Turning this morning to Paul's letter to the Philippians. Philippians chapter one, and I read verse nine. Philippians chapter one, verse nine. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent that he may be sincere and without offense in the day of Christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. I would like to look at the second part We have considered already verse nine, last Lord's Day, but the second part of Paul's prayer in verse 10 and 11. But if you look back in verse three and four, you will see the background of this prayer. In verse three, Philippians chapter one, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you. or making requests with joy. But this morning, my subject is Christian priorities. And I hope the few elements, the components I would like to mention will be a help to you in ordering your priorities. What should be our priorities when we pray? And as you can see, and you know I'm sure, Paul has written the letter to the Philippians while he was in prison. So this man, the Apostle Paul, was able to turn his prison into a prayer room. He was not idle. He was not just sitting waiting for things to happen. While in prison, he was praying. And it is interesting, These are elements to help us in our prayer life. It's a pattern given to us. And you can see here in chapter one, he prayed with thanksgiving, thanksgiving. He prayed with joy. He was not a grumbler. He prayed with joy. And this man knew how to be content. And as you know, my dear brothers and sisters, Contentment is a great game. It is a great game to know how to be content. It is a gift from God. And the believer must be content. So he prayed with thanksgiving. He prayed with joy. In verse six, he prayed also with confidence, with confidence, assurance, and he prayed with faith certain. And as you see in verse three, four, five, and so on, he also prayed always, always. He tells us so, and he gives us that command in 1 Thessalonians chapter five, verse 17, pray without ceasing. So not only he prayed always, but he prayed for everyone. He doesn't pick and choose. So that's why I said a number of times, every believer at the back of your Bible, you should have a slip there with items, people you pray for, things you pray for. And when God has answered your prayer, you can take the box there and on your knees, go to the Lord in prayer, giving him thanks for answering your prayers. So he prayed always, but he prayed for all. So his prayer really lays high standards. Oh, my dear brothers and sisters, when you pray, don't just pray for little things, so petty things. And you can see Paul prays for great things. thinks not for himself. He doesn't even once say, God, release me from prison. God, make me to see better days. God, make me to have a better health. He doesn't pray for those things. Oh, yes, those things are important, but he never draw attention upon himself. So the same, we pray for the things of the kingdom of God. We pray for instrumentality. We pray for maturity. And as you can see, his prayer combines so many elements, salvation, sanctification, service, perseverance, glorification. Now in verse nine, I won't recapitulate anything we said. We have still a lot to cover, but in verse nine there, Oh, you see the vital tripod, the vital tripod for your life and for the life of the church. What is it? Love. Knowledge. Discernment. You see what you need, my dear brother and my dear sister? This is the solid, the solid tripod that will hold your life. Love. the mind, discernment, perception, spiritual insight. But let's move on. Now, Paul qualifies, really, and gives us more content of his prayer. And you know, as he speaks about love, oh, many waters cannot quench love. You know that. Love is so important, but he goes even further. It seems for me, as I read verse 9, 10, and 11, one element leads to another element. One element leads to another component. You see, it's progressive, the progression of your faith, the progression of your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a chain, unbreakable chain. These items, they all glue together and they go together. But look, our first heading this morning in verse 10, verse 10, that he may approve, that he may approve, and the word approve there is the word test, that you may test, you may examine carefully, you may prove all things. not only approve, but prove also. And the word approve there is the word to test the genuineness of something. But look at the verse, verse 10, that he may approve things that are excellent, excellent, not just things that are good. My dear brothers and sisters, the Christian shouldn't go just for what is obvious. Go for the best, not for you, again, I must repeat that, not for yourself, but for the Lord. I want to do the best for the Lord. When you dress, do the best for the Lord. When you serve, you have a service, even cleaning, how do I do it? I want to do it at the best because I'm doing it for the Lord. So you see, I don't invent. that you may approve things that are excellent. And what are these things? Oh, what should I buy? Should I buy this? Should I buy that? Do I really need that? This is how the believer, that's why I said priorities, Christian priorities. Should I buy this? Should I buy that? Should I watch this? Is it helpful? Does it edify? So I ask myself, my dear friend, that's what faith thinks, faith reasons. Faith is not a lip in the dark. I always ask myself, what would the Lord Jesus Christ think? What the Lord Jesus Christ would say? Would I grieve the Holy Spirit? So I ask myself, oh, on what should I waste my time? My dear brothers and sisters, For the Lord's sake, don't just go for what is easy or easier. We are specialists on that, each one of us. I want only to do things that are easy and easier. But you see again, for the Lord's sake, or my body doesn't want, we read it in the Bible that the spirit of David but the flesh is weak. I don't want, oh, it's cold, it's raining, and my body says, no, it's better to stay in the warm, stay there. But for the Lord's sake, I want to do better things. I want to overcome the mortification of the flesh. I mortify the flesh. That's why a newborn Christian, the flesh should never rule you. The flesh should never have the priority. Who should have the priority? The Holy Spirit should have the priority. The Lord Jesus Christ should have the priority. That's how the believer thinks daily, my dear friends. So discriminate, accept or reject. My friends, Please, I say this to myself, don't serve the Lord just when you feel like. If I do that, I will never serve him, because most of the time I don't feel like. But God saved me for a reason. It is an old motto, very old. We don't use it much nowadays. but in the past it was said, saved to serve. So you can see Paul's intention here that he may approve things that are excellent. Can I tell you two or three things that are excellent? Obedience to the Lord is excellent. Disobedience is sin. Disobedience is mediocrity. And I tell you another one, serving the Lord Jesus Christ is something excellent. Good and faithful servant, you know that, the Lord said it, come into the joy, enter into the joy of diamonds. But to the disobedient, the Lord will say to them on that day, depart from me, ye evildoers, workers of iniquity. Oh, that's sad. That's very sad. You thought you were a Christian, you thought you were doing things as a Christian, but the Holy Spirit, the wind of the Holy Spirit has never blown near your soul. Why? Because there is nothing I'm doing for them, nothing. or you see things that are excellent. May I tell you something excellent you can do? Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord not by dancing, God forbid. It's the flesh. It's the flesh when you see Christians dancing. It's the flesh when you see Christians entertaining themselves. It is the flesh when you see a Christian just having fun. Oh, what are you doing? I'm having fun. That's not excellent. Excellent means worship. Worship in spirit and in truth. That's excellent. Oh, my dear friends, what is more excellent? I shouldn't give to the Lord my leftover. I shouldn't give to the Lord secondhand. You know, when I walk in the streets of London, and I'm saying this coming from a third world country, I say to myself, just with what people are throwing in the streets, you can make many, many people in third world countries rich. But you know what people throw? Is their second hand. You hardly see new, brand new things being thrown. But don't do that with the Lord. Give him the best. Give him the most excellent. The most excellent of your time, the most excellent of your faculties, the most excellent of your service. When you read the Bible, do you read the Bible when you are tired? Oh, never do that. I want to give him the prime of my energy, the prime of my faculties. Or maybe I said much on this first one, that he may approve things that are excellent, verse 10. Number two, number two, let's move on. Number two, that he may be sincere, sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, verse 10. How can I explain that expression to you? You know, we can spend really the day just on that word, sincere, sincere, be authentic. That's the meaning, be authentic. Do not pretend. You know the word hypocrite or hypocrisy, the Greek word means to be an actor. You know, actors and actresses, when they are playing in a movie, they are not playing their real role in life. They are hypocrites. That's the meaning here. But I will come to explain more about the word sincere, because it is a very important word. Don't be what you are not. Don't come out and give a face. It is a facade. Be outside what you are inside. But I don't deceive you. I don't deceive myself. Most of time, we are not what we should be. Most of time, We pretend, oh, that's a shame, another shame. But a Christian, I want to be sincere. Now, the Greek word sincere is made of two words, actually. It is a composed word, a dual word there. It is made of the word sun, the sunlight, and the word judge. It is actually, in English, the word sincere comes from a Latin word, which means without wax, without wax. And I explained, you know, long time ago, people can trick you when they make a pot or a vase. And when it has cracks, they are very clever. You know what they do? They cover it nicely with wax. and they color it. So just with your eyes, naked eyes, you cannot see the cracks, but lift it, lift it against the sun. The sun is shining and you lift it. And very soon with the light of the sun, you can see the cracks. So what am I telling you about pots? Just look at your windows at home or even here in the church. well cleaned, and when the sun is shining, you look at them, uh-uh, what's going on? I thought they were so clean. Oh, you see the dirt. You see the dirt. That's the word here. So the Christian is somebody who is sincere, meaning what? No cracks. No cracks. And even this week in our outreach, somebody said to me, I don't want to go to the church. It is full of hypocrites. Oh, if I could weep for him, I will weep. Why? Yes. No, I don't want to be a hypocrite. I don't want to be somebody insincere. But I believe, no, we are not just a bunch of hypocrites. But as you heard me say, There are many hypocrites that go to Westfield or to Tesco, but you still go there. But as a Christian, I want to be sincere. But the question I ask you, are you sincere in your silence? Are you sincere in the way you listen to the word of God? Or the body is here, but the mind is somewhere else? That is not sincere. Are you sincere in worship? Their lips are moving, I'm singing the words, but my heart is so far, million miles away from what I'm singing. No, we are not a bunch of hypocrites. I want to mean what I say. I want to live what the Bible say. I want to think and do what the Bible tells me to do. That's my desire, and that's the desire of every believer. So Paul says here that he may be sincere, sincere in my praise, sincere in my service, sincere in my fellowship in the gospel. My dear friend, I challenge you. I think it's a brotherly exhortation and a pastoral exhortation. Am I sincere in pulling my bit of the weights of the gospel? You know, we are transporting, we are taking up a heavy load in preaching the gospel, in witnessing to the neighborhood, in bringing in children, in teaching the children, in prayer and so on. But it's a teamwork. It's a teamwork. But do you leave the work only to one or two or three to do the work? No, every Christian has his share to pull in the burden. And that is why I often say to believers, go and speak with one of the church officers, an elder, a deacon. Oh, my elder, my deacon, I want to serve the Lord. What can I do? And if that elder or deacon says to you, sorry, there is nothing to do, I think you should resign. Because there is always something to do, always. And this is something I really want to emphasize. When the church stops doing, it is a big danger. The church should never stop doing. Why? Because the church is a body. The body is always active. Even when you are sleeping, your vital organs are still working. When I say pull your share of the weight, what can you do? I'm not saying everyone has to teach in Sunday school. I'm not saying everyone has to be a preacher. I'm not saying everyone has to be in the streets, but I'm praying. I'm praying. Prayer is a beautiful and excellent service for the Lord. But prayer is never a substitute to action. Never. So look at it. Number one, Paul said that you may approve things that are excellent. Number two, that you may be sincere, sincere. Oh, Nathaniel, you know, in John chapter one, Nathaniel was described as a man without guile, a man without hypocrisy. Oh, may the Lord see you. May the Lord see me as somebody guileless, no cracks, nothing hidden, not double-faced, but a sincere person. or so much fakeness in our world. But you see, as I told you, one element brings another one. Love, knowledge, discernment gives way to what? Things that are excellent and sincere. So they go together like a chain. You cannot have one without the other. Oh, my brother's assistance. The Bible tells us things as they are. It doesn't rub us in the wrong way. Let love be without dissimulation, without hypocrisy. Romans chapter 12, verse nine. Let love be without dissimulation. Do you really love the Lord without dissimulation, insincerity? Abhor what is evil, cleave to what is good. Persevere. You know, that's another way to be sincere. I persevere. Some people are on and off, on and off. They blow the hot and cold all the time, on and off. But you know, stability, I believe stability is maturity. A stable person is a wise person. But I must move on, I must move on. Look at number three, and without offense, and without offense, till the day of Christ, verse 10. And that word without offense, if I can just re-translate it for you, and blameless. Blameless, meaning what? Don't be a stumbling block to yourself, don't be a stumbling block to anyone. Have a pure conscience before God and before men. That's the meaning of blameless. Blameless means nothing glues to you. Nothing negative, nothing bad glues to you. People might say things about you, but when they search, oh, this is not true. This is not true about this young woman. This is not true about this young man. Blameless. And you know what the Lord Jesus Christ said, if you become a stumbling block for one little one of his people, it is better for you that they hang that heavy milestone on your neck and drown you into the sea. God forbid that you and or me be a stumbling block to a person. So this is in verse 10, and without offense, without being a hurdle, without being an obstacle to anyone. Blameless in thoughts, blameless in words, blameless in deeds. Blameless is godliness. Number four, number four, time is going fast. Number four, being filled with the fruits of righteousness. Fruits of righteousness, not selfishness. Verse 11, verse 11, and Paul described them as being filled. You see, being filled, that's the purpose of the Christian life, being filled, not half full, not half empty, but being filled with the fruits, plural. What are those fruits? roots, the fruit of the spirit, the nine elements listed for us in Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23. The fruit of righteousness is wisdom, James 3, verse 18. The fruit of righteousness is bearing fruit of knowledge, fruits of instrumentality, fruits of service for the Lord. God will keep you being filled. You see, being filled, continuous. It's not just once, but progressively being filled, permanently being filled. I know it doesn't happen like that, but that's the desire. That's the aim. That's why you pray for it. Being filled, being filled. Oh, my dear brothers and sisters, please don't remain where you are. spiritually I'm speaking, don't remain where you are. And I have known some believers, believe me, I have known them maybe for 30, 40 years. When you listen to them, it's always the same prayer repeating the same words as if there are no other words, the same words. Christ said in Matthew chapter six, don't be like the pagans, the heathen, doing what? Vain words, repeating words, a sin. But being faint, the Holy Spirit will teach you how to pray with better words, praying for better things. The fruit of righteousness is the fruit of the Spirit. Oh, refining. You know what is it, the fruit of righteousness here? Refining my character. Are you a bad tempered? You get easily angry at your wife, at your husband, or at your neighbor, or so on, at your colleague at work, at your brother, at your sister. How do you get on? Oh, you know, being failed means that God is working on my temper. God is working on my character, refining, purifying my character. That's the purpose of the Christian life. If Christ saves you and me, and I still remain as I am from day one, 20 years later, one should wonder, is this person really saved? No. You know how preachers put it? Come to Christ as you are. but you will not remain as you are. That's why it is called the new birth, new birth. The lion becomes a llama. So being filled with the spirit, having a testimony, being useful in the work of God. My dear friends, if you don't mind, turn to John 15. I think John 15 tells us everything we need to know about being filled with the fruits of righteousness. I just read for you a few verses here, and you will see each time the word fruit is mentioned. The word fruit is mentioned eight times, eight times in John chapter 15. Just to give you a glance, verse 2, John 15, verse 2. Every branch, Christ said in verse 1, I'm the true vine. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he take it away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Then glance down, verse 4. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can he except he abide in me. Verse five, I'm the vine, ye are the branches. He that abided in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. Verse eight, herein is my Father glorified. that you bear much fruit, so that so shall ye be my disciples. Then verse 16, ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Have I invented it? It's the text, the Bible. The Bible said so, that the believer is called to bear fruit, more fruit, and fruit that remain. But let me close. Look at verse 11. Verse 11. The believer's motivation, the locomotive, my dear friends, that drives the engine, the driving power of the believer in verse 11, being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, the source of all that we do unto the glory and praise of God. You see the motivation there? Unto the glory and praise of God. Unto the glory of God. Not the glory of the minister, Not the glory of the church, but unto the glory of God. So whatever you do in the church, Christ is the source of our fruitfulness, but we do it. Leadeth glory, let him glory in the Lord. It's interesting, I know nothing about flowers, but flowers stuns their heads looking at the sun. That's why people love flowers. And you too. How do you do if you want to bear fruits? Do you look down? No. Look to Jesus Christ. Look to him. Colossians 3, verse 1. Since we have been raised with the Lord Jesus Christ, set your affection on heavenly things. Set your affection upward. Upward, not downward. Downward is the grave. Upward is Christ. So that's what the believer should be doing. Oh, my dear friends, we do our good works to glorify our Father in heaven, Matthew 5, verse 16. Let your good work shine that men may see them. and glorify our Father in heaven. We love the gospel because the gospel brings glory to God. God is only glorified through Jesus Christ, no one else. But here are my words in closing. Those six elements are all there for you and me to bear them. to pray for them daily. This is your prayer, my dear friends. This is my prayers. These are the prayers of the church. What do you pray for? It's here. Every element here takes you to the next level. Love, knowledge, discernment, excellency, sincerity, bearing fruits for the Lord Jesus Christ, doing all things for his people. May I read the verses again for you. And this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ persevere. being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. Oh, may these be our priorities even today, even today. May our heart beat for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his servants. Amen.