Introduction- Last Christmas my son gave me a North Face jacket he purchased in southeast Asia. As he presented the jacket he assured me it was original. The reason he gave such assurance is because many American products are illegally duplicated in other parts of the world. In fact, my son said it is possible to buy copies of hit movies for $3 on CD a few days after they come out in America. There are many fake products on the market.
The same is true of the Christian faith. There are many fakes on the market. There are many people who profess to follow Christ but few who live like Christ. I want you to see a picture of a man who was identified as the real thing. “I plan (according to Jesus’ plan) to send Timothy to you very soon so he can bring back all the news of you he can gather. Oh, how that will do my heart good! I have no one quite like Timothy. He is loyal, and genuinely concerned for you. Most people around here are looking out for themselves, with little concern for the things of Jesus. But you know yourselves that Timothy’s the real thing. He’s been a devoted son to me as together we’ve delivered the Message. As soon as I see how things are going to fall out for me here, I plan to send him off. And then I’m hoping and praying to be right on his heels.” Phil. 2:22-23 TMNT Notice in verse 23 Paul identifies Timothy as being the real thing.
What was there about Timothy that won him such a wonderful affirmation? I want to identify two characteristics of the person who is the real thing.
I. A person who is the real thing is Authentic.
Something that is authentic is real or genuine. Paul looked at Timothy and saw an individual who was the real thing. He was genuine. Authenticity should be a characteristic of our faith.
Ill- Sometimes when you purchase items with a $20 bill the cashier will use a marker to check the bill for authenticity. Even so, there is a method for determining authenticity in the Christian faith. The measure of authenticity in the Christian faith is Jesus Christ. Twice in verses 21-22 Paul mentions Timothy’s commitment to the gospel of Christ.
Timothy’s faith was authentic because it was personal and life changing. Have you had a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ? There are real Christians and fake Christians. There are people who know Jesus Christ and people who do not. Timothy came to know Jesus Christ through the teachings of his mother and grandmother. We find this recorded in II Tim. 3:14-15.
After accepting Jesus Christ Timothy made serving him the priority of his life. Service to Jesus was not an add on. Service to Jesus was not a supplement. It was his life. It became the priority of his life (refer to verse 21).
II. A person who is the real thing is a Reliable servant of Christ.
If your car starts once every three tries, is it reliable? If the postman skipped delivery every Monday and Thursday, is he trustworthy? If you don’t go to work once or twice a month, are you a reliable employee? If your fridge stops working for a day or two every now and then, do you say, “Oh well, it works most of the time.”? If your water heater provides an icy cold shower every now and then, is it dependable? If you skipped a couple of electricity bill payments do you think Western Power would mind? If you fail to worship God one or two Sundays a month, would you expect to be called a faithful Christian? We expect loyalty and reliability from things and other people - isn’t it reasonable then that God just might expect the same from us.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by: Wayne Field)
The focal teaching of this passage is that Timothy was reliable. Paul complimented his faithfulness and trustworthiness to the gospel ministry. Notice how this reliability is reflected.
A. A reliable person is supportive.
1. He will support the work of Jesus Christ.
2. He will support other believers.
Timothy was a support to Paul and when Paul needed someone to visit the believers in Philippi Timothy was available. It takes a special person to serve in a support capacity.
Ill- Last week the NBA crowned the 2005 champion. The San Antonio Spurs won the championship. I read an interesting story in a magazine several years ago about the Spurs and one of their players. The Spurs had a player, who retired several years ago, by the name of David Robinson (who was a Christian). As David Robinson was nearing retirement the Spurs brought in a new player who was to be the star center for the future. His name was Tim Duncan. David Robinson took Tim Duncan and mentored him, as a basketball player. People said David Robinson was foolish for doing this. They said Robinson would mentor Duncan and Duncan would take his job on the team. This criticism did not phase David Robinson. He un-selfishly mentored Tim Duncan. He played a support role.
God expects His children to support the church and the believers who make up that church. There are many terms used to describe the church. Among those terms are body and family. These two terms help us understand the support concept. The parts of the body support the body. The members of a family support the family.
B. A reliable person is a self-giving individual. Notice verse 20. Paul said everyone else was self consumed but Timothy was a self giving individual. This is one of the greatest needs in our world today. People who will give themselves in service to others.
Ill- I heard a marvelous story about the man who was the YMCA secretary in San Antonio, Texas some years ago. This man had a very wealthy brother who made a lot of money in the oil business. So, this man received a brand new car for Christmas from his brother.
He came from his office one day to the car and there was a little fellow rubbing and shining the fender. He said, “Mister, is this your car?” “Yes, son, it sure is.” “Boy, that is a pretty car.” The man said, “It is nice…my brother gave it to me for Christmas,” as he started to get in the car.
The little fellow backed up and said, “HM-m-m-m! I wish I“…and the man waited for the words to come…“I wish I had a brother like that who would give me a car for Christmas.” But the little fellow did not say that. He said, “Mister, I wish I could be a brother like that.” The man said, “what did you say?” The boy repeated, “I wish I could be a brother like that.”
The man said, “Son, would you like to go riding in this car? I would like to know you better and take you for a ride, and take you home.” The boy said, “Yes sir!” They got in the car and rode down the street; the boy showed him where to go …up an alley and to a little shack.
The boy said, “Mister, would you wait a minute…if you don’t mind…I want to come back, just wait here a minute.” He disappeared into the house. In a few minutes he came out and on his back he carried a little brother. His legs were in braces …a cripple boy.
As he got to the car he said, “Bud, you see that car…this man’s brother gave it to him. Bud, one of these days I am going to be a brother like that for you. One of these days, I promise you, I am going to take you to a doctor that can make you walk. One of these days I am going to get you everything you could need in life…because I am going to be that kind of brother to you, Bud.” We need to be that kind of self giving person.
C. A reliable person is willing to sacrifice.
The past several years I have done much study of the life of the shepherd. The shepherd, we read about in the Bible, is one of the greatest examples of sacrificial love you can study. He totally gave of himself to his sheep. He knew their every need. They were his life. He sacrificed for them. That kind of lifestyle is the crying need of our world today.
This is a true story, about a German artist named Albrecht Durer and one of his famous drawings, "The Praying Hands."
Durer’s Father was a goldsmith and apprenticed him in his early years to learn the family trade, but Durer loved painting and really wanted to be a painter. So his father finally gave in and agreed that he could go to Nuremberg to study art. Unfortunately though, his father wasn’t wealthy enough to support him, so he had to work as a laborer to support himself. The trouble was, this left him little time to work on his art. Now he had a friend, Franz Knigstein who was also a gifted artist and in the same boat, so they decided that they’d draw lots and one would support the other while he finished his studies and then he’d support the other out of his earnings as an artist. Well, they drew lots and Albrecht won. So Albrecht was able to devote himself to his art studies, but he agreed to support Franz after achieving success so his friend could finish his studies. Some years later Albrecht returned to find Franz so he could keep his end of the bargain. But when he got there he discovered what a sacrifice his friend had made for him. You see as Franz had worked at his labor, his fingers had become twisted and stiff. His long, slender fingers and sensitive hands had been ruined for life. He could no longer manage the delicate brush strokes so necessary for executing fine paintings. But in spite of the price he had paid, Franz wasn’t bitter. He was happy that his friend Albrecht had attained success. Well, one day Albrecht saw his friend kneeling, his rough hands entwined in silent prayer. Albrecht quickly sketched the hands, later using the sketch to create this drawing "The Praying Hands". He saw his friend’s hands as a symbol of the sort of love that Jesus had shown us. A self giving love that preferred the good of the loved one to its own rights. A self emptying love that chose servanthood over equality with God and the glory of heaven.
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Chris Appleby
