A Prayer for the Philippians

So my goal is just to have people in the word of God. Okay, for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 111. Psalm 111. Psalm 111. For the responsive reading portion, we'll be looking at the Bible. We'll be looking at the Bible. We'll be looking at the Bible. We'll be looking at the New American Standard. If you need a copy of one, there should be one in a row around you.

And as you are turning to Psalm 111, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's word.

I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Jared and the even verses. Psalm 111. Praise the Lord. I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart in the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord. They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.

He has made his wonders to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He has given food to those who fear him. He will remember his covenant forever. He has made known to his people the power of his works in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are truth and justice. All his precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever.

They are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all those who do his commandments. His praise endures forever. And Lord, we do praise you for how holy and awesome your name is. And so, Father, as we take time to spend time in your word this morning, may you minister to our hearts.

And Lord, we want to remember those who are caught up in the abortion industry. Lord, I first want to pray for the abortion providers. Father, that you would open up their eyes to what's going on. Lord, that they would have the understanding of what life truly is and that they would begin to value that life. Father, I pray that you would be with those who are considering having an abortion.

Lord, may you open up their eyes to see, Lord, the wonderful truth of the life that is inside of them. Lord, may they honor that. And may they come to know you. And Father, for those who have taken part in that, perhaps someone who has had an abortion. Lord, I just want to pray your healing hand upon them. Father, that they would come to you and that they would accept the forgiveness and the grace that comes only through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Lord, break the bonds of this sin in our country. Lord, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Philippians. Chapter 2. Or excuse me, Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians chapter 1.

Last week we started into this epistle to the Philippians. An epistle that's theme is joy. That Paul wrote from prison. And we looked at two or three things as we looked at those first two verses by way of introduction. We looked at Paul and Timothy because Paul was writing it and Timothy was right there with him. That they were bondservants of Jesus Christ.

We looked at the Philippian people. And we talked about Acts chapter 16. When Paul established the church in Philippi. And all the things that went into that. Really the cool stuff that went into that. And then of course we looked at that greeting. That classic greeting that Paul always gives those Siamese twins of the New Testament. Grace and peace. The grace and peace that come only through Jesus Christ.

And so as we continue on in this epistle that's theme is joy. The next part that we're going to look at is verses 3 through 11. And I've simply titled it a prayer for the Philippians. And so we pick up in Philippians chapter 1. Verse 3 and this is what it says. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all.

In view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing. That he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all. Because I have. I have you in my heart. Since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

You are all partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. In this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. So that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless. Until the day of Christ. Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God.

Now as we look at this prayer in these set of verses there's two main subjects that we'll look at. We'll look at Paul's thanksgiving for the people but then we'll also look at his prayer for the church there in Philippi. We start off with his thanksgiving but before we get to the three things that he thanks God for. I want to point a couple of things out to you.

The first comes in verse 3. It says I thank my God. In all my remembrance of you. Let me put that in a little bit more clear language that we might use. Every time I think of you I thank God for you. And I think that there's something kind of interesting for us to pay attention to about this. Because the Philippian people meant a great deal to Paul. They were incredibly important to them and he thought one of the best things that he could do is to let them know just how thankful he was for them.

I think this is something that we kind of lack in our culture today. I know we're a million miles away. We're a million miles away from thanksgiving. We just finished all of that. So you've not started any thankfulness challenges anytime soon. Anytime recently I assume. I did hear that one of the big things that people wanted to do this year was a gratitude journal.

I bet none of you started one. If you did you can come up and call me a liar later. But a lot of us don't think about a lot of thankfulness until we come to thanksgiving. And then on social media or things like that sometimes people will thank God for different things. I'm thankful for this. I used to do this with my students when I'd ask them a question of the day.

I'd say okay today's thankful Thursday. You know what they always hated? Thankful Thursday. They were like Mr. Nichols this is so cringy. I'm like I don't care. What are you thankful for today? Well you know what I've always noticed that people are thankful for? People are always thankful for things. Have you ever noticed that? We're always thankful for the things that we have.

Now there's nothing wrong with being thankful for things. I think we absolutely should be thankful for things. I think one of the most challenging statements I've ever read is what if you woke up tomorrow with only the things that you thanked God for? Right? But sometimes we forget that things are not the only things that God has given to us. He's also given to us people.

He's given to us friends. And how often do we not only, how often do we thank God for the people that he has given to us? But how often do we thank each other for being the kind of people that we need in our lives? I actually think one of the greatest things that you can do is tell someone thank you for the effect, the influence that they've had in your life.

At funerals that I do, I hear it all the time. People get up and they say things. Most funerals that I do, I end up opening it up for people to share. And you know what's a common theme at almost every funeral that I ever do? People standing up and saying, I wish they would have realized just how important they were to me while they were still here. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that at a funeral that I've done.

You know what I've never heard at a funeral that I've done? I told them way too much how thankful I was for them. I told them way too much how much I love them. I told them all those things way too much. I've never heard anybody say that at any funeral that I've ever done. And yet too many times we never tell anybody how important they are to us until they're gone.

And then we stand up at their service and we tell them how important they were to us. What if, what if we just told the people that were around us that meant a lot to us just how thankful we were for them? Now, I know that this is a little bit of a cringy thing to do, right? I get that. Especially for us as guys. Like it would be super awkward for us to come up to each other and be like, hey, man, you know, just like, you know, thanks and stuff.

Are we good? High five. Yep. And that's the way we would do it, right? Every man in here is like, that's exactly how I would do it. But, dude, you could write a letter. You could send a little text message. You could write a little note. Then it doesn't have to be some awkward face-to-face thing where you end up bro-hugging it up and pretending you're not crying, but the dust got in your eyes, right?

Because it's an important thing that we have to do for each other. Because in a world that constantly lacks joy, nothing fills your heart with joy quite as much as knowing that your life has impacted the life of somebody else, right? Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. The other thing that I want to point out to you is this.

I want you to notice that he says, verse 4, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. You can't make it through very many of Paul's epistles without realizing he was a great man of prayer. But Paul was not singular in this. Paul was not unique in this. Every great person that God has ever used throughout all of history has been a person of great prayer.

They have been a person who has dedicated their lives to seeking God. Because when it comes right down to it, we only have so much power, we only have so much strength, we only have so much ability. God has to be the one who ultimately does the work, and we come in coupled with prayer and do what he has called for us to do. But we can do nothing but pray until we've prayed, but once we've prayed, we can do anything.

Because it's Jesus that's at work inside of us. As a matter of fact, I would tell you that one of the greatest things that you can do before you spend time reading the word, before you go out and decide to minister. Before you do any of those kinds of things, is take time to pray. Because that time of prayer is what absolutely opens up my heart to what God has to share with me through his word.

That act of prayer is ultimately what opens up someone else's heart for what God wants to do in them. There has never been a great movement of God that did not start with prayer. Every great movement, every great awakening, every great revival has started off with God's people praying. You need to be praying for God. You need to be praying for your wives. You need to be praying for your husbands.

You need to be praying for your kids. You need to be praying for your extended family. You need to pray for your friend group. You need to be praying for the church here. You need to be praying for the church that you came from. Because I guarantee not everybody here has lived their entire life in this church. You should pray for all of those circles of influence you've ever had.

Quite frankly, if you spent time praying the way that we were supposed to, we might not have time to get in too much trouble. Amen? And Paul was a man of prayer. Amen? Amen. Amen. He gives us the example of being people of prayer. And so, he goes on to thank God. And he's going to thank God for three things. The first thing that he thanks God for is given to us in verse 5, and that is their partnership in the gospel.

Notice what it says. In view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. Their participation, their partnership. Perhaps some of your translations may say their fellowship in the gospel. In other words, They were partnered with Paul in the gospel of Jesus Christ. How were they partnered with Paul in the gospel? I would tell you there was two ways that they partnered with Paul in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The first way is one that we just mentioned, and that's that they prayed for him. Do you remember how Paul ended up in Philippi? Do you remember what happened? There was a vision of someone from Macedonia saying, come over here and help us. You know why that happened? Because when Paul showed up, there was a group of women down by the riverside. And what were they doing?

Go ahead and shout it out. They were praying, right? What were they praying for? That someone would come and teach them the word. That someone would come and start a church. That someone would come and do a work in Philippi because they wanted to see God move there. And so they prayed about it. And so they partnered with the ministry before Paul even showed up.

And then Paul shows up, boom, and they continued to partner with the ministry. They continued to pray for him while he was in prison. And they continued on after he left from there. And they continued to partner with him in prayer because, brothers and sisters, you may not be able to do a whole lot else, but you can always pray. As a matter of fact, that's a point I probably should have made about verse 4.

Do you know where Paul was when he was writing this epistle? He was in prison. What was the one recourse of ministry? What was the one aspect of ministry he could continue in? He could pray. He could no longer travel the world. He could no longer go wherever he wanted to to preach the gospel. So how on earth was he going to minister to people? The only way he knew how to, to pray for them.

And you may find yourself in a place where physically you are limited now. I know how frustrating that can be. Where physically you are not able to do the things that you used to do. Physically you are not able to move anywhere that you want to go. I would tell you that you can still do the greatest act of ministry that's ever been laid upon the earth. And you can be in prayer.

And they partnered with Paul in ministry through prayer. And wherever he was, he was in prayer. And wherever he was, he was in prayer. And wherever he was, he was in prayer. And wherever he was, he was in prayer. And wherever he went throughout the entire world, they were right there with him because they were praying for him. But there's a second way that they partnered with him in ministry.

They partnered with him in ministry through their giving. Forgive me. I have to put a cough drop in my mouth. Give me one quick second here.

It may not be the last time that I do that. So hang with me.

They partnered with him through their giving. If you remember when Paul showed up, there was a lady who was down by the river, a specific lady. Her name was Lydia. Do you remember what her occupation was? She was a seller of purple, which meant that she was very wealthy. She was very wealthy. And she, when Paul started preaching the gospel there, said, you guys need to come and stay at my house.

I can give you all the material things that you need, and then you can just minister the gospel. And so that's what they did. And so she supported him in ministry. Do you know the other places that Paul went? We talked about this. They supported Paul. As a matter of fact, it was both in Thessalonica and Corinth, if I remember correctly. They literally supported Paul with their funds so that he could give himself to ministry.

As a matter of fact, the entire. The entire reason Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians is because once they found out that he was under house arrest in Rome, they sent an offering to him. They sent a gift to him to support him while he was there in the ministry. You may think that you're giving to a missionary. Maybe you give $10, $20, $30 a month to a missionary.

You give your money here. We support other missionaries. You may think that doesn't really do very much. But I'm here to tell you right now, when you make an investment in the kingdom of God, you get an amazing return on your investment. Because when you do that, it's as if you are there with that missionary. Some of you that maybe are supporting the missionaries that are going down to Guatemala, some of the ones working with God Said Go, it's as if you're down in Guatemala ministering because you are partnered with that ministry.

Right? Because that's what God does. And he says, I am so thankful for you because you have been partners with me all this time. The second reason why he's thankful is because of the confidence that he has in God. Notice what it says in verse 6. Confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

I told first service this exact same thing. But every now and then when you're coming through scripture, when you're studying through the word, you come across a verse that's sort of like an easy chair on a hot day with an ice cold Dr. Pepper sitting right next to it. And all you want to do is sit back and relax and rest. That's what Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 has always been for me.

It has been an easy chair in an air-conditioned room on a hot day because I can sit down and I can rest. Let's break this verse down. Paul says, for I am confident. That word confident means to be persuaded, to be convicted, or to be assured. In other words, he says, if I can tell you one thing that I know beyond a shout of a doubt, it's this. This confidence that he has.

This confidence that he has is not based on something that he heard from someone else. This confidence that he has is based upon what he has seen from his God. He said, I am confident of this very thing. The very thing that he's confident is, first of all, that he who began a good work in you. He who began a good work in you. Well, what good work is Paul talking about here?

Well, I think there's both a specific direct context and an overall general context that he's speaking of when he talks about this good work. I think the direct context that he's talking about is the good work of their. Partnering with him in ministry. The fact that they have partnered with him both through prayer and giving to support him in the ministry. And he says, I am confident that he who began this good work of you partnering with me in ministry will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

But in a broader sense, and this is where I always take comfort. In a broader sense, I think the good work that he's talking about here is the good work of salvation. The good work of God saving us. Of God saving these Philippian people. The good work of God being at work in us. Because he says, I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work will complete it.

Actually, I think that's not the word that's used here. I think it's perfect is what's used here. That he who began this good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. That word perfect means to complete, to accomplish, or to bring to an end. Let me put it to you in really simple basic language. What God started, he's going to finish. See, God started a work in you.

God started a work in you. And God, for some of you, God is starting a work right now. Some of you are here this morning and you've never come to Jesus as your Savior. You just showed up to church because your friend brought you to church. Or because you felt like it was the right thing to do for you to get into church. But you've never really put your faith in Jesus Christ right now.

I want you to know that you didn't realize this, but God was starting a good work in you when you started desiring to come be a part of a church. When you started desiring. Desiring to come and hear what God's word had to say. God was starting a good work in you. That good work will continue when you come to salvation in Jesus Christ. And it won't finish until he takes you home to be with him.

For some of you here this morning, the good work began in you the day that God called you to salvation. The day that you were convicted of your sin. The day that you realized that you needed a Savior. And you didn't know, come here from Sycam about faith. But all you knew was, you needed a Savior. Jesus seemed to offer it. I'm going to come to Jesus because that's all I know how to do.

And you came to Jesus and you confessed all of your sins. And you accepted the grace of God. And from that moment on, you became born again. And now, that good work has been begun in you. But God will not now just leave you as an orphan. He's not now like, now you go figure it out yourself, okay? Now you go figure out everything that you need to do. That's what we do as humans, right?

Like God starts and we're like, okay God, I got it from here. I can take it now. Do you realize that there's an evolutionary theory that has to do with God starting everything off. And then the earth's just sort of taking it from there. You know why there's that evolutionary theory out there? Because what do we as human beings like to do? We like to say, God, did you get it started?

I can take it from here. And you know what happens when I say, God, I've got it. I screw it up. I break it. And I take it to God and I'm like, I broke it. And God's like, it's okay. I can put it back together, right? He's so good at that. Because he who began a good work in you is going to be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. Now this is why this has always been an easy chair for me to sit in.

Because I'm an overly introspective person. I examine myself all the time. And you know what I find when I examine myself? I'm not real happy with the results. I don't always like what I see about me. I don't always like the attitudes that I have. I don't always like the sin that I still struggle with. I don't always like the pride that I still see inside of me.

I don't always like the thoughts that go through my head. And I certainly don't always like the words that come out of my mouth. I don't always like me. Because sometimes I look at me and all I see is my failures. And then I get really discouraged with myself about that. I'm like, I'm never going to be who God wants for me to be. And then he reminds me of this.

I don't have to. Because he who started a good work in me will complete it. He's going to perfect it. And so if you're one of those people that looks at your life and you say, I don't like what I see. First of all, know you're in good company. Second of all, know that's okay because God's not done with you yet. Right? I think it was Alan Jackson that said it best when he said, be patient.

I'm a work in progress. Right? I mean, that's who you are. Is God is working in you both to will and to do. According to his good pleasure. Positionally, you're as perfect as you can ever be. Practically, you're a work in progress. And God is still making you into who he wants you to be. Being confident of this very thing. He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

And Paul says, I'm thankful for that confidence that I have in God. He goes on to thank God. He goes on to thank God for one more thing. Verse 7. He thanks God that they are fellow partakers of his grace. Notice what it says. For it's only right for me to feel this way about you all. Because I have you in my heart. Since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel,

you all are partakers of grace with me. What does he mean by that? Well, first of all, let's understand what the word grace in this particular context means. Grace in this particular context. Grace in this particular context is not grace for salvation. Grace in this particular context is grace for strength for service. In other words, grace to be who God wants you to be.

He said, you all are partakers of this grace with me. Why? Because they were with him in his imprisonment. Now, wait a second. How were they with him in his imprisonment? Now, it's kind of interesting because Paul, oddly enough, for being a man who was one of the best-known evangelists, best-known missionaries of all time, spent a great deal of time in prison.

Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? There's going to be a second time that comes after his Roman imprisonment that he's in while he's writing this book, that he gets imprisoned again in Rome. Paul spent a lot of time in prison.

How were the Philippian people with him in prison? Well, we know he was in prison in Philippi. And the Philippian jailer was there, so I guess maybe it's like that. But I don't think that's what it means. What does it mean that they were partakers of his grace when he was in prison and when he was defending the gospel? I think it means this. I think when he was in prison,

was in prison, they prayed like they were in prison with him. You know where else we read about that? We read about it in the book of Hebrews. We are told to remember those who are suffering as if we are chained with them. Now, there's a lot of debate about who wrote the book of Hebrews. I personally feel like Paul wrote the book. Luke translated it into Greek. That's my feeling on it.

But if Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, which is what I think, that in 395, that's not true. That in 595 will get you coffee at Starbucks. Pretty soon, my opinion is going to be a lot more, a lot cheaper than their coffee. Those two things together don't mean a whole lot. But when, I believe Paul wrote it, why is that important? Well, because Paul is saying here that they were

imprisoned with him, that they were partakers of the grace of God with him. Brothers and sisters, do you view it that way? We have believed all over the world that are in prison. Do you know that? Do you know that? I post magazines out here all the time. I don't know if anybody ever reads them or not. But I put magazines out there all the time from places like Far Reaching Ministries. It goes to the places nobody else

wants to go to. And some of those pastors get imprisoned. I put magazines out there from a group called Voice of the Martyrs, which is another one of the organizations that we support here at Calvary Chapel. And sometimes those pastors are in prison. Do you pray for those people as if you're in prison with them? Because Paul says you're partakers of God's grace with me. Because it's as

if you were imprisoned with me. He said, I am so thankful. And kind of sighed a little bit because of what it meant. See, the word of God is not just words on a page. This is a living book. Because it was written from a real man to real people, inspired by a real God. He goes on to say, not only am I thankful for you, but I also pray for you all the time. And this is what I pray. Verse 9. In this I pray that

your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and in all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God. There's three things he's going to pray for these Philippian people. Number one, that they may abound. That they may abound.

The word abound here is a really cool word. It means to exceed or to be in excess. There's actually some expanded Greek translations that translate this as super abounding. But let me paint the picture for you for what that means. So right here, I've got a cup. And it's not really abounding very much anymore. It's actually only partially. It's just a bit, right? It's about right here. It's my

water. Somebody asked me one time, do you really drink coffee while you're up there on stage? No, I wouldn't be able to talk. So when I started this morning, it was here. It abounded. Water this morning. But if it was here now, I would say this cup is abounding, right? It's abounding in water. But for it to super abound, like what it says here, I would have to take a

pitcher of water and keep pouring so that even when it filled completely up, it abounded. It super abounded in that it spilled all over the floor, which would make all of the elders go, what are you doing, right? And it would just, it would super abound. And that's the idea that's given there, is that you would abound so much in these things that it would spill out, that you couldn't even hold the amount of things that I'm going to tell you about.

What does he want them to super abound in? Well, the first thing he wants them to super abound in is in love. Love. Of course, the word love here is that Greek word agape, which speaks of that sacrificial love that is put into action. But it's kind of interesting, isn't it? I would say that the Philippian people were a very loving group of people. Would you agree? After we've just talked

about all of their giving, after we've just talked about all of their prayer and how much they supported Paul, I would say that they're a pretty loving church. And yet, what does Paul pray for them? That they would abound in love. You know what that tells me? It tells me that what the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of, right? That's what we need right now. Now, it's kind of amazing

because when you think about it, I think of myself as a pretty loving person. And I bet a lot of you think of yourselves as pretty loving people. And it's really easy to love some people, and I can be really loving until obnoxious people come around. And then all of a sudden, I struggle to love them. That's why we need to pray that no matter how much love we have, we would

abound in love. I'm going to tell you a little story. I told the story to First Service. I may get in trouble for it. I don't know. But hey, you guys are used to that from me. So we were at a basketball tournament over the weekend. And I went through this First Service. I don't think this person, there's no way they're watching online. There's no way they're here. I

don't think anybody knows. There's no way they're here. But there was an opposing team basketball coach. And during this opposing team coaches, we'll call them abrasive. We'll use that word. That feels like a Jesus word. They were abrasive. And they were sitting in the row behind me. And I'm an incredibly auditory person. I don't ever pay attention to what I'm supposed to pay attention to. But I can hear

every other conversation going on around me. And I usually like to take part of them, which usually makes my wife mad, right? She's like, you don't know them. I'm like, I don't care. I heard what they said. I have an opinion. So this abrasive person just did not stop talking the entire game. And I leaned over to my wife and I said, are you hearing everything that's being said

back here? She goes, Ryan, I teach fifth graders. Tuning things out is my job. So anyway, so it's just like, oh my gosh, that's just abrasive. The game ended. I'm like, oh my God, right? And so we go on with life. And I crack a few jokes, actually a lot of jokes when we get in the car. Not how abrasive that person is. We move on to the next day. Next day, I'm like, okay, so far,

so good. And I look all the way across the auditorium. There that coach is. You know what they were still being even across the auditorium without me being able to be near them loud enough for me to hear. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. How can I hear that person from across the auditorium? How is that even possible? And then their actions were even louder than their

words. Anyway, so I was like, oh my gosh, at least they're across the auditorium. So we go to watch the finals game last night. And over to the side of me, I look and Aaron goes, do you believe who's over there? And I look and I'm like, unbelievable. That same coach was sitting right there. You know why that coach kept sitting in places where I could see and hear this particular coach? Because I need to learn to

super abound in love, even when the person is abrasive, right? And so no matter how much you think you have God's love inside of you and flowing through you, you can always use more. So he prays, first of all, that we would abound in love. Second of all, that we would abound in knowledge. Now, knowledge here is not just the knowing of facts. The knowledge here is

epignosis, which is experiential knowledge, a knowledge that is learned over time. Now, one of the things that we have to pay attention to is that love that isn't coupled with knowledge is licentiousness. In other words, I love you so much, I want to let you do whatever you want to do, right? That's the culture of love that we live in right now. Love is love. Love lets love,

right? How many times can we use that word in one sentence as both an adjective and a verb and a noun, right? How can that even be? We've used it in all the parts of speech. And it's because love is not coupled with knowledge anymore. You see, knowledge, my experiential knowledge, tells me how to put love into action in the proper way. You see, my knowledge will tell me that the most

loving thing sometimes that I can do is to tell someone the truth. The most loving thing that I can do is to hold someone accountable. The most loving thing that I can do is to hold someone accountable. The most loving thing that I can do is not support an addict in their addiction, right? I don't know if you've ever been around addicted people, but sometimes they just want

more and more from you. And the most difficult, loving thing that you can do is cut them off. Then you go, oh, it doesn't feel very loving, but it's actually the most loving thing that you can do because you're supporting them in their addiction. Well, that's what knowledge teaches you. My knowledge, my experiential knowledge of God, my experiential knowledge of His Word,

and my experiential knowledge of people tells me that's the most loving thing I can do in that particular point in time. But also my experiential knowledge teaches me that sometimes the most loving thing I can do is keep my mouth shut, right? But see, all of that comes through knowledge. And so we need to abound in knowledge, knowledge not only of what God's Word has to say, but how God's Word is intended to be used, that we would super abound in love and that we would super abound in knowledge. And then the third thing that He tells us is that we would abound in

discernment. Again, one of the things that's super missing from the culture today. You know how I know discernment is missing from the culture today? Because 85% of the Christian books being sold are being sold. That tells me that there's not very much discernment today because so many of them are spouting really false ideas, sometimes even out and out heretical ideas. And we need

this discernment because discernment or this judgment or perception, again, teaches us how to put love and knowledge in the right place. And so I want to tell you that discernment is needed into action. And He tells us, He says, you Philippians, I'm praying that you would abound, that you would abound in your love, but that you would also abound in your knowledge and that you would abound in your discernment. And then He tells us the second thing that He prays for them, that they may approve, that they may approve. Notice what it says in verse 10, that you may approve the things that

are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. again, the word approve is kind of an interesting word. It means to test or to examine or to see whether something is genuine. Now, when I was a kid, baseball cards were where it was at, right? I had all kinds of baseball cards. I still do somewhere. Matter of fact, I have a Ryan Sandberg

key card. That doesn't mean anything to most of you, but Ryan Sandberg played second base for the Cubs, and he was my favorite baseball player growing up. I wanted to be him growing up. I think I also have a Barry Bonds rookie card, and it came with its own performance-enhancing drug. Anyway, so it's actually a bigger card than it used to be. So that's a terrible joke. I should

feel bad for that. I do a little bit. I'll pray for Barry. But anyway, if you wanted to really make money off of them, you'd get them signed, right? Or you'd buy some kind of signed memorabilia. But usually, there was always something that came with signed memorabilia and it was a certificate of authenticity. It had to be authenticated to say, yes, it was really, you name it, Joe Montana that signed this football and not Joe Devante that

signed the football, but signed it Montana and is now making money off of it. It was a certificate of authenticity. It proved that it was genuine. In other words, when you received it, you said this card is approved as an original article. Well, that's the idea that's given to us here is we need to be able to approve the things that are excellent. In other words,

test them and see if they're genuine. So what does it mean to approve what is excellent? Well, it carries with it two different ideas. The first is negative. And the negative idea of approving what is excellent is meaning avoiding that which is harmful or sinful, right? I can look at things and be able to determine, no, that's something sinful. That's not an approved thing. That's not something that's actually good for me.

But that really does. It doesn't carry the weight or the true intent of what this idea of approving what is excellent means. The real idea behind it is that we would be able to discern between what is good and what is excellent, between what is good and what is great. Because you know as well as I do that in the Christian life, there are some things that they're benign. They're not necessarily bad

things, right? Watching TV, not necessarily a bad thing, or you name the thing. And some things that are even kind of good. Being involved in activities can be good. But maybe they're not great. Maybe it's not the best use of your time. Maybe it's not the best use of your energy. Maybe it's not the best use of your resources. And so approving what is excellent takes us beyond what

is good and takes us to what is great. And it gives us the ability to do that. How? Because if we're abounding in our love and we're abounding in our knowledge and we're abounding in our discernment, we're not going to be able to discern between what is good and what is bad. And we will have the ability to approve that which is excellent. And so he says that you would

be able to approve that which is excellent. But the second part of this prayer that they would approve is so that they would be sincere. That they would be sincere. The word sincere means to be pure or unsullied. This is now the second time in my life I've used the term unsullied. The first one was first service. I've never actually used that term, although I do think I'm going to somehow

slip it into my vernacular because it's a great word to say. Go ahead and say it with me. Say unsullied. You're just happier for saying it now, right? You feel better about yourself for knowing a cool word. Anyway, the idea is this. To be found pure when tested by light. To be found pure when tested by light. It's amazing how light reveals things, isn't it? How light reveals impurities,

right? Have you ever done something? Maybe you've worked on a project and you've done something and it's been a little bit of a dark room. Maybe not quite as well a little of a room as it should be and you take it out in the sunlight and you're like, never mind, right? Because now you see all the imperfections in it. That's the idea that's given to us here that we're to be sincere, tested

by light. Chuck Smith gave a great illustration. He said that this word could also be translated without wax. Let me give you what that means. He said that in ancient Roman times and even in Greek times, there was a great deal of artisans. And some of them would be sculptors. They would be make sculptures, whether they had chiseled them out or fashioned them. They would make these

sculptures oftentimes for rich purchasers of artwork. He said, perhaps while they were working, something would break off, maybe the tip of a nose. And they didn't want to start all over again. And if they weren't a very good artisan, they would cover up their mistake. And so what they would do is they would get some wax and they would cover up their error with the wax. And the tip of the nose

would look just like it was supposed to because after all, the wax looked great. Only they had to test it by putting it in the sunlight. Because you know what happens to wax when you put it in the hot sun? It melts. And then it is revealed that the imperfection is there. Get the idea of the word sincere? What you see is what you get. You're tested by the light and proven to be

genuine. And that's what it means by to be sincere. He said that we would approve that which is excellent so that we can be sincere, so that we can be the real deal, so that people can be people. See how we really are. And we don't just put on a good show for people when they're looking. The second thing is so that we would be blameless. The word blameless literally means

without offense. Now, it's pretty hard for us to be blameless. Am I right? I've never been sinless in my life. Neither have you. You were born into sin. So if we can't be sinless, what does he mean by being blameless? Well, again, it carries with it two ideas. First of all, it carries with it the idea of a clear conscience. When I go through life and I find

myself stumbling into sin, the only way that I can be blameless is to keep my conscience clear before the Lord. And as God convicts me of sin, I confess that sin to the Lord and allow him to forgive it. Not because I need to be saved all over again, but because I need my fellowship with God restored. And so the first aspect of being blameless is to have a clear conscience. But the

second aspect of it means not causing someone else to stumble with my lifestyle. In other words, I am blameless because I am living in such a way that people see me, and are pointed to Jesus, and they're not stumbled by the things that I do. Now, I think this is a really important thing for us, again, as a Western culture church right now, because what I am finding more and more and more is nobody in the church in the United States of America cares who they stumble. Because I have my rights, and I'm going to do what I want to do.

I need to make me happy. And if that's what makes me happy, that's what I'm going to do. You don't understand. I have freedom in Christ. Look, all of those things. I get that you have rights. I get that you have freedom in Christ. I get that you want to be happy. I'm here to tell you right now, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have put yourself to death because you have taken up your cross, and you have followed Jesus.

Jesus, who laid aside all of his, wait for it, rights. He laid aside his rights to his glory so that he could come down and live among us. And it wasn't because it made him happy. It's because he loved us so much. And brothers and sisters, we have to approve what is excellent because, sure, those things that we have the right to, they may be good, but they're not great.

They're not excellent because they're not building up the body around me. And if I'm not building up the body around me, then I have exchanged that which is excellent for that which is simply good. And so he says, I'm praying for you Philippians. Number one, I'm praying for you Philippians. Number two, that you may approve. And then number three, that you would be filled with the fruits

of righteousness. Verse 11, having been filled with the fruits of righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God. Again, that word filled is similar to the word abound. It means filled to overflowing. I don't need to show you the illustration again. We all good on that one? The overflowing thing? We good? Okay. So that's the idea,

filled to overflowing. And what are we filled to overflowing with? The fruit. Of righteousness. I hope you're asking yourself a question right now. You know a question I hope you're asking? What are the fruits of righteousness? I'm really glad you asked that question. In the book of Galatians, we call it the fruit of the spirit. Everybody know the song? Love, joy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Love, joy, peace, patience. No? That's what they are. That's what it's talking about. That you would be filled with the fruits of righteousness. In other words, all of those fruits of the spirit would be what your life is overflowing with. Well, where do those fruits of the spirit come from? Where do

those fruits of righteousness come from? Christ Jesus. Because notice what it says, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ. In the book of John, chapter 15, we are told that you are the branches. He is the vine. And everyone, who abides in him, bears much fruit. Fruits of righteousness. I added that last little part

because I added that verse. Fruits of righteousness. So what do we have to do to be filled with the fruits of righteousness? We have to abide in Christ. Maintain an active and living relationship with Jesus Christ. And then he produces the fruit, and you bear the fruit. You bear the fruit. You are filled with the fruit. Now, I want to point something out to you. I said this during

first service, and I hope...I don't think there's any double entendre to this song. If there is, whatever. When I was in high school, there was a song by the presidents of the United States of America, and it said, peaches come from a can. They were put there by a man in a factory downtown. I remember hearing that song, and I was like, that's absolutely not true. That's the dumbest

song I've ever heard in my entire life. That's a stupid song. To this day, I say that's a stupid song. It's not as stupid as the songs I make today, but it's still a pretty stupid song, right? And so I remember hearing that. I was like, that's not true at all. But too many of us as Christians, that's the way we think. That's the way we live our lives. That's where fruit comes from. I have

to produce it. I have to make it in a factory. And it's all of my work. And you know what the thing is? You can't make fruit. You can't make it in a factory. All you can do is bear fruit. All you got to do is just hang out. With Jesus, right? That's what branches do. They just hang out with the vine. They just hold on as tight as they can to the vine. As long as they hold on as tight as they can to the vine, the vine's

like, have some fruit. And the branch is like, yeah, right? That's all they got to do. You got to bear fruit. It's the work of Jesus, not the work of you. You say, I want the fruit of righteousness in my life. Well, then you better start spending some time with Jesus. You better get to know your Savior. Because as you abide in him, and he abides in you, you'll bear much fruit.

And what will be the result of you bearing this fruit of righteousness? It will be, end of verse 11, to the glory and the praise of God. To the glory and the praise of God. You know what the problem with any works-based religion is? Any works-based religion. I don't care if it's Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Catholicism. I don't care. Any of the works-based religions.

You know what the problem always is with them? Man gets the credit. Because it's something that you did. It's something that you did to earn that. You did all the right things. You kept all the right sacraments. You did all the right stuff. And now you can say, I'm righteous because of the things that I've done. I have earned the grace of God. Then it's not grace. It's a wage.

It's a wage. If you don't earn it, they're going to be taken away from you. But you see, when it's fruit that we bear, Jesus gets all the credit. Because when it's fruit that we bear, everybody looks at us and goes, how did they do that? Right? Have you ever, I don't know, God ever used you and you sit back and you kind of go, son of a gun. I didn't even know that was possible. I remember the first time

I ever gave a Sunday morning message. It was over at Calvary Chapel of Wellington. I was in a really bad way in my life and dealing with a lot of depression and stuff. And I could hardly maintain complete thought half the time. And I stood up, gave a 45-minute message over Psalm 23. I will never forget my mom saying, I know that that was God's work because you haven't been able to

maintain a two-minute thought, let alone a 45-minute lesson. And from that point on, I've been like, well, praise Jesus. And you know what? Not a lot different today because my ADHD kicks in all the time, right? It's just God's work. And we go, that had to have been Jesus because he's a moron, right? It's just kind of the way that it is. Because when it's Jesus who's doing

the work, he always gets the credit. And I'm like, well, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if he gets all of the credit because he does far beyond anything you could ever imagine. Brothers and sisters, I'm so thankful for you. And I'm praying that God does this exact same work in you. Amen. Let's all stand. And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come to you.

And Lord, I thank you for who you are. And Lord, I thank you for this church. I thank you for the people that sit here on a Sunday morning. I thank you for the people that watch Sunday morning. I thank you for the people that watch on Sunday morning. I thank you for the online. I thank you for the encouragement that they are to me. Lord, the way that they have come

alongside not only me in the ministry, but for this ministry here at Calvary Chapel in general. And Lord, I am so thankful that you are the God who finishes what he starts. Lord, that we can find our confidence in that. And Father, as Paul prayed for these Philippian people, I want to pray for the people here at Calvary Chapel of Ark City. Lord, may we abound.

Lord, may we abound in our love, not only our love for you, but our love for each other. Lord, may our knowledge continue to grow so that we know how to use that love and fill us with discernment. Father, I pray that you would help us to approve the things that are excellent, to choose the great, not just the good. Lord, that you would help us to be sincere. Lord,

who people see is who we really are. And Lord, may our lives be blameless. Father, I pray for each of you. I pray for each and every believer that's here this morning, that they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes only through an active and living relationship with Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you and we praise you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

God, I just thank you for the day and I thank you for your word. And what I pray is we leave here today that your Holy Spirit go with us and continue to minister to our hearts, Lord. Continue that good work that you've started in us, Lord, and that you'll be faithful to complete. Father, we love you and we praise you. We thank you in your precious and holy name. Amen.

You guys have a wonderful week. God bless you.