Philippians 1:9-11 - "Love in Knowledge and All Discernment"

Todaywe are looking at Philippians 1:9–11. Here we have a prayer that Paul prays forthe believers at Philippi. Remember Paul is in prison. He is in chains back inRome. Many people would think, “Wow, you must feel useless. You are in prison.What can you do?” My friend, you can pray. Paul prayed and he sent a letter tothese people—his friends, the church at Philippi—to encourage them. Thereis never a time in your life when you cannot pray. As long as you have breathin your body and your mind is working, you can call out to God in prayer. Youcan pray for others even when you are in dire straits like Paul. You can alwayspray. What did Paul pray? In these verses, he prayed several things. In verse9, he prayed that they would have a love that grows—a love that overflows. Heprayed that they would have a love with knowledge. He also prayed that theywould have a love with spiritual discernment. Howimportant that is—not only to say, “I love you,” but to have a love that isgrowing for someone, a love that is based on truth—the knowledge of God’sWord—and a love that has discernment to know how to give, how to pray, and howto do what needs to be done to encourage those we are praying for. Paul ispraying for these people to have that kind of love. Paulprays for them to have a love that grows in knowledge. As we were talking aboutknowledge yesterday and what that means, I could not help but think of a versein Psalm 9:10. It says this: “They that know Your name will put their trustin You. For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” To knowGod’s name—Jehovah, Yahweh—to know His many names. We know Jehovah Jireh, theLord who provides, and the list goes on and on. We have given lessons aboutthat on Pastor’s Chat. Whenyou know His name, and you know who God really is, and you experience Hisholiness—as Isaiah did in Isaiah chapter 6—he fell on his face. He confessedhis sin of having unclean lips. He was cleansed by an angel and the Word ofGod. Then he heard the voice saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Me?”Isaiah responded, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.” Manypeople believe this love with knowledge means a love that dedicates itself tothe glory of God, to the purposes of God, and to the mission of God. It says,“Here I am, Lord. Send me.” That is knowledge. That is dedication. That isdoing what is right. This knowledge, though, must be accompanied bydiscernment. We find that in this verse as well. Discernmentis the ability to see things clearly—to know what is right and wrong and whattruly matters. We live in a world that is constantly blurring the lines betweentruth and error. Today more than ever, we need spiritual discernment. It helpsus make wise decisions, avoid deception, and stay aligned with God’s will. Discernmentdoes not come automatically. It grows as we walk with God, as we study HisWord, and as we listen to His Holy Spirit. We do not need to ask God for moreinformation; most often, we need to ask for discernment. Becauseknowledge—knowing what is right—is good, but choosing what is best is evenbetter. Thatis what real discernment will give us. We will not only know what is right; wewill know what is best—and how to do what is best in the right way. How we needto pray for our friends, our family, our church members, our church leaders,and even our country’s leaders to have discernment—so they will not only knowwhat is right but will choose what is best with what is right and do it theright way. MayGod help us to do that, even today. Godbless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!