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Beloved congregation of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the last time in our consideration of verses four
to eight, we reflected on the tender relationship Paul had
with the Philippians. He thanked the Lord for the fellowship
that he had with them, for the certainty of God's continual
work in them, and his enduring affection for them. These qualities
formed the atmosphere of his prayers for them. He shows his
true pastoral heart for the congregation of Philippi. No one can accuse
the Apostle Paul of being cold, clinically toward the Philippians,
sometimes Paul is characterized as being a cold-hearted theologian,
one who merely is interested in doctrine without real affection. This letter shows that Paul had
great affection for the Philippians, desiring to see them all once
again. In fact, you could read in verse
six that he says, I have you in my heart. He was very close
to the Philippian believers. Then in verse eight he says,
I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. Paul was no
cold clinical theologian, but was warmly hearted with the affection
of Christ himself. Paul had already told them that
he remembered them in prayer when he said it in verse three
and four. I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you always and every prayer of mine making requests for you
with all joy. He described how his relationship
with them stimulated him to pray for them. This should be true
for each and every one of us. Shouldn't it be? The depth of
our love for someone can be measured by the prayers that we offer
for them. Isn't that so true? We pray most
passionately for those who are close to us, our spouse, our
children, our parents, because we love them. And that stimulates
our prayers. And today we will hear this genuine
love and concern for them and guiding through the content of
his prayers for them. His desire is that they would
grow in love. Now Paul is making this request
of God himself. The Lord has infinite resources. And Paul chooses to ask the church
might increase in its love for one another. It shows how important
this quality is in the life of the church. Paul is praying for
the church's growth. Which implies more attendance,
which doesn't imply more attendance or bigger budgets, but no, a
true spiritual growth. Listen to our text once again
as we begin, verse 9. And this I pray, that your love
may abound still more and more in the knowledge and in all discernment,
that you may approve the things that are excellent, and that
you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ, to the glory and the praise of God. So let's consider
these verses under the theme, a pastoral prayer for the church's
growth in love. First, the nature of this growth. Second, the channels of this
growth. And third, the outcome of this
growth. So, and first, the nature of
this growth. Paul begins, praying with the
petition that your love might abound more and more. Now, your
conception of love has probably been colored by Valentine Day
cards, romantic stories. You might think of two lovers
walking hand in hand down a nice path through the scenic woods
in a non-threatening context. You probably think of a relationship
where there is a mutual attraction, where you show affection for
one another. This is a love largely based on romantic feelings for
one another. And that is not what Paul is
talking about here when he is praying for the church to abound
in love. He is referring to the sacrificial
love that flows from the love of Christ for us. It isn't about the love that
causes one's heart to flutter, but about a love that is given
in spite of inconveniences and heartache, involved in placing
the needs of others above our own. This love is what God has
in store for his people, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. The love which Paul is praying
might abound in the lives of the Philippians is best portrayed
in Christ, who has loved us so much that he gave himself for
us as an offering and a sacrifice to God as a sweet-smelling aroma. Therefore, Paul is praying that
they would abound in this love, which gives more and more, which
gives sacrificially at great cost to us personally. It is
to be modeled after the sacrificial giving of our Lord Jesus Christ
himself. What would our marriages look
like with such love flowing through them? Now notice that Paul doesn't
give the object of such love He does not say that your love
for God may abound more and more or that your love for one another
may abound more and more. The reason for this is because
he is both in view. From a Christian point of view,
growing love for God must be reflected in love for fellow
believers. Love for God and love for your
neighbor cannot be separated. Jesus teaches this connection
when he summarizes the two tables of the law as loving God and
loving our neighbor. Now we must realize this quality
of love is essential in the life of every Christian. There is
no question that the more we progress in our Christian walk,
the more our love for God and for the others ought to increase. The way to tell if you are growing
in your faith is to ask yourself whether you are abounding in
love. Love toward God and love toward your neighbor. Scripture
is so clear that if we do not show love to others, then we
know nothing about God's love. The Apostle John writes, beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God, and he who does not
love does not know God, for God is love. So Paul is not talking
about so-called love, which is getting, but it is a love which
is a sacrificial giving. He is going to flesh this out
later in this epistle when he says, let each of you look out
not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of
others. Philippians 2, verse 4. Paul
directs Christians in the book of Romans, be kindly affectionate
to one another with brotherly love, in honor, giving preference
to one another. However, this love that Paul
prays might abound more and more is not only giving, but it also
involves dying. The Apostle John is known as
the Apostle of Love, and he outlines this love very well in all his
writings. In his gospel account, the Apostle
John recorded the well-known words, God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In his
first epistle, John also explained the costliness of love. By this
we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought
to lay down our lives for one another. And then, to keep us
from evading the summons of self-sacrificing love, By relegating it to unlikely
life or death situations, John brings us back into the mundane
and saying, but whatever has this world's good and sees his
brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does
the love of God abide in him? Only the Lord's work in our heart
can make us love in such a giving and sacrificial and costly manner. Did you get that? It is only
through the Lord's work in our hearts that we could do such
a thing. Now the fact that Paul is praying that this love would
abound more and more indicates that he knows that they already
had it in some measure. He has been the object of their
love and he has acknowledged that God has begun a good work
in them. However, he wants to press so that they might mature
and that they would become more like Christ in their expressions
of love. Do you love like this? Are you
praying that this love would abound more and more in your
life and the life of your fellow believers? Are you praying that
this quality would be more evident in your family? Are you praying
that it would be in your congregation? That we would experience more
and more of the love toward God and each other? How can we grow
this love? The way to grow in love, which
Paul is speaking about here, is to love yourself less. Isn't
that true? What stops us from giving sacrificially? Isn't it because we love ourselves
more than we love others? What stops us from serving God
in love? Isn't it because we prefer to
love ourselves and serve ourselves? You see, the opposite of love
for Christ is self-love. We naturally love ourselves,
don't we? We naturally are selfish. We
naturally love ourselves so much so that Christ says, love your
neighbor as yourself. By saying that, he is not saying
you need to love yourself first, but he is assuming that you love
yourself. Today, this is being twisted
in all sorts of directions, where selfishness, self-love, self-care
are seen as virtues. Where the focus upon self is
being promoted even in Christian circles today, But is this the
focus of the Bible? Doesn't the Bible instead call
us to live sacrificially for others? Books are being written
encouraging selfishness, encouraging loving oneself. including some
Christian books. They refer to various Bible texts,
but often they are pulled out of context. The Bible continually
calls us to die to ourself, live sacrificially. One of the reasons
for this dramatic increase is in depression and in anxiety. issues today is because the focus
is so much on ourselves rather than on God and others. People
are becoming increasingly focused on themselves, their wants, their
desires, their cares, rather than God and His glory and the
needs of others. Maybe you believe that you have
given enough and that you have given sacrificially, but now
you're tired and your plate is full. Your schedule's busy, your
emotion reservoir is low. You love enough people already
and you can't see yourself giving anymore. That may be a sign that
you are doing something right, something good and something
proper. Lay down at night, sleep well,
and arise again in the morning and start it all over again,
living for the glory of God. Your busyness in God's service
is an expression of your love. You see, when we are in Christ,
the love of Christ for us stretches us so that we rejoice in God
most and who puts others before ourselves. This then gives us
joy. Paul prays that the church would
know this selfless love, which can only flow from the gift of
the sacrificial love of Christ. Now understand that Paul is not
trying to guilt trip the Philippians to strive, strifle their selfishness. Love is a fruit produced by God's
spirit through Jesus Christ. Galatians 5.22. The fact that
Paul is praying that their love might abound more and more shows
that he recognizes that only God can produce this in our hearts. And here we come to our second
point, the channels of this growth. But notice how this love contains
knowledge and all discernment in Philippians 1 verse 9. We
consider the channels of this growth in love in our second
point. Think of sides of the water channel
along with the water of love flowing through it. Knowledge
and discernment guide this love along its proper course. That
this love is directed by knowledge and discernment again demonstrates
that this love is not the superficial love of the world, but it is
so much deeper. Sometimes you hear the expression,
love is blind. This refers to a couple who is
infatuated with each other, that they lose touch with reality.
They aren't aware of each other's flaws, but are blindly driven
by their passion for each other. It is a love largely motivated
by one's feelings rather than one's knowledge. That's not what
Paul is intending at all in this conception of love, for it includes
knowledge. Sometimes you also hear people
condemn any doctrinal knowledge by pitting that over against
love, arguing that the fact that we must love each other should
trump argument for truth and for righteousness. They argue
that doctrine divides, but love unites. Therefore, they want
to avoid any discussion of truth, because that can cause trouble.
However, Paul recognizes this in his prayer, that in growth
in love results in a greater understanding of knowledge and
discernment. So this love is not so much what
you feel. It is first something that you
know, and then you act upon. Knowledge shapes our love. Now, we must admit that there
are times when churches have appeared to cling to the truth
but neglected love. In Revelation 2, Jesus praises the church at Ephesus
for its devotional vigilance, but rebukes them for their lack
of love. However, true knowledge will
lead to greater love. However, in the same chapter,
the Lord Jesus also commanded the church at Thyatira for their
love, but critiqued them for their compromise of the truth.
Revelation 2.18-29. We are not immune to either of
these scenarios, for there are some today who are fixated on
doctrinal purity, but are unloving in how they deal with other people.
There are also those who are so focused on loving service
that they compromise the truth in their efforts. We should be
keenly aware of this danger. How often a church today has
refused to stand against a doctrinal error because someone argues
that we must be loving. And of course, love has understood
to mean being agreeable and tolerant, but love rejoices in the truth. True love is devoted to truth,
seeing it clearly, speaking it lovingly, hearing it humbly,
and defending it firmly. Knowledge is essential to love,
isn't it? Because the Lord is so perfect
in all his attributes, the more we know him, the better we will
love him, won't we? When the bride speaks about her
bridegroom in the Song of Solomon, she is not short of words to
speak because of her love for him. She loves him more because
of her intimate knowledge of him. His hands are like rods
of gold. His legs are pillars of marble.
His countenance is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His
mouth is more sweet. Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughter of Jerusalem,
Song of Solomon 5, 14 to 16. She is all this knowledge of
him, and so she loves him more. That is, What is it that you
love about Christ? What is it about His character
that is lovely to you? Can you articulate it? Surely,
when we love Him, we must know Him. Let us apply ourself to
know our Lord. Now, Paul also speaks of knowledge
and discernment. Our love is to be a discerning
love. This has much to do with how we act in love. Some people
believe that love is always affirming of another. And if it isn't affirming
of someone's actions, it isn't love. The truth of the matter
is that it might be exactly the opposite. Just think of the manner
in which you deal with your children. You correct them because you
love them. You discipline them because you
love them. You hold them accountable because
you love them. Now, that means your love isn't
mindless. It isn't a love that is only
concerned with the temporal, but the eternal. One commentator
uses this illustration. Suppose that you have a friend
who is a world-renowned oncologists. And so when she reads your MRI
and foresees a sobering scenario that you might have cancer, does
she just put on a happy face and pretend that everything is
good with you? To keep you from feeling afraid? Not if she's
a real friend. She will choose her words carefully,
breaking the news gently and inserting seeds of hope wherever
she can honestly can. But her love for you and her
medical insight will not let her leave you in a world of illusion,
blissfully imagining that you are totally well. Jenny-Wen lives
in a real world and wisely leads the beloved to face reality too. She has knowledge of the problem.
She has discernment and she is able to understand what is happening
in your body. And she tells you the truth.
even though it's very hard because she loves you. Her intentions
are only for your good. But that love, she has compelled
her to deal with you honestly. Isn't it not a superficial affection,
but a love that is characterized by an accurate knowledge and
insightful discernment? But isn't that how the Lord deals
with us in love? He comes to us gently, instructing
us that we have sinned and that we have fallen so short of His
glory. He has warned us that our sins
deserve both temporal and eternal punishment of both the body and
soul. That truth is conveyed to us
in love. Then God's love moved him to give his son as a ransom
for sinners. According to his infinite discernment,
his wisdom, he ordained the plan of redemption for us in lovingly
giving his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him
would not perish but have everlasting life. God so loved sinners, his
plan for our redemption was the most radical that you could ever
imagine. But then think of the love of
Christ who became the object of his father's full fury and
wrath that we might be saved. Then think that the Lord Jesus
so loved that he recognized that this was the only way for us
to have salvation in him. Here at the cross, we see true
love displayed. Christ's cross diagnoses the
severity of our spiritual condition in the direct terms telling truth
about herself that we would prefer not to hear. But God's wise love
knew that no less radical redeeming could ever have rescued us. So
his love toward us abounded in divine knowledge and discernment. Now Paul prays that this love
would be abounding in the Philippians, that this love would increasingly
be known and practiced among us. So if Paul prays that the
Philippian love may abound more and more, he quickly adds a knowledge
and discernment. But he still isn't finished because
he describes the outcome in verse 10 through 11, which will flow
from this love. And here we see in our third
the outcome of this growth of love. God's gift of abounding,
discerning love is that believers have the capacity to approve
what is excellent. This has the idea that you will
be able to discern between the various opinions presented in
this life. Life must be evaluated not only
from an assessment of what is right and wrong, but what is
best. We are to approve excellent things. Many ungodly men can tell you
that they know the difference between right and wrong, for
that is built into their conscience. The question is, do we know the
difference between what is good and what is best? Many things
may be good, but not everything is excellent. Paul is saying
that we must be able to pick out what stands out from the
rest. There must be an examination
and our conclusion flowing from the abounding of our love. It
will give us an informed preference for what is superior. Clearly,
Paul does not want the Philippian believers to be satisfied with
mediocrity. We cannot be satisfied in a fallen
world. with the status quo. Paul wants
these believers to move on, to become more and more discerning,
proving in their own experience what is best. He wants them to
pursue what is best in the knowledge of God, what is best in their
relationship with other believers, and what is best in joyful obedience,
how important it is in our day and age. When buying a new product,
I have the habit of going online and reading the reviews of those
who have tested the product so that I might find the most excellent
one. For instance, my wife had an
old can opener that simply was always trouble. And when she
asked me to open up a few cans, I asked her, why do you tolerate
such junk? I went online and I researched
until I found the one that was excellent in all reviews, not
a single bad one. They were all excellent. I bought
it online and the next day it was at our home. And it worked
perfectly. I didn't just want a good one,
I wanted the best one. Now Paul is applying the same
principle for how we should conduct ourselves proving what is excellent. There may be a lot of things
which are good, but shouldn't we all be more concerned about
what is excellent? That takes discernment. We live
in an age and a day when we have a shift through so much in order
to find what is excellent. You can go online and look for
a can opener and your choices are literally in the thousands.
You can buy the cheapest model or you can default to the more
expensive model, but that won't tell you whether it's good or
if it's excellent. How can you tell? You need to
increase your knowledge of can openers. Your research now and
how they work, which one has the highest reviews, which one
has been viewed with a reputable consumer, And that's the way
you can properly discern what is an excellent one. And similarly,
on a moral or spiritual level, we should never be satisfied
with good, but always striving for what's best. When by the
grace of God, we are released from our selfishness and our
self-pity and our self-love, We begin to realize what is best. When by the grace of God we are
released, we see what is eternal and what is more important. You
begin to make the choice that are in accordance with God's
wise purposes for you and for the beginning to show true love
to others. Later, he will advise the Philippians
in chapter four, verse eight, finally, brethren, whatever things
are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things
are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is
anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. You see, Paul
wants these things to be the focus of our lives. He wants
us to reflect on these essential matters. He is calling us to
focus on more important issues and keeping less critical points
in their proper perspective. Therefore, in our moral outlook,
we should aim for what is best, not for that which aims for what
is good. In our conduct with people, we
must aim for what is best. It is like saying to your children,
you should never be satisfied with C's on your report card,
but always strive for the A's. Are you doing this in your life?
The wise love that God gives instills in us the good sense
to commit ourselves to the things that really count. When we overflow
with love to God and to others, along with the growing personal
knowledge of God and Christ, and practical insight, we will
be able to discern and choose those things that are excellent,
the best over the second best, the best over the good, the best
in knowledge of God, the best in priorities, the best in habits,
the best in prayer leisures, the best in our pursuits, the
best course of action for ourselves and for our families. As a result
of approving what is excellent is that we will be sincere and
without offense, or as other translations have it, that we
might be pure and blameless. When you choose those things
which are excellent, the result is that you will be pure and
blameless. Do you see how this will work
practically? If you reject any type of questionable
activity, no one will question your purity or your integrity. Today, in our permissive society,
purity, blamelessness, sincerity, and righteousness have been replaced
with selfishness, indulging of our own selfish ambitions, courting
with temptations, lack of seriousness, celebrating immorality. Our culture
is attracted to the lifestyles of the rich and the famous. where
there is a focus on self-indulgence, sensual perversions. Movie stars,
rock stars, sports heroes are all respected along with their
sinful indulgences more than a humble godly woman who takes
care of their children at home. or the man who loves in sacrificial
service his wife, his family, his community, his church. But
in this regard, Paul is challenging us all to counter cultural in
pursuing that which is excellent. Paul loved his Philippian friends
enough to challenge them through his prayer for them that they
would focus on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ when he would
come again. The Lord of the universe will
return with all glory and all power. This reminds us that what
is ultimately most important is that which can stand the test
of time, even into eternity. making your choices on the basis
of what promotes purity and holiness, which will leave you blameless.
Paul lived and served Cormo Deo before the face of God. So his
motive was love toward others, untainted by concerns for himself. He asked God to give his friends
the same sincere, other-serving, self-forgetting love. Paul's
prayer for the Philippians is that love will be preeminent
in their relationships, that they would stand united on the
day of Christ, having furthered each other's trek toward holiness. This is rather than leading others
into sin, This is the true love of Christ, that seek to present
all men blameless, without spot or wrinkle. before the throne
of God. Paul speaks of this love in Ephesians
5 when he describes the true love of a husband for his wife.
Husbands, love your wives just as Christ so loved the church
and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse
her with the washing of water by the word. that he might present
her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their
own wives as their own bodies. For he who loves his wife loves
himself. That is the love we are called
to abound in more and more. not only in our marriages, but
even toward one another in the body of Christ. Conclusion, Paul closes these
verses with the reminder that in this way we will be filled
with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to
the glory and the praise of God. This again reminds us that God
is the one who nurtures this love in our hearts. As we listen
to this prayer of Paul for the Philippians, we heard that his
desire is that their love would abound more and more. He wants
this love to grow in them, that they discern what is more important
in this life, and that they reflect their Savior's purity and righteousness,
therefore giving him the glory. This all emphasizes how much
we need the work of Christ in our hearts to grow in this love. Naturally, we are so self-centered, self-indulgent, caring for ourselves. But when the gospel takes hold
of us, our perspectives should change. and our focus is on God
and on others instead of ourselves. Has that change occurred in your
life? When it has, we will increasingly
see love in our lives. Through faith in Jesus Christ,
not only are we forgiven of our sin, our failure to love God
and our neighbor, but we are also being transformed more and
more into the image of Christ, who laid down his life for his
friends. then we will be changed, then
we will be more eager to love others, and we will love Christ. The more we realize his love
for us in giving his own life for us, the more we will live
sacrificially, loving others, particularly those who do not
love us in return. Let me close with this challenge.
Do you want for yourself what Paul wanted for the Philippians?
Overflowing, sacrificial, self-denying love? Do you want to be blended
with knowledge and discernment so that you would be pure and
blameless at the coming of Christ? Maybe you don't want that for
yourself, but want to simply continue living for yourself.
If that's true, you need to repent of your sin, your self-love,
and you must turn to the Lord in repentance. But if you do,
where can you find the strength to love in such a sacrificial
way when the pride is so high and its returns often are so
low? Pray to God and you ask him,
as Paul did for the Philippians, to make your love abound to those
you now find hard to love, to fill you with the fruit of righteousness
that comes only through Jesus Christ for his glory.
A pastoral prayer for the church growth, in love.
- The nature of the this growth.
- The channels of this growth.
- The outcome of this growth.
| Sermon ID | 1222242053226295 |
| Duration | 40:07 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Philippians 1 |
| Language | English |
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