Living to Make an Impact for Christ
Notes
Transcript
Philippians 2:19–30
19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along.
20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.
21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.
22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News.
23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.
24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need.
26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill.
27 And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
28 So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you.
29 Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve.
30 For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.
INTRODUCTION:
I- THE EXAMPLE OF TIMOTHY: (Philippians 2:19-24)
I- THE EXAMPLE OF TIMOTHY: (Philippians 2:19-24)
19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along.
20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.
21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.
22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News.
23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.
24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
A- Be Uniquely You. (Philippians 2:19-20).
A- Be Uniquely You. (Philippians 2:19-20).
19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along.
20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.
1- There was no one else like Timothy- He was unique.
a- Timothy had a unique attitude ( οὐδένα γὰρ ἔχω ἰσόψυχον= [lit.] I have no one who is minded like [Timothy]).
2- God has not made you to be like someone else.
a. You are to be Christ-like within the person God made you to be.
This is why individual giftedness is important. (1 Cor 12:4-11)
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.
5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.
6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.
9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
B- Be Genuine. (Philippians 2:20 b)
B- Be Genuine. (Philippians 2:20 b)
20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.
20 οὐδένα γὰρ ἔχω ἰσόψυχον ὅστις γνησίως τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν μεριμνήσει,
1- Timothy’s concern for the Philippian believers is not contrived, but genuine (ὅστις γνησίως τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν μεριμνήσει)
2-
C- Be Christ-Minded. (Philippians 2:21).
C- Be Christ-Minded. (Philippians 2:21).
21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.
1- Timothy’s focus was upon Christ’s interests, not his own.
2- We must seek to please Christ, not self or others.
(2 Cor 5:14–15)
14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.
15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
D- Strive for a Proven Character. (Philippians 2:22-24).
D- Strive for a Proven Character. (Philippians 2:22-24).
22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News.
23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.
24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
22 τὴν δὲ δοκιμὴν αὐτοῦ γινώσκετε, ὅτι ὡς πατρὶ τέκνον σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐδούλευσεν εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον.
23 τοῦτον μὲν οὖν ἐλπίζω πέμψαι ὡς ἂν ἀφίδω τὰ περὶ ἐμὲ ἐξαυτῆς·
24 πέποιθα δὲ ἐν κυρίῳ ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ταχέως ἐλεύσομαι.
1- Timothy had proven himself to be totally faithful to Christ.
(τὴν δὲ δοκιμὴν αὐτοῦ= [lit.] he has proven his worth.)
a. He had endured trials in his service for Christ.
(1) He had endured many with Paul. (Acts 20:4)
4 Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
(Timothy is included in the “we” passages [Acts 20-21] outlining the perils Paul endured.)
b. He had proven faithful when entrusted with responsibilities.
(1 Corinthians 4:17)
17 That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.
[see also Acts 17-19]
c. He had continued to humbly serve as he helped proclaim the gospel.
(1) ὅτι ὡς πατρὶ τέκνον σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐδούλευσεν εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον = as a son with his father he has humbly served with me in the Gospel)
2- We need to strive to be proven faithful to Jesus and His mission in all circumstances!
(1 Cor 15:58)
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
II- THE EXAMPLE OF EPAPHRODITUS (Philippians 2:25-30).
II- THE EXAMPLE OF EPAPHRODITUS (Philippians 2:25-30).
25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need.
26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill.
27 And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
28 So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you.
29 Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve.
30 For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.
A- Be Affectionately Connected to other Christians. (Philippians 2:25 a).
A- Be Affectionately Connected to other Christians. (Philippians 2:25 a).
25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need.
1- Paul refers to him as a “true brother” (τὸν ἀδελφὸν= males of the same family)
a. This indicates a heartfelt bond arising from their relationship with Christ.
(John 13:34-35).
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
2- Epaphroditus’ attitude toward the Philippians reflected his concern for them, rather than himself. (Philippians 2:26).
26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill.
B- Work Altruistically with other Christians .(Philippians 2:25 b).
B- Work Altruistically with other Christians .(Philippians 2:25 b).
25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need.
1- συνεργόv m: one who works together with someone else—‘fellow worker.’
2- Refers to workmates that work together to accomplish a common task. Implies that both are working with common goals.
3- The Christian life is not a Lone Ranger Crusade, but a common labor with the same goal.
(2 Cor 5:9)
9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.
C- Actively engage in the eternal warfare. (Philippians 2:25 c).
C- Actively engage in the eternal warfare. (Philippians 2:25 c).
25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need.
1- συστρατιώτηv: ( ‘fellow soldier,’ one who serves in arduous tasks or undergoes severe experiences together with someone else—‘one who struggles along with, one who works arduously along with, fellow struggler.
(2 Timothy 2:3)
3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
(2 Timothy 4:7)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
CONCLUSION:
Notice that it is lives like Timothy and Epaphroditus that produce impact for Christ. It is these types of people that we should honor. (Philippians 2:29-30)
29 Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve.
30 For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.
These are the types of lives that we should strive to imitate.
Living to make an impact for Christ requires that we keep our eyes focused beyond ourselves onto the cause of Christ and the needs of other people.
