Alright, let's take our Bibles
now and turn to Philippians chapter 2. I'm going to try to go through
and just do kind of a commentary on the verses this morning in
verses 19 through 30 on the subject honorable men. In this second
chapter of Philippians, Paul exhorts us to have Christian
unity. to have sincere love and humility
and a genuine care for the needs and welfare of our brethren. And not just our brethren, but
our neighbors and people that we live around in our community. Even those who refuse to come,
even those who who deny what you preach. He said, love your
enemies and do good to them that despitefully use you. Be ready
to give and to do good to others. We, of all men, are so privileged
because God has come down where we were. We were exactly like
Him. Exactly like Him. Maybe worse.
Such were some of you, Paul said. But God has cleansed you. He
saved you. He picked you up out of the ditch.
So let's don't get angry at that guy because he's still in the
ditch. That's where we'd be if the Lord hadn't got us out. And
so we're to have... He exhorts us to have Christian
unity, a special unity among the brethren. And sincere love
and humility and a genuine care for the needs and welfare of
others. All things that accompany salvation, whether civil or moral
or spiritual, they're to be carried out without murmuring and without
disputing, without arguing over every little thing. Somebody
says something just a little bit wrong, just wear him out,
you know. We're not to do that. And we're
not to murmur. When everything don't go our
way, we're not to murmur. And we are to do these things
so we might be blameless and harmless, not in the sight of
God, but in the sight of men. We are blameless in Christ before
God. Isn't that what Scripture said? To present us blameless. Blameless
before Him. And we are without rebuke in
Christ. And we are sons of God in Christ
being predestinated under the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself. But what Paul is talking about
here is being blameless and harmless before men, and giving good evidence
to this world that we are sons of the living God. When he is
talking about blameless before men, he is simply saying this,
don't live a life of hypocrisy. If you profess grace, be gracious. If you profess faith, then believe. Don't live opposite of what you
of what you profess. We profess to believe God, but
sometimes we go astray of that in our lives and in our reactions
to things. I tell you, I get so angry at
myself when I react to something the wrong way and then think
about it, don't you? And just think to myself, why
did you do that? Why did you say that? You know
better than that. You know better than that. And
that's what he's talking about here, striving to be blameless
and harmless before men and giving good evidence to this world that
we're the sons of the living God. And we're, as believers,
to order our lives in the midst of this crooked and perverse
world so that they cannot charge us with hypocrisy or insincerity. We're lights, he said, in a dark
world. And Christ said, if we walk in
the light as He is the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all
sin. Listen to this verse. Here's how our Lord talked about
this walk. He said, let your light, and
we know what that light is. It's the light of Christ, the
light of His mercy and grace. Let your light so shine that
men may see your good works. Isn't that what it said? But
now listen, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Not
glorify you. Don't let your works so shine
that they glorify you. Let your works, let your light
so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father. which is in heaven. God's church
is the pillar and ground of the truth, and as such, we should
hold forth its promises and warnings. And nothing's more important
to an assembly of God than the gospel of Jesus Christ. The character and conduct of
believers reveal that they're sons of God and that you have
a real burden for lost sinners. That's the work of God in the
hearts of men, is to make them loving and gracious and genuinely
concerned for the welfare of others. Now let's read verses
17 and 18. Philippians chapter 2. Yea, and if I be offered upon
the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and receive
joy with you all. For the same cause also do you
joy and rejoice with me. Now Paul, who was the means that
God used to establish this church, believed that soon he was going
to give up his life for the preaching of the gospel. He knew this.
He knew that he was. He told them over and over and
over that the sufferings, these sufferings, that they were with
him wherever he went. no matter where he went. And
I'm talking about being beat within one stripe of his life.
And being, you know, certain men of the baser sort they went
out and paid money to, to lie in wait for him and beat him.
And then religious men set him up because he had offended their
religion and questioned their authority and so on. And they
set him up and beat him within one stripe of his life. And it
went on and on and on. Everywhere he went, he suffered
at the hands of evildoers and those who despised his gospel.
And yet he was not sad, but rather rejoiced in the work which God
had done by him. It was not in vain. And he wanted
that church at Philippi to feel the same way about his sufferings
and death. His death would not be untimely
or without purpose. have them view his death in the
light of what was accomplished, what was accomplished in them.
It was not just in vain. And a preacher doesn't want any
more than that. That's what he wants. He wants to know that
he's not just spinning his wheels. He's not just saying words. He
didn't sacrifice his friends and security and all those things
in the ministry for nothing. that those he ministered to,
that God called him to that place and used him in that place to
minister to the hearts of those who came to hear him. I'm concerned
about everybody in this place. These young boys and young children,
I'm concerned that they hear what I'm saying. I'm not just
up here saying things because I'm supposed to be the pastor.
I'm not just up here because somebody pays my salary. I'm
interested in one thing. I'm interested in you hearing
what I have to say. Hearing this gospel. And those
who hear, their lives will show it. And when their lives begin
to show it, the preacher begins to see that his work is not in
vain. You see what I'm saying? That's what Paul said. He didn't
want them to feel sorry for him because he got beaten. And he
goes on here in a few minutes and tells them that. that they
suffered these things at the hands of their own countrymen. And I tell you, it brings sorrow
to my heart as I read these accounts of this early church and then
listen to men deny the necessity of gospel preaching. These men
gave their lives that this gospel be preached. They sacrificed
their lives. And there's not a preacher, evangelist,
or missionary today who hadn't done the same thing. Maybe not
to the same extent. I don't know of any preacher
nowadays who's ever been burned at the stake or beheaded or any
of those atrocities that some of these men suffered. But I
think I can say with Paul, don't be sorry for me when my life
comes to an end. As I willfully, thoughtfully,
and lovingly gave it to this end. I was happy to do it. Happy to do it. Now look down
here with me at verses 19-21. But I trust in the Lord Jesus
to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good
comfort when I know your state. For I have no man like-minded
who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own,
not the things which are Jesus Christ. Now there are several
things I want you to see in these verses. First of all, I want
you to see that even the Apostle Paul, one who held the highest
office in the church, willingly submitted his desires to the
will of our sovereign Mediator and King. If the Lord will. If the Lord
will. Listen to James. This is James
chapter 4, verse 13. He said, Go to now, ye that say,
Today or tomorrow we'll go into such a city, and continue there
a year, and buy, and sell, and get gain, whereas ye know not
what shall be on tomorrow. Well, what is your life? It's
just a vapor. It's just a vapor that appears
for a little time and then vanishes away. John, you can't say I'm
going to go over here tomorrow and I'm going to do this and
that and then Thursday I'm going to do this and then next Monday
I'm going to do that. You have to say if the Lord will,
I'm going to go over here tomorrow and do that. Might not be His
will. Now it was Paul's will that Timotheus,
that was his own son in the faith. He had every confidence in this
young man and he wanted this young man with his knowledge
and his wisdom who'd proven himself in battle. He wanted him to go
to this church at Philippi and bring back the testimony of the
condition of that church. He wanted to hear from his own
lips what was going on there. And that's the second thing I
want to call your attention to, a trusted ally. But still on
my first point here, the Apostle Paul didn't get his will. Timotheus
didn't go to him at that time. but rather God sent them a pastor
and that pastor went to them and Paul had to receive his testimony. So even the Apostle Paul and
all of us, we submit our desires, our inmost desires and what we
think is wisdom, we still, we submit those things to the Lord.
I know a lot of men who thought, well, this man ought to be the
pastor of this church. And they were persuaded of it.
I mean, they were ready to go to war over it. This man here
is going to be pastor of this church. But it wasn't in the
will of God. In the will of God, another man pastored that church.
And that's just how it is. And then the second thing is
a trusted ally. Ministers have men whom they
trust and respect. And it's usually a bond formed
over time with these men who have proven themselves. They've
been under trials. They've been in these divisions.
They've been in these church splits. They've been where the
controversy is. They've been on the front lines.
And they're persuaded that these men are men of God. And they've
seen these men under fire. And they use the wisdom of God
and God giving them wisdom to deal with these things. And they're
trusted, trusted men. And when they have problems and
questions, they call these men. And they talked these things
over with him. And Paul had others he knew at
Philippi, but he had nobody like Timothy who'd served him like
a son. And Paul expresses his love and
deep concern for this church by sending them one that he had
great confidence in. That's just another expression
of his love for these people. He would send nobody but the
best. with the best. There was other
people that he knew could have sent any one of them, but he
wanted to send Timothy. That's an expression of love.
We need to be careful ourselves when we recommend men to churches
as pastors or even as temporary overseers. In time, it's going
to show what kind of love you had for that congregation by
what kind of man you sent. and what kind of man you recommend.
And then the third thing I want you to see here is a serious
charge, but one that nevertheless is true. Not all preachers care for your
state. That seem like a harsh statement?
Not all preachers care for your state. Paul says here, but they
seek their own. Their own what? their own way,
their own welfare, their own well-being, their own comfort. They seek their own reputations,
and they seek their own honor, and not the things which are
Jesus Christ. Not all preachers are sincerely
interested in the glory of Christ and the good of their conversations.
To some, it's just a job. It's just a profession. And they
go to school, and they get degrees, and they take the degree, and
they write out resumes, and they send them out all over the country,
and pretty soon there comes open a spot, and they take the job,
and they agree on a salary, and they pay them so much money a
week, or a month, or however they decide to do it, and they
give them a car, and insurance, or whatever they work out. It's
just a profession. It's just a job. He calls them
in the scripture, actually, hirelings. They're doing what they do for
the money. It's just a job. It's impersonal
and it causes great harm to God's people if they happen to get
one of these men over. Timothy had a heart. He had a
heart and soul like Paul's. He loved people and he loved
the gospel and he loved the Lord. Pastors have the rule over God's
sheep so that they might watch for your souls. Watch for your
souls as those who must give an account, not in the final
judgment, but an account right now in the presence. I'm accountable
before God for how I feel about you and what I say to you and
how I care for you. I'm accountable. And we watch
for your souls. with a realistic understanding
that we're accountable. We're accountable. Pastors pray for their people
and they hold them up before God and they ask for messages
that will touch their hearts and edify their minds and help
them. And I'm going to tell you something
else. Pastors don't grow on trees. There are no pastor stores. You
can't go down to a pastor store and hire a pastor. God has to
send a pastor. And I tell you, this little church
over in Mississippi is learning that the hard way. They're just,
God has to send a pastor. And you've been through this.
You know what this is. You had one taken from you. And
how long did it take? Six years? Six years. You couldn't go down to the pastor's
store and get one. And I'll tell you, after you've
been without one for a little while, you realize how precious
the one was that you had. And so next time when God sends
you one, you pray for him, and you love him, and you cherish
him because you know God sent him. And that's what Paul's telling
this church. How shall they preach except
they be sent? And they give themselves to the
work, and nobody makes them. I don't have anybody from church
over there watching me. I hope I don't. With binoculars
and stuff. See how long I spend in my study.
But you ought to be able to tell when I get up here to speak if
I spend any time in my study. That's telling. Timothy was a proven servant. One they knew and one they loved. And then look here in verse 23. Him, therefore, I hope to send
presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But
I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly." Preachers view their lives, and
believers should follow their examples in the light that God
gives us to do. Their hope is that as long as
they live, they can be productive and an asset to God, not Not
a burden. And they view their future and
what they hope to do in the same light. Paul believed God put
him in that place to further his gospel, and he hoped that
when that was finished, to see their faces again. So long as
he lived, he had hope to do what God called him to do. Am I getting
this across You wake up tomorrow morning and you're still alive.
Well, the thought is not so much what can I do to please myself
or make myself more comfortable. My thoughts ought to be, He's
let me live another day serving His kingdom. And so you begin
to plan that way. You begin to lay plans that way.
And Paul, even though he knew he was going to die, sooner or
later he was going to die. But he said, my hope is that
when I'm finished here, And when I'm out of here, that I can come
and see your face again." His heart and soul was still in the
ministry. He was still thinking about his
calling. And he believed God put him in
that place to further his gospel. And he hoped that when he was
finished, he'd see their faces again. Verse 25. Yet I supposed it necessary to
send you Ephroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow
soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my
wants. See, this thing with Timothy didn't work out. But here was
this Ephroditus, I guess I'm pronouncing that right, or Paphroditus,
however you want to say it. But his personal choice was Timothy,
but in God's providence, Ephroditus would be their minister. That's
the one God sent. And that's why we submit our
desires to the will of God. And then Paul, when he's recommending
this man, he's already written to him expressing his desires
about Timothy and recommending him. And then he comes down here
to God's choice. This man that God's put there
as their pastor and leader. And he uses three terms to express
his confidence in this man. He calls him first, look with
me here, my brother. My brother. Ye who sometimes
were afar off. are now made nigh by the blood
of Christ. We're of one household. One household. We're sons of God and we are
brethren and sisters. You remember when they came to
our Lord and they said, they stopped Him right in the middle
of whatever He was doing. He was teaching or talking or
whatever He was doing. They interrupted Him and they
said, your mother and your brothers and sisters are out here. So
just stop everything you do and come over here and tend to them.
He said, who is my mother and my brothers and my sisters? Here
they are right here. Those are two, but these are
two. And if you have an actual physical brother or sister who
loves the Lord, you have a double blessing. You have a double blessing. But where they are not, we are
all brothers and sisters. He calls him first, my brother.
And the first qualification of any minister of God is to be
made meek, to be a partaker of the inheritance of enlightened
saints. And I love my family, and I love
my children, and I love my grandchildren, but my spiritual family is really
closer to me than they are. They're closer to me than they
are. And Paul said, this one I'm hoping
to send to you with this letter, first of all, is indeed my brother. And then secondly, look at this.
He calls him, my companion in labor. The ministry of the gospel is
called in the Scripture, the work of the ministry. The work of the ministry. And
if it's done in diligence, it's laborious work. It is. It's work. It requires endless
hours of study and even when you're Not studying, even when
you're doing other things like working on this building up here
or whatever it is that you're going to visit somebody who's
not feeling good or sick or whatever it is. You're going down to the
hospital or just somebody who can't be here and you go to see
them. No matter what it is that you're about doing, your mind
and heart is still on that work. That work goes 24-7 in the mind
of a minister. It never stops. He sees every
little event. Sometimes you just wear people
out with you, you know, because this is what's going on in your
head all the time, all the time. And it's work. And he calls him
his companion in labor. And then thirdly, Paul recommends
this dear brother by calling him his fellow soldier. The preaching of the gospel sometimes
likened to a warfare. We have enemies. And there's
distinctions of mind, and there are different authorities involved. And we're told in the Scripture
that there's a spiritual armor to be put on. And our loins are
girt about with truth, and we wear the breastplate of righteousness.
And our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel. And
we take the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. He's a fellow
soldier, and these weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
they're spiritual and they're mighty through God. And they
bring our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and
they tear down our refuges. The ministry is a warfare, and
Ephroditus was a fellow soldier. And evidently, this man had become
ill. He'd become ill. Verse 26, For
he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because
that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was
sick, nigh unto death. But God had mercy on him, and
not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon
sorrow. Paul said, I'm in sorrow here
not knowing your state, and you send a man down, you send down
your pastor, and he comes down here to tell me about it, and
now he's sick and dead, and now I have sorrow on sorrow, and
now I'm concerned you don't have a pastor, you don't have a leader.
You see what he's saying? It's just going to add sorrow
on sorrow. But I send him there for them
more carefully, that when you see him again, you might rejoice,
and that I might be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore
in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in reputation,
because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death." Listen
to this. This was a pastor and a preacher
just doing his daily task, doing what he was supposed to do. He
was nigh unto death, not regarding his life to supply your lack
of service toward me. This man nearly died performing
what God's providence had set before him. And he did it as
a representative of that church and in their stead. And so as
Paul sends him back, he desired that this man be esteemed very
highly in their eyes for the works sake. Honorable men. That's what this chapter here
is telling us about. Honorable men. Honorable men
who pastored by honorable men. and honorable men who minister
in the gospel. When God sets a man apart, He
gives him this station, He gives him this work, he's to be honored,
not for himself, but for his work's sake, for what he does.