Interrupting Interest - Phil. 2:19-24

ME

A few weeks ago we discussed Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” The message we learned was that Paul was ALL ABOUT CHRIST. His entire life. Nothing was going to get in the way of that not even prison or the thought of dying. As I think about that and this continued message of selflessness and having the mind of a disciple I am reminded of lesson learned from the Old Testament.

—> ILLUSTRATION Let me take you into a cave for just a moment.

King Saul is outside — hunting David like an animal. Three thousand chosen men are with him. David is hiding in the back of a cave with his own men.

And then something unbelievable happens.

Saul walks into the very cave where David is hiding.

Alone.

Vulnerable.

Within arm’s reach.

David’s men start whispering:

“This is it.” “This is your moment.” “God has delivered him into your hand.” “Take the throne.”

Now let’s imagine — just for a second — that David lets his personal interests take over.

If David listens to the world… If David listens to his fear… If David listens to his frustration…

Here’s what he does:

He draws the sword.

He justifies it.

“I’ve been anointed king.” “He’s trying to kill me.” “This is self-defense.” “This is God opening a door.”

He eliminates Saul. Walks out of that cave. Declares victory. Claims the throne.

And from a worldly perspective?

It makes sense. It’s efficient. It secures his future. It ends the stress.

But it would have been driven by David’s interests — not God’s.

David’s timeline. David’s safety. David’s comfort. David’s control.

Instead, what does David do?

He cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe… and even that bothers his conscience.

Why?

Because David refused to let his interests interrupt God’s interests.

He trusted God’s timing. God’s justice. God’s plan.

David understood something critical: You can seize what God has promised… or you can wait for God to give it.

Those are not the same thing.

And here’s the connection to Philippians 2.

Paul says, “They all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.”

In that cave, David had every reason to seek his own interests.

But he chose differently.

And Timothy — Paul says — was that kind of man.

He didn’t advance himself. He didn’t grab position. He didn’t force outcomes.

He cared about what Christ cared about.

So let’s talk about what made Timothy different.

GOD

Text: Philippians 2:19–24 “But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 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 evaluate my own circumstances, and I am confident in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.”

Context - Timothy becomes our 3rd example of someone who exemplifies what it looks like to be selfless. Paul is our first, Jesus was the second and now Timothy.

— Remember we reading a letter where Paul is trying to help correct a very urgent problem where 2 women seem to be causing some division in this congregation. They were not pulling in the same direction and that was causing turmoil and this turmoil prompted Paul to write a letter explaining his desire for this church family.

— Throughout this letter so far we have seen Paul look to those of Philippi and how he can help them and encourage them all the while he is in prison enduring mind crippling circumstances yet his thoughts were focused on the advancement of the gospel and the encoruagement of these brethren. Jesus in Philippians 2:5-11 had his mind focused on God and lost souls and his devotion to those led him to the cross.

— Timothy steps on the scene and it seems as though we are just getting a missionary report but in reality Paul is giving these Christians another object lesson of a selfless disciple.

Who is Timothy -

Scripture provides a substantial biographical picture of Timothy, though concentrated primarily in Acts and Paul’s epistles rather than distributed throughout the New Testament.

Timothy’s family background shows a mixed religious heritage—his mother Eunice was Jewish and a believer in Jesus, while his father was Greek. He came from a lineage of faith through his grandmother Lois and mother, who taught him the Hebrew scriptures from childhood. He likely originated from Lystra, where he received early religious training and was converted to Christianity around age fifteen during Paul’s first missionary journey.

Timothy became Paul’s traveling companion and assistant on the second missionary journey, having earned a positive reputation among believers at Lystra and Iconium. He accompanied Paul into Europe following the Macedonian vision, traveled to Philippi initially, then to Thessalonica and Berea. When Paul moved to Athens, Timothy remained in Berea with Silas to strengthen the church before eventually joining Paul in Corinth. Later, Timothy appeared with Paul in Ephesus during the third missionary journey, from where Paul sent him into Macedonia.

Paul deployed Timothy as his representative to encourage the Thessalonian church during persecution, and Timothy reported back that the church remained firm in faith and affection for Paul.3 When sent to Corinth, Paul acknowledged Timothy’s youth and inexperience might create acceptance challenges, though he insisted the Corinthians receive him as Paul’s representative. Throughout his ministry with Paul, Timothy functioned as an emissary executing Paul’s directives rather than as an independent leader.1

From approximately AD 51 to 67, Timothy served as Paul’s devoted helper and beloved companion, with Paul calling him “my true child in the faith” and finding him uniquely like-minded among his converts. Near the end of Paul’s life, Timothy was stationed at Ephesus as Paul’s official representative to oversee leadership development, receiving the two pastoral epistles as letters of encouragement while Paul was imprisoned in Rome

Timothy’s context helps us understand how this man became an example of selflessness.

Philippians 2:20 “For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances.”

Kindred Spirit -

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament 2473. ἰσόψυχος isópsuchos

isopsúchou, masc.–fem., neut. isópsuchon, adj. from

You spend over a decade with someone you will start to to be knit together with them. It is easy to see how we find Timothy being this selfless person because he was able to learn from the writer of this letter and teh wrtier of this letter was someone who strove to live like Christ and imitate Him. (1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”)

Who do you have in your life right now that is helping you develop this facet of the mind of a disciple?

Who is the selfless servant you are learning from?

ILLUSTRATION — I am a see it and do it type of person. There is a lot of us here that probably have that same learning style. I can watch you do something one time and I am pretty sure I can copy what you did.

During my summers as a ranch hand in Oklahoma we spent most of hours baling hay. Grass hay, sorghum hay, and our specialty was alfafa hay. Big round bales. Each of them weighed about 12-1400 pounds. Primetime winter feed for our momma cows.

Some of our alfalfa fields were 80-180 acres. These fields could produce up 2-3 bales an acres. Now I know what you’re saying thats a lot of bales!!! You are correct. Now a popular way to move them off the field is a 8 bale side dump trailer.

Those are great if you don’t have a lot of help but if you have help the fastest way to move them is to use the semi truck with Bale Trailers on the back.

When I started as a ranch hand at the young age of 22 years old. I had no idea had to even drive a stick shift truck. But i learned by watching my boss.

I definitley had no idea how to drive a 13 speed or 18 speed Kenworth semi. But I learned.

I would right shotgun when my boss would haul cattle to the sell barn and watch him shift through the gears and switch into the different range of gears.

With that knowledge and hay bales on the field i was wable to move 30 round bales at a time because I could drive our 13 speed Kenworth truck. All because i was able to watch someone adn then i could do it.

How many moments did Timothy get to witness Paul’s selflessness? I wonder what Timothy would say was a moment where he could tell Paul was all about Christ in his life?

My encouragement in this point is to make sure you have a mentor / a close friend who you know without a doubt is this selfless Christian. Learn from them. Imitate and become that person for someone else.

Timothy’s Interests were not like the worlds. His interests were focused on Christ’s!

This is where I want to spend the rest of our time this morning.

As I kept reading and rereading this passage, one verse just kept jumping off the page at me — Philippians 2:21:“For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.”

That verse is really the climax of what Paul is saying about Timothy.

Notice how it begins with the word “for.” That word matters. It tells us Paul is giving the explanation. He’s showing us why Timothy is so different. Why he’s selfless. Why he genuinely cares. Why Paul trusts him.

Verse 20 says Timothy is “genuinely concerned for your welfare.”

Verse 21 tells us why — because he is not driven by his own interests, but by Christ’s.

In other words, Timothy’s selflessness wasn’t personality.

It wasn’t temperament.

It was theology.

He cared about what Christ cared about.

A question that may have developed in your mind from this is who is “They.” Scholars are divided on this answer.

The Epistle to the Philippians 1. Timothy (2:19–24)

(1) ‘emotional hyperbole’ or an exaggeration intended to enhance the authority of Timothy; (2) evidence of Paul’s annoyance and feelings of hostility towards Christians generally in Rome (cf. 1:14–17); (3) indicative of his loneliness and feelings of isolation as he awaits the outcome of his trial; (4) a general remark describing the world of selfishness around him (cf.

I like to think Paul is making a general sweeping comment about how man is generally selfish. Logically even looking at our world today we see generally speaking that people are really focused on themselves.

The point is very clear. Timothy is not like everyone else. He’s different. His interests are aligned with Christ.

Now I want to ask us all to reflect on this question:

What interest do you have that may be interrupting Christ’s interests in your life?

Illustration — Mark 8:31–37 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

That last question could be asked us of us too?

What interests do you have that you are willing to give up your soul?

Timothy was all about Christ what about us?

What is so cool is Paul will say in Philippians 2:22 “But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.”

These Christians at Philippi KNOW of Timothy’s worth. Most likely they saw his character and his selflessness during the time he spent with Paul in Philippi during his 2nd missionary journey.

The illustration Paul gives is that he served in helping spread the gospel like a son to a father.

Father / son relationships are so important. Paul uses this illustartion his readers understand the humility and close relatinoship they had to each other while spreading the gospel.

Getting to work in OKlahoma for a family and their two sons were always working with us i got to witness a great father son relationship.

The father would ask for help somewhere and the son was already on it.

YOU

Apply the Scriptures in a convicting way

WE

Charge the people to change this week.