Today's study was from Colossians 1:9-12...
"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may 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 joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
Let me digress here.
I used to dislike it when my mum, who home-schooled me on many subjects we didn't learn/properly learn in school, gave her usual speech of: "Foundations are important. You lay down your foundation, and you get the most critical work behind you." Despite my countless inward groans whenever she said that, I carried that mindset/attitude into my higher education... In med school, foundation building was terribly important. To get to seeing patients, the more practical side of things, we had to have all the medical sciences in an iron grip. Not to mention sit for professional exams too. Anatomy, biochemistry, pharmacology, physiology, embryology, public health, epidemiology (eeeks, absolutely hate that!!!), pathology, microbiology, etc, etc. We couldn't expect to understand the very complex nitty-gritties in final med, if we didn't build ourselves a good base. In the few months before the final exam, I found myself referring to those precious gems of medical sciences quite alot - so that I could fully understand the diseases I had to learn, and remember what I had to remember for the exams.
More important than anything else, when I gave my life to the Lord and put my faith in Christ, it seemed to be something that He took extremely seriously. In Luke 6:46-49, He said:
"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
I'm filled with consternation to imagine myself in the shoes of the man who built his house on ground without foundation. (I'm the kind of person who gets scared when the wind howls extra loudly outside...or if the lightning strikes down a tree... or when the thunder is ear-piercing...or when our church car-park floods!:P) The moment the torrent STRUCK the house, it collapsed and it was completely destroyed! What terror and regret must have filled his heart.
In short, Jesus painted His disciples (and whoever was listening) a picture of a man who laid down for himself a firm spiritual foundation of knowing God and His will, and obeying Him. And he lived a life worthy of the Lord that truly pleased and blessed Him... I can imagine - the man must have borne fruit, matured in his faith and cultivated a heart of thanksgiving too, in time. When the storm finally came, all he had built upon the solid foundations could not be shaken. He endured til' the end!
Wow, what a powerful illustration! This makes me very thankful (you can't imagine!!!) and grateful that my leaders dedicatedly took time to disciple me and to make sure that I had a firm spiritual foundation - whether it was back in City Harvest KL or Every Nation Dublin. Judging by the number of 'storms and torrents' that had hit the territories of my life in the past 8 years, I would have slipped away from the Lord, and my 'house' would have crumbled to dust - if it weren't for these people.
To further summarize my point being, the foundation determines the size and strength of a building. A building never reaches its full potential height, if its foundation is faulty or inadequate. It would topple once it outgrows its base! I've played too much Jenga when I was a kid to doubt this fact!:P
A foundation brings purpose.
Anyway, back to Colossians 1:9-12....God inspires Paul to lay out the very foundation of living a purposeful life worthy of Him and pleasing Him in every way (this includes bearing fruit).
Knowing Him.
God fills us with the knowledge of His will through all wisdom and understanding that His Holy Spirit gives... but we've got to first open up the doors of our hearts to the sound of His knock, and let Him sit on the very throne of our hearts. We've got to be open to what He's doing in our lives through our circumstances, despite the trials. We've got to read His Word, and let it transform us by the renewing of our minds. That we may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2) We've got to draw close to Him in worship. Pray constantly. Etc.
If you don't know somebody and what touches his/her heart immensely, you can't really please him or her, can you?
Many of us sincerely desire to please God, but we are not sure what foundation to build on. Some, like Martha, try to serve as hard as they can get. They get extremely busy - too busy sometimes, to sit at His feet. Some think His approval can only begotten if they spend long hours reading the Bible and fasting. They are guilty when they fail to live up to their own expectations. Some think we only can please him through full-time ministry. Some adopt certain styles of worship or certain postures of prayer which they deem more effective than the rest in reaching His heart. As a result, we spend too much time in indecision - vaccillating between different priorities, pre-conceptions and focuses.
But the Bible tells us about the primary thing. We've got to first get to know God and His will. This is the very foundation. Then we would be able to walk in the center of His will, and thus bear fruit in every good work, increase in the knowledge of Him, mature in our faith and and be thankful. Subsequently, we please God.
The stronger we build this foundation, the stronger the 'towers' that rise up from the ground. The more we are able to please Him.
The rest, we do as our faith allows us to. Who are we to say that God enjoys only hymns and not any other contemporary worship songs when we sing it heartily to Him?
Well, it humbles me that in the story of Luke 10:38-41, the Lord commended Mary for merely sitting at His feet. (vs 39). She didn't busy herself serving the guests like her sister, Martha... or allow any distraction for that matter to distract her from seeking the Lord wholeheartedly when He was there. She just sat at His feet, listening to what He said. Getting to know what burned upon His heart. (Here, I am sure Jesus felt very ministered to, even while He ministered to her.) Getting to know Him. And even with that, the Lord was pleased indeed. He saw her fruit-bearing potential and said, "Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her."
I'm filled with consternation to imagine myself in the shoes of the man who built his house on ground without foundation. (I'm the kind of person who gets scared when the wind howls extra loudly outside...or if the lightning strikes down a tree... or when the thunder is ear-piercing...or when our church car-park floods!:P) The moment the torrent STRUCK the house, it collapsed and it was completely destroyed! What terror and regret must have filled his heart.
In short, Jesus painted His disciples (and whoever was listening) a picture of a man who laid down for himself a firm spiritual foundation of knowing God and His will, and obeying Him. And he lived a life worthy of the Lord that truly pleased and blessed Him... I can imagine - the man must have borne fruit, matured in his faith and cultivated a heart of thanksgiving too, in time. When the storm finally came, all he had built upon the solid foundations could not be shaken. He endured til' the end!
Wow, what a powerful illustration! This makes me very thankful (you can't imagine!!!) and grateful that my leaders dedicatedly took time to disciple me and to make sure that I had a firm spiritual foundation - whether it was back in City Harvest KL or Every Nation Dublin. Judging by the number of 'storms and torrents' that had hit the territories of my life in the past 8 years, I would have slipped away from the Lord, and my 'house' would have crumbled to dust - if it weren't for these people.
To further summarize my point being, the foundation determines the size and strength of a building. A building never reaches its full potential height, if its foundation is faulty or inadequate. It would topple once it outgrows its base! I've played too much Jenga when I was a kid to doubt this fact!:P
A foundation brings purpose.
Anyway, back to Colossians 1:9-12....God inspires Paul to lay out the very foundation of living a purposeful life worthy of Him and pleasing Him in every way (this includes bearing fruit).
Knowing Him.
God fills us with the knowledge of His will through all wisdom and understanding that His Holy Spirit gives... but we've got to first open up the doors of our hearts to the sound of His knock, and let Him sit on the very throne of our hearts. We've got to be open to what He's doing in our lives through our circumstances, despite the trials. We've got to read His Word, and let it transform us by the renewing of our minds. That we may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2) We've got to draw close to Him in worship. Pray constantly. Etc.
If you don't know somebody and what touches his/her heart immensely, you can't really please him or her, can you?
Many of us sincerely desire to please God, but we are not sure what foundation to build on. Some, like Martha, try to serve as hard as they can get. They get extremely busy - too busy sometimes, to sit at His feet. Some think His approval can only begotten if they spend long hours reading the Bible and fasting. They are guilty when they fail to live up to their own expectations. Some think we only can please him through full-time ministry. Some adopt certain styles of worship or certain postures of prayer which they deem more effective than the rest in reaching His heart. As a result, we spend too much time in indecision - vaccillating between different priorities, pre-conceptions and focuses.
But the Bible tells us about the primary thing. We've got to first get to know God and His will. This is the very foundation. Then we would be able to walk in the center of His will, and thus bear fruit in every good work, increase in the knowledge of Him, mature in our faith and and be thankful. Subsequently, we please God.
The stronger we build this foundation, the stronger the 'towers' that rise up from the ground. The more we are able to please Him.
The rest, we do as our faith allows us to. Who are we to say that God enjoys only hymns and not any other contemporary worship songs when we sing it heartily to Him?
Well, it humbles me that in the story of Luke 10:38-41, the Lord commended Mary for merely sitting at His feet. (vs 39). She didn't busy herself serving the guests like her sister, Martha... or allow any distraction for that matter to distract her from seeking the Lord wholeheartedly when He was there. She just sat at His feet, listening to what He said. Getting to know what burned upon His heart. (Here, I am sure Jesus felt very ministered to, even while He ministered to her.) Getting to know Him. And even with that, the Lord was pleased indeed. He saw her fruit-bearing potential and said, "Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her."
2 comments:
oh wow. WOW. I feel like I just attended an inspiring sermon. Grace, you have SUCH a gift to you...I can truly see how God is gonna use you greatly.
You're so right abt having to build a firm and correct foundation...that is the most important thing before we establish a relationship with God. We need to KNOW who He is, know what He cares for, know who WE are, know WHY we're on this earth and HOW He blessed us. With this firm foundation in mind, our whole perspective changes, which of course changes our speech, thoughts, and actions.
It's my greatest wish to build the strongest and most correct foundation in my spiritual faith so that I can live my fullest for God.
Great post, Grace!
Amen, Sophia!!! Indeed, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds!!!:) I'm touched by your encouragement.
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