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)
Ephesians 6:12
“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.
Martin always graciously offered to carry things for the ASG and for the other hostages.
Martin was chained to a tree at night by an ASG guard. Every night for the whole year, Martin would thank the guard who chained him and wished him a good night.
Martin showed the love and compassion of Christ throughout this year of terror, to both his captors and the other hostages.
Martin had lengthy discussions about the claims of Christ with all the ASG guards and hostages. On one occasion he was having a very serious talk with Abu Sabaya about God’s judgment on sin and that one day God would judge his sin. Gracia said she was in the background motioning to Martin to ’cool it’ but Martin very gently continued shared the truth of Christ with Sabaya.
Gracia said that:
God graciously sustained them through this difficult trial. One day they were very very tired from hiking all day. They strung up their hammock, sat in it, and began to talk together.
Martin said, "It’s been a very hard year, but it has also been a very good year. They began to thank the Lord for everything they could think of. Gracia said, "We thanked the Lord for our hammock, our boots (Deborah walked bared footed for the last two months), etc.
They thanked God for every believer that they had ever met, that they could remember. God encouraged their hearts with the thought that that person, couple, family or church was probably praying for them.
The Lord brought Ps. 100:2 to Martin’s mind, which reads, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. The other hostages said that Martin and Gracia sang often.
Martin said, "We might not leave this jungle alive, but at least we can leave this world serving the Lord with GLADNESS. We can serve Him right here where we are, and with GLADNESS."
