WEBVTT 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:09.919 Thank you for joining us for a sermon from Sojourn North. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:25.760 Well, several years ago I was really burdened about something because I I always like to watch what's going on in the what I call many people many people call the public square, the arena, the the world. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:57.920 And a lot of times uh news uh agencies or newscasts will have on the Christian view by a pastor who's written a book or something, and then so they they get up, and a lot of times I was burdened because this pastor or whoever they had on the panel would just be very aggressive and angry, and they might win the argument, but they lost people because of their posture, because it was like, this is what we do, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:03.200 And I was burdened because it was like we have beautiful truth. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:10.079 We have logic, God is the God of logic, we have all of these things, but what do we do with our posture? 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:18.239 And I'd read books about how we could be presenting ourselves in the world because we have convictions and we want people to know those convictions. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:20.799 And so it was just perplexing. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:27.519 And so you read sometimes what you need to be, and then you see other people not doing it, and you're just it's confusing. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:35.359 But then I saw Tim Keller, who's one of our a lot of our guys' uh spiritual grandfathers in the faith. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:39.359 He wrote a book called Reason for God, which is an apologetics book. 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.000 He passed away a few years ago from cancer. 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:48.560 But he started a church in New York City and just did amazing things by God's grace. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:55.439 And when he put out Reason for God, he took invitations to a lot of different places to speak. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.640 And one of the places he went to speak was at Google. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:03.680 And so they had Google employees, and it's not a Christian environment, if you know Google. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:08.400 But he went in and he just stood and shared. 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:13.120 And he knew that his audience, most of them were not believers. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.120 They had different worldviews. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:18.560 But what blew me away was his posture. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:20.479 And I wrote a few things down. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.520 He was thoughtful without being defensive. 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:27.280 He was convictional without being combative. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:30.879 He was humble without compromising. 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:36.080 He was filled with kindness, love, and strength. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:41.759 He took questions and he appreciated the dignity of the person asking the question. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:44.000 He didn't seek to shame anyone. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:50.960 He just was there and he was, this is what I believe, and this is what I see as the truth, and this is what I give my life for. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:03:02.560 And a lot of times in the Christian life, until we see a picture of someone embodying what we're actually called to do, it's really hard to even see how we're supposed to be functioning. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:16.560 And the reason I tell you this intro is because we get to a point in Philippians, as we've been several weeks, in Philippians, we get to a point that if you look at it at face value, you might be saying, why is Paul starting to talk about Timothy and Epaphroditus? 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:19.120 Is he just talking about travel plans? 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:20.639 Well, he's not. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:23.759 And let's look at the flow again before we read our passage. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:28.400 In our first sermon, we looked at verses 1 through 11 of chapter 1. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:30.000 We saw God is at work. 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:35.599 And then we looked at verses 12 through 18 that the story is bigger than our circumstances. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.479 Our circumstances are going to change all through our lives. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:47.120 They can be good, they can be hard, they can be awful, but God is the same, and the story is bigger than our circumstances. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:54.479 Then we hit chapter 2, and Paul says, here's what Christian community looks like with Christ at the center. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:02.240 And then we get this amazing passage where it's this Christ helm, and it's like, behold Christ, look at Jesus. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:08.159 In what he did, he poured out all that he had for us. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:16.079 He didn't grasp onto his right as creator, but came and emptied himself as a babe. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:21.120 And I wrote that poem, behold, and I read it to you. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.959 And if you were here, I got another poem for you. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:28.079 So this may be the first poem that you hear from me. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:31.920 But be excited because that comes at the end, so stick around. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:36.079 I really do have a poem I wrote this morning. 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:39.680 But we see, look at Jesus, behold him. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:44.720 And then in verses 12 through 18, thanks so much to Pastor Fletch for preaching last week. 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:46.800 Just awesome sermon. 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:49.120 Work out what God has worked in. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:53.279 Not works-based salvation, but when he changes you, follow. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:55.120 There's invitations to go. 00:04:55.839 --> 00:05:09.839 And now today, as we look at this passage, it's as if Paul is saying, hey, all of this stuff we've been talking about, looking at who Jesus is, looking at how amazing he is, all these things I've been telling you to do, and what matters the most. 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.000 Look at these examples. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:14.160 Look at Timothy, my friend. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.079 Look at Epaphroditus. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:27.839 And in this passage, I love it because it's filled with just glowing recommendations for these guys, but I want you to look at what Paul sees as important. 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:37.920 But I also want you to see the emotional state of Paul because it goes up and down too, because he's filled with all sorts of different things and he's very human, just like you and me. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:43.439 So with that in mind, I'd invite you to stand for the reading of God's Word if you wish. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:49.439 We're looking at Philippians 2, 19 through 30. 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:54.959 Paul writes this. 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:04.160 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by news about you. 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:09.600 For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:13.519 All seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:20.879 But you know his proven character because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a father, like a son with a father. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:26.000 Therefore I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:30.319 I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:49.680 But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need, since he has been loving, or he has been longing for all of you, and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.120 Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:07:01.120 However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:12.319 For this reason I am very eager to send him, so that you may rejoice again when you see him, and I may be less anxious. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:29.600 Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.600 This is the word of the Lord. 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:33.920 You may be seated. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:40.399 Well, in today's passage, just what I want to do. 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:56.399 I want to stay rooted in looking at what Paul says about Timothy, and then looking at what Paul says about Epaphroditus, and looking at these lives, because we want to continue, like we say each week, is to find ourselves in the story. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:04.560 These are human people, human lives with hurts, longings, desires, dreams, hopes, just like you, just like me. 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:10.000 And so the first point, what I want to look at is the gift of faithful friendships. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:16.639 So we just read in verses 19 through 24 that Paul has deep affection for Timothy. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:23.439 And there's a lot of places that Timothy's mentioned, so let's just think about Timothy's life at this juncture. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:32.480 At the point Paul is writing Philippians, Paul has known Timothy for more than a decade, 12, 15 years, maybe around in that time. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:38.000 So if you go all the way back to Acts 16, Paul meets Timothy. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:40.480 He's a young believer from Lystra. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:52.320 We know from looking at Acts and looking at the letters Paul writes that Timothy's mother is Eunice and his grandmother Lois had faithfully taught him the scriptures from childhood. 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:57.600 And so this is cool because you get to see the generational influence of Timothy. 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:03.200 And we never know what we're doing or how many seeds we're planting when we're planting seeds in our kids. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:12.720 And when we think about VBS coming up, that we don't know how important just telling the gospel story is for kids and what God may do in and through that. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:20.559 And so that's why we continue to share, because sometimes things seemingly lie dormant, but then they bloom. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:22.480 And we we want to continue to do this. 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:27.519 But Timothy had been invested in so dearly by his grandmother and mother. 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:29.600 They had a love for the scriptures. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.159 His father was Greek. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:41.200 Paul sees something in this young man, not perfection, but he sees teachabilities led by the Lord to engage Timothy in relationship. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:42.480 So what does he do? 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:44.639 He invites Timothy into his life. 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:51.279 Not to a classroom, but to his life to do life together, and so he takes him on journeys with him. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:55.679 Listen to what Paul says throughout the New Testament about Timothy. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:10:06.080 As Timothy's form through relationship with Paul and with other Christians and through walking through just the trials, the ups and downs of life. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:12.159 To the Corinthian church, Paul says this about Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:16.399 To the Philippians, we've already seen, I have no one else like him. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:22.879 To Timothy himself, in his letters, he says, My true child in the faith. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:26.960 So this is, once again, what is Paul? 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:35.120 I love looking at the prayers in Ephesians, Ephesians 1, 3 and Colossians, and you look at Paul's priority in prayer. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:40.000 We could say it like this: what's Paul's priority in saying, this is what you should honor? 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:48.320 You can look at it with the qualifications for an elder, for deacons, because it says these are character qualifications. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:50.240 They're about the person's character. 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:51.600 It's not about the gifting. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:52.639 Giftings are great. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:53.679 We all have gifts. 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:55.200 God gives us gifts. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.919 But the character is what matters most. 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:11.200 So when we think about all that Paul's written in Philippians 1 and 2, and here he gets to Timothy, let's see how Timothy embodies what Paul's been talking about. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:16.159 Back in verses 3 and 4, Paul says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition. 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:19.039 And then what's he say about Timothy? 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:23.279 He says, Everyone else looks out for their own interest. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:27.440 Not the interest of Christ. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:29.360 But Timothy does. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.159 Look out for others' interests. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.679 He says, you know Timothy's proven character. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:37.919 He had just said, work out your salvation. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:39.840 What is Timothy doing? 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:42.559 He's working out what God has worked in. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:48.799 And notice again, I want to hit the drum again, again. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:52.240 What Paul praises, and this stands out to me continually. 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:59.840 He doesn't praise Timothy's preaching ability or his leadership or his intelligence or his giftedness or his education. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.720 All of those things were true. 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:09.759 But he says, Timothy genuinely cares about your interests. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.480 That's what he honors in Timothy. 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:25.840 And one of the greatest compliments you can give me, I received it this week when I was just visiting with someone who's walking through struggles with their family, and they simply said, Thank you for caring. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:28.799 And I said, Man, praise God. 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:42.240 What if we walked around as a people and they looked at us, the world, and they didn't say, Man, they have brilliant intellect. 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:44.159 Some of you are very smart. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:49.120 Or look at all the things they're able to plan and do these things. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.000 What if those weren't the primary things that people saw first? 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:54.960 What if people came and said, they care? 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:02.240 That's the counter-cultural people that we want to be, right? 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:04.960 In a day and age where people don't care. 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:07.039 They don't care about people's feelings. 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:08.960 They care about being right. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.720 We want to be the people who care. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:15.840 Why? 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.000 Because Christ has cared for us. 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.799 It definitely reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13. 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:30.320 It's like, love is patient, love is kind. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:35.519 What happens if you speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love? 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:37.759 You're just a clanging gong. 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:39.840 You're just like a cymbal. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:47.120 We don't want to be that harsh noise. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:52.960 Thank you, Sean, for not being too harsh on the cymbals this morning as you play drums. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:55.600 But we don't want to be that, do we? 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:00.320 We want to be at the hands and feet of Christ. 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:04.960 One more final encouragement with Timothy, because you know what? 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:08.960 Timothy, he struggled. 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:11.679 This is an encouragement for us. 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:13.600 This is Paul's dude. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:19.200 The one Paul pumps up and says, look at Timothy. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:22.080 Timothy wasn't naturally fearless. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:28.320 If you read 1 and 2 Timothy, these are the last letters that Paul writes before going off to be martyred. 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.440 As he writes, he says, this to Timothy. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.559 He says, Don't let anyone despise your youth. 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:39.120 He says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, Timothy. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:41.519 He says, Fulfill your ministry, Timothy. 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:42.320 Fight the good fight. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:46.000 Another place he says, don't forget the gifts you've been given. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:47.600 Remember the laying on of hands. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.320 He's encouraging Timothy to stay in the fight. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.039 It reminds us we all are going to struggle. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:55.759 And remember, we go back to Galatians, we all will drift. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:57.360 We're going to struggle. 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:02.799 I read something, I don't, I don't go on, I still call it Twitter, but it's called X now. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:04.559 Anyone heard of X? 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:06.240 I know you do. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:07.120 Some of y'all. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:08.720 Some of you are like, what is that? 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:09.840 I don't know. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:16.799 It's where people can freely share in the public arena their thoughts. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:23.120 And I don't know that we're better off for having such an arena for people to share their thoughts. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:26.639 I like free speech, but that was kind of a joke. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.320 But it was not very funny. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:35.679 So I read something that just I leaned on my phone and X popped up. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:39.440 And uh I was like, what happened? 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:43.679 And so I looked and saw an article and I was like, ooh, I don't like that. 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:44.960 But what did I do? 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:46.879 I got sucked in and I read it. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:48.960 And now it made me mad. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.279 And then I thought, what's my response gonna be? 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:58.080 And then I'm like, I don't, I haven't tweeted in 25 years. 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:00.480 Why would I give a response? 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:06.159 And then I don't, it's like, what am I doing here? 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.279 I don't even know why I'm telling you this story. 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:12.480 I just went on a whole tirade on that. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:15.440 What I'm saying is, we struggle, don't we? 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:18.080 We struggle with these internal things. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:24.000 And I literally I just went, Lord, what's stirring in me that made me so angry? 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.440 Because it wasn't even that big a deal what the guy was writing. 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:30.480 And I was like, man, that's that reveals a lot about me. 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:37.440 Lord, thank you that I can come to you, I can breathe deep, and I can keep walking. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.519 Lord, continue the work that you've started in me. 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:43.200 All right. 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:46.720 Let's keep on going. 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:49.679 Finding yourself in this story. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:52.720 Who has been a Timothy in your life? 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:55.279 And who are you a Timothy to? 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:57.039 In the realm of encouragement. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:00.000 And we're gonna talk about that more in just a moment as we look at it. 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:04.160 But we do this in relationship. 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:06.480 We do this in relationship. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:10.240 All right, point number two, the beauty of shared burdens. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:16.720 So if Timothy shows us the heart of a faithful friend, Ephroditis shows us the cost of being one. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:19.519 And I want to read verse 25 again. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:33.759 But I considered it necessary to send you Ephroditus, my brother, co-worker, fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:37.279 So who was this guy? 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:43.359 Unlike Timothy, we don't know much about Epaphroditus outside of Philippians. 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:48.000 He isn't mentioned in Acts, he doesn't appear in Paul's other writings. 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:53.279 Yet for this brief moment, Paul lets us see who this man was. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.839 And look at his descriptors again in the text you got before you. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.839 He says, My brother, this is family language. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:10.640 He says, My co-worker, they're not just simply friends, they're working together, and that's how we grow together by even serving together at VBS. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:12.480 That we grow together. 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:20.319 By being together out here on the Friday night for Family Fun night, as we serve together, as we hand out hot dogs, as we get to know people. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:22.640 This is how we grow together. 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:25.599 We labor side by side. 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:27.920 My fellow soldier. 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:30.640 Shifts to military language. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:35.759 Ministry often requires endurance and sacrifice and doing this together. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:43.920 He says, Your messenger, so the Philippian church has entrusted him as a messenger to bring word to Paul. 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.680 He carried their love, he carried a financial gift. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:52.160 But then this is what Paul says minister to my need. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:57.599 And once again, I want us to see the humanity of Paul. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:05.119 A lot of times you can see these spiritual heroes as just stoic people. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:10.000 You might just think Paul's always sitting with a thousand theology books and just writing. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:11.839 I love how Fletch pointed out. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:16.319 Like he was uh bivocational through much of his ministry. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:17.519 He was making tents. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.079 He had calluses on his hands. 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:23.200 He's a man's man, he's real. 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:25.119 He feels deeply. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:26.720 Look through 2 Corinthians. 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.000 Look at his heart. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:30.720 This is this is who Paul is. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.720 He needed someone to minister to him. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:36.000 You'll never get to a point where you're able to do it alone. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.480 You need someone to be loving on you. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:42.480 So don't isolate yourself. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:54.799 I think it's one of the challenges that I've had in my life is like not asking for help because I grew up with a vision of seeing you just do everything you're on your own. 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:57.599 You just, if something's broke, you fix it. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:59.920 If you need something, you do it. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.680 Don't count on other people. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:10.319 And so I I had this semblance of belief, and I know it's like I need to ask for help, I need to ask for help, so I'll ask for help here and here. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:13.839 But over last summer, that was just blown up completely. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:15.920 And it's like, man, I gotta do life differently. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:17.759 I need to invite others in. 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:20.720 I can't do this alone. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:24.400 But I was never asked to do it alone. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:39.440 You see Paul's humanity, and I love it because this is one of my apologetics when you look at Epaphroditus, with people that say you should be healed if you have enough faith, and it's like that's not everyone's story. 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:41.279 Does God still heal people? 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:42.559 He does. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:44.640 Do some people stay sick? 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:46.160 Absolutely. 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:50.079 The ultimate healing will come one day. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.960 But I love it here because Paul, had he healed people? 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:57.359 Yes, but it wasn't just a la carte. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:00.400 He didn't just get to go like, oh, I'll heal this one, healed this one, I'll heal. 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:06.000 It was dependent on God's movement and God's leading for people to be healed. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:08.480 And here is Epaphroditis. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:11.039 Paul didn't just touch him and he's healed. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:13.440 Paul's unsure. 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:14.480 He prays. 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:16.880 He's like, I don't know if he's gonna live or die. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:20.559 Paul wasn't emotionally detached. 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:23.839 He loved deeply, he feared losing his friend. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.960 He prayed, he waited, he hoped, he trusted. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:29.839 And that's what we do together as a family. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:36.240 And we understand the reality of life and death. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:43.200 So we find ourselves in the story again. 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:48.960 Epaphroditus bore the burdens of Paul. 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:56.799 We go back to Galatians, Galatians 6 1, it's bear one another's burdens, and we see thus fulfilled the law of Christ. 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:01.759 And there was that beautiful parallel, but Everyone must carry your own load. 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:02.960 So everyone's responsible. 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:04.240 You've got human agency. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:06.640 But we bear one another's burdens. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:11.519 And I think this is something to reflect on again here today. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:13.599 Who has carried your burdens? 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:16.880 Who's been in apaphroditis to you? 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:19.680 Who sat with you in the hospital? 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:22.160 Who's brought you meals when you're sick? 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:24.240 Or when you had an accident? 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.960 Who prayed with you and for you when you couldn't pray? 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:32.079 Who simply showed up? 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:34.880 Showing up is so huge. 00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:38.160 Putting yourself in the place, just showing up. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:40.079 So huge. 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:43.359 You don't have to have the right words to say, just show up. 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:48.160 Most of the time it's better to say less than to say more. 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:59.039 One of the clear signs that Christ is forming us is that we begin making room in our lives to carry the burdens of others. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:01.359 And so that means creating space. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:06.559 And here's the last point. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:17.039 So after Paul has said, look at Timothy, look at Epaphroditus, there's a little line if we if we miss it, we're missing part of the message. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:26.480 Paul says this about them receive him, honor people like him. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:37.279 I think the beauty of this is that Paul describes two faithful friends to the church, and he's saying, honor people like this. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:49.039 And so it led me to the thought of like, we talk sometimes about eulogizing people before they pass. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:54.960 I've done a lot of funerals over the last 20 years. 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:58.319 My own mother's, my own father's funeral. 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:04.319 It's interesting to eulogize and to try to summarize things in short fashion. 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.319 But to try to utilize people and just say, this is what you meant to me. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:16.400 I was able to do that a couple weeks ago with someone who's been a mentor to me meeting on a video call. 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:21.279 I said, I just wanted to take some time to share what you've meant to me in my life. 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:24.079 Man, it was really beautiful. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:28.240 Because once again, this guy's written books, he's just brilliant. 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:34.000 But I was like, you sat with me when my brother passed, and you shed tears with me. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:49.279 And you spoke truth to me, and even though you're the most brilliant guy I know, what matters is that you loved me, you lent courage to me to stay on the path. 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:54.240 And here I am today, all these years later. 00:24:56.559 --> 00:25:12.160 So when the world celebrates a person who's successful and talented, influential, wealthy, famous, all the things that the world celebrates, what do we celebrate? 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:24.160 Well, the kingdom flips upside down the script, and God says, the humble shall be exalted. 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:35.519 Jesus looks at the widow who puts in her two bits, two mites, two pennies, whatever it is, and says, She gave more than everybody else. 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:36.960 And they're like, What? 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:39.039 There are people giving in tons of myths. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:41.279 And he says, She gave out of her need. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:56.000 I do believe on that day that those who will be exalted are the ones that you never saw them do anything because they were praying in their closet for you and for me. 00:25:57.200 --> 00:25:59.839 They were serving behind the scenes. 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:07.759 I had a memory the other week Chloe was out of town and I was uh cleaning up after S2. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.200 And some of you kids are just sloppy with your chips. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:13.599 I tell you that. 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:18.319 Got a nice new floor, and you're getting all sloppy with your chips. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:21.200 I had a little dust pan out. 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:25.599 But I remembered going back to the year 1999. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:33.920 I went to, I left teaching and coaching to go work with a homeless ministry that was reaching out to uh drug-addicted youth. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.960 And we have this, these nights, we call them coffee house nights. 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.079 We had a building, that was an old pizza restaurant. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:43.119 But they would come in and we would just try to love on them. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:45.039 They didn't know Jesus. 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.960 They didn't, and they did not have care for the building. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:54.240 And I was I was just volunteering, living in Atlanta in a house with homeless men. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:56.240 It was quite an interesting time. 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:01.200 But I remember they just would trash on Friday nights, and I'd be the only one there. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.319 I'd be like 1 a.m. 00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:06.160 sweeping stuff up, and I was just, I was just bitter in my soul. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.759 I was like, why did I leave coaching? 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:13.440 I was at this elite prep school in Memphis, and I was like, man, I'm here. 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:38.880 I'm not even making money because I was a terrible support raiser, and I was like, I think I'm making 30 cents an hour, and it's like I'm cleaning this stuff up, but then something hit me, and I was like, Jesus, you washed the nasty mud and filth off the disciples' feet, and you're king of the universe. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:28:00.480 And as I swept and cleaned, tears came to my eyes and flooded my face, and it was like, Lord, thank you that I can clean up for these kids that don't even know you, that don't even have any idea that I'm doing this, but this is what you've done for me. 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:11.119 And so I cleaned up those chips from those wayward youth of yours. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:15.680 I was reminded of that. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:16.720 And I was like, Lord, thank you. 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:18.400 I can clean up a few chips. 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:25.920 Because what is unseen is beautiful, and it's what the kingdom is built on. 00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:30.240 Be not discouraged in doing good, brothers and sisters. 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.799 There will be a harvest of righteousness. 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:43.279 So when I think about leaving these days behind, I thought, and I just I wrote a poem. 00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:49.839 I don't know if I'm a poet or not, but this be at least the second poem I read to you. 00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:55.599 And maybe I'll never read another poem to you again. 00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:58.079 But I'm gonna read you a poem. 00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:12.559 I was thinking about my death this morning because I was not in a weird way, but I was like, 30, 40 years from now, when people are eulogizing me, what do I hope they say? 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:16.799 And so this is what came forth. 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:34.480 On the last day when breath grows still and gathered voices fill the room, I pray the stories people tell will point beyond the life I've known, beyond what's seen, not just to things achieved, but deeper to the man I'd become. 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:45.599 Perhaps they'll mention songs once sung, a weathered guitar in hands, a carving shaped from reused wood, or shelves that bowed beneath good books. 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:47.119 Those things were gifts. 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:51.680 I'm grateful for them, every one, but they were never to be the end. 00:29:52.160 --> 00:30:08.720 I would not want my life reduced to sermons preached or tasks complete, to meetings held or buildings raised, or list of things, achievements seen, for in the end the work of hands will fade, the work within the heart remains. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:28.160 Instead, I hope they might recall a man who humbly slowly learned to walk at pace throughout the world, because love rarely seemed in haste, who noticed the one still standing by the wall, the quiet voice that no one heard. 00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:43.440 I hope they say I welcome tears without demanding they depart, that I could sit with mystery and leave some question still unclosed, that somehow my hands spoke more of faith than tightly guarded certainty. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:52.799 I hope they saw a growing peace, not one untouched by pain or fear, but one that kept returning home to Christ. 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:59.440 Every road grew hard, returning again tomorrow, then once again. 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:14.960 I hope they say that I loved my friends, the laughter often filled our meals, that children found an easy smile and weary souls discovered rest, not because I carried strength for all, but because I knew where strength is found. 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:33.200 And if they speak of anything that made my ordinary life worthwhile, I pray it is not what I built, but whom I gently pointed toward for every road, if faithfully and humbly walked, can quietly become a road to Christ. 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:39.839 So when that final day shall come, let grief be mingled there with hope. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:44.480 Do not remember me as one who just had answers or got things done. 00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:50.720 Remember instead a fellow pilgrim learning still to trust the one who called him home. 00:31:51.359 --> 00:32:10.400 And if my leaving leaves a space, let it become a place of grace, an invitation to walk the pace, to live more freely, to hope more deeply until at last we meet again before his face, where every faithful story finds its new beginning. 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:20.160 My desire to lift the veil, to pull it back, and just say, man, can this be us? 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:39.599 A people who care, who are faithful, who love the word because it is the foundation of our life, tells us who God is, tells us who humanity is, it tells us his plan and how we are to live. 00:32:40.559 --> 00:32:45.599 And from that, life, and we do it together. 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:48.880 Here's your sentence to carry for the week. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:59.119 From all that Paul has said, the gospel forms the kind of friendships that help us follow Christ together. 00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:05.200 The gospel forms the kind of friendships that help us follow Christ together. 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:14.240 And as we are a people who care, we will follow Christ together. 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:17.519 And the beauty of it, it's all of us. 00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:21.200 Timothy, Epaphroditus, me, you. 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:26.400 We don't celebrate any of us when we come to the table each week. 00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:30.160 We celebrate the one who makes it possible for us to have life. 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:37.759 And it's Jesus Christ who embodied everything perfectly because it was Him, our God and our King. 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:51.039 So if you're a Christian here today, after I pray, I'd invite you to come forward and to take some bread and some juice back to your seat and hold them there, and I'll lead us in communion in just a few moments once everyone receives the elements. 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:58.480 But be reminded of all Christ has done. 00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:12.880 He died the death, receiving the punishment that would be our should have been ours, and was raised on the third day, and gives us his righteousness so that we will have life and life eternal. 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:18.880 And ask yourself, what is your eulogy? 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:25.519 Lord, may it be that we are a people who cared and we pointed to Jesus. 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:28.000 Let's pray together. 00:34:30.000 --> 00:35:00.559 Father, we thank you for these pictures of Timothy, of Epaphroditus, of Paul as one who struggles and just lived a real life before us to show us the ups and downs, and Lord, to point us to what is priority and what should be priority for us in our lives, to humbly serve as our Savior served. 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:14.719 And Father, I pray as we come and partake of this communion meal as we do every week, that we would be a reminder, Jesus, of all that you've done, of all that you're doing, and all that you promise to do, that you will come again one day. 00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:19.280 And even now, and already and not yet, you are making all things new. 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:22.800 And that day, all will be made new. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.719 Lord, we long for you to come. 00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:40.800 And in this in between, in this space, I pray that you would do your continual work in our hearts, and we praise you that you began this good work and you will bring it about to completion until your day. 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:43.599 Move in our hearts even now. 00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:45.280 We ask this in Christ's name. 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:46.239 Amen.