Philippians 2: | Feathers to a Sword Fight

We are continuing in the book of Philippians today

We are in Philippians 2:19-30

We have been looking at this letter that Paul has been writing to the church at Philippi.

Today we are getting an inside look at the heart of Paul.

Paul has been laboring over themes of persecution and commitment to God, but today we see a very personal response that I think maybe identifies with the America Church more than anything else that has been written so far.

Philippians 2:19 NKJV

But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.

Paul is in prison in Rome

He doesn’t know if he will live to see another day.

And instead of complaining or worrying about himself, he takes the initiative to send someone to them

Paul wanted to know how they were doing, so he desires to send Timothy.

Timothy was a young man who joined Paul during his missionary journeys, and stuck right by Paul’s side through all of this

Now he is not imprisoned but he is staying here with Paul while he is in prison

You would expect Paul to have a mass following

You would think that Paul would have a line outside of the prison of believers just waiting to do whatever it was that he needed

But notice what he says in verse 20

Philippians 2:20–21 NKJV

For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.

Can I tell you there are few verses that have hit me as hard as this one while going through Philippians.

You would think that Paul would have an endless list of people that he could send to a church just to bring him back a report.

But can I point out something interesting here. He doesn’t say that he doesn’t have anyone he can send, he says that he has nobody like minded, who would sincerely care for their state, and has a proven character.

Why did this hit me specifically?

Becasue the management of the church by the pastor is just a job of delegation

The pastor studies humself, he prays himself, he guides himself, but there comes a point int he church where he can not manage everythign himself.

We see this process come to fruition first after pentecost.

The church is growing, the apostles can no longer keep up with all of the needs of the church, so they appoint men that they can delegate these responsibilities to.

And it was actually one of these men who would become the first martyr of Christ

He would go out and preach the word of God and he would be stoned to death for it.

Paul the one who wrote this book undere inspiration of th eHoly Spirit, held the coats for the men who were stoning him.

This mans name was Stephen, and was what we call today a deacon.

The position of a deacon was one that was simply established by God, with strict requirements

And their role was simple, aid the pastor, so that he can focus on prayer and the preaching of the word.

Acts 6:2–4 NKJV

Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Now later we would receive very specific requirements for these men, but I want you to notice the 4 requirements given here.

The men who would handle the work of the church, under the leadership of the pastors must have these 4 requirements....

Have a Good Reputation

Be Full of the Holy Spirit

Have Wisdom

Be Able to Handle the Responsibility Given to Them

Now again we would recieve much more specifric requirements later, but these 4 I think serve as a good baseline.

You say Zach why is this importnat, well I can I tell you as boldly why this matters more than nearly everything else int eh chruch.

The greatest danger to the church today is week, effeminate, irresponsible, and unreliable christian men.

It is because of the downfall of Christian masculinity, bold stances against evil, care for one another, reliable service, and a desire for sacrifice, that has led to the model of our churches today becoming a coffee shop book club for mens wives and children while they stay at home.

And when they do come because their wives nagged them enough, they either play on their phones or take a nap.

Can I tell you something that I think needs to be said more in churches.

I want you to look through scripture and find one place where the role of leadership, authority, and delegation in the church is placed solely on the woman.

YOU WON’T FIND IT

WHY, BECASUE THAT WASN’T GOD’S DESIGN

Just like in the marriage, the church is given the same model of leadership

Titus 1:5–6 Appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife

1 Timothy 3:2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;”

1 Timothy 2:12 “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.”

1 Corinthians 11:3 “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”

Titus 2:3–5 “the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”

Philippians 4:3 “And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”

Romans 16:2 “that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.”

Even in this case where Paul is admonishing this woman Phoebe, and for others to help and support her, why is she given this honor, because SHE HAD BEEN A HELPER OF MANY AND HIMSELF

Now normally in the church this is where you get the disclaimer.

There are certain passages in scripture that are always followed with a disclaimer for some reason.

Any time 1 Timothy 2:12 is quoted its always followed up with....

Oh don’t be offended he isn’t saying that women can’t speak in church he is saying that the position of the pastor is just for the man

And while that is true, obviously looking at the rest of scripture you find women like Phoebe serving in incredibly important roles, and women being commanded in Titus 2 to teach to the younger women and children, you see that this is not talking about chauvenishm or sexism

If we just read scripture for what it says we see clearly what it says, women are not permitted to serve as spiritual leaders in the church

Oh thats becasue God hates women right, no scripture actually tells us why...

1 Timothy 2:12–13 “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.”

1 Corinthians 11:8–9 “For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.”

Now I want you to notice something very important here, this heirarchy that was established had nothing to do with sin or culture or anything like that, how do I know, BECASUE GOD CREATED THE WOMAN AS A HELPER FOR ADAM BEFORE THE FALL

God created the sun, moon, stars, and man, and looked at everything and said it was good

Then he created the woman to be a helper to the man, and then he said ...

Oh will this isn’t as good

I mean the man was just so much better right?

NO, HE SAID.....

Genesis 1:31 “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Before Eve, God said that it was not good that adam should be alone, then he creates Eve as a helper to Adam and he says now it is very good

WHY, BECASUE THE MAN NEEDS HELP

AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY OUR CHURCHES TODAY ARE THE WAY THEY ARE, BECAUSE WE HAVE FLIPPED THIS

IN THE AMERICAN CHRUCH TODAY WE HAVE CHURCHES RAN BY WOMEN WITH THE SUPPORT OF MEN, AND THATS NOT HOW GOD DESIGNED IT

GOD DESIGNED THE CHURCH TO BE RAN BY MEN AND SUPPORTED MY WOMEN, JUST AS HE DESIGNED THE MARRIAGE

Why, because those roles match the design of how he made men and women

Can i give you an example of how this works

In our home if Alex was not there our children would be hardened and obedient, but you know what they would be lacking, a level of organization and care that I wouldn’t have.

When I watch the kids by myself its like the wild west

they are drinking out of random stuff, finding their own food, thye may go to bed at 7 they may not go to bed at all

EX: i remember the first time I watched the kids by myself for an extended period of time, Ava ate meatballs for dinner for like 3 nights straight and then got up the next day and ate them for breakfast becasue they were the easiest thing to cook.

But you want to know one thing that you can guarantee our kids will be if I am watching them by myself

Behaved

Now if I wasn’t around, the kids would have three meals a day, they would always be dressed in clean clothes, they would alwasy go to bed on time

But you know what wouldn’t be present, the behavior and obedience

And it is not just in creation, and it is not just in the marriage.

But you look at any church that doesn’t have spiritually masculine presence, you want to know what you find, a place that is orderly, and organized, but with little behavior and obedience.

The coffee is ready every Sunday, the music is always perfected, the finances are organized, the ministries are ran flawlessly, but just like in the home, what do you have on the other side, a group of immature, disobedient, sinful Christians.

They run a good service, but their hearts have no structure or leadership

So what the role of the man is more important?

Well let me ask you, if you had to pick one would you rather have a single mom or a single dad?

Well you would say it depends

It depends on which one was able to take on the characteristics of the others the best

So no one isn’t more important than the other

They are equal in important, but different in role and responsibility

And when you take one piece out, whether it is the man or the woman, failure follows

I think a good test to determine if this is really true is to look back at church history.

I think most would agree that in America there has never been a time where the spiritual health of the church has ever been more lacking.

Yet at the same time the church has never in history had more of a nationwide outreach and the level of production that it has.

Never before has sermons been reaching millions on the internet

Never before has worship sets been livestreamed and produced better than professional concerts

Never before has the church had more money than it does now

INTERESTING

From what we have already learned from the family, what would this tell us about the church today

Its organization has never been better, but also its disobedience has never been greater

Sounds like a home with a single mom

That's what churches in America are today

A group of kids with single moms

They have the organization and the love and the care dialed in, but there is no strong spritiual guidance and direction.

And can I say this too, this is not to say that just becasue a church has a man in the pulpit that this means the church is led by spiritual men.

Notice what Paul’s issue was.

He didn’t say that there was nobody willing to go

HE SAID THAT THERE IS NOBODY HE FEELS QUALIFIED TO GO

A man in a pulpit, or a man in the pews, does not equate to spiritual leadership and guidance

Because spritiual masculinity is not inherent, and unfortunately today pulpits are filled with men who have no more spiritual backbone and leadership than the women in their church do

The office of pastor today has become nothing more than a status symbol or a platform for popularity

And what you end up with is so called men in the pulpit who look and act more like women than men

They are scared to speak against sin, they are scared to offend, they are scared they might lose some followers on their tik tok

BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS HOW IT WAS

You see I think one of the great problems of the church is we have a generation of Christian men who have never actually seen an example of what true Biblical masculinity looks like.

Your average christian man today grew up with a dad who was either an unbeleiver or was Biblically illiterate.

Your average chrsitian man today got their picture of what it means to be a chrsitian man from a pastor in a pulpit who screamed at them to all Sunday morning about how everyone else is wrong except for them and then went and cheated on their wife with the secretary through the week

Your average christian man today never heard their father pray

Your average christian man today looked forward ot the Sundays that dad would come to church and then he would sleep the whole service

And we wonder why nobody knows what it looks like to be a strong, Biblically literate, masculine, Christian man

And as a pastor can I tell you across every ministry position I have ever been in what my continuous struggle is

Just like Paul, with possibly men present, but looking out, just like Paul, I continue finding myself saying

Philippians 2:20–21 “For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.”

Zach why do you have to be so controversial, why can’t you just preach love.

DON’T YOU SEE THAT IS WHAT I AM DOING

I am preaching this today becasue it is what God says and it was the next passage in Philippians, but you want to know why I don’t just make you comfortable while you are here so you can have a good sunday.

BECASUE THAT ISN’T LOVE

You see too many churches are sending their people out into the world with feathers ready to fight a spiritual battle of swords, and they KEEP FAILING, AND THEY KEEP LOSING, AND THEIR FAMILIES KEEP FALLING APART, AND THEIR CHURCHES FALL DEEPER INTO SIN, AND GENERATIONA FTER GENERATION CHURCHES ARE LEADING PEOPLE AWAY FROM CHRIST AND CLOSER TO SATAN IN AN EFFORT NOT TO OFFEND, BUT THAT ISN’T LOVE

Love is caring for the person so much that you would put yourself as risk of offense or even criticism

But only to the person you hate would you lie to, in an effort to keep them in the middle of deception

And I want you to know church that I love each and every one of you, and becasue that this will never be a place that you can come to to get affirmation of your sin

If that's what you are looking for you can go to any of the churches within blocks of here where you can bring any sin you want into its doors and they will celebrate it with you

BUT because I love you that won’t happen at scriptura

I would choose a church of 5 people who come every Sunday desiring to rid themselves of their sin and grow closer to christ than 5,000 who come for me to lie to them that everything is ok and they are just fine however they are in their sin

While the American church becomes more and more affirming and more and more effeminate

Scriptura church will become more and more bold against sin, and it will become more spiritually masculine.

We sang the song today, As fro me and my house

I can tell you this, as long as I am the pastor here, for me, and my house, we will not give into this worlds lies and effeminate Christianity, and I would hope that you woudln’t either

Because the pastor can only do so much before delegation must happen, and I hope that I would not have to stand here every Sunday saying Philippians 2:20–21 “For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.”

You see it wasn’t always like this.

oh the church has always had it’s issues with lacking men

But there was a time where there was a strogn presence of masculinity in the church

In the 16th century William Tyndale translated the New Testament into English. The Catholic church once again instead of handling their issues with doctrine they just tried to kill him.

So he lived constantly on the run from the Catholic church, smuggling scripture in sacks of flour and wine barrels so that the english speaking person could read scripture for themselves instead of being reliant on the Catholic churches heretical interpretations.

He would be burned at the stake for this in 1536.

In the 1600s John Bunyan, a puritan preacher was jailed for preaching truth in scripture. While he was in prison, people would gather outside of his cell window, and he would preach to them from his cell. While in prison he would write a book called the Pilgrim’s Progress, which would be one of the greatets Christians books ever written.

John Wesley, an 18th century preacher was once banned from his childhood church for preaching truth, so he went outside to his father’s tombstone, climbed up on top of it, and used it as a pulpit to preach to hundreds that gathered around to listen.

In the 19th century Charles Spurgeon, and English pastor, regularly preached to thousands without a microphone. Once he preached to over 15,000 people in the middle of a snowstorm outside without a microphone.

George Whitefield, an American pastor in the 18th century, would regularly preach in the coal mines at 5am to thousands of workers.

Martin Luther, challenging the heresy of the catholic church walked up the steps of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, and nailed a paper with 95 theses against the church on the front door.

During the Scottish reformation, a man named John Knox led the charge against the destructive heresies of the catholic church. And since they wanted to kill him for it, John Knox would preach with a broadsword on his side.

Not looking for a fight, but he made it clear that this was a battle, and he was prepared

You see while there is a lacking presence of men in the church, we ar enot without any examples.

In fact after Paul said this about not having anyone he could send.

Notice what he says...

Speaking of Timothy he says...

Philippians 2:22–24 “But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.”

So he clarifies no there is one, a young man. Not an old mature man who has followed me and served for his entire life, but just a kid I picked up on the way who has the character. He can go.

But then he mentions someone else.

Philippians 2:25–28“Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful.

Paul mentions this man named Epaphroditus.

This man was a follower of Paul who is called a fellow worker, and afellow soldier, who helped him.

And he says that becasue of his work for Christ he contracted this sickness that almost led to death, but God healed him.

And notice what Paul says about him.

Philippians 2:29–30 “Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.”

Epaphroditus is only mentioned here and then once in chapter 4.

He was most likely from pagan backgrounds as his name literally meant belonging to Aphrodite.

We don’t know anything else about him.

But we are told to hold men like him in esteem

Look at thier example

Men.......

God isn’t looking for Bible scholars

God isn’t looking the educated

God isn’t looking for the experienced

Like Paul was, like I am, he is looking for men with...

Have a Good Reputation

Full of the Holy Spirit

Full of Wisdom

And Able to Handle the Responsibility Given to Them

Women....

God isn’t looking to you for the responsibility of running the church and running the home

But just like a home without a father, the woman has to step up, and when necessary there may be no other option

But that is not your responsibility

Your God given responsibility from the time of creation is to serve as the supporter and helper, building up the ones in authority, filling their shortcomings, so that they can then carry the responsibility of leadership in service to God

And it is my hope at Scriptura that this would be a place where men are present

Men are leading

Men are guiding

And women are supporitng

And women are praying

And women are organizing

And women are teaching

And together, with men and women serving int he responsibiliteis God has given them, we can send out people into world that is fighting them with swords, witht he boldness to carry a sword themselves.