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Wednesday, August 29, 2018

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A Man Who Cared

INTRODUCTION:

A.            Text: Philippians 2:19-24

B.            [S1] Colonel Sanders and the Baby

1.            The late Colonel Sanders (of Kentucky Fried Chicken) was on an airplane when an infant screamed and would not stop even though the mother and flight attendants tried every trick they could think of. Finally the Colonel asked if he could hold the baby. He gently rocked the baby to sleep.

2.            Later a passenger said, "We all appreciate what you did for us."

3.            Colonel Sanders replied, "I didn't do it for us, I did it for the baby." -- Source: Using Humor for Effective Business Speaking, Gene Perret as qtd. in https://www.ministry127.com/resources/illustration/colonel-sanders-and-the-baby

C.           What Paul did, he did for Christ and others.  Already in his letter to the Philippians, Paul had mentioned several times that he might die.

1.            [S2] "Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all." – Philippians 2:17

2.            Paul still found reasons to rejoice, but he also wanted to comfort his beloved fellow-Christians in Philippi.

D.           [S3] Two Good Men: Timothy and Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:19-30).  He told them of his plans to send two men to them – one immediately (Epaphroditus) and the other soon (Timothy).  If he couldn't go at that time to the Philippians himself, he wanted to send "the next best things (people)": two men of great character who shared the heart of Paul.

E.            Let's consider one of these two good men in this lesson:  A Man Who Cared…

I.              [S4] THE PERSON: TIMOTHY (2:19-24)

A.            [S4B] "But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state." – Philippians 2:19

B.            "That I also may be encouraged when I know your state" – "so that I too may be cheered by news of you" (ESV) –

1.            Paul is in prison awaiting possible execution, yet he is concerned about the condition of the Christians in Philippi, 700 miles away!

2.            To know that the Christians there are doing well (that he would know from a visit from Timothy) would bring him great encouragement and joy even in his difficult circumstances.

C.           "But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly" – "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon" (ESV) –

1.            Paul often sent Timothy as his emissary (1 Corinthians 4:7; 16:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:6).

2.            Timothy, the young evangelist and Paul's son in the faith, is mentioned in Paul's letters more than 25 times.

3.            [S5] "For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church." – 1 Corinthians 4:17

4.            "Paul had probably converted him when Timothy was a teenager (see 1 Corinthians 4:17) and later recruited him to travel with him on his missionary journeys (Acts 16:1-4).  Now Timothy was with Paul in Rome, helping in his work" (Roper 467-468).

II.            [S6] THE personality (2:20)

A.            [S6A] "For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state." – Philippians 2:20

B.            Paul cared deeply for the Christians in Philippi (and elsewhere).  Cf. Philippians 1:3-11.

C.           Paul desired to send Timothy to the Philippians because Timothy cared for them just like Paul did.

D.           "Like-minded" – "of kindred spirit" (NASB) – Gr. isopsuchos, a compound word that combines the world for "equal" (isos) with the word for "soul" (psuchē).  It means to be "equal-souled" or "like-souled" (Roper 468).

E.            "Who will sincerely care for your state" – "who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare" (NASB) –

F.            Consider:  If one of your children was in need and you couldn't get to them, whom would you send?

1.            If my children needed me and I couldn't get to them, I wouldn't ask just anyone to go to them to help them.

2.            I wouldn't ask a complete stranger to go and check on them for me.

3.            I wouldn't ask a casual acquaintance to see about their need.

4.            I would ask someone who loves them and would care for them as I would!

5.            Cf. filling out a form that asks for "in case of emergency, contact _______."  You would only fill in the name of someone who cared and who would respond as promptly and lovingly as possible!!!

6.            That's the way Paul felt about the Philippians.  He wouldn't send just anyone; only one who cared for them like he did.  That one was Timothy.

III.          [S7] THE PROBLEM (2:21)

A.            [S7A] "For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus." – Philippians 2:21

B.            I wonder…

1.            Did Paul ask some Christians in Rome to go to Philippi to check on the Christians there?  Did some of them turn him down, perhaps saying, "I would, but I'm so busy.  I just can't right now."

2.            "As Christians in Rome went about their daily lives, a small Roman colony seven hundred miles away would have been of little interest to them.  If the needs at Philipp were mentioned, some in Rome might have responded, 'Why should we be concerned about Philippi?  We have more needs right here than we can ever meet!' This kind of spirit has hampered evangelism and mission work around the world" (Roper 469).

C.           Consider some people in need… Here's a list: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the ill-clothed (naked), the sick, the imprisoned.

1.            Do you know where I got that list?

2.            [S8] READ Matthew 25:31-46

3.            We could add others to this list: the shut-in, the lonely, the lost in our community, the lost around the world, and more.

D.           The Lord says, "I am no longer physically present in the world.  I cannot physically minister to these people who are in need."

1.            "Whom shall I send?"

2.            His answer is: that is why I have the body of Christ – the church – in the world!  WE are to be the Lord's hands and feet in ministering to others in His name.

E.            [S9] "The World's Bible" by Annie Johnson Flint

1.            Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today
He has no feet but our feet to lead men in the way
He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men how He died
He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

2.            [S10] We are the only Bible the careless world will read,
We are the sinner's gospel; we are the scoffer's creed;
We are the Lord's last message, given in word and deed;
What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

3.            [S11] What if our hands are busy with other work than His?
What if our feet are walking where sin's allurement is?
What if our tongue is speaking of things His lips would spurn?
How can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?

F.            Possible objection: "But Lord, I am too busy with other things.  I don't have time."

G.           [S12] "For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus." – Philippians 2:21.  Is this passage an indictment against us?

H.           [S13] "I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
'Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?'"
-- Isaiah 6:8a

1.            I think the Lord is still asking that question today.

2.            "There is so much to be done – some many people to be taught about Jesus, so many people to help, so much to be done.  Who will go for Me?"

I.              Paul was saying, "I care so much about the Philippians.  I want to help them, to know how they are doing, but I can't get to them right now.  Who will go for me?  Is there someone that I can send in my place?"

1.            His answer was Timothy – someone who cared for them just as much as he did, and was willing to go.

2.            [S14] "22But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel." – Philippians 2:22

3.            [S15] "23Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. 24But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly." – Philippians 2:23-24

CONCLUSION & APPLICATION:

A.            [S16] "I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
'Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?'"
-- Isaiah 6:8a

1.            I hope we'll respond the same way that Isaiah did:

2.            [S16A] "Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'"

B.            Are you willing to be sent?  Are you willing to go?

C.           [S17] Here are Four Qualities of "Goers":

1.            [S17A] C – Compassion"Who will sincerely care for your state" (v. 20) – "who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare" (NASB)

2.            [S17B] A – Availability.  God is not looking as much for ability as He is availability.  He has given us many abilities; that's not the issue.  Our real issue is availability.  "For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus." – Philippians 2:21

3.            [S17C] R – Readiness.  "Here am I!  Send me" (Isaiah 6:8).

4.            [S17D] E – Eagerness.  You want to help.  It's your desire to serve, to glorify God, to help someone in need.

D.           "Where Is It?"

1.            A boy on one of the Little League squads hadn't made the starting lineup.  He may not have been the best fielder or hitter on the squad, but there was nothing wrong with his team spirit and willingness.

2.            During a game, the coach thought it was about time to give Billy a little experience.  So he walked over to the boy's place on the bench and said, "Billy, would you like to go in and play center field?"  Billy broke into a big smile, and then said with great sincerity and enthusiasm, "I sure would!  Where is it?" (Aliceville Bulletin 4/7/94).

E.            "The submissive mind is not the product of an hour's sermon, or a week's seminar, or even a year's service.  The submissive mind grows in us as, like Timothy, we yield to the Lord and seek to serve others" (WWW 82).

F.            [S18] "For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus." – Philippians 2:21.  Is this passage an indictment against us?

G.           [S19] (blank slide)

 

SOURCES:

Roper, David L.  "Philippians."  Truth for Today Commentary: Ephesians and Philippians by Jay Lockhart and David L. Roper.  Searcy, AR: Resource Publications, 2009.  467-470.

Wiersbe, Warren W. (WWW)  The Bible Exposition Commentary.  Volume 2: Ephesians – Revelation.  Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989.  80-82.

 

Sermon preached by David A. Sargent

 

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