Introduction
We began a new series last week based upon the prayer that the Apostle Paul offered up to God for the whole church at Philippi. And the first thing that He asked God is to allow the Philippians' love to grow more and more. And so, we asked three questions to determine if our own personal love is growing.
The next part of the Apostle Paul’s pray is that the whole congregation would in knowledge of the things of God have all discernment.
What an important thing to pray for the entire church to possess, even more so in this day and time. We ought to, as a church, be praying for one another to have the knowledge of the things of God in order to have proper discernment in our lives. It is so needed because we live in a day and time where the world calls evil good and good evil and so we desperately need to discern what is right and wrong, what is of God and what is from the devil.
The devil is so good at making something that is evil look so good, and he has been practicing his skill since the Garden of Eden that Jesus even warns us in Matthew 24:24 that many of the elect will be deceive as we approach the end times by the subtle deceptions of the devil. So, discernment is crucial to navigate this world we live in.
So, we need to ask ourselves today: is our discernment antenna working? I will pose some questions to you today, and you make the decision if that discernment antenna in your life is working properly.
But first let us begin by reading our Scripture.
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 you make the Word of God the final authority about a situation that you are dealing with?
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.
The Apostle Paul combined knowledge and discernment together. In other words, Paul is saying that proper discernment is the result of a knowledge bank which is totally reliable. If you have a faulty knowledge bank that you are drawing your conclusions from, your discernment will be wrong.
And you and I as Christian understand that bank of knowledge is the Word of God. The Psalmist says in Psalm 119:160 (NKJV)
160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
Jesus, Himself said that not a jot or one tittle of His Word will pass away.
So not only is God’s Word truth but it is an enduring truth.
The world’s knowledge source is not always right. History proves it and here are some examples that come from the Reader’s Digest.
1. In 1903, the president of Michigan Savings Bank warned Henry Ford’s lawyer to protect Henry’s money. “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad.” He was wrong.
2. In 1876, the President of Western Union, William Orton, dismissed phones as a “toy” and that it will never catch on.
3. How about all the computer guru in the world echoing the exact same danger that on January 1, 2000, the computers would not be able handle the change from the 20th century to the twenty first century. And what happened? Nothing! They were wrong.
Men of influence and in each case, they were dead wrong.
How many times has a drug or device come out on the market, and it is touted as a great discovery that will benefit millions? And you hear on television a few years later a commercial if you this medication or you used this device contact the law firm of so and so. You are entitled to compensation.
Has God’s Word ever been proven wrong? No! Have you ever heard of a recall of God’s literal Word spoken by the Holy Spirit to the authors of the Bible because something is wrong with it? No!
You may agree those guys were wrong and science sometimes makes a mistake, but I get good advice from my friends or family. Have you ever known your friend to make a mistake, go down the wrong path, and you are going to trust their advice? With families, you have the benefit of hindsight, have you ever known a time where you saw or they said, “we have made the wrong decision.” And you are going to trust their advice.
Listen God’s Word has to be the final authority because it will never lead me down the wrong path. God’s Word never gives wrong advice. If God’s Word is not your final authority, you are going to discern the wrong answer.
You may think it is the right answer, but it is wrong because God’s Word says there is a way that seems right to a man, but it will lead to destruction.
Question # 2
Do you settle for what you want, when you want it no matter how you get it, or do you wait for God’s answer before you act?
10 that you may approve the things that are excellent.
Discernment waits on God’s answer knowing it is the only correct answer; those who lack discernment will try to do things on their own to speed up the answer which usually makes for a mess. If you have made a mess of things, you are not alone, the Bible is scattered with examples of people who have rushed ahead of God rather than waiting on God.
There was Abraham, God had promised him a child, but as old age was coming upon him and his wife, they took matters in their own hands and that mess continues today because Ishmael the son of Abraham and the maid servant many believe is the father of the Arab nation. And Jews and Arabs do not get along even to this day.
There was Moses who felt the tug that he was to lead the people out of Israel out of Egypt. Instead of waiting on God, Moses rushed ahead killing an Egyptian soldier who was mistreating a fellow Israelite and result had to flee to the back side of the wilderness until God was ready some 40 years later to use him.
There was King Saul who was going into battle but told by the prophet Samuel to wait until I arrive so that I can offer a sacrifice to God. Saul could not wait; Saul went ahead and offered the sacrifice on his own and when Samuel came, he told sold Saul that his kingdom will be taken away from him and given to a man with a heart after God, who was King David.
And as pastor and a counselor, I am afraid too many Christians settle for less than the excellent.
I have talked to so many people who admit that they settled just to be with someone that they did not wait for God to send them their mate. They found someone without ever talking to God about it.
I have talked to so many Christians who rush ahead to buy a home that they find themselves in a financial mess because they could not wait on God to bring them to the home that he has picked for them.
I have talked to so many families who made decisions based upon money rather than God. Couples will give no thought to picking up and moving to another city without ever asking God, “Is this what you want for us?”
People with discernment wait on God to show the way because that is the only excellent way.
Question # 3
Do you realize that as a Christian if you do not exercise discernment, you will become tainted by this world.
10 that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.
It is vital that we exercise discernment because without it some of the world’s ways will become our ways. It is vital that we exercise discernment because without it some of the world’s thoughts will become our thoughts. It is vital that we exercise discernment because without it, we begin sounding like the world.
And if that happens to us, if we absorb some of the world’s ways the world’s thought or the world’s language, it comes at the price of our purity before God. And purity would be defined as not mixed with any other matter; to be free from anything that would taint.
I say that there is a connection between discernment and purity because of the way that entire Scripture is structured. Let me read it to you: 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.
The two “that’s” connects it to what has come before, and what has come before is “in knowledge and all discernment.”
In the verse “sincere” is the positive way to describe purity. “Without offense” is the negative way to describe purity. Offense is a negative word; it talks about something that we have done wrong, and that is why I describe it as a negative way to describe purity.
An example of the way that the world rubs off on us can be seen in the history of the Israelites. Those who occupied the Promised Land before the Israelites worshiped pagan gods. And the Israelites did not discern that they were not to have any part of it. And the Book of Hosea, which we are studying on Monday nights, is the study of how Israel lost its purity before God.
If we do not discern, the world will easily steal our purity. Remember the Scripture: Bad company corrupts good morals.
Conclusion
How long am I to discern God as the final authority?
Until the day Christ returns, in other words, until I am no longer here on earth.
Let us pray!
