Sent to Encourage: Timothy’s Example from Philippians 2:19-24

Good morning, and what a great blessing it is to be worshipers of the only Lord and God, Jesus Christ.

He is our King, and He is our Lord.

My name is Pastor Simon Flynn, and here at Dillingham Moravian Church,

we delight in making disciples for Christ as we learn God's Word together with you.

Let's pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, what a blessing it is to be able to speak your

word and to hear your word.

What an opportunity it is to be able to be part of the worship experience of

your scripture, your word to us, Lord.

And as we hear your word today may your truths guide us,

and change us and transform us into those the people,

who are in your likeness help us oh lord father god use us for your glory and

honor in your precious son's name jesus christ i pray amen.

Turn with me today to Philippians chapter 2, verse 19 to 24,

Philippians 2:19–24

where Paul encouraged the Philippian church.

Verse 19, But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly,

so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will generally be concerned for your welfare.

They all seek after their own interests, but not those of Jesus Christ.

But you know of His proven worth, that He served with me in the furtherance

of the gospel like a child serving His Father.

Therefore, I hope to send Him immediately, and as soon as I see how things go

with me, and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

Last week in our series through Paul's letter to the Philippians.

Paul taught that as slaves of Christ, our purpose is to be spiritual offerings

to God, rejoicing in suffering as God uses our trials to help others grow and please Him.

We also learned that as we share God's joy with others, they share in it,

and our joy grows together.

Therefore, as Christians, we're called to pour out our lives for God and for

one another, trusting Him to turn our sacrifice into shared joy.

In our passage today, there are three overarching truths that I believe that

God wants us to understand.

The first truth that I want to direct your attention to is that as Christians,

we are to operate according to the will of God to give God's encouragement to others.

My first pastor as a born-again believer in Christ was the lead teaching elder

at Capilano Christian Assembly in Edmonton, Alberta.

And although my pastor was a good preacher, it wasn't his preaching that left

a longstanding or a wonderful impression upon me. It was his encouragement.

Pastor Ted was a great encourager of God's people.

And if a believer was struggling or going through a trial, talking to Ted would

be an encouraging bomb over the situation.

He had a way of turning your perspective away from the circumstance and points

you back to God in a gentle and unhurried manner, reminding us of the love that God has for us.

Didn't seem like anything got my old pastor ruffled, even when being rebuked.

He went away told off and encouraged at the same time.

I share this memory of my old pastor to impress upon you that all people,

including us as Christians, going through hard trials, need to be encouraged.

They need the love of Christ expressed through us.

And this encouragement was what Paul was hoping to receive from Timothy and

for Timothy to share God's encouragement with the Philippians as well.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2, verse 19, But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send

Philippians 2:19

Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

There are two principles that I want to point out to you in this verse.

The first principle I want you to see is that as Christians,

we are to operate according to the Lord's will and not our own.

It is Paul hoped to send Timothy to the Philippians.

Not out of his own desire, but based on when and whether it is the Lord's will or not.

James, in James 4, verse 13 to 15, proclaim this, Come now, you who say,

James 4:13–15

Today or tomorrow we go to such and such city, and spend a year there and engage

in business and make a profit.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that

appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live, and also do this or that.

I want you to see the second principle in this verse, and that is that Christians

are to love other Christians as cherished family members.

I say this because Paul wanted to send Timothy to the Philippians so that he,

could be encouraged as to their well-being.

You see, Paul saw the Philippian congregation as his spiritual children.

Paul loved the Philippians, and like a father or parent that had not heard from

their children for a long while, he was worried for them.

We have to remember that...

The Philippian believers were one of the most persecuted churches in the known world.

The extremely pro-Roman populace of Philippi believed fanatically in the deity

of the Roman emperor, and thus since the Philippians died,

believed that Jesus Christ was the only true king and God.

The Philippian Christians were under heavy opposition from the citizens of Philippi.

Therefore, Paul, out of his love, was very concerned and sent Timothy to find

out how the church in Philippi was faring.

What can you and I learn from Philippians 2, verse 19?

Philippians 2:19

There are two principles or timeless truths that we can apply to us.

The first application I want you to see is that we, you and I,

as Christians, are to operate according to the Lord's will and not our own.

As Christians, we mentally understand that we have been saved by the grace of

God, that we have been bought at the price of Christ's sacrificial death.

We know that spiritually we are children of God and slaves to Christ,

And yet, in our fallen flesh, we desperately desire to rule ourselves and do

what we want to do rather than what God wants us to do.

One of the areas that's perhaps the hardest to give over to God's control is our daily schedule.

I say this because as a culture, our schedules and our lives are hectic and they're busy.

Amongst families, there's so much to be done.

More often today, both husband and wife work full-time jobs and sometimes side jobs.

Especially here in Bush, Alaska, all while juggling housework,

kids' school and sports games, extra school and community-related events.

Add to the schedule church and weekly Bible studies, volunteering and church

events, and families have a really full schedule.

There are so many decisions that we may need to make and often very quickly,

or else the opportunity is gone.

I say all this because with such over-full and hectic schedules,

the temptation to accomplish these tasks under our own power is so much greater.

And yet God, through Paul, teaches us to let Christ live through us.

Here in Galatians chapter 2, I want to show you verse 20.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

And this life, which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of

God who loved me and gave himself up for me.

One way to live by faith in Christ and surrender to him is by using prayer systems

like Aptap from John Piper or others.

Where at the start of the day, we dedicate the day to Christ and ask for Christ

through the Holy Spirit to operate us in everything we do.

We admit that we need God's help and pray for His help.

As the day goes on, we repeatedly ask for God's help and guidance in our work

and home tasks and that Christ would live through us.

We bring up to mind Bible promises that relate to God's help,

His providence, and wisdom, or to your situation.

Next, and this is essential, we trust God's promises and then act in faith that

God will be looking after the situation and He'll be working in and through us.

Periodically through the day, but especially at the day's end,

thank God for how He worked in us and through us.

Even if we do not know what God has been doing.

The second application that I see from Philippians 2, verse 19 is that we are

Philippians 2:19

to lovingly encourage other Christians as they are cherished family members.

When we see the believers in our local congregations, as well as Christians

all around the world, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to value them,

as important as our blood families.

And as we do, we'll begin to have the same love and compassion for each other

as Paul had for the Philippians.

And if you are a Christian who is listening, and you have been discipling other

believers or making new disciples in Christ.

In a sense, those believers are like spiritual children to you.

Love them as such. Value them as you would your own children.

I think part of the problem in our churches today is that we don't value other

believers like Christ values us and sees us.

We, you and I, are beloved by God. And in God, we are beloved.

We are to be beloved by each other. And as our value perception of other Christians

grow, So the more we want to help and serve them,

the more we are concerned when we don't hear from them for a while or grieve

when they are grieving or hurt when they are hurting.

The more we value each other in Christ, the more we rejoice when God is providing

for them as God is working in them.

Their joys become our joys. Their hurts become our hurts.

Just as Paul in Christ compassionately loved the church in Philippi as cherished

family so also we are to love the church of God in the same way.

So far, we have learned that Paul, out of his love for the Philippian church,

hoped, Lord willing, to send Timothy to the Philippian congregations to encourage

them and find out how they were doing.

The second point that I wish to bring to your attention is that as Christ believers,

we are to seek the interests of Christ and not our own.

I do not know if any of you who are listening remember those bracelets with

the letters WWJD on them.

When I first went to college, the What Would Jesus Do bracelets were popular

with Christians throughout the U.S. and Canada in the late 90s and 2000s.

The concept behind them was that whenever you felt that bracelet on your arm

and looked down and saw the words WWJD,

you would remember the life of Christ and His obedience to the Father and His

selfless love for us, and then would be reminded to act the way Jesus did.

My point worth reminding us about this Christian fad is that,

as Christians, we are to always seek the interests of Christ as He sought the

interests of His Father.

For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

But you know of His proven worth that He served with me in the furtherance of

the gospel like a child serving His Father.

Paul made it clear to the Philippians that Timothy was a kindred spirit of Paul's.

The word for kindred spirit meant like soul, having the same character,

same affections, especially mindset as another.

Meaning that Timothy had the same heart, the same mindset as Paul did towards

other Christians, especially towards the Philippian believers.

Paul pointed out that Timothy was genuinely concerned for their welfare or for how they were doing.

I want to show you two ways that Paul explained to the Philippians that Timothy

was like Paul and why Timothy was so genuinely concerned for the church in Philippi.

The first way was like Paul, Timothy sought Christ Jesus' interests and not his own.

But what were Christ Jesus' interests?

Jesus' interests were always focused on obeying his Father, not out of duty,

but out of the desire to please his Father.

Let me show you what I mean by this.

Let's look at John 14, verse 31, where Jesus proclaimed, But so that the world

John 14:31

may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded me.

Jesus in John 8 also taught, And he who sent me is with me, and he has not left

me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

Another core interest of Christ is that he always considers his father and others

as more important than himself.

As Paul taught earlier in Philippians 2, verses 3-8, Do nothing from selfishness

Philippians 2:3–8

or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Have this attitude in yourselves, which is also in Christ Jesus,

who, although he existed in

the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

But he emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men.

Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death, even death on the cross.

Just as Christ Jesus lowered himself in his own perspective and considered his

Father and us as more important than himself, Christians are to humble ourselves on our own viewpoint,

and view God as our greatest good.

And in God, we then view others as more valuable, more significant than others.

We also do this because Christ saw us this way, which was the reason why He went to the cross.

Yes, because the Father commanded them, but also because He loved us so much in this way.

Back in Philippians 2, Paul explained that Timothy did not seek his own interests, but Christ Jesus's.

The core qualities for seeking Christ's interests above his own was that Timothy

did not see himself as important, but rather he viewed Christ as his absolute treasure.

And since Timothy viewed Christ as the greatest value in his life,

Timothy sought to obey Christ in all things.

And this is the reason why Timothy had a heart like Paul and why he had so much

genuine concern for the plight of the Philippians.

Secondly, Timothy was like Paul and cared deeply for the Philippian saints because

he had proven his worth by serving with Paul in the sharing of the gospel,

like a child serving his father.

What Paul meant by this was that the relationship of.

Children obeying their fathers in the ancient world was founded in honoring

their father's parental authority and obeying the father's commands.

Additionally, children were to imitate their father's love for them and to love them in return.

Children were to imitate their father's examples in the home and in the community.

I share with you the attitude of ancient children to their fathers because Paul

likened Timothy's service for the gospel to that of a child serving his father.

Timothy recognized that Paul's authority as an apostle came from God.

And as such, Timothy obeyed Paul as a child would have obeyed his father.

But I want you to see that Timothy's attitude went way beyond mere obedience.

Rather, Timothy's obedience to Paul came out of his love for God and in God for Paul himself.

And as such, Timothy imitated Paul in his gospel work as Paul imitated Christ.

What is it that God wants us to learn from verses 20 to 22?

Are two truths that I see God wanting to teach us.

First off, as Christ followers, we are to seek Christ's interests and not our own.

And what this means is that we are to consider God as the most important value

of our lives. And as we treasure God, we obey him.

Part of obeying and treasuring God the Father is like Christ himself cultivating

the humility to be able to see ourselves as lesser than those around us.

Lifting others up is higher and more important than us.

The second truth that we can learn from Philippians 2, verse 20-22,

Philippians 2:20–22

is that as Christians, in Christ, we are to serve with our church spiritual

leaders as a child would serve his father.

Now, this application of a child serving his father can be easily misused,

if not properly qualify.

First off, I am speaking to church members and attenders.

Under God, in Christ,

you are under the spiritual leadership of your pastor and elders and church leaders.

And it's essential for you to respect God's authority in and through those leaders.

It is also important for you as church members and attenders to serve with your

church leaders in the goal of furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.

See, there's so much work to do and further in Christ's kingdom.

There is so much harvest and so few harvesters.

And as Christ commanded, pray for more harvesters.

And then jump in yourselves and give us a hand. Honestly, we could use your help.

Moreover, as the flock of Christ, our great shepherd, you are to imitate your

under shepherds as they work to imitate Christ.

However, for those of you who are like me, who are shepherds and leaders of

a local church or over many churches, it is super critical that we are to continually stay in Christ,

and humbly imitate Christ so that Christ's flock can follow us on the right path to God.

It's also essential for us as shepherds of Christ's flock to love our flocks

with Christ's love and encouragement so that they in turn can imitate our love

and love others that way themselves.

Similar with parents and children, congregations have a much easier time obeying

their leaders when they know that they are loved by their leaders.

The last point that I want to share with you from our passage today is in Philippians

2, is that we are to trust in the Lord's provision.

My wife Abigail and I have two boys, Jonathan, who is nine, and Paul,

who is six. Paul, who is six.

You know, there are many things that my boys do not trust about me,

like that I will tickle them or grab them and squeeze them like a trash compactor squeezes trash,

or rub the stubble of my beard on their faces, or sit on them on the couch or

bed and exclaim that I have a crazy pillow or blanket.

Even though they do not trust me in those silly things, my boys implicitly trust

that I and their mother will provide and take care of them.

There's not a thought in their minds whether they will not have a place to sleep

tomorrow or go hungry. Why?

Because they simply trust that we will take care of them.

And this concept of being certain, of being taken care of, is what Paul was

communicating to the Philippian congregation.

This is what Paul wrote in Philippians 2, verse 23 to 24.

Philippians 2:23–24

Therefore, I hope to send him immediately as soon as I see how things go with me.

And I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly.

I want you to notice that Paul didn't say to the Philippians that he would send

Timothy to them immediately.

Rather, Paul wrote that he hoped that it was his very strong desire to send

Timothy as he saw what his situation was going to be like.

Again, Paul's hope was not in his own desire, but rather according to God's timetable.

It was very possible that Paul would have been taken away and executed,

and thus the situation would unfortunately change.

And yet Paul trusted the Lord that he would be released and be able to visit

the Philippians himself.

Somehow, Paul had a strong certainty from the Lord that the Romans would release

him and Paul trusted the Lord that he would be let out and that he would be

able to visit the church in Philippi. And you know what, Paul was right.

The Romans did release him after he wrote this letter.

Remember what Paul wrote in Philippians 1, verse 25 to 26.

Philippians 1:25–26

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your

progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound

in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

Paul had such a strong desire to revisit the Philippians. So even though there's

no biblical evidence that he did, it's highly likely that he did.

The simple application for these verses is that like Paul, we are to trust the

Lord's providence and direction and get ready to obey God when he does provide and guide us.

Life can be challenging, but also be downright hard.

Yet God has promised that as we trust him, God will lead us in what directions we should go.

Proverbs chapter 16 verse 9 promised, the heart of man plans his way,

Proverbs 16:9

but Yahweh directs his steps.

Proverbs 3 verse 5 through 6 also promised, trust in the heart,

Proverbs 3:5–6

trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.

However, intrinsic to our ability to make right decisions is trusting in God's provision over us.

Jesus taught in Matthew 6, verse 30 to 31, Do not worry then,

Matthew 6:30–31

saying what you will eat or what you will drink, or what will we wear for clothing.

For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek, for your heavenly Father knows

that you need all these things.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has troubles of its own.

Peter, in 1 Peter 5, verse 7, explained, Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

Philippians 4, 19 promised, And my God will fulfill all your needs according

to His riches in the glory of Christ Jesus.

Life is challenging. And sometimes it can be very hard and very uncertain.

Yet one thing we do know for certain, and that is God is God.

And He is always with us. and He never, ever forsakes His promises.

God promises that as we trust Him and surrender to His loving authority over

us, He will direct us and He will provide.

Then has God been teaching us in this passage today? The first truth we have

learned is that as Christians we are to operate according to the Lord's will

as we lovingly encourage other Christians as they are cherished family.

Secondly, we are to seek Christ's interests as we serve with our church's spiritual

leaders as children would serve their fathers.

The last truth that God has taught us is that, like Paul, we are to trust in

the Lord's providence and direction, and be ready to obey God when He does direct us.

Again, I want to say that life can be really challenging and often overwhelming.

And yet I want to encourage all of us that we have been bought at the price

of Christ's sacrificial death on the cross on our behalf.

Under God's authority, we are slaves of Christ who belong completely to Him.

And a slave operates and lives according to the will of his or her master.

Christ is our master, and we are to surrender to His will in our lives.

However, within our relationship with God, because of what Christ has done for

us, we are now children of God, loved beyond all human ability to measure.

God is our loving Father, and we are His beloved.

And as beloved children of God, our loving Father encourages us and provides

for us and directs our path.

And as such, we must imitate our Father in heaven and imitate Christ by sacrificially

loving and encouraging one another, especially those in Christ.

As I close, I will leave you with this scripture passage from Hebrews 10.24-25.

And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

not forsaking our own assembling together as a habit of some,

but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near. Let's pray.

O heavenly Father, what a blessing it is to hear from you. Teach us and guide us.

Use your word in us, grow your word in our hearts and minds so that we will

become like you and live like you and think like you and act like you.

Use us, O Lord, for your mighty purposes, Lord.

Grow your church here on earth and may you be honored and glorified through us all.

In your precious son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray.

Amen. I'll leave you with this blessing from 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 12 to 13.

1 Thessalonians 3:12–13

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another,

and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless

in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you all.