Colossians 1 Philippians 1

Opening Banter and Technical Setup

And love video ministry uh still still figuring out the new format for facebook i don't know if it's live right now or not it now it says it's live. So i think it was once it went live it said it was six seconds in so i think it was live even though it didn't tell me it was live.

So we're trying to figure all this new stuff out. Uh thank you for stopping by thank you for uh being a part of uh let me be part of your family being a part of your community. Thank you for for supporting me in this ministry and in my efforts to to reach out to our community uh with the message of the gospel message a message of our lord jesus christ message of the truth.

Um because he is our only answer. And so i really appreciate um all your support. Um just as always and i wanted to reiterate that when when i come on here i'm coming out on here uh to spend time with you and the floor is yours.

So if you want to chat you want to ask questions you want to talk about anything sorry about that um you want to talk about scripture. You want to uh ask a question about scripture uh the bible uh if i don't know the answer we'll get back to you.

Um you want to talk about church. You want to talk about church situations. You want to talk about what's going on in in the world and um how scripture how we should respond from scripture if you want to talk about that whatever you want to talk about um the floor is yours.

This is an informal time of me uh spending time with you and and you helping me reach our community with the gospel of the lord jesus christ. Um truth and love video ministry uh we get the name from ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 and it says.

Speaking the Truth in Love

But speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head even christ. And so that's that's our focus is that we want to to grow up into him in all things in all aspects and we want to share that truth.

We want to speak it and do it with um the right attitude. I think that's something that's been reiterated by many folks here lately that we we've got to have both and and that is a truth from scripture that we have to have both uh truth and grace or truth and love.

Uh we can't have one without the other and the scripture doesn't call us to have one without the other. Um we we can hammer truth but if we hammer it without love um it's um it's an annoying and sometimes it feels like hateful gong um to people into their ears and in scripture calls us to come with with both truth and love to people.

So thank you guys for watching. If you do we we're on this new format and it doesn't show me who's watching live. So if you if you do pop in here uh let me know that you're watching um say hello let me know how you're doing and let me know that you're watching.

Because of this new format is crazy. Um like i said the floor is yours. This is just uh a bit of an introduction as as people may get on board and and start watching. Uh thank you guys for letting me be a part of your evening and be a part of your family and community.

The floor is yours. If you want to talk about anything and that goes for any time that i'm spending time with you uh whatever you want to talk about it ask questions about scripture talk about what's going on in the world.

Um so just just chime in whenever you want to chime in and uh let me know what you want to talk about let me know that you're watching. I really really appreciate you guys. So in the post in the introduction um the tackling the text part that i wanted to cover tonight uh was talking about prayer and how to pray for me and how i can pray for you and and getting that from scripture.

Summer Bible Reading Challenge and the Move to Colossians and Philippians

And and where did i get that. Um what what led me to that thinking this week. Well i'm apart. Can you straighten. My wife is uh asking me if i can do something. I think technically you straighten the tablecloth in the furniture i'm sure it looks wrinkled.

I apologize for that. I'm not sure if i can do it right now. Does that look better. Probably not. We'll try to work on that apologize for the appearance. Um this i'm just doing this at home and uh this this is nothing professional but uh the i'm involved i got involved with it with a summer bible reading program and i would i would love and i challenge you to join in it with me if you do not have a bible reading plan and you want to get involved if you want to to start one up it's not too late.

This this bible reading plan is is something that was um offered and going on uh through and started it started with with a certain church and it's already started but they are emphasizing very often.

Join in when you can. If you miss it's okay. Pick right back up. They have everything laid out for you what you're supposed to read and i believe we're supposed to read the the whole new testament within the summer.

And if you want more information about it send me a message. Or you can search same page summer same page summer bible reading challenge. And what i've done is i've downloaded the you version app which is a bible app and it reads the scripture to you and they have put the same page summer bible reading challenge on that app and uh you you pull it up and you go to today's reading and all you do is press play and it will read to you that day's reading and then it will.

And it is that easy to do. So i i challenge you to join me. Uh download the download the u-version app and we can discuss it. Um cutting in and out. Oh man. Okay. Um we'll just keep going. Honey. Maybe you need to come a little closer with the wi-fi so that i have a better connection.

So that was just a challenge for you to join me. If you do not have a bible reading plan join me in it. Let's read through the new testament this summer. Yeah. Can you. They're saying live broadcast interrupted.

Can you come closer. We're using my wife's phone for internet and she's in the living room. So i think the signal is is i have a weak signal because of the distance. So maybe if she comes a little bit closer maybe she can come in.

We'll have a better signal. So like i was saying if you don't have a if you don't have a bible reading plan join me. Let me know that you've joined so that we can we can discuss it we can we can talk about it.

Maybe we can interact on that app. I'm not sure exactly how it works but i would love for you to to join in that bible reading challenge with me during the summer and we'll see how it goes. We we know that god's word will not return void.

Therefore it's going to be a blessing. It's going to accomplish something it's going to bear fruit. So join in the bible reading challenge with me. Part of the recent bible reading in that challenge was colossians and philippians and if you go to the church's website they have a they also have the bible reading plan and doing better.

Great. They have the bible reading plan and they started a podcast to talk about what the subject is going to be what you read. And it's just a short little podcast. And so i was listening to the podcast on colossians and and philippians and and it and it led me to this because they talked about uh the the prayers and and paul talking about him praying uh especially in the introduction to to colossians and philippians and so how can how can you pray for me.

And how can i pray for you. How can we learn that from paul in these two books. Well think about our prayer think about our prayer life. And i think that's one of the things that that most of us have in common uh there's so many differences but between us all in um who we are in our beliefs in our interpretations of scripture there's so many differences out there.

But one of the things that i think we have in common is how we pray. Um we we ask for prayer request and we will we will ask for prayer for uh someone uh someone is sick it has it's something medical so we want to pray to god on their behalf for for this medical reason.

Or it's something like i have an interview tomorrow so so pray for me that that the lord will be done and that interview will go well and that he will help me. So we want to pray for our circumstances and we want to pray for our health.

And i think that that's very typical very common with most of us that that's typically how most of our prayers go it is for health and for our circumstances each day which is wonderful which is good. Um but we want to see more right.

We want to see more happen and we want to be in god's will and how he wants us to pray. We want our prayers to prayers to be deeper and more meaningful and more biblical. And so yes those things are good and right and we want to continue to do those things but we also want to go deeper in our spiritual walk with god so that includes our prayer life.

So how can we do that now. Um taking this and agreeing with what i was hearing i think that if we will listen to to scripture here in colossians and in philippians and and listen to paul and listen to how we prayed and if we adapt that to our lives our spiritual wall our praying for other people.

I think if we adapt this and we begin to use this and we use it on a regular basis if we pray this way for each other it will transform our families it will transform our church and it will transform our nation.

If we will deepen our prayer life. And actually really really really really you don't not just say it and not just think about it and not just think that it's a good idea and not just skim over it. But if we would really really pray like this i believe the lord would move mountains because we're praying in his will.

And so let's look at it for a few minutes how how paul prayed and how we can pray for each other all right. Well we're going to start in colossians first colossians chapter one if you if you have your bible and if you want to follow along um we're in colossians chapter one.

And again for those of you who have have joined us and popped in the floor is always yours. If you want to talk about anything ask question about scripture what's going on in the world. Um talk about church related things.

The floor is yours. I'd love to have a conversation with you. And so and if you would like prayer when we pray at the end i would love to be able to pray for you too. So i'll keep an eye on uh if there's any comments and if you're watching let me know that you're watching say hello say hi wave.

Um whatever you'd like to do i'd really appreciate you letting me know that that you're there and you're with me and you're watching because i i love and appreciate being able to spend time with you. So prayer in colossians chapter one if you look in verse nine it says for for this reason also for for what reason.

So i want to go back and and lead us up to where we're going to be taking the text and looking at prayer. Because he says for this reason also for what reason we want to know that. So let's start in verse three.

And paul says to the church at colossi. Um we give thanks to god the father of our lord jesus christ praying always for you since we heard of your faith in christ jesus and the love which you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of which you previously heard in the word of truth the gospel which has come to you just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of god in truth just as you learned it from epaphras our beloved fellow bond servant who was who is a faithful servant of christ on our behalf and he also informed us of your love in the spirit.

Now we're getting to the to the prayer part and the example and what we should be looking for. Verse nine. For this reason also since the day we heard of it we have not ceased to pray for you all. Right.

So he is speaking to the the saints at the church of colossi so they are already believers. And not only are they believers he is commending them and and he's rejoicing because they receive the gospel.

They receive the truth. And the gospel is bearing fruit. The truth is bearing fruit. It's not stagnant it's not stale. They didn't receive it and and nothing. And and it just stay in one place. No it's bearing fruit.

So these are saints who are bearing fruit. And yet he says we have not ceased to pray for you. So even though we're we're christians and we have brothers and sisters in christ the the work's not done the job's not done.

And so we should continually without ceasing pray for our brothers and sisters in christ and ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will. That's number one. He's praying that we that they should be that they may be filled with the knowledge of his will.

So can we pray that for our brothers and sisters in christ. Think of someone put someone on your prayer list and say lord will you fill them with the knowledge of your will. And where do we find his will.

He god has compiled it in this book. It's it's the word of god the bible this is where his will is. And so he's praying that we will be filled that they will be filled with the knowledge of his will in all not just a small portion not not just to be content to to reach a certain point.

He's speaking and asking that in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And just to break those uh two words down. Um i get this information glennett from uh john macarthur wisdom wisdom would be the uh the the organization um the the gathering and the organization of the the knowledge that he spoke of earlier.

And understanding would be how to apply that knowledge that you have organized. And it's spiritual wisdom and understanding not worldly wisdom. Not not your own wisdom not common sense not not any. It's it's spiritual things from scripture the kingdom of god the kingdom work the gospel work spiritual wisdom and understanding compiling that knowledge and applying it to our lives.

So we want to pray for the feeling of knowledge of his will and wisdom and understanding spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding of that knowledge. And verse 10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the lord.

So we want all this information so that we can live it out. So can we pray that way for each other in a manner worthy of the lord to please him in all respects that encompasses everything moment you wake up to the moment you lie your head down to go to sleep in all respects to please him that covers everything bearing fruit in every good work.

So we want to please god in all respects. And and with every good work that we do we want to pray that the that every good work our brother and sister does that it would bear fruit. Father will you let their work bear fruit.

Will you let their work bear fruit. And then and then pray increase their knowledge of god bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of god. And that's two separate things you remember first first off he prayed that they would be filled with the knowledge of his will.

And now he's praying that they would increase in the knowledge of god himself. So it's it's a um it's a step by step one thing right after the other. One thing leads to another one two three four. And we're all number.

We're all number uh five and six that that every good work that they do would bear fruit and that they would increase in their knowledge of him. All these things are working up to a greater thing a deeper thing.

And there's no greater thing to ponder to think on and to increase your knowledge of than god himself. And then verse 11 which will be number seven strengthened with all power. So in this living in this walking it out through this life we want to pray that they would be strengthened with all power because that's that's what we need to live this out in this sinful world is strength with all power according to his glorious might.

And that's where true real power comes from that which is according to his glorious might for the attaining. So this is this is the goal this is the goal for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience joyously giving thanks.

That's three things all steadfastness patience and joyous joyously giving thanks and going back to john macarthur. The steadfastness he said was in reference to dealing with circumstances and then the patience was dealing with people.

So all this is leading to the attaining of steadfastness with our circumstances patience with people and joyously giving thanks to the father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

How would it change our world. Um it's okay. How would it change our family. How would it change our world. How would it change our nation if we we deepened our prayer life and we continue to pray for for our brothers and sisters and their their health and their circumstances.

But if we we singled out those that that that we know and that we love and our brothers and sisters in the in the lord and we will pray that god would give them or fill them fill them with the knowledge of his will and give them spiritual wisdom and understanding so that they could walk in a worthy manner of the lord please him in all respects and that that in every good work that they do they would bear fruit and increase their knowledge of god himself and that god would strengthen them with all power according to his glorious might so that we can be steadfast with our circumstances and patient with people and joyously give thanks to the lord.

Can we pray that way for each other. Can we commit to pray that way one for another and see changes in our homes in our churches and in our nation. Let's look at philippians really quickly. Let's look at philippians.

Philippians 1: Love, Knowledge, and Discernment

Kelly said. I saw a post by rachel jenna jankovic earlier who you know i like and who is a great bible teacher for women. I don't want to discount prayer but there there was much wisdom in her words which i will quote from her page.

Do you imagine that you have have already seen what a scripture saturated church looks like. Do you think that because we have access to the word of god that means we have been in the word of god. That's true.

I'm willing to call the bluff to the church on this point. I believe that far fewer professing christians are in the word of god than we have been assuming. We think because we have bibles and we say we love them that we have seen what the word of god can do to a people.

And guess what. It must not be much. Well okay i'm not going to read all that because that's a ton. But that's that's true. That's true. And we're so comfortable in america because there's no persecution.

This this book is not precious to us because it's not rare we we have so many of them and it collects dust because there's no we have no pressure to preserve it. We have no need to apply to our lives because there's no pressure on our lives.

But that day may be coming where there's some pruning going on and there's persecution that may happen that that the bible once again becomes precious to god's people. And we begin to pray. Let's not let's not be those who that it takes persecution that we that jesus that jesus is precious to us that his word is precious to us.

Don't let it take those things to change our minds and to to let us cause us to be in his word. Let us be in his word because jesus is precious to us. And and and we love his word and we want to obey him and and serve him.

I'm sorry that my my thoughts right now are jumbled. But let us learn from history. Let us learn from god's word. Surrender. Let's surrender ourselves to god and to the holy spirit and to to his son jesus christ and let him be precious to us.

It's so true that we we think because we have the word of god we we spend much far we spend far much time on other things that are not worthy of our time. Yes in essence what she is saying is that if we are truly in the word studying and just digesting what we are reading then we could see radical change again.

Absolutely yeah. And and that's what. That's what this is about. And that's what um the the bible reading challenge podcast was was pointing to that if we if we got in his word that we have so readily available and we applied it we we would see that change.

But it the evidence the evidence of what we really think church member pastor churches the evidence of what we really think about jesus. What we really think about his word is is out in the world. It's in our complacency.

It's in our prayer life. It's in our bible study. The evidence is out there it is. And so let's not be complacent. Let's not be complacent anymore. So let's let's move from colossians. And i challenge you go back to colossians in chapter 1 and and write out those things from verses.

Was it 13. No verse 9 through verse 12. Have that readily readily available to you where you where you can. You can see it often. These are the things i need to pray for uh for myself and for my brothers and sisters in christ.

These are the things that i need to pray for. And then philippians. Just just one verse in philippians philippians chapter 1 verse 9. And this i pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment so that you excuse me.

Two verses so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of christ. I apologize. Two verses. So again he's speaking to the the christians the saints at philippi.

And he says. And this i pray. So he's praying for them. He prayed for colossi. He's praying for philippi that your love what is what is their love. He talks about their love. And then he talks about knowledge and discernment.

What do they have to do with one another. Let's look at it really closely so we can see what those two things have to do with each other. And what what paul is trying to say that your love may abound.

And he could say he could just said abound. I pray that your love may abound. But there's a real emphasis here that he wants their love to abound and grow and grow and grow and grow and continue to grow.

Okay. He says i want your love to abound still more and more and more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. So love for what what what what love does he want to grow. He wants that love that they have for real knowledge and discernment to grow.

That that's strange isn't it to me. That seems that come across uh at a first reading really really strange that he wants their love for for real knowledge. And this and this is contrary to culture because our culture has seeped into the church and it's all about feelings it's all about experience.

We don't need a bunch of head knowledge. We need to we need to be the hands and feet. We need to be on the move and doing something and we need to feel it we need to experience it. But so often we have verses and words like these that paul wants their love for real knowledge real knowledge and discernment to abound more and more and more and more.

Why is that. So that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of christ sincere and blameless blameless until the day of christ. So there's there's a goal there's a reason so that you may approve we we want to be able to to discern and approve and apply and and do and participate in in only those things that are excellent.

That's why the the love for for knowledge and real knowledge and discernment paul wants to to grow and grow and grow and grow so that you are able to see what is that which is um and and approve that which is excellent.

Those are the things that we want to abide in to to look for to grow in to walk in those things that are excellent so that we can be sincere and blameless until the day of christ. And so if if our love grows and grows and grows and grows for for real knowledge and discernment to so that we may approve those things are that are excellent if we're continuing to grow in that area what's simultaneously going on those things that are not excellent those things that are evil those things that are not pure those things are also more visible to us as well.

And if we're focused on those things that are excellent and we're able to see those things that are excellent more clearly because our love is growing and growing for real knowledge and real discernment then we're moving and and we are accumulating those things that are excellent and moving away from those things that are evil that should be the trajectory of our life that the more that we grow in christ the more we will be associated with things that that are excellent approve those things that are excellent and the more things that we approve as excellent the more we stay away from and and move away from things that are impure and evil.

And so that should be another prayer as paul is praying it for the church at philippi and the saints there that is another deep prayer that we can pray for our brothers and sisters in christ that that god would grow their love for real knowledge and discernment so they can approve the things that are excellent and when we approve those things that are excellent those things that are evil and impure are moving away from us and that should be the trajectory of the christian life those things that are excellent those things that are pure those things that are evil those things that are impure and that would change our lives that would change our families and that would change our churches and that would change our nation let's pray for each other's health and let's pray for each other's circumstances.

But let's pray as Paul prayed for each other that our love for the knowledge, for real knowledge of God and real discernment and the ability to approve of those things that are excellent and live in those things that are excellent, accumulate and abide in those things that are excellent so that we can be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.

Moving away, moving towards excellence and moving away from that which is evil. I think it would have tremendous, tremendous effect on our lives as believers. So yeah, what about that? I challenge you to that type of, moving towards that type of prayer life.

I send a challenge to you to join me in the Bible reading challenge, same page summer Bible reading challenge. You can find it on the YouVersion app, maybe some other Bible apps that you can find it.

On.

Join me in it. Let me know that you've joined that Bible reading challenge and don't worry if you miss a day, don't worry that you're late. Jump right in and get started and let me know that you're in it.

The Gospel Call to Repentance and Faith

And if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, He calls out to the world that He is here, that His kingdom is at hand. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is a new King and He is in charge.

He is the ruler over all the universe and He will reign until all of His enemies are made His footstool outside of Him. If we're not in Him, if we're not in His kingdom, if God has not caused us to be born again, if God has not done a work in our hearts, we are outside of that kingdom.

We are outside of Him because we've all missed the mark. We've all broken God's law. We've all sinned. We're all outside of His kingdom for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. James chapter 2 verse 10 says, if you keep the whole law and yet stumble at one point, you're guilty of it all.

We are all there or we all were at one time there without hope, but God in His amazing love sent forth His Son. He was born of a woman, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, took upon Himself the sins of those who would believe and bore our wrath on the cross.

He died. He was buried and then He, three days later, fulfilling all prophecies, He rose from the grave and then He ascended to the right hand of the Father where He sits there in the place of authority, interceding for us today, ruling and reigning, like I said, until His enemies are made His footstool.

And He calls on us today to repent and believe the gospel. Matthew, Mark, Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Be a part of that kingdom. Jesus matters. Without Him, nothing else matters.

And apart from Him, there is no answer. There is no solution. We must turn to Christ. So repent of your sins and trust in Christ. Submit and surrender to Him today. If I can pray for you, link to the same page, Summer Info, yes, there is the Bible Reading Challenge info.

So check that out. Check that out. There's a link. Easy to get to. And join me in the Bible Reading Challenge. Kelly is doing it as well, so join Kelly in doing that. So thank you for watching. If I can pray for you, let me know that I can pray for you.

If you watch the video later, just type me and it'll give me the notification. I'll see that you request a prayer and I'd love to be able to pray for you. I'll wait just a second to see if anybody requests prayer, because I've done that very often where I'll start to pray and then come back and look afterwards that someone requested.

Prayer.

All right.

Well, if you're still with me, I'd love for you to join me and pray with me. Father, we thank you so much for this time that you've given us together with each other, with you and with your word. Thank you for your son.

We worship you and we worship Jesus. Worthy is the lamb that was slain. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your grace and your mercy and your kindness that we don't deserve, but we treasure. Father, we pray for ourselves and we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Father, would you fill us with the knowledge of your will? Will you fill us with real knowledge and real discernment? Will you give us wisdom and understanding? Will you help us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord?

Will you help, Father, ourselves and our brothers and sisters? Will you help their works to produce fruit? Father, will you help us to abide in the things that are excellent? Help us to endure. Father, in the power of your glorious might, will you help us to be steadfast?

Will you give us patience? And Father, we joyously, through your son, give thanks, and in his name we pray, in the name of Jesus, amen. Alright, thank you guys for watching. Yes, we decided to do it separately, but we're still doing it.

Both of us are still doing it, we just decided to do it separately.

That's right.

Alright, thank you guys for watching. I really appreciate you guys. Thank you for letting me be a part of your evening tonight. Remember that Jesus is King. It's the truth. He is King. Go live in that victory, and continue to go out and proclaim the gospel.

I hope to see you soon.