You should turn with me once again to Philippians. We are in Philippians chapter 2. We begin this morning in verse 19. Philippians chapter 2 beginning in verse 19. I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. for they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth. How as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need. For he has been longing for you all, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again. and that I may be less anxious. So receive Him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men, for He nearly died for the work of Christ, risking His life to complete what was lacking in Your service to me." Let's pray. Father, once again we have come to Your Word, this moment in our service, and we are asking for the help of Your Spirit, the guidance of Your Spirit in understanding Your Word as You have given it to us. We ask that You would teach us in this moment in the power of Your Word. I ask that You would help me to preach Your Word, to say what You would have said to Your people. Nothing more and nothing less. In all this we ask, in the precious name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. I personally love these types of passages when our study of the Bible brings us to them because they seem to be those types of passages that just aren't relevant to us in any way, shape, or form. You know, you look at it, Paul, the Apostle Paul is talking about sending Timothy and Epaphroditus to the church there in Philippi. We may know someone named Paul or Timothy, but I'm certain we don't know anybody named Epaphroditus, In any case, we don't know these specific individuals. We don't know this Paul, personally. We don't know this Timothy, personally. We don't know this Epaphroditus, personally. We aren't even Christians in Philippi. We're Christians in Bernice, right here in 2015. Paul himself, at least not directly, didn't found this church. It was founded 150 or so years ago. So why are these tithes of passages here in the Word of God? Because all Scripture is breathed out by God. We believe that. And all Scripture is profitable. We believe that according to 2 Timothy chapter 3. It's profitable for reproof, for rebuke, for correction, and for training in righteousness. There's not a single word in the Word of God that is idle. There's not a single phrase in the Word of God that is frivolous. There's not a single argument in the Word of God that is inconsequential. Yet we come to this type of passage and quite frankly we don't know what to do with it. Because it does seem to be of such personal nature. That we shrug and skim through it. We spent three weeks going through verses 12 to 18. Because that's an argument. That's something that's weighty and helpful and it's easy to see how it applies. But if we're committing to taking God's Word seriously, then that includes even passages and texts like this, where Paul goes on a tangent about sending people to the Christians in Philippi. So what is it that God is saying to us through this passage, even though it wasn't written for us? It was written for the Philippians. What is it that God is saying to us? In a way, and I want you to see this, this is an extension of verses 12 to 18. that we have been looking at. He says at the end of verse 17, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, verse 18, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. So he concludes his discussion of holiness that we've been looking at by reminding them of his own care and concern for them that He had not run or labored in vain when He came there. And He concludes all of that by mentioning once again His own resolve to rejoice and His desire that they also would rejoice with Him. And then Paul, the apostle, sets into motion a plan that will ensure his own rejoicing and will ensure the Philippians' rejoicing. He says in verse 19, I hope in the Lord to send Jesus to you soon so that I too may be cheered by news of you. And then he says in verse 28, I am the more eager to send him, that's Epaphroditus, therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. That's the two main points of these two paragraphs. He sends Timothy, in order that Timothy would send back report of the church, and that Paul would rejoice in the report. And likewise, he wants to send Epaphroditus, that they would rejoice in seeing him again. I will rejoice, verse 17. I want you to rejoice, verse 18. And connected with my own rejoicing, I'm sending Timothy. to report back. And connected with your rejoicing, I'm sending a paphroditus that you might rejoice." Which maybe, if you notice, presents a little dilemma. Why is it that these men will bring about the rejoicing that Paul desires out of both himself and the Philippians? Why is it that these imperfect sinners will bring about rejoicing? Is it rejoicing in these men that will bring it about? And the answer is no. The reason that these men will cause this rejoicing is not because they are worth rejoicing in, but because their particular ministry to the church focuses on the one who is worthy to be rejoiced in. There's a lot of confusion out there about what it means to be fruitful. What it means to be faithful. what it means to be useful within the church. There's a lot of books that will map out a lot of ways that someone can be useful to the church. And there's a lot of church leadership books that are intended to be read by pastors, to help pastors see and understand how to implement programs and ministry opportunities and more busyness so that more people can serve and be useful in the life. of the church. Volunteer more, show up more, teach more, get involved more. But what does the Bible have to say? Because that's what this passage is meant to show us. Rather than simply, you know the Bible does this sometimes, rather than simply making an argument for what a commendable servant of the church looks like, It gives us a picture, a real life example of what commendable service in the church looks like. And quite frankly, what the Bible has to say about commendable service and commendable servants in the church, what the Bible has to say about that is diametrically opposed to much of what you will find in much of modern church growth, popular works. So we have these two servants of the church that Paul intends to send to them, and each one of them gives us three characteristics of commendable service in the church. Three each. First we have Timothy, who as we said, Paul is sending to them that Timothy might report back to Paul, might report back and Paul would be cheered by the news upon Timothy's return. Literally it reads that I may be cheered up or comforted knowing the things concerning you. The point is that Paul is sending Timothy and he is assuming that the report he receives back will be comforting, will be a point of rejoicing. Now why Timothy? Why specifically Timothy? Why does he say he is sending Timothy? Among all the other people perhaps that Paul had at his disposal to send to them, why does he choose Timothy? The first reason is that Timothy has a concerned ministry to the church. a concerned ministry to the church. Verse 24, so here's the reason why he's choosing Timothy to return to them. 4, I have no one like him. Some versions say, I have no one like-minded. This is the only place this particular phrase is used. It literally means that what he's saying is not that there's no one around like Timothy, because he also talks about sending Epaphroditus. What he means is that there's no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. There's no one like him who has the same mind as me. We complete each other's sentences. We complete each other's thoughts. My concern is Timothy's concern. We are like-minded. That's what he means by there's none like him. Of everyone he has to choose from, Timothy is the one who most closely resembles Paul's own heart and mind. Who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. Now you can kind of see this in the ESV, but not really. Let me read the King James Version and you can kind of You can see a parallel between verse 19 and verse 20. So here's the King James. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send to Matthias shortly unto you that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. For I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state. It's the same phraseology. It's the exact same phrase at the end in the Greek. What Paul is saying is that he wants to be cheered of their state, or he wants to be cheered of news concerning their spiritual welfare, and of all the people that he has to send, Timothy is the only one with the same mind as Paul who will genuinely be concerned for that same spiritual welfare. That's the parallel. Timothy will truly, genuinely, just as Paul is as their spiritual father, be concerned for that same spiritual welfare. And that's the first mark of commendable service to the church. Concern for the spiritual welfare of the people in the church. When he wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, we hear Paul speak of expelling the evil that is among them. This is about the man who had his father's wife, right? Sexual immorality is not only tolerated in the church, but celebrated. You're proud of yourself for this even. No, expel the evil person from among you, he says. Why? Because he was concerned for their spiritual welfare. In the same letter, he talks about the divisions in the church. Some say, I am of Paul and others, I am of Apollos. Why does he so concern himself with the divisions in the church in Corinth? Because he's concerned for their spiritual welfare. To the Galatians, he called them foolish and bewitched. because they had allowed unsound doctrine to come in and take hold in the church. And he called them to return to the truth. Why? Why such strong language, Paul? Because he's genuinely concerned for the spiritual welfare of the church. And Timothy, in like mind with Paul, will genuinely be concerned as well. In fact, we see this also in his letters that he writes strictly to Timothy after he leaves him in Ephesus. In 1 and 2 Timothy, right? constantly calling him, hold to the sound words that you have been taught. Preach the Word in season and out of season. Hold to the true Word. Keep watch on your life and doctrine closely, for by it you will save both yourself and your hearers. Over and over and over again, Paul reiterates to Timothy, even in his training manual, if you will, for how to conduct himself as a leader in the church, Care for the spiritual welfare of the people in the church. That's the first mark. He knows that Timothy, when he goes, will have a concerned ministry. Secondly, he knows that he will have a Christ-centered ministry. Christ-centered ministry, verse 21, for they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul is dealing with in his own situation. Back in chapter 1, verse 15, some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. That's the kind of men that Paul is surrounded by as he is under guard in Rome. Now, like I said, of course, this isn't to say that Timothy is the only one that would have a Christ-centered ministry. He's fixing to talk about Epaphroditus. So this is a general statement saying that there's just not a lot of picking to do. Timothy is of like mind with Paul. He'll be concerned for their welfare and he's concerned about the interests of Christ and not his own interests. Paul warns about false teachers in this way, false teachers who come in and seek their own interests rather than the interests of Christ. Once again, in 1 Timothy 6, verse 3, he says, if anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching that accords with godliness. He is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth." Then he says, "...imagining that godliness is a means of gain." This is what false teachers are like in the church. of all of this. They stir up strife. They teach different doctrines. They lead people away from the truth. And the bottom line motivation for any and every false teacher that we find in the church, the bottom line motivation is that they see godliness as a means of gain. And you can turn on the television and you can watch many of the hyper-spiritual power hours coming on channels like Trinity Broadcasting Network, and you can see this verse in full display. Men, many times even women, teaching different doctrines and causing divisions and teaching what is not true, imagining that godliness is a means of their own gain. All these men seek their own interests, Paul says, but not Timothy. He seeks the interests of Christ. Christ is always at the front of Timothy's ministry to the church. Which, as I said, is the second characteristic of commendable service in the church. Christ-centeredness. What pleases Him, what pleases Christ, we desire. What pleases Christ, we pursue as we serve the church. Once again, in writing to the Corinthians, you remember what Paul told them in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. When I came to you brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. and I was with you in weakness and in fear, and much trembling in my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." There's a lot of talk when you read help books for pastoral ministry about the need for innovation, the need for novelty, the need for presenting these old truths in new and refreshing and exciting ways. Paul earlier in 1 Corinthians had said the Jews want wisdom, or the Greeks seek wisdom and we give them foolishness. And the Jews want signs, but we give them a stumbling block. Paul didn't consider his message or his ministry to be anything new or anything novel. He had a message that was given to him to herald to the people. And when his crowd wanted certain things, Paul said, I gave them the exact opposite. There's no one that falls outside of the boundaries of a Jew or a Gentile. You're either a Jew or a Gentile. You're neither. And He says when the Jews wanted signs, we gave them stumbling blocks. And when the Greeks wanted wisdom, we gave them foolishness. Because of what He says in chapter 2, we determined to know nothing. We didn't come with lofty speech, wisdom. We didn't come with plausible words of wisdom. We decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ. in Him crucified. Christ-centered ministry. Christ should be at the tip of our tongue with everything that we do in ministry to the church, and with everything that we do in ministry to non-believers as we evangelize. It should be the message of Christ and the message of the cross that we bring into the world. Nothing more and nothing less. Paul will go on in Philippians chapter 3 to say that, whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, count them as rubbish in order that I might gain Christ. That's Christ-centered ministry. Timothy will be the same way, not seeking his own interests, not seeking his own gain, not being like the men in Philippians 3.19, whose end is destruction, their God is their belly, their glory and their shame with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is where? In heaven. This is why Paul chooses to send Timothy. Because of his concerned, Christ-centered ministry. There's a third characteristic that we see in the ministry of Timothy. It's a consistent ministry. A consistent ministry. Verse 22, you know Timothy's proven worth. His proven worth. Timothy's ministry isn't a one-shot, flash-in-the-pan ministry. His ministry isn't one that he gave up on when the going got tough, and so Timothy got going. Paul calls to mind Timothy's proven worth. The connotation of that word translated as proven worth is that it is something that has been tested, examined, and found to be authentic. He uses the verb form to speak to us as believers. 1 Corinthians 11, verse 28, Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread. and drink of the cup." 2 Corinthians 13, 15. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail to meet the test? It's the same word he used back in Philippians 1, verse 10. So that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. What's the implication? Something has been tested. It has been examined. It has been put through the ringer, if you will, and it has been found to be genuine. That means it's consistent. Timothy's ministry to the church under the tutelage of Paul has been consistent through the good times and the bad. Timothy's ministry isn't wishy-washy and ebbing and flowing with the different seasons of life, or with the different seasons of society, or with the different seasons of culture, or with the different season of his hearers, of those he's trying to minister to. But it certainly isn't ebbing and flowing and wishing and washing based on how he feels today, or this week, or this month. His love and concern for the church doesn't wane or fail depending on how he feels in general. And it doesn't wane or fail depending on how they reciprocate his feelings. He loves the church. In the midst of the twisted and crooked generation that Paul was talking about just above, Timothy has been tested and has been proven worthy to be a minister to the church. His worth is real. And they know this. How as a son with a father, he has served me in the gospel. This has been Timothy's ministry. He's been side by side with Paul. It's not like Paul's out there doing all the suffering. And Timothy is across the way getting away with no suffering. He's been right there side by side with Paul. The good and the bad, the thick and the thin, and he's been there keeping the faith with him. So he concludes about Timothy, I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. Paul fully expects that he will be released eventually, be able to see the Philippians face to face, But until that day, he wants to send Timothy to report back about this Philippian church. So three characteristics of commendable service in the church. Concerned, Christ-centered, consistent ministry. Now we have someone else that Paul wants to send. His name is Epaphroditus. And in his ministry, we see three more characteristics. The first one were all C's. I couldn't think of any more C words. These are all L's. L words. Epaphroditus' ministry to the church. First is a laboring ministry. A laboring ministry. I have thought it necessary to send to you, Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, your messenger, your minister to my need. It's a laboring ministry. Brother, of course, is the word that Paul uses everywhere to refer to his spiritual brothers. It can mean blood brothers, but more often than not, in Paul's writings, it means spiritual brothers. He calls everybody brothers everywhere. Every Christian. And he calls Epaphroditus, first, his brother, his blood brother through Christ. Secondly, he calls him his fellow worker, his laborer, if you will. Romans 16.3, he greets Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. So this isn't the only one Paul refers to this way. In chapter 16, verse 9 of Romans, great Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, he calls Timothy his fellow worker. In verse 21 of Romans 16, Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you. He calls Titus his fellow worker in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 23. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as I said, he also calls Timothy his fellow worker in 1 Thessalonians 3 too as well. We sent Timothy, remember he sent Timothy to the church in Thessalonica, much the same way as he's sending him here to Philippi. We sent Timothy our brother and God's co-worker in the Gospel of Christ. Like Paul, Epaphroditus labored for the Church. He labored for the Church. My, my fellow worker implies that Paul didn't see their relationship as merely professional. He's my fellow worker. It's a deeply personal, co-laboring ministry. A fellow working ministry together for the sake of the Gospel. This is a strong bond between Paul and Epaphroditus. And it comes out when he calls him, my fellow worker, my brother, my fellow soldier. Not only were they fellow workers, they were fellow soldiers, warriors. Remember that Paul is in chains, he's suffering for the faith. He considers himself a soldier in the army of Christ. He uses that imagery, he uses imagery of working, he uses imagery of sports and being a runner who runs a race. We're also soldiers, marching out into the midst of battle. Primarily a spiritual battle, but marching out into the midst of battle, warring not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to Ephesians. In what way did Epaphroditus suffer? I said a minute. We'll get into Epaphroditus' own suffering much in the same way that Paul suffers. So not only is he a soldier in the sense of warring for the faith, but he's also a soldier in the sense of suffering for the faith. Like I said, we'll get to that in a moment. And then he turns. He turns from the, my brother and my fellow worker and my fellow soldier and your minister, or messenger and minister to my need." A messenger, the word used is a carrier of the gospel message that was specially commissioned and sent out by the church. Your messenger. You commissioned him to go out from your church and bring the message of Christ as an evangelist. Which is clearly what's in view here. Paul didn't commission Epaphroditus, his church did. And then Epaphroditus joined up with Paul. "...and ministered to my need." What does that mean? That's in verse 30. It gives us more of a clue. He nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. The Philippians had pulled together a gift that they wanted to present to Paul. And so they had to deliver the gift. When he talks about what was lacking in their service, they had done everything that they could do to give this gift to Paul, except commission someone to bring it to him. Epaphroditus filled that lap. He completed what was deficient. What was deficient? The delivery of the gift. Epaphroditus was the minister to the need of Paul. It's the same turn of phrase that Paul uses in Colossians chapter 1 verse 24 when he says, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, that is the church. What does he mean when he says in his flesh he's filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ? He means that he rejoices in his suffering because he suffers as he brings the Gospel message out. And in the preaching of the Gospel message, he fills up what is lacking in the affliction of Christ, namely, the presenting of the suffering of Christ for the sins of the world. In the same way, Epaphroditus filled up what was lacking in their service, namely, the presenting of the gift that they had pulled together for Paul in his imprisonment. So Paphroditus first has a laboring ministry, a toil, a strife, a work. Ministry is work. And not just the pastors do that work of the ministry. Everyone has a laboring ministry in the church. So first he had a laboring ministry. Secondly, he had a loving ministry. loving ministry. For he has been longing for you all, verse 26, and has been distressed because he heard that he was ill. Indeed, he was ill near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow." Notice the selflessness here. He's ill. He's sick. He's near to death, Paul says. But what concerns Epaphroditus? Not his own condition. What concerns Epaphroditus is that he heard that they heard that he was ill. And he's concerned about their state of mind in hearing about his near-death illness. I'm sick, you found out I'm sick, and now I'm worried about your own welfare on account of that. Which is kind of crazy. Most of the time, when we fall ill or have something going on, we're the first one to mention our ailments to everybody that'll listen. But there's a flip side to His loving ministry of Epaphroditus. Notice this, the only reason that he would distress that they found out he was sick is because he knows how much they love him. And He knows how much this love will cause immense concern on their part. How many times do we hear of someone else's distress, or sickness, or whatever the case is, and we feel concern for a moment, but it's fleeting, and it passes, and we move on. Epaphroditus is concerned because he knows what this knowledge will do to the people in this church, because of their deep love for him, reciprocating his deep love for them. Would we feel this type of distress? Are we known as the kind of people, as a church, that others say, look, don't tell them I'm not doing well, because they will worry themselves sick over me. So there's a dual side of this portion, His loving ministry. It's a reciprocal love. He loves them and they love Him. So he has a laboring ministry and he has a loving ministry. I've got one more. He's got a life-risking ministry. A life-risking ministry. "...Receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me." He nearly died. Paul says he risked his life. And to add even more to it, he says this type of servant is one who should be honored. The kind who would risk his life for the good of the church. We've already talked about what it means that he filled up, or completed, or filled up what is lacking in their service. But Paul makes it clear that the choice Epaphroditus made was a conscious choice to risk his life for ministry. This isn't a choice that he made with uninformed consent, and it just so happened that he wound up ill. He made a choice knowingly to risk His life. This was a time when this type of journey to get to Paul would be long and treacherous. You know, they didn't hop in their car and drive to the airport and go fly to Rome, like we do today. Hop, skip and a jump away. Paul's missionary journeys were long and they were treacherous. You had to deal with the evil in the world. You had to deal with the natural disasters in the world. Obviously, Epaphroditus did. He became ill to the point of death. Service in the church in the first century was not easy. It was not easy due to persecution, and it was not easy due to the other things that I've mentioned. But he was willing to risk his own life for his service to the church. Because ultimately, our service to the church is service to Christ. Our service to the church is service to Christ. He joined Paul in counting everything as lost for the sake of Christ. It will be dangerous, it will be treacherous, it will be hard, but I count everything as lost for the sake of Christ. So what can you do? Or what can you be? to be useful and profitable and faithful to this church. Seek to minister to this church in these ways that are so imitatable. Whatever the word is. Imitate Paul and Timothy in Epaphroditus. All of them had their strengths and all of them had their weaknesses. There were different men who performed very different tasks in the service of the church. But the six characteristics Paul outlines that are worth imitating are concern, Christ-centeredness, consistency, laboring, loving, and life-risking ministry for the service of the church. These are commendable service to the church. And you can practically apply those in a myriad of ways based on how you desire to serve and to minister to your fellow brothers and sisters here in this church. Let's pray. So Father, we do pray that You would make each one of us these types of servants in the church that focus on what You see. the heart and not what's outward. May we not become self-righteous, whitewashed tombs who are dead on the inside, but people that live with vibrancy, a vibrant love for Christ, who are willing to risk everything for service to the church. Help us each to know how it is that we can labor and love and serve this church. Help us to see where we individually fit in. The body is made of many parts, hands and feet, eyes and ears and mouths. Bring us together as one body in the power of the Spirit, that we might effectively witness to the beauty of Christ. In all this we ask, in His name, Amen.