Tonight we'll be teaching on this text, and it's an interesting text for a lot of reasons, because it's more narrative than some mysterious meaning.
! We look at this text and there's so much going on there, but it's not like chapters 1-2 up to verse 18.
It's really more narrative than some esoteric theology, where we're looking for, well, what does this mean?
And it's pretty clear. You can read it.
And what he says is that he hopes to see the Philippians soon, and that he's going to send Timothy and Epaproditus to him.
So, we can read that, and pretty much that's what it's saying.
And it's interesting because the last time I taught, I taught on something that was kind of similar to it, where it was really just straightforward.
This is what the Bible says. It's not like we really have to do some cross-references and look all over Scripture to see what this means.
And so, I think because of that, maybe I'm prone to believe that God is trying to teach me something, that I make these really short and simple and sweet texts.
I pass over them a lot of the times.
And I really like the bigger ones that you have to look all over and understand, well, what does this text mean?
I think that's kind of what the Lord's trying to teach me, is that I enjoy these big theoretical texts, but when it comes to very straightforward Scripture that you don't really get around, because you can't really interpret it five different ways.
It means what it means. Don't grumble. You can't interpret that.
Well, I think Paul might be saying when it comes to when you're in the church, don't grumble, but when you're outside, it's okay, or whatever.
Like, it's not like that. It's just very straightforward.
And so, this is the second time.
So, I get this text, and I'm wondering what God's trying to teach me.
And it's not wrong for us to search for these bigger texts and to like these texts that have a lot going on there.
It's not wrong, because it's good.
We're actually commanded to search the text for deeper meanings.
There's so much going on in Scripture, and we're commanded to look into it.
But it is wrong if we start putting the scale, or we start saying,
okay, well, these are the more, like, bigger texts, like 27 through 30 of chapter 1,
but then these verses in 14 through 18 aren't that important, because it's straightforward.
But, kind of in, like, Christian circles, we tend to do that.
We easily kind of put a balance and a scale and see, well, this text means more,
because we can really examine it more.
And the reason why this is so hard is because it's like simple texts reminding people that it should be really above these texts,
that we should have these down, that these are basic Christianity points.
We should have these points down.
And it should be something that we're still trying to cover,
but the truth is that we still all struggle with being humble.
We all still struggle with not grumbling.
And for someone to say, well, you're not really giving those texts enough attention that they need,
it's kind of like reminding a college student about the golden rule,
which is something that you learn when you're in preschool.
And it's kind of humbling.
It's like, well, I know not to put others before myself, but I learned that in preschool,
so why are you reminding me of that now?
And so we have pride.
And the truth is that our pride hates being reminded that we so oftentimes neglect the small,
simple things that we're commanded to.
And so kind of the best way that I can illustrate this in my own life is that
if you've ever learned a really, really simple, basic truth to Christianity later on in your life
and you realize that you probably should have known that a long time ago,
for me that was, I don't think it was until a year ago that I understood that
the reasoning why Jesus needs to be born of a virgin.
I just didn't understand that.
I always just kind of accepted it.
I was like, okay, yeah, Jesus is born of a virgin,
and that's the way things are.
And then when I realized, oh, he needs to be born of a virgin so that he's completely pure and free from sin.
And then I realized, well, I can't let anyone know that I just figured that out
because then they won't think that I'm some like theologically solid rock who knows everything.
Like I can't do that.
I just have to play it off cool.
And yeah, I knew that the whole time.
So the thing is that there are a lot of things that we pass over in Scripture.
So we read this, and I think our natural kind of, if you were to read this in your own time,
if you were to read this on your own, and we read this, we're kind of going to read this and keep going.
It's not like you're going to spend 30 minutes just looking at this text and trying to understand,
well, what does it mean?
How does it apply to my life?
And so on.
We're probably going to move on to chapter three.
But the thing is that we move, we tend to pass over things consciously or subconsciously.
And there's a lot of examples that we can go into this.
And so that's where we're going to kind of go tonight.
Really, I can give a couple examples of these that are going to be kind of tough.
But we neglect the simple things that either Jesus says or Paul says or someone says that we're just not being faithful to.
I'm going to list off three.
It is better to give than it is to receive.
That's something that's very basic, can't get around it, and it means what it means.
But so many of us have such a hard time grasping that truth and really living it out in our lives.
It almost seems like we like to take these truths and we know them,
but then keep going and learn the more complex things.
Another thing would be love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
And that's something that we know is true.
We know it's true because it's a very simple, straightforward text.
But how often do we live that out in our lives?
If someone hates you where you're at right now, we're definitely probably not going to turn around and love that person.
Someone that might be making fun of us or whatever.
It's just that's a simple truth and somehow we pass over that because it's not necessarily deep.
Another one, and I think this one's really timely, is 1 Timothy 2, verse 1 through 2.
You don't have to turn there, but he says,
Real talk.
we cannot, for most of the people,
if you're in the South, most of the people
cannot stand the recently re-elected
president.
And if you don't believe me, then you should
have been on Facebook the day after the election
day.
So much of it blew up.
There's not a single
status that wasn't about that.
People are so frustrated, and if you grew up in a Christian
home, probably your parents still
kind of were on that same side of
definitely not, at least, I'm not
going to say as far as how much we may go into it, but
we definitely don't pray and intercede
for President Obama.
I can't remember the last time that I was
in my house, and my parents
and my family were like, well, let's pray for President
Obama. We really need to pray and
intercede for him. It's a simple
thing like that. That is so simple,
but somehow we make it this very, very
complex thing.
And unfortunately, a lot
of those comments were from a lot of Christians,
from a lot of people who would say they're Christians.
And so we're looking
no different from the world in that.
So why do we do that?
The truth is that pride has caused us
to blatantly pass over
simple truth that's in God's Word.
And God's Word, as much
as we love it,
and as much as we say we love it, is
so inconvenient to our lives.
It is really tough
for us to follow. We deal with these inconvenient
texts like pray for, like honor
the emperor in 1 Peter, or
pray for kings, make intercessions
for them.
And we make it this very
complicated theoretical,
theological
truth. They're like, okay, well, this is what he meant
in this context, and we really need to probably look at the
Greek root of that and understand, well,
what's Paul actually talking about here?
And it's very straightforward.
Paul is saying, you need to make
intercessions and pray for the king.
And our king in this country is
at least President Obama.
And so we kind of, what we do is we kind of
insulate ourselves from these
tough truths like loving your neighbor,
or loving your neighbor, loving your enemies,
praying for kings, praying for
Obama, and we turn into this complex
theoretical jargon, and we
insulate ourselves by that so we don't have
to follow that truth out.
And so
it's a phenomenon, actually, that
was very common in Jesus' time.
The best example that I can give from this
is Luke 10, 25
through 37. So
if you want to turn there, we're not going to read all of it,
but just so you can get kind of equated with the
story, what's going on here.
So
in Luke 10,
Jesus is
talking to his disciples,
and then someone walks up,
and this lawyer walks up to him
and asks him, he says,
what must I do
to
wait, sorry, let me turn to it, actually, I'm going to kind of look at my notes.
Okay, so he says,
what is written, he says,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
And so we know the story, Jesus says,
what is written in the law, how do you read it?
And so he says,
you know, I should love my neighbor,
I should love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and mind.
And Jesus says, you've judged correctly.
And so
I'm going to give a little excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.
He wrote this in one of his books called Strength to Love.
He kind of wrote about this,
and he called this phenomenon of where we
overanalyze something, and we don't act on it.
He called this
the paralysis of analysis.
So
we know the story,
we know that
this lawyer is talking to Jesus,
and he says,
teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
So Martin Luther King Jr. picks up right here,
he says,
the ethical concern of this man
is expressed in a magnificent little story
which begins with a theological discussion
on the meaning of eternal life
and concludes in a concrete expression
of compassion on a dangerous road.
Jesus is asked a question by a man
who had been trained in the details of Jewish law.
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
The retort is prompt.
What is written in the law?
How readest thou?
After a moment,
the lawyer recites articulately,
thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart
and with all thy soul
and with all thy strength
and with all thy mind
and thy neighbor as thyself.
Then comes the decisive word from Jesus,
thou hast answered right.
This do and thou shalt live.
Desiring to justify himself
and to show that Jesus' reply
was far from conclusive,
the lawyer asked,
and who is my neighbor?
The lawyer was now taking up
the cudgels of debate
that might have turned the conversation
into an abstract theological discussion.
But Jesus, determined not to be caught
in the paralysis of analysis,
pulls the question from midair
and places it on a dangerous curve
between Jerusalem and Jericho.
He told the story of a certain man
who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho
and fell among robbers
who stripped him,
beat him,
and departing him,
left him half dead.
By chance,
a certain priest appeared,
but he passed by on the other side.
And after that,
a Levite also passed by.
Finally,
a certain Samaritan,
a half-breed
from a people
with whom the Jews
had no dealings,
appeared.
When he saw the wounded man,
he was moved with compassion,
administered first aid,
and placed him on his breast
and brought him to an inn
and took care of him.
Who is my neighbor?
I do not know this man,
says Jesus in essence.
He is anyone to harm you
or neighborly.
He is anyone who lies in need
at life's roadside.
He is neither Jew nor Gentile.
He is neither Russian nor American.
He is neither Negro nor white.
He is a certain man,
any needy man,
one of the most numerous
Jericho roads of life.
So Jesus defines a neighbor,
not in theological definition,
but in a life situation.
So,
that's the most amazing thing
about Jesus,
is you have this lawyer
who's trying to trap Jesus
and just talking about
theology for a second.
Well,
let's just talk about,
you know,
Jesus,
what do I need to do
to inherit eternal life?
He's like,
you know,
I've done those things,
what else?
And Jesus doesn't allow him
to get away by asking the question,
who is my neighbor?
He doesn't allow it
because he knows
this lawyer is trying to
insulate himself
from action.
And the unfortunate thing
is that
we're kind of in the same place
as that lawyer.
This lawyer kind of wants
this new revelation from Jesus.
Yes,
he's trying to test him,
but he also wants
a new revelation from him.
Who is my neighbor?
Tell me something
I don't know right now.
And Jesus doesn't let him do that.
And the thing is that
we want that new revelation
all the time.
We want to know what's next.
We want to learn more
and it's good
and that's great.
We want to learn more
about the Bible.
But the truth is
is that
what we don't want to learn
is we don't want to be faithful
to the things
that we already know.
We want to learn something new
from a pastor,
a book,
a sermon,
anything.
But we definitely
don't want to
take a break from those things
and leave everything else
and just ask God
what are the things
you've taught me lately
that I'm not being faithful to
right now.
We don't want to be faithful
to those things.
It's much easier
to keep going
and learn new things
than it is
to be faithful to things
that we already have.
And the reason why
we do this
is because we fooled ourselves
into believing
that we can separate
intellectual knowledge
from belief
and obedience.
We believe that we can
separate the two,
that we can divorce them,
but they're never meant
to be like that.
And so,
you're kind of wondering
how that is going to apply
to the text tonight.
I promise I'm going
somewhere with it.
But,
so tonight,
the direction that we're going
is tonight we're going
to look at two examples
of men
who love Christ
so much
and they love
the Philippians
more than themselves
and why that matters
to us.
I'm really excited
about it.
I'm going to pray for us
before we get started.
Father,
thank you so much
for tonight.
God,
I pray that your spirit
would be here
actively working
in the hearts
of everyone
who's in this room.
Father,
what I'm
so afraid of
is not things
running poorly
or not running smoothly,
but God,
what I'm afraid of most
is us coming here
and leaving unchanged
because we haven't
met with you tonight
and you haven't
been here with us
and we haven't
invited you in
to change our hearts.
So,
Father,
would you please
change our hearts
tonight by this text?
We know that your word
is powerful.
There is nothing
wise that I can say
because your power
doesn't rest
in so-called
eloquent wisdom
but God,
it rests in your power.
And I pray that
it would be here
tonight
actively working
in the hearts
of everyone here.
And we ask this
in Christ's name
knowing that you're
going to do it.
Amen.
Okay.
So,
Philippians.
If you've been here
so far,
it's a very encouraging book.
It's a very encouraging book.
But,
every single one of us
is going to say,
every one of us
is lying
if we say that
this book has not
been difficult
to swallow.
There's a lot
in here.
That,
there's a lot
of difficult themes
that are running
through Philippians
so far.
And there's a lot
of difficult verses
that I just wish
were not there.
Let's deal with
the first problem.
Is that Paul
is imprisoned
for selling
Girl Scout cookies?
No.
He's preaching
the gospel
and he's in prison
for that.
But don't worry.
We get that privilege
too of suffering.
Paul hasn't just
left us
to not partake
in that.
He's allowed us
to.
Verse 29
of chapter 1
if you're following
that.
So those are
two things.
Paul is imprisoned.
We also get to
suffer.
What else?
Tell me more
good news.
Well, Paul says
to live is to be
like Christ
and to die
is much better.
That's hard.
Even though we
just say it
so flippantly.
That's verse 22
of chapter 1.
So those are
three things.
And then finally
another point
that I could list
would be
don't be selfish.
Don't look to
your own concerns
but look to
the needs
and concerns
of others
above yourself.
And don't grumble
while doing it.
So these are
tough pills
to swallow.
These are tough
verses.
If we're just
saying this has
been flowers
and sweet tea
the whole time
then we're
lying to ourself.
So let's just
be real with that.
These are tough
texts to follow
with.
And so I think
the camps that
we fall into
is we read this
and we either
say that's
impossible
and that's
nice
but it's
impossible.
We can't
follow this.
Or we say
that is a
beautiful text
and we become
hopelessly
idealistic
and we don't
even really
take the time
to apply it
to our lives.
We just kind
of say
that's a great
text to read.
And so I think
because most of
us find ourselves
in that camp
unless you are
so holy
that you're
doing all
these things
perfectly right
now.
We're finding
that these
texts are hard
to live out.
And so I
think that
there's a
reason why
Paul pauses
here.
If you're
familiar with
scripture at all
you kind of
know that
verse 19
through 30
that's kind
of out of
place.
Usually Paul
will write a
letter and
then he'll
add this bit
at the very
end.
So look
at Galatians,
Ephesians,
Colossians,
Timothy,
all those
books.
And this
is kind
of out of
place because
we usually
call these
travel plans
or greetings
or shout
outs.
But it's
right in the
middle of
the book.
Literally
right in the
middle.
And I don't
think it's
just because
Paul just
got sidetracked.
I think he
puts it there
for a reason.
I think because
God has his
inspired hand
on Paul in
this.
The reason
why I think
that is
for a lot
of reasons.
I'm going
to go on.
But obviously
he keeps going
in chapter 3
so there's a
reason why
he pauses
here and
he gets
narrative on
us.
He doesn't
really do
that in a
lot of his
other letters.
So the two
themes of
Philippians so
far have
been,
the first
one has
been stand
firm and
have unity
amongst the
body.
And then the
second one
would be look
to the interests
of others
ahead of
yourself by
looking to
Christ as
that model.
And so we
said that's
tough.
Those are
tough things to
follow.
And the
thing is I
think he
stops because
he wants to
give examples
of men who
are doing
this.
He doesn't
want us to
get discouraged
and bogged
down or to
become hopelessly
idealistic and
not follow through
with this.
I think he
wants to stop
here and give
examples of
men that are
doing this.
It's almost
like Paul is
saying,
hey stop.
It's not
hopeless.
I know this
is big and
I know this
is a lot
going on but
you don't
have to lose
hope by such
heavy things
that are going
on in this
text.
I think
Paul is
saying just
pause for a
moment.
I promise you
this is not a
lost cause.
I'm not wasting
my time.
I'm not wasting
your time with
something that
you can't do.
Paul pauses
here because
he's going to
give examples of
guys who are
doing this.
He's already
given the
example of
Christ.
And so
ultimately
Christ is our
example.
Timothy and
Epaphrodite
are going to
get to them
and they're
great guys but
they are not
our goal.
They're not our
motivation.
They're not
our motor.
They're not
the end goal
of things.
And so
Christ is.
We kind of
clay went over
that not too
long ago when
he went through
verses 5 through
11.
So Christ is
the reason that
we're doing
this.
He's our aim.
He's our goal.
If you're not
waking up and
Jesus is the
motivation for
why you are
living a godly
life then we
need to reassess
and reevaluate
what we're doing.
And so
here's why I
say that.
I promise
I'll back
that up.
I think Paul
is pointing
these guys
for a specific
reason.
I don't think
it's random.
So you can
be the judge
of that.
I think
there's a lot
of similarity
in language
in verses
3 through
4 of
chapter 2
and then
in verse
21 and
so on
in this
text.
So
Philippians
2,
3 through
4,
it says
do nothing
from selfish
ambition or
vain conceit
but in humility
count others
more significant
than yourself.
Is it
coincidence
that
Timothy
in verse
21 is
seeking the
needs of
other people?
He says
this same
language.
He says
for they all
seek their
own interests
but not
those of
Jesus Christ.
Timothy
has proven
his worth.
So Timothy
is doing
that.
Epaphroditus
he also
sought the
needs of
others so
much that
he almost
died by
risking his
life.
He almost
died
risking his
life there.
It's not
a coincidence
that Paul
urges the
unified church
body in
verse 27
and then
goes on to
say that
Timothy is
caring more
about the
affairs of
the church
than his
own life
in verse
21.
It's not
a coincidence
that Paul
says to
live is
Christ.
That is a
tough thing
to say.
He says
that in
verse 21
of chapter
1.
And then
Epaphroditus
nearly died
for the
sake of
the gospel.
I don't
think it's
coincidence
that he's
placing these
verses right
here.
And the
thing is
that a lot
of times we
read scripture
with skewed
lenses.
We read
Philippians and
we say that's
beautiful, let's
talk about it,
let's have
discussion groups
about it,
but I don't
want to live
this out because
it's just too
hard, it's
unrealistic.
And the
thing is that
that is common
and paralyzing.
All of us
face that.
That's very
common.
And it's
very paralyzing.
It paralyzes
us from
doing any
work.
And I
think that's
why Paul
places these
verses here so
that we don't
become paralyzed.
So, it is
so vital for
us to be
around men
and women
like Timothy
and Epaphroditus.
If we don't
do that, let's
just say we
just take this
and we just
cut out that
verse, man,
we're going to
lose sight that
the Bible was
intended not
just to be
picked apart
and talked
about, but
it was to be
lived out every
single day.
It's vital that
we surround
ourselves with
godly men and
women who are
striving for the
gospel for the
long haul.
people.
I want to surround
myself with
those men.
I know that
y'all do too.
I know that I'm
not alone in
that.
I think a
very dangerous
thing that we
could do as
believers is we
could make this
perilous assumption
that one day we
will arrive, that
we will be one of
these men and
women who are
standing firm in
the faith, who
are here for the
long haul, but
we're not
surrounding
ourselves by those
people.
I think that is
a perilous thing
to fall into.
Say that, you
know, I'm just
going to coast
into holiness.
I don't think
there's a single
person, I could
ask every single
person here, do
you want to turn
from Christ in
40 years?
No one's going
to say no.
Everyone's going
to say, man, I
want to be here
for the long haul,
I want to be in
it for the long
run, that we
want to surround
ourselves, but the
thing is that we
believe that we're
just going to coast
into that because
we're not
surrounding
ourselves with
those people.
We believe that
as we get older,
we're going to
coast into
holiness and
we're going to
get farther and
farther away from
heresy, from
apostasy, from
all those things,
just because of
the fact that
we're getting
older.
And I think
that's a really
dangerous assumption
to make.
And here's why I
think why.
I'm going to
read something that
John Piper wrote
in his book called
The Roots of
Endurance.
So he says,
how my mind has
changed.
As I complete my
50th year as a
professing Christian,
I feel the
urgency of
endurance more
than ever.
I used to think
differently.
I used to think
when I was in my
20s and 30s that
sanctification had a
kind of cumulative
effect that at
50, the likelihood
of apostasy would be
far smaller than at
30 or 40.
In one sense, this is
true.
Surely growth in
grace and knowledge
and faith helps us
to no longer be
taught to be
children tossed to
and fro by the
ways and carried
about by every wind
of doctrine as
in Ephesians 4.
He says,
I see more
clearly now that
even after the
years of such
growth and
stability, shocking
coldness and even
apostasies are
possible.
This is John
Piper.
I'm not saying
he's the greatest
man to ever walk
the earth, but
this is someone
that a lot of us
would say, this is
a godly man that
I would love to be
surrounded by.
He's saying this.
He says,
and I have known
moments of horrifying
blankness that made
me realize my utter
dependence on the
mercies of God
being new every
morning.
He says,
perseverance is a
gift.
That I will wake
up and be a believer
tomorrow morning is
not finally and
decisively owing to
my will, but to
God.
I have known too
many mornings on
the precipice to
think otherwise.
That I have been
snatched back every
time is sheer
mercy.
The human will
cannot be
depended on,
because in the
crisis of faith,
it is precisely
that same will
that is weak and
failing.
So John Piper
even knows himself
well enough to
say that I don't
trust myself to
make it to the
end.
I need Christ.
And so Paul
gives this example
of Timothy.
I just want to
take a second to
look at the
character of
Timothy.
I think
Timothy is an
excellent example
of someone who
has such endurance
that John Piper is
talking about.
And the thing is
that Paul is
writing this about
Timothy, but not a
lot of people, if
you've read 2
Timothy, not a lot
of people followed
Paul to the very
end.
So Paul is executed
in 2 Timothy,
probably after he
wrote that letter.
Turn to 2 Timothy 1,
if you would,
real quickly.
Okay.
So this is the
final book from
Paul right before
he's executed.
And then, like we
said, the end of the
book usually has
travel plans, what's
going on in his life,
kind of like small
updates, kind of more
narrative.
But 2 Timothy has a
completely different
theme.
Imagine someone writing
their last letter to
you, most likely,
knowing this is their
last letter before
they're about to die
for the sake of the
gospel.
I would key in so
much to hearing what
they have to say.
And so, it's kind of
this very unsettling
theme that's going
through 2 Timothy,
that Paul is talking
about.
The truth is, is that
many have actually
abandoned Paul.
I'm going to point out
a few ones.
Verse 15, you are
aware that all who
are in Asia turned
away from me, among
whom are Phygelus and
Hermogenes.
So, all of Asia has
turned away from Paul,
or at least the
believers that he
knows.
All of them have
turned away from Paul,
specifically these two
guys, Phygelus and
Hermogenes.
And then turn to, flip
the next page, chapter
4, verse 9.
Okay.
So he says, do your
best to come to me
soon, for Demas, in
love with this present
world, has deserted
me and gone to
Thessalonica.
Crescens has gone to
Galatia, Titus to
Dalmatia.
Luke alone is with
me.
Get Mark and bring
him with you, for
he is very useful for
my ministry.
Demas, I want to
just, who is this
guy?
He left Paul, because
he's fallen in love
with the world.
And the thing is, if
you do a word search
on Demas, he's
actually someone who's
been mentioned in
Paul's letters before.
Where is he familiar
from?
Colossians 4, verse
14.
Really quick.
So, he says that
Demas has left
him.
And then he says,
this is before he
wrote that, in
Colossians.
So, kind of given
the same orders of
his travel plans, he
says in verse 14, he
says, Luke, the
beloved physician,
greets you, as does
Demas.
kind of listing off all
these people.
He says, he lists
Demas as someone who
was actually with him,
laboring for the
gospel.
One more place is in
Philemon 1, verse 24.
So, he's giving more
commands at the end of
this book, and he
says, Epaphras, my
fellow prisoner in
Christ, Jesus sends
greetings to you.
So, we're talking
about prison here.
Like, he's listing off
his prisoners.
So, he says, Epaphras,
my fellow prisoner in
Christ, Jesus sends
greetings to you.
And so do Mark,
Aristarchus, Demas, and
Luke, my fellow
workers.
So, this is a guy who's
in prison with Paul.
We're not talking about
a guy that, when the
going gets rough, I'm
going to peace out.
Like, he's not like
that.
He's not, this is not a
guy who was just here
because Paul is doing a
lot of cool things.
He's doing miracles, and
he agrees with them, and
he's there.
But as soon as things
get tough, he backs
out.
That's not Demas.
Demas, that's not him.
This is the guy who's
been in prison with
Paul, and probably
through a lot worse.
And then at the end of
his letter in 2nd
Timothy, he's fallen
in love with the world,
and he's left Paul.
So, if that's not
unsettling, that we can
be in prison for
Christ.
And that doesn't mean
anything.
It's like, man,
and so the truth is
that we don't know if
Demas comes back.
He might.
He might have come
back.
But as far as we're
concerned, as far as we
know in Scripture, there's
no indication that he
does.
It's kind of this
unsettling thought that you
can be in it and around
people and not endure, and
not be this example that
Paul's giving in
Philippians.
And so, Timothy stays.
And as far as we know, so
does Epaphroditus.
Is Timothy flawless?
No.
Timothy's not flawless, man.
He's, in fact, a majority
of 1 Timothy that Paul
writes to Timothy, I mean,
it sounds good because it's
a book, but it's also
because Paul's writing this
to Timothy as instructions
to Timothy.
Here's some of the things
that's going on with
Timothy.
Timothy is most likely
backing down from
preaching the gospel, so
Paul says, don't back
down from preaching the
gospel.
Preach it boldly.
And then he's not being
above reproach, and so
Paul's saying, be above
reproach.
And it's possible he's not
tolerating dissension and
ungodly teaching in his
church.
Timothy was a pastor in
Ephesus, and so he's got a
lot of cultural influence
on him.
And so, Timothy's by no
means flawless.
He's got a lot that Paul
is instructing him on, and
Paul is asking him to stand
true to his teaching.
But the truth is that
Timothy endures.
God uses flawed, broken
life to be an encouragement
to the Philippians in this
text.
Not just the past two
chapters, but because he
doesn't intend those things
to just be theoretical.
He gives this example of
broken, flawed Timothy, and
Epaphroditus, who I'm sure
he's got a long list of
things.
But he gives this example of
these guys that are living
this out.
And the question is, why?
Why does Paul, Paul does
this, and God puts this there
because God has never intended
his word to solely be
theoretical.
He, God has always intended
to be applied to our love
and not just our minds.
And so, the thing is, is
that as, if we read
Philippians like it's a
biology experiment to be
dissected, pulled apart,
studied, and philosophized
over, and that's it, we miss
the point completely.
So, it's kind of nice that
we have this pause here
because Paul is writing this
letter, he's giving all
these hard things, and I
can imagine Paul just
kind of saying, I know
this is tough, I know this
is tough, but I'm going to
give an example of this.
And Paul is saying, don't
miss the purpose of these
two chapters.
Don't miss the point of
it.
Don't overanalyze this, and
just let this be theory.
This needs to affect your
life like it's affected
Timothy and Epaphroditus.
So, if you're kind of
sitting here, and we've
been reading through
Philippians, and we've
been talking about it in
our discussion groups, and
you've kind of gotten
discouraged because there's
so much going on, and it
almost seems impossible to
live this out.
Don't be discouraged.
Paul is begging us, don't
be discouraged.
Here are two guys who you
know.
Jesus is someone who we've
heard about, and we read
about, but these are two
guys that we know.
And so, he's giving
first-hand examples of
Timothy and Epaphroditus.
And so, we want, every
single person in this room
wants to be like Epaphroditus
and Timothy.
We want to endure to the
end.
And the question is, and
how do we do that?
If we've got so much here in
the text that Paul is giving
us, and then we've got this
example of Timothy and
Epaphroditus, and I definitely
don't feel like a Paul and
Epaphroditus, or Timothy and
Epaphroditus all the time.
I don't feel like, I wonder
what I would do in these
situations that Timothy was
put in.
And I think it has two
responses for that.
How do we keep this when we
know that, Lord, we're prone
to wander.
I'm just as capable of sin and
apostasy as Demis is.
And if we tell ourselves that
we're not, we're fooling
ourselves.
And so, I'm going to finish
out, actually, what John
Piper says here in the next
page.
He says, that is my cry.
He says, let your goodness,
O God, bind my heart with a
chain to you.
Seal my will to yours with an
unbreakable application of your
eternal covenant.
Is this the way that Christians
should pray?
Keep me.
Preserve me.
Defeat every rising rebellion.
Overcome every doubt.
Deliver me from every destructive
temptation.
Nullify every fatal
alignment.
Expose every demonic
deception.
Tear down every arrogant
argument.
Shape me.
Incline me.
Hold me.
Master me.
Do whatever you must to keep
me trusting you and fearing you
until Jesus comes or calls.
So, I think we keep that by
crying out to God.
I think it always starts in the
heart.
If we go straight to hands after
this, like if we just go straight
into applying this to our lives
and just thinking of practical
ways that we can do this, that we
can be a Timothy and a
Paphroditus, we're going to burn
out.
You will not make it.
Because we're focused so much on
our actions and we're not
focused on our hearts.
And so, I think along with that
cry that John Piper is talking
about, it has to start in our
hearts.
It has to start when we go home
tonight and just thinking about,
Lord, I want to be kept by you.
I want to be all these things that
you're talking about in these
first two chapters of Philippians.
I want to be like Timothy and
Epaphroditus, but I need you to
keep me.
And so, that's our text for
tonight.
The thing is that we need to
surround ourselves with godly men
and women.
And Nathan said this a few times
is that it is so important that
we do more than just hang out with
college students.
It is so important that we get
around people with families.
It is important that I get around
Chris and his family and that I get
around to see them, how they
operate.
It is so important.
We need someone like that in our
life.
We need to not just see them on
Sunday, but we need to be there
around their lives to eat with
these families, to break bread
with them.
And so, as we're concluding this
out, this is such a nice pause for
our discussion groups tonight for
just where we're at because we have
really important questions to ask
ourselves.
There's two questions, or there's
three questions that I say, okay,
just think about.
Because that first part of tonight
where I'm saying that it's easy to
pass over what we're reading so far
in Philippians.
It's easy to pass over this part
because it's a narrative.
But the question is that with the
knowledge that you know, knowledge is
a very great thing, but it's also a
dangerous thing, and everyone will
tell you that.
And the question is, is what you're
learning here, what you're learning
tonight, what you're reading from even
your own time in the work, is it
leading to a knowledge that puffs up
like Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 8?
Is it leading to a knowledge that
puffs up, or is it leading to a
knowledge that builds up in love?
Our knowledge is worthless if we don't
have love.
So what are we doing with that
knowledge that we already have?
You can see Timothy and Epaphroditus
love Paul, and they love the
Philippians.
They're great examples.
Christ is our ultimate example, but
these are great examples.
The next question is, are you being
faithful to the revelation that you
already have?
Or are we passing over these simple
truths the Bible has made very clear
to us?
Non-negotiable truth.
And are we looking for a new
revelation instead of being faithful
to those things?
Man, a practical way in my life is
sometimes I have to just stop
listening to sermons from like John
Piper or John MacArthur or Matt
Chandler.
I have to stop because I just like
to listen to those things, and I
don't even think about the fact that,
God, am I even being faithful to
those things?
Am I just stocking up knowledge
because it's what I like to do?
And then, man, kind of a more deeper
question is, have Jesus' words and
Paul's words, have they lost their
original intention to be lived out
in your life?
And they're merely just words on a
page that we are just analyzing and
studying, and they have no application
in our lives.
Those are good places to start.
Let's just be thinking about those as
we're worshiping Christ through our
musical worship and as we get to talk
to each other tonight.
I love getting to be in these
discussion groups because what I've
loved is having guys and girls in the
group that I get to know their name,
I get to talk about this, but then I
get to pray for them, and we get to ask
each other, man, what's going on in your
life?
Like, you're telling me what's going on.
Like, just tell me something so I can
pray for you.
That is what I love so much about it,
and so let's take this and let's ask
ourselves those questions as Wes comes
up and as we break out into discussion
groups.
Let me just pray for us.
Heavenly Father, you are so good to us.
God, you have not just left us following
a rigid and dogmatic religion that means
nothing to us, that has no impact on our
lives, but God, you have given us truth,
and you've given us men to look to and
women to look to that can encourage us
to live this out.
Father, thank you that you love us more
than any one of us in this room will
ever understand, and I know I will never
understand it.
God, I beg you to change my heart over
this text.
Would you please change the hearts in
this room over this text?
God, I just pray that tonight we would
just pause and, God, invite you in to
change our hearts, maybe in just a small
way, Father, but God, I just pray that you
would change our hearts before we try and
start changing our actions.
We love you, and you are so good to us.
We pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.