Pastor Nate continues our study through the Bible in the book of Philippians.
[00:00:00] Chapter 2, we're in verse 12-30 today, and I want to read the first four verses to you.
[00:00:06] Paul says,
[00:00:07] Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only is in my presence, but much more in my absence,
[00:00:17] work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it's God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
[00:00:25] And I'll just pause there for a moment to thank Pastor Matt Kaler for teaching those two verses to us last week,
[00:00:31] really doing a deep dive on the subject of sanctification, personal spiritual growth.
[00:00:37] What does that look like? He talked about that last week.
[00:00:39] Then Paul goes on in verse 14 to say,
[00:00:42] Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish,
[00:00:50] in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
[00:01:00] All right, we're going to go all the way through verse 30, but I just wanted to start off with these first four verses,
[00:01:05] because I wanted to read that line there where he says,
[00:01:08] To shine as lights in the world.
[00:01:11] Where do I start? Where can I start this teaching?
[00:01:14] I think for today, I want to start this teaching by trying to draw your mind all the way back to a very important episode in Israel's history in the book of Exodus.
[00:01:24] You guys remember God made a call upon the people of Israel, drew them out of Egypt,
[00:01:30] brought them to a mountain called Mount Sinai, where the bush had burned yet was not consumed.
[00:01:35] And God gave them the Ten Commandments there, invited them into a covenant with himself.
[00:01:39] And it was kind of like a marriage ceremony, like a proposal, if you will.
[00:01:46] And the people said, Yes and Amen, we want in.
[00:01:49] And so Moses, their leader, went back up the mountaintop to get more regulations or rules that would govern them.
[00:01:57] And as he's up there, they grow impatient in the valley below.
[00:02:03] And they begin wondering when Moses will return, if he'll ever return.
[00:02:08] And they come to Moses' brother, his older brother, Aaron.
[00:02:13] And they really demand that Aaron produce an idol for them to worship.
[00:02:20] We need a God to worship.
[00:02:22] We feel like God has left us, like he's gone from us and he took his man Moses from us.
[00:02:29] We need someone to worship.
[00:02:30] And so Aaron took a bunch of gold, put it in the fire, fashioned a golden calf from it.
[00:02:36] And the people in the valley below, right after they made this marital covenant with Yahweh,
[00:02:43] they start worshiping this golden calf.
[00:02:45] And they start doing all these abominable things that the pagan nations around them would have been doing,
[00:02:51] attached to that worship of the golden calf.
[00:02:55] And, of course, God knows about it.
[00:02:57] And he tells Moses, you know, this is what they're doing in the valley below.
[00:03:01] Moses comes down the mountain.
[00:03:03] He takes the Ten Commandments that God had just written with his finger on tablets of stone.
[00:03:06] He throws them on the ground.
[00:03:08] He grinds them into powder, casts them on water, makes them drink the water.
[00:03:14] I mean, it's a serious time.
[00:03:16] The wrath of God, it says, is burning hot against the people of Israel.
[00:03:22] And they plead with Moses, like, we don't want this to be done.
[00:03:26] Moses begins pleading with God.
[00:03:28] I want you to have mercy on these people.
[00:03:31] And Moses goes up the mountain again to seek God's face.
[00:03:34] He says, God, I want to see you.
[00:03:37] God says, here, you can't see the full blast of my glory.
[00:03:40] You wouldn't survive that.
[00:03:41] But I'll put you in the cleft of the rock.
[00:03:43] I'll walk by.
[00:03:44] I'll cover you.
[00:03:44] And you'll see the afterglow of my glory.
[00:03:48] And as I'm passing, I'll declare to you who I am.
[00:03:52] And this is what God said.
[00:03:55] He said, the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,
[00:04:00] slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
[00:04:04] keeping steadfast love for thousands,
[00:04:06] forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
[00:04:08] but who will by no means clear the guilty,
[00:04:11] visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
[00:04:15] and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.
[00:04:19] Okay, what you have in that quotation is a bunch of people
[00:04:24] who had just violated a marriage contract with God,
[00:04:27] golden calf worshiping people in the valley below,
[00:04:29] and their big question is, what is God like?
[00:04:34] Is there a chance we could be forgiven?
[00:04:37] Is there a chance he'll extend mercy to us?
[00:04:40] Is there a chance that he could cover our sin?
[00:04:43] What is God like?
[00:04:45] Will we be consumed as a result of what we've done?
[00:04:49] Or is there the possibility for grace?
[00:04:51] What is God like?
[00:04:54] And we know that this is a major answer to that question
[00:04:57] because Exodus 34, verse six and seven
[00:05:01] is the most quoted passage in the Bible by the Bible.
[00:05:05] In other words, it's like other biblical authors
[00:05:08] knowing that their audience was asking the question,
[00:05:11] what is God like?
[00:05:13] They're like, we have a real, a great answer to that question.
[00:05:18] And they would go to Exodus 34, verse six and seven,
[00:05:22] especially highlighting the gracious and merciful portion,
[00:05:26] the steadfast love portion of God's nature.
[00:05:30] Okay, that was a great picture of who God is.
[00:05:33] But of course, if you're a student of the Bible
[00:05:35] and a student of the New Testament
[00:05:36] and a student of Philippians,
[00:05:38] especially Philippians two, verse five through 11,
[00:05:41] which we studied a couple of weeks ago,
[00:05:42] you know that there is an even more paramount
[00:05:45] or a better expression of who God is found in the Bible.
[00:05:49] And his name is Jesus.
[00:05:52] When Jesus came, he demonstrated what it means
[00:05:56] that God is gracious and merciful and slow to anger
[00:05:59] and abounding in loving kindness,
[00:06:01] who will not by any means just clear the guilty.
[00:06:05] He deals with sin,
[00:06:06] but his steadfast love is for thousands of generations.
[00:06:10] He showed us what that looks like more granularly
[00:06:14] when he came and lived and died on the cross
[00:06:18] and rose from the grave, right?
[00:06:20] So Exodus 34, that's who God is.
[00:06:23] You move to the New Testament.
[00:06:24] Who is God?
[00:06:25] What he is like?
[00:06:26] Hebrews 12, verse two, that Jesus came,
[00:06:28] says that Jesus came
[00:06:29] and he was the express image of the glory of God.
[00:06:34] He just shows us exactly what God is like,
[00:06:37] exactly who God is.
[00:06:39] He unpacks the Exodus 34, verse six and seven concept of God.
[00:06:44] Why am I saying all this?
[00:06:47] Because there's God declaring himself.
[00:06:52] There's Jesus, the son of God,
[00:06:54] shining even more brightly, declaring Yahweh.
[00:06:58] And now at the center of this next little section of Philippians
[00:07:03] that we're looking into,
[00:07:04] we learned that God declared himself,
[00:07:08] Jesus declared God,
[00:07:09] and we also should shine as lights, he says,
[00:07:14] in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.
[00:07:18] In other words, it's like Paul is saying,
[00:07:21] this is to me what an advancing gospel community looks like.
[00:07:24] There's God, he declares who he is.
[00:07:27] He sends his son, he declares who God is.
[00:07:30] And now all those people who have believed in his son,
[00:07:34] they then take who God is, who the son is,
[00:07:37] and communicate that to the world in which they live.
[00:07:40] They also shine or illuminate the nature of God to the world in which they live.
[00:07:47] Maybe you've been tripped up before by looking into the gospels
[00:07:51] and seeing Jesus say,
[00:07:52] I am the light of the world.
[00:07:54] He said that in the gospel of John.
[00:07:56] And then in Matthew five,
[00:07:58] he looks at his disciples and he says,
[00:08:00] you are the light of the world.
[00:08:02] Which is it, Jesus?
[00:08:03] Who is the light of the world?
[00:08:05] Well, what he's saying is,
[00:08:07] I'm the light of the world.
[00:08:08] And as you believe in me,
[00:08:10] I'm pouring through you so that you could be the light of the world.
[00:08:15] It means that Jesus's life and death and resurrection
[00:08:18] shine the light of God's nature and plans.
[00:08:21] And as recipients of his gospel,
[00:08:23] we are to continue his shining work.
[00:08:26] So I've called this teaching today,
[00:08:28] an advancing gospel community breaks into darkness.
[00:08:32] And I want to think about four ways that we do so
[00:08:34] according to the passage that Paul gave to us.
[00:08:38] And the first way is this.
[00:08:39] We already read verse 12 to 15 together.
[00:08:41] But the first way is this.
[00:08:42] Number one, we participate in salvation.
[00:08:46] We participate in salvation.
[00:08:53] The phrase that I'm lifting this exhortation from
[00:08:55] is found there in verse 12,
[00:08:57] where Paul says,
[00:08:58] to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
[00:09:00] You ever read that and kind of freak out a little bit?
[00:09:02] You know, a lot of people get all weird about Paul saying that.
[00:09:06] You know, and the reason is real simple.
[00:09:08] You know, Paul was the guy who more than most championed
[00:09:12] that salvation is by grace through faith.
[00:09:17] Right?
[00:09:18] He's all about that.
[00:09:19] Romans is about that.
[00:09:20] Galatians is about that.
[00:09:23] Ephesians is about that.
[00:09:24] Colossians is about that.
[00:09:26] He's always championing that salvation is by grace through faith.
[00:09:30] So then he comes along and he's like, hey, and also work out your own salvation
[00:09:34] with fear and trembling.
[00:09:35] And some of us have like little panic attacks.
[00:09:37] We're like, oh no, Paul forgot justification by faith.
[00:09:41] He had a like doctrinal brain fart right here as he's writing the Bible.
[00:09:45] Not allowed to do that, Paul.
[00:09:46] No, that's not what happened to Paul.
[00:09:48] Now, the phrasing is strong.
[00:09:50] You might wonder like,
[00:09:52] why isn't it translated like Pastor Matt said last week?
[00:09:55] Like live out your salvation with fear and trembling.
[00:09:58] Why isn't it translated that way?
[00:10:00] We're interpreting it that way.
[00:10:02] We're saying that's what he means.
[00:10:03] And that is what he means.
[00:10:05] But why isn't it translated that way?
[00:10:07] It's not translated that way because it would be wrong to translate it that way.
[00:10:11] The word work out is a word that means produce, make it, do it.
[00:10:20] It's not a word that means live out,
[00:10:22] though that is the implication of what Paul is addressing.
[00:10:26] Paul is saying, look, if you've been saved, if God has saved you.
[00:10:30] I mean, the idea that you could save yourself is just like an oxymoron.
[00:10:35] Salvation requires someone else saving you, right?
[00:10:40] So Paul knows that.
[00:10:42] He understands that.
[00:10:42] But he's looking at these Philippian people,
[00:10:45] people that he watched many of them get saved.
[00:10:48] And he says, you need to take that salvation that has been given to you
[00:10:53] and you need to live in that salvation.
[00:10:57] One illustration that's been helpful to me to understand this concept
[00:11:01] comes from the Old Testament conquest passages.
[00:11:05] You know, God had for years promised to the people of Israel
[00:11:08] that they would be given a land.
[00:11:11] And he told them where that land was.
[00:11:13] He had Abraham look at it, walk through it, all that kind of stuff.
[00:11:16] He promised this land to them.
[00:11:19] And for many years, they did not possess it until the time came.
[00:11:22] Book of Exodus, wandering through the wilderness.
[00:11:24] Book of Joshua, the time came.
[00:11:25] The land was promised.
[00:11:27] It was in God's sight, theirs.
[00:11:30] But they needed to go into the land
[00:11:31] and they needed to take it for themselves.
[00:11:33] He said, wherever you put your foot, that is yours.
[00:11:36] So it was like it was their land,
[00:11:39] but they actually had to go in and possess that land
[00:11:42] that was already theirs.
[00:11:43] And to me, that's what the sanctification process is like.
[00:11:46] You are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
[00:11:49] If you've believed in him,
[00:11:51] you have received a new nature from him
[00:11:54] if you've believed and trusted in him.
[00:11:56] But now we're living this little life
[00:11:58] where we are unpacking that salvation
[00:12:01] that he has already given to us.
[00:12:04] We are being transformed into the image of Christ
[00:12:07] because we are new creatures within already,
[00:12:11] but there's this big flesh and old nature that's in the way.
[00:12:14] And so as we're walking with him,
[00:12:16] we become more like him slowly and progressively.
[00:12:20] It's who we already are in his sight.
[00:12:22] We're already possessors of the promised land in his sight,
[00:12:26] but there's the steady process of just walking into it.
[00:12:29] And I think the thing that I wanna say today is,
[00:12:32] like this is pretty exciting
[00:12:33] because we won't get to do this for eternity.
[00:12:37] You know, I'm really glad
[00:12:38] that we won't get to do this in eternity.
[00:12:40] I'm looking forward to being glorified
[00:12:44] and I think that sin is over with.
[00:12:46] But right now, this little slot
[00:12:48] between the time that you believed in Jesus
[00:12:49] and the time that you go home to meet with him,
[00:12:51] it is the only opportunity you will have
[00:12:53] for billions and billions and billions and billions of years
[00:12:57] to just walk with him
[00:12:58] and watch a slow transformation occur
[00:13:03] where you creep into further Christ-likeness.
[00:13:06] So it's like a really cool opportunity that we have.
[00:13:09] So sanctification is a really big deal.
[00:13:11] And Paul is looking at this group of Philippians
[00:13:14] and he's saying, you guys need to get after it
[00:13:16] because it's something that you do with God and for God.
[00:13:21] That's why he said in verse 13,
[00:13:22] it's God who works in you.
[00:13:24] That's you're doing it with God
[00:13:26] and you're doing it for God for his good pleasure.
[00:13:29] I love that from Paul.
[00:13:30] It's like he's saying,
[00:13:33] you ever heard someone say something like,
[00:13:35] you know, God has done his part
[00:13:36] and now the rest is up to us.
[00:13:39] Like that's not what Paul is saying.
[00:13:41] But have you ever heard someone else
[00:13:43] maybe say something like,
[00:13:45] you just gotta let go and let God.
[00:13:47] You ever heard that?
[00:13:49] Paul is saying neither of those things.
[00:13:51] He's not in either of those camps.
[00:13:54] He's right down the middle saying,
[00:13:56] God will synergistically work with you
[00:13:59] as you work out your salvation for him.
[00:14:03] In other words, the power of God
[00:14:05] is gonna meet you in this process.
[00:14:06] There's an illustration from the life of Jesus
[00:14:08] that I think illustrates this really well
[00:14:10] from Mark's gospel and also Luke's gospel
[00:14:14] where Jesus was in the synagogue in Capernaum
[00:14:16] on the Sabbath day
[00:14:17] and the religious leaders were already getting bothered
[00:14:19] with the way that Jesus treated the Sabbath
[00:14:21] because he didn't.
[00:14:22] He's like, I made the Sabbath
[00:14:23] and I know what I made the Sabbath for
[00:14:25] and it's not all the silly things
[00:14:26] that you guys are doing with it.
[00:14:28] And so Jesus like often violated their interpretation
[00:14:30] of what the Sabbath requirements mandated.
[00:14:33] And one of the things Jesus did
[00:14:35] that they really didn't like, it's like,
[00:14:36] I don't know how you don't like this,
[00:14:37] but they really didn't like that Jesus
[00:14:39] would heal people on the Sabbath.
[00:14:41] They're like, they just were really down on it.
[00:14:43] They're like, you know, there's one thing
[00:14:44] we don't like, it's healings.
[00:14:46] And so they were against that on the Sabbath day.
[00:14:49] And so one day Jesus is in the synagogue
[00:14:51] on the Sabbath.
[00:14:52] It's like a big gathering.
[00:14:53] They're gonna read the Bible together.
[00:14:54] Someone's gonna bust out the scroll.
[00:14:56] Jesus will probably give a Bible study.
[00:14:58] I wish I'd have been there.
[00:14:59] You know, it's just like this amazing holy moment.
[00:15:02] And these guys plant, these religious leaders
[00:15:04] actually plant a man who's visibly injured.
[00:15:09] He's got a deformity of his hand.
[00:15:11] It's clear, it's obvious.
[00:15:13] And they're like, they put him there
[00:15:14] right in front of Jesus.
[00:15:15] They're like, we're gonna bait Jesus.
[00:15:17] He's gonna break the Sabbath.
[00:15:19] And so Jesus, I love Jesus.
[00:15:21] He just toys with them in this episode.
[00:15:23] And so he makes the man stand up in front of everybody.
[00:15:27] And he looks at the man and he says,
[00:15:29] stretch out your hand.
[00:15:31] And the man stretches out his hand.
[00:15:33] Jesus doesn't touch him.
[00:15:34] Jesus doesn't say anything else.
[00:15:36] Jesus isn't like, I heal you.
[00:15:38] You know, nothing.
[00:15:39] He's just like, hey, you over there.
[00:15:41] Why don't you stretch out your hand?
[00:15:42] And the guy does it and he's healed.
[00:15:45] And I just imagine Jesus kind of like
[00:15:47] looking at the religious leaders like,
[00:15:48] what, you know, how can you pin that on me?
[00:15:51] I just told him to stretch out his hand, you know.
[00:15:55] But that story is a great illustration to me
[00:15:58] of what the sanctification process
[00:16:00] often looks like in our lives.
[00:16:02] It's like the Lord is saying,
[00:16:03] here are things that I want you to be.
[00:16:05] Here's things I want you to do.
[00:16:06] And as you try,
[00:16:09] I will synergistically,
[00:16:11] my power work with you
[00:16:14] to strengthen you.
[00:16:16] That man could have said, I can't do it.
[00:16:18] That's, I've never been able to do it.
[00:16:20] That's not who I am.
[00:16:22] But instead, he realized like,
[00:16:25] I'm in the presence of Christ.
[00:16:27] He's asking this of my life.
[00:16:30] I think there was an element of trust there.
[00:16:32] Like God's power is ultimately gonna meet me
[00:16:35] in this process, right?
[00:16:37] So those are a couple of ways
[00:16:39] that I think about the sanctification process.
[00:16:42] But as he's talking about this,
[00:16:45] you know, some of us,
[00:16:46] like when we think about sanctification,
[00:16:47] we think about all these like big gnarly sins.
[00:16:51] And then Paul, he's super quick to just go,
[00:16:54] yeah, and also do all things
[00:16:56] without grumbling or disputing.
[00:16:58] Just in case like you showed up at church
[00:17:00] and you're like, oh, sanctification,
[00:17:01] I got that on lock.
[00:17:03] Paul's like, I'm gonna go after the thing
[00:17:05] that everybody does.
[00:17:08] And he's actually lifting a phrase
[00:17:11] from the Greek version of the Old Testament
[00:17:13] that alludes to what the people of Israel were like
[00:17:16] when they wandered in the wilderness.
[00:17:17] Grumbling, complaining,
[00:17:20] complaining about Moses,
[00:17:21] complaining about God,
[00:17:23] complaining about their situation.
[00:17:25] And here's what Paul is saying.
[00:17:27] He's like, the sanctification work of God
[00:17:31] is so strong and so powerful
[00:17:34] that he's not here to just rescue you
[00:17:36] from these surface level things.
[00:17:40] He's here to go all the way down
[00:17:43] to the wood rot within.
[00:17:46] Within, that causes you to grumble
[00:17:49] and complain and be bitter.
[00:17:51] He can deal with even that.
[00:17:54] And that's powerful from Paul the apostle.
[00:17:58] He's showing us how far this goes.
[00:18:01] Now, before I move on to the next verses,
[00:18:04] I just wanna point out,
[00:18:05] I think that Paul, when he says that,
[00:18:08] work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
[00:18:11] I think he's probably thinking about the church collectively
[00:18:14] a lot more than we are.
[00:18:16] Like, I read that verse
[00:18:17] and immediately I'm thinking about myself.
[00:18:19] Time to do some inventory.
[00:18:20] Am I growing?
[00:18:22] Am I taking this seriously?
[00:18:24] What are some areas of my life
[00:18:26] that I've just kinda let lapse
[00:18:27] and I've not been serious about the Lord with?
[00:18:30] And I start doing the personal inventory.
[00:18:32] But Paul,
[00:18:34] the whole letter of Philippians,
[00:18:36] it's communal.
[00:18:37] He's like,
[00:18:38] I want you all to be of one mind
[00:18:40] and one heart
[00:18:41] and one spirit.
[00:18:43] And I think as he's looking out
[00:18:45] at the Philippian church
[00:18:46] and he's like,
[00:18:47] you guys are the answer
[00:18:49] there in Philippi.
[00:18:50] You have the life-saving message
[00:18:54] of the gospel.
[00:18:55] You're what the Philippians need
[00:18:58] more than anything else.
[00:19:00] But if you don't collectively
[00:19:03] work out the salvation
[00:19:05] that's been given to you,
[00:19:06] you're gonna come to a grinding halt.
[00:19:09] And so I think he's thinking
[00:19:11] of a communal thing.
[00:19:13] And this is just true.
[00:19:15] If you think of like a band,
[00:19:17] you know,
[00:19:17] playing music,
[00:19:18] doing their thing,
[00:19:19] you need to have
[00:19:20] the different instruments
[00:19:22] playing the same song.
[00:19:24] You know,
[00:19:25] you ever have a moment
[00:19:26] you're listening to live music
[00:19:27] and like one of the musicians
[00:19:28] just like,
[00:19:29] they forgot
[00:19:30] or they just messed up
[00:19:31] and it's just like,
[00:19:32] whoop,
[00:19:32] that's a,
[00:19:33] you're doing something different.
[00:19:35] It stands out.
[00:19:36] And this is what happens
[00:19:38] when in the body of Christ,
[00:19:39] we're growing together,
[00:19:40] we're pursuing Jesus
[00:19:41] and then maybe someone,
[00:19:43] and this unfortunately happens
[00:19:44] a lot even with people
[00:19:45] who are prominent
[00:19:46] in the church.
[00:19:48] And they begin to say something,
[00:19:49] they might not say it
[00:19:50] with their words
[00:19:51] but with their lives,
[00:19:51] they're saying,
[00:19:52] I am no longer going
[00:19:53] to pursue my sanctification.
[00:19:56] I'm gonna do my own thing.
[00:19:59] It's a discordant note.
[00:20:02] It's like an awkward moment
[00:20:04] and it keeps us
[00:20:05] from playing the beautiful music
[00:20:07] that we're meant to play.
[00:20:09] And so Paul's looking
[00:20:11] at the Philippian church
[00:20:12] and he's saying,
[00:20:12] there is a city out there
[00:20:14] that needs you so badly.
[00:20:16] So agree together
[00:20:18] to work on your sanctification together.
[00:20:21] Keep on growing in Jesus
[00:20:24] because if you stop,
[00:20:26] then what's gonna happen
[00:20:27] is the grumbling
[00:20:28] and the disputing
[00:20:29] and the complaining
[00:20:29] and the infighting
[00:20:30] and the bickering
[00:20:31] and the lack of love
[00:20:32] for each other
[00:20:32] and pretty soon
[00:20:33] you become a community
[00:20:34] that no one in Philippi
[00:20:36] is gonna listen to.
[00:20:38] So I think this is
[00:20:40] a really important exhortation
[00:20:42] that Paul is giving to us
[00:20:45] in the body of Christ.
[00:20:46] Okay, so the first one
[00:20:47] I wanna say is just that,
[00:20:48] number one,
[00:20:49] how do we shine his lights
[00:20:51] in the world,
[00:20:51] participate in salvation?
[00:20:53] Number two,
[00:20:55] verse 16 to 18,
[00:20:57] I think a second thing
[00:20:58] is by holding the word of life.
[00:21:00] How do we break into darkness
[00:21:02] by holding the word of life?
[00:21:03] Let's see that exhortation.
[00:21:05] Verse 16, he says,
[00:21:06] holding fast to the word of life
[00:21:08] so that in the day of Christ
[00:21:11] I may be proud
[00:21:12] that I did not run in vain
[00:21:14] or labor in vain,
[00:21:15] even if I'm to be poured out
[00:21:17] as a drink offering
[00:21:18] upon the sacrificial opportunity
[00:21:19] offering of your faith,
[00:21:20] I am glad
[00:21:22] and rejoice with you all.
[00:21:24] Likewise,
[00:21:25] you also should be glad
[00:21:26] and rejoice with me.
[00:21:34] I'm not gonna lie right now,
[00:21:35] this was totally closed.
[00:21:36] I took a whole sip
[00:21:38] and it wasn't open.
[00:21:40] And I thought about it,
[00:21:41] I'm like,
[00:21:41] do I just pretend
[00:21:42] that I took a sip right there?
[00:21:46] And then I felt like
[00:21:47] that would be dishonest
[00:21:48] in front of all of you,
[00:22:02] another way we break
[00:22:03] into darkness is,
[00:22:04] look at verse 16,
[00:22:05] I like this exhortation,
[00:22:06] holding fast to the word of life.
[00:22:08] Okay, a couple questions
[00:22:09] about that.
[00:22:09] First of all,
[00:22:11] what's the word of life?
[00:22:12] You might think
[00:22:13] that what all that means
[00:22:15] is the Bible.
[00:22:17] And of course,
[00:22:18] you could think of the Bible
[00:22:19] as the word of life,
[00:22:20] but in the context
[00:22:21] of Philippians,
[00:22:23] it appears that it's a portion
[00:22:25] of the Bible
[00:22:26] that's the word of life,
[00:22:26] it's the gospel message.
[00:22:28] He just talked about
[00:22:29] the emptying of Jesus,
[00:22:30] coming to die for us,
[00:22:31] rising from the dead,
[00:22:32] all of that.
[00:22:33] So that appears to be
[00:22:35] what Paul is clued in on,
[00:22:38] hold fast to that life-giving message.
[00:22:42] What does it mean though
[00:22:43] to hold fast to the word of life
[00:22:46] as a congregation
[00:22:47] or as a people?
[00:22:49] The words that Paul used
[00:22:50] for hold fast
[00:22:52] could mean one of two things.
[00:22:54] It could mean grip onto,
[00:22:56] like hold it tightly,
[00:22:58] or hold it out.
[00:23:03] And in the context
[00:23:04] of Philippians,
[00:23:05] I think that Paul
[00:23:06] is saying both things.
[00:23:09] That as Christians,
[00:23:11] as a community of believers,
[00:23:14] man, we gotta hold on tight
[00:23:15] to the gospel.
[00:23:17] You know,
[00:23:18] we gotta preach that message
[00:23:19] to ourselves,
[00:23:19] we gotta remind each other
[00:23:22] of that glorious message
[00:23:24] of the gospel.
[00:23:25] It has to be front and center
[00:23:27] in our minds,
[00:23:27] we've got to appreciate it,
[00:23:29] marinate in it,
[00:23:30] we've gotta see it
[00:23:31] as the source of hope
[00:23:32] for a lost and broken world.
[00:23:35] That's gotta be present
[00:23:37] within our hearts.
[00:23:39] However,
[00:23:40] we also need to hold it out
[00:23:42] to the community
[00:23:44] in which we are part of.
[00:23:46] If we don't hold it close,
[00:23:47] we won't hold it out,
[00:23:48] but we eventually need to
[00:23:50] as well hold it out.
[00:23:54] This reminds me of a story
[00:23:55] in the book of 2 Kings.
[00:23:57] There was a time
[00:23:58] where in Israel's history,
[00:24:01] because of long-term decay
[00:24:04] and brokenness and sin
[00:24:05] and all of that,
[00:24:06] things were going really badly
[00:24:08] in Israel,
[00:24:09] especially in the north.
[00:24:10] They had a kind of
[00:24:11] a two-capital situation.
[00:24:13] There'd been a civil divorce
[00:24:14] in Israel,
[00:24:15] north and south kingdoms,
[00:24:17] and in the north,
[00:24:18] their capital city
[00:24:19] was Samaria,
[00:24:21] and because of their
[00:24:22] widespread disobedience,
[00:24:24] the Syrian armies
[00:24:25] had come against them
[00:24:27] there in that region
[00:24:28] and encamped against their city.
[00:24:31] And because they encamped
[00:24:32] against them,
[00:24:33] no food was coming in or out,
[00:24:34] so it was like a famine
[00:24:35] inside the city walls,
[00:24:37] and people were starting to panic.
[00:24:39] They're getting to the end
[00:24:40] of their resources,
[00:24:41] and they don't know what to do.
[00:24:45] And Elisha the prophet
[00:24:46] comes along,
[00:24:48] and he sees the despair,
[00:24:49] and he hears them
[00:24:50] beginning to cry out to God,
[00:24:52] and so he says,
[00:24:52] within 24 hours,
[00:24:54] there's going to be
[00:24:56] plentiful food and drink
[00:24:57] inside the walls of Samaria.
[00:24:59] And there are some
[00:25:00] who scoff,
[00:25:01] don't believe,
[00:25:02] but what the Bible says
[00:25:04] is that there were
[00:25:05] these four lepers
[00:25:06] who were begging
[00:25:07] at the gates of the city,
[00:25:09] and they started having
[00:25:09] a conversation with each other.
[00:25:11] They said,
[00:25:12] you know,
[00:25:12] in the city,
[00:25:13] there's no food.
[00:25:15] If we go in,
[00:25:16] we're going to die.
[00:25:17] If we wait here,
[00:25:19] we're going to die.
[00:25:21] Why don't we go out
[00:25:22] to the Syrian camp,
[00:25:23] right out there,
[00:25:25] and let's just see
[00:25:26] if they give us food.
[00:25:27] What's the worst that happens?
[00:25:28] They kill us.
[00:25:29] We're going to die
[00:25:30] in the city.
[00:25:31] We're going to die
[00:25:31] here at the gate.
[00:25:32] We just die out there
[00:25:33] with them.
[00:25:34] But what they didn't know
[00:25:35] is that the night before,
[00:25:36] in the middle of the night,
[00:25:38] God made the Syrian army
[00:25:40] hear the sound
[00:25:41] of an invading force.
[00:25:44] I just love God.
[00:25:45] He's so creative.
[00:25:47] You know,
[00:25:47] it's just like,
[00:25:47] they hear the sound
[00:25:48] of hooves and soldiers
[00:25:50] and yelling and threats.
[00:25:52] They get up
[00:25:53] in the middle of the night.
[00:25:54] They think they don't
[00:25:54] have a moment to spare,
[00:25:56] and they flee for their lives.
[00:25:58] They leave all their stores
[00:26:00] of food and supplies
[00:26:02] and clothing and drink behind.
[00:26:04] And so these lepers,
[00:26:05] they cruise out there,
[00:26:06] and they find
[00:26:07] that the whole encampment
[00:26:09] is empty.
[00:26:11] And so, you know,
[00:26:12] they're doing what we would do.
[00:26:14] They'd start eating
[00:26:14] and drinking,
[00:26:15] and they're finding garments
[00:26:17] and gold and silver,
[00:26:18] and they're like,
[00:26:19] yo, we're rich.
[00:26:20] And then they get to this point
[00:26:22] where they look at each other,
[00:26:24] and this is what they say.
[00:26:25] They say,
[00:26:25] we are not doing what is right.
[00:26:29] This is a day of good news.
[00:26:31] If we are silent
[00:26:33] and wait until the morning light,
[00:26:35] punishment will overtake us.
[00:26:37] Now, therefore, come.
[00:26:38] Let us go
[00:26:39] and tell the king's household.
[00:26:43] What did these leprous beggars
[00:26:46] need to do?
[00:26:47] They needed to hold out
[00:26:49] the word of life
[00:26:51] to their community.
[00:26:52] That's what they needed to do.
[00:26:54] They're like,
[00:26:55] we have the solution.
[00:26:56] We have the answer.
[00:26:58] And they needed to communicate it
[00:27:00] to others.
[00:27:01] They had no right
[00:27:02] to hoard it to themselves.
[00:27:04] And we, as believers,
[00:27:05] we have to do the same.
[00:27:06] We have to have the glorious
[00:27:09] gospel message
[00:27:09] that we feasted on
[00:27:11] then shared
[00:27:12] with the world
[00:27:13] in which we live.
[00:27:15] We have to be willing
[00:27:15] to do this.
[00:27:16] I want to read to you
[00:27:17] a quote from J.I. Packer.
[00:27:19] He's a,
[00:27:20] he was a major figure
[00:27:23] in the church
[00:27:24] in the last century.
[00:27:25] And in 2013,
[00:27:26] while he was in his 80s,
[00:27:29] he wrote a book,
[00:27:30] one of,
[00:27:31] it might have been
[00:27:31] his last book,
[00:27:32] called Weakness is the Way.
[00:27:34] And it was written
[00:27:35] to the modern church.
[00:27:36] And he said,
[00:27:37] Christians should see themselves
[00:27:38] as sharing the church's calling
[00:27:40] to make Christ known
[00:27:42] with a discipling purpose
[00:27:44] as far and as wide
[00:27:46] as we can.
[00:27:47] We are called
[00:27:48] to trust,
[00:27:49] love,
[00:27:49] honor,
[00:27:49] worship,
[00:27:50] and serve Christ
[00:27:51] and to practice neighbor love
[00:27:52] in all its forms
[00:27:53] of which evangelism is one.
[00:27:56] The church everywhere
[00:27:57] is called
[00:27:58] to be a missional community
[00:28:00] as well as a doxological one.
[00:28:03] So we're about reaching people
[00:28:05] as well as about the message.
[00:28:07] And all Christians
[00:28:08] are called
[00:28:09] to pull their weight
[00:28:10] in both aspects
[00:28:11] of its ongoing life.
[00:28:14] So,
[00:28:15] something for us
[00:28:16] to meditate on there
[00:28:17] from J.I. Packer.
[00:28:19] But the concept here
[00:28:21] is just being really simple.
[00:28:22] We need to be a people
[00:28:23] who are holding
[00:28:25] fast to
[00:28:26] the word of life.
[00:28:28] All right,
[00:28:29] thirdly,
[00:28:31] we need to pursue
[00:28:32] Jesus' interests.
[00:28:34] Let's read verse 19
[00:28:35] and 20 to 24 together.
[00:28:37] Paul said,
[00:28:38] I hope in the Lord Jesus
[00:28:39] to send Timothy
[00:28:40] to you soon
[00:28:41] so that I too
[00:28:42] may be cheered
[00:28:43] by news of you.
[00:28:44] For I have no one
[00:28:45] like him
[00:28:46] who will genuinely,
[00:28:47] who will be genuinely
[00:28:48] concerned for your welfare
[00:28:50] for they
[00:28:50] all seek their own interests,
[00:28:53] not those
[00:28:53] of Jesus Christ.
[00:28:55] But you know
[00:28:56] Timothy's proven worth.
[00:28:58] How is a son
[00:28:58] with a father?
[00:28:59] He served me
[00:29:00] in the gospel.
[00:29:02] I hope therefore
[00:29:02] to send him
[00:29:04] just as soon
[00:29:05] as I see
[00:29:05] how it will go
[00:29:06] with me
[00:29:07] and I trust
[00:29:08] in the Lord
[00:29:09] that shortly
[00:29:11] I myself
[00:29:12] will come also.
[00:29:14] Okay,
[00:29:14] here at this point
[00:29:15] what Paul does
[00:29:16] is he turns his attention
[00:29:18] to a couple of
[00:29:19] just like
[00:29:20] housekeeping kind of things.
[00:29:21] He talks about Timothy
[00:29:22] and in a second
[00:29:23] we'll read about him
[00:29:23] talking about a guy
[00:29:24] named Epaphroditus
[00:29:25] and Timothy
[00:29:27] was a co-worker
[00:29:28] of Paul's.
[00:29:30] Timothy was there
[00:29:31] when Paul started
[00:29:32] the church
[00:29:33] in Philippi.
[00:29:35] He was younger
[00:29:36] than Paul
[00:29:37] and Paul believed
[00:29:38] in Timothy
[00:29:39] a lot
[00:29:39] and so he thought
[00:29:40] of Timothy
[00:29:41] as his spiritual son.
[00:29:42] He called him
[00:29:43] a son
[00:29:43] a lot
[00:29:44] including
[00:29:44] in this passage.
[00:29:47] Timothy
[00:29:47] gets two
[00:29:48] New Testament
[00:29:49] letters
[00:29:50] written to him
[00:29:51] first and second
[00:29:51] Timothy
[00:29:53] and even though
[00:29:54] he was young
[00:29:55] and even though
[00:29:56] in other passages
[00:29:57] we learned
[00:29:58] that he battled
[00:29:58] some kind of
[00:29:59] physical sickness
[00:30:00] and even though
[00:30:01] he also struggled
[00:30:02] with fear
[00:30:03] or anxiety
[00:30:04] God used his life
[00:30:06] mightily.
[00:30:07] He became one
[00:30:08] of the pastors
[00:30:08] of the church
[00:30:09] in Ephesus
[00:30:10] and was one
[00:30:11] of Paul's
[00:30:12] most trusted
[00:30:13] ministry companions
[00:30:15] and missionaries
[00:30:17] and here
[00:30:17] what Paul tells
[00:30:19] the Philippians
[00:30:19] is that he hopes
[00:30:20] to send Timothy
[00:30:21] to them
[00:30:22] sometime soon
[00:30:24] probably so that
[00:30:25] Timothy can bring
[00:30:26] news back
[00:30:27] to Rome
[00:30:27] where Paul
[00:30:28] is in prison
[00:30:29] about how
[00:30:30] the Philippian church
[00:30:31] is doing.
[00:30:32] This would be
[00:30:32] like a little bit
[00:30:33] of an accountability
[00:30:34] check for Paul.
[00:30:36] The Philippians
[00:30:37] get this letter
[00:30:37] from Paul
[00:30:38] he tells him
[00:30:39] over and over again
[00:30:39] be unified
[00:30:40] act like Jesus
[00:30:41] knock it off
[00:30:41] you know
[00:30:42] kind of stuff
[00:30:42] and then also
[00:30:43] as they're reading
[00:30:44] the letter
[00:30:44] he's like
[00:30:45] and I'm gonna send
[00:30:46] Timothy
[00:30:46] he'll be there
[00:30:47] pretty soon
[00:30:47] and they'd be
[00:30:49] thinking to themselves
[00:30:50] like okay
[00:30:51] we got a due date
[00:30:51] before Timothy
[00:30:53] gets here
[00:30:53] we better start
[00:30:54] liking each other
[00:30:54] again
[00:30:55] you know
[00:30:55] it's kind of
[00:30:56] like the thing
[00:30:57] that Paul
[00:30:57] is doing
[00:30:58] when he says
[00:30:59] this
[00:30:59] but there's
[00:31:00] this one
[00:31:00] little phrase
[00:31:00] that I wanted
[00:31:01] you to see
[00:31:04] he said
[00:31:05] that I have
[00:31:06] no one like
[00:31:06] him
[00:31:06] everyone else
[00:31:08] seeking their
[00:31:08] own interests
[00:31:09] but he says
[00:31:10] in verse 21
[00:31:11] Timothy
[00:31:12] sought
[00:31:13] the interests
[00:31:14] of Jesus
[00:31:15] Christ
[00:31:18] what I want
[00:31:19] to say here
[00:31:20] is what you
[00:31:21] have in
[00:31:21] Timothy
[00:31:21] is you have
[00:31:22] a man
[00:31:22] who is
[00:31:23] emulating
[00:31:23] what Paul
[00:31:24] is shooting
[00:31:24] for
[00:31:24] he's like
[00:31:25] there's God
[00:31:25] declaring
[00:31:26] who he is
[00:31:27] the ultimate
[00:31:28] revelation
[00:31:28] of who God
[00:31:29] is
[00:31:29] is found
[00:31:30] in Jesus
[00:31:31] Timothy
[00:31:32] believed in
[00:31:33] Jesus
[00:31:33] and he
[00:31:34] is
[00:31:34] showing
[00:31:35] us
[00:31:35] how to
[00:31:36] shine
[00:31:37] brightly
[00:31:37] in a dark
[00:31:38] world
[00:31:40] and the way
[00:31:41] that he's
[00:31:41] doing it
[00:31:42] according to
[00:31:42] Paul
[00:31:43] is he's
[00:31:43] saying
[00:31:43] Timothy
[00:31:44] is more
[00:31:45] concerned
[00:31:45] about
[00:31:46] Jesus
[00:31:46] interest
[00:31:47] than
[00:31:47] anything
[00:31:48] else
[00:31:48] he's
[00:31:49] into
[00:31:50] Jesus
[00:31:50] mission
[00:31:51] and
[00:31:52] purpose
[00:31:52] and
[00:31:53] all of
[00:31:54] that
[00:31:54] that's
[00:31:55] what
[00:31:56] he's
[00:31:56] focused
[00:31:57] upon
[00:31:57] and
[00:31:59] because
[00:31:59] of that
[00:31:59] Timothy
[00:32:00] emptied
[00:32:01] himself
[00:32:01] for other
[00:32:02] people
[00:32:02] including
[00:32:03] the
[00:32:03] Philippians
[00:32:04] and he
[00:32:05] was
[00:32:05] imitating
[00:32:05] Jesus
[00:32:06] who
[00:32:06] emptied
[00:32:06] himself
[00:32:07] out
[00:32:07] for
[00:32:08] us
[00:32:10] this
[00:32:11] is just
[00:32:11] what I
[00:32:11] want to
[00:32:11] say
[00:32:12] here
[00:32:12] I
[00:32:15] wills
[00:32:15] and
[00:32:15] priorities
[00:32:16] are
[00:32:17] aligned
[00:32:17] with
[00:32:17] King
[00:32:18] Jesus
[00:32:18] interests
[00:32:20] the
[00:32:21] more
[00:32:21] we
[00:32:21] will
[00:32:22] shine
[00:32:22] as
[00:32:23] lights
[00:32:23] in
[00:32:23] the
[00:32:24] darkness
[00:32:25] this
[00:32:25] is
[00:32:26] really
[00:32:26] the
[00:32:26] aim
[00:32:26] of
[00:32:26] sanctification
[00:32:27] isn't
[00:32:28] it
[00:32:28] is
[00:32:28] to
[00:32:28] become
[00:32:28] more
[00:32:29] like
[00:32:30] the
[00:32:30] one
[00:32:30] that
[00:32:30] we
[00:32:30] worship
[00:32:31] more
[00:32:31] like
[00:32:32] God's
[00:32:33] son
[00:32:33] the
[00:32:35] more
[00:32:35] we
[00:32:35] think
[00:32:35] like
[00:32:36] Jesus
[00:32:36] and
[00:32:36] act
[00:32:37] like
[00:32:37] Jesus
[00:32:37] valuing
[00:32:38] what
[00:32:38] he
[00:32:38] values
[00:32:39] and
[00:32:40] having
[00:32:40] a
[00:32:40] similar
[00:32:41] passion
[00:32:41] level
[00:32:42] to the
[00:32:42] things
[00:32:42] that he
[00:32:43] is
[00:32:43] passionate
[00:32:44] about
[00:32:44] the
[00:32:45] better
[00:32:45] our
[00:32:46] light
[00:32:46] shines
[00:32:47] so
[00:32:47] what
[00:32:48] are
[00:32:48] Jesus
[00:32:48] interests
[00:32:50] that's
[00:32:50] the
[00:32:50] big
[00:32:50] question
[00:32:51] what
[00:32:51] are
[00:32:51] Jesus
[00:32:52] interests
[00:32:53] people
[00:32:53] will
[00:32:53] import
[00:32:54] all
[00:32:54] kinds
[00:32:54] of
[00:32:54] things
[00:32:54] Jesus
[00:32:55] is
[00:32:56] about
[00:32:56] this
[00:32:56] Jesus
[00:32:56] is
[00:32:57] about
[00:32:57] that
[00:32:57] from
[00:32:57] the
[00:32:58] passage
[00:32:58] what
[00:32:59] are
[00:33:12] interests
[00:33:13] interests
[00:33:13] interests
[00:33:13] the
[00:33:13] spiritual
[00:33:14] well
[00:33:15] being
[00:33:15] of
[00:33:15] God's
[00:33:16] people
[00:33:17] and
[00:33:18] then
[00:33:18] the
[00:33:18] whole
[00:33:19] book
[00:33:19] of
[00:33:19] Philippians
[00:33:20] is
[00:33:20] about
[00:33:20] being
[00:33:21] spiritually
[00:33:22] healthy
[00:33:22] so
[00:33:23] that
[00:33:23] we
[00:33:23] can
[00:33:23] be
[00:33:23] an
[00:33:24] advancing
[00:33:24] gospel
[00:33:24] community
[00:33:25] that
[00:33:26] tells
[00:33:26] us
[00:33:26] that
[00:33:27] Jesus
[00:33:27] interest
[00:33:27] is
[00:33:28] the
[00:33:28] world
[00:33:29] that
[00:33:29] he
[00:33:29] came
[00:33:30] to
[00:33:30] die
[00:33:31] for
[00:33:31] right
[00:33:32] so
[00:33:32] what
[00:33:33] does
[00:33:33] Jesus
[00:33:33] care
[00:33:33] about
[00:33:34] he
[00:33:34] cares
[00:33:34] about
[00:33:34] the
[00:33:34] spiritual
[00:33:35] health
[00:33:35] of
[00:33:35] his
[00:33:36] people
[00:33:36] because
[00:33:37] he
[00:33:37] cares
[00:33:37] about
[00:33:38] reaching
[00:33:39] seeking
[00:33:39] and
[00:33:40] saving
[00:33:40] that
[00:33:41] which
[00:33:42] is
[00:33:42] lost
[00:33:43] Luke
[00:33:43] 19
[00:33:44] verse
[00:33:44] 10
[00:33:45] so
[00:33:46] with
[00:33:47] an
[00:33:47] answer
[00:33:47] like
[00:33:47] that
[00:33:47] I
[00:33:48] think
[00:33:48] we
[00:33:48] have
[00:33:48] to
[00:33:48] ask
[00:33:49] ourselves
[00:33:49] how
[00:33:49] can
[00:33:49] we
[00:33:50] also
[00:33:50] then
[00:33:51] seek
[00:33:51] the
[00:33:51] interests
[00:33:52] of
[00:33:52] Christ
[00:33:52] if
[00:33:52] Jesus
[00:33:53] is
[00:33:53] interested
[00:33:53] in
[00:33:53] the
[00:33:54] spiritual
[00:33:54] health
[00:33:54] of
[00:33:55] the
[00:33:55] church
[00:33:55] and
[00:33:56] if
[00:33:56] Jesus
[00:33:56] is
[00:33:56] interested
[00:33:57] in
[00:33:57] reaching
[00:33:58] the
[00:33:59] lost
[00:33:59] how
[00:33:59] can
[00:33:59] my
[00:34:00] life
[00:34:00] be
[00:34:01] geared
[00:34:01] more
[00:34:01] in
[00:34:02] that
[00:34:02] direction
[00:34:03] all
[00:34:03] right
[00:34:04] I
[00:34:04] want
[00:34:04] to
[00:34:04] close
[00:34:04] though
[00:34:04] with
[00:34:05] one
[00:34:05] last
[00:34:05] exhortation
[00:34:06] to
[00:34:07] say
[00:34:07] it
[00:34:07] like
[00:34:08] this
[00:34:08] we
[00:34:08] can
[00:34:08] also
[00:34:09] shine
[00:34:09] as
[00:34:10] lights
[00:34:10] into
[00:34:10] the
[00:34:10] darkness
[00:34:11] by
[00:34:11] celebrating
[00:34:12] when
[00:34:12] others
[00:34:13] shine
[00:34:14] let's
[00:34:14] read
[00:34:14] verse
[00:34:14] 25
[00:34:15] to
[00:34:15] 30
[00:34:15] to
[00:34:15] conclude
[00:34:16] our
[00:34:16] time
[00:34:16] together
[00:34:17] he
[00:34:17] says
[00:34:22] I
[00:34:28] for
[00:34:29] he's
[00:34:29] been
[00:34:29] longing
[00:34:29] for
[00:34:30] you
[00:34:30] all
[00:34:30] and
[00:34:30] has
[00:34:30] been
[00:34:31] distressed
[00:34:31] because
[00:34:31] you
[00:34:32] heard
[00:34:32] that
[00:34:32] he
[00:34:32] was
[00:34:32] ill
[00:34:33] indeed
[00:34:33] he
[00:34:33] was
[00:34:33] ill
[00:34:34] near
[00:34:34] to
[00:34:34] death
[00:34:34] but
[00:34:35] God
[00:34:35] had
[00:34:36] mercy
[00:34:36] on
[00:34:36] him
[00:34:36] and
[00:34:37] not
[00:34:37] only
[00:34:37] on
[00:34:37] him
[00:34:37] but
[00:34:37] on
[00:34:38] me
[00:34:38] also
[00:34:38] lest
[00:34:39] I
[00:34:39] should
[00:34:39] have
[00:34:39] sorrow
[00:34:40] upon
[00:34:41] sorrow
[00:34:41] I
[00:34:58] died
[00:34:58] for
[00:34:59] the
[00:34:59] work
[00:34:59] of
[00:34:59] Christ
[00:35:00] risking
[00:35:00] his
[00:35:01] life
[00:35:02] to
[00:35:03] complete
[00:35:03] what
[00:35:04] was
[00:35:04] lacking
[00:35:05] in
[00:35:05] your
[00:35:06] service
[00:35:06] to
[00:35:07] me
[00:35:08] all
[00:35:08] right
[00:35:08] here
[00:35:08] in
[00:35:09] our
[00:35:09] closing
[00:35:09] little
[00:35:10] passage
[00:35:10] for
[00:35:10] the
[00:35:10] day
[00:35:11] Paul
[00:35:11] talks
[00:35:11] about
[00:35:12] this
[00:35:12] guy
[00:35:12] named
[00:35:12] Epaphroditus
[00:35:13] if
[00:35:14] you're
[00:35:15] expecting
[00:35:15] a little
[00:35:16] one
[00:35:16] to be
[00:35:16] born
[00:35:17] sometime
[00:35:17] soon
[00:35:18] I
[00:35:18] would
[00:35:18] encourage
[00:35:19] you
[00:35:19] give
[00:35:19] Epaphroditus
[00:35:20] a shot
[00:35:20] you know
[00:35:21] I've
[00:35:21] been
[00:35:21] pastoring
[00:35:21] this
[00:35:22] church
[00:35:22] for
[00:35:22] a
[00:35:23] long
[00:35:23] time
[00:35:23] and
[00:35:23] no
[00:35:23] one's
[00:35:24] gone
[00:35:24] for
[00:35:24] it
[00:35:24] yet
[00:35:24] so
[00:35:25] pray
[00:35:25] about
[00:35:25] it
[00:35:27] but
[00:35:27] we
[00:35:28] don't
[00:35:28] know
[00:35:28] a lot
[00:35:29] about
[00:35:29] Epaphroditus
[00:35:32] he's
[00:35:32] mentioned
[00:35:33] here
[00:35:33] he's
[00:35:33] mentioned
[00:35:34] later
[00:35:34] in
[00:35:34] this
[00:35:34] letter
[00:35:35] but
[00:35:36] what
[00:35:36] we
[00:35:36] do
[00:35:36] know
[00:35:37] from
[00:35:37] this
[00:35:37] little
[00:35:37] paragraph
[00:35:38] is
[00:35:38] that
[00:35:38] Paul
[00:35:38] thought
[00:35:39] really
[00:35:39] highly
[00:35:40] of
[00:35:40] this
[00:35:40] man
[00:35:42] apparently
[00:35:43] he
[00:35:43] was
[00:35:43] Paul's
[00:35:44] co-worker
[00:35:44] there
[00:35:45] in
[00:35:45] Rome
[00:35:46] look
[00:35:46] at
[00:35:46] the
[00:35:46] phrases
[00:35:46] that
[00:35:47] Paul
[00:35:47] uses
[00:35:47] to
[00:35:47] describe
[00:35:48] him
[00:35:48] he
[00:35:48] says
[00:35:48] he's
[00:35:48] my
[00:35:49] brother
[00:35:49] he's
[00:35:50] my
[00:35:50] fellow
[00:35:50] worker
[00:35:51] he's
[00:35:52] my
[00:35:52] fellow
[00:35:52] soldier
[00:35:53] we're
[00:35:54] going
[00:35:54] to
[00:35:54] war
[00:35:54] together
[00:35:55] so
[00:35:56] he
[00:35:56] felt
[00:35:56] like
[00:35:57] he's
[00:35:57] my
[00:35:57] co-worker
[00:35:58] but
[00:35:59] they
[00:35:59] were
[00:35:59] also
[00:35:59] the
[00:35:59] Philippians
[00:36:00] ambassador
[00:36:01] Paul
[00:36:02] said
[00:36:03] in
[00:36:03] verse
[00:36:03] 25
[00:36:03] that
[00:36:04] he
[00:36:04] was
[00:36:04] their
[00:36:05] messenger
[00:36:05] and
[00:36:06] minister
[00:36:07] to
[00:36:08] Paul's
[00:36:08] need
[00:36:08] and
[00:36:10] later
[00:36:10] when
[00:36:10] we
[00:36:10] end
[00:36:11] our
[00:36:11] study
[00:36:11] of
[00:36:12] Philippians
[00:36:12] Philippians
[00:36:12] chapter
[00:36:13] 4
[00:36:13] we're
[00:36:13] going
[00:36:13] to
[00:36:13] see
[00:36:13] that
[00:36:14] Epaphroditus
[00:36:15] was
[00:36:15] the
[00:36:15] one
[00:36:16] who
[00:36:16] came
[00:36:16] from
[00:36:16] Philippi
[00:36:17] to
[00:36:18] greet
[00:36:18] Paul
[00:36:19] to
[00:36:19] minister
[00:36:19] to
[00:36:19] Paul
[00:36:19] and
[00:36:20] he
[00:36:20] brought
[00:36:20] a
[00:36:20] financial
[00:36:20] gift
[00:36:21] from
[00:36:21] the
[00:36:22] Philippian
[00:36:22] church
[00:36:22] and
[00:36:23] gave
[00:36:23] it
[00:36:23] to
[00:36:24] Paul
[00:36:24] so
[00:36:24] he
[00:36:24] was
[00:36:24] kind
[00:36:24] of
[00:36:24] like
[00:36:25] the
[00:36:25] emissary
[00:36:27] of
[00:36:27] the
[00:36:27] Philippian
[00:36:28] church
[00:36:28] to
[00:36:29] Paul
[00:36:31] and
[00:36:31] apparently
[00:36:32] while he
[00:36:33] was there
[00:36:33] in
[00:36:34] Rome
[00:36:35] he
[00:36:35] got
[00:36:35] really
[00:36:36] sick
[00:36:36] and
[00:36:37] I
[00:36:37] remember
[00:36:37] being
[00:36:37] a
[00:36:38] little
[00:36:38] kid
[00:36:38] you
[00:36:38] know
[00:36:38] we
[00:36:38] would
[00:36:39] go
[00:36:39] to
[00:36:39] visit
[00:36:39] Mexico
[00:36:40] and
[00:36:40] they
[00:36:40] would
[00:36:40] be
[00:36:40] like
[00:36:40] don't
[00:36:41] drink
[00:36:41] the
[00:36:41] water
[00:36:41] I
[00:36:41] thought
[00:36:42] you
[00:36:42] would
[00:36:42] explode
[00:36:43] or
[00:36:43] something
[00:36:43] like
[00:36:43] that
[00:36:43] I
[00:36:44] think
[00:36:44] Epaphroditus
[00:36:45] drank
[00:36:45] the
[00:36:45] water
[00:36:45] in
[00:36:46] Rome
[00:36:46] he
[00:36:47] got
[00:36:47] sick
[00:36:48] he's
[00:36:48] in
[00:36:48] a
[00:36:48] new
[00:36:48] place
[00:36:49] his
[00:36:49] body
[00:36:49] can't
[00:36:50] deal
[00:36:50] with
[00:36:50] it
[00:36:50] he's
[00:36:50] not
[00:36:51] accustomed
[00:36:51] to
[00:36:51] it
[00:36:52] he
[00:36:52] gets
[00:36:52] sick
[00:36:53] but
[00:36:54] he
[00:36:54] doesn't
[00:36:54] leave
[00:36:55] Paul
[00:36:56] says
[00:36:56] he
[00:36:56] got
[00:36:57] near
[00:36:57] death
[00:36:59] and
[00:36:59] God
[00:36:59] had
[00:37:00] mercy
[00:37:00] on
[00:37:01] him
[00:37:02] but
[00:37:02] even
[00:37:03] after
[00:37:03] God
[00:37:04] had
[00:37:04] mercy
[00:37:04] on
[00:37:04] him
[00:37:04] Paul
[00:37:05] became
[00:37:05] eager
[00:37:05] he's
[00:37:06] like
[00:37:06] I
[00:37:06] really
[00:37:06] want
[00:37:06] to
[00:37:07] send
[00:37:07] Epaphroditus
[00:37:07] back
[00:37:08] home
[00:37:08] to
[00:37:08] Philippi
[00:37:09] because
[00:37:09] this
[00:37:10] is
[00:37:10] not
[00:37:10] a
[00:37:10] good
[00:37:11] environment
[00:37:11] for
[00:37:11] him
[00:37:11] to
[00:37:12] be
[00:37:12] in
[00:37:12] and
[00:37:13] so
[00:37:13] he's
[00:37:13] nervous
[00:37:13] about
[00:37:14] him
[00:37:14] he
[00:37:14] wants
[00:37:14] to
[00:37:14] send
[00:37:14] him
[00:37:15] back
[00:37:15] and
[00:37:16] so
[00:37:16] he
[00:37:16] did
[00:37:17] and
[00:37:17] Paul
[00:37:17] prepared
[00:37:18] the
[00:37:18] way
[00:37:18] for
[00:37:19] Epaphroditus
[00:37:20] you know
[00:37:20] he's
[00:37:20] like
[00:37:21] putting
[00:37:21] in
[00:37:21] the
[00:37:21] Bible
[00:37:22] you
[00:37:22] gotta
[00:37:23] remember
[00:37:23] these
[00:37:23] guys
[00:37:23] are
[00:37:23] gonna
[00:37:23] get
[00:37:24] this
[00:37:24] letter
[00:37:24] from
[00:37:24] Paul
[00:37:24] they're
[00:37:25] gonna
[00:37:25] have
[00:37:35] sent
[00:37:36] Epaphroditus
[00:37:37] to
[00:37:37] me
[00:37:37] to
[00:37:38] be
[00:37:39] part
[00:37:39] of
[00:37:39] the
[00:37:40] gift
[00:37:40] like
[00:37:41] he
[00:37:41] brought
[00:37:41] the
[00:37:41] financial
[00:37:42] gift
[00:37:42] which
[00:37:42] is
[00:37:43] great
[00:37:43] because
[00:37:43] I
[00:37:43] have
[00:37:43] to
[00:37:43] pay
[00:37:44] my
[00:37:44] own
[00:37:44] way
[00:37:44] here
[00:37:45] in
[00:37:45] this
[00:37:45] Roman
[00:37:45] prison
[00:37:46] however
[00:37:47] he
[00:37:48] remained
[00:37:48] he's
[00:37:49] out there
[00:37:49] doing
[00:37:50] errands
[00:37:50] for
[00:37:50] me
[00:37:50] he's
[00:37:51] a
[00:37:51] companion
[00:37:51] to
[00:37:52] me
[00:37:52] he's
[00:37:52] spending
[00:37:52] time
[00:37:53] with
[00:37:53] me
[00:37:53] he
[00:37:54] was
[00:37:54] part
[00:37:55] of
[00:37:55] your
[00:37:55] gift
[00:37:55] but
[00:37:56] I
[00:37:56] need
[00:37:56] you
[00:37:56] to
[00:37:56] know
[00:37:56] I
[00:37:57] had
[00:37:57] to
[00:37:57] send
[00:37:57] him
[00:37:57] back
[00:37:58] he
[00:37:59] didn't
[00:38:05] to
[00:38:06] get
[00:38:07] him
[00:38:07] back
[00:38:07] to
[00:38:07] you
[00:38:07] and
[00:38:08] so
[00:38:08] then
[00:38:08] Paul
[00:38:09] says
[00:38:09] and
[00:38:10] I
[00:38:10] want
[00:38:10] you
[00:38:10] to
[00:38:12] honor
[00:38:12] him
[00:38:13] but
[00:38:13] don't
[00:38:13] just
[00:38:14] honor
[00:38:14] him
[00:38:14] he
[00:38:14] says
[00:38:15] in
[00:38:15] verse
[00:38:15] 29
[00:38:15] honor
[00:38:16] such
[00:38:17] men
[00:38:18] in
[00:38:18] other
[00:38:18] words
[00:38:19] honor
[00:38:19] people
[00:38:19] like
[00:38:20] that
[00:38:21] and
[00:38:22] I
[00:38:22] think
[00:38:22] what
[00:38:22] I
[00:38:22] want
[00:38:22] to
[00:38:22] say
[00:38:23] as
[00:38:23] we
[00:38:23] wrap
[00:38:23] up
[00:38:23] today
[00:38:24] is
[00:38:24] that
[00:38:24] an
[00:38:24] advancing
[00:38:25] gospel
[00:38:25] community
[00:38:27] breaks
[00:38:27] into
[00:38:28] darkness
[00:38:28] by
[00:38:35] shining
[00:38:35] when
[00:38:36] people
[00:38:37] like
[00:38:37] Epaphroditus
[00:38:38] become
[00:38:39] our
[00:38:39] heroes
[00:38:40] we
[00:38:40] stand
[00:38:40] a
[00:38:41] better
[00:38:42] chance
[00:38:42] of
[00:38:42] shining
[00:38:43] in
[00:38:44] like
[00:38:44] manner
[00:38:44] you
[00:38:45] know
[00:38:45] Paul
[00:38:46] wanted
[00:38:46] Epaphroditus
[00:38:47] to
[00:38:47] receive
[00:38:48] the
[00:38:49] welcome
[00:38:49] of a
[00:38:50] military
[00:38:51] hero
[00:38:51] coming
[00:38:52] back
[00:38:52] from
[00:38:52] the
[00:38:52] battlefield
[00:38:53] that's
[00:38:54] what
[00:38:54] he's
[00:38:54] saying
[00:38:54] he's
[00:38:54] like
[00:38:55] he's
[00:38:55] a
[00:38:55] fellow
[00:38:55] soldier
[00:38:55] you
[00:38:56] need
[00:38:56] to
[00:38:56] honor
[00:38:56] this
[00:38:56] guy
[00:38:57] he
[00:38:57] was
[00:38:57] out
[00:38:57] there
[00:38:57] on
[00:38:58] the
[00:38:58] front
[00:38:58] lines
[00:38:58] doing
[00:38:59] Jesus
[00:38:59] work
[00:38:59] and
[00:39:00] I
[00:39:00] want
[00:39:00] you
[00:39:01] to
[00:39:01] celebrate
[00:39:01] people
[00:39:02] like
[00:39:03] that
[00:39:03] in
[00:39:04] your
[00:39:04] congregation
[00:39:05] and
[00:39:05] you
[00:39:06] can
[00:39:06] imagine
[00:39:06] the
[00:39:07] effect
[00:39:08] of
[00:39:08] this
[00:39:08] being
[00:39:08] read
[00:39:09] in
[00:39:09] the
[00:39:10] Philippian
[00:39:10] church
[00:39:11] there's
[00:39:12] Epaphroditus
[00:39:12] you know
[00:39:12] maybe
[00:39:13] still
[00:39:13] recovering
[00:39:14] from
[00:39:14] his
[00:39:14] sickness
[00:39:14] a
[00:39:15] little
[00:39:15] bit
[00:39:15] he's
[00:39:15] getting
[00:39:16] some
[00:39:16] of
[00:39:16] his
[00:39:16] home
[00:39:17] cooked
[00:39:17] meals
[00:39:18] and
[00:39:18] he's
[00:39:18] just
[00:39:18] like
[00:39:19] a
[00:39:19] little
[00:39:19] week
[00:39:20] over
[00:39:20] there
[00:39:20] in
[00:39:20] the
[00:39:20] corner
[00:39:21] and
[00:39:21] they're
[00:39:21] reading
[00:39:21] this
[00:39:21] letter
[00:39:22] and
[00:39:22] the
[00:39:22] people
[00:39:22] start
[00:39:22] coming
[00:39:23] up
[00:39:23] to
[00:39:23] him
[00:39:23] like
[00:39:23] Epaphroditus
[00:39:25] dude
[00:39:26] you
[00:39:26] did
[00:39:26] what
[00:39:27] we
[00:39:33] apostolic
[00:39:33] word
[00:39:34] to
[00:39:35] make
[00:39:35] you
[00:39:35] leave
[00:39:36] your
[00:39:36] post
[00:39:36] bro
[00:39:38] thank
[00:39:38] you
[00:39:39] for
[00:39:39] what
[00:39:40] you
[00:39:40] did
[00:39:40] thank
[00:39:41] you
[00:39:41] for
[00:39:42] your
[00:39:42] dedication
[00:39:43] thank
[00:39:43] you
[00:39:43] for
[00:39:44] your
[00:39:44] sacrifice
[00:39:45] and
[00:39:46] as
[00:39:46] that
[00:39:46] praise
[00:39:47] and
[00:39:47] thanks
[00:39:48] for
[00:39:48] Epaphroditus
[00:39:49] was
[00:39:49] rising
[00:39:50] in the
[00:39:50] Philippian
[00:39:51] church
[00:39:51] guess
[00:39:52] what else
[00:39:52] was
[00:39:53] rising
[00:39:53] their
[00:39:54] value
[00:39:54] system
[00:39:55] they
[00:39:56] were
[00:39:56] beginning
[00:39:56] to
[00:39:57] see
[00:39:57] oh
[00:39:57] these
[00:39:58] are
[00:39:58] the
[00:39:58] people
[00:39:59] that
[00:39:59] we
[00:39:59] emulate
[00:40:00] these
[00:40:01] are
[00:40:01] the
[00:40:01] people
[00:40:02] who
[00:40:02] are
[00:40:02] our
[00:40:03] heroes
[00:40:03] the
[00:40:04] Jesus
[00:40:04] people
[00:40:05] who
[00:40:06] are
[00:40:07] broadcasting
[00:40:07] the
[00:40:08] life
[00:40:08] of
[00:40:08] Jesus
[00:40:09] in
[00:40:10] the
[00:40:10] way
[00:40:10] in
[00:40:11] which
[00:40:11] they
[00:40:11] live
[00:40:11] all
[00:40:12] right
[00:40:12] so
[00:40:12] what
[00:40:13] does
[00:40:13] this
[00:40:13] whole
[00:40:13] passage
[00:40:14] we
[00:40:14] just
[00:40:14] read
[00:40:14] say
[00:40:15] to
[00:40:15] us
[00:40:15] today
[00:40:16] well
[00:40:16] here's
[00:40:17] what
[00:40:17] I
[00:40:17] think
[00:40:17] it
[00:40:17] says
[00:40:17] I
[00:40:18] think
[00:40:18] that
[00:40:19] people
[00:40:19] today
[00:40:19] in
[00:40:20] some
[00:40:21] way
[00:40:21] shape
[00:40:21] or
[00:40:21] form
[00:40:21] are
[00:40:22] still
[00:40:22] asking
[00:40:22] many
[00:40:23] of
[00:40:23] you
[00:40:23] in
[00:40:23] this
[00:40:24] room
[00:40:24] are
[00:40:24] still
[00:40:24] asking
[00:40:25] the
[00:40:26] same
[00:40:26] question
[00:40:27] that
[00:40:28] our
[00:40:28] golden
[00:40:28] calf
[00:40:29] worshipers
[00:40:30] down
[00:40:30] in
[00:40:30] the
[00:40:30] valley
[00:40:31] below
[00:40:31] Mount
[00:40:31] Sinai
[00:40:32] in
[00:40:32] Exodus
[00:40:32] chapter
[00:40:33] 34
[00:40:33] we're
[00:40:34] asking
[00:40:34] what
[00:40:35] is
[00:40:36] God
[00:40:36] like
[00:40:37] what
[00:40:38] is
[00:40:38] God
[00:40:38] like
[00:40:38] you
[00:40:39] know
[00:40:39] the
[00:40:39] Bible
[00:40:39] teaches
[00:40:40] that
[00:41:00] what
[00:41:01] is
[00:41:01] God
[00:41:02] like
[00:41:03] God
[00:41:04] declares
[00:41:05] himself
[00:41:05] I'm
[00:41:06] slow
[00:41:06] to
[00:41:06] anger
[00:41:06] gracious
[00:41:07] and
[00:41:07] merciful
[00:41:07] abounding
[00:41:08] in
[00:41:08] loving
[00:41:08] kindness
[00:41:09] steadfast
[00:41:10] love
[00:41:10] for
[00:41:10] thousands
[00:41:11] by
[00:41:11] no
[00:41:11] means
[00:41:12] clearing
[00:41:12] the
[00:41:12] guilty
[00:41:13] visiting
[00:41:13] the
[00:41:13] iniquities
[00:41:14] of the
[00:41:14] fathers
[00:41:15] to the
[00:41:15] third
[00:41:15] and
[00:41:16] fourth
[00:41:16] generation
[00:41:17] in
[00:41:17] other
[00:41:17] words
[00:41:17] I
[00:41:18] deal
[00:41:18] with
[00:41:18] sin
[00:41:19] to
[00:41:19] the
[00:41:19] third
[00:41:19] and
[00:41:20] fourth
[00:41:20] generation
[00:41:20] but
[00:41:21] my
[00:41:21] steadfast
[00:41:22] love
[00:41:22] goes
[00:41:23] to
[00:41:23] thousands
[00:41:23] of
[00:41:24] generations
[00:41:24] like
[00:41:25] this
[00:41:26] is
[00:41:26] the
[00:41:26] main
[00:41:27] part
[00:41:27] of
[00:41:27] who
[00:41:28] I
[00:41:28] am
[00:41:28] he
[00:41:30] Jesus
[00:41:30] comes
[00:41:31] along
[00:41:31] and
[00:41:32] puts
[00:41:32] flesh
[00:41:33] onto
[00:41:34] that
[00:41:34] that's
[00:41:35] who
[00:41:36] God
[00:41:36] is
[00:41:36] then
[00:41:37] we
[00:41:37] come
[00:41:38] along
[00:41:38] and
[00:41:39] believe
[00:41:39] in
[00:41:39] him
[00:41:39] and
[00:41:40] we
[00:41:40] are
[00:41:41] to
[00:41:41] shine
[00:41:41] with
[00:41:42] who
[00:41:42] he
[00:41:43] is
[00:41:43] to
[00:41:44] the
[00:41:44] world
[00:41:44] in
[00:41:45] which
[00:41:45] we
[00:41:46] live
[00:41:46] so
[00:41:47] we
[00:41:47] better
[00:41:47] participate
[00:41:48] in
[00:41:48] our
[00:41:48] salvation
[00:41:49] we
[00:41:49] better
[00:41:49] hold
[00:41:50] tightly
[00:41:50] to
[00:41:51] the
[00:41:51] word
[00:41:51] of
[00:41:51] life
[00:41:51] and
[00:41:51] share
[00:41:52] it
[00:41:52] with
[00:41:52] the
[00:41:53] world
[00:41:53] around
[00:41:53] us
[00:41:54] we
[00:41:54] better
[00:41:54] prioritize
[00:41:55] Christ's
[00:41:56] interests
[00:41:57] and
[00:41:57] honor
[00:41:58] others
[00:41:59] who
[00:41:59] do
[00:42:00] the
[00:42:00] same
[00:42:01] because
[00:42:02] we
[00:42:03] get a
[00:42:03] chance
[00:42:03] to
[00:42:03] represent
[00:42:04] our
[00:42:05] Lord
[00:42:05] to
[00:42:06] a
[00:42:06] lost
[00:42:06] and
[00:42:06] broken
[00:42:07] and
[00:42:07] hurting
[00:42:08] world
[00:42:08] and
[00:42:08] all
[00:42:09] and
[00:42:09] to