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Philippians 1:8-11 Slide 2 The Joy of Proper Affections Slide 3 Joyful affections towards others 1. Will be rooted in Christ. 2. Saturated in prayer 3. Accompanied with knowledge and discernment 4. The product will be purity, blamelessness and righteousness 5. Desire to glorify and please God Slide 4 Philippians 1:8-11: 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Slide 5 I. Joyful Affections are Rooted in Jesus Christ. (1:8) For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. affections = (splag-ch-non)= feelings deep down inside; the inner most parts; compassionate feeling towards others. Slide 6 - Matthew 9:36:When he saw the crowds, he had compassion (affection) for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. - Matthew 14:14: When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion (affection) on them and healed their sick. vs. 9: love = (agap): stronger reiteration of the term affection used in vs. 8. Slide 7 Leonard Ravenhill: "Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry? Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die? Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand? Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you damned? Slide 8 II. Joyful Affections Are Saturated in Prayer (1:9a) And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more - 1:3-4: I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy. Slide 9 Jeremiah Burroughs: "It (prayer) must be for the glory of God, for the good of ourselves, and for the good of our brethren. Slide 10 Philippians 1:6: 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. Slide 11 III. Joyful Affections Must Be Accompanied With Knowledge and All Discernment (1:9b-10a) with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent = - yada is often translated as to know someone in the context of deep intimacy Genesis 4:1: And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived Slide 12 Frank Sheed: A virtuous man may be ignorant, but ignorance is not a virtue. It would be a strange God Who could be loved better by being known less. Love of God is not the same thing as knowledge of God; love of God is immeasurably more important than knowledge of God; but if a man loves God knowing a little about Him, he should love God more from knowing more about Him: for every new thing known about God is a new reason for loving Him. Slide 13 epignosis = knowledge of God, Jesus Christ. - Ephesians 1:17: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him - Colossians 1:9-10: And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. - Philemon 6: and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. Slide 14 IV. Joyful Affections Produce Purity, Blamelessness and Righteousness (1:10b- 11a) and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - pure =unmixed - Blameless= without stumbling; literally not stumbling Slide 15 Hebrews 10:24: And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works Slide 16 Spurgeon: "The Church is not an institution for perfect people, but a sanctuary for sinners saved by Grace, who, though they are saved, are still sinners and need all the help they can derive from the sympathy and guidance of their fellow Believers. The Church is the nursery for Gods weak children where they are nourished and grow strong. It is the fold for Christs sheepthe home for Christs family. Slide 17 Matthew 7:16-20: You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. Slide 18 Paul Washer: The person who loves you the most, tells you the most truth. Slide 19 The Parable of the Sower: Mathew 14: 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear. Slide 20 18 Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. Slide 21 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Slide 22 Slide 23 V. Joyful Affections Desire to Glorify and Praise God (1:11b) to the glory and praise of God. Slide 24 John Piper concerning the glory of God: The public display of the infinite beauty and worth of God is what I mean by "glory," and I base that partly on Isaiah 6, where the seraphim say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his" and you would expect them to say "holiness" and they say "glory." They're ascribing "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his" and when that goes public in the earth and fills it, you call it "glory." So God's glory is the radiance of his holiness, the radiance of his manifold, infinitely worthy and valuable perfections. Slide 25 Piper: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him Slide 26 Joyful affections towards others 1. Will be rooted in Christ. 2. Saturated in prayer 3. Accompanied with knowledge and discernment 4. The product will be purity, blamelessness and righteousness 5. Desire to glorify and please God