Trusting God Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Paul asks God to give the Philippians believers discernment, because of their love for God, he desired that they love and commitment to God grow as they continue to seek to please God in all that they do. The result of discernment in their lives will be their love, growth, and maturity in the things of the Lord. Selfishness clouds discernment, because a person is concern about their own interests, needs, and wishes. They ignore the needs, interests, and wishes of others because they are too consumed with their own. They love themselves more than God and others. When we are so preoccupied with good things (temporal) that we dont have time for the best things (eternal) of God then the good is the enemy. It is those things that we do for God that will last eternally. The good things that we do on earth are not lasting and are soon forgotten, but those things that we do for God brings eternal and lasting rewards from Him. As Paul has stated in verse 6 and 10 these things will have eternal benefits, until the Day of Christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delivered Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Q4. (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment, and what will be the result of discernment in their lives? Discernment is needed in order for God to complete the "Good Work" He began in us, so that we will allow things that are excellent to shine in us, we are not to be happy with just being "lukewarm" at what we work at. Discernment reveals to us, it is by the fruits of our love that will show if we are sincere, tested as genuine, and without offence, that is, not leading into sin, until the day of the Messiah, for the "Cross" is calling for our vessel to be filled with fruits of righteousness, so that we may also give glory and praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. How does selfishness cloud discernment? Selfishness is not a fruit of righteousness. How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? For us to allow God to continue His work in us, we must be willing to allow Him to do so, our calling is to give our Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wifee Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 4a)Through discernment Paul believes they will be able to determine out of love for God which actions are not just good but are the best, of the greatest worth. b)They will make excellent choices,have a committed mature love for God with a clear focus to see which actions,ways of thinking are the most significant &will please God the most.These are of the greatest importance and we should put effort into those things,of greatest worth,&grow our relationship with Jesus. C) Selfishness, draws our focus away from pleasing God &helping others, to thinking of ourselves instead and what we want. D) When we settle for good and give up,we miss the best.We can hoodwink ourselves by thinking we are serving God doing good acts, but in fact if we serve others with a wrong motive, we are not pleasing God Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquie7 Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Paul asks God to give them discernment so that their love may abound in knowledge and depth of insight so that they will be able to know the difference between the “good” and the “best”; and that they may be pure and blameless until the day Christ returns, and be full with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, so that they can bring glory and praise to God. Having discernment in their lives would help them maintain Christian morals and values, and determine what is genuine by examining what’s put before them. Selfishness clouds discernment when ones focus is on worldly things instead of heavenly things of God, looking at the trivial instead of the vital. The “good” is the enemy of the “best” because it is not a life that is pure blameless and of good character. We can become focused on good/nice things instead of the better/best of things that is the most important and significant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sank T Monius Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Philippians 1:1-11#Q). Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment?A). So that that they may be able to determine by critical examination which things are of greatest importance and put their efforts into those things.#Q). What will be the result of discernment in their lives?A). They will therefore be pure and blameless until the day of Christ and be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ in order that they bring glory and praise to God. (Phil 1:10)#Q). How does selfishness cloud discernment?A). Selfishness is more about what pleases us rather than pleasing God. It clouds our discernment of God's will because we are too focused on our own desires.#Q). How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives?A). We can be so preoccupied with good things, that we don't have time for the best, most important, most significant things. We can live years of our lives pursuing things that are transitory and ultimately of little worth. Good, maybe, but not of ultimate importance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinstonY Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Question 1.4 The good is the enemy of the best for (a) we can become satisfied with what is good and not strive for more perfection. In such cases good may only be satisfactory whereas in God should we not strive for perfection, Also (b the ‘good’ may be the good life and we are satisfied with living this life of plenty and not see that there is a much better world in living in a world surrounded by the life of God. (b Above is often that which stands in the way of this world’s Christian. Paul suggests that the best remedy for mediocrity of good rather than better is discernment writing that the Phillipians will be able to discern what is best if they increase their knowledge of God their insight and than they will be pure and blameless before the God, filled with righteousness that comes from Jesus. All this has happened because of their love abounding in Christ and grows in discernment. George Knight writes about Psalm 111.10 "Wisdom means to accept the guidance given us by the all wise God with grace and gratitude ... and then to practice it! Biblical wisdom is a practical thing. It means to understand how to live, that is, finding out what God's mishpat or 'justice' means... and putting it into practice." * For it is only through the love of Jesus that we are clothed in righteousness and can stand pure and blameless before God. Though we may and must strive to become righteous we only have success as Jesus clothes us in the cloak of righteousness and we become pure and blameless before God. Selfishness clouds discernment because selfishness puts self ahead of love for others and for Christ. It is like a roadblock standing in our way and this selfishness looks in upon self and does not allow self to find that which is best. The time of the writing of Philippians was similar to that of today and we can expect the same attitudes and conditions. Actually we experience the same conditions in our lives as commercialism beats in upon us and tells us we need the latest ipad! Winstony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleezah Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Q4. (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? What will be the result of discernment in their lives? How does selfishness cloud discernment? How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? 1. Paul asked for discernment for the Philippian Christians so they would not make any mistakes. 2. This increase in knowledge and judgment would lead them to approve what is really excellent. 3. When one is focused on self it does not permit one to see the whole picture therefore clouding one's judgement. 4. The good is mediocre compared with what should be our best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleezah Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Q4. (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? What will be the result of discernment in their lives? How does selfishness cloud discernment? How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? 1. Paul asked for discernment for the Philippian Christians so they would not make any mistakes. 2. This increase in knowledge and judgment would lead them to approve what is really excellent. 3. When one is focused on self it does not permit one to see the whole picture therefore clouding one's judgment. 4. The good is mediocre compared with what should be our best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Jerry Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 The reason that Paul asks God to give the Philippian Christians discernment is that he wants the best for them. He wants them to get past the good stage and have what is best. The result will be that they will focus more on God then on the things in this world. Selfishness is always looking at what is best for us and therefore can’t see what is needed in other places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebLam3teach Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 It's amazing to me that as we experience God's love more fully, we become more discerning and indepth of our knowledge of God. By contrast, in worldly and carnal love, "familiarity breeds contempt." This saying means that the more we know people, the more we dislike what we see. But with God, the more we know Him, the more we love Him and learn what He likes. We seek to then please Him more. We become more mature in our daily walk by bringing glory to Him. That 's what Paul is saying in this passage: our love walk with God eventually translates into living for God's glory. We begin to see what we need to focus on in our life that truly brings honor to Him. We want to make HIM happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgandy Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Paul wanted the Philippian Christians to be right with God. Not just go through the motions but be right with God. Be praying and living a pure and blameless life filled with the fruits that God blessed them with this would happen. They must discern or think closely the good of their lives. By one thinking of yourself instead of others it clouds your discernment. Others first is how I always think of a situation. I do not know if this is a good example or not but; my husband had/has cancer. He had a stem cell transplant. I was and am his caregiver. While at Duke I found a lump in my breast. I was a physician assistant. I kinda knew what it was but was too busy to take care of it.(stupid I know) but Gary was fighting for his life at the time. When I could I went to the doc. I am a veteran and use the VA Hospital system. It was cancer. Long story short. It had grown quite a bit but I put it in God's hands. I have had my chemo and am scheduled for surgery this week. I discerned which was the most important and placed the rest in God's hands. Really it all was in God's hands but I was needed where I was at the time. God will handle mine too. Probably a poor example but to me it fits. Now he is my caregiver. Others first was my first thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emcclinton Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Q4. (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? What will be the result of discernment in their lives? How does selfishness cloud discernment? How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? Paul desires for the Philippians to thoroughly examine what is best for their lives. This discernment will prove that God is the true desire their hearts. Selfishness always takes focus off God & therefore puts you on a wrong path. I've been so guilty of doing good but not the best. Purpose is only fulfilled when we are doing which is best & not simply good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanMary Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 Q4 (Phil 1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? He wanted them to discern with keen insight and discernment what is vital and to prize what is excellent and of real value...distinguishing the moral differences, and that they be unerring and blameless, not stumbling or causing others to stumble. What will be the result of discernment in their lives? That they would abound in and be filled with the fruits of righteousness, to the honor and praise of God...that His glory would be both manifested and recognized. How does selfishness cloud discernment? Selfishness (the flesh) is always at odds with what God desires, and is linked with pride and control....the enemies of our soul! What we want most may seem crucial, and may cloud our ability to recognize or to even bother to inquire what God wants. (That worldly catch phrase of some years ago summed this up. "If it feels good, do it." We could say as believers and err in the same way "If it feels right, do it". How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? There are many things which are good, but the question we must ask is "Is it good or is it God?" To pursue the good, may rob us of the best that God has for us, and this takes discernment, prayer, and listening for His guidance in order to discern the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rag7707 Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 Paul wanted the Phillipians to learn how to live their lives pleasing to God. The result of them having discernment would be a closer relationship with God and a more loving relationship with their families and friends. Selfishness would make them only live for themselves and to get and never give. We can do alot of "good" things and look good to people around us. We can settle for good when God has greater things planned for us. He will give us the discernment to know what the best is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissioned Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 Q4. (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? What will be the result of discernment in their lives? How does selfishness cloud discernment? How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment so that they can serve Him through better knowledge of Him. As our knowledge of God grows or matures we can operate in ministry that touches the lives of others, bringing glory to God. Selfishness cloud discernment by not sharing the gift to bring God's grace into the lives of others. The good is the enemy of the best in our lives when we are comfortable with "just good" and do not strive for "best". God's will for us is always "best" not just "good". When we settle for "good" we are robbed of God's best for us; and that is always the plan of the enemy to keep God's best from us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_grace Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Discernment is finding the narrow gate, the path of righteousness. It requires us to align ourselves with God. There is only one way and we'd be lost without the Lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blezed Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? What will be the result of discernment in their lives? How does selfishness cloud discernment? How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment so that they will have the ability to differentiate right from wrong. The result of discernment would be that their love for God would increase. Selfishness cloud discernment because we focus only on ourselves. The good of the enemy of the best in our lives is when we are comfortable or accept the good things that we don't have time for the best things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singergram Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 One definition of discernment is "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure." Sometimes, it is hard to know which course of action is the best to pursue. Should I offer advice to my adult children when I can see clearly some pitfalls they are facing, or should I keep myself out of their lives and let them learn from their own experience? Is it better to follow a paleo diet or just watch my calories in order to lose the excess weight I'm carrying? Although some of the issues we face in making decisions are more important ultimately than others (not all of them have eternal implications), we need the ability to understand and acquire good information to base our decisions and our actions on. By looking to God, and trusting that He will give us that sense of peace when we are in line with His purposes for our lives, we can practice the highest form of discernment. Paul wants the Philippians to have a life full of joy, and for this to happen, they must have this ability to make good choices, both individually and as a body of believers. When we are looking at things from only a self-centered point of view, we tend to ignore possibilities that might make our choices more effective as well as in keeping with what God has in mind for our lives. Looking to God and keeping our minds open to possible solutions to problems makes us better able to make good choices. An old proverb states that, "The enemy of the best is the good." I use this in a class I teach and ask students to explain how this can be. If we settle for what may be a "good" solution and then stop trying to find a better way, we might be missing the greatest blessings in life. We need to continually be alert for better ideas and better solutions to the circumstances that we face in life--always looking to God who wants only the best for His children, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgivenforgivenforgiven Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Shalom to the Saints by FAITH in Messiah. Thank you Father that I can be your slave and servant and that you may grant me true discernment so that I may understand your statues and receive your wisdom. In Yahshuas (Jesus) name. HalleluYah. 1. Yahweh (God) gives believers discernment so that we may identify the sin in our life so that we may change our life and become Messiah like. Discernment means, "to distinguish, separate and to examine. It is related to wisdom. Heb. 4:12 "...discern the thoughts and intentions of ones heart." Yahs Word is spiritually discerned, to the human mind without the Spirit, the things of Yah are foolishness. 1Cor. 2:14. The Spirit of Yah gives us discernment. 2. The results of discernment in a believers life would be the actions of righteousness in their life. For me it was repentance. Yah started to discern in my heart the meaning of these Scripture verses, the convictions became very alive in my life that I had, "To become a doer of the Word not just a hearer deceiving myself." Where I had become deceived was I only believed that I had to say to someone that I was sorry when I hurt them or caused offence. That was it. Yah then gave me the discernment that there were a few steps I was missing, one action. Matt.3:8, "Fruits meet for repentance." I failed to be obedient to. James 5:16, "Confess, my faults one to another." I only confessed to Yahweh and asked His forgiveness but not the one I had hurt or offended. Then He showed me Matt. 6:14,15, If I forgive others my Father in Heaven will forgive me, but if I don't then He will not forgive me. Wow discernment, there is a condition on whether I am forgiven of the Father. The Holy Spirit convicted me that I was not acting out the fruits meet for repentance. I was saying I was sorry but there is a second part here, asking the individual if I am forgiven. I have to hold myself accountable to Yah in confessing my fault and also allowing the person I had offended to be accountable to forgive me, so Yah sees they forgive the individual, in order for Him to forgive me and them. I did not say, (The persons name) I'm sorry for causing (name offense or what you did) will you please forgive me? Yah asked me has anyone asked your forgiveness in this past week. I thought forget about someone asking me, have I? He said, If no one is asking and no one is giving forgiveness then how can I forgive them? My Son was accountable responsible in dying on the stake He was humiliated for you to be forgiven. Yet I have asked this accountability to all mankind and no one is being responsible in doing the fruits meet for repentance to be forgiven? How can people be forgiven if they are not being doers of my Word. There is a condition in order to be forgiven by the Father, 1. Action-confess your fault by asking the Father and the individual's forgiveness 2. Then the one offended must acknowledge they have forgiven In order for the sinner and offender to be forgiven by the Father. Now if the individual refuses to forgive then they wear the curse of un-forgiveness. For example I did not forgive my mother for rejecting me as a child. When my husband and i would have a disagreement. I would be the first to walk out the door because if anyone was going to be rejected it was not going to be me, but someone else. This went on through the initial months of our marriage until one day I forgave her it was after she was dead. As I visualized her on a chair looking into het eyes, I asked her forgiveness, all of sudden it was as though a ton of bricks was lifted off my shoulders. Because I failed to forgive her of rejection I lived the life of rejection. When I forgave her I stopped leaving my husband every time we got into disagreement. I lived the curse of my forgiveness. If only people would realize, the unforgiveness you hold against someone keeps you bound to them in making you suffer more. Once u let go you are set free. I encourage you Saints to start exercising the fruits meet for repentance. If you want to be foegiven. Once you start asking people, you will notice they will get very uncomfortable. They will say, "Oh don't worry about it i do it all the time. Oh don't be so hard on your self, I do it all the time." Or just forget it, it was nothing. The reason they can't say, "Yes I forgive you." Is because Yah is convicting them of their sin. The devil doesn't want them giving forgiveness nor asking. I repeat the question again to get them to acknowledge me asking them. When we started as parents asking our children's forgiveness it made them 3 x more repentant. We started seeing them do it with their siblings. What a conversion to see in action. Scripture says, we humbled ourselves before our children. Scripture says, "Humble yourself under the mighty hand of Yahweh and He will exalt you in due time." He exalted us as people would come to us and be astonished of what was coming out of our children's mo mouth. 3. Selfishness clouds discernment because you do not acknowledge the sin in your life to repent and ask forgiveness, because when you do you are set free. Selfishness only digs a deeper grave and Yah hands you over to a reprobate mind for the devil to torment you with. Selfishness keeps you locked into a sinful life. One must be humbled in order to accept Yahs discernment and die to self. 4. How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? It's like taking second best, Yah is first in regards to guiding and directing our life that is choosing His wisdom, that's the best. I remember an old saying, "Never let it rest until your better is best and your best is better." Don't settle for better when you can have the best, first. When we make Yah first in our life, we receive the blessings. NO BIBLE - NO BREAKFAST A lot more people would be studying the Word or there would be a lot of hungry souls. Choices in our life determines the outcome. When we choose Yah we will have life and live it more abundantly. I thought of this saying, " A wise man learns from his own mistakes. But a genius learns from other people's mistakes. Yahweh has written in the Scripture right and wrong for us to learn by. I choose to learn from the GENIUS;YAHWEH. HALLELUYah. Many blessings FAITH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nqubed Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 That their love may abound ... in knowledge and depth of insight IN ORDER THAT you bring glory and praise to God We don't know what to watch for -- what is important and what is of no importance. As we grow, we grow more discerning. We can be so preoccupied with 'good' things, that we don't have time for the best, most important, most significant things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solomon befikadu Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 So that their love for God may increase by knowledge and depth of sight who God is and what really pleases Him best. Determine what is best so that they may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. Selfishness concerns on what pleases us than what pleases the others; this clouds discernment which determines the best which is what pleases God. We can be preoccupied with good things , that we do not have time for the best, most important, most significant things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celise Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Discernment means they will be able to know what God is saying to them and apply it to their lives. As human beings we are easily distracted or misled from the truth. Paul wants them to be able to recognize the presence of God in their lives and live accordingly. Selfishness is keeping ourself and our comfort first priority. Discernment means evaluating the true nature of things. Truth is VERY often uncomfortable, and our selfishness can try to prevent us from seeing and acting on the truth. There are many good things we can settle for; family, church activity, work-but the relationship with Jesus Christ should be the first best thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2014 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Q4. (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? What will be the result of discernment in their lives? How does selfishness cloud discernment? How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment so that they may know what is best or excellent for them in their lives. The result of this discernment for their lives will be to test things that are important to them and God. Selfishness clouds discernment because we are not interested in the things of the Lord, but of things that are important to our selfish desires. The good is the enemy for our lives because God wants us to have the best of things especially knowledge that brings us closer to understanding God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
van Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Paul ask God to give the Philippians discernment so that their love and knowledge of God continues to grow and strengthen them in their walk with God. He wants them to be able to discern what is right and true and live that way until Christ return. Selfishness think about self only, and not the needs of someone else. "We can be so preoccupied with good things, that we don't have time for the best, most important, most significant things". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynthiawilson62 Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 As we grow and mature in our love walk, wise discernment should increase in our relationship with others. God desires that we abound in love, so we can choose what is of excellence in relationships and excellence in whatever the situation may be. Our love relationship first begins with God, receiving His love so we can abound in that love toward others. That comes from developing and cultivating a close and intimate relationship with the Lord and knowing that our identity is secure in the Lord Jesus. Once we are grounded in the Lord's love we can walk in wise discernment and approve those things of excellency. If we are self centered, it demonstrates that our love walk is not mature in God, therefore, hypocrisy, a impure heart will cloud our discernment. We are instructed to be sincere, without mixture in our heart or offence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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