What is Love? Discerning (Phil 1.8-11)

Philippians 1:8-11

GBCCR 2/18/24

Introduction

Comments-

Prayers

Lord, may we understand better what love is this week

Catch- What is Love… it is discerning

Erin Gayton got the song by the dance group Haddaay in my head and maybe it was in yours

We just had valentine’s day and while love is often stated as that feeling inside your heart

But that song’s next words are baby don’t hurt me

Because we all understand that love can hurt and the one you love

Key word- True Love

We all want it, though the fairy tales tell us it is something we can only have with that one special person

Or the culture’s version of unconditional love

is one that accepts someone as they want to be…. Even if that is hurtful to themselves and others.

They say if you do not approve of my sexually immoral lifestyle , then you do not love me….

Yet that is not love as the creator calls it… allowing someone to do something that is hurtful to them could be better called “hate.”

We cannot be content with how we love, but like Paul, pray for our love to grow.

IT MUST GROW NOT INTO OUR IMAGE, BUT INTO GOD’S

Review

The Philippians were a group that stayed by Paul when no one else did, they loved him greatly

He was assured that they were believers by their life and thus was confident that Jesus would finish the work He began in them

but as believers, they still had to grow.

So he prays for them

So let’s see how that prayer worked out and that you should learn

3 Attitudes to redefine love, so you can grow

Believe Truth Links with Love(8-9)

Explanation

Paul’s standard of love comes from God(8)

He calls God to the stand being the one who sees His heart, so that the Philippians know he loves them

Long or yearned means to desire to be with

Some of you may think of the KJV- I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ

The ancient world didn’t’ recognize the heart as the source of the emotions, instead they called the heart what we think of the mind and the intestines or the bowels were where emotions resided

The Bible is much closer to the facts than we are in our modern culture. The Bible calls the bowels the seat of the emotions. Where is it that people get ulcers—on the heart? No—in the gut, where so much emotion is centered. 

In reference to the loving affection of Christ, the believer would have thought of the great compassion He had

Matthew 12:20- “A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory.

Luke 7:13- When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”

So Paul is saying in the most poetic way… I love you with all my heart

So, children… you know your parents have given everything to love you

So when they call you do something, it is out of their love

In the same way from Pastor Paul, John Calvin writes, “For it tends in no small degree to secure credit for the doctrine, when the people are persuaded that they are beloved by the teacher. “

Paul’s prayer means growing By knowing/Knowledge

In Colossians Paul says we do not preform the sin of lying because christians are not their sinful selves anymore, but

Colossians 3:10- and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

So, to do what God wants you to do, you must know God better & deeper.

You must correct your wrong ways of love with theological truth

Because God defines love “

In John 15:12–13 He declared: “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

What is God’s love like?

Voluntary- Not that we loved God, but he loved us (1 John 4:10)

Unselflish- God loved Israel not because they loved him or served him well, but simply because he loved them (Deut 7:7–8)

Righteous- It is not sentimental. It does not condone sin, nor does it do wrong for the sake of the one loved. It is governed by God’s holiness and always does right. This is seen in texts which speak of God’s being righteous and loving righteousness (Ps 11:7) and justice (Ps 33:5).

Eternal- His love is not fickle. In Paul’s words, “Love never fails” (1 Cor 13:8).

Sacrificial- Jesus is the supreme example of sacrificial love. In John 15:12–13 He declared: “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

How does knowing God (or we might call it theology) grow my love?

What usually stops loving someone? Uh, they don’t deserve it

Doctrine of sin shows me how little I deserve.

Being created in the image of God shows they deserve care no matter who they are.

How can I know how I should love someone?

God tells us what is ultimately important, that they must come to know Him or be in hell for eternity…. Sets the priorities a little bit

The glory of Jesus Christ and his humbling to come as a servant

Shows the model of what it means to live for others

By understanding

(discernment)

The ability to understand many perspectives and choose the one that is correct.

Hebrews 5:14- But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

The greek word is only used once in the NT, but in the Greek translation of the Old testament the word appears over and over in proverbs

Often referring to knowing the right thing to say

Proverbs 15:7- The lips of the wise spread knowledge/discernment; not so the hearts of fools.

Proverbs 11:9- With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge/discretion the righteous are delivered.

discernment is "the ability to distinguish the true and genuine from the false and counterfeit.".

As the eighteenth-century literary genius Samuel Johnson said, discernment is "the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.?"

True Love is not blind, but makes wise choices for people

Because love actually knows people

One young lady named Michelle is part of the group distransitioning from transgender surgery

She spent a lot of time in internet groups who said they loved her and suggested maybe she’d be happy with changing her gender

She was asked what would have made a difference for her as a teenager. She replied having a loving, trusting relationship with an adult who would have steered her toward valuing her female body. parents play a critical role in helping their children cultivate a life outside of the internet

She said said the emphasis on screens and devices creates “a fake reality” in which young people don’t form a connection to their bodies and real people

The people online didn’t really know her, didn’t really love her, but her family and those in her persona life did

True love seeks to know a person and know what they really need

Application

Parents

Do you love your children to teach them the difference between good and best?

If you love your children, you will not allow them to believe they are invincible to fire. -Chase hargis

Love rejoices in the truth. But its not just enough to have the truth

It is not enough just to get them to behave, you need them to know that God is greater

Brothers and sisters

You are called to grow in love, so it’s ok if you recognize it is hard to love someone

But then it is time to pursue that love… love based on truth

Trans: Loves goes with truth, and this truth has a goal intended

Seek to Uphold the goals of love (10-11a)

Explanation

Imagine so that with big bright neon lights drawing your eyes to the reasons

Paul gives 3 goals of love:

Choosing what is better today

Approve means to think well of and take pleasure in

When Love is growing in knowledge and discernment It helps you not just know what is right & wrong, but what is good vs best.

What is beautiful or best is important to us humans

Think of eve in the garden for the tree ‘pleasant to the sight’ (Gen. 2:9) became ‘a delight to the eyes’ (Gen. 3:6).

she went for what she thought was beautiful

And she allowed the lie of the forbidden fruit to say it was the only thing valuable

when the reality of every other good fruit was around her

Love doesn’t just seek to avoid sins, but it lift up what is good and beautiful

Trans: the second goal turns our eyes to the end of days

Seeking to be sincere and blameless for the future

Second time Paul has mentioned the day of Christ in this opening prayer.

v6- he had confidence that Christ would bring them to himself on that last day.

Here he wants them prepared for the second coming

Similar here, but the focus is on what you are to be

Sincere = without a mixingPure water. Ever tasted it? Can

Pure water. Ever tasted it? Can actually get some only in laboratories where they remove anything.

-particles like dirt, salt, clay

-inorganic ions (chemicals that provide some type of charge)

-gasses

-organisms

-biological molecules

It tastes weird, because it is so unlike what we’re used to.

So a pure person is so unusual

But Paul is reminding us to love without ulterior motive because Jesu sis coming back

Blameless

=Without any moral failure, nothing to blame

Kids: Do not believe the lie that youth is the time when you can make dumb mistakesDrama is just the way it has to be?

Drama is just the way it has to be?NO

NO

And reject the idea that I am old enough that I don't need to care what anyone thinks about me

Be bold brothers and sisters, but be wise and loving towards others

Your ambition should be to have no blame in any sin and when you do, seek forgiveness quickly. wipe the board

wipe the board clean

Why do we need these things for Christ’s day?

He will return, but also

On that last day a believer will be judged for all his or her actions

There is the the Bema seat, the great white throne judgment of Revelation (v10)

Believer’s judgment

John 5:28–29 - “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” (, ESV)

The Christian’s judgment reveals his works and rewards him

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23–24,)

Trans: So we cannot forget that we are merely giving what we have been given

3rd goal:

Producing what Christ has done in the past (v11)

notice that the first word, it’s the grammar term “perfect passive participle”… which means it happened in the past with continuing results

I.e. You were given a driver’s license and you're still driving today.

And what caused it, Jesus Christ…

Fruit of righteousness is like the fruit of the spirit, evidence that you have been saved

Jesus wants the opposite of destruction for His disciples: He wants them to make God’s greatness known. The way His disciples prove to be His is by loving others as He loved them

Remember that the fruit of the spirit is not a list you try to do, its something that comes out from a tree

Galatians 5:16- But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

So you need to love and know Jesus Christ better and allow that to change you.

These goals are only achievable because it is a work Christ began!

we will then be like the Elders of Rev 4, throwing our crowns before Jesus saying

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

Illus…. like a little a child buying their parent a gift with their hard earned allowance money….

Growing in love should uphold the goals of love

And those goal, like fruit, do not always grow quickly

Could you imagine getting a set of seeds, placing them in the ground or in a pot

And then being angry that they didn’t produce fruit the next day?

Yet, when it comes to fruit in our lives, we want to God to instantly make love easily

We must remember the goals of love include the process of persistent growth

Application

We should not just be truth zealots, who speak without love

But neither should love lunatics who say a feeling is more important than the goals of love

What is love… it is directed at the actual good of people… seeking true excellence, seeking someone’s holiness and righteousness

For those who are not Christians

If you’re a not believer here and wondering how do these people love each other this way

It is only because we have been so loved

See, when we were God’s enemies, Jesus Christ, the God-man died in our place.

So by trusting him with our lives, we are forgiven

This gives us a new spiritual family…

Being freed so we can love each other

Trust God’s Vision for Love (11b)

Explanation

vision=ultimate goal, what you are aiming for.

The purpose that holds up the rest of the other goals

So, Christian, you must Live for God’s glory

1 Cor 10:31- Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Glorying God is a big deal in the bible:

1 Chronicles 16:28- Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

1 Corinthians 6:20- For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Glorying God is a big deal in the bible:

2 Corinthians 5:14f- For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Sin is living for my glory instead of God’s. Sin is living life my way, for me, instead of living life God’s way, for God.

The men were reading this past week from Paul David Tripp

every human life pursues some kind of glory. If it is not the glory of God, it will be some kind of earthbound pseudo-glory. It may be money and possessions or acceptance and respect. It could be achievement and success or intellectual prowess and philosophical acumen. Perhaps it is the power to control people, the affection of a certain person, or a certain standard of living. At the root of many difficulties and disasters is the pursuit of the wrong glory.

God’s love towards you takes over you & changes you

Christian, your life is not your own… you exist as a slave of Christ to love others

And His rewards will be far sweeter

But why does a godly life give glory to God?

We glorify God when we see his glory and reflect it.That is worship, being in awe of

That is worship, being in awe of Him

Humans were created originally in the image of God, perfect, glorying him in every action

But since the fall that image has been tainted and so we reflect him far less

But sanctification, growing in godliness makes us more like Christ, the very image of God (heb 1)

So as we grow in Christ likeness we reflect God better and shine his glory and praise

Only God could make this change.

So when you are different, take the moment to explain to everyone it is God who makes you different.

Let the praise go to Him. Be the moon, and tell people you only reflect the son.

Illus- We are to live for the ultimate goal of love, the glory of God

Glory sometimes gets a bad wrap because there are two types of glory

You can think of a person who is famous or glorified not really for anything good, but they’re famous for being famous

Or they are a good athlete but a terrible person

But there is also the type of glory that something already has and we’re sharing

Imagine heading up a mountain, looking over a beautiful valley at sunset… seeing the beauty and then telling everyone how amazing it was

Or if we show our children the amazing service of someone in our church willing to serve others

In the instance you are not making glory, you’re just sharing what is already glorious about them

So love shares the glory that God already has

Application

Living for God’s glory is the best kind of love

This is what allows you to love when you are not loved back

Because Christ has already loved you!

Christians should not love to be loved in return but ot show the love God has given us

Therefore

Since we have seen (Cohesion)-

To truly love as God made us, we must LUV

Link truth with Love

Uphold God’s goals for love, not the culture

And seek God’s vision and purpose for love.

Redefines our idea of love to match God’s standard of love

Paul’s prayers would benefit them, but it was ultimately to bring Glory to God who had redeemed them!

We know we must (Resolution)-

Remember, love is not a feeling, but a commitment to the best of another, even if the other does not recognize or accept the reality of the good. In other words, love does not necessarily imply the person recognizes that we are truly acting in a way that protects and provides for them. In fact, many may even confuse loving actions for hateful ones. After all, people jeered at Jesus on the cross. Love is being committed to the objective good of another regardless of how they feel.

Music from a stringed instrument is a result of tension.

Strained love results in living music that brings glory to God."

So we should pray “Help me to trust the music you are making in my life."

Closing prayer

Lord, may we trust your work in making love