Sermon

July 25, 2004
8th Sunday after Pentecost
Colossians 1:1-14
Pastor Ben Berger

The LORD Wants to bless You

For what do you pray? Most of us pray for help when needed. We pray to bless our food. We pray for guidance. And I hope we also pray for God's blessings. Prayer was very much on my heart and lips as I spent ten days working with a group of teens in Irmo, SC. I prayed to give thanks to God for the faith and fruit he produced in the teens. I also prayed asking God to further bless the teens and their work for his kingdom. In fact, that is the exact prayer Paul offers as he begins his letter to the Colossians. That is also the prayer that we can offer today as we study God's word. I pray that as we work through this section of Scripture and as I tell you a little more about the mission trip to SC, the Holy Spirit would lead you to realize that The LORD Wants to Bless You. 1) He has already given you faith. 2) He will give you understanding. May that be our prayer as we leave here today.

Paul begins his prayer giving thanks to God for the faith of the Colossians. "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus," (3-4). Today I must also begin with a prayer of thanks for the faith I witnessed in SC. I had the privilege of working beside about twelve teens for ten days on behalf of Hope Lutheran Church in Irmo, SC. Five of those teens were from Mount Olive, four from Christ our Savior in Columbia, TN and two or three from Hope in Irmo. These teens believed so strongly in the message of Jesus as Savior that they were willing to give us ten days of their summer to spread the good news hundreds of miles away. They gave up baseball and soccer, friends and family, time and energy. They were a sight to see, surrounded by God's word from eight in the morning until ten or eleven at night.

Not a single one of us was born with such faith. At birth we were all hopeless sinners damned to death. We paid attention to no one's need but our own. We cried when we were dirty, when we needed food, or just when we wanted attention. We didn't give any attention to God; he had nothing to offer that we wanted. We were earthly minded, selfish sinners. We would never have given up our time, our energy, our friends or our recreation to help others. Most of us still haven't grown out of our sinful natures. At birth, these teens were no different; we were all sinners.

Now, however, we can thank God for the faith he has given us. The LORD wanted to bless us. He did by first sending his Son to take our place. Without our asking Jesus gave up everything for us. He gave up his Father in heaven; he spent time on earth for us. He even gave his life on the cross. Then he sent his Holy Spirit to create faith in our hearts. The Spirit changed our hearts to value the life that Jesus gave for us, the life that Jesus gives to us. It's that faith I saw in the teens in SC. It's that faith I see in all of you here today. That faith has prompted you to give up a few things this morning to come and hear again what Jesus has done for you. For that faith we can all give thanks to God always.

Faith is always connected to love. Paul continued, "We always thank God…because we heard of your faith…and of the love you have for all the saints," (3-4). In SC it was easy to see how the faith of the teens brought forth their love. Their love for God led them to go to SC in the first place; it was one way they could say thanks to him personally. Their love for God also moved them to love others. They went to serve another group of believers, all the saints. For those ten days they were "from Hope Lutheran Church on Kennerly Road." Their love really shone through with the children who attended VBS. Though everyone needed some time to get to know each other, love was clear by the end of the week. The little ones gave hugs and "I'll miss yous" as the teachers returned the favor. Finally, something unexpected happened. The teens formed a bond stronger than anything else could. In ten short days their common faith made them eternal friends. All of this love flows from faith.

Again, at birth not one of us knew how to love. Because we didn't have faith, we couldn't love from faith. But, God showed us his love. The Father loved us so much that he sent his Son to die. The Son, our brother, loved us so much that he willingly took our place. The Spirit loved us so much that he took whatever time needed to convince us that he loved us. And again, such love from faith gives us reason to thank God always. We know how he wanted to bless us.

How did the LORD bless us with such faith and love? Paul tells us in verse five and following, "the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you," (5-6). Faith and love come from the hope of going to heaven. The hope, or expectation, of going to heaven comes from the truth of the gospel. The Colossians most likely first heard the gospel from Epaphras, one of Paul's dear coworkers. The teens most likely first heard the gospel from one of you. You most likely first heard the gospel from your parents or grandparents or close friends.

As Paul says in verse six, "All over the world the gospel is bearing fruit and growing." Someone told you about the love God showed to you by sending Jesus to die on the cross to forgive your sins and give you eternal life. That message took hold of your heart and produced the fruits of faith and love. That is the same message the teens taught to the children in SC. It's the same message we preach right here at MO every week. The Holy Spirit uses that message to bless you.

For the message of the gospel that produces hope for heaven that produces faith and love we give thanks to God always. And don't we also want to get more? Don't we want to continue hearing that message with every opportunity so that God might bless us all the more with faith and hope and love? Absolutely!

The LORD wants to bless us. We thank him for the faith he has given us, but we also ask for more. That was the second half of Paul's prayer; that's also the second half of my prayer for the teens and now for you. Pray that the LORD will give you understanding.

Paul prayed, "For this reason (the faith and love of the Colossians), since the day we heard, 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," (9). It's awesome to the faith and love for God in our lives, but there's more. Faith does not stand still; it's either growing or it's dying. So, never stop asking for more. God will increase your faith by filling you with knowledge of his will.

Faith begins with very basic understanding. Anyone who believes that Jesus died on the cross for his/her sins has saving faith. But there is so much more! Who is Jesus? Why does he love us? How else does he plan to bless us? The list of questions is endless. Faith wants to know all of the answers. Faith wants to be filled. Faith wants more than just the basic facts; it also wants spiritual wisdom and understanding that will change its life.

In other words, faith wants to be filled with the knowledge of God's will. That is our prayer. Helen Meyer gave the MO group journals for our mission trip. Each day, as I stood in awe of the faith I was witnessing, I couldn't help but pray for more of God's blessings. Over and over again my journal reads, "I pray that the Holy Spirit would…increase the faith of the teens…use the work of the teens to give faith to the children…encourage the congregation…lead the teens to consider the public ministry. These are also my prayers for you - that the Holy Spirit would lead you to crave more and more the knowledge of God's will.

As Paul prays the same for the Colossians, he notes four results of living according to God's will, of living a life worthy of the Lord. First, bearing fruit in every good work. Knowing what God has done for us moves us to do everything as thanks to him. Everything we do gives glory to him and shows his love to others. Second, growing in the knowledge of God. We are not satisfied with our weak faith. Rather we earnestly seek out every opportunity to learn more about the love of our God. This understanding also helps us distinguish between the false teachings in our world and the truth of the gospel. Third, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might that you may have great endurance and patience. As we learn and live God's will, we finally give ourselves into his hands. We allow God to solve our problems, remove our worries, and give us strength for every day live. Finally, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints. I wish we could spend hours delving into the depths of these blessings, but time is limited now. There is one key to all of these blessings, however.

Faith understands Christ. Paul closes his prayer by reminding us how all of these blessings are possible - through Jesus. He rescued us from the dominion of darkness. He took our eyes off of this world by leading us to appreciate the blessings and hope of heaven. He offered us redemption. He freed us from the temptation to squander our lives on temporary pleasures; he freed us to seek and find God's blessings. When we fail, he forgives our sins.

The Lord wants to bless us. How does he do it? He blesses us through his Son. He blesses us through the message of his son, the gospel. As Moses told the people of Israel, the Lord's blessings are not hard to get. "No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it," (Deuteronomy 30:14).

I saw that word at work in SC. I see at work every day here at MO. I pray that it is at work in your homes. Connect yourselves to that word; do whatever you must to get it. The Lord wants to bless you. He already has given you faith. He will give you understanding. So I pray.

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