Thank you.
I'm going to be looking this morning in particular at verses 25 to 30, focusing in on Epaphroditus and looking as well at the first few verses in Philippians.
I warned Johnny about the title this morning. I don't know if it's up there now. Not to panic. Don't worry, Johnny. Hopefully there will be people here still next week.
But, yeah, really this is in some ways a how-to guide as to how to leave your church. But we'll get to that over time.
A fictional character, although maybe some self-autobiographical elements too. Mike had some big decisions to make. So far life had just kind of, you know, just kind of flowed from...
He'd gone to college near his home, which was very helpful because then he was able to stay part of the church that he'd grown up to.
And he really enjoyed it. He'd been part of a Bible-believing church, a church that loved Jesus.
But now college had finished and it seemed like anything was possible.
He knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance to spread his wings and to find his role in life.
Maybe he was going to move to the big city, go to Dublin or even go abroad for a couple of years.
He's sure he'd have the opportunity to find a good Bible church wherever he's settled.
There were Christians everywhere after all, isn't there?
So people in his home church would understand.
Nobody was going to tell him that he shouldn't go or couldn't go.
At most, maybe his pastor would gently say that, well, you know, you'd be missed here.
And maybe you should consider staying here or finding a job locally.
But Mike felt that all the options were there before him.
But which to choose?
How could he know God's direction in all of this?
So if Mike was in our church, what would you say to him?
Maybe you're in the same situation this morning.
Maybe you're needing to decide about going or staying.
Do you know how to make the decision?
Do you know what you should consider?
On the other side, do we know what we can say to someone like Mike or someone in these situations?
What is the right answer?
Is there any advice that we can give?
And the theme or what I want us to get this morning or really come to is this.
It's our love for Jesus will be measured by how our decisions involve the Christian community.
Our love for Jesus will be measured by how our decisions involve the Christian community.
So what we're looking at this morning, I think, is very critical, very important,
and really reveals our heart and our love for Jesus.
And I have to say, as I'm speaking this morning, this isn't directed to individuals particularly or individual situations.
I don't have all the answers for your particular situation.
So I'm not up here telling you to go or to stay.
Happy to have those conversations.
I think they should happen.
But what I want to say is that the good news is that the Bible speaks this morning into all these very similar kinds of situations.
And I believe it's as we listen to the Bible and we bring our hearts and our minds under Christ
that we can begin to have confidence about the answer to the particular questions for our situations and situations we know about.
We can be confident, I believe, in what God has given us.
He's given us his word.
He's given us his spirit.
And he has given us his people.
So let's look together now then at the example of Epaphroditus in Philippians chapter 2 and verses 25 to 30
and see what it is that God expects of us in these situations.
You may have read it for us.
But I think it's good if we just take a minute just to go through it again quickly.
This is what it says.
But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier,
who is also your messenger whom you sent to take care of my needs.
For he longs for all of you in his distress because you heard that he was ill.
Indeed, he was ill and almost died.
But God had mercy on him and not on him only, but also on me to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
Therefore, I am all the more eager to send him so that when you see him again,
you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor men like him because he almost died for the work of Christ,
risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
And the first thing I want us to notice here is that there are three distinct activities happening, I believe.
There is, first of all, sending.
There is going.
And then there is receiving.
So there's three activities.
Sending, going and receiving.
Do you see them?
The first couple are in verse 25.
Paul says,
So Paul is the one who is doing the sending.
And obviously, Epaphroditus is the one who is doing the going.
And if we jump down to verse 29, this is what Paul says.
Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor such men.
Welcome is, it's the same word as receive or welcome him.
And it's written to the church at Philippi to receive Epaphroditus as being sent by Paul.
So three things.
There's a sending, a going and a receiving.
And even now, I want us to be honest about ourselves and about what often takes place within church communities.
When people decide to go from the church, in a lot of cases, there is really only one party involved.
The person who goes.
This isn't what we often see, is it?
So there's more happening in these few verses here than what we're used to.
So this morning, I think we need to take time to look at all three of the activities.
And we can't separate those from the people involved.
So we need to look at the people, the characters, what we read about here.
Because I believe what we have here in Philippians, it's not weird.
It's not special.
Or it's only for gospel ministers or gospel Christians or people in the first century.
I believe it applies to all of us who want to follow Jesus.
And really, the example we have in verses 25 to 30 and most of chapter 2
is really just a careful outworking and application of the first four verses of Philippians,
which is, in some ways, the teaching element.
So verses 1 to 4 is kind of the background or the teaching or the principles that Paul wants the believers in the church to grasp.
And in some ways, what happens after verses 4 are examples and encouragements and outworkings of that.
So if we say we love and know Jesus, as it's described in verse 1, it's talking about unity with Christ, loving Jesus,
then we have to accept what it says in verses 2 to 4 as a demand on our lives.
And we should see the examples contained within the rest of the chapter within our life together as a church,
the same kind of examples.
So this is written to a church just like ourselves, working through the gospel.
And in a sense, chapter 2 is just working out the very words of Jesus himself to his disciples.
This is Jesus' own measure of discipleship.
John chapter 13, two verses, they're familiar, 34 and 35.
Jesus says,
A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another.
And this is the key.
By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
And it's this that's been worked out in chapter 2.
Love for God, love for Jesus means love for others.
So again, I get back to that title.
Our love for Jesus will be measured and should be measured by how our decision making involves the Christian community, the church.
I think it's good to have just, we're landing right into the middle of the book of Philippians, which is a little bit unfair, I think.
Why are we here? What's Philippians about?
So a little bit of background information.
The apostle Paul himself is in prison at this time.
He was in prison a number of times and not 100% sure, but it seems that in this case he was in the city of Rome and prison there.
So according to the authorities, the rulers of the time, Paul is a criminal and not just any ordinary criminal.
He's one who is sitting on death row awaiting either execution or freedom, life or death, the two things sitting in front of him.
And you can look back at chapter 1 and verses 15 to 17 and we can see there that there were many preachers of the gospel,
fellow believers it seems, who have turned against Paul, have turned on Paul and are delighting in the opportunity to promote themselves
and to cause trouble for Paul while he rots in prison.
Imagine that.
And so we can begin to relate to Paul the kind of emotional and mental stress and strain that he must be under.
He's imprisoned.
He's under attack.
He's chained.
Yet in all of those circumstances, in all those personal discomforts, Paul writes this letter, the letter of Philippians,
which is known as the letter of joy within the New Testament to the church in the city of Philippi.
The letter is, it's filled with joy.
The word joy or rejoice or things like that are mentioned 16 times throughout the letter.
It's running through the whole thing.
And there's constantly these warm feelings, these warm thoughts, warm prayers, and indeed warm actions towards his dear partner church in Philippi.
And the church in Philippi was a faithful church to Paul.
It had always partnered with Paul, supporting him when others didn't.
If you look at chapter 4 and verses 14 and 15, I think we get a sense of this.
And there's some helpful things here.
As we look at the example of Paul and the church in Philippi, how they relate and how we relate to those that are bringing the gospel to other parts.
And what Paul says,
While others sought to discredit and harass Paul at the time he was in prison, the community in Philippi had a different approach.
They got off their backsides.
Yet again, they had a history of it and they reached out to Paul, partnering with him as they always had in this matter of giving and receiving.
And it was one of these church-sponsored mission trips, for want of a better phrase, that Epaphroditus was sent to Paul.
And sorry, back to chapter 2 now, verse 29, and we can see that.
Risking his own life to bring a gift from the church to Paul.
So that's what's taking place.
The church in Philippi has sent Epaphroditus to Paul to bring a gift.
And now we're picking up the story, the return leg.
Paul is writing a thank you letter, effectively.
The letter of Philippians is in thanks for that gift and the occasion of the letter is the gift that they've sent him.
And he's sending it back to the church.
And he's also sending back to them Epaphroditus.
So we're going to look at the three things now.
Sending, going and receiving.
Firstly, Paul the sender.
Back to verse 25.
And to understand Paul sending Epaphroditus, I think we have to understand the value of Epaphroditus to Paul.
There's a lot packed into verse 25.
There's five different characteristics.
I'm not going to go into them in all their detail.
I'm sure you're thankful for that.
But there's five characteristics of Epaphroditus given to us in verse 25.
And all of them directly relate to how valuable Epaphroditus is to Paul and show the value of Epaphroditus to Paul.
Towards the end of the verse, we see that Epaphroditus was sent by the Philippians as a messenger and as a minister to Paul.
As a messenger, he's simply carrying news about the church to Paul.
Bringing news of how they're doing, how they're getting on.
And as a minister, he is coming to take care of Paul's needs, to minister to Paul, to take care of his physical needs, to bring him a gift.
And the phrase at the end of verse 30 is, it's translated easily for us here, but it is a little bit strange.
Literally it reads that Epaphroditus completed what was lacking in the Philippians' service to Paul at the end of verse 30.
Risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
Or Epaphroditus was the one who completed what was lacking in their service.
And there was nothing lacking in the gift that they'd set aside or what they were seeking to do.
Sorry, just say the power light is flashing on the battery light, flashing on the laptop.
I don't know if there's a power supply for it. Sorry.
Sorry.
Sorry about that.
So there's nothing lacking in the gift per se that they've set aside.
But what was lacking in a sense was someone to bring it to Paul.
And that was where Epaphroditus stepped in as a minister of the gift to Paul.
So these two descriptions of Epaphroditus describe his role as a messenger and a minister.
But in other words, they show the heart of someone who is willing to serve the needs of the church before his own needs.
Someone that was willing to go.
Someone that was willing to minister.
And at the start of verse 25, we have three more descriptions.
These ones are given by Paul to describe Epaphroditus the man.
Epaphroditus is to Paul first a brother, a fellow worker, and a fellow soldier, as he says in verse 25.
So Epaphroditus has become more to Paul than just a carrier of news.
He's more to Paul than just a minister of needs.
He's more to Paul than someone that's just bringing some money.
Because these three descriptions, brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier,
they're warm.
They're strong endorsements.
They're affectionate.
They speak of a dear brother who is working and fighting side by side with Paul, even as Paul sits in prison.
So not only does Paul spend his time in verse 25 speaking in such glowing terms about Epaphroditus,
but it's not just a head knowledge or recognition of who Epaphroditus is,
but Paul clearly loves Epaphroditus and cares from deeply.
Verse 27, speaking of Epaphroditus,
Indeed, he was ill and almost died, but God had mercy on him,
and not on him only, but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
Verse 27 speaks of Epaphroditus' narrow escape from death,
having been something that spared Paul sorrow upon sorrow.
It's almost as if Paul, already under the stress and strain of being in prison,
couldn't have bared to have seen Epaphroditus taken from him,
and for Epaphroditus to have died.
So it's no exaggeration to say, and this is what I'm building towards,
that Epaphroditus mattered to Paul.
Epaphroditus is one of the best companions and co-workers that Paul had at this time.
And imagine, you know, that he was faced by people on the outside that was stirring up trouble for him while he was imprisoned.
Epaphroditus is a welcome and valuable companion and co-worker.
Epaphroditus is valuable to Paul.
All of which I think makes the first part of verse 25 more than a little surprising.
If Epaphroditus was your friend serving in your church, what would you do with him?
Honestly.
I think I'd hold on to him.
Well, this is how Paul introduced them back to his home church.
I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus.
If I was reading that, getting a letter back about someone that we'd sent away on a missions trip, I'd be going,
what have they done this time?
I knew we shouldn't have sent them.
But no.
So, why is Paul saying it's necessary to send him back?
What is Paul thinking?
What's driving him?
It's clearly not that Epaphroditus has been a disaster and needs to be kind of shunted to the side.
What's driving him is something completely different.
Paul is being compelled to send his best and his brightest, his most loyal companions.
Well, we return to those words of Jesus, I think.
That's where we start.
By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.
If you love one another.
How do we know that Paul is a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Because he says it?
Because he says some nice words?
Because he wrote verses 1 to 4?
Are they enough?
Well, I think we can know that Paul is a disciple of Christ
because we can see a connection between what he writes and what he says in verses 1 to 4
and what is taking place and happening in verses 25 to 30.
So let's look back to those verses at the beginning of chapter 2.
Firstly, Jesus.
Jesus.
Verse 1.
Being united to Christ and a love for him is always our starting point, isn't it?
Jesus first.
Others second.
Verse 2.
Unity matters.
Verse 3.
Humility matters.
Verse 4.
The interests of others matter.
Jesus first.
Others second.
And finally, well, it's going to be ourselves last then, isn't it?
If I love others as Christ loved others,
then my personal sense of fulfillment or my personal sense of comfort is irrelevant in those lights.
So the teaching of verses 1 to 4 is put into practice for us in verses 25 to 30.
25 to 30 is others-centered love in action.
For Paul, it's first of all, others-centered love for Epaphroditus.
Look at what it says here in verse 26.
Epaphroditus is distressed.
Epaphroditus is longing.
Paul is sending Epaphroditus back to Philippi to relieve that stress,
to relieve that longing,
to take care of Epaphroditus' needs and his wants and his desires and his relief.
Secondly, Paul's love is centered on the church, isn't it?
He's sending Epaphroditus back to the church so that the church may be glad,
the church may be full of joy and blessed by having Epaphroditus with them.
And what it says in verse 28 there, Paul as well can be less anxious for the church.
Why would Paul be less anxious for the church knowing that Epaphroditus is back there?
Well, wouldn't you?
Someone like Epaphroditus, as able and as blessed and as gifted
and as Christ-centered as he is going to that church,
sure, Paul can be less anxious about the church that he loves,
knowing that he sent Epaphroditus back.
So the inspiring words about unity, humility, other-centered love that we read about
in the first four verses of chapter 2 are backed up by real feelings for real people
and real sacrificial giving.
So it's clear then, isn't it, that sending Epaphroditus back is necessary.
Paul is compelled.
He has no choice.
He's a disciple of Jesus Christ, therefore Epaphroditus is going back.
Our love for Jesus will be measured by how our decisions involve the Christian community.
Paul's priorities are always other-centered.
His concern is for their well-being and their growth in the gospel,
others' well-being and others' growth.
It's there time and time again in this letter.
Just look back at chapter 1 and verses 23 and 24.
Philippians chapter 1, verses 23, verse 23-24.
I am torn between the two, Paul talking about his imprisonment.
I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,
but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
It's that same word again, necessary.
As Paul wrestles with the thoughts of facing death and going to be with Jesus,
which is what he really desires himself,
Paul is confident that his life will be spared,
as Epaphroditus' life was spared, for the church, for others.
It is necessary for Paul to remain for the same reason as Epaphroditus,
but because it is more necessary for the sake of the church that he remains alive.
In some ways, we are not used to this level of commitment or talking in these terms quite often.
We love Jesus, but then we struggle with being part of a church community.
Well, we say we love Jesus,
but have we worked it through to how we love others by putting them at the centre of our decision making?
Have we connected loving Jesus with putting others at the centre?
Number two, Epaphroditus, the goer, the person that goes.
So Paul is the sender who's practising what he preaches, which is good to see.
Epaphroditus then is the willing goer.
And he too has the same other-centred outlook on his life that's driving him.
If we look at verse 29 and verse 30,
he is the godly risk-taker, isn't he?
Motivated by love and service for others.
His original trip was to serve Paul in the church,
and it says in verse 30,
for the work of Christ.
And the term about risk-taking here,
it's almost like a gambling term.
It's like a calculated risk that he took.
He knew there was dangers.
Trips at those times were often quite dangerous
between these big cities and over distances.
But he was willing to take the risk for Paul, for his church.
He was willing to make the trip.
And now his return trip is also motivated by other-centred love.
It sounds like, doesn't it, in verse 26,
that he is deeply troubled and distressed in his spirit.
He's longing for his home church
because he knows that they are worrying about him.
So, I don't know,
if I was coming off the end of a life-threatening illness,
I think it would be okay to be worried about yourself,
to be worried about your own health,
to be worried about your own well-being.
But Epaphroditus is others-focused.
He's worried about this church in Philippi,
hearing about him being ill,
and about them being worried,
even though he was the one that was infected,
that was near to death, that had suffered.
He is totally others-centred in his emotions and his outlook.
And, you know,
I think sometimes we're a bit scared of talking about emotional language
or addressing emotions like this within church life.
And can I say it, maybe especially in Baptistic circles,
we're kind of more comfortable talking about the will and the mind.
And we kind of rightly see the danger of emotionalism
and being driven by your emotions
and how easily what we call the heart,
you know, we mean the centre of our emotions,
can easily lead us astray.
And so we disconnect the head from the heart
and we kind of maybe focus more on what we call the head
and try and get the heart in line with the head.
But I think it's a bit more connected than that.
I think our emotions and our will are much more closely linked than we say.
We try to separate them, but I'm not sure that's always the best.
Because can we say that we believe that we should love others
and that that is important
and then not be moved deeply within us,
deeply inside us by that love?
If we say we love people, should we not be distressed?
Should we not be longing for them?
If we're not anxious, if we're not rejoicing,
if we're not glad, if we don't feel these emotions,
have we really understood it?
What is that head knowledge?
It's meaningless, it's worthless.
It's not real knowing.
Real knowing keeps these two things connected and close.
So we should talk about the will,
we should talk about the mind,
but we should talk about the heart.
Other centred emotions should be a central part of our lives as Christians.
We shouldn't be afraid to talk about them,
to encourage them, to see the close connection.
One thing I find helpful in thinking about this
is a kind of a little illustration from Jonathan Edwards.
I don't read Jonathan Edwards because it's very difficult.
I just pick up quotes.
He's an 18th century American theologian and preacher,
but he has this little illustration.
There is a difference between having a rational judgment
that honey is sweet
and having a sense of its sweetness.
Let me say that again.
There's a difference between having a rational judgment
that honey is sweet
and having a sense of its sweetness.
The two should be connected, shouldn't they?
Do we speak about loving others
or are we moved deep within us to actually love others
like Epaphroditus and like Paul did?
Our hearts and our actions reveal the depth of our understanding,
whether we just know about the sweetness of God
or whether we have really tasted it
will be seen in our decision making
how we treat the community around us.
And of course, the problem isn't often just the lack of the emotions
or that we're suppressing emotions or anything like that,
but rather that the emotions we feel are self-centered,
not other-centered.
So when it comes to making decisions about going,
about the direction of our lives,
the emotion we probably most often feel is fear.
Fear that our careers will fail
if we don't take this job opportunity,
if we don't take this promotion,
which will take more time
and take us away from our families,
our church life and everything else.
Maybe we have fears about being stuck
in a small house or unsuitable accommodation
if we don't make the move right now
and grab this opportunity.
We could be stuck here forever.
We have fears that we won't have
a Christian boyfriend or girlfriend
or ultimately a Christian husband or wife
if we don't go to another church or move out.
We have fears that if we stay in this church,
we're going to have to work really hard
because it's really small
and wouldn't it be nice to be part of a different church
and doing different things
and maybe a bigger church
or just something new and different
because this is all really hard
and we have those fears.
And so we go.
Not because we love others.
We go because we love ourselves.
In the business of going,
there are senders, goers,
and finally receivers.
And the receiver in this case
is the church in Philippi
to which Paul gives the instructions
in verse 29.
Welcome him in the Lord
with great joy and honour men like him.
When people come to us,
how do we welcome them?
It's always interesting to talk to people
that have been here a little while
and to ask them about their first experiences
of coming to Carragoline
and to see how we do in that.
And I think at times we do well
and at times we do poorly as a church.
But I think the encouragements are there.
So be encouraged this morning.
But are we willing to make the effort
with new people as they arrive?
Or have we become burned
too many times in the past?
Maybe you've made the effort
to reach out to a couple
or a family or an individual
that has come to the church.
You've tried to befriend them.
You've tried to get to know them.
You've invited them to things
only to find that they then move on
without any sense of having belonged,
any sense of having been connected
or any acknowledgement
of the efforts that have been made.
Now other people have come
and it's hard to get yourself up again,
to risk again,
to try again,
to open up again.
Don't become despondent.
Continue to welcome people.
Continue to receive people.
Continue to spend yourself again
in loving them.
Thankfully in some cases
there are cases
where there's others centered
sending and going
and receiving taking place
and even within the life of the church here
people come to church
with the commendation
of their previous church
like the commendation
that Paul sends Epaphroditus back with.
Those words in verse 25
speaking of Epaphroditus.
And that does happen
and that's encouraging to see
because then it's natural, isn't it,
to receive such people with joy
and to honor such people.
Receiving works best
when there is sending and going
that is in line
with these biblical principles
and ideals.
We can send
and go and receive
with confidence
when God is put first
others come next
and self follows last.
When we do this
we become living examples
of Jesus Christ
to one another.
Our lives begin to reflect
true humility
and true love.
The love and humility
of the Saviour
as we put others first.
It is his example
that then shines through.
Verse 6
Who
being in very nature God
did not consider
equality with God
something to be grasped
but made himself nothing
taking the very nature
of a servant
and be made
in human likeness
and being found
in appearance
as a man
he humbled himself
and became obedient
to death
even death
on a cross.
Therefore God
exalted him
to the highest place
and gave him
the name
that is above
every name
that at the name
of Jesus
every knee
should bow
in heaven
and on earth
and under the earth
and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord
to the glory
of God the Father.
For Jesus
is the true
and better
Epaphroditus
who not only
risked his life
but gave his life
to be our messenger
and to be our minister
bringing with him
good news
and sent to take care
of our only real need
the need of salvation
from the wrath
of God.
Jesus is our true
and better brother
who we now serve
as fellow workers
and fellow soldiers
bringing the same message
and ministering his grace
to the nations.
It's all about him.
You can't read
Philippians 2
and not come back
to the example
of Christ.
He is the fulfillment
of it all.
He is the ultimate example.
It is him ultimately
that we want to point
others to.
So what about us?
Some applications maybe
some things to
hopefully chew over
and if there is anything
that I am speaking about
this morning
you want to talk about
please just come and chat
or talk to other people
within the life
of the church.
I think these are
good things to discuss.
Don't just go
number one
but be part of
gospel sending
and receiving.
If going from
one community
of believers
to another community
of believers
involves three parties
and three actions
going, sending, receiving
why do we reduce it
to just our decision
to go then?
We need to take
the opportunities
we have to practice
others centred
sending, going
and receiving.
So when confronted
and we will be
if you haven't been already
with decisions
that will impact
your ability
to be part
of the Christian community
don't begin
to isolate yourself.
Talk to the church
talk to people here
talk to people you know
ask people
what do you think
about this?
Ask yourself
what putting Jesus
and others first
would mean
for this decision.
How would it look
different if
Jesus and others
were the priority
in this decision?
Job opportunities
long distance
relationships
study at college
setting up home
deciding to go away
for a few months
over the summer?
These are all things
that we can
and should work out
within the sense
of a community
because they impact
a community.
By the way
the answer is not always
you have to stay
where you are.
In fact
if we look at this section
of scripture
the answer for
Epaphroditus
and Timothy
who we haven't had
a chance to consider
both of them
the answer was
yeah
go
great
so don't be afraid
that if you engage
with the elders
or leaders in the church
or the church community
if you do that openly
and honestly
if you look at these questions
that the answer
is going to be
oh no
we really think
you should stay.
It may mean
that you go
with the clear blessing
and support
of a whole community
behind you.
And as a church
and I'm speaking
especially to myself
and Johnny
I think
we need to be proactive
in identifying
and encouraging people
to go and to stay
don't we?
We need to be
thinking about that
and helping people
through that
but that's something
for the whole church
and I think
if we bring it back
to this three way involvement
then we can have confidence
that what we are doing
like verse 30
is for the work
of Christ.
Number two
when do I need
to involve the church?
That's a good question
very practical
you don't need
to call a church
members meeting
about whether you
should be driving
to work
or taking the bus
okay
so that's the first one
okay
and that's
I don't have a list
I'm not going to go
through everything
like that
but obviously
there are times
where
you have freedom
to make decisions
you know
it's not
it's not that you
have to involve
the church
in every decision
and what I have now
is taken from
the gospel centered life
which is a study
by Steve Timmis
and Tim Chester
that we were using
in our growth groups
on this very topic
and I thought it was
very helpful
and this is what it says
our principle should be
we involve the Christian
community in decision making
to the extent
that our decisions
affect the community
we involve
the Christian community
in decision making
to the extent
that our decisions
affect the community
this doesn't mean
that the community
or its leaders
tell people
what to do
in their personal lives
but it does mean
that we should
make decisions
firstly
with regard
to the implications
for our Christian
community
and secondly
that we make
significant decisions
in consultation
with members
of our Christian
community
so in other words
if what we are deciding
affects the church
or the life
of the church
the community
then we really
should involve
the church
in those decisions
number three
our motives
will always
be mixed
motives around
leaving one place
and going to another
they're always going
to be mixed
to some extent
it's very hard
to keep
Jesus centeredness
and others centeredness
to the fore
we will struggle
with sinful idols
in our lives
that are going
to drag us away
from loving others
before ourselves
that can be our jobs
it can be our family
it can be our interests
it can be our hobbies
these are all things
and there's many
different things
that are going to
just going to drive us
in different directions
all the time
and the reality
of this side of heaven
is that Christian life
is often more about
struggling through
these things
rather than
victory over them
but saying that
isn't to excuse it
but it's to say
that we must struggle
and we must bring
our sinful desires
to Christ
and seek
his help
in overcoming them
and I want you to
this is helpful for me
keep this in mind
Jesus
others
yourself
spells joy
yourself
others
Jesus
well you end up
with yodge
and I know which one
makes sense to me
Jesus
others
yourself
that's the priority
that's the order
finally
look to Jesus
Jesus
is not just
our example
but he is the one
who loves us
and dies for us
we look to him
not only for the
inspiration that we
find in those
verses in chapter 2
but we look to him
for the power
to overcome
sinful idols
we look to him
to help us
to love others
above ourselves
as we see
Paul's example
of sending
going and receiving
we must always
look through it
and see the saviour
who was sent
by the father
to go from the
glories of heaven
to a broken world
not to be received
but to be rejected
by the world
and crucified
by us
let's pray
our father
we
confess sin
this morning
because we're
confronted by it
father
or
our desire
to be in charge
our desire
to be the boss
our desire
to rule
ourselves
to find
satisfaction
in things
besides you
and
father
that's a real
struggle
and it really
does come out
when we have
to make decisions
about staying
or going
or how things
affect the church
and we
we ask for
forgiveness father
but we're
encouraged
by the example
in front of us
in scripture
by Epaphroditus
by Paul
how they loved
others
and ultimately
by Jesus
and father
we ask for
Jesus' help
for an increased
love for Jesus
a closer unity
to him
and that our
minds
our emotions
our whole being
would be driven
in the right direction
driven to serve
you
to do the work
of Christ
faithfully
we ask
for the help
of the Holy Spirit
in all of this
in Jesus' name
Amen
well thank you Ralph
it's a powerful message
and something
that's close to home
for me
especially
as we've
just gone
through the process
of somewhat
inadvertently
being sent out
and having to
find a new home
but we need
look no further
than Jesus'
examples
with his own
disciples
where he came
and spent
a brief time
with them
discipling them
only to send
them out
into the world
his plan
was never
to keep
the small group
together
and have
what some
people would
call a holy
huddle
where those
people are
just happy
together
in their little
place
the goal
was always
to send
them out
to impact
the whole
world
and that's
his beautiful
model of
redemption
that he goes
out and sends
believers out
into the world
so thank you
for that
Ralph
before we sing
our last song
I'm sure a lot
of people are
going probably
to the wedding
today and so
we're kind of
on a tight
time schedule
if anybody can
stick around
and help
with putting
all of the
equipment away
and all that
kind of stuff
it'll give us
an opportunity
to let everybody
get out a bit
more quickly
so no one's
kind of left
behind
so if you could
help with that
we'd appreciate it
thank you for
coming today
we're going
to wrap up
with song
let's stand
and sing
this last song
to the glory
of God
I'm not sure
how many people
know it
but the men
sing the first
line
all those strong
male voices
and then the
women echo it
while the men
hold that note
they love
girl
grup
teenage
and
have
uell
and
love
May the glory of Jesus
build in church for you.
May the glory of Jesus
build in church for you.
Shining from our faces
and feet in my wish.
May the glory of Jesus
fill my life.
May the beauty of Jesus
fill my life.
Fill my thought,
my word,
my deed,
my all I know.
May that grace your heart.
Fill my thought,
my word,
my deed,
my all I know.
May that grace your heart.
May the glory of Jesus
fill my heart.
Let's pray.
Father,
we do rejoice
in your salvation,
Lord,
that you have saved us
and that
you have given us
a model
of how to live
lives
that put Christ first
and put others
second
and put ourselves last.
Lord,
that Jesus
has shown us
the way of sacrifice
and the way of the cross.
Lord,
we pray that you would
help us to be people
who consider
our Christian brothers
and sisters,
Lord,
as we make decisions,
as we go about our lives.
Lord,
that we would
include others,
that we would
reach out to others,
Lord,
even within our own church,
Lord,
that we would be a community
where your love is modelled.
Lord,
we praise you.
We look forward to
what the rest of the day
holds.
And we ask,
Lord,
that you be at the centre
of all that we do.
Amen.