Freedom, Intriguing yet Elusive
Colossians 1:9-14

July 11, 2004

Scripture:

Galatians 2:11-14

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Colossians 1:9-14

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul is telling us in his letter to the Colossians that we must lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him.  But it’s tough- we’re busy and distracted, and we find that we don’t have the strength or the time to please God.  But God wants us to seek him, for he is the only one who can rescue us from bondage to worry and sin and death, and he wants to set us free to live life to the fullest.

Very intriguing- It’s one of the paradoxes of Christianity. Only when we learn that we can’t please God in our own strength, can we start to please God.

But then how exactly does God want us to please Him?

Well, the passage from Colossians reveals 4 ways that we can please God…
1. In Bearing Fruit
We are often referred to in the Bible as being trees of righteousness. We are planted in the House of the Lord, we grow up into well nurtured plants, we are described as being pine trees, myrtle, olive trees….

These are trees that need to bear fruit. One of the most beautiful things about this assortment of trees is that they don’t only bear one kind of fruit. Through God’s grace, we get to bear all kinds of fruit for God, for God has given us the power, the nourishment and the opportunity to do it!

What does a fruitless person look like? They look stale, they’re crusty in their faith, they’re stuck in a rut. Their prison is built around “I want” rather than “God wants”. And what God wants is people who are fertile, who are ready to be used, who are able to be used.
We must be ready and able to be used by God to bear fruit in every good work and in every opportunity.

2. Growing in the Knowledge of God
God loves, He delights in those people that seek to know and understand Him better. God loves it when people endeavor to grow in their knowledge of Him, He loves it when people seek Him in order to understand His ways and understand His purposes to new levels. God delights in those people that search Him in order to know who He is, what He does, why He does things, what He commands us to do.

Think about your relationships for a minute… don’t you love it when someone really inquires into who you are, what you like and dislike? Don’t you love it when someone really wants to know you and find out what makes you tick?
God is the same. He delights in those that inquire into His nature, His purpose, especially His will and those that ask for His counsel and advice. He loves it when we grow in knowledge of Him.

3. Being Strengthened by His Power
Paul goes on to say, “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious power so that you may have great endurance and patience”.

God is pleased with us when we look to Him for strength. Paul specifically adds “according to HIS glorious power”. Paul isn’t talking about transcendental meditation… he’s not talking about locking yourself in a room and conjuring up your own inner strength and power.

The incredible power that God displayed when He raised Jesus from the dead is the same power from the same Spirit that lives in YOU!
- power given so that we can fight temptation and win!
- power is also given so that we can tell people about Jesus boldly and with great courage.
Acts 1:8 says
"…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

And Paul is specifically referring to this power in giving us greater endurance and giving us greater patience. So that despite trials, temptations, despite hard times, despite times of weariness and times where we feel like we’re in a desert, God’s power, His might, His strength comes and He imparts to us greater endurance and greater patience.

4. Giving Thanks to God
God simply loves it when we give thanks to Him. When we recognize Him as being the Giver of all blessings… when we “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”.
Paul says that we should ‘joyfully give thanks’!
a. Partake of the Inheritance
We should thank God because He has allowed us to share in the inheritance of heaven for all eternity.

b. God has freed us from Darkness
We must thank God because He has snatched us from the fire, we have been taken from darkness, we’ve been removed from the reign and the rule of darkness in our lives.

c. Given us Forgiveness
Because of Jesus, we have total forgiveness of sins, we can experience total removal of guilt and we can live in freedom from sin because we are not bound by sin anymore.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says:
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
There are so many things we can thank God for… blessings, family, friends, work, our country, freedom, life, and these great examples of things relating to our salvation that we have as well.

 

And God frees us from trying to do it all ourselves, on our own.  He sets us free from sin and death that we might have life more abundantly:
God frees us when we operate in faith, love and a desire to give glory to Him.
God frees us when we bear fruit through the good things that we do.
God frees us when grow in our knowledge and our acknowledgement of Him.
God frees us when we rely on His strength and power instead of our own.
God frees us when we give Him thanks for the things He has done.

 

BAPTISM: today a new tree planted in the house of the Lord