevolence it is when God gives what we do not deserve it is God giving forgiveness when we deserve punishment it is God giving heaven when we deserve hell it is God giving life when we deserve death the grace of God is the gospel Ephesians 3 verse 10 Paul says that the mystery of the gospel the mystery of God's will is that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places the plan of God is that the whole spirit world may see the sovereign grace of God on display in the church as we who have been born again in Christ our trophies of his amazing grace so Paul gives thanks to God for the marks of the true church for the message of the true church for the ministry of the true church verse 2 7 and 8 really verses 7 and 8 are a commendation of Epirus that tells us about his relationship to paul to christ in to the colossians these verses also give us a glimpse into the dynamics of a Christ centered ministry in a local church I live too many congregations are measured by their ministry programs but but here Paul focuses on ministry priorities not ministry programs he says there are two priorities that are commendable in this church for which things should be given to God he says that the church was a place of learning in verse 7 Paul points the Colossians back to the introduction to the gospel he says just as you learned it from a Paris our beloved fellow servant you learned the gospel the gospel is not merely a simple set of facts it's a truth to be learned in the church is to be a place of learning this involves the receptivity of the members we don't come to church to feel better about ourselves we come to learn the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ together it is also a responsibility not just the receptivity of the members is a statement about the responsibility of ministers verse 7 Paul describes the ministry of epaphras in relation to Paul he says that he Paris is a beloved fellow servant and then he describes he Patras his ministry in relationship to Christ he is a faithful minister of Christ may that be said of us were called to be heralds of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we are faithful ministers of Christ Paul commends them for being a church where that was a place of learning but also a place of love concerning epaphroditus Paul says he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit for the record this is the second reference to Christian love in this passage so far verse 4 refers to the nature of Christian love for all the saints here verse 8 refers to the source of Christian love it is love in the spirit with this reference to the Holy Spirit each member of the Godhead is put on display in this introductory section of the passage verse 3 speaks of God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ verse 4 speaks of faith in Christ Jesus now verse 8 speaks of love in the spirit Galatians 5:22 says but the fruit of the Spirit is love nothing in us can prompt prompt it nothing in us can't accomplish it nothing in us can sustain it nothing in us in and of ourselves can do so true Christian love it's the fruit of the Holy Spirit as Christ has loved us remember in John 13 verse 34 he says and I have loved you so you had to love one another and how does he love us he lived for us he died for us he suffered for us we can only love one another in a christ-like way by the dynamic help of the Holy Spirit so there is a lot to address that burdens the heart of Paul in this letter but before he gets to concerns this is our encouragement to us who who are pastors here before he starts addressing the concerns he just spends an extended portion giving thanks to God he looks past the difficulties and the problems and the challenges and sees the hand of God at work by His amazing grace and before he gets into the bulimics he says we should just pause and thank God for what he's doing in the church and yet before he gets further after he thanks God for the Christ in the church he prays for the christ-centered church in verses 9 through 14 the reference gave Paul a report of the church's condition and if you just read verses 3 through 8 it seems like it was a good report yet Paul prayed for the church after receiving a good report I'm always challenged by this when I consider the connection of these two passages we sometimes fail to pray for others until we hear bad news of sickness or financial reversal or sin or trouble or opposition and in too many instances we are quick to pray for those who are obviously weak but slow to pray for those who are apparently strong but Paul here after this good report knew that there were dangers toils and snares the church faced and so from Thanksgiving he moves into intercessory prayer for the church verse 3 tells us that Paul prays for the church verses 9 through 14 tells us what he prays for the church and I just want to consider what Paul prays for the church here wish I had a there's a whole message just to consider the fact that Paul is praying he's under house arrest in Rome he does not know as he awaits trial if he'll be vindicated and release or convicted and executed but he has not imprisoned pitying himself complaining to others or grumbling at God he is praying and he's not praying for the obvious for deliverance from jail he is praying for other people he is praying for the Colossians he is praying for the Saints he is praying for them he says without ceasing and the chapter 2 verse 1 tells us that they had not yet met face to face and yet Paul is engaged in ongoing intercessory prayer for four people he had never even met before which kind of raises the question what do you pray for people you've never met well what what what do you pray when you don't know what to pray notice what Paul prays in regard to this Christ centered Church he prays for devotion to God's will and dependence upon God's power first he prays for a devotion to God's will verse 9 and so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding that the word here field just means in the Greek field it's nothing deep but when when it is used metaphorically as it is here it denotes totality and exclusivity something that is field doesn't have room for anything else and so when the New Testament talks about us being filled with something that means that thing is the driving force the controlling influence and the dominating presence in our lives Paul prays not the guard would place the Saints in his will or even that the Saints would know God's will but that they would be filled with it dominated by it governed by it controlled by God's will why verse 10 so that you walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God but notice this picture of walking worthy 3fo picture how can you identify the worthy walk he says the worthy walk is the walk that is pleasing God it's pleasing to him the term here pleasing was used in the culture of its day to talk of one who did whatever it took to please another person even if it be illegal immoral or unethical Paul slips determined to the lexicon of the church to saying that you should not be willing to do whatever it takes to please people but you should be willing to do whatever it takes to please the Lord you can't do both at the same time beware you can be a smashing success with people and a horrible failure with God on the other hand divine pleasure will often lead to human criticism question is who are you trying to please the other mark of the worthy walk is that you're bearing fruit Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 says by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God not the result of works so that no one may boast Paul is clear that we are saved we are not saved by good works we are saved by grace but then in verse 10 of Ephesians 2 he rushes to say that though we are not saved by good works we are saved for good works we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them so Paul prays that they would be bearing fruit in every good work John 15 verse 8 Jesus says by this is my father glorified that you bear much fruit and in so doing prove to be my disciples and then they'll be increasing in the knowledge of God John 17 verse 3 says and this is eternal life that they may know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent saved people know God but save people are not content with what they know about God they're like Paul who after walking with the Lord for 30 years dares to say in Philippians 3 and 10 and 11 I want to know him and the power of his resurrection and the Fellowship of sharing in his suffering there by any means I may attain the out resurrection from among the dead oh praise the same concern for the Saints here that they would always be increasing in the knowledge of God and it's not just about learning something new about God it's about going deeper in your knowledge of God Roy Lauren wrote that when a tree increases the growth of his branches it does not forsake its roots it always grows both ways it its roots grow deeper as its branches grow higher so Paul prayed that the church would have devotion to God's will that they would be filled with the knowledge of his will but then he prays that the Saints would have dependence upon God's power dependence upon God's power he says in verse 11 I'm also praying that you be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy mark it down you cannot do God's will in your strength in fact notice in verse 11 there are three different words for power strength power and might I won't spend the time doing Greek word studies to distinguish between the three terms just note Paul says we are so weak we need all of it right we need we need a strength is power and this might but in saying this he is saying that prayer is available the power is available that is through prayer he doesn't promise that you'll feel strong but he promises that God will will give strength out it's wonderful assurance God will give you strength as strength is needed furthermore not only does he say that God's power is available he says here the God's power is sufficient he says that I'm praying you would be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might the strength available is not according to you but it's according to his glorious might according to means the needed strength comes from God's exhaustive it exhaustive sovereignty not our limited resources why do we as Christians why do we as ministers need to be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might look at the answer not that we might preach and teach and witness and not that might we might serve and worship listen what he says we need all the strength that we can get for endurance and patience with joy endurance and patience are parallel terms that there's a subtle nuance Endurance's about how you respond to difficult circumstances patience is about how you respond to difficult people God doesn't want difficult circumstances or difficult people to stop but God wants us to have if I'm a staying power how do you know when God has provided this Paul says when you are living and trusting and serving in God's endurance and strength it will not be grit your teeth grin and bear it I'll do it if it kills me endurance and patience it will be endurance and patience with joy hallelujah what are the intended results of this prayer how can you identify a person who has been strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy what is the difference between a strong Christian and a weak Christian in other words verse 12 Paul says you can spot the strong Christian the devoted Christian the Christ focus Christian because they are giving thanks to the Father again strong Christians have learned to thank God in whatever circumstances they find themselves Psalm 100 verse 4 says we should enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise give thanks to him and bless his name for the Lord is good and His mercy is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations may be weary and burdened and troubled and acts what do I have to be thankful for listen to verses 12 through 14 we should give thanks to the father because he has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the Saints in life he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have Redemption the forgiveness of sin praise God for it let's pray Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for your word we thank you for this book of Colossians and the opportunity we will have these days to study our way through this glorious exaltation of the sovereignty supremacy and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things about the Lord Jesus Christ from your word help us Lord not only to learn the truth and be reminded of it but help us to encounter the Christ as we hear the word so that we would grow in the Grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ that our faith in Him would and our love for him and our devotion to him would grow and that we would endure and be patient wherever you've assigned us now we would proclaim this message and defend this message pass this message on to the next generation for your glory in Jesus name Amen

Channel: TGC Atlantic

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Length: 40min 20sec (2420 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 10 2020