Feb 19 Sermon Col 1,9-10

Knowing God empowers us to live godly lives by exercising spiritual wisdom

(Col 1:9)  So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

(Col 1:10)  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

I.    Dr. Scorgie's Concept of Spirituality

A.  The Concept

1.   Relational (Faith)

2.   Transformational (Hope)

3.   Vocational (Love)

B.  Vocation = Calling ... Not Purpose

1.   Purpose = "Be Holy For I Am Holy" (Lev 11:44, 45; 20:7, 26; Eph 1:4; 5:27; 1 Pe 1:15, 16)

2.   CS Lewis Illustration (brought current)

Virtue = "means" = Internal (Relational) health

Ethics = "ways" = External (Transformational) Health

Purpose = Ends = Goal ... "Be Holy"

II.  Using the Concept - Assessing your spirituality

A.  Making the Assessment

1.   It is God's standard, not ours, that we measure by

2.   Our goal is to "be holy"

3.   Using God's ways & means (Virtues & Love of other)

4.   Using the 'tools' God gave us

B.  God's Tools for Spirituality

1.   Bible Study (Faith, virtue, Relational)

2.   Prayer (Hope, ethics, Transformational)

3.   Serving (Love, Purpose, Vocational)

4.   Spiritual Direction & Friendship

III. Summary

We need to assess where we are spiritually (both which path we on, and where we are on it) in order to follow those more mature, while assisting those less mature than we are.

We are the Salt & Light, when we “… produce every kind of good fruit.”