What is Tupos

**Give an intro and welcome to Tupos WKND and talk about the idea about Tupos**

Transition to where we find this idea of tupos in scripture

As we get into our time today, to introduce you to our Big Picture Idea for this session. While our Big Picture Idea for the weekend is discussing the What, Who, & Why of Imitation as we talked about earlier this afternoon - I want to break that Big Picture idea down into 3 parts, and those 3 parts is what we are going to talk about in each of our sessions this weekend.

Therefore, our first big picture idea for our first session is this: What is Tupos?

Because here’s the thing, you’re probably sitting here asking yourself, “what is this new event that i’m going to? Why is Ashleigh wanting us to look at this greek word that i’ve never heard of before. How does any of this apply to my life?”

Well, i’m glad you’re asking those questions and here’s why:

It means that you are hungry for God. You are eggar to engage in what God has for you not only where within this student ministry but also with what God is wanting to do in your life.

It means you are ready to engage in the community that is here to build a gospel-centered community with your sisters in Christ

And all of that excites me because i’m ready to walk in that with you guys because y’all are stinking awesome students

With all of that - I want to share with you guys a little of my heart behind Tupos and what it’s all about. To do that, i’m going to share the story of where this word came from and how God led me to dubbing our new girls retreat as Tupos WKND.

I first learned about the word Tupos in college when my best friend Kenzie invited me to her college ministry worship service. They met every Tuesday night during the college semester and just like we call our Wednesday night services MDWK, they called theirs Tupos. Now at first I didn’t really pay much attention to the name and just thought it was a catchy name they went with. However, a couple of semesters later, one of the sermons was about the word Tupos and the heart behind their tuesday night services. And it was there that the Lord imprinted this word on my heart…

Pause

The heart behind Tupos is imitation and looking at what we imitate and who we are imitators for. After all, Tupos means to be worthy of imitation. And here’s the thing girls, we live in a culture that is saturated with influencers of so many things and every single one of those influencers you see, they want you to imitate them. They want to be worthy of your imitation. They want to look so good, that how they portray themselves to be is a way in which you see is worthy to imitate and follow in. I mean think for a minute, the scavenger hunt you guys just did - all those things you guys just did was because you saw that it was worth your while to imitate those celebrities to get to the end goal.

But what was at the end of the scavenger hunt? What was the prize y’all got?

Pause for answers

Was the prize y’all got worth it? Was it fulfilling? Do you think that filling will last?

Pause for answers

Now I want you to think, what is your end goal imitating the influencers you do follow? Or the trends you try to copy, or behaviors of friends you try to replicate. What is the end goal of all of their motives? What are they doing this for?

Pause

This is what we’re going to be spending our weekend talking about.

What is Tupos and how does it apply to us now and in the future

What is worthy of our imitation and what isn’t

Who is your Tupos and Who are you being a Tupos too

Why does Tupos matter

Now we’re not going to cover all of that tonight - but we will cover it all throughout the weekend. But what we are going to cover tonight in our first session is “What is Tupos”

While we’ve already talked about the heart behind Tupos, I want us to look at scripture, see where this word comes from, and begin to lay the foundation for what God has in store for us this weekend.

If you would, turn your bibles with me to Philippians 3:17. While this is our theme verse for the weekend, there will also be some other passages of scripture that we look at to help us gain a stringer understanding of Tupos.

also, if you see in your Session booklets, on the start of each session page, there is place for you to write the Scripture we are looking.

for this session, you can write Philippians 3:17 & Philippians 4:4-8 Im going to read this verse and then we will dive in

Philippians 3:17 NASB95

17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

Worthy of Imitation

Our first point for this session is Worthy of Imitation. to understand that better, we’re going to take a quick context view of who Paul is writing to in this book.

Paul, is writing to the church in Philipi and he is mainly writing to them about having joy in all things.

joy in every good things

joy in every hard thing

joy in every trail

joy in every win

joy in everything.

Specifically what we find Paul talking about here in this verse is that he was giving writing a letter to his church about the goal of life.

why did all of this matter? Why does living this life and continuing on each and everyday matter?

Remember those end goals we talked about earlier? The goals you were trying to accomplish by imitating celeberties in the scavenger hunt? Well, Paul here is encouraging the church with the best end goal and to keep going. Paul is being a Tupos to this church.

In verses 12-16 of Philippians 3, Paul is laying out to the church as to why they should follow him.

It’s not because he was perfect or had everything figured out. In fact he says that it is not because of that reason that you should follow after him.

instead Paul says you should follow after his example because he has his eyes set on Christ and is pressing towards the call that God has called him.

This was Paul’s end goal, this is why Paul was saying that his example was worthy of imitation, this is why he was able to be a tupos

A Tupos is someone who’s worthy of imitation

Paul was worthy of this imitation

Now that Paul has laid out his reasoning for being a Tupos, for being worthy of imitation, in verses 12-16, we see next in verse 17 is Paul’s call for the church to follow in his example,

Let’s read it again, Philippians 3:17

Philippians 3:17 NASB95

17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

What Paul is saying to the church here is that he is inviting them to do life with Paul and to follow not just his example, but to observe everyone who walks according to that same pattern.

What i want you guys to notice and see about this verse and the word, pattern, is that when you study the greek, this word Pattern, translates to the greek word, Typos (or how we texans like to say it, Tupos). which means by definition,

an example to be imitated

of men worthy of imitation

Look at that! You guys just learned your first greek word and your not event in college yet!

Girl’s heres the thing, this is what Paul is asking the church to look at and evaluate

he is asking them to follow in his example, AND OBSERVE those who walk in the same the pattern.

the same example to be imitated

men (people) worthy of imitation

So to summarize all of this into 3 simple points, we’ll break it down like this:

First, Tupos is a greek word that means to be someone who is worthy of imitation

I really want you guys to get that in your head and heart this weekend. Worthy of imitation.

Second, our end goal is to set our eyes on the glory of Christ.

Paul calls the church to follow in his example not because he is perfect and has obtained everything, but because he had his eyes set on the end goal of the Glory of Jesus Christ.

Paul set an example to be imitated.

Third, Paul calls the church to observe those who walk according to this same pattern.

He’s saying to the church, observe those who are a tupos.

Now were going to pause for a second and I’m going to explain what I mean by those “who are a tupos”Here’s what I mean:

When I ask you the question, “what is a tupos?” How would you now answer that? Hopefully you would describe someone who has their eyes set on the end goal of the glory of Christ and lives a life that is worthy of imitation.

it’s someone who has characteristics and qualities that are worthy of being imitated. Some of those characteristics and qualities we are going to look at in a second.

But that’s what I want you guys to hone in on, is a tupos is someone who has the characteristics and qualities that is worthy of being imitated.

They lead and live by an example that is worthy of imitation.

But what is a pattern that is worthy of imitation? We know what our end goal and eyes should be set on. But what does the pattern of tupos look like?

well that brings us to our last point for tonight and that is this:

What is a Pattern of Tupos?

So to share a little story about me is that I have an older brother who’s 4 years older than me and his name is Ryan. Or as he likes to call himself, King Arnie. If you want the backstory on that, you can ask me later tonight. And something about my brother and I is that I have always wanted to be like him, I’ve always wanted to follow in what he did.

I thought that I could do anything my brother did. And not only could I do what my brother did, i could do it better, except for our school work. He got the brains in the family, I got the athletics in the family. If you were to ask me who are some of my biggest role models in life, I would say my brother is most definitely one of them. And here’s why,

My brother is a Tupos. He, in my life, is an example for me that is worthy to be imitated because he has the characteristics and qualities that are worthy of being imitated. Here’s why:

A story that you most likely don’t know is that back when my brother and I were growing up and he was about 14 years old and I was 10, my brother had a heart ablation done to correct a heart condition he had called SVT which stands for supervantricular-tachacardiya. In normal human terms, this means that my brother had an extra electrical pathway in his heart that caused his heart right to go dangerously high when he would play sports or be active. To correct this, he had to have a procedure done where they went in and burned this pathway in his heart.

Now this was a very common procedure that had been done many times with a lot of success. However, it was a long procedure, one that took 8 hours.

So my brother had the procedure done and when he went in for his procedure, there was a complication shortly into his ablation that caused him to go under for 9 minutes. What I mean by go under is that his heart started beating too fast to where they had to shock and do chest compressions on him for roughly 9 minutes to bring him back to a normal heart rhythm and breathing on his own. After this happened, the doctors suspended his procedure to make sure that there was no brain damage with my brother since we was without oxygen to his brain for so long.

Once they woke him up and got into the recovery room, by only a miracle of God was he not just okay, but had no damage to his brain and did not have any long term damage either. However, my brother and my parents were still faced with a problem. His heart had not been fixed.

After having extensive conversations with the doctors about why this happened, they came to an initial inconclusive reasoning as to why my brothers heart did what it did. Therefor, they asked my parents and brother if they wanted to proceed with another ablation to correct my brother’s heart.

Now, here’s the point of the story that I want you guys to see. When my parents asked my brother if he was okay with going back in for a second attempt after what had happened the first time and laid out the risks associated with a second attempt, my mom asked my brother if he was scared to go back in and his response to my mom was this, “mom, if I die, I know i’m going home to be with Jesus and I’m okay with that and I know everything will be okay.”

give yourself a moment for the tears if you need it. add in a pause. it’s okay to show this emotion.

I share that story with you because of this, my brother, is someone who is worthy of imitation and has an example to follow because he has a pattern of tupos and that pattern is this:

He rejoiced in the Lord

He let his gentle spirit be known

He was anxious for nothing

He was dwelling on the heavenly things

Even in the midsts of one of his greatest trails, while walking through something that would have been very understandable for a 14 year old to terrified of and be anxious and not have a gentle spirit, my brother was able to live our those 4 things because his end goal was the the glory of christ and his eyes were set on him.

because when our eyes our set on him, the pattern that our lives begin to show is the one we see in Philippians 4:4-8 which say this:

Philippians 4:4–8 NASB95

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Girl’s, the pattern of tupos, the pattern of someone who is a tupos is these four verses.

It is someone who:

Rejoices in the Lord.

Not just once or twice a week, or only when things are good.

They rejoice in the Lord continually to where it is as if it is their lifestyle to continually rejoice in the Lord

That is the pattern of a Tupos

Pause

Let’s their gentle spirit be known.

They don’t have a strong-willed, prideful, arrogant spirit when things are hard or difficult, that have a spirit about them that radiates the compassion and love of Jesus through their

words

actions

thoughts

And most importantly, they aren’t afraid to let this gentle spirit in them be known to others

they are known for having a pattern of a gentle spirit.

That is the pattern of a Tupos

Pause

Is anxious for nothing

This means that no matter what, there is no sense of uncertainty or unsettledness about anything.

they are not worried about what is to come

they have put their full trust and faith in Christ

They have a comfort knowing that their Savior is in control and not them

as a Hymn Writer named Isaac Watts once said about not being anxious,

this was my brother, he, in that moment of going in for a second attempt to correct his heart, was anxious for nothing.

I lie down in comfort at night, not being anxious whether I awake in this world or another.

Isaac Watts (Nonconformist Hymn Writer)

this was my brother, he, in that moment of going in for a second attempt to correct his heart, was anxious for nothing.

That is the pattern of a Tupos.

Pause

4. They dwell on the heavenly things

they saturate their thoughts in what is:

true

honorable

right

pure

lovely

of good repute

excellence

worthy of praise

They center their lives on these things

That is the Pattern of a Tupos

Pause

But here’s the thing girl’s, were not here to spend our whole weekend talking about what Tupos is, the patterns of a Tupos, hearing stories from people who are Tupos’s - where here to go deeper in our faith - to dig into what God has for us here this weekend - and to walk in the freedom we have in Christ that all of you who are in Christ, are worthy of Imitation because Christ’s blood has made you worthy through His sacrifice on the cross.

Pause and add in a brief Gospel Presentation and response

Call to Action

Now here’s what I want to spend the last few minutes of our time this evening talking with you guys about. That is our call to action.

A call to action is simply where you are given something to take action on. You are presented with something that requires an action on your part to take the next step forward.

Now some of you may know this about me and some of you may not, but something I am big is living out what we talk about during weekends like this.

One of my biggest pet-peeves is coming to a retreat like this were we all get on an emotional high, get all amped up for how we are going to live different lives on Monday, but then Monday comes and we’re right back into our old habits, quickly forgetting what God had done in our lives over the weekend.

Here’s why it’s one of my biggest pet-peeves. God has something more for you than an emotionally high experience this weekend.

now don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for our emotions to be expressed and I want you to do that. God created you to have emotions and to express them.

But at the same time, our emotions are not the absolute truth.

God’s word is the absolute truth.

And while our emotions help us understand where we are and can help us to acknowledge the realities of life we are walking through,

at the end of the day, we have to submit our emotions to the authroity and lordship of Christ and say,

“Lord not my will but yours be done. Aling my heart and emotions with your will and ways. Give me the strength, faith, and courage to follow after what you are calling me to today.”

Girl’s that is the difference between coming to a retreat to have an emotional high weekend spiritually versus coming to a retreat to return back to your schools on Monday with a stronger faith in Christ that is so raident, other people start asking questions.

But before other people start asking us about the change they’ve seen in our life, we have to first ask ourselves these questions and ask the Lord on how He is calling us to action through our response to these questions.

Those questions are this:

What does it look like for you to be a Tupos?

are you someone who has the characteristics and qualities that are worthy of being imitated?

What sin, grudge, hurt, or loss is holding you back from living in the freedom of Christ to be a Tupos?

What does it look like for you to build a pattern of Tupos as we laid out in Philippians 4:4-8?

What does it look like for you to:

Rejoice in the Lord.

Let your gentle spirit be known.

Be anxious for nothing

Dwell on the heavenly things

Pause

These questions you aren’t going to answer here, you’re going to answer in your small group times tonight after Andrea leads us in worship. But here’s a challenge I want to leave you guys with.

you’ll notice on the next page in your session notes in your booklet that there are two pages with blank lines on them with the headings, Content, Reflection, Application, Accountability.

these are going to be the 4 types of questions you guys walk through during your small group times. All of these questions tie directly back to what we talk about in here during our main sessions.

what i want to challenge you guys with is this,

write down your personal answers to these questions in your booklet. these aren’t answers you have to share publicly, but I want to challenge you guys to get real with yourselves and with God and don’t be afraid to write down the truth of what God is showing you tonight and through the rest of this weekend becasue here’s the things: what we’re talking about this weekend will matter when you are in your mid 30’s. It will matter when you are a grandparent. It will matter when people come to remember the life you lived and the legacy you built of being know for being someone who’s end goal was the glory of Christ and lived a life that was so worthy of imitation, others are sadden by your loss because you loved and led like a Tupos.