Amen. That is so true. It's still the cross that is the answer to all of mankind's problems. And we see so many issues going on in our country today that is so troubling, the race issue and all of these political issues. And to be very simple in answer, but yet profound, the answer is found in the cross of Jesus. It's found in the gospel of Christ. And we can work all these social issues on a man man's level all we want, we're never going to solve those things. Only Jesus and the gospel of his death and burial and resurrection is the answer to all of mankind's issues. Well, it's a joy to preach to you this morning. If you would take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Philippians chapter number two. Philippians chapter number two. Our text will be starting in verse 19. And just by way of reminder, we'll just remember that Paul is writing this letter. He's writing this letter to the Philippian believers, the Philippian church there in Philippi. While he is in Rome, he is being held captive. He's under house arrest. He is chained to a Roman guard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Why? For preaching the gospel of Christ. And some 10 years earlier, he planted the church at Philippi. You can read about that in Acts chapter 16. You can read some of the first converts Those first believers who made up the church there in Philippi, one being the Philippian jailer. And so 10 years has passed. The church now is on its own and he has gotten word that some issues are going on in the church, some trouble, some division and so forth. And so he writes into them and encourages them, admonishes them to love one another. Love one another as Christ loved you. And that's really what chapter two really is all about. So let's read now in Philippians chapter two, verse 19. It says, but I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state, when I know of your condition. For I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel. Therefore, I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly. I want us to think about this morning on this thought, Timothy, who was an example of a selfless servant. Timothy, an example of a selfless servant. Let's pray together. Our great God and Father, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we humbly bow before you, Lord, asking you, Lord, to speak to hearts. Lord, help us to listen intently to your word. Lord, help us to remove those distractions from our minds and our hearts, and Lord, give us ears to hear and hearts that are receptive, hearts that are that are meek and broken. As the ground is broken to receive the seed and the rain, Lord, break our hearts to receive the nourishment of your word. Lord, I pray that. For Joyce and Lord, I pray that you just give her the rest that she needs and. Pray for Neil. I can't imagine how scary that is. We pray, God, for their well-being, their health, specifically Joy San. Father, we ask you, Lord, again, to meet with us in a very special way. We'll give you all the praise and glory. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we see here that the apostles' brief reference to Timothy, and then as we shall see next week of Epaphroditus, they're not just casual references, they're not just casual mentions, but rather they're meant to capture our attention, to really top off what Paul's train of thought has been. As it began in chapter 2 and verse 1, as Paul tells the Philippian believers how to live, how to live lives of the gospel that are worthy of the gospel within the fellowship of the church. And very specifically, they were to treat each other with selfless humility. He tells them this in verse 3. He tells them, let nothing be done within that fellowship. Let nothing be done within the church through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself." And then in verse 4, he tells them, let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interest of others. Oh my, how churches still today, 2,000 years later, need to uphold these truths. How we need to love one another, how we need to fellowship one with another, not with selfish ambition or conceit, but esteeming others before our own needs. Listen, Paul viewed all of this, he saw all of this as something that was vital to the fellowship. As a matter of fact, he viewed this as so vital that in chapter 2 and verse 5, He began to reach for the ultimate example of Christ. It was the ultimate example. That's why he said in verse 5, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Let this attitude that Jesus had be your attitude as you fellowship one with another in your church. What was his attitude? Well, it tells us, In verses 6 through 11, it tells us of his amazing self-humiliation, of how Jesus left the glories of heaven, how he identified himself with man, how he appeared and was man. He was 100% God, 100% man. But he continued to humble himself all the way to death. And as the scripture tells us in verse 9, even the death of the cross, the crucifixion. But then it also tells us because of his self-humiliation, it reveals to us in verses 9 through 11, his super exaltation. That is where the Father has given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And then in verses 12 through 18, what we saw last week, on the basis of Christ's example, Paul again refocused his call for the church to walk worthy of the gospel of Christ. In other words, he's saying this, if you are in Christ, You need to live like you are in Christ. You need to live a holy life, a separated life. Stop your arguing and stop your fighting, stop this division. Live holy lives that are worthy of the gospel of Christ. And in those verses, verses 12 through 18, he says if the church does this, if the church lives lives that are worthy of the gospel, it's people. That church will shine as lights in a dark world. They will shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation as they hold fast to the gospel, spreading the gospel. And now in verses 19 through 30, Paul gives us flesh and blood examples of this selfless conduct. to which he's calling the Philippian church. So here are men who live lives worthy of the gospel. The Philippian believers might have asked, what does Christian humility look like in real life, Paul? Paul gives the Philippian believers two great examples. Paul's young son in the faith, Timothy, and he gives them the example of Epaphroditus that we'll look at later. So today we're going to look at Paul's first real-life example, Timothy. And here Paul gives us three characteristics of this young man that I want us to consider this morning. First of all, notice with me that Timothy, was ready to be sent anywhere. He was ready to be sent anywhere. We see this in verse 19. Paul says, but I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state or when I know your condition. Now what's very interesting about that verse is this, is that remember Paul is being held under house arrest. He has a Roman guard chained to him. He is being held for preaching the gospel of Christ and yet Timothy, even at this moment in this condition, he is still right there with the Apostle Paul. This is not the most popular time to associate yourself with an apostle, right? But he is. Timothy was that kind of a person that shows us his character. He identified himself with the man of God. But Paul is wanting to send Timothy to the Philippian church so that he can receive an up-to-date report on the life of this church in Philippi. And so that phrase, to send, there in verse 19 is a very common phrase in the New Testament. It's mentioned some 79 times in totality in the New Testament. It's mentioned four times in chapter 2 alone. Now why did Paul want to send Timothy? Well, first of all, Paul could not go himself, right? He was chained to a Roman guard. But Paul wanted someone to go that he could trust because Paul was concerned about the state of affairs there at Philippi. But that phrase, to send, not only speaks of Paul's concern, it tells us something else. It tells us something about Timothy's availability. It tells us something about Timothy's willingness to go. I wonder this morning as we think about Timothy's availability and his willingness, are you available to do whatever the Lord asks of you? Are you willing to do whatever the Lord has asked of you? Henry Martin, one of the great missionaries of yesteryear, he was a missionary to the country of India in the early 1800s. On the eve of his departure for the mission field, he said, I'd go to burn out for God. I'd go to burn out for God, and that's exactly what he did. He died on the mission field. Listen, the problem with the average Christian in the average church is not that we're going to burn out. Most of us are going to just rust out. Amen? Or oh, me. Hey, his desire was to burn himself out to God for the glory of God. And God used him in a tremendous way, and he died at the age of 31 years old. But he gave his all to the Lord. Well, Timothy was ready at any moment to go anywhere. We think about how Timothy went in spite of the distance. Timothy went in spite of the distance. It would not have been easy for Timothy at all to leave the side of his beloved father in the faith, Paul, in order to go to Philippi, but he was available and he was willing to do the Father's will. You see, Rome to Philippi was not a short distance whatsoever. From Rome to Philippi was some 800 miles. And in those days, it would have taken Timothy about six weeks to get there. But Timothy went in spite of the discomfort. He went in spite of the distance. And listen, this would have been dangerous times to be traveling in. Persecution was taking place, but listen, he looked past the distance, he looked past the danger, and he went. I cannot help but think of all the missionaries that we support through your faith promise giving. Those missionaries who have made themselves available to do whatever God has called them to do, and to go anywhere, regardless of the distance, to go give themselves to God and for His work. I think about one of the speakers that spoke here yesterday, Anthony Methenya, who was a missionary to a certain tribe, pretty hostile tribe in Africa. He didn't care about the distance, he didn't care about the danger. He wanted to give his all to the Lord Jesus. I was reading this morning about a certain missionary in Afghanistan sent here from America. And he was telling us, I was reading about the work going on there and how God is blessing and saving folks. But I could not help but ask, if I was available, would I be willing to go to a land such as Afghanistan and preach the gospel? Wow. Timothy went in spite of the distance. We can't help but think about Moses, how Moses went in spite of his deficiency. You know, God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and to ask Pharaoh and really demand Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go. That's a pretty big call. Remember Moses, though, he gave every excuse that he could to God for not going. Moses said to the Lord, Lord, I have a deficiency. I am not eloquent. I have a slow, I'm slow of speech. I have a stammering tongue. He had all kinds of excuses as to why he should not go and do the Lord's work. But the Lord revealed to him that that was what he was called to do, and the Bible tells us in Exodus that he went to Pharaoh. We think about Elijah, the great prophet Elijah, how he went in spite of the danger. Remember, God called him to go show himself to wicked Ahab. I mean, the God-hating Ahab who really had a warrant out for him. He was wanting to kill this prophet. But the Bible tells us that Elijah went. He went in spite of the danger, in spite of the risk involved. I think about Ananias in Acts chapter 9, how Ananias, he went in spite of the doubt. There in Acts chapter 9, you read about how Saul was converted. Paul, before he was converted, was named Saul. Saul was converted on the way to Damascus. God gloriously saved him. But then God told Ananias, his servant, to go show himself unto Saul and minister to him, pray with him, for I have called him, and he is going to be greatly used, and what Ananias do, he was rather reluctant, to say the least. He was rather hesitant because he knew what Saul did to the church. He persecuted the church. He made havoc upon the church, and he was thinking, my soul, if I go meet with him one-on-one, what's he going to do to me? But nevertheless, Saul went. The Bible tells us in Acts chapter 9, he went and he ministered unto that newly converted Saul who would later become Paul and write most of the New Testament. And so we see Adonais was willing, Moses was willing, Elijah was willing, Timothy was willing. I wonder this morning, are you willing? Have you made yourself available to do whatever God has called you to do? Oh, listen, Timothy was ready to be sent anywhere. Notice, secondly, Timothy was ready to serve anyone. I love this. He was ready to serve anyone. Timothy was the kind of person who really cared. He was the type of person who longed to minister to people and care for people. I mean, just think about this. He would not have traveled 800 miles, go through all that discomfort of traveling in those days and the difficulties, the dangers, if he did not care for these people. Timothy was someone who really cared. His care and his love for others really was a breath of fresh air for the Apostle Paul. Because the Roman church where Paul was at, and those Christians who were in and around Rome, they were afflicted with a pathetic self-centeredness. As it is so clear from Paul's sad report in verses 20 and 21, where Paul says, I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state, for all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. Paul says, for I have no one like-minded. Literally, it is this, I have no one equal in soul. I have no one equal in soul. Paul spiritually surveyed the Christian community there in Rome. Paul could not find anyone whom he deemed of like soul or like mind. But Timothy, Timothy stands out like a rare jewel to Paul. No one was like-minded like Timothy was, and so to Paul, Timothy was a rare jewel. And let me just say this morning that if you have such a person in your life, if you have such a person who cares for you, you have in your life a rare jewel. And if you have more than one person, you are doubly blessed. Listen, as Timothy with Paul, those kind of people will be with you in your times of difficulty. Think about how Timothy was with Paul at Paul's greatest need. They're under house arrest. Well, listen, those are the kind of people you need in your life. And if you are here and you do not have such a person in your life that you can confide in and receive support in, pray that God would give you such a person and you'd be such a person back. Because everyone needs a companion like that. Even the apostle Paul had a need for a companion like Timothy. Well, listen, Paul's assessment was that there was no one like Timothy. No one like Timothy who will sincerely care for the well-being of the people at the Philippian church. That is, when Timothy arrived on the scene in Philippi, he would give the kind of care that he himself, that Paul himself would give. How did Paul care for the churches? How did Paul love the churches? Well, if you read in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 7, Paul says this to that specific church. He says, but we were gentle with you. just as a nursing mother cherishes or cares for her own children. And you think about how a mother cherishes and loves her nursing child. That's how Paul loved the church. And that's how Paul taught Timothy how to love and care for the church. But this was not the case in Rome, where Paul was being held. The self-centeredness that Paul had just warned the Philippians about in verse 4 of chapter 2 was part of the everyday life in Rome. Again, verse 21 tells us that, for they all seek their own. Their own what? Their own interests. Not things which are of Christ Jesus. And then Paul has already told us that even while he was under house arrest there in Rome, that some indeed, Paul said, preach Christ from envy and strife. And so many of the capable preachers there in Rome were absolutely infused with this mean-spirited self-ambition that Paul could not rely upon them to go take care of the Philippian church because they had their own interests in mind. Listen, when churches split, when churches divide, it is a sad, very sad thing, but many times it's not because of the deacons, and a lot of times the deacons get the blame for a lot of things, or maybe church members. Sometimes that is the case, but many times it is because of their pastors. who are mean-spirited, pastors who have just been overtaken with selfishness and pride. One writer suggests that Paul was pinpointing here a certain self-centered group within the church in Rome. It's very interesting here that Paul, he was not calling out Epaphroditus, obviously, because Epaphroditus had almost died serving the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to look at that very soon. And Paul here was certainly not calling out the women in the Roman church because they were not candidates to make such a dangerous trip to encourage the Philippians. Listen, those whom Paul indicted, this is what he's saying is this, those whom Paul indicted were the able-bodied men in the church. Those able-bodied men who had no concern about the church in Philippi, they were only concerned about their own interests and not the interest of Christ or His work. Again, verse 20 says, for they were all seeking their own interests. And so Paul really is calling out, he's calling out the able-bodied Christian men of Rome who were infused with this, really with their self. They were infused with this selfishness. The men in the church. In Rome, we're spiritually weak. I want to tell you something, beloved. A church without strong spiritual men of the faith is a weak church. I thank the Lord for women in our church. I thank the Lord for children in our church. Could you imagine a church without the touch and the servanthood of women in the church? I cannot. I'm thankful for women, but I'm going to tell you something right now. What we're seeing in today's churches is a mess because our men in the churches as a whole are weak spiritually. We're not the men God has called us to be. We're not the men that God has really encouraged us in scripture to be leaders in the home and leaders in the church. And this is one of the reasons why we're seeing such things in our country. We have become weak-minded spiritually as men, and we have become weak culturally as men. We've become soft. Men have lost their calluses, and men have just lost their tenacity to take a stand for what's right, and we're suffering for it. We're making more and more effeminate our military. And I don't know why that is other than just we've lost our way. In general, men are better fighters than women, in general. I know some women who could take me out pretty easy, but if I say the wrong thing to my wife sometimes, she can do that. But I'm telling you, beloved, listen, we are in a mess because our men, spiritually, are not what we ought to be. This is why Paul said to the Corinthian church, he told the men, hey, you act like men. You act like men. You have a backbone. You have a courage that stands for truth. We have weak churches because we have weak men. And this is really what Paul is calling out here. He said, I don't have any able-bodied men around me in Rome other than Timothy and Epaphroditus. And let me tell you something, there's a lot more Christian men in that area, but only two men that he could count on. That's sad. Well, we go on in looking at Timothy's spiritual maturity in verse 22. Notice the first phrase of verse 22 where it says, but you know he is proven character. You know Timothy's proven character. In other words, Timothy was no raw recruit. He wasn't a greenhorn, as we would say. He was no novice at the business of serving the Lord or by serving others. You see, Paul did not add Timothy to the team the very day the boy got saved. Oh no, Paul was much more wise to make such an error as that. Listen, he left Timothy behind after he got saved to become part of the church and to serve the church. He left him behind to become part of the church fellowship in Derby and Lystra. And it was in that fellowship, it was in that church, that Timothy grew spiritually and learned how to serve the Lord in his local church. And then when Paul returned to that area a few years later, he was happy to discover that young Timothy, in Acts chapter 16, he says this about young Timothy, that it was well reported, that he was well reported of by the brethren. Oh, he had grown in those years in that local church. The people in that church had helped him along in his spiritual life, and he has now grown to become a young man of God. And Paul knew, listen, he had to be careful when selecting someone to lead the church. He would not just appoint anybody and everybody. So he says to these Philippian believers, you know of his proven character. Which leads us to think about how churches select people to serve in the church. How important it is for churches to also use this example, use this instruction before we ask people to serve. that they need to be proven in character. And I'm not talking about perfect character, because I wouldn't fit that. None of us would. But every church needs to follow Paul's example here of only allowing those who have been proven in their character, been proven faithful, proven faithful. And I have pastored churches down through the years of when it came time to elect people to certain ministries, just about every year someone would say something like this, well, so-and-so is not really active in the church, but maybe if we give them a certain role, that will help them to become active in the church. No, it won't. Listen, if they're not active in the most smallest things of just attending, they're not going to be active in the bigger things. I've seen churches do that time and time again. Why are they doing that? They're not proving the character of that person. Let that person be proven before we put them in a Sunday school class or whatever the role is. Paul wanted to make sure because all people who serve in the church, every person who serves in the church doesn't have the right motives. That's just a fact. All did not possess pure motives. Some were seeking their own desires, their own interests instead of the will of the Lord. But Paul was confident in Timothy. He knew he was committed to the Lord and the church, and he knew that the church at Philippi was aware of Timothy's care and devotion. He had proven that among them as he served along with Paul for all these years. Listen, the church at Philippi knew that Paul was not going to send just anybody and everybody. But listen, our churches have those, and I'm talking about churches as a whole, who may be serving, yes, but they are not serving and having the well-being of the church in mind. Others, there are some who serve in the church and they see it as a way to obtain authority or obtain power. Many years ago, as I was a pastor in a different church, a man in our church asked me right before the message, right before the service was to start. That's never a good thing. Five minutes before the church starts, he comes to me and says, Brother Wade, God has laid something in my heart. for me to stand behind the pulpit and really admonish the church and really get on to them for not serving the way I think they ought to serve. I said, hold on a second. That's not the way we're going to start out of service at all. And if anybody needs to get on to them, it'd be their pastor, not a church member. He said, well, I feel led that I need to do this. And I said, look, I don't feel led that you need to do this. And he got mad, turned in his key, and he left for a season. He came back. We resolved those issues. But I'm telling you, what did he want? He wanted power. He wanted authority. And there are those who serve in the church for one purpose, to obtain some type of authority within the body. And that's wrong. Those who are committed to the Lord and the church that have the ultimate motive of of keeping and propagating the gospel of Christ, that is the type of people we need in the church. We need those who continue to serve faithfully, proving their commitment to the Lord and the church before others. Timothy was a man who was proven. Notice lastly, Timothy was ready to sacrifice anything. Not only was Timothy ready to be sent anywhere, Not only was Timothy ready to serve anyone, but Timothy was ready to sacrifice anything. Again, verse 22 tells us, but you know his proven character, that as a son with his father, that is his spiritual father, Paul, he served with me in the gospel. And that word serve there in verse 22, it means to serve as a bondman. or to take up the slave's life. Now, was Paul saying that Timothy's my slave? No, that's not what he's saying at all. Paul does not say that Timothy served me. It does not say that he served me, but rather he served with me in the gospel. So in other words, both Paul and Timothy were slaves of Jesus Christ. They were servants of Jesus Christ. And can you not just see Timothy slaving away alongside with his spiritual father, the Apostle Paul, sharing their hardships, sharing all the difficulties that the gospel ministry laid before them? But when Timothy enlisted When Timothy was enlisted on that second missionary journey, Acts chapter 16, it really heralded the start of a lifelong friendship. And I know that there were times that those two men, they laughed together. I know that there were times in their life that they cried together, they prayed together, they traveled together, they preached together. And just think, who is it that the Apostle Paul asked for when his days were almost done, Timothy. When his life was just days away from being taken, he wrote to Timothy, he said, hey, son, do your best. Do your diligence to come to me before winter. He wanted this man with him. Oh, but listen, here's the point. Most of all, in Timothy's serving with Paul in the gospel, Timothy followed the role of Jesus, who as in verse 7, it says of him, of Jesus, how he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Timothy had followed the model of Christ. He had emptied himself of himself He humbled himself and became a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and a servant of Paul. And here's the thing, Paul wanted the Philippians to observe that when Timothy came unto them, a selfless flesh and blood example of one who lives a life that is worthy of the gospel. Even though Timothy was timid by his very nature, Timothy had stood firm in one spirit with Paul and the Philippians. He was fearlessly striving together with Paul in the spread of the gospel. Timothy had set aside all strife and robbery and conceit and counted others more significant than himself while looking out for the interests of others. And the Apostle Paul placed all his confidence in Timothy's caring heart and excellence of proven character. But Timothy's life, Timothy's life said to the Philippians, Timothy's life says to us some 2,000 years later that by God's grace we too can have lives that are worthy of the gospel as citizens of the glorious kingdom of God. And it also tells us that the Christian life The Christian life is a laborious, intensive life. I ask you this morning, are you a diligent laborer in God's work? Are you a diligent laborer in God's work? Are your hands upon the gospel plow? Listen, there is something for every one of us to do. Everyone has a role and a job in the kingdom of God. It's likened unto a vineyard, and there are plows, and plowmen and plowwomen are needed to do the work of God. And as we do that, We become like Timothy. We become a blessing to the church of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let me just say this. If you're here and you're unsaved, you've never been saved by the glorious grace of Christ, I urge you to respond to the call of God through repentance and faith, trusting in Him and Him alone to save your soul. Let's pray together. Our gracious and kind Heavenly Father, Lord, what a tremendous example of what it means to be a servant within the body of Christ, within the fellowship of other believers. And Lord, as we look at this flesh and blood example, Lord, help us to look at our lives Have we made ourself available? Are we willing to do the things that you would have us to do? We understand that you give each and every person separate roles and separate jobs within the body of Christ. And we shouldn't be inferior if someone is doing something maybe more public in nature and maybe we're behind the scenes. But Lord, help us to serve humbly as Timothy did. Help us to have the interest of others in the forefront and ourselves last. And Father, I pray if there be one here today who knows not your Son, the Lord Jesus, Oh, Father, I pray that you would speak to them, convict them, and Lord, save them gloriously. Father, we love you. And we ask you, Lord, to once again bless this sermon. May it stick into our hearts. We ask all these things in Christ's name. Amen. I'm going to have everyone stand. And I encourage you at the conclusion of the service, as we, after our concluding song. Now we're gonna have Robbie and Lee will be available for you to, if you want someone to pray with you about any need that you have in your life. Maybe there's a physical need or spiritual need and these two men are gonna make themselves available to pray with you and to help you and counsel with you. I also will be in the foyer if you wanna speak to me about anything, I encourage you to do so. I encourage you to just serve the Lord. Serve the Lord with all of your heart. The Lord will bless you and the church for it. Before we are dismissed, I want to ask the Monroe's to come, Wayne and Laura. They have been longtime visitors. They started visiting our church back in the fall. had a chance to meet with them, oh, two weeks ago, or it's been a while, and they feel led of the Lord to join our church, and they are coming by the statement of faith that they have both been saved and baptized and would like to unite theirselves with our fellowship here. So what is the privilege of the church accepting them? I have a motion and a second. All those say amen. Praise the Lord. The Lord's blessed us with another wonderful couple, and we're looking forward to getting to know you better, and hopefully we'll be able to minister to all your needs that you have, both physically and spiritually, and that we make a covenant with you all that we're going to be to our best ability our best for you spiritually, okay? Well, after the closing hymn, we're gonna make our way in the foyer, and after the closing hymn, we're going to allow you to come and welcome them officially into our fellowship here. I want to remind you, next Sunday, after the service, there will be a potluck, and Will, correct me if I'm wrong, it's a fish fry and chickens available too? If you don't like fish, then there's chicken available. And so we're going to provide the fish and chicken and the sides if you will bring the desserts. And so this will be our first, if I'm not mistaken, our first really church wide fellowship in over a year. So I'm anticipating a great time and we're looking forward to that. So Lee, you lead us in a song. All right. Closing song, revive us again. ♪ We praise thee, oh God, for the love of thy love ♪ For Jesus who died and is now gone above ♪ Hallelujah, thine the glory, hallelujah, amen ♪ Hallelujah, thine the glory, revive us again Amen, you're dismissed. you