Men worthy of honor

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Welcome! We are so glad you the with us today. My prayer is that you will leave edified and equipped today.

Associational meeting here on Nov 2 to host a “Missions celebration”

INTRODUCTION:

1) Our world has a different value system than Christianity. You don’t have to read very far in the Bible to see that what God honors is much different than what the world honors.

And the same is true for people:

We’ve all seen the recent passing of several prominent people who existed on the world’s stage. Most recently, Hulk Hogan. Before Him Ozzy Osbourne all in about a weeks time.

And this has been the topic of just about every news outlet for the past week.

Along with Hulk Hogan, and Ozzy Osbourne, was the passing of John MacArthur. John was a prominent pastor in Sun Valley California and was a GIANT in the faith. Pastored the same church for 56 years and boldly standing upon the Word of God in the face of all sorts of cultural challenges and opposition.

During COVID the state of California attempted to shut down the church MacArthur was leading, but he refused because they did not possess that right.

They threatened to put him in jail and his response? “Bring it on! I’ve never had an opportunity to do a jail ministry before”.

I just admire his courage and boldness, yet when he passed there was very little spoken of him in the public.

Homiletical idea: Great men in this life are not those who build great earthly kingdoms, but those who devote their life in service to the kingdom of God

Great men may not be honored by the world, but they will be honored by God.

Great men make an eternal difference in this world!

And great men, men like this are desperately in the church today.

Great men serve the kingdom of God, in the capacity that God has given them, and they do it faithfully.

Paul gives us a resume of two great men in his time. He has served with them, has seen their character, and gives us a short biography from each of them of what men who deserve honor look like:

The first is Paul’ spiritual son: Timothy

Philippians 2:19–21 NASB95

But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

Context:

Remember, Paul is incarcerated. He has been arrested for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he is writing this letter from his prison cell to the Philippians who are about 800 miles away. And the way communication took place in the first century was by messengers. No mail service, no phone lines, only messengers who carry verbal messages or written letters.

The two messengers in view here are Timothy and Epaphroditus (E-paph-ro-ditus).

Timothy was a church leader, a messenger of Paul’s, and Paul’s protégé. Paul mentored Timothy, poured into his life, and he even accompanied Paul on at least one of his missionary journeys.

Epaphroditus was an ordinary member of the Philippian congregation who had been sent out by them to come and minister to Paul’s needs.

Notice first what Paul has to say to the Philippians about Timothy:

Timothy is a great teacher with a powerful preaching voice? Timothy has the gift of leadership and has seen exceptional growth in their church? Timothy has written 43 books on the subject of church unity and I think he is a perfect candidate to come to you Philippians?

We don’t read any of the things we would expect to read under a pastors biography. What Paul says about Timothy is something that is so undervalued and often not even considered worthy to be said about another in ministry: 1) He genuinely cares about the welfare of other believers

When we hear that we think, what an elementary thing to say in another person’s biography.

Some years together before this church was ever birthed, I had put together a resume. And I spent days working and crafting that thing, contemplating what I would say about myself to another congregation who would consider me as their pastor, and not one time did it ever occur to me to put in there, “Jake really cares about other believers”

And I think the reason we would not consider even putting that in the biography of honorable men because any decent Christian person cares about the well-being of other Christians.

But Paul would help us to see otherwise:

Let’s read these verses again: “For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.”

Who was Paul speaking of when he says, “I have no one else”? Well there are several ideas scholars have but I think it’s safe to say that in the genre Al run of Christians, Timothy possessed what others did not!

The point is this: what Timothy had was unique and Paul knew it to be real and genuine. His concern for others was real, it was tangible, it was from the heart! It was not guided by self-centered motives. There was no hidden agenda in the background of Timothy’s heart as he traveled 800 miles to check on these new Christians. He was not in it for the money, he was not in it for the name, he was there because he truly cared.

Application:

There is always the great temptation in ministry to seek out the interests of our own. Just as Paul told us int he beginning of this letter, quite possibly the men whom he had in mind here, who preached the gospel out of self ambition and envy.

And if that temptation was alive then, surely in our modern church culture that temptation would even be much greater.

What pastor does not desire to have a large church and will be tempted to preach a “softer” gospel in order to get more people in?

What pastor or ministry leader does not have the desire to stair step his way up through the ranks to land on a larger platform.

What we ought to look for in men, is men who truly care for eh flock. Not those only interested in seeing it grow, not those who will invest effort if there is some sort of kick back, but those who truly care about the sheep in the fold. who care to see it grow

What matters to Jesus ought to be what matters to us. That’s what Paul said there about Timothy. What matters to Jesus is what matters to Timothy and that alone should settle it.

One more thing before we move on: anyone can have this characteristic. Men who are sitting here today, you don’t need any kind of gifts to truly care for others, you do not have to preach, you do not have to know the Bible, you do not even have to be in ministry at all!

Anyone can truly care for the well-being of other Christians and that is a trait worthy of honor.

The second thing Paul says about Timothy: he has proven himself to be faithful

Philippians 2:22–24 NASB95

But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

That is to say, Timothy had a record of faithfulness. The word “proven worth” means “proven character”. He had served with Paul for many years and Paul said he was dependable, he has been faithful served with Paul like a son serves his father.

What is it that gives someone “proven character”? Well first of all they have to be tested. No one can prove themselves to be faithful unless that faithfulness has been tested. When people begin to follow Jesus, their faith is tested. Adrian Rogers used to say, “a faith that hasn’t been tested cannot be trusted”

Timothy was tested when he served with Paul. Now I don’t mean Paul set up a program to test him, I mean that they served together over a period of service where there was persecution, and difficulty; and Timothy proved himself to be faithful.

Do you know that the only major difference between the qualifications to be a pastor and the qualifications to be a deacon? are that a pastor must be able to teach. Makes sense right since a major part of his calling includes teaching and preaching.

But all the other qualifications have to do with CHARACTER. Both for the deacon and the pastor:

“An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.”

Why is that? Because character trumps giftedness! And in God’s eyes what is more important is not whether someone is a great preacher or a great leader or has charisma, but whether not someone has godly character

Now we live in a day when anyone’s private business can easily become everyone’s business.

We’ve all seen the CEO just recently get caught with another woman at the Coldplay concert by the Jumbotron. It’s hard to get by with much of anything in our world where news travels instantly to the entire world.

This is my personal advice that I would give you and follow myself

I do not listen to or give attention to men who have proven themselves unfaithful. It doesn’t matter how many followers they have, how long they have been in ministry, how popular they may be, how good and sound they may be….if they have proven themselves to be unfaithful then I refuse to listen to them.

Why? Because if a person has no business in ministry, yet violates the Word of God by staying in ministry, how could I trust anything that they say?

If a person is trying to pour into my life, yet they themselves are not dedicated to Jesus, why would I listen to anything that they say?

Not everyone in ministry needs to be in ministry. Not everyone who has a speaking platform needs to be teaching or pouring into other people’s lives. Not everyone who says they are called are truly called.

Proven character says a great deal about people whom we should honor.

One last thing

Again, anyone can have this trait. You don’t need great gifts, or a platform, or anything other than Jesus to have great Christian character and live a life worthy of honor.

Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:25–27 NASB95

But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

Explanation:

Epaphroditus is a name that we do not easily recognize. In fact I have stumbled over this name and have written it beside it in syllables so I get it right!

Why is this such a strange name to us? Because this name only appears in Scripture in two places, here and in chapter 4. That’s it! And that is because Epaphroditus was just an ordinary layman who was a member of the Philippian church. Yet God saw it necessary to use 6 verses in the Bible to talk about him and use him as an example of the kind of man who deserves to be honored by the church.

Epaphroditus was sent out by the Philippian church to minister to Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. Let me remind you again that the journey from Philippi to Paul’s prison cell was somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 miles. 800 miles not driven in a car, or on a bus, or in an airplane. 800 miles on foot across dangerous terrain risking his life to be used by God.

His mission was simple: take Paul some money thy was collected by the church to support him while in prison, and take him some encouragement while he sits in a dark dungeon with an unknown future. And he did this to best if his ability, almost dying in the process, but completing the task nonetheless.

Application

When we are talking about men who deserve honor, it is easy to overlook people whose names are rarely mentioned. We frequently honor people who show up in our lives by over and over but often forget or neglect those who are just NOBODIES.

Billy Graham receives honor

John the Baptist receives honor

Adrian Rogers

Alistair Begg

But what about the men who only play a small part in the work of God? What about the NOBODIES who serve often in greater capacities than those well known yet are often completely overlooked by the church as a whole.

A qualification of our service to God must not be that people will learn our name in the end! There is something greatly honorable about men and women who serve in significant yet unknown ways or make huge sacrifices, yet they do so NOT because people will know their name but because they are deeply dedicated to the service of Jesus Christ!

The name is not a qualifier to be honored. The less people know your name, the better! It keeps us from being puffed up in pride. It keeps us from seeking self glory. It keeps us from pursuing our own interests rather than the interests of God.

I just heard a story about a man in Hopkinsville who is in the process of starting/reviving a church.

The church is in a terrible location, and only has about 10 people in it.

This pastor has worked his whole life in a secular job, and took all or the majority of his retirement and sunk it into this church with hopes to serve the Kingdom of God.

Here is the point: NO ONE KNOWS HIS NAME. He’s not well know by the Christians in Hopkinsville (at least not that I know of). His story is not shared on social media. No one knows about his great sacrifice, yet his sacrifice probably outweighs many others who serve in that same capacity.

What makes Epaphroditus worthy of honor?

Philippians 2:28–30 NASB95

Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.

Well Paul says that he risked his life for the work of Christ. The work of Christ being the need to minister to Paul and bring him financial support on behalf of the Philippian church.

So sometime along this journey Epaphroditus got sick. And we’re not talking just a cold, or stomach flu, but sick to the point of death. And he arrived, recovered, and Paul sent him back to the Philippians to be reunited with his church family because of their distress and his distress.

Here is the point: The characteristic that Paul points out was that he was willing to risk EVERYTHING in service to Jesus.

A NOBODY (not a pastor, not an evangelist, no title whatsoever) risking everything for the Kingdom of God.

And that kind of person deserves honor.

Two principles I want us to take away from this

1) You don’t have to be somebody to do big things for the Kingdom of God.

God loves to take ordinary people, with names that no one knows, and do great things with them. I think the default for most of us is save all the significant work for those in leadership positions. But it’s not that way in Scripture. God uses the great and small, the rich and poor. The trained and untrained.

He key is not being qualified, it is being willing. And that is what Epaphroditus was: WILLING.

God’s mercy ALWAYS accompanies our sacrificial service

(v 27) “For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me”

Paul recognizes that it was the great hand of God that spared Epaphroditus’ life. It was God’s mercy upon him that spared his life and brought him back to health.

One thing we can be sure of, that when we take great chances for Christ, the mercy of God goes along with us.

That does not mean however that we will always escape danger. Many have risked their lives for the gospel, and lost them. The apostles being the most well known.

But what we can be sure of is that whether it is in this life or the next, WE WILL EXPERIENCE GOD’S GREAT MERCY!

CONCLUSION:

One thing about preaching through book after book is that the Bible determines the subjects that we need to hear. And the great variety in Scripture is never short of new subjects we need to learn.

Men who deserve honor. Do you know what we need more of in the church? Men like these:

Men who are make it their life ambition to pursue great character.

Men who are willing to put the needs of others above their own needs in service to Christ

Men who we willing to risk everything for the Kingdom of God

What matters most is not that we receive honor from men, but that we receive honor from God.

The praises of men are short lived. They mean very little in comparison to the way God sees us.

1 Samuel 2:30 (NASB95)

“for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.

How does one honor God?

We put Him at the very top in our life. He goes above ourselves. he goes above our spouses. He goes above our occupation. He becomes the single most important person in our lives.

God says He will honor those who honor Him.

The first step in honoring God, is to believe that he sent His Son to die for our sins. Recognize our sinful state, that we are unable to save ourselves, and that Jesus is a demonstration of God’s great love and mercy.

Turn from this world, and turn to Jesus, and God will make you His child and conform you into the image of His Son.

~PRAYER~