The Historical Side of the Communion Table

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, March 18, 2012

1 Timothy 2:1-7, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

As most of you know, this past week several members of my family and I had the opportunity to travel with my mother to Arkansas to assist my mom in sorting through her mother’s possessions.  There, in a little town in Northeast Arkansas, at my grandmother’s home, we had the opportunity to sort of go back in time, for me, to recall many happy memories of visits to her home, and for us, especially my daughters, to learn a great deal more about the roots of my mother’s family.  The Lord willing, we will be continuing that process with my mother over the next several months, and certainly, we covet your prayers as we do.

Image credit: Allenscottwalker

We live in a world that is almost obsessed with the future.  Whether it be the Monday through Friday, nine to five crowd living for payday or for Fri-day and the weekend, or whether it be the younger folks among us, on the edge of their seats, awaiting no just the announcement of some new gadget, the latest technological advancement that will supposedly enhance their lives, but biting their nails in anticipation of the arrival of that gadget or gizmo in the retail stores.  Rushing off to be the first in line to have in their hot little hands.  As I said, we live in a world, a culture, that is almost obsessed with the future, with what will be.  And certainly, there’s some good to that interest, that fixation on the future.  I mean, anybody ever try to drive your car on central expressway, looking only, ONLY in the rearview mirror, and never out the windshield in front of you?  We have to look ahead, don’t we?  We have to have at least a little bit of interest in and concern about the future, right? 

But, listen, before we, as followers of Jesus Christ become too caught up in the future only mindset, I think there is also a great deal of wisdom bound up in the statement that goes something like this: to know where you are going, to accurately discern the present and the future, you must be sure certain, well-acquainted with where you have been.  Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to our time at this Table each Lord’s Day.  As Christians, living not days, not weeks, not months or even years, but over two millennia, TWO THOUSAND years after the events we celebrate each Good Friday and Resurrection Day season, as Christians living that far removed from the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, it’s easy to forget that this Table, the Lord’s Table and what it stands for, what is represents to us as Christians has a history to it.  It has a ‘side’ to it that is visible to us ONLY as we look in the ‘rear view mirror’ of the Word of God.  Let me explain what I mean. Going back as we did last week, to my grandmother’s home in Northeast Arkansas, I did sort of relive many good memories from my past.  And that was a blessing.  But, listen, here’s what blows my mind: though, like you, I live in the present – you know, Sunday, March 18, 2012 – and though, my birth certificate tells me, my life in this world had a beginning on Father’s Day Sunday, June 18, 1961.  Listen, when you start uncovering, as we uncovered at my grandma’s home, your family roots, you realize that your life or what led to your being here today, goes back a lot further than that date listed on your birth certificate.  The same is true for us as Christians.  In our mind’s eye, we go back to the first Good Friday, and we see Jesus, our Savior carrying His cross, we see Him hanging on that cross, loaded down by our sins and our guilt and enduring our punishment, that we might receive the benefit of that incredible sacrifice of redeeming love.  And we’re humbled, and we praise God for what Christ did for us.  But, listen, have you thought about it?  Is that as far back, is 30 A.D. on a hill outside Jerusalem, as far back as the Saving plan of God, the redeeming work of Christ goes?  Is it? 

This ‘side’ of the Communion Table, the Look-Back, as some have called it – talk about blowing your mind!  Knowing what I know; what this Book helps me to know about what we celebrate each Lord’s Day at this Table, we realize or should realize, that the saving plan of God, the John 3:16-intention of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, goes back farther, way, way farther than you and I could ever dream!  Take a look with me, at this, will you? 

This side of the Communion Table, the ‘Look Back’, how far back do we have to go to find out about the ‘Roots’ of our Redemption?  Revelation 13:8 – What does the Scripture say there about the ‘history’ of the saving plan of God, in the mind of God?  It says simply, does it blow your mind, like it does mind?  It says simply that God’s plant to save lost sinners, in His mind, that plan goes back even further than Genesis one, one!  Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, in His Father’s mind, He was slain, crucified, put to death for us BEFORE the creation of the world!  Wow!  The apostle Paul, in our text we read a moment ago from 1 Timothy 2, tells us that the man, Jesus Christ, the One Mediator between God and men, gave Himself for a ransom for all, in due time (see Galatians 4:4ff), at the precise moment God the Father had planned going all the way back to before Genesis one, verse one.  Wow!

Before we move one, let me read for you from two other passages from Paul’s letters, to undermine this point. 

2 Timothy 1:8-10, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

Titus 1:1-3, “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior.”

The ‘Look Back’, this first side, this first ‘view’ or ‘view-point’ pertaining to the Lord’s Table, and the discovery that in His mind, God’s grace was given to us, in Christ Jesus, BEFORE time began!    Wow!  Wow! 

But, then, we look further into this subject, and we find out that not only was what we celebrate, today, at this table, prepared before time began, in God’s mind.  Listen, through His mouth, through God’s mouth, God’s saving plant was proclaimed to and through His prophets centuries – millennia – BEFORE Christ came to live and die and rise again. 

What do you mean, preacher?  Here’s what I mean: take for example, God’s promises made to Abraham, two thousand years before the birth of Christ.  (See Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 24:7, etc. and Galatians 3:16).  Through His mouth, God spoke to His prophet, His servant, His human instrument, Abraham, and said, “In your Seed (through a Descendant of yours, Abraham) all the nations of the world will be blessed.”  Who is that ‘Seed’, that ‘Descendant’?  Jesus Christ!  He is the One all those dusty, old genealogies from the Old Testament were leading up to! 

2 Samuel 7:12 – The Covenant Promises of God, God putting His reputation on the line, this time the prophet, the servant of God, the human instrument is not Abraham, but a great, great, great, great… grandson of Abraham, a man by the name of David.  Again, spoken by the very mouth of God, the promise has to do with a future ‘Seed’ who would rule and reign.  Who is that future ‘Seed’?  Solomon?  I mean, he was tee one born, soon thereafter, to David.  No!  The ‘Seed’, the Promised Coming King of kings was not merely David’s son, but God’s Son, Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:21-38). 

Or, how about Isaiah 53 - Through His mouth, and human mouth-piece Isaiah, more than 700 years ahead of time, God foretold the coming of a Servant, a Suffering Servant Savior, who would be despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  Who is that Suffering Servant Savior?  The nation of Israel?  Isaiah, the prophet? No!  Look again at His stretched out arms on that cruel tree, and you will see, the Suffering Servant Savior of Isaiah 53 is Jesus! 

What do you see when you look back from this Table sitting here in this room?  What do you see, what ought you to notice when you view this Table and what it stands for, from this ‘side’, this ‘camera angle’?  The mind of God, planning BEFORE He ever said, ‘Let there be light,’ planning for what we celebrated just a few moments ago.  The mouth of God, speaking to and through His prophets, His human instruments, about that plan, though it was still hundreds and hundreds of years before it came to pass. 

But, then, notice also, we see from this ‘side’ of the Lord’s Table, the movement of God, His mighty, hand at work in History!

Exodus chapters 14 and 15, the culmination of over 400 years of slavery in Egypt for God’s Old Testament people, the Israelites. The mighty hand of God MOVING, not only to persuade a stubborn ruler named Pharoah, to let His people go, but do you remember the account?  The record of that miraculous intervention of God at the Red Sea?  His people, Moses and the children of Israel, led safely THROUGH the Red Sea on dry land, but the Egyptians, the arrogant tool of the Arch Enemy of God, Satan himself – what happened to them?  No deliverance there, right?  No rescue and victory for the Egyptians there right?  No!  The same waters through which the Israelites safely passed God used to DESTROY the Egyptians!  Exodus 14 and 15 – What do we have here, my friends?  A mere glimpse into a highlight of ancient Israel’s past?  No!  No!  That watery deliverance, that incredible victory of God, for His people, what is it?  It is one of many, many pictures of the movement of God’s mighty hand in History, pointing forward to the ultimate victorious deliverance of God’s people at Calvary!  That’s what you see from this ‘Look Back’, this historical ‘side’ of the Communion Table. 

But, listen, there’s one more portrait or, we might say, THE focal point of this ‘portrait’ of the Lord’s Table, that we see or ought to see each time we partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine.  What is at the center of this ‘Look Back’ side?  The mind of God?  Well, yes…  The mouth of God?  Well, yes...  How about this?  At the center, the focal point of this ‘portrait’ of the Lord’s Table is not a WHAT, but a WHO!  1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all…”  Whose Table is this? This is the Table of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Who’s supper is this?  The Host of this New Covenant Banquet is none other than our Savior, our Redeemer, our Mediator, the Son of God, the Man Christ Jesus.  The Man of men, Christ Jesus!

The author of the hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, states it this way in the second verse of the song: “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.  Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing!  You ask who that may be?  Christ Jesus it is He, Lord Sabaoth is His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle!”

Endurance: Is It Worth It?

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, March 11, 2012

Hebrews 12:1-3, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”

The longer I live, the further along I am in this ‘race’ called the Christian life, the more I see people, Christian people, struggle from day to day, the more I am convinced that what I need more of is not speed, not agility, but endurance.  Endurance.  The word doesn’t have quite the ring to it that speed does, but that’s okay, because – you see – the Christian life is not a sprint, but a marathon. 

Endurance.  It’s a word that has to do with bearing up under difficulty, that implies or entails patience, steadfastness and even courage in the face of life’s storms, all of which seem to be in short supply these days.  Furthermore, endurance, for the Christian, has everything to do with, is all wrapped up in, our hope, the anchor for our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Writing to a group of fellow Christians, who like so many believers in Jesus today, were undergoing great trials, the author of the Book of Hebrews offers three poignant and powerful reminders, all of which point ‘marathon runners’ in the direction of what they need, endurance, patient steadfastness.  Let’s examine these together this morning, shall we? 

One of the huge challenges that goes with running a marathon is the problem of losing sight of the goal, thinking that the finish line is never, ever going to come.  Any parent who’s ever packed his children in the back seat of the car for a 500 miles road trip knows the feeling…  Ten minutes down the road, ‘Mommy, are we there yet?’  Half an hour further, ‘Daddy, are we there yet?’  Little ones, who’ve never traveled those roads, who were too young to remember making that trip and how long and tiring it was, they have no concept of what it means to get in the car and sit there, buckled in, looking at the back of Daddy’s head for 8, 10, maybe 12 hours.  They can’t see the goal.  They’re not sure they will ever get to their destination.  Maybe Mommy and Daddy aren’t so sure, either.  But, they keep driving, because they realize, they remember that at the other end of that long highway is grandma’s house and all the good food she’s preparing.  Grandpa’s house, and that cozy spot next to him, out on the front porch. 

Brother and sisters, have you lost sight of the goal for your life as a Christian?  Before we go on, maybe we should ask, ‘What is the goal?’  ‘What is on the other end of that marathon track, awaiting all who endure?’

Before we examine the three reminders to endure, maybe we should search out whether or not it’s worth it.  What is awaiting those who don’t quit, who don’t lose heart, who don’t walk away when the going gets hard and long and grueling?  Hebrews 12:4-9 – We don’t have time to read that portion in its entirety, but you look it over, you examine it, and what will you find?  You will discover that more of God’s love, a greater understanding and confirmation of the fact that you are God’s child awaits you at the other end. 

Hebrews 12:5-7, “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”  If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”

Endurance.  Yes, patiently, steadfastly, bearing up on that long, long road.  It’s worth it.  Every child the Lord loves, must pass this way, must go through this process of chastening.  Speaking of chastening, correcting, disciplining, God’s long and difficult, purifying work in our lives.  We must endure it also.  Why?  That painful process is worth it also…  How come? 

Hebrews 12:10-11 – “God chastens us for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness… [God allows hard, painful trials into our lives, not because He gets some sadistic thrill out of it!  No!  But because a harvest is in mind…]  [He intends for these thing to] yield [in us] the peaceable fruit of righteousness [as we allow Him to train us by them].” 

What is at the other end of the line?  The Bible talks a lot about enduring and endurance.  But what awaits us, if we do?  And, is it worth it? 

At the end of the 500 miles road trip my mother and dad, and sister and brother and I would take every summer when I was a kid, were the homes, and gardens and farms and food we would always enjoy at grandma and grandpa’s house in Arkansas, and in Kansas.  And though, my sister and brother and I, got tired of looking out the back window of the car, and surely, mom and dad got tired of answering our incessant ‘When are we going get there?’ questions – it was worth it!  Believe me, it was worth it! 

But, what about this life-long race, stretched out over decades that goes with being a Christian?  Is it worth it?  Is what awaits us worth the effort, the blood, the sweat, and even the tears?  The Israelites of Moses’ day, sad-to-say, almost all of them didn’t think it was worth it.  Remember the accounts over in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy?  ‘Moses, take us back!  We want to go back to Egypt, at least there we had plenty to eat and drink!’  Take a look at Hebrews 12:18-21.  The Israelites of Moses’ day, almost all of whom did not make it to the goal, never arrived in the promised-land, they couldn’t – maybe, more accurately, they wouldn’t – see past obstacles like the Red Sea, and 40 day lay-overs like Mount Sinai, and so, where did they end up?  It’s a hard lesson, a brutal realization that underscores the absolute importance of endurance.  Virtually all of those ancient Israelites, including Moses, ended up dead and buried, BEFORE they ever got to see the Jordan River, or cross over it into the Promised-Land. 

But, my loved ones, look what awaits us, look at what is at the other end of the race, just beyond the finish line!!  Hebrews 12:22ff – The real Mount Zion, the eternal, heavenly city of the living God, an innumerable company of angels, the general assembly and church of the first born made up of those who are registered in heaven’s book, the Book of Life, God, the Judge of all the spirits of righteous men and women made perfect.  And, best of all, look Who’s there to receive us:  verse 24 – Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and His sprinkled, shed blood that speaks better things, lasting, eternal things, than even the blood of righteous Abel. 

Endurance, laying aside hindering weights and besetting sins, endurance, resisting those who oppose the things of Christ AND resisting the temptation to listen to them and become weary, discouraged quitters.  What makes going through all of that worth it?  Can you help me?  All I can see is the trouble, the frustration and the pain!  Ever been to the cemetery, to lay a loved one to rest?  I made a trip there last week with Peggy B. and her family.  Ever stepped into an Intensive Care Unit, and walked up to the bedside of a dear one whose life was being sustained by tubes and pumps and ivies everywhere?  I’ve been there a bunch recently!  Ever been to a place like Joplin, Missouri was and is, after the terrible tornado that struck that city 10 months ago?

All three of those places, the cemetery, the I.C.U. unit, and the rubble of a tornado-ravaged city, all three of those places are a part of a kingdom, a domain that can be shaken!  A realm that can and will ultimately come tumbling down.  But what of those who patiently, steadfastly build their homes, their LIVES, not on shifting sand, but the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ?  Is it worth it?  Remember Jesus’ parable in Matthew 7 and Luke 6?  Building on sand, just laying out your framework, putting up the walls, and the roof, setting in the doors and windows, without having to do all the slow and difficult dirt-work to lay a solid foundation.  Building on SAND, is so much easier!  And quicker!  But, what happens to your home, your life, set up on that sandy foundation, as it is, when a level 4 or 5 tornado hits it?!  Endurance, patiently, steadfastly, digging down-down-down, till you reach bed-rock, setting your forms, pouring your footers and piers, laying that solid-rock foundation.  It takes time, it takes effort, it takes sacrifice and sweat.  Is it worth it? 

Hebrews 12:28 – What kind of kingdom awaits those who endure?  A trip to the cemetery kind of kingdom?  A stay in the I.C.U. unit kind of kingdom?  A Joplin, Missouri tornado-rubble kind of kingdom? No!  Praise God, no!  Those who, by God’s grace and by God’s power, endure, all the way to the end, receive a kingdom, look at it!  They receive, we receive if we endure, a “kingdom that cannot be shaken…” 

Endurance – Is it worth it?  Hebrews 12:1-3, ask the winners…  Yes, ask the folks like Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses.  Ask them, that great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, cheering us on to the finish line, that group of Old Testament heroes listed in Hebrews 11, who themselves endured hardships and heart-aches as they ran the race and reached for the goal, ask them, “Is it worth it?”  Then, what?

Hebrews 12:2 – Then, ask Jesus.  Ask Him, “Is it worth it, WAS it worth it, what You endured for me, for us, at Calvary?”  Ask Jesus, and what will He tell you?  “I endured the cross, I despised the shame” of that ugly and cruel death, I did that, went through all of that – why?  “For the joy set before Me…”  “For the joy of sitting down at the right hand of God in heaven, knowing that I had done, completely, willingly and obediently, all that He sent Me to do…”  “For the joy of making the way by My shed blood for many other sons and daughters to sit down in My Father’s heavenly throne room with Me…”  “For the joy of defeating once and for all that dark, discouraging enemy of every runner’s soul.  “Ask Me,” Jesus says, “and I’ll tell, I’ll shout for you: ‘IT WAS WORTH IT to endure the cross!  It was!”

Look at the winners, look at Jesus.  Then what?  Look at yourself, look at what’s preventing you, hindering you, from enduring, running all the way to the end, compared to what awaits you, compared to all of that, wouldn’t it be worth it to lay aside everything, EVERY-THING that hinders you, and, especially the sinful habits that beset us, to run, to endure, to WIN? 

Would it be worth it?  “Therefore strengthen your hands, hanging down (so limp and lifeless) and strengthen your feeble knees, make straight paths for your feet…”  Yes, “Consider Jesus, think deeply, meditate long and hard on who He is and what He went through, so that you will not become weary and discouraged in your souls.” 

Understanding the Will of God

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, March 4, 2012

Colossians 1:1-14, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.  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; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

One of the subjects that we Christians often talk about is the subject of the will of God.  A lot of times those discussions are theological and highly theoretical.  But, then along the road of our lives we come to those forks, those places where we look to the right, to the left, perhaps even straight ahead and even behind us and wonder, ‘which way should I go, God?  Am I going the direction you want me to go?’  At those points in our journey, we realize that what we need, what we want to know and be sure of, is not some lofty theology, and certainly not some ‘black board theory’, but what we’re looking for is the will of God, His way, His plan, His desire for our lives, in plain English, in black and white and in terms that relate to our specific crossroads situation. 

The will of God, though I am called by God to be a shepherd to this flock, to lead you as He leads me, I want you to know right quick that God hasn’t given to me unique and detailed road maps with each one of your names on them.  I’m not here to be your spiritual GPS, giving you turn-by-turn instructions for each minute of your day.  Hope that doesn’t disappoint you or upset you.  But, listen. 

If you’re a Christian, born again, born of God, then, what?  You have received two marvelous gifts that you must never forget, neglect or take for granted.  What are they?  Number one, you have received His Spirit.  You have been given the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, and, as you allow Him to fill you, to direct and control you, guess what?  You’ll have that guidance!  You’ll have that insight. 

But, then you might say, ‘But, how?  How does the Spirit of God go about leading me, guiding me?’  Here’s the ‘roadmap’.  This Book [the Bible], this incredible expression of the Mind, the Plan of the Spirit of God, is how God’s Spirit shows us the way!  Knowing this Book, I mean, really knowing it, not in some sort of ‘close your eyes and pick a spot on the map’ sort of way, but knowing this Book opens up for you and me the otherwise hidden and unknown ways of the Good Shepherd. 

The will of God, when a preacher or Bible teacher tells you that he is going to teach or preach on the topic of the will of God, a lot of times our eyes glaze over - too deep for me - or maybe we even roll our eyes, as if to indicate, ‘Oh, no!  Here we go again!  Another sermon that has absolutely nothing to do with where I am!’  Well, hopefully, God-helping me, this preacher won’t lose you or bore you today.  Instead, my prayer is that God will use me to teach you some principles about God’s will that are good for all time.  Jot them down, store them away up here and in here, and begin living by them this afternoon, and also, that if you are at one of those forks in the road, you find specific and very helpful advice to put to work today, as you decide which way God would have you go. 

The will of God, first of all, let me set before you this question: ‘What’s so important about knowing the will of God?’  Well, perhaps by now the answer is obvious at least, to a certain extent.  But, let me see if we can’t answer that question specifically from what this passage of Scripture has to say to us. 

How many of you know what a ‘value judgment’ is?  What do I mean by the term ‘value judgment’?  A moment ago I set before you the question: ‘What’s so important about knowing the will of God?’  That question implies that the will of God may or may not be all that important, right?  In other words, in answering that question, personally and, yes, Biblically, we make or will make judgments, evaluations decisions related to its value, related to how significant or in-significant is to us, right?  Now, let me ask you this question: how important how significant, how valuable is something that God wants to give to you?

The way some people go about their lives, the way they use time, talents, resources, money, the way they treat people, some people by their actions and even by their words say, ‘John 3:16, “For God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son…” I can take it or leave it!’  Isaiah 40:28-31, “He (God) gives strength to the weary and to Him who lacks might, He gives power…”  The gift of God, His strength applied to my weakness and weariness, I can take it or leave it.  My friends, that’s a ‘value judgment’, ‘I can take it or leave it.’  That’s an expression of how important or unimportant something God gives or wants to give, really is. 

Now, how does all of that relate to the will of God?  Here’s how.  First thing you need to know, first thing you and I need to store away in our minds and hearts about the will of God, is that it is something God gives!  It is something God gives!  Paul’s prayer that begins in Colossians 1:9, His unceasing prayer and fervent desire for the Christians at Colossae was that they be “filled with the knowledge of God’s will…”  Now, here’s something to ponder: who’s going to do the ‘filling’?  Who’s the Source and Supplier for this input of divine insight? 

Beloved, it’s very clear to me from this passage that the first thing that makes the will of God, knowing the will of God, important, precious, valu-able, is that it is HIS will and that He, and He alone gives it!  Do you agree with me when I say it this way: ‘For the Christian, anything yes, I mean, anything that God gives or wants to give us, is important, supremely significant! 

What’s so important about the will of God, about knowing it, about being filled with it, even as Paul prayed that we would?  Put a star out beside this first one, God’s will is important, infinitely important, because it is HIS will, because He gives it and imparts it to His children!  Am I regarding it that way?  Are you? 

Second principle about the will of God that we ought to keep in mind wherever we are on the ‘map’ is this: God’s will, God gives it to His children, as they desire it, as they search for it like rich, rich treasure, God gives it bundled up with and delivered by means of spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

Colossians 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.”

‘Okay, there you go again, Preacher.  Losing me with high-sounding 5 syllable words and phrases.  What do you mean, ‘Spiritual wisdom and understanding’?  Well, imagine it this way: a friend sends you a package in the mail.  It’s a gift of a new toy or tool or gadget, but it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.  What’s the first thing that’s going to cross your mind?  ‘I wonder how this thing works?’  Right?  So, what do you do? 

Well, some of us, the more daring among us, the learn by trial and error folks, say, ‘Well, let’s just plug this in, turn it on and SEE what it does or is supposed to do!!’  But, the rest of us, after we’ve opened our surprise and looked it over, what do we go hunting for?  The directions, right?  The instruction sheet, right?  Now think about it this way: God, the Best Friend and Father anyone could ever have, holds in store a gift for you, it’s His will.  And, unlike the other gadget or gizmo ‘gift’, there isn’t an obvious on/off switch, nor an easily discerned ‘power cord’.  Except for one thing: included in the ‘box’ God sent you is one very important additional item.  What is it?  The Instructions, the Owner’s manual, the Directions on how to plug into and power up the will of God in your life!  (The Bible!)  Take, for example, this letter, this portion of Scripture we refer to as Paul’s letter to the Colossians.  Why do you think Paul plumbs the depths of the reality, the truth as to who Jesus really is in chapters one and two of this letter?  And, why do you think he lays out specific responses to Who Jesus really is in chapters three and four?  The simple answer is this: that awesome Gift, the amazing will of God, through this letter, and 65 other letters and gospels and histories, God says, ‘Here is what you need to know to put My will to work, to plug it in and power it up in your life!’  Going back to our road of life analogy, you remember what the psalmist wrote about this Book, don’t you?  “Your Word, the way, the path seems dark and unknown, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!”  (Psalm 119:105)

What’s so important about the will of God?  About know it?  About understanding it?  As I said at the beginning, a lot of times, when a preacher or Bible teacher announces this subject for his lesson or sermon, often times people go to sleep or their minds begin to wander.  ‘What does the will of God have to do with MY life?’  Nothing, of course.  I know that that may be your initial response, but listen, before we close I want you to see how very much God’s will DOES relate to your life and how very practical it really is.  Three things, three purposes or results that knowing AND doing the will of God have to do with you, with where you are on life’s journey: Verse 10, number one, the importance of God’s will, the significance of KNOWING what He desires for your life, has everything to do with whether or not your life will be one that pleases God. 

Pleasing God is also one of those eye-glaze-over subjects, isn’t it?  It is, until you come to grips with this one fact: one day you’re going to die.  One day, maybe real soon for some of us, we will take our last breath, and then what?  Then we meet our Maker, right?  But, what then?  Christians, by the grace of God, will by-pass the Great White Throne Judgment of the unsaved as depicted in Revelation chapter 20.  But listen, my friends, Christians will not by-pass the Bema Seat Judgment Paul depicts in 2 Corinthians 5:10.  He says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us [who are in Christ] may receive [rewards for or sustain losses because of] the things we’ve done [or failed to do] in the body, whether good or bad.”  Beloved, knowing and doing the will of God, plugging it in and powering it up in our lives, starting today, IS important and here’s why: because one day we will have to give account for what we did with this ‘package’, this ‘gift’ to the One who gave it to us!  God gives us His will, laid out in places like Colossians chapters one through four.  Why?  So that we might please Him!  So that we might stand before Him accepted or acceptable, not rejected or unacceptable!

Number two, how does knowing the will of God relate to your life?  Colossians 1:10 – God gives to His children, to us, this gift, His will, laid out for us in places like this letter of Paul, why?  That our lives might be acceptable, number one, and fruitful, not full of regrets, not marred and marked by emptiness, with nothing to show for at the end of the day, but fruitful! 

And, then number three: what’s so important about knowing and doing God’s will?  Does this ‘gift’, this heaven sent package truly relate to our lives, today?  Yes, it does.  How do I know that?  Once again, verses 19, 11 and 12:  A life that is acceptable, well-pleasing to God, a life that is fruitful, filled with the fruits, the results of righteousness that come by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:11).  And one more, knowing and doing the will of God, this awesome gift of God to us, here’s how we know how valuable it is: Colossians 1:10-12, it results, God intends for His gift to result in a powerful life, a life of His unlimited spiritual strength at work in us, producing in us, patient endurance in and through life’s trials and causing us to be truly thankful to Him for all He’s done for us in Jesus Christ. 

Colossians 1:9-12, “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; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”

The will of God, may this prayer of the Apostle Paul be our prayer, our aim, our yearning starting today.