Anatomy of A Prayer - Part Two

October 14, 2001 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: Colossians

Scripture: Colossians 1:12–14

Transcript

Anatomy of A Prayer-Part Two

Colossians 1:12-14
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Pastor Randy Smith



Please open your Bibles to Colossians 1. Two weeks ago we dissected the middle portion of Paul's prayer to the Colossians in verses 9-11. We specifically learned how the apostle Paul prayed in response to a favorable report, regarding the Colossian church that he received from Epaphras. The entire message was built around the purpose clause in verse 10: "so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord , to please Him in all respects." As a Christian, and I can't overstate this position, there is no higher goal than to be found pleasing to God!

The prior verse (1:9) speaks of the prerequisite of pleasing God. To please God we must grow in the knowledge and understanding of His will by the aid of the Holy Spirit. Naturally, we cannot please God unless we first know how to please God.

The verses that follow (10-12) explain the results of pleasing God. We are to be "bearing fruit in every good work," which is evidence of a changed life based on attitudes and actions. We are to be "increasing in the knowledge of God," which is seeking to know more about His nature and will. We are to be "strengthened by His power," which is depending on God's strength and not our own. We are to be "joyously giving thanks," which is a fulfillment of the commands to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances.

That overall list is not very threatening until we reach the final point: "joyously giving thanks". Pastor, "Do you mean to say that I should be giving thanks for everything? Do you mean to say that I should receive everything in my life with a spirit of gratitude? Do you mean that my life should be marked by an ongoing attitude of joy?" Do you mean to tell me that when I am not rejoicing and not giving thanks that I am displeasing to the Lord? But you don't know the struggles that I face! You don't know about cancer and migraines and Parkinson's. You don't know about an unbelieving spouse or rebellious children. You don't know about termites, taxes, gossip, anthrax and radical Muslims. If you only knew my life, Pastor, you would realize that I can't give thanks…and I definitely can't rejoice! Don't loose that thought…

EGYPT - Today, Egypt has the Middle East's largest Christian community. However, the country's constitution gives preference to Muslims, and Christians are treated as second-class citizens, denied political representation, and discriminated against in employment. The government uses an 1856 Ottoman Empire law to keep any church from being built, repaired, or even repainted without the permission of Egypt's president. Christians are also susceptible to attacks by Muslim extremists, who often go unpunished by Egyptian authorities. In February 1997, Muslim militants murdered 15 Christians inside their place of worship.

INDONESIA - "Just two days prior to Indonesian President Sukarnoputri's Oval Office visit with President Bush, radical Muslims attacked Christian homes and churches in West Java. The attacked occurred at approximately 7:00 PM, September 17th 2001. 23 houses were burned and 58 families are now homeless. 2 churches were burned in the attack. Although no one was killed or seriously injured in the rampage, fanatical Muslims have reportedly killed 10,000 Christians in the past two years.

SUDAN - "(Sudan), Africa's largest country is experiencing an onslaught of persecution. The Muslim government of Khartoum in the North has declared a jihad, or holy war, against the mostly Christian South. Omar Hassan al-Turabi, an Islamic leader, has stated that anyone who opposes Islam "has no future." Muslim students are recruited out of universities and told that they can keep whatever they pillage if they join the war against non-Muslims. Since 1985, approximately two million have perished due to the genocide. Because of the war, famine has plagued the country as people are unable to plant and harvest. Families in the South are terrorized-fathers killed, mothers raped, and children sold into slavery. Yet in the midst of these atrocities, the Body in Sudan remains strong, worshiping their Savior and leading others to Him.

And you have trouble giving thanks? And you have trouble rejoicing?

These folks have trouble just living! What enables these Christians to continue when just claiming the Name of Jesus Christ could cost them their life?

Our world is filled with pain and disappointment and grief and heartache. No doubt all of us bring shades of these elements with us into the auditorium this morning. "I can't rejoice when _____ is going on". "I can't give thanks for _____". Paul must have anticipated some resistance to his admonition of "joyfully giving thanks". Therefore he closes his prayer in Colossians 1 with three reasons why every Christian should continually be giving thanks with great joy. And the answers are all summed up in the person of Jesus Christ!

The objective this morning is to realize how God is not only sovereign, promising to work everything together for our good, but to understand that He has also provided for our greatest need. "He transferred us from the kingdom of darkness and delivered us into the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col. 1:13). We have a complete pardon from our sin! What else can enable a persecuted church in the Middle East to persevere? What could bring greater gratitude and joy for an eternity? A proper on-going understanding of this benevolent act will revolutionize our ability to rejoice and give thanks-always. Last week we talked about what you should do for Christ. This week we'll discuss what Christ has done for you.

1. QUALIFIED TO INHERIT

Lets look at the first point, the first of three reasons we should always be joyously giving thanks. Verse 12, "…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light".

"Qualified" is the key word in the verse, meaning, "to make sufficient," "to empower," "to authorize," or "to make fit." But what are we qualified for? Based on this verse we are qualified for "the inheritance," or in other words, heaven. And what qualifies a person for heaven? After all, today we live in a day and age when people think they are qualified simply on the means of being a member of the human race. Others are somewhat more exclusive and proclaim that qualification is based on one's personal deeds such as being religious, leading a good life, following the 10 Commandments, etc.

Unfortunately the Bible does not allow these as viable options for qualification as demonstrated in our passage. Naturally these responses don't fit the immediate context of giving thanks to the Father, because all these responses are the result of one's own efforts. Meaning, if I make it to heaven based upon my own merit, I will reserve the greatest praise for myself, and God takes a back seat. Then what enables me to enter heaven while simultaneously and joyously give thanks to the Father? I'll answer that question eventually, but in building to the answer, I'd like to make two observations about the inheritance spoken of in this verse.

First, although it's common to think of the inheritance as future, the grammar states that the "qualification" occurred in the past and the inheritance is a present reality reaching into eternity. In other words, my qualification for heaven was ultimately wrought long before my good deeds, my decision for Christ and my baptism. It even happened long before my birth! Paul is speaking of a past event enacted by a merciful and loving God that purchased my qualification. And though this inheritance is ultimately future oriented, a hope laid up for me in heaven (Col 1:5), it has present realities, whereas, I can receive it, savor it, enjoy it and participate in it now! I rejoice in obtaining and experiencing the inheritance currently, while anticipating a fuller and even greater state of the inheritance securely stored away for me in the future.

Elsewhere Paul said, "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise , who is given as a pledge (A payment of security , a deposit) of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory….I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints ". So this inheritance is a accomplished by a past event promising a present reality with a fuller hope guaranteed in the future." (Eph. 1:13-14, 18).

A second observation about this inheritance is found in verse. 12. The inheritance belongs to the "saints in light". Not everybody will share this inheritance, but only a select group who are considered "saints in light". We learned earlier in this letter that the word "saint" (Greek word hagios), simply means, "holy ones." We are "saints in light." The word "light" often brings forth the connotations of purity. This inheritance only belongs to those that are devoted to holiness, those set apart from sin and dedicated to God. The book of Hebrews confirms, "Without holiness, no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14 NIV). All 5 references to "holy ones" in the book of Colossians refer to the same select group of people. They are saints in light, God's children, in contrast to the sons of darkness.

So who are these people who have received such a glorious inheritance? What happened on their behalf, before they were born, which enables them to joyfully give thanks to the Father for this inheritance? What is the difference between a saint in light and a son in darkness? The apostle will answer that question as we move to the second point, Delivered from Darkness.

2. DELIVERED FROM DARKNESS

Why is it that someone who has experienced starvation can better appreciate food ? Why is it that someone who has experienced war can better appreciate peace ? Why is it that someone who has experienced sin better appreciates forgiveness ? "For He delivered us from the domain of darkness," (Col. 1:13). Paul reminds us of what we were before Christ. And the more we understand our past, the more we will appreciate our future.

According to the Bible, every human being is a slave to sin, controlled by Satan's power and awaiting a future away from the presence of God. Ephesians 2:1-3 says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we were following the course of this world, according to the devil, we were amongst the sons of disobedience and we were by nature children of wrath. Apart from Christ, all humans are born in sin, all humans are declared sinners by God's decree and all humans are without hope. We can't remove out guilt. We can't change our sinful nature. We can't work our way to heaven.

Maybe even most frightening of all, apart from God revealing our true condition, we wouldn't even know the depth of our depravity. Humans, blinded by the god of this world and their own flesh, are unaware of their awful predicament. Our spiritual citizenship was in the domain of darkness under the bondage of Satan, deceived by the father of lies, awaiting the culmination of God's wrath. Let's not forget Christian, that is where we were, and because of our sin, that is what we deserve.

But God had a plan from the foundation of the world, a rescue mission for lost sinners, a plan prophesied all the way back in Genesis 3 right after the fall. In speaking to Satan He said, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel" (Gen 3:15). Mary's seed: a Lamb that would be slain before the foundation of the earth, a Messiah that would come to bear the sins of His people. A God that would love the world so much that He would give of His only Son that those who believe in Him would be given an inheritance. Jesus died victoriously on that cross, He crushed Satan and according to this verse, delivered us from the domain of darkness. It is a deliverance promised to those who look to the sacrificial work of Jesus and repent of their sins. These are delivered from their bondage to the domain of darkness.

Jesus Christ, our King, because of His sacrificial death on the cross has rescued those in the church from the domain of darkness. But the good news doesn't end here. If we were delivered from the domain of darkness (negative perspective), to where were we transferred (positive perspective)?

3. TRANSFERRED TO THE KINGDOM

"He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:13b-14).

Simply put, we were delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. A remarkable transformation has indeed occurred in this transfer. Once blinded by sin, now the light in the Lord; once a slave to sin, now a slave to righteousness; once a child of wrath, now a child of promise; once without hope, now awaiting greater glory to be revealed; and once following Satan, now following the Lord Jesus Christ.

One commentator said, "We have been taken from the tyranny of darkness where evil powers rule and where Satan's authority is exercised, were transferred to the kingdom in which His beloved Son held sway." In using the word "transfer", is it any wonder that Paul selected a term that was commonly used in antiquity to speak of a mighty king who would pick up a whole population and deposit them to another realm? Though this is a climactic point to close His prayer, Paul reminds the readers (and us) in verse 14 of 2 marvelous benefits bestowed upon them through the sacrifice of Jesus, "in whom (in Jesus) we have redemption , the forgiveness of sins." As sinners in bondage, we desperately need both of these to be transferred.

The first benefit is redemption. In order for us to be delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His Son, a transaction needed to take place. You can see in verse 14, the word used is "redemption". Redemption has the meaning of "buying back" or "delivering by payment of a ransom." The word was often used in antiquity of redeeming prisoners of war from slavery to freedom by the payment of a price. Today we commonly use the word in reference to coupons at the grocery market.

From what did we need to be redeemed? Christ redeemed us from our slavery to sin. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:23-24). And, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7). Is it any wonder that Christ is often referred to as "our Redeemer"?

An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire.

The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames.

The boy's cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck. Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town's wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad's eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man's neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue (and redeemed the young boy). I think the parallel to Jesus Christ is rather obvious. Samuel Rutherford said, "There are some who would have Christ cheap. They would have Him without the cross. But the price will not come down."

The second benefit of Christ's death is the forgiveness of sins. This is a further definition of redemption. Redemption results in forgiveness. Because we are redeemed, we can be forgiven. Forgiveness speaks of a pardon, a remission of a penalty. Naturally our sins were an offense against God. He cannot simply overlook our sins or turn the other way. As a just God, He must punish sin. And He did. He punished our sins in the person of Jesus on the cross. Because of the death of Jesus, we can experience forgiveness

We can rejoice with the Psalmist, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him" (Psm. 103:2-4; 10, 12-13).

Someone once said, "If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior."

Paul boldly affirms in this letter: "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions," (Col. 2:13). In forgiving our sin, Christ liberates us from the past. He removes the guilt and transgressions against a holy God and sets us free to serve Him in the present, calling Him our Father.

At this point the prayer concludes. But Paul can't conceal Himself and he breaks out into praise for His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The six verses that follow are some of the most definitive passages on the Person of Christ contained in the Bible. Lord willing, we'll examine that beautiful text next week.

For those in Christ Jesus this morning, we truly do find much reason to "joyously give thanks to the Father." He forgave all your sins, provided redemption, granted you an inheritance, delivered you from darkness, transferred you to the Kingdom of His Son. How can you not joyously give thanks? Joy and thanksgiving do not occur in a vacuum of ignorance-they are an overflow of contemplating the finished work of Christ. Failure to joyously give thanks reveals a heart that either fails to recognize his/her need or fully appreciate God's work of salvation. God has provided for your greatest need, and because of your relationship with Christ, He even promises to work everything out for your good. We must pray for ourselves and for our fellow believers to realize our great salvation, so both we and they can joyously give thanks and please Him in all respects, at all times and in all places.