Gospel Prayers
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Introduction
Introduction
Last time we were together we looked at the why of Paul's prayer for the Philippians
He demonstrated 4 characteristics of his prayers
Personal
Consistent
Unconditional
Joyous
He thanks God for their fellowship with him - their koinonia - in the Gospel
We have characterized Philippians as a book primarily about the practical living out of the Gospel
Through the Gospel we have joy which drives our humility which drives our unity
Now that we know why Paul is praying for the church, tonight we're going to look at how Paul prays for the Philippians
Let's dig in to the prayer and plumb the depths of not just what Paul wants for the Philippians but for us as well
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Prayer
How does love abound?
How does love abound?
Romans 5:8; John 3:16; John 10:10; Proverbs 1:7; Romans 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Matthew 7:1; Matthew 7:17-20;
It is my prayer
Paul makes three statements that are completely countercultural:
That your love may abound more and more
Present tense - This means that it is an ongoing action that it is not something that has an end
This is a love that is unconditional - agape love.
There is no object for this love - this is love for God, for others, for enemies
Jesus taught this love in the story of the Good Samaritan - Luke 10
A scholar asks Christ whom he should love
Christ tells a story that turns his concept of neighbor on its head
Gary Chapman's Five Love Languages - says that we can love once our love tank has been filled by another - generally by the object of our love
Christ's love obliterates our love tank
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We are able to love with abandon because the source of our love loves us with abandon.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God did not withhold from us His most precious possession - we can freely love others with our possessions, our time, our very lives
Same root word as the word for abundant life in
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The abundant life Jesus came to bring has nothing to do with possessions, or wealth or health
It has to do with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and the like.
with knowledge and all discernment
If Paul would have just stopped at love abounding more and more then we would be able to fit with culture
Culture has turned love into acceptance
Air BNB commercial during the Super Bowl
We believe no matter who you are
where you're from, who you love
or who you worship, we all belong
the world is more beautiful the more you accept
The culture at the time of the writing of this letter and the culture now would tell us that "love is blind" that love is purest when it is uninformed
But Paul says something completely different - He says that our love abounds through knowledge and discernment
This is not head knowledge - random knowledge - but purposeful knowledge about the source of our love
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The more we know about God the more we love not only Him but because of what He did for us, we love those around us
There are two ways that we can know about God
The first is through natural revelation which is available to all men
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
The second is through special revelation - the Bible
There is a serious epidemic of Biblical illiteracy gripping the church
Most church attendees don't even carry a Bible
45% of church attenders say they read the Bible more than once a week
40% say they read it once or twice a month
1 in 5 say they never read it
Perry Noble, one time pastor of New Spring Church in South Carolina, once said that the person who wants to go deeper in the study of the Word is a jackass
To be fair he did apologize for this statement - but the problem is the damage that was done to the person who heard and says I don't need to know the truths of the faith
Andy Stanley, pastor of NorthPoint church in Atlanta, recently preached a sermon which basically undermined the authority of Scripture - or at least the importance of Scripture in the life of the church
Joel Osteen, arguably the most influential motivational speaker in America, almost never refers to Scripture during his talks
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Bill Johnson of Bethel Church writes in one of his books - "Those who feel safe because of their intellectual grasp of the Scriptures enjoy a false sense of security. None of us has a full grasp of Scripture, but we do all have the Holy Spirit. He is our common denominator who will always lead us into the truth. But to follow Him we must be willing to follow off the map - to go beyond what we know."
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
There is a huge movement to undermine the value of knowledge in the church today
Real knowledge produces holiness through sincere devotion and obedience to the infallible Scriptures.
Paul calls us to know God and by this knowledge our love will increase
Godly love is produced only by the working of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who belong to Him.
Illustration - marriage
It is hard for our love to increase if we don't know the source
Discernment
Next to knowledge, discernment is the second greatest sin in the world today
11th Commandment
“Judge not, that you be not judged.
You can't tell anyone they are wrong or that their reality is something other than what they believe it to be
Craig T. Nelson/Bruce Jenner Golf tees "You are so lost"
What are we to do - how does discernment work in a world that is so anti-discernment?
Matthew 7:17-20 Jesus tells us that you will recognize them by their fruit - that you have to make a judgement
Two things about discernment
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Training Treasury workers to spot counterfit - they stare at genuine money until it becomes second nature
Why do we approve what is excellent?
Why do we approve what is excellent?
Approve means much more than simple acknowledgment or agreement that something is right or true
It asks not what is right - but what is better, what is best?
Speaks of approval on two levels
This form of approval is spoken of in Proverbs
Early Greek Fathers understood the distinguishing of v 10 to mean the ability to distinguish between what was orthodoxy and what was heresy, what was true and what was false teaching
so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The process of testing gold by fire to prove it's genuineness
Personal level
What is best in my life?
speaks to what you are placing as the highest priority in your life
What am I watching on tv? Listening to? Where am I going on the internet?
What do my decisions say about who I worship? Should I attend a gay wedding? What do I say to my friend/child who is debating an abortion?
Corporate level
As a church - who do we partner with? What is the priority - is it the Gospel or feeding people?
Also important to remember to major in the majors and minor in the minors - some battles must be fought and others can be disagreed upon
Why does it matter?
Why does it matter?
Pure and Blameless for the Day of Christ
Paul's second reference to the Day of Christ
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
The work in verse 6 is the completion of the Gospel at the day of Christ
Here Paul is discussing how Christ will present us on the last day
Pure underscores the importance of approving what is excellent
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
We are made pure by the washing of the blood of the lamb
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
We are made blameless by the suffering of Christ on our behalf
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Both of these conditions pure and blameless speak to the eschatalogical nature of Paul's prayer
While we are currently seen as pure and blameless through the blood of Christ we are not yet actually pure and blameless as we continue to sin and choose things other than the best
The fruit of Righteousness speaks to our current condition
What are you cultivating in your life?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Earlier in Galatians 5 Paul examines the works of the flesh
Fruit is grown; works are done.
The fruit of Righteousness is what we are expected to arrive in Heaven with
It is cultivated through the growth of our love, knowledge and discernment
It is cultivated by being close to the Holy Spirit
Summary
Summary
Why does this matter? Paul's last statement sums up everything we do
For the glory and praise of God
Everything we do is because of what God has done for us
We love - because He first loved us
We seek to know Him because despite the fact that He knew us He died for us
We choose what's best because that best reflects Him
We want to be pure and blameless, cultivating the fruits of righteousness for His glory