In the sermon titled 'Abounding Love for the Glory of God,' Jim Tsantles explores Philippians 1:9-11, emphasizing the nature of agape love as sacrificial and divinely inspired. He discusses how this love is distinct from worldly concepts, requiring knowledge and discernment to manifest properly in a believer's life. The sermon highlights the importance of this love being rooted in the glory of God and not in self-centered motives. Tsantles calls for Christians to examine their lives, ensuring their actions and decisions reflect sincere agape love, which is characterized by selflessness and a deep understanding of God's will. The sermon challenges believers to pray for one another and to actively demonstrate this love in practical, everyday situations, while warning against the cultural misinterpretations of love that prioritize personal gain over God's glory.

Our sermon text for today, 9-11, is Philippians 1, 9-11. Well, let's start at verse 1. Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the overseers and deacons. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.

Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, in as much as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

You see, the kind of love the author of love has is supremely sacrificial to the point of the death of its own innocent son. In fact, the point of death of its own innocent son on behalf and for the benefit of those who've chiefly offended Him. Grave offense against this God, yet His love is this sacrificial. See, for us to really fully understand what love is, we have to know the author of this love. I'm going to say that again.

For you to know what love is, you must know He who does not love does not know God. God is love. But we have to be really clear about what we're talking about. Don't do this young. But everyone here knows this.

You're checking out every article you could ever imagine about love. Articles written about love. You can find books on, say, looking for love. And how about this one? The world has very different ideas about what love is, doesn't it?

It sure does. That's what we're asked to deal with today. God's view of love. How should God... You have been given what inside of you?

The mind of... Any concept and knowledge of love that you might have had before. Trash it! This culture would foist upon you about what love is and allow the Holy Spirit to direct and guide you and throw out any concept that the world would use because of love to appeal to your carnality that's in your flesh. Here's some examples.

God is finite and will die with Him. God's man's love at its core is manipulable of mercy and grace, while man's love is eternal. Listen to this. So now having radically been changed by this love, Paul says this, For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from what? From what?

That's right. The love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. You see, folks, brothers and sisters, if you're a Christian, this is why you don't lose your salvation. Because it ain't based on you. Your salvation didn't happen because one day you decided, hey, I've had enough of loving myself.

I think now suddenly I'm going to choose to love God instead of me. No, it didn't happen because of that. It was because of His love. And for His glory that before time began, for some reasons of the great mystery of God, He chose you. And He chose me.

It's because Your salvation is rooted in and sustained by His love for the very One who was given to cleanse you from the guilt of your sins and present you faultless in the presence of His glory when that day comes, His Son Jesus Christ. And finally, God's love is to dwell within your soul so that you know His love personally and internally. Holy Spirit of God. God's love is different! Completely different than this culture.

Save today. Listen. You still are in rebellion. You don't even understand that. You see, your sin is separating you from His love.

The fact must hate the opposite of love, which is sin. And it says there is no sin in heaven. If you are not saved to do, you cannot receive the love of God in eternity in heaven where there is. You repent. Listen to me, children.

You repent at the preaching of the gospel. This I promise you because I know this is true. I lived it for 27 years of my sin. Nothing will ever satisfy you in your pursuit for love. Love of yourself, which is your nature.

Every vice known to man and you will likely add more that you've created. A hole in a bucket that's continually attempting to be filled. You'll keep trying. We went to one of our favorite places in Richmond. It's a park we go to when I was with Lake.

It's got all these little fish in it. So I said to my kids with me, watch this in front of me. And it was really comical because you could watch these series of fish, that its gills and all the stuff moving, then suddenly it would spit it back out when it realized it was food somebody's feeding us and the next one would come suck it in and maybe it lasts a little throwing my gum to the fish but the sad reality love of the fish sucking in everything it can get to it. And there is an enemy of God that will offer you anything. And you'll try.

It naturally knows that it's not right for it. You'll take those things into your soul. And you're sucking anything in for the love of yourself. We will destroy you and you will try to find anything to fulfill you. I didn't where you are and receive the only love that will fill your soul and glorify God.

Let's pray. Oh God, your mercy and your grace is unsearchable. God, I'm so aware of your goodness and your mercy and what you've done, because you've made it so. God, I pray for every soul in this room now. God, help them.

Help souls that don't know the love of Jesus Christ. And help us in this time. In Christ's name. Okay, so why so much? Ten minutes of introduction on the issue of love.

It's because of the title. I've got a couple of blanks in honor of Jason at the very top of your page. You see that? I put a couple of blanks in there for you. So if you want to write and you like to write in the columns, I'm sorry that's all you get.

But our title is this, Abounding Love for the Glory of God. Abounding Love for the Glory of God. There's another reason I wrote this. It's because This title, and why we spent ten minutes opening this way, is because this is what Paul has been bathed in. He's bathed in the love of God.

Just listen to the words. Gary read them to us this morning. But look again at in those first few verses. Listen to what it says as Paul is gushing forth love for these people. He starts this in verse 3 among other things.

He says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. It takes love to remember somebody that much. Every remembrance. And he says this in verse 4. Look at it.

Always. You've got to be kidding me. That's supreme love. Now look at verse 7. Fear in my heart.

And in verse 8, leading up to our text. Witness. I'm calling God to witness that My love for you is so deep, He says, with the affection of Jesus Christ. It's not My affection in My name. And that's why I call our title Abounding Love to the Glory of God.

A prison cell who's so full of love for these people and their will and their good love as he's writing his love to these people and continues to write. And furthermore, not only prays for them, but he writes a letter to them following his prayer to tell himself in a prison cell. Let's look at it together. Take up your Bibles or just open them. I pray that your love may abound still all discernment.

So he begins by saying, and this I pray, on the blank. What's the most loving thing you can do? For the Christian, when you pray, who are you going before? You are going to beseech the one who is holy and has the ability to affect that person's life, their journey, and whatever you're... But that's not all we do as Christians, obviously.

And we just said Paul took it further by not asking this question as I was preparing over the last month, maybe two. I've said to many of you, like I ask about the God, I say often, hey, I'm going to pray for you. And those words that I'm going to follow through with action, if I say I'm going to pray for you, I'm going to pray for you. But here now, I want you to consider the beauty of what Paul is doing in his prayer. In fact, let me help you as you examine the structure of this prayer.

I promise right now, but do me a favor, okay? Audience participation. Raise your hand, please. Raise your hand. Which way is it going?

Is that horizontal? Kids, if you're under 12, what is this? It's pointing which way? Come on, you math! Horizontal!

While this is called vertical. And you have to understand this in the Charismatic. I know it probably made you uncomfortable. But I want you to get the idea. The tone of our prayer is that we would just go vertically.

No, you have to understand what... So, that's horizontal, right? If I think of you, I'm horizontal in my plane. Vertically, for the purpose of what? For me to take my prayers just back to where?

Horizontally, on you. The focus of my... To pray for you. No, I don't want you to be charismatic. Understand the difference between making a plea to God vertically for its effect horizontally and then do your work to get involved as Paul did horizontally as well so what is the focus of Paul's prayer?

Why is he going horizontal with this? Why is he considering them and then taking something horizontal? What is that? It's love. It's love.

That's what he's praying for. You see what it says next? Look, in this I pray. Your what? Your love.

He takes their love. This is a man who knows it. He knows it well. He's the one, if you remember, wrote, If I have all things, remember that, but I have not love, I'm what? I'm nothing.

A clanging brass, I think, is what he says. He's nothing. He knows something about love. But not just praying for love, but he says this. He describes what the love would do then.

What would it do next? Look at the text. He says, I pray that your love would what? It would abound more and more. But there's something really critical you have to see.

There's no great mysteries in our text today, but we have to understand the definition of what's happening and what Paul does here next. Follow me. Paul is going to, as he writes now, the following he's talking about, first of all, which is critical, and we're going to examine that. He's going to speak of what the purpose of it is, who it's produced for. If you left it, I just pray for you.

I just pray that I pray for your love to abound more and more. No definition, no qualifiers. Guess what? I could gather the most pagan people in this world. I can gather them in downtown Raleigh, and I may stand up in front of them and say, I'm going to read the Bible, to which everyone in the audience may start to squirm and look for the exit, until I said this.

Oh hey, this is a really short verse. Don't go. It's a really short verse, and it's going to really encourage you. You ready? In Philippians, Paul says, I pray that your love abounds more and more.

And it's my desire for you, pagans, that your love would grow and grow and grow. And I'm here to tell you that I love you too. And Paul says the same thing and he shuts the Bible and that's all that Paul says in Philippians. That your love would abound more and more. You would get a hearty amen from the biggest pagans in the audience.

Wouldn't you? This is what Paul Washer, I love how he says that, because he says, Jesus loves me? Oh, I love me too! This is great, I can put more people in the world of influence that love me! And that's why every pagan in the audience would say, amen, preach it now, brother.

Just don't go any further. Don't say anything more. But I'm good with love abounding. In fact, if I went around and I chased what I just said from Philippians and I went into the audience of all the pagans that were gathered and I held the microphone and I said, hey, I'm not going to pick on you. Hey, would you define what love is?

You heard what I just said. Tell me what love is. It is such a feeling. It's amazing. I love me more because this made me feel so good today.

Now I can go make others feel good. And they don't want it to go any further. Mushy emotions of as defined by the world, is unqualified. Love, defined by the world, is unqualified. Acceptance of me.

You love me, I love you. Let's just all get along. They put peace stickers on their car. Anything goes. I love you, man.

Just don't you dare. Don't you dare try to impose your moral views upon my moral freedoms. Don't you dare. Their love ends the instant you try to take a moral standard and apply it to them. Hey man, look, don't you judge me.

Don't you judge me. And if we even dare to bring up holy standards of God today, you are going to be labeled a bigot, a racist, or a homophobe, if you take any moral standard and apply it. Of the air. Many it's amazing because I've seen many people who want it to say, or their view of love will totally pervert text of Scripture. I'm shocked because here's what you see.

And they've got Bibles under their arms. And they will do that exact same thing. Oh, This is how they pervert Scripture. Jesus didn't come to judge. The concept of love that we hold is totally different than the world.

Our love souls, to beg them, don't go in that place. I'm begging you not to see that those choices will lead you to hell. We're not just here for babies. We love babies. We're not just here for babies.

You believe in Jesus came to love. He was redefining Jesus' love and saying, Jesus didn't come to condemn you. What I want to make to you is this. If Paul simply leaves it as, hey, it's important to understand this, that Paul uses a word here that are primarily used in scripture when he speaks of the city of Philadelphia. Hey, I would say to you, I love you, man.

It's a brotherly love, filet-o-love, right? Paul is using here is a totally different word. You know what the word is? You guys know it starts with a, thank you very much. You guys speak Greek today.

It's agape love. The love, it is this. If you're taking notes. No, it's not agape love. Listen.

Agape love generating acts of the will to love. I'm going to repeat that. Agape love is deeply will to love others sacrificially for their... This is the love that God generates. This is the love contrary to your flesh nature.

You don't know the greatest commandment. Listen to this. I'm going to do some translation work for you. A lot of translation. Ready?

That you would agape and with all your mind. And that you would phileo. No, no, no. No. Alv.

Paul is being super specific to the kind of love that's being spoken of. Chapter 21. And you won't understand the exchange between Peter eating breakfast, Jesus asks Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you? He says, yes, yes Lord, you know that I fil- Feed my lambs, he told them. A second time, he asked, yes Lord, he said to him, you know that I fil-o you.

A third time, and converts it, says Simon son of John, do you filet o' me. He's praying for them to grow in agape. Love more and more. It's the fruit that He's the one who did it. And it's the demonstration of sacrificial acts that we see.

Jesus, while taking His last breath, is doing what? On the cross. He's praying for the guy beside Him as He's being tormented. As He's getting ready to go and suffer the worst kind of suffering, He is watching the feet of his disciples. You've got to be kidding me.

I'm marveled when I see this. This is no human being that's doing this. As he's in the garden and they're coming to arrest him for what he knows is about to take place, he picks up the ear of Malchus and he reattaches it and says to Peter, put that away. This is agape love, sacrificial and giving. And that's why James can say faith that you claim that doesn't have works that show agape love, or works that manifest it, is a faith that's dead.

Now you ask us, He didn't throw himself off that wagon. It was the love of God that was next by saying this. In this I pray that your love may abound more than knowledge and discernment." Do you see them? Right there in your text? Knowledge?

To know with supreme accuracy. It's the knowledge of God. It is the knowledge spoken of in Romans 1, but it's used in the negative sense. When Paul said knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do the things that are not fair. In Colossians 1, verse 9 and 10, he says, For this reason we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." This is what Paul is talking about.

The second qualifier he adds to the love, agape, that it's first based on the knowledge of God, that it's second, discerning. With all discernment, he says. It's often rendered in the King James and elsewhere as judgment. It's the idea of you having a sense of perception, not only a physical perception, but the ability to intellectually and morally discern in ethical matters, Issues of ethics that you face. You have the ability to have moral discernment.

Jonathan's pursuing, working in the police departments, and he's going to have to be put in positions of exercising moral discernment, an ethical discernment. Pray the wisdom of God guides and directs as we all will face these situations. That's what Paul is praying for. It's the discernment that has the ability to put your knowledge of God and of his will into practical action by discerning the things that please him. Follow that?

So the awareness of who God is, the knowledge of who he is, discernment is the ability to then act upon and put into action your knowledge of who God is. So if you are saved, you've been filled with the Holy Spirit. If that's true, if you say that, follow me. If you say I'm saved, and you're saying I've been filled by the knowledge of God, by the work of the Holy Spirit. But yet, your life does not reflect discernment and knowledge based on God by your practical decisions that you make.

There's only one or two possibilities. This is it. Let me repeat that. If you say that you are saved and know God, you're saying the Holy Spirit of wisdom and knowledge and understanding of God, the mystery of the knowledge of God is in you, but yet fail to produce the fruits of practical wisdom working out. There's only one or two things possible.

Number one, you're not saved at all. You're not saved. You're just convinced that you are because of religious things you might do or say. Or second, you are saved, but you are squelching the work of the Holy Spirit. Not only squelching the work of the Holy Spirit, but by your lack of wisdom and your choice, you're potentially defaming the name of God.

So don't you see the wisdom now that Paul is giving by giving these clarifiers? It's agape love he's talking about, but it has qualifiers. It has knowledge and discernment associated with it. They're married together. He won't leave any room for pagan perversions in his description of this love.

So now he gets to the practical application of this love in verse 10. Let's look at verse 10. Verse 10 says, that you, you see the link? That you. The reason you've got agape love with knowledge and discernment is so that you do what?

That you may approve the things that are excellent. That you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ. To love the Lord your God with all your heart means that the things that please Him are the things that you will seek. For the Christian, we have to examine everything that we do with this in mind. God, does this please you?

How often we make decisions as Christians without asking that simple question. God, would this please you? God, would this dishonor you? See the idea that's captured here in the use of Paul's language in the Greek is this. The idea of may approve is like, what do they call the guy who studies stones?

What do they call that guy? Is it a gemologist? Okay, a geologist. How about the one who studies precious metals to find out if they're true or not? It's like a gemologist, right?

Somebody who would work in a jury capacity of somehow to find out, is this a real, is this cubic zirconia, is this the real deal? So, that's the idea Paul's conveying, is that you would be like that, a gemologist, a Christian gemologist, in practical ways, so that you examine something to prove or to scrutinize that whether the thing is genuine or it's not, such as a medal as I said, and to recognize after you've examined it and then deemed it worthy because what you approve, What you approve is what you approve. If it isn't worthy and you're approving it, something's messed up. So we have to ask these questions as Christians all the time. Will this draw me closer to Christ, this choice or action?

Will this potentially harm myself or my family?" We are being asked through this word by Paul to consider these things. He says next, that you would approve what? What's in the text? Look at the text again so you stay with me. That you would approve the things that are excellent.

Things that are excellent. So if you're a believer, if you are, and you're not loving the Lord by carefully examining the difference between things good and evil, the things lawful and unlawful, you are potentially not only defaming God, but causing an offense, which He'll get to next. You potentially build a reproach to the name of God If you're not willing to do this work of approving and examining, this is exactly why Paul wrote the things that he wrote to the Corinthian church. Listen to this. Only Five to seven years later, according to the timetables of scripture, he was dealing with the issues in the Corinthian church.

Want a memory refresher? Yeah? Listen to this. Only a handful of years earlier, Paul's having to write this to the Corinthian church. In chapter one and two, he gets word back that these things are going on.

We're living together so we can see if there's issues. Paul's at a distance and having to hear and then write back. He writes this in chapters one and two. Whoa, wait a minute. I'm going to paraphrase a little.

You guys are arguing over who baptized you? In chapters one and two, that's what he's dealing with. You say you're of Apollos, you say you're of... Good thing, and he ultimately says, Good thing I know I've only baptized I think, and he names them. I think I've only baptized one or two.

But are you serious? That you guys are arguing over which man is greater and who baptized you? You've got to be kidding. So much so that in chapter 3 he says this, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as carnal. But as to babes, to Christ, I fed you with milk and not with solid food because until now you were not even able to receive it and even now you're still not able, for you are still carnal.

For where there's envy, strife and divisions, my kids do that. That's not in the text. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one of you says, well, I'm of Paul, and another says, well, I'm of Apollos, are you not carnal? Chapter 4.

He gets to this point of his expression of love to the Corinthian church. He says, what do you want? Listen, pay attention, kids. Kids, join me. Listen to this.

This is what he says to the Corinthian church. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod? Or in love in a spirit of gentleness? Agape.

This is agape. Chapter 5 he deals with the fact that you guys are accepting sexual immorality to the level of stuff that's not even mentioned among the pagans. In chapter 6, he rebukes them sharply for The fact that you're willing to sue your brother to take it into pagan courts? He says this in chapter 6 verse 5. He says, this I say to your shame.

Is it so that there's not even one wise man among you? Not even one who is able to judge between brethren in issues of dispute? And he's dealing with this. Then he comes to chapter 11 that we often reference. What's chapter 11 of Corinthians?

They're blaspheming God by the way they're taking communion. What a disaster. They're bringing a reproach upon the name of God, and Paul deals with it directly. In chapter 14, everybody's speaking in their own tongue. Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Here they go. Nobody's there to interpret. It's a mess. Chapter 15, they're arguing over the resurrection. All of this is under the umbrella of agape love.

Do you not see what Paul's driving them to? Agape love is often hard. It includes rebukes. It includes sharp warnings. Was it unloving for Paul to write that way to the Corinthian church?

Of course it wasn't. The reason it wasn't is because the glory of God was at stake. And when the glory of God is at stake, you better be willing to speak to that brother. Galatians 6.1 says that if a man is overtaken in a sin, you who are spiritual in a spirit of gentleness, yes, considering yourself lest you also be tempted, You should, you who are spiritual, should restore such a one. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, you see, it's a love for the glory of God when you vehemently warn.

It's agape love. It includes all of that. It's full of mercy and tenderness. But it doesn't turn a blind eye to sin. It sometimes has to be iron sharpening iron.

Proverbs 23, 14 tells us that yes, even using the discipline of the rod to bring our children from the destruction of hell, Proverbs 23 says. And that's ultimately the role of church discipline. So you can do away and destroy the body of flesh. So why? That person can be freed to love God and to spend eternity with Jesus Christ.

You see, it's love. This is agape love. Begs you to turn away from your sin. I need to beg you children. I need to beg you to turn away from your sin.

Because if I think of you being tormented in hell, it makes me weep. The idea that you beg for even a drop of water In an eternity of torment makes me weep for you, and I must have a full-orbed view of love that begs you, warns you, rebukes you, stomps my feet, does whatever I can do to wake you up from your soul slumber." And that's why it makes what he says next, that it has to be sincere. Paul says agape love must be sincere. Look at what he says. But before we look there, Let me just say this to you.

If we're out at the clinic, if you go to the abortion clinic, it's funny when you see the responses of people because they're so full of anger, like rage and anger, they come stomping. I mean, we've had people, like, oh, here they come. And my kids say, Dad, I was really concerned because that dude looked angry and he's a big dude. And I'm just full of peace of the Lord. I'm not ready to fight this guy.

And then when they come and speak to us, they say, like all their angers, they disagree with us, but the angers melted away. Often the angers, because I'm there and they see what Paul's referring to next, that my love is sincere. I'm not out there condemning those people going into that place. I'm out there to do the most loving thing I can do. And so he says that love must be sincere and without offense.

This idea of without offense is a beautiful thought. It's this, that you would have nothing to strike against, nothing that would cause somebody to stumble, and that you would help produce a smooth road for somebody moving forward. You don't have sin in your life that affects others in a negative way. You can look with me or read with me. First Peter has much to say about this.

In First Peter, sojourners and pilgrims abstained from fleshly lusts which wore against the soul. As evildoers, they may, by your good works, which they observe every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake, whether to the king or supreme, or to governors as to the Lord, for this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to good, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice. Paul is talking about that you would be sincere and without offense. Furthermore, Romans 12-21, when he says this, Romans 14, fall in our brother's way. He's basically saying, look, that Paul is talking about.

It's willing to lay itself aside. He concludes verse 10 with this idea that we all know is true. That This is of Jesus Christ. Whether it would be the physical return of Christ before you die, or your death, your disposition, should be sincerity, motivated out of a love for others. It's agape love produced by God.

So, he talks about this until the day of Christ because Paul is also reminding them out of mercy, look, there's a day of judgment that comes for you. There's a day of judgment. 1 Peter says it this way, for the time has come for judgment to begin. Where? Where does judgment begin?

It begins at the house of God. It begins with those who say they know and love God. And that's what Paul is pointing to, that he concludes verse 10 with, until the day of Jesus Christ. So finally, Paul's concluding his prayer, the statement of his prayer to them in verse 11. It's a beautiful reminder.

Verse 11 is this. Beautiful reminder of the product and the source and the purpose of it all. It says, look with me at verse 11. Let me jump back to Philippians. It says, Be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God." The product.

What's the product in the text? Right in front of you. The product is the fruits of righteousness. What's the source in the text? Who's the source?

Jesus Christ is the source of righteousness. Your best effort is like a filthy rag, he says. Jesus Christ is the source of righteousness and what is the result and purpose? It is for the praise and glory of God. This is why there's no room for men to boast like we read this morning in our memory text.

There's no room for us to boast at all because the righteousness is not from you. This is a righteousness only produced by God. And it's only produced from the source. The source of righteousness is who? For you.

It's Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And it's all to proclaim the greatness of God and His glory. You see, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that is not of yourself. It is a gift of God, lest you boast.

Finally, I'll read James chapter 3. You might want to turn with me. This is a great way to finish our time here in this. James 3. I'm going to just look at these two verses, but it's critical verses.

James 3, beginning in verse 13. This is what Paul is exhorting us to, brothers and sisters. This is what Paul is exhorting us to, brothers and sisters. This is what Paul is exhorting us to. Are you ready?

Verse 13. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. See the distinction?

This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exists, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from God above is first what? It's pure. Then peaceable.

Gentle. Willing to yield. Full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." Let me tell you in conclusion, there's only one who can do this for you. There's only one who can produce this in you.

And it's the author of agape love. That's why the title of our text was, Abounding in Love for the Glory of God. You can't abound in love if you don't know who this God is. As I already mentioned in 1 John chapter 4, you must know who God is. To be able to love in a way that God is compelling through the hand of Paul, those to move their life in the direction continually for the glory of God.

Applications. Do we pray for each other like we should? I've got to be honest, this was really hard for me in this text, because I know I don't pray this way. Sure, I pray, but I don't pray the way Paul is praying for these. For example, can I have you for just a second?

Do you tell people what you pray for them? Do you make it a habit of saying, I know I say to you, brother, I'm praying for that, or I'll pray for you, but I pray that God would bear the fruits of righteousness in you. Things like that, is that super spiritual? Does that sound like it's not sincere? Paul's arguing and God's telling us in this text that no, that we really should be compelled to share and to love one another in such a way.

Hey, I'm praying for you about this. I'm praying for you in this sort of way. I pray God helps us do a better job, me in particular. Secondly, application number two, if God right now could put a meter on your heart and it would reveal to everyone here the amount of agape love that you have and you demonstrate. I think I'd be ashamed and I'd quickly turn it back Because I know I've been captured by the agape love of God, but I really struggle to apply agape love.

Sacrificial. I don't like conflict. So I struggle to want to get in your business about things that I probably ought to sometimes out of love. You've got to be careful how you say that. Get in people's business.

You know what I mean by that. With the love and sincerity of Christ for the glory of God for that other person. But that's just the bottom line is I have to confess. That's just a lack of love. No, it's self-centered love because I'm uncomfortable about some of that stuff.

So that's application number two. If God put the agape meter on you, how would it work? Your wife? When was the last time I really expressed agape? Application number three.

And you know I'm sincere about it. The gravitational pull to yourself. Do you feel that? Like everything has to be for you and please you, and seeking love from every source you can possibly get it from. I mean, even our youngest, All of a sudden they're cleaning up all this stuff and doing all this great work.

As mom and dad, we're old enough and we know that there's what? It's usually emotive, right? It's just the sin nature. It's the gravitational pull. I really did all this work because I wanted mommy or daddy to say something, you know, like I wanted the attention and the affection and the love.

That's all the flesh knows, guys, gals. If you're unsaved, that's all you know. I watched my dad. I watched my dad try everything. Who loves me?

It lasted for six months. I said I was, and I'm not comfortable anymore. She doesn't love me the way I want her to. Father, I pray. I pray for Him and me, and that is you.

That is you without Jesus Christ. You will just try. You would recognize that is you and fall on your knees with love, mercy, and grace. Because He is the only source of your soul. For your incredible love, your agape love.

I pray now Father as we conclude our time that we would walk away changed, we would walk away growing in agape love. Oh Lord, be glorified and help us. I pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.