Philippians 2:19-3:7

Phil 2:19-3:7

Intro:

Today, we are going to consider the topic of servanthood..

as exemplified, by three individuals..

Timothy, Epaphroditus, and Paul…

The examples of each of these men, given in these verses, teach us something unique about the act and attitude.. of serving.

The words we find in the Bible to describe a servant..

are sometimes descriptive of slavery.

are sometimes descriptive of those who wait on tables..

the words we use to identify those who have positions of leadership in the church..

are not words which describe those who are served..

but rather.. those who serve.

In the world, we are driven to get to the top of the ladder where everyone is then given to serve us..

In the Spirit, we excel, only to different levels of serving…

We don’t earn by our accomplishments any form of entitlement..

But instead.. we continue to experience the right and privilege, of identifying w/our Lord…

… who was, as we’ve already seen in chapter one..

The ultimate example.. of humility, love and obedience.

In a fiction book I’m reading right now, there is a nation of people who come from the fictional.. “mountain kingdom”

In that kingdom, the royal family considers itself to be those who serve the people.

In fact, the king and the queen.. the princes and the princesses..

Refer to themselves as “sacrifice”

They give themselves.. for their country

They serve, as a sacrifice, for their country.

If they can take a fall to protect their people, they take it.

If they can step in and suffer, to protect their people from suffering..

Then they suffer.

Their goal and intent is not to preserve themselves..

But rather, to preserve their people.

In every other kingdom, the people are expendable… expected to give their lives for the sake of their king and queen.

But not so, with the mountain kingdom.

In many ways, Philippians has already been teaching us the heart of servanthood.

We learned of a servanthood that is

driven by burden

inspired by grace

unhindered by circumstance

void of ulterior motives

intending to bring about unity..

established in the example of Christ’s: humility, love and obedience..

a mentality that reaches beyond obedience, unto an actual state of being..

Now, as we move into verses 19-24.. we see more attributes of servanthood..

in the person.. of Timothy.

Philippians 2:12-24

Timothy is:

Called to bear a report of good news..

he sincerely cares for the state of the Philippians

He is not seeking to fulfill some personal agenda.

he is likeminded w/ Paul, or literally… “of equal soul” with Paul…

His character has been proven…

In light of servanthood.. I think the main thing that stands out in this study… is the fact that Timothy isn’t motivated by a personal agenda.

Now, this is the third time in the letter to the Philippians where Paul brings up the topic of “selfish ambition”

In Phil 1:6.. he spoke of those who preached Christ from selfish ambition.

In Phil 2:3.. he encouraged us.. to do nothing.. through selfish ambition or conceit.. but instead.. in humility, to esteem others as better than self..

And now, he’s commending Timothy as a guy who doesn’t have a problem with any of this..

Timothy is a servant.

He’s not in it for himself.

It’s not going to matter to Timothy, if things do or do not go in his favor.

He is not serving to make himself feel good.

He’s not serving to earn respect.

He’s not serving to gain some kind of favor in the eyes of others..

Paul communicates this in such a way.. to convey to the Philippians..

…that this attitude.. is rare.

for notice vs. 21…

…all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus..

Apparently, Paul had a list of other possible servants..

Of those who were with him in Rome, Paul considered the list and concluded that only Timothy was capable of doing this task… w/o a personal agenda..

Timothy, he’s the kind of guy we all look at and say..

Wow.. that’s the way a servant of God should be..

But when it comes to living up to his example..

…well, that’s a different story.

…I don’t know about you.. but I know that I suffer from a pretty annoying case of selfishness

I don’t consider it to be the thing upon which my choice to serve hinders..

Whether there’s something in it for me or not, I’m still going to serve the Lord..

But, when there is something in it for me..

I really like it.

One of my most difficult mission trips, was to the country of Sudan..

It was the hardest, but, it came with the most perks.

We flew to Northern Kenya, where, we were s’posed to catch a flight over the border to a little dirt airstrip about 30 miles in.

But, the UN had banned all flights into Sudan at that time..

So, we had to spend two days in an African resort in Locichokio, Kenya..

There wasn’t A.C. and the showers were outside..

But it was still, pretty cool..

Then, when the trip was over, the night before we flew out..

We went to eat at one of those epic restaurants..

Not the kind of restaurant where you go and say, “that was a nice place.”

No, this place was an experience.. a mile-stone in life..

That is, of course, if you’re into meat.

You vegetarians won’t understand..

But we ate at a restaurant called the “Carnivore”

And it was the most incredible meat experience ever..

We ate everything.. beef, chicken, ostrich, crocodile, zebra, gazelle and other things I wasn’t so sure about..

The servers just walk around with large spears.. upon which are different assortments of meat..

They walk up to your table..

Would you like some crocodile?

And cut a slice off..

When you can’t stand it any more.. you put up a little white flag on your table..

You.. “surrender” ..at which point, they bring you dessert.

Now, the trip was hard. The travel, the lodging in Sudan, the bug life, the civil unrest, the teaching environment, the long days…

but.. that resort in Lokichokio.. that restaurant in Nairobi..

Those were the kind of perks that I really enjoyed..

So now, I think.. if I ever go back to Sudan.. I have this selfish sense of entitlement built in..

… that I need to, at least, eat at the Carnivore..

To the point where, it might be a deal breaker..

We’re going to Sudan to teach chaplains in the SPLA..

Really?

Yea, we want you to come..

MMMM, I don’t think so… not this year anyways…

Well, we’re going to eat at the Carnivore..

Sign me up!

And then, leading up to the trip..

Will I be talking to my friends about the ministry..

Or will I be talking about the Carnivore?

Unfortunately.. I confess, I’m actually that shallow..

I’ll probably talk w/more excitement over the Carnivore.. than the ministry.

Why?

Because I suffer with a chronic case of selfishness.

Timothy was willing to go and serve in Philippi..

they didn’t have a Carnivore

He wasn’t looking for personal opportunities.. of better employment…

He wasn’t agreeing to go so he could visit his relatives..

There wasn’t a cute girl that caught his attention..

He went.. w/a heart set, solely upon serving.

He was motivated.. to serve the church at Philippi, and bring his report back to Paul..

As believers, we are called to serve..

it’s part of what God has designed us to do..

We serve each other..

And then, we go outside the walls of common fellowship..

And serve the world..

It’s part of our mission statement..

We first, seek to become a body of people who are abandoned in worship..

A people.. who worship God and seek to glorify Him..

Second, we seek to become common in faith..

Growing together, in fellowship and knowledge..

Thirdly.. we seek to become useful for the Kingdom of God

Remember.. we are His workmanship.. created in Christ Jesus for what?

Sitting on our rumps?

No.. for good works…

We’re called and created for it..

And when we serve, we need to serve..

w/o selfish ambition.

Phil. 2:25-30

Epaphroditus was a man from Philippi.

they had sent him to Paul, to deliver financial support, and to remain as a helper and servant of the apostle..

While he was there, in Rome, he became very sick.. –Almost died.

And it says.. that he was distressed for the folks back home..

Why?

Because they were distressed, over his sickness.

From what I can conclude, Epaphroditus was caring..

He was caring and he was compassionate..

Sometimes.. we fall into a service.. we commit to a ministry..

And we’re doing it.. we’re fulfilling our duty..

But.. we’re not really caring..

Most aspects of service require some sort of preparation..

This is one area where care and compassion are evident..

Have we prepared? Have we made ourselves ready? Have we considered the potential impact of our work?

One of the most obvious things I do, is teach through the Bible.

This is what you see me doing right now, and this might be the only thing you really perceive from me.

Believe me, there’s a whole lot more to this position..

But, let’s consider the obvious.

Every week, I need to expound upon the scriptures and do my best, to equip the saints.. w/the Word.. for the work of the ministry.

Now, I could walk in, unprepared and just start reading through the passage and say whatever comes to mind..

I could put lots of jokes and drama in it to make me appear impressive or funny..

And short-change the scripture side of things..

I could rip off my sermons from someone else..

There are books full of them. There are millions of them on the internet..

It’s encouraged in some circles and it’s required in some denominations..

But, I can’t.

The Word of God is a way-big deal to me..

So I consider it a huge priority.. to be prepared..

I’ve attended conferences in the past where the pastor stood before me and my colleagues, and shared a message that I’ve heard them share before..

I went to one in Maryland a few years ago, and I re-heard 3 messages.

Now, I only get to go to church.. like you are today.. a few times a year..

So I relish those opportunities..

I need the speakers.. to care enough..

To prepare something new, led by the Spirit specifically for that day.. for that crowd…

Teaching, is one of my areas of servanthood..

I care, by being prepapred..

I care, by praying.. by seeking the leading of the H.S.

It’s the same for all of us..

Have we come into our service w/prayer?

Have we sought the leading the H.S.???

Phil 3:1-7

There is a temptation, in serving God.. to become confident in the flesh..

What does that mean?

Well, we limit the areas we serve, to the areas where we are confident..

Not only that, but we run the risk of making “confidence” an issue of personal pride..

This is the heart of legalism..

The legalist will become confident in their ability to perform..

Or their attained status..

Or their accepted practice..

And their confidence to perform, legalistically

Can easily become an issue of pride..

When compared to those who do not perform as well, legalistically..

For instance..

the Christian who thinks men should have crew-cuts and women should have hair down to their feet..

might feel confident in their hair status..

but when they see a man w/hair down to his shoulders..

or a woman with hair down to her shoulders..

they compare..

and in their confidence… they elevate themselves a little bit over their brother and their sister.

It might be an issue of dress, music, conviction, card-playing, how many times you go to church a week, whether you home-school or not, speak in tongues, don’t speak in tongues, or whether you fully understand the finer points of reformed theology.

In the faith, we might find something that becomes our area of confidence.

I’ve know believers who have a strong emphasis on tongues..

They are confident of it.

And they think well of themselves over those who don’t speak in tongues.

I’ve know believers who have a strong emphasis on the belief that tongues ended w/the apostels..

And they are confident in their philosophy..

And they think well of themselves over those who still believe in tongues..

You name it.. in the spiritual life

There are things that we can gain confidence in..

Be it worship, doctrine, devotions, fasting, prayer, or whatever..

Confidence can easily transform into pride.

Paul gives us the solution

For he said, that he was more confident than anybody..

In the area of being a Jew.. in the area of birthright, in the area of education and zeal

He was confident..

But, when it comes to all that stuff, he said, in vs. 7..

“these things, I have counted loss for Christ..”

The challenge to my heart?

Be willing to step out and serve, even in the areas where I am not confident.

Be willing to humble myself in the areas where I am confident.

And in all areas of servanthood..

Find a way.. to rely upon the strength of Christ..

Conclusion.

Timothy was self-less

Epaphroditus was compassionate

Paul was not confident in the flesh.

Now, consider, for a moment.

Have we said “no” to the leading and conviction of God..

Because of these things?

Because there wasn’t a personal agenda?

Because we didn’t care.

Because we lacked confidence in that area?

I have.

Now.. God’s word has been opened.

We’ve talked about it..

And it’s appropriate.. that our hearts should be challenged..

This should be our automatic response to the Word….

“Lord, Your word is a mirror.. What is it showing me, about myself, today?.. . and What change, are you leading me to because of it?”

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