Introduction
Today, we begin a new series that is based upon the prayer of the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi. It was a prayer offered up to God for the people in the Philippian church.
I know that we offer prayers for church members who are hurting but this prayer teaches that we should also offer prayers up to God for the whole congregation.
Teenagers, when you pray you might offer a prayer for someone in your group who is hurting, but do you ever offer prayers up to God for your whole teenage group?
Paul is offering a prayer up for all those in the Church at Philippi. And the first thing that he prays for is to give them more love. The point is that you cannot have enough love. Let’s read the prayer from Philippians 1:9-11 and then I want us to ask ourselves some questions to see if our love is growing more and more. After all, Jesus said in the Gospel of John, referring to his disciples (you and I who know Christ), that you will be known by your love.
Please stand as we read from God’s Word.
Scripture
Philippians 1:9–11 NKJV
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Question #1
Do I tend to run away rather than working through loving someone who is difficult to love?
Luke 6:27–28 NKJV
27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
I would say those sound like difficult people to me, and Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount to love them not run away from them.
And He teaches us by His own personal experience of dealing with difficult people that He loved them instead of running away from them. Jesus had to deal with difficult people in His life like me, you, and us. You are saying to yourself I am not a difficult person, but oh, yes you are.
Romans 5: 12 says this, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
You and I are sinners, and in the eyes of a Holy God that makes me a difficult person and each one of you- difficult people. He could have run away from us and have been justified because a Holy God cannot look upon sin. But instead, He worked through what separated us by sending Jesus to take upon Himself the sins of the world and die on the cross so that the penalty of sin could be dealt with.
Think what mess we would be in if God chose to run away. And I tell you that because over the years, as Pastor, I have watched people run away from this church rather than working through loving someone who is difficult to love.
It is not just Bala Chitto. All churches have difficult people. And all churches have people running away rather than working through loving someone who is difficult to love.
In Bala Chitto, we have difficult people and yes, we have people coming here who have fled a difficult person in another church. Whether you are a difficult person or a runaway who settled here, today you need to stop being difficult or stop running and allow Christ love to grow in you more and more.
Paul would be saying to each of us: if I am difficult, clean it up; and to those who run- stick it out and work through loving each other.
If you are going to love more and more as Paul prayed, then this is the only way it is going to happen.
Question #2
Do I tend to have a heart that is close to loving some people or do we have a heart that is open wide?
2 Corinthians 6:11–13 NKJV
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.
Paul says in this verse that my heart is wide open, but he acknowledges that the hearts of the church members at Corinth were closed.
God acknowledged His heart is wide open in the famous Scripture: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. But the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, their hearts were closed evidenced by how they treated the people.
In any church houses across Pike County today there are people who are sitting in pews that hearts are wide open and there are people in that same church house that hearts are closed.
What is the difference? A person with a heart that is open is not in control of the people who come into their lives, God is. And God may bring your way a whole bunch of people different than you to accept and love them so your love can grow more and more.
A person with a heart that is closed, you are in control of who comes into your life. And probably nine out of ten times, you are going to reject those people who are different than you and you are going to accept those people like you. A person with a closed heart has taken the control out of God’s hands and you have taken over who you let into your heart.
And the Apostle Paul would tell you the obvious result is that the closed heart will not grow more and more but be restricted.
We probably have all experienced churches that have either an open heart to visitors or a closed heart to visitors. In a church with an open heart, you are made to feel welcome no matter the color of your skin, no matter your financial status, no matter the clothes you have on, no matter what denomination you belong to. You are just purely welcomed because you are there, and you sense this welcomeness.
But in a closed church, the opposite is true. You are an outsider and throughout the service, you are never able to forget that. You are never made to feel like you belong there.
The open-hearted church people are going to grow in love more and more because God going keep bringing people different than them so that their love must grow more and more.
In the closed hearted church over time, it begins to become less and less like a church and more like a social club. It is made up of people that are family or people very much with the same interest.
As pastor, my prayer is that Bala Chitto always remains an open-hearted church.
Question #3
Do I tend to have a hard time forgiving because if I do, I am stifling my love from growing?
Colossians 3:12–14 NKJV
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
Love and forgiveness have a direct relationship to one another. The degree to which you are able to truly open your heart to love whosoever God brings in your path, the more you will be willing to forgive. The more you are able to forgive, the more you will be free to love and open your heart to whom God sends your way. They go hand-in-hand.
If you say I love my church family “but” … then according to the Scriptures, you not doing what Paul prayed for- loving more and more. That “but” is big because it means that you have a problem with someone, and you are not able to overlook it and forgive it.
How big of a deal is it? Jesus says this: Matthew 5:24 (NKJV)
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
If you say I am quick to forgive everyone “but” so and so has hurt me so many times I just rather keep my distance. That “but” is big because that lack of forgiving one person will stop your love from growing more and more.
How big of a deal is it? Jesus says this when asked by Peter how often shall my brother sin against me, and I need to forgive him?
Matthew 18:22 (NKJV)
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
You cannot love like God wants if you cannot forgive like God wants.
You cannot forgive like God wants if you cannot love like God wants because love covers a multitude of sins.
Conclusion
Think what your life would be like if you loved more and more.
Think what this church would be like if we all loved each other more and more.
