SERMON Introduction

PRAYER IS THE PRACTICE OF THE RESURRECTION We practice our belief in a risen Christ by praying to the risen Christ.

Col 1:9-14 [9] And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, [10] so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

[11] May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, [12] giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

[13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14 ESV)

HOW DID WE GET TO THIS PLACE, AND WHAT DOES PLEASING GOD LOOK LIKE? God qualifies you and makes you fit, and because of that you’ll have the desire and ability to please Him.

WHAT PAUL PRAYS FOR Because of our tendency toward deception and hardness of heart we need the work of the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and understanding.

We need to ask the Holy Spirit to take the things of Christ and apply them to our hearts so that we might walk in a manner worthy of the Lord

WHERE DO WE FIND THE TIME AND KEY SIGNATURES? V. 10 TIME Signature - The rhythm, pace and style of our walk is to be worthy of the Lord It looks like Jesus, the one who called us and to whom we are called.

“There is a proneness in us to deify the graces of the Spirit. We often think of faith and love, and their kindred graces, as though they were essentially omnipotent; forgetting that though they are divine in their origin, spiritual in their nature, and sanctifying in their effects,

they yet are sustained by no self- supporting power, but by constant communications of life and nourishment from Jesus; that, the moment of their being left to their inherent strength, is the moment of their certain declension and decay.” – Octavius Winslow Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul

Key Signature – walking worthy of the Lord is the time signature, but PLEASING HIM IN EVERY RESPECT is the KEY in which we sing HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE’RE DOING IT FOR THE RIGHT REASON?

HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE’RE IN THE RIGHT TIME AND KEY SIGNATURES? When we obey in a manner worthy of the Lord we’ll see the fruit of the Spirit, and we’ll experience his power so we can endure patiently with joy, and we’ll have a heart of thanksgiving.

Our pleasure and duty, though opposite before, since we have seen His beauty are join’d apart no more. It is our highest pleasure, no less than duty’s call, to love Him beyond measure and serve Him with our all. John Newton