Colossians 1:9-14 “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Herk continued in his sermon series on “perseverance”. We know that our walk with the Lord on this side of eternity is a journey with many a winding turns and obstacles along the path, requiring diligence and perseverance. In persevering, we are able to discover our destiny in Christ, according to His purposes. So, we need to be encouraged to persevere in Christ. Perseverance is defined as: To persist in any business or enterprise undertaken; to pursue steadily any project or course begun; to maintain a purpose in spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement; not to give or abandon what is undertaken. Syn. -- To Persevere, Continue, Persist. The idea of not laying aside is common to these words. Continue is the generic term, denoting simply to do as one has done hitherto. To persevere is to continue in a given course in spite of discouragements, etc., from a desire to obtain our end. To persist is to continue from a determination of will not to give up. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have to be diligent and faithful in pursuing with perseverance in obedience to the Lord.
The indwelling Holy Spirit is at work within every Christian giving guidance and encouragement, and we are to reflect Christ with the love of Christ to other people. This may be difficult at times, but we are to live out of faith until we are called home in Heaven. Are we doing it? The Christian life may require sacrifice of time, talents or treasures. To show God’s love. Honestly, there are times when it is a struggle to live as God has asked us to live. But, God’s strength, mercy and grace carried you on in perseverance. God’s gives hope and a way to help in times of trouble to overcome difficulties in our life.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christian church in Colossi to focus on the Messiah - Christ the risen Lord, and not on all of the godless chaos and confusion going on around them which distracts their attention and leads down the wrong road. Isn’t that what the devil does? Be focused on the important One, Jesus, as our attention needs to be up and only our glance needs to be around us. False prophets add their opinions to the Word of God and subtracting found God’s truth. Do we see that today … even in the church? We are all to be disciples of Jesus Christ (A learner; a scholar; one who receives or professes to receive instruction from another; as the disciples of Jesus. A follower; an adherent to the doctrines of another. Hence the constant attendants of Christ were called his disciples; and hence all Christians are called his disciples, as they profess to learn and receive his doctrines and precepts). Focus and stand firm on the basis of the Christian faith in Jesus Christ and persevere in the truth of the Gospel.
Born-again repentant Believers receive God’s undeserved love and grace, demonstrated by Him sending Jesus to die on the Cross to bear the punishment for our sins, once and for all. Learning, knowing following and living out God’s teachings and commands is what God intends for us to live worthy in Christ and they all are applicable today because Almighty God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow … and so is His holy Word. Live a life worthy of our savior and Lord’s sacrifice for us. God’s Word in Holy Scripture gives us the strength and motivation to persevere and endure the problems of life and the hardships that come up. God’s grace is the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men and women receive from Him. It is the receiving that which is not deserved in that favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin.
Persevere to know God’s will for your life and endure to find it. Persevere to spiritual maturity in thought, word and action. Persevere to endure the hardships that come before you on the path of life (bumps, stumps and jumps). Persevere in growing in your relationship with Christ, drawing closer to the Lord. How do we persevere daily as disciples of Jesus Christ? “We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Our lives would be so much different if we could fully understand God’s will and purpose for our lives. God’s doesn’t make mistakes, but we do. We can reach out to God in prayer to reveal His will and purpose for us. On this side of Heaven, the Christian will never reach full spiritual maturity, but each of us can grow in our spiritual wisdom and understanding as we draw closer to Christ. As we do, we gain knowledge of God and His will for our lives.
When we truly find Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we discover that our purpose is more than adding godly duties to our check-off list of “things to do today” or just going to church on Sunday. The transformation of our heart and the regeneration of our spirit are metamorphic changes to our soul and very inner being. Christians, children of God, citizen of Heaven, and brothers or sisters in Christ is not about “what we do”, but “who we are” because of “whose we are” as “born-again” conversion in justification and consecration in sanctification by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. God saved us for much more than waiting to for going to Heaven. If that was the case, we would be there immediately upon salvation. Because of the “Fall of Man”, we live in a lost and dying world of sin that is in desperate need of the Savior, but the “blind to sin” world need help to see and understand their sin against their Just and Holy Creator God, to repent and find forgiveness, redemption and salvation in Jesus Christ at the foot of the Cross, escaping the wrath to come unto eternal damnation in Hell. On this side of eternity, there is kingdom work in the mission field to take the Gospel in word and action for the saving of as many souls as will hear and accept the free gift of God in a saving knowledge of Christ. Believers as saved to fruitfully save others, who save others, advancing the kingdom of God.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on "perseverance" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment