Sermon Central
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Examples In The Faith
Contributed by Jason Fletcher on Aug 19, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: Timothy and Epaphroditus, examples of faith.
Introduction: Who do you want to be like when you grow up. I wanted to be like superman.
1. He was strong – practically invincible (except for a green rock), I wasn’t strong.
2. He could fly – I had to walk—ride my bigwheel
2:4 – “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Just like Christ who left heaven above, came to this earth, lived, died, and rose again for our sins.
Paul adds two more to that list. Just like Timothy and Epaproditus
I. Timothy (2:19-24)
A. Genuinely Concerned For the Welfare of Others (2:20)
“In the kingdom of God service is not a stepping-stone to nobility; it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized.”
T. W. Manson
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me”
Mt. 25:35-36
Abraham and Lot – Genesis 14:1-24
318 men – defeated 4 kings
B. Served in the Furtherance of the Gospel (2:22)
“Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” C. T. Studd
“Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the places you can
At all the times you can
To all the people you can
As long as you ever can.”
John Wesley
II. Epaphroditus (2:25-30)
A. Brother (2:25)
Being a “brother” is treating one another like “family” in the best possible sense of the word.
Gal. 6:1-5 – “Bear one another’s burdens”
“Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and can be of service to him. And blessed is he who loves his brother as well when he is afar off as when he is by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he might no, in love, say before his face.”
Francis of Assisi
B. Fellow Worker (2:25)
“Work is love made visible”
Kahlil Gibran
C. Fellow Soldier (2:25)
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
“Christ tells us plainly, and without any qualifications, that we are involved in a war in which there is no room for neutrals.”
Hugh Redwood
D. Messenger (2:25)
“A reporter once asked Billy Graham, ‘Why did you become an evangelist?’ ‘Let me ask you a question,’ replied Billy Graham. ‘Suppose I discovered a chemical which would make any persona radiant and happy, giving meaning to his life here, and assure him of eternal life hereafter? Then suppose that I decided to keep that secret to myself. Wouldn’t you say: ‘Billy, you’re a criminal’? If I didn’t know that faith in Christ is vital, transforming , that it gives direction to life and makes life worth living, I’d go back to my little North Carolina farm and spend the rest of my days tilling the soil. . . I am an evangelist the same reason that the apostle Paul was: ‘Woe to me, if I preach not the Gospel.’’”
Rom. 10:13-14
“for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him who they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”
Mt. 28:19
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
E. Minister (2:25)
John 13 – Jesus washed the disciples feet.
F. Risked His Life for the Gospel (2:26-30)
Paul 2 Cor. 11:24-27
"Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure."
Martin and Gracia Burnham
Martin was highly respected by every one of the ASG. In the beginning they laughed in disbelief at how he responded to being a captive and their terror, but as time went on they were awed of his confident faith in the Lord Jesus.
