back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 7.16.2023
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I hope all of you had a good week in the Lord. 00:06:23.360 |
As we begin our worship, we're gonna sing this first song. 00:07:15.360 |
♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise the Lord ♪ 00:08:15.360 |
♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise the Lord ♪ 00:08:35.360 |
for you guys who are here for the first time or visiting. 00:08:39.360 |
If you are in the process of looking for a church 00:08:47.360 |
You passed it on the way in under the blue canopy, 00:08:50.360 |
and you can find out more information about the church. 00:08:54.360 |
And there is a lunch for you, if you are new, 00:08:57.360 |
on July 30th, where all the leaders will be there 00:09:00.360 |
and just a good number of our church members will be there 00:09:16.360 |
This summer, between July 19th to August 9th, 00:09:22.360 |
or if you're not a believer but you're seeking, 00:09:24.360 |
there is a group specifically designed for you 00:09:35.360 |
And so you can find out more about that on our website. 00:09:55.360 |
so you can hang out there as long as you see fit. 00:10:01.360 |
you could sign up, contact the people there as well. 00:10:08.360 |
we have a mandatory important members meeting 00:10:35.360 |
And they arrived probably around midnight last night 00:10:41.360 |
And so they're probably, if they have a glow, 00:10:44.360 |
and if they look sleepy, that's probably them. 00:11:02.360 |
which means our children were really well loved upon. 00:11:04.360 |
And so I believe it to be just a very fruitful time. 00:11:25.360 |
After our offering and after our time of musical worship, 00:11:57.360 |
and respond appropriately in a way that magnifies you. 00:12:10.360 |
just worship that is given in spirit and in truth. 00:12:12.360 |
And Lord, we bring our offerings just to say thank you. 00:12:17.360 |
And Lord, give us wisdom to steward our money, 00:12:23.360 |
and even all the people that are in our lives. 00:12:25.360 |
Help us to steward them well for your glory and for our joy. 00:13:10.360 |
- Let's all rise together as we sing these songs to our God. 00:21:16.360 |
When I began college, I was a very bitter and anxious person. 00:21:21.360 |
My bitterness came from placing my trust on a pedestal. 00:21:26.360 |
Having felt betrayed in the past, I only trusted those 00:21:32.360 |
and deep down I had hate for the ones that hardened me. 00:21:36.360 |
I couldn't let go of the grudges in my heart, 00:21:48.360 |
I remember overthinking specifically about my identity, 00:21:51.360 |
not being able to understand who or what I was. 00:22:07.360 |
sorry--the labels I gave myself were constantly changing, 00:22:13.360 |
I couldn't help but notice the lack of structure in my life, 00:22:19.360 |
My life had no foundation, and quickly I became envious 00:22:23.360 |
of those whose lives seemed like smooth sailing. 00:22:30.360 |
and noticed all the things others had that were not in my life. 00:22:39.360 |
So my worldly desires and my fear of missing out 00:22:46.360 |
I began a journey of seeking my own pleasures, 00:22:48.360 |
trying to find ways to make me happy by my own rules. 00:22:52.360 |
I trusted my thoughts and I followed my heart. 00:22:57.360 |
to see the damage I caused to those around me. 00:23:08.360 |
At this point, my identity was placed in the things of the world. 00:23:12.360 |
I was drawn by crowds and seeking worldly benefits. 00:23:16.360 |
I placed my belief in the things of the world, 00:23:22.360 |
And soon I would find out that they would all fall apart. 00:23:26.360 |
When I was away from all the pleasures I was seeking 00:23:37.360 |
Nothing filled the void in my heart, and I was confused, 00:23:42.360 |
I saw no direction, no purpose, and my life to me was colorless. 00:23:47.360 |
In my ignorance, I continued to chase the world, 00:23:53.360 |
I continued this way until the end of my sophomore year. 00:23:56.360 |
In this process, I brought lots of stress to my parents, 00:23:59.360 |
and deep down I knew I was causing harm with my selfishness. 00:24:08.360 |
It was the most emptiness I had probably felt. 00:24:15.360 |
that I would live my life like this until death. 00:24:23.360 |
A few months went by, and I was still too prideful 00:24:38.360 |
and that we as humans evolved to a more modern mindset. 00:24:42.360 |
This was false, and in time I came to find out 00:24:45.360 |
that my understanding was far from the truth. 00:24:50.360 |
and I was having trouble extracting the messages. 00:24:53.360 |
But within two weeks, by God's grace, I met a stranger. 00:25:08.360 |
where they went over the first epistle of John. 00:25:14.360 |
God's love for His children and the joy that comes from that, 00:25:17.360 |
and how His children rejoiced in His promises. 00:25:33.360 |
"and yet hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 00:25:36.360 |
"The one who loves his brother abides in the light, 00:25:41.360 |
"But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness 00:25:50.360 |
"Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. 00:25:59.360 |
"the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 00:26:01.360 |
"and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, 00:26:06.360 |
"The world is passing away, and also its lust. 00:26:08.360 |
"But the one who does the will of God lives forever." 00:26:11.360 |
In these few verses, my entire reality was explained. 00:26:31.360 |
I wanted to know God and understand who he was from there on out. 00:26:34.360 |
That same weekend, I attended Berean for the first time. 00:26:39.360 |
I was welcomed with warm greetings and smiles, 00:26:46.360 |
A brother came up to me, and at the end of our conversation, 00:26:56.360 |
I see a different law in the members of my body, 00:27:09.360 |
that God always knew that there was a war in my body. 00:27:16.360 |
He knew all these things before I ever existed. 00:27:23.360 |
I came to understand that God's love is unselfish, 00:27:28.360 |
God sought in my heart, and he taught me how to love. 00:27:31.360 |
And in receiving Christ, I am set free from the chains of sin. 00:27:37.360 |
Christ restored it, and he added color to my life. 00:27:41.360 |
He has given me a new life, and his promises bring joy. 00:27:44.360 |
His foundation never fails, and he will always be my light. 00:28:10.360 |
You understand that when you go into the water, 00:28:12.360 |
you're being united with Christ in his death, 00:28:17.360 |
you're being united with him in his resurrection 00:28:46.360 |
>> It's a very encouraging and real testimony. 00:28:54.360 |
please turn with me to the book of Philippians, 00:29:03.360 |
And so Philippians chapter 1, verses 9 to 11, 00:29:10.360 |
and then we'll ask the Lord to feed his sheep. 00:29:24.360 |
still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 00:29:29.360 |
so that you may approve the things that are excellent 00:29:38.360 |
Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness, 00:29:51.360 |
Father, we ask for you to minister through your word 00:30:09.360 |
a little bit more of your heart for your own glory, 00:30:20.360 |
And I pray, Father, that you would really grow your people 00:30:35.360 |
If I were to say the words "honeymoon phase," 00:30:39.360 |
most of us in this room would understand the meaning. 00:30:45.360 |
usually refers to like a very happy beginning period 00:30:48.360 |
in a couple's relationship where everything is good, 00:31:00.360 |
And it's hard to find anything to be unhappy about 00:31:05.360 |
And a honeymoon phase is generally meant as a good thing. 00:31:10.360 |
It's a wonderful time and a beautiful period. 00:31:14.360 |
And it's not just limited to romantic relationships, right? 00:31:18.360 |
A honeymoon phase is also used by people to describe 00:31:27.360 |
And I've actually heard it also being used to say, 00:31:35.360 |
And the honeymoon phase is often the happiest phase, 00:31:44.360 |
And we implicitly know that because the honeymoon 00:32:01.360 |
and this means that now flaws are highlighted, 00:32:11.360 |
And discontentment in varying degrees starts to creep in. 00:32:19.360 |
usually means that a person has come down from the clouds 00:32:27.360 |
the word "reality" usually has negative connotations. 00:32:33.360 |
every single person, Christian and non-Christian, 00:32:48.360 |
Life's default settings are imperfection and ugliness. 00:33:04.360 |
And we all live in this very tainted, broken, 00:33:20.360 |
one of the greatest tragedies of the fall of man 00:33:25.360 |
and even the best of things and the best of blessings 00:33:35.360 |
And you and I are experts at getting tired of things 00:33:39.360 |
and then taking even the best of things for granted. 00:33:42.360 |
And that, I believe, is a tragic result of the fall. 00:33:46.360 |
So think of the last amazing meal that you've had, 00:33:50.360 |
or just a wonderful vacation that you've gone on. 00:33:55.360 |
Are you still receiving pleasure from those experiences? 00:34:00.360 |
Think of the last thing that you really wanted to own 00:34:04.360 |
and that you saved for and that you purchased. 00:34:08.360 |
Think of something that you once thought would be amazing 00:34:15.360 |
Is that excitement of possessing that thing still there? 00:34:28.360 |
and I bought this cool thing called an iPod Touch. 00:34:33.360 |
And I carried that and my flip phone around with me everywhere 00:34:42.360 |
I was like, "You don't have to carry two things." 00:35:06.360 |
New friendships, new relationships are great. 00:35:16.360 |
I would clear my throat actually before I answered. 00:35:20.360 |
And I would give her my full undivided attention 00:35:23.360 |
and I would try my best to keep her on the phone as long as I could. 00:35:36.360 |
but the thrill and the newness and the excitement 00:35:45.360 |
She heard it. She still loves me. She's fine. 00:35:49.360 |
So even the best of things, the best of experiences, 00:35:56.360 |
And in our sin-corrupted flesh and in our sin-corrupted hearts, 00:36:00.360 |
we have the inability to enjoy anything or anyone consistently for long term. 00:36:10.360 |
So it does seem like every honeymoon comes to an end. 00:36:25.360 |
but to abound and then to abound still more and more? 00:36:33.360 |
Does your love for your wife abound still more and more 00:36:43.360 |
Parents, has your love abounded still more and more 00:37:00.360 |
but there's a lot of us that have been here for a while. 00:37:06.360 |
does your love for this church abound still more and more today? 00:37:12.360 |
In your minds, there might be a little bit of an objection, 00:37:20.360 |
But is abounding still more and more synonymous to deepen? 00:37:27.360 |
Because in this passage that we're reading today, 00:37:34.360 |
And when we read a passage like Philippians 1, 9 to 11, 00:37:46.360 |
they feel a little bit detached from our sin-tainted reality, 00:37:57.360 |
And we may quickly and wrongly think that a passage like this 00:38:00.360 |
of Scripture is not a passage that we can apply. 00:38:17.360 |
or feel unattainable, or like too far removed from our reality, 00:38:22.360 |
we will read it, but we can be left unchanged, 00:38:29.360 |
So this morning, I want to spend some time in Philippians 1, 9 to 11 00:38:33.360 |
just digesting it together, looking at what it means, 00:38:37.360 |
and thinking through how we can make application of it 00:38:50.360 |
that your love may abound still more and more 00:38:56.360 |
so that you may approve the things that are excellent 00:38:59.360 |
in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ, 00:39:02.360 |
having been filled with the fruit of righteousness 00:39:19.360 |
one of Apostle Paul's richest and most outstanding prayers 00:39:49.360 |
And in this prayer, he communicates to the Philippian church 00:39:53.360 |
that he's praying specifically for two things. 00:39:56.360 |
And those two things are a little harder to discern in the English, 00:40:00.360 |
because verses 9 to 11 just reads like one long run-on. 00:40:05.360 |
But in the original language, you'll see that he prays for two things. 00:40:08.360 |
He prays for, one, an exponential increase in their love, 00:40:14.360 |
and two, he prays for a perseverance in their holiness. 00:40:33.360 |
So first he prays that not only that they love one another, 00:40:44.360 |
So Paul prays for something supernatural here. 00:40:52.360 |
And he prays that God will not just help them preserve 00:41:08.360 |
And that love is both rooted in and it spurs on holiness. 00:41:16.360 |
And that love moves its recipients toward greater holiness. 00:41:20.360 |
So those are the two things that Paul is praying for 00:41:32.360 |
the exaltation of Christ in this long prayer. 00:41:39.360 |
I want to familiarize us a little bit with the Philippian church 00:41:42.360 |
so we understand where our similarities actually are. 00:41:46.360 |
So the Philippian church was indeed a good church. 00:41:52.360 |
And the epistle to the Philippians is one of Paul's 00:41:55.360 |
most uplifting letters among all the epistles. 00:42:07.360 |
And there were a few things happening internally in the church. 00:42:13.360 |
there appears to have been some grumblers in the congregation, 00:42:21.360 |
And we know this because Paul briefly addresses this 00:42:27.360 |
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing 00:42:32.360 |
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent." 00:42:37.360 |
And this is the second time the word "blameless" is found in Philippians. 00:42:41.360 |
The word "blameless," some of you may have caught this, 00:42:47.360 |
"Holy people ought not to grumble," is what Paul is saying here. 00:42:54.360 |
Secondly, in this church, two prominent women 00:42:59.360 |
have become so embroiled in some sort of disagreement 00:43:02.360 |
that Paul has to publicly call them out by name, 00:43:13.360 |
We are led to understand that they are both godly women 00:43:16.360 |
who love the gospel, supported Paul's ministry, 00:43:20.360 |
but it appears that something has caused them to be divided. 00:43:34.360 |
Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women 00:43:39.360 |
who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel 00:43:42.360 |
together with Clement, also, and the rest of my fellow workers 00:43:48.360 |
So there were things happening in the church. 00:43:52.360 |
There were also real pressures and threats from outside as well. 00:44:00.360 |
those outside of the church were hostile toward the cause of Christ. 00:44:06.360 |
And we glean as much from what Paul writes elsewhere in the letter. 00:44:10.360 |
So first, the Philippian church was located in a very Roman 00:44:17.360 |
and the surrounding secular people's gods were their stomachs. 00:44:23.360 |
And everything that these people did was for pleasure 00:44:32.360 |
there were people also trying to distort the gospel of Christ 00:44:38.360 |
So in Philippi, one of these prominent groups 00:44:47.360 |
And they weren't the only ones threatening the church. 00:44:51.360 |
Paul writes that the enemies of the cross of Christ were many. 00:44:57.360 |
So we know that there's some drama inside the church. 00:45:00.360 |
There were pressures coming from outside the church. 00:45:03.360 |
And we know that when there's drama and brokenness and opposition, 00:45:10.360 |
Even at neutral, we wane, we drift, we lose interest. 00:45:16.360 |
But when there's opposition, it kind of goes faster. 00:45:24.360 |
Discontentment creeps in, and then reality sets in. 00:45:32.360 |
Though it wasn't a perfect church, the Philippian church, 00:45:35.360 |
nonetheless, was a healthy church and an already loving church. 00:45:40.360 |
It was a very generous church, a very missions-minded church. 00:45:45.360 |
So the letter to the Philippians is actually a thank-you card of sorts from Paul 00:45:51.360 |
almost at the risk of the death of one of their members. 00:45:55.360 |
So for the most part, the Philippian church was a very united church. 00:46:00.360 |
So for this church, fully aware of all its imperfections, shortcomings, and challenges, 00:46:05.360 |
Paul prays that godly love would not just increase and flow like a rising river, 00:46:14.360 |
but that it would erupt and explode like a geyser. 00:46:22.360 |
And this overflowing love would not just aimlessly gush and spout all over the place, 00:46:28.360 |
but it was to be directed, focused, and targeted, 00:46:32.360 |
hence this long, run-on sentence that we see in verse 9 through 11. 00:46:37.360 |
So there is a grammatical flow of thought there. 00:46:42.360 |
And this overflowing, abounding love was to be rooted in Christ 00:46:49.360 |
and routed toward Christ, who will one day come again in glory. 00:46:54.360 |
So the rest of Philippians, it gives us some hedges in better understanding this abounding love. 00:47:02.360 |
Everything about the Christian's love was to be Christ-centered before it was dispensed toward man. 00:47:10.360 |
Because compassion toward man without God is not love. 00:47:15.360 |
So Christ-centered love, or the Christian love was to be Christ-centered before it was dispensed toward man. 00:47:24.360 |
So verses 9 through 11 and its surrounding verses teach us 00:47:29.360 |
that a Christ-centered, abounding love is rooted in Christ, 00:47:35.360 |
filled with Christ until the day of Christ to the glory and praise of Christ. 00:47:45.360 |
I am saying Christ often here because Paul writes Christ often here in Philippians. 00:47:54.360 |
If you look at just the opening 11 verses of Philippians, Christ Jesus is mentioned seven times. 00:48:00.360 |
If you ever try to memorize a book, you're like, "Wow, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus." It's again and again. 00:48:05.360 |
Seven times in the first 11 verses. You can go ahead and count it at home if you have some time. 00:48:10.360 |
The opening chapter of Philippians is extremely Christ-centric. 00:48:16.360 |
In fact, the entire epistle to the Philippians is one of the most Christ-centric letters of all of Paul's letters. 00:48:26.360 |
In the book of Philippians, you'll notice the words Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, Him, the Lord, repeated often. 00:48:36.360 |
There are 104 verses in Philippians, and I counted more than 52 mentions of Christ. 00:48:44.360 |
So in more than every other verse in the letter, there is a mention of Jesus Christ. 00:48:50.360 |
So love that honors God and love that is to abound still more and more is first Christ-centered. 00:49:04.360 |
Abounding love is not produced by working harder. 00:49:10.360 |
And remember, Paul prays this. He doesn't command it. 00:49:17.360 |
Christ-centeredness produces abounding love. They go hand in hand. 00:49:24.360 |
And we will learn this morning that an explosion, an exponential increase in the believer's Christ-centered love is not only possible, 00:49:34.360 |
but it is to be expected and relentlessly pursued. 00:49:46.360 |
A love of fellow Christians is evidence of saving faith. 00:49:54.360 |
A love of fellow Christians is evidence of saving faith. 00:49:57.360 |
1 John 3, 14 says that if anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he's a liar. 00:50:05.360 |
And abounding love in you and me is not only to be expected, but to be relentlessly pursued as a characteristic of our lives. 00:50:16.360 |
And Paul, according to the will of God, prays for this on behalf of the Philippians. 00:50:22.360 |
And we can apply this prayer in our context today. 00:50:25.360 |
That's a long introduction, and usually my introductions are a little shorter, but I needed to set it up. 00:50:33.360 |
There's a flow to Paul's argument and his logic. 00:50:37.360 |
There is a flow and a direction in this logic that is Christ-centered. 00:50:45.360 |
The natural flow, remember, is that resolve weakens, love gets cold, and passions get numb. 00:50:55.360 |
The natural, unchristian man cannot love in the way that Paul is praying. 00:51:01.360 |
The natural man's love will never abound more and more, and there is no real knowledge, there is no discernment. 00:51:09.360 |
The natural man is just a creature of instinct, as we've learned in both 2 Peter and Jude. 00:51:15.360 |
But on behalf of the spiritual man, Paul prays to the Lord. 00:51:21.360 |
So we're going to be looking at the elements of this prayer and the flow of this Christ-centered love. 00:51:27.360 |
First, a Christ-centered love is driven in a direction. 00:51:37.360 |
Secondly, a Christ-centered love is discerning. 00:51:42.360 |
And we're going to be spending the bulk of our time on those first 2 points. 00:51:51.360 |
Third, Christ-centered love is devout, verse 10. 00:51:58.360 |
Fourth, Christ-centered love is doxological, verse 11. 00:52:03.360 |
It results in the glory and the praise of God. 00:52:07.360 |
I actually had to just find a word that starts with D. 00:52:17.360 |
It results in the glory and the praise of God. 00:52:25.360 |
He first prays at the Philippian church, their members, that their love abounds still more and more in a particular direction. 00:52:38.360 |
I pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. 00:52:52.360 |
So first point, a Christ-centered love is driven. 00:52:57.360 |
And by the grace of God, it's to be driven and directed towards a real knowledge and all discernment. 00:53:05.360 |
There are two words that are highlighted here. 00:53:11.360 |
A Christ-centered love is driven toward knowledge. 00:53:21.360 |
The knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, of course, can be applied here, but I don't believe that that's what Paul is referring to. 00:53:29.360 |
There are two words in the Greek for knowledge. 00:53:32.360 |
Often in the Scriptures, the word for knowledge is oida, O-I-D-A, if you're taking notes. 00:53:39.360 |
And that usually refers to an intellectual knowledge gained through some kind of a study. 00:53:46.360 |
It can also be used for like common sensical things of human experience. 00:53:52.360 |
So in Philippians chapter 4, Paul writes that he oida knows how to get along with humble means, how to have an abundance. 00:54:03.360 |
He knows how to be content in every need and every situation, both in plenty and in want. 00:54:11.360 |
But here in chapter 1, verse 9, Paul uses the word epigonosis, which generally conveys the idea of a relational experiential knowledge. 00:54:25.360 |
It is interactive and it's a personal knowledge. 00:54:40.360 |
But I epigonosis know Peter Kim, Nate Kwok, and Mark Lim, who's over there. 00:54:52.360 |
A Christ-centered love is driven toward an experiential full gnosis knowledge, but about what? 00:55:04.360 |
And one of the reasons this verse doesn't stir us as it should is a lot of times we just read it without thinking through what this knowledge is. 00:55:13.360 |
So what is Paul praying about for us to know? 00:55:17.360 |
And how is that related to an abounding love? 00:55:30.360 |
But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 00:55:37.360 |
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of gnosis knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. 00:55:52.360 |
And I count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ and may be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. 00:56:07.360 |
And I pay attention that I may gnosis know him and gnosis know the power of his resurrection and gnosis know the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 00:56:27.360 |
Paul considers all of his academic and his religious accolades as rubbish. Literally, it's like excrement. It's poop. It's dung. 00:56:49.360 |
He wants to know the power of Christ's resurrection. 00:56:54.360 |
He wants to know the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. 00:57:01.360 |
He wants to grow in the knowledge of Christ's humiliation and death. 00:57:08.360 |
He has academic oida knowledge. In fact, he pretty much has more oida knowledge than any of his readers. 00:57:17.360 |
And he lists them in the previous verses in chapter 3. 00:57:22.360 |
But what Paul is driven to know experientially is Christ. 00:57:30.360 |
And what he's driven to know is Christ, the God who is love, and his sufferings which were compelled by that love. 00:57:41.360 |
Paul is zealous to gnosko know Christ who although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. 00:58:02.360 |
He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even on a cross. 00:58:07.360 |
And this is the Christ Paul wants to know, a mocked, bloodied, beaten, and hanging on the cross Messiah. 00:58:19.360 |
The humility of God who became man, Paul wants to know. 00:58:26.360 |
The perfect, sacrificial, pain-filled love of this perfect God is what Paul wants to know. 00:58:36.360 |
And he wants to understand the crucifixion and the suffering and the poverty of Christ. 00:58:46.360 |
In verse 5, right before this, Paul exhorts the Philippians to want that same real knowledge, to have that same attitude of Christ's here. 00:58:59.360 |
So this is not a deepening kind of a love, it is an emptying, a humiliating, and a sacrificial love. 00:59:12.360 |
This is the knowledge that's supposed to be rooted in and resulting from their love, an intimate knowledge of the humiliation of Christ. 00:59:24.360 |
We cannot fully know the love of Christ without knowing the suffering and the intense loneliness of Christ. 00:59:34.360 |
And this Christ-centered, Christ-saturated love is what Paul is praying that the Philippians abound in still more and more. 00:59:47.360 |
When we pursue knowing God and knowing His heart, love cannot but be produced. 00:59:59.360 |
In fact, love is the very first fruit mentioned as evidence of the Spirit's work. 01:00:06.360 |
But if we stop at only knowing a lot about God, pride puffs up. 01:00:14.360 |
If we stop at only knowing a lot about God, we get embittered when we aren't appreciated or noticed, 01:00:23.360 |
when we are disrespected or when we are disagreed with. 01:00:39.360 |
Or are you satisfied with only knowing a lot about Him? 01:00:46.360 |
Because we cannot desire to know God and want to steer clear of any humiliation or daily cross-bearing. 01:00:58.360 |
A wealth of simply knowing a lot about God cannot save us. 01:01:11.360 |
All honeymoons in religiosity or in churchianity, sooner or later, comes to an end. 01:01:20.360 |
But the Christ-centered love of God will develop within us a longing which grows in intensity to understand the broken heart of God. 01:01:34.360 |
And that love, it cannot but abound still more and more. 01:01:41.360 |
So the real knowledge that Paul is referring to is in Christ and in His humiliation and in His sufferings. 01:01:51.360 |
It's the becoming like Christ in His death and in His emptying. 01:02:09.360 |
A false religion will point to a Christ who will primarily free us only from this world's suffering. 01:02:18.360 |
It will point to a Christianity that promotes safety and comfort and pride in morality. 01:02:28.360 |
But Paul says in Philippians 3.10 that the gospel he is proclaiming as good news, 01:02:36.360 |
it's fixated more on the resurrection from this life and not just an improvement in this life. 01:02:47.360 |
So our zeal has to be in knowing Him even and especially in the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death. 01:03:14.360 |
And so Paul prays that the redeemed Christian not only has to pursue this knowledge but that he needs training. 01:03:26.360 |
So in addition to this knowledge, a Christ-centered love is driven towards all discernment. 01:03:41.360 |
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 01:03:50.360 |
so that you may approve the things that are excellent. 01:03:57.360 |
So in addition to real knowledge, an element of the abounding of love ought also to produce like a wide net of discernment. 01:04:11.360 |
The NIV kind of translates that as like the depth of insight, depth of discernment. 01:04:24.360 |
The King James Version translates it as like judgment. 01:04:28.360 |
But it's a word that means not just a distinguishing between like wise and foolish, 01:04:35.360 |
but more so between what is true and what is counterfeit. 01:04:40.360 |
It doesn't just mean discernment wisdom-wise. 01:04:46.360 |
It's a discernment that enables a person to discern authenticity. 01:04:53.360 |
And to help us understand this word, we actually have to look at verse 10, "to approve." 01:05:00.360 |
So in the classical Greek, that word there for "approve" is usually used for the testing of a purity of metal, purity of coins, for their genuineness. 01:05:13.360 |
So it would be the modern-day equivalent of like checking for counterfeit bills. 01:05:18.360 |
Now, I don't remember exactly who told me this, but I have heard that bill testers, like people who make money, people who produce bills, okay, 01:05:31.360 |
But in their training, they don't worry too much about studying all the different kinds of counterfeits. 01:05:38.360 |
They spend the bulk of their time studying the real bills, 01:05:42.360 |
so much so that when they are handed a counterfeit, they can spot it pretty quickly, even if they can't articulate why. 01:05:51.360 |
Not because they know or are experts in every kind of counterfeit that is out there, but because they are so familiar with the authentic. 01:06:01.360 |
They are so intimately familiar with the real and with the authentic that they can spot the fake and the counterfeit very quickly. 01:06:09.360 |
So a person who deeply understands the humility of Christ and the compassionate love of Christ can spot all counterfeit teachings. 01:06:23.360 |
He can usually discern and call out the almost true as heresy. 01:06:34.360 |
What Paul is saying about this abounding love is that it is not blind. Love is not blind. 01:06:44.360 |
A Christ-like love not only knows and embraces Christ's humiliation, but is also very discerning. 01:06:52.360 |
And it's also very zealous for the truth and for holiness. 01:06:58.360 |
Abounding love hates sin, because it understands that the God of love hates sin. 01:07:14.360 |
The untrained eye may mistake the call to holy living as legalism. 01:07:26.360 |
The trained and discerning eye understands the call to holy living as the only appropriate response to amazing grace. 01:07:38.360 |
The trained eye can discern between what is actually gospel-powered, compassionate service to the poor, 01:07:48.360 |
and distinguish that from man-centered, humanitarian effort. 01:07:55.360 |
And because of his obsession with knowing Christ, Paul's been trained up in this discernment, 01:08:03.360 |
so much so that when people are preaching the gospel, even from envy and strife to cause him affliction, it doesn't bother him. 01:08:13.360 |
He can still rejoice. He can rejoice because Christ is preached, even at his expense. 01:08:19.360 |
The two prominent women in this church are at odds. He has the discernment to know how to lead others to help them reconcile. 01:08:31.360 |
In his discernment, Paul also knows how to get riled up with holy anger. He knows when to be upset. 01:08:39.360 |
Paul doesn't get upset when he's personally maligned or attacked. 01:08:43.360 |
But he's riled up, though, when a false gospel threatens to infiltrate and corrupt the church. 01:08:50.360 |
Philippians 3, 2-3, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision. 01:09:00.360 |
For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh." 01:09:09.360 |
Some of the translations have exclamation marks after each of the beware statements to catch Paul's emotion. 01:09:22.360 |
It knows when to fight, it knows how to fight, and it knows how to fight for and speak the truth. 01:09:31.360 |
And discernment trains a Christian to know how to speak the truth, not out of self-righteousness, but in an abundance of Christ-centered love. 01:09:44.360 |
A love that is focused on, and its goal is always the exaltation of Christ and the holiness of the believer. 01:09:54.360 |
Philippians 1, 9-11, "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 01:10:04.360 |
so that you may approve the things that are excellent." 01:10:08.360 |
The Apostle Paul praises with expectation that the Philippians will grow and abound in this discernment. 01:10:15.360 |
At the close of the letter, he tells them that once they've determined and approved of those things that are excellent, 01:10:22.360 |
that they're supposed to mull over it again and again. They're supposed to obsess over it and dwell on it. 01:10:27.360 |
And this dwelling, this abiding, I believe, is the fuel to keep the abounding love growing in abundance. 01:10:41.360 |
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 01:10:53.360 |
whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." 01:11:02.360 |
And as a Christian's abounding love grows in real gnosis, knowledge, and discernment, 01:11:09.360 |
the meditation on these things leads to still more and more. 01:11:15.360 |
And one of the things that we will discern well as we draw nearer to Christ 01:11:21.360 |
is that Christ, in His kindness and His grace, will gift His people not just with faith and belief, 01:11:43.360 |
Persecution and perhaps even martyrdom to the trained eye are gifts and privileges 01:11:54.360 |
that have been granted to many believers in the history of the church. 01:11:59.360 |
The untrained eye will say, "Why is God doing this to me?" 01:12:05.360 |
The trained eye will say, "I consider this all joy." 01:12:12.360 |
And it looks like the Philippians were given this wonderful gift of suffering. 01:12:19.360 |
Philippians 1, 29, "For to you it has been granted in joy for Christ's sake, 01:12:28.360 |
not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." 01:12:35.360 |
For the Christian, as his Christ-centered love abounds still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 01:12:43.360 |
he will learn to consider it all joy when he encounters various trials. 01:12:50.360 |
After all, Christ did not suffer and die to make us comfortable. 01:12:59.360 |
He suffered and died to reconcile us to God and to save our souls. 01:13:08.360 |
He suffered and died to equip us to lead others to be reconciled to God and to save their souls. 01:13:43.360 |
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 01:13:49.360 |
so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ, 01:13:55.360 |
having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. 01:14:01.360 |
The third and fourth elements of the abounding Christ-centered love, I'm just going to combine to a single point and go over it pretty quickly. 01:14:09.360 |
They're not as difficult to understand, and we don't need to belabor every point. 01:14:13.360 |
I put them on the slide because that's a part of the thought flow, and some of you guys get annoyed when something's missing. 01:14:25.360 |
And fourthly, a Christ-centered love is doxological. 01:14:39.360 |
The work of Christ on the cross has made the believer blameless in standing and in position. 01:14:49.360 |
But it also continues to produce both a sincerity of heart and a blamelessness of deed if you are Christ-centered. 01:14:58.360 |
And the believer is filled with the fruit of righteousness simply as a gift of his faith, on the basis of his faith. 01:15:07.360 |
And we read about that earlier in Philippians 3. 01:15:10.360 |
Not by works, not by obedience to any law or conformity to any church culture, but by faith. 01:15:20.360 |
He has been made righteous by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 01:15:27.360 |
He has been made devout, and he is empowered to live a devout life, abounding in love, more and more until the day of Christ. 01:15:44.360 |
One of our strongly recommended books that we almost want to force upon all our church members is R.C. Sproul's "The Holiness of God." 01:15:57.360 |
And I'm going to share a quote that felt appropriate to share for today's passage, just in light of this point three. 01:16:05.360 |
"Holiness provokes hatred. The greater the holiness, the greater the human hostility toward it. 01:16:13.360 |
It seems insane. No man was ever more loving than Jesus Christ, yet even his love made people angry." 01:16:24.360 |
A Christ-centered love is devout, it is holy. 01:16:28.360 |
And this holiness results in the praise and the glory of God. 01:16:35.360 |
And as I mentioned to you before, the exaltation of Christ is at the heart of Philippians. 01:16:42.360 |
"He who has once been humiliated will one day permanently be exalted." 01:16:51.360 |
"Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 01:17:00.360 |
For this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. 01:17:09.360 |
So that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. 01:17:19.360 |
And that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." 01:17:34.360 |
Until the day of Christ, the love of the church grows and abounds. 01:17:41.360 |
Until the day of Christ, the saints persevere in holiness. 01:17:46.360 |
And on that day, there is glory and there is praise lifted up from heaven and on earth and under the earth. 01:17:58.360 |
Every knee bows, every tongue confesses, and for all eternity, Christ the Lamb of God is highly exalted. 01:18:07.360 |
So while we live in this sin-tainted world and our temporarily broken realities, 01:18:17.360 |
as we become more Christ-centered, we will understand what it means to join with Paul in saying, 01:18:25.360 |
"For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." 01:18:32.360 |
It sounds so nice, right, on a picture frame, but how many of you obsess over that and believe that? 01:18:42.360 |
To live is Christ and His sufferings and the power of His resurrection, becoming like Him in His death, 01:19:14.360 |
Death isn't just good, it's actually very much better, it says, right? 01:19:19.360 |
It is better by far, the dynamic equivalents will say. 01:19:27.360 |
So with the remaining time we have on earth, we will live to know Christ and to make Him known, 01:19:35.360 |
and to love abundantly, and to minister to His people in our humiliation, in our suffering, 01:19:45.360 |
in our discomfort, in our misunderstood states, in our weakness. 01:19:53.360 |
And this love will abound more and more until the day of Christ. 01:19:58.360 |
1 Corinthians 2.9, "Just as it is written, 'Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, 01:20:06.360 |
and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.'" 01:20:16.360 |
Have you guys ever imagined what heaven is like? 01:20:21.360 |
What do you picture when you think of heaven? 01:20:24.360 |
There have been movies made on it, things are all white, right, and stuff, but what is it like? 01:20:35.360 |
And I think part of it is because our imaginations are so tainted, like, we don't long for it as we should. 01:20:44.360 |
Whatever heaven is like, the Bible makes a couple things clear. 01:20:55.360 |
No mind, no matter how creative, has ever accurately imagined it. 01:21:05.360 |
Every beautiful thing you, right now, can conjure up in your mind in trying to visualize heaven 01:21:14.360 |
is nowhere near close to the new reality that awaits us. 01:21:21.360 |
For starters, we will see God face to face, sin free. 01:21:53.360 |
The honeymoon will not just not end, it will get better and better and better for all eternity. 01:22:08.360 |
And for that, by faith, we, whose citizenship is in heaven, eagerly await the Savior from there. 01:22:21.360 |
But while we eagerly wait, may our love abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 01:22:32.360 |
so that we can approve the things that are excellent, 01:22:35.360 |
being filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, 01:22:39.360 |
to the glory and praise of God, until he returns. 01:22:45.360 |
And I want to close with Philippians 3, 18-21, to describe our current, already but not yet state. 01:22:55.360 |
For many walk, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 01:23:05.360 |
whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, 01:23:14.360 |
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 01:23:24.360 |
who will transform the body of our humiliated state into conformity with the body of his glory, 01:23:35.360 |
by the exertion of the power that he has, even to subject all things to himself. 01:23:44.360 |
And he goes on to say in chapter 4, verse 1, "Therefore, my brothers, stand firm." 01:23:52.360 |
May the Lord grant us abounding love and persevering holiness to his glory and for our joy. 01:24:19.360 |
And not only are we limited, we are proud, where we think that we can trust what we know. 01:24:30.360 |
But I pray, Father, for greater growth in humility, in brokenness, and in weakness, 01:24:38.360 |
so that we will not resist your sanctifying power and your love. 01:24:45.360 |
Teach us how to love like you. Teach us how to grieve over sin. 01:24:58.360 |
And Lord, move us to compassion, so that everyone may know that you are God, and that you are good. 01:25:09.360 |
Be gracious to us. I pray this in Jesus' name. 01:25:14.360 |
Church family, let's all stand together as we sing our closing praise. 01:26:12.360 |
May it be louder, louder than any other song. 01:27:09.360 |
May it be louder, louder than any other song. 01:27:28.360 |
What could separate us from this amazing love? 01:27:45.360 |
What could separate us from this amazing love? 01:28:19.360 |
May it be louder, louder than any other song. 01:28:38.360 |
May it be louder, louder than any other song. 01:29:11.360 |
that our love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and in all discernment 01:29:19.360 |
so that we too may approve things that are excellent 01:29:24.360 |
in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ 01:29:29.360 |
having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ 01:29:40.360 |
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and love of God the Father 01:29:46.360 |
and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each and every one of us 01:29:51.360 |
who abounds in love and perseveres in holiness until the day he returns. 01:30:30.360 |
An empty grave is there to hold my Savior and land. 01:31:10.360 |
And life is worth the living just because he lives.