Sermons
The Honor Role
Sun, Nov 26, 2017
Teacher: Tom Blackford Series: Sunday Sermons - 2017 Scripture: Philippians 2:17-30
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“The Honor Role”
Philippians 2:17-30
INTRO:
Good Morning. The title of today’s sermon is The Honor Role. Our text is found in Philippians 2:17-30.
Before we get started I want to tell you a story about 2 men named Pete and Jim who walked into a restaurant. They both ordered the special that evening which was haddock. The waiter came in with a platter that had 2 pieces of fish on it, and handed it to Pete. One piece was rather large and one was rather small. Pete put the small piece of fish on his friend’s plate, and put the large piece on his own. Jim said, “You’ve got some nerve”. Pete said, “What’s troubling you?” Jim said, “You took the large piece of fish for yourself and gave me the small one”. Pete asked, “Well, how would you have done it?” Jim said, “I would have taken the small piece for myself and given you the large piece.” Pete said, “So what’s the problem? I got it, haven’t I”!
The point of the story is, we don’t have to be trained in the art of looking after number one. It comes rather naturally to us. We seem to have the ability to make “self” one of the ugliest words in our language. Looking out for number one seems to be the basic philosophy of the world. I wonder if in doing that we sometimes find the cost far outweighs the benefits.
I. What kind of society do we produce when we look out for number one? What Paul is telling the church in Philippi is that joy cannot co-exist in a climate of competition and self-interest. This little letter written to the Philippians says so much about joy. Yet, if they are to have joy they need to rid themselves of their self focused frame of mind. As we go through Philippians it seems that collectively they look quite generous yet on an individual level we see some have self focus.
A. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to have joy if self-interest dominates? Have you ever sat down, for example, and played a board game? Your purpose is to have fun. Then sometimes winning becomes more important than anything else to someone playing. They are making sure that they get their points at any cost and the next thing you know, in the middle of the game, you notice nobody is having fun anymore because joy cannot exist in that kind of climate. The fun, enjoyment, gets drained away.
B. This is and has been a struggle for those coaching our youth. How do you balance teaching them to do their best, working toward winning without crushing their joy of playing? Much effort has been put into this problem but not always with success.
C. That is what Paul is trying to teach the church in Philippi. He is challenging them to totally rethink the philosophy of the world. In fact he’s going to challenge them to model a radically different philosophy. He sums this up in Philippians 2:3-4. Every problem a church has would be solved, if they would obey these 2 verses. “3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” That’s the key.
D. Do we want joy in our family? Do we want joy in our personal life? Do we want joy in our faith? Then we must stop looking out for number one, and put the interest of others ahead of our own.
II. Paul knows that nobody can show that kind of selflessness, unless they have a model to imitate. We understand the world in terms of how it applies to us. We are born that way. Paul says that being selfless is the key and it is what we’ve must do to get recover our joy. Then he gives the Philippians, and us, a model. Look at Philippians 2:5-8 – “5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”[NKJ]
A. Paul says there is a special way of thinking which should characterize followers of Christ. That way is the way of service. It’s the only role of honor in this place called the kingdom of God. Over and over again he says that there is an example for us and that example is the servant spirit of Christ. It is incredibly important for Christians to fix their gaze on this example.
B. In order to combat self-interest, Paul says, “You need to focus on the path that Jesus took for your sake.” What path did Jesus take? Jesus took a path of downward mobility. That goes against the grain—against everything our culture teaches us, against everything our culture says is important. We don’t like that word down. Have you ever noticed that? We don’t like the idea of being down. We even use that expression for something we don’t like, we use the term downer. We like upwardly mobility. We like to be up and coming.
C. The Bible tells us that, “the one that was at the very top, the one who was above everything, voluntarily chose to go down.” He chose to change the world not from the top to the bottom, but to change the world from the bottom to the top. He deliberately chose the form of a servant. That’s the path Paul says we need to take if we want to put joy back in our faith, in our family, and in our neighborhood.
D. When we think about Jesus and about what He left,... He was rich, and then became poor, so that you and I could be rich. Think about it. That thought, that view, ought to pour contempt on all of our pride. I know we cannot duplicate the ministry of Jesus. In other words, I cannot humble myself and redeem a single person in this room. What we can do is display the same attitude, or the same mind—as that of Jesus. Downward mobility is not one of many options for a Christian. It is the only option.
III. You may have heard it said you cannot be a model Christian unless you follow Christ’s model. Some might say, “I can never live up to that standard. The Christ model is just too much for me.” What Paul does next in Philippians is interesting. He challenges the Philippians who might be thinking that very thing, “I just cannot follow that example. It’s just too high for me.”
A. What he does is bring up 2 young men that the congregation knew well because they took the example of the Lord seriously. Paul starts to talk about his travel plans. And this is unusual for the Apostle Paul because he usually puts his travel plans at the end of the letter. However in Philippians he puts his travel plans right in the middle.
B. Interesting. In the course of talking about his travel, he brings up these 2 young men named Timothy and Epaphroditus. Both are well known to the brethren in Philippi because they are illustrations of the selfless example he is advocating. They are brothers who are inspired by the example of Christ, and they voluntarily chose downward mobility and in doing so pursued the role of honor in the kingdom of God. What I am going to do this morning is to look at these 2 young men, who chose to do what Christ did. They followed His role model.
IV. Let’s start 1st with Timothy. Look at Philippians 2:19-24 – “19. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. 20. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. 21. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. 22. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. 23. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. 24. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.”[NKJ]
A. Paul doesn’t know how his trial is going to go. He’s not sure if he’s going to be released. He wants to be released from jail, but he doesn’t know if it’s going to happen. He wants to go to Philippi soon. Paul says, “I can’t come straight away, but I’m going send the closest thing to me. I’m going to send a piece of me. I’m going to send Timothy. I have no one else, like him.”
B. Why? Why wasn’t there anybody else like Timothy? Paul answers the question in the next part of the verse. “Because he”, Paul says in verse 20, “He takes a genuine interest in your welfare”. When I think about my interest in people I recognize there are times when it may not be very genuine. I know we all have learned the Christian language so to speak. We’ve learned to say, I’ll be praying about that. We’ve learned to say I’m really sorry about that. We’ve learned how to do all of those things, but we need to recognize that there are times... when our interest in others isn’t as deep as it should be, isn’t as genuine. We can even find that in ourselves when we are serving.
C. Speaking of that, what is our motivation when we serve? Are we actually motivated by a concern for ourselves instead of a concern for those who we serve? That moment of serving is what I want to do and if it’s my need, then that’s why I’m serving isn’t it? It’s not a genuine interest for someone else. Are we like that?
D. Let me give you as an example a story I heard about the man, who was knocking at a door. The lady came to the door and the man said, “I’m trying to raise some money for a family in our neighborhood who has a real need.” Their dads out of work. They are out of food, and they are about to have their utilities cut off, but worse than that, if they don’t pay their rent, they are going to get kicked out of their house.” The lady says, “I would be glad to help, but who are you? The man said, “I’m the landlord.”
E. It is so easy for us to give people the impression we really care about others, but the truth is, even though we may be doing a few nice things for them, self can still be the center of our lives. Paul is saying, “For every one looks out for their own interests and not for the interests of Jesus Christ.” Do you know who he is talking about? He’s talking about Christians. Another translation says, “Everyone is wrapped up in their own affairs.” That is sad but true.
F. It is true that it can be a struggle for many Christians, and they end up putting their interests first and Jesus comes next. Many times it may look like what they’re doing is for Jesus, but the reason their doing it is because it also satisfies their own interests.
V. Paul could not go to Philippi so he wanted someone to go in his place. He was looking for somebody who would go and encourage them. Paul did not need someone who would say; “Paul, I’m going to pray for them.” Or “I’m so sorry they are having some problems right now, but you see I’ve got this going on and I’ve got that going on, but I will keep them in my prayers.” I imagine we know people like that don’t we?
A. For most people the welfare of some church 600 miles away, just would not be as important as what was going on right then in their own lives. Paul said, “I know, I’ve got one man who has proven he’ll take the form of a servant if I need him.” Timothy put down his interests to serve others. That’s part of what downward mobility means. He put down his interests to serve others.
B. I wonder, how often we allow self-concern to affect what we have in our heart for the needs of other people. Do we know if we are really a servant or not? I’d suggest that we can not tell if we are a servant just because we do some nice things now and then, or because we have people over for dinner. I’d suggest we know we are servants by how we act when we get treated like a servant. I can do all sorts of things and nobody treats me like a servant, but treat me like a servant and then we’ll find out fairly quickly if I am one.
C. I wonder—at what point does something become beneath us and our own interests. Let me tell you about a young man at a Christian school. He was looking for a preaching position while he was at school. He was given an assignment to go out to a little country church. While he was there someone heard him complaining that the little old church was a bit beneath his ability. One of those who overheard said to him, “You know, the world is a better place because Michael Angelo did not say, “I don’t do ceilings.” Think about it.
D. I’m glad Noah didn’t say, “I don’t do boats” Or Moses didn’t say, “I don’t do mass migration.” Or Rahab didn’t say, “I don’t do spies.” I’m glad that Ruth didn’t say, “I don’t do mothers.” I’m glad David didn’t say, “I don’t do giants”. I’m glad John the Baptist didn’t say, “I don’t do preaching.” I’m happy Peter finally learned not to say, “I don’t do Gentiles”. I’m glad Paul didn’t say, “I don’t do correspondence”. Most of all, I’m glad a young carpenter from Nazareth never said, “I don’t do crosses.” We have to keep our focus on the cross, if we’re going to keep our focus off ourselves. Timothy put down his own interests to serve others.
VI. Well that was Timothy. Now Let’s read the other man, Epaphroditus. In Philippians 2:25-30 – “25. Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; 26. since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27. For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28. Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. 29. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; 30. because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.” ,
A. Who was Epaphroditus? He was a Philippian, and when the Philippian church heard that Paul was in prison in Rome, they said, “Were going to send somebody with some money to help Paul out. Not just with some money, were going to send somebody to go and stay and minister to Paul and help him.” They chose Epaphroditus. He takes off on the road and apparently either on the trip or just after he got to Rome Epaphroditus became gravely ill.
B. Somehow Epaphroditus learned that the people back in Philippi knew he’s sick. They knew that he’s very ill and it says that their knowing this caused him great distress. He’s more concerned about their anxiety than he is about his own health! When he does get stronger Paul says, “I’ll tell you what Epaphroditus, you’re so upset, you’re so concerned for your loved ones, I’m going to send you back home. I’m going to send you home so that you’ll feel better and so that they’ll feel better.” Paul then included this in his letter to prepare them for Epaphroditus return.
VII. Maybe some people in Philippi were wondering why he came back early. Paul says, “Welcome him in the Lord with great joy. Honor men like him because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life.” How did he volunteer for the honor role? He laid his life on the line to serve others. How did he risk his life? In 2 ways.
A. First by his willingness to minister to a prisoner charged with a capital offence. For you and me that’s no big deal, but it was back in Biblical times.
B. Remember, Paul was on trial for his life because he was charged with being a threat to the Roman government. What Epaphroditus does when he shows up to be a friend and minister to him, is to open himself up for the same charge. Second, Epaphroditus risked his life in the execution of his service both as Paul's attendant and as his assistant in missionary work. So assiduously did he labor that he lost his health, and "was sick nigh unto death. Epaphroditus chose against himself for the sake of somebody else.
C. There are risks involved in following the example of Christ. Downward mobility is not for people who want to play it safe. I’m continually amazed at how Christians run away from risk. If the neighborhood is getting a little rough or a little bit dangerous, the churches sometimes are the first ones to move. The Bible says, “If you are going to follow the example of Christ, you lay down your life to serve others.”
D. Notice how Paul describes Epaphroditus. He says, “he’s my brother, he’s my fellow worker, he’s my fellow soldier, we’re in the same family, we have the same focus and we share the same fight.” That’s a strange and exciting concept to me. The church is an army of servants—an army of servants that’s going to march into the world and risk their lives by serving from the bottom up. That is the role that Jesus modeled and the only role we should honor.
CONCLUSION:
I asked myself 3 questions this week when preparing this lesson. They were really difficult to answer. I’m going to ask us the same 3 question now.
First question: Who do we admire the most? Timothy and Epaphroditus were Paul’s heroes. Who are our heroes? Who do we honor? Paul says we need to honor men like these. Think about who we do honor. Whose posters are on our walls? Whose autobiographies are we reading? Whose films do we want to check out and watch when they come to the theater? When it comes to spending our time, who do we honor? I think sometimes we honor the wrong people. We may honor a man because he is a great athlete. We may honor a man in the church because he has a lot of head knowledge about the Bible. It may be possible, that not a single one of those we honor has a servant’s heart... Who do we honor? God has blessed this church with people of honor, people who do things for others first and quietly, without grumbling.
Second question: What do we think of first? When we see a need, when we have an opportunity to serve, what do we think of first? Some people reserve service for special occasions. Some people do not see getting dirty everyday as a part of their service or part of their calling. What I’m trying to say is that we are not a servant when we serve only when we want to. The honor role is a lifestyle; it’s a totally different way of thinking about why we’re here. A servant will always give away the best for other people because the cross of Jesus says that my neighbor is... number one.
Third question: How do we embrace the cost? Salvation is free, folks, but ministry is expensive. I’m not just talking about financially. The mind of Christ means holding nothing back. I hope I don’t offend anyone by saying this, but I think that too many churches are full of wimps. Christianity was never meant for wimps. Christianity was meant to call people to an incredible level of courage and risk as they lay it down and put it out—as they spend it all.
It’s a religion for soldiers, soldiers who care more about other people’s needs than they do about cost. We can’t be a model Christian if we won’t follow the Christ model. The truth of the matter is, if we follow the Christ model, we are not going to be seen. Remember, Jesus said, “The way to save your life is to lose it” and Jesus also said, “Whoever becomes the least will become the greatest.” “Whoever makes himself the lowest will be exalted”. If we take that role now, the honor will come later when Jesus looks us in the eye and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.
If you’re not a Christian this morning, ask yourself, do you want to become His servant? The only way you can become a servant is by becoming obedient to the Master. Our Master is Jesus Christ.
"Servant" in our New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); this is strictly accurate, for doulos and diakonos are synonyms. Both words denote a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master's purchased property. Bought to serve his master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave's sole business is to do as he is told. Christian service therefore means, first and foremost, living out a slave relationship to one's Savior (1 Corinthians. 6:19-20).
What work does Christ set His servants to do? The way that they serve Him, He tells them, is by becoming the slaves of their fellow-servants and being willing to do literally anything, however costly, irksome, or undignified, in order to help them. This is what love means, as He himself showed at the Last supper when He took the servant’s part and washed the disciples' feet.
When the New Testament speaks of ministering to the saints, it means not primarily preaching to them but devoting time, trouble, and substance to giving them all the practical help possible. The essence of Christian service is loyalty to the King expressing itself in care for his servants (Matthew 25: 31-46).
Only the Holy Spirit can create in us the kind of love toward our Savior that will overflow in imaginative sympathy and practical helpfulness towards his people.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.
Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.
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Mike Glover
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