Philippians 1:9-11 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more
and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to
discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of
Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus
Christ-to the glory and praise of God.

 You know I've had love on my mind a lot.  The reason for that is
understandable.  Last week I had the opportunity to join in matrimony
Ryan Reamer and Melissa Brown and then this week, I will have or have had
the opportunity to join in marriage Brad Cloutier and Laura Walker.  You
just can't have two weddings in a row and not be giving a lot of thought
to love.
 Not only do you think about these young couples and the love they have
but you tend to think about your own life, your own marriage or your own
family and friends and the love you have shared and had with them.  I
give thanks to the Lord for the wonders of love that I've enjoyed.
 For instance, the only complaint that I've had in my marriage is that it
took me so long to find someone to marry me and be my wife.  I think of
how my love could have grown even more than it has now.  There's the key,
dear people.  If your love for your spouse, if your love for those around
you isn't growing and getting stronger and better every day, then what
are you doing wrong?  Love, when it is practiced and done right, should
be on the move, should be growing and getting better.  That's because as
God's children we should be practicing love.
 Excuse me?  What did you say, Pastor?  What was that about practicing
love?  That's right, love isn't just something you say it is the way you
live.  Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to say you love
someone but those words can be pretty hollow and empty if you are not
living like you love someone.  You practice love by following what God's
Word says.  Listen to what God says your love is to be.  He says, "Love
is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.  Love never fails."
 So why do some marriages fail?  Because one or both of the people
involved stops practicing love.  They stop being patient and kind,
sharing and caring.  They stop looking for the good and forgiving the
flaws.  They start being self-seeking (wrapped up in what I want) and not
long after that rudeness and anger easily flow.  And they are keeping
score.  Such couples and such people are not practicing love, at least
not the love that God wants us to have.  I encourage all of you to learn
about God's standard of love and to make sure that this is the kind of
love that you have and practice.  In this way your love for each other,
for everyone around you that you love, in this way your love will grow
and get better and better all the time.
 Well, if you paid attention to our Epistle reading for today and
especially to the words that we are addressing for ourselves in this text
you would recognize that such growing love was exactly what the Apostle
Paul wanted for his fellow Christians.  Let's then learn more about this
wonderful love that can be and that is ours in Jesus.  Our theme will be:
A PRAYER FOR LOVE.  1st. Abounding love.  2nd. Discerning love.  3rd.
Blameless love.
 What a wonderful prayer it is that we have before us, much like the
prayer that we heard last week but just a bit different.  What is the
same is that we still have the Apostle Paul writing to his fellow
believers, writing to the souls under his care and expressing his desire
(and the Holy Spirit's desire) for their lives.  What is also the same is
that the love we are speaking of is that very love that is found and
demonstrated for us in Jesus and I will tell you more about that later.
What is different is the scope of the love.  While both kinds of love are
founded in and given in Jesus the love we spoke of last week had as its
object those around us, really everyone in the world.  Today, the scope
of the love we are speaking of is the love that is in us.  It is the
personal love we know and practice.  It is the love that forms who and
what we are.  Let's then look closer at what is said.
 Paul writes, "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and
more in knowledge and depth of insight."  Clearly this prayer is about
love and yes, it is the agape love of God that is referred to.  It is
God's love for us, God's love revealed in his grace and mercy that forms
the heart and core of our love.  It is this love of God found in us that
Paul is praying about.  He is praying that this love grows.  More
specifically he is praying that this love continues to grow, continues to
progress.  But don't miss the "more and more."  Here is a word that is
expressing the need for progress.  Paul doesn't want these children of
God stagnate in love.  Paul wants them growing.  Growing stronger and
better, growing to the point where they can say their love abounds.  Paul
is praying that their love overflow their needs, exceed their
expectations, yes, that their love is flowing with the abundance of God's
love and grace.
 And of course, if you are like me, you are already in total awe about
this love.  And like me, you might say, "Well how, how do you get this
abundant love?"  You get it by understanding the very nature of love
itself.  That fact is highlighted for us in the words: in knowledge and
depth of insight.
 Paul wants our love to abound in knowledge.  What a precious word this
is.  It is a word that speaks of our grasp or recognition of something.
Most theologians would agree that the word here is a reference to having
a firm conception of the spiritual principles and revelations of God.  In
other words, you have an intimate and direct knowledge of God and his
ways.  You know who God is and what God has done for you.  Properly
speaking we are talking about a love that is clearly founded in the truth
and wonder of God's Holy Word, the complete revelation and salvation of
God as realized in the Savior he has sent.  You can't talk about your
love abounding in knowledge without a firm grasp of Jesus and his
redeeming ways.
 But the wish of Paul goes on.  He also speaks of our love abounding in
depth of insight.  Again what a precious word.  It is a word that refers
to our moral and spiritual insights and how we apply those insights in
our life.  In other words "depth of insight" means that we can apply the
knowledge we have of Jesus and make the right and proper choices in our
lives.  This word actually leads us to consider the very next phrase.
 Our next phrase says, "so that you may be able to discern what is best."
 Our love abounding in knowledge and depth of insight makes it possible
for us "to discern what is best."  Two separate words are found here.
The first word indicates that we can test, we can examine whatever it is
that is before us.  The second word is one that says that because we can
test we can thus make moral and spiritual decisions that are best.  The
only way we can understand what is said here is to speak of moral and
spiritual decisions in keeping with the truth and revelation of God.  God
and his Word, God and his love, God and his salvation is what is always
best for us.
 And please note that this phrase occurs in a purpose or result clause.
In other words it is clear that the reason for growing in love, the
reason for abounding in knowledge and depth of insight is so that you can
discern what is best.  You can and do apply God's wisdom and God's
standards to your life.  That's not only the purpose but also the result
of faith.  Faith produces the desire to live a life pleasing to God.  You
can't do that unless you have knowledge and insight built on love and
then practice that love by making Godly decisions.
 Then one last phrase that brings it all home for us.  This phrase also
occurs in the structure of a result clause.  It says, "May you be pure
and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of
righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of
God."
 Here is where what we have heard and learned so far comes to its core.
Paul now prays that we be pure and blameless.  This phrase is almost
identical to what we heard last week.  Need I remind you that the only
way that we are pure and blameless is by faith in Jesus.  Jesus because
of his life and work has won for us the forgiveness of sin and eternal
life.  Jesus by his victory over sin, by his resurrection from the dead
and by his ascension into heaven has shown that He is the Savior, the
promised Son of God who redeemed us, bought us back from the horror of
sin that is our nature.  Jesus and what he is about is a life changing
message, actually it would be best to say that Jesus is about an eternal
life changing message, a message that even now in this life impacts us.
What Jesus does is causes us to be pure and blameless before the judgment
throne of the Father.  The Father, purely out of love for Jesus, forgives
our sins and welcomes us as his eternal children.
 But there is even more here.  Because of Jesus we are "filled with the
fruit of righteousness."  Righteousness is God's gift of forgiveness.
Because of that forgiveness that is ours in Jesus we have the desire and
motivation to do what is right and pleasing to God.  Don't get me wrong,
we aren't going to be perfect in this life.  We are going to make mistake
after mistake in our lives.  But as God's children who have the message
of forgiveness and eternal life found in Jesus we are motivated to love
abounding in knowledge and depth of insight.  We don't have "I don't care
attitudes" rather we have "How can I serve Jesus attitudes."  That's how
God's gospel of Jesus changes us.
 Now I've already given it away by what I just said so I'll simply ask
that you remember that even this last phrase is found within a result
clause.  What brings about this result?  What causes us to believe in
Jesus and be filled with fruits of righteousness?  That's right, it is
the love we have.  The love abounding in knowledge and depth of insight.
That love that is founded on Jesus' love for us.  It is the love that has
as it base the knowledge of God's Word and can then put that knowledge to
practical use in every day life.
 Wait a minute Pastor, you have basically just said that this love and
everything about it revolves around Jesus.  You basically just said that
it is Jesus who gives this love, Jesus who causes this love to grow and
Jesus who leads us then to practice this love to the glory and praise of
God.  Moreover you said that this love is founded on God's Word and
revelation which has as it's root and core Jesus the Living Word of God.
Jesus does it all, huh?
 That's right!  Jesus does it all.  He leads us, he guides us, he causes
us to be his children and his desire is that we continue to grow in his
love so that on the Day of Judgment we are found, because of our faith in
Him to be pure and blameless.  Yes, this prayer is founded on the truth
of God's grace and love for us.  Amen.