How To Leave Your Church

Thank you.

I'm going to be looking this morning in particular at verses 25 to 30, focusing in on Epaphroditus and looking as well at the first few verses in Philippians.

I warned Johnny about the title this morning. I don't know if it's up there now. Not to panic. Don't worry, Johnny. Hopefully there will be people here still next week.

But, yeah, really this is in some ways a how-to guide as to how to leave your church. But we'll get to that over time.

A fictional character, although maybe some self-autobiographical elements too. Mike had some big decisions to make. So far life had just kind of, you know, just kind of flowed from...

He'd gone to college near his home, which was very helpful because then he was able to stay part of the church that he'd grown up to.

And he really enjoyed it. He'd been part of a Bible-believing church, a church that loved Jesus.

But now college had finished and it seemed like anything was possible.

He knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance to spread his wings and to find his role in life.

Maybe he was going to move to the big city, go to Dublin or even go abroad for a couple of years.

He's sure he'd have the opportunity to find a good Bible church wherever he's settled.

There were Christians everywhere after all, isn't there?

So people in his home church would understand.

Nobody was going to tell him that he shouldn't go or couldn't go.

At most, maybe his pastor would gently say that, well, you know, you'd be missed here.

And maybe you should consider staying here or finding a job locally.

But Mike felt that all the options were there before him.

But which to choose?

How could he know God's direction in all of this?

So if Mike was in our church, what would you say to him?

Maybe you're in the same situation this morning.

Maybe you're needing to decide about going or staying.

Do you know how to make the decision?

Do you know what you should consider?

On the other side, do we know what we can say to someone like Mike or someone in these situations?

What is the right answer?

Is there any advice that we can give?

And the theme or what I want us to get this morning or really come to is this.

It's our love for Jesus will be measured by how our decisions involve the Christian community.

Our love for Jesus will be measured by how our decisions involve the Christian community.

So what we're looking at this morning, I think, is very critical, very important,

and really reveals our heart and our love for Jesus.

And I have to say, as I'm speaking this morning, this isn't directed to individuals particularly or individual situations.

I don't have all the answers for your particular situation.

So I'm not up here telling you to go or to stay.

Happy to have those conversations.

I think they should happen.

But what I want to say is that the good news is that the Bible speaks this morning into all these very similar kinds of situations.

And I believe it's as we listen to the Bible and we bring our hearts and our minds under Christ

that we can begin to have confidence about the answer to the particular questions for our situations and situations we know about.

We can be confident, I believe, in what God has given us.

He's given us his word.

He's given us his spirit.

And he has given us his people.

So let's look together now then at the example of Epaphroditus in Philippians chapter 2 and verses 25 to 30

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

and see what it is that God expects of us in these situations.

You may have read it for us.

But I think it's good if we just take a minute just to go through it again quickly.

This is what it says.

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier,

who is also your messenger whom you sent to take care of my needs.

For he longs for all of you in his distress because you heard that he was ill.

Indeed, he was ill and almost died.

But God had mercy on him and not on him only, but also on me to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

Therefore, I am all the more eager to send him so that when you see him again,

you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.

Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor men like him because he almost died for the work of Christ,

risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

And the first thing I want us to notice here is that there are three distinct activities happening, I believe.

There is, first of all, sending.

There is going.

And then there is receiving.

So there's three activities.

Sending, going and receiving.

Do you see them?

The first couple are in verse 25.

Paul says,

So Paul is the one who is doing the sending.

And obviously, Epaphroditus is the one who is doing the going.

And if we jump down to verse 29, this is what Paul says.

Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor such men.

Welcome is, it's the same word as receive or welcome him.

And it's written to the church at Philippi to receive Epaphroditus as being sent by Paul.

So three things.

There's a sending, a going and a receiving.

And even now, I want us to be honest about ourselves and about what often takes place within church communities.

When people decide to go from the church, in a lot of cases, there is really only one party involved.

The person who goes.

This isn't what we often see, is it?

So there's more happening in these few verses here than what we're used to.

So this morning, I think we need to take time to look at all three of the activities.

And we can't separate those from the people involved.

So we need to look at the people, the characters, what we read about here.

Because I believe what we have here in Philippians, it's not weird.

It's not special.

Or it's only for gospel ministers or gospel Christians or people in the first century.

I believe it applies to all of us who want to follow Jesus.

And really, the example we have in verses 25 to 30 and most of chapter 2

is really just a careful outworking and application of the first four verses of Philippians,

which is, in some ways, the teaching element.

So verses 1 to 4 is kind of the background or the teaching or the principles that Paul wants the believers in the church to grasp.

And in some ways, what happens after verses 4 are examples and encouragements and outworkings of that.

So if we say we love and know Jesus, as it's described in verse 1, it's talking about unity with Christ, loving Jesus,

then we have to accept what it says in verses 2 to 4 as a demand on our lives.

And we should see the examples contained within the rest of the chapter within our life together as a church,

the same kind of examples.

So this is written to a church just like ourselves, working through the gospel.

And in a sense, chapter 2 is just working out the very words of Jesus himself to his disciples.

This is Jesus' own measure of discipleship.

John chapter 13, two verses, they're familiar, 34 and 35.

John 13 · chapter mention

Jesus says,

A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another.

And this is the key.

By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

And it's this that's been worked out in chapter 2.

Love for God, love for Jesus means love for others.

So again, I get back to that title.

Our love for Jesus will be measured and should be measured by how our decision making involves the Christian community, the church.

I think it's good to have just, we're landing right into the middle of the book of Philippians, which is a little bit unfair, I think.

Why are we here? What's Philippians about?

So a little bit of background information.

The apostle Paul himself is in prison at this time.

He was in prison a number of times and not 100% sure, but it seems that in this case he was in the city of Rome and prison there.

So according to the authorities, the rulers of the time, Paul is a criminal and not just any ordinary criminal.

He's one who is sitting on death row awaiting either execution or freedom, life or death, the two things sitting in front of him.

And you can look back at chapter 1 and verses 15 to 17 and we can see there that there were many preachers of the gospel,

fellow believers it seems, who have turned against Paul, have turned on Paul and are delighting in the opportunity to promote themselves

and to cause trouble for Paul while he rots in prison.

Imagine that.

And so we can begin to relate to Paul the kind of emotional and mental stress and strain that he must be under.

He's imprisoned.

He's under attack.

He's chained.

Yet in all of those circumstances, in all those personal discomforts, Paul writes this letter, the letter of Philippians,

which is known as the letter of joy within the New Testament to the church in the city of Philippi.

The letter is, it's filled with joy.

The word joy or rejoice or things like that are mentioned 16 times throughout the letter.

It's running through the whole thing.

And there's constantly these warm feelings, these warm thoughts, warm prayers, and indeed warm actions towards his dear partner church in Philippi.

And the church in Philippi was a faithful church to Paul.

It had always partnered with Paul, supporting him when others didn't.

If you look at chapter 4 and verses 14 and 15, I think we get a sense of this.

And there's some helpful things here.

As we look at the example of Paul and the church in Philippi, how they relate and how we relate to those that are bringing the gospel to other parts.

And what Paul says,

While others sought to discredit and harass Paul at the time he was in prison, the community in Philippi had a different approach.

They got off their backsides.

Yet again, they had a history of it and they reached out to Paul, partnering with him as they always had in this matter of giving and receiving.

And it was one of these church-sponsored mission trips, for want of a better phrase, that Epaphroditus was sent to Paul.

And sorry, back to chapter 2 now, verse 29, and we can see that.

Risking his own life to bring a gift from the church to Paul.

So that's what's taking place.

The church in Philippi has sent Epaphroditus to Paul to bring a gift.

And now we're picking up the story, the return leg.

Paul is writing a thank you letter, effectively.

The letter of Philippians is in thanks for that gift and the occasion of the letter is the gift that they've sent him.

And he's sending it back to the church.

And he's also sending back to them Epaphroditus.

So we're going to look at the three things now.

Sending, going and receiving.

Firstly, Paul the sender.

Back to verse 25.

And to understand Paul sending Epaphroditus, I think we have to understand the value of Epaphroditus to Paul.

There's a lot packed into verse 25.

There's five different characteristics.

I'm not going to go into them in all their detail.

I'm sure you're thankful for that.

But there's five characteristics of Epaphroditus given to us in verse 25.

And all of them directly relate to how valuable Epaphroditus is to Paul and show the value of Epaphroditus to Paul.

Towards the end of the verse, we see that Epaphroditus was sent by the Philippians as a messenger and as a minister to Paul.

As a messenger, he's simply carrying news about the church to Paul.

Bringing news of how they're doing, how they're getting on.

And as a minister, he is coming to take care of Paul's needs, to minister to Paul, to take care of his physical needs, to bring him a gift.

And the phrase at the end of verse 30 is, it's translated easily for us here, but it is a little bit strange.

Literally it reads that Epaphroditus completed what was lacking in the Philippians' service to Paul at the end of verse 30.

Risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

Or Epaphroditus was the one who completed what was lacking in their service.

And there was nothing lacking in the gift that they'd set aside or what they were seeking to do.

Sorry, just say the power light is flashing on the battery light, flashing on the laptop.

I don't know if there's a power supply for it. Sorry.

Sorry.

Sorry about that.

So there's nothing lacking in the gift per se that they've set aside.

But what was lacking in a sense was someone to bring it to Paul.

And that was where Epaphroditus stepped in as a minister of the gift to Paul.

So these two descriptions of Epaphroditus describe his role as a messenger and a minister.

But in other words, they show the heart of someone who is willing to serve the needs of the church before his own needs.

Someone that was willing to go.

Someone that was willing to minister.

And at the start of verse 25, we have three more descriptions.

These ones are given by Paul to describe Epaphroditus the man.

Epaphroditus is to Paul first a brother, a fellow worker, and a fellow soldier, as he says in verse 25.

So Epaphroditus has become more to Paul than just a carrier of news.

He's more to Paul than just a minister of needs.

He's more to Paul than someone that's just bringing some money.

Because these three descriptions, brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier,

they're warm.

They're strong endorsements.

They're affectionate.

They speak of a dear brother who is working and fighting side by side with Paul, even as Paul sits in prison.

So not only does Paul spend his time in verse 25 speaking in such glowing terms about Epaphroditus,

but it's not just a head knowledge or recognition of who Epaphroditus is,

but Paul clearly loves Epaphroditus and cares from deeply.

Verse 27, speaking of Epaphroditus,

Indeed, he was ill and almost died, but God had mercy on him,

and not on him only, but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

Verse 27 speaks of Epaphroditus' narrow escape from death,

having been something that spared Paul sorrow upon sorrow.

It's almost as if Paul, already under the stress and strain of being in prison,

couldn't have bared to have seen Epaphroditus taken from him,

and for Epaphroditus to have died.

So it's no exaggeration to say, and this is what I'm building towards,

that Epaphroditus mattered to Paul.

Epaphroditus is one of the best companions and co-workers that Paul had at this time.

And imagine, you know, that he was faced by people on the outside that was stirring up trouble for him while he was imprisoned.

Epaphroditus is a welcome and valuable companion and co-worker.

Epaphroditus is valuable to Paul.

All of which I think makes the first part of verse 25 more than a little surprising.

If Epaphroditus was your friend serving in your church, what would you do with him?

Honestly.

I think I'd hold on to him.

Well, this is how Paul introduced them back to his home church.

I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus.

If I was reading that, getting a letter back about someone that we'd sent away on a missions trip, I'd be going,

what have they done this time?

I knew we shouldn't have sent them.

But no.

So, why is Paul saying it's necessary to send him back?

What is Paul thinking?

What's driving him?

It's clearly not that Epaphroditus has been a disaster and needs to be kind of shunted to the side.

What's driving him is something completely different.

Paul is being compelled to send his best and his brightest, his most loyal companions.

Well, we return to those words of Jesus, I think.

That's where we start.

By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.

If you love one another.

How do we know that Paul is a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Because he says it?

Because he says some nice words?

Because he wrote verses 1 to 4?

Are they enough?

Well, I think we can know that Paul is a disciple of Christ

because we can see a connection between what he writes and what he says in verses 1 to 4

and what is taking place and happening in verses 25 to 30.

So let's look back to those verses at the beginning of chapter 2.

Firstly, Jesus.

Jesus.

Verse 1.

Being united to Christ and a love for him is always our starting point, isn't it?

Jesus first.

Others second.

Verse 2.

Unity matters.

Verse 3.

Humility matters.

Verse 4.

The interests of others matter.

Jesus first.

Jesus first.

Others second.

And finally, well, it's going to be ourselves last then, isn't it?

If I love others as Christ loved others,

then my personal sense of fulfillment or my personal sense of comfort is irrelevant in those lights.

So the teaching of verses 1 to 4 is put into practice for us in verses 25 to 30.

25 to 30 is others-centered love in action.

For Paul, it's first of all, others-centered love for Epaphroditus.

Look at what it says here in verse 26.

Epaphroditus is distressed.

Epaphroditus is longing.

Paul is sending Epaphroditus back to Philippi to relieve that stress,

to relieve that longing,

to take care of Epaphroditus' needs and his wants and his desires and his relief.

Secondly, Paul's love is centered on the church, isn't it?

He's sending Epaphroditus back to the church so that the church may be glad,

the church may be full of joy and blessed by having Epaphroditus with them.

And what it says in verse 28 there, Paul as well can be less anxious for the church.

Why would Paul be less anxious for the church knowing that Epaphroditus is back there?

Well, wouldn't you?

Someone like Epaphroditus, as able and as blessed and as gifted

and as Christ-centered as he is going to that church,

sure, Paul can be less anxious about the church that he loves,

knowing that he sent Epaphroditus back.

So the inspiring words about unity, humility, other-centered love that we read about

in the first four verses of chapter 2 are backed up by real feelings for real people

and real sacrificial giving.

So it's clear then, isn't it, that sending Epaphroditus back is necessary.

Paul is compelled.

He has no choice.

He's a disciple of Jesus Christ, therefore Epaphroditus is going back.

Our love for Jesus will be measured by how our decisions involve the Christian community.

Paul's priorities are always other-centered.

His concern is for their well-being and their growth in the gospel,

others' well-being and others' growth.

It's there time and time again in this letter.

Just look back at chapter 1 and verses 23 and 24.

Philippians chapter 1, verses 23, verse 23-24.

Philippians 1:23

I am torn between the two, Paul talking about his imprisonment.

I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,

but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

It's that same word again, necessary.

As Paul wrestles with the thoughts of facing death and going to be with Jesus,

which is what he really desires himself,

Paul is confident that his life will be spared,

as Epaphroditus' life was spared, for the church, for others.

It is necessary for Paul to remain for the same reason as Epaphroditus,

but because it is more necessary for the sake of the church that he remains alive.

In some ways, we are not used to this level of commitment or talking in these terms quite often.

We love Jesus, but then we struggle with being part of a church community.

Well, we say we love Jesus,

but have we worked it through to how we love others by putting them at the centre of our decision making?

Have we connected loving Jesus with putting others at the centre?

Number two, Epaphroditus, the goer, the person that goes.

So Paul is the sender who's practising what he preaches, which is good to see.

Epaphroditus then is the willing goer.

And he too has the same other-centred outlook on his life that's driving him.

If we look at verse 29 and verse 30,

he is the godly risk-taker, isn't he?

Motivated by love and service for others.

His original trip was to serve Paul in the church,

and it says in verse 30,

for the work of Christ.

And the term about risk-taking here,

it's almost like a gambling term.

It's like a calculated risk that he took.

He knew there was dangers.

Trips at those times were often quite dangerous

between these big cities and over distances.

But he was willing to take the risk for Paul, for his church.

He was willing to make the trip.

And now his return trip is also motivated by other-centred love.

It sounds like, doesn't it, in verse 26,

that he is deeply troubled and distressed in his spirit.

He's longing for his home church

because he knows that they are worrying about him.

So, I don't know,

if I was coming off the end of a life-threatening illness,

I think it would be okay to be worried about yourself,

to be worried about your own health,

to be worried about your own well-being.

But Epaphroditus is others-focused.

He's worried about this church in Philippi,

hearing about him being ill,

and about them being worried,

even though he was the one that was infected,

that was near to death, that had suffered.

He is totally others-centred in his emotions and his outlook.

And, you know,

I think sometimes we're a bit scared of talking about emotional language

or addressing emotions like this within church life.

And can I say it, maybe especially in Baptistic circles,

we're kind of more comfortable talking about the will and the mind.

And we kind of rightly see the danger of emotionalism

and being driven by your emotions

and how easily what we call the heart,

you know, we mean the centre of our emotions,

can easily lead us astray.

And so we disconnect the head from the heart

and we kind of maybe focus more on what we call the head

and try and get the heart in line with the head.

But I think it's a bit more connected than that.

I think our emotions and our will are much more closely linked than we say.

We try to separate them, but I'm not sure that's always the best.

Because can we say that we believe that we should love others

and that that is important

and then not be moved deeply within us,

deeply inside us by that love?

If we say we love people, should we not be distressed?

Should we not be longing for them?

If we're not anxious, if we're not rejoicing,

if we're not glad, if we don't feel these emotions,

have we really understood it?

What is that head knowledge?

It's meaningless, it's worthless.

It's not real knowing.

Real knowing keeps these two things connected and close.

So we should talk about the will,

we should talk about the mind,

but we should talk about the heart.

Other centred emotions should be a central part of our lives as Christians.

We shouldn't be afraid to talk about them,

to encourage them, to see the close connection.

One thing I find helpful in thinking about this

is a kind of a little illustration from Jonathan Edwards.

I don't read Jonathan Edwards because it's very difficult.

I just pick up quotes.

He's an 18th century American theologian and preacher,

but he has this little illustration.

There is a difference between having a rational judgment

that honey is sweet

and having a sense of its sweetness.

Let me say that again.

There's a difference between having a rational judgment

that honey is sweet

and having a sense of its sweetness.

The two should be connected, shouldn't they?

Do we speak about loving others

or are we moved deep within us to actually love others

like Epaphroditus and like Paul did?

Our hearts and our actions reveal the depth of our understanding,

whether we just know about the sweetness of God

or whether we have really tasted it

will be seen in our decision making

how we treat the community around us.

And of course, the problem isn't often just the lack of the emotions

or that we're suppressing emotions or anything like that,

but rather that the emotions we feel are self-centered,

not other-centered.

So when it comes to making decisions about going,

about the direction of our lives,

the emotion we probably most often feel is fear.

Fear that our careers will fail

if we don't take this job opportunity,

if we don't take this promotion,

which will take more time

and take us away from our families,

our church life and everything else.

Maybe we have fears about being stuck

in a small house or unsuitable accommodation

if we don't make the move right now

and grab this opportunity.

We could be stuck here forever.

We have fears that we won't have

a Christian boyfriend or girlfriend

or ultimately a Christian husband or wife

if we don't go to another church or move out.

We have fears that if we stay in this church,

we're going to have to work really hard

because it's really small

and wouldn't it be nice to be part of a different church

and doing different things

and maybe a bigger church

or just something new and different

because this is all really hard

and we have those fears.

And so we go.

Not because we love others.

We go because we love ourselves.

In the business of going,

there are senders, goers,

and finally receivers.

And the receiver in this case

is the church in Philippi

to which Paul gives the instructions

in verse 29.

Welcome him in the Lord

with great joy and honour men like him.

When people come to us,

how do we welcome them?

It's always interesting to talk to people

that have been here a little while

and to ask them about their first experiences

of coming to Carragoline

and to see how we do in that.

And I think at times we do well

and at times we do poorly as a church.

But I think the encouragements are there.

So be encouraged this morning.

But are we willing to make the effort

with new people as they arrive?

Or have we become burned

too many times in the past?

Maybe you've made the effort

to reach out to a couple

or a family or an individual

that has come to the church.

You've tried to befriend them.

You've tried to get to know them.

You've invited them to things

only to find that they then move on

without any sense of having belonged,

any sense of having been connected

or any acknowledgement

of the efforts that have been made.

Now other people have come

and it's hard to get yourself up again,

to risk again,

to try again,

to open up again.

Don't become despondent.

Continue to welcome people.

Continue to receive people.

Continue to spend yourself again

in loving them.

Thankfully in some cases

there are cases

where there's others centered

sending and going

and receiving taking place

and even within the life of the church here

people come to church

with the commendation

of their previous church

like the commendation

that Paul sends Epaphroditus back with.

Those words in verse 25

speaking of Epaphroditus.

And that does happen

and that's encouraging to see

because then it's natural, isn't it,

to receive such people with joy

and to honor such people.

Receiving works best

when there is sending and going

that is in line

with these biblical principles

and ideals.

We can send

and go and receive

with confidence

when God is put first

others come next

and self follows last.

When we do this

we become living examples

of Jesus Christ

to one another.

Our lives begin to reflect

true humility

and true love.

The love and humility

of the Saviour

as we put others first.

It is his example

that then shines through.

Verse 6

Who

being in very nature God

did not consider

equality with God

something to be grasped

but made himself nothing

taking the very nature

of a servant

and be made

in human likeness

and being found

in appearance

as a man

he humbled himself

and became obedient

to death

even death

on a cross.

Therefore God

exalted him

to the highest place

and gave him

the name

that is above

every name

that at the name

of Jesus

every knee

should bow

in heaven

and on earth

and under the earth

and every tongue

confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord

to the glory

of God the Father.

For Jesus

is the true

and better

Epaphroditus

who not only

risked his life

but gave his life

to be our messenger

and to be our minister

bringing with him

good news

and sent to take care

of our only real need

the need of salvation

from the wrath

of God.

Jesus is our true

and better brother

who we now serve

as fellow workers

and fellow soldiers

bringing the same message

and ministering his grace

to the nations.

It's all about him.

You can't read

Philippians 2

and not come back

to the example

of Christ.

He is the fulfillment

of it all.

He is the ultimate example.

It is him ultimately

that we want to point

others to.

So what about us?

Some applications maybe

some things to

hopefully chew over

and if there is anything

that I am speaking about

this morning

you want to talk about

please just come and chat

or talk to other people

within the life

of the church.

I think these are

good things to discuss.

Don't just go

number one

but be part of

gospel sending

and receiving.

If going from

one community

of believers

to another community

of believers

involves three parties

and three actions

going, sending, receiving

why do we reduce it

to just our decision

to go then?

We need to take

the opportunities

we have to practice

others centred

sending, going

and receiving.

So when confronted

and we will be

if you haven't been already

with decisions

that will impact

your ability

to be part

of the Christian community

don't begin

to isolate yourself.

Talk to the church

talk to people here

talk to people you know

ask people

what do you think

about this?

Ask yourself

what putting Jesus

and others first

would mean

for this decision.

How would it look

different if

Jesus and others

were the priority

in this decision?

Job opportunities

long distance

relationships

study at college

setting up home

deciding to go away

for a few months

over the summer?

These are all things

that we can

and should work out

within the sense

of a community

because they impact

a community.

By the way

the answer is not always

you have to stay

where you are.

In fact

if we look at this section

of scripture

the answer for

Epaphroditus

and Timothy

who we haven't had

a chance to consider

both of them

the answer was

yeah

go

great

so don't be afraid

that if you engage

with the elders

or leaders in the church

or the church community

if you do that openly

and honestly

if you look at these questions

that the answer

is going to be

oh no

we really think

you should stay.

It may mean

that you go

with the clear blessing

and support

of a whole community

behind you.

And as a church

and I'm speaking

especially to myself

and Johnny

I think

we need to be proactive

in identifying

and encouraging people

to go and to stay

don't we?

We need to be

thinking about that

and helping people

through that

but that's something

for the whole church

and I think

if we bring it back

to this three way involvement

then we can have confidence

that what we are doing

like verse 30

is for the work

of Christ.

Number two

when do I need

to involve the church?

That's a good question

very practical

you don't need

to call a church

members meeting

about whether you

should be driving

to work

or taking the bus

okay

so that's the first one

okay

and that's

I don't have a list

I'm not going to go

through everything

like that

but obviously

there are times

where

you have freedom

to make decisions

you know

it's not

it's not that you

have to involve

the church

in every decision

and what I have now

is taken from

the gospel centered life

which is a study

by Steve Timmis

and Tim Chester

that we were using

in our growth groups

on this very topic

and I thought it was

very helpful

and this is what it says

our principle should be

we involve the Christian

community in decision making

to the extent

that our decisions

affect the community

we involve

the Christian community

in decision making

to the extent

that our decisions

affect the community

this doesn't mean

that the community

or its leaders

tell people

what to do

in their personal lives

but it does mean

that we should

make decisions

firstly

with regard

to the implications

for our Christian

community

and secondly

that we make

significant decisions

in consultation

with members

of our Christian

community

so in other words

if what we are deciding

affects the church

or the life

of the church

the community

then we really

should involve

the church

in those decisions

number three

our motives

will always

be mixed

motives around

leaving one place

and going to another

they're always going

to be mixed

to some extent

it's very hard

to keep

Jesus centeredness

and others centeredness

to the fore

we will struggle

with sinful idols

in our lives

that are going

to drag us away

from loving others

before ourselves

that can be our jobs

it can be our family

it can be our interests

it can be our hobbies

these are all things

and there's many

different things

that are going to

just going to drive us

in different directions

all the time

and the reality

of this side of heaven

is that Christian life

is often more about

struggling through

these things

rather than

victory over them

but saying that

isn't to excuse it

but it's to say

that we must struggle

and we must bring

our sinful desires

to Christ

and seek

his help

in overcoming them

and I want you to

this is helpful for me

keep this in mind

Jesus

others

yourself

spells joy

yourself

others

Jesus

well you end up

with yodge

and I know which one

makes sense to me

Jesus

others

yourself

that's the priority

that's the order

finally

look to Jesus

Jesus

is not just

our example

but he is the one

who loves us

and dies for us

we look to him

not only for the

inspiration that we

find in those

verses in chapter 2

but we look to him

for the power

to overcome

sinful idols

we look to him

to help us

to love others

above ourselves

as we see

Paul's example

of sending

going and receiving

we must always

look through it

and see the saviour

who was sent

by the father

to go from the

glories of heaven

to a broken world

not to be received

but to be rejected

by the world

and crucified

by us

let's pray

our father

we

we

confess sin

this morning

because we're

confronted by it

father

or

our desire

to be in charge

our desire

to be the boss

our desire

to rule

ourselves

to find

satisfaction

in things

besides you

and

father

that's a real

struggle

and it really

does come out

when we have

to make decisions

about staying

or going

or how things

affect the church

and we

we ask for

forgiveness father

but we're

encouraged

by the example

in front of us

in scripture

by Epaphroditus

by Paul

how they loved

others

and ultimately

by Jesus

and father

we ask for

Jesus' help

for an increased

love for Jesus

a closer unity

to him

and that our

minds

our emotions

our whole being

would be driven

in the right direction

driven to serve

you

to do the work

of Christ

faithfully

we ask

for the help

of the Holy Spirit

in all of this

in Jesus' name

Amen

well thank you Ralph

it's a powerful message

and something

that's close to home

for me

especially

as we've

just gone

through the process

of somewhat

inadvertently

being sent out

and having to

find a new home

but we need

look no further

than Jesus'

examples

with his own

disciples

where he came

and spent

a brief time

with them

discipling them

only to send

them out

into the world

his plan

was never

to keep

the small group

together

and have

what some

people would

call a holy

huddle

where those

people are

just happy

together

in their little

place

the goal

was always

to send

them out

to impact

the whole

world

and that's

his beautiful

model of

redemption

that he goes

out and sends

believers out

into the world

so thank you

for that

Ralph

before we sing

our last song

I'm sure a lot

of people are

going probably

to the wedding

today and so

we're kind of

on a tight

time schedule

if anybody can

stick around

and help

with putting

all of the

equipment away

and all that

kind of stuff

it'll give us

an opportunity

to let everybody

get out a bit

more quickly

so no one's

kind of left

behind

so if you could

help with that

we'd appreciate it

thank you for

coming today

we're going

to wrap up

with song

let's stand

and sing

this last song

to the glory

of God

I'm not sure

how many people

know it

but the men

sing the first

line

all those strong

male voices

and then the

women echo it

while the men

hold that note

they love

they love

girl

grup

teenage

and

have

uell

and

love

May the glory of Jesus

build in church for you.

May the glory of Jesus

build in church for you.

Shining from our faces

and feet in my wish.

May the glory of Jesus

fill my life.

May the beauty of Jesus

fill my life.

Fill my thought,

my word,

my deed,

my all I know.

May that grace your heart.

Fill my thought,

my word,

my deed,

my all I know.

May that grace your heart.

May the glory of Jesus

fill my heart.

Let's pray.

Father,

we do rejoice

in your salvation,

Lord,

that you have saved us

and that

you have given us

a model

of how to live

lives

that put Christ first

and put others

second

and put ourselves last.

Lord,

that Jesus

has shown us

the way of sacrifice

and the way of the cross.

Lord,

we pray that you would

help us to be people

who consider

our Christian brothers

and sisters,

Lord,

as we make decisions,

as we go about our lives.

Lord,

that we would

include others,

that we would

reach out to others,

Lord,

even within our own church,

Lord,

that we would be a community

where your love is modelled.

Lord,

we praise you.

We look forward to

what the rest of the day

holds.

And we ask,

Lord,

that you be at the centre

of all that we do.

Amen.