Proclamation:
"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we
have not stopped praying for you. We
continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all
wisdom and understanding that The Spirit gives, so that you may live a life
worthy of The Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in
every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with
all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great
endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to The Father, who
has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His
holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)
Explanation:
These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit
of God by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Colossae. Paul was letting them know that he was
praying for them. He told them that he appreciates
the good work that they have done and prays that they will continue, and grow
in knowledge, and bear good fruit, and be strengthened with His power to endure
that which is ahead.
Application:
We need to understand that it is not just the preachers that work for The Lord, but every believer has a job to do for God. He has to prepare us before He can use us to work for His glory. That preparation can sometimes be painful and unpleasant, but it is for our benefit. No matter how much we know, or think that we know, we all need to grow in spiritual knowledge and holiness. The only way we can do that is by reading and studying The Word of God. We need to be strengthened with His power to produce good fruit and to withstand the storms of life that are to come. According to Bible scholar John MacArthur, the good fruit we need to produce includes leading people to Christ (1 Corinthians 16:15), praising God (Hebrews 13:15), giving money (Romans 15:26-28), living a Godly life (Hebrews 12:11), and displaying holy attitudes. (Galatians 5:22-23) Bible scholar Thomas Nelson states that “endurance and patience are necessary for our perseverance through the storms, problems, trials, and tribulations that are to come, along with forbearance of the faults and offences of others.” We not only need God’s help to deal with our present situation, we need Him in order to deal with the things which are to come in the future.
We need to understand that it is not just the preachers that work for The Lord, but every believer has a job to do for God. He has to prepare us before He can use us to work for His glory. That preparation can sometimes be painful and unpleasant, but it is for our benefit. No matter how much we know, or think that we know, we all need to grow in spiritual knowledge and holiness. The only way we can do that is by reading and studying The Word of God. We need to be strengthened with His power to produce good fruit and to withstand the storms of life that are to come. According to Bible scholar John MacArthur, the good fruit we need to produce includes leading people to Christ (1 Corinthians 16:15), praising God (Hebrews 13:15), giving money (Romans 15:26-28), living a Godly life (Hebrews 12:11), and displaying holy attitudes. (Galatians 5:22-23) Bible scholar Thomas Nelson states that “endurance and patience are necessary for our perseverance through the storms, problems, trials, and tribulations that are to come, along with forbearance of the faults and offences of others.” We not only need God’s help to deal with our present situation, we need Him in order to deal with the things which are to come in the future.
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