Sermon Recap | Love

The four step process to experience love that yields joy from Philippians 1:1-11:

1)Believe the gospel.
2)Love the gospel.
3)Devote your resources to the gospel.
4)Devote yourself to the gospel.

Now let me unpack this and convince you that this process is your only hope to experience love that yields joy.

What the passage says:
Verse 1: Paul is the writer. He was a harasser, torturer, and murderer of Christians whom God converted to become one of the most important church planters in history. He wrote this letter while in prison.
Verses 3-4: Even though he’s suffering in prison, he’s joyful because of the Philippian Christians.
Verses 7-8: His joy is connected with the deep love he feels for them.
Verses 5 and 7: This joyful love stems from their participation in the gospel.
Verses 9-11: The purpose for this section of the letter is that their love would abound based on real knowledge and discernment.

Participation in the gospel is the root of all this love and joy; so that is where we must focus.

The gospel is the good news that Jesus was God’s Son, lived the perfect life, and died the death we deserved to take the punishment we earned so that we could be reconciled to God.

How did the Philippian Christians participate in the gospel?

They Believed It
Paul planted the Philippian church 10 years earlier with just three converts: a business woman, a former demon-possessed slave girl, and a jailer. These three believed the gospel and were reconciled to God (Acts 16).

They Loved It
They didn’t just believe it, they built their lives around it as indicated by Paul’s joy over their involvement in it, the fact that the church was still around 10 years later when Paul wrote this letter, and the following two points.

They Devoted Their Resources to ItThey gave financially to help Paul travel around communicating the gospel (Philippians 4:15-16).

They Devoted Themselves to It
The use of money reveals personal devotion (Matthew 6:21). These Christians gave to advance the gospel, even when no one else was willing.

How does participation in the gospel produce love that yields joy?
1.There is no love without God (1 John 4:8).
2.There is no way to God but through the gospel (John 14:6).
3.Therefore, to find true love, one must participate in the gospel.