Marks of a Commendable Gospel Worker

Right, good morning all. It's good to see you. Hopefully I get to meet some more of you at the fellowship meal later. But yeah, my wife and I are members at Grace Bible Church in Bozeman. We've been there for, I don't know, what?

I'm losing track. Yeah, eight or nine years, somewhere in there. But yeah, we actually are just in the next week or so going to be moving to Billings. I'm going to be working as an intern with Pastor Joe Schreibweis there.

So I think some of you know him. So that'll be, so yeah, we're going to be actually living a little closer to this area. So it's bittersweet for us, but I'm glad to be able to be with you and share the word with you this morning.

Why Examples Matter in Christian Life

So yeah, let's jump in. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. And there's a lot of truth to that. There's a lot of truth to that. And that's, it's probably just the way that God has made us.

There's many things that we can't quite understand just by words alone. We need to see some sort of a picture or a representation to be able to understand it. There's some research that estimates that about 65 percent of people would be considered visual learners.

That's the best way that they learn is by seeing something in front of them. And there may be even more than that, honestly, 65 percent. Who knows? Maybe there's even more than that. Because most of us know this by experience.

Yesterday, we actually spent the night, I didn't mention this, but we spent the night at, in Huntley. My sister-in-law lives over there. So we stayed the night with them. So we drove through Billings and through the construction zones.

Right, yeah, it's construction season, right? It's summer. So we drove through the construction zones. And I was just thinking about, as I was seeing the signs by the interstate, they show the two roads, the two lanes merging.

You can see that, and you immediately know what's happening. Okay, these two lanes are going together. But can you imagine if there was just a sign that described that in words? In 500 feet, there will be two lanes merging together, and you need to make sure that you yield to the other lane or something like that.

You couldn't really follow that as you're driving down the interstate, would you? You need the picture to be able to see it. And have you ever tried to build something with instructions, but there's no pictures with it either?

It just says, put this piece on this part, and you're asking, okay, what is this piece? What's the first piece? And what part of this other thing do I need to put it onto? It's very hard to follow, right?

That's why I love LEGO instructions. There's no words. It's just pictures, and you just put them together, and it's great. And I think there's a bit of a spiritual analogy with all of this, because we can hear about what our lives are supposed to look like in words, and we have a lot of descriptions of what our lives ought to look like as Christians in the Bible.

But sometimes it's so helpful to have an example. Someone we can see, see their example of life and how they live, and their model of godliness. And you've probably seen this in your own life. I know, I can think very vividly of a time that, before Jess and I had kids, just being around an older couple that had kids, and just seeing how they trained their kids, how they taught them, how they responded to patiently, lovingly, but firmly.

And that was so helpful for me, because I didn't just hear about it. I could actually see what they were doing, and that was so good and so necessary. And the Apostle Paul saw examples as another necessary thing as well.

I want you to turn with me to Philippians chapter 3. We're actually going to spend our time in Philippians chapter 2, but this will just be sort of as part of our introduction this morning. Philippians chapter 3, starting in verse 17, Paul says this, "'Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.'".

So he says, brothers, Philippian church, remember how I lived in front of you. Remember the example that I set for you, and follow that. I set you an example for you to be able to follow. Look later in this book, chapter 4 verse 9, Paul says, "'The things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.'".

Again, Paul's pointing to his own life example. He said, I lived in front of you to show you an example of what Christlikeness looks like. I want you to follow that. Now, again, these are just words for us, right?

We don't have the Apostle Paul here to see how he actually lived. So in some sense, we're still a little bit removed. But this morning, in Philippians chapter 2, I think we're going to see a clearer picture, an up-close picture of what a faithful follower of Christ looks like.

So let's turn to chapter 2 of this book. Chapter 2, starting in verse 19, and I believe you all learned about Timothy last week, or recently, and we're going to learn about the next man in this story.

But we'll read the whole section just to keep it together. So Philippians chapter 2, verse 19,. "'But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel, like a child serving his father.

Therefore, I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me, and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need, because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

For indeed, he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore, I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again, you may rejoice, and I may be less concerned about you.

Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.

Now, this section of Philippians, it stands out a little bit from the other sections. Paul has been exhorting the church at Philippi for some time to have the humble mind of Christ, to shine as lights in the world, just to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

And we have this section, and right after that, he's going to return to those exhortations. He's going to warn them about false teachers, and he's going to exhort them to grow in Christlikeness. So, this section that we just read, it seems like administrative, you could say.

Paul, he's describing his visit to the Philippian church, or his planned visit to them, and he's talking about who he's planning on sending to them, Timothy and Epaphroditus. Now, why would God include details like this?

Why do we need this in our Bibles? It's not like we need to know what Paul's planning on doing, as if we're expecting the Apostle Paul to come to Laurel Bible Church. We just need to remember that Paul was always purposeful in his letters.

He was always purposeful, and this is not an exception. This may seem like just a record of his plans, or the events that have happened to him, but Paul's actually setting these two men, Timothy and Epaphroditus, he's setting them as examples for this church to follow.

Now, you probably looked at this last week, but verse 21, speaking of Timothy, says, for they all seek after their own interests and not those of Christ Jesus, but you know of his proven worth. So, in contrast to all these people who were just seeking to serve themselves, Paul says, look at this man.

This man, Timothy, you know he is worthy of honor. You know that this man is commendable. This man should be imitated. He had the mind of Christ, putting other people above himself, right? And isn't that what we're all supposed to do?

Have this mind in yourselves, which is also yours in Christ Jesus. So, Timothy was an example. We're going to see that Epaphroditus, he's also an example. He's an example for this church to follow. And this morning, as we study this man's, the description of this man, I want to put this under three headings.

We could call this marks of a commendable gospel worker, or a description of a commendable gospel worker. This is what a commendable man looks like. This is a man that should be honored and should be imitated.

Look at him. So, here's the first mark we see here. The first mark is faithful labor. Faithful labor. Commendable gospel workers, they are committed to faithful labor. Look at verse 25. But I thought it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need.

Now, who is this man? If you've read your Bibles, you're thinking, who is this man? Epaphroditus. It seems like we should be familiar with him. This is a solid man, just considering how Paul describes him, right?

We know about Timothy. There's two letters written to him. We know about Titus. There was a letter written to him. We hear about different people that work with Paul in the book of Acts, like Luke and Silas, we hear about a few times.

But this reminds us right here that there were many other gospel workers in the first century. There were many other fellow workers with Christ, and many of them, all we know about them is their name.

There's so much more behind what they did, but all we know is their name. How about these people? Have you ever heard of these people? These people were fellow workers with Paul. Clement is mentioned in Philippians 4.

There's a man named Aristarchus in Philemon, verse 24. A man named Urbanus in Romans chapter 16. There's three men called Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus. And there's another man that's called a fellow soldier, so a man that was in the trenches with Paul named Archippus.

And there's even more people named Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persus, who are described as fellow workers with Paul. We don't know anything about those people. All we know is their names. All we know is that they served with the Apostle Paul, and they were faithful.

They served the Apostle Paul, or with him, I should say, even though they were never probably recognized. And hasn't that always been the case? That we know of a few great people in church history, but there have been so many countless unnamed brothers and sisters that simply want to glorify Christ.

They just want to serve him because of what he's done to save them from their sins. Fame is not the issue, right? Faithfulness is the issue. And thankfully, we have a little bit about this man. We don't know very much, but what we see about him is really an example of faithfulness.

And even though we don't know about him, we know that Paul knew him. Look back at verse 25. Paul describes him as a brother, as a fellow worker, and as a fellow soldier in Christ. He was a brother to Paul.

That means they had a close spiritual relationship between the two of them. And more than that, he was actually a fellow worker or a co-laborer. They were working on the same mission together to bring the gospel and spread the gospel.

And maybe even one step further, Paul calls him a fellow soldier, a man who was in the trenches, who was fighting the good fight. You could say that they shared a spiritual family. They shared a spiritual work, and they shared a spiritual battle.

Brothers, co-workers, and soldiers. Now, do you think about the Christian life in those terms? Just think about it for a second. As a laborious thing, labor for the work of Christ, or as a battle, as something where we are fighting.

This isn't a cruise, is it? This is how the Apostle Paul saw the Christian life, and that's how we should too. Because in 2 Timothy 2, he also describes the Christian life in this way. He describes Christians as farmers, those who go from dawn to dusk, and they wait patiently for the crop to come.

They work hard and wait patiently. In that same passage, 2 Timothy 2, Paul describes Christians as soldiers, those who are intent on following their master's orders, even if that meant enduring hardship for his sake.

And that's what Epaphroditus did. That's what this man did. He was a laborer. He was that farmer. He was that soldier. He was faithful. The Philippians also knew this man. We can tell from this passage that the Philippian church knew this man well.

And to see this, I want you to turn with me to chapter 4, just briefly, verse 18. Paul says this, But I have received everything in full and have an abundance. I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. So, as I'm sure you know, the Apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. He was not in a good place as far as his earthly circumstances.

And apparently, the Philippian church had heard about his imprisonment, and they wanted to help him out. Do you remember one of the first people that was saved in Philippi was actually a jailer? He was, he had actually watched over Paul in Philippi when Paul had first gone there, and then he later becomes saved.

So, he knew, if no one else knew, that prisoners in this day were not well treated. They were tightly packed together. They were rarely given a change of clothes. So, they would sit in the same clothes day in and day out.

They were rarely given food or water. So, if these people wanted to survive, they needed the help of friends or family to come and bring them food or whatever it may be, clothing. And so, the Philippian church, knowing that Paul was in prison, they decided that they were going to choose a trusted man to go to deliver a financial gift to Paul.

And that was over 800 miles away that this man had to travel. This would have taken over a month. They needed to choose a trusted man, and who did they choose? Epaphroditus. They knew this man, and they trusted him, maybe more than anyone else in this church.

He was trusted. So, turn back with me to chapter two. So, this man not only served with Paul as a brother, and a fellow worker, and a fellow soldier, but he also served his home church. It says, the end of verse 25 says, he's also your messenger and minister to my need.

So, he was faithful as a messenger to serve this church, to serve Paul in his need on their behalf. Now, the word messenger here, don't think just someone that brings a message like a newspaper boy or something like that.

This is someone that's actually sent on a task to do a specific work on another person's behalf. You could say, and this probably included some sort of missionary support for the Apostle Paul. So, you could say he was maybe like a short-term missionary.

He brought a financial gift, but he was also going to support Paul in the work of ministry. And you could see what we just looked at. He was doing that well. He had done that well. He had been faithful to that task.

He was also a minister to Paul's physical needs in prison. All right, we just saw about that in chapter four. Part of his reason for going was just to provide what Paul needed just to stay alive. This is a unique word too because he's a minister to those people.

The Philippian church probably would have immediately recognized that this was kind of a unique word for ministry to another person. It's not the usual word that someone would use in that case because there were some wealthy Roman citizens that had this title.

They were ministers in this way and these people were committed to the cause of Rome. They were some sort of wealthy people that were benefactors. They were trying to promote the cause of the Roman culture.

So, they would have funded things like athletic events or theatrical performances. They were helping to build buildings or helping a worship to be repaired. Their generosity was fueled by this desire to see Rome and the belief in what was Rome.

And now Paul is applying that to Epaphroditus. He was committed to the cause of Christ so much that he was willing to go this at least month-long journey to care for a man in a dark prison because that would further the cause of Christ.

I want to step back just for a second. This verse, verse 25, it's almost all describing this one man. Why would Paul see it necessary to describe the faithfulness of this one man? Here's what I think would be the reason is that the Philippians sent this man.

Right? They sent him to Paul and now Paul was sending him back. So, they might ask, did Epaphroditus fail? Did he not actually fulfill what his task was given? Should we have sent someone else? Why is Epaphroditus back here?

That could have easily been a rumor in the Philippian church when he returned, but Paul wanted to put that to rest once for all. He was, Paul just makes clear, he was a laborer. He did his part. He was a soldier.

He served his master. He labored with me. He did well. He ministered to my needs like you sent him to do. He was a faithful gospel worker. And shouldn't that be the desire of all of us? Be faithful. No matter what the Lord puts us in or where he puts us, no matter where Epaphroditus was, he did his task well.

He was faithful. He was faithful in Philippi and he had been faithful to Paul in Rome. And this man serves as an example for us. Faithful labor. Faithful labor. But there's more about this man that we need to learn about and emulate.

Loving Concern for Other Believers

He also had loving concern. Not only faithful labor, but he had loving concern for others. Remember, Paul had begun this section talking about he's going to send Epaphroditus. I'm going to send him to you, but now he's going to describe why.

So, look with me at verse 26. I'm going to send him to you, verse 26 says, because he was longing for you all and he was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed, he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him.

And not only on him, but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. So, apparently this man, Epaphroditus, either on his trip to Rome or after he got to Rome, had fallen sick. And this was not just a cold.

This was life or death. And Paul wanted to make sure that the Philippian church knew what kind of sacrifice this man had made. They had heard some report of his sickness, but they weren't quite sure what was going on.

You know, and you know when you're sitting in a hospital room and you're waiting to hear from a doctor, it just seems like time is just standing still. You need to know what's going on, but you're just waiting for the news.

You don't know what's happened. You're waiting for the news of a test that was done to see how you're doing medically. You need to know what's going on. And think about this, the Philippian church, it would have taken over a month for them to hear from Rome.

So, by the time they heard that he was sick, they didn't know maybe he was already dead. They had no idea. They were just waiting to hear from him. But I think the remarkable thing is that once Epaphroditus learned that they were anxious about him, he actually wasn't as concerned about himself as about them.

His concern wasn't as much about him being sick, it was about their spiritual state. Isn't that incredible? He was anxious for them. He cared for this church. He loved these people. And it's really described in very strong language.

He had a deep desire for them. Verse 26 says, he longed for them. He longed for these people. And this word is also used in 1 Peter 2 to describe how a baby longs for milk. As any of you that have children know this, that you can, no matter how much you rock a baby, no matter how much you try to make them smile, no matter if you give them a pacifier or not, if they want milk, they want milk.

Nothing else is going to do. They need it. And that was this man's longing. He longed to see them. He needed to see them. And he longed for that so much that it says he was in distress over this. He was in distress.

And again, this is very strong because the only time that this word is used elsewhere in the New Testament is in the garden. When Jesus was in distress right before his crucifixion, this man was longing for them, was in distress for them.

What an example of loving concern. He loved these people. It may seem spiritual in some sense to, because of God's sovereignty, because we know that God is in control to just act like we don't care what happens.

But that was not what this man did. He wanted these people to do as well as they could. He really cared that they were doing well. More than he cared about his own health. And I think Paul also, as we read this, we see the loving concern of Epaphroditus, but we also see that in Paul's life too.

Because if this man was to die, he says he would have sorrow on sorrow. He would be overwhelmed with sorrow because this man, he loved this man. He wanted this man to do well physically. He wanted this man to continue in the work of ministry.

He had a loving concern for Epaphroditus. Now look at verse 28. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. We know that Paul loved this man.

We know that Paul saw this man as very useful, but he wanted what was best for Epaphroditus and he wanted what was best for the Philippian church. I just think this is just, this section is just such a neat example of concern for one another.

Christians loving one another and wanting the best for one another. Think about this. Everyone is caring for everyone. The Philippians, they were concerned with Epaphroditus, about him, that he would be doing well.

When Epaphroditus heard about their anxiety, he was distressed over them and he wanted them to be relieved of that. And now Paul is concerned for the Philippians and for Epaphroditus, wanting them to be doing well.

So much so that he was willing to let this faithful man, he was eager to let him go back to them. Everyone is caring for everyone. Isn't that neat? What an example for us. This is a living example of what Paul had described and he wanted the Philippians to do.

Remember what he said earlier in this book? Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others.

I want you to think about this. What if this church, Laurel Bible Church, every day, every Sunday, every person came in asking this question, how can I serve everyone around me? How can I give up my preferences for the good of someone else?

How can I see one another as more important than myself? Wouldn't that be incredible to see in a church if every single person was doing that? That's the example. That's the example we're given is loving concern for one another.

Forgetting ourselves really and focusing on the spiritual needs of others. That's this commendable worker that Paul is giving to us. He had a loving concern for others. Now there's one more mark of this man that we should imitate.

Sacrificial Service for the Cause of Christ

We saw faithful labor, saw loving concern, now we have sacrificial actions. Look with me in verse 29. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy and hold men like him in high regard. Now this the city of Philippi was founded by a man named Philip.

He was the father of Alexander the Great. And this city was an important city, an important trade route. It was called the the Ignatian Way. So this was one of the key trade routes through the Roman Empire would come right through this city.

And it had an important political space in Roman society. There was a great pride in this city because this was actually one of the most important battles was fought in the city of the Roman Empire. That was when the Roman Republic would soon become the Roman Empire.

And as the rivals Octavian and Antony, they met and battled together. And after this, the empire actually changed. So this was actually a crucial city in Roman society. And there was many, interestingly, there was actually many military veterans, maybe ones that even fought in that battle or elsewhere, that had landed in this city.

Maybe some of those people were part of this church, we don't know. Some returned in honor and some not so much. So how was this man supposed to return to the Philippian church? It's possible, like I mentioned earlier, that he would have a mixed reception.

That some people would be saying, wait a second, why aren't you still in Rome with Paul? Paul wanted to clear the record. He wanted to make sure that they knew that this man, this soldier had done his duty.

He had fought the good fight and they needed to welcome him with open arms. They needed to give him full honors. There was nothing dishonorable about this man's discharge. And here's the reason why that's the case.

Look at verse 30. Hold him in honor because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me. This man was willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ, for the work of Christ.

He was taking up his cross and he was doing what few people were willing to do or are willing to do is lay down his life for Christ. When this man took up this assignment to go to Rome, he knew about the dangers of this travel.

He knew that there would be robbers who would want to be taking away this financial gift that he was taking. He knew about this different sicknesses. He knew about the weariness that he would experience along the way.

But he traveled the distance. He went over 800 miles by land and by sea for the sake of the gospel. And once he was there, he knew he would be actually helping and assisting a Roman criminal. And if the Romans were willing to lock up Paul, let's just say that they wouldn't lock up this man.

Really, this man, by going on this trip, he was putting himself in real danger. He was risking his life. And interestingly, that's probably actually a kind of a play on words for this man's name because he was named probably by pagan parents after the god of luck.

So he was risking his life. He was taking a chance, you could say, for the sake of the gospel. He knew that if he sought God's kingdom that those things would be added to. And he did this because he wanted to bridge the gap between the Philippians and Paul.

He wanted his church to be able to continue to work in the gospel and continue their involvement in gospel ministry. And unfortunately, most of our translations, they say something along the lines, it sounds pretty negative, what was deficient in your service to me.

I think what Paul is more talking about, he's talking about their inability. They weren't able to help Paul because they were so far removed. But this man had actually taken the sacrifice so that they could minister to Paul.

And they knew whoever they picked was going to have to be a sacrificial person. They knew they were going to have to pick someone that was more concerned about the cause of Christ than their own life.

And that man was Epaphroditus. How many of us would have taken that trip, risking our lives to further the gospel? What a challenge. And as we mentioned earlier, at times, God's Word does give us direct commands to follow, doesn't it?

Do this, don't do that. And that can be helpful to be just maybe more specific on what we're supposed to do. But at other times, God's Word gives us examples. And how helpful is this passage? To see just those aspects of this faithful gospel worker, just to see it in flesh and blood.

Paul had told them in chapter 1 to strive side by side for the faith of the gospel. And here's an example of a man that was doing that. This was a man that was doing that. This man was a stranger to pretty much all of us, what, about 30 minutes ago?

But now we've seen an example of what faithful gospel work looks like. He was faithful, he was loving, and he was sacrificial. You could say in a word, he was Christ-like. Isn't that the model of Christ that we have?

Faithful to come to this earth, loving each person he encountered, and sacrificing his own life for the sake of others. Right? Do you know him? Have you submitted yourself to Christ? Right? He came to this earth to pay for our sins so that we could be right with him.

So we could be removed from our alienation from God and actually be reconciled to God. Not by our works, not because of something we've done, but because he showed us grace. You know him. Would you pray with me?

Father, thank you for this example. Lord, thank you for this man that we have learned all that we know or can know about his life in just a few short verses. But Lord, we're thankful. We're thankful that we are challenged to be faithful to you, or to be faithful in every aspect of our lives, every ministry you've called us to.

We're thankful for the example of his loving concern for others. Lord, how he thought about others above himself. Lord, and his sacrificial actions. Lord, we must admit that we fall far short in many ways.

Lord, help us, Lord, to be these kind of men and women. Lord, for your sake, we pray this in your name. Amen.