Philippians (Lesson 28)

And thank you so very much for that kind word of introduction.

Thanks to each and every one of you for tuning in today.

I'm Brother James, and I greet you one more time in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

This is the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast.

We're very, very happy that you've tuned in to the program today, and I hope and pray that God will use the time we spend together studying his word to be a help, a blessing, a joy, a strength to your heart as we do our very, very best to teach verse by verse the truth of God's holy word, knowing it is a lamp to our feet, a light to our path, knowing that the way to spiritual victory and fullness of joy comes by obeying the truth of God's Word.

This book of Philippians, we have seen, as we near its midpoint, we have seen this book to be about the key to joy and rejoicing in the Christian life.

And we have seen that the way to joy and rejoicing in the Christian life has to do with properly directing our thoughts, properly controlling our mind so that we are thinking like the Lord Jesus Christ.

This thought process or this thought life that governed the actions of our Savior, we have seen to be one of complete and total self denial for the benefit and well being of others.

And we have seen in the life and example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, for your benefit, for my benefit, we have seen the supreme act of self-denial and the supreme act of loving others, and that has been set forth for us as the great example that we are to follow.

Now on the program today we enter into a portion of Philippians, wherein the example of men, other men who have given themselves to follow this example of Jesus Christ, these men are brought before us.

Now we've already seen and considered the example in the life of Paul the Apostle, but today some new characters are brought to the fore so that we might examine their life and their conduct and their Christian character and see that it is indeed possible to live for and to care about others to the extent that we will lay down our lives for them just as Jesus laid down his life for us.

The Bible says in Philippians chapter two and verse number nineteen, but I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothyus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state.

For all seek their own not the things which are Jesus Christ's.

So here he says Timothy is not like all men.

Timothy is not like all the others.

All men naturally seek their own welfare, not the welfare of others, but in Timothy I have a man who I know, whom I am certain cares for you as much as he does himself, and so I'm sending him your way on my behalf to be a blessing to you as I desire to be a blessing to you, but I just can't get there.

I just can't make it at this time.

Then uh verse 23 or 22 says, But you know the proof of him that as a son with the Father he hath served with me in the gospel.

And there's that servant attitude from Philippians 1 1, from Jesus Christ taking upon him the form of a servant, and now we see it manifest in Timothy.

But I trust in the Lord.

I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.

So he wants to visit, can't get there just yet, so he's sending Timothy in his stead, and Timothy is a man with the same servant heart that Jesus had, that Paul had, and that all of us can possess if we will let the Lord have his way in our life.

Now, one of the greatest men in all the Bible that you may never have heard of steps next to the scene.

The scripture says in verse number twenty five, yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Ephroditus.

Now that's that's a long, unusual, hard to pronounce, harder to spell name, but it's the name of a remarkable man.

Epaphroditus, my brother, so he's saved, and companion in labor, so he's given himself to the work, has he ever?

And fellow soldier, he's fighting the good fight of faith despite hardships and difficulties which arise, and your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.

So here is a man whom Paul could count on to help him not only in the good times, but to minister to him in those wanting times, in his times of need, this man Epaphroditus could be counted on.

He was on the scene.

To what extent you ask?

Well, keep reading.

The Bible says, for I he longed after you all.

So there's that attitude that we have seen earlier in Philippians.

No favorites, no particulars, no one group exclusive of the other.

All the saints at Philippi were beloved of, loved by this man Epaphrodis.

He cared for every one of them as much as he did every other one of them.

He longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because ye had heard that he had been sick.

Now look at this.

He is not weighed down with a burden because he has been sick.

He is troubled because other Christians heard that he had been sick, and they were troubled, their thoughts were occupied, their lives were sadness came into their lives because Epaphroditis had been sick and it bothered him that he had been a bother to somebody else.

Well, there's not many people like that.

Most most people, the only good they can find in their hard times and troubles is making sure everybody hears about it.

Not Epaphroditus.

It bothered him that anybody's thoughts were turned away from those matters pressing in their lives so that they could or should take time to think about him.

That's quite a man.

That's a unique and a rare individual.

But he had been sick.

In fact, the Bible says in verse number twenty seven, for indeed he was sick nigh unto death.

Now let's take just a minute here and say a word to our dear friends who promote faith healing, and do so by following the line of reasoning that A, God wants all his children well, and B the guarantee, the surefire way to stay well in all circumstances at all times, is to serve God and please God.

And if you are sick, it is evidence, it is proof positive that you are not serving God, that there's some sin in your life, and that God is judging you for some act of disobedience.

Here in Philippians chapter number two, we find out that such a line of thought is well it's it's false at best.

It's a blatant lie at worst.

Ephroditus is Paul's companion in labor and is sick nigh unto death.

Ephroditus is Paul's fellow soldier, and he is sick nigh unto death.

Ephroditus is a faithful, loving messenger and brother to the saints at Philippi, and he is sick nigh unto death.

You couldn't possibly read Philippians chapter two with an honest heart and come away with the impression that if someone is sick, it's because there's sin in their life and God is punishing them.

This man is living an exemplary Christian life, and he is sick nigh unto death.

It happens in these mortal bodies of flesh, sickness, trouble, sorrow, heartache, pain, death come our way.

It just happens.

And when it does, you write it out the best you can, you don't lose heart, you don't lose hope, you keep your eyes on the Lord and hope for a better day.

And one might come, one might not come.

That's life in a body of flesh.

Keep reading.

For indeed he was sick nigh and the death, but God had mercy on him.

So far from his sickness being the judgment of God upon his life, the fact that he did not die of his sickness was an evident proof that God was being merciful toward him.

And my friend, if you've ever been sick and gotten well, it was not owing to the fact that you got right or did right or became right or did something right, it's owing to the fact that God had mercy upon you.

He is a merciful God.

If we got what we deserved, we would all drop dead.

And the fact that any of us are living, breathing, enjoying life to any measure whatsoever is a testament to God's mercy, not to our goodness.

So if Aphroditeus is sick nigh in the death, but God had mercy on him, now watch this, and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

Now this man was such a dear brother and such a valued asset to the ministry that Paul the Apostle said, God spared this man because the sorrow that would have been mine had this brother died would have been in a measure.

I would have had sorrow upon sorrow.

And so God, and you know this is true, when God spares your loved ones, it is a gift and a blessing to them, but it is also a gift and a blessing to you.

And thank the Lord for every time he has been merciful and answered our prayers and raised up our loved ones.

Now in this case, this is not Paul's uh uncle or aunt or grandma or grandpa or son or daughter, this is Paul's co laborer in the work of the gospel.

And if you've been in the ministry in any length of time at all, if you ever are blessed enough to find a faithful, loving, dedicated, hard working, trustworthy, fellow laborer in the gospel, you just don't even want to bear the thought of losing such a one.

And so God was merciful to Epaphroditus, but at the same time he was merciful to Paul in sparing this man so they continue could continue to work and labor and minister together in the work of Jesus Christ.

Now, as we continue.

So I he was concerned about his health and about his well-being.

And and the Papyrita said, No, Paul, I'm up to it.

I'm ready, I'm good to go.

And Paul, I don't know, man, you you just about died back there.

I don't know if you got your strength back.

He said, No, I'm ready to travel.

I want to go see the church at Philippi.

I love those people, and it'd be a blessing to see them.

And so so Paul let him go, but with some reluctance, because he was concerned about his physical health and well-being.

And so he says that when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.

So they'll be very happy to see the good friend Epaphroditus, and Paul will be very happy because they are very happy.

You see that?

He's finding joy in ministering to others.

Now think about it.

Paul's got more than his share of physical troubles.

I can't even imagine how his body must have hurt.

All those beatings he took, all that hardship that he suffered and endured, all the terrible trials and troubles and tribulations through which he passed in his life.

And here he has a faithful man who loves him and cares enough for him to minister to him in his times of want, and he's giving that man up.

He's letting that man leave so that man can go and see his friends at Philippi and be a blessing to them.

That is no small sacrifice.

When you are hounded, persecuted, imprisoned, uh, jailed, and and possibly facing death, to lose the comfort and companionship of one of the few men in the world you can count on is a big sacrifice, but Paul made it.

Giving up his own self-interest to display his love in an interest for others.

And now watch this very carefully.

Rejoy receive him, therefore, in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in reputation.

Well now, it's a bit of a sidetrack, but the Holy Spirit put it there, so we've got to follow it, at least for a little ways.

It is not a good thing to give honor to men who are not worthy of or deserving of honor.

Americans are are just they're so habitual in this crime.

They honor ballplayers and movie stars and and millionaires.

They honor people who've never done a thing in this world except maybe entertain them for a little while.

And they don't honor decent, righteous, God-fearing preachers of the gospel.

Rather, they mock, ridicule, sneer at, condemn those that stand between the nation and the wrath of God, and warn them to flee from the wrath to come, teach them the truth, show them the way of righteousness.

Those kind of people don't get any respect, but they ought to.

And here the Bible says it is a good thing, it is a right thing to show respect for those who have a reputation.

They are reputed because of their sacrificial living for Jesus Christ and for others.

Now I've been in the ministry for over thirty years.

I have many dear friends in our local church, many dear friends across this nation and around the world, and I thank God for it.

So this is not a sad song I'm about to sing, it's not a pity party I'm about to throw and invite you to.

But I'm going to tell the truth, and every minister of the gospel listening to my voice knows I'm telling the truth.

The lack of respect shown by saved people for those who labor to serve them and to minister to them is appalling.

The way that ministers are treated by those who depart from their churches in search of greener pastures or lower standards is incredible to say the least.

I am telling you that anyone who has chosen to serve you in any way is worthy of and deserving of respect and kindness the much more so if those laborers have been in the field wherein they have endeavored to minister God's grace to your soul.

But I I'll tell you people treat God's ministers in ways that are beyond appalling, in ways that are absolutely shameful.

There is no respect for the office.

That is, anyone that's in a place of authority is automatically criticized by those who are not in a place of authority.

Of authority.

And it's a shameful thing.

It ought not to characterize God's people, but sadly it does.

So the apostle here writing the words the Holy Spirit gave him says you ought to hold a man who serves God.

You ought to hold that man in reputation.

Now watch this very carefully.

I said to you at the at the outset of the program that Epaphroditus was an outstanding example of this sacrificial love that should characterize the life of all Christians.

Watch what the Bible says here.

Verse number thirty.

Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death.

That is, he wore himself out nearly, nearly put himself in the grave, serving Jesus.

Now take a look.

Not regarding his life to supply your lack of service toward me.

Look very, very carefully at the words you just read.

Listen very, very carefully to the truth we just read together.

The Holy Spirit said, This man nearly died, not just serving Jesus, but he nearly died because he was doing his job and your job, because there was so much to do for Jesus, and you wouldn't do your part.

And so this man gladly and cheerfully did his part and your part without complaining, without murmuring, and nearly died.

So you could just go on your merry way and do what you felt like doing and not bother to serve the worthy Lord Jesus Christ.

Now my friends, every mission work that's been established has been established by men like Epaphroditus.

Every church that has survived and prospered has done so because of men like Epaphroditus.

And in every congregation of believers from one end of this land to the other, there are going to be two kinds of people.

There are going to be those who are saved, but they wouldn't be part of the of a local church, but they have no desire to sacrificially serve Jesus Christ and serve others.

Then there are going to be those who so love the Lord and so care about the spiritual well-being of others that they see and recognize that the work must be done.

And it can't be neglected.

And so if they must do their part and another person's part, they will jump in and do both parts rather than allow the work to go undone, and they will not begrudge the idle brother, they will not begrudge the lazy sister, because they find it a joy to give their all to the service of Jesus Christ.

Now people will tell them, they'll say, now, brother, you just need to slow down.

Brother, you just need to quit doing so much.

Brother, you're taking too much upon yourself.

And the reply will be, okay, fine.

Will you help me?

Well, now that's that's really not what I meant.

I've got a lot to do.

I'm busy, you know, I got children, and and uh the game kicks off in a half hour, and we've got you understand.

It's one thing to say, you need to slow up, but the work doesn't slow up and the need doesn't vanish.

So if you're not going to say, let me enter the yoke with you, so that we can get the work done at less cost to you, there's really not much point in saying anything, because the only thing you're going to be able to say is, Well, I just think you need to quit serving the Lord.

Well, you know, it's better to rust out than to wear out, and then you know, all listen.

All of those statements are made by well-meaning people who just don't have a burden to see the work get done.

Hepaphroditus couldn't quit, too much to do, couldn't stop, too many responsibilities.

And he nearly died because of his love for Jesus and his love for others.

He said that's a terrible thing.

I don't know, you're gonna die anyway.

You may as well die having given your all to Christ, who deserves it.

Amen and amen.

Well, I've just about run us right out of time on the program today.

Uh you may visit us at our website, jamesknox.com, or you may write to us at 872 Glenwood Road, Deland, Florida, 32720.

And I don't even have time to give it that address a second time.

I just got carried away here.

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Until then, I'm Brother James.

May the Lord with bless you, and good day.