SERMONIC THEME
Opening Statement: Throughout the Bible, we see a picture of a God who is sovereign and powerful and sufficient for any challenge. But ironically enough, God has this partnership with us to help Him accomplish His tasks and purposes. He made us co-Creators with Him to rule and reign over this earth. There are many illustrations of this. God’s going to flood the earth, but he asked Noah to build an ark. God’s going to part the Red Sea, but he asked Moses to hold his staff over it. God’s going to destroy Jericho, but he asked the Jews to march around it. Jesus is going to turn five loaves and two fish into a banquet for 5,000 people, but the disciples were asked to distribute it. Always, there is this idea of partnership. As we work, God works. He doesn’t need us, but he includes us. Why? The delight of working together must be incredibly important to Him. God knows that great teamwork is the only way to reach our ultimate moments, to create the breakthroughs that define our lives, to fulfill our lives with lasting significance in partnership with Him and His people. And if it is incredibly important to him, how much more should it be important to us. We who are human and who often need the help of others, must partner together to get a job done.
Transition: Paul partnered with many people to do what God had called him to do: plant churches. We’re going to look again at one of Paul’s partners, one who had partnered with God to accomplish a great task.
Title: Epaphroditus – Selfless Christianity in Action!
Text: Philippians 2:25-30
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Background: A few weeks ago, we began looking at something that I entitled Christianity in Action as it was embodied in a man by the name of Epaphroditus. Ep was a reputable and trustworthy man and he showed leadership potential. The church actually sent an offering to Paul via his hands to support Paul’s ministry efforts in Rome as well as to pay Epaphroditus’ salary to stay in Rome and be Paul’s assistant (4:14-19). Unfortunately, Epaphroditus had become physically ill after arriving in Rome. This news had gone back to Philippi. This caused Epaphroditus a lot of pain. He did not want the church to worry about his health and he wanted so much to fulfill his mission to Paul there in Rome. Paul, knowing all of this and needing to write them a letter anyway, decided to use this opportunity to send Epaphroditus back to Philippi with the letter as soon as he was well enough to travel. Paul knew what the Philippian believers had intended for Epaphroditus. For Epaphroditus, this whole affair could have been a potentially embarrassing situation. He had to return home without completing his term of service. To help ease this fear of embarrassment and to help answer any second-guessing on the part of the church in even sending Epaphroditus in the first place, Paul wrote a very glowing testimony for him, commending him for such incredible service.
Key Word: In fact, Paul notes SEVEN wonderful CHARACTERISTICS in Epaphroditus that really clarifies what the Christian life can and should look like eventually in all of our lives. We’ll look at the second today.
Recitation: Philippians 2:25 But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need. 2:26 Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. 2:27 In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. But God showed mercy to him—and not to him only, but also to me—so that I would not have grief on top of grief. 2:28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you can rejoice and I can be free from anxiety. 2:29 So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 2:30 since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. [Give him a heroes welcome. He did his job, even though he is returning home a little earlier than planned.] He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.
Transition: The first CHARACTERISTIC that Paul notes…
OUTLINE
The Christian Life Includes Becoming a Family Together
Review: Philippians 2:25 But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother… Epaphroditus practiced the ministry of presence with the Apostle and they became like family.
Transition: The second CHARACTERISTIC that Paul notes…
The Christian Life Includes Working Together in Partnership
Recitation: Philippians 2:25 But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker…
Exposition: The first title is how Epaphroditus related to Paul and the new community. He was a “brother.” The second title is how he related to the ministry or the work, and Paul calls him "my fellow worker." This word is used thirteen times in the New Testament, twelve times out of the thirteen by Paul and he uses it of people who worked alongside him in the ministry (Romans 16, Philippians 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 3:2). The emphasis here is on common effort. He is commendable not only for his relational skills; he is commendable also for his laboring effort, for his diligence, for his teamwork and partnership.
Explanation: God knows and Paul understood that great teamwork is the only way to reach our ultimate moments, to create the breakthroughs that define our lives, to fulfill our lives with lasting significance. The contributions we make in life almost always come in a team context. Family life is a central team experience. Sports teams are a team experience. A college faculty is a team experience. A volunteer fire department is a team experience. A congregation is a team experience. And the good news is that you can be the one to lift it. This is the thing that Epaphroditus did for the Apostle. He lifted the team. This made him great in the Apostles’ thinking. His best efforts when combined with the overall efforts of others on the missionary team grew into something far greater than Epaphroditus the man, the individual, ever thought about becoming. Epaphroditus wasn’t territorial nor did he try to control the offering that he presented to Paul. Paul called his offering a “sweet aroma.” When you become a “coworker” the “I” disappears from your driving purpose. And even though it’s hard work, the pay-off is incredible.
Illustration: I’ve seen this illustrated over and over again in the world of team-sport athletics. A true star player isn’t just about himself or herself. They make the entire team better. By attracting so much attention by the other teams defense, they often create openings for their teammates to shine and help the cause of the team.
Application: You have the ability today to lift the team: your family, your corporation, your volunteer organization, and your church congregation. As a pastor, my focus is obviously on our congregation.
Observation: There is this perception in many places that only the professionally and ministerially trained people should do the work of the church. Obviously, from a legal standpoint, this is true when it comes to things such as performing a wedding. You must be an ordained or licensed minister to effect a legal, binding union between two people. But excluding the legal aspects, the work of the ministry is to be a shared responsibility of the entire congregation. The pastor is to model ministry, equip the congregation to do ministry, and turn them loose. I’m happy to tell you that Epaphroditus never believed for a second that Paul ought to preach all of the sermons, visit all of the sick, disciple all of the new believers, teach all of the classes, sing all of the solo’s, give all of the money, greet all of the people, send all of the cards, fold all of the bulletins, and watch the nursery every week! I pray that God would give us some Epaphroditus’. You see Epaphroditus was a worker. If there was someone to see, he went to visit him or her. If there was a sermon to preach, he preached it. If there was a song to sing, he sang it or arranged for the same. If there was a ministry to be organized, he organized it. If there was a ministry event to set up for, he set things up and cleaned up after it was all over. If a visitor came to worship, Epaphroditus was there to greet them. He was a low maintenance, hard worker that didn’t need a lot of prodding or pulling or accolades to do his work. This is how he earned the title of “coworker” by the Apostle.
CONCLUSION
Invitation: To earn the title of fellow-laborer; some practical ways to lift the team...
1. Be here every week.
2. Support with your giving.
3. Get equipped.
4. Serve in some kind of ministry.
5. Good attitude.
