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September 09, 2020, Wednesday, 4:15 PM
Manila, Philippines
CCF 4W'S Be A Joy Giver! Point People To Christ
WELCOME
How do you spend your day in this time of enhanced community quarantine or lockdown? What are the things that you now enjoy that you did not get to enjoy before this COVID-19 pandemic happened? What are new challenges that you now have to overcome on a daily basis?
WORD
Philippians 2:19-30
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's[a] proven worth, how as a son[b] with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
25 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, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.27 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. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died[c] for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
The kill joy that we are going to deal with today is called selfishness. The truth is when we are selfish we actually not only steal other people's joy but eventually our own joy will be diminished. Rather, we can become persons of real joy & when we overflow with joy, we deliver it into the lives of other people. Part of our duty & privilege as followers of Jesus is to be joy givers. We should show that joy to other people so that in so doing we can point people to our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ. We arrive at this picture of the book of Philippians where Paul is under house arrest in Rome & he talks about two amazing men; Timothy & Epaphroditus; who served him in his time of greatest need. Even though they were facing challenging times & difficult circumstances themselves, they had the joy of Jesus. They became givers of joy not only to the people to the apostle Paul but to many other people. Let us see what Paul has to say about these two men:
1. TIMOTHY
We know a lot about Timothy from the Bible. The name means "one who honors God" He is a natives of Lystra in the province of Galatia. His father was Greek & his mother was a Jew. He had a Christian mother & grandmother. It was Paul who led him to Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:17
17 That is why I sent[a] you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,[b]as I teach them everywhere in every church.
1 Timothy 1:2
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Timothy 1:18
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
2 Timothy 1:2
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
He had a tremendous exposure to Paul's ministries & thus was considered to be Paul's disciple or mentee. But just like you & me, he was far from perfect. Timothy, despite his relative youth, had his own share of physical challenges.
1 Timothy 5:23
23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)
As a young minister, he also had moments of needing encouragement & so Paul wrote him in
2 Timothy 1:7
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
words of encouragement. In
Philippians 2:19
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.
Paul was addressing the believers in the church of Philippi & he was thinking of sending Timothy to update & encourage them & when he returns to Rome, report to Paul on what is going on with the Philippian believers. They did not have our kind of technology, so Timothy could not just email Paul from Philippi or do a groupchat with the Philippian believers to ask how they were doing! Messages had to be delivered personally through people like Timothy who was willing to travel long distances & do wha he was asked to do & here we see that Timothy was a faithful & reliable messenger. Paul also referred to Timothy as a kindred spirit or equal soul & someone who is genuinely concerned for the Philippians as he was.
Philippians 2:20
20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
When people were busy doing their own thing & looking after their own interests.
Philippians 2:21
21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
Timothy showed to be of proven worth.
Philippians 2:22
22 But you know Timothy's[a] proven worth, how as a son[b] with a father he has served with me in the gospel.
He has been tested repeatedly, vigorously & approved in the end. He has served with Paul in pointing people to Jesus. Paul was going to send Timothy as soon as he possible while being honest enough to say that he also needed Timothy's assistance.
Philippians 2:23-24
23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
That was how precious Timothy was, not only to the people at Philippi, but to Paul himself while he was in prison. Timothy brought joy to his father in the faith.
2. EPAPHRODITUS
In contrast to Timothy, we know almost nothing about Epaphroditus. All we know is that he was sent by the church in Philippi with their financial blessing to Paul while he was in prison. Epaphroditus means "favored by Aphrodite" so he could easily have been a lovely & charming Gentile; there is no detail of his conversion given; we "meet" him here already a committed follower of Jesus. It does not matter whether you have an extensive background known by many like Timothy's or not that many know of your family or your background like Epaphroditus. God can use anyone trustworthy in His service. Let us dig in on how apostle Paul described Epaphroditus in
Philippians 2:25
25 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,
Brother "from the same womb" not literal blood brothers but brothers in Christ; He was a true follower of Jesus
Follow worker "synergy"; Paul & Epaphroditus were so likeminded. They are of one heart in doing Christ's work, same goal, same motivation & same Lord
Fellow soldier; they are in unison as they advance the work of Jesus Christ here on earth
Messenger; apostle or "sent one", sent by the church to minister to Paul. As a messenger, he did not mind the journey from Philippi to Rome which is about 700-800 miles taking 2 months to make a one way trip
Minister; He was a "public servant" who was so devoted to his calling that he will discharge his duties even at his own expense
Paul mentions again Epaphroditus in
Philippians 4:18
18 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.
Everything that was sent for Paul was received in full. Whatever was entrusted to Epaphroditus, he simply passed on to others & he passed on joy. He was indeed a joy giver
Philippians 2:28-29
28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,
It was him who filled in the gap for what was deficient in the Philippian believers' service to Paul because of their physical distance, for we can say that Paul was in an extreme "lockdown" in prison!
Philippians 2:30
30 for he nearly died[a] for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
Epaphroditus exhibited selfless service even to the point of death.
Philippians 2:27
27 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.
He was such a blessing & joy to Paul. How is your joy today? How are you passing on the joy entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit? If you know Jesus as your Lord & Saviour, you can know his joy. Jesus has the only genuine joy in the universe. He is the original joy giver & when we give our lives to Him, we will experience that joy ourselves. Jesus said your joy can be made full meaning it will be filled in capacity & when it does, you can now glorify God as you overflow joy to others in these trying times.
John 15:11
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. How has this global pandemic impacted your joy? Have you been a joy giver or a joy taker lately?
Mia answer: This global pandemic impacted my joy by spending more time with God; I have been joy giver to others lately
Kathy answer: The global pandemic impacted my joy because I have quality time for myself and my family. I also have devotion time to talk with God to see the revelations what would happen next if ever I would proceed to my plans.
2. What are some remarkable traits of Timothy & Epaphroditus that are worth emulating?
Mia answer: I am more of Timothy of being far from perfect & sometimes I need an encouragement as well to my leaders
Kathy answer: I am like Timothy also. Sometime I doubt God. But that was fine with me. But I also need encouragement to believe in God more.
3. What can we do to be a joy givers to other people & point them to Jesus especially in these extraordinary times?
Mia answer: I can do to be a joy giver to other people is to invite them to our zoom dgroup & point them to Jesus especially in these extraordinary times is directing them to Christ
Kathy answer: I can be a joy giver to other people and point them to Jesus by sending them powerful preaching videos from Youtube.
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