Struggling Christians
Colossians 1:9-14 Robert Pitts – 7/7/2011 Upper Springs Ministries.org
Colossians 1:9-14 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;” Many Christians struggle in their everyday lives because they have no spiritual wisdom nor spiritual understanding They have only natural, intellectual or only head knowledge of God’s Word.
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;” They do not know who they are in Christ.
They cannot walk worthy of the Lord because their knowledge of His Word is clouded with unbelief or mis-belief. They walk only by sight, not by faith as required by God’s Word.
11 - “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;�
They live their lives trying to be strong in their own ways instead of being strong in the Lord. Meaning they cannot hear the Lord, nor can they see where He is working. They only endure for a while, until persecution and tribulation arise because of the Word and then they fall away.
12 - “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.� One of the signs that a Christians is drifting away from the Lord is that they become unthankful. The next step is they become bitter and unforgiving. Then comes complaining, fault finding and apathy for the things of the Lord.
13 - “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,�
Instead of being delivered from the power of darkness, they become captives as seen in 2 Timothy 2:24-26. This does not mean they belong to the Devil, but have been begin to obey the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life, rather than God. There are 3 stages to becoming a captive of the Devil
The first stage is obsession. While in this stage a Christian can choose to stop the sin he is involved in. However, can become repetitive, but not too often. The second step is oppression. While in this stage the pressure from the enemy is greatly intensified. The person begins to hate his life and mentally and spiritually continues in a downward spiral.
Though the powers of darkness continue to torment the person, he can still through much prayer and fasting break out of the bondage. The third stage is possession.
Before we discuss this stage let me set the record straight, possession does not mean ownership. Once a person has been born into God’s Kingdom, he cannot be unborn.
He forever in this life and in eternity is a child of God. John 10:28 - "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
He can be taken captive by the Devil. John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
The Apostle Paul explained it like this in Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” In this stage a person cannot choose to stop the sin in his life. The sin becomes like an addiction to drugs or alcohol, he has to do it.
The only hope a person in this stage has is deliverance. Just as the Lord delivered the demoniac from a legion of demons, so much a person in this stage be delivered.
This comes as other Christians fast and pray and listen as the Holy Spirit gives the information & directions to break the bond of the enemy. The bond must be discerned spiritually and broken spiritually.
14 -“in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” After experiencing the Lord’s mercy and grace through deliverance, then the person can feel the forgiveness for the sin that held him in bondage. He can feel it in every area of his life.
This means spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It totally refreshes the whole person.
The main problem lies with the leadership in Christian circles. Spiritual Warfare and deliverance is not taught in most seminaries and Bible colleges.
Not only have pastors not been taught, but have actually been told it is not Biblical. We are told in Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.�
However, we have not been taught to expose them nor oppose them, but to ignore them and the Devil will flee. We find in James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. We find in 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (9) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
Because pastors and teachers have taught Christians that the Devil cannot bother them after they are saved, God’s Children often lead defeated lives for no other reason than lack of knowledge. They lack the knowledge of Who God is and who they are in Christ. They lack the knowledge of what God still does, for instance, miracles and healings, as well as deliverances. They lack the knowledge that the spiritual gifts of God are still real and available.
Because of things such as these, I hear many Christians asking, “What is God’s will for me?”
The question they should be asking is, “What is God’s will?” In order to focus on God, we must take our thoughts captive. We have too many distractions in our lives and if we want to hear the Lord when He speaks, we must focus on Him.
We can know God’s will.
Knowing God’s will Ephesians 5:17 - Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Many Christians spend their life in the earnest pursuit of understanding the seemingly elusive will of God, but fail. Some of the causes for the elusion A lack of understanding of "God’s Will" is shown through in extremes of thoughts and behavior.
Some of the causes for the elusion Moving without clear understanding from God on what is to be done. Not moving — instances driven by lack of faith and lack of experience in a God that really does work directly in one’s daily life. How to correct the elusion Come to know the Lord intimately. Heart knowledge, not intellectual.
How to correct the elusion “Correct" Christian thought and the actions that flow forth from the relationship Praying confidently that you "might be filled with the Holy Spirit". Then act upon God’s direction The moment God speaks is your invitation to join Him in what He is doing.
This word "filled" means: from Strong's Concordance 4134: (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), to influence, satisfy, execute (an office), finish a task, to be complete, fully preach, perfect. Paul understood that we are powerless without the indwelling power of Jesus in our lives. He prays that we might have spiritual wisdom and understanding, thereby coming to an understanding of "Gods Will" and our lives fit in.
Spiritual wisdom and understanding are not the same as earthly wisdom or understanding.
Ephesians 1:8 - He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, This is spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding. This spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding conferred to us by walking as led by the Spirit.
Ephesians 1: 16-18 (16) do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: (17) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, (18) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
There is a spiritual gift of wisdom found in 1 Corinthians 12:8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, The skills needed to survive in life, to maintain a job or to run a corporation are (or at least should be) vastly different for a believer than an unbeliever.
But most believers have learned to use the skills taught to us through secular education. We have learned to survive, like the rest of the world, living by sight and not faith.
Without faith in a God who really does work in our daily life with the result being a life lived empty. This is one reason why there is not much difference between the church and the world.
What do we do if we don’t seem to have much wisdom? James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
There are two kinds of wisdom and we as God’s Children must know the difference and seek after and use divine wisdom.
James 3:14-15 & 17 (14) But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. (15) This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. (17) But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
When we look around us, we see many spiritually dead Christian men or women (i.e. they are lacking fruit).
We often wonder why God is not moving in our lives or our culture. We ask why God has chosen to stay silent, We all believe in a God that wants to have a relationship with His creation, yet for many Christians, God is like an absentee father, He exists, but they do not know him. Has God changed?
Absolutely NOT!
The problem is: As a people, we are so drawn into a culture of affluence and power; and we are upside down in our thinking. We seek worldly heavenly things.
things
instead
of
The solution is:
To set our minds on things above. To do so we must have the mind of Christ in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
The result will be: We will see God move in our lives because we would have the spiritual eyes to see when He is moving. Many times, He is moving and we just do not have the eyes to see it. It is imperative to us as believers to have such wisdom and understanding. We must be able to discern the spiritual times, not just the worldly.
Paul tells us about walking a worthy life before God. Ephesians 4:1
You should
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
1 Thessalonians 2:12
You would
that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory..
Colossians 1:10
You can
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Galatians 5:16 You will
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Indications of problems with our walk: Do you struggle with your walk with God? Do you struggle with your place in life? Are your relationships troubled?
Is your heart troubled by the lack of a relationship with God? Does the Lord seem distant?
Is there a gaping hole in your life, something missing, but you don’t know what it is? Does temptation keep calling your name? Do you have a hard time praying and/or reading your Bible?
Has it been longer that 6 months since you have heard the Lord?
Do you share your testimony with others? Have you separated yourself from the Body of Christ? Do you find yourself being really critical of others? Have you become resentful toward other people’s success? Do you find yourself making excuses for your misdeeds?
If you have several of the symptoms in your life, you need to re-evaluate your walk with Christ.
You need to pray for the filling of your soul with God's spiritual wisdom and understanding. You need to ask someone involved in a deliverance ministry for help.
Jesus came that you might have life and life more abundant.
Jesus said in John 8:32, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The Truth in not a concept, but instead is a Person, Jesus Christ! Christians want and through Jesus Christ.
expect
eternal
Jesus said in John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.