Sermon Tone Analysis

*Eight Ways to Pray for Your Children and Grandchildren* \\ \\

Colossians 1:9-12 \\ \\

February 11, 2007

 

 

 

*Opening*

Please turn to Colossians 1:9-12 in your Bibles.

While you’re doing that, I want to open with a short story.

* *

A father prayed faithfully and fervently for his children throughout the years when they were growing up.

He especially prayed for their spiritual well-being, often using the great prayers of the apostle Paul as a guide.

One day the boyfriend of his 18-year-old daughter, a young man who was experiencing some serious difficulties in life, said to her, "Everything just seems to go so well in your life.

How come?

I just don't understand it."

She answered, "It's because of my father's prayers."

Can you imagine the joy in that father's heart when she reported that conversation to him?

As a matter of fact, he wept for joy to know not only that God had honored his faithful prayers but also that his daughter had come to recognize that God was blessing her life through those prayers

 

The Apostle Paul, who was like a father to those who had come to faith in Christ in Colosse, prayed faithfully for his spiritual children.

Listen to this magnificent prayer found in our Scripture reading for today.

*Scripture*

\\ /”So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you.

We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom.

\\ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others.

All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.

\\ We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need.

May you be filled with joy, \\ always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people, who live in the light.”

/

 

*Topic Sentence*

I am here today to tell you, faithful intercessory prayer will help your children and grandchildren live lives worthy of the Lord, grow in their knowledge of him, and have power to joyfully endure trials.

So, if you decide to pray faithfully for your children and grandchildren, what should you pray?

Follow your outline on the back of your bulletin as I go through the things we can pray all found in Colossians 1:9-12

 

*First, Pray That They Will Be Filled with the Knowledge of God's Will *(as verse.

9 says: /“//We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom and understanding.“)/

·          Pray your children and grandchildren will have a rich, full knowledge of /what God wants /for them not simply a head knowledge about God or memorized commandments but "knowing" and trusting Jesus as Savior

    and accepting Christ as Lord of their lives.

·          And pray that knowledge will come through the wisdom and understanding given by the Holy Spirit

/Spiritual /literally means /"from or of /the Holy Spirit."

As mentioned before/, Wisdom /is the ability to see things from God's point of view, while/ Understanding /means insight into spiritual things.

We want our children and grandchildren to know God, to be wise, and to understand spiritual things.

*Second, Pray That They Will Live Lives Worthy of the Lord (v.

*10 tells us: /”// Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others.”

/

·          We want our children and grandchildren to lead lives that reflect the huge investment Christ has made in us

He has made us new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17  says/: “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons.

They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone.

A new life has begun!” )./

We are his workmanship ( In Ephesians 2:10 we’re told: /“//For we are God's masterpiece.

He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for.

“)//./

Several decades ago a plain bar of iron was worth about $5.00.

The same amount of iron shaped into horseshoes was worth $10.50.

Formed into nee­dles, that bar of iron would be worth about $5,000.

Forged into balance springs for watches, it would be worth $250,000.

It's the same iron.

The only difference is the refining.

The value depends on the refining and the use made of it.

·          We want our children and grandchildren to mirror Christ and to lead lives that are truly valuable to the Lord

-        We are of great value to God in building His kingdom.

We are saved to serve.

We want this for our offspring and their future generations.

We want them to be disciples who make disciples who make disciples and so on and so on and so on, and they will if we are praying faithfully that our children know God and live worthy of His calling on their lives

 

*Then third, Pray That They Will Live Lives Pleasing to the Lord (v.

*10)

·          They should live in obedience to His commands.

This is the primary way to please the Lord.

·           

It's not brilliance, wealth, prosperity, popularity, or beauty  but obedience that pleases the Lord (see 1 John 3:22 where we read: /“//And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him.”/

).

It's the primary thing that disciples of Christ need to learn (Matt.

28:19-20 affirms this in what we call the GREAT COMMISSION: /“//Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you."

)./

·          It takes prayer for this to happen in the lives of our children and grandchildren

-        We don't have the power to do this without God's grace and power released through prayer.

*The fourth thing to pray for your children and grandchildren is That They Will Bear Much Fruit *(v.

10)

God produces fruit on earth through Spirit-filled believers (As Galatians says in 5:22-23: /“//But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”/ ).

I recently listened to a tape by Ray Comfort who expanded on this.

Fruit is our proof of being a genuine believer.

We are to bring forth fruit.

What fruit? 1.

The fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8 says “Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. “ 2. The fruit of good works.

As Colossians 1:10 puts it,  /“Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others.

All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.

“ /3.

The fruit of thanksgiving.

Hebrews 13:15: says: /”/ /Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”/

4. The fruit of righteousness – Philippians 1;11 states, /“May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” /And 5: the fruit of the Spirit : /“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, “/ Galatians 5:22

We must bear much fruit – good fruit.

Matthew 3:10 says: /“Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots.

Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

/

And, fruitfulness involves multiplication.

For example, if you plant one kernel of corn in fertile soil, the healthy cornstalk that comes from that seed will have two ears of corn, each yielding about 500 kernels.

Being fruitful involves good choices and spiritual growth.

According to Peter, be­lievers who add spiritual qualities like repentance, righteousness, thankfulness, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perse­verance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love to their faith will be effective and fruitful in the kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:5-9 states:  /“So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life.

Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence.

A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better.

Knowing God leads to self-control.

Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness.

Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive (fruitful) and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind or, at least, very shortsighted.

They have already forgotten that God has cleansed them from their old life of sin.” /).

Fruitfulness!

Isn’t that the end product of what we want for our children and grandchildren?

Peter ends with this beautiful exhortation “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

*So, five, Pray That Your Children and Grandchildren  Will Grow in Grace and Knowledge of God *(v.

10)

·          This is not simply knowledge /about /God but knowing/ /God.

-        It's having a relationship with God, knowing him as a person knows a friend.

It's knowledge that comes through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17 says: /“a//sking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

“/ )

 

·          No knowledge makes a greater difference in a person's life than knowledge of God.

The better we know God, the greater will be our love, our peace (Isaiah 26:3 states: /“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!”/ ), and our joy (Isaiah  61:10 adds: /“//I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God!