Preaching From Philippians #7

Illus: A man that was in prison was asked, “What is the worst thing about prison?” He said, “The worst thing about prison is that you are here and everybody that you love and care for are out there!”

Paul knew exactly what this man was talking about. He was in prison and those that he loved and cared for were out there.

Paul loved the Philippian church very much and he wrote this letter because of his care for them. Another way he showed his love to this church was by sending young Timothy to them. That is what this passage of scripture is all about.

We see a number of interesting things in his desire to send Timothy to them:

I. PAUL’S COMPASSION

Look at verse 19, we read, “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.”

Paul would love to be able to go and see how they were doing himself, but being in prison made that impossible. He does the next best thing, and sends his assistant Timothy to them.

Being a good pastor is a very difficult job. Sometimes something that is more difficult than being a pastor is to be the SECOND MAN!

• He not only has to follow the instructions of God’s Word that sometimes he does not understand

• He also has to follow the instructions of the Pastor that sometimes he does not understand

It takes a special man to serve in this capacity. Timothy was such a man. He had the same compassion for these Christians that Paul had.

Compassion is something hard to find these days. About the only time we truly see American compassion demonstrated is during a hurricane, tornado, flood or a catastrophe like “9-11”.

Illus: A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? That's a new car, and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message "Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!" God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.

We looked at PAUL’S COMPASSION. He would have loved to have been able to visit this church, but due to being in jail for the gospel’s sake, he could not.

We need to look at something else in this passage, and that is-

II. PAUL’S CHOICE

Since he could not go to them, he chose to send someone in his place. It had to be someone who loved the Lord and the Lord’s people the way he did. His choice was to send TIMOTHY!

Look at Philippian 2:20, we read, “For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.” Notice, Paul said Timothy was “Likeminded!”