You can be seated. So why here? You know, I mean, this is my question. Why does Paul stop here and give these extra examples of humility in this past description? Now, if we went back in the narrative, we would find that he pointed to the gospel in chapter two, verse five through 11. And he said if you're looking for an example of humility, you have to look no further than the gospel. That is that Jesus, who was the Son of God, humbled Himself, came to earth, no one left so much, no one came so low, no one died and paid so high a price as did Jesus. And so if we have this tremendous example, and that should be enough to keep our pride in check, shouldn't it? Well, yes, it should, but sometimes we have this little niggling thought in our minds that we say, well, you know, of course He was Jesus, the Son of God, and He knew His future, He knows all things being God, and so He knew that this humility and this abasement and this laying aside of all of His divine prerogatives Those things were temporary and that he would soon be seated at the right hand of the Father once again. And I mean, when we use him as an example, and I know we think this sometimes, because sometimes I do, we think, well, you know, he was God. And so right on top of that illustration, emphasizing the point once again, Paul says, look, let me give you two illustrations of flesh and blood people. people with flesh and blood, people with skin and bones that are right here on earth. In fact, let me use two people among you, two people that you know very well to emphasize the point that it is possible for true believers to live a life of humility and service to God and to fight against all self-interest and self-promotion. And so this was the situation going on in the church. Now he's addressing the issue of unity. It started back in chapter one, verse 27. It goes all the way to chapter two, verse 18, but he picks it up again in chapter three, verse one, but right here, before he goes on, he gives these two beautiful examples. And there are two people that they knew very well, Timothy and Epaphroditus. Timothy from the leadership team, Epaphroditus from the membership team, And those two were the perfect examples that Paul wanted. to use. And so let's look at these two men and see why Paul used them as examples. Now he had, they were busy serving and there were further tasks that they had to do but I don't want us to miss the beautiful example. And the first one I would like you to see, and write it down, is Paul says leaders ought to set the example of selfless service to God and his people. Leaders. And I pick on Timothy and I pick him out as the one that illustrates that. Now we know Timothy Timothy was Paul's companion. He was a regular in the New Testament. Paul talked of him as his true child in the faith, his beloved son, his faithful child in the Lord, my fellow worker, he called him, our brother. He said he's a bondservant of Christ, talking about Timothy over and over, and I could give you these verses. He was with Paul in Corinth. He was sent to Macedonia and accompanied the apostle on his return trip to Jerusalem. He was associated with, in fact his name shows up as part of the writing team in the book of Romans, the book of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, and the Thessalonians, the two Thessalonian epistles. He also was Paul's troubleshooter. Paul sent him to Corinth, he sent him to Thessalonica, he sent him to Ephesus, and here he's sending him to Philippi. He was just that sort of a person. Now this Timothy that we know so well was an outstanding and I'm going to call him vocational servant of the Lord because this is what he did all the time. Timothy was probably led to Christ or at least he probably got saved during the first visit that Paul made when he came to Lystra to Iconium and Derbe which were the three cities of Galatia. Paul had been stoned in Acts chapter 14 verse 6 and following but in spite of the stoning God raised him up. He went back into the city and there were many who believed because of that and I believe one of them was this young man Timothy. But it's interesting, he didn't recruit Timothy no matter how zealous he was or how thrilled or enamored he was with the ministry of Paul, this guy who Jesus raised from the dead. He didn't take him with him at that time. He left Timothy there in the church. Timothy stayed, he ministered, he learned, he matured, he grew there in that church. So by the time he comes back in Acts chapter 16 verses 1 to 4, Paul comes through to check on the churches, to encourage the churches, And when he gets there, here's what he heard, that Timothy was well spoken of by all the brethren among the churches at Iconium and Lystra and Derbe. And by just a side note, Timothy wasn't ready really to go with Paul on his first trip through there, but he needed to stay home in his home church and he needed to work and learn and learn to minister and learn what it was all about. He needed to grow. and mature and become strong. I think of another young man by the name of John Mark. John Mark on first opportunity with Paul and Barnabas, who they had many years of experience before they ever went out as missionaries, but they took John Mark with them. I wonder if John Mark would have stayed longer and matured more. I wonder if he would have been more able to handle the rigors of what ministry was going to be. But Timothy, he didn't do that. He stayed. He learned. He grew. And he was ready to go on with Paul and do the work. And so he's an example from leadership. And there's a lot to say about preparation for service before a full-time capacity and a full-time ministry and for the capacity that is needed. And I'll just put it this way, a young minister needs to put down deep roots before he tries to put out wide branches. We need to make sure that we're putting down our roots and learning and actually having a deep relationship with the Lord personally before we try to go and put out branches as it were and go further and further. And so Timothy was ready for this grueling work. And there were good reasons now, I want you to write these down. There were really good reasons that Paul wanted to send Timothy. It says there in the passage that we read, verse number 19, I trust in the Lord to send Timothy to you shortly. And there were good reasons that he wanted to send him. He wanted to know, first of all, the state of the church. That begins at verse 19. He wants to find out how they're doing. He always had this as a habit. He always revisited the churches. In fact, that's how he found Timothy in the first place. And one of the reasons that he couldn't go himself was of his confinement. He was confined. He was in jail. He couldn't go and so because of that he had to send somebody. The second thing is he wanted to find out about the church because of his deep-rooted concern. Paul had started the church at Philippi. He's going to write this letter and he's very concerned about them and their spiritual growth and whether they get these problems worked out. He wanted to see how they were doing. In fact, he wanted to know did this letter that I'm sending. I'm going to send Timothy along here so that he can find out when he gets here if the letter that I'm sending ahead with Epaphroditus, I'm going to find out if it did any good. He wants to know about how things are going. And how are they doing overall? Are they in good health? Is the gospel still, is it a gospel-focused church? Are they others-oriented? Are they joyous? Are they growing? He just wanted to see about their physical and spiritual well-being. His own encouragement is also in focus here in the verses. He said that he was looking so that he could be full of joy. His own encouragement and the heart of an elder, a pastor, a shepherd of a flock comes into focus here. And I know I can say this as a pastor and I know that our elders and other staff members can say this. We can say it with John, the beloved, the elder who said in 3 John verse 4, He says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth. He wanted some good news to further encourage his own heart. And that was a good reason to send Timothy, find out how they're doing. He got to send somebody he can't go himself. And then also he wanted to be encouraged. And by the way, nothing encourages me or any staff member or any elder than to see that our people are walking in the faith and growing. These baptisms and these testimonies Pray for them folks. That's just so so beautiful to hear their testimonies now pray for them as they will face opposition in their lives Maybe from family. They're definitely from the devil pray for them that they would continue to follow Jesus Then there's something else here the reason he wanted to send Timothy and it was a good reason it had to do with Timothy It was because of the character of this co-laborer Timothy Timothy was well known to the people of Philippi. He didn't send somebody from far away that they didn't know. Timothy had accompanied Paul on the very church plant. He was part of this whole thing. And so he had been there with Paul at the beginning and served as their pastor during the time Paul was at Ephesus. So he was a natural to send to Philippi. If for no other reason, they knew him. Something else, this man's character was, verse number 20 indicates, he was of the same mind. Hasn't that been the subject since way back in chapter 1, verse 27? Let's be of the same mind, let's get on the same page, let's stay focused together, let's fellowship with one another, let's make sure that we don't let anything upset the unity so that our message isn't diluted. He was of the same mind. It's amazing that Paul could have named many other people in the city of Rome. If you were to look in Romans 16, you'll find 26 names, 26 names of people that were in Rome, yet none of them did Paul think was apt for the job. One, Timothy knew the people and the people knew Timothy. Two, he said Timothy is the kind of person that's not trying to make a name for himself. He's not self-seeking, he's seeking the things that are Christ. that are of Christ and of you. He's interested in you. He cares for you. He's of the same mind. If we could put it this way, Timothy was a second man serving Paul that Paul had all confidence in that he could send him on this very important mission and he would do what was necessary to help those people. Verse 20 also says he sincerely cares. And it's been said a thousand times by a million different people, I suppose, that over and over and over, people have said this, and I don't know who really takes credit for it, but, you know, we may impress each other, fellow elders and pastors, with our knowledge and our degrees, but we don't impress anybody at the point of their pain, at the point of their hurt, at the point of their need, by how much we know. The only thing that really impresses them at the point of their pain, the point of their need, and when they need somebody to pray for them, is do we really what? care. Do we care? And we need to make sure that we know that. And all of us that are like Timothy, we're in this vocational style of ministry. We are in the leadership. Then we've got to care for people and people can tell it when we don't. Timothy sincerely cared for these people at Philippi. He cared for all the people with whom he ministered. He was a caring person and he cared about the conditions of the flock. A passage of scripture comes to mind in John chapter 10 verse 11 and following and it talks about good shepherds and hirelings. Jesus said, I'm the good shepherd. And then there are also these that are hirelings. They have the title of shepherd, but they're just working. They're just working for what they can get. They have self-interest here. They're really not interested in the flock. And here's how you can tell when somebody is a hireling, when the wolf comes or trouble comes or the sunny day turns to cloudy, then they look out for number one, take care of themselves and they're gone. I will never forget. the influence that Tom Pace, missionary Tom Pace in Peru had on me in my time with him working in Peru. There's no single human that has had more influence over me as a minister than Brother Tom. And I remember one Wednesday night when we were living in Peru, it was during a time of the Shining Path and it was a It was a very difficult time of danger and a lot of bad things were happening. I remember one Wednesday night we were in a prayer meeting and the bombs began to go off. The lights went off in the church building and it would shake every time these bombs would go off. Sirens going everywhere and we were scared and we were in singing, you know God will take care of you and so on in Spanish and and it was all over and and so we were all standing around and people were quietly leaving getting in their cars and and some walking some taking buses some had to wait for hours because the buses had been attacked and And so I said to Tom, I said, Tom, you know, hey man, I got my wife, I got these three kids here. I mean, is this the right time for me to be here in Peru? I mean, I'm really concerned about my children. And Tom says, now Phil, he says, look, he said, he said, God will take care of us. And if he takes us away, then we go to heaven. He said, but let me say this. He said, the definition of a hireling is when it gets hard and it gets difficult, then you run to take care of yourself and you abandon the sheep. That's all he had to say. A hireling runs, but a shepherd stays on the job. And this is what we're supposed to do. And the definition of a hireling is the person who stays on the job not only in fair weather, but he stays there in the storms and he fights off the wolves. This guy, Timothy, was also selfless and he's just the right person, verse 21. there it is he said there was no one like timothy in rome many believers no doubt many of them were faithful yet among those that were preachers we found out back in one chapter 1 verse 15 to 17 that many of them were ambitious and jealous and contish and contentious and were actually fighting against paul well paul didn't want to send somebody like with that kind of spirit on this journey he wanted somebody who cared for them and love them and knew them he needed somebody who was selfless and who gave tender care do you know i can say this not only about shepherds but just about about everybody in general look at verse number 21 of chapter 1 if you would verse 21 of chapter 1 it says for me to live as christ and to die as game and then look at chapter 2 in verse 21 And then this is a different group, for all seek their own and not the things which are of Christ Jesus. You know that? They're just two kinds of Christians, two kinds of people out there. There are those that for them to live is Christ and to die is gain. Then there's another group out there that are seeking their own. Maybe their own reputation, their own recognition, or maybe even their own remuneration, who knows what it is, but they're seeking their own and not those things that are Christ. Timothy wasn't like that. He was a servant. This doesn't mean that Timothy was like a shoeshine boy to Paul, but it is interesting that we should voluntarily live like shoeshine boys as those who are in leadership. You know why? Because Jesus didn't shine shoes. Jesus got down and did something even more than that. What did he do? He washed feet. We're servants. Our titles and positions and name of elder and pastor and all those things, that's an identifying and a responsibility identifier. It's not some sort of, oh, he's the pastor. Oh, it's so important for us to understand. These thoughts are all related to what Paul said to them at the beginning of the section in 127. I want you to stand fast, stand together, be like-minded, one accord, no selfish ambition or conceit and lowliness of mind. And so they're thinking, okay, well, is anybody like that? I mean, I know Jesus is like that. And Paul says, yeah, Timothy, I'm going to send Timothy because this is what he's like. Boy, what a pattern for leaders. Then there's something else here. Not only are leaders supposed to be selfless servants, but layman ought to set the example of selfless service to God and his people. We come to the second illustration of a humble servant that enforces Paul's point on this unity in the body. Again, it was somebody at hand. He was well known to everyone. How well known? Well, how could they not have known Epaphroditus? They're the ones that had sent Epaphroditus on this dangerous journey in which he had become so very ill that he almost died. And so he's going to send Epaphroditus. And Epaphroditus was going to be an Apostolos. He's going to be one sent. It's to be an Apostle with a small A. An Apostle with a capital A. That was Paul. One who was going to give divine writing. Who had seen the Lord personally. But then there are those who are sent. They are messengers. Sent with a message. And this is who this man was. And they knew who he was. He was a messenger. He was going to carry the offering and he was gonna convey the greetings from the church. I want you to look now at your passage there at chapter two in verse number 25 and just recognize something. It says now, Paul says yet. Now, back in verse number 19, I trust in the Lord to send Timothy, but he says in verse 25, yet I consider it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and so on. He says, I consider it necessary to send him, and so he sent him first. I'm gonna send Timothy, I'm gonna be coming myself, I want you to be, as soon as I find out how it's gonna go with me, when I'm getting out, then I'll send Timothy to let you know, and then as soon as I can get there, I will get there. He says, but it's necessary for me to send Epaphroditus. And so, why? Why was it necessary to send Epaphroditus? Well, he was their messenger. He had become sick, very sick. In fact, verse 26, 27, and 30 says he was sick almost to death. He almost died doing this. So what was so urgent then? Now that he's getting better and he could stay on and work with Paul, why is it necessary to send him back? Because of these truths. Epaphroditus wanted to get back. His heart was longing for them because they had discovered how sick he had become in this ministry that he was doing to Paul. They had discovered it and they were so sorrowful and longing for him and worried about him that it made him worry about them because they were so sorrowful. And you get this mutual worry and concern that the church had for their worker, their co-laborer, not their pastor, Not their missionary, no, no. This is a layman in the church who went out and did this ministry and they loved this person. You know, I want to tell you something. All churches depend on laymen of spiritual, and I'm going to use a word here that we don't use today that I want you to write down and learn, and learn the meaning of this. All churches depend on laymen of spiritual metal. M-E-T-T-L-E, metal, not M-E-T-A-L. Spiritual metal. You say, what does that word mean? Well, metal means tenacity and determination and a person who sticks to the task. And when difficulty arises, they don't back off, they bear down. This is the kind of person that Epaphroditus was. And all churches depend on laymen of spiritual metal. and Epaphroditus was unknown, really, to all of us except in relation to the church at Philippi and his interaction with Paul. He's like many Bible characters. They only dance across the pages of Scripture at a moment in time for God to use for a specific thing and then they just disappear off the pages of Scripture. I think of one, a lady by the name of Dorcas. She lived in the city of Joppa. She was a kind of servant in the church that she cared for the orphans, and she cared for the widows, and she made things. She was a seamstress. She knew how to sew, and so she made clothing, and she made sheets and blankets, and she made quilts, if you will. This is the kind of lady she was. She died. She was young. She got sick and died, and the church could not imagine going on without this person. They sent for Peter. He was dispatched. He came down to Joppa and said, what's going on? And they said, look. Our sister who loved us has died. Is there anything that can be done? Wow, some people you just can't get along without. Well, you know, that's the feeling they had for Epaphroditus. They were just hurt that he was so sick in the work that they had given him to do. Well, the Lord did raise this lady Dorcas from the dead. It was amazing. And so this kind of a person Epaphroditus was the kind of person that when it was time to take up the missionary offering, he gave. And then when it was announced that somebody needed to take the offering, he said, okay, I'll take it. And so he volunteered for this 800 mile trip on which he got very sick. Paul talked about him. He said he was a brother. That means he had a spiritual relationship in Christ, and so they were brothers. They had this feeling of family. He was a fellow worker. That spoke of his fellowship and partnership in the gospel. That's been the theme all the way since chapter one, verse four and following. Paul said, every time I think of you, I think of all of you, and I think of your partnership, your fellowship in the gospel. We're partnering here. Well, one of the partners, was Epaphroditus. And the church sent him to come. He was a fellow worker. And he was also something else. He was a fellow soldier. Paul loved military terminology. He used it many times. There's passages that talk about the armor of God, the swords of the Spirit, and the shields and all these things. And then here he calls this man a fellow soldier. Did you understand something that not only when we step into the grace of God and thank him and he saves us from our sins, we not only get set free from the penalty of sin and death, but we're also enlisted into the army of the Lord? We're part of God's work in the world. We're part of His army. But not the kind of army that takes up arms and goes and does things physically against people. Oh, no. No, we're the kind of people like Richard Wurmbrandt that you saw just a few moments ago that in the face of whatever people throw at us, it's still the glory of God in the face of Jesus that we want to talk about. We want to tell people we are part of an army. 2 Timothy 2.3 says, you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of life in order that he may be able to please Him who enlisted him as a soldier. This soldier mentality, it escapes us I'm afraid. He said, well, what do you mean? Well, so many times we erroneously in our mind think, well, okay, I'm gonna, man, I'm gonna make that trip, make that short-term trip, or I'm gonna get involved in ministry, or I'm gonna work here in the church and everything, and because I do that, God's gonna put me in this protective bubble. and I'm just gonna be padded, I'm gonna be like that guy in a bubble, that guy in a sphere, and that's the way my life's gonna be, and I'm just gonna serve God, and nothing's gonna touch me, no sickness, no heartache, no problems, everybody's gonna love me, nobody's gonna speak against me, and this is just gonna be great, and oh, horrors of all horrors, I will never run into any real hard times in my life, because I am now serving the Lord. Well, how did that work out for the Apostle Paul? How'd it work out for Richard Wurmbrandt? How'd it work out for so many? It's just, it's an erroneous thought. And I want to say to you, Christians get sick. Christians have car accidents. Christians have pain. Our world is not impressed because we can go through life without problems. Our world is impressed when we go through what they go through and we have hope. we can share with them and help them. It's so important. Epaphroditus was this kind of a person. He risked his life to carry out his ministry. I had an opportunity to be in Patterson, New Jersey and preach in a church in which I learned this story. John and Betty Stamm prepared themselves at Moody Bible Institute and left from Patterson, New Jersey to go to China as missionaries. They arrived in 1931. They moved later to the area of permanent ministry in 1934, but it was the time of the Chinese Civil War. Within days, they were arrested and held for ransom, but their captors wanted to not wait on any ransom. They decided they would just kill them as an example. On the way to be led away to be killed, Betty, who was a nursing mother, begged to be allowed to nurse her daughter, and they stopped, and she found the house of a Christian, went in and nursed her daughter, and the soldiers got busy with other things, and she hid little Helen in a sleeping bag inside of this Christian's home in the back room, and she came back out, and they started on their path, and that little baby she left behind. The man of the home who was there, who was a Christian, begged the soldiers to please not take them away. And because he begged on their behalf, they said, well, if you're sympathetic to Christians, then you join in line too. You'll die with them. A little further on, John was forced to his knees and beheaded in front of his wife. Then a little later, Betty, his wife, was beheaded, and also the Christian layman. Little Helen, thankfully, was found two days later in the house. She was cared for. They knew that they had relatives. Their own grandparents were there. Also in China, they got the little girl. to the grandparents and back to safety, she survived. These three died and they had tombstones and they said this, John Cornelius Stamm, January 18th, 1907, that Christ may be glorified whether by life or by death, Philippians 120. And then Elizabeth Scott Stamm, February 27th, 1906, for me to live as Christ and to die as gain, Philippians 121. And then on December the 8th of 1934, a much younger man, Maisheo Anui said on his tombstone, be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life, Revelation 2.10. Well, see, that completely blows away the idea because just like Jim Elliot, these believers gave it all to the Lord in order to serve in a difficult situation and they lost their lives. You say, oh, what a tragedy. Well, it may seem to be a tragedy on earth and no one minimizes the pain of the families that lost their loved ones, but it was the story of John and Betty Stamm and Jim Elliott and Elizabeth. It was their stories that God used to raise up thousands upon thousands of missionaries. to replace him. Epaphroditus was a soldier. We're called to be tenacious in following the Lord. Epaphroditus was that way. But for the church, he was their minister. He was the servant of the church. He was their minister sent to encourage Paul. He was their minister to carry their offering. And he served among them, and because he served among them, he was fit to be sent. You know, No one who never serves at home all of a sudden becomes a servant when they cross an ocean or a national border. It just doesn't happen. And so they look for the person who was a servant and they sent him. You know all churches depend on laymen who sense. a burden. Did you know that? All churches depend on that. He sensed the burden to supply Paul's needs. They couldn't locate him for some time. Finally they located him and now he's in prison. And so he sensed the burden for those that were serving the Lord. And then he also later sensed the burden to relieve his home church's concern. He sensed the burden. He said, oh, these folks are so Concerned about me. I'm okay. I'm better now, but they're so worried. I just I don't know what to do Well Paul settled it for him. I'll tell you what. I'm gonna be okay. There's lots of Christians here in Rome you go home take this letter you go home and Comfort the hearts of those good people who have sent you with this offering and so away he went and you know I He loved his home church and his home church loved him. This kind of mutual love of a church member and his home church is not automatic. And you know, I think I can just say just two little words, a name, Cecil Cooper, and you'll get the idea. How many of you are here and you know who I'm talking about when I say Cecil Cooper? Well, many of you have come since the time of Cecil, but if I could liken Cecil to anything, I would say he's like that pillar back there in the back of the auditorium. Cecil was here, there, he was everywhere. And I can't tell you how many people still say, well, my house flooded and Cecil showed up along with some fellas to get the basement cleaned up. I needed to redo my basement and Cecil was there. You know, I had a plumbing problem, an electrical problem. I just, my car broke down. This man, Cecil, made it his business to be available to anybody and everybody that he possibly could all the time in addition to being the cornerstone of the Usher ministry at Grace Church since it was on 35th Street up until he died a few years ago. Cecil Cooper, the church loved him and he loved the church. No fanfare, no neon lights, nothing like that, just Epaphroditus. That's who he was. All churches need to recognize these true servants that are among us. Paul sent Epaphroditus back to them. It was his idea. Epaphroditus may have been torn between, oh, I need to stay and minister, oh, but I need to go home. Paul settled it. It sent him home. It wasn't like he was quitting his ministry. It wasn't like he was giving up on the job. No, no. And we have to be careful ourself when people cease to do one thing to start doing another. We have to not be judgmental when somebody who's always done a certain thing stops doing it so they start doing something else. Can we not be thankful and give God the glory for somebody that gives years and years of service in some certain area? We're not supposed to be self-seeking, of course, but Paul said something about people like Epaphroditus. He said that they're worthy of honor. The Bible says that, you know, let another man praise you and not you yourself. And this is exactly what's going on here. Epaphroditus didn't go home and say, hey, I'm home, I did it, I got it done, I was sick, I went through it. No, no, no, he didn't say anything. He just was hurting in his heart for the people that were worried about him. Paul sent him home, and here's what Paul said. When he gets there, receive him with joy. Don't question why he's back early. Receive him with joy. He almost died doing this for you and for me. And then rejoice with your servants. Rejoice in their ministry. Rejoice in their health and well-being. The youth of our church have carried the torch for us over the last couple of years in foreign mission trips. And when they go and they come and they've got a story to tell, we should rejoice and listen. And then we need to recognize God's servants among us. We have so many people like Epaphroditus. I'm gonna get myself in big trouble this morning. But we have so many people that are like this, that make things happen. And as I go into this, I tremble doing it because somebody's gonna get left out. But that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to say that every week, any week, every week of the life of Grace Church, it takes many hundreds, over 300 people to make it happen, and none of them has the title pastor or elder. It takes a lot of people to make go on what goes on here. Some of it doesn't even happen in the four walls of the building. Oh, what a huge, huge ministry it is. And we thank God for these. There are three ladies who make sure we have cookies to eat every Sunday morning at chat rooms. Sue Dabney, Pam Forrest, Janet Tedford, they constantly serve. Mark, he's here early and he's got a lot of helpers to make sure we have coffee to drink. Barry Harvey. is as faithful as the sunrise and he and his offering team serves us every week of the year to make sure that every penny is correctly recorded and that it's used for the purpose for which it was given. We have so many. Paul Kitt is getting ready to go to Texas to represent us and serve the people damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Interesting enough, when Hurricane Katrina hit, Paul Kitt was on the group that went down there. In fact, twice a year, Paul Kitt is the one that makes sure that we have a good testimony along the expressway out here by organizing a team just to pick up all the trash twice a year out in front of our church. And he doesn't blow a trumpet and shout and say, look what I'm doing. He doesn't do anything. He just does these things. There's a group leaving next Saturday going down from our church, and Paul's on it, and there are others, and thank God for them. No fanfare, no propaganda, just organizing people and helping. I can't help but mention three men that were such a blessing to me personally. When we were living in Peru, My son Phillip began to love the piano and began to play. Somebody up here heard that he was playing the piano and wondered what he was using to play. And they said, well, Pastor Phil has to rent a piano from somebody. He pays, you know, $40 a month or something. And they said, well, one guy, Gene Howe, I don't know how many of you remember Gene Howe. Gene Howe said, oh, well, I got this piano that's just sitting in my house here and it's going to Peru. And I don't know exactly how it all happened, but I get a phone call from Bill Baker. He says, hey, he said, Gene Howe has given Philip a piano, and we're going to be getting it down to Peru. I just want you to know that Harold Sims, God bless him, he's with the Lord right now, Harold Sims and Bill, we're coming to Miami. We put it on the back of my truck. We're driving all the way to Miami. We're going to drop it off. Just be ready to pick this piano up when it gets down there. And that's not the end of the story. God called a young woman named Keiko Omae from Osaka, Japan to Peru to be a missionary, and she was a concert pianist. I mean an incredible concert pianist. And she wanted to use not only her compassion for the lost, but also her ability to play the piano for the Lord's glory. But nobody plays the piano in Peru. They play congas, and they play cajones, and they play guitars and everything. You know, finding a piano that we could be our own And so when Bonnie and I came back here to serve, we took our piano and set it on the platform when Keiko showed up so that Keiko could play and bless the church. And that church is the only church that has anything close to an orchestra. And part of it is that piano that Gene Howe, Bill Baker, and Harold Sims got down there. I want you to understand something. That's Epaphroditus. There's three things and I'm done. Churches need unifying, humble leaders. Those of us that we do this and we lead do not expect some sort of awe and worship of the people because we carry a title. Because if we've learned anything, we've learned to serve because Jesus said, I've not called you to be called somebody fabulous. I've called you to be like me and behold, I am a servant among you. And then not only should there be servants standing up in the pulpit, but there should also be servants in the pew. Now, when I say the word pew, there's a group of you that think, you know, something stinks. And I said, no, I mean, old codgers like me call that thing you're sitting on a pew. That's what that was called. A bench, a seat, whatever. And that's what it is. And besides that, it rhymed. And so that's why I wanted to use it. But here's the point. Churches need unifying, humble leaders in the pulpit and churches need unifying humble layman in the pew. Churches cannot make it without people like Epaphroditus. They can't. Are you an Epaphroditus? Are you that kind of a person? Are we ready to serve one another and serve the Lord? I want to start a tradition at our church and I'd like you to just help me with it. I don't want to bring everybody, everybody that picks up a paper cup in the driveway on the way home, I'm not going to bring them on the platform and say, hallelujah, that's wonderful, and we ought to pick up paper cups, anything like that, it ought to just be automatic. But I'd like us to do something as a body of believers, because we love each other and we see each other. And what I'd like to do is just a very simple thing, and that is this, is when you see somebody that you see is serving and serving God, and not that you have to go buy them a Starbucks card or anything, but when you see somebody, tell them, I saw you serving. I saw you serving. I saw you serving, just tell them. Write them a note. or just tell them in person, I saw you serving, to encourage one another. And you know what? This kind of I saw you serving will become contagious and people will want to serve one another when they recognize it does make a difference. And I want you to know, all of you Epaphroditus' out there, we cannot function without you. We cannot be a church without all of the Epaphroditus' that are there. I run a great risk. The other day, we were sitting at prayer time, and I told the staff, hey, tell me some people that are like Epaphroditus. And man, we had to dismiss before they got saved, and I couldn't write fast enough, and I'm not gonna be able to say them all. I told you it's more than 300 every week, but bulletin stuffers and mailing team, and make sure you've got the bulletin and things that get mailed out at church serve you, and they're Epaphroditus. And Joanne McLeod has surrendered herself to every need, I think, that's ever existed in our church, and she's a volunteer for everything. So is Dennis Fry. He is served in every capacity that's possible. So is Denise Sellers as she wants to serve anybody that would like to have a Bible and anybody that would like to have a relationship with Jesus. And then we have Chuck and Peggy Warwick that show up on a continual basis at every need. And then Bill Phelps who goes and changes all every week all of the missionary letters that come in and Barry Harvey and the offering team that stay far after you go home and start your lunch they're still counting and making sure that things are right and then in the teens and the young adults Greg Fry and Ryan Jump have served endlessly and then the Greiner family and then the cooks Bill and Tom and Carrie and Jesse Harless and many others and the funeral team Mary and her team that are always there to encourage those that are discouraged with the funeral meal And then we have Donovan Maxwell that most of you couldn't point out if you had to. But I know one group of people that know who he is, and that's the children. Because in the children's area, he has worked endlessly to enhance and make those areas nicer and build and make everything under the sun. Then there's Linda Charleston. She's not as able as she used to be, but Linda has always been there with whatever needed to be done to help. And then Andy Hanson, helping Marty on a continual basis. I've seen him come in early and stay late just to make sure that music's where it's supposed to be. Colin Peterson has fixed everything for everybody and Ken Butters is a constant help with technology and Mario Rossi is Redefining being a deacon and then Caleb Foster. I want you to know that I can't tell how many people said well Caleb Foster Well who just exactly who that is? Well, he's that oriental looking guy with real long hair but he's also like the most available helpful on the spot ready person for whatever always and And I'm just telling you, these people make it happen. And then there's Nancy Walters and many, many, many more. Ignite and Fall Family Festival alone require hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, like Epaphroditus. So I just wanna close saying, dear Grace Church, You belong to a gracious and serving church. Let's take note of it. Let's rejoice in it. Let's give God the glory for it. There needs to be humble leaders, and there need to be humble laymen, and they need to be serving, not with self-interest, but for God's glory. And thank God it is true. Would you bow your heads? As I close this, let me just say very quickly You may be here this morning and say, wow, that's a bunch of unusual people because that's just not in me. Well, if it's not in you, I pray that it becomes in you because the thing is is that the Bible says that the love of God has been spread abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that he has given us. And you can certainly have this kind of love, this kind of love that changes your complete character, your complete makeup. Not only does he change your destination from hell to heaven but he also changes the way you are. And he can take a really hard hearted person and turn them into somebody else. But only if you know Jesus. If it sounds like something that you'd like a change, you'd like to see in your life, you'd like to know Jesus as your Savior, you'd like to have this hope and confidence and this love of God poured out in your heart, then you need to pray a prayer like this, because we're all sinners. And sinners have got that impediment between themselves and God until God takes it away. Pray this, God, I know you're there. You're talking to me right now. I really don't have this kind of personality or heart that is concerned about other people and serving other people and trying to be used of God. I'm the kind of person who wants to be served. God, I'm a sinner and I know that. And I know that my sin has me separated from you. If nothing happens, I know that my destiny is hell. I don't want to go to hell. I believe that you're offering me hope. I'm hearing that Jesus, you offer me this love and you demonstrated it by dying on a cross for me. God, I'm putting this together. It is my sin that made you need to die on the cross. Today, I believe this. I confess this. I understand my sin is my problem. Forgive me. Save me, Jesus, today. I confess my sin. I believe that you, the Son of God, came and died on the cross for me. I believe you were buried and that you rose again. Today, I believe From henceforth, I'll be able to call you Father, God, and Jesus, you're my Savior. I trust you totally and wholly from this moment to eternity. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for me. If you prayed the prayer like that, and if you meant it from your heart, It wasn't the words that you said, but it was the heart that God read. He knows what you mean. If you confessed your sin to Him and called on Him in salvation, He saved you. And His love and Holy Spirit are going to come and make their presence known to you daily. With heads bowed and eyes closed, is there anybody that could say, Pastor Phil, I prayed that prayer with you today. I'm not going to make you give a speech or do anything. I just want to rejoice and pray with you. Is there anyone, Pastor, I prayed for Jesus. God bless you. I see your hand in the back. Anybody else? Yes, sir, I see your hand. And ma'am, I see your hand. Yes. Anyone else? I see your hand up front. God bless you and you. Thank you so much. Dear Father, thank you for these that by the raising of their hand are giving testimony that they did business with you, calling on you this morning. And I pray, Father, that this regeneration that's happened in their life would show itself strongly, Lord. Strongly in love being poured out in their hearts and a new person breaking forth by the power of the Holy Spirit Help them not be ashamed of what has transpired in their life And help them confess you publicly Thank you for this day. Thank you for this passage of scripture Thank you for examples like Timothy a humble leader in the pulpit, and for Epaphroditus, a humble servant, a humble layman, all working together for your glory. We give you praise and thank you for this story in the scripture. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. I think I was supposed to show a picture at the end of the group. Is there a group? There they are. I failed to do this in the first team. These guys are headed down going to somewhere in Houston. I can't remember the name of the town. Liberty. And there they are. Pastor Sean's going to accompany them and they're going to go down and they're going to get those shirts really, really dirty while they're down there. So I just want you to know that. So let's pray for them and just lift them up and we'll give a report. They'll be back and we'll know just exactly what's going on. Well, God bless all of you today. We're glad that you're here. That's it from up front. If you'd like to talk more, I'll be out in the middle atrium and be glad to talk to you. God bless you. You're dismissed.