I know that I do not say this
often enough, but we really appreciate those who play the musical instruments
and lead our singing. The Lord has blessed us so much
in this congregation. Now, if you will, let's open
our Bibles to Philippians chapter 2. Beginning with verse 19, we are
going to look at the remainder of this chapter, Philippians
chapter 2. 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. But you know the proof
of him that as a son with the father, he hath served with me
in the gospel. 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. Yet
I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother
and companion and labor and fellow soldier, but your messenger and
he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all,
and was full of heaviness, because that you 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. I sent him therefore the more
carefully that when you see him again you may rejoice and that
I may 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 not regarding his
life to supply your lack of service toward me. In these verses, the
Apostle Paul, he highly commands two ministers of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that is Timotheus and Epaphroditus. This verse reminds
me, or this passage reminds me of that verse in Romans chapter
13, where the Apostle Paul writes to the church, to you and I,
concerning civil authorities, policemen, governors, and congressmen,
and presidents, those who are in places of authority. All power,
Paul said, is ordained of God. And in that passage he says this,
render therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute
is due, custom to whom custom, fair to whom fair, honor to whom
honor. Now he was dealing there, I know,
with civil rulers, but the same is applicable to the servants
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Honor to whom honor is due. And so the apostle commends these
two servants of Christ. And my message today, I want
us to look at his commendation of both of these men, and then,
if we will, if we're able to draw a lesson from the very last
words in this chapter. But first, Paul's commendation
of Timotheus. You know, two of the New Testament
letters which were inspired of God the Holy Spirit were directed
to this man, Timotheus, or Timothy. And in both of them, both of
those letters, we read at the beginning of the service, the
first few verses of the second letter, but in both of those
verses, Paul refers to Timothy as his son. In the first letter,
he said unto Timothy, my own son in the faith. And then in
the second letter, he said to Timothy, my dearly beloved son. Let's look this morning at the
first time this man is mentioned in the scripture. If you will,
let's turn back to Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16. Everybody get the place? Acts
chapter 16 and verses 1 through 3. Then came he, that is Paul,
along with Silas, came he to Derbe and Lystra. And behold,
a certain disciple was there named Timotheus. Incidentally,
that's the Greek way of writing his name. We are more comfortable
speaking of him as Timothy. The son of a certain woman, which
was a Jewess, and believed, but his father, a Greek, which was
well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth
with him and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which
were in those quarters For they knew all that his father was
a Greek. This is the first time that Timothy
is mentioned. And I would just call our attention
to the fact that when Paul and Silas came to Derbe and Lystra,
he's already said to be a disciple. Notice that in verse 1. Behold,
a certain disciple was there. Well, let's not forget this was
not Paul's first time to come to Lystra and to Derbe. On what is called his first missionary
journey, Paul and Barnabas came to this place, or these places,
Lystra and Derbe. And it was at Lystra, remember
they mistook Paul and Barnabas for two phony gods. Two phony gods that they believed
in. These pagan people here, they
believed in many gods. Because there was a man there
who was crippled and Paul had the gift of healing. And this
man was healed and began to walk. Well, they said the gods have
come down. The gods have come down in our
midst. And so they quickly arranged
to have a sacrifice. Prepare an altar and a sacrifice
to Paul and Barnabas. And they were doing all of this
speaking in their native tongue, their native language. And Paul
at first evidently didn't understand what was going on, but when he
was made aware, then he put an end to that. He said, we're men
just like you. We're men of like passion just
like you are. And then, to show how fickle
man is, they stoned Paul. They stoned him, the very ones
who just a few minutes before were willing to offer sacrifice
to Paul and Barnabas to praise them, to exalt them. Now they
take Paul and stone him and the scripture says they dragged his
body out of town and the only reason they stopped stoning is
because he either was dead or they thought he was dead. Many
people believe this is when Paul was caught up to the third heaven.
I don't know if that's so or not, but I do know everyone thought
he was dead and the disciples gathered around him and Paul
stood up. Paul stood up and began to preach
and teach again. He was a disciple when they came
this time to Lystra and Derby. So he had heard the gospel before. He had heard the gospel before
when Paul and Barnabas had visited his town. Now, we know from the
Scriptures that from a child he had known the Scriptures. That's what Paul tells him. That
from a child thou hast known, fully known, the Holy Scriptures. What an advantage And what a
responsibility do parents have to teach their children the Word
of God. Now every parent feels his and
her responsibility to take care of their children, to make sure
they're safe, make sure they have food, make sure they go
to school, they see the doctor, and all of that. But how few
parents recognize and take the responsibility of training their
children up in the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord. And people say, well, that's
hard to do. I realize that. Do you think
it was easy for Timothy's mother? She was married to a Greek. He
didn't believe. He was not a believer. But she
taught him the word of God. Sometime in his life before Paul
and Silas come to Derbe, this time in Acts chapter 16, he had
become a disciple of Jesus Christ. And the scripture here says in
Acts chapter 16 that he was well reported of by the brethren.
He was a worshiper there in the congregation. You know, sheep
are animals which must be in a flock. That's just part of
their nature. That's part of a sheep's nature,
to be in a flock. And he was one of God's sheep,
one of Christ's sheep, one that he had found and one that he
had redeemed with his blood. And so he congregated with the
brethren. You say, how do you know that?
Because the Scripture here says he was well reported of by the
brethren. He wasn't out here by himself
in left field saying, well, I can worship God anywhere. I don't have to be in a congregation. I don't have to be with other
believers. I can worship God out here in
a deer stand, or out on the lake, or wherever. That may be all
true. But listen, God's people come
together. God's sheep come together to
worship the Lord. That's one of the tests the Apostle
John gives us in his first letter, that we have a love for the brethren. We love to be with God's people.
We love to worship with God's people. So he was a disciple. He had a good report. And when
Paul wrote Timothy later, In 1st Timothy, one of the requirements
he gave Timothy concerning a man who would be set apart to be
a pastor, he must have a good report. Not only of those within,
but of those without. So Timothy met that requirement
as we see here. But he was not circumcised. He was not circumcised because
his father was a Greek. Now, some people will find it
strange when they read this that Paul had him circumcised. But listen, Paul, to Paul, and
one reason people find that strange is because the very purpose of
Paul and Silas' trip, this journey they are on now, is to go back
and visit the churches where they had gone before and to take
with them these letters from the council, if we can call it
that, that they had in the church at Jerusalem over this whole
issue of circumcision. Remember that, that's recorded
in Acts chapter 15. And let me show you, look back
a page, Acts chapter 15 and verse 11, and I believe this pretty
well sums up the whole conclusion of this meeting, these words
of the Apostle Peter. Well, let me read verse 1 of
chapter 15 so we see the context. And certain men which came down
from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except you be circumcised
after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. You see what
they were teaching? That not only Christ, but you've
got to put yourself under the law of Moses. You've got to be
circumcised if you're going to be saved. Well, they had a meeting,
as you know, and look at what Peter said. This is so interesting.
Peter said, verse 11, But we believe, and I hope I'm speaking
for everyone here today. We believe. I believe. I believe. Can you put your I
in there? Can you say, I believe, just
like Peter. We believe. that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, even as they. And you say, I believe that by
the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ my Lord, I'm
saved. I'm not trusting in my tithing.
I'm not trusting in my church membership. I'm not trusting
in my baptism. I'm not trusting in anything
other than Jesus Christ. I believe, as Peter said, that
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ I shall be saved. And notice what's interesting,
especially to me, those last words, even as they Now when
he says we, he's speaking about Jews, Jewish men and women. We believe that we shall be saved
by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ even as they, Gentiles,
those who did not have the law, who were never under the law
of Moses. We Jews, we had the law. But we believe that we will be
saved through Jesus Christ and Him alone by grace, even as they. That was the consensus. And that's
the word, that's the message of the Word of God. Now Timothy
was a disciple. He was a believer. Why then would Paul have him
circumcised? Because if you notice what Luke
tells us, in verse 3 of Acts chapter 16. Him would Paul have
to go forth with him and took and circumcised him. Now here
it is, because of the Jews. Paul's method, if I could use
that term, the way he worked, we find this in the New Testament
in the book of Acts. He went out, he was sent out
by the church at Antioch and by the Holy Spirit. And he went
to this town, this town, this town, he traveled. And into the
town, every town where he came, first of all, is there a synagogue
in this town? And if there is, that's where
I'm going. And you know, that wonderful
history there in Acts chapter 13 when they, in that synagogue
in Antioch of Pisidia, they sent back there to Paul and Barnabas
and said, do you have anything to say? Boy, they asked the wrong
person when they asked Paul. He said, I sure do. I sure do. I want to tell you about Christ.
I want to tell you about the end of the law. I want to tell
you about the fact that our fathers have those who read Moses every
Sabbath day in synagogues all over the world, just like here.
But I want to talk to you about a man, and by faith in that man,
you may be justified from all sins, from which you could not
be justified by the law of Moses. Well, Timothy, Paul said, I want
you to go with us. What Timothy could not, as uncircumcised,
he could not stand in a synagogue and teach. That just would not
have been allowed. That was against all Jewish custom. They wouldn't listen to an uncircumcised
man. Paul knew that uncircumcision
is something which is indifferent for us today. When you make it
an issue, when men as they did in the churches of Galatia came
in there and said, unless you're circumcised, you can't be saved. Then Paul said, you've got a
fight on your hands now. Because that's not so. That's
not true. We're saved by grace through
faith. And that not of works in any
degree. Now notice back in our text in
Philippians chapter 2. The Apostle Paul here says that
Timothy preached along with him. The very first place there in
Acts chapter 16, I didn't follow that up, but if you follow on
down there in Acts chapter 16, the first city that's named where
they preached, Timothy along with Paul and Silas, was Philippi. So Timothy was with Paul when
the gospel was brought here to Philippi, and now he commends
him to the church. at Philippi. Look back in our
text here, especially, if you will, where Paul said that he
was like-minded. For I have no man like-minded
who will naturally care for your state. The Syriac version of
the Scripture says, I have no man as my soul. I have no man
as my soul, but Timothy. And this caused one writer to
say, they had, that is Paul and Timothy, they had, as it were,
one soul and two bodies. They were of the same mind. And Paul believed that Timothy
had the same love, the same care for these believers in the church
at Philippi as he did. He cares for your state. That is the state of the church.
Paul was confident that Timothy would come to them. He loved
them. He would preach the gospel to them for the glory of God
and for the good of their souls. Now when you look at a map, you
have maps in the back of your Bible, don't turn now, but sometime
when you look, you find the missionary journeys, usually there's a map
that says the missionary journeys of Paul. And you find on that
map Rome and you find Philippi. And you see the distance, how
far it was from Philippi to Rome or vice versa. Now they were
in Rome. When Paul says, I have no man
of like mind, most commentators believe that because of the distance
and the perils of travel, normally I think they would make that
trip by ship. And we know from Paul's experience
traveling by ship what could happen. And most men, Paul said,
they don't have the mind to come to you, but Timothy does. out
of love and out of concern for you and the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's willing to make that trip
and to come to you. So he highly, highly commends
Timothy. Now second, let's look at Epaphroditus
in the next part of the chapter. Paul commends this man as well. And I want you to notice that
he begins by declaring three things about Epaphroditus which
are true of every child of God. Three things which are true of
you if you are a child of God. This is what he says first of
all. Yet I supposed it necessary to
send to you Epaphroditus. Now notice number one, my brother. Now, that's a family name, isn't
it? A family term. Brother, sister,
my brother. What I'm saying, this was true
of Epaphroditus, and it's true of you, too. If you are a child
of God, you are in the family of God. Now, when you came into
this world, you were not in the family of God. You were in the
kingdom of darkness. But thanks be unto God, thanks
be unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light. How does a person come
into the family of God? To become a brother of an apostle? Well, first by adoption. Adoption. We are adopted into
the family of God. You see that in Ephesians chapter
1. This is true of every Every child of God, he's a brother,
she's a sister. We've been adopted into the family
of God in Ephesians 1. Verse 3, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself. everyone who is a member of the
family of God, the household of God. God is our Father, and
every other believer is our brother, our sister in Christ. We've been
adopted into the family of God, but number two, we've been born
into the family of God. The new birth. No one is a member
of the family of God apart from the new birth. Look back, if
you will, to John chapter 1. John chapter 1 and verse 12, but as many as received Him,
have you received Christ? Has He revealed Himself to you?
To as many as received Him, to them gave He power, the authority
or right, privilege to be called Son of God. even to them that
believe on his name." That's what it means to receive, isn't
it? To believe on Christ. But notice, which were born.
Yes, every child of God has been born of God. Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. So that's the first thing about
Epaphroditus that Paul mentions that's true of every child of
God. Number two, he said, he's my
companion. Look at the text here. Companion
in labor. We are companions of one another
in labor. That is, we are all engaged in
serving the Lord. Every child of God, we are all
engaged in serving the Lord, in preaching the gospel, in the
case of Epaphroditus and Paul, companions in labor. We are to walk in those good
works which he hath before ordained for us to walk in. We're companions
in labor. The Lord doesn't save anyone
just to sit down and do nothing. Every child of God, every believer,
has a ministry in some way, has gifts that God has given you,
and work that only you are able to do. He was a companion in
labor. And number three, he was a soldier. Every child of God is a soldier,
a fellow soldier. We have one captain, that is
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you know soldiers, they fight. And
that's part of being a soldier, isn't it? It is to fight. And
just as soon as we were born again, came into the family of
God, we found ourselves in a warfare. We have a warfare, fight to fight. Paul said, fight the good fight
of faith, lay hold on eternal life. We fight with sin every
day. We're tempted to sin, are we
not? We are to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the
flesh. Yes, we still have that old nature,
the flesh, but we have a new nature, and there's a constant
tension between the two. What are we to do? We are to
walk in the Spirit. We are to fight. We're to put
off that old nature, the flesh. Yes, we fight against sin. We're
not out here demonstrating and leading a crusade to change the
society. I'm not talking about that. I'm
talking about a war within ourselves. We have a fight, not only with
sin, but with Satan. Does he ever come to you and
cause you to doubt, put some doubt in your mind? We find from
the Apostle Paul, he refers to these things as fiery darts.
Do you ever have a thought come into your mind and you wonder,
where did that come from? Not to believe God, not to trust
God, to turn back, to give up, whatever. It's a fight, isn't
it? Against sin and against Satan
and against this world. This world has never been a friend
to grace and it never will be. And it's constantly, constantly
attacking us as believers and trying to get us to go along
with it, to compromise and whatever, to get along, go along to get
along. That's what the world says, isn't
it? But that's not what God says. There's a fight. Now the next
two things Paul said were particular to Epaphroditus. He was a minister. Or he was your messenger. Now
remember, he's writing to the church at Philippi, and he says,
here's this man, Epaphroditus, he was your messenger. You sent
him to me. I mentioned how long that trip
was. How dangerous it was to go from
Philippi to Rome. And they set this man apart and
sent him with a gift for the Apostle Paul. Look in chapter
4. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 18. Paul said, But I have all and
abound, I am full, having, now notice, received of Epaphroditus
the things which were sent from you. Notice it was a gift. You know when we send offerings
and support to missionaries, We send it usually to some place
here in the states and they put it in a bank and some of these
people in other countries, they just have a debit card and they
can take that money. They didn't have anything like
that this time. If you wanted to get a gift to
Paul, you had to take it to him. And Epaphroditus was a man that
this church trusted to take this gift. But I want you to notice
what Paul calls this gift. and odor of a sweet smell, a
sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. When we offer sacrifices
to God, we don't offer blood sacrifice. No. For by one offering
He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified by His blood,
His righteousness. But yet the Scripture speaks
of us offering sacrifices unto God. Sacrifices of praise, as
in this case it was a sacrifice that this gift that they sent
to Paul. But have you ever noticed this?
That even our sacrifices to be acceptable unto God, they must
be filtered through the Lord Jesus Christ. For them to be
called good and acceptable, they must be filtered through. They
must be given the incense of Christ's offering to make them
acceptable to God. Now Paul sent him back to them
while he was with Paul in Rome. The man got very sick. Paul said
he came very near to death. And Paul said God had mercy on
him and not on him only. But he was such a minister to
the Apostle Paul. Paul said our sorrow if he had
died, if God had not raised him up. And this shows us that it's
not always the Lord's will to heal us physically. Our sins,
the disease of sin is healed by his stripes. But physical
diseases, sometimes it's not his will to heal us. Sometimes
it is. And God raised this man up. And
notice also, Paul said this. People say, well, if he had died,
he'd gone to heaven, wouldn't he? Why would you cry about that?
Well, Paul said, I'll tell you what. I would have had a lot
of sorrow if he had died. Yeah, we sorrow, don't we? but
not as others which have no hope. But God had mercy on this man,
raised him up, and Paul sent him back with this word. He said,
Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold
such in reputation. Be glad when he comes back among
you, you be glad and you be thankful. Thankful to the Lord that he
has returned his faithful minister unto you and hold him in reputation. That word actually means hold
him, value him, value him. He's a minister. He's a faithful
minister of God. Now let me close with these last
words to supply your lack of service toward me. And what I
want you to see here, here's this one man, Epaphroditus, and
he's representing all of the members in the church at Philippi.
And that reminds us that we are saved, aren't we, by one man
representing us. We became sinners by the first
man who represented us. He disobeyed God. He sinned. And his sin was imputed under
all of his posterity. And the last man, the last Adam,
the Lord Jesus Christ, he came into this world and he represented
his people. And Paul said, as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. For as by
one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous. I preached a funeral service
one time and a man came up to me after the service and he paid
me one of the best compliments I've ever received. And I'm not
preaching for a compliment, but I did appreciate this. He said,
I told someone, David is going to find some way, somehow, to
preach Christ to us. And you did. And that's my goal. I mean, I'm thankful for Epaphroditus
and Timothy. They were great men of God, highly
to be commended. But there's only one Savior,
only one Lord, Jesus Christ, whose blood atones for the sins
of everyone who trusts in Him. I trust the Lord will bless you.