Learning How To Love God s Way Philippians 1:9-11 In a recent study in the Book Of Philippians, we examined chapter 1:9-11. From this passage we learned that it was Paul s desire and prayer for the Philippians to come to maturity in Christ. Paul had a passion to see the people under his care experience spiritual development. In these verses, we find five specific areas in which Paul diligently prayed the Philippians would grow: 1) Love, 2) Excellence, 3) Integrity, 4) Good Works, and in 5) Glorifying God. This morning, I would like for us to focus on the first of these areas: Love Paul understood that HOW WE LOVE says a lot about our LEVEL OF SPRITUAL MATURITY. He knew that if we really love others, we will serve them, forgive them, pray for them, witness to them and help them come to spiritual maturity. We WON T lie to them, steal from them, covet their possessions, gossip about them or do them physical harm. As in all his recorded prayers, the apostle did not pray for physical needs or for church growth. The primary focus of Paul s prayers was on the spiritual welfare of others. Our Spiritual Maturity can be seen in How We Love. This morning, lets focus on Learning To Love God s Way. (Read Philippians 1:9-11 & Pray) Philippians 1:9-11 - And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Love And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, (1:9) Anyone who is in the least bit familiar with the NT knows that LOVE is at the very heart of biblical Christianity. The God of Scripture not only loves but He is love. 1 John 4:8 - He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. God loves fallen humanity so much that He sent His Son to die for us - Gospel
Jesus tells us that Love is Essential to fulfilling God s two great commandments. In Matthew, when a Pharisee asked Jesus, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18: Matthew 22:37-40 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. In Philippians 1, we re reminded of Four Characteristics of Christian love. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, (1:9) Agape Love Is Divine And this I pray - Implies, the Love Paul wrote about is divine in its nature and origin. Godly love is produced only by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Rom 5:5 - And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad ( Pour out, gush out, spill over ) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Love is the FIRST and FOREMOST fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, This all means that the Holy Spirit, 3 rd person of the Godhead, fills our hearts with love when we choose to submit ourselves to God in humble obedience and faith. KEY:When we allow God to have control of our lives, He loves others through us! Believers are taught by God Himself to love. 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 - But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. When it comes to love, Jesus is our greatest EXAMPLE and the Holy Spirit is our greatest ENABLER! One important truth that Paul learned and conveyed to the believers in Philippi Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Agape Love Is Discerning Philippians 1:9 - And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Abound To overflow in great abundance. Knowledge Precise and correct knowledge. Judgment Moral discernment, A high level of biblical, moral and spiritual perception and the proper application of that knowledge. Paul prayed that the Philippians love would abundantly overflow in knowledge and all discernment. Knowledge should be loving based on the truth of the Word of God! The bible should be our standard for loving God and loving others. Love abounding in Discernment is loving under the direction of the Spirit. KEY: You ve heard the term Hate the sin, but love the sinner. To love without discernment is to simply accept both! This kind of discernment has little to do with personal taste and preference. Loving with this kind of discernment helps us to know what to love and how to love! KEY: If you use the wrong standard of measure, when it comes to discerning right and wrong, good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness, how to love you will end up with an inaccurate assessment. Ill. You want to lay out a football field, someone hands you a yardstick it will be a tough job, but not impossible. The field with end zones will be 120 yards or 360 feet long. The problem is: The yardstick you have been given is only 2 long! If the standard you measure by is wrong, your measurements will be wrong. Instead of 360 feet, your field will be 240 feet you may think you re right, but you aren t you MEASURED USING THE WRONG STANDARD. Any love that is not grounded and growing in the truth and standards of Scripture falls short of genuine biblical love. There is a big difference between Biblical love and Worldly love. Biblical love is selfless, humble, sacrificial, forgiving and serving. Worldly love is just the opposite selfish in nature. KEY: Anything called love that violates God s moral values, is not Biblical Love! For example, people have tried to justify an immoral affair by claiming the Lord led them to fall in love with another person. No way their love isn t abounding in knowledge! (This is lust, not love!) Scripture clearly condemns all sexual immorality without exception.
So, when we love we are to follow the standard of God s Word and use spiritual discernment. Agape Love Is Distinctive Agape Love is a unique characteristic of believers. KEY: Because every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we possess the capacity to love unconditionally! Love of fellow Christians is a distinctive mark of saving faith: John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. So agape love, selfless, sacrificial love is a distinguishing mark of a true believer! Here s a question for you: Can people see your love for God and for others and know that you are a Christ Follower? Agape Love Is Decisive As we just saw in John 13:34, Believers are to love unselfishly, because that is the way God loves us and the way He commands us to love. Biblical love is a CHOICE not based on one s worthiness or performance. Agape love is not just based on the emotional or sentimental, but is unconditional. KEY: On a volitional level, Paul even loved the immature, bickering, and ungrateful believers in Corinth. KEY: So, Agape love is not just based on feelings, but is a conscious, intentional choice to show kindness and generosity you must choose to love God s Way! KEY: In obedience to the Lord s command, believers willingly choose to express the love He has placed within them. Jesus is the supreme example of sacrificial love. Ephesians 5:1-2 - Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Husbands are specifically commanded to love their wives like Christ loves: Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
KEY: We should love unconditionally because God has commanded us and enabled us to love and it glorifies Him! Here s the problem: Some of you say You don t know what that person has done to me! You don t know how they can be sometimes You don t know how they have hurt me, offended me, embarrassed me, harmed a loved one, etc. You are absolutely correct I don t know! However, it wouldn t make any difference if I did know 1) I m not God and 2) God has commanded you to love, whether you want to or not! KEY: Look at how Jesus told His disciples to love: Luke 6:27-28, 31 - But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. You may say, I haven t come to the place where I can love certain people or even certain kinds of people. I don t feel love in my heart toward that person. You don t have to condone someone s conduct to love them. God didn t suggest we love others unconditionally, He commanded us to love! God never commands us to do anything He won t first enable us to do! Love is Decisive It is a choice we make! You must choose to love, do good, bless and pray for those who have hurt you! When you choose to humbly submit yourself to God and obey Him by faith, He will enable you to love! Illustration: Joshua 3:14-17 Israel had wondered for 40 years in the wilderness or desert. They are about to enter Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham. Joshua gives Israel their instructions for crossing the Jordan River. The priests were commanded to carry the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan. The people were commanded to follow the priests and the Ark of God. As we are about to see, the Jordan was overflowing its banks. All Joshua said to them was When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. (Vs. 9) Look at what happens when they obey:
Joshua 3:14-17 - And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water (Water s edge), (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. I ll bet some priests wondered what would happen when they stepped into Jordan! How could they carry the Ark across, would it touch them, would they die? God never said they would walk across on dry ground He just told them to cross. KEY: The moment they stepped into the water, a simple act of faith and obedience, God enabled them to fulfill His command. You don t think you can love a certain person, but you can if you choose to pray for, do good, forgive them and bless them. When you do, God will give you the grace to forgive and a heart full of love for that person. Illustration: Dad & Salvation If we will trust God and obey, He will enable us to Love as He loves. Invitation: Christian: Do you love the way God loves? Is your Love Divine? Enabled and empowered by God? Is your Love Discerning? In line with Scripture, led by the Spirit? Is your Love Distinctive? Does it show others that you are a Believer? Is your Love Decisive? Do you choose to love, even when you would rather not? OR do you struggle with love and forgiveness Have you grown bitter and cold? It s not just a matter of emotion, but of simple faith and obedience. If you are harboring bitterness and anger in your heart toward someone, ask God to forgive you. Then, Ask God for the grace to love as He loves.
Unsaved: God is a Holy God, He is Righteous and Just and has obligated Himself to judge our sin. He is also merciful and compassionate, and He sent His Son Jesus to lay down His life to save you! Will you accept His gift of salvation?