3:23 Good morning, Maranatha. The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies above proclaim his handiwork. I cannot help but thinking about those verses this morning. As we look out, we see the sun shining forth in this beautiful day that the Lord has given to us. It is a reminder, Lord's mercies are new every morning.
3:48 You know, I was actually going to open this service with a verse, but as I was meditating upon and praying about it, I felt the Lord wanted me to address a different verse today. As we begin our service in our meeting on this last full day of this conference, I'm reminded that in this group of people, there are some who are struggling. There's some who are struggling with this sin that they can't seem to overcome, try as they might, year after year. They're still struggling with the same things. And they're tired.
4:31 You're tired today. You don't know how to keep on going. Of happy people, smiles, and joy. And you want that, but you don't have it. It seems like you're being afflicted from every side.
4:55 Sadness in your life and you want to smile but you don't know how any more. And so there's others even in the midst of this group here. You're lonely. You feel like no one sees or understands you. No one knows what you're going through.
5:13 You don't even know why you're here at this conference, really. Ways. One, it is by the sovereign power and might of God that everyone is here in this room today. Billions, if not trillions of things that had to have happened, not just in the past couple months, but throughout your entire lives that bring you here in this building, in this service today. God intended for you to be here.
5:45 And God intended for you to be - And then - And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then -And then God knows what's going on in in your heart. And the Lord will never leave you or forsake you. Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, you are his beloved. And I'd like to start our service today, our meeting today, by reading a familiar song. And as I read, may the Lord use his words, give you joy today in a confidence you might not have come in here.
6:42 So I invite everybody here to stand for the reading of God's word yet again. A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
7:06 He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
7:31 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Father, we thank you for yet another opportunity to gather with your people to exalt our risen King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.
8:08 And Father, I pray that your word today, the truth of your scripture will wash over us. I pray, Lord, that the preaching of your word, the singing of your word, and the prayers of the saints today will fan the flames of affection in our hearts to want to know you, to want to serve you, and to want to find our complete satisfaction and joy in you. Lord, today I pray that in this meeting, you bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted. You comfort the afflicted. You walk alongside those who might feel lonely or dejected or despair today.
8:55 Lord, I pray that you will be their shield and their strength. And then ever present help and trouble. May you reign supreme in our hearts during this meeting and afterwards and beyond. May you focus our attention. May you open our eyes to behold wondrous things out of your law today.
9:19 It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Brothers and sisters, lift your voice to the Lord this morning. Lift your song to the Lord this morning, and give Christ your all.
17:08 Hebrews four verse 14. Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of god. Let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
26:29 Hallelujah indeed. Lord, we praise your name this morning. We thank you that you've given us another day to be where we truly desire to be and that is in your presence with God's people. Lord as we come now to your word to hear from you yet again, oh speak to our hearts, thunder these truths in our hearts, Lord. Realign the things that are out of place, transform us Lord, renew us, refresh us, teach us your ways.
27:01 And as always show us Christ, show us Christ Lord. We pray these things in his name, Amen and amen. Before you're seated, tell somebody good morning. Welcome them to this morning's service. This morning, it is my desire to speak to you about a man by the name of Epaphroditus.
27:50 Have you heard of him? Epaphroditus appears by name twice in the New Testament and both times in the same book, the book of Philippians. Now we cannot truly appreciate this servant of God, Epaphroditus, unless we have some kind of framework, some kind of background knowledge to the book of Philippians. Philippians is one of Paul's four prison epistles. And his imprisonment that allowed him to compose these letters are found briefly mentioned in the end of the book of Acts.
28:33 You can see there in your own time. He was under house arrest. He had some freedoms there. And unlike Paul's other letters, at least most of his letters, his desire in writing to the Philippian church was not to correct some doctrinal error. It was not to rebuke them for some immorality of some sort.
28:55 It was primarily given to the church to express his gratitude for them. And of course there is exhortation included. There is warnings to some degree provided. There is some kind of instructions woven throughout this letter. But the heart of it is to express his absolute delight and thanksgiving for these believers.
29:21 Now the question is, what is he giving thanks for? And the answer to that as, we read this book is found at the end of the book of Philippians. And so turn with me there to Philippians chapter four verse 18. And in this, we're also going to see how Epaphroditus is a key figure in the correspondence between the Philippian church and the apostle Paul. Philippians four eighteen.
29:51 I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. A fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. So what is Paul saying here? Well again, he is in prison and he recognizes that the Philippian church in wanting to help Paul while in prison sent a representative, Epaphroditus, to grant him a financial gift.
30:26 So we don't know the official position of this man, Epaphroditus. Was he a leader in the church? Was he just a member? We can't say with absolute assurance. However, in this moment, in this letter, we understand that he was an ambassador for the church in Philippi.
30:47 He embodied their love. He embodied their care and their concern for Paul. And Paul understood this and more than just dropping off a gift, Epaphroditus willingly for an indefinite period of time was going to stay with Paul and minister to his needs. His house arrest allowed for that, for people to visit him and to stay with him to some extent. And so this was Epaphroditus coming to Paul's side on a daily basis.
31:16 Leaving Philippi, leaving his home, leaving his congregation to be by the side of this beloved apostle. But here's what's so interesting about the book of Philippians. Epaphroditus is going to return back to his church earlier than planned. And this letter is going to explain why. And so hopefully, you can see at least how this man, Epaphroditus, is a key link to this book because it's possible that Paul even places this letter in the hands of Epaphroditus to send back to the church to explain his return so soon.
32:00 And so this individual is somebody very important, though he may not be very much known to us as Christians. And I like to believe that he lived up to his name. One of the meanings of Epaphroditus is lovely, and he is a lovely man of God. And as we're about to see, he was very much loved by Paul and he was very much loved by his church. And I have come to love him myself.
32:28 And I want you to see how lovely he is because of Christ in him. And so we're going to turn to our main text now in Philippians chapter two where Epaphroditus is first mentioned. And you're going to see, I pray, that by the end of this time, how Epaphroditus has inspired Christians to live radically for the Lord Jesus since the inception of this text. Philippians two verse 25. Paul from prison in Rome writes the following.
32:59 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my need. For he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill near to death, but God had mercy on him. And not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again and that I may be less anxious.
33:38 So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. Can we pray one more time? Lord, we ask that you would use these verses to help us understand what it means to be selfless and to be sacrificial and to be one who possesses the mind of Christ. Wherever we find ourselves, Lord, use this man, Epaphroditus, as you designed this text to be used to inspire your people this morning to the glory of your name. In Jesus' name we pray.
34:23 Amen. You know what amazed me about Epaphroditus when I first looked at him carefully is how in the opening verse of this text of scripture, he is granted five titles. Five titles. Three of them come from Paul and how he perceived Epaphroditus and the other two is how the church felt about one of their members. And I want us to look at these things carefully.
34:49 Look back at verse 25 with me. The first thing that Paul mentions about Epaphroditus is he is my brother. My brother. Now obviously, speaking spiritually, he's my spiritual brother. But this is more than Paul saying that Epaphroditus is a fellow Christian whom I trust.
35:09 The Philippian church know that Epaphroditus is a Christian. Instead, this is Paul expressing the love he has for this man. It's a term of endearment. It's an expression of profound respect that he has for Epaphroditus. And that should move us because it reveals something to Paul's heart.
35:33 He had real affection for Christians. He had actual sentiment. He really felt warmly toward other believers including this man Epaphroditus. And that is instructive for us, I think. Because I'm not sure some Christians can say this about how they feel about other Christians.
35:57 I think for some Christians, they view their fellow believers the way they might view their natural family. You didn't have a choice who to grow up with. You didn't have a choice who to be raised by, and so you just put up with them. And that's how some people view the church. You have to put up with these people, I guess.
36:19 Jesus tells me to love them, I'm gonna try to love them and just wait for the day where they're perfected. And that I will be able to love them much easier. And that's a shame. It really is a shame, isn't it? I know that there are some Christians who are difficult.
36:37 I understand that. Stay in the church long enough and you'll experience it too. But Paul shows us something much more wonderful, something possible that you can look at another person who you have no relevance to outside of Christ, outside of faith, and know such a nearness, such a loyalty, such a care from them that you can say, you're my brother. You're my sister. And this is what he begins with before anything else, before he says anything about him being a fellow minister, a servant, missionary, he says, you're my brother.
37:17 So when you become a Christian, you have to understand not only does that transform the way you view God as your heavenly father, it also opens you up to horizontal relationships that you didn't know were possible. People who outside of Christ, again, you would have nothing in common with, you would never even spend five minutes with, and yet here you and I are willing to lay our lives down for one another. At least we should be able to say that and believe that and actually do that should the opportunity arise. And if you're saying, brother, that's wonderful, that preaches really well, but you you you don't know my experience with Christians, here's how I wanna encourage you. Pray to God for an epaphroditis in your life.
38:02 Ask God for a person like that in your life. Somebody that you genuinely enjoy because of who they are in Christ. What they carry in Christ where you can say, that's my brother, and I'm not ashamed to say it. But besides that, he goes on to say, and my fellow worker and fellow soldier. Now I won't treat these things separately.
38:29 We can conjoin them here, And I want you to see how Paul's very careful with his words. As an apostle, as a man who saw the risen Christ in his glory, Notice the humility of Paul. He does not say Epaphroditus, my worker. He does not say Epaphroditus, my soldier. He He says, my fellow worker.
39:01 He is my fellow soldier. So Paul, even as a leader, and though we do not know Epaphroditus' exact position, by virtue of Paul being an apostle, an apostle of Jesus Christ, he views Epaphroditus as an equal. He actually sees him as a partner, as a co laborer. Even in Paul's language, he does not give a hint that he is superior. That he is someone more significant, more to be appreciated, more to be praised, more to be admired.
39:42 He brings Epaphroditus up to his level. This is wonderful. This is so instructive. Because even in my brief Christian experience, I've seen some unfortunate examples in Christian leaders, people who claim to be Christian leaders in the church, who take their platform, who take their gifting, who take their influence and use it to build themselves up at the expense of tearing others down or making others feel less in order to inflate their own ego. This is real.
40:21 And Paul knows such knows no such thing. Paul understands that God has granted me, yes, a wonderful position, a wonderful privilege, and he used such authority to encourage others. To encourage others directly and to encourage others in the sight of others. Like how he is doing this for Epaphroditus. He is telling this church, listen, he is my fellow worker.
40:46 He is my fellow soldier. I want you to turn with me to an interesting verse. I was reading the other day two Corinthians and I see Paul here how he viewed spiritual authority. This is going to be important for those in this room who are in a position of spiritual authority or who strive and long to be in some kind of place of leadership. You have to see how Paul this is a very brief text here, but this is a wonderful thing in order to show us here what it truly means to be a leader in God's kingdom.
41:14 Look at second Corinthians chapter 10 and verse eight. Second Corinthians ten eight, Paul says, for even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. Do you see how Paul understands spiritual authority? It's to build you up. A true leader in the church, in any capacity, edifies others.
41:56 He will at times help them understand that their, their duty in the church, their service to the church is of great significance.
42:03 not unimportant. It's not unnecessary. He builds them up. He does not destroy them. He does not abuse them.
42:14 He does not take advantage of them. He does not try to manipulate them in order for their contributions to build their platform, their name up. Stay far away from leadership, please. If you don't understand that God putting you in such a position is designed for others to feel more built up when they are under your ministry. You know that you're under a true Christian leader when after you talk with them and you receive from the ministry, you are edified.
42:57 You feel more confident in your walk with Christ. You feel more assured in knowing that what you do for the Lord is actually meaningful. So true leaders build up. They don't use their authority to tear down. Now, after expressing the great honor he had for the servant of Christ, Paul then acknowledges how the Philippians cherish Epaphroditus as well.
43:21 He tells them here in the second part of verse 25, he is your messenger. He is your messenger and ministered to my need. Now, what does that mean exactly? Well, you have to understand that the Philippians loved Paul and Paul really loved the Philippian church. When you compare his writings to the Philippians, with the other churches, he loved all the churches.
43:41 But you see here that he had a fondness for the Philippians and they had a great love for this man. And so when they learned that he was in prison, they wanted to do what they could to express their support and to show their love for this apostle. But there was one main problem, distance. So they felt as though their service to Paul in this very desperate time of his life was incomplete, was insufficient. Look here at verse 30 of Philippians chapter two for a moment.
44:16 Paul writes here, For he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. So again, in honoring Epaphroditus, he also wants to acknowledge the Philippian church. Hey, Philippians, I understand that you wanted to serve me and Epaphroditus was the extension of that service. In other words, Epaphroditus, this man was the one who stepped up in the church and said, I will be the practical bridge between us and Paul. Do you want me to go to Rome?
44:51 Do you want me to serve him? Do you want me to stay there as long as he needs to stay there? I will do it. And so, by saying he is your messenger and minister to my need, he's also affirming the Philippian church. Paul here understands that this man carried the love of the church for him.
45:13 Now, let's think about this more deeply. What does it say about Epaphroditus? For the church who loved Paul, who knew Paul, to say, we will send this man to represent us. We will send this man as our love package to Paul. That says something about this man, does it not?
45:38 It says something about his maturity in Christ, does it not? It says something about his integrity. It says something about his fear of God. I mean, he's the one taking this money with him. It says something about his selflessness.
45:53 He is the one who's willing to who knows if he walked away from a wife for a season? Who knows if he walked away from children? He definitely walked away from his church, the comfort of his home. And this invites us to ask some searching questions. At least it did for me.
46:13 Should a similar opportunity arise in our own context, would I be a potential candidate for my church to represent them and ultimately Christ to serve a purpose like this? Would there be anything questionable about my character, about my testimony, about my consistent attitude? That may disqualify me from being an option of being sent out like this man Epaphroditus. Or would it sound more like this, You know, so and so is a genuine believer but man, it doesn't take much for him to get angry. He has a temper.
46:58 Not sure if we can use him in this area. Or, you know, so and so, they express desire to serve in this way, but have you noticed that whenever they get comfortable around people, they get a little inappropriate with their language? They make innuendos and not sure if he's the best fit for this. Not Epaphroditus. He was blameless.
47:24 There was no hesitation for this church to say, we will send this man to go to Paul. And they knew who Paul was. Paul was not somebody you can joke around with too much. Right? If you were flimsy in your devotion and your service, he let you know it.
47:37 So Epaphroditus was the real deal. And His example reminds us of how godliness and serious holiness, not legalism again, holiness is not a bad word, okay? It's a good thing. Holiness is health to your soul in the same way health is for your body. It's good for you.
47:59 It's not bad for you. And it's good for others as well. We can send this man with absolute confidence. And Paul praised this man and he praised the church for sending him. So, so far we've seen how Paul feels about Epaphroditus.
48:17 So far we see how the church felt about Epaphroditus. We're gonna see more of that. But for the first time, we see something about Epaphroditus' heart. And it's here in verse 26. Look at it again with me.
48:32 For he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. This is staggering to me. This is deeply moving actually. Because it doesn't make sense at first. Paul is ready to now explain to the church why he is sending back their representative.
49:01 He wants to clarify it. He wants to confirm by his own writing the reason for the disruption to their ministry. And he says he has been longing for you. And you read that and you think, Okay, that makes sense. It's homesickness.
49:20 He wants to go back to Philippi. He wants to go back to his church family. He wants to go back to his home. He wants to go back to his bed. That's not the case at all.
49:34 And has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Hold on a minute. I would understand if it says, He was distressed because he was ill. It doesn't say that, does it? I would also understand if he said, And he was distressed because you didn't know that he was ill.
50:01 Right? Is it possible for Christians to be upset if they're in a time of need and people in the church don't know about it? Some Christians get upset about that. That's not what Epaphroditus was concerned about. Why was he so upset?
50:20 Because he learned that they discovered that he was sick. And he was worried about their anxiety for him. This is alien. This doesn't make sense to the flesh. And in case you think that this is a passing thought for Epaphroditus, do you see that word distressed in the ESV in verse 26?
50:48 It's a unique one in the Greek. It's a unique one in the New Testament. It's only found two other times in the New Testament both speaking of the same incident. This word distress is found to describe how the Lord Jesus felt when he was praying in the Garden Of Gethsemane. Let me read that verse to you.
51:09 This is quite astounding. In Mark 14 verse 33. You don't have to turn there. Just listen. Mark fourteen thirty three reads, And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
51:23 It's the word troubled. Greatly distressed and troubled. And the Holy Spirit takes that word and applies it to what Epaphroditus felt when he heard that the church was worried about him. So this was not just, oh, I hope they're okay. There's deep anguish here in Epaphroditus.
51:50 There's turmoil. He is very much troubled. This is keeping him up that night. Paul could see it written all over his face. And you might be thinking, what is he so worried about?
52:08 Are you ready for this? How the church was stressed about his illness. Again, not about his own illness or not about how, do do they even care about me? They haven't checked up on me. That's not what he's distressed about.
52:25 He discovered, they know I'm sick. And you have to remember, Epaphroditus couldn't send a text message to one of the pastors in Philippi. I'm doing okay. There'd be long stretches of time considering the distance before you get any update on anybody. And Epaphroditus understood this.
52:46 Things took time to travel. Letters, messages, messengers. And so there was that delay. And with that delay, a lack of clarity. And with that lack of clarity, distress with both parties.
53:04 And so Epaphroditus is worried about what? The worry of his church. And this is something for us to consider because he is modeling for us what we read earlier in Philippians. So go earlier here in chapter two verse four, Philippians. Notice what Paul says to the whole church.
53:26 He says in chapter two verse four, let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. And Epaphroditus models it. He is not looking to his own interests. He is absolutely absorbed and consumed with the interests of others and namely here the Philippian church.
53:52 What is agitating Epaphroditus? The emotional well-being, the mental state of his Christians back home. Who thinks like this? A man who has the mind of Christ. Who acts like this?
54:09 A man who does not have his own interests as his top priority but the interests of others? So much so that when his fellow Christians are shaken by news, he's saddened by it. That's how connected he is to his local church. But here's what's so beautiful about this whole account, it's not just Epaphroditus, though he is highlighted here. But you look on here and you see even more.
54:38 You see something else about selflessness and it's incredible. Look at Paul and what he says here in verse 28 of Philippians two. Paul writes, I am more eager, the more eager to send them therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again and that I may be less anxious. So now Paul is anxious. So you have Epaphroditus who's the serp, and now you have Paul who's anxious about the church as well.
55:07 And so what does he say? I'm sending him back. I'm not keeping him any longer. Now, ask yourself this, could Paul who was in prison use a friend like Epaphroditus? I hope you would say yes.
55:24 Here he is chained under house arrest. I'm sure he, you heard how he spoke about him earlier. My brother, my fellow soul, and now he's here in the flesh. I have a piece of the Philippian church right before me. I'm sure he enjoyed the conversations.
55:43 I'm sure they prayed together. And more than that there was a practical benefit here. Papadares could go in and out and get Paul whatever he needed. You need more parchment? I can get you parchment.
55:53 Are you craving anything specific? Paul, I can go grab you some lunch. That's the kind of service that this man was able to provide. And yet Paul here, knowing about the anxiety of the church says, I'm sending him back. I'm not gonna keep him to myself.
56:08 If him going back to you will bring relief, then so be it at my own expense. So you have Epaphroditus who's worried about the church. You have Paul who's worried about the church. Well, what about the Philippian church? Were they going to call Epaphroditus back in order so that they can have their brother and be reassured that he is safe?
56:33 No way. They wanna keep him with Paul. Do you see the symphony here of selfless love? Do you see what a Christian congregation should look like? Do you see what Christian marriage should look like?
56:49 Do you see what Christian friendships should look like? Do you see what Christian ministry and leadership should look like? Everybody is thinking about the other. And they can't figure it out
57:02 little bit. You go No, I Because the mind of Christ. Selflessness is the key to knowing heaven on earth. Selflessness is the key to knowing true love. And Paul said earlier, Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus.
57:27 In other words, it's possible for you to have it in the power of Christ. It's attainable with the example of Christ. And it's no accident that after exhorting the church to do this and to continue in this that he provides an example in Epaphroditus. But before Paul wraps up his thoughts about this man, he wants to confirm that what the Philippians heard about his condition was indeed true. Look back again here at verse 27.
57:54 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. So he doesn't want Epaphroditus to show up to the front step of the church and the people wonder, what are you doing here? We sent you to be with Paul. Paul wants to confirm that what they heard was indeed fact.
58:21 The reason why this mission is aborted earlier than planned was because of a sickness. Indeed, he was ill. But there's more to learn from this. I think he's also giving them opportunity to glorify God, though not stated explicitly. Perhaps the Philippian church were pleading with the Lord and crying out to God for for Epaphroditus, not knowing about his condition.
58:46 Is he getting worse? Is he getting better? And so at the same time, yes he says indeed he was ill but also God had mercy on him. I want, I want us to pause on this verse and consider a couple of thoughts here. There are two things that stand out to me about this single verse.
59:06 Number one, Paul shows us that God's mercy can be experienced outside of miracles. God's mercy can be experienced outside of miracles. What do I mean by that? There's no indication that the recovery of Epaphroditus was due to some kind of supernatural intervention on the part of Paul laying hands on him or some kind of abnormal thing taking place. What's more likely is that Epaphroditus coming back to full health was, yes, in fact due to God's compassion, but his sovereign works.
59:39 Something that God did. Surely an answer to prayer, but it was an act of the Lord. And this is one clue of many to show that Paul, as great of a man of God as he was, could not heal on demand. You have some people who believe that. He doesn't again give any kind of hint that, Epaphroditus became sick and I just threw a handkerchief on him and he got better.
1:00:06 Or I laid hands on him and he got up. No. He's he's recognizing that God in his sovereign will and his grace entered in and healed Epaphroditus. And Paul interprets that restoration as an act of mercy. But let's be more specific.
1:00:29 Paul interprets Epaphroditus living to see another day as an act of God's mercy. And it's no different for you and I. Any additional day that you get to get up and breathe air and move is mercy from God. It's mercy. You're wondering, I want God to do something in my life.
1:00:53 You woke up this morning. It doesn't have to be a miracle for you to understand that God's merciful to you. But more than that, Paul confesses that he too was a recipient of God's mercy. Did you notice that in verse 27? But God had mercy on him and not only on him, but on me also.
1:01:16 Why is he saying that he's a recipient of God's mercy? How does Paul play into this? I'll tell you how. Paul understood that when God extended the life of Epaphroditus, He extended mercy to me also. In other words, Paul understood that the friendship and fellowship of a man like this was an expression of God's mercy.
1:01:41 Is there anybody in your life that you can say, like Paul, he is my brother? He is a fellow soldier. He is a fellow worker. Somebody who inspires you to live for Christ. Somebody who brings you comfort.
1:01:59 Somebody who helps you stay the course. If you know somebody like that, don't make the mistake and miss this. That is God's mercy in your life. And Paul here gives glory to God for it. He had mercy on me also.
1:02:14 And I love how that when God moves, he can accomplish many things at the same time. That when God moves in a person's life, he can actually touch other people at the same time. He is a wonderful God. But notice also here something of Paul's transparency in verse 27. What does he say at the end here?
1:02:35 Lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. In other words, the reason why God had mercy on me is because if I lost Epaphroditus, I would have known compounded grief. You know that phrase sorrow upon sorrow is not just shedding a tear or two. He's talking about a season of severe sadness. And God spared me from that.
1:03:04 You know what I found so interesting? That Paul admits this. Of all the places in the book of Philippians, do you know what people say about the book of Philippians? Teachers of God's word agree that it is the epistle of joy. How many times did Paul say, Rejoice in the Lord.
1:03:26 Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the right? So in the epistle of joy, Paul confesses, If Epaphroditus died, I would have known sorrow upon sorrow. How does this make sense? Doesn't he say, Rejoice in the Lord always, And again, I say rejoice.
1:03:47 Are you being inconsistent here, Paul? Let's take it further. What does he say back in Philippians one twenty one? You know this verse very well. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
1:04:00 Okay, Paul. To die is gain? So wouldn't it have been gain for Epaphroditus to die? And yet you say here, if he died, it would have been bad. It would have been really bad for me.
1:04:16 Behold, what you and I have before us is a tension in the Christian life that many assume the Bible leaves unexplained. The Bible is honest. The Bible is realistic. Death is unnatural. We all sense that.
1:04:36 Anybody who is healthy mentally and spiritually has this longing to live and continue to live and to see others that they love to live and continue to live. And so when somebody dies, it's painful. When there's sickness, it's painful. When there's loss, it's painful. When there's trials, it can be painful.
1:04:58 And Paul shows us here that it is absolutely fine to know such emotions and still trust God and still strive for greater things. How do we make sense of these things? It's very simple. You and I may grieve, you and I may grieve deeply, but we don't stay there. Sorrow does not have the last word as Christians, But it doesn't mean you don't experience sorrow.
1:05:26 So listen Christian, you barging into a funeral and telling somebody who's lost somebody and who's being laid in that casket and saying, Rejoice in the Lord always. That's not being spiritual. That's being insensitive. There's a time and place for such things. There will be a time for you to say, Listen, rejoice in Lord.
1:05:46 We don't grieve as the world grieves. But if somebody is broken and shattered at the loss of somebody, weep with them. Weep with them. That's the best thing that you can do. Paul is admitting this.
1:06:00 Is he not? Isn't this freeing? It's freeing for me. I would have had sorrow upon sorrow. He's honest with his emotions.
1:06:09 Be honest with yours. And at the same time, recognize the rest of Philippians tells us how we can be anchored even in our sorrow. How we don't stay in our sorrow. How joy is waiting for us on the other end of our sorrow. And speaking of the final word, let's look at what Paul says as he brings the explanation of Epaphroditus' return to a close.
1:06:38 Look at verse 28 again. I am the more eager to send him therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again. I love this. This man is more concerned about the joy of the Christians in Philippi than his own joy in having Epaphroditus stay with him. It's amazing.
1:06:53 That I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men for nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. Now, this is a little strange to me. He tells the believers, Receive him in the Lord with all joy. Why would he have to say that?
1:07:13 Wouldn't they be excited to have Epaphroditus back and to discover you're okay and embrace him? True, possibly, but Paul also understands that Epaphroditus, again, was an extension of their love for him. And to see Epaphroditus return may discourage them, May cause them to think, We failed Paul. And Paul wants to let him know, You did not fail me. I want you to have a celebration when Epaphroditus comes back.
1:07:48 I want you to know he wasn't minister to my deity. I want you to know that I have understood your love for me. So when he comes back, you embrace him with jubilation and you honor such men. Now that's interesting to me because it reminds us of how we should be very intentional, how we recognize certain servants of God. And in this case, Epaphroditus symbolizes the value that we should place and the honor that we should give to those who especially go to places that others are not willing to go to.
1:08:21 To reach out to people that we may not be able to reach, missionaries for example. And those especially who are willing to risk their lives for the sake of Christ. We should honor them, not idolize them but honor them. Express our support to them. Put our arms around them.
1:08:40 Tell them how much we love them and we are willing to support them. Genuinely pray for them. And this is what Paul says about Epaphroditus. Look at this language again in verse 30, for he nearly died for the work of Christ. He did He nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
1:09:03 See that word risking? That word risking is very important. It means in the original to expose oneself to danger. And that is important to clarify because it denotes the idea here that Epaphroditus calculated. He premeditated.
1:09:21 If I go to Rome, not only is that journey difficult, but I am exposing myself to other dangers and I'm willing to do it for the sake of Christ. I'm willing to lay down my life to serve Paul, serve my church, and ultimately the Christ that they love. And that's why if you have a King James or a New King James translation, it would render it in the following way. Not accounting for his life. Not accounting for his own life.
1:09:52 One who is willing to actually disregard himself for another purpose, a greater purpose. And we see here that the Holy Spirit is not just showing us how we should look at these believers. And as Christians who can't go where these people go or do what these people do, do our part to bless them. But Epaphroditus is more than just that. He's actually inviting us to look at our own lives and ask, how can I how can I show in my own way, in my own context, no regard for my own life for the cause of Christ?
1:10:35 What does that look like for me? This is an amazing thing. There was an early Christian lay brotherhood that originated in the third and fourth century AD, who are known as the Paraboloni or Paraboloni. Parabelloni is from the Greek word derived for risking here. The Greek word risking used in Philippians two thirty.
1:11:06 And this was a humanitarian group. These were individuals who were especially found in Alexandria, Egypt who took it upon themselves when epidemics were breaking out in the Roman Empire to go where people would not go. So while civil authorities and even family members would not deal with their sick loved ones or let them die on the street or die in their own homes, you had these men who were called the risk takers. Another way of understanding their title is the gamblers. And what they would do is collect the sick, tend to their needs, even bury the dead, exposing themselves to danger all while wearing the badge of Jesus Christ and preaching the gospel to those who are sick.
1:12:00 And more than that, when the watching world would see this group go out in such a way, they would be ministered to and they would be convicted. Who are these people? The gamblers. And do you know where one of their inspirations came from? The testimony of Epaphroditus.
1:12:23 They named themselves in great part according to how Paul describes the devotion of this man. And so you see this unsung hero, maybe in our day, was recognized not too long after the church was born and this letter was placed in divine scripture. Epaphroditus teaches us that selfless love is the way for God to use us And that it is so possible to be in tune with God's mind in Christ that you genuinely are more concerned about the interest of others than your own. Don't concern yourself with how others view their own interests or your interests. You and I have an opportunity to imitate epaphroditis and stand out in our churches.
1:13:32 And more than that, to create opportunities for us by God's grace and in his wisdom to minister to others in ways that would not be possible unless you are willing to risk your life for that cause. Let's pray about it together. Lord, we thank You this morning that You've reminded us that there is no name that is accidental in our Bibles. We thank You for the lovely Epaphroditus. We learned about unloved Leah last night and now we learn about the lovely Epaphroditus this morning.
1:14:24 Lord, if there's gonna be anything lovely about us, it's going to be selfless love. I pray for every husband to be convicted about this truth. I pray for every wife to be convicted about this truth. I pray for every spiritual leader, every member of every church represented here to see how you prize men and women like Epaphroditus. No record of a sermon that he preached.
1:14:52 No record of a miracle that he performed. Just selfless love. And so Lord, we don't even ask for ministry opportunities this morning. We just ask for our hearts to be like the heart of Christ. And we trust that as our hearts are transformed the ministry will come.
1:15:10 The ministry will come. People will see and recognize we can use such a man. We can use such a woman to glorify Christ. So we sit here today rejoicing in the fact that you just look for the right heart. And we ask that you give it to us today.
1:15:26 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Let's stand together. One of the things that makes God so great in all his wonder and all his power is that he can make men like Epaphroditus, that he can so carve out the flesh in a man and fill him with Christ likeness where he can actually be concerned of the interests of others more than himself.
1:25:30 That's a miracle. That's a miracle, is it not? And it's available to us because Paul said, have this mine among yourselves, which is yours. It's yours. Lord, we ask that it would be ours.
1:25:44 That it would not just be a sermon that stirs us for a morning, but Lord, it would be something that we would desire for ourselves. I pray that leaving this conference because of Epaphroditus' story, marriages will be made new. Churches would look different. Leadership would be more humble and that we would know something of the glory that we witnessed between this man, his apostle, and his church. Bring us there, Lord.
1:26:10 Only the power of Christ can bring us there, and we ask for it to be true. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Have a seat quickly. We have a few announcements for you here.
1:26:32 Just before I make the announcements, I would like to introduce Chris who is the president of Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference. Everything you guys see around, the new building, the new lunchroom, the everything. It's, this is where it's been, yes, been approved and given ideas and that balcony right there. It's all yours. Right?
1:26:58 Yeah. We love it. Let's give him another hand of applause. And more than anything, he puts up with us. He puts up with me.
1:27:10 So we're just so honored to have you, please.
1:27:12 Thank you so much. It is a true privilege and a pleasure to see you all here. How many first time people here? Praise the Lord. That is a beautiful thing.
1:27:25 We're getting the capacity to have more and more of you come here. Phoebe keeps telling me, Chris, if you had if you could sleep 500, I'd put 500 here. We're working on that. Ninety years. This is our ninetieth year of providing spiritual renewal in this beautiful recreational setting, emphasizing bible teaching, and worldwide mission.
1:27:44 And that's all we're gonna do until the Lord returns. Amen? Amen. Amen. And until he does though, using this facility to host events like this is is what we do.
1:27:55 We have an amazing summer season technically still in it. We finish up Labor Day weekend. You guys are a wonderful little pause in the middle of that that we have here. We also have Johnny and friends, family respite camps coming in next week, and then we finish up for the summer. But then we do over a 120 events through the years, through the rest of the year, with groups such as yourselves.
1:28:17 So it's a privilege to get to serve you. If there's anything you guys need, obviously, ask. We wanna make this a great experience for you. And one thing we would ask is that, as you go through the the end of the weekend here, we we have literally minutes to flip the campus until Johnny and Friends comes in. So any help you guys can give us along the way, just tucking things together, picking things up, tidying things up, it really helps us.
1:28:42 We're normally with about a 175 seasonal staff to run the summer program. We have as many people at a in a normal summer week here this week, and we're doing it with about 25 of us. So so, any help you could give us there is appreciated. Enjoy this beautiful place. I'm guaranteeing the weather.
1:29:00 Just ignore those clouds. They're getting out of here. It's gonna be great the rest of the way. And, yeah. Have a great time, and, we'll be seeing you hopefully here all again, many more of you next year.
1:29:14 Thank you so much, Chris. Just quick announcements and then I'll have David come up and just give also a couple things about sports. Speaking of checking out, tomorrow checkout is at two, the latest. So be prepared before the service in order for you to be having lunch and say goodbye to all our friends. But if the rooms could be cleaned up by two, it would be beautiful.
1:29:37 With that, tomorrow you guys get to share the joy of joining the team and the leadership and, in an given an offering. As you all know, whatever we receive goes directly to the conference center. We do not upcharge
