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[0:00] Our sermon text today is Philippians chapter 2 verses 19 through 24. In these verses, the focus shifts from the things concerning Paul.

[0:12] He'd been giving them a report on how he was doing. And it shifts now to the focus on the things concerning the church at Philippi. For context, Paul is in prison in Rome.

[0:24] And he receives money, a gift, financial gift from this little church in Philippi. And it comes from a man named Epaphroditus.

[0:34] So here's Epaphroditus from the church in Philippi traveling to Rome to be with Paul and minister with him. And also in that prison or that house arrest is Timothy.

[0:45] So there's three men together, at least. Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. That's the context of our passage today. Well, as I read these verses, we receive it as God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient, trustworthy, authoritative word for us as people.

[1:05] Philippians 2, 19 through 24. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly. That I also may be encouraged when I know your state.

[1:18] 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.

[1:34] 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. This is the word of the Lord.

[1:46] Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Let's pray.

[1:58] Lord, we ask that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you will cause us to see your love for your church.

[2:12] Help us to see how much you love your people. How much you love each one that you have drawn to yourself. That you've adopted into your family. That you've put into order in a congregation.

[2:24] We pray, Lord, that you'll be glorified. That you'll deepen our faith. That our roots will push down into Christ himself. And receive from him the sap, the nutrients of life.

[2:38] And that your spirit will produce the fruit of the spirit in our lives. That you'll be glorified as you put the life and the mind and the energy of Christ more and more in us. Your people.

[2:48] For your glory we ask. Amen. Amen. Have you noticed how a recommendation letter often reveals more about the person writing the letter than it does about the person they're referring to you?

[3:01] I came across this funny one from a law firm referring Miss Brown to someone else. Quote, to whom it may concern. While employed here, Miss Brown has displayed great facility in the use of social and audio visual media and text messaging.

[3:18] Not to mention telephonic skills with a variety of non-employment related parties. Furthermore, Miss Brown has displayed great attention to detail in many areas with the possible exception of document review, preparation and mailing.

[3:32] She is punctual on the days that she comes in on time and always comes in first place in office departure. She has been a pleasure to work with on those occasions where she has had enough sleep.

[3:44] If there is anything further that I can do to facilitate this, including personally driving Miss Brown to her new employment, please, please, please let me know. The values of the writer come through.

[3:55] When you read a reference letter, you're looking to determine, is this person a good match? Does this person possess what we need?

[4:07] In our sermon text today, it's Paul's reference letter recommending Timothy to the church in Philippi. So we get great insights into what Paul values for the ministry as the one writing this recommendation letter.

[4:20] And we also get an assessment of the needs of the church and how Timothy can serve those. You read a reference letter looking for evidence about the person.

[4:33] Well, what is it that the church needs? The church in Philippi or this congregation or any church around the world in any time period? It's amazing that we can distill it into these essential attributes.

[4:44] And these are evidences that that mind of Christ, which has been Paul's message all along, it was it was set by Christ as the pattern. He humbled himself, but it didn't stop with Christ.

[4:55] It put these dominoes in motion. The next one we have in just one little versus Paul. Paul got the mind of Christ. Well, then we can be in like the church in Philippi and think, yeah, but Paul was an apostle.

[5:06] God's doing these amazing signs and wonders through Paul. Well, here comes the next domino and it's Timothy. Timothy is not an apostle. He's an ordinary man and we can look at all of the New Testament, put together a biography of this man, Timothy.

[5:20] And it's been humbling and also encouraging for me to study that this week. Here's Paul's message to the church. Philippians 2, 2. Would you look in your in your copy of God's word as well? Philippians 2, 2.

[5:31] Paul writes, fulfill my joy, church, by being like minded. This is for all the church, for all Christians. Be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

[5:42] Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. We've got enough of that going on in the world and here in Rome. But in lowliness of mind, let each one esteem others better than himself.

[5:55] Oh, watch for how Timothy does this. Verse 4. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests. That's the theme of this passage. But also the interests of others.

[6:07] Let the mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. That's the gospel pattern. So, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, do you share Christ's mind for his church?

[6:23] Do you share Christ's mind for his church? Looking at Timothy's reference letter, let's pull out six evidences of what that is.

[6:34] Six evidences. Number one, the first evidence that you share Christ's mind for his church is this. You serve wherever the Lord Jesus puts you.

[6:45] You serve wherever the Lord Jesus puts you. Look at verse 9. Paul says, I trust or I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly.

[7:01] I trust in the Lord Jesus. Paul is sensitive to divine providence. Christ, of course, is the head of the church. Who else can put people where he wants them?

[7:15] It's Christ who puts each one wherever they are. It's Christ who put you here. And I thought of your stories, each of you. The churches you came from. Those who have discipled you for many years who have poured into your life.

[7:28] And now Christ has put you here. And you're serving here right where he has put you. He's the head of the church. If you read a letter or sometimes even in a sermon, you'll see an abbreviation.

[7:40] Just a DV. Especially if it's from the 1600s. What do those letters DV stand for? Well, it's a phrase in Latin. And it comes from this Bible verse, Hebrews 6, 3.

[7:52] This we will do if God permits. This we will do if God permits. And the letters DV, they stand for Deo Volente. Deo Volente.

[8:04] Lord willing. God, Deo Volente. Where we get the word volunteer. If this is God's will, we will do it. And that's exactly what Paul is saying.

[8:15] Timothy is here ministering with me now, serving me in house arrest. But Deo Volente. If it's God's will, he will go to Philippi. And in Philippi, the Lord Jesus, head of the church, will have Timothy serve there with you.

[8:27] Wherever Timothy is placed, he will be serving Christ. Think about how God had prepared Timothy. God had ordered every event, every step in Timothy's life up to this point.

[8:40] He says, I hope in the Lord Jesus that God will order him to do this next. But it's God's will, not Paul's. In the Lord Jesus, Timothy was ordered to be raised in a home where he would be nurtured in the scripture by his mom and his grandma.

[8:56] No mention of his dad, but that was the Lord's ordering of his life, that he would be nurtured in the scriptures from the infant age. The Lord also ordered that Paul would meet Timothy on his first missionary trip that we read about in Acts 14, 6.

[9:12] Then the Lord Jesus ordered that Timothy would be converted to become how Paul describes him in 1 Corinthians 4, 17, Paul's faithful child in the Lord. The Lord Jesus ordered that Timothy be discipled.

[9:28] And we read in 2 Timothy 1, 2, he's called Paul's dearly beloved son. He wasn't just a child when he was born. He became Paul's son in the Lord and being discipled.

[9:39] And when Paul returned to Lystra about three years later on his second mission trip through Macedonia, which is described in Acts 16, 1 through 4, the Lord Jesus ordered Timothy to join Paul as one of his fellow laborers.

[9:54] Then the Lord Jesus ordered that Timothy be at that Genga River where he saw God cause Lydia, who was praying, to pay attention to the gospel that Paul was preaching and to believe.

[10:06] The Lord ordered then that Timothy would get to witness this slave girl being delivered of the demon possession. And that the jailer would get to witness Paul and Silas, you know, being freed by the Lord from prison, but remaining there and preaching the gospel and then washing their wounds.

[10:25] And then him and his household hearing the gospel and believing and being baptized. The Lord ordered that Timothy saw this church in Philippi get planted. And now Paul hopes that the Lord Jesus will order Timothy to visit Philippi shortly.

[10:41] But he says, let's wait. I want to hear after Nero's verdict. If I send Timothy now, he's going to show up and you say, well, what about Paul? And he'll say, I don't know. Nero hasn't given the verdict yet. So let me wait.

[10:53] He'll be coming to you shortly if the Lord will order that. Brothers and sisters, what was true of Timothy is true for you and I as well in our lives. Just praise the Lord for all the ways he's ordered your life up to this point, how he's prepared you.

[11:11] Think of the promises of scripture that he's given you at the moments when you've needed the most and how his providence has always matched those promises. Has God ever once failed you, failed to be faithful to his own promises in your life?

[11:25] I love how the Puritan John Flavel put this quote. Can you say amen?

[11:51] Has God been faithful in your life this way? Well, that's the first evidence that you share Christ's mind for his church. You serve wherever the Lord Jesus puts you.

[12:02] Number two, second evidence that you share Christ's mind for his church. You encourage others with what God is doing. You encourage others with what God is doing.

[12:13] According to the New Testament, we get a picture of Timothy. And it's not that of a courageous, bold soldier marching out.

[12:25] Instead, his natural disposition seems to have been much the opposite. Timothy was described as timid. Maybe fragile or sickly.

[12:38] Certainly nervous. Naturally wanting to avoid confrontation. His stomach was in knots. Many pastors will tell you they know that feeling. It's exacerbated by the anxiety that comes with leading courageously and having God's people on your heart and mind every hour, every day, every week.

[12:58] Paul was looked down upon by some for his lack of experience. And he did receive two letters of encouragement. Pointing out that this is something Timothy needed.

[13:09] He needed someone to put courage back into him. What made Timothy a servant God would use is that Timothy learned what Jesus taught in Matthew 6, 33.

[13:23] Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things will be added unto you. Now, Timothy would be sent.

[13:35] We read in verse 19 so that Paul may also be encouraged when he then learns of the condition of the church in Philippi. Paul's spirit is needing encouragement.

[13:49] What's going to encourage Paul's spirit is to know the condition of the church at Philippi. He's burdened for that church. He needs to know. And Timothy is one who can come back with a trustworthy report.

[13:59] And when Paul hears Timothy describing the spiritual condition of that church as one who deeply cares, it will encourage Paul. To encourage is to lift up the spirit.

[14:10] It's to increase a person's confidence of success. And it's to embolden them with courage that they're lacking. Paul says, I need some of that. I get down.

[14:23] I need to be encouraged. And he describes in verse 20, Timothy is like minded. That's what makes him an encouragement. He'll be an encouragement to the church at Philippi because he shares the mind of Christ.

[14:37] But when he comes back and talks to Paul in Rome and tells them with deep care and sincere affection for the church, it will encourage Paul. Here's a like minded brother.

[14:48] You share Christ's mind when you encourage others with what God is doing. Timothy, I think is well described by Sinclair Ferguson.

[15:02] In the ordinary things like reliability, self-giving and proven service. Timothy proved himself to be extraordinary. In those ordinary things, he proved himself extraordinary.

[15:16] Well, the third evidence that you share Christ's mind for his church is that you care about the condition of the church. Yes, you let others know what God is doing and you encourage them.

[15:28] But you have to genuinely love God's people. This is not something that a wolf or a thief can fake long term. It's a sincere care and love for the condition of the church.

[15:43] Look at Paul's words in verse 20. For I have no one like minded who will sincerely care for your state. We get the picture that in Paul, in Paul's view, the church right now is incredibly mixed.

[16:00] There is glorious blessings and things that God is doing in the church like in Philippi. But there's great discouragement. This statement in verse 20 has a minor key. I have no one like him.

[16:12] I look around, but I don't see anyone else who's like minded, who has that equal or kindred spirit. The same soul is what this literally means.

[16:26] Think about how God etched that into Timothy's heart. Timothy and Paul had now a shared disposition and a strong commitment to the same purpose.

[16:36] Where did that come from? Well, I think as we walk through these verses, we'll get more and more insights. The solution, though, is not to buckle down and pull yourself up by your bootstraps and hard knuckle it.

[16:53] It's really to rest in Christ. It's to learn from Christ himself, a love for the bride of Christ. That's what Paul is emphasizing in Philippians 2, 5.

[17:04] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. This mind. It's only in Christ Jesus that you will get it.

[17:15] Christ Jesus humbled himself. We read in verse eight and he became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross and the pattern for ministry that Timothy models for us is a crucified ministry.

[17:29] He's humbled and he's serving as one on a cross, united to Christ. The interests of Jesus Christ, notice in this verse, are the same as the spiritual condition of his people.

[17:46] I have no one like minded who shares the mind of Christ, who will sincerely care for your state. To care for the state, the condition of God's people is to be like minded with Christ.

[17:57] It's one in the same thing. In Matthew 25, verse 40, the king says, Truly, I say to you, as you did for one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me.

[18:10] As a grateful and joyful groomsman, you look out for the needs of the bride of Christ. That's what Timothy does. He seeks first the things of Christ, which means he cares for the condition of God's people.

[18:25] The people of Christ are the same thing as the things of Christ, because the people of Christ are the souls he purchased. They're his possession. They're the apple of his eye.

[18:38] And there's no one, he says, who will sincerely care or who will be genuinely concerned for your condition. But there is Timothy. As Jesus said in Matthew 23, 11 through 12, Because Timothy sought after Christ first, he put the people of Christ first.

[19:09] And like Christ and Paul, Timothy made himself low in order to lift others up. The evidence that you seek first the kingdom of Christ is that you seek first the interests of his people.

[19:24] You care about the condition of his church. Well, the fourth evidence that you share Christ's mind for his church. What you seek is different.

[19:36] What you seek is different. In Romans chapter 16, Paul lists 26 individual names of Christians in Rome.

[19:48] Yet not one of them was available to make this trip to care for the needs of the church in Philippi. He says in verse 21, For all, apparently, seek their own, not the things of Christ Jesus.

[20:03] To seek is to desire, to strive for, to search after, to inquire into. That's what it means to seek. It's the same word Jesus used in Matthew 6, 25.

[20:14] I tell you, do not be anxious or preoccupied or worried or seeking after your own life. What you will eat or what you will drink or about your body. But instead, seek after eternal life in Christ.

[20:28] The kingdom that has no end. As someone put it, you either live in Philippians 2, 21, seeking after your own things. Or in Philippians 1, 21, to live as Christ.

[20:43] Those are the two options. Seeking your own interests. This has been a pebble in Paul's boot as he's been ministering throughout this whole letter.

[20:58] He describes this self-centered focus of people in ministry in Philippians 1, verse 17 as selfish ambition. In chapter 2, 14, these are most likely the same people who are complainers.

[21:12] In Matthew 23, 25, Jesus has stern words for these shepherds who are feeding themselves off the sheep. Jesus says, Woe to you hypocrites, for you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence.

[21:31] Paul also warns the church in Rome in Romans 2, 8. For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

[21:46] See the contrast between a thief and the good shepherd? In a pattern of ministry following Christ or following that of Satan?

[21:57] In John 10, Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd who came to get a flock for himself. And he did that by laying down his life for the sheep.

[22:09] In the contrast of the thieves, they don't come to lay down their lives or to give to the church. They come to get for themselves from Christ's own people.

[22:20] The good shepherd approaches the sheep for their interests, but the thief approaches the sheep for their own interests. What did seeking Christ's mind cost Timothy?

[22:35] He's following his master who laid down his life for the sheep. What did this path of preparation include for Timothy? We read in 2 Corinthians 1, 19, that Timothy was with Paul among those who stood up in Corinth and proclaimed Christ.

[22:56] That verse says that Christ was preached among you by us, by me, Silvanus and Timothy. He was standing up, boldly proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Lord of all.

[23:08] And as a result, he suffered greatly. In 1 Corinthians 4, 10 through 11, these men who proclaimed Christ in this city were considered fools. They were considered weak.

[23:19] They were dishonored. Paul described him and Timothy and Silvanus as hungering and thirsting, being poorly clothed and beaten and homeless.

[23:29] 2 Corinthians 7, 5 and 6, he says, our bodies had no rest. We were afflicted at every turn, fighting without and fear within.

[23:42] But in that moment, in Corinth, under extreme persecution, he also says, God, who comforts the downcast. That's what God does. He comforted us by the coming of Titus.

[23:55] Do you see the pattern? God calls his people to become soldiers, to advance the kingdom, to proclaim him.

[24:06] The enemy opposes it, hates and attacks. God's people feel beaten down. They're low. They're downcast. And God sends reinforcements.

[24:17] He sent Titus to them in Corinth. And he comforted them with the presence of another brother. And now he's going to send back Epaphroditus and shortly Timothy to Philippi because they need it.

[24:28] They need that encouragement. They need that comfort. Timothy was also arrested. We read in Hebrews 13, 3. He says, our brother Timothy has been set free, implying that he had been arrested with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

[24:44] So verse 20 of our sermon text. It's very fitting to describe Timothy as like minded with Jesus Christ.

[24:56] Because he identified with Christ in his suffering. This love, this sincere care is genuine. He cares for the condition of Christ's bride. How could he not?

[25:07] And what better description of such a ministry as Paul himself gives in Philippians 1, 1. Turn back to that. Remember how this letter opens?

[25:19] Paul and Timothy, servants or slaves of Jesus Christ. It's evidence that you share Christ's mind for his church if what you seek is different.

[25:32] The fifth evidence is it's actually, to me, an encouragement on more how to get there. So how do you actually become a believer, a Christian, a brother and a sister in the Lord that can serve in such a way and can be such a soldier?

[25:53] How do you grow that mind of Christ in you? I'm feeling right now, too, so convicted. I want more of this. But how do I grow in this way? Well, from Timothy's example, it's this.

[26:05] You get discipled for kingdom service. There's no shortcuts. There's no fast track. You get discipled within the church for kingdom service.

[26:16] That's how God puts the mind of Christ more and more in each of us. Discipleship is the task of the church. It's for new converts, but it's also for those being raised up within the church.

[26:28] And I know, I believe, I pray that we have Timothy's in this congregation. And it's our task as a church to disciple the next generation within the home and also when we gather our families together, our households together in Christ's name.

[26:42] Well, many churches complain and grumble about a generational gap. And each generation can be frustrated with the previous one.

[26:52] The generational gap, quote unquote. It's when the old complain rather than training up the young and when the young avoid or maybe even mock the older generation rather than humbly learning from them.

[27:06] So you get these annoying trends, you know, within the mega churches of our country where each generation thinks they're doing the new cool thing rather than humbly training up through discipleship.

[27:18] The next generation. See if this description of the generational gap resonates with you as true. Quote, our youth now love luxury.

[27:30] They have bad manners, contempt for authority. They show disrespect for elders and they love to chatter instead of exercise. Does this sound like your grandma or grandpa?

[27:41] Children are now tyrants, not servants in their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. Well, that was written in the year 500 B.C. more or less by Socrates in Athens.

[27:58] See, there's nothing new. There's a generational gap that's always existed. Well, what's the solution to that? The solution is verse 22. Would you look at that with me? Philippians 2 22.

[28:10] Paul describes Timothy this way. He says, you know, his proven character. Now, here's the answer. That as a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel.

[28:22] How did Timothy become such a selfless soldier, such a Christ minded minister? He served with Paul as a son with his father.

[28:38] Paul writes that his character is proven. This means that Timothy, he had he had passed the test. He was put on trial and approved. This term means like a genuine collector's coin has been certified.

[28:53] It's reliable. It's of real value anywhere you go. In Acts 16 to Timothy was described as being well reported of by the brother. Another pastor named William still identified three stages in preparation to be such a servant.

[29:11] The first stage is pre-service. So young ones or maybe a new convert, they're not quite ready to be all in and to serve in the church. So pre-service is a necessary step on that path.

[29:23] The next step is that you become a slave. You grow from pre-service to being a slave of Christ through his church. And then the final step is after being a servant and a slave, you become a soldier.

[29:36] Pre-service, slave and soldier. So how does God raise up such selfless soldiers? Well, when we read Paul's initial phrase there in verse 22, he says, As a son with his father, we would expect him to say, The son served the father.

[29:57] Timothy served me is what you would expect. But instead, Paul wrote, Timothy served the church with me. He wasn't serving Paul. They were both serving Christ side by side together under Jesus as their Lord and master.

[30:14] Remember the introduction again, Paul and Timothy side by side, slaves of Christ. Timothy is not Paul's slave, but both together serving the church as slaves of Christ.

[30:26] That's the secret to the generational gap. To become a selfless soldier, it must be taught, but it's also caught. It must be explicitly shown.

[30:37] Here's what the Bible calls us to. And then it must be lived out. We must call us to walk with us in the example as we follow Paul and Timothy and ultimately Christ. Timothy spent 10 years ministering with Paul.

[30:52] In New Testament times, a son served his father and he did so to learn the trade. He was willing to obey the teacher and become as skilled as possible in that work.

[31:05] Bonhoeffer rightly observed that when Jesus bids a man to come, he bids him come and die. You learn that through the example of someone else who has been called to Jesus and has died and is following Jesus as a dead man.

[31:23] Isn't this true of sanctification and of all of the commands in the scripture there? They must be both taught and caught. I can hear that. But will someone show me how to walk out this Christian life?

[31:36] Take, for example, Ephesians 4, 22 through 24. It must be taught and caught to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through the deceitful desires.

[31:49] And be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. So how do we train a soldier?

[32:03] How do we do that within the church with elders and deacons and teachers raising up and equipping and discipling? If God's entrusted you with children or grandchildren or nieces and nephews, maybe even through other relationships in your life.

[32:18] How do you train others up as a soldier? It's in three ways by the grace of God. Number one, looking at Timothy's example, it's through the nurture and scripture from infancy in the home.

[32:31] This is where it all began for Timothy. Grandma and mom in the home, raising him up in the nurture of scripture. Number two, it's through the discipleship and ministry by teaching and example.

[32:44] And number three, it's long term service in the church until you have a proven character. Over time, he's well thought of by those inside the church and outside.

[32:56] So how Christ's mind for his church can grow in you and in me is you get discipled in the church for kingdom service. Well, the sixth evidence that you share Christ's mind for his church, it's this.

[33:11] You are a vessel of blessing wherever you are. You are a vessel of God's blessing pouring through you wherever you are. Let's read verse 22.

[33:23] Timothy served with me in the gospel as a son. So that's where he was at that time serving the Lord with Paul. Now, verse 23, Paul says, I hope to send them to you at once as soon as I see how it goes with me.

[33:38] And in verse 24, Paul writes, but I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly. These verses describe Timothy being mobile, being mobilized.

[33:50] And wherever he is, he's going to be that vessel of service to the Lord. Paul sees his life being poured out like a drink offering. The hourglass is on the final grains of sand for Paul.

[34:03] And Paul says, I don't know which way it's going to go with me, but there's Timothy. If I'm out of the picture, I'm no longer writing you letters or able to come visit you. You're not alone. God will carry this on.

[34:14] See, it's a passing of the torch. Just as Paul has been a vessel to pour out himself on the sacrifice of their faith and service, Timothy is going to be the next vessel.

[34:25] God's already prepared. The next generation is ready. The Lord Jesus can greet Paul on the day of Christ for Paul.

[34:36] And those words that we read in Matthew 25, and we long to hear ourselves. Matthew 25, 21. The Lord Jesus will see Paul. His days are over. And he'll say, well done, good and faithful servant.

[34:50] You have been faithful over a little, and I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And as Paul's approaching the finish line of his race, Timothy is warmed up, and he's at the starting line.

[35:05] He's ready to take that baton and carry it and run for that next stretch. Timothy had already served well with Paul wherever our Lord Jesus Christ sent them.

[35:16] And now Paul had confidence that Timothy would be a trustworthy minister to Philippi. Timothy would be an encouragement to Paul with a report of their spiritual condition.

[35:26] No matter where God was putting Timothy, he was going to be a vessel of God's blessing and encourage the advancement of the kingdom. God had given Timothy a little.

[35:38] God had put his mind in Timothy and by his grace caused Timothy to be faithful in those little things he was given in long-term service within the church. And now he was ready to give him more.

[35:51] Through this partnership between Timothy and Paul, the Spirit inspired and they co-authored the letter to the Philippians. Paul is going to urge Timothy to entrust to mature men what I have taught you.

[36:15] This pattern of ministry that I've shown and modeled and used to train you up, Timothy. Now you turn and you do that within the church. 2 Timothy 2.2, he says, The things that you have heard from me commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

[36:34] Sinclair Ferguson summarizes this reference letter of Timothy this way. It's like Paul is telling the church, What I have taught you by exhortation, by teaching, I am sending to you in the flesh and blood illustration of Timothy.

[36:50] This man's life is what I mean by my preaching. Christ desires for your life and mine, dear brothers and sisters, to illustrate Christ's teaching.

[37:03] Here is one who has taken my yoke, my cross. Where I lead, he or she follows. Well, how did Timothy's life end on earth?

[37:16] Eusebius' ecclesiastical history records that Timothy was the first overseer of the church in Ephesus. And that he died there preaching at the age of 80.

[37:28] Fox's book of martyrs says that Timothy was murdered after calling a crowd of pagans to turn away from their idolatrous celebrations and instead to worship the one true living God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

[37:43] And so for Timothy, the words of Christ once again ring true. Matthew 16, 24 and 25. Jesus says to his disciples, If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

[37:58] For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Would your life, Christian, encourage other believers as an example of Christlike obedience in every day, every week, every year, ordinary ways?

[38:22] May it be so by God's grace. May it be so by God's grace.

[38:54]  GodЖine Christ in us, your people, for your glory, we ask. Amen.