We are a church that seeks to pray continually. Each week, like we just have, we pray the Lord's Prayer, or we pray a prayer of confession, or the preacher before he preaches will pray. In this week's passage, we are presented with a prayer that the Apostle Paul prayed repeatedly and unceasingly for the Church of Colossae. Paul, as he pens this prayer, is in prison, writing to a church that he has not met. He has only heard of their faith from their pastor or church planter or papyrus, like I just said. Last week, we read how Paul has heard of their faith, love, and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. And since he has heard of them, he has prayed for them. In these verses, Paul prays for the Church of Colossae to live the fully pleasing life, pleasing to God but also to themselves. He prays this prayer in three petitions in one item of praise. He prayed that they live the fully pleasing life to God and themselves by praying that the people would know God, that they would obey God, be strengthened by God, and that they would praise God for God. As you look in your bulletins, that outline is printed there for you so you can take notes and follow along. But this is our outline for our text this morning. And this prayer is not just for the Church of Colossae, but is for us today. And may it instruct us, but also would it influence us as we pray for one another and also ourselves. And so our first point is this, that to live the fully pleasing life, we are to pray to know God. Look with me at verse 9. Paul here is asking God for the Church of Colossae to be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Many times as Christians we can feel more like a bag of potato chips as if we are filled with nothing good. In one sense that's true. That is the doctrine of total depravity, some say total corruption. But for the Christian, what we see here is that Paul prays that we as Christians will be filled with the knowledge of God. That we would know what God would want us to do. That we would have spiritual wisdom and understanding. In this action of prayer, Paul is refuting the idea that people naturally know God. God must be the first actor revealing himself in knowledge to his people. Knowledge and wisdom and understanding are not the default position of humans, including Christians. Paul here is praying for Christians and these are people like ourselves that know God to an extent. But he still asks God that the people of God will be filled with more knowledge, more wisdom and more understanding. And so we are to pray like Paul as he prayed that the people of God would know God. That we would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Many of us know the feeling of being full. In this modern world we can be filled with many things like potato chips, but things like commercials, the news, books. And these things can so easily fill us up. They're not bad things, but they are not the best thing. And these things, if left unchecked, can so easily give us a stomach ache, both figuratively and literally. Paul here is asking God for God. That the people of God would know him, know his will, what he wants, and know how to apply what God has said. In understanding and wisdom, exemplifying understanding. It must be said while we're on this topic of God's will, that Paul here is speaking of God's revealed will, the Bible. It is not his concealed will like what job you should have or where you should move or who you should marry or where you should get married. God's revealed will is found in his word. And Paul is asking God for the people of God to have wisdom and understanding while they read and hear the scriptures. And as God gives clarity, we are then instructed how to live his concealed will out in this world. Aka how we are to live our lives. In this prayer, we are not asking God to do something that we can do on our own. We're not asking God to somehow help us tie our shoes, even though some of us might need help with that. We are asking God to help us to know him, that we would believe his word with clarity and understanding. While we do exams in our presbytery, there is a question that will ask candidates and they'll ask them, what does the perspicuity of scripture mean? And what that particular term means is that the scriptures are clear enough to make conclusions. And we believe that the Bible is clear enough to draw conclusions. In this prayer, we are not asking for God to just allow us to draw conclusions. We are asking God to give us a heartfelt knowledge of himself. We are asking him to illuminate the scriptures. We are praying that God by his Holy Spirit would give us understanding of his word, that we would know God, know his will, and have wisdom to apply his word, understanding and exemplifying his word. It is not a base level understanding or knowledge. It is an intimate relationship with God that we are praying for in this prayer. We are asking God to give us knowledge of his word to apply it and wisdom and understanding. Paul prayed for the people of God to know God. And we too should pray to know God, that if we want to live a pleasing life to God, we must begin with knowing who God is and what he has said. The heart of this point, if you were to walk up with a point of application, is to stop relying on our own intellect or emotions, though it can be good, and instead ask God to reveal his word and power to us. That he may convict us, correct us, comfort us, and ultimately conform us to the image of his son, Jesus Christ. Church, this is not something that you or I can do on our own. It is God who must work. And so we must ask him. Paul is here asking and praying that this would take place in the life of other Christians. And so would this take place in our lives? Because none of us have arrived. None of us have come to this point of graduating, of somehow knowing the depths and the riches of the knowledge of God. We must ask God to reveal himself and power every day. As we come even to this worship service, asking God to reveal himself in power. To live the fully pleasing life, we must pray to know God and may it lead us to obey God, which leads us to our second point. Our second point is to pray to obey. Look at me at verse 10. Verse 10 begins with the phrase, so as to. And that phrase links the two petitions. Paul prayed for the church to know God so that they would obey God. Paul says he prays for them to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to God, bearing fruit and increasing in the knowledge of God. We will try and work through that sentence or part of a sentence that Paul has written in here. The term to walk is found throughout the rabbinic tradition. It is based on the Hebrew word halakh. And rabbis had a extra biblical document called the halakha, which is an oral tradition on how to obey God and his word and his laws. Though Paul is not somehow promoting this document, he is drawing upon this common phrase and idea that to walk means everyday life. And how to walk with God with knowledge is to obey him. We could simply read the word walk here. We could insert the word live. And so we could read this as to live in a manner worthy to capture the meaning of what Paul meant by walk. Living in a manner worthy of God, fully pleasing to God, bearing fruit for God and increasing in the knowledge of God. Church, this is what Paul is getting at the idea of obedience. The fully pleasing life begins with the knowledge of God, but is experienced in the action of obeying God. We don't often intentionally think of the idea of living in a manner worthy, but it's implicit in everyday life. As a Canadian, we are reminded by the world that we are polite people. That if we get bumped somewhere by someone at church or the grocery store, we are the ones that say sorry because we were in the way of their elbow or their foot. Even if we were the ones standing completely still. This is living in a manner worthy of a Canadian. Or maybe some of you grew up like I did, being told that you should not use swear words. I was told as a papal palais, we do not speak that way. Maybe you've heard something similar. This is the idea of living in a manner worthy. There are actions that represent our country or your family accurately or poorly. And the same is true for God. Either your actions can honor him or they can dishonor him. Either they glorify God or they bring reproach upon God. Either we obey God or we disobey God. God has told us in his word how we should live. He has given us his law that we as image bearers would rightly reflect God back to this world by worshipping him and him alone. That we would not make images of God. That we would not misuse his name. That we would rest on the Lord's day. That we would honor our parents. That we would not murder. That we would not be adulterers. That we would not steal. Not lie. Not covet. And this is just the ten commandments. God has given us his word. And throughout the Bible he has given us instruction for life. So that we can live in a manner worthy of him. Fully pleasing to him. And some of us need to begin here. Simply considering what God has commanded and seek to live these truths out. That you may live in a manner worthy of God. Knowing more clearly what is pleasing to him. And that begins with reading the scriptures. But sometimes we need help to know how this is actually lived out. And if you need help with that I would recommend that you pick up our confessional documents. The Westminster Confession of Faith and the shorter Catechism. It will help you interpret and apply the word to your life. There's others of us in this room who have settled for the idea of the somewhat worthy. Pleasing life to God. That we can just muddle and meddle and just somewhat be pleasing to God. And church I really do caution us to this. Because we should see that to know and disobey is worse than being ignorant and to disobey. Both are bad. But one is worse. And so I caution you. If you are okay with this mingled and meddled life. Turn to God today. Ask for forgiveness. Then there's the last category. The last category of people who can be so caught up with obedience that they miss the forest between the trees. Forgetting that God is a good father who delights just as we do of a two year old scribbles and call it art. May we not be so fixated on obedience for ourselves or our church that we grow angry or despondent. Missing the fact that God is still pleased in the growing obedience of his people. But ultimately it is Christ's obedience that God sees and is truly pleased with. Not ours. Our obedience will always be ever failing and falling on this side of glory. And so may we come to him in confession. Knowing as David writes in Psalm 51 that God does not delight in sacrifice but a broken and contrite heart he will not despise. And so come to God. Ask for forgiveness. But Paul instructs us not to just ask for forgiveness but he calls us to pray for obedience that we may obey. That we may live a fully pleasing life praying to obey God living in a manner worthy of God and pleasing him. Not only that but also praying to bear fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Let's deal with the second part of this phrase. To obey God we must know God. We've sort of dealt with those two truths. To know God we must. Once we know God we can obey God. But Paul says in this as we obey God we know God. Sounds like a paradox but let's walk through this. This is what I believe that the writer of Hebrews speaks of as maturity. In Hebrews chapter 5 verse 14 he says that by discerning good and evil that we are to mature in Christ. This is not just a mental exercise but it is a lived experience. It is not just thinking about the right thoughts but it's living the right actions. And so we pray as we obey that we live a worthy life pleasing to God but also a fruitful and knowledgeable life. God must work in us to obey. We naturally do not obey. We naturally do not bear fruit. We naturally do not do good works. It is God who must first work in us as we work out our faith as Paul writes in Philippians. Fruitful works are commanded of us but they are God initiated. You and I cannot bear fruit. We are merely trees. It is God who must nourish us with his word, sanctify us with his presence and produce in us and through us his fruit that we may carry out good works in this world. And as this takes place we grow. We grow in obedience to God and in knowledge of God. And so may we pray that we obey and may we pray that God by his grace would allow us to obey. That we may live a life fully pleasing to God and to ourselves. That you, that would we see that you and I, our obedience is not only just pleasing to God but is also a blessing and benefit to you and I and this world. It is by your obedience God has called you to truly flourish. The law was not given to give us a smack down. It was given for us to truly flourish as the people of God. And may God graciously lead us to obey him as he's instructed us in his word. And may we pray to that end. So to live the fully pleasing life we must pray to know God, pray to obey God. Thirdly, we pray to be strengthened by God. Look at me at verse 11. We have four points, sorry. Look at me at verse 11. Paul prays for the church to know God, to obey God and to be strengthened by God. It must be said that it's hard to know exactly if this is a third petition in the prayer that Paul prayed for the church of Colossae or if it is a result of obedience. I think both could be true. But I think the fact that Paul has prayed for spiritual fortification elsewhere in the scriptures as a separate petition. That is the way that I lean when I read this and also preach this. And so I believe that Paul is praying for spiritual fortification for the saints. That they would be strengthened by God. The action of fortification is something that many of us see whenever we go downtown. We see the Halifax Citadel. It is a fort that has been fortified many times. And what this means is that it was given walls and other reinforcements to be strengthened against attacks. You see this with its inner walls, its outer walls, the fact that it's set on a hill. All of these are parts of the reinforcements of the Halifax Citadel. It reinforces it against attacks. When we pray for God to strengthen us by His glorious might, we are asking God to fortify us. That we would be withheld against attacks from the enemy that is within us, the flesh. But also the enemy that is outside of us, Satan and the world. Because as we grow, there's a real sense of opposition that we face. There is a real need for God to strengthen us. That when sorrows come, we will still have joy. That when things at work, at home, or at church, or even within ourselves, do not go to the beat of our drum, or the way that we think it should, that we'd have patience and endurance. That we'd be long suffering. To live the pleasing life, we need God to strengthen us, to fortify us, that we would be able to continue despite the attacks of this world. Whether discouragement, or disease, or death. That we would be strengthened by God's glorious might to know Him and serve Him till He calls us home. This does not mean, dear church, that it's going to be easy. But it does mean that it's going to be good. It will be pleasing both to God and to you and I as we seek to strive forward despite the attacks. And so we pray. We pray to know God, to obey God, to be strengthened by God. And lastly, we praise God for God. Look at me at verse 12. Paul concludes his prayer of petitions with praise. He thanks the Father for the church as it shares the inheritance of the saints of light. And in verses 13 and 14, he speaks of God's transformative deliverance from the kingdom of darkness being transferred to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. This is the why of Paul's prayer. We have looked at the what of Paul's prayer. Now we look at the why. Why could Paul pray for them to know God, to obey God, to be strengthened by God? It is because of the work of God, because of the Father. Because the Father has qualified His people by the work of His Son, giving them an inheritance, redemption, and the forgiveness of sins. Because of the Father and the Son, the Church of Colossae could have been prayed for as they were. It is because of this that you and I can pray today. It is because the Father has elected us, qualified us to an inheritance of the saints of light. To be a saint means to be holy, to be set apart. As Ben reminded us, it is not a special status of some Christians. It is the status of all Christians, as Paul reminds us here. If you have believed in Jesus as your Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of sins, you've been set apart by God, qualified as a saint, gaining all the rights and privileges associated with the status, including an inheritance. We are not told what this inheritance is in this passage, but later in this letter, Paul will speak of the union with Christ that we have. And what is true of Jesus is true of you and I as believers. And so this inheritance can include, but not limited to, eternal life, redemption, forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and all of this is ours in Jesus Christ. It is because of this great work by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that we can pray for a pleasing life. And so like Paul, we should praise the triune God for such a great salvation. If you were here this morning and you want to pray this prayer for yourself, I'd love for you to do that, but it must start here. It must start with a belief in Jesus Christ, forgiving of your sins, redeeming you from hell so that you can walk with Him and know Him, that you can call out to Him, that you can praise Him. So would you do that today? For those of us who have done that, confess Jesus Christ as Lord, I commend you to praise God for God, for what He has done in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is because of this that we can live in the kingdom of God here and now, because we have been transferred, delivered into the kingdom of the beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Church, would you see that the way that this grammatical sentence work is that this is a present reality? This is not just a future truth. If you have believed in Jesus, you are in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the One who has redeemed us and forgiven us. The reality is that He has done this. He is actively doing this, this work of redemption and forgiveness, and He will do this completely in the future and full. There will be a day where He fully redeems His creation, but till that day, may we wait and pray. May we pray to know God, to obey God, to be strengthened by God, and to praise God for God, that we would live, that we would know the pleasing life now and forever. Let's pray.