Living a Changed Life

Living a Changed Life
Colossians 1:1-20
November 9, 2025

Tonight, we are starting in the book of Colossians. This was the letter that was written to the church in Colossae, a city in Asia minor, or Turkey as we would know it today.

Paul did not plant this church and as far as we know, and he never visited it either. This church was planted by people that got saved in the revival in Ephesus who then went out and planted churches in the region.

Epaphras was the leader of the church, and he was also the one that visited Paul when he was in prison in Rome. He relayed to him that there were false teachers that were spreading false teachings in the church, specifically Judaism and Gnosticism; those denying the deity of Christ.

So, Paul writes this letter to strengthen them in their faith so that they would grow in their maturity in the spirit. They were to distribute this letter to the other churches in the area as well, training them in the truth to resist the false religions they were up against.

We have dealt with many of these principles in some other epistles as well, as they were all dealing with these issues, yet with subtle differences of focus.

So, although you might have heard some of these principles before, it is good to repeatedly sow these truths into your heart until it becomes foundational truths which root strong biblical values in your life.

To grow in our spiritual life, we need to be anchored in the truth. But not only that, we’re then called to live according to that truth, it impacting every area and sphere of our lives, because your core truths and values automatically set the direction of your life and influences every decision you make.

Illus – Say you have a deep core truth that you are an introvert, whether right or wrong, it will influence every interaction. Or you have a truth, whether true or false, that you have no ball sense, it will affect what social activities you engage with.

If the word of truth is sown into our hearts, we should bear fruit that corresponds to that truth.

James 2:17, Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

As we know, we are not saved by our works, but when we are saved, we are changed from the inside out and it affects, or should affect every area of our lives.

And this is what Paul starts off with. We find it in his first opening prayer revealing what his heart for the church is.

I. Be Filled…

• Paul heard about their faith and the sincere love they had for all the saints and that the gospel was bearing fruit in their lives, and therefore, Paul wrote, he was praying for them.
• His prayer is that he wants even more for them. God never wants us to be spiritually stagnant. Have you ever smelled a stagnant pond? It doesn’t exactly smell like fresh glacial water in springtime.
• Living water is alive, it’s fresh because it’s on the move. The same is true for us spiritually. God wants us to be spiritually alive as well.

John 7:37-38, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

• For water to stay fresh, it needs an inflow and an outflow. Spiritually, we need the inflow of the refreshing power of the Holy Spirit, which also ignites us to have an outflow of living a life of glory to God.

          A. …with the knowledge of His will

• The life of the Spirit has a source. It starts with the word.

John 6:63, It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 

Illus – God is your Father and He loves you. The Spirit brings that truth and realization to life.

• This is why Paul prays that they will be filled with the knowledge of his will. In the center of God’s will is where we find life.
• God’s will for man was to live in unbroken fellowship with God, aligned with His heart. He is the source of life, so if you are aligned with Him, walking with Him, you have true life.
• When the relationship with God was severed by sin, it brought forth death.
• Jesus restored us back in relationship with God so that we might have life. But life is found in the will of God. Walk away from God’s will, and it equals death.
• Needless to say, to walk in God’s will, you need to know what His will is. And the primary source of the will of God is grounded in His word.
• This gives us direction in life. The more you know God’s heart, the more effective you can walk in His will

  B. …in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

• It doesn’t stop with knowledge of His will though. Knowledge of God’s will alone doesn’t change you. Demons also have knowledge of the will of God. Many rebellious people have knowledge of the will of God, but actively choose against it.
• Something more is needed. You need spiritual wisdom and understanding. Seeing things from a spiritual perspective. The Spirit of God needs to move over the truth and bring it alive in your heart.
• Then the knowledge can be applied with wisdom on how and where to live it out, understanding the implications and seeing the bigger picture.
• The story of the choice of Adam and Eve is set before us daily. We can choose life or death, multiple times a day.
• So, when we put it all together, we take in the word of God, it becomes the foundation of our lives, and we start to discern the will of God in every situation. We do this daily, continually.
• We should surrender to the will of God every day. And this again brings us back to relationship.

Illus – Most people today have calendars that they use to effectively and efficiently plan their days, weeks, months, even years with. If you are living in the modern culture, it is almost impossible not to. The problem is that it gives us the illusion of control. And if we don’t know exactly what is going to happen, it gives people anxiety. Planning can, however, be a negative in relationships. Someone can sit with his boss once a week and just get all the tasks for the week. Very efficient. But if relationship is the goal, it is not effective. Deeper relationship is built when an apprentice works side by side with the master every hour of every day.

• Most people would love to have God give them task to follow. God, tell me what I need to do at 10am, 11am, 12,1pm,2pm,3pm,4pm. If possible, can we get a breakdown for the rest of the week and possibly the month and year too? Then I don’t have to bother you. I can just go do my thing. And when I am off the clock, please don’t bother me at home.’
• God is not your corporate boss.
• God doesn’t do that. Because we are called to walk in a loving, faith RELATIONSHIP. Discipleship. Apprenticeship. Most of the time, God reveals His will one piece at a time, and the new directive won’t come till the first one is finished.

Illus – It reminds me of the story of Phillip in Acts 8.

• God could possibly have told him exactly what would happen, but that wouldn’t require much faith. And can you imagine the incredibly amazing surprise he got when the Spirit of God snatched him away and transported him over 30 miles away! What an adventure!

Illus – Isn’t a surprise nice?

When we see in the moment what God has done, we are astounded and it brings joy and builds our faith.

II. Walk Worthy of The Lord

• The aim in growing in our faith is to walk out our faith. There is no point in saying you believe something but you don’t act on it or live accordingly. That is an actor, or a hypocrite.
• So, Paul says, walk your spiritual walk worthy of the Lord. Live your life, conduct yourself, in a way that glorifies Him and is aligned with His Lordship in your life.

1. Please Him in everything

• We were created for His pleasure.

Revelation 4:11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

• God’s heart is relationship, and flowing from this, living aligned with His heart, which is good.
• Many people don’t like the thought that we were created for His pleasure. They see it from a worldly, selfish context, where many times for someone to get selfish pleasure, someone else will be abused or taken advantage of. It is seen as a master/slave context.
• They want to live for their own pleasure, and don’t want feel tied down by God’s “expectations”.

Illus – This is like  a woman getting married to a wealthy wonderful, loving man who wants a companion to share his life, but she feels tied down by the arrangement. The other opportunities and flings with other men looks so much more inviting and exciting. So, she goes out in the night rendezvousing with men who ultimately just use her and destroys her.

• This is the whole story of Hosea, where God uses his marriage to a harlot to paint a picture of what Israel was doing to God. God loves Isreal, but they keep playing the harlot with other gods.
• But when you have knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom and understanding, you understand that living to please is a beautiful thing.
• We don’t try to please Him to be acceptable, or because we are forced to, but it is in response to His unfathomable love for us.

Illus – Marriage as God intended, is the picture of this. I love to do things that my wife enjoys. I love going to antique shops with her, drink coffee with her in the morning, go out to dinner with her. And she is the same, not because we have to, but because we want to. And in the process, we grow closer, are changed, and we grow as people and in our relationship.

Illus – When you see a skilled musician, loving what they do, and you have the privilege to see them perform, it brings you pleasure.

Illus – When a parent sees their child doing something they love, or see them live out godly values, impacting people around them, it gives them great pleasure. It warms the heart.

• That is the context; us living our lives aligned with God and His truth, brings Him pleasure, because it is also the best plan for our lives.
• Part of this ‘pleasing’ is bearing the fruit in every good work. When God’s heart becomes your heart, you will naturally start to bear the fruit aligned with it. His Spirit works it in us.
• You start to see things the way He sees things. You are appalled by the things that are appalling to Him, because you start to see the death and brokenness in it.
• And it becomes a cycle. The more knowledge you get about Him, the more you see His heart, the more wisdom you apply, the more your heart aligns with His. This makes room for more knowledge of Him, which repeats the cycle. So, we grow closer to Him and become more like Him.

Illus – You see this with a child. As a young child, you can spend time with them doing things that are very basic. As they grow, it becomes more complex. (mechanical work, reading, movies, problem solving, etc.)  It has the result that the relationship grows deeper, built on the expansion of previous experiences.

• But this is not only an inward personal journey. It is an outward impacting journey as well. Jesus called us to be busy with what He was busy with. Seeking the lost, caring for the hurting, being in fellowship with the family of God; in short doing the works of God.

  B. Be strengthened in power

• This journey should never be undertaken with self-effort, strong will, and own inner strength as the power that drives it. It is all about working in unbroken fellowship with God, empowered by His Spirit in us.
• It is a daily surrendering, living conscious of His power at work in us. The power is from Him.

Acts 1:8,  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Illus – It is interesting that Paul says in in verse 6 that ‘in the WHOLE WORLD the gospel is bearing fruit and is still growing.’ Empower by the Holy Spirit, the whole known world was impacted by the gospel within only +- 30 years; that without television, internet, great cathedrals and mega churches, cars, or airplanes. And this through mostly unlearned, unsophisticated, men. It is incredible what God can do with people who are available, with childlike faith, really surrendering to the Holy Spirit and taking God at His word.

• I sometimes think that sometimes Christianity for some has become too sophisticated, too clinical, to organized. To such a degree that that many Christians live, although they will never say it out loud, with the mindset of “ God thank you that you brough us this far. We got it from here.”
• We know His principles, we have a rough understanding of the calendar of events, in our lives we have created an autopilot algorithm, so, God, all is well. We got this.
• In Revelation, Jesus speaks to the church of Ephesus, the church this Colossian church originated from, with this indictment against them.

Revelation 2:2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

• When we look at the state of some and people today, this is the exact thing we see. But we are not here to look at others and judge. The question is put before all of us individually.
• I cannot one day stand before God and say, did you see Johnny’s heart, or Samantha’s heart. It will only be about your own heart.
• God is not asking us to live in a clinical machine like state. Otherwise He could have made very effective robots who just follow orders.
• We are called to live in an organic, Spirit-empowered, personal, exciting, relationship with Him.
• May we never get so wise in our own eyes, that we lose the child-like awe and wonder when we encounter God. May we always hunger to be infused with His dynamos power, walking out this adventure surrendered to His will.