Col 1:9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Col 1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Col 1:11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
How many of us know that we must be prepared for spiritual service in the LORD? What do I mean by spiritual service? Well since we are soldiers in the army of the LORD. (No disrespect to airman and sailors) ( : We must be prepared for Kingdom labor and walking worthy of the calling and invocation upon our lives.
There is a preparation process for anything that we do that is significant. I mean Doctor’s go to school for many years before they can enter the medical field. Athletes train for many years to reach the professional level. Military personnel go to boot camp and a specialty school to learn their skill, and farmers work hard for many years to produce consistent abundant crops to harvest!
As it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual. Believers in Christ should study and grow in the grace of God to be all that God called them to be.
There are three things that we need as it relates to being prepared for spiritual service and they are:
- We must be focused – Heb 12: 1-2
- We must be faithful – Luke 16: 10-12
- We must be fruitful – Col 1 :10
The Apostle Paul gives us some wisdom in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 3 as he talks about enduring hardship as a good soldier in Jesus Christ. He then goes on to give us examples about a soldier, athlete and farmer. The question is, what do they all have in common?
Well, in a nutshell they all understand discipline and the importance of being focused, faithful and fruitful as it relates to what they do. Now many of us may not have been a soldier, athlete or farmer, but as a believer there are many scriptures that exhort us to be disciplined. Which means we should be focused, faithful and fruitful for Jesus Christ! Listen to the Apostle Paul:
Col 1:9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Col 1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
What does this mean?
I believe that Paul is encouraging them to be all that God has called them to be for the LORD. To be focused, faithful, fruitful, to have a sense of urgency, diligence, and to be about the Fathers business.
The Lord showed me that comfortability is hurting many believers in Christ! In the age that we live in, our lives have been enhanced by automated systems, online banking, conference call lines, and social media. And guess what I love it! But we must be careful to not let the physical overtake the spiritual because comfortability could hinder your spiritual growth and calling.
Why do I say this? Because it produces a comfortability that could make us complacent in the things that matter most to God.
My prayer for you as the people of God is that you not get comfortable with your relationship with Jesus. Keep stretching yourself, keep pressing forward, keep hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and above all. I pray that you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, and that you walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Be Blessed,
Pastor Quinn