Good morning. Let's open this
morning's service with number 22 in your Spiral Gospel Hymns
Hymnbook, For the Glory of His Grace. Let's all stand. We were ruined by the fall, Adam's
sin defiles us all. By our deed as by our birth,
we deserve the law's great curse. Helpless, hopeless sinners we,
never can our souls retrieve. But the blessed Son of God Came
as man in flesh and blood He fulfilled the law's demands And
in death stretched out his hands On the cross of Calvary Christ
redeemed and set us free In the time which God had set, the Spirit
came for His elect to regenerate and call from the ruin of the
fall. By His power and by His grace,
we were born for God's own praise. ? Now your purpose we fulfill
? ? Saved according to your will ? ? Sing this song of joyful
praise ? ? For the glory of your grace ? ? Blessed Holy Triune
God ? ? Hear our praise through Christ our Lord ? Please be seated. Good morning. We're going to be looking at
a passage of scripture in Colossians chapter 1. If you'd like to open
your Bibles there with me. Colossians chapter 1. Let's ask the Lord's blessings
on our time together. Our Heavenly Father, we come
into thy holy presence thanking you that we have thy dear son
for all of our acceptance, all of our righteousness, all the
hope of our salvation, and that you are pleased with him and
with your people in him. Lord, Thank you for the precious
promise that you've made to meet with us when we gather together
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that he
would be lifted up in song and prayer and word and indeed, as
we fellowship together, Christ would be the focus of all our
attention and all of our praise and all of our worship. Lord,
we thank you for the promise of your spirit, and we ask that
you would be pleased to enlighten the eyes of our understanding,
to bless your word, make it sharper than any two-edged sword, that
it would divide asunder the thoughts and the intents of our hearts
and reveal to us our need for Christ. We ask it in his name. Amen. I've titled this first message,
The Knowledge of His Will. The Knowledge of His Will. Notice
with me in Colossians chapter one, where Paul, in addressing
the church, and more importantly, God, the Holy Spirit, in addressing
you and me, this church, says in verse eight, who also declared
unto us your love in the spirit. The love of Christ has to be
revealed by the Spirit of God, and the Lord causes us to have
his love by his Spirit. And so apart from the Spirit
of God, we know nothing of the love of God, and we have no capacity
to express the love of God, but by his Spirit, both of those
things are given to his church. And so Paul is rejoicing that
he heard from Epaphras about the love that God had given to
them and the love that they had for the gospel and for Christ
and for one another. And then in verse nine, he says,
for this cause, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease
to pray for you. We heard about the evidence. This is the evidence of God's
grace among the people, love. It is the meat of the gospel.
It is the fulfillment of all the law of God. The Lord Jesus
said, the law and the prophets all hang on this one glorious
truth, love. And Paul is so encouraged to
hear that this evidence of God's grace has been given to the church
at Colossae. And he says, for that reason,
we pray for you. We pray for you as believers,
and we do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might
be filled with the knowledge of his will. What is the knowledge
of his will? The Lord would have us to have
the knowledge of his will. But notice the rest of this verse
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Most think of the knowledge of
God's will as it relates to temporal things. Not with all wisdom and
spiritual understanding, but with the daily concerns of their
worldly life. I want to know God's will for
my life. I want to know what the Lord would have me to do.
What is his plan for my life? We hear people talk like that.
You know the word plan or any form of that word is not one
time found in the Word of God. Not a single time is the word
plan found in God's Word. Our God doesn't plan anything.
He is a God of purpose. And everything that he purposed
comes about, comes to be. So when Paul's saying we're praying
for you that you would have the knowledge of his will, he's not
talking about providential things. We have no idea what the Lord
has in store for us providentially. I love that word providence.
It's a conjunction of two words, pro, which means before, and
video, which means a picture. And the Lord in his providence, we talk about real time, things
happening in real time. Things happen in our time, But
our time is not real time. Real time is God's time, which
is eternal. It's really at no time at all.
So, you know, when we speak of things happening in our lives,
the Lord has already purposed it. Everything that happens in
our time, which is not really real time, has already been purposed
in God's time. which is no time at all. It's eternal. The Lord didn't
plan something and He's unfolding His plan for us to try to figure
it out. He's purposed everything that
is and He saw it ahead of time because Well, he wrote the script. He's directing the scenes. You
know, we watch a movie for the first time, pro video, and that's
what we're doing in our time. We're watching this movie. But in truth, the entire movie
is already in the can. It's already sealed. And here's
the glorious truth of knowing the will of God with all wisdom
and spiritual understanding. It's to know that he is a God
of purpose, that he is sovereign over all things, not only in
the temporal matters of life, but most importantly, in salvation. That God before time ever began. In the beginning, God created.
That was the beginning of time. Before that, there was no time.
It was only eternity. And we can't understand that. We define everything in relationship
to our time, which is a created thing. But God exists in eternity. In eternity past, the Lord Jesus
Christ is called the Lamb that was slain before time, before
the foundation of the earth, before God created this thing
that we call time. The Lord Jesus Christ had already
purposed to redeem the particular people that God, in His purpose,
chose according to His will. What a glorious truth. This is
who our God is. He's absolutely sovereign and
we know that He is working all things together for good to them
that love Him and those that are called according to His purpose.
He said, I know, I know the thoughts that I have toward you. thoughts
of good and not of evil, to bring you to your expected end. That's the knowledge of his will
with all wisdom and spiritual understanding, is to know that
our God reigns. He doesn't give a blueprint. I was thinking about the difference
between me and Tricia when it comes to using our GPS app on
our phone. She'll put in an address and
press go and won't even look at the map. She just follows
the verbal commands that her phone gives her. And I can't
do that. She trusts Siri. I don't. I've had Siri lead me in the
wrong direction a time or two. And so, you know, when I still
use my phone and I put in the address, but I want to see the
route that she's giving me before I take off. I want to give it
my final approval. I want to make sure that she's
taking me the way I want to go to get there. You know, that's the way people
do concerning spiritual things. Most folks are like me with Siri. They're not like Tricia. They're
not listening daily for his command and responding to his command
as he leads them. They want a roadmap. They want
to take a look at it and give their approval to it before they
actually launch out on it. That's not the walk of faith.
Don't you love that verse we looked at last Sunday where Ruth
said to Naomi, wherever you go, I'm going to go. Peter, follow me. Matthew, follow
me. You see, the Lord, this knowledge
of his will with all wisdom and spiritual understanding is not
God giving us a roadmap for our lives. It's not him showing us
what he has in store for us tomorrow so that we can put our stamp
of approval on it. It is a walk of faith. day by
day, moment by moment, not knowing what he has in store, but knowing,
knowing this, that whatever it is he has in store, it will be
for his glory and it'll be for our good. And, you know, we, when, when the Lord Abraham is
called the father of the faithful and he's a pattern of of faith. And when the Lord went to the
Ur of the Chaldees to call Abraham or Abram out of there, he said,
come out from among your family and I'm going to show you a land. He didn't tell him anything about
that land. He said, I'm going to show you a land. And Abraham
had to walk by faith, following God. And he sought a city. The scripture says Abraham continued
to look for that city. That's what the Lord, when God
calls us out of darkness into his marvelous light and reveals
Christ to us, he says to us what he said to Abraham, I'm gonna
show you a land. And as we grow in grace and the
knowledge of Christ, we get closer and closer to that celestial
city. We long for that land that the Lord has not yet fully revealed
to us, eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it even
entered into the imagination of man the things that he has
prepared for us. But that's our walk of faith. So this knowledge of the will
of God with wisdom and with understanding is not having some roadmap or
some blueprint as to what God has in store for us in this world,
temporally. The providence of God is secret
to Him. We walk by faith, day by day,
trusting Him and waiting on Him. We have some spiritual understanding
and some wisdom about this city that the Lord is leading us to. And we are longing for that heavenly
home. That's the walk of faith. Watching
and waiting. Listen to what the Lord said
in John chapter 12, verse 26. If any man serve me, let him
follow me. And where I am, there shall also
my servant be. Where I am, there shall also
my servant be. Well, where is the Lord? Where
is he? He's seated at the right hand
of the majesty on high. And where he is, there his servants
are. When the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
back into glory, he took with him the names of those for whom
he lived and died. And we are seated in heavenly
places in Christ. That's why we find The Lord admonishing
us and encouraging us to set our affections on things above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, not on the
things of the earth. This idea that, well, I need
to know the will of God for my life, or I need to know what
his plan is. No, I need to know Christ. I need to set my affection because
where my treasure is, that's where my heart's going to be.
Now, if your treasure is in temporal things, then that's where your
heart's going to be. If your treasure is in material things,
that's where your heart's going to be. If your treasure is in
relationships, that's where your heart's going to be. But if Christ
is your treasure, if Christ is your treasure, then that's ultimately
where your heart will be. and all wisdom and spiritual
understanding. That's what the Lord prayed for.
He said in John chapter 17, Father, I will that they also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I am. Where I am. We're on a journey, brother.
And it's a walk of faith. And this, Having an understanding of the
knowledge of His will with wisdom and spiritual understanding is
an eternal matter. It's trusting God for the temporal
things and waiting on Him to fulfill that which is eternal. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17 says,
then when the trump of God sounds and the dead in Christ are raised,
then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall
we ever, ever be with the Lord. And I love the next verse, comfort
ye. one another with these words. What a great comfort. What a
great comfort. The knowledge of His will with
wisdom and spiritual understanding. Turn to me to Ephesians chapter
1 Paul prays the same prayer for
the church at Ephesus, and in verse 17 he says, Oh that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of Him. In the knowledge of Him. That's That's the will of God. That we know him. That we know him. Listen to what
the Lord said in Jeremiah chapter 24 verse 7. I will give them
a heart to know me that I am Lord. You know, men honor the Lord
Jesus Christ with their lips, but their hearts are far. They
don't bow. We rejoice in bowing to the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in knowing that He's
sovereign. He's sovereign in providence. He's sovereign in salvation. He's sovereign in nature. He's
sovereign in creation. He's sovereign. He reigns and
he does whatsoever he wills with the armies of heaven and all
the inhabitants of the earth. And no man can stay his hand.
And to have the knowledge of his will is to rejoice in that. I will give them a heart and
they will know that I am Lord. That I'm Lord. So many claim to know Christ,
but they in fact deny him as Lord. They will deny his ability to
save unless they're able to look at the roadmap and give their
approval to it first. They won't just bow to the command
of his voice. We delight, willingly and lovingly,
bowing to Christ as Lord. We rejoice that He reigns sovereign
over the living and the dead. We believe, we believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, and as the Son of God, He's Lord. He's Lord. We are happy when that faith
can be enjoyed in the calm providence of God. When there is ease in
life, we're happy that he's Lord. But when he's pleased to stir
up a storm and make the water turbulent and cause fear and caution in our lives,
we still believe he's Lord, don't we? We still believe he's Lord. If the Lord gives you the heart
to believe that he's Lord, you bow to his Lordship in the good
times and in the hard times. You still have your Bibles open
to Ephesians. Look with me. Look at me at verse three of
chapter one of Ephesians, blessed to be the God and father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings
and heavenly places in Christ. That's where we are, brethren.
This is the knowledge of his will with wisdom and spiritual
understanding. According as he has chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. God placed a particular
people in Christ before time ever began. And he counted them righteous
in Christ before time ever began. So we've been holy and blameless
before God for all eternity. having predestinated unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure of his will. Paul said, I'm praying for you
that you would know the knowledge of his will with all wisdom and
spiritual understanding. This is the knowledge of his
will, that he willed to save a particular people. And all of this without any contribution
on our part, look at verse six, is to the praise of the glory
of His grace. There it is. He gets all the
glory. He did all the work. Romans chapter 12 verse 1 says,
I beseech you, I encourage you, therefore brethren, those who
are found in Christ, that you present yourself a living sacrifice. holy, acceptable unto God, which
is a reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world. Don't be pressed into the mold
of this world. That's the worldly way of thinking. They want to know God's will,
but not with wisdom and spiritual understanding. They just want
to know what's next, where the next turn is. Be not conformed to this world,
but be ye transformed. And that word transformed is
the word metamorphosis. It's a worm going into cocoon
and turning into a butterfly. It's a changed nature. And so the Lord says, be transformed
by the renewing of your mind in Christ Jesus, that you might
know the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. There
it is, setting our affections on things above, looking to Christ,
having this work of grace done, which changes our nature so that
now we understand that this matter of God's will in terms of temporal
things, is all purposed of God for his glory and for our good.
And the matter of God's will with wisdom and spiritual understanding
and spiritual things is to bring glory to him through the saving
of his people. In His sovereign work of election
and redemption and regeneration and sanctification and glorification,
He gets all the glory. This is the mystery of His will
with wisdom and with spiritual understanding. This is what the
world knows nothing about because this can only be believed through
faith. Let's continue reading. Look
at verse 7 of Ephesians chapter 1, in whom we have redemption. Redemption has already been secured. It's already been purchased.
It's already been, it's already been bought. The blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ has already been put on the mercy seat. in whom we have redemption through
his blood. That is the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace, wherein he is abounded
toward us in all wisdom and in all prudence, having made known
unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure,
which he purposed in himself. He makes known unto us the mystery
of his will. The mystery of his will is that
he's sovereign. The mystery of his will is that
he's got a purpose. The mystery of his will is that
he accomplished the redemption of his people. David said in Psalm 115, not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. God gets all the glory. That's the mystery of his will.
See, the natural man will rob God of his glory. They will take
credit. for things that the believer,
knowing the mystery of his will with wisdom and understanding,
spiritual understanding, gives God the glory. Lord, had you
not chosen me, I never would have chosen you. Had you not
redeemed me, there's nothing I could do, nothing I could do
to pay for my sins. Lord, had you not called me,
I never would have willed you. Had you not made me willing in
the day of your power, I never would have cried out in faith
to you. Had you not first loved me, I
would never love you. Lord, if you didn't give me faith,
I wouldn't have it." That's the mystery of his will with wisdom
and spiritual understanding. And that's what the natural man
knows nothing about. Lord tells us that we're to pray
according to his will. And he says this, if we ask anything
according to his will, we know that he hears us. And if we know
that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
petition that we asked for. Now James tells us that oftentimes
when we pray, we pray amiss, that we might consume it upon
our own lusts. He's talking about praying for
temporal things, material things, worldly things. And we pray for things. The Lord oftentimes has to say
to us, no, that's not for you. It's not good for you. Just like
a good parent would do to his child. Don't give them everything
they ask for. But the Lord says, if you pray
according to my will, then you have that which you ask for.
I hear your prayers. And if he hears us, then we have
that for which we are petitioning. What is it that we can pray for
that is always according to God's will? Faith. Love. Grace. Forgiveness. Hope. Mercy. See, these are the things that
the Lord is talking about when he says, if you pray according
to my will, you have that for which you petition. And here's the glorious truth,
brethren. All these spiritual blessings are bound up in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one has ever asked God for
Christ and been forbidden. We're like those Greeks that
we have up on the back wall. Sir, when the Greeks came to
the apostles, they said, sir, we would see Jesus. Is there
any way we could have an audience with him? Is there any way that
we could be in his presence and he in ours? Is there any way
that you could introduce us to him? Sir, we would see Jesus. That prayer has never been forbidden.
And in him are all spiritual blessings. And this is what it
is to know, to have the knowledge of his will. with all wisdom
and spiritual understanding. Our Heavenly Father, we ask that you would give to
us these spiritual blessings in Christ, that you would reveal his person and
his work in our hearts by your spirit. Lord, we are so fleshly and so
bound to physical things. Lord, we ask that in this time
of worship that you would remind us of that which is eternal and
enable us to set our affections not on the things of this earth,
but on things above where Christ is seated at thy right hand.
For it's in his name we pray. Amen.