ALWAYS PARTNERS IN MINISTRY

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

-What in the world do I say today? You all might be waiting for some final words of wisdom before I depart.

-I’m not sure if I have any words of wisdom, but hopefully some words of encouragement and exhortation looking toward the future.

-From one perspective, Boulevard has always been a sending church into the harvest of the world—over the past few years we have been a part of planting some churches that would reach people that we probably wouldn’t reach. And now, in a sense, Boulevard is again a part of sending someone out into the harvest—except this time it is quite literal in that you are sending someone to a place called Harvest in Alabama.

-But, even though I will no longer be the pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church does not mean that we will no longer be working together, because as long as there is a fallen earth and there is a church and there is a field that we are to reap, we will always have a bond in a common work in making much of Jesus Christ wherever we go.

-Our gospel work will always be intertwined with one another, for we are heading toward the same goal, working for the same Lord, living with the same purpose.

-So, if I were to boil down what I want to say today into two simple concepts—first, I want you to know that you and I will always be partners in the gospel. Just because we are separated physically for a time does not mean that our friendships, relationships, and partnerships as brothers and sisters in Christ will ever end.

-And it’s not like you will never see us again. We’ll be back in town often. And when Boulevard celebrates 115 years, 120 years, or 125 years of ministry, I expect an invitation to take part in the festivities.

-And secondly, I want you to right now make sure that you have the mindset and attitude that you yourselves are ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just because you are losing a pastor does not mean that ministry stops, because each and every one of you are ministers who do ministry within the context of the church.

-The idea that the pastor is the one that does ministry and everybody just goes along for the ride is not biblical and no church is able to sustain such a notion. Today is the day that each of you have to take responsibility for the ministry within the church.

-In the passage that I want to look at today, Paul has been gone for quite a while from the Philippian church. He planted the church and pastored the church, and then God moved him on. But that does not mean he no longer cares what happens to them. He considers them partners in the ministry, and to help them, he even sends to them two people whom he also considers to be partners in the ministry.

-I believe that what Paul says about this partnership can encourage us in our own partnerships in ministry—that there would be a uniting with one another of our hearts, spirits, and ideals, so that the ministry of the gospel will continue to go forward unhindered.

Philippians 2:19–30 ESV

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. 25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

-In Paul’s commendation and description of these two partners in the ministry, I see some encouragement for you as a church, and us as the bride of Christ, to come alongside one another and do the work that Christ has set before us, no matter the physical distance between us.

-First, may we all be:

I) Partners in Spirit (vv. 19-22)

-Paul gives a general statement in v. 20 about the heart that he and Timothy share, which could be translated to say that they were of kindred spirit----it literally means that there were equal in soul, having the same life-principle, shared goals, and aligned purposes.

-It means that as Christians, we are united behind the same passions and priorities. Paul, I believe, goes on to give some descriptions of this kindred spirit we are to share.

-First, we have:

A) Shared Compassion (v. 20)

-v. 20 tells us that Timothy had a genuine concern for the Philippian church like Paul had.

-The issues that were going on in the Philippian church were a concern not only to the church, but they were a concern for Paul exactly because they were a concern of the church. And then they were a concern for Timothy because they were a concern of both Paul and the church.

-For that which Paul had compassion, Timothy shared in that compassion. For that which Paul had concern, Timothy shared in that concern.

-I hope through the years that people have seen my concern and compassion for the gospel ministry, but also my concern, compassion, and love for the church. My prayer would be that that each and every one of you love the church and all its people just as I have.

-That means we want nothing but the best for everyone. That means, as Chris shared a few weeks ago, that we put other people and their opinions first. That means that when there is an issue, you do your part in fixing the issue, not making the issue worse.

-But this compassion also means that we come beside those who are hurting and lift them up. When one part of the body of Christ is hurting, we are all hurting.

-I read a story that really touches upon this compassion we should have. It seems there was this young teen girl named Jamie who lost an arm in an accident. She refused to go to school or church for an entire year. Finally the young teen thought she could face her peers. In preparation, her mother called her Sunday School teacher and asked that he not call attention to Jamie. The teacher promised, but when he got sick on Sunday and had to call a substitute, he forgot to tell the second teacher. At the conclusion of the lesson that day, which was about inviting friends to church, the sub led the class in doing the hand motions to the familiar children’s poem “HERE’S THE CHURCH. HERE’S THE STEEPLE. OPEN THE DOOR, SEE ALL THE PEOPLE!” Jamie’s eyes filled with tears. A 13-year old boy realized how she must be feeling. He knelt beside her. With one hand apiece, they supported each other, making the church, steeple, and people. Together they illustrated what real church is.

-As partners in spirit, we share the same compassion for the church and its people and for the lost who don’t know Christ.

-Second, it means that we have:

B) Shared Interests (v. 21)

-in v. 21 Paul says that all others seek their own interests, but Paul and Timothy seek the same interests, and that is the interests of Jesus Christ.

-It is hard to know who these “all” refer to who seek their own interests, or if Paul was talking about humanity in general. Whoever they were, Timothy stood out as a partner who sought the interests of Christ, not his own interests.

-As one commentator put it, “He lived out the humble, self-giving life Christ had exemplified”

-That is part of having the same spirit in our interests, we are no longer #1 in our lives

-Jesus said it in Matthew 16:24:

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matt. 16:24 ESV)

-In this day and age, in the midst of a greedy, selfish American culture, that is very hard to do. We are constantly bombarded with the message about what we deserve and what we need to do for ourselves. We’re told “Have it your way” and “You deserve a break today” and all that.

-Paul warned that this would be one of the marks of the last days, in 1 Timothy 3:2 he said “Men shall be lovers of their own selves”

-No one is immune to this. That is why we daily take up the cross; we daily seek from the Lord what it is He has in mind for us for that day. We ask ourselves what are His interests? What can I do to pursue those interests even if it means personal sacrifice?

-So as partners in spirit we pursue the same interests, which are not our own interests, but those of Christ

-But then this Partnership in Spirit also includes:

C) Shared Purpose (v. 22)

-v. 22 Paul says that Timothy, who is like a son to him, has taken up the family business, and the purpose of that business was the advancement of the gospel

-As much as Timothy was committed to Paul, and he would go wherever Paul told him, and do whatever Paul asked of him, Timothy’s primary commitment was to the gospel of Jesus Christ – which was Paul’s main commitment as well.

-That should be our main purpose as well. Your primary commitment should not be to a church. Your primary commitment should not be to a pastor. Our primary commitment is to the gospel as we work as partners in sharing it with others.

-This is so important because every second there is somebody on this earth going into a Christless eternity.

-Think about it. If you were standing at the edge of a cliff with a drop off of 200 feet to the bottom, and people who were blindfolded were walking straight for the cliff, would you not go and try to stop them by telling them the danger that lie ahead of them? If they decide to keep walking toward the cliff, saying they don’t believe in cliffs, the problem is theirs; you have done your part. But if they heed you and stop and remove the blindfold you have saved someone. So it is with the gospel, but we are trying to save someone from something much worse than a cliff, which is eternal judgment under the wrath of God.

-Having the same spirit means we share the same purpose

-Boulevard Baptist Church, may you and I, and may all of you together, be partners in having the same Spirit, sharing the same compassion, sharing the same interests, united around a shared purpose----but my prayer is that we are also:

II) Partners in Service (v. 25)

-Paul now talks about a second partner named Epaphroditus. This man was sent by the church of Philippi to Paul in order to provide for him financially and support him spiritually after they had heard he was imprisoned.

-Somewhere along the way Epaphroditus became gravely ill and almost died, but by God’s grace and mercy, he was spared and was able to accomplish his mission. To show them that Epaphroditus was OK, Paul was sending him back with this letter. Paul says that it was due to his work for Christ that this happened to him

-That means Epaphroditus was willing to sacrifice himself for the service of Christ, as was Paul. From what Paul says about Epaphroditus, what can we learn about this Partnership in Service?

A) We are equals in a united ministry

-Epaphroditus was a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, and part of the family of God. As such, Paul says that he and Epaphroditus were brothers; and what I believe Paul is emphasizing here is that he and Epaphoditus were equals.

-Paul didn’t think he was more special or more important or more useful to the work of the Kingdom of God. Epaphroditus was just as special, important, and useful as Paul was.

-This means that there is no hierarchy of believers. We are all on equal ground in the work of the Lord. Pastors, although called to a vocational ministry, are not more special, important, or useful to Kingdom work than you sitting right there in the pew.

-I think quite often we hold pastors or those in some sort of church position in a higher regard, and then we allow that thought to cause us to sit back and let the “EXPERTS” take care of ministry.

-That is why I call us partners; we are equals in the ministry—we also need to see that:

B) We are coworkers in a united ministry

-Paul calls Epaphroditus a fellow worker, meaning that they worked together, but they each ministered according to the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit.

-Everyone is given a gift for the ministry so that the church can truly function like the body of Christ. The gifts I have been given are to teach and preach and equip. But if it were left up to me to do it all alone (meaning, to not only do what I am gifted to do, but attempt to do what I am not gifted to do), the ministry would never be done.

-Just as a body has different parts that do different things that work as a unified whole, the Holy Spirit gives gifts to His church for the members to work together as a united whole. And just like a part of the body that does not function affects the whole body, a member of a church not functioning according to their gifting affects the whole body of believers.

-The question is (1) Do you know what your gift is? And (2) Are you using your gift?

-As long as we have breath, we are called to work. Sure, some of us may not be able to do what we used to do, but we can still do something that is useful for the Kingdom, and not just living for ourselves or just biding our days until the Lord calls us home.

-Paul was in prison and Epaphroditus was sick to the point of almost dying, and yet they worked together toward a united ministry of making Jesus known. May we so partner with one another to do the same.

-And then we also see that this partnership in service includes the fact that:

C) We are fellow soldiers in a united ministry

-The Bible attests to the fact, and I think our experience also attests to the fact, that we are in a constant battle, and as Christian we are comrades in arms, fighting side by side with one another, with Christ being our commander-in-chief.

-But we also know that this is not a regular battle, for Paul reminds us in:

-Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

-As we join this battle together, we fight with spiritual weapons, as we are told:

-2 Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

-It is a tough battle, and no one person can do it alone. Anybody that tries to battle alone will fall. We need one another. But even though we will run into setbacks, we are guaranteed the ultimate victory.

-Now, I may be taking up the battle in Alabama, but I will always fight by your side. What you must do, as a church, is to remain united in this battle, for there is no house, and no church, that when it is divided against itself will stand in the face of the enemy.

CONCLUSION

-My prayer is that you will be partners with me and with one another in the same spirit, having the same heart, having a compassion for the lost and one another, with your interests being the gospel ministry, with the purpose of making Christ known to a fallen world.

-But my prayer is also that you will partner with me and one another in service to the Lord, working together to advance the gospel, doing battle together, holding one another up and encouraging one another. With current events going on, this is not the day to be a lazy Christian, but one that is constantly at work doing the Lord’s business.

-During our invitation, I invite you to come to the altar to pray that Boulevard would stand strong and be truly united in partnership with one another in the ministry. But I also ask you pray for me in my new role of ministry.

-But there may be some here who have never responded to the gospel call. Just know that you are a sinner separated from God, but He loved you enough to pay the penalty for your sins by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross from you, and raised Him back up so you could have eternal life, and all you have to do is believe on Him and you could be saved.