Philippians 2:19-3:1

I called a friend once on a Saturday who is a fellow Pastor perpetually optimistic guy and I called him on a Saturday and I needed to get into the church. He was at name's Bob and I said Bob how you doing? He said I'm doing wonderful matter fact. I'm doing I'm doing great. I'm doing splendiferous. I'm doing so room. So well, the room is a glow I'm wearing sunglasses. That's literally what he said to me. He was that sort of perpetually optimistic, Bob. I just need the key to the gym. That's all that's all I need but he was always that kind of guy just perpetually optimistic which in many ways is wonderful, but sometimes I think we slip into thinking not because of Bob but life in general and stereotypes of the Christian Life we slip into thinking that we're supposed to always be up. We're supposed to always be happy. We're supposed to always be full of the Holy Spirit and joy and skip Every step and never struggling or discourage. Sometimes we think that's what it means to to be a Christian that we never let anything get us down. We're working through the book of Philippians and over the past few weeks. We've looked at a couple of beautiful passages to him and Philippians 2 verses 6 through 11 where Paul talks about Christ didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself taking on the form of a servant and because of that obedience God elevated him and his name every knee will bow every tongue will confess what a beautiful Grand passage and next week will be in Philippians chapter 3. We're Paul continue to make these brand beautiful statement that he considers everything else. I lost that he could gain Christ but in between these two passages is a section in Philippians that we would be tempted to skip most preachers would say well Paul just Rambles on about some practical things about who's going to visit when they're going to visit and all that kind of stuff and then he jumped back into the good stuff. But I think we need to look at these verses because they give us a deeper picture. I heard a story once about a teacher who asks students, you know, what the advantage of having two eyes one without the correct answer is that was two eyes we can seat depth we can see 3D and have depth perception. But one of the student says well with two eyes we can see twice as far as one eye and if we lose when I we've got the other two back us up now that was that was a creative answer but the reality is the advantage of two eyes is depth perception is 3D and I think when we look at a passage like this that we're tempted sometimes to skip we just want to go to the highlights the beautiful engaging inspiring sections when we skip these we miss out on seeing 3D they give us a full dimension of what Paul was like what was going on in his life. So when we look at the versus we're going to look at this morning. We need to notice some things Paul is both the encourager. In these verses and the one who is encouraged. I need to realize that it's it's it's multi-dimensional when we look at some of these characteristics Paul and both both concerned about his life. When you look at all these verses including a couple before the passage this morning, but he's also will rejoice and willingly rejoicing giving up his life for the sake of the Gospel to there's two two sides that when you look at this passage Paul is both in need of being served and fully engaged in serving others the passage keep those things in life. Here's what Paul says. in Philippians beginning in chapter verse 19 of chapter 2. He says I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon. So that my mind may be set at rest when I hear how you are. Get my clicker point of the right direction here. I'm not succeeding. There we go. Whoops.

Sorry.

Batteries week. There is nobody else that I can send who is like him and cares as sincerely for your well-being. They all want to work for themselves. Not for Jesus Christ.

Wow, is there anything going on with the system over there or? all right, I mean

but you know what sort of person he has proved himself to be speaking of Timothy working with me for the sake of the Gospel like a son with his father. That is the man than that. I'm hoping to send to you immediately. I can make out what is going to happen to me, but I'm confident in the Lord that I shall come myself too before long nevertheless. I thought it essential to send you a password ideas my brother and fellow worker and companion in arms since he came as your representative to look after my knees because he was missing you all and was worrying because you had heard that he was Ill indeed. He was seriously ill and nearly died, but God took pity on him and not only on him but also on me to spare me one grief on top of another so I'm sending him back as promptly as I can so that you will have the joy of seeing him again and that and that will be some comfort to In my distress welcome him in the Lord then with all joy hold people like him in honor because it was for Christ work that he came so near to dying risking his life to do the duty to me. Wish you could not do yourself. Finally Brothers. I wish you Joy in the Lord to write to you what I've already written before is no trouble to me and to you. It will be a protection part of what Paul is accomplishing in these passages is he's elevating Timothy in the Pampered itis as examples as role models and affirming them and so he's kind of workers. We want the church. There are some workers. I'll talk about it earlier in Flippin who are preaching out of false motives or really trying to do him harm, but he said not so with Timothy he's this kind of person is like-minded with me genuinely concerned about the church seeking after Christ interest before his own possessing proven character. So he's a firming and building up Timothy In this passage is doing the same thing with epaphroditus. He said, Look, he's a fellow worker. He's a fellow Schultz Soldier. He's a brother and so he's minister to my knees cuz you guys couldn't physically be here with me, but you sent him. So he served on your behalf. He's a messenger of the Gospel. He should be highly honored. So he's going out of his way to build up these guys and affirm them but realize part of what's happening in this passage when you look at it 3D so to speak and and you look at all this going on Paul is praising the encouragement that he received and that he desperately needed Do you notice that he said I'm in distress. Did you see that when we read the verses did you notice that he said if this had happened if a password I decide gotten so sick that he died. That would have been one more grief upon me. So he's got grief on his heart already and I'm not sure if Paul is saying I don't know that I could handle another and so the fact that he's healed and he's able to go back to you. You gots to know he's better and I can always better and I can always back with you. That's a great relief. So he's both complimenting these guys as encouragers to him. But he's also very transparent about his own need for encouragement. He sometimes the reality is the answer to the question is both and not either or and I have professors tell me that and Seminary again and again because I would get locked into an either-or and on some issues. They would have to say no no, no. No, it's it's both and it's both and sometimes you can be an encourager. Both an encourager and somebody who desperately needs to be encouraged. Sometimes you can be somebody who has a brave bold faith and you're willing to serve the God and great ways. You can be both that person and somebody who says I'm afraid about what's facing me and sometimes we think that every time the phone answers. We just have to say when somebody says how you doing I'm doing fantastic with indifference I'm doing so, well the room is a glow I'm wearing sunglasses need the key to the gym. Sometimes we get this false idea that it just has to be nothing but roses and bluebirds on our shoulders every moment of the day and our marriage and our parenting and our walk with God and we don't skip over these vs. And we get a glimpse at Paul Beyond The Great and high passages in Philippians. We see him kind of transparently saying I'm going to send Timothy to you and he's been such an encouragement to me. I've been discouraged because there's a lot of people that I can't count on her working against the gospel that I can count on Timothy. I'm worried about you guys. It's weighing me down. It's always Timothy can just come and see you and come back and report to me that will be an encouragement to me and I'm sending a password ideas to and the truth is like you've heard he was sick very sick. And I'm glad he spared him cuz I'm not sure I could have handled one more grief on top of the other. And so there's this window where we see this bold Paul who proclaims that Christ has elevated Christ. God has elevated Christ every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess also being this Paul who says the truth is Timothy and epaphroditus should be praised and received With Honor because they've been such an encouragement to me and I needed it I needed it. This week as I said earlier the board for the Liberia project has been meeting and discussing Ministry in Liberia. And I thought of them in relation to this passage because like Timothy and epaphroditus. They are people of great encouragement to others and their folks who have risked their life for the extension of the Gospel. So I wanted to quiz them a little bit this morning when we think about some of the questions that this passage bring to us. And so I'm going to start with Daryl. Why don't you come up and and Scott your neck, so What's a shiny from for the last I think this is on. Oh good. You got a live mic here. I want to ask you this question who has been the best encouragement for you your best encouragement in serving God and how did they encourage you?

the best

always is the most the best but I guess this is the best. We have a couple of Broadway Christian where I go that are associated with translation of the Bible and other Ministries and I put our newsletter every month and a prayer list. And I know a lot of people who need encouragement and that's what they do by Far and Away they are the best encouragers I've ever known now seldom. Do I make the list I should sell them sell them. Used to go to Africa twice a year spring and fall until I had some heart problems and that's been cut down for a couple of years, but I'm going back this year, but always managed to write little notes newsletters and prayer list. They sent out to everybody and I found out that they do that for a lot of people to make a list and then mimeograph at all for copy at off and send it. They put little notes on their amount praising what they know has been done for God by the individuals and I guess that's the most but I'm reminded in first Samuel encouragement from the Lord. Well, I try to mimic that sometimes I forget but that's right up there at the top the Lord knows what we're doing and he has his way way if we seek it just like most of the stuff and that is a great encouragement. It will simply take advantage of it. That's all I come up with right now. Thank you, sir.

I'm going to tell on there a little bit you've been to Africa 8 or 10 times. Okay, so 16 x potentially. He's been to Africa teaching he share the story with us that early on when he came back to military service was in the church. He went through a class in the Sunday School setting at the end of that class maybe a 26-week class. It was a long class of lessons the teacher got up and announced that Daryl is going to teach it next. He's like, okay, but I think that was kind of this bold encouragement that teacher saw teaching skills and Daryl and invited him to do that. And that was he didn't want to say how many years ago but many many thing trips to Africa at the teaching that sort of thing as well as teaching here. So that's that's an encouraging thing. Just those little axe with his writing a note or just saying I see something in you and encouraging somebody I'm going to ask Scott. He's an elder at University Christian Church in Cincinnati to answer the same question for us. When I look at best, I think what's the biggest thing was the grandest thing and I've just realized that the best or maybe the small things that continually the small things in life that God has encouraged me in not this earth-shattering encouragement. So I've had throughout my life these little small things that keep me going. We've been I've been at our University Christian church now for 28 years that the church is that old we started to help that starts at church and throughout the years my wife and I because we have students at first we were like parents as the church has gotten older we've had people have bromances get married have kids. So we're not we're not just a college Church. What kind of a college young adult church and people not looking to us as Grandparents because a lot of that you people are not in their home. They are in Cincinnati either parasite or something like that.

Has met the most amazing weeks ago was we were having a financial class on how do we develop spirituality in our in our in our finances and what the question was posed to me? If you lost all the things, you know, if you lost all your Investments and everything in life and what would be your safety net. What is the thing that you keep you going and I was I thought a little bit and I thought well, I guess my family and I've got two boys one sandbox tonight once in Kentucky. I think I guess I'd have to depend on them but they are they've got their own families and I don't know how they could help us at all and the lady who asked me that question says it got your family is bigger than your nuclear family. You have worked at this church for so long. You've got family all over the world and because of what you have done and I just dawned on me. Yes when you're in the kingdom of God, we have a bigger family and that was a Really they a great encouragement to me at that time.

I'm going to Shawnee to come up and ensure I'm going to put her on the spot for a different question because part of what Paul reports in this passage is that Timothy in the Pampered honest and he says it's about himself earlier and play bands that they risk their life for the gospel. And so I think about what's the greatest risk that you've ever taken for Jesus?

greatest risk When my children were little it was very difficult. I didn't know how I was going to feed them. Like I was poor life was complicated and when I was a teacher in Ministry for a while and then I took a break to be a teacher and do ministry, but you know that was free and being a teacher had a paycheck so I can feed my children. God came into that and interrupted me. He had something he needed me to do. He needed me to walk away from my teaching job to minister to Street children as a beginning to get to families with the gospel in Parkersburg, West Virginia. And there is this the word in the Great Commission. Oh my goodness. God could just let us tell people about Jesus and make disciples and help them get baptized. I would feel good about that. But he sticks the go word in there and like you're asking me to go away from my job and go across the river to the Street families where there's drugs and guns and violence. Are you kidding me? When I got it that God was asking me to go I sat down and bald. I was so scared. You're asking me to give up my job where this is my way for feeding my children and I don't know how life will work. But you're asking me to go go across the river for him walk away from my security and then a few years later. He said I need you to go not across the river. I need to go across the ocean and I had the same reaction. I sat down in my hallway at my house and bald because that meant I left the security of a job at a church where I got a regular paycheck and I didn't have to worry too much. God has asked me to go twice and the biggest risk for me is how do I take care of me? If you asked me to go and I leave security behind I think that is the biggest scariest risk factor in what gods are asked of me. Okay. Thank you.

It makes me think of Jesus teachings in the gospel her story and I hadn't heard these what they're going to share ahead of time. We wanted this to be spontaneous. So to speak the French words used as those who are faithful in little will be given much. Do you suspect that her willingness to go across the river? May God realize hey, I bet I could ask her to go across the ocean because she said yes to that first opportunity and now she's the lead on the ground missionary in Liberia. And if you haven't heard some of those stories ask her afterwards that God is opening doors. They had 2000 after Easter Revival in attendance hundreds converted late. They've got 13 churches that they're trying to get buildings up for because the growth in the way the spirit has moved has just exploded and so they're so much opportunity for the gospel to be Advanced there and she's taking that risk, but it's interesting it started with that sort of small faithfulness to go across the river before she went across the ocean. So in case you think well, that's nice Robbie got a break from hearing you talk now. Stop fornicating. I don't want a gaysian. We got to hear some other folks. Guess what? I want to ask you a couple of questions as we end our sermon this morning. Is there a risk you need to take in serving Jesus?

Is there something small that he's asked you to do that in reality? He's waiting for you to say yes, because there's something larger beyond that that he can ask you to do.

Have you felt prodded to witness to someone at work? But you said they're my boss and that's going to be awkward or prodded to give a gift or to give some time. How to join in a Ministry or to forgive someone who you've had a hard time forgiving there's a great risk of that in there. If I let go of that it just feels like wall who's going to pay the price for that? That person hurt me and it was their fault and I was not at fault at all. And how if I just let go of that that just seems where's the justice?

But we're reminded each week when we come to the communion table that Christ paid the price. the whole world He paid the price for that fence. So we're challenged all throughout scripture. Just as God has forgiven you in Christ. Therefore, you should forgive one another there are a multitude of risk that we might need to take him for some it might be the very stereotypical is God calling you to the mission field is God calling you to join Shawnee and Liberia if you had those sorts of thought that you know, that's the craziest thing ever. I can't what kind of risk might God be asking you to take. I want you to ponder that as we think about this passage, we come to the end of it also have another very practical question that I want us to think about and ask ourselves and answer what step do you need to take to both receive and give needed encouragement? Like I said at the beginning, sometimes we can think that is a Christian is supposed to be all sunshine and flowers and that's that but the reality is their time just like Paul when we are discouraged and we need encouragement, but we have to sometimes take a step for that to happen. So you may need to ask yourself this morning if I'm discouraged and I need encouragement. What what's the ball is in my court? What step do I need to take? Maybe you're isolated and you don't have friendships with Christian Brothers and Sisters in Christ whom you can naturally say I need help in this area. I'm discouraged. You're overwhelmed your way down. Maybe the next step is you need to join a class or group or tap somebody on the shoulder and said I could we have coffee this week. You could be a variety of things. Maybe you know who it is, and you've just been ignoring calling them. You've got that person in your life, but you're just resisting reaching out. God wants to encourage you. He wants to help you if you're here this morning and you are discouraged. He's waiting to help you but he won't force himself into our lives. And so like Paul we've got to be willing to depend on a Timothy in our life or in a Pampered. I that's in our life and receive encouragement or help when we need it. It's also the case that you maybe send yourself a really need the church. I'm fine. Come on Sunday morning leave. I don't need anything else. I don't need to get involved beyond that. I'm fine. And dandy Robbie. Okay, I got my act together. I'm good. Then the Lord needs you to encourage others. You still need to be in that group or that class or serving in that Ministry. You need to be in settings where you've got opportunity for more one-on-one interaction to discover how the other person might need some encouragement. It's great. If you're a seasoned your life when you don't need that then it's an opportunity to give it. To ponder those those questions with what's the next step for you to receive encouragement you may need it may be confessing Us in it may be reaching out for help or what's the next step for you to give and it's not an either-or? Again, don't let the adversary convince you that way soon as I get my act together. I'll help somebody else. It may be the case that the way God is going to help you is when you take that step of Faith to help somebody else. It may be the actual group or Ministry or Outreach that you take to assist somebody else. You may go help this lady that I mentioned earlier was gardening because you'd like, I can do that and I guess I don't want to do the other thing because I like to keep my problems private and that's just you know, so I'll go serve you make you may go do that and discover that guy's using that to open you up. To meet your needs there could be a friendship or conversations or just awareness that changes Who You Are.

But you realize that that God has extended his love to us and the ball is in our court. I'm going to bite the worship team to come for God has shown his love to us again. And again and we're going to sing here in just a couple of moments about that love and one of my favorite lines in the song. We're going to think it's how we should let the goodness of God connect us to him. Is goodness becomes our connection you realize that God for many of us here this morning. God is waiting on you.

to accept his love or to accept his encouragement.

Maybe the step out and serve and he's actually got a blessing for you waiting in that moment of service. But for many of us God is saying here I am. I'm offering my love. I'm offering my forgiveness. I'm offering my plan for your life to lead you to flourish in the area of your gifting us, but he's waiting on us to kind of look around and notice that and make that decision to admit our need or to reach out to another. And that trust in the goodness of God that binds us to him. That's the basis of taking the risk of reaching out.

As we sing this song and we celebrate God's blessings on our life Let the Holy Spirit remind you that the goodness of God his Blessing that becomes the foundation Christ display the love of God in the goodness of God on the cross while we were yet sinners he died for us that it's this permanent display that God is good and loving and can be trusted which means we can come to him or brother and sister in Christ and we can reveal our Brokenness. We can share our needs and we can go forward. Don't let the adversary Cause you to continue to wait on health that is there waiting for you.

If you are here this morning and you've not made a decision to give your life to Christ or you have a prayer concern, they'll be folks in the front and the back to pray with you. I'll be in the back. If you have a decision or question, I'd love to answer. Those are pray with you myself. Please stand as we sing this song.