Philippians 2:25-30; Serious

^"But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. ²⁶ For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ 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. ²⁹ So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, ³⁰ because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.”

William Borden graduated high school in 1904.  As heir to the Borden family fortune, the world was at his feet.  Literally.  For graduation, his parents gave him a trip around the world.  As he travelled to country after country, his heart was burdened for the poor and disadvantaged.  He decided that after college, he would become a missionary to the Muslim Kansu people of China.

Long story short, he did amazing ministry while studying at Yale (wait actively!) then at Princeton Seminary and upon graduation set sail for China.  He stopped in Egypt to study Arabic, caught spinal meningitis, and died one month later.  Many thought that he threw his life away, but William Borden did not.  He lived his short life in obedience to Christ and that was all that mattered to him. In his bible were written these three phrases: “No Reserve. No Retreat. No Regrets”. 

If you would like to read more about William Borden, I encourage you to read this short synopsis of his life: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/regret.htm. 

Doing God’s work does not guarantee you safety or health in this world.  Poor Epaphroditus nearly died taking care of Paul.  Joseph and Jeremiah were both tossed into cisterns, many of the prophets died brutal deaths, as did most of the apostles.  And right now, Pastor Saeed is wasting away in an Iranian prison.  Serving God faithfully often brings trouble, not peace.

What is my point with this discussion?  One thing really: Please pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ who are serving God as missionaries or simply trying to follow Christ in areas that are hostile to believers.  Not everybody has it as easy as we do…and following Christ is going to get more challenging for us in the coming years. 

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work.” – Oswald Chambers

Philippians 2:19-24; Timothy
 

“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. ²⁰ I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. ²¹ For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²² But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. ²³ I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. ²⁴ And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.”

Reread that passage and replace Timothy’s name with your name.  Go ahead…

Are you the type of person Paul would want to send to the Philippians?  Do you have a genuine concern for others welfare?  Do you look out for the interests of Christ instead of your interests?  Have you proven yourself in the work of the gospel?  A pretty steep job description…

But one that we can fulfill.  Timothy was just a plain ole person like you and me, so was Paul for that matter.  What makes them seem so amazing is that they allowed God to do amazing things through them.  They focused on following Jesus and doing what He called them to do – not on what they could accomplish under their own power for their own designs. 

That is the same recipe that creates the Billy Grahams, Louie Giglios, Tim Kellers, Mother Teresas, and countless other “heroes” of faith.  A normal person submitted to Jesus Christ = someone God will use in a mighty way.  That can be you too…

To care for the interests of Christ, you must care about other people.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost, to proclaim freedom to the prisoners, to bring sight to the blind, to serve, to preach the Good News of God’s Kingdom, and to take away sin (among many others).  All of these activities are “others-focused”; if we are to be like Christ, we must consider others more important than ourselves.

So…how much of your time is spent caring for others?  Would your friends, coworkers, and classmates consider you someone who serves and cares for them?   Could you care for others more than you do at present?  Jesus poured out His life for us in obedience to his Heavenly Father – we are called to do the same.

“A good character is the best tombstone.  Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered.  Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

Philippians 2:16-18; Boasting

“And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.  So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”

Please forgive the formatting - everything went crazy today!


You can tell what is important to people by what they boast about…or in today’s age, what they post about. 


Sampling Facebook today, people are posting about weight loss, how far they ran, exploits of their children, how many chores they got done, their sports teams, how awesome worship was last night, songs from their favorite bands, and what country in Europe you are most like (the UK!).  And there is nothing wrong with that. We talk about what is interesting or important to us. 


I wonder what would be on Paul’s Facebook page…selfies in prison, what Old Testament prophet he is most like (Obadiah!), pics of the scars from the beatings he had received, cities pinned from his journeys, the wreckage of boats he had been on…it is interesting to think about. 


Throughout the course of his letters, you can tell what is important to Paul. He typically boasts about four things:


1. The Lord – 1 Corinthians 1:31. This is the number one thing Paul talked about.  Paul was overwhelmed by the grace of Jesus Christ – every conversation flowed out of this topic.


2. The faithfulness of his churches – The passage above talks about this.  Paul’s churches were his children – their pictures would be all over his wall.


3. His weaknesses – 2 Corinthians 11:30.  How often do you boast about your weaknesses?  Does your status update ever say, “Praising the Lord today for being a big fat liar...or for judging everyone I see…or being fearful…or loving the praise of man!”  Paul teaches us that God is strong in our weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9).  If we are fearful, the Spirit will make us bold.  Paul revels in his weaknesses because that is where God is doing the greatest work in and through his life. 


4. His suffering for Christ – 2 Corinthians 11:23-27.  In this passage, Paul says that he is speaking worldly when he boasts of this, but the idea of boasting in what you have suffered for the Lord is a very different thought for us.  Our suffering is shared with Christ.  We become more like Him and grow closer to Him when we suffer for Him.  Say that three times fast…


So the question for us is:  what do you boast in?  Do you focus on “your” accomplishments or what God is accomplishing in you?  God has an amazing plan to use you to encourage, challenge, heal, teach, and feed His children.  God can use selfish and sinful creatures like us to build His Kingdom in this fallen world…now that is something to boast about!

“This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 9:23-24

Philippians 2:16-18 II; Pour It Out

“And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.  So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”

The phrase, “poured out like a drink offering” is one of my favorite phrases in the bible.  It is just so...visual.  Paul’s life was a cup being poured onto the sacrifice of God’s altar.  Can’t you just see it?

In the sacrificial system, a drink offering worked pretty much like you would imagine: the drink was poured over the sacrifice on the altar.  The cup was full, it was poured out to God, and then the cup was empty.  Once poured out, the liquid could not be put back in…once our service is given, once our life is spent, it is gone.

I realize that isn’t the most chipper thought in the world.  But it is true.  Today we are one day closer to our death than we were yesterday.  That is a reality check isn’t it?  If we are lucky, we will have 80 years or so to walk on this earth; in the scope of history, that isn’t much.  We would be wise to count our days…and make our days count. 

Pouring out our lives is not an option, but you have a choice in how you pour out your life.  Paul’s life was spent in service to God by planting and ministering to churches.  Even as he neared the end of his journey, he rejoiced because his life was consumed in the service of God.

You are spending your life on something.  Are you pouring it over things like money, prestige, and pleasure?  Or are you pouring it out for something that will last forever – service to God and His Kingdom?  We have a limited number of days to walk this earth – make them count!

"People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives … and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.” – Nate Saint