Knowledge is not definitive, but it’s important.

Steve Brown:
Knowledge is not definitive, but it’s important. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
God’s grace changes everything, how we love, work, live, lead, marry, parent, evangelize, purchase, and worship. This is Key Life, with practical Bible teaching to get you home with radical freedom, infectious joy, and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you were listening yesterday, we’re talking about the things that Paul prayed for his beloved church in Philippi. And he was talking about growth. He was talking about how important it was that they hung tough. And he started out by talking not about their growth, but about love. If you’ll check out and I’ll find it in just there with my notes, Philippians 1:9a.

And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more.

Now, that contradicts, when you’re talking about growth, everything we think. But it’s one of the most important principles that Christians have to share with the world. When we’re afraid, we don’t grow. When we’re challenged, we may grow for a little bit, but it doesn’t last. When we’re intimidated, we don’t grow. But when we’re loved, something happens that is life changing. And when we’re loved by God, and we know it, then things happen that are only supernatural. And so, if you want to grow, what should you do? Well, first, don’t do anything. Let God love you. Just let God love you. And in His love, you’ll find that things change and you won’t even know it. Now, let me say something just as a side comment that needs to be said. Righteous people who are growing, who are making a difference, rarely know they are righteous people and growing and making a difference. One of the problems is that we live with ourselves and we can’t get away from that. And we don’t see what goes on. I have a friend in North Carolina who’s older than me, and hardly anybody I know is older than me. And he came up to me the last time we were together. And he said, Steve, there’s something I’m going to say to you. And I said, what’s that? And he said, I just wanted you to know that I’m proud of you. And I wanted to say, oh really? Why is that? And if I had asked, he would have told me. Because he was seeing growth in me that I didn’t see. He was seeing me loving people I had not loved before. He was seeing me being more faithful than I had been before. And that is what changes people. All right, while we’re talking about growth, it’s very important that we talk about growth happens when there’s knowledge, Philippians 1:9.

And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more

And here it comes sports fans.

in knowledge.

When I talk about love, I said that was what changes you. But it doesn’t stop at that point, it grows in the knowledge of revealed propositional truth. Someone has said.

That love is blind.

And I suspect there’s something to that. I have a friend who fell in love with a man to whom she is now married. She is beautiful, and I ask her to tell me about him. And the first thing she said was, Steve, he is beautiful and so handsome. All my friends will be jealous. Well, I’m not a connoisseur of good looking men, but I want you to know when I met him, he was ugly. I don’t know how to put it. He wasn’t beautiful. He was ugly, that’s all there was to it. But she loved him and she saw him as beautiful. And she thought her friends would be jealous. Now, if you’re in love with an ugly person, true knowledge can be dangerous. But if you’re in love with a beautiful person, true knowledge can only enhance your love. One of the musicals that a choir in the church I once served sang was, in a song in the musical was.

The longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows.

Do you know something? I know a lot. And I’m not bragging. You know, I’ll tell you about the bad stuff, and I’ll tell you about the good stuff. I have an extensive library. In fact, there’s no more room for books in my study at Key Life because all the bookshelves are filled. And people always say to me, Did you read all those books? And yes, almost all of them. I have another extensive library in my home. And when people come there, they go, Wow, did you read all those books? And I said, Yeah. I’ve read all those books, and they’re always impressed. The truth is, I didn’t read them because I love to read theological tomes. I didn’t read them so I could brag about it to you. I didn’t read those books because I love reading heavy books that are difficult to get through. I hate it! I read them because I had been loved by a God who loved me without any exception or reservation. And I wanted to get to know Him. I wanted to know everything about Him. I wanted to know Him deeply and profoundly and fully. And I’m not there, but I’m getting there. And knowledge is really important. During the Third Reich, an atheist who was there noticed that the only people who stood against Hitler were Christians. And he said, I have criticized those people all my life. But as I watched them stand, I now rise up, and I bless them for their stand. Why did they stand? They stood because they had been loved, but it’s more than that. Revealed propositional truth about the God who loves us as found in Scripture is the stuff that puts steel in your background. Howard Hendricks tells about a professor, the late Howard Hendricks. A professor he once had, who studied all the time. Whenever he went to his house, he was reading a book. One time, Hendricks asked him what motivated him to study so much. And his reply was classic. I would rather have my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool. Let me tell you something. God is a running river, and the more you study, there is more to know. And the more you know, the better you get. Okay, we’re talking about growth. Let me show you something else. And then we’ll talk about it more next week. I want you to note not only that the basis of growth is love and that growth continues in knowledge, please note that there is supernatural insight that is a part of our growth, Philippians 1:9 through 10a.

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.

Vincent’s word study book says.

That insight, discernment is used in this text and it means that which classifies, applies what is furnished by knowledge.

Another word would be the word for wisdom. You know something? Christians ought to be the most street-smart people in the world, and sometimes we’re not. It’s because we haven’t experienced the love as deeply as we ought. We haven’t studied as much that the love sends us to, the Scriptures and revealed, propositional truth, and therefore the wisdom or the insight is not present because the first two aren’t present. It is a step by step process. If you want to grow, and I never met a Christian who didn’t want to be better than they were, if you want to grow, first let God love you, period. Something will happen in that, and you know what happens? You will have a thirst for knowing the one who loved you that profoundly and that deeply. And then a supernatural thing happens. And you begin to see reality in a different way. You begin to see what’s important and what isn’t. And you begin to be a street-smart Christian who can make a difference in the place where you serve. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Well, that wraps up this week of teaching from the Book of Philippians. Hope you are enjoying it as much as I am. And hey, listen, we have a special surprise next week. Our good friend Matt Heard will be joining us. I always love Matt’s teaching. He just has this special way of pulling in stories from history and art and pop culture to bring Biblical truth to life. And join us tomorrow for Friday Q&A that’s when Steve and Pete Alwinson will tackle this thorny question. I have a family member who’s transitioning. What am I going to do? Tune in for their answer. Well, recently on Steve Brown Etc. we spoke with one of our favorite guests, Preston Sprinkle. His latest book concerns the first century church and what it can teach us about politics today. We put that whole show on CD. So, you know, could we send it to you maybe for free, then call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the CD featuring Preston Sprinkle. Hey, and before you go, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? Giving is easy. You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950 then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.