Thank you Brother Ling for reading from the book of Colossians for us. Today I would like to speak with you all about the topic of praying for missions. Praying for missions. We're going to take this from the book of Colossians chapter 1. If you're anything like me, you can get stuck in your prayers, asking the same very general things time after time as you pray for missions. One lady that I had a lot of contact with as a child would frequently pray, bless our missionaries on the foreign field. And that was the extent of what she would pray for them or could think of to pray for them. And as I was a child, I would think, wow, I wonder what that looks like. And I wonder how we can pray for them. You all have frequently asked for prayer requests from us, and we're so grateful for you all's prayers on our behalf. The praying is, prayer is so important. The Lord has commanded us to pray for the advancement of his kingdom. The second petition of the Lord's Prayer is, Thy Kingdom Come. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says with regard to this petition in Answer 102, in the second petition, which is Thy Kingdom Come, we pray that Satan's kingdom will be destroyed. and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it, and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened." We see all around us the influence of Satan's kingdom deceiving people, and we see the great need that that kingdom would be destroyed in people's hearts and the people be freed from the slavery to sin and the blindness that comes from the influence of Satan and from the influence of this world which surrounds us. We pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed. I pray that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, that people would come to understand the goodness and grace of God, that people would hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in our text, that they would be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's beloved Son, and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. The Lord's Word is sufficient to guide us in our times of prayer and to give us direction as to how to pray. When we hear the apostles ask the Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples to pray, we're reminded, first of all, of the importance of prayer. And secondly, we are reminded of the importance of the manner of prayer, to pray those things that will be pleasing to the Lord, to seek from the Lord those things which are truly priority, those things that he will delight to give. And this is a worthy pursuit and a worthy study on our part. Today, we're going to look at the book of Colossians chapter one, and we'll see how Paul prayed for the advancement of God's kingdom and how Paul requested prayer for himself and for his mission work. Colossae was a small city about a hundred miles east of Ephesus. One commentator said that of all the cities to which Paul sent letters in his prison epistles, Colossae was the least significant of those cities. If you can imagine, the third largest city in the Roman Empire at this time was Ephesus, which had a population of about 250,000 people. It was the third largest city. So cities were significantly smaller at this time. And it was a place that Paul never visited. We learn this in chapter 2, verse 1. Or at least we could say that up to this point he had never visited Colossae. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those in Laodicea, for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ. Paul has not met these people personally, but God has used a church planter who Paul says is one of their own, this man named Epaphras, to evangelize and establish a church there in the city of Colossae. And so we have here in chapter one, verse seven, just as you learn from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servants, He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. So praise God for this faithful missionary who brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to this town of Colossae. Paul writes this letter from prison in Rome with the purpose of encouraging the believer's faith in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and to correct some false teachings, the false teachings of asceticism, some manner of Jewish legalism, and philosophic mysticism. Chapter 2, verses 16 and 17, in these verses we find some of that correction. Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regards to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, not holding fast to the head from whom the whole body nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments grows with a growth that is from God. So the gospel comes to the city of Colossae. A church is planted in the city. And yet, there are problems. And that's one thing about missions. Things are never as clean cut as we would like them to be, never as pretty as we would like them to be, and there's always a struggle. There's always a struggle. The first thing that Paul does to help deal with these problems is to pray. Before he even writes this letter, the Apostle Paul is praying for these people. Chapter 1, verse 3. And in this verse, we find that Paul begins his prayers for these people with thanksgiving to God for them. And that's our first point. Our first point is Paul begins his prayers for the Colossians with expressions of gratitude. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you as indeed in the whole world, et cetera. He gives thanks to the Lord for their faith and for their love. In spite of all the problems Paul sees and will address in this letter, Paul expresses thankfulness to the Lord for the Colossians' faith. Thankfulness. Paul allows the problems to motivate him for prayer But he starts with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving allows us to focus on those things that the Lord has already done and is doing. And we're encouraged as we express gratefulness to the Lord. It's an encouragement to our hearts as we express gratefulness to the Lord for those things that he has already done and is doing. It's so easy when we think about missions, it's so easy to think about all the work which is not done. And that can be discouraging if we just focus on that. But one thing that can be very encouraging is to think about the ways in which we have seen the gospel advance, even in our own lifetimes. That is encouraging. And Paul sees a wonderful motivation for thanksgiving in the hope that is laid up for them in heaven. Verse five, because the hope laid up for you in heaven, of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel. The fact that the gospel has come to Colossae is also a motivation for great thanksgiving. Now Paul is going to continue his prayers after giving thanks to God for the Colossians. Paul is going to continue his prayer with some strategic requests. We'll find this in verses 9 to 12. And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will. in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work." First of all, we find the Apostle Paul here asking that they may be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Usually, or frequently in the scriptures, the word gnosis is the word in the Greek that is translated knowledge. But in this particular instance, the word gnosis is not the word used, but the word epignosis, which, according to Zodiates, is more intense than gnosis, and it expresses a more thorough participation in acquiring the knowledge on the part of the learner. a more thorough participation on the part of the learner in acquiring the knowledge. It's comprehension of the divine revelation. In praying this, Paul seems to have been praying for them to be diligent in their search to understand God's will. We can follow Paul's example by praying for those that our missionaries minister to, asking that the Lord makes them diligent in their study of the scriptures, like the Bereans were. We can pray that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the scriptures to their hearts, giving them understanding of God's will. of the things that we need to understand in this life, God's will is primary. God's will is primary. And so the Apostle Paul prays that their search for God's will will be prospered and that they will be filled with the knowledge of his will. And of course, the Christian faith is not a faith of merely filling our understanding with knowledge, right? But in verse 10, we find that the result of having that knowledge, the result of growing in the true knowledge of God's will, is to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Walk in a way which is worthy of this calling with which we have been called. fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work. Maturity in the Christian life does not just look like the accumulation of knowledge, right? But rather like knowledge put into practice. It's not sufficient to be hearers of the Word. The Colossians must be doers of the Word as well, right? And the people whom we minister to must be doers of the Word. Paul prays that the knowledge of God's will that the Colossians are attaining will lead them to walk out obedience to God. As we follow Paul's example of prayer, we can pray for the people that our missionaries are ministering to, asking God to make the preaching of the word and their study of scriptures effective in their lives to produce genuine faith that obeys the Lord. And God is pleased with this result. Verse 10, fully pleasing to Him. Now I'm kind of focusing a little bit on how to pray for our missionaries, right? But these same things apply to so many, to so many things. They apply to the people that God brings into our life to share the gospel with. They apply to our prayers for our children as well. May we pray for our children. And this is really one of the most important prayers that I pray. or for my children, that they will come to understand the Lord's will and live out faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These things are applicable to so many different relationships in our lives. And as we see the need in the lives of people around us, may that motivate us, my friends, to pray that God will fill them with the knowledge of His will And then secondly, that they will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Walk out obedience. Faith produces obedience, right? Verse 11. Verse 11. So in verse 10, he asked that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. Isn't that amazing that we can, through faith in Jesus Christ and through the obedience that that faith produces in our lives, Be pleasing to the Lord, be pleasing to the Lord. And then it says here, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, increasing the knowledge of God. And then verse 11, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. So here he prays for their strength, that they will be strengthened with the strength, the might of the Lord. You see, the gospel is counter-cultural. And we can be sure that the Colossians were going to face opposition. because of the gospel, right? The gospel is going to bring conflict into their lives. The gospel brings wonderful peace into our lives, right? Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we have a love for the saints, and we receive love from the saints because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And at the same time, the gospel brings conflict, doesn't it? So Jesus said, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. And as we minister to people, as we bring the gospel to people, and as people believe the gospel, we can see conflict coming into their lives. I was visiting with you all about Juan just now, talking with you all about what he does and how he goes out and evangelizes and studies the Bible with people. Well, that has not been without its conflicts. There have been a lot of conflicts and there's been times that he has come to me and said, you know, what should we do with this? And how do we deal with that? And Conflict is going to be a part of the package because the gospel is so counter-cultural. The world, the flesh, and the devil conspire together to defeat the Christian. So Paul prays for these new brothers and sisters in Christ. He prays that they will be strengthened by God's glorious and all-sufficient might to endure the temptations and opposition with joy." So there's opposition from outside of us, right? And there's opposition from within us, from inside of us. May we be strengthened to stand and to not give in to the oppositions and to the temptations, and this is what Paul here is praying for the Colossians, that they would be strengthened to endure the difficulties associated with faith in Christ and the gospel. He sees these fledgling believers, and he knows that in and of themselves, they are insufficient. They need help. And praise God, we have help, right? Praise God that we have help. The Lord is our helper. And he knows that the Lord is the helper of these Colossians as well. And so he cries out to God to help them. Verse 12, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered you from the domain of darkness and transferred you to the kingdom of his beloved Son. Okay, so in verse 12, we see Paul praying for the thankfulness of the Colossians. He's praying that they would be thankful. He knows how much the Colossians need gratefulness. Thanksgiving is one of the great keys to peace in the Christian life. Just probably a couple of pages away in the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verses 6 and 7, we find some very important verses that I hope that you have memorized. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God, one of the great keys to the peace of God ruling in our hearts and minds, is thankfulness. So Paul knows that these people need to be thankful to the Lord and he prays that they will be such. There's a lot to be thankful for. In verse 13 we find first and foremost our deliverance, the Colossians' deliverance from the domain of darkness and being brought into or transferred to the kingdom of his beloved son. As we think of those things to be thankful for, the believer that's even in the worst of circumstances can give thanks to God for this. This has been purely the work of God, and we thank him for doing that in each of our lives. So here we find the Apostle Paul praying for these things, that they will be filled with the knowledge of his will, that they'll walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, that they will be strengthened, the strength to endure, and then that they will be thankful. And then the Apostle Paul, and we're gonna jump to the last chapter of the book here, chapter four, the Apostle Paul requests prayer from them. He asked that they will pray for him and for his ministry. Chapter four, verse two. says the following, continues steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. So again, he mentions that theme of thanksgiving, and he encourages them, he begins his request for prayer, encouraging them to steadfastness in prayer, to be diligent in their prayers. Then he says, in verse three, at the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear how I ought to speak, which is how I ought to speak. Make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. The Apostle Paul here expresses his own need for prayer. He recognizes his need for the Lord's help and asks the Colossians to pray for him, that the Lord would open a door for the Word. Paul is sitting in prison at this point, and a door for the Word could have looked like opportunities to send brothers out to minister in different cities. There's so many places which haven't heard the gospel yet, so many places that need the gospel still. Perhaps he's thinking about some of his co-prisoners who need the word of the Lord to penetrate their hearts, to open their eyes, to grant them understanding of the truth. Paul prays that the door for the word will be opened wide. The gospel advances as God providentially works in this world to open doors for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then he asks that they will pray for his ability to communicate. Verse four, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. Prayer for his own abilities to communicate the wonderful truths of Christ. So many things are needed for the advancement of God's kingdom, but none is greater than the need for God's providential work, opening the hearts of men to the truth of the gospel and gifting his preachers to communicate God's message to mankind with clarity and with precision. So these are some things that we can pray for our missionaries. Thank you all for the ways that you all are being involved by the grace of God in the advancement of God's kingdom there in Wichita and then in many places around the world. And these are some things that you all can pray for the people that go out to Old Town on Saturday nights to minister. These are things that we can pray for our pastors, that they will be filled with God's gifting to teach the Word of God with clarity. These are things which we can pray for our missionaries in other places, that God will fill them with His Spirit in such a way that they will be able to teach the Word of God and get to the hearts of the people through the clear communication of God's Word. May the Lord bless you all. Thank you all for your participation with us. And we're thankful for you all as an assembly and the encouragement that you are to us. May the Lord bless you. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, I thank you, Lord, that you are working in this world. I thank you, Lord, that you have not left us alone. I praise you, God, that you are building your church and your kingdom is advancing as you providentially work through history to bring people to yourself. We pray, God, that each of us, Father, will be useful to you, Father, and that at the end of our lives, Father, we will hear you say to us, well done, good and faithful servants. O Lord, may we have an understanding of your will, Father, and may we walk in a manner which is worthy of you, Father. O God, may our lives be pleasing to you, Father, we pray. We pray, Father, that you, Lord, will fill us with your strength, Father, to do those things which are honoring and glorifying to you. Thank you, Lord, for new hope, Father, and we pray your blessing on them, Father. In Christ's name, amen. Thank you all.