Calvary Bible Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan

From our earliest days, we are inclined to believe that if we just get everything we want we’ll be happy. Toddlers will beg, scream, hit, kick, and even hold their breath in their pursuit of happiness. I wish I could say that we all grow out of that, but I’m not sure that we do. We just learn to settle for partial happiness, because we don’t have the money or power to get everything we want.

Of course, some people do have substantial means. Rumors abound about various stars and their demands. Sean Connery once had a movie location changed and the script completely rewritten so that filming could be done in Florida near a golf course that he wanted to play. Tom Cruise ordered in a meal from his favorite Indian restaurant in London. It had to be flown in to his movie set in Italy. Whenever actress Jennifer Lopez makes a public appearance, she demands that her path be prepared in advance with the scent of gardenia. Comic Mike Myers once threatened to quit during a movie production because the food service provided during filming had no margarine for his bagel, only butter. I don’t know whether any of these stories are true, but I’m sure if any of us had the wealth of some of these people, we would be tempted to insist on always getting our way. But does getting our way ever really satisfy us? In those moments when we are most demanding, do we ever walk away happy?

In Acts 20:35, Paul tells us that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive." Who has ever given more than Jesus Christ? Yet in doing so, he was blessed and experienced personal joy. The Scripture tells us in Hebrews 12:2 that, “…for the joy set before Him [Jesus] endured the cross.” Jesus’ crucifixion was a terrifying ordeal of intense suffering, but His personal sacrifice motivated by His love for God and His love for us gives Him joy. This same connection remains true for you and me: one of the keys to finding joy is to love others. This principle is found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Today we are focusing on Philippians 1:7-11. To remind ourselves of the context, let’s begin reading in verse 3.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul’s heart was filled with joy and gratitude as he thought about these people. Last week we saw that Paul’s joy flowed from his understanding of God’s grace. He found joy in seeing God as his Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayer. He found joy in seeing Christ as our Lord who will bring his servants to perfection. He found joy in seeing the value God places upon people by extending His saving grace to them. If we want to experience joy, we have to always look at life from the perspective of God’s grace.

Today we see a second key to finding joy. It is that true joy flows from loving people with God’s heart. From Paul’s words we see three ways that love leads to joy.

1. True love leads to joy because it is deeply expressed (vv. 7-8)

Look at how expressive Paul is here.
v. 7 – I have you in my heart
v. 8 – I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus – The King James Version translated that word affection as “bowels” – the bowels of Christ Jesus. That is the literal meaning of the word. It’s a very strange expression to our ears, but that was a common way that people in the day spoke of strong emotion. It’s like feeling it in your gut.

Honestly, I struggle to grasp the depth of Paul’s emotion here. For many of us it would be a stretch to speak this way to our spouse. There’s a remote chance that we might talk this way about members of our family – parents, children, or grandchildren. But Paul says these things here to a whole church! And these weren’t people he had spent years with. He had probably only been to Philippi three times and those had to have been relatively short visits – a few weeks at most. How could he have such deep affection for these people?

As followers of Jesus, we are supposed to feel the same way about people. In Colossians 3:12, Paul writes, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion.” You may be tempted to say, “That’s just not me. That’s not my personality.” But we don’t have that option. We’re commanded to take on this kind of attitude toward people. How do we cultivate this compassion in our lives?

First, we have to take the time to think about people. In Matthew 9:36 it says about Jesus, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” When Jesus looks at people, He knows their needs and hurts both physically and spiritually. He feels those burdens personally and deeply. Do you ever look at people that way? Do you reflect on the trials and difficulties that they face? We get so wrapped up in the busyness of life, that we don’t take the time to think about people and identify with their struggles.

Paul did that with this group of people in Philippi. He took the time to know what was going on in their lives. He was 1,500 miles away imprisoned in Rome. He didn’t have telephone or internet. He didn’t even have the postal service. He had to rely upon personal messengers. And yet he stayed in touch with the Philippians and aware of their circumstances. It’s immeasurably easier for us to stay in touch with people today. Within a few seconds I can communicate with someone anywhere on the face of the globe. And yet I still don’t do it. If we’re going to put on compassion, we have to take the time to think about people.

But that’s not all; we also have to pray for people. As we see needs, burdens, and struggles, we must bring those concerns to God in prayer. That is what Jesus did when he felt compassion for the multitude. That is exactly what Paul is doing here in the opening of Philippians. He speaks of how he is praying for these people all the time. He doesn’t just sympathize with them; he prays.

Do you pray for the people in your life? Do you pray for one another here in this congregation? Prayer isn’t easy. It doesn’t just happen. It takes disciplined effort. Every week I try to pray for each one of you. I pray for your spiritual growth. For those of you who are married, I pray for your marriage. For those of you with children, I pray for your children and for their salvation. As I know of individual needs you have, I pray for those needs. The act of praying for someone, in and of itself, is a loving compassionate act, but as we pray, it also causes our compassion and love to deepen.

Here’s another way to grow in your love for people: invest yourself in people. Part of the reason that Paul felt such deep affection for the Philippians, was that he went to the effort to travel there and share the gospel with them. Once he was there, he even faced persecution for his ministry. Even though he was only in Philippi for a relatively short time, he invested deeply in these people. The more we do for people, the more it deepens our love for them.

C.S. Lewis talks about this in Mere Christianity. He says, “Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the greatest secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.”

Now here’s the amazing point about expressing our love for people. When we love people deeply we experience joy. The more we focus on satisfying our own problems and needs, the more discontent we become. But we find joy for ourselves, when we focus on loving others.

Jonathan Edwards explained it this way: “Nothing can more properly be called love to any being or thing, than to place our joy in it. And so persons may place their happiness considerably in the good of others, their neighbors for instance, and desiring the happiness that consists in seeking their good.”

If you want to see this concept in action, I think the best example is found in what happens as grandparents love their grandchildren. When my father interacts with my children, he has no thought of personal satisfaction. He will go anywhere and do anything to see his grandkids experience joy. It doesn’t matter whether he’s tired, hungry, or in pain. There is no end to the expression of his love. And as he expresses his love, you can just tell that the blessing is all his. His heart abounds with joy.

The point I’m making today is that this idea is true in all relationships. The more we express our love, the more joy we find. This is true in our marriages, with our children, with our neighbors, and even in the church. Love leads to joy, when it is deeply expressed.

2. True love leads to joy because it is filled with truth. (vv. 9-10a)

As we move down into verse 9, Paul’s focus shifts from his love for the Philippians to their love for others. In fact, Paul prays about their love. Look at verse 9: And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent….

Some people try to split these verses up into two ideas: abounding in love and making the right choices. But that really misses the idea. Paul wants the Philippians to love in a certain way and he captures this way with a series of ideas.

First – knowledge. Paul uses a somewhat specialized word here: epignosis. Some have tried to translate this word as “full” or “real” knowledge. When you look throughout Paul’s writings, he normally uses epignosis to speak of knowing God and His will or His truth. So his prayer is that the Philippians’ love would abound in God’s knowledge. What would be included in this knowledge?

It would include an understanding of God’s character. We are called to imitate God in the way that we love.
It would include an understanding of God’s commandments. Our love for people should line up with God’s standards of right and wrong.

Maybe more to the heart of this – To love in God’s knowledge means that we seek to lead the people we love into personally knowing God.

The next idea is discernment. The best way to understand discernment is to think of it as the application of knowledge. Paul wants the Philippians to know how to apply their knowledge in their relationships with people.

When you apply your knowledge well, then what happens? The third idea in Paul’s string of thoughts is approving the things that are excellent.

In every relationship, there are times when we must agree or disagree, approve or disapprove, someone’s ideas, values, judgments, words, behavior. In another great passage on love Paul speaks more about this. In 1 Corinthians 13:6 he writes, “[Love] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.” In our relativistic society, we tend to associate love with accepting anything someone believes or does. But Paul’s point is that godly love has standards. It refuses to approve or applaud unrighteous behavior. It refuses to give approval to falsehood. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to disagree with someone and point them to the truth. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to confront someone about behavior that is not pleasing to God. Proverbs 27:5-6 states, “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”

In the book of Romans, Paul explains that approving of sinful behavior is sinful, the absolute lowest form of depravity. In Romans 1, He goes through a whole list of sins as examples of how people have been given over to a depraved mind. When he gets to the end of the list in verse 32 he says, “Although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

If we love God and we love people, we cannot simply overlook thinking, attitudes, or behavior that goes against God’s standards. Love compels us to do something. Love compels us to speak the truth.

But even if we accept this idea that love must hold to God’s standards, doesn’t that make love more difficult? How could this kind of tough love lead to joy? Two passages of Scripture suggest this connection. The first is Proverbs 28:23 which says, “He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue.” There is an inherent satisfaction with the integrity of speaking the truth in love to someone, but the idea here is that people also respect a person who speaks the truth. When you speak the truth, rather than flattering you generally find favor with people. There is joy to be found in that.

The second passage of scripture that connects speaking the truth in love with joy is James 5:19-20. That passage says “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins”. What could be more loving than that? On the other hand, what greater joy or satisfaction could we have than knowing that we have someone’s best interest in mind. Even when someone doesn’t respond, there is joy in knowing that we have pursued his or her best interest.

The best example of this principle is parenting. Proverbs speaks repeatedly to two truths: (1) that parents who diligently discipline their children guide them away from foolishness; and (2) that parents of a fool experience sorrow, but parents of a wise child experience gladness and joy. Some parents think that they are loving when they give their children all that they want without ever enforcing any discipline. From what we’ve seen today, that kind of thinking is unloving, neglecting the child’s future. It’s also the path to a whole lot of hurt and sorrow, as parents watch their children endure the natural consequences of foolish, ungodly behavior.

Again, although I use the illustration of parenting, I’m speaking in reference to all your relationships. We should love people enough to speak the truth to them. Love leads to joy when it is filled with truth.

3. Love leads to joy because it pleases God (vv. 10b-11)

Paul has expressed his love for the Philippians. Then he prayed for their love to abound with knowledge and discernment. Picking up in the middle of verse 10 then, Paul explains the end result of this discerning, truth-speaking love: “…in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Paul’s point is simply this. When our love for people abound with this knowledge and discernment we’ve talked about, when our love approves the things that are excellent then we can know the joy of pleasing God.

The great reality that shapes the Christian life is that Jesus Christ will return and we will have to each give an account to him of our lives. Here in Philippians 1, Paul calls it the day of Christ. Paul gives us more insight into this day in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11: “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men…” Paul wanted to be sure that he lived in a way that pleased God, because he knew that one day he would stand before Christ to give an account. That reality prompted Paul to have a healthy fear.

Back in Philippians 1, however, he makes the point that this kind of love that he is praying for in the Philippians will enable them to be sincere and blameless in that day when Christ returns. In other words, when we love this way we will not be ashamed when we stand before Christ.

The word “sincere” evokes a vivid image. In ancient times, when someone went to buy a piece of pottery they would hold it up to the sun. If the pottery was a quality product, the surface would be uniform. Unscrupulous merchants would take broken pottery and mend it back together with wax. The repaired piece of pottery would look fine at a glance, but when held up to the sun the crack would show. To be sincere is to be without wax. A love that isn’t grounded in truth is just that – wax that looks nice at a glance, but in the judgment day it will not hold up. When you live a life of sincerity, then you can rejoice about the reward that awaits you in the day of Christ.

Verse 11 takes the thought even farther. Not only will we be sincere and blameless, but it will become evident that we are filled with a righteousness that only comes through Jesus Christ. Nothing pleases God more than when we open our hearts to be filled with the righteousness and love of Jesus Christ. This love isn’t something that we can bring about in our own strength. It is a supernatural love and God wants to produce this in us through the Holy Spirit.

I know that thinking about this kind of righteous, truth-filled love is convicting. All of our failures come to mind. But there is an incredible encouragement here. This righteous love that pleases God comes through Christ’s power at work in your life. We have to trust Him to bring this about.

Ultimately, the result when Christ returns and our deeds of love are brought to light, is that God receives glory and praise. Think about that. Your life is so significant that you can bring honor to your Creator for eternity. God made you for this. Jesus empowers you for it. Doesn’t that spark a sense of excitement of holy joy in you?

Think about the moon. The moon doesn’t emit any light of its own. If it weren’t for the sun, the moon would be completely dark. Yet because of the sun, the moon shines brightly in the night sky on those clear nights. It fulfills the purpose for which God made it, through something else’s power. That’s the way it is for you and I. We don’t have the power to love in and of ourselves, but as Christ’s love is reflected through us we serve God’s perfect purpose and we bring Him glory.

Conclusion

True love leads to joy because it is deeply expressed, it is filled with truth, and it pleases God. Perhaps you’re still not convinced. Some of us have been so hurt by people that we hesitate to give of ourselves. C. S. Lewis once addressed this. He said, “"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in the casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.... The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers... of love is Hell." We’re guaranteed to experience pain and disappointment when we love, but we’re also guaranteed to experience true joy now and for eternity when we love with God’s heart.

Footnotes 

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Scribner, 1952), 101.
Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits (N.p.: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1852), 238.
C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (Harcourt, Brace, & World, 1960), 169.