“Living Like a Follower” - Philippians, Part 5
Philippians Sermon Series, Part 5
Philippians 2:12-24
Introduction
- Reminder about our level-set from series opener:
1. Christians must reflect the joy of Christ in everything we do
2. This means you and I are to make the Gospel personal, because it is!
3. Not telling shows them that we have nothing different/special to offer others
- This is a great book of discipleship; prayerfully help us draw closer to Christ
-- Living worthy of the Gospel means that we are to be found doing the work
-- RE: As Christians, we are in this together – but not for our ego, desires, or needs
- Quick summary of last week:
- Everything that we do should be done to the GLORY of GOD … expound
-- Our feelings/desires are not in the equation; why? B/C we don’t own ourselves
-- RE: 1 Cor 6:19-20, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
- To develop an attitude that reflects Jesus, He must be in everything that we do
-- We are called to BE THE CHURCH, to lift up Jesus to everyone
-- APP: Accepting it and serving as Christ did is our only job right now
-- RE Quote: “We have been given nothing by God that is not useful for God.”
- Read (NLT Version) Philippians 2:12-24 / Pray
- TR: How can we be faithful servants today?
Point 1 – Living for the Gospel will always require faithful labor
- Paul’s instruction, again, based on the previous verses, is encouragement (v12)
- You’ve not only done the right things when I’ve been with you
-- But (key) we must continue on even when Paul is not around us everyday
- Faithfulness is a VERY common theme with Paul, and with the entire Bible
-- Lesson: Faithfulness is NOT just following rules and regulations (not robots)
-- It is living to please God because that has become our life-long commitment
-- It is our submission that God requires, just like Jesus submitted (see v7)
- Lots of chatter on: “Work hard to show the results of your salvation” or other versions say: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”
-- But what does it really mean? What is we should work out, exactly?
- This text is often misused to instill fear into people; scare them into “doing”
-- Some take it as a warning them that it means that they can lose salvation
-- BTW, this is nonsense: FREE: John 10:27-30 puts that to bed
-- The Greek word translated "fear" in this context is “phobou”
-- It’s where we get phobia; BUT it can equally mean "respect" (reverence)
- The Greek verb rendered “work out” (katergazesthe) means:
-- “To continually work to bring something to completion”
-- We do this by actively pursuing obedience in the process of sanctification
-- Sanctification is what Jesus does within us, as we live and serve God
- APP: Therefore, we are called to work IN obedience as a response TO Christ
-- IMP: But this is NOT a condition of salvation, but an output of what He’s done
- It is a privilege to work for God, to be faithful to Him (see v13)
-- It’s not something we desire; but it is a work of the Holy Spirit in us
-- Romans 12:1, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
- FACT: Our natural desire is not to obey, to rebel against right living … why?
-- It is human nature to sin; therefore Paul encourages us to press through that!
-- How? In faithfulness of what we have been taught b/c of the example we have
- TR: So, if we are to live for Him, how do we get from here to there?
Point 2 – We must embrace (accept) the command to change
- (v14) is a real challenge for us, isn’t it? Imagine: live without complaining!!
-- But it’s obviously not impossible if God is telling us to do it
-- He has given us the ability to do so because we’ve chosen to be obedient
-- We choose to say, “yes Lord, I am yours” …
- Why? Why would Paul instruct us to live this way? (see v15)
-Living worthy of the Gospel produces a change within us – to desire Him!
-- NIV Blameless: Greek word: “amemptoi”; literally, without blame
-- NIV Pure: Greek word: “akeraioi”; word for innocent
- This calling isn’t a new one, and we’ve been instructed like this in OT as well
-- Psalm 101:2, “I will be careful to live a blameless life - when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.”
-- We are called to live lives that honor God; to desire to be like Him … HOW?
- (v16) “By holding firmly” … implies we are actively doing something!
-- Living for Christ means that we get the opportunity to boast on Him
-- We get His reward & His reward produces JOY within us B/C we serve Him
-- IMP: RE: It is not about us, but we celebrate what Jesus has done within us!
- Paul is saying, “I will be able to look my God in the eyes and proclaim: …
-- I have done what you have told me to, I have been faithful (clear conscience)”
- Paul then commends the work that we are doing; he’s grateful to suffer for Christ
-- His revelation is that he is proud to serve and be offered for the Gospel (v17)
-- Again, there is no fear of death or losing His life
- The Gospel work produces joy in Paul – who desires we would experience also
-- He is glad that we are serving; to continue serving is an example of our faith
-- v18 “Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.”
- Do we not want to share in the same JOY and reward that Paul has?
-- Is there anything greater that we could experience than God’s approval?
-- Matthew 25:21, “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”
- TR: You and I are encouraged to serve for one reason alone … Jesus!
-- To be an example, in order to pass onto the next generation … we must:
Point 3 – Choose to emulate the Godly examples we’ve seen
- This is entirely a teaching section … ask you to stick with me here
-- It is important that we understand who we are referencing; the why comes later
- Timothy’s name means, “One who honors God.”
-- If you examine the work Timothy is given, it’s obvious to see his dependability:
• He is left behind in Berea to continue the work after Paul is forced to leave because of threats against his life (Acts 17:14)
• During a time of persecution he is sent to Thessalonica to strengthen the believers in their faith (1 Thess. 3:1-3)
• He is sent to Macedonia from Ephesus with a similar mission (Acts 19:22)
• He is sent as Paul’s helper to bring teaching and edification to the troubled church in Corinth (1 Cor. 4:17-21)
• He is sent to Philippi and perhaps returns with a monetary gift from that church from Paul (Phil. 2:19; 4:15-16; Acts 18:5)
• He is instructed how to appoint elders, handle affairs, in church (1 Tim. 3)
• He accompanies Paul on his last trip to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4)
• He is as close to Paul as possible, even in Paul’s final days (2 Tim)
- Let’s connect the dots … (v19) …
-- APP: Paul’s faith in Christ is linked to his desire to send Timothy – why?
- Faith in Christ means your confidence in Him compels you to call on others
-- Paul is not going to send an unbeliever to the church at Philippi
-- Paul’s trust in Jesus required him to send one who was equipped for the work
-- It encouraged Paul knowing the church would be lifted up also
- What a valuable, desirable situation presented to us here
-- HUGE: To have men and women who can be trusted to do their best work
-- To conduct themselves with integrity and take up the work of Jesus Christ
- Not just blindly imitate former generation, but dig deep for personal application
-- Those that rise above preferences and who witness and live for the truth
-- 2022: We need such servants today …
-- Have you ever heard the expression, “he or she is a dime a dozen!”
-- That means there are many (of whatever you are talking about); easy to acquire
- Young men like Timothy, in the first century, were not “a dime a dozen.”
-- Paul said (KJV), “I have no man like-minded” (v20)
- Timothy enjoyed a high level of knowledge, mother and grandmother taught Him
-- Timothy’s time with Paul, no doubt, involved much study and learning
-- But there’s more: Timothy genuinely cared for people
- “There is nothing as cold as a man with knowledge and skill in imparting knowledge, but who doesn’t really care about people!” - Warren E. Berkley
- Timothy was a young gospel preacher who knew how important the message is
-- APP: But he also cared about who he was talking to!
- Paul was a very caring person; his journeys/letters show us this clearly
-- Timothy follows that pattern in responding to people and their needs
- We must acquire the knowledge as Timothy did, but there is more:
1. We must develop the heart of love and care for people
2. Ask God for a heart that will equip us to reach people and help them
-- BIG: We have to ask God to give us this heart; it is not naturally within us
- Bro TJ, how can you say we don’t naturally have this? Glad you asked! (see v21)
-- “Timothy cares for you, but everyone else is in it for themselves” (gritty …)
-- He’s obviously referring to someone, to those he sees, to those he knows
- Those who “seek their own” - they are the ones who are “a dime a dozen”
-- You don’t have to look around too far to find people who are self-seeking
-- IMP: That’s the attitude of the world, always been the root of sin: self-promotion
- Paul’s confidence in Timothy included his awareness of people
-- He was a rare find because of the response to his faith
-- Could you imagine the difference we could make if more were like this?
-- Paul says that people look out for themselves, and not for Christ’s interests
- But of Timothy, we learn about the character traits needed:
• Respecting and glorifying the Creator
• Appreciating and being a recipient of God’s grace
• Learning and obeying the truth and teaching and helping others to know God
• Rejecting world’s appeal; embracing things that are holy, right and eternal
- These are the things Timothy had on his mind every day – and Paul recognized it
- IMP: This is why Paul sent him: Re-read Phil. 2:22-24
- “Timothy has proven himself.”
-- Let’s consider that carefully: Knowledge can be acquired and remembered
-- Association with good people can be claimed and documented
-- But … your character is proven! It is demonstrated through daily behavior!
-- Character is who you are inside; thoughts, motives, will, care and affection
Big Idea
- How can we be faithful servants in 2022?
- Each one of us should be involved in improving our relationship with God
-- We should be committed to knowing what His Word calls us to do
-- We set out to do this with ONE purpose – to develop “a proven character”
-- To show people Who it is we serve … and WHY we willingly serve Him
- This is everything observed about Timothy here:
-- The sincere care, the devotion to Christ, and the willingness to be sent and work
-- “A more reliable and proven character” should be emerging in us every day
- Paul said to the church at Philippi:
-- Here is the man for the job. Here is the guy I trust. Listen to him.
- What would Paul say about you and me? Would he send us as well?
-- If you’re not sure, you’ve got some work to do to draw closer to Him today
-- If you’re not sure, today can be the day you decide to be about His work
- Pray
