Paul’s Heart for the Church

Sunday Morning 5/22/11

Colossians 1:9-14

Most of the time we pray for people only when they are in need. Although there is nothing wrong with that and we are commanded to do that, we often neglect the people who are doing well. We should add the people who are blessed by God onto our list. Just because they are blessed and growing does not mean that they are not vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. In fact, the moments you are so closest to God are the moments that the enemy comes to you more than any other time.

V9 According to Paul, there is no stagnancy in the life of Christians. Paul prayed that the church would be “filled with knowledge of his will”. Paul wants us to allow God to fill us in all completeness.

Luke 5:17 Jesus did an outstanding miracle here. He had healed a paralyzed man. The response of the crowd was that they had become “filled with awe”. There was a sense of fear and respect. It was a feeling of the dominance of God’s wonder inside of them, complete and full.

Luke 6:6 When Jesus healed the lame man, the crowd was filled with awe, but the Pharisees were filled with something else: rage, anger and fury.

There are many things we can be filled with but God wants us to be filled with:

1)      Knowledge: V9 we need to be filled with the knowledge of his will. God wanted the church to be dominated by the will of God. People sometimes know God’s will but it does nothing for them. To be filled with the will of God means that we will V10 walk worthy of the Lord. The life that we live, the conduct that we demonstrate will equate to God’s. The life of a Christian should be equal to his standard. We would live a life pleasing to God. We would live a life doing things that please God and not doing things that sadden him. Being filled with knowledge of Him will compel us to walk according to His purpose. To know him more, we would love him more.

2)      Power: V11 no one can live a Christian life with their own strength. Our efforts would be meaningless. Even with our best attempt we would not be able to obtain the things of God. It is inevitable that we would be scared, uncomfortable, sad, discouraged, etc. But we need to realize that God’s power is available and he can take those things away. We need to be filled with God’s power so we can face difficulties in life with joy as well as live according to His will.