In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of love in the life of a believer. They highlight how the love of God fills the heart of a believer and is expressed in practical ways. The preacher also mentions the story of Paul and Silas being imprisoned and how their love for God led them to pray and praise Him even in difficult circumstances. The sermon emphasizes the need for love to continually grow and for believers to have spiritual discernment in order to choose what is excellent and to love even their enemies.

Will you please turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verses 14 and 15. 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verses 14 and 15. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned. But the spiritual discerns all things, and he is discerned of no one. The letter to the Philippines. Philippines chapter 1 verses 9, 10, and 11. Philippines chapter 1 verse 9. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more, in full knowledge and all intelligence, that ye may judge of yourself, and approve the things that are more excellent. In order that ye may be pure and without offense for Christ's sake, being complete as regards the fruits of righteousness, which is by Jesus Christ, to God's glory and praise. Let's have a further word of prayer. Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for gathering us together unto Thy name. We want to thank Thee for Thy precious promise, where two or three are gathered together unto My name. There am I in the midst of them. We thank Thee for Thy presence with us. Lord, we pray that Thou will create within us a clean heart, an open mind, and a right spirit. And we just pray, Lord, that when Thy word is given, Thy Holy Spirit will quicken Thy word to our hearts. Thy word of life and spirit, and we believe it. We pray that Thy word will do its work in each one of us. We thank Thee for promising us, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask, and Thou not. And Thou will give it to us. So Lord, we do come and confess that we need wisdom. Give to us according to Thy promise. We ask in Thy precious name. Thank God for gathering us together again this year. I really feel that every time we meet together, it is the tremendous mercy of God. As we are approaching the end, such gathering becomes more and more. Thank God, He still wants to speak to us. He still wants to bless us. Now, the theme for this conference is spiritual discernment. I think everybody knows how we need, in our days, especially in our days, spiritual discernment. And we do look to the Lord, that He will give us such discernment, that we may be able to live a life that will be pleasing. In Philippians, we find the Apostle Paul. He prayed for the Philippian believers. Now, as you know, the church in Philippi is noted for its love. In the book of Acts, chapter 16, God led Paul and his companions to Macedonia, to Philippi. And there you find a woman from Tahitira. She listened to the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and she was touched. She believed in the Lord Jesus and the whole household. Then you remember, she said to Paul and his companions, if you believe that I am faithful to the Lord, then come and live in my house. He constrained them to live in her house. As soon as she believed in the Lord Jesus, the love of God filled her heart. And He expresses that love in a practical way. Then you remember how a woman with an evil spirit was delivered. And because of that, Paul and Silas, they were imprisoned. And yet while they were in prison, in the midst of the night, they were praying, singing unto the Lord, praising the Lord. And there was an earthquake. And all the gates of the prison were open. But nobody moved. And you remember the jailer. He thought that all the prisoners had escaped. He tried to kill himself. And Paul said, no, we are all here. And then he said, what shall I do that I may be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus. You shall be saved and your household. And the jailer and his household, they believed in the Lord Jesus. He took Paul and Silas to his home, washed them, and fed them. Paul and Silas were ordered to leave Philippi. But they left one man behind. It was the beloved physician, Luke. So Luke stayed with the Philippine believers. And under his loving care, this church in Philippi was noted for its love. And they expressed their love in very practical ways. So here you find the apostle Paul. After many years, he was imprisoned in Rome. And the church in Philippi, they sent their love to him. So in writing back to them, he prayed for them. Now brothers and sisters, this is the prayer that we all need. Not only to hear, but to pray. For this, I pray, that your love may abound more and more in full knowledge and all spiritual discernment. Brothers and sisters, in 1st Timothy chapter 1 verse 5, the apostle Paul says, the end of what is enjoined, the end of what is being instructed and taught, is love. Love is the end of all things. God is love. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The first and foremost commandment is love thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy strength. And the next to it is love one another. Love thy neighbor as thyself. As we are told in the book of Romans, love sums up all commandments. We should not owe anybody anything. But in love, we are always in debt. That's the importance of love. And here you'll find the apostle Paul, knowing that the Philippian believers had love, and yet his prayer for them is that your love may abound more and more. Now dear brothers and sisters, anything that is living continues to grow. The moment it stops growing, death will come in. Now love is living. It is life. And because of this, love must grow. We cannot be satisfied with a little love that we think we have. The moment you are satisfied with your love, death, spiritual death, comes in. Love is something that grows and grows and grows. And love must abound more and more. But it must abound not only in measure, in depth. It must also abound in every area. In judgment, in understanding, in knowledge. Because if love is not directed by knowledge, is not governed by discernment, it will be very shallow. And it can be misdirected. Sometimes we think love is blind. But love is not blind. Love must abound in full knowledge and all spiritual discernment. Knowledge. When we talk about knowledge, we think that knowledge and love are opposites. We can quote from the scripture, 1 Corinthians chapter 8, knowledge puffs up, love builds up. So here you'll find knowledge is something opposite to love. Now it is because the knowledge there is mental knowledge. Something you know in your mind. The knowledge there, even if it is scriptural knowledge, good knowledge, but it is only mental knowledge. It puffs you up. Isn't it true? The more we think we know the Bible, the more we think we are knowledgeable in the scripture, doesn't that give you a little bit of pride? You think that you are more knowledgeable than anybody else. And therefore you are always in the right and other people are always wrong. Love, knowledge puffs up, but only love builds up. A little knowledge is very dangerous. But here you'll find what Paul prays for, prayed for the saints in Philippi, is that your love may abound more and more in full, real knowledge, as some version says. Now, what is full knowledge? What is the difference between full knowledge and knowledge as such? Full knowledge in the scripture is the knowledge of the eternal will of God. We know God in such a way that we know what his mind is, what he desires, what is his will. Now that is full knowledge. If you know, if you have such full knowledge, it will help you in your Christian life. Because you know where to go, what to choose. Full knowledge in the scripture is not mental knowledge, it is heart knowledge, it is an experiential knowledge, something that you can experience, you experience in your life, something you know in your heart. That's the difference. And furthermore, full knowledge is practical. Often times we think anything that is spiritual is not practical. If it's practical, it is not spiritual. So therefore you'll find people want to be spiritual and become very impractical. But actually, if it is spiritual, it is highly practical. It can be practiced, it is practiced, and it will be manifested in words and in deeds. So this is full knowledge. Love needs to abound more and more in full knowledge. With such knowledge, love knows where to go. Otherwise you may love that which you should not love. Otherwise, it is just a matter of tolerating everything. Thinking that now you love because you allow anything. Even tolerating sin, and you consider that as love. Because it has no boundary, no direction. But with full knowledge, you know where your love should be applied and should increase. And then all intelligence, all spiritual discernment. Now this would have been translated in many different ways. Some version you have judgment, like King James. You all judgment. And some version says understanding. Some version says insight. Some version says perception. And some version says spiritual discernment. Now what is all understanding? What is spiritual discernment? Spiritual discernment is not a natural endowment. You know some people are born with sharper, keener perception. But that is not what the scripture says. Spiritual discernment is not those who are deep in worldly knowledge. Now in Chinese we have a saying, if you are very deep in earthly affairs, then your heavenly discernment disappears. You know, if you are very deep in earthly affairs, you know human nature, you are very observant, and you have lots of experience with the world. Now to such a person, his intuitive power began to disappear. Because it is all rational, and not intuitional. So spiritual discernment is not deep inward affairs. Now spiritual discernment is not psychic. It is not mind reader. Now some people may develop a kind of psychic power. You know our soul has lots of power. Now think of Adam. When God created Adam, without going to any school, and God led all the animals before Adam, and Adam looked at them and named them a name. Now that is tremendous. He is a natural botanist, natural person. Power. Our soul has tremendous power. But because of sin. It is out of control of the spirit. The spirit of God. Therefore you find it is not God's will for us to develop our soul power. We need to develop spirit power. And yes the enemy is trying very hard to develop soul power. And here you find psychic power is everywhere. Now spiritual discernment is not psychic power. It is not a mind reader. No. Spiritual power of course is the opposite. Spiritual discernment is the opposite of any kind of information or knowledge that comes from the enemy, the devil. Now what is spiritual discernment? Spiritual discernment is the ability to discern things that are different and you are able to see through all appearances. Sometimes you find in appearance things may look alike. Very confusing. But in such a kind of confused situation, everything seems to be mixed up. And yet you have the ability to look through all the darkness and come to a right conclusion to make the right moral or spiritual choice. Now that is spiritual discernment. Spiritual discernment is the power to discern between the true and the false. It is the power to discern that which is of the spirit and of the soul. Spiritual discernment is the ability to distinguish between that which is of the flesh and that which is of the spirit. Spiritual discernment is the ability to discern all things spiritual. Spiritual discernment is the ability to discern what is in man. Not to judge by outward appearance but touch the spirit that is in man. Spiritual discernment is the ability to discern what is the will of God and what is not his will. And not only that, but it is also the ability to make the right and proper moral and spiritual choice. Now that is spiritual discernment. Isn't it something that we are greatly in lack? How often we are surrounded by situations that we find it very difficult to know what is right, what is wrong. What is of God, what is of man. What is of the spirit and what is of the soul. What is myself and what is of God. Often times we are confused, we are puzzled and we are faced as a matter of fact in our daily life all the time we are faced with such situations. And under that kind of situation how important it is that we have spiritual discernment. Spiritual discernment is in the spirit. It is not trying to discern by what you hear, by what you see, but by the visible. The spiritual discernment is to see, to hear in your spirit. And it is by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. So brothers and sisters, this is a spiritual functioning, a spiritual exercise that is most necessary in our days. Paul's prayer for the Philippine believers, that their love may abound more and more in full knowledge and all spiritual discernment. In other words, here you will find this spiritual discernment is an all around one. A total one. You know sometimes we may have some discernment in certain area, but in another area we are completely blind. So what we need is an all around spiritual discernment. Now that is needed. Because with that kind of spiritual discernment then we are able to walk rightly before God. Without it, how can we walk pleasing to our God? So we need to pray that our love may abound more and more in full knowledge and spiritual, all spiritual discernment. Now with this spiritual discernment then we will be able to judge and approve the things that are more excellent. Now by the way, F.B. Meyer, he has a very good explanation of this spiritual discernment. He said the word understanding, because in some version it is understanding. He said the word understanding is a word that is used many times in the book of Proverbs and in the book of Isaiah chapter 11. The spirit of the Lord is the spirit of wisdom and understanding. Now the understanding there, he said is quick understanding. It is a quick of sight. Now he said if someone is in deep love, he or she will be very quick in detecting anything that may hurt. Or offend the one whom he or she loved. Isn't that true? Now if you are not in love, you may hurt and offend people without sensing anything. But if you really love a person, then even a gesture, even a slight movement, a facial expression that may hurt the one whom you love and offend, you sense it, you know it. So he said to one who is in love with God, he will sense in his life, in his habit, in his behavior, in his way of life, any small thing, slight deviation, that may hurt the God whom he loves, he will sense it. You know, the power of smelling is mysterious. You cannot explain it. Even before you see anything, you hear any voice, you already can smell something. And that is spiritual discernment. You have a quick sense of that kind of scent in you. Now with spiritual discernment, then love can go in the right way. Otherwise you may love what should not be loved. In all of that you may judge off and approve the things that differ. With that kind of full knowledge and spiritual discernment, then you can judge things. You can understand. You can distinguish. And not only that, you can prove it and even approve of the things that differ. You know the things that differ in different versions, they are put in different ways. Because in the original, it contains both ideas. In some versions it says the things that differ. Like in the same word as you find in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the glory of one star differs from the glory of another star. Differs. And some versions put it excellent. Excellent. Like in Matthew chapter 6, our Lord Jesus said, you are more excellent than the lily that God has so cared for and gave it such glory. You are more excellent. So whether it is the thing that differs or the thing that are more excellent. Brothers and sisters, you will find that things are not the same. Things are different. There are things that are more excellent. And it is the will of God that we should not be bogged down with things that are just okay. He wants us to aim at the excellent. And it is only if you have that full knowledge and spiritual discernment, then your love can choose the things that are really different and the things that are more excellent. Do you know that we as believers, we are not supposed to be ordinary. We are supposed to be extraordinary. Now that is what you find in the Sermon on the Mount. The Lord said, if you just greet those whom you love, well, the world does the same. You are just ordinary. But if we can love our enemies, that is extraordinary. God wants us to be extraordinary. And how can we be extraordinary? Unless we know how to direct our love to choose the things that differ, that are more excellent. So dear brothers and sisters, spiritual discernment is very, very important to our spiritual life. Without spiritual discernment, our spiritual life will be all in a mess. Now do we really see the need of it? Do we really desire for it? You know we are living in a world, very dangerous. You remember even at the time of Peter, Paul and John in the first century. In 2nd Peter, Paul of Peter already mentioned that there are many false teachers. False prophets, even denying the master who bought them with such a price. We are living in such a world. And Paul in 2nd Timothy, he said this is a perilous time. We are living. Because people have become lovers of self, lovers of money and lovers of pleasure, instead of lovers of God and lovers of good. Now remember, he is talking not only of the world as such. He is even talking about the religious world, the so-called Christian world. People become lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure. And they are not lovers of God. We are supposed to be lovers of God, in love with God, and lovers of good. But that's the world we are living in. And Apostle John, in 1st John, he says, little children, you have heard that Antichrist will come. He said, the spirit of Antichrist is already here. So you see, we are living in a very dangerous. This world is temporarily under the usurpation of the devil. Satan is called the prince of this world. And if you read the book of Revelation, chapter 12, you will find that this dragon, this serpent, how he deceives the whole world. You know, Satan is a liar. There is no truth in him, our Lord Jesus said. He is a liar. And he deceives the whole world. He makes the whole world just a big lie. Deception is everywhere. You will find that people live in this big lie, under this big deception, and yet they think they are wise, they are clever, they are right. They are going the right way. Deception is one of the strongest tactics of the enemy. Do not think that you can never be deceived, because if you think you can never be deceived, you are already deceived. We are living in such a world. And brothers and sisters, even in the so-called spiritual world, you find the war between spiritual discernment and spiritual deception is going on all the time. Not only that, but the world that we are living in, you know, the principle of this world is relativity. Everything is relative. There is no standard, absolute standard. Everything is grey. You cannot know whether it is white or black, because it is grey. And how easily we are deceived when we are under such a circumstance. We make wrong, right, right, wrong. True, false, false, true. That is the reason why, brothers and sisters, we need spiritual discernment. Thank God. In James he said, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask. Ask God, who is wisdom? And he will give, but doubt not. And this is what we need. Spiritual discernment is not only necessary because we are surrounded by liars, by deception, by the enemy and the world. But spiritual discernment is also necessary because of something positive. It is all, not all negative. So the apostle Paul, his prayer for the Philippian believers is that their love may abound more and more in full knowledge and all spiritual discernment in order that he may judge of and approve of the things that are more excellent in order that he may be pure. Brothers and sisters, we as believers, not only must be delivered from all these liars and deceptions that are around us, but it is the will of God that we may live on this earth pure. Now what does the word pure really mean? We are told that the word itself carries the meaning of your bringing something, maybe a garment or something. You bring that garment or something to the light of the sun. You put it under the sunlight so you can see whether it is stained or soiled or whether it is clean. You know because in darkness you do not know whether there is any spots or any things there. But if you put it under the sunlight then everything is clear. And therefore the word pure means spotless. Under the sunlight it appears to be without spot. And because of that this word can also be known as transparent. What the Lord desires is that we may be pure. So pure that it is transparent. Now brothers and sisters, isn't it true that our lives are rather opaque, right? We dare not be transparent. There are things in our lives that have to be hidden. We will not allow people to look through us. Transparency is dangerous because where can we hide? But God's will is that we may be transparent. All the opaqueness, all the darkness, all the hidden things of life, just like the Apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, how he denied all the things that will affect the testimony of God. That he may be presented to every conscience. Brothers and sisters, God's desire is that we be transparent. And if you are transparent, anything that appears before you will be discerned in his right colour. That's spiritual discernment. You know the reason why we are lacking in spiritual discernment is because we are not transparent. So God's will is that we may be pure, transparent, spotless and without offence. In some versions say blameless, without blemish, but actually the word in itself means that you do not cause anyone to be offended, nor are you offended by anything. Now that's the meaning of it. Brothers and sisters, in one sense in this world it is almost impossible that there will be no offence. Sometimes we become the stone of offence, sometimes we are offended by other people. But if you have spiritual discernment you will not be a cause of offence to anybody. Often times we offence people without knowing. It is because we are in darkness. But if we really have spiritual discernment, brothers and sisters, we will not be a cause of offence to anybody. We will not knowingly, deliberately put anything before our brothers and sisters who are blind and they fall over it. And neither you will be offended. Why? Because you know. You know too well to be offended. However Jesus said, blessed are those who are not offended in me. What does he mean? He means that sometimes the Lord does something that you don't understand. Or you expect him to do something that he doesn't do. And you are offended. Why? Because you are lacking in full knowledge and spiritual discernment. If you really understand the Lord you will not be offended by him. You know that what he does is best for you. Even if you don't know how to explain it. So here you will find brothers and sisters, we are living in a world, even among Christians, brothers and sisters, you will find offence everywhere. Is there anyone here who is not offended? Is there anyone here who has not offended someone? How we need to be delivered? That we may live a life without offence. And you can only come to such life if you have spiritual discernment. Step four, the day of Christ. Brothers and sisters, what is the day of Christ? In the scripture, the day of Christ has a very special meaning. Every time you find in the New Testament, the day of Christ, the day of Christ Jesus, Christ's day, you know it points to the day when Christ shall return. And when we shall all appear before him at his judgment seat. That is the day of Christ. Now if you really love the Lord, if you really follow him, if you live a life pure and without offence, then you will be looking forward to that day. If you read the epistles written by Paul, you will find that it is his hard desire, longing, waiting for that day to come. But if you are not living a life pure and without offence, probably you will be like that evil servant and say the Lord is not coming yet. He delays. He is not coming. You are afraid to see his face. Now how can we be prepared that when our Lord Jesus shall return and when we all shall appear before his judgment seat, we welcome that day. We look forward to that day because we live as he lived. Brothers and sisters, how do you live your day every day? You live your day as one who thinks that you can live to a hundred years old or you live your days with a light of the Christ day in view. You are looking forward to that day when Christ shall return and you shall see him. And it is in that light you live your every day. Now how can you do that without spiritual discernment? Being complete as regards the fruit of righteousness which is by Jesus Christ. Living such a life, a life of love, with full knowledge and all spiritual discernment, then you will bear the fruit of righteousness. Not by yourself, but by Jesus Christ. And such fruit of righteousness is your wedding garment. In Revelation chapter 19, the bride has made herself ready and she was clothed with a garment of white shiny linen which is the righteousness of the saints. The righteousness of Christ is being constituted, built up within you. So in turn you also bear the fruit of righteousness and that will become your wedding garment, fit you to attend that wedding feast. And it is all to God's glory and praise. Brothers and sisters, the ultimate is God's glory and praise. It is not that you may be a spiritual giant. Oh how we want to be spiritual that we may be looked up to, put on a pedestal. No, you desire to have such love with knowledge and intelligence and live such a pure life without offense and full of fruit of righteousness. It is not for yourself, it is for God. It is for the glory of God and for His praise. Because after all, it is all His grace. You have nothing to boast of. Brothers and sisters, this is spiritual discernment. Now I would like to illustrate it. Let's look at our Lord Jesus. When our Lord was on earth, He was a man full of wisdom, of spiritual discernment. You know when Andrew led Peter, Simon, his brother to Him. You know what our Lord did? The Lord looked at him. And in the original it means the Lord looked up and down. Did you have anyone who looked a bit down at you? You tremble, right? The Lord looked at him up and down. And Simon was speechless. Isn't that strange? That talkative Simon was speechless while the Lord looked through him. He said, you, you are Simon. That's what you are. But you shall be Peter. The grace of God can transform you into a stone, a living stone, to be built into the house of God. That's spiritual discernment. Nathaniel, the Lord looked at Nathaniel and said, you are a true Israelite. Nathaniel said, how did you know me? Because he was. The Lord said, before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree. You know fig tree symbolized the nation of Israel. Nathaniel was thinking about Israel. A true Israelite for the Lord. So he said, my Lord and my God. And the Lord said, you shall see greater things. You shall see the angel of God coming over the Son of Man. Brothers and sisters, when our Lord did miracles, many believed in him. But when you came to John chapter 2, the end of it, you'll find the Lord did not commit himself to them. Because he knew what was in man. That's spiritual discernment. Nicodemus came with very courteous, flattering words. The Lord pointed at him and said, you must be born again. No need to be impotent. The Pharisees and the scribes, how they put on a form of godliness. But the Lord looked through them and said, you hypocrites. Peter confessed the Lord. And yet he held on to the Lord as a Lord. You never go to the cross. The Lord was not deceived by this self love. The Lord said, Satan, get behind me. Because you are not mindful of God, but mindful. Think of that. Why is it that our Lord has such discernment? Before the disciples asked him anything, he already knew what they were talking about. Is he a mind reader? No. He is so transparent that everything that comes in his presence, the reality is wide open. Nothing can be hidden from him. Because all things are naked before God, before him. That is spiritual discernment. But how that discernment is exercised? With humility and with love. Peter denied the Lord three times. By the river, by the sea, in that morning. The Lord said, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? More than this, Simon Peter knew his weakness. He dared not boast anymore. He said, Lord, you know, I have good feeling about you. The Lord said, feed me. Such love, such humility. Even the way he treated Judas. He knew Judas was a betrayer from the very beginning. And yet he treated him in such an honorable way. He knew he was a thief, but he gave him the bag. Even at the last Passover supper, when he said, one of you is going to betray me. And John, at the bosom of the Lord said, now who is he? The Lord said, to whom I give this bread that dipped in the sauce. That's him. You know, this is an act according to custom. It is an act of honoring the honorable guest. So the Lord used a symbol that is entirely opposite to what it is. So that the disciples never sensed it. Never knew. When Judah went out, they thought the Lord wanted him to buy something or give something to the poor. Discernment. Exercise with love. Brothers and sisters, that's what we need. Oh, the apostles, because of their life with the Lord, you'll find they also have spirited discernment sharpened. Acts 3, John and Peter went to the temple to pray. A man lame from birth, asking for alms. Peter and John looked at him, saw there was faith in him. Now this spirited discernment, Ananias and Sapphira tried to cheat the Holy Spirit. Peter knew at once. Simon, the magician, tried to buy the gift of God, Holy Spirit. Peter saw him through. You are in the gall of bitterness. The same thing happened to Paul. In chapter 13, he was on pathos. A magician, Elymas, tried to resist. And Paul can see how he was bound by the adversary. Brothers and sisters, spiritual discernment is the need of our time. I cannot say more this morning, but I do want to lay this matter before you. Take it up very seriously. Go to the Lord. Ask for spiritual discernment. I desperately need it. We all desperately need it. And the Lord is ready to give to us. Ask and it shall be given. Shall we pray? Dear Lord, Thou art all wisdom and all spiritual discernment. Lord, Thou art the source of spiritual discernment. We come to Thee, humble ourselves before Thee, acknowledging that we are lacking, greatly lacking in spiritual discernment. Almost nothing. Oh, have mercy upon us. Lord, give to Thy people, in these perilous days, spiritual discernment, that we may be able to be delivered from all deceptions and confusions and be able to walk pure, spotless, transparent, righteous before Thee. Lord, have mercy upon us. We ask.