Truly Knowing God’s Grace (Pt.5)
Colossians 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, 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.”
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-12 states will be displayed in your life.
The second result that will be produced in your life is that you will grow in the knowledge of God. This is so vital to our spiritual life because we have an enemy that will constantly question God to us.
In the garden the serpent came to Eve and said, “Did God really say?” The more we get to know the very nature of God the easier it is for us to surrender to His will and ways. Over and over in the Old and the New Testament God’s character is revealed and confirmed. Ps 103:8 states that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. ! John 4:16 says we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
I love that we can rely on this one thing – that God loves us. His love is not judgmental it is not conditional and it is not finite. It never wears thin and it never runs dry. In fact, His love never fails, it says in 1 Corinthians 13.
We need to know who God is so that we can trust him with what is happening in our lives. He loved us while we were yet sinners. Once we are born again of the Spirit of God we become sons and daughters.
We need to see the love God has for us. How do we learn and grow in that love? We read the word, we listen to the word, we ask the Spirit to reveal the love of God to us and we listen to others’ testimonies of how this great love has touched their lives.
As we grow in the knowledge of God we can be assured of what God does say to us and about us. So, when the enemy comes prowling around your door you can resist him, stand firm and rely on the love He has for you.
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-12 states will be displayed in your life.
The second result that will be produced in your life is that you will grow in the knowledge of God. This is so vital to our spiritual life because we have an enemy that will constantly question God to us.
In the garden the serpent came to Eve and said, “Did God really say?” The more we get to know the very nature of God the easier it is for us to surrender to His will and ways. Over and over in the Old and the New Testament God’s character is revealed and confirmed. Ps 103:8 states that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. ! John 4:16 says we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
I love that we can rely on this one thing – that God loves us. His love is not judgmental it is not conditional and it is not finite. It never wears thin and it never runs dry. In fact, His love never fails, it says in 1 Corinthians 13.
We need to know who God is so that we can trust him with what is happening in our lives. He loved us while we were yet sinners. Once we are born again of the Spirit of God we become sons and daughters.
We need to see the love God has for us. How do we learn and grow in that love? We read the word, we listen to the word, we ask the Spirit to reveal the love of God to us and we listen to others’ testimonies of how this great love has touched their lives.
As we grow in the knowledge of God we can be assured of what God does say to us and about us. So, when the enemy comes prowling around your door you can resist him, stand firm and rely on the love He has for you.
Truly Knowing God’s Grace (Pt. 4)
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-11 states will be displayed in your life.
Firstly, you will bear fruit in every good work. When I was a child, my family lived on an apple orchard for many years. Those trees never lifted a finger to produce all the tons of apples that came off those them. However, my father worked hard: pruning, watering, protecting and picking. And so it is with our lives! This very analogy is used in John 15. We see that the Father is the gardener of our lives and he knows exactly what we need to produce the best fruit.
One thing we need to recognise is the times and seasons of our lives. With the apple trees the winter season didn’t look pretty, just dead. There will be times in our lives when the Father is at work in you even though you feel dead. For He knows what is coming and what you is necessary to bring about the fruit for the next good work.
When you are in a winter season it is important to stay plugged into the Lord. Keep your roots covered in Him or you’ll not survive. I remember being in such a season and the last thing I wanted to do was go to church. However we went. I remember Jim and I taking long walks and praying. Everything felt dark and hard but then “suddenly” the Spirit of God hit me. And I truly felt like I was born again, again. Song of Songs says, “the winter is past, the spring has come”. It was a “suddenly” but I still had to live through the darkness.
God is at work in you because His desire is for you to be His planting and a display of His splendour. If you find yourself in a winter season rest in the fact that it is for a “time” and spring will come.
Firstly, you will bear fruit in every good work. When I was a child, my family lived on an apple orchard for many years. Those trees never lifted a finger to produce all the tons of apples that came off those them. However, my father worked hard: pruning, watering, protecting and picking. And so it is with our lives! This very analogy is used in John 15. We see that the Father is the gardener of our lives and he knows exactly what we need to produce the best fruit.
One thing we need to recognise is the times and seasons of our lives. With the apple trees the winter season didn’t look pretty, just dead. There will be times in our lives when the Father is at work in you even though you feel dead. For He knows what is coming and what you is necessary to bring about the fruit for the next good work.
When you are in a winter season it is important to stay plugged into the Lord. Keep your roots covered in Him or you’ll not survive. I remember being in such a season and the last thing I wanted to do was go to church. However we went. I remember Jim and I taking long walks and praying. Everything felt dark and hard but then “suddenly” the Spirit of God hit me. And I truly felt like I was born again, again. Song of Songs says, “the winter is past, the spring has come”. It was a “suddenly” but I still had to live through the darkness.
God is at work in you because His desire is for you to be His planting and a display of His splendour. If you find yourself in a winter season rest in the fact that it is for a “time” and spring will come.
Truly Knowing God’s Grace (pt.3)
Colossians 1:9 states: “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.”
Paul continually asks God to fill their church with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Why?
It is important to note that spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and understanding only come from the Spirit. Worldly thinking and spiritual thinking are poles apart. In Is. 55 it states that My(God’s) thoughts and ways are not yours. So we can’t continue to have the same thinking that the world does and assume that thinking is from God. In Romans 12:2 it says do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.
That is why it is vital to pray this prayer just as Paul was for the church at Colossae. The pattern of this world is not God’s and we are called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light so we can show forth His light to the world. However, we need to know God’s will for ourselves so we need to be transformed.
God is at work in each of us to will and to do of His good pleasure it says in Philippians. His desire is that you be filled with the knowledge of His will – that the very Spirit of God would come upon and impart to you wisdom and understanding.
Begin today by making Paul’s prayer your prayer for you, your family and your church.
Paul continually asks God to fill their church with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Why?
It is important to note that spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and understanding only come from the Spirit. Worldly thinking and spiritual thinking are poles apart. In Is. 55 it states that My(God’s) thoughts and ways are not yours. So we can’t continue to have the same thinking that the world does and assume that thinking is from God. In Romans 12:2 it says do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.
That is why it is vital to pray this prayer just as Paul was for the church at Colossae. The pattern of this world is not God’s and we are called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light so we can show forth His light to the world. However, we need to know God’s will for ourselves so we need to be transformed.
God is at work in each of us to will and to do of His good pleasure it says in Philippians. His desire is that you be filled with the knowledge of His will – that the very Spirit of God would come upon and impart to you wisdom and understanding.
Begin today by making Paul’s prayer your prayer for you, your family and your church.
Fishing for Men
On Sunday, January 22 Joel Inkster shared the message entitled ‘Fishing for Men’. This series of teachings is inspired by that message. I will follow his thoughts adding my titbits (Br. sp. versus Am. ‘tidbit’) to the mix too.
Matthew 4:18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
This passage is descriptive of Jesus recruiting the first of his disciples as part of His strategy for fulfilling His mission here on earth. A disciple is somebody who strongly believes in the teachings of a leader, a philosophy, or a religion, and tries to act according to them. The key in this definition is that “they try to act according to what they have been taught”. Jesus in this passage is calling Peter, Andrew, John and James to become fishers of men. He is taking their natural skills and transferring it into the realm of salvation. He spoke in their vernacular when he called them to be his disciples.
If Jesus wanted them to do what he did, then we must ask the question: “What did Jesus do to fish for men?” The best way to train someone in anything is to have them participating with you while you do it. So having called these men to follow him and become a fisher of men we can see what Jesus immediately did by continuing to read Matthew 4.
Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Jesus did three things: taught in the synagogues, preached the good news of the kingdom, and healed the sick. As I said to train disciples we must have them participate in what we are doing. Jesus empowered his disciples to do what he had been doing:
1. Engage people where they gather,
2. Share the message of the kingdom of God,
3. Demonstrate it by setting people free from demons and diseases.
We can see this in effect in Luke 9 and 11 where he sent out the 12 and then the 72.
Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
This was the main and plain of being a fisher of men as Jesus taught and demonstrated. He passed it on to his disciples, and not just the 12, but to 72, and most like more.
If we aren’t getting results when we go fishing, maybe the problem is we aren’t where the fish are or we are using the wrong bait. It’s not the church but the kingdom. It’s not in words only but in the demonstration of power. Then we will be “fishers of men”.
Matthew 4:18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
This passage is descriptive of Jesus recruiting the first of his disciples as part of His strategy for fulfilling His mission here on earth. A disciple is somebody who strongly believes in the teachings of a leader, a philosophy, or a religion, and tries to act according to them. The key in this definition is that “they try to act according to what they have been taught”. Jesus in this passage is calling Peter, Andrew, John and James to become fishers of men. He is taking their natural skills and transferring it into the realm of salvation. He spoke in their vernacular when he called them to be his disciples.
If Jesus wanted them to do what he did, then we must ask the question: “What did Jesus do to fish for men?” The best way to train someone in anything is to have them participating with you while you do it. So having called these men to follow him and become a fisher of men we can see what Jesus immediately did by continuing to read Matthew 4.
Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Jesus did three things: taught in the synagogues, preached the good news of the kingdom, and healed the sick. As I said to train disciples we must have them participate in what we are doing. Jesus empowered his disciples to do what he had been doing:
1. Engage people where they gather,
2. Share the message of the kingdom of God,
3. Demonstrate it by setting people free from demons and diseases.
We can see this in effect in Luke 9 and 11 where he sent out the 12 and then the 72.
Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
This was the main and plain of being a fisher of men as Jesus taught and demonstrated. He passed it on to his disciples, and not just the 12, but to 72, and most like more.
If we aren’t getting results when we go fishing, maybe the problem is we aren’t where the fish are or we are using the wrong bait. It’s not the church but the kingdom. It’s not in words only but in the demonstration of power. Then we will be “fishers of men”.
Truly Knowing the Grace of God (pt.2)
20/01/12 20:09 Filed in: bible study, grace, faith
In verse nine of chapter one Paul says that he has not stopped praying for them and that he continually asks. Here are two key principles! The first is ‘never stop praying’. Prayer makes a difference but we must persevere in prayer. James 5:16 states that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Then it goes on to reference Elijah. When he was praying for rain to come he prayed and looked to see if there were any results from his prayer. He didn’t stop praying because he couldn’t see anything happening but kept praying until a small cloud the size of a man’s fist appeared on the horizon. Prayer requires perseverance. So keep on asking, knocking and seeking!
But there is a second key to praying. Ask but ask specifically. Paul in this prayer for the Colossians was asking that they would be filled with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding the Spirit gives. Paul knew what he was asking for. Be specific and ask. James says you have not because you ask not. So ask and keep asking until you see the fulfilment of your prayers.
When our children were growing up, I constantly asked that they would grow in wisdom, in stature and in favour with God and with man, just as Jesus did as stated in Luke 2:52. I didn’t stop asking, because I knew that God would hear and answer my pray.
What is on your heart? We serve a great God and He is attentive to the voice of His people. So ask Him and believe for the impossible to be released in your midst.
But there is a second key to praying. Ask but ask specifically. Paul in this prayer for the Colossians was asking that they would be filled with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding the Spirit gives. Paul knew what he was asking for. Be specific and ask. James says you have not because you ask not. So ask and keep asking until you see the fulfilment of your prayers.
When our children were growing up, I constantly asked that they would grow in wisdom, in stature and in favour with God and with man, just as Jesus did as stated in Luke 2:52. I didn’t stop asking, because I knew that God would hear and answer my pray.
What is on your heart? We serve a great God and He is attentive to the voice of His people. So ask Him and believe for the impossible to be released in your midst.
